Chapter Text
I had a relatively normal childhood, I mean, I didn’t exactly have the most nuclear family, considering it was just me and my mom, but I was able to live a normal childhood nonetheless… Unless you count the fact that I'm trans… but still, pretty normal. I lived on Staten Island for almost my entire life, that was, until June 11th, when my mom died in a car crash on her way home from work. Soon after, I was told he would be going to live with my father.
I never really asked much about who my dad was; my mom always just ignored the question or said something like “he was a mistake” or “Who cares about him, you have me”, and I never really pressed any further than that. I knew basically nothing about who he was. Which is why it came as such a huge surprise that my father was one of the richest men in the world.
I had just a week to pack up my entire life and get it all into a moving van. It was all a blur, really. There was so much I knew I left behind, but I couldn’t get it all ready in time… I mean, I could’ve, if it weren’t for the fact my mom had just died. But Tony Stark doesn’t think much about other people’s emotions, I guess.
Anyway, the first thing I can remember that well was meeting an avenger for the first time. It was one of those moments where I really had to pull myself out of my own head and realize what was happening in front of me.
I had spent the first week or so of my time in the Avengers compound just held up in my room, Pepper coming in to check up on me and bring me food every so often. I had only met Mr. Stark briefly at that point, and I barely even remember it.
I had finally decided that I should actually leave my room and get myself some food. I used to make banana pancakes every Saturday morning, and the cravings were hitting me really hard. So I pull my hood up, put an earbud in, stuff my favorite stuffed animal in my pocket for comfort, and leave my bedroom for the first time.
I wasn’t really looking around much when I first came, so I didn't really take in the interior of the compound. It might’ve just been that it wasn’t home, or that it really was horrible at the time, but I hated everything about the place. All the fluorescent lighting, the industrial stairs and railings, the fact that it was all concrete, and that weird long window in the kitchen. I hated it. But I sucked it up and made my way to the kitchen and started searching through the cabinets. They had minimal baking supplies and an overly organized utensil cabinet. It was like no one had lived there in years. But that became very clearly incorrect once I started actually making my pancakes.
They had started cooking, the familiar smell filling my lungs and the air around me, starting to make it feel a little more like home, when I heard a voice from down the hall.
“Wanda? Are you making banana bread again? It smells absolutely incredible!”
It was very loud, and kind of abrasive… and a little Australian?
I could barely process what the voice had said before I saw an incredibly tall, long, blonde haired man with a thin brown beard swagger into the kitchen. I could see by the look on his face that I, a scrawny teenage boy clutching onto a stuffed pig, was not what he was expecting.
“Oh.” he said, his voice still booming even when i’m just a few feet in front of him “You’re not Wanda… Who are you?”
I hesitate for a moment, frozen in place. I had definitely seen this man before, but my brain was not functioning at full capacity at that moment. “I-i’m Ryan” I’m able to stutter out, not even thinking to provide context to who I am.
The man seems to think for a moment before a look of recognition flashes across his face, starting to nod “Yes! You’re Stark’s son, I’m so sorry- about your mother”
His words make me tense up even more, he didn’t know her, he has no right to be sorry. Was that all he even had to say? Was that all I was to him? To all the avengers? Just some kid who lost his mom? Someone to feel sorry for?
“I know i didn’t know her” The man continues, as if he’s reading my thoughts “I just know how terrible a thing like that can be for someone”
All I could muster up after that was a soft “thanks”, quickly turning back to the frying pan to make sure my pancake wasn’t burning… totally not trying to hide the fact that I was on the verge of tears.
“Oh- I haven’t introduced myself! I’m Thor… Odinson” he says, and I hear his footsteps coming closer “can i try one?”
I quickly wipe my eyes and look back at him, seeing that he was eyeing the plate of finished pancakes I had made.
“Yeah, go ahead” I mumble, eliciting a huge grin from the man, who immediately grabs one off the plate and practically eats it all in one bite.
“These are delicious!” he cried before grabbing another. Making me genuinely laugh for the first time in a while.
After that interaction, making banana pancakes on Saturday mornings became a regular occurrence again, but instead of my mom, Thor would come and eat them with me. He was surprisingly a really good listener and let me talk about my mom while I cooked for us. I wasn’t ready to replace my mom; I never really did, but he helped me feel a lot more at home.
Eventually, more and more people joined us for our little ritual, and I got to know the rest of the people living in the compound with us. My dad started to warm up to me a little more, even if he still remained a little distant.
The rest of the avengers started to become somewhat of a second family to me. I spent almost all my time that summer learning self-defense with Natasha, baking with Wanda, helping Pepper with office work, and trying to teach Steve Rogers modern slang.
I was finally starting to adjust to my new normal. And then school started again.