Adopted by the Avengers

20: May

Peter's instincts were going off like crazy. run run run, turn around, but Peter sat still. He wasn't going to chicken out. Even if his whole life he'd be put into the chicken coop, there was no way in the 6 infinity stones that he'd back out of this. 

"You don't need to do this kid," Tony reminded him softly, but Peter shook his head. 

"No I'm gonna go, I want to talk to her. I want answers." He straightened. "I want to know why she ever did the stuff that happened to me." 

Tony nodded silently, attention back on the road as he drove to the women's prison. Peter stuffed in his earbuds, letting the music relax him. He watched the city flash by in blurs, and the next thing he knew the building was right in front of them and Tony was pulling into it. 

This was it. The moment that Peter had been dreading all week. Pulling up into the prison parking lot, seeing the sickly yellow lines separating miserable people's lives from crashing, and really Peter wouldn't mind getting hit by a car right now. 

But he needs to be brave. So he straightens his spine and lets 'Blood // Water' make him angry instead of nervous. They pull to a stop, and Tony shuts off the engine, cutting the rumbling. Peter avoids eye contact and reaches for the seatbelt. 

"You alright kid?" Tony asks, again. 

As much as Peter wants to get out of the car and get this over with, he stills his actions. Slowly, he draws his hands back with the seatbelt recoiling and sighs. "I-I don't know, Mr. Stark. I'm anxious and scared and just so, so furious..." He groans and drops his forehead onto Tony's shoulder. "I don't know. I'm just... ugh." 

"Well, how about we go in there, storm that joint, and have your aunt fess up. Sounds good?" 

Peter moves his head, so he's sitting slumped, looking at his hands in his lap. "I guess I'm just scared of what she'll say. But, yeah. I can do this," He says, reaching for the handle. "I can do this," He said, more confidently. Tony grins as they both step out of the car. 

"You most certainly can. It's me you need to worry about, I might go haywire in there." 

Peter looks at him curiously, shielding his eyes against the sun. It's one in the afternoon, so the sun is out and bright. It sets the parking lot on fire in a way, lighting the gravelly pavement and the posts near the check-in are the same color as the parking lines. It's pretty beautiful. Even has a few trees. Throw in some flower beds and you might not even think of it as a prison. 

Of course, just because it's okay on the outside, doesn't mean anything inside. Could be a rats show in there and the public probably wouldn't suspect a thing. 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Memories of prisons, and May, she and the guards might set me off." Tony shrugged. 

Peter frowed. "Memories?"

"Yeah, from prison." 

"You've gone to prison?" Peter's eyes were wide as saucers now. He knew when Tony was younger he did some risky shit, but prison? 

"No, no, no no not that. When I was younger I did some risky and illegal shit- I mean, stupid things, but no. Prison is a big deal. More like, people I've fought that ended up in there, they haunt my memories like demons under beds, you know?" 

Peter looked down at his faded Vans. Tony spoke to the guard in the box for check-in (or, the first check-in) and once Tony began to walk again, Peter continued their conversation. 

"Yeah, I know. Demons under the bed, monsters in the closet, murderers in the shower, feet-grabbing demons on the stairs. Know them all too well."