Author's Note: Hello, hello, readers! Welcome back to Raise Me Up! I hope everyone out there is staying healthy and safe! We are back with…CHAPTER 5, and we see Tony and Pepper do what they need to do to make sure that Peter is officially placed under Tony's care. I hope you all enjoy it! But…before we get to the next chapter…REVIEW REPLIES!

xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Yes, very exhausted… Let's see if Tony can help!

Boid Man: So glad you love it! *shrugs* That actually wasn't my intention…I just picked a random name, lol! Either way, I hope you like what's next!

Peacockgirl: So glad to hear it! Thank you! I hope you like what's next!

Konoewpl: Really glad to hear it! Thank you! I know what you mean! I love writing it, even though it's sad! Hope you like what's next!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


Chapter 5

Tony only slept for a few hours that night, but he felt far from rested. He could feel his heart pounding as Happy drove him and Pepper closer to Child Protection Services. He looked down at his phone and saw no texts from a certain teenager; that brought some relief for the billionaire, as he realized that it was likely that Peter was still asleep.

"How was he last night?" Pepper asked jolting Tony out of his thoughts.

Tony sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "Upset…shocked…all of the above…" he replied. "He slept through the night fine, but…he's going to be in for a shock when he wakes up if this meeting goes well."

Pepper gently wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. "Tony, if you don't want to do this," she said, "it's okay. We can look into other options for P—"

"No…no, I'm doing this, Pep," he interjected. "I mean…I know I'm not exactly the right guy to take care of a kid, but…I owe it to May…to…to Peter. He needs someone he can trust…someone who can be there for him…someone who knows him...and what he's going through, and…" he grabbed his left wrist lightly rubbing it, "the idea of Peter going into the system…after knowing him for this long…I-I don't know…I…"

"You would miss him," Pepper said for him as she lightly gripped Tony's hands to calm him down with her free one.

Tony nodded. As painful as it was, he had to admit that Pepper was right. He would miss Peter. The idea of not seeing Peter again…and no more lab days, patrol nights, missions…somehow made his stomach churn and his left arm numb. Peter and Tony had become involved in each other's lives in less than a year, and right now, Peter needed that.

"It's more than just what May wanted," Pepper continued. "You would miss him."

Tony sighed and shook his head. "As always," he said quietly, "you're right."

"Of course, I am," Pepper said smiling. "I've seen the two of you together, and I know you two will get this figured out and that I will help whenever I can every step of the way."

"Thanks, Pep," Tony replied before kissing his fiancée on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Pepper replied softly.

"Hey, guys," Happy suddenly said interrupting the couple, "we're here."

Pepper and Tony looked to see that they had arrived to CPS, and Happy was pulling into a parking spot in front of the building. The veteran superhero took a deep breath.

"Well, it's now or never," he whispered.


The veteran superhero and the CEO of Stark Industries both got off the elevator as soon as the doors opened. Sure enough, when they stepped off, Pepper and Tony found their lawyer, May's lawyer, and Mrs. Walker the social worker all standing in the waiting room, which was thankfully completely empty. It took everything Tony had to fight the urge to make a sarcastic comment. He couldn't do that now…not when he was about to be named as the legal guardian of a teenager. One slip of the tongue could send Peter into the system, no matter what May's will said, and he refused to let that happen. Instead, he gave one of his world-famous smiles.

"Mr. Stark, Miss Potts," Larry, Tony and Pepper's lawyer, said as he shook hands with each of them. Larry was a man in his late 50s with jet-black hair and glasses.

"Good morning, Larry," Tony replied with a small smile on his face.

"I trust that you remember Michael," Larry gestured to another gentleman standing next to him.

It didn't take Pepper and Tony long to recognize May's lawyer. The man had salt and pepper hair and was clearly in his 60s. "It's good to see you both again," Michael said. "Larry and Mrs. Walker briefed me on what happened last night. First of all, please extend my condolences to Peter. This must be quite a difficult time for him."

