Adopted by the Avengers

8: Cha Cha Real Smooth

I have a Wattpad wife now. 

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Peter was brought to the tower, and on the way in they got stopped not once. Tony was relieved, because trying to explain who Peter was would have taken forever, and at the moment Peter needed sleep, and definitely to eat.

After making their way into the kitchen where Tony got out a glass of water, which Peter accepted, then some leftovers, which Peter declined.

"Kid, you need to eat. You're as skinny as Jack who climbed the beanstalk, which I don't know how it's relevant but your name is Peter from Peter Piper and it just came to me, so anyway forget what I just said; you are going to at least eat one of my protein bars." Tony said from behind the counter, looking at Peter with tired eyes.

Peter wasn't going to argue. "Okay." Besides, he was starving, and one little protein bar couldn't hurt, it wasn't necessarily Tony treating him as a charity. Plus, Peter thought, he should eat something unless he favors passing out from malnutrition.

Tony nodded and ducked under the counter to get into a cabinet. While he was there Peter's felt a shiver run up his spine, then his spidey-senses flared and suddenly he was floating in the air and spun to face none other than the Scarlet Witch.

"Woah!" 

"Who is this?" Wanda asked Tony. Tony looked conflicted, reluctant to exposing Peter, but also requiring an excuse for Peter.

Before he could answer Peter chuckled. "Snap back to reality, oh, there goes gravity, Oh--"

"Why is there a child in the tower?" She repeated. After what happened with Elias Kraus, and she and her twin brother Pietro were found, they became close and told S.H.I.E.L.D everything. So now she, and her brother are living in the tower, if not just for the Avengers to keep close eyes on them.

"Look, Wanda, I know you are new around here but normally we don't, use our powers on children, like levitating them into the air?" Tony said.

Wanda sighed through her nose and put Peter down. When he was on the floor safely, he smiled hesitantly at Wanda, then stuck out his hand to shake.

One of the effects that came with abuse is no matter how nice they are, he is always intimidated and scared of women. He knows it's silly, that there is no reason, women and people in general are nice! ... but at the same time, it is a lesson he has learned from May, that there are no kind women in the world that won't yell at him, or beat him.

And it isn't his fault. He has lived with her since he was 9, that's 5 years of mind-twisting and beatings, that all came from her. He can't remember his parents, a coping strategy that is common with lots of kids, where they forget memories to try and shield their minds, and sometimes even make up new ones- sometimes Peter is lying in bed and panicking, because he isn't sure if what he just recalled was a memory or dream, and he's thinking while clutching the blankets he lays on while staring at the ceiling, what the fuck is wrong with me I can't remember what I've done when I was younger, I literally have no memories, what the fuck what the fuck holy shit.

He can't remember his parents, but he can remember Ben. Not really memories of with him, mostly just how he was and what he taught him. So he knows for sure that men can be kind. But women? He hasn't lived with a nice mother-figure since he was 9, the only one he has from what he can remember is May, and she is what causes him all this anxiety around other adult women.

It's one of the reasons he likes Mr. Harrison so much.

So offering to shake Wanda's hand is so nerve-wracking, a gesture that leaves him tense and frightened. His mind freezes up, and he braces himself for a lecture, or even a slap to the cheek. When she looks at his hand, Peter is reminded he is doing something, and he repeats over and over in his head don't flinch, she's safe, don't flinch, she's safe, don't flinch, she's safe.