The Revenge of Devil | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 17

Peter shivered as soon as they left school, trying to hide it from his girlfriend, but when he heard Michelle sigh, he knew he had failed. And also that another lecture awaits him.

"You should dress more when you have a problem with thermoregulation," MJ warned angrily, but she didn't add anything more, she didn't enjoy giving lectures all the time. "Are we planning anything today?" she asked instead of lecturing him. Peter didn't take it seriously anyway. She just hoped he wouldn't freeze somewhere one day.

"I can't today, my mom picks me up and we're going to the compound to say goodbye to Clint. They stayed here for a few days after the housewarming, but they are returning home tomorrow. But maybe I could stop after-"

"No!" she yelled, interrupting and surprising him. "Um, I mean, your parents won't let you wander outside. We'll leave it for another time," she added more calmly.

He was about to tell her that they certainly wouldn't mind because as far as it was about Michelle, his parents would allow him almost everything, but before he could open his mouth at all, he heard Michelle's heart jump strangely. "What's going on?" he blurted out in alarm and began to look around for any danger. It seemed strange to him because his sixth sense didn't warn him, but he was taken aback by hearing her heartbeat. Not that it was the first time, but he usually had to concentrate more to hear it. If he heard the beating heart of a stranger suddenly, it usually meant that that person was scared.

"Nothing?" she asked confused, but before she could ask him for more information, a white Audi parked in the parking lot, which could only belong to one person. Pepper.

"I guess I was just imaging something," he muttered, giving her a quick kiss before saying goodbye to her and getting in the car as she headed home.

"Are you all right?" Mom asked her typical question as the door closed behind him and drove out onto the road.

"Just school day," Peter replied, not bothering by her question, but at times it seemed to him that Pepper expected their school to be attacked by aliens. "Where's Dad?"

"An important meeting in the company, so it's just you and me. Normally I would go to, but I wanted to see Laura, so I sent Tony. I hope it goes smoothly."

"Laura is very nice," Peter said. "I'm a little mad that Clint has kept them from us for so long, it would be nice if they were around when I was younger," he complained. He liked everyone on the team, but they were all heroes. Laura was the same as Pepper. Incredibly nice and normal. And while Peter admired everyone on the team, it was no secret that he valued his mom the most, and he would have liked to have known Clint's family before. After all, how many times could they even watch over him! On the other hand, he understood. He and Pepper were in danger several times because of what Tony was doing, so he understood why Clint kept them a secret.

The rest of the ride was mostly quiet, but it still ran pretty fast. Peter watched the snowy surroundings, which he found magical when he was in a heated car. He liked the winter, but since that bite, his frost tolerance had dropped a lot. He almost felt like it had disappeared completely. He should talk to Dad and Bruce about it.

"I'm going to find Cooper and Lila," he announced as they entered. She just nodded with a smile and let him go. Peter promised to show them his old inventions, and since he didn't know how long they would be here, he didn't want to waste time.

Pepper headed for a common area that looked like a giant living room. At first, she thought no one was there, but then she saw Laura sitting on the ground as little Nathaniel was crawling about her.

"Did they leave you here alone?" she said, and Laura looked up at her with a smile on her face.

"Pepper! You know, how it is, they went to train together," she replied exactly as Pepper had expected.

"Not surprised," she laughed and sat down on the floor next to them. Nathaniel immediately stopped crawling and began to look at Pepper curiously. She smiled at him, after which he laughed happily and sat down so he could reach to her his chubby hands.

"He wants you to hold him," the brunette told her.

"Oh, and can I?" she wanted to make sure. She knew some mothers didn't like it, and she didn't want to upset Laura.

"Of course you can. Just take him," she said with a laugh. "We don't have many friends, so he's mostly just with me, and I don't want him to stick with me, so I'm glad someone else will take him once in a while," she explained.

"I see," she said, carefully taking Nathaniel in her arms. "But he seems to be doing well if he wants to be hold by a stranger," she said, staring at the toddler in her arms. Nathaniel was bubbling, and Pepper suddenly felt great sadness. She thought she had come to terms with it long ago, but now that she was holding Nathaniel, all the sadness and despair had returned to her. By this time, she could have held her newborn baby.

Laura, who had no idea what her new friend had to go through, looked at her, and Nathaniel had to ask, "Didn't you and Tony think you had another baby?"

Pepper looked at her with great sadness in her eyes, and Laura knew she must have asked something she shouldn't. "Pepper, I'm so sorry," she muttered quickly, but the woman with strawberry-blond hair shook her head at her words. "You have nothing to apologize for," she assured her, taking a deep breath. She knew she didn't have to explain anything to Laura, but even though it was an unpleasant topic to talk about, she knew she would understand her because she herself was a mother. "Tony and I didn't plan any more children, but it happened this year. But before I even got used to carrying a new life under my heart, I was cruelly deprived of my child. Tony's ex-girlfriend and Peter's biological mother took care of that. I still don't know why she did it, but it kind of opened my eyes. Tony would probably like to have another child, and so would I. But only if our lives looked different. Peter has been kidnapped so many times and someone has even gone so far as to kill the unborn child. How can I bring a child into this life? They would never be safe, and I don't want them to have to live in constant fear like I do. I can't do it," she said, and it was the very first time she'd talked about her decision to anyone other than herself.

"Oh Pepper, I'm so sorry," Laura whispered shakily, pulling her into her arms, which apparently pleased Nathaniel, who was now in the middle of their arms because he howled happily. "I understand you so much, but are you sure? Look at us, the three children, and we still live a peaceful life."

"And I envy you so much, but Tony is not Clint. He never gives up, and unfortunately, Peter is all him. And even if I wish they'd let it go, I can't ask them to. Plus, it's not like I don't have a child at all. Peter is mine as much as is Tony's."

Laura wanted to add something to it, but they were interrupted by the incoming Natasha, and that ended their conversation. She had no idea how she could handle it all with her head up. Laura was often troubled by Clint's choice of profession, but she was never in danger. She or their children. Pepper seemed to suffer a lot, and Laura admired her decision. As a mother, she knew it wasn't easy at all.