You can trust now, Peter darling

24

"Wait, so what happened?" MJ asked Peter once they all sat down at a table in the cafeteria.

"Some stuff came up and I couldn't tell you guys about it because my phone died." Peter lied. He was glad that they weren't too angry at him, although he was lying to them now which could be worse.

"Was it...secret Avenger stuff?" Ned whispered to him.

"Yes, now shh."

"Totally uncool of you to stand us up, Parker-Stark. I was hurt." MJ said sarcastically, but Peter still felt bad. "Wanna reschedule and go after school instead?"

"I would love to, but I've been grounded." Peter said with a shrug.

"Wait, why?" Ned asked. Peter's eyes widened slightly as he realized he had just dug himself into a hole. He quickly tried to come up with a lie.

"I...snuck out last night. Yep. I snuck out and...Tony found out." God, this was a terrible lie. Ned and MJ snorted.

"Why did you sneak out?" Ned asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"I...just for experience, y'know? I'm almost 15 and I've never snuck out before." This is the worst lie anyone has ever told, Peter thought.

"You really are an idiot." MJ said in a monotone voice, picking up her book.

"Y-Yeah." Peter said as he let out a nervous laugh, surprised that they believed his lie, especially MJ. But it just made him feel even more guilty. "I'll have to reschedule. Next week?"

"Sure, and in the meantime, you can think about joining the robotics club with me!" Ned suggested with a grin. "You're definitely smart enough for it."

Peter already knew he was smart enough for robotics club. He literally engineered with Tony Stark.

"Who else is in the club?" The boy asked, stuffing fries in his mouth.

"Well, Abraham is in it. But no one else you know." Ned answered. Peter nodded.

"Alright, why not?"

-------------------------------------

Peter managed to meet up with his father straight after school without Ned and MJ noticing where he went. He sent a quick message to Tony saying he had Decathlon practice, immediately feeling guilty for lying.

"Thank you for meeting me, Peter." Richard said to the boy as they sat in the same cafe as last time. Peter didn't know how to respond, so he stayed silent.

"I know you're feeling overwhelmed at the moment. I understand, and I am so sorry for everything. You're my son, Pete and I just want you to see me as your father again." Richard explained. "Remember when we used to watch the news together? The bed time stories? Building things together? Do you remember that?"

"Of course I remember. Thinking about those times was the only way I held onto my sanity while I was kidnapped and tortured." Peter said, holding back tears. Richard's expression immediately fell.

"I feel horrible, Peter. Hearing you say that breaks my heart." The man sighed. "I swear, if I knew you would be taken, I would've come back to you immediately."

"You said that you didn't want to come back to me in case the people who hijacked your plane came after me next." Peter said, eyes fixed on Richard.

"Who hijacked your plane?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"You might not know them, but their name is HYDRA."

Peter's stomach dropped.

"Peter? You okay?" Richard asked.

"They're the ones who took me." Peter said so quietly that he wasn't even sure if Richard heard him, but was proven wrong by his expression.

"Shit...this is all my fault." His father muttered. Peter couldn't disagree.

"Why did they hijack your plane?" The boy asked.

"Oscorp made a deal with them. They didn't realize how bad HYDRA actually was so they went back on it and cut ties with them. They didn't take it very well."

Peter's mind suddenly flashed back to the memory of him standing in the hallway, listening to his mother and father talking about some shady man who signed papers for Richard. That must've been what his mother was talking about.

"What was the deal?"

"They just wanted some- some scraps for a project they were working on. They offered us a lot of money."

Peter took a deep breath and tried to process all the information.

"I don't want to talk about all that, though. I just want to spend time with you, Peter." Richard said in a soft voice.

"It's not that easy..." Peter said, staring at the table.

"I know, I know. But I'll always be here, because you're my son. And I love you." He said, smiling at Peter.

And Peter smiled back.