You can trust now, Peter darling

16

"Why the fuck are you bothering me? I told you not to talk to me during torturing hours unless it's an emergency!" An older man in uniform screamed at another younger man.

"It is an emergency! It's about Vex." The younger man said, who was stood at the entrance of a doorway.

"What?! What happened? I swear to God, if you're about to tell me that he escaped—"

"No! No of course not! It's just that...he's stopped talking." The young man at the doorway said. The older man paused before answering.

"Stopped talking?"

"Yeah. It started 2 days ago. We just thought he needed time but he still hasn't said a word." He explained. The older man rubbed his face with his hand and sighed.

"It's not really a surprise. This has happened with some of our other soldiers. Vex has been here for...2 years now?" The older man said with his hands in his hips, shocking the younger man because of the calm response.

"Besides, we don't need him to talk to become a solider. Actually, it's better that he doesn't." The man said with an evil grin.

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Peter sat on the couch, crossed legged and facing Tony. It had been an hour since Peter spoke for the first time and the man was trying to encourage him to speak again.

Peter was still a little shaken from the event. When he woke up that morning, he never would've guessed that this would be the day that he spoke.

Tony made sure to praise Peter as much as he could, even at the little things, because he knew that it would help give the boy some confidence.

"It's okay, buddy. You're doing great." Tony said as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, even though Peter hadn't said anything since. He just sat there, letting our shaky breaths and opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"How about we start off easy, yeah? Just try and say your name. Peter." Tony suggested. The boy nodded and adjusted himself on the couch before opening his mouth again.

"P...Pete...Peter." The boy stuttered out, his voice still cracked and hoarse. Tony beamed at him and pulled him into a hug before pulling away again.

"There you go! You're doing so well, Peter. I'm so proud." Tony praised the kid as he held onto his shoulders. Peter smiled slightly.

So far, Peter had said "Thank you", "Yes", "No", "Peter" and a couple of "I"'s.

Tony had to refrain from letting tears escape his eyes on multiple occasions. He had already sobbed once today, and that was when Peter first spoke.

Peter, however, didn't bother about holding his tears back. There was no point, he was practically immune to it from the amount of times it happened. Most of the time, Tony wiped his tears away for him.

'Can we take a break?' Peter signed to Tony.

"Of course, Pete. You hungry?" The man asked as he stood up from the couch.

"Yes." Peter said after hesitating. The boy felt comfortable saying words he had already said. It was just trying to say new ones that tired him out. Tony smiled to himself as he walked over to the kitchen.

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Crying and screaming was all Peter could hear. He covered his ears to try and block out all the noise. He prayed that someone would soon shut that person up and stop them from sounding so hysterical. It was then that Peter realized it was him making those sounds. He was the one screaming and crying.

Hands started pulling Peter's hands away from his ears. He looked up and saw his Aunt May and Uncle Ben next to him, trying their best to comfort the boy.

"One body was found. Mary Parker. Richard's body is missing but they're still searching the area." He heard detectives talking to each other.

"So Richard could still be alive?" Another one asked.

"There's a lot of evidence pointing towards his death. So, he's most likely not. But the case is still open."

His parents are dead. It didn't feel real to the 6 year old boy. He was pulled into the embrace of his Uncle Ben whilst May got up to talk to the detectives and the police.

"So what exactly have you found?" She asked them with a shaking voice, wiping away any tears that had escaped.

"We pulled out the remains on the plane from the ocean. Mary's body was found but Richard's wasn't. However, his blood was found inside the plane. We're assuming his body is somewhere in the ocean and we've got people searching as we speak. I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

Weeks passed, and that was still the only information they got. They always said they were still searching. Eventually, 5 months passed and the search stopped. Not because the found his father's body, but because they simply gave up. They decided that his body must've sunk to to the bottom of the ocean which is somewhere living humans simply can't reach. It's impossible.

They had a funeral for Richard regardless. Because it was obvious that he was dead, whether they could find his body or not.

...

Right?