Chapter Text
Peter’s eyes couldn’t stop moving. There was too much to see. Panels on the wall that controlled lights, temperatures, music - just about anything - though Peter assumed there were some safety protocols in place to keep just anyone from controlling them. Fingerprint or voice activated probably. Maybe even both. But the gadgets weren’t the only intriguing things. The mansion itself was huge, it was bigger than his old apartment building with room to spare. It could fit so much and yet Peter knew only one person lived there. Scratch that, two. From now on this was going to be his home. And as exciting as that was, Peter couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed. It was so big, so strange, so distant. Sure, it was grand but it didn’t feel much like a home.
“Well, here it is. Don’t touch anything. Your room is down that hall to the left.”
Glancing up at the man who had picked him up, Peter couldn’t help but feel even more nervous. “Is…is Mr. Stark here?”
The man – what was his name again? Smiley or something like that? Peter couldn’t remember - he had been in a dazed state for the past few days. Either way, the man just shrugged. “Yeah, he’s probably working. Don’t bug him, he’ll come up when he’s done. Now run along.”
More anxiety gripped Peter’s chest, but he took a deep breath and made himself walk forward. It would be okay, everyone had been telling him new homes took a while to get used to. But Peter never thought it would feel so lonely.
Walking down the hallway, Peter saw a door with a piece of paper stuck to it, three words written on it in sketchy handwriting. “The kid’s room.”
With another breath, Peter opened it. The room inside looked almost normal. A bed with plain blue sheets, a modern dresser, a side table, and a door which Peter assumed lead to a closet. There was a control panel inside as well, along with a few lamps and a few pieces of art, if you could call it that. They were mostly just splatters of paint but it was nice to have some color in the room.
Sitting on the bed, Peter looked around again, but there wasn’t much more to be seen. In short, there was nothing to keep him from reflecting on his current situation. The worry in his stomach was mixed with an unbelief that he was actually here. Every day since Mr. Stark had shown up at his halfway house and talked to him, Peter had to convince himself that it hadn’t been a dream. He could still picture the scene in his head and hear Mr. Stark’s words.
“Here’s the deal kid. I’m in a bit of a tight spot with the press, and the best way to get out of it is to show everyone I care about the people who got hurt at the Expo – and I do care and I am sorry – but money doesn’t seem to be enough. So, what I’m offering you is a place to live, with all living and school expenses paid. You’ll be able to get the best education - anything you need. All you have to do it come out with me to some events and show other people that I’m taking care of you. How does that sound?”
It had sounded fine to Peter, better than fine. It had been Tony Stark - Peter’s hero for years- offering to let Peter live with him. Why in the world would Peter say no? What better life could there be?
“One with my family back…” Peter whispered to himself, feeling that familiar emptiness he had come to know whenever he thought of his family.
Getting up, Peter dug through his suitcase until he found the picture he was looking for – a picture of his family. They were smiling and laughing, just happy…so happy. He pulled it to his chest and tried not to cry. He had to be strong. Things would get better if he was strong, right?
The next few days, Peter started understanding the schedule of the mansion, and that there was almost no pattern to it. He met Pepper Potts, learned that the driver’s name was Happy Hogan, and saw Mr. Stark sporadically throughout the day when he ventured from his workshop. That was something else Peter learned – he was not allowed in the workshop. The one room he really wanted to explore and he couldn’t even get near it.
And then there was the nanny. Miss Callaway. At first, she had seemed okay, cooking Peter’s meals, getting him up in the morning, and making sure he didn’t destroy things – though Peter didn’t know why anyone thought he was going to destroy anything. But then Peter got to know her and started realizing how she viewed him. Peter hadn’t done anything and yet she constantly narrowed her eyes at him and took away anything Mr. Stark had left for him, as if he didn’t deserve it. When she did she would mutter something about “spoiled brats” and then she would walk off and hide the toy who knew where. Peter looked for them later but he had a feeling she took them home with her and donated them to some needy kids…as if Peter wasn’t a needy kid himself.
