The Avengers
Peter stared in awe at his new room. HIS room. He felt a number of emotions well up inside him. Happiness, excitement, fear, anxiety, sadness, surprise, and many more. He was surprised Mr. Stark had done this for him. He was happy and excited that he had something to call his own and that it was made especially for him, decorated with stuff he loved, but he was also scared that he would now have to be alone at night. Being alone reminded him of being alone and bound to that metal table.
Even though the experiments were painful and the scientists were scary they were still a connection. Human connection, even if they didn’t talk to him. It was the absolute bare minimum, but without that tiny bit of connection, even if it was just a touch from someone trying to find a vein to inject, just that tiny bit of contact helped keep him from going absolutely insane. Now he was more on his own.
He was also sad that Mr. Stark didn’t want him to be in his room anymore. Not that he could blame him. He had been taking up Mr. Stark’s time and space for too long now. Peter was half surprised that now that he could walk Mr. Stark didn’t just throw him out. He had already done more than anyone else would ever do. He doesn’t have an obligation to care for him, and he never did. This whole human kindness thing was still new.
Still he didn't let any emotions other than surprise and happiness show on his face while Mr. Stark showed him his room. Showing any of his other emotions would be disrespectful for all the time and effort Mr. Stark had put into this room. A room Peter wasn’t quite sure he deserved.
“Over here you have a desk for art or, at a later date, homework.” Peter nodded in understanding. “Here we have your queen sized bed, sorry, the king took up too much room.” Peter didn't understand why he was apologising. A queen bed is better than any bed, expert for Mr. Starks, he had ever slept in. Plus it had a Star Wars comforter!
Peter didn’t know what to say so he just replied, “It’s ok, thank you.”
Tony just smiled softly, “And this over here is your closet. All new clothes, many many science puns I picked out for you along with some Star Wars shirts.” Peter smiled at that and looked through a few. One said: You Matter, unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light, then You Energy. Peter laughed and looked at another: I heard that Oxygen and Magnesium were going out and I was like O Mg. Again Peter laughed. He then came to a Star Wars shirt: It was two confused looking StormTroopers and one was saying “Maybe those were the droids we were looking for.” Peter kept laughing the more shirts he looked through.
Tony had a look of pure joy watching Peter laugh. He felt happy that he made that happen. He watched Peter’s face rather than reading the shirts. He did buy them after all, so he already knew what they said. But even if he didn’t, he is much happier watching Peter’s joy rather than reading the punny shirts. After Peter had looked through almost every shirt they moved on. “Over here is your own private bathroom, not super exciting.” Tony shrugged.
Peter still looked in awe. A private bathroom might not seem much to Tony, but to Peter it was huge. He can’t remember the last time he had a private bathroom or if he ever did. He can’t even really remember the last time he had a private room to himself, the cell he was kept in and the experimentation room did not count. In the orphanage there were many boys per room and they all shared a communal bathroom. Peter doesn't even want to think about what happened in those respects at Hydra. But now he had his own room and his own bathroom. Once again it felt amazing and scary at the same time.
Tony saw the hint of conflict in Peter's face. “You ok kiddo? We can stop.”
Peter snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head, “No, no, I’m ok.”
Tony looked at him with concern, but nonetheless said, “Ok,” He walked a bit forward and waited for Peter to do the same so he wasn't tugging at the IV line. Once he did, Tony continued. “Here you have your own chest of draws. There are some new clothes in there as well. And above it is your own TV.” Peter looked at it wide eyed. He had never had his own TV before. Not at his parents, not at the orphanage, and definitely not at Hydra.
“I can watch whatever I want?” Peter looked up at Tony with huge doe eyes.
Tony smiled, “Yes,” but then corrected himself, “well within reason. All age appropriate things, nothing rated R yet, and not too late or else you wont sleep.”
Peter smiled at how much Tony sounded like a dad, “Ok Dad.” Peter said in a sarcastic tone. He was still new to teasing and was still a bit worried about getting in trouble, but it just slipped out. To his relief Tony just smiled and laughed a bit.
