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Pepper had came to visit him the day before with Morgan, they had had a great time, Peter had shown them around campus and Morgan had told him everything about her school for genius kids. But when they were about to go, an emergency came up for SI and Pepper was glad she was in Boston as she could deal with it from here. Still, it made them stay and Peter was glad they did, the only problem was that they didn’t have a proper babysitter in Boston and Happy was in New York, therefore, Peter was on Morgan duty. God, he wished his teachers would let her in his classes.
Morgan was dressed in a cute dress, proudly displaying MIT’s colors, the skirt of the dress was the exact red of the logo, the highest part was black and the middle part was just made of very little dots of both colors as a transition. On it she wore a little bombers which made Peter’s heart melt, on the back of the vest was a picture of him, in his spiderman suit, carrying Morgan while swinging, it was written “STARK CHILDREN TEAM” in big bold letters underneath the picture.
They ate breakfast at Starbucks and Morgan insisted she needed to go to class with a drink as Peter was doing with his coffee. Since, of course, nothing could be denied to the princess, Peter let her take a hot chocolate to class as long as she promised not to ruin her dress.
They walked through campus hand in hand, Peter ignored all the weird looks that were sent his way and Morgan gladly waved to all those who waved or smiled at her.
Thankfully his teacher wasn’t already there when they entered his first class of the day, he had time to seat her and to give her the homework she had to do as well as pencils. Some students came to see the little girl, complimenting her dress and asking to Peter who she was as if Morgan didn’t have a voice of her own, but the little girl was always the one to answer proudly.
“I’m Petey’s sister ! The name’s Morgan !”
Most of them talked to him afterward “You have such a sweet sister Peter”, “She’s so cute, Peter”, “You’re lucky to have such a sis’, Parker”. Only one girl actually addressed Morgan.
“You’re a fan of Spider-Man Morgan ? It’s a cool bombers you have, I’ve never seen one of those.”
The little girl seemed delighted and Peter noticed it was Charlie, one of his few friends, who had talked.
“I’m his biggest fan !” assured Morgan, making Peter smile. “The vest was my seventh birthday gift, my mom made it made especially for me ! I have a few, so when I grow up I’ll still be able to wear it !” she said proudly.
“So you’re Peter’s sister, uh ?”, Charlie asked, knowing the answer.
“Yup ! He talked about me ?!”
“All the time,” answered Charlie whispering as if she was telling a secret, “I’m not sure he can talk about something else.”
Peter chuckled, it was true he talked about Morgan a lot.
“He can talk about Star Wars too !” affirmed Morgan making both girls laugh and himself to roll his eyes.
The teacher entered and everyone went to their sits, Charlie sitting on the other side of Peter. And soon Mrs Stoneberg’s eyes settled on Morgan.
“I see we have a visitor, care to present yourself Miss ?”
Mrs Stoneberg was without a doubt, Peter’s oldest teacher, she was a great teacher but was strict nonetheless. If she didn’t accept that Morgan stay in class he would have to leave with her and that would be a shame since it was probably his favorite class. Morgan sent a questioning look his way, when he nodded she stood up and walked through the classroom. Peter hadn’t expected her to do that but he figured that it wasn’t really a problem.
The little girl walked all the way to the teacher and extended her hand formally.
“I am Morgan Parker Stark,” she presented herself, reminding Peter of the shock he had had the first time he heard his sister’s middle name, Pepper had brushed it off then, saying it was important for Morgan to have the same name as her brother. Morgan looked like Pepper at the moment, she was in full business mode, “I don’t want to disturb your class but my Mommy had a work problem and I have to stay with my brother. Can I stay ?” after a few seconds she added “Please ?”.
“I wasn’t aware a Stark was taking my class, who is your brother Morgan ?”
Morgan laughed lightly.
“It’s because my brother doesn’t wear the name Stark, he had a Mommy and a Daddy before and he wears their name ! I wear it too !” she exclaimed realising and sending an almost judging look to Peter’s teacher, the kind of look that reminded him so much of Tony. “My brother's Peter Parker, of course !”
Peter was mentally preparing himself to being kicked out of class but Mrs Stoneberg only chuckled.
“You are a lot like your father young lady, he was one of my first students here.”
