Hello friends! So here's the next episode, featuring another Avenger. It's a pretty fun chapter, no whump. For now ;)
Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for the reviews, follows and favorites. Big thanks to everyone, especially to the guests who I can't thank with a PM. I love you all guys, you're amazing!
Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel. I wish.
"I need your help."
There's silence at the other end of the line. Tony waits a few more seconds, but there's nothing. "Barton, are you there?"
"I'm here, man, sorry I'm just still processing what you said."
"Cut the crap, Barton," Tony grumbles.
"You know, it doesn't happen every day that Tony Stark needs my help. Needs anyone's help, to be honest," Clint laughs.
"I said cut the crap, William Tell," Tony complains again, then sighs. "You know what? It was a bad idea. I shouldn't have called. Enjoy the farm. Bye."
"Wait, wait, wait, Stark, don't hang up!" Clint asks, suddenly turning serious. "What is it? Why did you call me? Is it a mission? I know the others are all out of the country, right? That's why you called me?"
"I called you because you have expertise that the others don't."
"Archery?"
Tony rolls his eyes. "You have a family, Barton. And I need advice. Family advice."
"Oh my God, is Pepper pregnant? Congratulations, man!"
"Pepper is not pregnant," Tony states firmly. Then he thinks about it. "At least… I don't know about it." No, she's not. How could she? "Geez, she's not, don't mess with my head, Barton!"
"I'm just confused, man," Clint admits. "You said family and-"
"I kinda took in a kid," Tony interrupts him. It still feels so weird to say it, as if he's talking about someone else. But he doesn't have time to dwell on that now. "He's staying with me. He's 15 and I don't want to mess it up, Barton, because God knows kid went through way more shit in his life than anyone should have. I wanna do things right. So tell me, what do I need to do?"
"Whoa, Stark, you can't just drop that bomb and expect me not to ask anything," Clint protests. "How did it happen? Who's that kid? Why did you take him in? I want answers. Now."
"And I want advice, Barton," Tony growls. "Kid can wake up any minute; I don't have time for storytelling. Friday, alert me when Peter wakes up. So, Robin Hood, what should I do?"
"Tell me the story. I need the whole picture to give you the best advice."
Tony's not sure if that's true, Barton is probably just curious. He's hungry for gossip that he can discuss with Natasha on their next mission together.
"Fine," Tony says, knowing he has no choice. "On one condition, though. You're not telling the others. Not even Romanoff. I'll tell them myself when the time is right."
"Am I really the first one to hear this?" Clint asks amused.
"Well, Bruce already knows."
"Of course. You and your nerd BFF."
"He had to patch up the kid when he was shot. And when he kinda fell from a building."
"What? This must be the craziest story I've heard lately. Tell me everything! Wait, I'll grab some popcorn."
"Shut up, Barton. You know what? I don't even need your help. Friday, order some books on parenting."
"Okay, fine," Clint says defeated. "Of course I'll help. I'm not saying I'm father of the year, pretty sure I'm not but I think my kids are happy and that should mean something."
"Yes," Tony answers, calming down. "I know. That's why I called you."
And then he tells Clint Peter's story. Tony tells how he went after Spiderman, how he met him during a fight, how the young superhero got injured and how Tony brought him to the Tower. He tells how shocked he was when he realized there was a kid under the red mask. He figured out who the kid was and it shocked him even more. A lonely boy who lost all his family and his home. And he still exceled at school and fought crime at nights, acting as if everything was fine.
Tony tells Clint that he wanted to help the kid but didn't know how. He made him a better suit that provided him much more protection than the original one. He told Peter to come to the Tower whenever he wanted. But Tony couldn't rest. He felt it was not enough. He knew what the kid really needed, though. He was just afraid that he wasn't the right person to give him that. Then he realized he didn't really have a choice, he had to do the right thing. So he pulled himself together, pushed his worries aside and took Peter in. And here he is now, desperately trying to figure out how to do this right.
"Okay, first of all, what you've done is amazing, man," Clint says after hearing the story.
