Secrets
The concept of an alien is something so farfetched that nobody would ever believe it to be true. ‘It’s just fiction’ they’d scream, ‘there’s no way they’re out there’. That was, of course, before Thor came down from Asgard and proved that he existed- as well as the rest of the further universe that the humans had not got to yet. It opened an assortment of problems consisting of delight, wonder, and (unfortunately) a whole lot of fear.
To Peter, the people who tried their best to break him are they themselves aliens. They come from a different planet to him, but he’s not interested in what makes them tick, or how to exploit their every move for his own benefit. Maybe it’s because he’s grown up with alien visitors coming in and out of his planet, but- maybe it’s because his heart has no need to be cruel. And he knows that he’s fine living his day-to-day mundane life without wanting more. And that’s all humans want. More.
Coming downstairs, Peter checks the calendar on the wall and realises it’s been at least two months since Tony came into that room and saved his life. The billionaire updates him daily if the teen’s captors had been found, but it’s always ‘we’re getting there’. Peter’s starting to think they’re nowhere near.
“Kid?” Tony says from the doorway, “You alright? You’ve been staring at the wall for two minutes.”
“Fine,” Peter responds, walking over to his knight in shining armour. He finds himself underneath Tony’s arm, as if it’s a comfort place. It’s safe home- where he can tuck his head against his chest and close his eyes. Staying like that, he’ll be okay. Because Tony cares for him, and he’s not like every other human. “Better now.”
“Yeah, same,” Tony chuckles, adjusting where he was standing so he can hug back with more efficiency. “May I ask what brought this on?”
“Nothing. Just missed you.”
Tony’s been on a trip for the last two days, and Peter hasn’t dared to speak to anyone else. Steve stayed behind with him because of an injury (and they needed some security just in case any kidnappers popped in for a visit), but the Captain barely got a sentence out of the kid over the entire period. Peter realises he doesn’t want the man to go again, but he knows that it’s a bit selfish of him to think like that.
“Missed you too, buddy.”
Tony lets go, sighing. Peter looks exhausted. Red eyes and eye-bags that shouldn’t be visible on a boy of his age, he can tell the kid’s been up and waiting for him to come back. That dependency is something that Tony would be annoyed about if it was from anyone else, but this is a kid he cares for. If he’s honest, it’s as if he’s got a surrogate son living with him and he wouldn’t want to change this for anything else- but he knows he needs to teach the kid how to be independent. What’s going to happen when Tony has an injury? What if he dies one day?
It’s not like Peter doesn’t know how to behave out in ‘normal’ life. He has two years of it with Ben and May. Yet now there’s this barrier stopping him. He doesn’t know who’s going to be behind him, lurking in the shadows, and he can’t put anyone he loves in danger anymore. So, he’s going to stay inside (or maybe go far, far, away) until he can figure out how to get out of here.
That’s right. Waiting for Tony, he realised it’s time he takes a ship, or whatever, to fly home. It can’t be any normal rocket. His planet is too far away. It needs to be sophisticated… He needs to get back to the Universal Neural Teleportation Network. It’s an artificial network his mama told him about, when she’d tell him stories of how others got to their planet so quickly. A section of generating wormholes in space, called Jump Points, that enables spaceships to fast travel across the universe.
Remembering a story that a raccoon called ‘Rocket’ told him once (after he tried to steal his friend’s fake leg) that jumping too far is dangerous, but it’s an enjoyable time, Peter’s had many fantasies of jumping across the galaxy, and if it got him far away from Earth- then so be it. Maybe, if he’s lucky, Tony might want to come with him… but that’s just a dream.
“Are you sure that you’re feeling okay?” Tony asks, “You’re not yourself. I mean- you’re quiet, but you’re never this quiet.”
“I…I want to leave, Mr Stark. I don’t want to be on Earth anymore.”
Tony’s face falls. It’s not as if it’s a surprise. Tony’s been waiting for the day the kid changes his mind about living here. It’s been too good. They’ve been so happy together. Spending time in the lab, like a duo that’s pulled together by a magnetic pull, Tony’s never felt as carefree. A smile on his face, now and forever, but… much like everything good in his life, it ends. And it’s not the kid’s fault. It’s never the kid’s fault. It’s better for him if he’s out of this hellscape, but God if it burns to hear him say it.
With a bite of his lip to hide the obvious distress, Tony lets go and leans back against the doorframe once more and crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah, yeah, that’s cool. That’s fine. And, uh, how do you think you’re going to do that?”
“I don’t know. If I’m honest. I just know that this- it’s too much for me. I’m scared twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I don’t know who’s coming for me, and when. I just want to be able to live normally.”