That was only the start of it. Miss Callaway seemed to get worse as the days went on and Peter wished more than anything that he could simply leave the house to get away from her. But he wasn’t supposed to go back to school for a few weeks- something about a mourning period- so he was stuck. Some days he found a place he could hide from her, reading some physics book he found lying around – not that he understood it all, but it was better than being in the same room as her. Unfortunately, she seemed to be able to sniff out his spots and he had to rush off to find another one. He probably would’ve run out of places to hide if it wasn’t for the AI that seemed to run the whole house. Jarvis. He was one smart computer and seemed to notice Peter hiding, and occasionally he would speak, hinting at a new place for Peter to escape. Jarvis seemed to be the only person who cared about Peter. Though, maybe that wasn’t quite true. Mr. Stark wasn’t totally absent. Every once and a while he would eat with Peter, asking him how he was and what-not, but Peter could never bring himself to tell him about Miss Callaway. After all, Tony was busy, and Peter owed him a home. He didn’t want to complain about it, even if it was quite stressful. Not only that, but there was always a kind of rut between him and Mr. Stark, as if the guy wasn’t quite sure how to interact with a kid for prolonged periods of time…or maybe he was like that with people in general. Either way, Peter figured he would just have to wait it out until school started, then maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.
Tony was in over his head. What had he been thinking, taking in a kid? He didn’t know how to raise a child. His parents had barely even raised him – though really that fault fell more on his father than his mother. Nannies had been a big part of his life, which is why he got one for the kid. But even as he had been looking for one, a nagging guilt weighted on him. He had been raised by nannies and look how he had turned out. This kid deserved better than that. But then he rationalized that a nanny would be better than him, and it wasn’t like he would ignore the kid. Plus, he did all the research to make sure the nanny was a good one so it should be fine. But the kid still seemed…quiet, almost too quiet. Then again, he hadn’t been a very loud child to begin with. And so, Tony kept on with his work, saying hi to the kid, giving him some gifts, and making sure he was okay. It was for the best, right?
Wrong.
It was just another day. Tony was working on some ideas for using arc reactors as large-scale power sources when Jarvis casually reminded him that he hadn’t eaten since last night.
Leaning back in his chair, Tony rubbed his eyes and stretched before getting up. He didn’t know how long he had been working, but his body seemed to groan at him as he made his way out of the workshop and up the stairs.
Voices carried through the halls and a frown grew on Tony’s face. The house was usually pretty quiet, despite what time it was. Peter was quiet and the nanny didn’t do much talking either.
“This is not yours! You don’t touch things that aren’t yours!”
Tony found his feet moving faster. That didn’t sound good. Granted, he didn’t like people touching his things, but that was far too harsh for Peter, after all he was just a kid.
“I was only looking at it, I was just about to put it back.” Peter’s voice sounded so small compared to Miss Callaway’s.
Then Tony reached the top of the stairs and saw the scene in front of him.
The kid was holding a stuffed animal – one he had brought from his old home – clutching it to his chest. His eyes were averted to the floor. Miss Callaway stood above him, a book in her hand, a frown on her face.
“You brat! You are not to touch anything that isn’t yours.” Then she grabbed Peter’s stuffed animal and yanked it out of his hands. “I will keep this until you learn your lesson.”
“No! Not Freckles!” Panic lined Peter’s voice as he reached for the toy. And then it happened. A hand pulled back, a sharp smack. The nanny said something, but Tony couldn’t hear it through the anger that was now roaring in his ears.
“What do you think you are doing?!?” Tony yelled as he stomped into the room.
Peter took a few steps back and Miss Callaway seemed quite surprised to see Tony right there. “I was just…this child wasn’t following the rules so I-”
“You hit him!”
“But I-"
“Get out!”
“What no, I was just-“
“Get out of my house. NOW!”
Miss Callaway glared at Tony, but he was happy to see a little fear in her eyes. She turned on her heals to leave.
“Wait. The stuffed animal.”
