Chapter 8
In the end, Peter and Skyler ended up walking back to the Tower with Harley. Peter resisted at first, insisting that Skyler and him were planning on going back to her place, but then she told him her dad hadn’t gone into work this morning so the odds were that he’d be there. That put an end to that idea. So when Harley mentioned that they could just come back to the Tower, Sky jumped on it before Peter could come up with another excuse.
“Tony is really chill about friends coming over.” Harley reassured in the elevator.
“Maybe for you.”
Harley rolled his eyes, “Fine, don’t believe me. I love being able to say “I told you so”.”
Pepper was in the living room when they stepped out and she did a double take when she saw Peter and Skyler standing besides Harley.
“Oh! Hello, I’m Pepper, Tony wife.” Pepper stood and extended her hand out to Sky, who glanced a Peter. He nodded slowly and Skyler took her hand and shook it gingerly.
“Skyler. Peter’s girlfriend.”
“It’s so lovely to meet you Skyler, how long have you and Peter been together?”
Again, Skyler looked to Peter, not sure how much he wanted her to share. Peter shrugged so she replied, “3 years, though, I’m not sure it really counted as dating when we were 14, seeing how we barely saw each other back then.”
“Well it’s wonderful that you two are still together. Young love can be fickle, so it’s credit to you both.”
“Sometime you need to hold on to the only stability in your life.” Peter said cooly.
Pepper nodded, not missing Peter’s meaning. “That’s very true. I’m glad you two found one another.”
“Yeah, well, we are gonna be in my room.” Peter took Sky’s hand in his and started to pull her down the hall.
Pepper almost called after them to keep the door open, just like she would with Harley, but she was so happy that Peter had come home and had felt comfortable enough to bring his girlfriend, she let it slide. After all, odds were they had never had any sort of adult supervision, and who knows how Peter would react to it coming from Pepper. Once Peter and Skyler were well out of earshot, Pepper motioned for Harley to come sit by her. Dropping his backpack on the floor, he collapsed onto the sofa.
“I feel like I missed something.”
“You definitely did.” Harley agreed.
“What did we miss?” Tony said as he walked out of the elevator.
Harley looked over at him and frowned, “Where’s Morgan?”
“Happy took her to the park. So what I miss?” He settled on the couch next to Harley.
“Peter came home with Harley. And his girlfriend. They’re in his room now.”
Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “He brought Skyler home?”
“You know her?” Harley asked.
“I meet her briefly the other day. How did all of this happen?”
Harley filled them in on the events that took place in the diner, including Peter’s shocking comprehension of physics. He also told them about the run in with the girls.
“I couldn’t believe the things they were saying to him! They were talking about him like he was some kind of animal, and he just stood there and took it! Even since Peter got here, he’s done nothing but fight, then suddenly it was like he was just, I don’t know, afraid or something. So I got up and yelled at them, and so did Skyler and MJ. When they finally left, Peter just acted like nothing had happened. Like it didn’t matter how they spoke to him.” Harley ranted. Though he had tried not to let it show to his friends and to Peter, he had been shaken by what had happened. He had never expected a group of girls to be so cruel to someone they didn’t even know, and even more surprising, the Peter he had seen totally disappeared, leaving a submissive and timid shell behind to face it.
Tony’s face was as stiff as stone as he absorbed the information. He wanted nothing more than to track down the girls from the diner and give them a piece of his mind. But he knew that Pepper would never allow it. It wouldn’t be a great look if Iron Man came out of retirement to fight a group of 16 year old girls. So instead he stayed silent as he try to temper down his anger.
“I hate to say it, but Peter is probably used to being spoken too like that. Not that it makes it ok, but think about it. What kind of environments has he grown up in? He never had anyone around to tell him that he mattered. That no one should ever speak to him like that. And this happened while he was working, so any retaliation could cost him his job.” Pepper said gently. She knew that as tough as Harley tried to act, at his core, he was a kind, compassionate boy.
“It’s not fair.” He grumbled.
“No, it’s not, and that’s my fault. I should have been there for him. I should have been the one to teach him that he matters. But I wasn’t. So now we need to help him to heal and treat him how he deserves to be treated. I’m really proud of you for standing up for him today Harley.” Tony said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
For the next hour, Harley works on what’s left of his homework as Tony and Pepper slowly start cooking dinner. Harley kept catching Tony glancing down the hall towards Peter’s shut bedroom door. Finally, it opened and Peter and Skyler stepped out. Peter’s arm was slung around her shoulders. As they walked into the common space, Harley noticed that he pulls her just a bit closer. His grip turns just a little tighter.
“Skyler, it’s nice to see you again. Are you staying for dinner?” Tony smiled as he wiped his hands a a dish towel.
“I can’t, my dad’s waiting for me. Peter is going to walk me home.”
Just as she spoke, Happy came into the room, Morgan by his side. When she caught sight of Peter and Skyler, a large smile spread across her face.
“Morgan, hold on, come over here for a second.” Tony called out from the kitchen.
Morgan ignored her father and ran straight up to Skyler. “Who are you? Are you a princess?” She said, eyes filled with awe.
Peter stifled a laugh and Sky nudged him in the ribs. “My name is Skyler. But you can call me Sky. I’m Peter’s girlfriend.”
“I’m Morgan. I’m Peter’s sister. Even though we just met this week.”
Behind Skyler, Peter disguises a choked sound with a cough and Tony isn’t quiet able to figure out what that means.
Skyler grins down at the little girl. “Well, can I tell you a secret Morgan?” Morgan nods excitedly and Sky leans down to stage whisper in her ear, “Peter has always wanted a little brother or sister. So thank you for making that wish come true.”
Peter’s face grows red and he shoves Skyler, “Ok it’s time for you to go before you spill anymore secrets.” Skyler laughs at him and shoves him back even harder.
“You need to thank Harley too!” Morgan squeaks out.
“What do you mean?” Skyler asked.
“Daddy said Harley is 4 months younger than Pete, which means he’s Petey’s baby brother!”
Harley groaned and Peter laughed. Morgan just looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was so funny.
Biting her lip to keep a straight face, Skyler said, “You are absolutely right. Thank you Harley for being Peter’s baby brother.” She winked at him.
“You should probably get going, right Peter?” Harley pled.
“Definitely, let’s go Sky.” Peter agree readily.
“It was nice to meet you Skyler, we’d love to have you and your family over for dinner someday. Maybe you and Peter can arrange a date?” Pepper smiled.
“That’s sweet Pepper, but it’s just me and my dad, and trust me, he’s the last person you want to meet.”
“Ah, well, you are welcome here anytime.”
“That’s a kind offer, but you might regret the ‘anytime’ part.” Skyler teased.
“Leaving, now.” Peter groaned, finally dragging her into the elevator.
Once the doors closed Skyler turned Peter into her, “I like them. I mean, I know that I’m supposed to hate Tony, and I still do, I promise, but, I don’t know. Somehow they are exactly the type of family I imaged you’d have.”
Peter just shrugged, unwilling to admit to Skyler, or himself for that matter, that he felt the same way.
And it terrified him.