Peter saw Morgan’s eyes widen and shine as her smile became enormous.
“You had my Daddy as a student ? Did you have Uncle Rhodey too ? How was he ? Did you see Jarvis ? Or my grandparents ? Did he have DUM-E already ?” the words came out fast of the girl’s mouth and Peter raised to join her seeing how the old teacher didn’t know how to act.
He got down next to the little girl and put a hand on her back.
“Momo,” he called, making her stop her babbling. “Breathe.” She smiled at him, even if she was a bit confused and obeyed, taking deep breaths in and out. “Mrs Stoneberg has to teach, remember how you promised not to disturb so I can go to class ?”
The little girl nodded and instantly was standing straighter, remembering that she was on a mission. She turned to the teacher. “Sorry, I was surprised, I won’t disturb again.”
“It’s okay,” answered the old woman. “I’m sure that if you still want me too, I’ll be able to answer a few questions at the end of the period.”
“Thank you !” Morgan almost jumped in happiness.
The little girl went back to where they had settled and Peter turned once more to his teacher.
“Thank you,” he said just loud enough for her to hear. “It means a lot to her.” The woman nodded and Peter followed his sister to their table.
During the two hours class, Morgan made her homework while whispering questions to Peter about the class he was following. Luckily they were beginning a new chapter and what he had to explain were only the notions. He was proud each time the little girl nodded in understanding, this chapter was fairly simple, so it wasn’t a real problem that Morgan interrupted him. The little girl had the habit to come along whenever he was in the lab, he was always glad she came, whether she was there to ask him a thousand questions about what he was doing or to simply draw. That’s why he knew she didn’t just look like she understood, she truly understood what they were talking about because that was the kind of things she saw everyday. More than anything he was happy to teach her, he rarely had that opportunity now that he was away in Boston and he enjoyed every second of it.
When the class ended, the room emptied but Peter didn’t move, he was still explaining the end of the lesson to his sister, using his watch’s hologram to make it clearer. Mrs Stoneberg wasn’t long to join them and looked impressed seeing the notes Morgan had taken.
“Looks like you are a very smart little girl Morgan,” she said.
Morgan nodded eagerly. “I know, everybody tells me so,” answered the child knowingly, “but Mommy says that I don’t have to go to school with bigger children if I don’t want to and that it’s okay if I just ask Peter and Uncle Rhodey to know things.”
The woman smiled at her, “I understood you had a few questions for me.”
Morgan nodded, “How was my Daddy when he was here ?”
“Your father was probably the brightest student I ever had, he learnt really fast so he didn’t always come in class because he had already finished the chapter we were working on. I remember he was a sweet boy, he would have done anything for Mr Rhodes that you mentioned before.”
The little girl’s smile grew at the mention of her uncle.
“So you had Uncle Rhodey !”
“I did,” confirmed the teacher, “I believe he helped your father a lot.”
Morgan nodded, she knew he had, her mom had explained it to her.
“And did you know Jarvis ? Or my grandparents ?”
The old woman shook her head, “No, I haven’t met any of them.”
Once more, the child nodded knowingly, “Okay,” she said, a little disappointed. “Thank you for letting me stay in your class and for answering to my questions Mrs Peter’s Teacher.”
“You’re welcome Morgan.”
Peter thanked his teacher once more and then the duo displayed on Morgan’s jacket left the room and headed to a place where they could eat lunch. Peter didn’t miss the now knowing looks sent their way or the whispers about the “Stark child being on campus”, but he tried his best to act normally so Morgan wouldn’t notice.
Soon enough they stopped at an old dinner not far from campus, Rhodey had brought him there on his first week at MIT, claiming that he used to eat there all the time with Tony because this place made the best cheeseburgers ever. Obviously Peter was now an usual client, coming at least once a week, cheeseburgers were something important in this family and by coming here he felt closer to his mentor, plus, they really were the best cheeseburgers ever.
