Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! Welcome back to Raise Me Up! We are at CHAPTER 21, boys and girls, and I know that I said this in the last chapter. But strap in because you guys are going to see a certain someone make a surprise entrance. As for who it is, you'll have to read to find out, BUT…before we get to that…REVIEW REPLIES!

ForeverGautian: OMG OMG! THANK YOU SO MUCH, FRIEND! That means so much to me! I'm so glad you love it! As for the other avengers and Steve and Tony…you'll have to wait and see what happens.

Megan844: Thank you! I'm glad you did! I know there are some social workers out there aren't the greatest, but coming from someone who works with kids, there are people out there who work with kids and love their jobs and act professional. So, I wanted to portray that here.

SapphireRuby24: Thank you so much! I tried to make the experience as positive as possible for Peter. Of course, you never know with the media. Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the social worker and everything Tony said about Peter. He's so proud of his kid!

Konoewpl: Sure does! Let's see what happens next! I hope you like what comes next! You're welcome and thank you for reading!

Gembomz: Thank you so much! Glad you like it! Hope you continue to enjoy it!

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


Chapter 21

It had been exactly one week since the press conference, and aside from the news talking about it and social media spreading all over the place, things had started to settle down for Tony, Pepper, and Peter. After the dinner with Ms. Walker, the three of them enjoyed some quiet time together as a family, which was exactly what they wanted. No one brought up adoption, and they didn't feel the need to. Like Tony said, now was the time to adjust to the new normal. They were looking forward to another quiet weekend that one Friday night…when Peter was suddenly roused from his deep sleep.

He hadn't had a nightmare since the one after the funeral, so it wasn't that. He could've sworn he heard something outside his room. The teen furrowed his eyebrows together as he sat up in bed using his sensitive hearing to figure out what was going on. He heard heartbeats—obviously Tony's, Pepper's, and his own…and then a fourth one. His stomach dropped as he quickly stood up and grabbed his webshooters from where he put them after his patrol that night.

"FRIDAY, what's going on? Is someone here?" he whispered to the AI as he put his webshooters on.

There was no answer, and Peter's heart pounded.

"FRIDAY? Can you hear me?" Peter asked again.

When there was no answer again, Peter began to worry even more. Tony would never turn FRIDAY off at night and not tell him, but why would she not respond? The teen looked at his clock and saw that it was 2:30 AM, which confused him even more, so he tried to keep his breathing under control as best as he could before deciding to investigate. With any luck, he was probably hearing things, and then he could just go back to bed. He slowly crept toward his bedroom door and opened it. The hallway was still dark, and the door to Tony and Pepper's bedroom was still closed. He could still hear both their heartbeats indicating that they were sleeping soundly. It relieved him at first but quickly made him more nervous. If they were still sleeping…why was FRIDAY not responding? Whose heartbeat was he also hearing?

With his webshooters fastened to his wrists, he crept into the hallway listening for movement, and he could hear faint movement coming from the kitchen…and the other heartbeat. He decided to go look for the source of the noise, and he prayed that it was only Happy looking for a late-night snack or perhaps May messing with him from the afterlife. As soon as he came into the living room and the kitchen, he could see that…there was no one around. It was completely empty, and he became even more confused as he walked further into the kitchen. However, just as he did that, his spider senses flared before a large hand came up from behind and covered his mouth while another arm wrapped around him restraining his arms.

Peter immediately struggled and tried to scream as loud as he could, but his screams were muffled as he tried to call for Tony and Pepper. The hand clamped down on his mouth as he struggled to cry out.

"Relax, kid," the stranger said from behind Peter, "I'm not going to hurt you."

The teen immediately recognized his voice…from PSAs at school and from their brief encounter in Germany. However, during their encounter, he was dressed as a certain vigilante fighting this stranger…who was on the run. Besides, he muffled him. However, with quickly thinking and cat-like reflexes, Peter kicked over the table as hard as he could, knocking it over to the floor.


The loud crash jolted both Pepper and Tony out of a deep sleep as they shot up in bed.

"What the hell?" Tony asked aloud. "FRIDAY, what's going on?"

There was no answer from the AI.

"FRIDAY?" Tony tried again.

When there was no answer yet again, Tony and Pepper quickly jumped out of bed as Tony grabbed his watch and put it on activating the gauntlet with Pepper close behind. The billionaire and the CEO ran out only to see a figure with a certain teen struggling in the figure's arms.