She glared at him but shoved the animal at him. Then she walked away, muttering something about spoiled kids. Tony didn’t stop glaring until she was gone.
“Jarvis, make sure she can never get in here again.”
“Yes sir.”
Letting out a breath, Tony turned back to Peter, who was crouching behind a wall, fear glistening in his eyes.
“Hey, kid. It’s okay, she’s not coming back here.” Tony held out the stuffed cheetah. “Here, this is yours, right?”
Peter took a step out from behind the wall and tentatively took the cheetah, hugging it to his chest. He looked so terrified, which didn’t calm Tony’s anger any. He had let this happen, he hadn’t been paying enough attention and now this kid was paying the price.
“Peter,” Tony said, crouching down a little, hoping getting on the kid’s level might help him calm down some. “I’m sorry about that. About her…I thought she was an okay nanny but I guess I didn’t do my research well enough. Maybe I can find a better one, I’m sure there is-”
The fear on Peter’s face, which had been easing a little came back full force. Tony quickly lifted up his hand. “Okay, no more nannies or babysitters unless I personally know them, okay?”
After a moment, Peter nodded.
“Alright.” Tony nodded, not quite sure what to do now. He had rarely been alone with just Peter, and after that scene he felt even more unsure than before. How could he have let someone like that into his house? Never again.
“You hungry?” Tony asked, his empty stomach reminding him why he had come upstairs in the first place.
Peter nodded enthusiastically and Tony couldn’t hold back a small chuckle. “Come on then, you can help me throw together a few sandwiches.”
Tony wasn’t expecting Peter to help much, but the kid wasn’t a bad assistant, he laid out turkey and cheese quite well, and at the end of it all, he seemed quite pleased with his work.
Upon finishing his last sandwich, Tony got up to head downstairs, only to realize that if he went downstairs, the kid would be up here all by himself. Now, maybe that would be okay. After all, Peter didn’t seem like a very rambunctious kid, but it might be better if someone was around to keep an eye on him.
However, after a few calls, Tony found that Pepper was busy, Happy was visiting family, and Rhodey was out of the country. Seeing as Tony didn’t really have anyone else he trusted, he opted for the only other option he had.
“Hey kid, I have to do some work down in the lab. Why don’t you grab a book or something and you can read while I work?”
The look on the kid’s face was quite humorous. Wide eyes, a gaping mouth, and excitement lighting up his whole face. “Your lab?!? I can…I can see it?”
Tony didn’t quite know what to make of Peter’s excitement. It was…cute in a way but also very worrisome, excited kids could be a little…destructive. “Yup, but no touching. Reading only, okay?”
Peter nodded quickly. But then his nodding slowed down and he tilted his head a bit. “She took the book.”
“Huh?” It took a moment for Tony’s brain to connect what the kid was talking about. But then he realized Peter was talking about the nanny. She had walked out with a book, one of his books. “Well, I guess she broke her own rule about touching things she doesn’t own. But don’t worry, I can get another one, and I have plenty of other books you can read. Come on, we’ll find one that sounds good.”
It turned out that Peter liked science books. Tony wasn’t sure how much the kid actually understood, but he was sitting at a table happily flipping through a Chemistry book Tony hadn’t realized he owned – he got quite a few books from people, probably hoping he would read them and recommend them. People didn’t seem to realize Tony preferred to read on a screen - it made it easier to look at while working, and it didn’t pose any threat of burning up either - but he still kept most of the books. At least until he found a school or something that would take them.
And so, Peter read while Tony worked. Occasionally, Tony got the feeling someone was looking at him, but whenever he looked up, Peter still seemed to be studying the book intently. That is until Tony glanced up very quickly and saw Peter staring at him - or really, the work he was doing – only to look down again when he caught Tony’s eye.
A smirk grew on Tony’s face and he found it staying there as he worked – aware of Peter watching him, but only glancing at the kid a few times. Who would have guessed Tony would’ve fostered the one kid that actually seemed intrigued by science? Maybe he would fit in okay after all.
