Author's Note: Hello, hello, readers, and welcome back to Raise Me Up! I'm sorry this is a day late, I lost power the other day, and couldn't really finish typing the chapter in time. Thankfully, it came back today, and I was able to finish it! Here is CHAPTER 7! Tony and Peter arrive at the compound to spend the day with Rhodey and Vision! It's another short chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it! But before we get to that, REVIEW REPLIES!
Konoewpl: Yes, he is! He's trying his best to hang in there! Hope you like what's next!
Katiekmackinnon: Ahhh! Thank you so so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
CaptainMarvel123875: WOW! Thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying it and decided to follow the story! I hope you continue to like what comes next!
Guest: You'll have to keep reading to find out! :D
xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Indeed they can!
Belle1235: More to come!
SilverWolf227: At this point Rhodey and Vision pretty much do, especially Dr. Cho. You'll see in this chapter.
Nerdywriter07: Lol, yay! Hope you like what comes next!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Chapter 7
Tony stole a glance at Peter, who ended up falling asleep a few minutes later, and he couldn't help but smile just a little. After everything the teen had gone through, he deserved a little nap. The veteran superhero sighed. The whole morning, he was keeping calm on the outside for Peter's sake, but on the inside, he was freaking out. He was now charged with the care of Peter Parker…a kid who just lost his last living relative. Granted, again, he had known Peter, and Peter knew him. However, he was the kid's guardian now…a parent. Was he capable?
So far, things were going okay…sort of. He and Peter talked about the meeting, and Peter took it well…as well as any grieving teenager could. Whether he was glad that he didn't have to go into the system or that his mentor took him in…or both, Peter showed his appreciation while also trying to process his aunt's death, but Tony knew that he was right. Peter needed someone he trusted, just as he told the social worker…just as May told him months ago…after the kidnapping incident.
"May, I-I don't know…" Tony said as he looked between her and Peter, who was sound asleep in the bed next to him in the Med Bay.
"Tony," May said cutting him off, "don't you see how much you mean to him? He trusts you…implicitly. He cares about you…just as you care about him."
"Of course, I care about him," Tony reaffirmed, "but…"
"But…?" May asked urging him to continue.
"I'm not exactly…parent/guardian material. I never really was…"
May chuckled as she perched herself on the foot of Tony's bed. "How do you think my husband and I felt when Richard and Mary named us as Peter's guardians in their will? We obviously never expected anything to happen to them, but we were scared out of our minds. We didn't think we'd be good guardians for Peter. We didn't have any children of our own, and before they died, Rich and Mary brought Peter over for us to watch for a few hours."
Tony didn't dare say a word allowing May to continue.
"And then we realized that we would do anything for Peter, and that we only would've needed to try our best to care for him and love him, which we already did." May smiled at the veteran superhero. "And you just said you care about him. You gave him a new suit with all these fancy gadgets and gizmos. You took his suit away when you felt he was getting in over his head. You've been mentoring him, training him, and supporting him for almost a year. He talks to you about things and asks for advice."
Tony released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He had no idea May viewed him in this light.
"And let's not forget that you just fought tooth and nail to save him and to get the both of you out of there not too long ago."
"Well, I mean, there was no way I was going to let anything happen to him. All I could think about was getting Peter out of there." Everything else she had mentioned…he didn't think much of it. All he knew when he first discovered this vigilante on Youtube was that he needed an upgrade…an assurance of safety, and the more time he spent with Peter…all the way from Germany to the Vulture incident, the more he came to care about the kid and to want to support him. He didn't think much of it. Perhaps, there were a few times, especially during the Vulture situation where his actions confused him but only because he never acted like that before. All in all, Tony never once thought to make himself a parental figure to Peter. He just sort of did everything he did…all because he cared about the kid.
"That's why I want to do this," May finally said. "He trusts you, Tony, and I know he cares about you just as you care about him. If…anything happens, I want you to be the one, who's there for him."
Tony looked at May for a long minute before looking away in deep thought, and May could see that he was heavily considering what she said. "Please, Tony," she said. "There's no one else…but you."
Tony gave her a small smile and nodded. "I'd be honored, May," he said.
Tony smiled as the memory faded back into his mind. He realized he was right when he told Peter that he and May never anticipated this day coming so fast and so soon…too soon. However, May's confidence and trust eased his nerves somewhat, but now that it was happening…it still made his heart pound knowing that Peter would be under his care officially in probably a number of days. He then took another glance and couldn't help but smile at his…ward…mentee…kid…sleeping soundly. Somehow, they were going to get through this.
"Peter…Peter, wake up," a voice…a very familiar voice said softly.
Peter did as the voice said and opened his eyes only to see Tony smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile in return. "Yeah?" he asked.
Tony gestured with his head telling Peter to look out his window. "We're here," he replied.
The teen did what he was told and looked out the passenger window, and sure enough, he saw that they were parked in front of the Avengers' compound. They finally arrived! He turned to look at Tony smiling and then back at the building. Peter had been to the compound a few times over the past year, but it never failed to make his heart pound to see the building that served as the headquarters for Earth's mightiest heroes looming over him…up this close. Despite the events that occurred in Germany, it was an amazing feeling for a teenaged boy.
"So, do you want to sit in the car all day staring or do you want to go in?" Tony asked with a smile on his face.
