Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! Welcome back to another chapter of Raise Me Up! I hope everyone is staying safe, sane, and healthy! We are back with CHAPTER 11! It's Peter's last day of sophomore year, and Tony has a few surprises for him. Let's see how it all unfolds! I hope you all enjoy it! But…before we get to that…REVIEW REPLIES!
xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Well, then, you will definitely enjoy this chapter!
Konoewpl: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoy it! To me, Peter is mature for his age, and while he would be devastated over losing a family member, especially when it's someone who raised him, he would also try to be strong and try not to take anything for granted, especially if Tony were to come in and help out, and with the right support system, he would try to go on. However, people also handle grief differently.
Nerdywriter07: I've been getting that a lot, lately, LOL!
LightingPluto8836: Ahhhh! I'm glad you like it so far! Hope you continue to like it!
Megan844: Thank you!
CaptainMarvel123875: YAY! So glad you love it! And yes, Pepper and May both recognize it, while Tony and Peter sort of…struggle to admit it out loud, if that makes sense. They know they both care about each other, but both are sort of worried about what the other would think if it went out that they see each other as father and son. We go more into that as the story goes on! Lol, as for Uncle Rhodey and Uncle Happy, you'll have to wait and see!
MCU PJO HP PKMN Lover: I know, but I always kind of imagined it as he takes it real quick and tries to hide it for Peter's sake. He was talking to the social worker and didn't want to do anything that would make things worse for Peter.
Marvel1998: LOL! Thank you so much! I'm glad you love it! Hope you continue to love it!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Chapter 11
Peter's eyes shot open at the sound of the alarm clock that Tony put in the guest room for him. When they returned to the penthouse last night, they moved the boxes to his room silently agreeing that the unpacking could wait until after Peter got back from school. Of course, that meant he had to improvise and do a little digging to find what he needed for school. He stopped for a moment when the realization…slapped him across the face. It was his last day of school…of sophomore year, and May wasn't going to be there to see him off this morning like she always did. She wouldn't be there to sit with him on the couch afterwards to look through his yearbook when he would return. She was supposed to go out with him, Tony, Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Vision, and now…she wasn't going to be there. He sighed sadly trying his best to sit up in bed rubbing his face.
The teenaged vigilante somehow managed to muster the strength and willpower to get himself out of bed. Any other kid would've been buzzing with excitement over the last day of the school, but it was a little hard to do just that when it was just after losing a family member, who had been there for you through thick and thin. It was almost as if he was watching himself get ready for school as he showered, dressed, and packed his backpack with some pens for yearbooks. There weren't any classes on the last day of school; it was only an awards ceremony and yearbooks being given out, and based on the previous year, Peter knew that he would be out of school by noon, which was fine with him. He wouldn't have to pretend how everything was okay for long or answer any questions, except from possibly Ned and MJ. The teen mentally kicked himself as he brushed his teeth about not saying anything to them about the arrangements, but he quickly figured that it would be okay.
As soon as he was ready, he walked out of his room and made his way into the kitchen, where he found a small bowl on the counter with his favorite cereal and next to it was a glass and a piece of paper. He looked around and realized that he was alone in the penthouse.
"Tony?" Peter called out. "Pepper?"
No answer.
Peter picked up the paper and unfolded it. It read…
"Sorry we couldn't see you off to school this morning, kid! Pepper and I had some SI things to take care of. Happy will take you to school this morning, and Pep and I will catch you later."
-TS"
Peter gave a small chuckle at how Tony still used his initials to sign things for him. He should've realized that that was the case when he didn't see either of them. Sometimes, whenever Peter stayed over, Tony would often wake up before him to go to meetings or to work in the lab; as he grabbed some milk from the fridge and sat down at the counter to eat his cereal mentally making a note to send Tony a quick text later.
"Thanks for the cereal this morning!" he texted to Tony while sitting in the car with Happy at the driver's seat.
"Anytime, kiddo! If you need anything at all today, call or text me. I'll have my phone."
"I think I'll be okay, but thanks!"
"I know, you're a strong kid, but remember what I said: it's okay to be sad."
Peter smiled to himself. There was a part of him that always wished how the media would see this side of Tony more…see how he was so much more than the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. Tony rose above his past and did everything he could to change who he was after his time in Afghanistan all those years ago. The man in the media was nowhere close to what he had seen after Tony took him under his wing. The man he knew was gentle, caring, tough but fair, and comforting, and it wasn't just this one time after May died.
Peter had seen it ever since the billionaire first came to his apartment…when he came to check on Peter after he got knocked around in the fight in Germany…when he had to take the suit away after the ferry incident…and every other moment once they decided to have Tony become his mentor…their phone calls…patrols together…everything. May definitely knew what she was doing when she named Tony as his guardian, and Peter was more than grateful for that both for May looking out for him and for Tony taking him in no questions asked.
It was almost as if he was Peter's—No! Peter immediately put that thought to a grounding halt. Tony might've been his new guardian, but there was no way he would be willing to be a parent…a dad. There was no way the billionaire would want that. He was taking care of him full-time while continuing to act as his mentor, right? Was that how one would put it? How would May even feel about that if he saw Tony as a parental figure? Sure, Tony did things for him like a parent or a guardian would, but May was alive allowing Tony to help out when needed. That was it! Now that May was no longer here…what did that mean?
