Chapter 5

Peter was frustrated, he paced his room as his mood darkened and he had to fight with himself to not launch any of the furniture across the room. He didn't want to go back to the apartment, he couldn't face it, not without May there. He felt the hopelessness course through him and he let out a sigh, I miss you May he thought bitterly; what he wouldn't give to be home with her right now, surrounded by his things and having breakfast like normal. Captain America had seemed nice; he was easy to chat to despite Peter's initial misgivings after the whole business in Berlin. He knew Tony had briefly mentioned they were trying to make the team work together again, but he didn't really know how he personally felt about that. He supposed if Tony was comfortable, he could be too – after all it wasn't actually his business. His mind drifted back to the arrival of the Black Widow this morning and he briefly wondered if she was alright before shaking his head mentally, he vaguely knew of her reputation; he was sure she was fine. With a stab of regret, he realised he'd actually been pretty rude to Mr Stark and all the man had tried to do was offer him a ride, he'd have to apologise sometime. Flinging himself down on the bed, Peter threw his arm over his eyes as his thoughts wandered back to Aunt May and the sadness he felt made him feel like his throat was closing and that he may choke. Forcing his breathing to steady, he bit back the tears that threatened once again, tried to swallow the lump in his throat and fought to control his sudden panic; more than anything he wanted a hug – from her.

The day passed on slowly and Peter drifted off to a deep sleep, nightmares didn't come for him this time. Tony had made his way back to the Avengers common area and sat down, surrounded by Steve and Nat. Offering her a brief nod, Tony's eyes travelled down to her side as she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, silently daring him to ask her about it and feeling a sense of relief when he didn't. "Met the kid earlier" Nat offered conversationally, Tony sighed and chuckled, "how was it?" Frowning, Nat thought before answering – "he seems… nice, very helpful. What's the deal there Stark?" Tony eyed her wearily before making his mind up and explaining about Peter's situation, Nat listened and a frown graced her features briefly before disappearing again. "I did wonder, he mentioned he was staying here…" she trailed off as Tony shrugged indifferently, "yeah, well not like I don't have the space" he added cheerfully as Steve chuckled quietly. Rhodey chose that moment to enter, looking around and offering a hello he asked if he could talk to Tony briefly. Following him, the two men made their way out of the room as Nat and Steve lounged around on the sofas.

"How's it going?" Rhodey asked Tony who offered a brief "so-so". Humming to himself, Rhodey explained the real reason he had called Tony away. "We have a situation Tones; I've received word from Thor. He and his weird brother are headed our way and asked me to relay the message to you" Tony's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "what – here?" he asked watching as Rhodey nodded in assent. "Right… way to throw me a curveball Point Break" Tony muttered to himself distractedly. "ETA?" he asked, turning to face Rhodey again. "Sometime in the next 2 - 3 days" Rhodey supplied evenly, watching Tony pinch the bridge of his nose again in exasperation before he nodded his head in understanding.

"Brilliant, all the team together" Tony supplied sarcastically before moving to relay the message to the rest of the team in the living room. He was just about to sit down when FRIDAY sounded above him, "Sir – Peter stubbed his toe" she informed him cheerfully. The other's eyed him carefully before breaking into laughter, "what the hell is that about, Stark?" Nat asked gleefully as Tony ran his hand over his face and closed his eyes. "Thanks, FRIDAY" Tony bit out before rolling his eyes, "nothing – it's… doesn't matter" he muttered to the room.

Upstairs, Peter was cursing loudly as he hopped on one foot, his little toe feeling like a pulsing beacon of pain as he muttered to himself. Flexing his foot, he sighed to himself before bringing his head to rest on his knees and closing his eyes, clearly resigned to his lot in life; nothing seemed to go right for him. Another flash of guilt flooded him as he thought of how self-centred he was being, Aunt May had lost her life and here he was moaning about a stubbed toe. Frowning at the floor, he stopped the urge to whine that it wasn't fair, that he wished it was him instead – those thoughts could wait. For now however, he found his stomach rumbling and he sighed before forcing himself once more towards the elevator and down to the kitchen where Tony was now sat seemingly waiting for him. Meeting Tony's eyes briefly before dropping his gaze, Peter offered a hasty apology for earlier when Tony waved him off before beginning to explain, "No drama, kid. Listen we're going to have company for a while in a couple of days or so… Thor and his weird brother are coming to visit – yay!" he offered in mock celebration as Peter continued to frown at him. "Forgive me, Mister Stark but… didn't Loki try and take over New York?" Peter asked, watching Tony warily. Sighing, Tony nodded yes before shrugging, "it's gonna be fine kid, Thor will be with him. Do you want something to eat?" Peter nodded quickly as his stomach rumbled which led to Tony chuckling; "right then kiddo, let's feed you".

