Chapter Text
After the Great Paparazzi Incident of 2013, reporters had mercifully learned the consequences of harassing Tony or his family when they were out enjoying a day together. Did it completely keep people from posting pictures of them to social media or asking them for autographs? Well, of course not, but it was significantly better. Completely worth the PR conflicts that followed, in Tony and Pepper’s opinions.
The reduced stress allowed them to have days like today. Free of meetings on this sunny Saturday, the couple had made a special breakfast for their daughter before taking her out to the park and to get ice cream.
Finishing off her cone, Morgan submitted to getting wiped down with a napkin for only a few seconds before pulling away, darting off to play with a couple other kids her age nearby.
Tony and Pepper watched her for a few minutes before turning slightly away and keeping her in their peripheral. They doubted anything would happen, and even if it did, Tony wasn’t worried; Morgan wore a bracelet all the time that Jarvis could tune into at any time to see her vitals, and would alert Tony if her heartbeat suddenly rose too high too fast or if she was under any other sort of distress.
The problem, though, with such a system, is that it requires Morgan to actually realize that she’s in danger.
Tony had been talking to Pepper about a new variation he wanted to try for Clint’s arrows when her eyes widened, catching sight of something behind Tony. She jerked up out of her chair, screeching Morgan’s name, and Tony just had enough time to leap from his own chair before he saw it happening.
Morgan had followed a stray cat out onto the street, not paying attention to where she was going, or the fact that a car was close enough that even if the driver saw her and tried to brake, there still wouldn’t be enough time for it to stop.
Tony lurched for his daughter, but he knew before he was out of the chair that he was too far away to stop it. He was still a few feet away when Morgan noticed the car, flinching away and screaming, but it was still too close and Tony was too far and–
At the last possible second, a blurred form leaped in front of the car from the other side of the road, grabbing Morgan and rolling to the ground with her, landing by Tony’s feet. The car honked in alarm, still driving past.
It took Tony’s brain far too long to compute anything other than the fact that my daughter was almost hit by a car, but luckily Pepper recovered faster. She stooped down, grabbing Morgan and pulling the little girl to her like a lifeline, kissing her hair over and over while not letting Morgan see her tears. The little girl was already crying herself, the shock and danger of what had just happened catching up to her.
Meanwhile, Tony was finally able to take stock enough to actually realize what the blurred form had been–a thin, gasping teenage boy, clutching a bit at his midsection.
“Hey,” Tony said, kneeling down by the boy. “Are you okay? I can’t believe you just did that, that–that was amazing.”
The boy looked up at that, shaking his head and wincing hard. “I’m-I’m fine, sir.” He stood shakily, hissing when the movement pulled at his midsection. Shakily, he pulled a beat-up pair of headphones back onto his ears. “I really should be going–”
“Hold on just a minute,” Pepper stood to match his height, Morgan held against her. “It looked like you got a bit scraped up there. Can we help? You should go to a doctor for–”
“No!” The kid insisted, his eyes widening as he seemed to fully realize who he was talking to, glancing back and forth between the couple. “N-no thank you, M-Mrs. Stark, ma’am. I-I really need to go, I hope your daughter is okay.”
“Kid, wait.” Tony reached out to grasp the kid’s shoulder, trying to keep him there a minute longer–but before he could make contact, the boy had turned, running in the opposite direction.
Tony stared after him, his mind not quite caught up with what had just happened. Whoever he was, that kid had just saved his daughter’s life, but then had just run off with barely a word? Why? He’d clearly recognized Tony and Pepper, but hadn’t stayed to get his injuries looked after, or for them to properly thank him.
But he could think about that later. Right now there were more important matters.
He took Morgan from Pepper, setting her on the ground and patting her down. “Are you okay, Morguna?” He asked, forcing his voice not to shake.
She nodded. Her voice was small when she spoke. “That was s-scary.”
“Understatement of the century, kiddo. Does anything hurt?”
Another nod. “My chest, and tummy a bit, where he–where he grabbed me.”
