A New Home

Chapter Seven: Remember My Voice

This is unedited. Please have mercy. I apologize in advance for awful writing and probable mistakes. Also, sorry if the spacing seems awkward. If you stumble upon a place where it seems off, comment and let me know.

Okay....read on my arachnids

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When Peter wakes the next morning, for one brief moment he forgets. For one small moment, he forgets that he's not at home in Texas. He forgets that his mom isn't in the next room. And for that small moment, he's happy. But then that moment fades, and he's hit with reality. The reality that he's not back home. He's in New York, with a new family. A new school.

 Rubbing the sleep from his eyes he sits up in his bed... wait, he fell asleep on the couch. Didn't he?

He shakes away the thought before standing up and making his way to the common room, where none other than Tony Stark is sitting on the couch. Peter falls onto the couch, feeling rested for the first time in forever.

"Good morning Mr. Stark."

 "Afternoon." Tony replies, a small smile on his lips.

 "Pardon?" The kid replies, more than a little confused.

 "It's not morning. It's 2:30 in the afternoon."

The kid sits up with a start. He's never slept in, let alone until 2 in the afternoon. He thinks back to when he fell asleep before the panic sets in. His phone. He had fallen asleep listening to the video...

    "Kid? You alright?" Peter snaps back to reality.

    "Yes sir, Just...lost in thought I guess."

   "You're thinking about her. Aren't you?" Tony asks. Peter isn't exactly sure how to respond.Was it that obvious?

"Yeah. It was."

    "I hadn't realized I'd said that out loud."

    "You didn't."

    "Then how-"

    "I recognize that look in your eyes. I know how you feel, and I know it feels like it's too much, and I know you miss her."

    "Well she ain't coming back, so I don't see the point in talking about it." He doesn't want to talk about it. He knows he needs too, but the one person he wants to talk to isn't here.

   "Listen kid," Peter looks at the man, trying his best to hide the sadness in his eyes. "I know how much you miss her. But you have to talk to someone. If you don't want to talk to me, then talk to Pepper."

   "I'll think about it." Peter replies quietly before making attempts to change the subject. "Have you... uh... seen my phone? I fell asleep and now-"

He stops rambling when the billionaire lifts up the device. Peter takes it with a thank you before sitting in silence. He's not the only one that's not talking. Tony has something he needs to say, but won't say it.

   "You okay Mr. Stark?"

   "Yeah, maybe, depends how the next few minutes work out,"

   "Sir I don't think I understand..." Tony stands to his feet before walking toward the door. He leaves the room to come back seconds later, a small device in his hands. The man hands it to Peter, trying to avoid eye contact.

   "This could go one of two ways. You're either going to hate me, or think I'm amazing." Tony says with a half-hearted laugh before continuing. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. That device is a Artificial intelligence unit, similar to Friday. Just put it in your phone like you would an SD card,"

   "Why would I hate you for this?" Peter asks.

    "You'll see," Peter realizes what Tony is waiting for him to do, so he goes ahead and inserts the chip into his phone. Just as the device powers back on, he hears a voice come from the small speaker, Her voice.

 "Hey Pete. I know I’m not actually there. But maybe now you’ll always remember my voice.” Peter can’t hold back the tears as they flow silently. He can tell Tony is waiting on him to say something, but he isn’t exactly sure what to say. So he doesn’t speak.

Instead, he does something he hadn’t tried to do since the day he moved here. He hugs his father. It takes Tony a moment to recover, shocked at the kid’s sudden decision. But seconds later, he’s hugging him back.

“Does this mean you’re not mad at me?” Tony asks quietly.

“I can’t be mad.” Peter replies, his voice shaking. “This is the best thing ever. I have her Mr. Stark. I know it’s not actually her, but…”

“It’s a part of her. I know. I thought about it when I found you listening to her singing before you fell asleep.”

“How’d you do it?”

“Technology works in weird ways. But now you not only have a part of your mom back, but you have an AI.”

“Mama would be happy. Thank you so much Tony.” Tony freezes. This is the first time the kid has called him anything other than Mr. Stark, and Peter hadn’t even realized he’d done it. Tony decides against mentioning it and instead pulls away from the hug, standing to his feet. 

“Well I’m hungry. How does pizza sound?” He asks awkwardly.

“That sounds great Mr. Stark.” The disappointment at the all too familiar title fades quickly when he sees the kid’s smile. For the first time since the kid moved here, he’s genuinely smiling. Things had worked out perfectly, and he couldn’t wait to tell Pepper. 

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Later that night:

“You should’ve seen it Pep. He looked so happy.” Tony tells her, leaning back on the headboard of their bed. 

“That’s because of you.” Pepper replies.

“But I’m still not sure if I’m any good at the Dad thing.”

“You’re perfect for the job.” Pepper tells him reassuringly, planting a kiss on his cheek before continuing. “Today is the perfect example.”

“What do you mean?”

“Today you proved that you would do anything to make sure Peter doesn’t feel an ounce of sadness. That you cared. And not just as anyone would care for a child. Tony, today you acted like a father. And I am so proud of you.” 

“How did I ever get so lucky?” Tony asks. “I don’t deserve you.” Pepper sighs and gives him a smile. 

“You really don’t.” She kisses him one more time. “Goodnight Tony.”

“Goodnight Pep. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And there it is! Its Unedited, but at least it's something. Hopefully another chapter coming soon.

Give me some feedback! What do you guys think will happen next?

I love you all may amazing arachnids,

Nat