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Being a Stark [Superfamily]

Chapter 31

So, Liz’ dad is in jail now. That must have been the surprise of the century at school.

Peter saw it all happen in a distance. He saw the police arrive, along with the CIA, SHIELD, and Vision. The latter only came to help Peter, probably on Tony’s wishes. It’s not his fault he only arrived when it was already over.

The boxes are secure. Peter pulled them all together with his web. Sitting on top of the cyclone rollercoaster, he could see Happy search for him, letting out a relieved breath for not losing the stuff.

But Liz moves away. Her mother found something – rather quickly – in Oregon. They have family there; it’s a temporary solution for now. Her father doesn’t want them in New York during the trial. Peter feels his chest ache at the idea that it’s also his fault he brought this family down.

She kisses him on the cheek before she leaves. Peter wonders if that’s the last time he’ll ever see Liz again.

In the meantime, Michelle is appointed the new Team Captain of the Decathlon team. They celebrate shortly. Peter needs to leave.

“Where are you going, Peter?” Michelle asks. Peter points towards the hallway, phone still in his hand. He knows the screen is pointed at her, and she could easily read what it says. Michelle just leans forward. “What are you hiding, Peter?”

Is he supposed to answer here? What’s going on? Is she on this again, with her conspiracies and shit?

But then Michelle laughs. “I’m just kidding, I don’t care,” she says, waving him off. Then she turns to the team. “Alright, so, we should run some drills.”

Peter doesn’t say anything else, but just stands up. He needs to go to the bathroom now, and not to pee or anything like that. Much to his surprise, he even finds Happy standing there, actually looking… happy?

“Hey, uh, what are you doing here?” Peter asks the man that has been driving Peter everywhere for the past fe weeks. Happy, wearing a suit, puts his hands in his pockets and nods at him.

“I really owe you one,” Happy says fondly, not really moving in his spot. “I don’t know what I would do without this job.”

“Like Tony would ever fire you,” Peter counters, and Happy shrugs.

“You know, before I met Tony-“ he starts. Then somebody flushes the toilet, and Happy’s smile falls away from his face, shoulders suddenly tense. To make it even worse, the kid starts slowly washing his hands, not bothering to hurry despite Happy staring at him. When he finally leaves, Peter lets out a breath.

“So, uh, how long have you been here?” Peter asks.

“Long enough for it to be awkward,” he answers. Peter chuckles then. “The boss wants to see you.”

Peter’s eyes widen.

“He’s in here?” he asks, pointing at the toilet. Is Tony already back in New York? That was fast! He must be so jetlagged right now, no?

“The toilet? No, he’s upstate,” Happy counters. Ah, that means he’s in the Compound. That’s weird, why is he there? Tony hasn’t been there since after Siberia, after all…

Happy drives them there. Just when they arrive, a quinjet lands. Peter only sees it shortly in the corner of his eyes, mostly through the reflection of the windows. He can’t see the ship in itself, not being in the right position for it.

Peter blinks a few times when he walks inside. All of the sudden, there are a whole lot more people walking around here. It’s as if there’s a sudden raise in staff, though Peter recognizes most of them as the scientists that have been busy helping out Harry. They disappeared pretty much after the last incident, but somehow, they’ve returned. A chill passes through Peter, but it’s not a warning for danger. It’s more excitement.

“Peter!” Tony shouts. He runs to Peter, pulling his sunglasses from his face and showing his tired, red eyes. The moment he reaches Peter, the teenager is pulled into his arms, holding him in a strong hug. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

“Hey, Dad, welcome back,” Peter says, managing a smile despite the awful way the two parted.

“I’m, uh, going to give you two a minute,” Happy says, taking a small step back. “I’ll be close behind.”

Tony gives him an unimpressed look.

“How about a loose follow?” he asks. “Boundaries are good, buddy.”

Then Tony puts a hand behind Peter’s shoulder and pulls him along into a slow walk.

“Aren’t you extremely tired, Dad?” Peter asks, taking in the dark circles under Tony’s eyes. The man blinks a few times but then smiles.

“Well, yeah, I’ve been awake most of the night talking to the government, trying to keep your ass out of the fire.”

“Sorry,” Peter offers. Tony waves it off.

“It’s alright, you’re worth it, son,” he tells him with a smile. “Though you might have given me a few more grey hairs. Maybe you should stop doing that, no?”