“Okay. We’ll have the doctors at home check it out when we get back, okay?” He took her arms, gentle but firm. “I need you to look at me, Morgan. What happened today can never happen again. You really, really scared Mommy and I. What do Mommy and I always say about crossing the road?”
“To look both ways first,” She mumbled.
“Good girl. Come on, let’s go home.” He picked her back up, and she placed her head against his shoulder, sniffling. Were Tony just a little bit more like his father, his fear would have quickly turned to anger towards his daughter, but he settled for taking several deep breaths to calm himself. He suspected his heart would continue beating at twice its normal speed for at least the next hour, though. All still on edge, the family got back in the car, heading back to the Avengers Tower to get Morgan checked out.
Back at the tower, they asked Bruce to come up and look at Morgan; though there were other doctors there, Morgan was still upset after what had happened, and her parents wanted her to have someone she was familiar with.
He had her take off her shirt where, sure enough, there was a bit of road rash, and some bruises in the shape of a hand where the boy had grabbed her. Bruce smeared some cream on the rash and said they could give her some pain reliever if it became too much, but assured them she’d be fine. Though Morgan said she didn’t hit her head when the boy grabbed her and they tumbled out of the way of the car, Bruce said to bring her back if she started complaining of headaches.
Tony nodded, thanking his friend and breathing out a sigh of relief. He always hated seeing his baby hurt, but it could have been so much worse. He might not have been able to bring her home at all.
He shook the thought of his head–thinking like that would only make him spiral.
“Thank you again, Bruce.” Pepper smiled at him. “Alright, Morgan–do you want to rest, or do you want to help Mommy with dinner?”
“Dinner!” The little girl decided at once, perking up a bit.
Once they’d left, Tony let himself sag a bit more, rubbing at his eyes. The fear of that moment had far from worn off, and Tony was absolutely exhausted.
“She’s okay,” Bruce repeated, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “You had a close call, but don’t let it shake you too much. It happens to all parents. Who was the kid you said saved her?”
“I have no idea,” Tony admitted. “He ran off before I could get his name, or anything else about him. He had brown hair. No way was he older than eighteen. I want to find him, though–no way did he get away from that incident unscathed, and I need to properly thank him for what he did today.”
Bruce wished him good luck, and Tony scoffed, heading down to his lab. He didn’t need luck–he had an AI.
“Jarvis,” he said, pulling off his sunglasses. “I trust you scanned the boy’s face when we saw him earlier?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Perfect. Run it across the systems and find out who saved my kid earlier.”
After a few minutes, Jarvis’ voice returned. “I’ve identified the individual, sir. His name is Peter Benjamin Parker. He’s fifteen years old, and is filed as a runaway of the foster system.”
Tony frowned at that. “What?” He’s about to ask what happened to the kid’s parents, but stopped, not sure he wanted to go that personal yet. “How long ago did he run away?”
“He was reported missing from his group home roughly eight months ago, sir.”
A heavy pit began to form in Tony’s stomach. “So he’s just been . . . on the streets this whole time?”
“I don’t know where, exactly, young Mr. Parker has been saying,” Jarvis says, and Tony doesn’t miss the slight note of condescension in his tone–after all, what else could “reported missing” mean? “But it certainly hasn’t been with a legal guardian.”
“Right. Of course not.”
Tony sighed, running a hand down his face and trying to think. He eventually gave in and looked a bit more into the kid’s past, including the obituaries of Peter Parker’s mom, dad, aunt and uncle. Geez. The universe had screwed this kid over so many times, but he’d still risked his life to save Tony’s little girl.
He left the rest of the kid’s files alone for now–no need to invade the poor kid’s privacy more than he already had. But already he was thinking of a plan.
“Tony.” He jumped nearly a mile at the sound of his wife’s voice right behind him.
“Geez, Pep, have some mercy. I’ve got a heart condition, you know.”
Pepper raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “I’ve been calling you upstairs for fifteen minutes, Tony. I called your cell, I had Jarvis alert you. Dinner’s been ready.” She caught sight of the files still on the holoscreen. “What have you been doing?”