“…I get it, kid. I do. But if that’s the only reason you want to leave, I can help you. I swear. I can,” Tony says, his voice almost teetering on begging. It’s a little pathetic, but when you’ve become so attached it’s a hard to live by the ‘if you love someone, let them go’ mantra. “But… if you’re really wanting to go then, of course, I’ll help you.”
Lab times turn sombre. Working together to simply find a way for Peter to leave, there’s this tug in Tony’s heart that he can say quite confidently he doesn’t like. He watches Peter work, all fluffy hair with a focused face, and he’s not sure how to make him stay. He knows it would be wrong of him to force the ‘alien’ to stay on Earth… he’s had enough of that recently, but sometimes you find someone that fits so perfectly in your life like a puzzle piece and letting that go would be catastrophic.
So, he’s subtle with it. When Peter loves something that they eat, he’ll make an off-sure comment that sounds something like ‘hm, don’t think you could get that anywhere else but Earth’. Or he’ll put his jacket around the kid when he’s sleeping, draping him in his mother’s blanket to prove how good he is at this ‘surrogate dad’ stuff. He’ll go out of his way to buy Peter presents, using a lot of his wealth to spoil the kid in luxuries.
But when you’re trying to bribe a good being with a clearer conscience than glass, it’s impossible. Money isn’t what the kid wants. He’s too afraid of love. And, unfortunately, it turns out that you can get most ‘Earthly’ food on every planet… and, just like that, all his bargaining chips are lost. There’s not much more the Earth can really offer someone like Peter. If this new venture of his will finally put a real smile on his face, Tony just has to accept the fact that it’s happening and move on.
When Peter puts his mind to how he’s going to do this, it hits him that he hasn’t thought of everything keeping him behind. Would he ever see Ned and MJ again? May? Does he really want to say goodbye to Tony? But… he keeps telling himself it’s the safest option. Yet, as Tony goes upstairs to get them some snacks Peter ends up sobbing over his worktop.
“Pete?”
“I’m scared, Tony.”
“I know, bambino,” Tony whispers, reaching over to hold Peter’s face in his hands. “I don’t think you know how strong you are.”
“You tell me all the time,” Peter responds, but that’s what scares him.
They’re bonding too quickly for Peter’s liking. He knows exactly what Tony will say, or what he’s feeling- and tearing that bond apart is the worst feeling in the world. He knows, he’s been through it with a whole lot of people/aliens. At least with the ones he lost- there’s no ache in his heart that tells him to go back- because, for all he knows, Tony will always be there waiting.
And that’s how Peter’s night ends. He closes his eyes as he hugs Tony’s chest, his body eventually relaxing against that familiar blue light. When Tony takes him to his bed, he climbs into the sheets and holds the singular plush he likes the most out of the (at least) one hundred the billionaire brought him. As soon as the door closes and Tony leaves… Peter feels empty. It’s sad that he can’t be himself without Tony around, and it’s just going to make leaving a whole lot harder.
Falling asleep is a fool’s game. It’s irresponsible of Peter to think that just because he’s under the covers that he’s safe. He’s not. There’s no way. Because as soon as he closes his eyes, he dreams, and sometimes dreaming is worse than reality.
Peter’s powers blossomed into the ability to see. Everyone from his planet had good eyesight, yet Peter was the best of them all because he could see far beyond just the physical world. He saw into the future. At times, his spider sense was just a flicker or a feeling of something coming- but it developed. And now, sometimes, when he slept, he saw glimpses (almost as if they were pieces of a bigger picture) of a future… of things that might happen.
The first time it happened, he wrote it off as simple ‘déjà vu’. Young, confused, and powerful beyond anyone on his planet, he didn’t know what was happening to him. But then it happened again. He saw his dad coming home and tripping on the carpet, spilling their only carton of milk for the week. He dreams of his friend running around in their school yard, yelling at the teacher that they had more time to play, and it wasn’t time to go back to lessons. He dreams of fire, and the next week their neighbours house burst into flames. Only then did he tell someone, because otherwise he would’ve gone crazy.
They didn’t test on him. All they did was ask him questions, to which he happily answered. And life went on.
One night he went to bed, and he saw only a small glimpse of something strange. It was his mother holding him close as she cried her heart out. Their foreheads touching, she was mouthing words he couldn’t quite see. She looked depressed, heart-broken, but hopeful too. In the background of their embrace was red. Pure chaos. A world on fire… It would be a normal Friday night in his neighbourhood if it wasn’t so prominent.
And that vision was from the day his planet fell, to the day where he lost his parents and fell far, far, away to Earth. The same day he met May and Ben. A day that was so far away, but so close at the same time.
Slipping into the silk sheets Tony paid for, Peter closed his eyes and was out like a light the second his head touched the memory foam pillow. He sleeps soundly for a while, until the usual sign of something coming pops into his head. He sees Pierce, a man he’s tried so hard to forget, standing in the open like he has nothing to hide. And he sees the back of a familiar head. Tony’s.
