We Never Lose Our Demons

Like Father, Like Son

"Well, that's about it, isn't it? Goodbye walking," Rhodey sighed as the doctor left the room.

"I'm sure we'll find a solution, Uncle Rhodey," said Peter, sitting on his left. Pepper, on the other hand, was sitting across from him.

"Peter's right, you've always been a warrior, perhaps you won't give up now," Pepper said with a small smile.

"I don't know if you missed the fact that I have almost no feeling in my legs because it's hard to fix."

"Yeah, but it's not impossible. We won't give up on you, and when Dad gets back, we'll start working on something."

"You're my favorite nephew, you know that?" Rhodey laughed.

"I mean, I'm kind of your only nephew, so it's really not that hard," he snorted. Rhodey just rolled his eyes at him.

"So, where is everyone? Do you know what happened after I fell?" he asked, turning to Pepper because he was expecting an answer from her, but before she could say anything, Peter spoke.

"From what Natasha said, Captain America and his friend ran away. She's here, my dad has gone somewhere, and I don't know anything about the rest," he replied, and Rhodey gently frowned at the boy's address to Natasha. He rarely addressed her by her full name. Mostly it was Nat or Aunt Nat. He looked at Pepper again with a question in his eyes.

"They had a fight," she murmured, and he nodded.

"About what?"

"She confessed to letting them escape," he snapped.

"Well, that makes sense," he said, and Peter looked at him in confusion. Rhodey wasn't very close to Natasha, but he knew that the Accords didn't quite suit her, and he was actually quite surprised that she had signed.

"How can you be so calm about it?! She is responsible for what happened to you!" he cried, earning two surprised looks.

"Peter!" Pepper said in shock. She didn't know what he and Nat had argued about, but she noticed that it hurt Natasha. And if Peter accused her of what had happened, she understood her feelings.

"Nothing like that, kid! What happened was an accident and Nat didn't play a part in it. Just letting them escape doesn't mean they wouldn't escape anyway. We all fought for something there. I signed and I don't regret it. And I don't want to hear any accusations from you anymore, okay?"

"But-"

"I made myself clear, Peter. And I expect you to apologize to Aunt Nat. I'm sure your dad will support me when he gets back."

"I just don't get it, Uncle Rhodey!" he said desperately. He could understand why his dad had been out of energy the last day. This was really a mess.

"Pete, honey, what do you not understand? Natasha made the decision that seemed right to her, and couldn't have guessed how it would develop. And as Rhodey said, just letting them escape doesn't mean they wouldn't escape anyway. It's the same as if your dad makes a mistake. It's like when Bruce and he decided to create Ultron. They did not plan to make him a murderous robot, but they did. You've never been so angry about it, so why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?" Pepper asked gently.

"It's just... Everything is different from that bite. I only really learned to use my new skills a few days ago. It was pretty difficult, but you all supported me and helped me. But then something happened with the Avengers and Aunt Nat and Uncle Rhodey had to go upstate. Then you left. For the first few days, I believed you had a lot of work to do, but then I knew it wasn't just for work. My dad was so stressed out and Thaddeus Ross kept calling him and asking for something. Then he finally told me the truth that you took a break and that he had to go upstate. So I told him to stick to Aunt Nat because I knew he needed more than Uncle Rhodey. I thought he would be fine with her, but then it all went wrong. You saw what he looked like! And now he's God knows where," he tried to explain his feelings.