What You Don't Know Actually Could Hurt You Later
Peter yawned as he sat down on a rooftop. Usually, he would have been thankful for a slow night, but this had been one night he wouldn't have minded a little more to do. It didn't have to be fighting crime either. He would have been glad for any mundane task that would have helped the night pass faster.
He was so tired.
"Peter?" Karen's voice startled him.
"Yeah Karen?"
"You should head back. If you leave now, you can get two hours of sleep before Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts arrive to collect you."
"I can't go back to early Karen. I'm already in trouble as it is. I don't want to have to find a way to explain any marks-"
Peter stopped short, his breath hitching.
Marks......
Oh God......
"What connection?" Peter asked, a growing discomfort in his stomach.
"Peter, would you mind pinching your arm?" Wanda asked softly.
Peter's eyes narrowed. Why would he voluntarily hurt himself when he was already facing a severe beating later?
"You were pinched on the back of your arm. Right here." Pietro supplied, pointing to the spot on the back of his own arm.
"You're healing factor has already gotten rid of the evidence, but we had the mark too."
Peter frowned. Soulmates didn't share that kind of connection. Emotions, yes. All soulmates could feel the emotions of those connected to them, but a physical connection like that was unheard of.
"You are beaten on your back often. Sometimes whipped and cut." Wanda said, her eyes watering.
"You got a black eye just the other day." Pietro continued.
They knew......
They knew every time he wasn't good enough. They knew every time he did something wrong. They knew when he was reminded just how little he mattered.
They knew.
"Peter," Karen cut in. "Your vitals are spiking, indicating a worsening physical and mental state. Should I alert Mr. Stark?"
"Wha-What?" Peter gasped, trying to slow his increased breathing.
"Mr. Stark installed new features when he created this suit. Upon my initial interaction with the suit, I gained access to these new features."
"D-don't send any alert Karen!"
"If your vitals continue to rise, the new protocols will over ride your commands and alert Mr. Stark."
"I...I'll go back. Just...just don't send an alert, please."
"Very well, Peter."
Peter sniffled as he stood. He didn't want to go back. He didn't know what he would be going back to. Would Kathy and Kent be up and waiting on him?
He shuddered at the thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sliding up the window as quietly as he could, Peter listened for any sounds of his potential beating.
He sighed in relief as the heavy, drunken snores of Kathy and Kent could be heard.
Those types of snores had quickly become Peter's favorites since it meant they wouldn't wake up during the night.
Slowly peeling off the suit, he went ahead and shoved it into his bookbag. His time out had given him enough time to think about things and he had come to a realization.
He would be able to leave the suits with Tony.
Well, not exactly with Tony, but somewhere. He would leave them both, then start the distancing process. He wasn't sure how well things would work now that Tony knew where he lived.
Tony knew where he lived.
Peter frowned as he slipped into his ratty pjs and crawled into bed.
He hadn't felt like his request for privacy was to much. In fact, he had felt like it was perfectly acceptable.
Tony had broken that trust though. He had tricked Peter into revealing his location. He had tricked him then shown up unannounced with an internship offer.
It didn't sit right with Peter.
Why?
He knew Wanda and Pietro were his soulmates, but why would Tony do this? He shouldn't want to even know him. He sure as hell shouldn't encourage Wanda and Pietro to be with him.
What would the other Avengers think once they met the child under the mask. The dirty, worthless, pathetic child.
It was probably a good thing he had already decided to start distancing himself. If that was even possible now.
No, once Tony finished looking up everything about him, it wouldn't be hard at all. In fact, they'd take care of it for him.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he curled into a little ball and tried to go to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony squeezed his left wrist as they pulled onto the street where Peter lived.
He had been livid to find out the kid had been out all night.
"Tony, you can't do anything about it." Pepper said, giving him a stern look.
"All night. Pep, he was out all night! A 15 year old kid has no business being out all night! As soon as I get ahold of KAREN-"
"Tony!" Pepper warned. "We're about to walk up those steps and take Peter for the day-"
"Forever." Tony huffed.
"Not until I properly adopt him or your super spies get back with you."
