Make Him Proud, Peter Parker

SIX. she might just be what I needed, peter parker

Nellie sat at the end of the boat dock, her toes barely reaching the cool lake water. Her mind was racing, as was her heart, thinking about how different life was going to be now without Tony in it.

In all the years she spent bouncing between foster homes throughout Queens, none of them had ever come close to giving her what Tony and Pepper had -- a family bond. Though she hadn't even been in their care for a full year, she had experienced more love in their home than she had in the dozen others she'd been in and out of.

And it wasn't because all of her foster homes were terrible; they weren't entirely. Some of them, prior to her most recent with Brenda, had cared for her. They always had other children, though, whether biological or fosters. They had their hands full, and Nellie was just one of several. She had always been the one that blended in, and got overlooked. She figured this was likely because she'd been able to care for herself from a young age, and never really had to ask for help from the families she stayed with.

She got herself to school each day, came home and did her chores, and did her homework before dinner was even ready. It just came naturally to her to be all the things her mother had not been -- organized, reliable, and good.

And now, on top of losing the father she'd waited her whole life for, Peter was being torn from her arms, as well. Of course, she was thankful to have him at all. The fact that Peter was alive after the fights he'd been put through was a miracle in her eyes, but this came at a price. She spent every minute that he was gone worrying about whether he would be making it back or not.

Nellie believed in Peter more than anything, but at the end of the day, he was still a boy with a lot to learn. Tony had been the best mentor possible for him, and now that mentorship was ashes to ashes. Peter was on his own again, for the most part. Nellie didn't know the Avengers well enough to know if she could count on them to look out for Peter in the same way they looked out for each other. She knew they were good people, and Peter talked highly of them, but Peter wasn't like them and she was sure they recognized that. He needed guidance.

A loud crash and the clanging of metal ripped Nellie from her overwhelming thoughts. She nearly lost her balance sitting on the edge of the dock, startled by the sound. She snapped her head to the side to see where the noise was coming from -- the garage -- but the door was closed.

She stood up and jogged back up the dock, the wood creaking beneath her feet along the way. Once she reached the garage, she saw a passcode box on the outside of the wall. She attempted to scan her thumb print, like she had at their old pent house in Stark Tower, but was met with a beep and flashing red light.

"Guess your print isn't recognized in the new system," Peter's voice sounded from behind.

Nellie whipped around and was met with the sight of a boy very much drenched in soap and water, his white tee shirt clinging to him like a second skin. It was then that Nellie remembered he mentioned washing Pepper's car out back at lunch, to which she'd elected not to assist.

It wasn't that she didn't want to help, she did. She wanted to soak up every second with Peter that she could. However, she just couldn't push herself to find the motivation. She just felt like nothing was really worth doing at the moment, not with the feeling inside of her that persisted on. The feeling of missing Tony.

"Figures," Nellie shrugged, "I was practically dead for five years, after all."

Peter offered her an apologetic look before flicking his wrist in the direction of the garage door. She watched as webbing from his wristband splayed out against the brown material. With another flick, Peter pulled the garage door up, revealing Morgan inside surrounded by pieces of the older Iron Man suits.

"Don't tell Daddy," Morgan whispered, standing dumbfounded in the middle of the hunks of metal.

Nellie rushed over to her, and checked her limbs briefly for any injuries, "Morgan, are you hurt?" She asked as affectionately as she could; the big sister role was new for her and she was still navigating her way through.

Peter joined them and began picking up some of the heavier pieces of the suit, "Woah, this is from his suit he wore during the Battle of New York. We were still just kids then."

Nellie released Morgan's arm, but remained kneeling on the ground. She reached forward and picked up the damaged mask. Only it wasn't damaged from the fall, it was damaged during the battle. Years before. Technically for Tony, it would have been over a decade earlier in 2012.

Her fingertips gripped the icy metal carefully, not as if she could bend it or anything. It was strong and durable, just like Tony had been until the very end.

"I miss him," Nellie stifled back a cry, though her voice cracked even as she said it.

She'd spent more time crying in the past few days than she ever had before, and she hated it. The feeling of being weak and vulnerable was one she'd never been comfortable with, but now it consumed her. She felt like she was stuck at the bottom of a deep, dark hole. The dirt walls crumbled at any attempt she made to climb out. There was no light at the top. No one standing up there looking over her. And it was the worst feeling she'd ever experienced.

Nellie felt a hand on her shoulder, and she released one of her own from the mask and reached back to put her hand on top. She'd assumed it was going to be Peter's hand, but it was far too small. Too perfect.

She turned and was at eye-level with Morgan, though Morgan was standing still and Nellie was still on her knees. She looked into the little girl's eyes, so soft and comforting. Just like Tony's. It was the first time Nellie had really gotten a good look at her. And she was beautiful.

"He's still here," Morgan said innocently.

Nellie looked up at Peter for a moment, who stood behind them quietly, the suit pieces still in his arms. He seemed to clutch them tightly, almost as if they connected him to Tony for just a bit longer.

Her lips parted to speak, but the words couldn't come out. Nellie may have been Morgan's older sister now, but she did not feel it was her place to explain to Morgan that her father was never coming back. That he was gone forever, and things like the old suit were all they had left of him. She was too young to understand that, Nellie knew. Too fragile.

Morgan spoke up again before Nellie had the chance, "Here."

She reached her small hand out and splayed her little fingers across Nellie's chest, above where her heart was.

"That's where he went, Mommy said." She beamed, as if she was so proud to pass the information on to Nellie.

Nellie could see Peter use the hem of his shirt to dab his eyes swiftly. Meanwhile, she was doing everything she could not to fall to pieces yet again.

"That's very true, Morgan," Nellie nodded in agreement, looking back to the Iron Man mask in her hand. "What were you doing in here? Were you looking for this?"

"I just found it," She shrugged in response, using her own little finger to trace the outline of the mask.

Nellie paused for a moment, taking in the moment. Morgan's words had struck her heart to the core; it was precisely what she'd needed to hear. Maybe there wasn't a light at the top of the hole she felt bound within, but she definitely wasn't in it alone.

Tony would always be with her. She still had Peter. . .and Pepper. . .Aunt May, MJ, and Ned.

Nellie had lost Tony, but she had been given an irreplaceable gift before he passed. Morgan Stark. Her little sister.

A reason for hope.