Are You My Mother? Chapter 1, an avengers fanfic

!SPIDER-MAN FAR FROM HOME SPOILERS AHEAD PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel but if I did not much about Far From Home would have changed except maybe some more whump for our favorite Spider-Baby :D

So let's just say that Far From Home was one of the most incredible movies ever made and I am completely in love with it... This is my take of what happened after the mid-credits scene that broke us all. It's slightly connected to/inspired by my post-Endgame fic Of Tears, Juice Pops, and Three Thousand Healing Wounds; you don't have to read it to understand this one, but if you like this, chances are you'll like that one too :P This fic is dedicated to my friend Rosie who had the courage to breach the moat around my writing closet and laugh at the fact that I hadn't come out for five hours straight - friendly support at its finest :P Enjoy!

Living in the woods twenty minutes away from most civilization, alone with her family and a hundred million security protocols, Pepper Potts didn't usually feel the need to follow the news all that closely. For years, Tony hadn't been able to handle it - watching the nonstop coverage of a broken world trying to put itself back together without all the pieces. He couldn't stand watching gang after gang pop up from the alleys, robbing unguarded banks and kidnapping parentless children. He couldn't bear to watch so many people in pain, while promising himself he'd never play superhero again. The last time he'd tried that, he'd gotten nearly everyone he loved killed. He couldn't let it happen again.

It became a habit, to turn the advanced, Stark tech television on and immediately switch the channel to a history show or a sports competition, and later to children's shows as their daughter grew up. Even still, the evidence was everywhere. Shows suddenly ended in the middle of their climaxes, and series with incredible potential were nipped in the bud for future generations to discover later on and wonder why these ancient creations never reached their end.

And now, after everyone was back, thrown into a chaotic world five years in the future, in exchange for her husband Tony Stark, she couldn't watch the news without dissolving unto uncontrollable tears or irresistible anger. She couldn't stand to see the millions of tributes all over the world to her husband who had changed the lives of more people than he'd ever know. In every city, every town, murals of his face and his helmet were splashed up onto walls so he'd never be forgotten and candles flickered day and night in front of them, lighting them up. Roses were shipped to every location he'd ever owned, and Pepper was infinitely glad no one knew where they lived. She didn't think she'd survive the constant reminder that her husband was never coming back without destroying the fragile grip she had on a normal life. And she couldn't do that to Morgan, her daughter - their daughter. So for her sake, she left the television off, unless it was a cold or rainy day and there was no other way to get the four-year-old out of her way.

So naturally, when Happy called her, frantic and panicking, she was the last to know what was going on. She'd been aware - by means of fairly regular video calls between Morgan and Peter - that the latter was going on a school trip to Europe, and that he had a crush on some girl in his class that he was trying to work up the courage to ask out (Morgan's enthusiastic encouragement of, "Don't worry, Petey, everyone likes you!" had certainly helped) but beyond that, she hadn't heard much. He'd texted her when their plane had landed, and sent her a quick picture of him in London to show Morgan, but that was it. Until Happy had called, she'd been under the impression that he'd enjoyed a peacefully uneventful vacation.

Although considering that it was Peter Parker and his fate in question, she probably should have known that something was bound to go wrong. She supposed it was too much to ask that the worst thing that happened would be that the girl didn't like him back, instead of being that he'd have to fight some psychotic villain who pretended to be a mentor before throwing him in front of a bullet train and threatening to kill his friends. It was disturbing, frightening, to be sure - who wanted their sort-of-son to get hit by trains and betrayed by mentors? - but it was Peter, and he would bounce back after some medical care and a couple heart-to-hearts. That was how he worked.

But when Happy, sounding close to tears himself, relayed the information that Peter's sixteen-year-old Spider-Man identity had been revealed to the entire world, Pepper felt her own world shatter a bit. That was Peter's most closely guarded secret; his greatest fear was villains targeting those he loved. Everyone who knew him was aware that that would bring him to his knees faster than any bullet ever could. She should have wondered if she was in danger; she should have been terrified that her four-year-old daughter was now a potential target for a million nightmare-worthy villains, but all she could bring herself to think was, Peter must be terrified.

"Bring him here," she whispered, so as not to disturb Morgan who was playing beside her, unsure as to whether it was a command or a question. She supposed a command, because she wasn't in the mood to negotiate. Her surrogate son was scared and in pain, and if she wasn't going to do everything in her power to comfort him, then nobody would. He couldn't turn to his aunt, his publicly listed primary guardian; he couldn't turn to MJ or Ned, of whom pictures of them and Peter were spread across the internet for anyone to find, and he certainly couldn't ride this out alone. "Non-negotiable. I'll have his room ready in an hour." Technically, it was the guest bedroom, but they all knew who Tony had really had in mind when he'd decorated it with red and blue bedding that were a bit too colorful for any regular guest room.