"Oh, they will. I've also got the lawyers on standby to make the adoption as quick as possible. Even that though could take a few days. If we can find something on them though, he won't have to stay with them while we get it all done."
"Well," Peper nodded. "It'll definitely look better for our case if Peter is still under their guardianship at the time of accusation."
"We're here Boss." Happy said, his face stern as he looked at the front door.
"Alright, Tony." Pepper said, steeling herself. "Let's go get my spider-baby."
"Your spider-baby?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm still Pepper Potts, Mr. Stark." Pepper smirked. "Peter Parker-Potts is indeed my spider-baby."
"Don't argue with her Tony." Happy tried to hold back a grin. "You'll just loose, like always."
"Betrayal. You just wait Potts," Tony replied, eye challenging. "I'll have that kid changing his name to Peter Parker-Stark in no time."
Pepper just scoffed as she exited the car.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter froze as he heard the car pull into the drive. He knew who it was without even having to look.
Tony Stark and Pepper Potts had arrived.
He could hear Kathy and Kent rushing around, trying to make themselves presentable, all the while grumbling about how they would "handle" Peter when he got back.
Reluctantly, Peter finished getting ready. He threw his backpack, with both suits in it, over his shoulder. He slowly opened the door and peered out into the hall. If he hurried, he could make it downstairs and miss Kathy and Kent completely.
Stepping out into the hall, he shut his door quietly behind him and tiptoed to the stairs. He dreaded the thought of putting pressure on the creaky steps and alerting the Matthews that he was on the move.
Looking at the banister, he slipped his arms through both of his backpack straps and swung his leg over the narrow piece of wood. Taking a breath, he pushed off and slid down to the floor below. Quiet and stealthy. Perfect.
He was just about to reach the door when Kathy and Kent came rushing down, both glaring at him.
"Don't you dare open that door." Kent growled.
"You go to the kitchen and wait there till we call you. Go!" Kathy hissed, pointing towards the kitchen.
Peter hung his head as he passed them and shuffled out.
He heard Kathy open the door after the bell rang. Her haggard voice filled his ears.
"Good morning Mr. Stark! Ms. Potts!" she greeted. "It's been a rough morning. He's in a mood. He was up early and has been giving us an attitude and blaming us for not getting any sleep. He's in the kitchen right now. He destroyed the pantry this morning so he's in there having to clean up. I'll go get him."
Peter shrunk away from the kitchen opening as Kathy rounded the entrance with a scowl. Grabbing his arm, she yanked him to her and hissed in his ear.
"You act like the little shit you are or you'll wish you were dead along with the rest of your family by the time I'm done with you. You're a dirty piece of shit who has no business being involved with Tony Stark. Now, get out there and do what we told you."
Shoving Peter roughly towards the living room, Kathy fixed herself up before following behind him.
"He didn't clean up anything. Found him dumping out the sugar on the floor." Kathy sighed. "I'm sorry for the day he's probably going to put you through."
Tony raised an eyebrow as he looked Peter over. The dark circles under his eyes were the only thing about the kid he was focused on right now.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Pepper replied, placing her arm around Peter's shoulders.
"We'll bring him back later this afternoon."
"Be good, Peter." Kent said, a warning look in his eye.
Peter looked at him, then swallowed and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever." he pushed out, playing act of a disrespectful child as instructed.
Kathy gave a fake sigh.
"If he's to much, just bring him back."
"Again, I'm sure we'll be fine." Pepper smiled tightly, leading Peter towards the door.
Peter looked over his shoulder at Kathy and Kent, taking note of their expressions. Their was a promise of pain should he fail to make Tony Stark change his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy opened the door as Pepper slid in first, then Tony ushered Peter in and followed behind him. He was effectively trapped between the two of them.
The car was silent until Happy pulled out the driveway and started off down the road.
"Nice little act you put on back there kid." Tony looked at him.
"They tell you to act like a brat or something?"
Peter's head shot up as he looked at Tony with unveiled surprise.
"Yeah. We both know it was fake. You can't bullshit a bullshitter kid. What I'm more interested in is why the hell you were out all night."
