Paranoia

The hinges creek as Peter opens the old door to his and May’s apartment. Pausing, he glances around the familiar space, relishing in the comforting feeling of being home. The same mismatched furniture decorates every room, family pictures hang crookedly on the walls, and random books lie scattered across various surfaces where May had set them down and never picked them back up again. A faint smell of something burnt lingers in the air from whatever May attempted and failed to cook last. 

It really had been too long since he was here. Tony all but legally adopted him into their family, giving him his own room, clothes, and even chores to help out around the penthouse since Pepper fired most of the housekeeping staff in fear that Morgan would be too spoiled. They ate meals together, had movie nights, and generally did things that a normal family would do. Truthfully, the only thing separating Peter from every other adopted kid was a few pieces of paper legally stating that he is theirs.

“Peter? I didn’t know you were coming over.” May’s surprised voice greets him as he walks further into the apartment to find her watching a movie.

Peter stops when he sees Happy sitting next to May, his arm wrapped around her shoulders while she leans into his side. “Um, what...what is going on?” 

“Just, uh, watching a movie.” 

“I didn’t realize you two were friends.”

“W-what? Of course we are friends.” May answered a little too quickly for it to be believable.

Peter simply raises an eyebrow at his aunt, but decides to save the questioning for later. All he can think about is the predatory look that crossed Leon’s face every time the man even glanced at Morgan. He wants to trust himself, wants to go with his gut instinct that says something is wrong, but after Tony’s accusations doubt starts to flood his mind.

Maybe Tony was right.

Maybe Peter had imagined the dark impression that he got from Leon. It was a really big night and Peter had been stressing about the meeting all day. He could have been overthinking and over analyzing Leon’s every move, watching for the smallest hint that something was off. If he’s being honest with himself, Peter knows that this wouldn’t be the first time he wrongfully accused someone of having bad intentions. He had done it a few times before as Spider-Man, and definitely more often since Skip.  

As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, there is no concrete evidence against Leon. He didn’t say or do anything to Morgan that would point to him being a bad guy. Peter’s assumption was simply based on a bad feeling and an easily misinterpreted facial expression.

“I’ll be in my room.” Peter sighs, readjusting the duffle bag on his shoulder as he continues down the hall and into the small room in May’s apartment. Closing the door, he drops the bag in the middle of the room before flopping on the bottom bunk. His phone buzzes in his pocket and Peter doesn’t have to look to know who is calling him. Silencing the call, Peter tosses his phone away from him on the bed.

Peter rolls his eyes when he hears May’s phone ring in the other room. Of course Tony would call May next. Groaning, he pulls a pillow over his head, trying to drown out May’s side of the conversation. He just wishes this night would end already.

“Hey, Kid. I don’t like how we left things off last night. I’m just calling to check in on you. Call me back.”

“Peter, please. May says you’ve locked yourself in your room. We’re both worried about you so please just call me. We need to talk about this.” 

“Kid I swear if you don’t answer your damn phone…”

“Peter, sweetie, it’s Pepper. Please call Tony.”

“Damn it kid! I’m coming over… Yes I am Pep! Ye- (sigh) fine. I’m giving you until tomorrow, Pete. Call me back.”

It’s been two days since Peter walked out of the penthouse and Tony just won’t give up. Like clockwork, he has called on the hour every hour, the voice messages he leaves growing more and more desperate. Peter almost feels bad.

The doubts still run in Peter’s head, making him second guess what he saw. However, despite his uncertainty, there is still the slightest part of his mind saying that he was right. Peter clings onto that small voice, not wanting to disregard it until he is absolutely sure that he was wrong.

It is because of that tiniest possibility that Peter is finally calling Tony back. He’s not doing it for Tony, not for himself, but for Morgan. Saving that little girl from unspeakable terrors has Peter pushing his own anger and feelings of betrayal to the side. He refuses to watch from the sidelines as an innocent child experiences the same horrors that Peter has endured. Tony might not be willing to do anything without proof, but Peter has learned the hard way that once there is proof, it’s too late.

The phone barely rings once before it is answered. “Peter? God, kid, I didn’t think you’d ever call me back.”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy.” It’s a lie. Peter knows it and Tony knows it. 

Tony sighs and Peter just knows that Tony is running a hand through his hair like he does every time he’s at a loss for words. “Look kid, I am so sorry about what I said the other night. I shouldn’t have insinuated that you were lying. I am sure you thought that what you saw was real. It was a stressful night for all of us.” 

Tony still doesn’t believe him. He thinks the stress of being near a stranger caused Peter to imagine it.

“Come back to the penthouse. We can smooth this all over and move on. Please.” Can Tony even hear himself right now? He’s trying to sweep it all under the rug as if it never happened. The sooner they forget about it, the sooner they can move on and go back to normal, right? 

Wrong. 

There are so many things Peter wants to say to Tony, the simplest of them being ‘fuck you’ or ‘leave me the fuck alone’, but it wouldn’t get Peter where he needs to be. For now, he has decided that he will play nice with Tony. 

Peter half-heartedly agrees to Tony’s question with a noncommittal ‘Okay’, which is all Tony needed before he started making plans for Peter to stay with them again. “Dum-E hasn’t stopped making sad beeping noises since you left. I don’t know how, but you managed to get that robot to really care for you.”

“I’ll be happy to see him again.” Peter sighs, tired of listening to Tony act as if nothing happened, as if Peter hadn’t been gone for two days struggling to cope with the fact that his mentor and father-figure thinks that he is overly paranoid and can’t tell the difference between reality and delusion. 

Thankfully May pokes her head in Peter’s room at that moment, giving Peter the excuse he had been looking for to hang up. “I got to go, Tony. May needs to talk to me.” He doesn’t wait before disconnecting the call and turning to his aunt with a relieved smile.

May gives him a questioning look, her hands on her hips. “Tony?”

“He wouldn’t give up.” Peter answers with a shrug as he tosses his phone on his bed and flops face first on the pillow.

“Are you forgiving him?” May asks, her voice hesitant but with a slight hint of hopefulness.

No.

“I don’t know.”

There’s a moment of silence as May sits next to him on the bed, the sound of fabric shifting and the slight creek of the bedsprings filling up the quiet room. May starts carding her fingers through Peter’s hair and Peter finds himself relaxing further into her motherly touch. “I know it’s hard, but I think you’re doing the right thing.” May leans down to press a gentle kiss to the top of his head. “We all know Tony is an idiot sometimes.”

“But…?” Peter prompts her to continue.

“But nothing, I was just stating a fact.”

Peter snorts, a large grin crossing his face as he looks up at his aunt who just winks at him before she climbs off the bed. “We’re having lasagna for dinner and I am determined not to let it burn this time.”