Tony Stark Has A Heart

Meet Peter

4-year-old Peter Parker sat on his bed playing with his fingers. Tomorrow was a big day for him, it was his birthday! Not that anyone here remembered that fact, they didn't really care about birthdays here. None of the kids got to celebrate them, but least of all him.

Still, the day meant that Peter would be going out to spend the day with his aunt and uncle. Last year, they had taken him to a movie, this year they would be taking him to the zoo. He just had to survive one more day until his birthday, then he'd be able to survive another year of this.

"... Dylan gave me all this cool..." two of the older boy's voices drifted in through the doorway and Peter stiffened. He hated the older boys. Not only did they pick on him, they were always somehow the first to get to the food before anyone else. They hogged the food, keeping it to themselves. It wasn't like the adults cared.

Mr. and Mrs. Turner were only in it for the money. He'd overheard some of the older girls say that once when he was walking by their bedroom. Only in what, Peter wasn't sure. They didn't care what the kids did or how they treated each other, as long as they got their money.

This meant that Peter constantly had bruises, cuts, even broken bones. He rubbed his arm absently, where one of the older boys had hit him the other day.

The boys outside of his room, however, continued on. They either didn't know Peter was in there, or they weren't up for roughhousing him. The small boy relaxed, crawling into his bed and pulling his blanket over his head. It was only 3 in the afternoon, but if he slept through the rest of the day (not like he would get much dinner even if he was awake, he mostly survived on scraps), he would be that much closer to seeing his aunt and uncle again.

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"Parker! Your aunt is here!" Mrs. Turner's sharp bark drifted up the stairs to him. He was already dressed and ready, he'd woken up extra early to make sure he would be. Climbing down the stairs, he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

All of the kids were jealous. They didn't have anyone who cared or came to take them on fun trips, all of their families were either dead, or didn't want them. Peter felt sorry for them sometimes, but then they would kick him.

"Aunt May!" he exclaimed as the door opened and she scooted to pick him up. She kissed his nose and he laughed. His uncle promised to have him home in the evening and then they were walking off. His cousin (who he had met a few times), was two now. But she never came on birthday trips. They were special, only for Peter. Probably because they felt sad for leaving him with the Turners.

"5 years old now, champ!" Uncle Ben held out his hand for a high five and Peter flinched slightly, but recovered quickly. Slapping his hand into his uncles. The two adults exchanged glances, but didn't say anything. They knew something was going on in that house, but any time they tried to press the issue, Peter refused to talk.

They couldn't really do anything, even though they desperately wanted to. Peter wasn't the excitable 3-year-old he had been when they first dropped him off here, eyes full of wonder and hope.

"Ice cream?" Peter asked as May helped him into the car, buckling him up.

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The day was over before any of the Parkers were ready for it. The sun was setting, and everyone was quiet as they drove back to Peter's foster home. Peter was fast asleep in the backseat; he had had a fun day at the zoo.

"We could... take him back, you know," May looked over at her husband, head leaning back against the seat, "Marie is 2 years old now, not as much of a hassle as a newborn, and Peter is really well behaved..."

It was wishful thinking; she knew it as soon as she saw the look on Ben's face. There was no way their finances would allow them to raise two children. It was hard enough raising one baby as two working adults, she couldn't imagine having another one thrown into the mix.

"Well, we could at least do something about the Turners," she sighed, glancing through the mirror.

Ben couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at his wife. May had always been extremely fond of Peter, even before his brother and wife had died in their tragic accident. The two had a special bond that sometimes even he was jealous of. That was his brother's son, after all.

"I'll see what I can do. Every time we see him, I feel like he becomes more and more like Richard... 5 years old..." Ben whistled under his breath. He was growing much too fast for either of the adult's likings.

May only hummed in response. Sometimes, she wondered if they'd made all the wrong choices, if Richard and Mary could see their son now, would they be proud? Would they know that they were doing their best?

She hoped so.

Peter stirred slightly in his sleep, but only for a moment, to loll his head to the other side.

They'd figure it out. Life was about making mistakes and figuring things out. She just hated that in the meantime, those mistakes could be causing Peter a lot of unnecessary pain.

"He's a strong kid, he'll be fine," Ben saw the look on her face, and May smiled sadly.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Ben sighed. "Look. The day after tomorrow, I have a day off. We can take Peter and Marie to the children's hospital. If there is something going on in that house, they'll find it. Then we can decide what to do from there."

Ben was right, he was practical. So why was May still so apprehensive? They dropped their nephew off at his foster home, and he waved to them from his place besides Mrs. Turner. The Parkers exchanged uncertain looks as the door closed. Something felt so wrong, but they promised they'd be back in a few days.

Surely Peter would be fine until then, right?