"Tony." Pepper warned, tucking Peter close to her.
"No. I want to know. You're 15. You need sleep."
"Ho-how did you know I wa-was out all night?" Peter winched.
"Because I can connect to KAREN through the new suit. So, out with it."
"I...I..." Peter felt the panic rise.
He couldn't be good. He couldn't answer honestly. He couldn't give Tony a reason to want to keep him around. Even if Tony did like him, he still had to go back to Kathy and Kent at the end of the day.
"I don't have to tell you anything." he squeaked out.
Tony rolled his eyes.
"What did I tell you about the bullshit, Peter. Fess up. Why were you out all night?"
Peter felt Pepper's warm and comforting hand rub up and down his arm as she held him close. He couldn't remember the last time someone had tried to sooth him.
"It's ok, Peter." she said softly. "You can tell us."
"I..I just was."
"Nope. Try again."
"I can...I can do what I want."
"You're pushing it, kid."
"I'm...I'm a troublemaker. It's...it's what I do."
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a groan.
"You have one more time to lie to me kid before I bench Spider-Man."
Peter didn't know what to say. In all actuality, Tony could not bench Spider-Man in any way. With or without the suit, Peter was still the vigilante.
However, it terrified him that Tony would try.
It confused him to feel that way though. Wasn't being stripped of anything tying him to the Avengers what he wanted? Wasn't he already planning to leave the suits behind? Wasn't he going to free Wanda and Pietro from having to deal with him forever? Tony might know where he lives right now, but in three years he would be gone. He'd leave New York and never look back. There wasn't anything here for him anyway. The only thing that kept him from running away as it was, was that he was smart enough to know he needed to finish school. He couldn't get a job at 15 and any attempt to get his GED before coming of age would only alert CPS. Despite how hard living with Kathy and Kent could be, being homeless with no way to fix it was even less appealing.
"You...you can't 'bench' Spider-Man, Mr. Stark. He's not a suit."
"I'm starting to question if you're my illegitimate son or not." Tony rolled his eyes.
"You're not cute when you're giving me grief kid. Again, why were you out all night."
Peter grimaced at Tony's firm tone and hard stare.
Suddenly, the strange burst of anger returned.
"You shouldn't even know!" Peter shouted. "You had no right to give me a suit like that! I asked you not to find me and you did it anyway! Who do you think you are?"
There was silence in the car, causing the rage in Peter to vanish as quickly as it came.
Tony's eye narrowed as he studied the boy before him.
"You're right kid."
Peter's eyes widened in surprise.
"But I won't be apologizing for it. I won't apologize for finding out you're in trouble and trying to help you. You have a right to be mad, but when I gave you that suit, you became my responsibility and I'll do what I think it right where you're concerned."
Peter didn't know what to say, but he knew how to feel. Guilt settled in his stomach, pushing down the feeling of betrayal. Tony was only doing what the Avengers do, try to help.
Peter was throwing it back in his face.
"Now, why were you out all night?"
He felt Pepper's warm hand settle on his shoulder, offering comfort to him.
"I....I....I had to!" he shouted, unable to stop himself.
"What do you mean you 'had to'?" Pepper frowned.
"I'm...I'm not..." Peter looked around wildly, desperate for some kind of escape.
"Peter." Pepper's soft voice called him.
Peter’s breath hitched.
“I need an explanation, Pete.” Tony demanded, leaving no room for Peter to disobey.
"I can't embarrass Kathy and Kent!" Peter cried, tears prickling at his eyes.
"They were having guests over and I'm an embarrassment! I, I can't do anything right and I'm not good enough for anyone to like me! All I do is cause trouble! My family all died to get away from me because I'm so stupid and worthless!"
Fat tears rolled down Peter's cheeks as he wailed.
Tony's eyes were wide and he looked between Peter and Pepper.
"You, you shouldn't have found me Mr. Stark! I asked you not to! Peter Parker doesn't deserve any attention you give him! There are better kids out there for you to give attention to!"
Peter bent over, burying his face in his hands.
