Luck

Flash Thompson was a pretty dumb kid. Peter was already used to being teased and picked on for being adopted, but even after the teachers and everyone repeated that there was nothing wrong with that, Flash kept telling everyone that Peter was not a true Stark and that any moment his parents would get bored of him and return him to the place where they had taken him.

Of course, that wasn't true. His dad had told him so a thousand times. He always told him that his mom would be able to turn the world upside down if anyone tried to take him away from her. Because now Peter had a dad and a mom and they cared about him so much that they had even moved to New York so that he didn't have to change schools, and everything was fine, more than fine, everything was perfect. And he didn't think anything wrong when they told him that very soon he would be a big brother. After all, almost everyone had siblings. It was a very normal thing.

But then Flash told him that it wasn't normal for him, because he was adopted, because the new baby -a girl- who was a real Stark, wasn't his sister, because Peter didn't have any real family. Flash had said that now that Mr. and Mrs. Stark, who weren't Peer's parents, had a daughter of their own blood, they didn't need Peter, in fact, he was in their way.

And he didn't believe any of that, because his parents loved him. They had proven that to him in the almost three years that he had been living with them. They loved him, looked after him, sometimes scolded him if he stayed up playing or reading after his bedtime, but that's what all parents did, Ned assured him. And he also told him that babies needed help with everything and that's why parents were always stuck with them, but then they grew up and everything went back to the way it was before, only with one more person.

Peter really loved his sister, even though Morgan did nothing but cry and sleep, she was cute, when she looked at him and squeezed one of his fingers with her little chubby hand he understood why his parents spent so much time with her. He loved her very much and continued loving her when no one showed up for his science contest because she got sick and dad had to stay with her because mom was away. Flash didn't miss the opportunity to remind him that he had already warned him that this would happen and that it wouldn't be long before he was returned to the orphanage.

And Tony did arrive, although by then it was all over. He apologized for not being on time and explained that he had to stay with Morgan until he was sure that the fever would go down, he bought him an ice cream, although they had to eat it in the car because he wanted to return with the baby as soon as possible.

None of that meant that Flash was right... not much. Because it was true that his father had missed his contest to be with his sister, but he had only done it because she was sick and not because he loved her more or because she was his real kid. He had told him that he would do the same for him, and Peter believed him, not only because dad never lied to him but because many times he had missed very important meetings or even canceled trips for him, like when he fell down the stairs and broke his wrist and dad left a meeting with that man who was on the news a lot to go to the hospital with him.

If a few days later it occurred to him to do something to make sure that things hadn't changed, it was simply because he liked science and all scientists had to test their theories with experiments. So, the next Friday at dinner time he left more than half the food on his plate untouched and asked to leave the table early.

"Did you finish your homework, buddy?"

He nodded very slowly.

"Do you want to help me in the lab? Dum-E needs some repairs.

He shook his head, again very slowly, and sighed as he looked at his plate.

"Can I go to my room?" he asked, bowing his head.

"Are you all right, honey?" Mom already had her hand on his forehead and was looking at him worried.

"My stomach hurts."

"I'll make you some tea, try to sleep for a while and if you still feel sick later, we'll call the doctor, okay?" Mom kissed him on the forehead and went to the kitchen.

He nodded quickly before addressing his father. "Can we watch a movie?" He asked after nodding to mom, and for a moment was almost afraid that the answer was 'no', because before answering dad looked at him as he used to do when asked him if he was sure he was carrying everything he needed for school in his backpack.

"Sure. How about some ice cream and popcorn?" Peter shook his head in affirmative with too much enthusiasm. When he realized he had made a mistake, there was nothing he could do to correct it. He saw his parents share a quick glance, the kind of glance he couldn't quite understand.

"Go to your room; I'll be with you in two minutes." Dad said.

He almost jumped when he turned around to go to his room. It wasn't the first time they spent the afternoon watching a movie, but it made him very happy to know that Flash wasn't right; his parents loved him as much as his sister and if they had left him for her, it was only because the baby was sick, not because he was adopted. He stared at them for a while without them noticing. Mom did the dishes and dad made some popcorn.

Everything was perfect.

Then Morgan started crying.

The two of them stopped what they were doing and looked at each other to decide who would go to her.

"I'll go." He finally said.

With a sigh he turned around and went into his room before they saw him, sure that there would be no movie that night. From his room he could hear Morgan crying, but after a while all he could think about was that Flash was right after all. He took the picture from his bureau and after looking at it for a while he hugged it and slept with it. Although many more had been taken during those three years, that one was still his favorite; the first one. He squeezed his eyes very hard to prevent any tear escaping from them. Maybe it was a good idea to sleep for a while, even if her stomach didn't really hurt.

He almost fell asleep, or he was and was awakened by the smell of popcorn before the door opened.

"Do you really feel ill? Do you want to leave the movie for later?" Dad raised his eyebrows like he always did when was worried.

Before he could sit down, Dad had already left the tray with ice cream and popcorn on the bureau and was pulling Peter’s hair out of his forehead.

"And Mo?" he asked without getting up.

"She just needed a diaper change." He replied by sitting next to him in bed. "So, movie, doctor or nap? Either way, you're stuck with me for the rest of the day, kid."

That really made him smile. He hugged his father like a koala and with his nose into his chest he mumbled ‘movie’ with great confidence.

