Peter
Peter wakes up early Thursday morning on his own, and he goes downstairs to make Bill and Diane their breakfast without prompting. Maybe if he’s really good it’ll keep them away from him for a little while. He feels like total shit today, and he really doesn’t need any other injuries.
He barely made it back after he stormed out of the tower yesterday. He’s lucky one of the nurses gave him a scrub shirt on his way out. He had to walk all the way back to the apartment because he didn’t have his subway card with him and his spider suit was destroyed, not that he could’ve swung home anyway in that state. He kept getting out of breath and having coughing fits the whole way, leaving him winded and his throat sore. His back ached and burned with every step, and his broken ribs just made it that much harder to take a deep breath.
Finally, he made it back. He took a shower and cleaned himself off as best he could and crashed in his bed. He kept his door shut and slept until about an hour before he was supposed to be home from his internship. After a nap, he felt a little better, so he climbed out the window and went on a walk to find his backpack that he abandoned when he ran into the burning building.
Then he walked through the front door of the apartment like he’d been at his internship all along and went about the rest of his night.
Right before he went to sleep again last night, his phone buzzed with a text message. He perked back up immediately and pulled it out from underneath his pillow, hoping desperately it was a message from his dad, but it said it was from Rhodey instead.
“Hey, Pete. I’d love to see you again before I go back to DC. Can you meet for lunch tomorrow?”
Ugh. There’s no way this isn’t about his and Mr. Stark’s fight earlier today. It has to be, but he does really want to see Rhodey. He doesn’t know the next time the man plans to be in town.
“Yeah I’m free.” He replies.
Rhodey sends him a thumbs up with a “pick you up at 11:30.”
Now, back to the present. Bill and Diane leave for work at the same time they always do, and Peter is free to get ready and do some anxiety fueled pacing around the apartment. He feels a lot better today, but still not good. He can still feel the wheeze of his lungs that makes him regret throwing away his old inhaler. This is a horrible idea, meeting with Rhodey today. He can just feel it. If there was any time to run away forever, it would be now. Sooner than he can decide to leave, he gets a text from Rhodey that he’s waiting outside.
Rhodey has the window rolled down when he walks through the door to the outside. The man smiles and waves at him, and Peter tries his best to return the smile, but the pit of nerves in his stomach turns it more into a grimace.
“It’s good to see you, Pete.” The man says with a wide smile as Peter opens the door and slides into the passenger seat.
“You too, Rhodey.”
The man pulls away from the curb as soon as Peter is buckled.
“Does pizza sound good? I know the best place just a few minutes from here.”
Peter shrugs. “Pizza always sounds good.”
“That’s exactly the answer I was looking for.” Rhodey replies. “Tony told me you bit off a little more than you could chew with an apartment fire yesterday. You doing okay?”
“Oh yeah, much better today.” Peter replies gratefully. “I saved the people inside. That’s all that matters to me.”
Rhodey looks contemplative. “Other people are important, squirt, but you gotta make sure you’re looking after yourself as well. You can’t save people if you’re too injured to do anything.”
Peter shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“So what else has Spider-Man been up to lately? I think I saw something about a bus full of elementary schoolers on the news the other day?”
Peter smiles a real smile. Finally, something he can speak freely about.
He tells Rhodey all about saving all the kids in the bus crash the other day, and the man is super into the story. He reacts to all the right parts. That’s one thing he always loves about Rhodey is he always listens to what Peter has to say without berating him for doing something dangerous. He treats Peter like an adult instead of some idiot kid.
When they reach the restaurant, Peter is completely at ease again and glad he agreed to come today.
Rhodey leads him into the small hole in the wall pizza restaurant. It was quaint and quiet inside. He walks in all the way to the booth in the back corner and sits down. Peter follows his lead. Pretty much as soon as they sit down, a server comes up to their table.
“Colonel Rhodes, so good to see you again! Should I get you started with the regular appetizers?”
“That’ll be great Marty.” Rhodey responds with a smile. “Double it actually. My nephew here needs his calories. Teenagers, you know?”
The man smiles and pulls out a pad of paper to write it down. “Of course, sir. I’ll be right back with those and some waters for you both.”
The man leaves quickly and Peter skims through the menu. Rhodey gives him some recommendations. A few minutes later, the man comes back with their appetizers and takes their food orders.
As soon as all their food is on the table, Rhodey gets down to business.