"Difficult doesn't even begin to cover it," Tony thought to himself.

"Of course, thank you," Pepper said with diplomacy and tact in her voice. "Peter will appreciate that."

Michael nodded. Tony remembered meeting May's lawyer when she named him as Peter's backup guardian a few months ago, and it was only now, just a day after May's untimely death, that he realized that this man was all too familiar with the tragedies that had occurred in the 15 years of Peter Parker's life…his parents dying, his uncle Ben—May's husband—dying, and now…his aunt dying. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he saw Mrs. Walker standing in front of him.

"Oh, sorry," Tony suddenly said, "uh…Pepper, this is Danielle Walker, Peter's social worker. Mrs. Walker, this is my fiancée, Pepper Potts."

"Very nice to meet you, Ms. Potts," Mrs. Walker said as she extended her hand to Pepper.

"You as well, Mrs. Walker," Pepper said. "I hope we can get this all cleared up quickly for Peter's sake."

"Indeed, shall we get started?" Mrs. Walker said leading the four of them down a narrow hallway to a conference room.

Tony was the last one to walk in as he stopped at the threshold of the room checking his phone once more. There was no text from Peter or an alert from FRIDAY, which meant that his mentee was probably still sleeping at the penthouse. Once he was sure that Peter wasn't going to need him, he took a deep breath and walked in sitting next to Pepper and Larry.

"This meeting is being recorded for legal purposes," Michael began as he placed his phone at the center of the table. "We are here to discuss the will of May Parker, who passed away unexpectedly last night on June 16, 2017 and the custody of her nephew by marriage, Peter Benjamin Parker."

Tony took a deep breath as everyone went around the table introducing themselves.


The meeting lasted an hour and a half, and it was fairly easy. Larry believed it was because Tony was named as Peter's guardian in the will, and Tony was grateful. The easier this was for Peter, the better. Although, that still left him with the hardest part: telling Peter about the meeting, and to say that the billionaire was nervous would be an understatement. Pepper wasn't kidding when she said that things would be different; it definitely would be…for both of them. He was now in charge of a teenager…and not just a teenager…an enhanced teenager…and Peter was going to have to live with someone else and adjust to a lifestyle he wasn't that familiar with. Sure, he had stayed with Tony before, but it was only for a few weekends over the course of 10 months.

His left hand began to tremble, but he quickly grabbed it with his right trying to hold it steady again. However, Pepper quickly placed her hand on his relaxing him somewhat as they rode back to the tower with Happy in the driver's seat.

"It's okay to be nervous," Pepper said gently, "but I don't think Peter will get mad over this. He's a good kid, and he's always appreciative of what you've done for him."

"He won't be happy about this, Pep," Tony said holding her hand tightly. "His aunt died just last night, and now, I'm coming in with this bomb. I feel like I'm ripping the rug out from under him."

"No, I'm sure this will be a big adjustment," Pepper said, "but he's also smart enough to know that you're doing this to help him…and that you care about him. And if you want, I can talk to him for you."

"No…" Tony replied. "I should do it. It would mean more coming from me. I'll call you if I need back-up though."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "He's teenager," she retorted, "not an alien."

"Exactly."


Peter opened his eyes slowly as he roused from his deep sleep and looked around taking in his surroundings. It took him a moment to realize that he wasn't in his bedroom on 15th Street in Queens. He was in the guestroom at the Avengers Tower in Manhattan. He briefly wondered if he was staying with Tony while May was away, but…that was when he remembered… All the pain…the heaviness…came rushing back… He and May went to see a movie last night, and they got into a car accident. May didn't make it. She was dead, and Tony Stark came to the hospital and got him out of possibly going into the system. His head immediately began pounding, and he brought his hand up to his head feeling the gauze. He forgot the mild concussion, but he didn't care at the moment…not when his aunt…his last living relative was dead.

