Chapter Text
After he had opened up about his—rape, Peter felt like he was lighter, in a way. Every time Tony and Pepper skillfully avoided his triggers and talked him down from panic attacks made him feel safe in a way he thought he’d never have back when May died.
He pretended not to notice how Skip was put in jail, but sighed a breath of relief that he’d never hurt anyone again. He pretended not to notice their search histories asking how to support a sexual abuse survivour, but his heart burst and he smiled, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. And when Stark Industries opened a shelter for sexual assault survivours as well as donated millions to existing shelters and nonprofits, he hugged them and gratitudes mixed with “I love you”s tumbled out of his mouth.
After many discussions, they got him a therapist who had to sign NDA after NDA after NDA. He hadn’t realised how open the wound was and only when it slowly but surely healed, did he notice how much he needed help.
He still kept a careful watch over Morgan, as though FRIDAY, Tony, or Pepper would ever let anyone that was mildly a threat to her near her. His therapist said it was normal as long as he didn’t get obsessive or let it completely consume him. But on days where he had woken up in a cold sweat, phantom images of Morgan under Skip, his gaze dark with lust as he—
It was hard sometimes.
Thankfully, though, in her seventeen years, Morgan was never assaulted. But her friend was. The elevator doors opened to his lab and he was immediately put on alert by her shaking breaths and held back sobs. He knew what a distraught, grief-stricken Morgan looked and this was it. Usually, it was that one of the Avengers had been injured severely or that Tony had a health scare. Sometimes, it was even Peter. But to his knowledge, nothing like that had happened.
“Morg? What happened?” Peter asked cautiously.
“Sam! They—I just got back from the h—hospital. She was—their dad hurt them. Like… hurt hurt them.” Morgan choked out. Oh. Though he’d done his part as Spider-Man and lowered the crime rate, he knew that horrible things still happened in his city and it sickened him to know that Morgan’s friend had been assaulted and he wasn’t there to stop it.
“Hey, Morgan,” he tilted her chin up, “your friend will be okay. There are hotlines they can call and nonprofits and shelters they can go to. SI has been running one for a decade. They’ll get the help she needs. So right now, what I need you to do is breathe. Worrying about your friend will do nothing right now. As long as you support them in the future, she’ll be okay.”
“But—”
He gripped her chin just a little tighter. “No, Morgan. I know your Stark genes want to feel guilty and I’m telling you not to listen to them, alright? You’re no use to your friend like this.” He let go of her chin so she could nod and Peter helped her take several long, deep breaths.
“The police caught him, he was arrested. Apparently her neighbour heard something and for once, the NYPD was useful.” While Peter privately agreed, remembering all the times they hadn’t been the best backup, he still felt the need to defend them if only for Ben.
“Morgan…”
“I know, they’re trying their best, save me the speech, Spider-Man.” She was now in the Lashing Out stage of The Starks’ Guide: How (Not) To Deal With Your Guilt, so he let it slide.
“It’s good they caught him, your friend can press charges and get justice if they want to.” That is, of course, assuming that their dad doesn’t have enough money for bribes, bail, or connections that can make everything go away for them. Or if he doesn’t run away to Colorado or wherever the fuck Skip went.
Morgan just shook her head and scoffed, obviously still holding onto her anger. He decided to let her. He knew that this was one of those situations where it was better to let someone hold onto their anger. Especially someone as stubborn as Morgan Stark.
“How did I not know? It was right in front of me! They don’t like men, she flinched if someone moved too suddenly, hated when someone called then a specific nickname, hated Sex Ed a little too much, how she seemed nervous at the sexual assault and abuse assemblies, the long sleeves…” She trailed off, guilt pouring off of her in waves. Peter pulled her into a hug, heart breaking just a bit as she melted into the embrace.
“It’s no one’s fault when something like that slips by people’s notice. The only person who is at fault here is their dad. It isn’t their fault and it isn’t yours, either. People like that tend to be exceptionally good at manipulating people and your friend, over time, learned how to evade and lie and pretend that everything was fine.”
“I know, I just wish they told me. I could have helped.” Morgan said in a small voice.
