Peter couldn’t remember much.
He could remember falling. Falling so fast he thought his stomach was going to rip out of his body. He could remember the feeling of weightlessness that accompanied it, and how, if for only a moment it felt like he was flying. He could remember panicked voices screaming his name, Peter, Peter, Peter, before everything went shockingly quiet.
Then he landed, and the strangest part was that it didn’t hurt. When he hit the surface of whatever he fell through, there was no pain; it was only cold and dark, which terrified him even more.
Before he could even comprehend what had just happened to him, something, or someone , had pulled him from the abyss and back to the surface. The rest was a blur, as he coughed up water into some strangers chest and tried to get air back into his lung, while the same person who had pulled him out of the water brought him into a house.
Something told him that this wasn’t right, and he didn’t know this person and therefore he should not be trusting him. But the man spoke with calm words and offered him a warm blanket as he sat shivering on his couch, and despite what his gut was saying he knew he could trust this man.
“Do you want to tell me why you were in my swimming pool?”, the man asked him, and even though Peter could barely register his words, he knew he had to respond.
“Fell”, he whispered, trying to avoid eye contact with the man.
“Yeah I got that part”, that man responded, and Peter couldn’t help but flinch slightly at his words. He knew that man wasn’t trying to be mean, but that didn’t numb the slight sting in his voice.
“But why were you in my backyard”, the man continued to ask. “Did you jump the fence or something?”
Now Peter was starting to get annoyed, because why wasn’t the man understanding him? “You’re not in trouble or anything, I just want to know why you were back there”, he told Peter, and that was the final straw.
“Didn’t jump”, he said, trying to sound angry while wrapped in a fluffy blanket and shivering. “Fell”, he explained to the man, while pointing his index finger towards the ceiling.
The look on the mans face changed from slight annoyance to confusion at Peter’s words, and Peter was suddenly getting very fed up with the wet hair plastered to his forehead.
“Jarvis”, the man said to the ceiling. “Pull up the security footage of the pool from the last ten minutes”
Apparently the invisible man who he had talked to knew what to do, because a second later the pair watched Peters glorious descent into the pool on the living rooms big screen television. The invisible man ended up playing it again, and as he did Peter could feel the moisture lifting off his skin and blanket before disappear completely. He only had moment, however, to marvel in the fact that he had just completely dried himself off in under ten second; because the man turned back to face him, and also looked incredibly confused at Peters now dry state.
“Jarvis”, he said to the invisible man, once again, sounding more confused than before. “Order two large pepperoni pizzas, and make it quick”
Peter liked pizza; he decided that rather quickly.
He couldn’t ever remember eating anything like it, but then again he couldn’t much of anything so there’s a high possibility he could have come into contact with it before.
The man, who had still not introduced himself, seemed more interested in watching Peter eat the pizza, than actually eating it himself. He was fine with that however, because it meant he got more for himself.
Soon the pizza was gone, and Peter was finally able to realize how tired he truly was. The couch was incredible soft under his small figure, and the now-dry blanket seemed even warmer than before.
“So”, the man said, as Peter finished up the last slice of pizza. “Now that we’ve gotten some food in us I think should probably try to figure out what's going on here”
All Peter could do, was look up at him with a confused expression. He vaguely realized that half of his pizzas crust was still dangling out of his mouth, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care.
“I’m Tony”, the man said, and Peter was glad to finally put a name to his face. “Tony Stark. What is your name?”
For some reason, Tony’s name sounded almost… familiar to him. Like a distant memory, or old dream that you can only remember certain aspects of. There was also no threatening or scary feelings that accompanied the name, just vaguely comforting thoughts and warmth.
The crust in his mouth was now gone, and for some reason his mouth felt incredibly dry. “P-Peter”, he said slowly, caring placing his hand into Tony’s. He could instantly feel that his hand was calloused and worn, but it wasn’t rough and scratchy like you would think. It was more soft, and warm to the touch.
“Ok Peter”, Tony smiled, and all he could think about was how foreign the name sounded coming from his mouth. “Where are you from?”
Peter tried to think, he really did, but no matter how hard he strained to remember, no memories of his previous home would surface. The only things he could remember was his name, Peter, a big ship floating in the night sky, and the face of a very pretty lady.
“Far away”, he told Tony while trying not to cry. “A far away place”
Tony continued to question him, and with every question he asked Peter only seemed to get more and more tired. The couch and blanket were practically eating him whole by the end of their little q & a, and after a few final questions about his parents Tony finally seemed to realize this.
“Ok”, Tony said. “I think that’s enough interrogation for one night. How about we get some rest now?”
All Peter could do was tiredly nod at Tony’s words, and as he silently drifted off, he could feel a soft pillow be carefully tucked under his small head.
Peter woke up the next morning to a foreign smell coming from the kitchen. Just like the pizza, it smelt good, but it definitely wasn’t anything he had ever eaten before.
He carefully sat up on the stupidly ginormous couch as the memories from the night before started to flash through his head. Falling, the pool, the familiarity of Tony Stark… and yet that was still all he could remember. Anything from before the fall refused to resurface, and Peter was starting to get ticked off by his useless mind.
