Author's Note: Hello, hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to another chapter of Raise Me Up! We are now at CHAPTER 14! There's some more fluff in this chapter as Pepper and Tony try to figure out how to help Peter after his nightmare…and…we have a certain guardianship hearing in this chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it! BUT before we get to that…REVIEW REPLIES!
A fan: Lol, thank you so much! I'm glad you love it! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Exactly! But he will always miss May.
CaptainMarvel123875: Yeah, I'm sorry about the last chapter taking a while. I was updating my other Iron Dad fanfic, and I needed a little breather after posting the wake and funeral. Thank you so much! I'm really glad you are enjoying this story, and yes, no matter how angsty things get, it will be okay! Peter will have Tony and Pepper! Yeah, unfortunately, Peter has been through a lot and tends to blame himself a lot. Lol, I didn't realize! I was also trying to parallel what Cap send to Tony in his vision/nightmare in AOU. Yes, Peter is adorable! Chapter is coming up!
SapphireRuby74: Thank you, I'm really glad you love this chapter! Hope you continue to like what's next!
Megan844: Yes! You can never go wrong with the bonding moments!
Gembomz: You're welcome! Thank you for your kind review and for reading!
PastaShark000: Lol, it's all good!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Chapter 14
The first thing Peter noticed as he slowly came out of his slumber was warmth…It sort of felt like a pillow, but then he felt something wrapped around him. He tried to figure out what it was, and realized that it felt like a part of arms wrapped around him. So, it was a person, but who? He slowly opened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows together when he saw that he was on someone's chest. A familiar scent wafted in his nostrils, and he furrowed his eyebrows together even more. Sure enough, he looked up and knew exactly who it was. It was Tony, and that was when Peter remembered what happened last night. He had a nightmare, and Tony came in to comfort him. The last thing he remembered was hearing Tony promise that everything would be okay. Did he fall asleep? He couldn't remember after that, but he wondered if Tony fell asleep too. Although, he couldn't help but feel bad for waking Tony up in the middle of the night and making him come in just to comfort him.
He moved his head a slight inch on Tony's chest, which seemed to cause the billionaire to stir. "Tony?" he asked quietly.
Tony stirred even more and looked down only to find Peter looking up at him. "Hey, morning, kid," he said with a small smile.
Peter quickly sat up so that he was looking at Tony. "I-I'm so sorry," he said. "I-I didn't…I mean…I didn't mean to make you come in here last night. I must've dozed off. I'm so sorry."
"Kid, kid, relax," Tony said placing a hand on Peter's shoulder to calm him down. "Take it from me, there are worse ways to wake up in the morning."
Peter couldn't help but roll his eyes as he sat back against the pillows next to Tony. He was relieved that Tony wasn't mad or repulsed over the fact that he fell asleep in his bed and stayed with him for the rest of the night. "I guess," he said. "Still, I'm…sorry, Tony, that you—"
"Nope, no sorry," Tony quickly said. "If I didn't want to come in here, I wouldn't have. You needed me, and I wanted to be there for you."
Peter looked at Tony giving him a small smile. "Still," he remembered sobbing in Tony's arms all over a bad dream. "I-I know it's not really mature to cry over a stupid bad dream."
"You remember what I said to you when we were up at the compound? How maturity has nothing to do with grief?"
The teenaged vigilante nodded.
"Same thing goes for nightmares," Tony replied wrapping an arm around Peter. "Trust me, you're talking to the guy, who still gets nightmares himself."
The rookie superhero stared at the veteran next to him, and he realized that Tony was in fact right. His mentor never disclosed the full details, but there had been one time over the past 10 months…while Peter was staying over for the weekend while May was away…when Tony woke up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare. Peter didn't want to overstep boundaries with the billionaire, but he did ask him about it. All Tony told him was that he sometimes had nightmares about the wormhole when Loki tried to conquer Earth…or the time he was captured in Afghanistan…or the Mandarin…and Peter didn't want to pry when Tony stopped talking about it.
"Y-You…mean the ones about…" Peter began.
"Yep…those ones…" Tony replied. "The mind can be very tricky, kid, but the important thing to remember is that those nightmares are all in your head. And anytime you need me if you have another one, don't feel like you can't come to me."
Peter couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Tony," he said, "for coming in last night…and talking to me…"
"You're welcome, kid," Tony replied. "So, what do you say we get some breakfast and spend the day in the lab?"