Morgan was happy, spending time with him and eating cheeseburgers, seriously, that girl probably ate those way too often considering her age, and that was enough for Peter to enjoy himself. There weren’t a lot of people in the dinner and none of them had heard about the famous little girl who was on campus, he looked outside through the window every few minutes, checking there weren’t any paparazzi waiting outside for them. During the last few years he had had to learn to deal with them, but he’d rather keep them as far away from Morgan as possible, she didn’t need such harassment, she was just a little girl, he wished the rest of the world would let her be one. She didn’t need the expectations, the headlines about how she followed her father’s footsteps, didn’t need to be compared to him all the time, if only people understood that.
When they left, he checked the street one more time before stepping out, his hand around the little girl’s, he reminded himself that if anything were to happen he could put his MIT sweatshirt on the little girl, carry her and run away, strangely enough, that thought reassured him.
They walked for a little bit of time, Peter explaining that they only had one class to go to and that it would be in a lab. The little girl was happy to go in a lab with him again, even if it wasn’t his. Peter was just so happy to be with her, to watch her do all the little things he almost forgot she did all the time. Like when they had to cross the street. The little girl would always sing while advancing, “Look left, look right, you’ll spare your life !” she would sing that same phrase again and again until they reached the other side of the road, always with a big smile on her face.
They reached the lab before the beginning of the period and immediately walked up to the teacher as he already was in the room.
“Mr Parker !” the teacher greeted with a mocking smile when they stopped in front of him, Mr Collins never liked him much. “And I guess this is the Miss Stark everyone is talking about.”
Morgan hid herself behind her brother, obviously not liking the teacher.
“Indeed,” confirmed Peter, “her mother had to deal with some business in the city and I am on babysitting duties, could she please stay ?” he asked. “She knows the lab rules, right Morgan ?”
The little girl got out from behind him, more confident since she knew Peter wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
“I’m not allowed to touch anything cutting, hot or any of the chemicals because they can explode, I must always do what you tell me to, if you blow up something I have to get out of the lab and not tell Mommy, if there is a strange chemicals reaction I have to get out of the lab before F.R.I.D.A.Y shuts it and there’s no lab after dinner.” Peter looked down at her proudly.
“There’s one more rule here Morgan,” Peter added, “you can’t eat or drink while in the lab.”
The child nodded and both Stark children sent a pleading look to the teacher.
“Fine,” the man agreed, “but you are out at the first disturbance.”
Peter nodded in agreement, “Thank you sir,” he said immediately followed by Morgan who repeated the exact same words.
They turned around and Peter guided Morgan to a workstation. He gave her paper and color pencils so she could draw if she wanted to, but he knew that she would most likely ask him a thousand questions, she loved being in the lab and couldn’t be when he was at MIT, she must have missed this.
Soon the period started and they were given instructions to create a robot, it was very easy for Peter who had made so much harder things back at home which allowed him to explain everything to Morgan in detail and he was proud to see that she knew most things already. He didn’t let her participate this time because no A.I. was watching them ready to stop anything that might be dangerous for the child.
“Peter ?” she called while he was putting two of the last pieces together.
“Yes, Momo ?”
“Why hasn’t Karen talked to me, is she mad at me ?” she asked worriedly.
Peter immediately put down his robot almost completed and turned to face his sister, giving her all his attention.
“Absolutely not, Karen is an A.I., it’s like F.R.I.D.A.Y. or J.O.C.A.S.T.A., they can’t be in places they have not been installed in,” the little girl nodded in understanding but still seemed disappointed. “I’ll soon be done with my work,” he told Morgan, “once I’m done we’ll get out and you’ll be able to talk to Karen, I swear,” the child had found her smile back and Peter was relieved. After a little bit of thinking he added, “You know Morgan, if you want to talk to Karen when you’re at home you can ask F.R.I.D.A.Y.”
“Really ?!” asked Morgan, surprised.
“Yes really,” he affirmed. “Now I need to finish this robot so we can get out of here. We good ?”
“We good !” the girl nodded happily.
Less than ten minutes later he had handed his robot to the teacher and they left the room two hours before the end of the three hours class.
It was a beautiful day, so Peter decided to stay outside, they sat together in the grass under a tree and he gave his phone to Morgan before taking out his laptop. The little girl was happy to talk with Karen and it was funny for Peter to hear her tell the A.I. about everything that had happened that day in her own way. Of course, Peter was working, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t keep his ear open to hear about “Daddy’s old kind teacher”, the “beautiful girl who was friend with Petey”, the “smiling lady with a dog shaped like a banana” they had apparently crossed paths with in the street and so many other things that had seemed important to her that day.