Happy didn't argue, to her infinite relief. "I'll have him there in two."

Shaking slightly, Pepper hung up and turned to Morgan, in a tone with so little enthusiasm that her daughter frowned. "Surprise, sweetheart. Peter's coming over."

In her stress-induced frenzy, it took exactly one hour, seventeen minutes and forty-five seconds for Peter's room to be ready, complete with a new Star Wars lego set and a simple but well-furnished wardrobe to greet him because she seriously doubted that Happy was going to swing by Peter's apartment before flying him on a private jet to a small, nearby landing strip. Not only would this shave time off of their ETA, but it would save them from going through security and risking being recognized. It had crossed Pepper's mind, once or twice, that if Peter was convicted of murder, she'd likely be arrested for hiding a criminal. She couldn't find it in her to particularly care. Morgan had been more hindering than helpful, asking a million questions and bouncing excitedly in anticipation for the arrival of her "big brother", although she seemed to have picked up on her mother's somber mood and had quietly swung her legs from the child seat in the front of the shopping cart instead of begging to be let down, for which Pepper was eternally grateful.

Happy updated her regularly, whenever their arrival time changed even by a minute, and she only grew more concerned as she heard the sounds of stifled sobs coming from behind him, until the fourth time he called and there was silence besides for Happy's low tone. She figured Peter had finally cried himself to sleep, and while it was a miserable way to succumb to rest, it was a way just the same and heaven knows he needed the sleep more than anything.

Finally, when their ETA was only ten minutes away, she sat Morgan down on their comfortable yet well-worn sofa, faded from five years of stolen naps and Morgan's superhero games, and tried to explain to her daughter that Peter might not be in the best of moods. Morgan was incredibly sensitive and intuitive for someone so young, but how does one explain to a four-year-old that her hero - her brother - was terrified not only for his life, but for the lives of everyone he loved, that he'd been hit by a bullet train going full speed, that he'd admired yet another mentor figure who had again left him alone to wonder what was wrong with him…there was no way to put that into words a child would understand.

"Peter's not really feeling so good, baby," she compromised, hoping that by using analogies her daughter understood, she might grasp a small picture of what he was really going through.

Wide-eyed and lovingly concerned, Morgan gasped slightly. "Like he's go'a tummy ache?"

"A really bad one. And he's very sad because people were mean to him, so you'll have to be extra nice, okay? He might need some time to himself when he gets here, alright, sweetie?"

Morgan nodded sincerely, before her eyebrows scrunched angrily in the fiercest expression a child could pull off. "Whoe'ers mean'a Peter I'm gonna fight 'em and make 'em go 'way fore'er." It was an adorable statement, only intensified by the fact that Pepper had no doubt that her daughter meant every word. Given the opportunity, Morgan would gladly don her Iron Man gloves Tony had made for her 3rd birthday and her Party City Spider-Man mask and kick and punch until any villains that came their way left Peter and his viciously protective little sister alone.

"I'm sure you will, sweetheart." Pepper wondered if her daughter could tell how distracted and scared she really was. She was Tony's daughter too, after all, and he'd always been able to tell when something was bothering her, whether he'd admitted to knowing or not. In more ways than she could count, Morgan was a perfect copy of Tony - her dark brown eyes, her radiant smile, her brilliance in all things mechanic, her intuitive nature and her habit of picking up strays (whether injured animals or lonely friends) and caring for them until she practically adopted them.

The latter was a particularly relevant trait of her husband, considering that it was the reason she had not one child but two - not to mention another son of his, Harley Keener, whom she'd met briefly at the funeral. She hadn't exactly been the mood to adopt another child at the moment, and she wished wholeheartedly to be introduced to him again, although at the moment, two kids was quite enough. One who never quieted, who asked for everything she wanted, who was talkative, bold, secure - and her opposite, her shy, self-deprecating brother who waited until the last second to voice his needs, who suffered in silence, who clung to affection like it was his last lifeline to the world, all the while being a bright sunshine to everyone around him.

In her grief-stricken state after her husband's sudden death, they had been the only bright points in her life, and if it hadn't been for them, she didn't know where she'd be. It wasn't a thought she liked to entertain very often. When the adults were stifling in their genuine yet overused apologies, and agencies wanted funeral plans, and her emotionally wrecked mind kept her awake at night, her only comfort was her equally nightmare-riddled children, who huddled with her on the porch at four in the morning drinking hot chocolate and hugging each other as they laughed, and cried, and reminisced over the ways Tony Stark had changed their life.