Peter furrowed his eyebrows together as he thought about what Tony suggested. May's wake was on Wednesday, which meant that was her funeral was on Thursday. That meant today was Friday. He was off from school, but what about Tony? The man worked during the week, right? Yes, Pepper ran the company, but didn't Tony have things to catch up on…after spending the past few days with him? "D-Don't you…have—I don't know—work to do?" he asked. "I-I mean…you must've missed a lot because of me."
"Kid," Tony replied, "I own the company. Anything I need to do Pepper will help me take care of it. I don't want you to worry about that. That's the #1 rule around here: only Tony and Pepper worry about SI, okay?"
Peter chuckled. "Okay," he said. "Sounds like a plan."
"Good," Tony said, "now, breakfast?" A part of him wanted to talk to Peter more about his nightmares, but he also didn't want to push Peter anymore than necessary. Not only that, but he wanted Peter to not feel overwhelmed and to come to him freely.
"Boss, Ms. Potts would like me to inform you that she is on her way up for dinner," FRIDAY said.
"Thanks, FRI," Tony replied as he turned off the stove.
Within a few minutes, the doors to the elevator opened, and Pepper walked in. "Hey, sweetheart," she said with a soft smile on her face.
"Hey, Pep," Tony said with a smile of his own before Pepper kissed him on the lips. "Everything go well today?"
"As well as it could be," Pepper replied as she sat down at the counter. "How did everything go with Peter today? I saw you two had a sleepover in his room when I left this morning."
"Uhh…he had a nightmare last night…about the accident…"
"Oh no…"
"He…seems to be convinced that May dying was his fault."
"What?" Pepper's eyes widened. "Why would he think that?"
"His…spider senses went off when they were at the intersection, and some asshole behind them beeped at them when the light changed. So, Peter thinks he's to blame for not saving his aunt in time."
"Oh no…" Pepper said as she placed a hand over her mouth. "What did you tell him?"
"The obvious," Tony replied, "that it wasn't his fault and that it wasn't his fault and that it was the other driver was drunk at the wheel." He then sighed as he sat down running a hand through his hair. "I'm worried about him, Pep. I-I mean, what do I do? What do we do? I mean…I had nightmares after New York. I still do from time to time. Do we…do we get him some help?"
"Tony, sweetheart," Pepper said gently placing her hands on his shoulder and back, "it was one nightmare about a traumatic event. Your heart is in the right place, but I think we need to see what happens and how it affects his mental health, okay? If it gets to a point where it's concerning, then we can look into getting him help, okay?"
Tony let out a breath as he leaned back in his chair as he silently thanked whatever deity was listening that he had Pepper to keep him grounded. Of course, the logical explanation was to wait and see if the nightmares became a recurring thing. Why would he do that after just one nightmare? What would Peter think if his new guardian suddenly made him go to therapy? He would probably think that Tony didn't want to deal with him, and that was far from the truth.
"You're right," he finally said aloud. "God, what's wrong with me?"
Pepper shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with you," she said gently. "You're worried about Peter. You're being…you know…a parent, and like you said, it's a bit of a huge step from being his mentor. What you're feeling is completely natural, and it's only been about a week or so. You're still new to it, and so am I. And this is new to Peter, too, but we'll get through it together."
"I know, I know," Tony replied.
Pepper continued to rub his back when he put his face in his hands. "You know, I could look into some books," she finally said.
He looked at her raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Books?"
"Books…you know…those how-to books on how to raise teenagers…help them deal with grief."
The billionaire stared at the tabletop thinking about what Pepper just said. He didn't need any kind of books when he was simply Peter's mentor to figure out how to work with him. He initially went in blind, and then once May found out the truth about Peter being Spider-Man, he and the kid's aunt worked together. May took care of the essentials of parenting while he helped out with Peter's superhero life and gave him another outlet…an opportunity to live up to his potential…a chance to use his intelligence in ways he couldn't do so in school…to give him another male figure who could guide him and understand him in ways no one else could. Now, however, he was charged with taking on the task full-time, and while he was grateful for Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey, he still felt as if he was going in blind.
He finally sighed. "M-Maybe it wouldn't hurt…to—you know—have some reading material. Just…let's not mention it to Peter. I…I don't want to make him think that we see it as us not being able to handle him."
"Okay, I can get FRIDAY to send me a list of suggestions," Pepper replied, "but so far, I think we're doing okay, especially you from what you told me about last night."