"Shocking, right?"
"Well, you're a jerk, Stark but your heart is in the right place."
"Thanks, I guess."
"You're still a jerk."
"Yeah, you mentioned. So? What do I do?"
"Okay, here comes parenting 101," Clint sighs. "Maybe you should consult with my wife, she's better at this. But for now I can tell you two things. The most important is to make sure the kid feels safe. Make sure he feels that he can trust you, you're always there to help him whatever he needs. That kid was alone for a very long time. He needs to know there's someone, an adult who is there for him now, who supports and guides him. Who takes responsibility for him. And now he can be what he should have been all along: just a kid.
"And second, set up some boundaries. Maybe you wanna play the cool dad, Stark but what the kid needs now is a reliable parent. Or guardian. Whatever. He doesn't need a friend to hang out with. I mean you can hang out with him, of course, just set up some rules, too. So your lives have some kind of structure. It's important. Kids would never admit, but rules actually make them feel safer. Because they know what to expect. Peter lived without rules, though and he sounds like a really nice, smart kid, but don't be surprised, if he gets upset when you tell him about the rules.
Tony sighs. This is not gonna be easy. He never thought it would be, but he secretly hoped that Clint would tell him something like 'don't worry about anything, man, everything's gonna be just fine'. No such luck though. Parenting obviously means a lot of work.
"Okay, thank you, Barton. I appreciate your help," he says, suddenly feeling drained.
"You're gonna do great, Stark," Clint says with a smile in his voice. "If you need anything, call me, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks again, man. Have fun with your family."
"You, too. Bye," Clint says and hangs up before Tony could comprehend what the archer has just said. 'You too'?
"A curfew?!" Peter asks in a high-pitched voice.
Tony groans. This is exactly what he expected and worried about at the same time. That the kid wouldn't take it well if Tony threw some rules at him. Stupid Barton and his shitty ideas. On the other hand, Tony actually agrees with Clint. Kids need some boundaries. That's how life works, right? He just loathes the idea of Peter hating him. Clint was right; it would be so much easier to play the cool parent. But easy doesn't necessarily mean right.
Tony tried to do everything to make this inevitable conversation about setting up rules easier. He showed Peter his lab and said they could work together on some upgrades on the Iron suits. The boy practically froze. And then a huge smile appeared on his face.
"Are you serious, Mr. Stark? For real?" Peter asked in awe.
"Sure, kid, you showed some talent with those web shooters of yours, so I'm wondering what you could do with my suit. I have plenty, so why not? Not that you should start to dismantle one now, always ask me first before you actually take apart a suit, okay?"
"You don't need to worry about me tinkering much in here anytime soon," Peter answered sadly, raising up his wrist still in cast. He looked miserable like a kicked puppy.
"Just a few more days, kid, be patient," Tony smiled fondly and ruffled the boy's hair. He immediately regretted the move, though and took a step back. Maybe that was too much. Too intimate. They weren't there yet.
His eyes shot at the kid, worrying about his reaction. Tony still remembered when Peter had flinched under his touch. That had been a very different situation, he knew, but still.
However, Peter didn't seem to mind Tony's gesture at all. He was deep in a one-sided conversation with Dum-E and his mind was already running wild, considering possible upgrades on the Iron suit. Tony watched him affectionately. Not every kid would have been happy to play around in his lab, but to his luck, he had found a little nerd under the Spider mask. Tony could already see them spending many long hours here together.
Then he remembered that he had to crush this idyll with those stupid rules. But the sooner he did it, the better. Then they could move on, have pizza for dinner again, watch a movie or two and everything would be fine.
So he brought up the curfew first.
And the kid freaked out.
"Peter, I'm sure every kid in the world has a curfew," Tony tries to reason with the boy, sitting down on a stool next to him.
"But I'm not every kid!" Peter protests.
"I'm aware of that, bud. You're Spiderman. And while all the other kids watch movies, play video games or just text their friends all night, you go after bad guys. Which is exhausting. You need your sleep. And I suggest curfew at 11pm. I think that's fair."
