Chapter 2
Tony woke up around 9 A.M. and went to Peter’s room. He was surprised to see him awake. After yesterday, he expected the kid to sleep unlit noon. ‘Morning, Pete. Did you sleep well?’ Peter nodded, there was no need to get Tony worried again and said ‘I am sorry Mr. Stark... I know you’re extremely busy and I am taking too much of your time.’
‘Nonsense. Don’t be sorry. Take a shower. The maid will be put new clothes in your closet while you’re in there so you can get out of your pajamas. I have to say, by the way, they make you look like 6 years old. I mean come on kid; do you have to wear Star Wars pajamas?’ Asked Tony. He was smirking now. He wanted to make the kid smile.
‘Mr. Stark, I told you before Star Wars is not a child movie. It is a very serious one for adults.’ Peter knew Tony was only joking. He wanted to tag along.
‘Sure kid, whatever you say. Come to the kitchen when you’re done.’ Said Tony before leaving Peter alone. Tony went into kitchen and was trying to prepare breakfast for the kid when his phone rang. It was his fiancée. This will be great he thought to himself before answering
‘Honey! Good morning.’ He tried to sound as cheerful as possible. But he knew Pepper was going to be mad no matter what he says.
‘Oh My God Tony? Are you insane? What were you thinking calling the governor in the middle of the night and asking him to turn a blind eye to laws? Are you out of your mind?’ Pepper was furious.
‘Pep you know I wouldn’t do that if Peter didn’t really need me. But he was in a bad situation and I had no other chance.’ He hoped Pepper would understand. She didn’t answer for a while
‘How is he now?’ Tony knew she was still mad at him but Pepper also cared about Peter.
‘He is better than yesterday. I mean at least he is talking more. We will be going back to the hospital after I get him to eat something.’ Said Tony while trying to get the burnt omelet out of the pan.
‘Okay, be careful with him Tony, he is probably very sensitive. I have to go now, I will come down there as soon as I get back to the state. We need to talk about you getting the guardianship of Peter…I love you.’
That put a smile on Tony’s face ‘Love you to, honey. Don’t worry about us.’
That went well, Tony thought. He put the plate on the kitchen island for Peter and got himself a black coffee. He cleared his day off to spend it with kid. A wet haired Peter sat right in front of him, looking at the burnt omelet standing before him. ‘You didn’t have to make this Mr. Stark. I wasn’t hungry anyways.’
‘Peter you have to eat, you know how your metabolism is.’ Tony gave him a stern look. ‘Tell you what, the faster you eat the faster we can go the hospital. And if you don’t want to eat this I can get you whatever you’d like.’
‘This is fine...’ He started eating. ‘I have an exam today at school.’
‘Oh, I thought you wouldn’t want to go to school today.’
‘I don’t… But May will get mad at me when she wakes up and learns I have been skipping school.’
If she wakes up, thought Tony. But he quickly dismissed that thought. ‘May would understand Peter. Give yourself some time.’
‘Can I at least take the exam? It is an hour later. I want to tell May that I was successful in my exams. And I studied so hard for this one.’ He looked at Tony with hopeful eyes.
Tony chuckled, this kid was something else. ‘Okay then. Finish your breakfast than we can leave.’ Peter nodded and kept eating. He texted Ned to let him know he will be coming to school for the exam. There were tens of messages from Ned, he was worried.
The silence in the room was broken by Friday’s voice ‘Boss, Colonel Rhodes is on his way up. You wanted me to let you know beforehand if someone comes.’
Peter’s eyes grew. War Machine was coming. Sure, he met him before but this situation was different. He looked at Tony to see his reaction.
‘I will talk to him and sent him away, kid. We are leaving shortly after anyway. You keep eating.’ Peter was grateful. He didn’t want to explain the situation.
Tony met with Rhodes at the entrance. ‘Hey Tones, came to greet me at the door I see. Did you miss me that bad?’
‘Ha ha Rhodey, very funny. Listen I am in a bit of a situation here. It would be better you don’t get inside.’
‘What did you do this time Tony? Nothing you do ever surprises me anymore so just tell me.’
‘I am taking a kid in.’
‘WHAT? You’re doing what now?’ Tony laughed, so much for not being surprised anymore.
