A/N: Hi guys! I hope you enjoy the chapter! Make sure to leave a review, I love reading them! :)

Warnings: Mild description of injury, gun shots, and a panic attack

Tuesday, October 1

9:16pm

Peter looked out the window, head spinning. Concussion, a couple broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder. He didn't realize that it was this bad… On top of that, he never even guessed that anyone could have found out he was Spider-Man. And it wasn't safe for her to know… what if she got hurt? Peter was disappointed in himself. He thought he did a pretty good job of hiding that part of himself… but apparently not. If he couldn't keep that secret… what else would he tell? Maybe Angela was right. He should just keep his mouth shut.

MJ's head was resting on the hospital bed. She breathed in and out deeply. Her brown curls spilled onto the sheets, contrasting with the stark white. Peter looked at her for a minute, and then back out the window.

"Did your step-mom do this do you?" Peter turned. Tony stood in the doorway, arms folded. His expression was one that Peter had never seen before. He couldn't quite place the emotion. Anger? Sadness? Concern? He looked away from his mentor, eyes again falling on the window.

"You know, this Friday is the anniversary of the day that…" Peter inhaled a breath. "That they found my mom's body. Eight years." He couldn't see what Mr. Stark was doing, but he heard an intake of breath that mirrored his own. "They never let me see her… I was too young, I guess. The cops said she was, um. That she was murdered." Silent tears were beginning to fall, but his voice remained steady. "Just like my dad."

Peter looked away from the dark streets then, his brown eyes piercing Tony's. He managed to look earnest through the tears.

"My dad blamed himself… for her death. He shouldn't have. He shouldn't have blamed himself. It wasn't his fault."

Tony had the weird feeling that the kid was trying to tell him something, but was unable to speak… Peter's intense eyes held his gaze.

MJ stirred, breaking the tension. With a grunt, she shot up and checked her phone. "Crap. Is that really what time it is?" The bright screen read 9:20 p.m. Peter nodded. "I need to go. Is that Happy guy going to give me a ride home?"

"He actually left for the day." Tony finally found his voice again. "But I can take you."

As they left, Tony snuck a quick glance back at the kid. The last thing he saw before the door closed, was Peter staring out that dark window again, fiddling with the cuff of his sleeves. The look on his face was one that the kid hadn't ever had before.

It was anger.

Wednesday, October 2

7:36am

"Peter! You look like you got hit by a bus! What happened, man?" Ned fell into step next to him, and they did their ritual handshake, Peter using his right hand. He did kind of look like a wreck… he had swapped the gauze for a band-aid, but the area around his forehead was splotchy and red. The doctors tried to make him wear a sling, but he refused, assuring them that he wouldn't use his left arm.

He did keep the bandages that wrapped around his torso, mostly because no one could see those. Peter felt a little lucky he had advanced healing… when he got up this morning at the Tower, almost all of the cuts and bruises on his face and arms had healed. But he was sure that getting no sleep wouldn't help his appearance.

"I fell down some stairs at the Tower," Peter said, shrugging a little.

"Again? Dude, you gotta stop doing that!"

Peter was grateful for Ned. He didn't ask questions or pry. He just put his complete and total trust in Peter. He felt a little guilty for lying, but at this point… it was better than the truth.

They stopped at the corner, waiting for their third companion. MJ was always on time (if not, she was early), and as if to prove that point, she walked out of the coffee shop they were waiting by.

"Late again, nerds," she commented, sipping from a plastic cup.

"Dang it, I really thought we got you this time!" Ned fake pouted for a second, then his bright smile returned.

"Well, you thought wrong." She smirked and marched forward, leading the trio to the school. Peter smiled at her back and Ned scrambled to catch up.

"Did you hear? Pete lost a battle with some stairs," Ned chuckled. MJ looked over and directly into Peter's eyes.

"I did hear. What did those stairs ever do to you?" Her voice was cool and level, as was her face. It made him slightly uneasy.

"I think you guys are getting it wrong," he said, breaking her concentration. "I'm the victim here! You should be asking what I ever did to the stairs!"

Wednesday, October 2

6:32pm

"Hey, Mr. Stark, I should get going." Peter stood, gathering his things and sliding them into his backpack.

"Go where?" The man called, still bent over his new Mark's glowing repulser.

