I'm Not Special
Peter hit a random rooftop, ripping off his mask with a gasp. Tears slid down his face as he tried to get himself under control. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was never supposed to meet his soulmate. He never wanted to. He didn't want to disappoint someone else.....or someone else disappoint him. He couldn't take watching the excitement fade from his soulmate's eyes as they realized how unlucky they were to be stuck with him.
May. He missed May so much. They had struggled greatly after Ben had died, but she had loved him and he was fine with that. Then she had been diagnosed with cancer. It took her three months later. He was only 12 when he lost the last member of his family.
The Parkers were a family built on tragedy.
He had immediately been placed into a foster care program. Tossed around from one unwelcoming and unloving house to another. Some neglected him by ignoring him. Some barely fed him. Some let their biological children beat on him. Some beat on him themselves. One had made him sleep on a pallet in the garage because they refused to make their own child share a bedroom. Though the type of abuse changed, one thing always remained the same, the verbal insults. He was often reminded of how he wasn't wanted. How he was a burden. How useless he was. How he'd never be more than what he was now, a poor orphan reject.
After a certain time of hearing something, it's easy to start believing it.
His current home was a beater. The husband and wife took great pride in their wonderful marriage. A marriage that was wonderful because they took their anger out on him. The husband had alarming anger problems, and the wife was a sadist. While she had never touched Peter inappropriately, she thoroughly enjoyed herself when she inflicted the pain and humiliation on him that her husband would never allow done on himself. It was as close to physical sexual abuse as Peter had ever been thank goodness.
The spider bite had been the only good thing to happen to Peter since May's death. It made managing the pain of the Matthews' beatings bearable.
Not that it mattered in the face of what he was facing now.
His soulmate. He had met his soulmate. Not only had he met her, but he respected her. Wanda Maximoff had had a rough time. Her and her brother. They were orphans like he was, but they were strong. They were Avengers. They helped protect the world. He wasn't good enough. Peter Parker wasn't good enough. Maybe Spider-Man could be, but Spider-Man was only a costume. If someone wanted Spider-Man as a soulmate, they had to take Peter Parker as well, and no one wanted Peter Parker.
He couldn't do this.
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Peter swallowed as he looked at the house before him. He wondered how much longer he would be with the Matthews. Probably until he graduated and could live alone. At 15, he still had a long way to go. The Matthews were very good at making Peter's life look easy to the outside world. Never a hit or cut where it could be seen. The worst they did was let Peter keep only his ratty clothes, telling people they couldn't make him wear the alleged new things they bought him.
Peter never got bought new things.
Adjusting his backpack, he forced himself up the stairs and into the home, praying the school hadn't called about his absence.
Opening the door, his spider-sense blare right before a hand smacked the side of his face. He fell into the wall, caught off guard more than the power of the blow.
"Kent had a hard day at work today, Peter."
Peter looked up at the manic gleam in Kathy's eyes. A gleam that promised a very painful night.
At least the school hadn't called as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why won't you just tell them who he is?" Natasha hissed, glaring at the man before her.
Since having gotten to really know Tony, she was surprised by his seemingly lack of concern for the two new teammates they had acquired after Sokovia.
"Because I don't know who he is." Tony argued back. "He's young, that's all I know, and even I don't know how young at that."
"How do you, of all people, not know someone's identity? You've been working with him for a year!"
"Look, the kid asked me not to find out." Tony replied, crossing his arms. "I met with him to offer him a spot on the team. He turned it down for 'personal reasons'. So, I asked him about being on call for emergencies. He agreed with the promise I wouldn't look further into him."
Natasha sighed.
"Well, maybe he'll come to them."
"I don't know. You didn't see how he acted when they tried to approach him. Kid practically fell over himself trying to get away."
"I don't think I've ever heard of someone running from their soulmate."
"You didn't exactly jump into Rogers' arms, did you?"
"Do you even know anything about those two?" Natasha asked, narrowing her eyes. "Their time in HYDRA gave them a unique link to their soulmate. It's a very unique link, and I think you should reconsider your position on finding out who Spider-Man is behind the mask."
There was silence before Natasha turned stalked off. Tony's shoulders slumped as he leaned against the countertop. It wasn't that he wanted to keep Wanda and Pietro away from the kid, he just couldn't betray his trust without a good reason. There was clearly a reason he didn't want anyone to know who he was. He remembered how scared the voice behind the mask sounded as he begged him not to look into his personal life.
At the time, Tony had thought it odd just how strongly Spider-Man felt about his secret identity. He had shrugged it off though as the boy just wanting to keep his vigilante life and civilian life as far apart as he could. While he himself hadn't taken that route, who was he to deny someone else of it?