“Well, I found the kid that saved Morgan’s life.”
“You did? That’s wonderful, we’ll have to find him and show our thanks.”
He turned to face her. “Most likely is that he’s a homeless runaway, with no family left at just fifteen years old.”
Pepper was silent, but he could hear the gasp she sucked in at the words, the way her lips tightened.
“I think you know what I want to do now.”
She took a deep breath. “I do. And we’ll discuss it more after dinner. Come on, Morgan’s been waiting.” She pulled him to his feet, kissing him on the cheek. “I love you, Tony.”
“I love you too, Pep. Let’s go, we shouldn’t leave the little princess waiting.”
/*/*/*/*/
Okay, Tony will be honest–he knows squat diddly about the foster care system. Has barely even given it a thought. He has no idea how he’ll go about gaining custody of a kid, especially one filed as missing in the systems.
But hey, no time like the present to find out.
Last night, after Morgan had been put to bed, he and Pepper had tried to look more into Peter’s past, to be more prepared to help him. To their dismay and confusion, they found that he was marked as Special Treatment in the files, and had been passed around to a few different foster homes before being put into a group home for troubled teen boys. His records had been with the local police district for almost a year after he’d been accused of aggravated assault. Pepper had lost some of her determination at that, but Tony had kept pushing.
“He’s a teen boy in the foster system, Pep. Of course people are going to tend to assume the worst about him. The accusations were dropped eventually, anyway–don’t you think we should get his side of the story before judging him?”
The information had concerned Tony as well, to be fair, but he wasn’t going to let it get in his way. Troubled past or not, Peter Parker had saved Morgan’s life, and in return Tony intended to make sure that the boy was okay.
Which was why he’d set up an appointment with Peter’s caseworker, a man named Ted Abrams. Upon being admitted to the man’s office, Tony first noted that, like himself, Ted looked like he had barely slept the night before, if at all. Papers were scattered across his desk, and he made a half-hearted attempt to gather them into a few piles before giving Tony a tired smile.
“Mr. Stark,” Mr. Abrams greeted. “It was certainly a surprise to get your call last night insisting on this meeting. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I gather you were the caseworker for Peter Parker?” Tony jumped right into it.
Mr. Abrams froze at the question, before clearing his throat, not able to meet Tony’s eyes. “Well. Yes, I-I was. Am, still, technically. Why do you ask? Have you–have you seen him?”
“Yes, I did. And then I took the liberty of looking up his files. Kid’s had a hard life.”
“I certainly won’t argue with you on that, Mr. Stark, but–”
“And I want to help him. My wife and I are wondering what it would take for him to come and live with us.”
Once the caseworker picked his jaw up off the ground, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, but it would be impossible for you to take in Peter, even if you were already a foster parent. We have lots of other kids who need homes if you and your wife are interested in fostering, but–”
“Whoa, whoa,” Tony glared, holding up a hand. “Why wouldn’t I be able to take Peter?”
Abrams swallowed. “Because-because of your daughter, Mr. Stark.”
“What’s she got to do with this?”
“To say it frankly, Peter Parker has been known to violently act out against younger children.”
And now it was Tony’s turn to freeze. His mind went back to those dropped assault charges. He quickly shook it off, though. “Yesterday, the kid risked his life to save my daughter from being hit by a car, so excuse me if I have trouble believing that.”
The caseworker held up his hands in surrender. “You don’t have to take my word for it. I can get you the records, or I’m sure you have the power to look into that yourself. But it’s true. It was at his second and third placements: at the second one, he pushed a young girl down the stairs, and at the next one the parents said he . . . well, they weren’t certain what happened, but their infant child had several bruised ribs, bruised gums, and three of his newly grown teeth had been knocked out. Peter was the only other one in the house at the time.”
Tony latched onto the few words in that story that still gave him hope for this situation: the parents said. He still needed to get Peter’s side of this story.
“Even if you had a perfect record, and every bit of paperwork done–and we actually knew where Peter was–we couldn’t let him live with you. Your daughter would be at risk.”