And now, not too much later, it was time to return the favor, time to comfort her broken son. They'd be arriving in merely four minutes, and while Morgan was still bouncing in excitement despite her earlier warning, Pepper felt the dread slowly curdling in her stomach, swirling queasily as the seconds ticked by. She should have known they would be late, but when two minutes extra had passed, she couldn't help the tight feeling deep in her chest that desperately hoped they were okay; when the latch on their front door turned a few seconds later, the feeling hardly dissolved.

The large wooden door creaked open, and Peter stumbled in first, supported by Happy who stood behind him. Tear tracks were smeared across his face, marred by the mask he'd hid behind after the revelation, although it was pointless because everyone knew who Spider-Man was anyway, and even Happy's eyes had a red-rimmed look. Physically, Peter looked mostly fine, his healing factor having already mostly taken care of the cuts and scrapes from the former fights, but his eyes were hollow and glassy, his breath shaking slightly every time he inhaled.

Visibly, he fought back the sobs locked in his chest as he staggered forward, mostly accidentally ignoring Morgan's repeated questions of concern as he collapsed into Pepper's arms. He loved Morgan, he really did, more than anything, but she was his hero, and he couldn't live up to that right now. He needed someone else to be his hero; he needed to be held and comforted like he was a child again. And Pepper did just that.

Enveloping Peter in her arms, she held him against her like she'd done for Tony whenever he broke down; like she did for Morgan after a horrible nightmare that kept her up for hours. She felt his tears dampen her shoulder, and she only held him tighter as sobs wracked his small frame and he trembled in her arms. His breath hitched over and over again, and he cried until he collapsed into a coughing fit.

"Mom," he whispered, the word sounding so natural on his tongue, and she kissed his forehead gently before he had a chance to realize what he'd said.

"Don't worry, baby, I've got you. Everything's going to be okay."

The words only served to send him further into his terrified hysterics, and he clung to Pepper with all of his heart.

It took much longer than anyone would have liked to calm Peter down the point where he could actually breathe, and by then he was so exhausted that he passed out on that same, well-worn sofa, still hiccuping harshly in his sleep as a side-effect of his tears. He shivered slightly, curled up against himself, and they wasted no time in draping a blanket over his shoulders - the same one Tony had wrapped around himself and Pepper and Morgan the last time they'd all gathered to have a movie night together. It was too big to go in the wash, so there were still oil stains from the popcorn splattered on the blanket and it still carried Tony's unmistakable scent. Peter unconsciously nuzzled himself against it, relaxing gradually underneath it.

While Happy kept watch over their sleeping spider-child, Pepper climbed up the steps to find Morgan; she'd seen Peter cry before but this level of sobbing seemed to have frightened her, and sure enough, Pepper found her curled in the corner of her room with her pink and green stuffed rabbit, rubbing the seam of the rabbit's hand against her upper lip. It was another comforting habit she'd picked up, and Pepper figured it was better than sucking her thumb, so she didn't necessarily discourage it in any way.

"Hi sweetheart," she greeted, opening the door just wide enough to get through, aware that closed doors made her daughter feel safer. "You okay?"

Morgan shrugged, her gaze still steadily focused on the little rip in the rabbit's side and her unused hand fingering the edge of her sweatshirt. Pepper was almost certain that that would be the only response she got, when the four-year-old mumbled, "I wan' the bad guys to die."

And what could Pepper say to that? She couldn't invalidate her daughter's justified anger, but she couldn't endorse such extreme wishes. She certainly couldn't admit that the same thought had crossed her mind in the maternal blaze of righteous fury that had overwhelmed her as she'd held her broken son. "How about we focus on helping Pete instead, what do you think of that, huh?"

Again, the child shrugged, waiting at least forty seconds before whispering. "It scares me."

Pepper was fairly sure she knew what she was referring to, and she sat herself on the edge of her daughter's bed, gesturing for her to come sit on her lap. "What does?" Morgan crawled onto her mother's lap, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Pete crying." Two word answers were better than none, Pepper supposed.

"But you've seen him cry before, remember?"

"'S diff'rent now." Pepper couldn't really disagree. "He's a lot more scared this time. 'S he scared o' the bad guys?"

A deep, shaky sigh escaped Pepper's lungs, and she closed her eyes for a moment to reign in her overwhelmingly maternal emotions. "I don't know, baby," she lied, because sometimes she had to do what she had to do in order to keep her children safe.

"Is he gonna be 'kay?" Those chocolate brown eyes that were so much like Tony's stared up at her, wide and trusting.

"Of course, baby," she lied again. The truth was she had no idea.

Please review it makes my day :D

To Be Continued...