‘You heard me. You know Peter, my intern. His aunt is currently unavailable to look after him and I will be filling in the empty spot.’
‘Wait-Is he dead?’
‘No, just coma.’ Said Tony casually.
‘Just coma...I understand that, totally normal.’ He took a deep breath. ‘Does Pepper know what you’re doing?’
‘Yeah, nothing can be hidden from her, you know how she is, eyes everywhere, worse than Natasha actually.’
‘How are you going to take care of a kid? You don’t... Look are you sure the right person for this job, no offense.’
‘None taken. I know I am not cut out for the job but it is me or the system.’
Rhodey nodded understandingly. ‘Okay, good talk. Can you leave now? I’ve gotta take the kid to school. He has exam.’
‘Sorry, Yeah. Call me if you need anything.’
‘Good luck man.’ Said Rhodes and left.
Tony and Peter met with Happy in the car. ‘Hey, how are you today, Peter?’
‘I am fine. Sorry about yesterday.’
Tony answered. ‘Don’t be sorry, kid. And before we get to your school, I have to make sure you are okay with what’s gonna happen.’ Peter turned his head, waited for him to continue. ‘I have to be your guardian to keep you with while May is in hospital. Don’t worry though it’s only temporary. You will be back with May as soon as she is back up.’
‘Okay. I mean as you said it is only temporary. And thank you again Mr. Stark. I know you don’t want children.’
‘Who told you that?’
No one needed to. Peter knew how to read. ‘I read some interviews you gave...’
‘Well, kid there was a time in which I wasn’t particularly keen with children but that changed, okay? Don’t worry. No one can make me do something I don’t want to do anyway.’ Tony’s mind flew to Harley.
That kid had big influence on Tony’s attitude towards children. He created a mental note to check on him. Maybe he could introduce Peter to Harley one day.
Peter only became aware they have reached his school when Happy said ‘Here we are, MidTown High. Good luck on your exam, Peter.’
‘Call me when you’re done kid. We will come pick you up. In the meantime I will deal with the guardianship procedure.’ Peter nodded and left the car.
Ned was waiting for him near his locker. ‘Hey dude.’ He hugged him. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yeah, I am sorry I worried you. And thank you for calling Happy. I wouldn’t have done that.’
‘I know you wouldn’t that’s why I did. Is he treating you okay, Mr. Stark I mean?’ It’s not that Ned didn’t trust Tony but he needed to make sure his best friend was in good hands.
‘He is great. I didn’t expect him to be this… close to me. You know we haven’t been seeing each other lately and I just thought he would be colder.’
‘He better be nice. I don’t want to have to kick his ass.’ That made Peter laugh out loud. ‘What? I would do it for you, or at least try.’
Peter was glad he came to school. Ned always found a way to make him laugh. ‘Oh, by the way you’re not going to believe who just enrolled in our school.’ Peter looked at him with questioning eyes.
‘Harry Osborn. God, everyone is trying to become friends with him. All because of his father. People are weird.’
‘But why would he change his school in the middle of the semester?’ That was weird. From what Peter have heard, Harry Osborn was a big-headed rich kid. Peter thought he would prefer a private school with people who are more like him.
‘I don’t know...Look he is coming here. ‘ Ned panicked.
‘Hey guys.’ Said Harry stopping near them. ‘Do you know where the Spanish exam will take place in?’
Ned answered quickly ‘We are taking that course too, we can go together if you want.’
‘That would be great. OH, sorry I didn’t introduce myself.’ He extended his hand out. ‘My name is Harry.’ Ned shook his hand and said his name. Harry then turned to Peter expecting him to introduce himself too. And Peter did. ‘Peter Parker. Nice to meet you.’ They sarted walking towards the class.
‘Hey Peter..and Ned could you guys give me your phone numbers. It’s just...since I am new here I don’t really know anyone and it would be nice to…you know have friends. A lot of people are trying to be friends with me but I know they only do that because of who may father is. You guys are not like them.’
Peter thought of being in his shoes. It wasn’t a nice feeling to feel alone. ‘I understand that. Give us your phone so we can save our numbers.’ Harry gave his phone and Peter saved both his own and Ned’s number. Harry flashed a thankful smile.
