A New Home (2.0)

Chapter Twelve:

Anand here's the next one.

Later that night Tony paces back and forth across his work shop, his mind on edge. The Avengers would be coming to the tower in three days. That's three days to figure out a way to tell Peter, figure out a way to explain Peter to the team, and he was doing all of this without Pepper's assistance. She had left for a meeting just after dinner, and wouldn't be back for the next few days.

"Mr. Stark?" A tired voice sounds from the doorway, pulling Tony from his trance. He turns to find Peter standing there in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes like a sleepy toddler. His curls are in complete disarray, his glasses slightly crooked as he scans the room, confused and tired.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing up? It's nearly three in the morning?"

"I... uh, I had a nightmare. I checked your room and you weren't there, so I asked Ms. Friday and she said you were down here. I can go, it's just that..." The kid hesitates, his brown doe eyes shining with unshed tears.

"You just what?"

"I just didn't wanna be alone." The teen looks to the floor, avoiding eye contact. His southern accent was stronger than usual, a tell-tale sign that he was upset. Peter's accent was always more prominent when something was bothering him, something Tony had figured out in the time he'd been here.

"Well, I was actually just about to head back upstairs. We can watch a movie, eat some snacks. Whatever you want." Peter nods silently and Tony rises to his feet, the duo making their way to the living room. The teen moves to the couch, grabbing a blanket and wrapping it tightly around him. "Okay kid, I'm just gonna go grab some snacks-"

"Please stay." Peter's voice is so quiet that Tony almost missed it. Stark sits on the other end of the couch. "I think... I wanna talk about it."

"Okay kid." Tony answers softly. The teen seems hesitant, so Tony doesn't say anything else; instead sitting patiently, knowing the kid will speak when he's ready.

"I was back in Wimberley, only everything was different. Nothin' felt like home anymore. My momma wasn't there, and all my friends were gone. And for some reason, I couldn't shake the feelin' that it was all my fault. Like... no one wanted me anymore." Peter looks over at Tony, tears in his eyes. "You were there though."

"Me?" Anthony asks, confused. Peter nods, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall.

"Y-Yeah. You and Ms. Potts. Y'all had decided you didn't want me, a-and you took me back. And as much as I missed the way things used to be, I didn't want to go back. There was nothin' left for me. My momma's gone, my friends'll forget me eventually. Y'all are all I got left; and I don't know what I'd do if you left me too..."

The kid is sobbing at this point and Tony doesn't hesitate before scooting closer, wrapping an arm around the distraught teen.

"Kid, I need you to listen to me. I am never leaving you, okay? You're stuck with me. Pepper would tell you the same thing; We want you safe, we want you happy, and we want you here with us."

And we love you. Tony adds mentally. He couldn't say it out loud; he wasn't sure how Peter would react. He hasn't even known the kid half a year. He would have to discuss it with Pepper when she got home, and maybe she could help him figure it all out.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter replies quietly, clinging to Tony. Odds are the kid doesn't even realize he's doing it.

"No problem." Stark runs a hand through t
Peter's dark curls, having found that it comforts the boy. His mom must have done that a lot. "Now, how about a movie?"