lights, camera, accion (put me in a movie)
As Peter got out of Tony’s car, Caterina put her cigarette out. He started waving his hands around frantically, speaking hysterically as he took Elisabetta and started to bounce her on his hip.
“Lui e qui. Vuole cenare con noi! Non possiamo lasciare che lo scopra, non possiamo, oh mio Dio, se scopre che siamo tutti andati, gesu, gesu, oh mio Dio, menti, menti, e menti! (He's here. He wants to have dinner with us! We can't let him find out, we can't, oh my God, if he finds out we're all gone, Jesus, Jesus, oh my God, just lie, lie, and lie.)” he shouted into the open door.
Tony Stark himself got out of the other side of the car and took off his sunglasses, tucking them into his suit jacket pocket. Peter immediately walked over to his side, wiping the tears from his eyes before they could fall.
“Mr. Stark, this is Caterina, my oldest sister, and Elisabetta, the youngest.” he introduced as the rest of the children bounded out of the house. Valentina came out holding Carlotta’s hand and walking slowly, but Mario and Luigi timidly walked over and hugged Peter’s leg. “Look, Maz, Gi, this is my boss, Tony Stark. He’s Iron-Man.” he whispered as if it was a secret.
Mario and Luigi stared up at Tony with wide eyes, full with awe. Tony chuckled. “It’s nice to meet you all,” he said with finality. Caterina smiled at him.
“I’ve heard you’re round here for dinner,” Caterina raised an eyebrow as Tony affirmed this. “Pietro! You ragazzo idiota! (Idiot boy)” she turned on Peter and smacked him with her slider. “I’ll put something on. Pizza alright with you?”
“‘Course.” Tony replied, and followed behind Peter as they all entered the house. Caterina started to sort things out, apologising profusely.
“Sorry,” she said. “It’s such a tip in here, we weren’t expecting anyone.” Caterina glared at Peter and he sheepishly grinned. He put Elisabetta in her high chair and ran upstairs. “You better be tidying up up there!”
“I have things to do!” Peter yelled back.
“Oi! Get down here. We have a visitor, you little merda!” Caterina screamed, waving a slider up there. Peter stuck his head out of the room he had attempted to hide in.
“Fine, fine. Put the pizza in then, it’ll be Christmas soon.” Peter waved her off. “Mario, tell me about your day.” he said as he flopped onto the sofa.
“We drew pictures for Thanksgiving.” Mario said, pulling one off of the end table. “This one’s Luigi’s. I didn’t like mine, so I threw it away.” he explained timidly.
“That’s such a good photo, Luigi,” Peter praised. Tony observed the simple domesticity of the scene, and marvelled at the way that Peter handled the children.
“Pizza will be another 20,” Caterina mused as she walked into the living room and sat down. “Take a seat, Stark.” she offered as Peter and Mario shifted up the sofa to make more room.
“You all Mary’s?” Tony asked cautiously. Peter frowned at the mention of their mother, who was fuck knows where. Caterina nodded.
“Some of us have different dads though,” she explained. “Like, I’m pretty sure Mario and Luigi, me, Valentina and Peter are all Richard’s. But we’re not so sure about Carlotta, but we’re definite with Elisabetta.”
Valentina came in the room then, a piece of paper in her hand. “Pietro, can I have some money? I know it’s tight, but it was my birthday yesterday and I really wanted some nike airforces.”
“Yesterday?” Peter frowned again. “I thought it was tomorrow!” he sat up in shock. Valentina rolled her eyes, scrunching the paper up and throwing it away.
“Oh well, it’s whenever, to be fair. If you’ve got a cake or something for tomorrow it’s tomorrow.”
“I don’t think that’s how birthdays work, kid.” Tony raised one eyebrow as he sat back. Valentina mimicked him.
“Well, my mum was too drunk to remember what the day was but it definitely makes celebrating easier.” Valentina grumbled. Peter then handed her a twenty dollar note. “Thanks, Pietro!”
Tony then took the time to look around the house, and saw alcohol bottles littered in the corner of the room, and a pile of clothes in the kitchen. The stench of smoke hit him, mixed with alcohol, and there was pizza boxes and red cups hogging the counter.
“Oh, look!” Caterina got up and checked the pizza. “Pizza’s done, guys. LUIGI!” she shouted up the stairs.
They had pizza and frankfurter sausages, that for some reason all the kids preferred cold, and they all crowded around the table. “Sorry that they’re cold,” Peter apologised. “The kids like them like that. They’re weird.”
“We wouldn’t be Parker’s without being weird, Pietro.” Valentina joked, though it seemed to run much deeper than that. Peter grinned, but his eyes held an undertone of sadness.
In the middle of eating, where the kids had all warmed up to Tony and had been chatting about what they had done at school, accompanied by his questions of “What did you do today?” and his exclamations of “that’s so cool!” at the perfect times, the door opened.
Peter held his breath and gripped his hair in his hands. Caterina paused, her face paling three shades. Valentina stopped chewing. Mario, Luigi and Carlotta all paused. They stared at their older siblings for comfort, not knowing what was going on. Elisabetta looked to be on the verge of tears.
The door opened.
Three dark shadows overtook them. Peter opened his eyes as he didn’t hear the door being shut clumsily or out of sense yelling.
It was better than expected.
In the doorway stood two of their cousins. Ximena had returned, he noted, and Malena was here with their baby brother, Mateo. Peter’s face lit up and he rushed out of his chair to greet them.
“Dios Mio! Hola, hola! ¿Qué estás haciendo aquí? (My God! Hi, hi! What are you doing here?” Peter rapidly spoke, getting three plastic chairs and setting them up. “Ximena! You just left!”
“Si, to get these lot.” Ximena confirmed, sitting down and taking a sausage from the bowl. “Eurgh, you lot are weird.”
“You’re weirder.”
“Whose this, then?” they all pointed to Tony, but Malena pointed to Elisabetta.
“Oh, ese es el nuevo bebé de Mary. (Oh, that’s Mary’s new baby.)” Caterina said. “This is Peter’s boss, Tony Stark. Mateo, here’s a little secret: he’s Iron Man!”
Much like Mario and Luigi, he had wide eyes.
After dinner had ended, Malena, Ximena and Mateo were the main focus of the night. Tony managed to pull Peter to the side alone to have a chat with him.
“Where’s your mother?” Tony asked. Peter shuffled. He opened his mouth briefly, but looked behind him before answering.
“She works so many night shifts it’s like, unreal.” Peter said.
Lie.
“I’m worried you’re doing a lot of work, Pete,” Tony said. “You look a mess.”
“Aw, thanks.” Peter said sarcastically. “You care?”
“Of course.”
“I’m fine.”
Lie.
Peter had never prided himself on being the best actor.
He had always been giving the performance of his lifetime.