To Have a Home

::5::

   Peter woke up on the couch during the sunrise and looked up, to see Wanda cooking breakfast and Vision sitting at the table, reading something.

   "G'morning," a half-asleep Peter said. Wanda and Vision both looked up and smiled.

   "Good morning sunshine," Wanda replied. Peter looked down and realized that he was still in the sweatpants he had put on yesterday morning and the shirt he had crashed in. He probably needed to change and take a shower. Since he had clothes in the guest bedroom from when he would stay here overnight every once in a while, he decided to put those on. He walked into the guest bedroom that he would sleep in, and did a double take. He turned around and looked at the newly transformed room. Star Wars posters, school books, Spider-Man sheets, and so much more. The closet had new clothes as well. Peter smiled. Pepper and Tony weren't kidding when they decided to adopt him. He laughed a little, then looked at the dresser near the bed. A framed picture of him and the Avengers, taken like an awkward family picture as a joke, a picture of him and his parents when he was little, one of him, Ned, and MJ on the trip to Washington D.C, and one of him, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben. He smiled, happy that they had thought of everything. He walked into the bathroom, turned the water on, and grabbed a towel out of the closet. After a quick shower, he walked out, put on some jeans and a science pun t-shirt, he was ready for breakfast. When he walked out and saw everybody talking, he smiled the widest anyone had seen since the accident.

"Thank you all so, so, so much!" Peter exclaimed, jumping onto the couch near Pepper and hugging her. She laughed.

"Anytime," They all replied. They ate in the living room, instead of the kitchen and joked around. Rhodey walked in, dropping his backpack on the floor.

   "Quite an adventure I had over there," he said, as everyone ran up to say hi and hug him. He had been gone on a top-secret mission for a month.

   "Rhodey, you remember Peter," Pepper said, pointing at him. Rhodey smiled and waved, and so did Peter. Steve noticed that the room got a little quiet, and jumped into action.

   "Are you hungry?" He asked. Rhodey shook his head no, and Sam grabbed his arm and made him sit down. Rhodey laughed.

"Yea sure," he replied, already being handed a plate of food. Everyone laughed. Rhodey seemed slightly confused, seeing that the Avengers were all quieter than usual, and wondering why Peter was there.

   "Has anyone seen Bucky today?" Sam asked. Suddenly they heard something fall upstairs.

   "There he is," Vision said, not looking up from braiding Wanda's hair. She giggled, and looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back lovingly.

   "Eww," Rhodey said, grabbing his plate and fork and putting it in the sink. A few others followed with their dishes. They all gathered around and talked for a while. Peter mostly just stared at the ground, moving his thumbs up and down his hands nervously. Tony put a hand on his shoulder so he would know he was there. Everyone went to their desperate rooms and got dressed, but Peter just laid on his bed. One tear escaped, then more followed almost immediately. He made sure his door was locked before he had jumped on his bed. Soon, his crying turned into sobbing. He sat up on his bed, leaning against the backboard. He started shaking and hyperventilating. He gripped his upper left arm with his right hand, trying to steady himself.

In the living area, Tony, Pepper, Steve, Bucky, and Rhodey were talking about something or another, when a disembodied voice was heard.

"Mister Stark," FRIDAY said.

"Yes FRIDAY," Tony replied, pausing the conversation they were having.

"Mister Parker seems to be panicking in his bedroom," she said in a calm voice. Tony hopped up and ran to the door. He knocked three times, then tried to open the locked door.

"FRIDAY, unlock the door," he said in a panicked voice. The door unlocked and he swung it open, seeing Peter with his eyes tightly shut, gripping his arm. He was shaking and sobbing, just like he had been minutes before. Tony stepped in, closed the door quietly behind him, but the sound still made Peter jump. The hairs on his arms stood up and he quickly wiped the tears from his face, even though new ones kept coming. Tony walked up to the bed and sat on the side. He pulled Peter's hair out of his eyes and crossed his legs, so he was sitting and facing Peter. He recognized what was happening as a panic attack.

   "Take deep breaths, Peter. Deep breathes," he said, taking exaggerated breaths for Peter's sake. Peter followed him, and soon, he was only silently crying. Tony hugged him tightly, the younger of the two burying his head in His chest, hugging him back.

   "Th-thanks M-mister Stark," Peter stuttered. Tony nodded.

   "Don't mention it Underoos," he replied. They stayed there until Peter could finally control himself. He wiped his eyes on his sleeves and sat up.

   "You need to talk?" Tony asked him. When Tony had lost his parents, many people had asked if he wanted to talk, but he never did talk to anyone.

   "I don't know what to say," Peter said, trying to wipe his eyes and fix his shirt.

   "Whatever is on your mind," Tony answered. "Anything you think of. I won't judge."

   "It's just that I miss her, and I mean I love you and Miss Potts and the rest of the team so much but..." he trailed off, thinking about what to say. "It just feels like everyone I love leaves." He finished, and Tony felt heartbroken that a fifteen-year-old has felt this much sadness.

   "Well, we aren't going anywhere, Peter. Mark my words. And about your family, that wasn't you. You couldn't have controlled it. Everything happens for a reason," he said, proud of himself for his parenting advice. Peter smiled. It was small and sad, but a smile nonetheless.

   "Thanks, Mister Stark," he said, hugging him quickly. "You're the best."