"I…guess," Tony said. It was true, he supposed. He went into Peter's room when FRIDAY woke up, and at the time, he didn't overthink it. He just did it, and Peter calmed down. He talked to the kid and comforted him…just as he had done quite a few times over the past few months. Granted, it was never because of a nightmare, but Peter sought out some comfort whenever a bad guy got away while on patrol and whenever he needed to vent after an argument with May. Now, he comforted him when his aunt died. Each time Peter felt better. Perhaps, he and Pepper could take this up as Peter's new guardians.
"Hey, I have an idea," Pepper finally said after a moment. "How about after dinner, we take Peter out for frozen yogurt or something? You know, we could get him out of the penthouse for a little bit."
"Yeah…yeah, that's a good idea," Tony replied. That was what Peter needed. He needed to get out and about. He knew the kid loved working in the lab, but he might also love the idea of going out.
"Good," Pepper said, "but before you call him here, there's," she held out a single envelope, "this came in the mail today. Maybe we could talk to Peter about it when we go out."
Thankfully, Peter thought going out after dinner was a great idea, so after the trio finished eating and cleaning up after themselves, they hopped in Tony's Audi and drove to Times Square to the Creamstone Cremery to get some ice cream. They parked the car in a nearby parking garage. Normally, Tony would've asked Happy to drive them, but they figured it would be best if it were just the three of them, especially with the news they had to tell Peter. As soon as they got what they wanted and Tony paid for the ice cream, Tony got them a table in the corner of the store, where they could talk without any interruptions.
"How's your ice cream, buddy?" Tony asked.
"Really good!" Peter said excitedly as he continued to eat his Cookie Dough.
Pepper and Tony couldn't help but smile at each other seeing their charge in a better mood.
"Tony told me you had a bit of a rough night last night," Pepper said after a moment. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"
"Uhh…" Peter said scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'm okay. Just…a stupid nightmare, you know?" He wasn't mad that Pepper knew about it. After all, Tony and Pepper were engaged. They needed to be on the same page for things, just like May and Ben. He just didn't want Pepper to think he was a baby for having a bad dream and getting upset. "Uhh…I'm sorry if I…woke you up, Pepper."
"Oh, no, sweetheart, no," Pepper quickly said placing a hand over Peter's, "you have nothing to be sorry for, okay? You can come to us whenever you have a nightmare no matter what."
"She's right, bud," Tony said patting Peter on the shoulder. "You can always come to us no matter what."
Peter offered a small smile. "Thanks, guys," he said, "really."
"You're welcome," Pepper replied with a smile of her own, "and that's actually not the only reason I wanted us to go out after dinner."
"What is it?" Peter asked as he and Tony looked at her.
"I just got a letter from our lawyer," Pepper said as she took the envelope—the same envelope she showed Tony earlier—out of her purse and gave it to Tony.
Tony stared at Pepper as he slowly took the envelope from her hands while Peter watched the scene unfold in front of him. The three of them held their breaths as Tony opened the envelope and took out the letter unfolding it and reading it.
"Wow, that was fast," Tony finally said.
"What is it?" Peter asked again eagerly. Was his lawyer telling him that the state wanted him in the system after all? Could the social worker even do that despite May's will?
Tony gave a small smile as he looked at Peter showing him the letter. "We've…got a court date for the hearing," he said.
Peter stared at Tony with widened brown eyes as he himself slowly took the letter and read it closely. He didn't see Tony and Pepper holding their breaths waiting for his reaction, and his eyes finally rested on the aforementioned date. "It's…on Wednesday…" Peter suddenly said aloud. "T-that's…w-wow…" His aunt had just been buried only yesterday, and Tony implied that the hearing would occur soon. He just didn't think it was going to be this soon.
"I know we just had the funeral yesterday, buddy," Tony said quickly placing his hand on Peter's, "and…if you want us to change it…if you feel like this is moving too fast, I can call the lawyer and get it rescheduled."
"No, no, I-I want this, I do," Peter said quickly. The last thing he wanted was to make Tony and/or Pepper feel bad. Yes, it was the day after May's funeral, and they hadn't even started going through her things yet, but this was what she wanted for him to be under Tony's care…for Tony to be his guardian. Quite frankly, he wanted it, too.
"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Pepper asked Peter after a moment.
"Absolutely," Peter replied. "This…this is what May wanted, and…it is what I want, too." He knew without a doubt that Tony wanted this as well. The man said so, and Tony would never lie to him. His words…and the sincerity and genuineness behind them rang through his head as he gripped Tony's hand.
