You can trust now, Peter darling

5

Peter was sat at the kitchen table, on one of the barstools. It was the next morning and he was still at the Avengers Headquarters. Tony had woken him up at 9:30 in the morning, and Peter was very hesitant about getting up until Tony mentioned food.

Peter's stomach had been rumbling for years. He needed to get a good, healthy meal in him. One that wasn't expired. One that wasn't just a piece of bread. One that wasn't moldy.

"What do you feel like eating, Pete?" Tony asked before he suddenly shook his head. "Shoot, forgot you don't talk." He muttered to himself.

He opened the fridge and stared at it for a few seconds before turning his head back to Peter.

"You like eggs?" Tony asked. Peter nodded. "Alright then, a fried egg on toast it is."

Peter shook his head and then held up two fingers. Tony chuckled before pulling out the egg carton.

"You want two eggs? Tony asked. Peter nodded. "Two pieces of toast as well? Or just one piece of toast and two eggs?" Tony rambled.

"Y'know what? Never mind. That's a complicated question for you to answer. I'll just make two of both." Tony said to Peter, although it was more like he was talking to himself. But Peter smiled to himself nevertheless.

Tony was nervous. Not only is he having to take care of a child for a while, but he also has to break the news to the child that his last guardian has killed herself. He thought to himself as he made Peter's food, about how he should go about telling him. Should he even do it now? He only just got back from being tortured. But he doesn't want to wait for him to heal either, because then he'll just be a jerk for bringing him more pain and ruining his progress.

It was Peter's turn to ask Tony some questions. But he had his back turned to him. The boy looked around him and grabbed an orange from a fruit bowl. He didn't want to, but he didn't want to get up. So he threw the orange at the man, and it hit his back.

Tony jumped and immediately turned around, confusion written on his face. Peter quickly grabbed a pen and some paper and scribbled a question down on it. Tony stared at the boy in interest.

Peter held up the piece of paper. 'Where am I?' Was what he wrote, in surprisingly neat handwriting for a 14 year old who has been in captivity for 4 years.

"Uh, you're in...the Avengers Headquarters. Upstate New York." Tony answered. Peter smiled slightly before writing something else down. Tony quickly turned back to the eggs, making sure they didn't burn before looking at Peter again.

'How long was I in that place?' The paper said. The kid was smart, he obviously knew that Tony had been researching him. Tony frowned before answering.

"4 years. You were 10. Does that sound accurate?" Tony told Peter. The boy looked down at his lap, biting his lip before looking back up and nodding. Peter didn't write anything else after that, his mood had gone down again.

Soon, Tony placed a plate full of toast and fried eggs in front of Peter, and the boy dug in immediately.

"We shut that place down, by the way...if it makes you feel any better." Tony told the kid as he ate. "We killed most of the people there, the ones still alive are going to jail for the rest of their lives."

Peter stopped eating for a second and sent Tony a thankful smile before digging in again. They sat in silence for a few moments before the kid stopped eating suddenly, setting his toast down on the plate again. Tony furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Peter sat still for a few seconds.

Tony was about to ask if he was okay, when the boy picked up the pen and started writing again.

'I haven't seen my Aunt in 4 years.'

Tony gulped. It was now or never.

"Listen, kid. When I was doing my research, I uh, found out something...about your Aunt." He said. It was difficult to get the words out. Peter gave him a look that said 'and?'.

"I'm sorry Pete, but she...she's dead." Tony said softly. He really didn't want to tell him how she died.

Peter went dead still. He looked up at Tony, tears flooding his eyes. He shook his head in denial, Tony wanted to cry with him. He really did.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry Peter." He said. Peter sniffed as tears escaped his eyes. He quickly wiped them away with his hand before writing on the paper.

'How?'

Damn it.

Tony sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"She uh...she killed herself, Pete." Tony said quietly. Peter probably wouldn't have heard it if it wasn't for his...advanced hearing.

Peter let out a sob before instantly covering his mouth. He pushed his plate of food away and stood up.

"Peter, it's okay. It will be okay." Tony tried to comfort him as he rushed to his side. He didn't actually know if it would be okay, but what else are you supposed to say in this situation?

Peter pushed Tony away, a hand still covering his mouth to prevent the loud sobs. Tony gently held his hand and pulled it away from his mouth. That only made Peter start crying more. Tony pulled Peter into a hug, and the boy cried into his chest.

"I want to help you, Pete. I'll make it better." Tony said into his hair. Peter shook his head further into the man's chest, trying to muffle the crying.

Tony finally realized what was going on. He pulled Peter away from his chest and looked into his eyes.

"Peter, it's okay. You can cry. It's okay to cry sometimes." Tony said. Did the HYDRA workers hurt him if he cried?

"Did they- in the bad place, did they...not let you cry?" Tony asked him, trying to avoid certain words again.

Peter looked away and nodded, letting more tears fall before wiping them away.

"Oh, Pete." Tony sighed before pulling Peter into a hug again. "It's alright, you're not there anymore. You can cry."

And Peter did.