Peter looks around in wonder. The room they are in is huge with mahogany wood all over. Columns line the walls between the large windows, the room almost entirely lit by the sun rays coming through. There are rows of benches behind them as he, Mr. Stark, and the man’s lawyer, a plain man with salt and pepper short hair and a stiff suit, sit at a mahogany table in front of a barrier that separates them from the back of the room. In front of them is a large desk/podium-type thing with two smaller areas on either side and one higher part in the center where a woman dressed in a black robe sits. To the right of her is a security guard watching the entire room. Behind Peter, sitting in the pews are the Avengers, Happy, and Pepper. He had just met Happy and Pepper and yet they had accepted him with not even a second glance.
Peter still couldn’t believe this was happening. He was officially getting adopted.
So much had led to this day. So much heartache, pain, apprehension, relief, hope, and a million other emotions. He had taken one step forward for every two steps back to the point where Peter never thought he would make it to see this day. Never thought this day was even possible let alone within his grasp. He was actually getting adopted. It wasn’t a trick, it wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t a punishment from Hydra where they get his hopes up just to smash them right before his eyes, this was real.
Right?
Part of Peter is just waiting to wake up. Find out that everything that has happened, everything Mr. Stark had done for him was just a dream. Was just a way of his mind trying to comfort him in the small reprieve he gets at night between punishments, training, and missions. Yes, the second kidnapping was a huge clue that this was in fact not a dream, but who knows, this could all still be a trick. Even the second kidnapping with Bucky could have been a trick. Hydra had tested Hallucinogens on him before and they always had new technology to try and alter his reality. This could all be a simulation that’s ready to glitch and fizzle out at any moment.
“eter… Pete, you alright?” He hears someone calling him. He finally digs his way out of his thoughts to see Mr. Stark kneeling in front of his chair, a concerned look on his face, eyebrows knit together. “Kiddo?”
“Sorry, what?” Peter asks, his cheeks blushing a bit in embarrassment. He looks around to see all the others looking worried. Although Bucky’s eyes are not just concerned, they have a sense of understanding in them. Bucky knew what had happened when he saw Peter’s glazed-over eyes, he knew Hydra was the culprit for the hollow stare. Steve had snapped him back from those memories and thoughts too many times to be ignorant.
“The judge was just asking you a question bud,” Tony replies, his voice gentle as his eyes scan Peter’s for distress.
Peter turns to the front of the room, “I’m really sorry miss… I mean your honor, what did you say?”
The judge, who has black curly hair and kind eyes, gives a small smile to the boy, “I was asking you if you approved of this adoption.” Her voice is calm and level, she doesn’t seem fazed one bit by Pete’s dissociative state.
Peter wonders for a moment whether he is not the first person to slip into a flashback or apprehension-filled thought in this courtroom, but quickly shakes the idea from his brain and focuses on the question at hand. The question that has already been asked to him twice. “Approve?” Peter asks, still not fully used to having choices.
“Yes, Mr. Parker, if you would like Mr. Stark to adopt you.” She elaborates.
“Is this a dream?” Some people around him chuckle softly, thinking it is a joke, but what they don’t understand is that Peter is actually asking. Bucky seems to be the only one who completely understands this as he looks on in almost sorrow. He has asked Steve that same question more than once before. Peter knows asking is useless though, if this is a dream he is essentially asking himself.
“No, this is not a dream.” The judge assures, even if it doesn’t do much to help, “Do you, Peter Parker, approve of this adoption?” She asks again, but she is patient and does not seem annoyed in the slightest. In the courtroom, she gets a lot of sob stories and dangerous criminals that have done horrible things and broken up/ruined families, but adoption days are her favorite. Adoption days are the days she lives for. Instead of seeing families ruined and torn apart, she gets to see one being made. Gets to see people without families be welcomed into a new one. It brings back her faith in humanity after/between all the terrible cases she has to see through.
“My answer would be the same whether this is a dream or not.” Peter says and then looks back down to Tony who is still kneeling in front of him, “Yes, I approve.”
Tony smiles at his kid. They both look over at the judge. She smiles as well and brings the gavel down. Peter braces himself to wake up as the gavel slams down and the sound echoes around the room. He closes his eyes tight, ready to open them up to his dark and dreary cell or to his place on the cold metal table he had been confined to. Ready for this fantasy’s wall to come crumbling down leaving nothing but devastation and pain in its wake. But when he opens his eyes he is in the same mahogany room, Mr. Stark is still kneeling before him with an expression that shows both joy and somehow concern, and everyone behind him is cheering for the father and son duo.
Peter stays frozen for a moment, not wanting to move or even breathe, worried that just those small movements will make this world shatter into the horrible reality of Hydra. When he finally does breathe again he looks down once more at Tony, “I’m really your son now?” Peter asks, eyes glistening with hope.
Tony immediately wraps his kid in his arms, right where he should be, “You already were Peter, now it’s just legally official.” Peter hugs back tight, still being mindful of his enhanced strength. Tony stands up, with the boy still wrapped around him. Peter puts his legs on the man’s hips and hooks his ankles together. He hugs the man like he’s an overgrown toddler. Hugs him like he’s almost afraid to let go. “Let’s go home,” Tony whispers into the boy’s curls.
Peter nods into his shoulder, tears of relief sliding down his face and onto his dad’s blazer, “Yes please.”
Bucky stands directly behind the two, smiling as he takes a picture of them with Peter’s brand-new camera, just as the kid had asked. This picture would be the first of many pages for Peter’s new scrapbook of his life.