Chapter Text
Peter Parker was sat at his desk, bored out of his mind, while he listened to his teacher drone on about countless chemical formulas. As much as he loved science, he found that he already knew half the stuff he was being taught, whether that was due to him being a mini master-mind or working in the lab with Mr Stark he wasn't sure, but what he was sure about was the fact that he couldn't wait to get home so he could finish the Lego he had been working on.
Sure he loved being Spiderman, but he had been working particularly hard on this Lego piece and he couldn't wait to show Mr Stark. It may seem childish, but when Peter saw The Avengers Tower as a Lego set he couldn't resist, he just had to get it, no way was he going to pass up an opportunity to impress Mr Stark. Just 15 minutes until he would be free of hectic high school life and he could be his normal Lego-loving, wall-climbing self.
He was momentarily pulled out of his thoughts when the door to the class opened. Peter watched as the school counsellor walked in, she looked stressed and upset considering her normal cheery personality. She scanned over the classroom until her eyes landed on Peter.
“Mr Parker, may I please speak to you?” She said, her fingers tapping nervously on the clipboard she was holding.
Peter was confused, what did she want? It was almost the end of the day. He nervously looked between his teacher and her, not sure whether to go or not.
"Parker you may go." Mr Lewis said, not really paying much attention.
He slowly stood up with his bag and walked towards the counsellor, but not before receiving a confused look from Ned and a hard stare from MJ.
"Follow me." She instructed, Peter tailing behind her until she reached her office.
"Um..Miss? What exactly is this a-about?" He stuttered, pulling on his shirt nervously.
“You may want to take a seat.” The counsellor told him solemnly. Peter took a seat opposite her and fidgeted with his hands.
"Peter, unfortunately I have some bad news to tell you.” His heart dropped.
"W-what is i-it?"
The counsellor took a deep breath before speaking, "It's about your Aunt May, Peter.”
Immediately Peter looked into her eyes. "W-what is it? I-I mean i-is s-she okay? Tell me."
The woman leaned over the desk and carefully took one of Peter's hands in hers, the gesture made the boy want to scream.
"I'm so sorry, but earlier today your Aunt was attacked, by the time the hospital was called it was too late. I'm so sorry Peter, she passed away about an hour ago."
Peter was frozen. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. No, his Aunt May, the woman who looked after him, raised him, gone?
"No, n-no. This is a joke, right? S-s-he can't be gone." His voice cracked as tears blurred his vision, everything around him was spinning. None of this was real.
"I'm sorry Peter." She said softly. A choked sob escaped his lips. He couldn't believe it, the one person he had left was gone. Dead. Just like the rest of his family. He briefly sensed being pulled into a hug but he was too overcome with grief to respond.
"It's going to be okay. If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you."
But it wasn't ok..was it? He would never see her smile again, feel her hugs or get to tell her how much Peter appreciated all the work she did for him. The counsellor pulled back and looked him in the eyes.
"Listen I know this is a lot to take in and I understand that. However, we will need to make a decision about your living arrangements soon. With your Aunt being your last relative, we will have to think about Foster Care."
Oh God, Peter thought, suddenly having the urge to be sick. He didn't even think of that, what was he going to do? He had no one left, but he didn't want to go into Foster Care. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the occasional noise that slipped out the boy's mouth as he tried to gain control of his emotions.
It had all happened so fast, one minute he was looking forward to building Lego, the next he was finding out his Aunt was dead. He felt so alone, so numb, he couldn't even utter a word, he couldn't do anything. The woman rose from her seat and gently placed her hand on Peter's shoulder before speaking.
"I'm going to go and speak to the Principal. You may stay here while I am gone, can I get you anything?" Peter couldn't bring himself to speak so he simply shook his head in answer. The counsellor nodded and left the room, leaving Peter to his own thoughts.
He sat there for what felt like forever. His whole body shaking, his mind racing with thoughts of what would happen next. What was he supposed to do? How could he go into Foster Care? He wouldn't know anyone, he wouldn't be able to survive. Peter put his head in hands as a few tears escaped his eyes. He found himself beginning to sweat nervously, tears streaming down his cheeks while he pulled his hair with his hands.
Loud sobs escaped his mouth as he began to feel light headed, he couldn't even breathe properly anymore. He was on the verge of panicking when a vibration in his trouser pocket diverted his attention. He grabbed his phone, fully prepared to tell whoever it was who bothered him to leave him alone, until he read who it was from.
Mr Stark: Hey Spiderling! Just wondering if I could call you quickly, I have some new ideas for your suit and I want to get your opinion.
Peter swallowed. He didn't know what to do, should he call him? He was in no state to but he didn't want to be rude, especially not to Mr Stark. Peter quickly typed back a reply and waited for the call.
Peter: Yeah okay.
He felt his phone vibrate again and looked down to see the contact name Mr Stark. He cleared his throat and swiped.
"H-Hey Mr S-Stark." Peter stammered slightly, silently cursing himself.
"Hey Petey-Pie, how was school?" Tony replied.
Oh no. "O-oh uh it-it was o-o-okay, yeah.'' Peter replied.
"Sounds fascinating, anyway before we discuss business, you still okay to come work in the Lab tomorrow? I know Aunt May can be a little hesitant on school nights." At the mention of her name Peter's eyes began to water before he could stop himself.
"M-Mr Stark? I n-need t-to.." A sob left his mouth before he could stop himself and he slapped his hand over it to stifle any more noises.
"Peter? What's wrong, is everything okay?" Tony's panicked reply came.
"N-not r-really can, can y-you c-come pick m-me up f-rom school, p-p-please?" He sobbed into the phone.