Not an inch away from his father he heard him ask Jarvis to play the movie. He listened to the opening song and the first lines with eyes still closed, he could stay in that position for days on end, listening to his dad’s heartbeat and feeling his chest rise and fall, as he struggled to make his own breathing take the same rhythm.

Just as he was beginning to feel comfortable and secure, Morgan's cry was heard again. Peter moved, knowing that his moment would end, and he would inevitably be left alone again, but his father, far from getting up, pushed him closer to him.

"Let's leave the girls to their own, okay? He winked at him, before kissing him on the head.

He didn't leave, they talked about what was going on in the movie or how his day had been at school, and about the new projects that could help him and what they would do that weekend and he was totally happy, so happy that when he realized it he started feeling guilty.

"Dad?" he called him snuggling closer to the man. "My stomach doesn't really hurt." He confessed to him. He sighed, sure that he was about to get a scolding, but instead Tony hugged him harder and smiled.

"I knew it, Pete. For future reference, you're a very bad liar. Something your mom and I will appreciate in a few more years." He wasn't angry at all, in fact, he was laughing and still hugging him.

"Then why did you stay with me?"

"Because I wanted to spend time with my son." He told her by kissing his head. "I wanted to spend time with my very silly genius son who doesn't understand that he doesn't need to pretend to be sick for me to want to be with him, because I will always want to be with him."

"And with Morgan." He mumbled very softly; he didn't really want to be heard.

"Yes, with your sister too. With my two children."

"But more with her; because she's your real daughter." He didn't want to cry, he was too old to cry, but he couldn't help it.

Tony squeezed him even tighter and kissed him again as he laughed.

"Of course, she's my real daughter, I thought you were too, I'll have to run some tests to see if you're some kind of superadvanced hologram and not a real child." He started tickling him, and even though he didn't want to, he had to laugh. "That sounds like a real kid, so I have two real kids. That's great, for a moment I thought I'd have to go to a psychiatrist."

"No." He said when he was finally able to speak again. "Morgan is real because she's a Stark."

Then Dad moved out of bed, took one of the trophies Peter had won and read it:

"Peter B. Stark, first place in the..."

"That's not what I mean." He interrupted him, taking the trophy from his hands and rolling her eyes. That was the first one he had won under his new name, maybe that's why it was his favorite. He sighed, but refused to look at his father, who was already sitting across from him.

"I know what you mean, son," he put his hand on his cheek to make him raise his face. "but I want you to just realize how silly it sounds. You are as much my son —our son— as Morgan. We love you both the same, you're as Stark as I am."

"But..."

Tony sighed. "Tell me something, bud, do you love us less because we're not your real parents? If tomorrow some relative of yours suddenly showed up, or your biological parents, would you love them more just because they have the same blood?"

While waiting for his answer Peter noticed that dad seemed almost scared. He thought about what he had just asked him. The first thing he felt when he imagined that someone would suddenly appear and want to take him away from his parents, Tony and Pepper, was fear. Then he thought that if his real parents were alive and had always been with him, he would love them very much. As much as he loved Tony and Pepper, but he didn't think it was possible that he could love them more. He had known children who didn't love their parents, usually because they were mean to them. He assumed that if his real parents weren't dead and loved him as much as Tony and Pepper did, he would love them just the same, because he didn't think it was possible to love them more. Is that why dad seemed scared? Was he afraid that he wouldn't love him as much because he wasn't his real father?

"No." Without thinking much about it, he jumped into his father's arms. He went from being the one who sought comfort to feeling the pressing need to comfort his dad. "I love you so much, dad."

"And I love you too, kiddo. But now you are two kids, Pete, and there will be times when we can't be with you because your sister needs us, or we won't be with her because you will be the priority. It will never be because one is more loved than other. The good news is that you and Morgan will always have each other too. He added with a more animated tone.

"Because we are family."

"Yeap. Now enough philosophizing for today. Movie night, remember?" Peter nodded without hesitation.

He always heard that all parents loved their kids because they were their children. It was like an obligation. But Pepper and Tony loved him not because they had to, they did it because they had chosen to love him, and he supposed that was much better.

When the movie was almost over the door opened and mom appeared smiling as usual.

"Can I join the party or is it just for boys?" she asked. Peter stuck closer to his father to make some room for her on the other side of the bed. The three of them talked and laughed until the middle of the second movie, when Morgan started crying and Pepper had to get up to calm her down.

"I don't think she likes being alone." Peter said, perhaps thinking his sister was too much like him. "Can you bring her so we can all be together?" He asked, and mom agreed on, smiling.

A few minutes later the bed was filled with the four Starks. The parents occupied the banks, leaving the little ones in the middle. The baby, comfortably settled between her mother and her older brother, soon fell asleep. The adults had a good time, sharing warm smiles between them with tender looks at their children.

Flash didn't stop bothering him for the same thing for a long time, but Peter learned to ignore him, because after all, what did he know about the things going on in his house with his family? Because Peter was a Stark and had a family. Peter just forgot everything about Flash, because, as everyone used to say in those days, Peter Stark was a very lucky boy, and he totally agreed, not because he was a Stark, but because he had a mum and a dad who loved him very much, a little sister who cried a lot, and if, on his next birthday he got what he wanted, he'd get a dog too.

What could be better than that?