"Home…?" He answered slowly, confused as to where Tony was going with this. Well, he wasn't actually going home… not until she said he could. Peter was just going to do what he always did when she was like this. He would find a roof or something to sleep on, eat at McDonald's or somewhere cheap, and change into his spare clothes at school. It didn't even bother him anymore; it had become routine. And, yeah, it was getting colder, but he should be fine.

"You're going back to your apartment?" Tony asked carefully, now looking him directly at him. Peter found it harder and harder to lie when he was around Mr. Stark. It was like Tony could see right through him.

"Sort of- yes. I mean, yes." Smooth, Pete. Real smooth.

Mr. Stark stood up and folded his arms. "I've made an executive decision regarding your internship." He quirked an eyebrow up. "As your boss, I now reserve the right to have you spend the night at Stark Tower if the need arises."

"Oh no, I couldn't-" Peter protested.

"The need has arisen!" He interrupted. "I can show you your room. And-" he held up a finger as Peter started to speak again. "No arguing! The decision is made!" The kid fell silent. He didn't know how to feel about this whole thing. If Angela ever found out, she'd be furious… but he really didn't want to spend another restless night on top of a building somewhere.

Mr. Stark was marching off, beckoning Peter to follow him. They traveled up to the penthouse where him and Pepper had rooms. Tony led him to a black door neatly marked 'Peter P.'.

"I set this up just in case you ever needed a place to stay. I hope you like it." He smiled and pushed it open.

The room was mostly modern themed, with a black and white bedspread and white walls, and a large window that spanned the entirety of the far wall. There was a sleek L-shaped desk that took up one corner of the room. A holo-computer rested on it, along with a few ballpoint pens. There were shelves full of small Star Wars figurines and a Millennium Falcon was strung above them. The room was so big that there was even a small sitting area and a bookshelf.

"Wow." This was all he could say as he took it in. "This… this is amazing! You didn't have to do all this, Tony," he began.

"No. I wanted to."

Peter scampered over to the computer. "Is this a- oh my gosh, it is. You have no idea how excited I am to do projects on this. And the little action figures! How did you know I loved Star Wars?"

"Um, kid. You're wearing a Star Wars t-shirt."

Peter looked down at his shirt and blushed, but then continued to wander around. "It's huge! And the chairs!" He plopped down in one of the plush leather seats. "Can I invite Ned and MJ over sometime?"

"Of course, it is your room. They can come over now, if you want; we're done working. But make sure you eat something first. Pep is stuck in a meeting for another hour or so, so it's just us for dinner. What do you want?"

"I don't really care; whatever works," Peter said, still gazing around him.

"Chinese it is! I'll call Happy."

While they were seated in the kitchen, waiting, Tony decided to try and get the kid to open up a little more. He really wanted to help Peter, but he couldn't do anything without proof.

"How's the shoulder, bud?"

Peter moved it up and down to demonstrate. "It doesn't even hurt that bad anymore! And my headache is almost gone. My ribs are a little sore still, though."

"You're going to be more careful on patrols now, right?" He said carefully.

The kid bobbed his head up and down, but didn't meet Tony's eyes. There was a silence and Tony didn't want to be the one that broke it, but it got to be so long that he couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay, Pete?"

The kid hesitated and rubbed his neck. "I had a dream… the other night. A-about my mom. Angela, I mean. I've never remembered much from the night my dad was killed, but it was like a memory came back to me. I was in my room," he said, looking distant and far away. "I heard… noises. A g-gun shot, I think. There was yelling, but I had my ears covered and I couldn't tell who it was… Then Angela came running in. She called 911, but then she texted someone else. And there was-" Peter shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Something in her hand… I can't- I can't remember…" his voice became strained.

"Pete, it's ok. You don't have to remember. It was trauma, some things were probably blocked from your mind. I mean, you were nine-"

"No!" Tony was taken aback by his tone. "I mean, no. It was something important… I know it was important." He knew that his emotions were written all over his face, which was annoying. That's why he liked to have a mask-

A mask.

"A mask! It was a mask!" He slammed a fist onto the counter. "But why… why would she have that? What was she doing with it? Do you think she-"

"Peter," Tony said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down. Let's just-"

"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down! She did something! I know she did!" He was becoming frantic now. At some point, Peter had stood, but neither of them could remember when. He was pacing and waving his arms everywhere.

