Chapter 9
Slowly but surly things have started to settle down in the Stark-Keener-Potts-Parker household. It had been a month since Peter had first moved in with the Starks. He had settled into a mundane, though still somewhat tense routine. He’d leave early for work, come back late, sometimes alone, others with Sky, and then he’d hole up in his room. On rare occasions, he’d walk with Harley and Morgan in the morning, since they passed the diner he worked at to get to their schools. Today was one such day. Morgan was in the middle and had insisted on holding hands with both boys so they could swing her along. Harley was impressed by how good Peter was with her. His patience seemed to know no bounds, always indulging her every ask and paying rapid attention to every story about her friends, stuffed animals, and who she was having a play date with that afternoon.
“And then Lily showed me her new Barbie and she is so pretty! She had purple hair and a blue dress. Don’t you think purple hair is the most awesomest thing you’ve ever heard of?” Morgan rambled.
“Absolutely. Purple is definitely the coolest color.” Peter said in complete sincerity.
“Do you think daddy would let me have purple hair?”
“No.” Harley said quickly. The last thing they needed was Morgan staining the bathtub because she tried to use paint to dye her hair purple.
Peter smirked over Morgan’s head at Harley. “I don’t know Morgan, it would be pretty great, maybe you should ask him. Better yet, you and Harley could both get purple hair as a surprise from him.”
Morgan’s eyes grew wide, “That’s the bestest idea ever!”
You’re evil, Harley mouthed at Peter, who only smirked wider.
“But you need to have purple hair too Petey! We all need to match!”
“Yeah, Petey, we all need to match.” It was Harley’s turn to smirk.
Before Peter could reply, a group of men with cameras came rushing around the corner. Harley groaned, then tapped his watch, sending a non-emergency ping with their location to Happy. It had been a while since the paparazzi had showed much interest in them, but Harley still remembered what Pepper and Tony taught him. Send for help, stay quiet, keep walking. His grip on Morgan’s hand tightened. “Just keep going. Happy’s on his way.” He said softly.
“What’s going on?” Peter asked, frowning.
“Paparazzi. I’ve got a bad feeling someone spilled about you being Tony’s son.”
A man in a baseballl cap shoved his way to the front of the small crowd. “What’s it like being Tony Starks long last son?” He asked Peter.
“Oh god here we go,” Harley muttered under his breath. There was no way this could possibly go well.
“To be honest,” Peter took a deep breath and Harley held his, “it’s incredible.”
Ok. Not what Harley had expected.
“And slightly overwhelming. After all, when I was just Peter Parker from Queens, there were never paparazzi waiting outside my house.” Peter laughed, “it is really is wonderful though. Everyone has been so supportive and understanding. I know that it should feel intimating to live with Ironman, but to me he's not an avenger or a billionaire, he's just, dad.”
“Was it hard to learn that you had been replaced with 2 more children?”
Peter tilted his head at the pushy reporter, “It’s never felt like I was replaced. And anyway, I’ve always wanted siblings and I am grateful to be blessed with a brother and sister.”
“What was Tony’s Starks reaction to learning he had a son?” Another man pushed a camera closed to him.
Peter pursed his lips and Harley wondered if this was it, if the idea of Tony being completely innocent would be too much for Peter.
“I guess you’d have to ask him. Outwardly, he’s been nothing but welcoming and loving. I’m sure he faced a series of complex emotions, it would be unreasonable to pretend otherwise, but I’ve never felt unwanted.” And Harley could have swore he heard a crack in Peter’s voice on the last word.
A sleek black car finally pulls up besides them and Happy rushes out. “Ok back off you vultures, they’re just kids!” He shouts at them while ushering Morgan, Harley and Peter into the backseat. Once the door closes Harley stares over at Peter.
“What?”
“What was that?” Harley said.
“What was what?” Happy asks from the front seat as he starts to drive.
“The reporters were going crazy and asking Peter all sorts of questions about what it’s like to live with Tony.”
Happy winces, “How many fires is Pepper going to have to put out?”
“That’s just it, none! Peter gave the perfect answer every time. People are going to see Tony as an angel after this!”
Peter was slumped against the door, his face more defeated than any of them have ever seen it.
“You ok Pete?” Happy asked.
“Even after all this time, I’m still just a well trained dog.” His voice was thick and if Harley didn’t know any better, he’d think Peter was on the verge of tears.
“What are you talking about?” Harley furrowed his brow.
“Obadiah is still pulling my strings from six feet under. He trained me for five year how to speak to the press. How to smile and deflect and lie. I thought I had forgotten, no one had known I was Tony’s kid, so I never actually used what he taught me. But it turns out all I needed to remember was the flash of a camera. I’m nothing more than a dead man’s puppet.” Peter’s shoulders curled in, making him smaller than Harley could have ever imagined him to be.
Suddenly Harley envisioned a 5 year old Peter, scared and surrounded by strangers after being wrenched away from the only home he had ever known. Harley remembered being 5. He remembered playing tee-ball and seeing his mom cheering in the bleachers. He remembered watching her baking his favorite cookies, how she let him lick the spoon. He remembered having nightmares of boogie men lurking in his closet. He remembered jumping into his mom’s bed, knowing that she would protect him. He remembered feeling loved and safe and happy. Harley realizes that Peter never had that. Not once. And in that moment, he hates his father. He hates that Tony let Peter face the world all by himself.
“I’m sorry.” Harley whispers.
Peter gave him a strange look, “For what?”
“Him. Me. All of it.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“No, but it’s ok if you wanna be mad at me. If it helps.”
Peter turned away from Harley. Even with Harley’s blessing, Peter couldn’t find it within himself to be angry with Harley. Why couldn’t he be angry at Harley? He was always angry. Why couldn’t he take it out on Harley? The boy he had been replaced with. But the fact of the matter was he had never sent him away like Tony had. And he never beat him into obedience like Obadiah. Or ruin him like Skip.
“Yeah, well, whatever.” He muttered.
“Yeah,” Harley smiled, “Whatever.”