Tony couldn’t help the warmth he felt from Peter’s words. He knows Peter was kidding, but it still made him happy to hear the words nonetheless. After a moment Tony continued, still smiling. “Lastly, I got you some lego sets.”
Peter looked at the sets in front of him, “Is that the Death Star!!”
Tony laughed at the excitement in Peter’s voice. “Yeah bud, it is.”
“That’s so cool! Thank you!!” he smiled up at Tony.
Tony smiled back, “Of course bud, I’m glad you like them.”
“I love them, I love everything here! Thank you!” he said again.
“No problem kiddo.” Peter found it hard to believe that all of this, everything around him, everything Tony had done was “no problem,” but he didn't say anything. “How about we rest, have some lunch, and talk about the rest of the day?”
“Sounds good.” Peter affirmed, his legs were getting tired and so was he. Resting was probably a good idea. They then slowly made their way back to Tony’s room.
When they made it back Peter got back on the bed and Tony went to Hang the IV bag back up. “Helen said she can take out the IV when the bag is empty.” He looked up at the bag and then back at Peter, “Since the bag is nearly empty, can I call Helen up with our lunch so she can take it out?” Peter looked scared, but still nodded. He wanted it out, it was one thing less to remind him of Hydra.
Tony smiled at him reassuringly before calling out to FRIDAY. “FRI can you send up our lunch and ask Helen if she can come up to take out Peter’s IV?”
“Yes Boss.” FRIDAY’s voice rang through the room.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. As if it was a hidden rule Tony looked to Peter for permission to open it. After Peter gave a nod with a small, but apprehensive, smile, he opened the door. Helen stood there with a tray of food and a few medical materials. Tony stepped back and let her in. She walked through the doorway and greeted Peter, “Hello Peter, how was your tour?”
Peter gave a wave, “Hi, it was good, thank you.” Tony was pretty sure that was the most Peter had said to Helen all at once. He smiled proudly.
“Good, I’m glad. Are you excited to get that IV out?” Peter nodded. “Alright then, can I come over?” Peter nodded again, but then looked at Tony with pleading eyes. Tony got the message and came back over to the bed. He sat beside Peter and took his hand, the one that did not have the IV in it. Helen came over to his right side, after putting the tray down on the chest of drawers. She set the supplies she needs on the bed. She picked up a small packet of alcohol wipes. “Alright, I am going to take off the IV covering ok?” Peter nodded, but his eyes showed a bit of fear. “Since it is stuck to your skin it might hurt a bit, but I will do my best to make it as painless as possible.” Peter gave her another nod. She took the wipe and after peeling back one edge she swiped at the sides with it so the adhesive would detach. Except for a few hisses of pain it came off easily. “Alright,” she said, grabbing a small piece of gauze and a bandaid. She opened the band aid package and peeled off one covered side so it would be easy to grab in a minute. “I am going to take the IV out now, if you don’t want to see you can look away.”
Peter did just that, knowing that Mr. Stark was watching and he would not let Helen do anything bad, not that she would. Tony gave his hand a squeeze of reassurance. As Helen retracted the needle there was a small wince from Peter. She apologised and then put the gauze on, holding on to it with a bit of pressure. She then took the bandaid and laid the non covered side on Peter’s skin and then peeled the other side to put the entire bandaid on so it was holding the gauze down. She then cleaned up the supplies. “All done.” She announced. Peter sighed in relief and looked back over. He was surprised and happy to see that it was no regular bandaid, it was a Star Wars one. It was R2D2. He smiled. Helen smiled and stated, “Tony was adamant that we get every Star Wars bandaid they sold.”
Peter, still with a smile on his face, turned to Tony. “Thank you.” This small thing was big to Peter, it helped make injuries and medical things more tolerable and easier. It meant a lot.
Tony still did not know everything that Peter likes, but he knows he likes science and Star Wars and he is going to use that information as much as he can as long as it makes Peter happy and puts a smile on his face. “Of course kiddo.” He said with his own smile.
“I’ll leave you two to lunch. If you need me, let FRIDAY know.” Helen said as she took the used supplies in one hand and wheeled the, no longer needed, IV stand with the other.
