Trapped in the Shadows

Chapter 11 - Breaking Stark

I was released from observation just before dinner as there was nothing wrong with me besides exhaustion. The only condition of my release was that I took it easy the rest of the night, which meant no patrolling with Peter that night. They had already called that there would be no school the following day, revealing that there were not going to try to fix the school, but merely patch it up enough to make it safe for the rest of the year. With the seniors only having four days left before finals (now only three with the day off tomorrow) and the rest of the school not staying much longer from that, they didn't feel it was worth completely rebuilding until summer vacation. Of course this only meant that I would have to see the damage every day and be reminded of what I had done.

Peter stayed for dinner, clearly concerned for my well-being, as was the rest of the Avengers. I hated it. The whole attack was because of me, I didn't deserve as much care as they were showing me. It was for that reason that I teleported up onto the compound roof after dinner. I considered staying in my room, but I knew Tony would be able to break his way in and I really wanted to left alone.

With the cool night breeze brushing against my skin, I found my hold on my tears shatter. The sobs came before I knew it, fueled by the need to let all of the emotions that I had locked up during the day. All I ever wanted was to help innocents and as a result I put innocents in danger. I wasn't deserving of my title as Shadow, I wasn't deserving to be branded as a Stark.

"Hey, (Y/N), we were wondering where you were," Peter spoke softly, sitting down on the rooftop next to me.

I attempted to seize my tears, finding my throat sore from the amount of time that I had already been sobbing. I put a smile on my face, hoping to distract from my tears as I asked, "how did you find me?"

"Are you forgetting that Tony reconnected your tracker after the party? Everyone was worried about you."

I glanced around the roof, "really? So where is everyone?"

"I asked if I could come up alone, I didn't want you to be overwhelmed by a large crowd. Do you want to talk to someone?" Peter asked, placing his hand on my thigh.

I shook my head, staring out into the night sky in hopes that he would just let me be. But Peter stayed by my side, respecting my decision to remain silent but refusing to leave me alone. Eventually I lost it again and I buried myself in Peter's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Pete, this-this isn't how things are supposed to be," I managed to get out between sobs. "I'm a Stark, I'm supposed to be stronger than this."

"Hey, don't say that, (Y/N), you're the strongest woman that I've ever met. Being strong doesn't mean that you never break. You're allowed to feel things, you're allowed to be sad. Don't ever let me hear you claiming that you are not strong again, understand?" Peter replied, rubbing my back to comfort me.

"I never should have told the world who I was," I confessed, feeling myself calming down in Peter's arms.

"You were sick of living a lie, of course you would want the world to know who you really are. You'll get used to your new fame, I'm sure of it. I know it's a hard adjustment, but I promise that I will always be here for you."

Realization struck me as I stood up and moved away, "no, you shouldn't be seen with me Peter. Those people today, they wanted me dead so they blew up a school to get to me. They'll stop at nothing to kill me and that would include hurting you. I-I can't let anything happen to you."

He gave me a small smile, "no one's going to hurt me, or have you forgotten that I'm a superhero as well? Now come, sit back down and let's talk about it. Do you still blame yourself for today?"

"Who else am I supposed to blame? They never would have come to the school if I wasn't there!They wouldn't have known I was there if I didn't reveal myself to the world! God, I am such an idiot."

"(Y/N), as we said before, it wasn't your fault. You could never have known what was going to happen, you have to stop blaming yourself. The only people we can blame are the people that attacked. Natasha said they were an elite group hired by a man named Mac Gargan, who goes by the alias Scorpion, if anyone is to blame then it would be him."

I shook my head, "that's not true and you know it. Yes, they are at fault, yes, but so am I. You should have heard one of the girls I was helping today, she hated me."

"(Y/N), you need to stop blaming yourself. Nobody was killed today, at least you can rest easy knowing that. For the rest of the year, Tony will be upping the security and they'll be safe. You're not going to cause anyone's deaths, I promise."

"But people could have died. We were incredibly lucky today, that may not happen the next time. Do you think my father's security is going to help much? All that it will accomplish is diminish everyone's privacy. If they want me, they'll come and get me. None of this would have happened if I didn't tell the world who I was."

"Fine, if you want to insist that you are at fault, then blame yourself. But I saw you out there, you were willing to sacrifice your life for the other students. I realized why you were so exhausted, you know. You were shielding them, protecting them from bullets, shrapnel, flames, whatever you couldn't stop yourself. So maybe it was your fault, but they wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for your protection and that is what matters."

I remained silent, unsure how to respond as I sat down and focused my attention back on the sky. Peter wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. Eventually he turned to me, "do you want to go in and watch a movie or something? It might help you take your mind off of everything that's happening for a while."

After a moment's hesitation, I finally gave in to Peter's wish with a small nod of my head. He wrapped his arm around my waist and brought me back inside, ending up in the large screening room located in the compound. I barely noticed what movie he started playing as it wasn't long before I fell asleep, feeling at ease in Peter's arms.

(Tony's POV):
"Has Pete come back down with (Y/N), yet?" I asked Steve as I came out from my lab. I wished that I could have gone up with him, but Peter seemed to think it would be best if he went alone. I was happy that she had someone like him in her life, she had chosen wisely.

"Yeah, they're right down the hall watching movies," he replied, barely looking up from his book.

I muttered a thank you before heading in that direction. The door was closed and I was about to open it when I realized that I should probably knock first in case they doing more than simply watching a movie. There came no response so I cracked it open an inch and peered in, finding the two of them cuddling together with the credits of a movie playing in the background. Neither of them acknowledged my presence, which made me realize that they had fallen asleep in the couch.

I smiled at the two of them before asking, "hey F.R.I.D.A.Y. would you take a picture of the two of them to send to May? And tell her 'I don't think your kid will be coming home tonight.'"

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(A/N): Ok so I thought of this ending scene and I was like this is literally too cute not to through in so enjoy some soft dad Tony!