The Revenge of Devil | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 7

But before it came to the food Tony was talking about, they let Bruce check Peter, and only when he assured them that their son was okay, they all moved to the kitchen where they were right now. Pepper didn't want to cook, so they ordered a pizza, which she agreed to only after Bruce reassured her once again that Peter was okay and that the pizza wouldn't hurt him.

"I almost forgot!" Pepper suddenly blurted out, earning the looks of everyone present. "Michelle was here, you should call her," she added quickly with a smile on her face. She was no longer naive, so she didn't believe their relationship would last until adulthood, but she would lie if she said she didn't want it. She liked her and Peter and she really got along.

"What did you tell her?" he asked heavily, setting the pizza triangle on a plate. He was under drugs in the lab, so he slept most of the time, and when he was awake, all he could think about was Pepper's death. He was immediately ashamed that he hadn't remembered MJ or Ned for a second. He was a terrible boyfriend and friend.

Pepper exchanged glances with Tony, while Natasha and Bruce were suddenly very interested in their pieces of pizza. "You know, to be honest, when you disappeared, we were terribly scared, and it never occurred to us to contact Michelle," Pepper began, feeling awful as she recalled it. They had always called Ned sooner or later, but they didn't have time even to say anything to him when Michelle suddenly appeared on their doorstep.

"You could have been gone a day or two when she came to see us," Tony said for a change, feeling that Pepper would not continue. "I was too busy looking for you, so Pepper was mainly with her, but you should know that Michelle stayed with us until the night we brought you back home."

"She's been here all this time?" Peter breathed in surprise. The thought of her being here warmed his heart. And when he thought about it more, he came to the conclusion that it was probably good. Dad and Nat must have been too busy looking for him, so at least Mom didn't have to feel so lonely when Michelle was here.

"At first I didn't like it, because of all the stress, but she insisted. And she did great," replied Pepper, who spent the most time with her, so she was the best person to judge.

"And doesn't that sound strange to you?" Natasha intervened, who had little knowledge of the brunette but remembered meeting her in front of Peter's room. Michelle was insecure then, which she wasn't like her. At least according to what Peter told them.

"What do you mean?" her pseudo-son asked incomprehensibly.

Natasha heard a drop of irritability in his voice, which she had to smirk at. He was just like Tony. All it took was one small hint of misconception about Pepper, and he was immediately ready to fight. "I don't mean it badly," she assured him immediately. "But would you leave Peter out of the house for so long? Just like that? Practically all of a sudden?" she asked questions that Pepper herself had already considered.

"It's true that I didn't talk to her parents, but when I asked her about it, she always told me that her parents didn't mind," Pepper replied a little worried. The fact that Natasha avoided emotions rather sometimes managed to hit the nail on the head all too well.

"Maybe you're just looking for something that's not there," Bruce whispered, giving her a look that made it clear he was telling her to let the subject go.

"I guess you're right," she agreed with a small smile. After all, it was none of her business. She now had to work on her relationship with Bruce and not deal with Peter's relationship. Plus, she was pretty tired that night, so it might have just seemed to her. "But Pepper is right, you should call her. She impressed us all," she added to Peter and smiled at him and let him know that she didn't think anything bad about his girlfriend. Which was also true.

"I'll call her right after the meal," he assured them all and took another bite of the pizza.

They fell silent for a moment, just enjoying the fact that everyone was home and okay again, but this idyll was soon interrupted when they heard the front door slam, and then Rhodey said, "I'm having a visitor for you!"

"Steve!" Peter shouted happily as the couple entered the kitchen and jumped to their feet so he could hug the blond man after such a long time, while Tony looked behind them to see if anyone else had arrived. Rhodey caught his eye and shook his head slightly at him, then Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He was grateful for Barnes's help, but he still didn't feel like having him under his roof.

•••

Loki stood in his favorite place, enjoying the views. To be honest, he lacked nature. He liked to spend time with Pepper, but he also lacked that view of the mountain. And she didn't need him now. Peter was back home. Their enemies were dead. There was no use for him anymore. And as he thought about it, his heart pounded slightly. A sad expression settled on his face, which quickly disappeared when Loki sensed his brother's presence.

"Why do you always disturb me?" he growled at him. He almost never gave him too long a moment of silence and peace. He always honored him with his presence when all Loki wanted was to look at the snow-capped mountains. Alone.

"You haven't shown up in a long time. I missed you, brother," Thor said in his deep voice and stood beside him.

"Where's your beer?" asked Loki, who had seen him without a bottle in his hand for the first time since they'd been here.

"I've been told I have a problem, so I'm trying to limit it," he told him reluctantly. "Where have you been? You suddenly disappeared in the middle of our conversation and didn't show up for a few days. You can't do this, Loki! It's not like before..."

"I had to save Stark's wife, there was no time to explain," he snapped. Thor kept trying to get a better relationship with him, but he still didn't believe him. He disappeared for a few days, and his brother immediately thought he was making bad plans. "They kidnapped Peter, but he's back home, you don't have to worry," he added reluctantly, knowing that Thor cared about him, too.

"I didn't know that," Thor muttered, pausing.

Loki knew he felt guilty. And he should. He deserved it for constantly making him a villain. But then Loki looked at him, and that was a mistake. When he saw how embarrassed his brother looked, he felt a little sorry for him. Damn, the time spent with the Starks began to be signed on him as well. They were probably secret wizards, and this was their magic. Make everyone emotional.

"Perhaps we could visit him," he suggested, surprising not only Thor but himself.

"Like brothers?" Thor asked, smiling.