Freaking out, Peter sits up and looks around the room. There’s no way… right? Tony wouldn’t do that to him… not after all they have been through together. He puts his heart over his rapidly increasing heartbeat, trying his best to keep his calm.
Was Tony just using him all this time? Was he trying to get into his head? To manipulate him until they had the information that they needed…? Peter was right. He knew this was all too good to be true. A comfortable bed, nice clothes, and a person who pretended like he loved him. It’s worse than the collar they put around his neck. And Peter, the idiot he really is, fell for it. Because why did he think that something was going right for him? It was stupid. He should’ve known. And now he’s the one who is going to pay for it.
Peter rushes to the side of the room, grabbing the first backpack he can find. Shoving some essentials in it, he throws it over his shoulder and tells Friday to keep this to herself. Sneaking out the door, he sees a light on in the kitchen. Curious, he peeks through the glass- and there- there he is.
Pierce is stood right in the middle, smiling. And Tony- he’s doing nothing. He’s letting Pierce talk, yet Peter can’t hear what he’s saying. Tony really has been working for them this entire time… Peter wants to pretend as if he’s not surprised. How can he? He’s seen the evil that humanity has to offer, but he never expected it from the man who held him as he cried or sat and watched hours of films with him just because he wanted to cheer him up. In a way, it’s worse than the torture. His heart has been ripped out, crushed under the weight of Tony’s betrayal… and he doesn’t think he’ll ever get it back.
Ten minutes ago
“Pierce?” Tony questions, wondering up from the lab after Friday’s informed him that they have unusual visitor on the floor. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about your alien visitor. Also heard you were trying to find the group of Shield workers that did this dastardly thing to the kid,” Pierce smiles, but it makes Tony feel a little queasy. The man looks like Ursula, a wide smile and a menacing grin that would make even the Hulk shiver. He’s never liked him. “And I have some news for you.”
“Oh? Who was it then?”
“The man you’re looking for is Brock Rumlow.”
Tony sighs. He should’ve known. He’s had a feeling that the man was nothing but trouble, and to know it was him all along that took Peter and that he’s just been walking around like nothing was wrong… it kills Tony. He must look angry, as Pierce runs his hand over his shoulder and gives him an attempt of a sympathetic smile.
“Oh, I know. It’s horrible. The poor teen must have been so scared. Trust me, I get that you want to go off on him but leave it to me… I’ll make sure he gets the sanctions he deserves.”
“Is he not your second in command?” Tony asks.
How did Pierce not know what Rumlow was doing? Was he in on it? There’s not much that can fool Tony, and the way the man’s acting is suspicious. He’s known Pierce to be this cold, scary, man. Pushing the blame onto someone under his work force is one hundred percent a thing that he’d do. So, what does Tony think? Does he let this man fool him? Or does he trust someone for the first time in a while?
“Exactly, Mr Stark. That’s exactly why I should be the one to reprimand him. I, after all, do know him very well.”
“If you knew him like you say you do, then how did he get away with this behind your back?”
“Mr Stark…. I know you are close to this alien now, but Rumlow was simply doing what he thought was best for our wider community. We both know that he went too far, but I do not think he meant it maliciously.”
“Not doing it maliciously?!” Tony repeats, shocked. “How dare you- I can’t even comprehend what you just said. He had an electric collar around a young kid’s neck after he just killed his uncle. And you think that’s what is best for the ‘wider’ community. Give me a break, Pierce. Were you in on this or not?”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say here.”
“Did you-,” Tony stops himself, taking a deep breath before he got too mad. “Tell me the truth. Did you hurt Peter?”
“Give me a break!” Pierce explodes. He runs his hand across his hair and stares angrily at Tony. “Why do you care so much about it?! It was information, Tony. It was days away from telling us how to travel amongst the stars like our many neighbours do. Think of the money! Think of how it will benefit our people! Surely one teenager is not worth the lives of so many. Are you that selfish?”
“The fact that you don’t see how messed up you are… it’s the most frightening part of all, Pierce. He’s a child. He’s not your plaything, and he’s certainly not alive just to give you information. He’s loving, kind, and he’s got more of a brain than you’ll ever have.”
Just as Pierce was about to angrily reply, his eyes tip over to the side of the room where he spots something that makes him flash a smile. He leans in, shaking Tony’s hand. Tony’s confused, not knowing where he was going with this, when he spots Peter running from the corner of his eye. The kid thinks he’s working with his torturer… all the trust they’ve built, their relationship, it’s all been torn apart because of one, fake, handshake.
“Peter!” Tony shouts, pushing past Pierce. He doesn’t care what the man does in that moment. He doesn’t care about anything other than the kid sprinting down the hallway. He’s getting smaller and smaller, and there’s nothing Tony will ever be able to say that would stop him. “Pete! Please!”