"I mean, I know she's capable because of-" he stopped dead. There was no noise in the room except for their breathing. Several emotions crossed Peter's face and he sat back down. "What am I talking about… she's my m-mom. She loves me." He looked defeated. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark… I-I didn't mean to-" He was surprised when Tony cut him off with a hug. After the shock had passed, he grabbed onto Mr. Stark's suit tightly.

Tony patted his head. "We'll figure this out, kid. I promise. But for now, let's eat." They fell back into their usual rhythm, laughing and talking about random stuff. Peter shoved his thoughts into the back of his mind, trying to enjoy the ham fried rice. He was mostly successful until he went to bed that night.

The room was dark except for the glow of moonlight that spilled onto the carpet. It was quiet too; from all the way up here he couldn't hear the normal sounds of New York. It was weird, and he hadn't decided if he liked it or not. After a while, Peter managed to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

"Richard please-"

"No, Angela! If I had any idea what was going on, I would've left a long time ago! We're done. This is the last straw. I'm taking Peter and I'm-"

A door slammed. Footsteps pounded around the room. Again a loud bang sounded. Again he clamped his hands over his ears. It was different this time… he didn't want to cover his ears. He wanted to listen… but he couldn't change anything. He could only observe from inside his mind. He strained to hear what was happening… strained to decipher the voices, but his hands blocked any intelligible noise from entering. He decided to watch.

Angela ran into the room and grabbed him, taking him into the closet. She had folded black cloth in her hand. That was it! The mask, he thought. She was also holding her phone. After she called 911, he strained to see what she texted. The words were blurry and out of focus, and it hurt his eyes to look at. Peter tried to read the text, but the words didn't make sense.

His body was breathing faster and faster. His dad was shot. Dead, probably. Cold panic coursed through his veins and his heart pounded. Dead. Daddy was dead? That isn't possible… he had never even gotten hurt. He was the one who put band-aids on Peter's scraped knees and kissed his paper cuts better.

He was vaguely aware that the memory was continuing, but he was transported into his childhood mind, experiencing every sensation. Peter looked up at Angela and asked, "Does Daddy need a band-aid?"

She looked at him with shock and maybe a little disgust. She didn't seem very panicked as she responded, "No. Be quiet, Peter."

"But Dad-"

"Quiet." He stopped talking. Tears formed in is eyes and began to spill down his cheeks. Peter didn't dare make a noise for fear of making her angry, so he covered his mouth as well.

Peter. The tears were making the front of his shirt wet and sticky.

Peter. His dad was dead,

"Peter!" Someone was shaking his shoulders. He scratched at them. They wrapped their arms around his shuddering form.

"You have to help him! He's dying!" Peter's muscles began to relax and dissolved into heaving sobs. "He's d-dead. You're t-too late. H-he's dead." The person held them close, rocking back and forth.

"It's ok, Peter. You're safe now. I know it hurts." He recognized that voice, but didn't have the motivation to place it. His mind was tired and aching.

"He's m-my dad…" Peter stuttered. "She didn't even care…"

"Who, bud? Who didn't care?" The world was beginning to come back into focus. He saw the room around him and the silhouette of the person talking to him.

"Angela… she wasn't even c-crying." He put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry, kid. I'm so sorry." Tony said. Tony? This was Tony! He shot up.

"Mr. Stark?" He finally saw Tony's face. Embarrassment set in, and his face felt hot. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize-"

"Peter," he said softly. "It's ok. I don't mind. You can cry." His voice was so reassuring and kind that Peter relaxed again. It didn't matter how embarrassed he was, Peter couldn't stop the tears if he tried. Tony held him, and began to softly hum You're the Inspiration, trying his hardest to comfort his kid.

His kid? Jeez, he was becoming way too involved.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Love you all :)

REVIEWS:

Beachgirl25: Pepper and MJ will get their shot at Angela, don't even worry. :) Personally, I think it depends on the situation. Pepper and MJ could probably take out their own fair share of idiots when provoked.

Belbelanne: Surprise! Here's part of the story about Mary. As for Peter and Angela, good things (idk maybe bad things?) are coming.

Hawkeyes Gal: Thank you for the amazing review! I really wanted to keep the essence of "MJ" intact. I'm glad you liked it!

xSapphirexRosesxFanx: I'm not exactly sure what you mean? Feel free to ask the question again and maybe I can answer better.

MazikeenWolf: :O I can't reveal too much hehe.

Thanks and see you next time!

-katilange :)