“So, Peter, I did invite you here because I wanted to see you and make sure you were doing alright, but I also need to talk to about some things.”
Peter’s face falls, but he nods anyway. He’s been expecting this since he got Rhodey’s text last night.
“Yeah, I figured.” He replies, slouching back in his chair and crossing his arms in front of his chest protectively. “I don’t know what Mr. Stark told you, but he’s wrong.”
Rhodey raises his hands in surrender. “I’m going to let you explain everything you want to explain, but first I wanted to apologize.”
Peter perks up. Apologize? For what?
“I know it’s not much coming from me, but Tony really regrets everything he said to you yesterday. He didn’t give me many details, but when I found him yesterday, he was completely distraught about what happened.”
Peter shifts in his chair, arms still crossed. “Really?” He asks, trying not to sound as hopeful as he felt. “He hasn’t even tried to text me or anything to see if I was okay.”
Rhodey shakes his head like he’s as annoyed about the whole thing as Peter is. “I know, Pete. He’s being a real ass about the whole thing. He’s just embarrassed about how he acted and he’s worried you’re mad at him.”
“Of course I’m mad.” Peter responds with a roll of his eyes. “But ignoring me isn’t making it any better.”
“Trust me, Pete. I’m on your side. I’ll keep pestering him though, until he pulls his fat head out of his ass, okay?”
Peter smirks. “Okay, sure.”
“I also wanted to ask about what you were fighting about yesterday.” Rhodey says. “Tony told me about the, uh, marks, that he saw on you.”
Peter immediately stiffens in his chair. Mr. Stark told him about the belt marks? He didn’t think Rhodey would know about that! Maybe it’s not too late to fake a stomach ache or something and leave. He glances around frantically for the nearest exit, but as soon as he starts thinking about making a break for it, he makes the mistake of looking up at Rhodey’s face.
The man looks so full of care and compassion, and Rhodey has always been so nice to him. He can’t just run out on him.
“I was telling the truth yesterday.” He replies firmly. “I get a lot of injuries on patrol everyday. Really.”
Rhodey doesn’t stop trying to make eye contact with Peter again. “I know that’s probably true, Peter, but I also know that you haven’t had the best luck with foster parents in the past, have you?”
Peter hesitates before shaking his head. Of course Rhodey knows about that as well. Who hasn’t his dad told at this point? There’s no point denying that.
“Well, no, but the Pattersons are fine-“
“Peter,” Rhodey stops him softly. “I don’t know why you try so hard to defend them when it’s very obvious you don’t like them. Now, maybe they gave you those bruises, and maybe you got them fighting crime, but either way, you don’t like living there. That much I can tell.”
Peter has to look away from the man’s intense gaze. The kindness he’s showing Peter is almost making him uncomfortable. How is he supposed to lie to Rhodey when the man is always nothing but nice to him?
“Fine, no. I don’t like living there. Happy?” He grumbles.
Rhodey’s eyes scrunch up in concern. “Of course I’m not happy to hear that. But I’m glad you’re telling me. I’m just worried about you, Pete. I want to make sure you’re safe.”
Peter can feel some of those horrible tears that come every once in a while forming in the corners of his eyelids. He wipes them away quickly, getting more and more frustrated with himself for acting so pathetic.
Rhodey isn’t done though. It seems that Peter’s tears are only encouraging him.
“Peter, I know I haven’t known you that long, but I really care about you. And I can see how much Tony cares about you too, even though he’s acting like an ass right now.”
Peter just sits there in silence, letting Rhodey tell him what he needs to hear.
“He didn’t mean to get so angry with you yesterday. He was just so afraid of seeing you hurt that he lashed out. He’s been so worried about you, and I have too. If there’s something going on with your foster family, let us help you. You don’t deserve whatever they’re doing to you.”
Tears are openly streaming down Peter’s face now. He stops trying to wipe them away and just lets them fall. Maybe Rhodey is right. He’s mad at his dad right now, but he was planning on telling him the whole truth yesterday before they got into that stupid fight. He looks up at Rhodey and thinks that maybe it’s finally time to drop all the secrets. He’s so so tired of living in fear of getting beaten every day, and he’s tired of half of his life being a lie. He’s getting so fed up.
“I….I think I need to tell you something, Rhodey.” Peter stammers out. He can’t believe he’s actually doing this. He’s kept this secret for so long, he doesn’t even know if he can actually say it out loud.
Peter takes a long time to pull himself together enough to actually get it out, but finally he stops crying, takes a deep breath, and looks Rhodey in the eyes.