It still just didn’t make any sense. Peter had jumped in front of a car, had risked life and limb to make sure his little girl was okay, and hadn’t even stayed around to ask for some sort of reward. He just couldn’t construe that image with a boy that would intentionally push another girl down the stairs.
“What about the group home?” Tony asked finally. “Why’d he run away?”
Abrams shrugged. “We don’t know. He never told us anything was wrong, there had never been any prior complaints of kids in the house. The caretakers didn’t know anything was wrong, and none of the other kids there would say anything. We’ve had the police looking for him, but no one’s seen him since he ran.”
“Whatever happened,” Tony said, “I’m willing to bet that Peter wouldn’t be willing to go back there.”
“I’d have to agree, unfortunately. But there isn’t any other foster family willing to take him; many have young kids of their own, biological or not. And those that don’t are too worried that his violent behavior isn’t limited to children.”
Tony sighed. This was turning out to be much more complicated than he’d thought.
He and Pepper hadn’t known before that the violence Peter was accused of was towards children. He wanted to help Peter, but Morgan was their first priority . . .
But he was Tony Stark–if he couldn’t have his cake and eat it too, then could he really call himself a genius?
“So you’re saying that Peter’s only option would be to go back to this group home.”
“Unless we found another family willing to take care of him, then yes, I’m afraid that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Tony leaned forward. “Ted, I’ve got the most advanced AI ever created keeping constant surveillance of my home. My wife and I are willing and able to take care of Peter, and to keep our daughter safe while we do it. We’re in agreement that Peter isn’t likely to go back and live in that group home–isn’t it a better plan, therefore, to let my family take care of him rather than let him keep living on the streets?”
Abrams pursed his lips, thinking. Finally, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes.
“I need you to understand something, Mr. Stark. We want to help Peter. That’s our thing. He had no living relatives, so we tried to help him find a home where he could be happy. We didn’t stop trying after the accusations against him. But Peter–it’s like he doesn’t want to be helped. He never defended himself against the accusations. He never spoke to any of the psychiatrists or therapists we had him see. And whatever trouble he faced in the group home, he never called me, and I can’t help if I don’t know there’s a problem. We’re not your enemies here, but we do need to take precautions, especially with Peter’s record.”
Tony kept his face pointedly neutral. “I understand.”
“I also need you to promise me something. You’re right, Peter can’t be left on the streets to fend for himself. So when you find him–because, again, I feel confident that you have that power where we didn’t–if he doesn’t agree to stay with your family, make sure he comes to us. We’ll figure something out to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
“Oh, I’m sure it won’t come to that.” Tony stood, projecting much more confidence than he felt. “You just worry about getting us cleared to foster him–let us worry about the rest.”
/*/*/*/*/
Taking a deep breath, Peter Parker rubbed his gloved hands together, relishing the little warmth they gave him. The fall air was crisp, and the nights were even worse. Without the ability to thermoregulate properly anymore, he was practically always shivering.
Facing away from the fading sun, Peter tucked his knees to his chest on the park bench, sighing into his knees. With the dimming sunlight, it was safe to take off his sunglasses, resting them atop his head instead. He winced a bit, the movement pulling at his still-bruised ribs. The near-car-crash had been over a week ago, but with how little food he was able to scrounge for himself, his healing hadn’t exactly been doing his job.
To think there’d been a time he’d thought these powers were cool.
To be fair, they once were. The bright-eyed fourteen year old Peter Parker of a year ago had been ecstatic to realize he’d gotten superpowers from that spider bite. He’d tested them by crawling across his ceiling and lifting his bed with one hand while May and Ben were at work, laughing in delight at his abilities and all he could do. For a blissful few weeks, he’d felt like he was on top of the world.
And then his aunt and uncle were shot in front of him in the street, and suddenly Peter had never been lower.
