The Avengers Weakness

Chapter Thirty-Six

"Wh-n-no, why would I be nervous, Wands?" he asked, "W-we have da-I mean Mister Stark on our side; we can't lose."

She smiled softly at him, almost calling Tony dad, "Our minds play tricks; you know this Pete. just because you know something doesn't mean your mind will fully believe it. Peanut was with them for eight years before she came here almost four months ago. You're remembering when your aunt and uncle tried to get custody of the both of you; how it didn't happen, and you didn't see Penny for over eight years."

"I-I guess." he replied quietly, knowing that she was probably right.

She nodded, adjusting the tie in her hands while she continued talking to him, "Well, Like Stephen and Sam explained to me, our brains tend to revert to memories when we are put in a similar situation. While we can know that the possibility of getting the same result is slim to none; the answer being none in this case," she quickly added, seeing his brow furrow, "our brains tend to think of the other situation and how it ended. Think of Peanut, for example. She didn't want to tell anyone about the bullying because nothing was ever done about it and it usually made things worse for her at home in the past, Right?"

"Yeah..." he replied softly as she adjusted the tie around his neck.

"She was surprised when we did something." she continued, pushing his hands away as he went to adjust his collar, "Even though she knew that she wasn't there anymore, past experiences made her remember what usually happened. Even though we repeatedly told her we'd do something about it and Lena did something about it for her at one point, she still didn't say anything. It's like you right now," she replied, dropping the tie and straightening it with her palms, "Even though we have Tony and you know that he'd never let her go back there, your memories say otherwise. You're scared. You're not really nervous about seeing the judge, you're worried. It means you're a good big brother."

He softly nodded his head, digesting her words, "Thanks Wands." he replied, giving her a small, nervous smile.

"No problem Spidey," she replied, adjusting his collar, "It's my job as your resident big sister."

He hugged her, "I'm glad you guys are coming," he replied.

"Pete, I wouldn't miss this for the world. Not every day my little brother and little sister get adopted."

"That's not till later," he replied.

She grinned, "I prefer to think of this as adoption day instead of Tony Stark throwing the Davis family into the limelight for child abuse." she replied.

"I guess that's a better way to think of it," he agreed.

She nodded, she looked at his gelled down hair, "What did you do to your hair Pete?" she asked.

"I gelled it down. I wanted to look more presentable. Tony always says that it ruins the look if my hair is messy and I'm all dressed up."

She nodded, "We're going to get Nat to show you how to take care of those curls of yours so you don't have to gel them down next time." she replied, she preferred the younger boy's soft ringlets as compared to the stiff locks he was sporting now.

He nodded, he'd prefer to have his hair done differently as well, he liked his loose, floppy curls, "Okay, I'd like that, it feels weird to have it all stiff."

She laughed, "Well, I think May would be proud of you," she said softly, "You're a great brother and you look handsome. I know I'm proud."

He smiled at her, "Thanks Wands."

She nodded, "You're growing up on me Spidey," she replied softly, "When I met you, you were a few days away from fourteen, you were in eighth grade and had this complex like you could save the world." She laughed a little, "You still have that complex, but now you're a sophomore in highschool, you're strong and you're an amazing person. You're sixteen, older than I was when I met you and Penny's the age you were when I met you. Kind of ironic to think about," she replied, pausing a little, "who thought I'd meet both Parker siblings and they'd be the same age each time?"