Chapter 18
Harley could tell the moment Peter stepped out of the elevator that something was wrong. A thick haze of anger radiated off of him in a way that it hadn’t since he had first moved in months ago. Harley knew better than to poke the bear, but unfortunately, Ned and MJ, who came over to study, did not share his survival instincts.
“Hey Peter! How it’s going? Do you wanna help us study?” Ned waved as he called out to Peter, who flipped him off in response. Harley was pleasantly surprised by the relatively mild response. MJ, was not.
“Dude, what the hell is your problem? I like you better when your girlfriend’s around to muzzle you.” She snarked.
Peter halted and spun on his heel to face the trio. “She’s not my keeper! She doesn’t get to tell me what to do or say, no one does!” He growled out.
“Whoa Peter, let’s all just back off. Go get some space, we’ll stay out of your hair.” Harley placated.
“Shut up Harley.” Peter snapped.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Tony mildly said as he walked into the room. “Everything ok?”
Peter ran a hand through his hair, tugging hard as he tried to contain the overflowing hurt and irritation. The past couple hours had been overwhelming and he felt himself begin to lose control. He felt his chest tighten and his vision tunnel, just like it had with Steve.
“Leave me alone.” Peter muttered. He searched for the coping methods Bucky had shown him, but his mind was chaos, Faces and memories appearing in and out like strobe lights. Skyler. Kendra. Cam. A vicious loop of the people he’s let down. And in the forefront of his mind, the blue eyed devil who was at the root of all of it.
“Peter, look at me. What’s wrong?” Tony moved to stand in front of him, hand reaching palm out but instead of grabbing at him, he let it hang in the space between them.
Peter shoved Tony out of his way and ran past the elevator to the seldom used staircase. He stumbled out onto the street and began running with no clear destination in mind, just desperate to put distance between himself and the tower. He ran until his legs threaten to give out. He bent over panting, trying to catch his breath as his lungs scream at him. Once he no longer felt as though his chest was on fire, he straighten up and only then did he take stock of the familiar surroundings and realize just where his feet had lead him.
“Hey Pete. Long time no see.”
No. Of all the streets in New York, why, why, had Peter come here? Why would his legs bring him straight to hell’s literal doorstep? Even though every fiber of his being was screaming at him, begging him, to run as far from Skip as he could, his feet that were so ready to flee only minutes ago, were suddenly frozen in place.
As Peter processed where he was, Skip had continued talking as if nothing was wrong. As if they were simply old friends that had run into each other by mere coincidence rather than a cruel trick of fate. “I take it you heard about Kendra.” Skip tutted and shook his head, “such a shame for a girl as young and as pretty as she was to give up on her life.”
Anger flooded Peter’s veins, but when he opened his mouth to reply, all that came out was a pitiful whimper. His body was completely betraying him, forcing him to face this monster defenseless.
“I paid to have her buried of course, she only lived with me for a short while but I did care deeply for her.” Skip tilted his head, “But I don’t need to explain that to you, do I? You know just how much I care for my fosters.” Skip’s hand slides out of his pocket and he runs it down Peter’s arm, his fingers leaving an icy chill that settles deep into his bones.
“HEY! Back the hell away from my son!” Tony appears seemingly out of thin air and pulls Peter back so that he’s standing between Peter and Skip.
“Hi, I’m Skip. Peter used to live with me. A girl he knew recently passed away, I was just offering my condolences.” The smile Skip gives Tony is blinding and perfect.
“First of all, I don’t care who you are, don’t touch my kid. Second, you especially shouldn’t be within spitting distance of him. I saw the photos of what you did to him-“
“You mean his mugshots.” Skip sighed heavily. “It broke my heart to have to hurt him, but he was attacking me. I ended up in the hospital. By the time I was well enough to be released, he was already in police custody. There was nothing I could do to help him after that.”
“And what exactly did you do to him that caused him to lash out like that?” Tony nearly spit the words at Skip.
“Mr. Stark- Tony, I don’t know what lies Peter has told you, but you need to understand, he’s a troubled young man. It’s honorable you want to help, but you shouldn’t waste your time on Peter. Save your efforts for a child who will actually accept your help. I tried so hard with him, and the only place it got me was the emergency room.” Skips voice was level and sure. He spoke with such confidence that Peter nearly believed him.
But Tony wasn’t fooled.
“I’m not sure what exactly happened between you and Peter, but what I do know is that you clearly make my son uncomfortable and that’s enough for me. Back. Off. Or else a quick ER visit will be the least of your worries.”
Skip stepped forward, palms up and placating. Without a moment’s hesitation, Tony’s fist was colliding with his face. “I told you to back off!” Tony threw another punch at Skip, and Peter heard the crack of bone breaking when it crashed into Skip’s nose.
Tony gripped Skip by the throat and slammed him against the brick wall of the alley. Snarling he said, “You are never, ever, going to touch him again. Do you hear me? I can, and will, make your life a living hell. I know people who would love to dissect you. To tear you apart limb by limb, just to hear you scream. I know people who can make every trace of you disappear. I don’t know what you’ve done to my son, but you will never do it again. Because if you even try, I will dedicate my life to making you regret ever meeting him.” Tony let go of Skip, who fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Come on Pete, let’s go.” It amazed Peter how quickly Tony’s tone could change, going from threatening and villainous to soft and gentle in an instant. Peter silently allowed himself to be shepherded into the sleek black car that had pulled up beside them at some point during the altercation. Tony slid into the back with Peter and instructed Happy to take them home.
Home. The word bounced around Peter’s head. All his life, nothing had ever come to mind when someone would say that. Now, without his permission, memories of playing video games with Harley appeared. Memories of letting Morgan paint his nails a sparkly pink. Of watching Pepper bake cookies and letting him steal dough straight out of the bowl. Of working in the lab across from Tony while he sang along to AC/DC. For the first time in forever, the word home meant something. And as Peter stared put the window, watching the city go by, he realized that home was exactly where he wanted to be.