Tears formed in his eyes as he closed them allowing them to stream down his cheeks. "Aunt May…" he whispered sniffling, "please let this be a bad dream." He sniffled again as he turned over and sobbed into his pillows. "Please…"


"Well, time to face the music," Tony said as they stepped into the elevator in the parking garage.

"Let me know if you need me to come up and help," Pepper said as the elevator started moving, "or let me know that it went well—which it will—once you're done."

"Of course," Tony said as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll talk to you later." As soon as he said that, the elevator opened to Stark Industries.

"Okay, I love you," Pepper replied as she stepped off leaving Tony alone.

"Love you too."

With one last smile at Pepper, the elevator doors closed as it continued its journey to the penthouse.

"FRIDAY, is Peter awake?" Tony asked his A.I.

"Affirmative, boss," FRIDAY replied. "Peter woke up about 15 minutes ago. He appears to be in emotional distress."

Hearing that last statement broke Tony's heart, and it made him feel somewhat guilty for not being there when Peter woke up. Although, he wasn't awake for too long, which made the billionaire feel somewhat better.

"I sort of expected that," Tony said as he looked at the manila envelope in his hands.

Next thing he knew, the elevator doors opened, and Tony walked into the penthouse. The veteran superhero wasted no time in sprinting to Peter's room. He stopped short and gently knocked so as to not startle the kid.

"Pete, it's me," he said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Peter replied. His voice sounded muffled.

Tony immediately opened the door and allowed his face to fall when he saw what was in front of him. There was Peter curled up in the bed and his face in the pillows.

"Hey, Underoos," Tony said gently as he walked in and sat down on the bed at Peter's hip, "sleep well?"

With his face still up against the pillow, Peter nodded. "I guess," he replied.

Tony sighed somewhat grateful that Peter was able to get through the night. He slowly placed his hand on Peter's back. "FRIDAY said you just woke up," he said. He honestly wasn't sure how he wanted this conversation to go where it needed to go. However, the small talk might help.

"Yeah," Peter mumbled nodding. He slightly turned his head so that he could look at Tony allowing the latter to see his bloodshot eyes and pale face. His eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm a little fuzzy right now, sorry, but didn't you have a meeting or something?" He would've sat up, but he didn't want to risk losing Tony's hand on his back. It kept him grounded for the moment.

"I did," Tony replied. "I just got back with Pepper."

"Oh, Miss Potts is here?" Peter asked.

"She's working downstairs," Tony said quickly rubbing the kid's back. "It's just you and me here, which is good because I need to talk to you about some things."

Peter propped himself up on his elbow as he looked at Tony feeling his heart beginning to pound. Was this it already? Was Tony going to send him into the system after all? "W-What…kind of things?" he asked.

"Why don't you freshen up real quick?" Tony suggested. "We can talk more in the living room, okay?"

"Okay," Peter replied meekly. He silently got out of bed as Tony left him alone to give him privacy.


Peter brushed his teeth and washed his face before meeting Tony in the living room. He didn't bother to change out of his pajamas, and he was somewhat relieved when he only saw Tony sitting on the couch. No sign of the social worker. So far, so good.

"Come here, kid," Tony said patting a spot on the couch next to him, and it was then that he noticed a manila envelope sitting on the coffee table.

"For starters," Tony said as he picked up the envelope and held it out to Peter, "I want to see these."

Peter furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion as he took the envelope and opened it taking the papers out and reading the first page. As he read it, Peter's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. "So…y-you're my legal guardian now?" he asked aloud. This wasn't what he expected…at all.

Tony nodded. So far, so good. It sounded like he was more shocked and not angry. "Well, not officially yet," he began, "we would have to go to Family Court for a hearing so the judge can approve."

