As A Child

Chapter 4

"Peter? Why are you in here?" My heart clenches. Please wake up, I involuntarily turn my head towards the voice, "Harry?" I ask, my voice strained, "Yeah, man. What the hell happened? Did...did dad do this?" His voice trembles, and I don't answer, "He's been talking about a project...This can't be it. No, this is insane. I'm gonna help you out," Harry tries to take the cuffs off of my wrists as the door opens behind him.

"Dad!" My arms tense as I shake my wrist cuffs. Norman didn't want Harry to know, what would he do to me..to us? "Harry, this isn't what you-"

"This isn't what I think? My best friend is restrained to a bed! Dad, what the hell?" Harry walks up to Norman, getting in the man's face, "Where the hell are the keys to them? I'm getting him out of here," Harry tries to frisk his father, looking for the keys to my cuffs. In seconds, Norman pushes Harry, causing him to lose his balance.

He falls onto the nightstand beside my bed, "Harry," I say as loud as I can, which is hardly a whisper, but he remains silent. I strain my neck, trying to look over the side of my bed. Crimson painted the nightstand and the floor below,

"NO! HARRY!" I scream, but the scene in front of me is brighter than I remember, and the bed is softer, "Kid? It's okay..." I look around, spotting Tony beside me. I'm drenched in sweat, and as soon I awoke, I passed out.

***

Steve heard a scream from the adjoining living room, and immediately ran towards the sound. He saw Tony bent over the sofa, Peter panting and crying in his arms, "What happened?" Tony jumped as he looked back at Steve, "I don't know, it seemed like he was having a nightmare, so I tried to calm him down. But he woke up screaming." As soon as the soldier stepped closer to the couch, the boy went limp in Tony's arms.

"Let him sleep," Steve said when Tony tried to shakePeter's shoulder in an attempt to awake him from his well deserved slumber. Tony reluctantly let go, shifting the boy into a more comfortable position.

The elevator behind the three dinged, revealing Pepper, stone-faced with several files in hand, "Tony, Norman Osborn has been waiting for over 45 minutes to meet with you,"

"What?" Tony asked, setting Peter down carefully on the couch before standing, "Why is he here? Why was he let in?"

"Why wouldn't he be? He's been a partner of ours for years, I can't just deny him entrance because there's a new person here." It hit Tony, Pepper hadn't been told about the situation. Tony glanced back towards Peter, "Steve can you take him to one of the guest rooms?" Steve nodded and Tony followed Pepper into the elevator, still in his nightwear from the evening before.

Pepper stopped Tony before he entered the meeting room, "Tony, what's happening?" She asked, a perplexed look on her face.

"Norman isn't who he seems." Was all that Tony said as he entered the room, shutting the door silently behind him.

***

"You have something of mine," Norman said simply as he gestured for Tony to sit across from him. It was as if Tony had scheduled a meeting with Norman, not the other way around. "He's not yours," Tony started, opting to stand behind his chair, just in case, "He doesn't belong to you, to anyone." He clarified, to which Norman sighed.

"But he does. Anyways, this is the only time I'll nicely ask for the boy. Understand this, Stark" Tony scoffed, "And this is the only time I'll nicely tell you to fuck off. Happy will escort you out. Don't come back." Norman's face remained unreadable, it was something Tony hated most about the man. He could never quite tell what he was thinking.

He watched as Happy walked with Norman into the elevator as he waved goodbye with a smug smile. As soon as the elevator closed, Tony collapsed into an armchair, allowing himself to relax. He sat there until Pepper tapped his shoulder, "He's left," She held a small tablet in front of his face, displaying a video of Norman being driven away. Away from Peter, good.

"I'm assuming that kid is connected to Osborn in some way..?" Pepper said, chewing her lip almost nervously. "Yeah," Tony said, providing no further explanation.

***

Steve wasn't one to talk about weight, but the boy in his arms was almost skeletal. Hell, he'd been a skinny kid, but this boy weighed nothing. He pushed aside his worries, opting instead to set the boy down on the guest bed, before tucking a blanket around his small frame. He backed away silently, as if the boy were a newborn, bound to awake at the slightest noise. He grabbed a few books from the bookshelf before resting in the armchair beside the boy's bed.

Steve was a quarter into his book when Tony walked in, "Hey," He whispered, "How'd it go," Though Tony's haunted expression said it all, Norman knew, "He's gone, for now." Tony sat in the chair next to Steve, and glanced over at Peter, "He doesn't deserve any of this," He murmured, gripping the armchair like a lifeline, "He'll have you, and the rest of us right by his side though," Steve reassured him, rubbing his shoulder slightly.

"Yeah...He'll have us."