Chapter 7: Family Dynamics

Peter fought his way through an ordinary school day with a far-from-ordinary secret sitting heavily in his brain.

"Are you good?" Shuri asked him. "You seem jumpy today."

"I'm fine," he sighed. "I just…uh…had an argument with my…step-dad yesterday." That was true, though Shuri probably didn't believe him considering how badly he'd stuttered through the explanation.

"Oh no. Is everything okay? He's not hurting you or anything, right?" Her expression was one of utmost concern.

"No! No, nothing like that. We just disagreed about something."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

"No thank you." If Peter talked about it any more, he was bound to let something slip. "But I appreciate you checking in."

"Any time. If something changes and you do want to talk, just let me know."

"I will." Peter smiled. How he'd managed to make a friend as good as Shuri in just a few weeks still mystified him, but he'd never been more grateful for a person, except for May and Ben.

When he got into Happy's car at the end of the day, the chauffeur asked him how school was. Peter could tell from his tone that this drive home would contain more than mindless chit chat. Had Mr. Stark told him about the fight? His concern must've shown on his face, because Happy then said, "I don't expect you to talk about anything. Just listen, okay? You know how all the famous Greek heroes are known for having one fatal flaw? The same goes for real-life superheroes. And I don't mean Superman and kryptonite or anything like that." Happy shook his head. "What I mean is, I've known Tony for decades now, and he's got probably the most potent fatal flaw one can have. Ever since the Afghanistan incident, he's been obsessed with protecting people. Any harm that befalls them that can in any convoluted way be traced back to Tony he regards as entirely his fault. And it eats him up inside. So, to compensate, he tends to be massively overprotective, often to the detriment of himself and the person he's trying to protect.

"I'm not saying he's doing the right thing, or that you shouldn't be angry, because you have every right to be. I just…I want you to understand that his motivation is genuine, even if his execution ultimately does more harm than good." Happy glanced at him in the rearview mirror, gauging his reaction. "His friend and I have been trying to get him to see a therapist for a while now, but you've met him. He's too stubborn to admit when he needs help. He's convinced there's no problem he can't fix with a few all-nighters worth of lab work."

Peter rolled this new information around in his head. That Mr. Stark probably had an undiagnosed mental illness, he believed wholeheartedly. He belonged to the generation and the profession most prone to ignoring that sort of thing. But that didn't undo all the harm he'd done to Peter and the fragile bond he'd been trying to forge between them.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because I know Tony never will. And I wanted you to have that perspective before you stew in this any longer."

"So I'm supposed to forgive him just because of all that?"

"No. You forgive him when he's done something to earn it."

Peter crossed his arms with a huff. "I don't think that's even possible."

"Give it some time. He might surprise you."

"He's already done that twice, and neither was exactly a welcome surprise."

"Trust me, Peter. He's not going to let it leave off like this."

Peter did trust Happy. But he didn't trust Mr. Stark.

~0~

Aunt May worked a seven-to-three shift at the hospital today, so she was already home when Peter got back. As soon as he laid eyes on her, Peter's chest tightened up. He hadn't had an asthma attack since middle school, but looking her in the eyes and knowing what he did about her husband—something she didn't know and he wasn't supposed to tell her—left him with a similar feeling of woozy breathlessness. "How was school today?" she asked.

"Fi—It was fine," he stammered, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Something wrong?"

"No." Peter clenched his eyes shut in frustration—that came out way too quickly.

"Peter." Aunt May was using her "I know there's something on your mind, so spill it" tone of voice.

Mr. Stark had explicitly stated that he would be furious if Peter told anybody about the kids. But standing here in front of his aunt with that knowledge sitting on his chest hurt more than ever Mr. Stark's wrath. Peter hadn't promised that man anything, and he knew intrinsically that this was the right thing to do.

"Mr. Stark's been lying to you," he blurted out.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Peter, I know you haven't really warmed up to him yet—"

"Just listen. Please," he added when he realized how rude that sounded. "He's not who you think he is."

May looked, if possible, even more skeptical, but she remained silent so Peter could continue. He took a deep breath and laid out everything he had discovered about Mr. Stark and his secret identity. Peter half-expected May to dismiss his story as something he made up to turn her against Mr. Stark, but she believed him. That's what years of trust and honesty had done for their relationship. He could confess to her that her husband had a secret door in his house that led to a workshop where he built suits for his superhero alter ego, and within that lab was an elevator leading to a basement where he kept three children, and she believed him. Peter wanted to cry in relief.

So he did.

May hugged him tight and thanked him for telling her.

"I don't know why he doesn't trust you enough to tell you," Peter said despondently. "It's a real red flag, if you ask me."

She only hummed in response. "We'll sort this out when he gets home from work."

"Okay."

Peter didn't know exactly what she meant by "sort this out" but he looked forward to finding out.

~0~

"You were harboring children in your basement and you didn't think this was pertinent information to share before we got married?!"

Peter had never seen May so angry. And frankly, nothing had ever happened to them that warranted this level of rage. Until now. He was simultaneously scared and impressed. Poor Mr. Stark had walked through the door and was almost immediately bombarded by May's questions. The part of Peter that resented him the most was thrilled by this turn of events.

"I considered telling you, I swear! But May, they're the greatest kept secret in my life—maybe in the whole world—and every additional person who knows they exist puts them in even more danger."

"Why? Did you kidnap them from a cult or something?"

"No. They don't have any family but me. Not anymore."

"What happened to their birth parents?"