"All I do is bring people down. Nothing good comes from being seen with me! Peter Parker is trash and everyone knows it! Sp-Spider-Man! That’s who you need to be seen with! No one knows it’s me under the mask!”
Pepper frowned as she looked at the crying child before her. How long had he been hearing these things. How long before he had started to believe them?
Leaning him up, Pepper pulled his hands down and cupped his face.
"Look at me." she demanded.
Peter cracked his tear filled eyes open.
"I never want to hear you talk about yourself like that again. You, Peter Parker, are important. Worthless people don't go out at night saving random people. Stupid kids don't make straight A's and never get in trouble at school. You are neither of those things and I won't hear that sort of talk come out of your mouth again. Do you understand?"
Peter sniffled, tears still streaming down his face. He had always heard how right Pepper Potts always was, but she was wrong this time. It didn’t matter what she said. She didn’t actually know him. She didn’t know all the terrible things about him. She didn’t know what a burden to people he was. She didn’t know.
Happy shot Tony a concerned and stunned look through the rearview mirror.
As Pepper talked to Peter, Tony pulled out his phone, demanding an update from Natasha and Clint. They needed something to put Kathy and Kent away fast and permanently.
It was a few moments of waiting before he received a simple reply from Clint.
/Get your lawyers ready./
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the time they arrived at the compound, Peter had long been asleep. His long night out, coupled with his hard crying had left the kid completely drained.
"Jesus Tony." Pepper frowned. "We can't let him go back there. I won't let him go back there."
"Well, he may not have to. Clint and Nat have news for us."
"Good." Pepper nodded.
Happy opened the door and looked in at the sleeping kid, a rare look of sympathy on his face before he quickly schooled it away.
"Need help?"
Tony looked past Happy to see Steve waiting by the car.
"Happy let me know the kid was asleep. I can carry him in if you don't want to wake him."
"Thank you, Steve." Pepper smiled from the other side.
"Alright, Spangles." Tony grinned. "Carry my-"
"My kid." Pepper corrected. "Please carry my kid inside."
Steve grinned as Tony got out the car with a huff and mumbles about how he found the kid first and no one respected that fact.
Leaning in, he scooped Peter up under his knees, supporting his back and pulled him out the car.
"Where to?"
"We'll take him to the common room. I don't want him to wake up in a strange bedroom alone." Pepper said, ignoring Tony and sliding out the car herself.
Steve nodded, walking inside.
"Clint and Nat got back a few minutes ago." he said, looking over at Tony.
"Wanda and Pietro have been a mess since you left this morning."
"Poor things." Pepper frowned.
"I'll go take care of the super spies if you want to stay with the kid." Tony offered, looking at Pepper.
"Yeah, I'll stay with him. FRIDAY?"
"Yes, Ms. Boss?"
"Please tell Wanda and Pietro to come to the common room, but to be quiet."
"Alerting them now."
"Come on Steve. Let's go put him on the couch."
Tony watched them a few minutes before walking off to find Natasha and Clint, praying they had good bad news for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What are we looking at?" Tony asked, walking into his office.
The spies looked at him with blank expressions. It unnerved him.
"Well, you're gonna love this one at least." the archer replied, holding up a small drive and thick manilla folder.
"Well then, don't keep me in suspense."
"It seems Kathy and Kent Matthews enjoy secrets.”
Sitting down at his desk, Tony inserted the drive into his computer.
"Let’s see what you got."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wanda and Pietro rushed into the common room as quietly as they could, both freezing as they caught sight of Peter asleep on the couch. He looked so small curled up under the blanket Pepper had laid over him.
Slowly, the twins made their way over, kneeling down in front of him. Both smiled at the peaceful look on his face. A stark contrast from the strained and terrified look they had seen yesterday.
"He looks like he didn't sleep last night." Pietro frowned, noting the dark bruising under Peter's eyes.
"Because he didn't." Pepper sighed, sitting in the chair across from them.
"Tony was tracking the suit. Peter was out all night."
"Why would he do that to himself?" Wanda asked, her brow furrowed.
