188. Dead to me

An- "I thought you said your parents were dead. They are. To me." Quote

Peter didn't tell everything there is to know about his parents, so when they come back, angst

TW-Mentions of physical and sexual abuse

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"Hey Pete, I need to talk to you," Tony said quietly, leaning on the doorframe. He was still uncomfortable with the team and Peter being in the same room, but he knew Peter could protect himself well enough. Peter looked up with a dazed smile on his face from his book.

"Yeah?" Peter asked. Tony shifted slightly.

"Uh. Alone." Tony said awkwardly. Peter narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not getting up. And there's nothing I'm hiding that they can't hear." Peter said with a shrug. Tony sighed, slowly walking into the room with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Peter, you told me your parents were dead," Tony said. Peter froze for a moment before slowly closing his book and turning slightly so he could see Tony.

"They are. To me." He said quietly, picking up his book and putting it back in his backpack.

"Well uh, Pete, they're um. They're in the building. Behind me." Tony said slowly. Peter turned slowly towards him, standing up slowly and pushing Tony out of the way, grasping who Tony had come to know as Richard and Mary into the room.

"Why are you here? Why are you back? Is it because I finally have some worth now? Because I'm someone now?" Peter demanded, pushing them into one of the couches, not even caring that the team was staring at them in confusion.

"Honey no, that's, no it's because we love you." Mary said. Peter pointed his finger at her, tears spilling out of his eyes.

"Then why did you put me up for adoption? When I was three? Why did you give me up?" Peter asked expectantly.

"Because you needed help. More then we could give you." Richard said.

"No, I needed you! I needed you and you weren't there for me! I was a baby! A baby! And you gave me up! Because I was too much to handle! I was broken then and I'm still broken now!" Peter shouted, red in the face and hands waving in the air.

"Peter you needed things we couldn't give you," Mary said gently. Peter shook his head, wiping his face.

"All I needed was your love. I needed your time and you couldn't give me that." Peter said quietly, holding a hand over his mouth.

"Peter we were unprepared for you. We didn't know how to care for a baby." Richard said. Peter shook his head again.

"And that gives you an excuse for what you did? It's an excuse To have left me behind? Ben and May looked for me for years and they couldn't find me until I was eight! Five years I spent in the system! Five years!" Peter shouted.

"But they found you didn't they?" Mary asked.

"Five years too late! Five years to stop what happened to me! Five years too late to stop the nightmare, and, and the fucking flashbacks! And the scars! And the endless memories I wish I could erase! Five years too late!" Peter screamed, tears spilling down his cheeks again, fingernails digging into his palms.

"Sweetheart nothing bad ever happened to you in the system." Mary soothed.

"You don't know anything! You don't know a damn thing!" Peter shouted.

"Then tell us!" Richard shouted, making Peter flinch violently.

"You don't know what it was like! I was hit, slapped, whipped, locked in closets, molested, forced to do things I never should have had to do! And I can never forget that! But you can! Because you weren't there! You left me behind!" Peter screamed.

"But we're back now! That has to count for something!" Richard shouted back.

"That doesn't count for shit! Give me one good reason that you're back!" Peter screamed, his eyes squeezed shut, jaw clenched and neck taught, veins bulging in his neck and face. Mary and Richard were silent for several minutes.

"That's what I thought. You never expected me to be anything. And now that I am your want your share. Well, you're not gonna get it, because you're not shit to me. You're not my mum, and you're not my dad." Peter said firmly, snatching his backpack up from the floor and storming out of the living room, down the hall to his room where he stayed on the weekends. The whole room was silent, Tony twirling his thumbs.

"FRIDAY? Have security up to escort Mary and Richard our of the building and ensure they are not able to get into the systems again. Make sure they can't sneak in again." Tony said firmly.

"Should I add them to the no-go individual's protocol?" FRIDAY asked. Tony nodded his head, sighing when Happy stepped out of the elevator.

"Yep. Add the face and body scans."

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Tony stood outside Peter's door like this at least once a day; hand raised to knock but pausing just before it reached the door. Peter had barely left his room except for school, they weren't even sure if he wa eating. Tony sighed and finally knocked quietly on the door. When he didn't hear a response he sighed, leaning against the door.

"Peter? Can I come in?" Tony asked. He heard a quiet unintelligible answer which made him sigh, taking hold of the door handle.

"Alright, I'm coming in. Make sure you're decent." He said regretfully, immediately taking notice of Peter's entirely dark room and a noticeable lump under the mountain of blankets and pillows.

"Oh, I wonder where Peter is," Tony said sarcastically, getting a small rise out of Peter who moved under the blankets. Tony smiled when Peter accidentally stuck his foot out of the blankets and off the side of the bed. Tony took it in his hands before Peter could take it back in though, pulling him out of the blankets so he was forced to look at Tony. Tony winced, Peter's face was splotchy and red, tears tracks covering his cheeks, eyes red and puffy.

"Hey, kiddo," Tony said quietly. Peter sniffled, pulling his foot out of Tony's hand and bringing his legs up to his chest and a blanket around his back.

"Hey, Mr Stark." He said quietly. Tony sighed, shifting closer to Peter who leaned towards his body heat. They were silent for several minutes until Tony sighed deeply.

"You know I didn't let them in the building right? I wanted to ask you first but they kept getting in." Tony said quietly. Peter hummed.

"I know. FRIDAY told me they got into the systems because they had all of my information." Peter said, his voice hoarse from disuse. Tony hummed, shifting again so he could wrap his arms around Peter, placing his chin on Peter's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry that all of that stuff happened to you. And I'm sorry I never knew. But I also understand that it was your decision to tell me and you had a good reason not to." Tony said slowly, having rehearsed this several times by himself in the lab.

"I just, I just, I know I'm supposed to hate them but I don't. And that's why this hurts so much." Peter said finally, voice far away. Tony hummed.

"I know Pete. I know." Was all he said, and it seemed to make Peter relax, falling into Tony's embrace.

"I know you're here to get me out of my room but is it okay if we just stay here for a little while longer?" Peter asked hesitantly. Tony shrugged, losing them down and pulling Peter into his chest, kissing his forehead.

"If you want to stay here then you can stay here. I'm never going to force you to do anything you don't want to." Tony said gently. Peter hummed, snuggling as close as possible to Tony, already falling asleep.

"Mmmm. Good."

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