"Alright, kid, this is your stop," Happy said unknowingly jolting Peter out of his thoughts.
Peter looked up and saw that they finally arrived at Midtown. Everyone was dressed for the awards ceremony. The girls had dresses or skirts, while boys followed his lead and wore dress shirts and slacks. "Thanks, Happy," he said as he got out. "See you later!"
"No problem, kid," Happy replied. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" He closed the passenger door behind him. The teenaged vigilante quickly moved up the stairs and soon enough found Ned and MJ at the top waiting for him. He might've just spoken to them over the weekend after the accident, but he hadn't seen them since Friday, which felt like a lifetime ago. He didn't have to say anything as Ned practically grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, which Peter gratefully accepted.
"I'm so sorry, man," Ned whispered.
"Thanks," Peter said solemnly as tears brimmed in his eyes.
As soon as Ned released him, MJ was quick to go next and hug him tightly. "I'm sorry, too, Parker," she said quietly.
He nodded as he closed his eyes trying to stall the tears. "Thank you," he said again. He wouldn't admit it out loud at the moment given where he was, but Ned and MJ relaxed him…comforted him. Even though May was no longer with them, he still had others…Tony, Pepper, Ned, and MJ to be there for him.
As soon as Peter sat back down in his chair on the gym floor while the applause faded and Morita spoke again, his phone buzzed once in his pocket. His eyebrows furrowed together as he pulled it out only to see that he got a text from…Tony.
"Congratulations, kid!"
Confusion increased tenfold as Peter eyed the certificate in his hand. He had just won an award, but was that what Tony was referring to? How could he though?
"Thanks…for what?"
"For your award?"
"How did you know?"
"Aunt May told me weeks ago when she got the phone call. She invited me to come."
Peter raised his eyebrows as he scanned the gym. He didn't remember seeing Tony or hearing anyone practically scream at the sight of Tony Stark at the ceremony. There was no sign of the billionaire anywhere…but then his phone buzzed again. He looked at his phone only to see another message from Tony.
"On your right…by the doors…"
The teen looked to his right and smiled when he saw a familiar-looking man wearing a cap and sunglasses to conceal his face. Tony smiled and held up a finger to his lips silently telling Peter to stay quiet, and Peter practically beamed from ear to ear as he turned back to his phone.
"I thought you had SI stuff this morning," he texted to Tony.
"We did, and now it's done."
"You really didn't have to come, Mr. Stark."
"Tony* and I know, but I wanted to. I promised May and you."
Peter smiled. "Thank you, Tony. I wish she were here with us. She would've loved to see you as the Master of Disguise."
"I know, buddy, but she is here. You may not see her, but she is here. She couldn't be more proud of you. I'm proud of you, too."
"Thanks, Tony…really."
"No problem, kid."
"So was this really what the dinner tonight was for?"
"Well, yes and no. May and I had thought about it before she got the phone call, but then it was another excuse to take you out tonight."
Peter couldn't help but smile at the text. He could feel Ned and MJ looking at him as he sat on either side of him, but they didn't say anything to him. Whether it was because they knew how boring the ceremony could be or because they knew Peter needed some distractions, he wasn't sure, and he and Tony continued to text each other throughout the ceremony.
The ceremony ended with the students officially being promoted to the next grade, and Peter, Ned, and MJ cheered when Morita officially promoted their sophomore class to the junior class. As Peter cheered and hugged his two friends, the yearning to share this and the achievement of earning his award with May returned. He wanted to reach for his phone and call her or text her, but then the pain came back once he remembered that he couldn't do that…not anymore. However, he tried his hardest to push it down for the time being. He couldn't feel sad now when everyone else around him was overjoyed it was the last day of school, and when he was about to get his yearbook.
Soon enough, once Peter was sure he got signatures in his yearbook from his friends, he said his goodbyes to Ned and MJ, who told him that they would be there during the arrangements later in the week. Then he made his way out of the building somewhat ready to start the summer mostly because he would get to focus on Spider-Man and try to work through his grief over May. Even though there were no classes on the last day of school, it was hard to focus when he was thinking about May was supposed to be there supporting him and cheering for him with Tony.
Speaking of Tony, Peter walked around the corner of the street only to see Happy's car waiting for him, so people wouldn't Tony in public. This was common occurrence over the past 10 months. Midtown was aware of the Stark Internship, but Tony and Peter agreed to keep it on the low profile as much as possible. Not only because people would probably question it, invade Peter's privacy, and spread rumors that could ruin reputations, but because it would lead to people possibly figuring out that Peter was Spider-Man. It ended up working out because Peter of course was never one to want to be the center of attention.
"You know, I'm not really one for long speeches," Tony said as Peter got into the car next to him. "That was more of Cap's thing."
Peter tried his best to hide the shock at his guardian mentioning his former teammate.
"But Morita really needs to lighten up and make it more fun for you guys," the billionaire continued.