"PETER!" Tony shouted before he ran over to the figure with his gauntlet. "Let him go! Let him go NOW!" However, he froze when he saw who the masked figure was…and anger surged through his body as he glared at Steve Rogers, while he still held onto Peter.

"Tony, relax…" Steve said holding a hand out to calm him down.

"How can I relax when you're holding the kid like that?" Tony asked. "Let him go…before I blow head off."

Steve nodded as he slowly released Peter from his grip.

Peter didn't spare Captain America another glance as he quickly ran to Tony, who pulled him into his arms hugging him tightly.

"You okay, buddy?" Tony asked as he pulled away to look at Peter to make sure he wasn't injured.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Peter replied nodding.

Tony nodded before quickly and gently pushing Peter toward Pepper, who gently took Peter into her arms.

"What do you want, Rogers?" Pepper asked Steve coldly. "Haven't you done enough already?"

"Pepper, I didn't mean to cause trouble," Steve said removing his mask.

"Oh, sure, then what do you call holding Peter like that?" Tony asked. "Giving him a bear hug? You gave me a phone to call you, remember? Not that I would use it."

"That's why I came here," Steve said. "I needed to talk to you in person, and…I had a feeling that you wouldn't have picked up if I called."

"Gee, wonder why," Tony said angrily careful not to bring up Siberia…not now in front of Peter.

"Tony, please…hear me out," Steve said pleadingly. "Hear me out, and then I'll leave."

Tony sighed. As angry as he was…and hurt over Steve's actions with the Accords, the Winter Soldier, and Siberia, Tony knew that he obviously came with a reason. Steve wouldn't risk being caught unless he absolutely had to, and with a quick look over his shoulder at his fiancée and charge, he sighed again.

"Pep, why don't you take Peter back to his room and wait for me?" he finally said.

Pepper stared at him with concern all over her face. After what happened last year with the Accords and Siberia, she had completely lost her respect for Steve Rogers, Wanda, Sam, and Clint Barton. They had completely turned against Tony and Rhodey, and Natasha Romanoff wasn't too far behind. She had a feeling once Tony proposed changing the Accords that there was a chance for Tony and maybe even Peter to get roped into whatever it was the Rogue Avengers were up to. "Are you sure?" she asked still holding Peter tightly.

"Yeah, it'll be quick, I promise," Tony said with a smile.

"Tony…" Peter said taking a step forward.

"It's okay, kid," Tony said holding his hand up. "Go with Pepper. I'll be right there, I promise."

"Come on, sweetie," Pepper interjected before Peter had any chance to protest as she directed him back toward the bedrooms.

Tony watched as…his family went back down the hall with both Pepper and Peter looking over their shoulders to quickly reassure themselves that Tony was still safe.

"I saw the press conference," Steve said after a moment as soon as he heard Peter's bedroom door close. "I didn't know you had an intern. He seems like a good kid."

"Yeah, he's one of the best," Tony said crossing his arms. "You going to tell me why you're here?"

Steve sighed. "I had been looking into some intel while on the run," he began. "I…uh…heard you and Rhodes proposed changing the Accords to Ross."

"Not because I forgive you if that's what you're thinking," Tony snapped. "I don't know about you, Cap, but I would like to try to get things back on track and to make sure…that futures are set." If he could fix the Accords now so that Peter wouldn't be affected by it, that would be one of his biggest accomplishments along with getting the Avengers back on the world's good side again. "Besides, I don't even know if he will even go for it."

"That's the thing, Tony," Steve said. "From what I've gathered, Ross is trying to dig up evidence on you."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows together. "What are you talking about?"

"He believes you know where we're all hiding, and he's going to try to prove it. He'll try to use it to turn people against you and to get to us."

"Oh, so, that's why you wanted to warn me," Tony said with sarcasm dripping in his voice. "You just want to find out if I know enough to rat you out. Well, good news for you…and I guess for me, too, I got nothing to hide. All I've been trying to do is help the kid get through the grief over losing his last living relative and to enjoy life with my family."

The former Avenger sighed. "Tony, I'm worried about you and your family, too, believe it or not," he said. "I wouldn't have left that phone or come all the way if I didn't."