Mr. Stark sighed. "Dead."

"How?"

"Steve…my oldest, his mom was sick. Picked up tuberculosis working in a refugee camp."

"And his dad?"

"No one knows."

"And the other two?"

"Killed in an attack on their hometown in Sokovia. I rescued them from the bombs, but I was too late to save their parents."

"Why did you keep them? And why have you kept them hidden like this?"

Mr. Stark glanced around warily. "Because…they're superhuman."

May rolled her eyes. "Tell me the truth, Tony."

"That is the truth."

"Supers went extinct in the forties."

"They're back. The twins were born with powers, and Steve…gained some when he was a kid."

"How exactly did he gain powers?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is keeping them safe. If anyone finds out about their abilities…at best, they'll be human lab rats for the rest of their lives."

May nodded in grim understanding. "Their secret is safe with me. We will have a conversation about honesty later, but your first order of business is to introduce me to these children of yours."

Peter could tell that conversation for later would be even more heated than this one, and that May would probably say things she wouldn't dare utter in front of her nephew. He couldn't help but grin imagining Mr. Stark subjected to the full fury of May Parker. But first, to the basement. May's eyes widened at the secret door in the wall, and again at the elevator behind the Iron Man suit.

"Guys, there's someone here to meet you!" Mr. Stark called as the elevator doors opened.

"Are we finally getting that puppy you promised us?" Pietro asked as the three emerged from their bedrooms.

"No. And I never promised you a puppy. This is my wife and Peter's aunt, May."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Steve said.

"Who calls their step-mom ma'am?" Pietro teased. Steve elbowed him so hard he stumbled.

"Are you really our step-mom?" Wanda asked, fiddling with one of her rings.

"Well somebody's got to nurture you three, since I guarantee Tony hasn't been doing nearly a good enough job." She added a glare in his direction for good measure.

Mr. Stark held a hand over his heart. "I can be nurturing."

"That time I broke my ankle, you told me to walk it off," Steve said.

"I was kidding! Let the record show that I was kidding. And it healed in a day."

"Peter did say you don't treat us remotely like family," Pietro said. "We don't even get an allowance."

"Yes you do. Your monthly allowance is literally six figures."

May looked positively appalled. "Is it really?"

Mr. Stark laughed. "No. They don't actually get an allowance. They just periodically ask for things and I buy them."

"That's no way to teach a child financial responsibility."

"They can't open bank accounts. Legally, they don't even exist."

May didn't have a retort for that. After a moment, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, they exist to me. And they're part of my family now."

Wanda and Steve grew teary-eyed, but quickly wiped it away. May hugged each of them in turn. "Now, let's have a nice family dinner. What would you three like?"

Peter bit his lip at the thought of May cooking for six people. Once all the burned and otherwise inedible parts were scraped off, it left maybe a third of whatever it was she'd made.

Wanda took one look at Peter and answered, "Takeout."

Did her powers include mind reading? That was so cool! And also mildly terrifying. She quirked an eyebrow at him as those very thoughts crossed his mind, and Peter immediately tried to think of anything else.

Pietro and Steve hesitantly nodded their agreement.

May chuckled. "You're a part of my family already if you're requesting takeout instead of a home cooked meal."

Now it was Peter's turn to laugh.

~0~

Things reached a new equilibrium in the Parker-Stark household. Peter went to school, May and Mr. Stark went to work, and the three superhumans trained and did homeschool. While their abilities were a secret to the world, Mr. Stark wanted them to be as good at using them as possible. When Peter got home, he did his homework in the lab and chatted with his step-siblings. When dinner time rolled around, either Wanda or Happy cooked, always in the hidden basement kitchen. According to Wanda, she and Steve hadn't seen the main level of the house since they first moved in. Pietro snuck upstairs occasionally for snacks when they ran out of their stock downstairs.

Mr. Stark's promised fury if Peter told May about the kids was never expressed. Peter spent two weeks worrying about when it would strike before he finally let his guard down. Whatever May had said to Mr. Stark must've convinced him that Peter made the right call by telling her. Which he did.

"Why do you live with your aunt?" Steve asked. The four of them were playing foosball on a holographic table that was programmed for every tabletop game imaginable.

"She's the only family I have left," Peter said. "My parents died in a car accident when I was six. And May's husband, my Uncle Ben, was killed on the job when I was fourteen."

"That wasn't very long ago," Wanda remarked.

"No, it wasn't." Peter still felt weird about how quickly May entered and subsequently consummated a relationship with Mr. Stark. "I still miss him a lot."

"I still miss Mama and Papa," Pietro said. "We lost them six years ago."

"I don't remember my parents at all, but I still miss them. In a bit of a different way," Steve said. "For a long time, it was just me and Mr. Stark, and he was always busy with work. I spent a lot of hours by myself down here. Sometimes days at a time."

"That sounds…really lonely," Peter sighed. He couldn't imagine surviving that kind of isolation. He used to think he'd suffered so much more than all the other kids his age, losing three parental figures, but these three proved that he wasn't alone.

Steve shrugged, which nearly allowed Pietro's shot to slip by into the goal. He blocked it at the last second. "I got good at entertaining myself."

"But now you don't have to," Pietro said. He bumped shoulders with Steve. Then, in a blur of silver, he procured a bandana and tied it around Steve's eyes. Wanda easily sank a ball in the unguarded goal.

"You know," Steve remarked. "Sometimes I wish I could go back to those days of solitude."

"Nah, you love me."

Steve punched him in the bicep. "I do."