The teenager looked at Tony trying to see if this was possibly a cruel joke, but when he saw that the billionaire wasn't laughing or showing any signs, his eyes widened as he turned his sights back to the paperwork in his hands. Tony was actually being serious. He was now Peter's legal guardian. Tony was now going to keep him here and take care of him…just as May and Ben had done, but that would mean that he would have to change things…be responsible for another human being. It wasn't that Peter didn't think he could do it, but maybe Tony felt like he had no choice…like he was obligated to take in this kid, who was his intern. What if Tony eventually decided to back out?

"Mr. Stark, y-you don't have to do this," he finally said. "I mean…I appreciate what you're trying to do, but…"

"It's what your aunt wanted, kid," Tony interjected gently, "and quite frankly, I'm not too fond of the idea of you going into the system and—"

"What she wanted?" Peter suddenly asked as he turned back to Tony. He didn't miss when Tony essentially answered his question as to whether or not he was going into the system, but he was more focused on Tony's statement that this was what May wanted.

"You didn't know this at the time," Tony began, "but a few months ago, she and I met with our lawyers and changed her will so that…if-if anything were to happen, then you would stay…with me."

"R-Really? You guys never told me…"

"Well, she didn't want to worry you. I guess, we just…never guessed that the day would actually come."

Peter stared at Tony and nodded. He didn't doubt any word of what Tony said, especially when he said that May didn't want him to worry about naming the billionaire as a guardian should anything happen to her. Of course, she wouldn't want him to worry about anything happening to her if she suddenly changed her will, but he also understood why she would change it in the first place. Peter had no other relatives, and…she had seen how much he and Tony trusted each other and cared about each other. That clearly would've been enough for her to name the billionaire as a guardian for him.

"They both care very deeply about you…"

The teen closed his eyes as her words flashed in his mind. It had only been a day, and somehow, their last conversation felt like a lifetime ago.

When Peter didn't say anything else, Tony decided to take a leap and continue the conversation. "And I…I spoke to the social worker, Pepper, and the lawyers about all this," he began, "so we're all set there. The only thing is the social worker—Mrs. Walker—wants to meet with us once a month for a bit just to…you know…check in and see how things are going."

"Why?" Peter asked furrowing his eyebrows together.

"Well…you know, I'm not exactly the type of person someone would trust to take care of a kid, so…"

If Peter wasn't so stricken with the heavy weight of grief, he would've protested Tony's statement. He wasn't stupid. He knew about Tony's playboy past and his drinking problems. It was on the news for as long as he could remember, but Tony had changed over the years…especially after they first met. In the time they had known each other, Peter saw his stable, healthy relationship with Pepper Potts and never once saw Tony pick up a drink. Why was it so hard for people to see how he changed?

"So, she's basically checking up on us to see if I need to go into the system…"

"…which we won't let happen."

Peter stared at Tony taking in the firmness in his voice when he said that. "Promise?"

"Promise, kid," Tony said before sighing. "Look, I'm going to be honest with you here. This is new territory for me…for both of us, and with what you just went through…I get it. After my parents died, I…it…" he tried to find the right words, "felt like everything was turned upside down and inside out."

Peter scoffed. "Understatement of the millennium," he muttered.

"My point is…" he tried to refocus the teen, "you're not alone, Pete. It's going to be a big adjustment for you…"

"For me…" he added mentally.

"I'm going to be there for you every step of the way…just as I have been these past 10 months. It's not going to be easy, but we're going to learn along the way and work together. We're going to be the team that we've been and get through this."

Tears formed in his brown eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter said.

"He's saying this now…" Peter thought to himself, "but what's going to happen when I piss him off over something or he decides he can't do this anymore?" He never doubted May's unconditional love, but with Tony…what if he found that he would much rather prefer coming to visit than becoming a guardian full-time?

"But really," he continued, "if you ever get sick of me…"

"Nuh-uh…never going to happen," Tony interjected firmly. "Trust me, kid, this is what your aunt wants, and it's what I want. Remember what I told you when I gave you my number to keep in touch with me? If I didn't want to offer, I wouldn't have, and that's the same thing with this. If I didn't want you here, it wouldn't have happened. Got it?"

