Tony's Secret Sister

Chapter Thirteen

Moonlight creeps through the curtains, light scattering into the living room of Peter and Aunt May's apartment. Hours have passed since I told Peter I was his mother and ever since, we've sat talking, bonding over our likes and dislikes. Peter now lays sprawled out on the chair, yawning his head off as he fights to keep his eyes open. Me and Stephen glance at one another, shaking our heads before Stephen grabs the now three mugs from the table, heading into the kitchen to put them awa.

"Man, I'm tired." complains Peter as yet another yawn escapes his mouth, rubbing his eyes before yawning again. Stretching, Peter pauses for a moment, his eyes slowly widening with realization before he sits bolt upright as quickly as a cat jumping out of water. "Wait a second," he whispers as Stephen walks back into the room, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms across his chest. "Are you my dad?" Peter blurts out, wagging his finger at Stephen whilst narrowing his eyes at him. Stephens eyes widen, his head withdrawing as he stands up straighter. Biting my lip, I look towards the clock which now reads 11:13pm just as a chuckle tears from my throat. Stephens head whips around as he turns to face me, my grip of my composure slipping away completely as I burst into laughter. Shaking his head and reaching towards the chair in front of him, Stephen grabs a pillow and throws it at me, hitting me right on the head as I glare up at him.

"Well, is he?" Peter asks as a laugh tears from Stephens throat which is quickly muffled as I throw the pillow straight back at him. Yet another yawn comes from Peter as I roll my eyes, pulling myself up off the chair.

"Right, I think it's bedtime for you, young man"
I assure him, grabbing my phone from the table and sliding it into my jeans pocket before shrugging my jacket back on, the keys in my pocket jingling as I do so. "And no he isn't your dad." I promise Peter, smirking at him before planting a kiss on his forehead.

"Then who is?" asks Peter, crossing his legs and sitting up straighter, his face lit up light and excited puppy as he waits expectantly for an answer. One that's not coming any time soon and if I had my way, never would.

"We'll talk about it soon," Turning towards the door on the far side of the room, I raise my eyebrows at Peter, pointing at it and waiting for him to move. "Bed!" I snap, my motherly instincts kicking in as Peter collapses backwards into the chair, a groan coming in response. "Me and Stephen will go so you can get some sleep."

"Aww but I'm not tired" protests Peter, once again yawning and making his own point invalid. Raising my eyebrows at him, I cross my arms against my chest, tapping my foot impatiently on the floor.

"You've been yawning your head off for the past hour," I point out, my eyes once again landing on the cloak which now reads 11:24. I know teenagers think they're some super humans who don't need sleep but he is so going to regret it tomorrow morning if he doesn't go to sleep soon. "Besides, you have school and training tomorrow so you need all the sleep you can get."

"Okay," He groans rolling his eyes as he drags himself from the chair, dragging his feet along the floor as he heads for his bedroom.

"I saw that!" I hiss, pointing a finger at him. Nobody rolls their eyes at me. "And pick your feet up."

"See you tomorrow mum," he yawns, his figure disappearing into his room as I close the front door, carefully locking it before following Stephen out onto the cold street.

The walk back to the compound is quick, neither me nor Stephen wanting to stay outside in the cold air for very long. A shiver runs through my body as I hug my jacket closer around me, Stephen noticing and offering me his scarf. Once we reach the front door to the compound, the awkward silence that hung between us the whole way there breaks.

"Thank you for coming today," I whisper, my voice shaking from the cold as I smile up at him "I don't think I could've done that without you." Looking down at the floor, Stephen shuffles in his place, his feet tracing the lines of the pavement as he smiles to himself. "Oh and whilst I remember..." Reaching up, I pull Stephens scarf from around my neck the cold air searing my warm skin almost instantly as I offer him it back.

"Keep it." he assures me, taking it from my grasp and wrapping it back around my neck, his cold fingers brushing against the warmth of my skin as he ties it carefully. "It looks better on you." he whispers, smiling at me as he steps backwards again, his hands falling to his side. Without thinking, I stretch up until I'm at his eye level, gently placing my hand on his shoulder to steady myself before planting a kiss on his cool cheek.

As I pull away, my hand lingers in his shoulder before I stand back, stepping closer to the door and smiling softly at him. "Goodnight Stephen." I whisper before turning on my heel and unlocking the front door. As my cold fingers fumble with the keys, I hear Stephens feet shuffle against the floor for a moment before they stop. Assuming he's gone, I smile to myself and turn around only to collide with a hard chest.

I wobble slightly on my feet before Stephen catches me, his hand firm on my arm as our bodies collide. Heat rises from my stomach to my chest, my cheeks flushing an even brighter pink. Adrenaline rush. So much of it that I nearly forget to breathe. His warm body is pressed against mine, setting off a storm of butterflies in my stomach as I take a deep shaky breath. Without knowing it, I find my eyes jumping back and forth from his lips to his eyes, my breath quickening each time. In an attempt to steady my breathing, I take a deep breath in but all I smell is his scent, books and apples. And all that does it sent my mind into even more of a tizzy. His gaze lowers to my mouth and I feel my lips part and my pulse quicken. My breath catches as his face nears mine, the streets around me melting away with each inch that's taken from between us. Carefully, Stephen reaches for my face, gently cupping it in his hand as my hand presses gently against his chest. His face stops a few inches from me as he hesitates, waiting for me to make the first move. Tugging on his shirt, I pull his face towards mine, our foreheads resting against each other as I take a shaky breath, my heart hammering in my chest. Slowly, Stephens hand falls to my lower back as the top of his nose brushes against mine, his lips growing even loser.

"What's going on here?"

My heart drops from my throat to the depths of my stomach as both of us freeze in place, our lips inches apart. Gently, I push against Stephen's shoulders just enough for him to pull away. He breathes heavily, almost sadly as our bodies part. All the adreneline leaves my body before I turn to see Tony stood leaning against the doorframe behind us, eyebrows raised and arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Am I interupting something?" he asks, smirking slightly as he steps outside onto the porch, the cool winter night causing him to shiver slightly. His eyes dart back and forth between me and Stephen, waiting for one of us to explain what he's just walked in on.

"No," Stephen assures Tony, his voice unsteady as he steps off the step and out into the street. His eyes linger in mine, a small smile creeping onto my face as I hug my jacket tighter around me. "I was just leaving." He lies, looking down and sighing loudly, his breath visible in the night air.

"Yeah you were," agrees Tony, his eyes cold and dark as he glares at Stephen, tapping his foot and waiting for him to go. After briefly looking up at me again, Stephen nods goodnight before turning to walk away. My mind still focused on his scent, I reach forwards, attempting to reach for him only to grab a handful of the cold air, Tony's arm across my body as he shakes his head at me. Sighing, I watch as Stephen's silhouette walks off into the darkness of the street, not turning around at all as it marches away.

"Get inside Abi," Tony hisses, not taking his eyes off Stephen as he removes his arm from in front of my body. Taking a deep breath, I step closer to the edge of the step, Tony's eyes lingering on my as I contemplate going after Stephen. Looking down as Tony clears his throat behind me, I shake my head, turning in my heal and heading inside, fighting the urge to ignore Tiny and go chasing after him.  If only it were that simple ey?