“Petey ?” the little girl called after a little hour of talking.
“What is it, Morg ?”
“Somebody sent you a message, but they didn’t write real words, I don’t know what they wanted to say.”
Peter smiled, of course Morgan couldn’t know about all the abbreviations existing in text messages.
“Show me.”
She gave him his phone back immediately and he saw the message was from his friend Kevin. He read it before explaining it to Morgan.
“My friends want me to spend the afternoon with them, we don’t have to go, if you want to we can join them, otherwise I’m fine doing whatever you want to do.”
Morgan seemed to think for a second, then she smiled up at him. “I want to know your friends ! So I can be sure they’re kind and protect you if they aren’t like you always protect me !”
He smiled, Morgan really was the best little girl in the whole universe.
“Of course,” he said, “then maybe I should make you a superhero armor right ?”
The girl’s eyes were shining.
“Will you ?! Will you Petey ?!”
He chuckled “We’ll see what you get for your next birthday, okay ?”
She nodded vigorously, so happy with the possibility to have an armor of her own.
“Let’s go,” said Peter, getting on his feet, “my friends are waiting.”
Morgan followed suit and was happy to take Peter’s hand, letting him guide her through the campus. They walked until they reached a picnic table where five people were already seated. Morgan recognised Charlie she had seen earlier and waved happily at the young woman. Charlie seemed happy to wave back and Peter was a little reassured. He looked around, the spot they had chosen wasn’t hidden in any way and would be very easy for paparazzis to find, but he told himself that six students would be able to hide the little princess should the sharks come.
Morgan half hided behind her brother’s legs, curious but still shy. He laughed and turned to pick her up, her hands naturally finding their place around his neck. In only a few steps he joined the table and smiled at his friends.
“Hi guys, meet Morgan, my little sister,” he said, sitting at the last place and putting the girl on his lap.
A chorus of “Hello Morgan” answered and each of his friends presented themselves, Kevin, Tom, Eric, Elizabeth “Liz” and of course Charlie who Morgan had already met.
Peter didn’t pay much attention to what they were all saying, enjoying Morgan’s expressions, he knew that they mostly made fun of him to make the little girl laugh. From time to time he took an outraged face and denied it all so Morgan could shake her head in a faked exasperation and argue why everything was true before bursting out into laughter once more.
But Peter’s previous worries turned out to be founded and they had only been there for half an hour when he heard the too familiar sounds of the cameras. He saw Charlie’s eyes widen and without taking time to turn he pulled out of his sweatshirt and put it on the little girl, he turned her around, placing her head in the crook of his neck and got up. There were a lot more of paparazzis than he expected and they came from every direction, he didn’t know where to go and for a moment thought of using his web shooters to get out of here without caring about revealing his secret identity.
“I’m afraid Petey,” said Morgan getting as close to him as she could.
“Don’t worry, have I ever let anything hurt you ?” she seemed to relax a little as she slightly shook her head.
He didn’t have any way to get out with normal abilities, so he decided to held his head high and to speak up.
“Any picture published in which I or the girl I’m holding appear will cost you thousands of dollars, measures have already been put in place to ensure it,” he said calmly. “Now you’re going to let me pass without attempting to stop me in any way or form and you won’t follow me, otherwise I assure you that every single one of you is getting sued.”
The crowd of paparazzis parted to let them through and Peter took his bag, contrainning him to loosen the grip he had on Morgan. He walked passed them, never turning to look back and keeping Morgan’s face hidden in his neck, he walked until he reached the building in which his room was.
He only let Morgan go down and put off the sweatshirt once he was in his bedroom and the door was closed, once he was absolutely certain she was safe. He looked at the clock, it was a quarter to 4 PM, Pepper was probably still working, he evaluated the situation during a minute before deciding it was important enough for him to call her.
She answered on the first ring.
“What’s happening ?” she asked worriedly.
