A New Home

Chapter Six: Alone

Okay so this is angst. Sorry in advance. It is also unedited, so spacing may be a little awkward. I'll go back and fix it later.

Peter sits in the living area of the penthouse, wrapped in a blanket as a movie plays on the TV in front of him. His hair is an absolute, yet adorable, mess. Both Pepper and Tony were in a meeting, so Peter was completely alone. And honestly it was crushing him.

The teen didn’t like to think that he depended on them, but this is the first time he had been completely alone since his mom passed. He had been able to use Pepper and Tony as a distraction, using them to keep his grief at bay as he remained strong in order to protect his pride. But now that he was alone, there was nothing to stop the memories, the hurt, the grief, or the tears.

Peter isn’t even sure what movie is playing. He had just asked FRIDAY to turn on the TV, wrapped himself in his favorite blanket, and was now lying on the couch. His chest literally ached, because now he could feel her absence. He could feel how much he missed home.

The teen had attempted to call his friends from back home, but every time he dialed a number it just hurt. Knowing that he couldn’t get that back. Peter can feel the silent tears rolling down his face, but makes no attempt to wipe them away. Instead, he lets them fall. It starts as a few sniffles, but soon enough he’s sobbing as he feels his heart breaking all over again.

“Mr. Parker, you seem to be in distress. Shall I call Mr. Stark?” FRIDAY’s kind
voice rings through the room.

“N-No!” Peter manages to reply. “L-Let me be alone with this, alright?”

“As you wish Peter.” With that she goes silent. Peter sobs for a while longer
before his grief turns to anger. Anger at the world, anger at fate, just...anger.

Complete rage. He hates himself for what happened, regretting the time he hadn’t spent with his mother. The teen suddenly let’s out a scream he hadn’t realized he’d been holding back.
His words echo off the walls of the empty penthouse.

“WHY HER?!” He screams those two words over and over again. His voice cracking and fading with every word. He falls to his knees on the floor as every emotion hits him all at once. Images of her flood through his mind one at a time. Her smile, her laugh, everything about her. Things he would never get the chance to see again.

Suddenly the teen gets an idea. He fumbles to grab his phone from the table before dialing the number, hoping the number hadn’t been deactivated yet. He hits call and waits as the phone rings, one ring, than two, before he hears her voice.

“Hey, you’ve reached Mary Parker! I didn’t answer so I’m probably out with Peter or at work. But just leave me a message and I’ll get back to ya when I can.” The familiar beep sounds, and Peter just speaks on instinct.

“H-Hey mom.” He whispers. “Y-You’ll never believe who I’m staying with.
Tony Stark. Can you believe it?” Peter lets out a tearful laugh before continuing.

“Y-You’re not here. And it’s killing me. I can’t t-take it. Momma I need you back.” He sobs once again, but covers his mouth to try and keep it in. “It’s killin’ me Mom. I wish y-you were here. Listen at me, s-tuttering. I haven’t d-done that since grade four. School
i-is good. I’ve made a couple friends so far.”

This is ridiculous… Peter thinks to himself. He decides to end the phone call as he usually would, if things had been normal and his mom had simply been working late.

“Well I should probably go. Mr. Stark is gonna be back soon. I love you momma, to the moon and back.” He hits end and begins sobbing again. He ends up dropping the phone to the floor, before running his fingers through his messy curls and wiping the tears from his face.

Climbing back up on the couch, he wraps himself back in his blanket and takes his phone once again. He looks at his lockscreen. A picture of him and
his mother on Peter’s 15th birthday. After unlocking his phone he goes to the gallery and finds the video he was looking for.

Peter had been recording without his mother knowing, as she cooked dinner one night. She was singing. Peter plays the video and listens to his mother's beautiful voice. She’s singing a song they had often sang together.

You’re not alone, together we stand
I’ll be by your side, you know I’ll take your hand.

when it gets cold, and it feels like the end, There’s no place to go you know I won’t give in.

No I won’t give in.

This was the last thing she sang to him, when she was getting closer to her end. She knew Peter would need these words to hold on to.

Keep holding on,

‘Cause you know we’ll make it through, we’ll make it through.

Just stay strong,

‘Cause you know I’m here for you I’m here for you.

Peter continues to cry softly as his eyes close. He would never tell Tony, but Peter hasn’t slept properly in days. The nightmares won’t allow it, so he just tries his best to avoid them all together.

But the soft sound of his mother’s voice slowly helps him find peace, just as it had when he was younger.

There’s nothing you can say.

There’s nothing you could do,

There’s no other way when it comes to the truth

So keep holding on,

Cause you know we’ll make it through we’ll make it through.

His mother’s voice is the last thing he hears before he manages to find rest.
***

Tony walks into the penthouse, untying his tie to make himself more comfortable. Pepper had to go to a few more meetings, but told Tony to go back to Peter seeing as neither one of them wanted to leave him alone.

“Peter? I’m back.” Tony calls through the quiet penthouse. He’s beginning to get worried when he spots the teen, wrapped in blankets and his eyes closed. Peter’s glasses sit crooked from where he fell asleep in them.

The kid looks so much smaller when he sleeps.

Tony just smiles, glad that the kid was finally getting some sleep. That is, until he notices the tear stains on the kid’s cheeks. It’s obvious the kid had been crying. Tony’s heart sinks.

While he was in a board room full of stuck-up, greedy, businessmen, this kid was sitting alone, hurting. This kid had been left alone. Alone with his pain and his grief, and Tony should’ve been here.

Guilt overcomes him, and Tony lets a tear of his own slip. He’s no parent. But he promised Pepper he’d try.

The billionaire carefully lifts Peter from the couch blankets and all, holding the
boy like a small child as he carries him to his room. After he puts Peter in the bed he takes off the kid’s glasses, sitting them on the bedside table. After that he quietly steps out of the room, leaving the lamp on and silently closing the door.

Once the door is closed, Tony leans on it, sliding down until he’s sitting on the floor, his head in his hands. After a moment he composes himself and walks back to the living area of the
penthouse. He turns off the TV, and all goes silent. Only then does Tony hear it.

He moves over to the couch, where the kid had left his phone. A video is playing of Mary Parker, singing her heart out while she’s cooking dinner. Tony can only guess that this is the last thing Peter was watching before he fell asleep.

Suddenly Tony gets an idea. One that Peter will either hate him for, or thank him for. But it’s worth the risk.

“Friday?” Tony whispers, even though he’s alone in the room.

“Yes boss?”

“Download all videos of Mary Parker from Peter’s phone. Send them to my
phone.” FRIDAY doesn’t reply, but the notification Tony get on his Stark phone lets him know it’s been done. Now to go through with the rest of his likely stupid plan. He can only pray that Peter won’t hate him after this.

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This chapter literally hurt me to write. I'm working on the next one as we speak.

I larb you all 3000,

Nat