When The War Dies Down

Chapter 6

A/N: From now on, these chapters will be moving faster, and we will be doing a lot of time skipping. I'll specify if it's over two days.

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*Two Weeks Later*

Peter stood at the window gazing out softly. School would start in less than three weeks and Peter wasn't sure if he was ready. Sure, all three people he hung out with knew about the fight, but nobody except Cassie understood the depth of it all. And of course, Cassie and him weren't talking because of the break up and all that.

On another note, Rhodey's spine was not completely fixed, but he could walk again. It was hard at first, and Rhodey had a terrible hunch. But the braces and he walking poles had adjusted to fit him perfectly, thanks to Tony. That meant Rhodey was back with the others, chiding Tony, laughing with Bruce, and hanging out with the gods, with Bucky quietly tagging along.

A lot of changes happened in the past weeks. Homemade dinners became less veggie filled and more Asgardian, or a meal that Bruce made. The tower was usually empty, unless Peter was there. After hearing about the roof, all the adults were afraid to leave him home alone. It wasn't because they needed control, they just loved him so much and wouldn't ever forgive themselves.

And sure, life had its downfalls, like the fact that every night they tended to meet in the living room just crying, either from trauma, missing people, or plain fear. They ate food, cried, and tried to brighten the others up during those late hours. More than once Jarvis had woken them all up and they realized they had spent the night all together.

It was a new normal, and Peter didn't like the reason behind it, but he didn't actually mind the new normal. It was calm, without Clint screaming at everyone, Sam causing unnecessary chaos, Wanda instilling fear into everyone she wanted to. Natasha and Steve though, those were the ones Peter was still angry at. He wasn't sure if he would ever forgive them. The hurt was still fresh, and Peter avoided thinking about them at all costs. Natasha was the one who left him, because Steve was more important. And Steve was beyond stupid and stubborn to enough break apart their family over documents and a magic maniac that 'couldn't control' her powers. She could, she wasn't a kid, and it was high time she grew in maturity.

Under the raging anger, Peter felt an overwhelming amount of hurt, hidden beneath the bitterness and the hurt consumed him. He didn't sleep well at night. He deep down hated himself. His dad and him started therapy, but it wasn't helping. The late night talks helped more in his opinion.

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Tony felt the exact opposite way. He knew Peter wasn't happy with therapy, and he told him that he could stop whenever he wanted to. Sometimes things didn't work for people, Tony knew that, and he wasn't going to judge, after all, his heart didn't work and he had an arc reactor plunged six inches into his chest. Abnormal was kinda living at his house.

But his therapist had actually helped. She helped him realize how toxic the whole team had been to him. Not in public, and maybe not around Peter, but in general. The late nights up to please them with new weapons, just awaiting their approval, the snide comments about his character, and the way they never saw him for who he was.

Sure, Natasha didn't fit in those lines, but there had been moments. Particularly with their fights, which got more heated than most couples. If she was angry enough, she'd make remarks about his childhood and Howard, which had him hurt for days, usually ended up with him holed up in his lab. Of course Peter hadn't known, and Tony wouldn't tell him. Every couple had their fights, but according to his therapist, those weren't healthy battles, or jibes you should ever use. It was crossing a line.

If that all was true, everyone expect who was living at the tower currently, had crossed the line sometime during their stay. Gosh, looking back, they all joked about Tony's childhood like it was nothing, when in reality, it shook Tony's to his core.