"It wasn't his choice." Pepper huffed.
"His......'guardians'," she growled. "Didn't give him to option of being home."
Wanda gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she looked from Pepper to Peter. Pietro glared at the floor, clenching his hands into fists.
"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?"
Everyone looked up as Steve walked back into the room. His face was eerily blank, as though he didn't want his actual thoughts to be so easy to see.
"You did." Pepper replied.
Taking a harsh breath, Steve turned and stomped out the room.
"Well, Steve walked in but Captain America definitely walked out." Pietro grinned, trying to lighten the mood some.
It worked as Pepper shook her head with a smile and Wanda swatted his arm with a giggle.
Oblivious to it all, Peter continued to sleep the best he had in years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
****This section contains talk of potentially triggering materials.*****
Tony had seen a lot in his days. He had experienced a lot in his days. There were plenty of wild stories about him floating around.
None of that prepared him for the video file of Kent Matthews in nothing but a horsetail butt plug and a ball gag being ridden around his boss's office.
He watched as Kent's boss slapped ass with a riding crop and told him to "be a good boy", before tying him to the desk and placing a food bag over his mouth.
Tony closed out the video, wishing he could bleach his eyes.
"As delightful as that was," he glared. "That won't get Peter out of there."
"Oh, that's not for putting Kent away. This is."
Clint opened the thick manilla envelope and pulled out several papers.
Pulling them close, Tony began looking over the papers, his eyebrows rising.
"Wow. So Kent and Mr. Preston were planning a permanent vacation. I'm sure the employees were really going to appreciate losing their jobs over bankruptcy."
The papers laid out before him detailed each move Will Preston made in embezzling from his own company and transferring the money into an offshore account in Kent's name.
"Wait!" Tony shouted, sitting up straight. "Why the hell did I have to watch his pony play time then?"
"Because we had to." Natasha shrugged.
"If I didn't need this information, I'd throw both of you out."
"Yeah, yeah." Clint brushed him off before turning to Natasha.
"Think you can handle this next part?" he asked, his voice holding an obvious shake.
"Yeah. Go call Laura and the kids."
Nodding, Clint rushed out the door, shutting it firmly behind him.
"I don't like where this is going." Tony frowned.
"She can rot....... though, even that’s to good for her.” Natasha glared at the folder before removing the rest of the evidence against Kent and leaving only the information on Kathy Matthews.
Tony flipped through the papers, his face getting paler with his progress.
Then he reached the pictures.
"She's been aiding in a prostitution ring." Natasha hissed. "Those photos.....they're former fosters."
Tony dropped the pictures and threw up into his trash can.
"She's been beating them, mentally and physically, into submission until they turn out the system and no one would miss them."
"How-how did you find this?" Tony stuttered, shoving everything back into the folder and slamming it shut.
"We paid the house a visit first. Their little get-together last night? It wasn't just a night with friends. They also foster kids. So while they had their little meeting, Clint and I did some breaking and entering into all their houses.”
****Section end.*****
Tony gripped the trashcan tightly, his stomach churning as Peter's innocent face flashed before his eyes.
"Tony." Natasha's voice broke through his thoughts.
"I need you to breath with me. Slow breaths."
He looked at her, unaware his breathing had increased erratically.
"Peter needs us all to be at our best. He can't go back there. He's not leaving this compound."
Tony nodded, matching her breaths.
"Clint?"
"He.....he's holding it together. He's going to stay long enough to see Peter taken care of then he's going home for a bit."
"Of course." Tony nodded.
He couldn't imagine how the archer was feeling knowing he had three children of his own.
"We need to decide how we're going to handle this." Tony said, pulling himself together.
"I'm not sure if Pep and the twins could handle......all this." he waved his hand over the folder.
"It'll be all over the news." Natasha said.
"I'll have FRIDAY filter anything about it out. I can't let them hear that, Nat. You didn't hear the things Peter was saying on the way here. God Nat, he's Spider-Man but if he had to spend three more years of living with them and being beaten down in every way and he....he might not be able....no. He's not mentally capable of handling hearing that."
Natasha nodded.