Now he found himself in a tight spot. Wanda and Pietro, his teammates, were the kid's soulmates. Did he try to help them, or stay true to his promise to Spider-Man? It seemed obvious that he should stay true to Spider-Man, his affection for the kid had come quickly and without warning. He found that he didn't want to do anything to risk running the kid off, but his guilt over the twin's fates weighed heavy on his heart.
"S-Stark?"
Tony turned to take in the young Avenger before him. She and her brother had just turned 20 a week ago. So young to have gone through what they did.
"Yeah kid?"
"Is...do...do you know when Spider-Man got his powers?"
Tony blinked, surprised by the question.
"Maybe a year now? When I found him during the whole accords debacle, he told me he had only had them six months."
"Oh." Wanda frowned, wrapping her arms around herself.
"Why?"
"He was being hurt long before that." she mumbled.
"What do you mean, 'being hurt'?"
"You know you can feel what your soulmate feels? Well, after our exposure to the Sceptor," Wanda paused, taking a breath. "We.....we started.....we started sharing things with him."
"I'm not sure what you're getting at here, kid." Tony's mouth pulled down into a frown.
Wanda hesitated, turning to head to the side. "Spider-Man, he's....he's been getting hurt long before becoming who he is."
"How bad?" Tony asked, anger rising in him.
"Bad. People used to wonder if Pietro and I were being abused. We should have figured out he was enhanced though. A little over a year ago was when his injuries started healing faster than average."
Tony stopped, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"He's been hurt tonight." she whispered.
Tony's eyes shot open, glaring at her.
"Where?"
The girl blushed before turning around and lifting the back of her shirt.
Tony froze as red whelps littered her back. Some of the marks were much nastier looking than others, as though something sharp had been drug across the skin. As he looked over her ruined back, he noticed the injuries were already fading.
"Oh, kid." Tony frowned as Wanda lowered her shirt and turned back to face him.
Tony cleared the space between him and the red head, pulling her into a tight hug. He felt the girl shake as small sobs left her.
"It's ok. We're the Avengers and he’s your soulmate. We'll bring him home where he'll be safe." he said, running soothing fingers through her hair.
Wanda choked back as sob as she latched on to the very person she had once hated, now, the very person who would save their soulmate.
While he soothed the young Avenger, Tony silently apologized for the fact he was about to break the one promise he had made Spider-Man.
Never look into his identity.
It was no longer a debate. He couldn't stand aside while knowing his Underoos, was being abused. He was far to attached to the quirky little spider to waste time letting him come to them. He needed to know the kid was safe. He needed to know he was taken care of.
He'd make sure Spider-Man was brought to the home he belonged in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter frowned as he looked at his back in the bathroom mirror. Kathy had been especially brutal tonight. It was times like this he wished he wasn't enhanced, at least then he could prove what was happening. Then again, it wasn't like anyone would care enough to help pathetic Peter Parker.
Sighing, he lowered his shirt and peeked out into the hall. He could see the light on in Kathy and Kent's room. No doubt the two were enjoying their time together.
Peter shuddered and hurried to his room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Laying down on his tiny bed, he pulled the thin blanket over him and tried to go to sleep. It didn't appear that was going to be an option as the sounds from down the hall increased. Worse than having to hear the two down the hall, was the fact it gave him nothing to distract himself from his dilemma.
How was he supposed to ever team up with the Avengers again? He couldn't be around Wanda, and most likely, her brother. He couldn't do that to them. They didn't deserve to be stuck with someone so worthless. Someone so broken.
This wasn't supposed to happen!
Peter squeezed his eyes shut tightly, a single tear slipping out and sliding down his face.
A buzzing sound reached his ears and he dug under the mattress where he hid the burner phone Tony had given him. He grimaced when he saw said billionaire's name on his screen. No doubt Wanda had told him about their connection.
Another tear slid down his face as he shut his phone off and slid it back under the mattress.
Spider-Man's days helping out the Avengers were over. Eventually Mr. Stark would have the phone completely shut off and that would be it. He would be alone. Just like he deserved. If he stayed alone, he couldn't disappoint anyone. He couldn't be a burden. No one would have to take care of a damaged 15 year old who killed everyone he loved. All his foster homes were right, he wasn't worth anything. No, Peter would never be seen by the Avengers again. He would stay the lone vigilante he had started out as and just try to survive until he was old enough to be dumped onto the streets to fend for himself.
He didn't deserve to expect anyone to take proper care of him anyway.