After his exam, Peter met with Tony and they went to visit May. Everything was still the same as he left. Even though Peter knew his presence wasn’t going to change anything, he liked to think it would give May emotional support. Tony didn’t leave the kid, not even once. Okay maybe once but only to get coffee, he needed his coffee. They stayed there for 5 hours until Tony decided it was time for Peter to eat again. Peter held May’s hand tightly
‘I will come back May…I love you.’ A few tears left his eye. Tony threw his arms around his shoulders while walking to the car. He didn’t know if he was doing a good job as Peter’s guardian. He hoped so.
‘What does our little spider crave for?’ asked Tony, smiling at Peter.
‘Whatever you want is fine.’
‘Did you ever try shawarma? Let’s eat that, I know a place.’ Tony took Peter to the exact restaurant he came with the avengers back in 2012. They ate until they were full.
---
That night a surprise visitor came to the tower. Peter and Tony were sitting in the living room watching a basketball match when the elevator opened and Pepper’s voice filled the room.
‘Hey Tony.’ They turned their heads to her direction. Tony rushed to her and hugged her tightly. He missed her. Everything would be easier now that she was back.
‘I thought you weren’t coming back for another 3 days.’ Said Tony.
‘I wasn’t going to but…’ she lowered her voice so Peter wouldn’t hear ‘I thought you might need me.’ She put her hand on his cheek.
‘You know me so well.’ Tony kissed her hand before taking it in his hand. ‘Come on, we were just watching TV with Pete.’ He dragged her to the chair.
‘Hi, Ms. Potts’ Peter’s voice was tiny. He was shy. Both Tony and Pepper found it adorable.
‘Hi honey. Are you okay? I am so sorry about May.’ She sat next to him and put her hand on his knee.
‘Don’t be. She will be fine.’ Peter put on a fake smile. He didn’t want to talk about this but he wasn’t about to say that to Tony’s fiancée.
‘I am sure she will.’ Tony sat back in his seat and they watched the match. Talking about sports and other stuff.
---
Two weeks has passed and there was still no improvement on May’s condition. Peter was getting used to living with Tony. He kept telling Peter to stop calling him Mr. Stark. Harry also started to become a good friend of Peter’s. They were together all day in school along with Ned, of course. Harry was a nice guy, Peter thought. He has to admit that he was a little scared when he heard the name Osborn. But Harry did nothing that disturbed him. In fact, he was able to relate to Peter when he told Tony was his guardian for the time being. After all both Tony and Norman were rich, famous men. And Harry promised not to tell another soul.
As the days passed Peter became more and more worried for May. The idea of her never waking up started to make its way into his mind. He never shared his fears with anyone. He felt as talking about them would make it real. Tony was no better than Peter. He was constantly on the edge, waiting for a phone call to inform him on May’s death. However, when the guy he left in the hospital called him in the middle of the night, the reason was not what he expected.
‘Mr. Stark I am sorry to call so late but you have told me to call you if anything happens. And something did happen sir.’ Tony was scared. It was clear from the man’s voice there was no good news.
‘Just tell me.’ He was out of the bed now.
‘Sir, she is awake now but… the doctors said she is in Vegetative State.’ Fuck, Tony thought.
‘I will be there.’ He hung up and quickly got dressed. He considered not telling Peter right away but he knew Peter would get mad at him for not telling him. So he went to his room. Peter was sleeping quietly with his hand under his head. Tony didn’t know how to this. He sat at the edge on the bed and put his hand on Peters shoulder.
‘Pete?’ He shaked him a little ‘Wake up, kid.’ Peter slowly opened his eyes.
..’ony?’ He looked at Tony’s face and slowly gained back his consciousness. He knew this was about May. He jumped from the bed.
’Is she okay?!’ His eyes were focused on Tony’s mouth, waiting for words that will change his whole life to come out.
‘Its…’ He took a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest thing he has ever done. ‘I don’t really know much…she is awake but… there was damage left as the doctor warned us about.’
‘What kind of damage?’
‘How about we go to the hospital and the doctor can explain.’ Without saying a word Peter went to his closet.