Peter nodded. He tried to thank Tony, but words were suddenly lost on him as tears suddenly fell instead as the overwhelming grief over his aunt's death, the appreciation for Tony taking him in now, and all other mixed emotions that had taken over since last night suddenly smacked him in the face. He turned away trying to avoid crying in front of Tony Stark. "I-I'm sorry…I—" he tried to say before succumbing to his tears.

"Hey, hey," Tony said as he wrapped an arm around the teen holding him close to his side allowing Peter to lean against him shoulder just as he had done before, "it's okay, buddy. There's no reason to be sorry."

Peter tried to answer but couldn't get the words out. All he could do was just cry at the moment.

Tony clearly sensed this and gently shushed the teen. "Just let it all out, kid," he whispered gently rubbing his shoulder. It broke his heart to see his mentee crying like this…out of grief.

"I…I miss her so much…" Peter said in between sobs. It had only been a day since the accident, and he already missed his aunt like crazy. Knowing that he was never going to see her again…that they would never get to go to the movies together anymore…that she would never get to hug him or kiss him on the forehead…that he just lost his last living relative…made his heart ache so badly.

Tony didn't say anything as he closed his eyes trying to figure out what else he could say or do, but the truth was…there weren't any words or actions that could fix May's untimely death. He knew that better than anyone. He didn't have much of a relationship with his father, but knowing that he missed out on the chance to tell Howard how much he loved him…that guilt would never leave him. Missing his mother…made his heart ache for her, and to add insult to injury, his pain was increased tenfold when he learned the truth about his parents' deaths in Siberia…from a HYDRA agent. The old wounds reopened tenfold, and he had to grieve the losses all over again. It wasn't a walk in the park.

"I know…I know, kid," Tony said as he gently rubbed Peter's shoulder. "Oh God, I'm so sorry…"

Peter continued to sob as he turned around to bury his face in his shoulder. "This all feels like a crazy dream," he said. "I—I—" He succumbed to his tears yet again.

"I know…I know, kid," Tony whispered again. What else could he possibly say? Peter's last living relative was dead. There was nothing that could undo what had happened. "God…I…I don't know what else to say. It's…It's a shitty situation, but, kid, I promise…you'll get through this. I'll get you through this. Somehow…some way, we'll get though this…together."

Peter nodded…not trusting himself to speak without bursting out crying. He trusted Tony implicitly, and he knew that Tony would hardly lie to him, especially now. He slowly brought his hand up and lightly grasped Tony's shirt, and he stiffened when Tony placed his hand on his thinking he was going to push it away and saying that he was crossing a boundary. Instead, he just rested his hand on top of his keeping it in place.

"Do you…do you have any questions, Pete?" Tony asked after a moment of silence. "Is there…I mean…anything you don't get right now?"

Peter was about to say no, but he stopped. Tony explained that he was now his legal guardian, but there was one thing they forgot to cover. "Umm…w-what about…umm…" he began pulling away to make eye contact with the billionaire, "what about…M-May's…funeral…? I mean…do you want me to…?" He couldn't finish that question.

"Don't worry, buddy," Tony replied rubbing Peter's back. "Pepper and I will take care of it. You can help if you're up to it, but I'm not putting you under that pressure."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, thanks, Mr. Stark."

"You're welcome. Now," Tony stood up, "you need to eat something. How about some breakfast?"

Peter nodded. Now that he was thinking about it, he was pretty hungry. "Umm…do you mind if I call my friend, Ned real quick?" he asked. "I should let him know what's going on."

"Sure, bud," Tony said. "I'll call you when it's ready."


Author's Note: Annnnnd that's all for Chapter 5, everyone! I'm hoping to get the next chapter up on Friday! I hope you all enjoyed it! You can also find me on Tumblr on lbigreyhound13 if you want to talk more about this story! Don't forget to comment! Thanks, guys! See you in the next chapter!