Half an hour later, Peter had a whole pizza thrust in front of him and taking a bite he felt his stomach ease up in satisfaction. Waiting for Peter to finish, Tony guided him into the room where the Avengers were sat before gently forcing him down onto the sofa next to him. Turning the TV over, he watched Peter out the side of his eye as the kid offered a brief greeting to everyone, blushing scarlet as he did. Peter stole glances at Nat who was sat opposite him before meeting Steve's questioning gaze, nodding at Steve, Peter looked back at the TV and tried to focus. "You good, son?" Cap asked Peter who nodded in response and blushed again when he noticed nearly everyone's eyes were now looking at him. Nat turned to face him, she watched him shift uncomfortably under all of the attention aimed his way and suddenly unable to stop himself, Peter hastily asked how her side was. Paling slightly at the groan Nat released in response to his question, Peter watched her head as it was thrown back in resignation and several pairs of eyes flitted her way instead, she waved an arm vaguely in response before saying it was fine. Tony let out a sudden cackle, finding Nat's discomfort clearly amusing whilst Peter frowned in concern before quietly adding "I – sorry, I umm… I didn't mean anything by it". Nat raised her head again and looked at him before offering a shrug, "no sweat kid" she added before turning her eyes back to the TV. Tony wasn't done however, "what happened to your side, Nat – starting to slow down are you?" he asked her as he tried to stop himself chuckling again. Nat frowned at him before sighing, "not everyone is as old as you are, Stark" she bit back.

"Ouch, that was harsh. You could have made an old man cry" Tony responded without missing a beat, clutching his heart in fake hurt. A sound from the side of him made him turn his head briefly in surprise as he heard a light chuckle come from Peter, amusement evident on his features. Nat rolled her eyes before offering Peter a brief smirk in response, "I'm Nat, kid – don't think I mentioned it earlier" she offered easily before turning back to the TV. Steve stood up and excused himself as he headed for the gym, Peter sat for a while and felt a slight wave of calm fill his thoughts before the commercials ran followed by a brief news bulletin.

"Chaos in downtown New York tonight as Police tried to detain an armed robber, the man in his 40's held up a convenience store before escaping in a vehicle with $65 and a stick of gum. The Police have warned the public not to approach but request anyone with any information to come forward"

"A stick of gum? He could have robbed the whole liquor cabinet for all the effort it took him", Tony snorted suddenly before Rhodey joined in with his amusement. Peter shifted uncomfortably, the news bulletin reminding him a bit too closely of Ben and the old shadow of the guilt filled his stomach with dread again; he would never forgive himself for not saving his uncle on that night when they had both stepped out for a walk together. His mind focussed on that particular thought before he felt the wave of sadness hit him as he thought of his aunt's reaction during that time. She had gripped him so hard when he saw her, desperation leaking through her usually calm façade whilst she desperately checked him for any sign of injury and when she found none, she had sobbed into his shoulder as he held her and the tears had flowed steadily down his own face as he tried to hold it together. His mind zoned in on his aunt and the guilt raged aggressively within him, a sharp intake of breath made Tony still for a second before he turned to look his way. Peter met Tony's eyes briefly as he bit his lip before dropping his gaze and swiftly excusing himself, leaving the confused Avengers behind. Exiting the area, he made his way towards his room where he shut the door a little more forcefully than he planned to and collapsed on the bed.

They were gone, all of them were gone he thought to himself miserably, feeling the familiar sting of tears as his vision blurred. Tony sat below, unsure what to do as he became aware of the silence that filled the room at Peter's sudden departure. Releasing a quiet breath, he turned his head to meet the eyes of first Nat and then Rhodey before rubbing his neck uncomfortably. "What was that about?" Rhodey asked him, confusion evident. Tony shrugged briefly, searching his mind before recalling a brief conversation he had engaged in with May Parker quite a long time ago. "I'm sure Peter's aunt said he'd had an uncle… something about being shot?" Tony offered though he felt uncertain of the details. "Maybe it was a bit close to home for the kid" Nat supplied thoughtfully, "how many people has this kid lost Tony?".

"I know his parents died when he was young, he lived with his uncle and his aunt May and now she's gone as well" Tony said thoughtfully. "Well, for how young he is, everyone seems to keep dying around him" Rhodey added unhelpfully before he turned back to the screen. Tony's phone lit up and he glanced at it briefly before answering the call to Pepper, making his way out of the room he felt pleased she had called; truthfully he felt like he had taken on more than he could possibly handle though he'd never admit it. "How's it going?" Pepper asked cheerfully as Tony wandered aimlessly through the building. "Peachy" he responded sarcastically, "tried talking to the kid earlier about heading back to his place, bad idea Pep" he finished tiredly. "I'm sure he'll come around honey, it's just too soon for him" she offered placatingly, sympathy for the kid filling her chest. Tony nodded in response before asking her how he could make some headway with Peter, "I'm not sure, is there anything he enjoys doing usually?" she asked thoughtfully.

"He did seem briefly excited about the lab when I gave him the grand tour, why do you ask?" Tony responded. "Why don't you try doing something with him, invite him to work on something with you and try and approach the subject there?" Pepper asked, Tony gasped as he hit his forehead with his hand; "you're a genius Pep, why didn't I think of that?" he asked. "That's why you have me" Pepper chuckled before they continued their conversation for the next hour, when they had finished the call, Tony had already begun forming a plan in his mind. Peter stayed in his room all evening, ignoring a few missed calls from Ned he typed back a brief response stating that he'd been busy. He sat unmoving for most of the night watching the shadows in the room fade into darkness before falling into an uncomfortable sleep, he still couldn't bring himself to tell his friend what had happened. The rest of the night passing by in peace as the rest of the tower fell into darkness and its inhabitants made their way to their rooms.