“If I tell you this, I need you to promise not to tell Mr. Stark. It’s something he needs to hear from me.”
Rhodey looks a little taken aback, but Peter is pretty sure the man will agree to any conditions Peter has at this point. He seems really worried.
“Of course. Anything you want to keep secret is safe with me, Peter. It won’t leave this table.”
Peter nods again. He keeps having to remind himself that he can trust Rhodey. He still isn’t used to being able to trust anyone, but when Rhodey says that, Peter believes him.
“So, I’ve been keeping something secret from Mr. Stark, and now you I suppose, and at first it was because I was scared. I didn’t know if I could trust him or not. It’s been a really long time since I could trust anyone.”
Rhodey nods along, giving Peter time to get out whatever he needed to say.
“And then, as time went on, I just didn’t know how to tell him, because I’d been keeping it in for so long. And now, if I tell him, I don’t know if he’ll be able to forgive me for hiding it from him.”
Rhodey shakes his head. “No, Peter. There’s nothing Tony wouldn’t be able to forgive you for. Even if he’s mad at you for a while, he’ll always get over it eventually.”
“I don’t know,” Peter says, voice cracking with emotion as tears start falling from his eyes again. “It’s really bad, Rhodey. I think if he finds out at this point, he’s going to hate me.” Peter is having trouble continuing because he was getting so upset. He knows he shouldn’t be crying this much, especially in the middle of a restaurant in front of Rhodey, but he can’t find it in himself to care at his point.
“He isn’t going to hate you.” Rhodey insists. “If he gets mad at you for this, I promise I’ll make him see sense. I’m sure he’s been mad at me for worse things.” He smiles softly at Peter from across the table.
Peter has to say it. He can’t hold it in any longer. This was it. He takes a deep breath and…
“I’m Mr. Stark’s son”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Rhodey is frozen in his seat.
A few beats go by before the man opens his mouth to respond.
“Uhhh…..you’re what?”
Clearly he didn’t expect that.
“I’m Mr. Stark’s son, like, biologically.” Peter repeats, feeling more confident already now that he’s already said it once.
“You’re….Tony’s son. And…how exactly do you know this?”
Rhodey is clearly trying not to sound like he doesn’t believe Peter, not that he blames the man. He didn’t believe it when he found out either. It’s a lot to take in.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story.”
Rhodey glances at his watch. “Well it’s a good thing we have a few hours of free time and a supply of good food.” He gives Peter his full attention.
“I don’t know how much Mr. Stark has told you about me, but the last few years of my life haven’t been great.”
Rhodey nods. “He told me about your family, and that you’d been bounced around from bad foster home to bad foster home getting labeled as a delinquent for standing up for yourself.”
Peter shrugs. “Yeah, i guess that pretty much sums it up. Even before everything went wrong, I never knew who my father was. He wasn’t on my birth certificate. I was too young when my mom died to have ever asked her anything, and my aunt and uncle never knew who he was. When I got put into the foster system, I learned pretty quickly that I couldn’t trust anyone. My friend Ned, he didn’t know how bad things were, but he knew they were bad. He had this idea that my father was the solution. That all we had to do was find him and he’d come in and save me like some kind of fairytale even though I told him over and over I had no interest.”
Rhodey chuckles a bit despite himself. “So he didn’t listen to you and found your father anyway?”
Peter leans back with a sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. He stole a sample of my DNA while I was at his house one day and sent it in to one of those companies, you know.”
Rhodey looks like he’s thinking hard about all of this. “So…was this before you met Tony? Or after?”
“He told me a few weeks after I started the internship. We didn’t exactly get along at that point. And even after I knew the truth, I didn’t want him to know. I even stopped showing up for a while after I found out, hoping he would just forget about me.”
Now that Peter was finally getting to talk, he wanted to tell Rhodey everything. It felt so good to get it off his chest.
“I think I can guess how that turned out.” Rhodey says jokingly.
Peter rolls his eyes. “Yeah, Mr. Stark didn’t exactly let me quit. And then once I started actually spending time with him at the internship,” Peter continues, “things just got really good, and I started thinking maybe I did want him in my life after all.”
Rhodey sips on his drink, thinking about this whole situation.
“So, when you realized you could trust him, what exactly was holding you back from telling him?” Rhodey asked.
Peter sighs deeply. “Well, I thought about it in the beginning. I even asked him if he ever wanted any kids, and he started talking about how he could never have kids because of his dad, my Grandpa Howard.”