The teenaged vigilante rolled his eyes. "You do realize that you're talking about the same guy, who refused to hang a picture of you and me giving each other the bunny ears and went for the more serious one."
Tony couldn't help but laugh as he wrapped an arm around Peter. "Well, I'm proud of you, kid," he said, "and so was May."
Peter leaned into Tony's side smiling. "Thanks, Tony," he said, "again." He never really knew if Tony believed in God or the afterlife. That was never really something a mentor and mentee fully discussed, but he appreciated Tony's attempts to comfort him with the knowledge of his aunt looking down at him and smiling at him. May did the same when his parents and Ben died, and it was always something he liked to believe in. He wasn't sure if it was naiveté or his beliefs, but it always made the grief and the loss easier to process.
"Why don't you go get changed?" Tony asked as he walked toward his bedroom to do the same. "We can head down to the lab and tinker for a bit before dinner."
"Sure," Peter replied. He made his way up the hall leading to the guestroom while Tony went into the master bedroom. As soon as he was at the door, he noticed that it was closed, which confused him because he didn't remember closing the door when he left that morning. He furrowed his eyebrows together and opened the door thinking that he was most likely going to find government agents or villains in the room ready to kidnap him. However, as he opened the door, his eyes widened at what was before him. The room had furniture, but that wasn't what made Peter stop in his tracks. What made him stop in his tracks was that it was…his furniture from his old apartment! Words failed him in every way, shape, and form as he tried to ask what was going on.
"You like it?" Peter jolted and turned around seeing Tony standing in the doorway with a smile. "I mean, if you want to rearrange things, we could always do that too."
Peter looked around the room. With the exception of the bed, everything was there. His clothes were still in the boxes, which was perfectly okay and possibly because Tony figured he could leave it to Peter to decide what went where. "W-When?" Peter asked. "I mean—" That was when he remembered. "Wait, was this why you weren't here this morning?"
"Guilty," Tony said with a smile. "Pepper, Rhodey, Vision, and I went over there this morning and moved all your furniture. I wasn't sure where to place everything, so Pep figured we could sort that out…once you know…and May's things are still there. The superintendent said he could give us another month or two, so there's no rush for that. I don't want you to feel pressured or anything."
Peter nodded with tears in his eyes as he walked over to Tony wrapping his arms around the older man's middle hugging him. "Thank you," he said.
Tony chuckled as he quickly returned the gesture. "You're welcome, buddy," he said.
"So this is really my room, now?" Peter asked curiously pulling back to look at the man.
"Peter, it's always been your room," Tony said simply. "The furniture just makes it more official."
Peter's smile widened. He always used this particular room whenever he stayed over with Tony at the tower, but he always figured that it was only because he was a frequent guest and that Tony rarely ever let just anyone stay over. Hearing Tony stay that it was always…just made his heart soar. All in just a matter of days after losing his aunt…one of the most important people in his life…he went from wondering what Tony was going to do with him to now hearing that he officially had a room…had a home with him and Pepper. They still needed to make the guardianship official at court, but Tony was acting as if it was already official. That was enough for Peter as he hugged Tony again.
Five glasses of champagne and one glass of Coca-Cola clanged together at the center of the table as Pepper, Tony, Rhodey, Happy, and Vision congratulated Peter on his successful school year and his award.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Peter said as they all took a sip of their respective drinks.
"So, Pete, sophomore year is over," Rhodey said leaning back in his seat slightly. "You ready for the college process yet?"
"Slow down, honeybear," Tony said. "The kid just finished his sophomore year. We got time."
Peter couldn't help but smile hearing Tony say "we" in regards to the college process. "I thought you said it was never too early," he said raising an eyebrow at the billionaire.
"Well, that was when I was trying to stop you from getting too deep into something you weren't ready for," Tony retorted. "Now, I'm saying that you need to get back on your feet and enjoy the summer before we start that."
The kid nodded knowing Tony referring to him dealing with his aunt dying, and he wasn't going to admit that out loud. However, he wasn't sure if he was ready to even start thinking about colleges.
"Anyway," Tony said, "we still have some time before the food comes out. I would like to make one last toast," he looked at Peter with his glass raised, "to someone very important, who…isn't here with us tonight."
Peter felt a lump in his throat as he immediately realized whom Tony was referring to.
"To one of the most amazing, courageous, and kindest women I've ever known," Tony said turning to the rest of their party and turning back to Peter. "I didn't know your aunt for very long, Pete. We were all just getting to know her, but I think I speak for our friends here when I say that May was such an amazing person, who raised an equally amazing kid, and I know for a fact that she's looking down on you with such pride and love." Tony wasn't sure if he believed in God or an afterlife, but if it could give Peter some peace of mind, then it was fine with him. He then turned back to the rest of the group. He briefly noticed that Pepper and Rhodey had proud smiles on their faces. "To May…an amazing aunt…and a great friend."
"To you, Aunt May," Peter replied. "I love you so much."
"To May," Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and Vision repeated as they clanged their glasses together.
Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd that's all for CHAPTER 11, boys and girls! I hope you all enjoyed it! Be on the look out for Chapter 12 next week! Continue to stay home and stay safe! See you soon in the next chapter, guys!