Right before walking out the door she heard Tony say, “Thanks Helen”
And also a much smaller, “Thank you.” from Peter.
She turned back and gave them both a smile and a nod before shutting the door behind her. Tony let go of Peter’s handand got off the bed to grab the tray sitting on top of the chest of drawers. “Looks like grilled cheese and tomato soup for both of us.” He stated, bringing the tray to the bed. Tony grabbed the pillow and put it on Peter's lap before handing over a plate with two diagonally cut grilled cheese sandwich halves and a small bowl of Tomato soup. Both the sandwich and soup bowl fit comfortably on the plate. He grabbed his own and got back on the bed. “What do you want to do after lunch?”
Peter thought about it for a minute. He remembers Mr. Stark mentioning other people in the tower. He also remembers Mr. Stark talking about introducing him to them. He is not sure he wants to meet them, but knows knowing more about them will help him make his decision. “Who else lives here?” He is starting to get a bit more comfortable with asking questions as he has not been punished here for asking them, yet.
Tony wasn’t expecting the question, but is happy Peter is asking about other people besides him and Bucky. He’s also just happy that Peter is asking questions period. “Well, Bucky of course. Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, sometimes Thor when he’s on world, and sometimes Rhodey when he comes to visit.”
“On world?”
“Long story. I don’t think he’s here right now anyways.”
“You wanted me to meet them?” There’s some apprehension in his eyes, but also curiosity.
“I would love for you to meet them and I know they would love to meet you. But only if you want to and only when you’re ready.” He made sure Peter knew it was his decision. That it was all up to him.
“Can you tell me about them?”
Tony smiled, “Sure,” He looked at Peter’s uneaten meal. “But you have to eat while I talk, okay?”
“Okay.” Peter said, taking a bite of the grilled cheese.
Tony did the same, but dipped it in the tomato soup first. Peter watched in confusion. Tony saw this, “Try it, it’s the best way to eat grilled cheese.” Peter with a curious expression lifted the grilled cheese and dipped it into the soup. He took a bite and melted into the comforting flavours. Tony chuckled at his reaction. “Told you.” Peter opened his eyes and smiled, it was so good! Something about it just made him feel warm and safe. He dipped the sandwich again and took another bite. Once he took that second bite Tony started talking again. “Where to start. I guess we'll start with Cap, or Steve Rogers. He is also known as Captain America and he is Bucky’s boyfriend. They were childhood best friends until…” Tony almost said Hydra, but knew it was a bit of a trigger world for Peter, “until Bucky was taken and not long after that Steve got frozen in ice.”
“Cryo?” Peter asked in a frightened whisper.
“No, he crashed a plane into the ocean and was found seventy years later.” Peter looked at him in shock, “Hey, capsicle is ok now.” Peter furrowed his eyebrows at the name. Tony explained, “That's my nickname for him. I have nicknames for most of my friends.” He usually would refer to them as his Team, but in order for Peter to trust them he said friends. And they were his friends for the most part.
“Do I have a nickname?”
Tony smiled, “Well I call you kid, kiddo, and bud, but I have not thought of any clever ones beyond those yet. I like ‘Peter’ anyway.” Peter smiled at that.Tony then continued, “Bruce Banner is also known as the Hulk. He was exposed to Gamma radiation that mutated him. But outside of being the Hulk he is a calm, down to earth guy. He also loves science.”
“What kind of science?” Peter asked. Tony was very happy Peter was asking so many questions. It showed how much he had come from when they first met and how he is getting more comfortable.
“He is a physicist.” He also knows some medical things, but Tony wasn’t going to mention that. Peter nodded and took another bite. “Let’s see, then there’s Natasha Romanoff. She might seem scary, but if she is on your side, which she is,” he made sure to add, “than she will learn to trust you and will care about you. She is also very protective of her friends and family and will do everything she can to make sure no harm comes to them, that now includes you.” Peter smiled again. “Then we have Sam wilson, I don’t know him too well, but he is kind and trustworthy. He is close friends with Steve and Bucky.” Peter nodded. If Bucky trusted him, so did he. Tony continued after a second. “Thor is, well in short, I will leave the whole story for another day, not from this planet and is basically a God.”