Rhodey snorts a laugh unexpectedly, choking on his drink. Peter just stares at him confused until he stops coughing long enough to explain himself. “No, no, it’s really not funny. Tony was telling you the truth. Howard Stark was a horrible father. I just never thought I’d ever hear someone say the words ‘Grandpa Howard’.” Rhodey chuckles again.
Peter even has a small, sad smile of his own. “Once I knew that Mr. Stark didn’t want any kids, it was really hard for me to want to tell him that he already had one. At that point, I really cared about him, and I felt like he cared about me. I didn’t think I could handle losing the only relationship I had where it felt like someone was actually looking out for me. Sure it was only for a couple days a week, but he feeds me, and asks me about my day, and tells me he was proud of me when I do something right, and actually fusses over me whenever I get injured, even if it’s a little too much sometimes. Mr. Stark is the first person to do that since Ben and May died.”
Rhodey sits up straighter like he’s had a thought.
“So…your current foster family. They don’t care much about you. Do they.” Its a much more of a statement than a question. Peter just exhales. He was hoping to avoid this part of the conversation, but it seems like Rhodey has already made up his mind.
Peter looks down at his lap, picking at his nails to avoid eye contact, and shakes his head no.
“And those marks Tony saw the other day. They did that to you?”
Peter nods, still not looking up. This is somehow even harder to admit than the secret about his parentage.
“How long?” Rhodey asks the boy softly.
Peter just gives a noncommittal shrug. “Since I got placed with them, a few months before I met Mr. Stark.
“Why haven’t you told anyone, Peter? You know we could help you-“
“Because you can’t!” Peter interrupts sternly, suddenly getting angry before remembering that Rhodey is just trying to help and calms himself down again. Rhodey doesn’t even react.
Peter takes a deep breath and tries again. “You can’t help me.” He says softer. “My social worker warns me practically every time she sees me that the Pattersons are the best family I’m going to get. I’ve been labeled as a criminal, a delinquent. I’m never going to get in with a good family, so I might as well just cut my losses and stay in a place that I know I can handle. This place isn’t as bad as other places I’ve been in. Besides, even if I told the social worker they were hurting me, she might transfer me out of the city, away from Mr. Stark and my friends. They’re the only good things in my life at this point.”
Rhodey sits back in his chair and crosses his arms, contemplating for a minute, before sitting back up and leaning across the table to Peter.
“I think you should tell Tony.”
Peter groans and rolls his eyes again. “Of course you would say that. You’re not the one he’s going to hate forever when he finds out.”
“He isn’t going to hate you, Peter. I told you earlier, Tony could never hate you. I think it’s going to take some time for him to get used to the idea, but he already loves you like his son.”
Peter rolls his eyes again. It’s starting to give him a headache.
“No, seriously” Rhodey continues. “You said it yourself. He always asks you about your day and genuinely cares about your answer. He makes sure you’re always taken care of when you’re with him. He helps you with your homework. He gives you advice. He tells you he’s proud of you when you accomplish things. He’s definitely extremely protective of you. You saw that yesterday. Isn’t that proof?”
Peter shrugs, but he actually is becoming more convinced.
“Can I just have a little while to think about it?” He finally asks.
“Of course” Rhodey replies. “How long do you need?”
Peter thinks for a second before replying. “It’s Thursday now, so I’ll tell him when I come over for lab day on Saturday.”
Rhodey scratches his chin. “I don’t know about that, Pete. I don’t love the idea of you being kept with those monsters for any longer now that I know the truth.”
“Please, Rhodey.” Peter leans forward on his elbows across the table. “I promise on Saturday I’ll come to the lab and tell my dad everything. I just need some time to figure out what I’m going to say. This might be one of the most important moments of my life. Besides, I’ve lived with these people for almost a year now and I’ve made it out just fine.”
Rhodey hesitates before answering. “Fine, but I don’t like it. And if anything happens before Saturday, anything at all, I’m taking you back with me to the compound until then. Deal?”
“Deal” Peter replies with a nod.
Rhodey pays for their pizza, and reluctantly drops Peter back off at his apartment.
“I promise I’ll be okay.” Peter tells him as he gets out of the car. “I just need some time to think. I’ll see you on Saturday, right?”
“I won’t miss it.” Rhodey promises.
Peter shuts the door and waves as the man drives away. He has some planning to do.