"Wait, you're still at school? Okay kid I'm coming, just hold on alright you’re okay." Tony hung up before Peter could say another word. Before he could say how wrong Mr Stark was.
He dropped his phone on the table and sniffed, trying to get himself under control. Great, now Mr Stark was involved, what would he say? Peter closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths but nothing seemed to stop the constant cries erupting from him.
After a few minutes of silence the sound of the door opening made Peter jump straight out the chair. He turned around and saw the counsellor standing there, a clipboard and pen in hand. She looked at Peter and smiled sympathetically. It was sickening.
"I believe there is someone here to talk to you.” She said gently. Before Peter had a chance to reply, she stepped aside to reveal Tony Stark standing behind her with a very worried look across his face.
"Peter!" Tony breathed as he walked quickly towards him. He leaned down slightly so he was at eye level with Peter.
"What's going on? What happened?"
Peter nervously looked towards the counsellor who smiled kindly, sensing what he was asking.
"I'll be in the other room if you need me." She left and shut the door behind her, leaving Peter and Tony alone.
Peter used the sleeve of his jacket to try to wipe away the tears, he didn't want Mr Stark to think he was weak or anything. Tony pulled the hand away from his face and looked into his eyes.
"It's ok. You can tell me." He whispered calmly, “Take your time.”
Peter took a deep breath and looked at Tony.
"M-may she-she...she's g-gone." He managed to choke out before bursting into tears.
"Oh bud...come here."
And with that Tony pulled him into a hug. Peter immediately collapsed against him and grabbed at the back of the man's suit with his hands, desperately trying to keep himself standing up. Tony wrapped one of his arms around his waist and the other he used to rub up and down the boys back.
“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry kid.”
They stayed like for a few more minutes, Peter crying and holding onto Tony in a death grip, and the man whispering comforting words into the boy's ear whilst rubbing his back. Eventually Tony pulled back slightly and Peter did too, though he seemed more reluctant, then the whole situation dawned on him.
He had just cried, no sobbed, on Tony I-don't-like-physical-affection-of-any-kind Stark.
Peter's guilt must have shown on his face however as when he was about to apologise for overstepping boundaries Tony silenced him.
"Nope. No apologies needed. It's okay kid, I'm here for you." Tony said, rubbing his shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
Peter hesitated slightly before nodding in understanding. Tony gave a sharp nod back, discreetly trying to wipe at his own damp eyes. "Good. Now grab your bag, let's get out of here.”
What? Peter was confused, where was he going? "Going where?"
"My place of course, you need somewhere to stay while we figure this all out, and frankly I don't want you out of my sight. I know how it feels to lose someone you care about and I want you to know you're not alone, okay?"
Peter nodded his head and almost smiled. Almost. Until he remembered the reason why he was going to stay with Mr Stark in the first place, and sooner or later he would go into foster care anyway so he shouldn't get his hopes up.
He quickly grabbed his bag and phone on the table and walked out the room with Mr Stark. Whilst walking to the exit, Peter noticed a lot of people staring. Oh yeah , he thought, obviously they will be Iron Man is at their school. Some even took photos which made Peter feel a little on edge, what would people say if they saw those photos?
It also didn't help that he could hear all the whispers coming from everyone, even some students from detention were taking photos. Peter started subconsciously walking closer to Tony, the man must have noticed this as he put his arm around his shoulders to give some sense of comfort, as if to say, it's ok, I got you.
They eventually reached the front desk where Tony informed them that he would be taking care of Peter in the meantime and to give him any projects Peter had to do, he didn't think the boy would be ready for school anytime soon.
Tony said goodbye before grabbing the various papers on the desk and, with his arm still around Peter, walking briskly out the school and into the car park. "Okay Pete you wanna hop in the front?"
Peter nodded, still not fully trusting his voice, and opened the door to the car.
To say the least, Tony was a little freaked out. Peter, the hyper-activate child who seemed totally capable of talking about anything and everything for the rest of his life, barely uttering a word? It was scary to see this side of him. He felt so bad for the kid, first his parents, then Uncle and now his Aunt, poor boy deserved a break.
He watched as Peter plugged in his seat belt and leaned his head on the window, a small tear running down his cheek. Just as he was about to start the car he heard Peter's small voice.
"Mr Stark?" He said, so quietly it could have gone unnoticed.
Tony looked over to see him staring down at his hands in his lap. "Yeah?" He replied.
Peter nervously looked up at Tony before saying, "I-I um..I'm scared."
Tony's heart shattered. Hearing this 15 year old kid, who was the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, say he was scared made Tony want to hold him all over again. He reached over and ran his hand through Peter's hair a couple times which seemed to calm him down slightly and lean more into the touch.
"I know. This stuff is scary, but you have me and all the Avengers to help you okay? And if you ever need something, anything at all, I will try my best kid." The man promised.
Apparently whatever Tony had said went completely over Peter's head as the next words to come out his mouth was. "The Avengers?!"
Tony chuckled slightly looking at Peter's star-struck face before answering. "Yeah, the Avengers. They're currently on a mission but should be back soon. But don't tell me you're more excited to hang out with them than me?"
It was a lame attempt at a joke but it seemed to work.
Peter smiled, even if it was the smallest one possible and for only a second, he still smiled.
"Of course not. You will always be my favourite Mr Stark." He said, sounding so honest and pure Tony had to stop himself from smothering him in a hug.
Peter turned around and resumed looking out the window. And with that, Tony started the car, feeling way too proud for his own good. But he didn't care, he was the kids favourite.