Ugh wrong number

Part 45

With The Avengers

   Tony looked at Peter oddly. Everyone else was already looking at the man, waiting for an explanation.

"Wait, Stark"Everyone turned to Natasha"Remember Christmas night? He...mentioned his aunt right? And you always call Peter's aunt and not his mother or father"

"...Yeah?"He nodded at her.

"I think he lied about having parents"Tony looked at Nat with a somewhat knowing look and sat on the sofa.

"I...suspected it"He said, slowly.

"Wait, what? You knew and you didn't tell us"Sam whisper-yelled so he wont wake up the spider.

"He wasnt sure. And even if he was sure he wouldn't tell you. Peter probably had a reason not to tell us"Pepper defended his husband sitting next to him with a cup of tea.

"Yeah, and what's that reason? We are all orphans here"Wanda asked.

That shutted them up for a long time. The first one to break the silence was Sam.

"Did he say something else on that Christmas night?"They fall in silence again, letting Natasha and Tony think.

Tony shifts back to that night again in his mind. Something in his story stopped his mind from forgetting. He thought about all the possible reasons why Peter wasn't with his aunt on this big family holiday. Maybe Peter didn't get along with her, maybe he was angry at her back then and ran away, maybe his aunt was angry at him and kicked him out? The last one shook him every time it passed his mind, but another specific assumption didn't let him sleep, days after Christmas. What if she...hitted him?

But of course this was most likely just in his head, 'teenages are so dramatic sometimes' , was the thing he calmed himself with, but the little voice in his head always said otherwise.

"m-my aunt doesn't give a shit about me anymore"

"and ho-...a place to live... but...this is n-not a home. Well... It was, but then Ben died and I was left with that freak that I call my aunt, that gives me enough money only not to die from hunger, or to anyone noticed that she speaks to me only when it's absolutely necessary...S-She loved me once you know, she used to make me cookies when I feel sad, a-and Ben will read a night story before I fell asleep on both of them.....B-But now, when he is gone... I don't know what happened to her. It's just that...she has probably passed out right now at her apartment from drinking too much, not even knowing that i'm not in bed"

"Did she ever...hit you?"

"No"

Those words were stuck in his mind ever since, but he never got the courage to ask Spidey anything. He thought about asking Natasha, but he never got the perfect chance. Tony looked at her, only to find out she was already looking at him, with what seemed to be a terrifying expresion, that only made Tony to think he was right as much as he didnt want to admit it.

"Oh no"She mumbled and Tony just shoved his head in his hands.

" 'oh no' what? What happened?"Wanda said, looking up at them. Tony and Nat shared one more knowing look, before storming out of the room to talk.

With Natasha

How was I so blind to see that? I think about that night from time to time and his words too, but he absolutely denied the idea of her abusing him. And of course he will do that. I thought all that bruises were from his Spidermaning. Yeah, sometimes there was a lot more than normal or a little more suspicious to be from patrol, but he always told me the same thing:"It's from patrol, nothing to worry about" And of course he would say that. God knows what she threatened him with to keep him shut.