Tony wanted to believe it. He did, but after what he found out in Siberia, he wasn't sure if he could trust Steve in any way possible…not when he kept such a huge secret about his parents' deaths from him. He sighed again. "Look, you came and warned me," he said after a moment of silence, "but if Ross does come after me, I got nothing to hide. I don't know where any of you are, so…you can show yourself out. In the meantime, I have a family to get back to and an AI to fix."

With that said, Tony barely glanced at his former teammate as he walked toward his office to get FRIDAY back online.


Thankfully, it didn't take Tony long to get FRIDAY back online. Whatever Steve did was a simple fix, so he was able to fix it before going to Peter's room, where he found Pepper and Peter sitting on the bed clearly waiting for him. As soon as he opened the door, Peter immediately rushed up and hugged Tony tightly.

"You okay, Tony?" Peter asked as he buried his face in Tony's shoulder.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm fine," Tony said hugging Peter in return.

"Are you sure, hon?" Pepper asked as she walked up to them.

Tony wasted no time in pulling his fiancée into the hug as well feeling the pounding of his heart slowing down as he hugged his family "I'm sure," he said. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Pepper replied as she pulled away to look him in the eye. "Just worried about you."

"There's nothing to worry about," Tony said. "I'm fine. Now," he pulled away slightly to look at Peter, "are you sure you're okay? Did he hurt you at all?"

"No, really, he didn't," Peter replied shaking his head. "He just scared me when he grabbed me. I just don't get why he did that though…I mean…that doesn't seem like something Captain America would do, but I guess, it was…a way for him to get you to talk to him. But what did he talk to you about?"

Tony sighed. A part of him considered if it would be best to just push this conversation aside for another time…to just not talk about it with Peter and Pepper, but…deep down, he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't not tell them about Ross looking to dig up dirt, but that wasn't fair. They were a family. They deserved to know.

"Okay, sit down," he said gently guided Pepper and Peter to sit on the bed.

Peter and Pepper did as Tony asked and sat down on Peter's bed while Tony sat right across them in Peter's desk chair. The billionaire sighed as he ran a hand down his face and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

"According to Rogers," Tony began after a brief moment of silence, "there's word going around that Ross believes that I know where the Rogues are and…that he may want to question me."

"What?" Pepper and Peter asked in unison.

"Yeah," Tony said scratching the back of his neck. He wasn't sure what else he could possibly do in that moment.

"Well, when? Where?" Pepper asked quickly.

"He didn't really get into details," Tony replied. "He just told me what I told you."

"Do you believe him?" Peter asked after a moment of silence.

Tony could only sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I…I'm not entirely sure, buddy," he said. "I mean, I can't think of any reason why he would lie about it, and I know he was the same guy, who left in Siberia after…" He stopped when he realized that he hadn't exactly filled Peter in on the details as to what occurred between him, Steve, and the Winter Soldier in Siberia, but then he sighed deciding that was a conversation for another time.

Pepper sensed what he was avoiding talking about as she reached forward and took his hand into hers squeezing it gently and silently reminding him that he didn't have to talk about Siberia if he didn't want to…not now.

"But you don't know where they are, right?" Peter asked after a moment trying to change the subject as best as he could.

"Not a clue, bud," Tony said firmly. "All I know is when FRIDAY asks me to disable security footage, but even then, I have no clue where they are. I only know Hawkeye and Ant-Man are both under house arrest."

"Well, okay," Peter said completely relieved, "that's good then. If Ross questions you, surely, he could see that you don't and back off." He didn't know Secretary Ross at all. He only knew of him from the news, from what Tony had told him, and from the video call he had with Tony and Rhodey on the 4th. Sure, he didn't seem like the nicest guy, but…surely someone in Ross' position could see that Tony didn't know about the Rogues and leave him alone.

Tony sighed. "I…I'm not sure, to be honest, kid," he said. "If what Steve said is true, this…could be Ross' way to…one up me in terms of changing the Accords."

"One up you?"

"Yeah…try to get me to back off or look for a reason to show that Rhodey and I don't have the best intentions, but we don't know that for sure, Pete."

"But it's a possibility," Pepper added running a hand through Peter's hair.

Peter sighed. "May always said that politicians were nothing but people who want power," he said, "and that they tend to use us to get there."

"Unfortunately, sometimes, that's the case," Tony said nodding, "but you're right. I have nothing to hide, and so long as I prove that Ross would have nothing on me."