But… he’s too fast. And Tony doesn’t want to use the suit. He can’t jump into his armour and force the kid to come back. He’s made his choice. But Tony can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt. He walks back into the living room, punching Pierce (who’s standing in Tony’s living room with a sly smile on his face as he’s won) straight in the face. He hits Pierce again. And again. Hopefully he can make him feel just like Peter did. But apparently, Pierce has been training. And he manages to hit back- and it becomes a full-on fist fight until Steve Rogers pulls him away- still kicking and screaming.
“Tony? What’s going on?” Steve says, with his voice stern- acting like the captain of the team that he is. He wipes a bit of blood of the man’s cheek, concern all over his face- nobody looks over at Pierce.
“Ask that asshole,” Tony interjects, pushing himself away from Steve’s body, “ask him why I no longer have a wonderful kid in this house, ask him why Peter was so damn afraid of everyone. It’s all his fault.”
Before he could see how that went down, Tony storms out of the room and finds himself standing in Peter’s room. He stares at every piece of furniture, the bed not made. He can see where Peter was sleeping. Yet, that plush he loved so much is nowhere to be found. Most of the stuff Tony brought for him is still all over the floor… and it just reminds Tony of how much he lost. He remembers sitting on that exact part of the bed as poor Peter cried his heart out and told Tony how much he felt safe here.
And now he’s not safe at all.
Peter’s out there… probably cold and alone. He’ll be terrified that Pierce is going to get him again. And what if he does? Pierce won’t be stupid enough to set up ‘shop’ in Shield’s headquarters again. He’ll go somewhere else. Because he’ll escape sanction. There are no laws on aliens… so, is it technically lawful that he did what he did? What if they kill him and Tony has to mourn his kid for the rest of his life? Tony can’t go through that. He has to get to the kid. He has to.
It must be hours later when Steve comes into the room.
“Tony?”
Tony doesn’t reply.
“Tony? Look, uh, we can find him.”
“And how are we going to do that, Steve? Hm, what expert ideas are you going to come up with to get my kid back?”
“I know you’re hurt, Stark, but there’s no need-,”
“No need? Steve, my kid’s out there. They’re going to get him, and you think this is time for pleasantries? Tell me, did you patch him up and send him to the med-bay with an ice pack? He almost killed Peter. He attached an electric collar to his neck and kept him in a room and you’re telling me there’s no need to be angry? I really don’t get you.”
“I understand that you’re angry.”
“Steve, man, you don’t understand anything right no-,”
“Tony,” Steve interrupts, taking a deep breath. “You’re not going to help Peter by standing here and complaining. Get in a suit. Ask Jarvis. If you’re this worried, do something. And, no, I didn’t send him off to the med bay. In fact, I got a few punches in myself once I realised what was going on. And if you didn’t storm out, you would’ve seen that I sent him into Shield custody.”
Tony looks over at the captain, guilt trickling through his veins. He sighs, looking down at his feet as if he was ashamed. He can’t let Steve see his tears. It’s too embarrassing. But when he feels a hand on his shoulder, he looks up and Steve can see just how vulnerable he looks.
“I know it hurts, Tony. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love so dearly. But we can get him back. And we will,” Steve says, “I promise.”
Tony doesn’t know what comes over him, but he leans forward and wraps his arms around his friend’s body. Steve responds immediately by holding him back, his hand in Tony’s hair to comfort him. “It’s going to be fine,” he whispers, “Peter’s going to be fine. He’ll be okay, and so will you,” he affirms, squeezing him a little tighter as Tony’s sobs start to rack through his body.
“I miss him already,” Tony sniffs, “I-I want him to be safe, Steve.”
“And he will be. We’ll send people to go out and look for him-,”
“No, no- no, he won’t like that. He doesn’t like people, and he’ll see them, and he’ll think that we’re just trying to kidnap him again. We can’t let Shield get him, Steve. We can’t.”
“Okay,” Steve says. He lets go, watching how Tony quickly wipes his tears with his sleeve. Tony’s embarrassed, but there’s no reason to be. “Then we’ll go. We’ll go out every single day until we can get him back. Until he’s home.”
“You’ll help?”
“Of course, Tony. Because that kid has stole a lot of people’s hearts. Not just yours. And all we want is to know he’s okay.”
Knowing Peter’s out there, Tony struggles to sleep. He twists and turns in the bed, so much so that he ends up on the floor somewhere throughout the night. But he doesn’t care. Until he gets Pete back, he’s numb- and he wonders if this his how parents feel when their kid’s go missing. It’s the most horrible feeling in the world, and he’d never wish it on his worst enemy. Never. Because there’s this piece missing from him, and until he gets him back… well, he’ll never be whole again.