“Good morning kiddo”, the voice of Tony Stark said, and Peter turned his head to find the man walking into the living room holding two plates. “You sleep ok?”
Peter silently nodded his head as Tony handed him one of the plates. Just as he has suspected, none of the food looked familiar, but that didn’t stop it from looking good. He faintly registered that he was incredibly hungry ( despite eating two pizzas the night prior) and dug into the warm food without a second thought.
When they had both finished, Tony took their plates back to the kitchen and returned with a small stack of clothes. “So I wasn’t exactly sure of your size”, he told the small boy while placing the items onto the coffee table. “So I decided to just raid my closet to try and find things that would fit you”
The entire morning, it felt almost like Tony had been trying to avoid him, or was somewhat scared to be around him. At first Peter tried to ignore it, deciding that if this man was nice enough to feed him then he probably didn’t have anything to worry about, but the way he delicately pushed the clothes in his direction made Peter feel uneasy. It was almost as if Tony thought he was about to burst into flame at any second.
“Are you ok?”, Peter asked quietly, trying to get Tony to look him directly in the eyes.
Of course Tony was taken aback by this question, mainly considering Peter hadn’t uttered a single word that entire morning. “O-Oh course I am kid”, he told Peter. “Why would you ask that?”
“You seem scared”, he responded, wrapping the same blanket from last night around his shoulders. “Are you scared of me?”
Tony was not at all prepared for a question like that, especially not at nine in the morning. He was Iron Man, and Iron Man was definitely not scared of an eight year old kid, but Tony couldn’t deny that something about the child unnerved him. Jarvis’s words wouldn’t stop echoing throughout his mind, it appears that young Peter is not of this world, and the more he thought about it the more it freaked him out.
“It-It’s not you kid”, he admitted to the boy, who was staring up at him with those brown, doey eyes. “It just that… I don’t think you’re from around here”
When Jarvis had delivered the news, Tony hadn’t even bothered to asked how he knew. Instead he went straight down to the lab and spent an ungodly amount of time researching alien encounters while Jarvis gathered whatever data he could from the sleeping child upstairs. He also had to figure out what to now do with the kid, because he certainly couldn’t just go to the police like he originally planned.
“You said that you came from a far away place, right?”, Tony asked, and continued when Peter nodded his head. “Well right now I’m trying to figure out where that was, but until then you’re going to have to stay here with me”
“Will I ever get to go home?”, Peter asked, his soft voice cracking on the last word.
“I sure hope so kiddo”, Tony responded, and only flinched a little when the kid suddenly rocketed up and into his arms. He had never held a sobbing child before, but he instantly decided that he hated it. He could have cared less that Peter was getting tears and snot on his nightshirt, but the sound of his muffled cries was heart wrenching and made Tony wrap his arms tighter around the boy.
“How’s about you go up stairs and get cleaned up?”, Tony told the boy, loosening his embrace slightly. “I don’t think you want to stay in those dirty clothes forever”
Peter looked down at his ruined outfit, and for the first time since the fall realized how uncomfortable he felt. He was wearing a teal green shirt night shirt and matching pants, both of which smelt like chlorine and burnt popcorn. His arms were red and splotchy, covered in what looked like some sort of rash; and the tips of his brown curly hair had been singed off slightly. He was honestly surprised Tony allowed him to sleep on his white couch in this state.
“Ok”, Peter whispered, picking up the sort stack of clothes. Tony lead him to an extravagant looking bathroom on the second floor, which he couldn’t help but feel slightly intimidated by. Just like the living room, everything seemed so white and perfect. Everything from the bathtub to the towels looked expensive and Peter was scared to touch anything.
“Here some shampoo and conditioner”, Tony told him, pulling out various bottles of brightly colored liquid from one of the cabinets. “And here is a towel. If you need anything else or if you need any help just tell Jarvis and he’ll come and get me.”
All Peter could do was nod as Tony gave him a gentle pat on the back and left the room.
After Tony had left, Peter walked up to the large mirror that sat in front of the bathrooms sink, and jumped when he saw his own reflection. He quickly realized that he didn’t even recognize his own face, and the sullen dark eyes that stared back at him didn’t look familiar. It was absolutely terrifying.
He carefully peeled the ruined shirt off of his torso, and winced when he realized that the rash from his arms had also carried down to his chest. The red, blotchy patches stung as they came into contacts with the tunics ruff material and Peter starred in disgust as he threw it onto the bathrooms white floor. It’s bright blue color looked incredible out of place in the monochrome room.
The shower wasn’t too hard to figure out and not ten minutes later Peter was done and dripping wet on the black bath mat. Something about being wet made him feel uneasy, and he found himself wishing that he could remember how he dried himself off last night.
“You almost done?”, he heard Tony yell from the other side of the door. He must have heard the water turn off.
“Yes”, Peter responded, hoping that Tony could hear him. As carefully as he could he picked out shirt and a pair of pants and gently put them on. Every time the fabric so much as grazed his irritated skin Peter wanted to cry because it hurt so bad.