"I agree then. I don't think it would be good for Wanda and Pietro either. Especially Wanda right now. She's not completely in control of her powers. Knowing her soulmate was that close to a seriously harmful situation could lead to problems. Right now, that's the last thing either her or Pietro need."
"Well, how do we go about presenting this information?" Tony frowned. "Can't really say it was legally obtained."
"Oh?" Natasha asked, a delicate eyebrow raised.
"I do believe these signed agreements to intensive background and current day checks make it all extremely legal to have obtained." she grinned, pulling three documents out of the folder.
"I didn't have any of them sign anything." Tony said, looking down at the papers.
"That's odd. Cause I'm positive that's their signatures there. I mean, any expert would say they're legit. You make out like Clint's bizarre ability to perfectly mimic someone's handwriting was what was used to complete these forms."
"Well then, if you'll excuse me Ms. Romanov, I have some lawyers to contact."
Natasha smirked as she moved around the desk and took the drive with the video file.
“Where are you going with that?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” She tossed over her shoulder before leaving the office.
Shaking his head, Tony pulled himself together.
“FRI, get my lawyers on the line. We need a little conference call.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wanda and Pietro sat, content after having maneuvered Peter so his head lay in her lap and his feet in his. Being so close to him gave them a sense of calm they hadn’t experienced in far to long. The emotional bond they shared with Peter currently lacked the tenseness to it that it had possessed the past few years.
Peter was at peace.
The twins smiled at each other, both trying to put off the thought of having to send him back.
Send him back.
How could they do that?
They couldn’t. They couldn’t send him back. He belonged with them.
Maybe they could just........kidnap him.
They highly doubted he’d be missed by his “guardians”. They probably wouldn’t even care if he never came back.
“Still asleep I see.” Pepper smiled as she reentered the common room.
“Poor kid. I’m glad he’s getting a good rest.”
“He looked like he needed it.” Pietro frowned.
Wanda nodded as she carted her fingers through his curls.
Pepper watched them as they kept a constant physical contact with Peter. As though he might disappear if they let him go.
That sad truth was that he might. Given his episode in the car, she wasn’t sure how Peter was going to react when he woke up. Wanda and Pietro had so much love for him, but Peter’s obvious insecurities were going to be a major hurdle.
“Ms. Boss? Boss would like to see you in his office.”
“Tell him I’m coming.”
Pepper took one last look at the sweet scene before her then made her way to Tony.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter felt strangely content as consciousness started to return to him. He hadn't felt so at ease while waking up in years. As he continued to wake, he tried to recall what had happened before he fell asleep. The last thing he remembered was being in the car with Tony and Pep-
Peter gasped as his eyes flew open and he shot up, flinging himself off the couch.
He let out a grunt as he landed on the floor and scrambled to his feet. He looked around with wide eyes before settling on the startled forms of Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.
“I.....I.....” Peter stuttered, his fear rising.
Where was he? Where was Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark?
“It’s ok, Pete.” Pietro smiled, holding his hands up and slowly moving forward.
“You’re in the common room at the Avengers compound. You’re completely safe here. Tony and Pepper brought you earlier but you fell asleep before you got here.”
“You’ve been out a few hours.” Wanda added.
Peter took a step back, his breaths coming quick. He could feel himself heading towards and anxiety attack.
“Slow, Peter. You need to take slow breaths.” Pietro said, slowly reaching out to Peter’s shaking form.
Peter watched him with wide eyes as he took another step back. He couldn’t let them comfort him. He didn’t deserve it, nor did they deserve to have to do it.
“Peter, please.” Wanda begged.
“Please listen to us. You’re safe here. You can brea-your spider sense!” Wanda gasped. “Your spider sense, is it telling you anything?”
Peter looked at her in surprise. He didn’t even know they knew about that.
“Yes!” Pietro agreed with a smile.
“Is it warning you of anything?”
Peter looked between the two. In his shock, he hadn’t even registered the complete silence from his sixth sense. It had been a constant hum in his head for so long that is was startling to realize there was nothing there.
"I...."