All three of them widened their smiles at one another. For the first time in a few days, it finally felt like things were indeed falling into place.
The next Wednesday came in the blink of an eye, and while Peter lamented that it had been a week since May's wake and funeral, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his heart. Yes, they were fulfilling what May stated in her will, but that didn't mean that Peter was never going to miss her after today. He was always going to miss her, but…to live with his mentor, someone he respected and admired…trusted was something not a lot of kids could say…and he was grateful for. The fact that Tony and Pepper wanted this made it even more special. He and Tony had been a team. He knew that Tony cared about him just as he cared about him. Whether or not he saw Peter as a son…like Peter saw him as a father…that was a different story, but that was a conversation for another time.
"No other family blood relatives?" the judge—Judge Carmichael—a middle-aged man asked from his desk as he read Peter's files unknowingly jolting the teen out of his thoughts.
"That is correct, Your Honor," Larry said as he stood next to Tony, Peter, and Pepper as they sat in chairs across from the judge, "and Peter himself has verified that his aunt was his last living relative."
"Okay," the judge replied as he looked from the lawyer to Peter, "now, Mr. Parker?"
"Yes, Your Honor?" Peter said. He knew that this was going to happen. Tony and Pepper had told him that the judge would want to speak to him before signing off on the guardianship.
"I know that in many of these…situations…the child in question often tends to feel like nobody wants to hear what he or she thinks…or they find themselves in a difficult place. And I don't want any child or teenager to feel that way, especially you given your circumstances."
"I appreciate that, sir," Peter said nodding, "thank you."
The judge nodded. "So, before I do anything," he began, "I want to ask you a question. How do you feel about Tony Stark becoming your legal guardian?"
There it was. He knew it was coming, and yet he still felt his heart pounding as he looked to Tony, who gave him a small smile and gripped his hand.
"It's okay, bud," Tony said. "Just be honest."
Peter smiled and nodded before turning back to the judge. He could feel everyone's eyes on him. Tony's…the lawyer's…Pepper's…Happy's…Rhodey's…Vision's… Nevertheless, he began to speak.
"I've known Tony for about a year now, Your Honor, and…I know he hasn't always had the greatest of reputations on the news before he became Iron Man. But…the Tony that I've known is nowhere close to the one you all saw on TV all those years ago. The Tony that I know…the real Tony is kind, caring, supportive…a mentor…protective. He found me at my school and gave me an internship when he saw that I had potential. He took me under his wing and helped me…" Peter looked at Tony, "step up my game and become someone better than him. Although, I'm not sure that's even possible, but ever since then, he's been there for me every step of the way…just as any p-guardian would do. We've been through a lot together…good, bad, and ugly, and we've really become a team…a-a family. I know May wasn't his biggest fan in the beginning, but I know she knew what she was doing when she named him as a guardian in her will. She wouldn't have done it if she didn't think Tony could do it, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't think he could. I mean, he's already doing it. He's supported me through my grief…my aunt's wake and funeral…everything. So…" he took a deep breath, "to answer your question, Your Honor, I couldn't be happier that Tony is my guardian. If anything, it's my aunt's last gift to me…to give me to someone who she knew would always be there for me…who would be my family…no matter what."
There was silence…a stunned silence as everyone stared at Peter in complete awe. Tony felt tears in his eyes as he looked to Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and Vision.
The judge smiled and nodded. "That was very well said, Mr. Parker," he said, "and it has me convinced. Well," he took a pen, "if nobody has anything to else to say, by the power invested in me by the state of New York, I hereby grant Anthony Stark permanent custody of Peter Parker." He signed the paper…making it official.
Both Peter and Tony sighed in relief as they quickly hugged Pepper before turning back to the judge as everyone stood.
"Thank you, Your Honor," Larry said shaking hands with the judge.
"Thank you very much!" Tony added as he took his turn.
"Thank you!" Peter said as he followed suit.
"Best of luck to you both," the judge replied.
Author's Note: Aaaaaannnndd that's all for this chapter, boys and girls! So, Tony is now officially Peter's guardian! He now has permanent custody of our Underoos! Now, remember: this isn't necessarily adoption! This is simply that Tony will be allowed to have Peter under his care permanently. Adoption will be addressed later on, so keep an eye out! Anyway, CHAPTER 15 is next! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to read and review! Thanks, guys! See you in the next chapter!
