(Hello everyone! This is inspired by @parkrstark on AO3, if you haven't, go check them out. Their book series called Instant Family is amazing! But a warning, it talks about some serious stuff. I'm not going to say it here so I'll let you guys check it out for yourselves.)
Anyway, on with the story.
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Abandonment was all the brothers knew. Their father Richard, left when Peter wasn't even a year old. Their mother, Mary, would leave them in their tiny crowded, cockroach infested apartment for hours, more like days at a time. There wasn't food, and eight year old Harley had become his little brother's parent. Social services were involved after Mary came home with a man heavily drunk and violent as well. Harley had rightfully called the police and they handled the situation, from that moment on he swore he'd protect Peter from anyone and anything that could hurt him.
When the courts saw Mary as an unfit parent, and the boys didn't have anyone else to take care of them. They were thrown into foster home after foster home. Some good, some not so good, none of them lasted longer than a month, always sending them back because they didn't want to deal with broken kids. At least that's the summary Harley cooked up in his mind, now Harley was fifteen while Peter was seven, still waiting for people to come and rescue them.
Harley was and is a realist, he sees the world for what it truly is, a dark and cruel place. He liked to believe his mother wanted them back, which is partly why he refused to get close with any potential foster parents. Peter on the other hand got close to a few parents, but always kept a part of him closed off because of everything. He had a habit of apologizing profusely before getting in trouble even if he wasn't. Harley blamed the crappy foster parents for that, the only reason they had them was for the monthly government check.
The one that awards them for taking in such troubled children, they weren't emotionally invested or involved. Harley knew it, and Peter was beginning to figure it out, the kid was smart. It'd be a matter of time before he'd see the world the same way Harley saw it. Harley didn't want his brother to lose his innocence like he did, he wanted him to stay as pure and kind as he's always been. Even after the trauma he'd experienced, his light seemed to dim every second they were with the Martin's.
The two kids were forced to clean the house completely spotless, if one mistake was made, physical consequences would occur. Peter got the brunt of them, because apparently a seven year old is clearly able to reach and clean up a counter that's taller than him. One day after school, Harley came home, (if you could even call it that) to find Mrs. Martin hitting Peter over a shattered coffee mug. He'd had enough of their abuse and called his and Peter's social worker, Maria Hill.
The woman showed up in less than an hour, Harley had already packed what little belongings he and Peter had and took everything with them. Not looking back, hopefully they wouldn't return. Harley attested the awful idea, for the time being they stayed in an orphanage. It was better than the Martin's for sure, even if there were spiders crawling along the wall. Peter being the little guy he is, climbed into Harley's bed and cuddled with him. Harley knew change was hard for his brother, so he was determined they weren't going back to the Martin home.
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Tony and Steve Stark-Rogers had been a couple for most of their lives, before marriage and dating they were best friends. Yes, it was cliché, but it was the only cliché Tony accepted he did. That would be until his husband brought up when they kissed in the rain on their graduation night when they were teenagers. He was never going to let him live it down, they had been in the process of adopting a kid, passing every test given. Now was time to meet some kids, and even though he talked about it with Steve multiple times, Tony was terrified of becoming his own father once kids came into the picture.
Steve reassured him for the final time before walking through the doors to the agency. They met with Phillip Coulson and Nick Fury who ran the agency and followed them to a meeting room. There were other adults interacting with kids, all different ages. The kids who were talking to adults were ones Steve and Tony started out with first. The pair didn't necessarily care about age or gender, they were just glad to get the chance to become parents. Steve's eyes landed on a little boy sitting at a table playing with LEGOs. He was sitting next to an older boy with dirty blonde hair.
He approached the table and greeted them, the teenager gave him a glance but didn't say anything further, whereas the little boy smiled shyly and said a small hello. Steve sat down at the table and watched as the chestnut curly haired boy built his blocks in such detail and focus. Tony had finished talking to a different kid and came to join his husband. "What are you building there? It looks pretty interesting." Steve said, looking at the structure.
The little boy replied, "I'm building a castle." Harley was apprehensive, he wasn't as trusting as Peter, he didn't want to wear his heart on his sleeve every time a person waltzed into their life. That's the only way he could protect himself and Peter, what he didn't know was that in some months he'd be proven wrong. He knew from experience that hovering over Peter wasn't helpful, the kid was seven, he wasn't stupid he loved his brother but he liked to be independent as well.
As time went on, Steve and Tony went through the process of getting the two kids in their home and comfortable with their new surroundings. It took a while, especially as Harley was very determined to find something wrong about the couple, he of course didn't succeed and accepted that life for the first time was okay and safe. Peter was happy, and opened up to Steve and Tony, while Harley kept his distance to a certain degree. Talking about emotions wasn't his thing, after some prying Harley told Steve and Tony things that went on in some of the foster homes they stayed at.
To say Steve and Tony were horrified would be an understatement, but they reassured the teen none of the things he and Peter went through would happen ever again. Harley could finally breathe, he could be a teenager instead of a parent. He was able to live his life, make friends, attend high school, do everything a normal teenager could do. He didn't have to worry about Peter as much as he used to, speaking of his little brother, he was a ball of sunshine happy to be around his family.
Peter headed off to second grade, a little hesitant, he'd never been in a home long enough to attend school. So he was anxious, and even though he knew he'd be late, Harley stayed and helped walk with Peter to his class. Stopping at the door, Peter turned to his brother who knelt down to his level, looking at him. "You're going to have a great day, I promise. And when I get home, I want to know everything okay?" Harley told him.
Peter nodded his head, "Alright, love you squirt." Harley hugged him and ruffled his hair, Peter seemed at ease, he hugged Steve and Tony then walked into his classroom. They lingered for a second and then left, before leaving the car and heading into school both Steve and Tony yelled out the window. "Have a good day kiddo!" Harley waved them goodbye and walked into the building. Later that year Steve and Tony approached the kids about adoption, both boys were ecstatic, they agreed without hesitation.
Soon the adoption papers were signed and everything was in place, Peter and Harley were officially Stark-Rogers. Harley didn't think life could get any better, both him and Peter were happy, they were going to grow up in a safe stable environment. It wasn't going to be sunshine and rainbows from there on out, but it was good, and that's all the brothers could've asked for, they had a family of their own.
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The End of Chapter 185