“Paparazzis heard of Morgan being on campus and found us,” he explained. “I don’t think they have been able to get her face, I told them that we would sue them if any picture was released and I think I could use E.D.I.T.H to erase the photos as soon as the cameras will be branched to any connected device but I don’t know how to deal with the legal part even if I threatened them.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he heard the smile in her voice. “You did exactly what you had to do, Peter. Please erase those pictures, I’ll deal with any legal part should it come to that.”
“Thank you Pepper, you’re saving me”
He heard her chuckle, “No, you’re the savior here, I know you protected Morgan, just tell me you didn’t pull out the Spidey card.”
“I didn’t, I thought about it, but I didn’t.”
“Good,” she sighted, “Don’t forget to protect yourself too, okay ? I know how you are when it comes to Morgan.”
“You know I can’t promise that Pep,” he answered, looking at the little girl in question.
“Stay safe until I come, okay ?”
“Of course, we’re waiting for you.”
“Good, I love you both.”
“We love you too” he answered before hanging up.
He turned to the little girl present in the room and got down to her height.
“Are you alright ? I know they are scary sometimes.”
She nodded and smiled shyly, “Of course I’m fine Peter, you always protect me. Are you alright ?”
He smiled, “Of course sweetie, I’m a superbrother remember ? It’s my job to protect you.”
She thought for a second.
“Then I’m a supersister and it’s my job to protect you too !” she affirmed, her little hand on her hips.
He laughed. “Okay, here's the deal, we protect each other and this way we’ll both be good.”
“Deal !” accepted the child tackling him into a hug.
He laughed while getting her off.
“Now I have a little bit of work to do, it’s very important, can you talk to Karen until I’m done ?”
She nodded, happy to talk to Karen and Peter gave her a black cube, after pushing a button, Karen could talk to her through that.
Peter took the glasses that were always in his bag out, in case he had to run it was easier for him to always have his most powerful and dangerous items on him. He put on the glasses and said “E.D.I.T.H.”, after a scan of his eyes, he had access to the most powerful weapon ever created by humans.
“What can I help you with, Peter ?” asked the A.I.
“Pictures of Morgan and I were taken today by paparazzis, I need all the photos taken of Morgan and I today to be erased, find who were the paparazzis and delete all the pictures of us taken by them you find.”
“Of course, Peter, should I also erase pictures taken by civilians ?”
“Yes please”
“Seven hundred sixty four pictures have already been erased, there are still approximately three hundred pictures that are for now impossible to erase but it will be done as soon as possible.”
“Thanks E.D.I.T.H., please keep me informed on the matter.”
“Of course, Peter.”
He took the glasses off his face and let himself fall on his bed, arms spreading wider than the little bed could contain.
“Momo !” he laughed when the little girl jumped on him, putting his arms around her.
The little girl was laughing too but soon her chuckles silenced and her eyes closed, falling asleep on her big brother, preventing him from moving in any way. After watching her peaceful face for a little bit of time, Peter joined her in Morpheus’s arms.
Peter was woken up by knocks on his door, he looked at Morgan, she hadn’t moved the slightest. He knew his earring was a lot better than the others and it didn’t take much to wake him, but getting out of bed without waking the little girl was a lot harder than it seemed. When he finally managed it, he went to the door and unlocked it, opening it on the one and only Pepper Stark.
She immediately hugged him, not caring about the looks that were sent their way, he pulled her inside and closed the door behind her.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” she said.
“You know how much I love spending time with her, it felt like vacation,” he smiled. “Plus we did exactly what we’re doing on vacation, teaching, drawing, talking with Karen, spending time in the lab.”
She smiled.
“I’m sure she had the time of her life.”
“I sure had,” he answered.
He was the one to get down next to the bed and to put a hand in Morgan’s hair, waking her up softly. She groaned and he chuckled.
“Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty.”
She opened a tired eye.
“Your Mommy is here to pick you up.”
The child got tiredly up, not really straight on her feet. She still took time to rectify him.
“She’s your Mommy too Petey.”
He leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
“I know Morg.”
“Good,” said Pepper from behind him.
He straightened and took the woman in his arms, kissing her cheek when he pulled back. He hugged Morgan one more time and the women took off, they needed to reach New York before Morgan’s bedtime, which was only a few hours away. Peter smiled as he closed his bedroom’s door behind them, it really had been a great day.