"Criminals don't stop at 11, Mr. Stark," the boy snorts. "And I never go to sleep before 2 or 3 am anyway."
Tony stares at him shocked. That can't be true. Peter might be enhanced but he's a teenager, too and teenagers sleep a lot. And Peter said himself that he needed to sleep enough to heal and stay strong. If he really went to sleep that late (or early) he wouldn't be able to excel at school. Let alone fight criminals.
"3am, huh?" he asks doubtfully. "Would Karen confirm that?"
Peter's narrows his eyes. "That's so not fair. Asking Karen every time you don't believe me. Why care to ask me at all?" he yells.
Tony sighs and folds his head in his arms. Here they are. Their very first fight. They've been living together for what? Two days now? Great. But he can't be the reckless Tony Stark anymore who doesn't give a shit; he can't run away from this, he needs to make this work. There's no other option.
Wow, he aims to be the cool, sensible one in a conversation, the voice of reason. That's a first.
He raises his head and glances at Peter who is sitting with his arms crossed and pouting like a toddler at the edge of throwing a tantrum. Suddenly, all of Tony's frustration evaporates and he has to stop himself from jumping up and hugging the kid. Pouting Peter is the most adorable thing he has ever seen. But he reminds himself that they are having a very serious conversation here, so he forces himself not to smile.
"Peter, I promise not to ask Karen to confirm anything, if you promise to be honest with me. I think that's only fair, given we live together now."
The boy's expression turns neutral. "Alright, Mr. Stark."
"I guess it's not the time of the curfew that is bothering you, but the fact that I have proposed a curfew in the first place, right? But that's something you just need to accept, buddy, I'm sorry. And I believe 11pm sounds pretty reasonable, so let's go with that for now, alright?"
Peter refuses to look at Tony, he's just sitting there with his arms still crossed, stubbornly staring at the wall. He obviously hates all this but he finally gives a nod.
"Moving on. Next rule. Tracker," the man sighs. He can't wait to get over with this, too. Just a few more rules.
"Wait, how many rules do you have?" Peter's eyes suddenly shoot at him.
"I didn't count," Tony shrugs.
"And what if I say no? Will you kick me out? Will you send me back to the streets? Send me to a foster home?" the boy raises an eyebrow, daring Tony to answer.
The man's eyes go wide in disbelief. "Is that what you think? That you just make one bad move or say one bad word and I'll kick you out?"
Tony can't believe this. They might not know each other that well yet, but he doesn't think he has ever given the kid a reason not to trust him. He signed those damned papers! He volunteered to be his guardian! Why does Peter think he's not serious?
Tony leans forward, grasps the kid on the shoulder and looks him in the eye. "Peter, listen, kid. I will never kick you out. Never. That's not an option. I understand you might not believe this right now, maybe it's too early and things happened too fast. But you'll see. Because I promise you'll always have a place here, buddy. And I know you lived on your own, without rules in the last few months. But you need to understand the way you lived was not normal. This, living in the Tower with this old man? It's probably not normal, either, but it's closer to normal that living on the streets. And kids having rules? Newsflash, Pete, that's normal, too."
Tony thinks he could remind the boy that when he lived with his aunt, she probably had rules, too. But he really hopes he doesn't have to go there. It's okay if the kid wants to bring up his family, but Tony doesn't dare to open up those old wounds. At least, not now.
So he desperately hopes that the kid will listen and accept his arguments. And when Peter finally gives him a small nod, he lets out a breath he doesn't remember holding and gently squeezes the boy's shoulder.
"Perfect. So. Tracker. Either we'll put a new one into your suit or I'll inject it under your skin. Your choice," he grins and feels utterly relieved when he can see the kid adorably pouting again.
So what do you think guys? I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I think the next one is going to be fluff again and I might bring in another popular character ;)
And if you miss the whump, check out my oneshots ;)
Thank you for reading!