Peter laughs lowly. He doesn’t know where Tony is guiding him to so he just follows. Suddenly, a window opens up, revealing it was actually a door. Behind it, there’s some sort of pillar. Peter can’t take his eyes off it.

“I got them off your back, don’t ask me how. They’re just grateful that you got the man, and they don’t want you to sign. Not yet, at least,” Tony assures him. He taps his watch two times, and suddenly the pillar opens up. There, a shiny, new suit lights up. Peter’s mouth falls open, because this… this isn’t-? Wait, what?

“From what I’ve known from Spider-Man these past few months, I know that he wants nothing else than to be an Avenger. And, I know they haven’t been as active lately, but they’re not disbanded.”

Peter reaches out, letting his fingers touch the cold metal of the suit. It looks like a merge of Iron Man and Spider-Man. The design is amazing, the suit solid. It shines, lacking any scratches. Peter even wonders if it flies.

“I, uh,” Peter starts.

“You don’t know how proud I am, Peter. And I think, with a little bit of mentoring, you might even get to be a part of the team.”

“I don’t-“ he doesn’t know what to say, that’s what he’s trying to say. But even that escapes his capabilities.

“It’s not for now; I still need to make sure you understand the gravity of you using your overrides like that. But, maybe in a while, you’ll convince me.”

Tony offers him a smile, and then reaches out to put a hand behind Peter’s neck.

“Now, this suit is not yet available for you. I just wanted to give you a sneak peek as to what you can expect when you get to change my mind.”

Peter nods, smiling back at him.

“Good, because… uh… I think I’m taking you up on that, uh, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man job you offered me, if it’s still standing? At least for now,” Peter admits. Tony grins, and then pulls him back into a hug.

“You keep on surprising me,” Tony admits. “Never stop doing that, please.”

“I won’t,” Peter assures him.

“Good, because now I have another surprise for you. Or two, actually,” Tony says, pointing towards a door on their left. Peter nods, frowning. “Because behind this door, there’s somebody waiting for you. But, we’re not going to take this door yet. This one is for later.””

“What is happening?” Peter asks in confusion. For a moment, Peter wonders if it has something to do with Steve, and why Tony was with him the other day. Is it because he’s coming back? They’re all coming back? Peter hopes so, it would be better for everybody if the team’s back together!

“You’ll see. I won’t spoil the surprise,” Tony says with a grin. Then he gives him a pat on the shoulder and leads him out of the little room. The suit disappears again into the column. The windows slide back close.

Tony takes him to a little hallway. The door is open there, and Peter can see Pepper standing there. She offers him a smile and walks up to him. When she reaches him, she takes his face in her hands and presses a kiss on the top of his head.

“I’m glad you’re alright, Peter,” she says. Her light-orange curls fall perfectly over her shoulders, and had she been about Peter’s age, he thinks he would probably have fallen in love on the spot with her. “You had us worried for a moment, there.”

“I’m glad I’m alright, too,” Peter admits with a joke. Pepper gives him another smile, and then looks up to Tony.

“They’re all inside,” she says. Tony nods, giving Peter a little push in the back. Pepper moves to the side to free the way, and touches Peter’s shoulder once again, a sign of good luck.

Peter wonders what’s happening here? Happy is still behind them, giving Pepper a small nod with, uh, red cheeks? Pepper, too, smiles at him and touches his arm as she greets him. Peter wants to watch, to see what’s going on there, but then he’s pushed inside and finds himself in a very light, open room.

“Now you stay here, alright?” Tony asks. Peter turns to his Dad, mouth still fallen open with surprise. He’s got no idea what he’s supposed to be doing here. There are a few other people in here, but Peter doesn’t recognize them.

A little to his left, there’s a tall man with a beard and a cap is looking out through the window. He’s wearing glasses and a hoodie, hands tucked away in his pockets. Next to him, there’s a blonde woman with a face he doesn’t recognize. She’s got a hand on his back, not in a romantic gesture but in some sort of assuring way.

“Peter?” somebody asks, and the teenager turns around. He hadn’t realized that another person had been standing behind him. He blinks a few times, preparing an apology for not seeing the girl sooner, but then his eyes meet her familiar brown ones. His eyes go wide.

“Wanda?” he asks, almost shouting her name. The girl smiles lightly but still keeps a bit of distance. She doesn’t shy away, though, when Peter takes a step forward. “You’re… here?”