‘I will be at the car, kid…’ When the sound of his room’s door closing reached Peter’s ears, he let out a muffled scream. His heart was racing. He threw on some pants and ran to the car. And Tony rushed
to the hospital.
The doctor greeted them in front of May’s room. ‘Welcome Mr. Stark, Peter.’ He gave out a sad smile. ‘Let’s talk in my office.’
Tony held the kids hand when they seated in the chairs facing the doctor’s desk.
‘Approximately 1 hour ago, May Parker woke up. But there was no sign of her being conscious of her surroundings. We did some tests to make sure and I am extremely sorry to tell you that she is in Vegetative State. It is a state of unconsciousness. The cortex of her brain that is responsible for memory, personality is now dead. She is not able to talk, eat or move. There are some movements seen sometimes but they happen involuntarily.’ Peter was crying silently. Tony gave a hard squeeze to his hand. ‘Now, there is a chance of recovery however I must say it is very, very rare. During this state she needs a special caring. We need to make sure she has physical therapy for her muscles, someone to feed her, give water and anything else a human body needs. There are some facilities I could recommend you. There is also the option of pulling her out of life-support mach-
Peter jumped to his feet and cut in ‘NO!’ Tony tried to get him back to his seat but Peter wouldn’t have it. ‘You can’t kill her! I won’t let you!’
Tony pulled Peter to his lap. ‘Shh calm down baby...’ The doctor left the room to give them space. ‘No one is going to kill your aunt. Just breathe.’
Peter was sobbing now. He buried his face in Tony’s neck. ‘Why..I…’ Tony caressed his back.
‘Let it out… I’m here. You are not alone. I’m here.’ He kept telling this over and over again as if that would make Peter believe him.
It took Peter quite a time to calm down. He sniffed and looked to Tony’s face with his red and swollen eyes. The scene broke Tony’s heart to million pieces. He kissed Peter’s forehead. ‘I am so sorry Peter. I wish there was something I could do. I promise no one is going to pull the life support machine out. And we will place her into best possible treatment center. You can visit her whenever you want to.’ Peter didn’t answer; he just kept looking into Tony’s face.
‘Do you.. want to see her before we go home…You don’t have to.’
Peter shook his head. He wasn’t ready to face May. ‘Okay. We can come together if you want. Can you wait here until I tell the doctor our decision?’
‘Yeah.’
Tony made sure his talk was as short as possible. When he turned back to Peter, he was crying silently. Tony wanted to cry too, but he couldn’t, not in front of the kid. ‘Hey, ready to go?’ He extended his hand out and Peter took it. Tony wiped away the tears on Peter’s face with his free hand. And led him to the car.
When they reached the compound, Peter went directly to his room without saying anything. Tony closed his eyes and stand still for a few seconds trying to calm himself down. This wasn’t a time to panic. He was supposed to be strong. But he never thought they would be in this situation. Sure he considered the possibility of her death but his was something else.
He went to Peter’s room and saw the kid was laying on the bed, eyes locked in the ceiling. He decided to lay down next to him, thinking the kid wouldn’t want to be alone in this night. ‘She wouldn’t want you to be like this you know… May was a wonderful person and I didn’t even know her that well. And I am just… really sorry this happened to her.’ And not me, Tony thought. May didn’t deserve this. But Peter was a kid and as sorry as he felt for his aunt, he couldn’t help but worry for himself. ‘What..what will happen to me Mr. Stark?’
‘What do you mean…You will be fine Peter. It will take some time but I promi-
‘No, not like that. I just mean. . Well you took a temporary guardianship of me but..after tonight.. That just... Can you make sure that I won’t be going into a foster family when your guardianship is done and the state takes me? I know you already did enough for me. If you could just make sure they place me somewhere else. I just can’t live with strangers.’
‘Kid no one is taking you. I won’t let them.’ Tony turned to Peter. ‘Look at me.’ Peter did. ‘Never worry for something like this again alright? You will have me no matter what. You’re stuck with me now.’
Suddenly Peter put his head on Tony’s chest and wrapped his arm around him. ‘I love you Mr. Stark.’ Tony felt a warm tingling inside of him. ‘I love you, Petey, so much.’ He planted a kiss on top of Peter’s head.