"It's ok, Peter." Pietro smiled. "We get it."
Peter looked back and forth between the two. Logically, it made since to feel safe around one's soulmates. It was practically unheard of for soulmates to hurt one another, but there were always loopholes and grey areas.
Peter was a major grey area.
He wasn't a good person, so while Wanda and Pietro might not hurt him, he most definitely could hurt them. He'd never do it on purpose, but he was Peter Parker and good things didn't last around him.....if they came at all.
"Why don't you sit down, and we can talk." Wanda smiled, motioning towards the chair Pepper had sat in earlier.
Peter looked over at the chair, then back at them. Slowly, he moved over and sat down.
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Where was everyone else? He couldn't be alone with his soulmates! He didn't want to be alone with them! He couldn't take being a disappointment, or receiving another rejection. Meeting your soulmate or mates wasn't supposed to be like it. It was supposed to be a joyous thing, not a terrifying and anxiety inducing situation.
Wanda and Pietro looked at him as though he was perfect, but he knew he was far from that.
'I need to get out of here!'
Peter thought, his chest tight. He wasn't a prisoner, so he could just leave. Run out the front door and......and what? Where would he go? He had no idea where he was or how to get back to the Matthews.
The tenseness bled out of him at his realization. He just wanted to disappear. It was easy to avoid people when you didn't exist. With everything he had been through, he should have been dead multiple times over, but he wasn't. He was here, with his soulmates, wishing he could be anywhere else.
Wishing he could be alone.
"Why don't we start by telling something about each other." Wanda smiled.
"We'd love to get to know you."
'There's nothing to know.'
"I'm sure you have plenty of interesting stories to tell." Pietro grinned.
'All of my family is dead and I could have saved Uncle Ben but I didn't.'
"We haven't been with the Avengers very long, but we've gotten to experience a few missions, but you're out every night fighting crime." Wanda leaned forward.
"What's that like?"
'It sucks. Rapists, muggers, robbers, murderers, homeless people, domestic violence, abandoned kids....the list goes on.' Not to mention the new serial killer putting Jack the Ripper to shame.'
"Oh good! You're awake!"
The three occupants turned as a pleased Tony Stark strutted into the room with Pepper, ignoring the tense atmosphere.
"We need to talk, kid." Tony said, motioning for Peter to sit.
Cautiously, Peter moved back to the chair he had occupied while Tony moved an end table and sat in front of him.
"So here's the deal Pete,"
Peter's eyes darted from Tony to everyone else.
He knew what was coming.
Tony had finished digging into Peter's entire history, and pretty soon the rest of the Avengers would walk in and tell him how unfit he was to be Spider-Man and to work with them.
Not that he needed to be told that. He already knew it.
He cursed himself for his breakdown in the car and for falling asleep. If he hadn't done that, he would have known how to get back to Matthews and he could have ditched the suits as soon as he arrived. Now, however, he was trapped with nowhere to escape what was coming.
"Peter?"
Peter looked at Tony's face as the man frowned. He had clearly been talking while Peter had been spaced out with panic.
"Stay with me, kid." Tony said, leaning a little closer. "You're not going back to your prison."
Peter blinked in confusion.
"P-prison?"
"That place you've been stuck in? Yeah. You're not going back there. Ever. You are, however, going to be going to a group home temporarily while we get your adoption sorted out."
"My what?"
"You're adoption kid. We wanted to just keep you here, but not even my name can bypass everything. So, you'll go to the group home. Your things will be gathered from the Matthews and be taken to you. You won't be seeing those two again."
Peter's mind whirled. He didn't know what to do or to feel. Never having to see Kathy and Kent seemed unreal. It couldn't be real. The only way he would ever leave the Matthews was to be sent to another foster home or age out of the system.
Adoption was not an option.
Who would ever want to adopt him?
"Peter?"
Peter slowly turned his barely focused eyes to see Pepper kneeling down next to him.
"I"m going to adopt you, honey. I'm going to adopt you and you'll never have to go into another foster home again."
Peter looked at her, Tony, Wanda and Pietro before pushing himself up and sprinting out the room