He was surprised to find Tony waiting for him outside the bathroom door. He had also changed clothes, his pajama shirt and bottoms replaced with jeans and a tee shirt. He also held a mug of a dark liquid in his hand.
The minute his eyes looked over at Peter, they scrunched up in confusion and worry. The shower had only made the spotches on his arms more red and noticeable, and they looked even worse in contrast to the large black tee shirt that adorned his torso.
“What happened”, Tony asked, delicately grabbing Peters arm and looking them over. “Did you have these last night?”
Peter was about to tell him that he didn’t know, when the voice in the ceiling replied instead. “No, young Peter did not have that rash when he arrived last night. I do believe it developed while he slept.”
Tony pulled up the sleeve of the shirt to try and follow the rash up his arm, but then quickly dropped it when Peter cried out in pain. “Jarvis do a full body scan”, he said, while Peter held his arm gingerly against his chest. “Try to find out what caused this and how to treat it”
With a gentle hand on his back, Tony lead Peter downstairs and situated him on the couch. The billionaire had obviously not expected to have to deal with something like this, especially so early in the morning, and was trying to figure out exact what to do when Jarvis spoke up again.
“It appears that the rash stretches all the way up his arms and onto his torso”, Jarvis informed them. “I am not 100% certain but I have reason to believe that this type of skin irritation could have been caused by being exposed to certain elements in our atmosphere”
Peter looked up at Tony, who was religiously reviewing the information Jarvis had collected on the living rooms television screen. “Ok so how do we treat it”, he asked.
“I suggest keeping anti inflammation cream the irritated parts and refrain from scratching it at all times”, Jarvis told him, as Peter slowly lowered his hand from where he had been itching at his arm. “It should hopefully go away within the next three days”
Tony seemed content with that answer and pulled out his phone to order the most expensive rash cream he could find. Now that he really got a good look at the kid, he realized that his abnormalities didn’t end at the red patches that seemed to cover his entire body. He had the deepest and most unnerving brown eyes that Tony had ever seen. They were so dark that they could have almost been black, and if he stared into them for too long a shiver would run down the back on his spine.
He also did not look entirely human. His face was more angular than most, and the way his lips curled up into a smile made it look like he knew something you didn’t. Sometimes he would turn his head towards a noise or person, and for a split second, he could almost be mistaken for a robot. Looking at him was like looking at a photograph, and knowing that something was off, but not being able to tell what.
“Here I want to show you something”, Tony told Peter, beckoning the smaller boy to follow him.
He lead him downstairs to his lab, and laughed slightly when he saw how Peter’s eyes widened at the sight of the massive room. The Iron Man suit was on display in the corner and his workbenches were completely covered in tools, scraps, and blueprints. Dum-E was sweeping up something in the corner and the entire placed reeked of motor oil. It was definitely not the place for a child.
“I’ve been thinking”, Tony started, as Peter watched Dum-E with a curious glint in his eyes. “I’m not sure how long you’re going to stay here, but in case anyone finds out about you we need a backup plan”
Peter removed his gaze from Dum-E, and instead focused his confused eyes on Tony. “Why?”, he asked, obviously not understanding the severity of their situation.
Tony sighed, trying to figure out how to best explain this to a child. “Because… I’m famous”, he told him straight out. “And people like to snoop into famous people’s lives and if they found out about you I don’t know what I would tell them. People don’t just obtain children overnight.”
He once again glanced around at the messy lab and realized that he would most likely have to clean it up if he wanted Peter down here. “I was thinking for now you could stay down here”, he told him, already trying to figure out how many garbage bags he would need to buy. “I could get you a bed, and maybe a TV and game console of some sort, and you could camp down here until I figure out how to get you some fake documents or something”
This just seemed to confuse Peter more. “Why do I need fake documents?”, he asked.
“Because if you don’t have any documentation on yourself, you don’t exist”, Tony explain. “Until we figure out where you actually came from, you’re going to need to pass as a human. And most humans have a birth certificate, a social security number, or some form of proof that they existed before the age of eight”
Peter had situated himself on one of the workbenches many stools, and was listening to Tony intently. “How do we get all those thing?”
Tony ran his hands through his hair, trying to think. “I’m not one hundred percent sure kiddo”, he admitted. “That’s why I need you to stay hidden until I do”
Besides the sound of both Tony and Peter’s voices, the lab was eerily quiet. Even the normal humming that Dum-E gave off as he worked seemed to be on mute, and all the machines in the large room were deathly quiet. It was almost as if they realized that someone otherworldly had entered the room and were unsure how to react to it.
“I can do that Mr. Stark”, Peter told him, absently swinging his legs off the side of the chair. “No one will ever know about me. I promise.”
Tony couldn’t help but smile at the sheer confidence the boy had. “Well if all goes right you won’t have to hide forever, but I appreciate your cooperation”, he said, as a wide grin split across Peter’s face. “Now come on, we got a lot of cleaning to do”