Peter Parker... Stark?

I Need a Pen

Tony nearly fell out of his chair as Peter opened his eyes at the same time the med bay door slammed open. Bruce and Dr. Cho rushed into the room, pushing Tony away from a dazed-looking Peter and moving to address the frantic machines in the room. The teen looked around blearily, grimacing as Dr. Cho shone a light into his eyes.

"How's it looking over there?" she asked Bruce.

"Everything looks good. His body's just trying to catch up to his brain."

"Good. His pupils are dilating properly, and he seems to be reasonably aware. I'll run a few more tests, and after that I would recommend that he be left alone to rest for a bit."

Tony stood in the corner and watched the two doctors check on the machines and perform several tests on Peter, who still looked rather dazed and confused. His eyes shone with a slight bit of fear as well, and for some reason he seemed to be avoiding Tony's gaze as much as possible.

Finally, once Helen had left the room and Bruce was finished cleaning up, Tony interrupted.

"Can I..." he cleared his throat, "am I good to talk to him for a bit?"

Bruce nodded. "Try to keep it short. He needs sleep so his brain can catch up with his body again."

Bruce left the room and Tony took a seat beside Peter again. "Hey buddy."

Peter glanced at him, then quickly looked away again, trying to hide the tears welling in his eyes. Tony started to panic.

"Oh no, please... Please don't cry, what's wrong?" Tony sputtered.

"I'm--I let you down, Mr. Stark," the boy sobbed. "I lied to you a--about everything!"

Tony didn't know what to say. This teenager, who had lost his family, lived in a horrible excuse for an orphanage, and had nearly been killed by his friends, was apologizing.

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Tony interrupted, holding up a hand, "and if I hear one more word of apology out of your mouth, you're grounded."

Peter froze, clearly confused. "...What?"

"You heard me," Tony reaffirmed. "You have no reason to be sorry."

Peter started to shake his head, but Tony was not about to back down. "We were under orders from SHIELD to unmask the vigilante, Spider-Man. We were told to use whatever methods necessary. You didn't cooperate, and we had to get messy." Tony swallowed heavily. "But none of that makes any of this okay."

"Mr. Stark, I--"

"Call me Tony, kid. And stop trying to apologize. All of this," Tony said gesturing at Peter and the various machines he was hooked up to, "is my fault. I should have seen the signs. I should have stopped when I realized how young you were. I should have said no to Fury."

Peter had a steady stream of tears running down his face. "I lied to you. You looked out for me, and I just kept pretending like I didn't need your help."

"That sounds like someone else I know," Pepper said as she opened the door and stepped into the room with a soft smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're okay, Peter."

She turned to Tony. "Can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Stay here," Tony said to Peter, getting up and walking towards the door while keeping his eyes on the boy in the hospital bed. "I won't be long."

After the door shut behind them, Pepper pulled Tony further down the hall before pushing a stack of papers into his hands.

"What's this?" Tony asked skeptically.

Pepper smirked. "I was going over the footage Friday recorded from your suit the other day... that orphanage is no place for anyone. Especially not Peter."

Tony felt his heart begin to race. "What are you saying?"

"Well..." Pepper said, smiling and biting her lip, "the footage was enough to get that awful lady out of there and in jail. And, well, I may or may not have also gotten the paperwork so that we can adopt a certain someone."

"No," Tony said in excited disbelief.

"Yep," Pepper said, pointing at the the empty spaces on the paperwork. "The only things left to do are for you and Peter to sign."

~~~

Peter stared at the ceiling, trying to sort through his various emotions. Part of him wanted to run away, but he knew that he was in no shape to go out and fend for himself. He also knew that if he left his bed, Tony would be at his side within a matter of seconds.

So he laid on the bed, trying not to cry.

Tony kept insisting that it was not Peter's fault, that he shouldn't feel guilty, but all Peter could think about was how disappointed the Avengers must be that he lied to them. And to top it all off, he was exhausted.

He was also dreading going back to the orphanage. Ms. Walters would never forgive him for the unexplainable absence, unless Tanner had told her Peter's secret, which would be very, very bad.

The door to the room swung open softly again, pulling Peter from his nervous train of thought. Tony had a strange look on his face as Pepper made sure that the door shut properly, giving the three of them some privacy. Tony had a stack of papers in his hands.

"Alright kid," Tony said, "here's the deal. I am going to pass you these papers, and you are going to sign them." Peter carefully sat up and took the stack from Tony's hands.

"What am I signing for, exa...?" Peter trailed off as a word caught his eye.

Adoption.

His breath hitched as he scanned the rest of the page to find that Tony and Pepper had asked to be his guardians. All that was left to do was for Peter to agree.

"What?" he breathed.

"Peter," Pepper said gently, waiting for him to meet her gaze before continuing, "this is your choice. Tony and I would love to have you here, but we cannot make your decisions for you."

"Wait," Peter blinked several times. "This is real? It's not a trick?"

"Do you need some time to think about it?" Pepper asked.

"No!" Peter said quickly. Tony's eyes widened with sadness, thinking the worst, until Peter continued, "No, I don't need time. I need a pen."

(AN: So sorry for the lack of updates!! I recently started my college semester and life got CRAZY. But don't worry, this story has not been forgotten, and I appreciate the support so much!

Also, on another note, I have started a Spider-Man Whumptober book. Seeing how my schedule is probably going to be for the next little while, I'm not going to be able to post a chapter a day like I'd originally hoped, but I will be posting the first chapter on the first of October. Feel free to go check it out!

Lots of love!
AlyssaTano)