“Last I checked,” Wanda responds, shrugging like it’s no big deal. Then the two jump into each other’s arms. With his head over Wanda’s shoulder, he feels so much at the same time; relief that she’s alright, sadness because he doesn’t know how long she’ll stay. Fear because she can easily get caught being back here.

Eventually, Peter pulls back, keeping his hands on Wanda’s shoulders. “When did you get here? How are you even here? I thought you were in hiding? Were you here the whole time?”

Wanda smiles, and then nods to somewhere behind Peter. The boy turns around, seeing the man and the woman look back at him. The woman smiles, a few steps behind the man. She’s got her hands on her hips, and that smirk that feels somehow familiar to Peter, but he can’t really place it.

But the man… now that Peter gets to face him, all color escapes from his cheeks. Because he knows who this is. He knows this man, despite the beard and the glasses and the baggy clothes. Peter knows him.

“Steve,” he breathes out. Why are his eyes stinging? Why are Steve’s eyes red, too, behind his glasses? They don’t search for explanations, instead pulling each other into a strong hug and holding on tight.

“Oh, Peter,” Steve whispers next to his head. His hand goes straight to Peter’s hair. Peter grabs on to his back, not wanting to let go at all.

“What are you- how are you? What is happening?” Peter asks. When Steve pulls away at last, the woman comes up. She reaches for her face, and seemingly starts to pull away her skin. Peter wants to shout, but he stops himself when he sees Natasha underneath.

Holy crap!

They hug, too. Not as long as with Steve or Wanda, but enough to give Peter a sense of security.

“I don’t know what’s happening? Did something happen? Did they drop the charges?” Peter asks. Steve lowers his gaze and Natasha shakes her head.

“No, technically we’re not here. We’ll leave again in a few hours with king T’Challa, who was here on ‘business’,” Natasha explains, punctuating the ‘business’ part to make clear that it’s not true.

“Wait, that Panther-dude from back I Germany?” Peter asks. When the three nod, he whistles. “Wow, that’s so cool.”

They laugh, then they go to sit down on the only couch in the room. Natasha brings Peter up to date to where she’s been until now. As far as Peter understands, she’s been traveling, on her way to make sure nothing of the Red Room remains standing.

Wanda, in the meantime, hasn’t really done much. It’s not easy, being a wanted fugitive, so she’s mostly spent her time in the Royal Palace at Wakanda, meeting some people and learning how to play the guitar.

Steve, though... Steve’s a bit vaguer on the matter. Though he insists that he’s fine, nothing in his past few activities indicate that he’s been alright the entire time. But Peter isn’t asking about it.

Without any interruption, the four of them sit together. They talk, joke, and even start up a few games of cards. It’s all fun, and Peter hasn’t felt better than this in the past few weeks, feeling like he’s complete again. But he knows it won’t last; things aren’t the same, and soon enough they’ll be called away again.

The truth is proven when somebody comes knocking on the door, and suddenly Tony walks back in, with tense shoulders and eyes going everywhere but at the man sitting next to Peter.

“T’Challa is leaving again,” Tony says, voice a bit hard. The smiles they were all having drop immediately. Natasha and Wanda stand up, along with Peter. They hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek. Then after a quiet goodbye, they join Tony at the door.

Steve is a bit more hesitant. He’s looking at Tony sadly, but there’s no response from the other man who is now in a conversation with Nat. After ten more seconds, Steve stands up as well. He turns to Peter, and offers him a sad smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring him around,” Peter assures him with a wink. Steve chuckles slightly, pulling Peter closer to him again into another hug. Looking over Steve’s shoulders, Peter can see that it’s dark already.

“I’ll try to come back quicker next time,” Steve promises. Peter doesn’t answer to that, because he knows it’s not up to Steve. “You promise you’ll be careful?”

“Sure, no more big bad guys for me. I’m sticking to the creeps of New York,” Peter assures him. Steve ruffles Peter’s hair and takes his fist step away.

“You still have the phone?” Steve asks. Peter nods, picking it out of his left pocket and showing it to Steve. The man nods, puts a hand behind Peter’s head and then gives him a kiss on the forehead. Peter can’t react at all, blinking a few times before realizing Steve is no longer standing in front of him.

“You ready for the other surprise, Peter?” Tony suddenly asks, and Peter wonders how long he’s been wandering off. Natasha, Wanda and Steve are no longer in the room.