"Oh no, no, we should go in," Peter said quickly unbuckling his seat belt and opening the car door.
Tony couldn't help but chuckle as he followed suit after turning off the car. "We'll head to the MedBay first," he said as he led Peter into the building. "Dr. Cho is waiting for us there, and she and I can work on the pain medication to work with your metabolism. Then we can meet up with Rhodey and Vision."
Peter quickly noticed that Tony only referred to only two of his fellow Avengers. Tony briefly mentioned once that Black Widow went on the run…after she let Captain America and his team go at the airport in Germany, and Peter always felt that this was hard for the billionaire to talk about and never pressed the issue. He knew that the Black Panther went back to Wakanda. However, there was one Avenger in particular that Tony hardly mentioned.
"Still no luck in tracking down Dr. Banner?" Peter asked as they walked in.
Tony shook his head. "Nope," he replied. "He's been gone ever since the whole Hulk incident when we fought Ultron, kid. As of now, I don't think he wants to be found, especially after the whole thing with the Accords." Natasha had said so herself.
"You really think he'd be on our side right now?"
Right, Peter had forgotten about that. It was the whole reason the Avengers turned against each other in the first place…on top of the Winter Soldier being accused of various crimes, and if that was the case, he could understand why Tony wouldn't want to try to find Bruce Banner…also known as the Hulk…with the Accords. Bruce might not have been able to control the Hulk at least not completely, and there was no doubt that Ross and the government would jump on that.
"Maybe once things calm down, Dr. Banner can finally come back," Peter said after a moment of silence.
Tony smiled as he led the teenager superhero into the MedBay. "Your optimism never ceases to amaze me, kid," he said, "but I think it may be a while before this Accords shit is resolved for good."
"Well, whatever happens with that, Tony," Peter said, "you know I got your back."
Tony smiled yet again, and before he could say anything else, a female voice interrupted them.
"Stark, good to see you again," Dr. Cho said as she walked up to them.
"You too, Helen," Tony said wrapping an arm around Peter. "You remember Peter, right?"
"Of course," Dr. Cho said looking to the teenager standing next to Tony, "it's good to see you again, Peter."
"You too, Dr. Cho," Peter replied.
"Tony told me what happened last night," she said with a frown. "I'm very sorry about your aunt."
The teenaged superhero nodded sadly. "Thank you," he replied.
"Let's step into my lab," Dr. Cho said with a small smile, "and we can take a look at that head of yours."
With that said, Peter and Tony followed the doctor down the hall to her office.
The checkup went well! Thanks to Peter's enhanced healing, the cut on his head had already begun to heal overnight much to their delight, and Dr. Cho and Tony were able to modify his pain medication to work with his metabolism. Once that was taken care of, Peter and Tony thanked Dr. Cho and ventured out of the MedBay and went to find Rhodey and Vision, and thankfully, it didn't take very long. The veteran and the rookie found Rhodey exercising and Vision reading a book on a couch nearby in case the former needed some help.
"Hey, honeybear! Vision!" Tony said as he led Peter into the gym. "You remember Peter?"
"Hello, Tony," Vision said looking up from his book to direct his attention to Tony and Peter.
"Hey, guys," Rhodey said as he looked over his shoulder before turning back to his exercise on the leg-curl machine.
"Hey, Col. Rhodes, Vision," Peter said giving them a small smile and a wave, "good to see you guys again."
"One of these days, I'm going to get you to call me Rhodey, kid," Rhodey replied.
"I'm still trying to get him to call me Tony," Tony replied. "We'll have to swap ideas on how to do that."
The two best friends laughed as Peter rolled his eyes. He had met Rhodey and Vision before, and seeing how Tony and Rhodey acted around each other was always a clear sign as to how far back their friendship went and how much they trusted each other. It almost reminded him of his long-time friendship with Ned, and it also provided some relief that his new guardian at least had some friends from the Avengers to support him, especially a long-time friend like Rhodey.
"So, Rhodes, why don't we head down to the lab?" Tony asked after a moment of silence. "I can take a look at those braces."
"Sure thing," Rhodey replied as he walked over to Tony patting him on the shoulder.
"Can I come?" Peter asked with eagerness in his voice.
"Uh…actually, kid, why don't you stay up here with Vision?" Tony quickly said before Rhodey could have a chance to respond. "This is going to be quick, and I need to talk to him about something, okay?"
Tony felt his heart slightly break when he saw the eagerness leave Peter's face. He hoped that he wasn't taking it personally.
"Oh…yeah, okay, sure," Peter said quickly.
"We won't be long," Tony reassured. "I promise."
"Tell you what, buddy," Rhodey said moving closer to the teenager, "why don't you and Vision set up one of our video games in the common room? We can play when Tony and I come back up."
Thankfully, the smile returned to Peter's face as he nodded. "Sure, sounds like a plan," he said.
Tony gave a small smile in return. "Have FRIDAY get me if you need anything, okay?"
"You got it, Mr.—uh…Tony."
Author's Note: Just note the kidnapping incident that they keep referring to is going to be in my Iron Dad oneshot series! I haven't gotten to it yet, but it will come. Just know that that is what made May convinced that Tony would be a good guardian for Peter. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next one will be up on Friday, and we'll get to see what Tony and Rhodey talk about! Thank you all so much for the support and the lovely feedback! I hope you all continue to like the story! Until next time, stay safe and healthy! Thanks again, guys!