Peter nodded. "But y-you'll tell us…if you need help, right?" he asked. As much as he believed that Tony could handle this, he still wanted to help his guardian…to show that he wasn't alone in this.

Tony smiled. "Absolutely," he said, "but, bud, I need you to trust me to do just that. That means no stupid moves with Ross, okay? We can't give him a reason to go after Spider-Man as well. Just keep doing your thing, and if I need you, I will tell you, okay?"

Pepper and Tony looked at him clearly waiting for him to answer, and Peter knew what the answer was. As much as he wanted to protect his guardian, he knew that Tony was right. When it came to Ross, he shouldn't mess around and should be ready if Tony needed him. "Okay," he finally said nodding.

"Good," Tony said smiling as he ruffled Peter's hair. "Now that that's settled, we should get some sleep. I can talk to Rhodey in the morning."


"Are you kidding?" Rhodey asked over the phone. "Steve was at the penthouse last night? Why didn't you call me?"

"I know I should've, I'm sorry," Tony said as he paced around his office the next morning. "In my defense, though, it was a little hard to think straight when Captain America was manhandling my kid." Keeping his phone in between his shoulder and his ear, he rubbed his left hand. Even though Steve was a former friend of his, that didn't help the thoughts of said former friend harming his kid…the same kid he was supposed to protect and take care of.

"Wait…did you seriously call Peter your kid?" Rhodey asked incredulously.

Tony stopped when he realized that he in fact did, and he couldn't help but smile at the label "his kid" for Peter. He had been wondering what he could refer to Peter as, and "his kid" felt right…like it just fit so well. Peter was his and Pepper's kid, and he was Peter's guardian. That was all, right? However, he shook the thoughts from his head as now was not the time. "I did," he said quickly, "but not the point right now."

"Right, right, sorry, man," Rhodey said. "Anyway, you're lucky it was just Steve and not the whole gang. Why did he manhandle Peter?"

Tony sighed. "I think it's because he thought that would get my attention," he replied. "Peter woke up to noise Steve made and went to investigate. That was when Rogers grabbed him, and then Peter kicked the table to wake Pepper and me."

"Smart kid," Rhodey mused.

"Damn straight," Tony replied with a smile. Peter was a genius, and yes, there had been times when he needed Tony's help. However, everyone needed help at some point. When faced with a problem, he knew how to use that big brain of his to solve it.

"How are Peter and Pepper doing?" Rhodey asked.

"They're both okay," Tony replied. "Peter's still sleeping, and Pepper is running some errands with Happy." Tony looked at the clock on his desk and saw that it was 11:00 AM, so he made a mental note to check on Peter after his talk with Rhodey.

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, "so what exactly did Steve want to talk about?"

"He's been gathering some intel behind the scenes," Tony replied. "He found that Ross thinks that I may know where the Rogues are and may want to question me."

"Really?" Rhodey asked. "And do you?"

"Of course not," Tony replied, "which is why I'm not worried. If he sees I have nothing to hide, he'll have nothing on me and can't use it against the Accords."

"Are you sure about this, Tones?' Rhodey asked. "There's that phone he left you when he went on the run."

At that thought, Tony opened his desk drawer and found a small black flip phone…the same phone Steve had given him when he and the other Rogues went on the run. It was his attempt at apologizing and letting Tony know that he was there if needed. Despite his anger and his hurt, Tony kept it because…it was always good to have some sort of back-up on hand. "That proves nothing, Rhodey," Tony said. "Just that I have means to contact him…not that I know where he is."

"Can't argue with that," Rhodey replied. "Look if Ross does ask you any questions, you come to me, okay? I can help you prepare for any questions he might ask."

Tony smiled. "I will," he said. "Thanks, honeybear."

"You're welcome, Tones," Rhodey replied. "Now, go back to your kid. It's Saturday during summer vacation. Take him somewhere."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I will," he said smiling. The idea of taking Peter out didn't seem like such a bad idea. "I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, we should start thinking about the Accords."

"We will, buddy," Rhodey replied, "but for now, just enjoy your time with my nephew."

Tony scoffed and shook his head, and as they said their goodbyes, he couldn't stop the smile on his face at the thought of spending time with Peter…his kid.


Author's Note: Annnnnnnnnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I hope you all enjoyed it! We shall see in CHAPTER 22 whether or not Steve's warnings have merit to them! Don't forget to read and review! Thanks, guys! See you in the next chapter!