Something had happened to his powers that night. Before, he’d been able to control his strength somewhat, his senses, his stickiness. But after that night, after sobbing over the bodies of his only remaining family for what felt like forever until the police pulled him off of them, he’d never been able to control them again. It was like they exploded. Without the gloves, Peter’s hands stuck to everything he touched. Even with his sunglasses and headphones, the sensory input around him was constantly painful, and he had no way of numbing it.
Whenever he touched someone, his strength hurt them.
And eight months ago, he’d finally realized that it was better for him to just be on his own. He hadn’t touched or barely spoken to anyone before saving that girl– Morgan Stark, his mind oh-so-helpfully reminded him–and even that was only because she would have died or been seriously injured without his interference. Even so, the thought that he must have inevitably hurt her by grabbing her to get away from the car made him feel physically sick.
His sixth sense sent a jolt of electricity down his neck, and he jolted up, scanning for the danger that always followed that sense. A man was approaching him, and Peter squinted, trying to read his intentions, getting ready to run if he had to.
“Settle, kid. I’m not here to hurt you.”
The voice instantly gave him away, and, now that he was closer, Peter could easily smell the man’s cologne–the same one he’d been wearing the day of the almost-crash.
“M-Mr. Stark.” He stood, scooting away from the bench. “What-what are you doing here?” How did he find me? Is this about his daughter–was she hurt, is he mad, what is he going to–
“I have an offer for you, Mr. Parker.” Peter froze–how did Tony Stark know his name? “And yeah, I know who you are. That kind of information is easy to find, especially if you’re me.”
Peter licked his lips. “What kind of offer?”
Mr. Stark smiled. “Simple–come with me to Avengers Tower and live there for the foreseeable future.”
Peter’s eyes widened, and he back up, shaking his head sharply. “No offense, sir, but I’m pretty sure that’s called kidnapping.”
“Not if I have legal jurisdiction from your caseworker to become your foster parent, and especially not if you agree to it.”
“What–my caseworker–?”
“Ted and I had a chat, yes. Pepper and I signed an ungodly amount of paperwork, sat through stupidly long instructional training videos, and passed a home inspection with flying colors, and now we have the all-clear to be your emergency placement as your new foster parents. If you agree, of course.”
“And if I don’t agree?”
Mr. Stark raised a brow, taking off his sunglasses. “Well, Mr. Parker, then I made your social worker a promise. I promised him that if you didn’t want to come with me, then I would make sure you went to him instead. It isn’t safe for you to be out on the streets by yourself.”
Peter’s stomach turned to lead. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t safe for him out here–it wasn’t safe for others to be around him. What lengths was Mr. Stark willing to go to in order to get Peter back to CPS, though? He glanced behind him, wondering how far he’d get if he tried to run.
The motion didn’t go unnoticed. “Kid, look,” Mr. Stark sighed, backing up a step. “I’m not trying to be the bad guy here. I know you don’t want to go back to the group home, for whatever reason you had. But according to old Ted, my wife and I are the only ones who will take you in. You’ll be safe with us, and I can promise it’ll be a heck of a lot better than out here.”
Peter shook his head. “Your daughter–”
“Peter, I’m Iron Man, I think I can keep my daughter safe from whatever you think is going to happen. Yes, I know what happened in your foster homes. I know what you were accused of. Despite that all, Pepper and I want to help you. This isn’t me being reckless–my AI will be watching you at all hours of the day, and you would never, ever be alone with Morgan.”
The thought of being watched all the time might have scared off some others, but it was the only thing so far making Peter consider the offer. The promise of a warm shelter and food was nice and all, but only the knowledge that the other occupants would be safe from him was enough to soften his resolve a bit.
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” Peter muttered.
“I’m sure you’re right about that,” Tony agreed. “But when have I ever? No one else has been able to help you, so now it’s my turn. So–what do you say?”
Well, it wasn’t like he really had much of a choice. If he said no, he’d just be turned back in to CPS; Mr. Stark had found him once, Peter didn’t doubt that he’d be able to do it again.
And if he ever felt like his powers would get Morgan or her parents hurt, he could always just find a way to leave again.
“Okay. Yes, I’ll stay with you.”