Monday rolled in a lot faster than I thought it would and now I suddenly have an intern. The kid is supposed to come after school with the signed permission slip. What time does school even end? 2? 3? According to FRIDAY, 3:30 is apparently an acceptable time for most schools to close, so I'm assuming the kid, Peter, will come around 4:00ish. He can stay for as long as his parents are okay with it.
What was I even thinking? Is this even a good idea? I mean, for god sakes, his name is Peter. Literally the name of the kid that I had lost. Maybe Rhody was right. Maybe I am just torturing myself. Oh god, don't even get me started on that guy. I had to listen to hours of lectures from my best friend about how irresponsible I was. I mean, the kid even looks like what I expected Peter to look like. The fluffy, kind of curly brown hair. Same brown eyes. This is what I thought Peter would be if he was still alive and with us.
I busied myself in the lab so that I wouldn't have to worry about the impending doom of the kid coming into my lab. What would I even do with him? Experiments? Do I need to feed him? What if he cries? Oh god, this is horrible.
"Mr. Stark, a Peter Parker is in your elevator and is asking for entry," FRIDAY claimed, a few seconds later the ding of the elevator indicating that it reached its destination.
"Yeah, FRI, let him up," I said. The doors whirled open and a young boy stumbled out, clearly fazed by having been in the elevator.
[S-20 is claustrophobic from his cell. The masters at Hydra knew of his phobia and used it as a form of punishment and torture. Weakness is not acceptable for Hydra and all weaknesses will be pinched out. S-20, Peter, has not ever been in an elevator. The confined box restricted movement and terrified him.]
"Mr. Stark! Hello! Your ceiling ghost lady told me to get in the elevator and lead me up to this room!" he exclaimed once he saw me, his voice bubbly and excited. "Here's the signed form that you asked for!"
I took in a deep breath and forced a smile on my face. This is going to be okay. In fact, it's going to be better than okay. This is finally your chance to heal from the death of your son.
"Hey Peter, thanks for the form, just leave it on the desk over there. FRIDAY, the ghost lady, will scan it. She's my AI."
"Oh cool, I've heard about her, but naturally I have never used any forms of advanced artificial intelligence."
Once we got a steady conversation going, the tense muscles in my shoulders finally eased up and I started to feel more relaxed. Peter Parker was a genius. He was extremely advanced and it was shocking to know that this fifteen year old could keep up with me.
There were a few things that concerned me about him though. He was very careful with everything he did, completely opposite of me who just threw things around and yelled at DUM-E. Naturally, that wouldn't be of concern. He was new to this lab and obviously wouldn't be so comfortable with everything right away. But he seemed a bit too careful.
He looked terrified of breaking something, or, at least, what would follow if he did. He also seemed to be very hesitant around me. Flinching and stiff whenever me or my hands got too close to his body. I studied him and watched him carefully, but I decided that I was just being a bit too paranoid.
"So how come you came in early today, Pete?" I asked him, trying out a nickname. "You got here at, what, 1:30? FRI said that most schools here end at 3:30."
Peter froze at the question and I could basically see his mind whirling to think of an answer to my question. He started stuttering a meaningless answer to my question.
"Um–I-uh. See, the thing is, uh- I, um," he mumbled. His eyes wide and filled with panic, he finally took in a deep breath and rapidly said something. "I'm not in school."
I stopped working, throwing down the dirty oil rag on the ground as I turned to face the kid.
"You're not in school?" I repeated, only to be met with a nod. "What? Did you finish early? Have you ever gone? Did your parents pull you out?"
"I, um, finished early?"
"Pete, now is not the time for lies. Just tell me the truth and I won't be mad. I can tell something is up. Was that form even filled out by your parents?"
Peter was quiet for a minute before dropping his head down in shame and shaking his head.
"No, I signed it myself."
"Why, Peter, tell me what's going on."
"My, uh, my parents are dead. I never knew them. I've been on the streets for as long as I can remember and I've never been to school. I just taught myself to read and I just taught myself things from the library," Peter told me. I felt my heart clench and drop. So my suspicions were right. He was homeless.
"God, Peter, seriously? You could have just told me instead of all the lies."
I felt terrible about the harshness of my words when I saw him flinch and take a step backward. He tensed and his head dropped so he was looking at the ground. I ran my fingers through my hair as I let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like that. Where are you staying right now? At a shelter?"
"Uh, um, no. Remember when we first bumped into each other? I just stay in the alleyway near there."
My forehead wrinkled in worry. He was so young and out, all by himself, in the dangerous streets of New York?
"Okay, Peter, here's the thing. Is there anything you left there that you need to get?"
"What? No! Of course not. I only have a few things, you think I'll be so careless as to just leave it there to let other people take?"
Right. Of course.
"You can live with me, Pete," I told him, the words slipping out of my mouth faster than my brain could catch up with it. "Look, you're a good kid. I like you. And you shouldn't be out there on the streets by yourself. It's dangerous and you can get really hurt. Clearly you are very smart. You can still intern here, but now just full time. I'll still pay you and, if you want, once you're 18, you can use the money to get your own place and support yourself. Till then, you can live with me. I have plenty of space. I can get you food and new clothes. Anything you need."
Peter was quiet and, for a second, I thought I completely blew it. I remember what Clint told me, about his childhood. When he was being roughed around by his father and ran away and joined the circus, he said that the only thing he kept with him was his pride. He wasn't going to take charity. He would get himself out of the situation himself. What if I completely blew my chance of helping Peter by using big words and speaking as if I would solve everything for him?
"R-really Mr. Stark? Do you really mean it?" he asked, his voice so quiet I could barely hear it. It broke my heart.
"Yeah, of course Peter, I would love having you around," I replied, a soft smile on my lips. I opened my arms out and he hesitantly leaned into the hug.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" he mumbled, his face in my shirt. Tears pooled in his eyes as he continued to mumble his thanks.
[This was the first hug that S-20 had received in years. The last one it had got was when its friend was still there. The friend had left and S-20 remained in solitude and pain for two more years until it was able to escape.]
YOU ARE READING
Not Anymore
FanfictionS-20 has only ever known one thing, Hydra, until one man came into his life and showed him that there was so much more. That man was his first friend. His older brother. But after one night, the two were ripped apart and S-20 cannot even remember hi...