“Yeah, sure,” Peter responds. Then he follows Tony outside again. In the hallway, he sees the three talking to the man Peter recognizes as the King of Wakanda. He can’t hear what they’re discussing, but it’s put on hold when suddenly Vision appears, takes Wanda’s hand into his own and gives her a gentle kiss on the mouth. After that, he flies off again without giving Wanda the chance to respond.

“Ah, my boys grow up so fast,” Tony jokes, pretending to flick away a tear. Peter snorts. He winks at Wanda when they pass each other, suddenly feeling the need to tell Yaël about this. But he can’t, because she’s disappeared without any warning.

Finding himself back in front of the first door Tony had been showing him a few hours back, Peter prepares himself for whatever could be inside. With his father smiling widely, he feels like it’s something good. Is it the rest of the team? Sam? That Winter Soldier-guy with the cool arm? The guy who got big? Clint?

“You get in when you’re ready,” Tony tells him with a smile. He squeezes Peter’s shoulder once, gently, before letting go. Peter nods, clearing his throat and opening the door. A few steps inside, but all he sees is what appears to be an empty interviewing room. Only one of the chairs is occupied. The stage is clear, the sky visible from the windows is dark.

“Hello?” Peter asks. The door closes behind him. Whoever has been sitting there, startles up and jumps on his feet. His sandy blonde hair is cut short. He’s wearing a faded Superman shirt and sweatpants. His feet are covered by some warm-looking slippers.

When his light blue eyes meet Peter’s, they both gasp.

This can’t be?

“Harry?” Peter asks. A small smile comes up on the other person’s face, but there’s no wickedness on there.

“It’s good to see you, Peter,” Harry Osborn answers fondly.

Tony closes the door behind Peter. He doesn’t need to be there in this little reunion, they deserve some time alone. His hand goes to his hair, and he starts to wonder if he should be staying here until he hears the plane leave again, or if he should attempt to walk back and risk seeing Steve again?

Steve Rogers, the man who has been trying to talk to him the entire flight here. The man who doesn’t seem to accept the fact that it’s enough for Tony, that he’s done with it. He doesn’t want more fights, but he doesn’t want anything else, either. Not if it’s going to keep on making him feel like this, like a worthless piece of shit.

“Tony,” Steve calls out for him. Of course, Tony can’t get no rest. He sighs, lowers his head and decides to just face the music.

“Rogers,” he returns the greeting. Another flash of hurt comes up on Steve’s face. Tony ignores it. “Is there something you wanted to say?”

Steve clears his throat, pulling the glasses away from his face and toying with them nervously.

“I just… I wanted to ask you to reconsider… you know, uh…”

“You know, if you can’t form an actual sentence, I’m not sure I’ll be able to help you here,” Tony interrupts quickly. He starts walking into the hallway, intending to get to the recreation room and fetch some coffee. He knows Steve will follow him.

“If you wouldn’t be such an ass about it, this would be going a lot easier,” Steve counters, sounding a bit annoyed. Tony snorts, but doesn’t stop walking.

“I’ve always been an ass, Rogers. I thought you knew that by now?”

“Tony, stop it!” Steve calls out, grabbing Tony’s arm and pulling him to a stop. Tony freezes, keeps on standing there unmoving. He needs to pull himself loose, needs to get away now. “Can’t you understand that I’m trying to talk to you about something?”

Take a deep breath. Then take another one. Count to ten in your head. Then breathe again.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Tony warns him. That would be stupid.

“Please, Tony, just think-“

Tony turns around, pulling his hand free and taking a step back.

“No! You said that you would accept it if I’d say the words. And I did, and now you’re still following my ass all around like a kicked puppy!”

“I didn’t think you’d actually say it!” Steve counters, voice raised just as much as Tony’s. “Can’t you just understand that I love you, Tony? I love you so much, and I don’t know how to do this without you.”

“You shouldn’t love me,” Tony warns him. “All we do is hurt each other. Normal people would call it abuse, Steve. A person hitting their partner? That’s abuse. Don’t you get what that makes of me? An abuser! How could I be with you if that’s what I am?”

“I don’t care about that. I hurt you just as much as you hurt me. And look at me; I’m fine. We’re fine.”

But Tony shakes his head, lowering his gaze.

“Have a nice flight, Steve,” he answers before turning around again. He blames the ache in his stomach as a result of this conversation. And if he runs to the toilet to puke the moment he passes the corner, nobody needs to know.

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