“It wasn’t that she didn’t think they could go to you, it was that their father had definitely gaslighted, lied, and threatened her to. Make sure that he was always in control of the situation. Abusers have a way of always knowing what to say and do to keep people under their control.” Peter responded, trying to break through her guilt and get her to see reason. He knew that thought processes like that could be extremely detrimental. “Listen, it’s late and today has been emotional for you. Both of us have to be up bright and early tomorrow, so we should get you to bed.”
He got up, then bent down to put one arm under her knees and the other under her back and lifted her up the same way he did when she was smaller. He ignored her startled yelp and asked Karen to open the door. Peter walked over to her room, easily containing her half-hearted struggles. He gently set her down on her bed and tucked her in, getting into bed with her and letting her head rest on her chest.
“You know I’m not a kid anymore, right?” She asked indignantly.
“In my eyes, you always will be. You’re my baby sister, Morg. I remember when you were this small.” He held up two fingers and pinched them together, leaving only a very small space between them.
“You can’t possibly—I was never even that small, you can’t remember something that happened before even Mom knew she was pregnant.” She made a face. “You can’t, right?” She asked, looking up at him. He just lifted an eyebrow. She stared at him and mumbled something about weird spider powers he chose not to hear, hiding a smile.
“To make this trip down Memory Lane complete, how about a bedtime story?”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “ You’re going to tell me one no matter what I say, aren’t you.”
“That’s the spirit!” Peter cleared his throat dramatically. “A very long time ago, there was a boy. Though some may not see it that way, he thought his life was great the way it was. He had a loving family and a roof over his head, for him, that was all he really needed. All he wanted more of was knowledge. So he walked to the library every day to read and read and read until he had to leave.”
“Didn’t you already tell me this story?” Morgan asked, brows furrowed in concentration, probably trying to remember why it sounded so familiar.
“I did, but you should keep listening.” Peter responded.
“But I already know the ending, the monster is locked away and the boy is mostly okay.” If only that was it, Mor, if only.
“There’s more to the story than I told you. I watered it down so I wouldn’t traumatise a seven-year-old.”
Morgan cocked her head to the side. “That was a real story? I thought you made it up.”
“It was real. Now shut up and listen, Baby Stark.” He said without any real bite, purposefully using the nickname from the media she hated the most. It garnered the reaction he was looking for. He smirked as she slapped his arm and pulled a face but grumbled out an affirmative. “During one of those trips to the library, he met an older boy. One who smiled kindly and told the boy exactly what he wanted to hear. But—”
“—He was a monster with a human face.” Morgan finished.
“Not quite. He was entirely human. Just one of the bad ones. But to the boy, it felt like he was a monster. He felt like a suffocating presence, one that he had no escape from. He was terrified of him. Paralysed.” Peter took a breath.
“While he was not eating the boy’s soul, he was hurting him, breaking the boy down until he felt like nothing. Until he knew that if he didn’t find a way out, he could die. He had simply stopped caring, hit rock bottom and there was no way to dig deeper. So he told his family what had happened. But it was too late. The older boy had already moved away and he wasn’t put in a dungeon. He lived free and unpunished for what he had done.”
“You told me that it was all okay in the end.” Morgan said softly.
“It was, but it took nearly a decade for the boy to ever get justice. But the last bit was true. The boy did end up alright, well… ‘It had been said time heals all wounds, I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessons. But it is never gone.’”
“Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, right?”
“Got it in one. While the boy did end up okay, he still had to live with what had happened. Thankfully, a certain genius, billionaire, ex-playboy, philanthropist came along with his wife and their beautiful daughter.”
“The boy was you.” Morgan breathed out.
“You’re on a roll, Morg.”
“Why are you telling me this?” She asked, eyes brimming with unshed tears.
“I’m telling you so you know that your friend will be okay. You Starks are made of some pretty special stuff. You’ve already helped me without knowing about it and you can do the same for your friend.” He let that sink in before slowly moving to get up. “Goodnight, Mor.” Peter maneuvered Morgan so he wouldn’t disturb her as he got up with ease that spoke of many years of experience.
He didn’t see the way she stared after him for an hour. He didn’t see the way she ran over and over in her head all of her memories, comparing them to her friend. He didn’t see the way her frame shook with the force of her sobs. He didn’t see the way her resolve became the iron Starks are made of.
But he saw the way she started putting more hours into volunteering at SI’s shelter. He saw the way she supported her friend, getting them through it at every turn. He saw the way she educated herself. And he made sure she saw how proud he was of her.