“A God?” Peter said, surprised and disoriented, “I don’t believe in God.” He said the last part a bit bitterly and sadly. He used it when he was really young, but after he lost everyone he loved he started to lose faith. And after he was taken he was positive there was no God. No God would ever let a person go through what he did.
“Neither did I kid. But Thor isn’t like the all knowing life giving God you hear about in church. He is the God of Thunder and his brother Loki,” just his name brings back memories of having to fly a missile into the wormhole. He pushed that memory aside, “is the God of Mischief.”
“There is more than one God?” Peter’s mind was blown. From what Tony was telling him Aliens exist and there are Gods, plural.
“Apparently, yeah. I don’t even get it myself, it's still hard to wrap my head around. Anyways,” Tony paused to give time for Peter to ask another question if he had one. Peter stayed silent and still looked a bit in shock, Tony decided to continue. He was almost at the end of his list. “Then we have Rhodey. He is my best friend, well him and Happy. Happy is my best friend, body guard, and chauffeur, but he does not live here. Neither does Rhodey but he comes to stay once in a while. He is also known as Colonel Rhodes.” While Tony talked Peter snapped out of his state of shock enough to listen. “Then there is Pepper, she also does not live here, but she is in the Tower a lot. She helps me run my company.” Peter nodded, still trying to take in all the information. “Lastly, also don't tell him I put him last or I'll never hear the end of it, is Clint barton. How to describe him. Well, he likes to play pranks and hangs out in the vents.” Peter laughed at that. “Also my nickname for him is legolas.”
“Lego what?” Peter asked. Tony laughed.
“Legolas. It's a fictional character from the book series Lord of the Rings. They also made them into movies. You would probably like the series. It’s not sci-fi like Star Wars, but it is Fantasy. Legolas is an elf and an excellent archer. ”
“So Mr. Barton looks like an elf?” Peter asked, eyebrows furrowed.
Tony lets out a barking laugh. “Well, I guess it depends who you ask. But no, I call him that because his specialty is archery.”
“Specialty?” Peter asked, once again confused.
Right, Tony had not mentioned that they were a Team. “Have you ever heard of the Avengers?”
Peter looked frightened once Tony said that, “Yes, they told me they were bad.” He whispered. Tony, once again did not have to ask who ‘they’ were. He was curious about what they said though.
“Really, what did they tell you?” Tony asked with one eyebrow raised.
“They said they are bad, that they are the enemies. That they kill and keep trying to take…” Peter also did not want to say the organisation's name. “Them down.” From Peter’s pause he understood ‘them’ meant Hydra.
“Peter?” Peter looked up at him. “Do you think I‘m a bad person?”
Peter looked dumbfounded, “of course not!” it came out louder than he meant it to.
“What if I told you I am in the Avengers.”
“What!?” Peter’s brain broke a little. He knew Hydra was bad, but it was still hard to believe that everything he was told for the last five years was a lie.
“Hydra is the bad one. Hydra is the enemy. The Avengers are there to help and save people.” Peter finched both times he said Hydra, but Tony needed Peter to understand they are evil and they are liars not the Avengers.
“So you are all part of the Avengers?”
Tony nodded, “I’m Iron Man, Steve is Captain America, Clint is Hawkeye, Natasha is Black Widow, Bruce is the Hulk, Sam is the Falcon, Bucky is, well Bucky, and Thor is Thor.” He paused to let all of that sink in. “We fight evil and keep people safe.”
“You trust them all? Are they all good people?”
“Yes,” Tony said simply and confidently, “I trust them all.” even Bucky now. Of course he did not say that part out loud. “They are family. They are safe.”
“Promise?” Peter's big brown eyes were full if trust and curiosity as he looked into Tony's. He needed to know he can trust these people. That they are not bad and that they wouldn't hurt him.
“I promise.” Tony said, his voice did not waver. After hearing that he believed him.
Peter took a breath and kept eye contact with Tony, “I want to meet them.”