I won't say that Peter's reactions didn't terrify me because it really did. The boy was polite to a fault. He struggled to make eye contact with me and was constantly scared of everything. He was terrified of the words coming out of his mouth and my reaction to them.
If I had to guess, I would say that he had run away from an abusive household. That's why he's on the streets now. That would also explain his skittish nature. I really just wanted to talk to Sam and Natasha about it, because they seem like they would be the best in helping me figure it out.
I know I have all the access to his background information at my fingertips, but Pepper told me to try this new, groundbreaking thing called privacy. Apparently Googling and stalking people for fun isn't a normal-people hobby. I could easily run his face ID and find out everything about him, but I decided that I should just wait it out for him to either tell me himself or for him to give me permission to find out.
"You up for getting some shit done?" I asked Peter, after we had both finished the hot chocolate and the credits rolled in after finishing Aladdin. He nodded, his eyes heavy from the warm drink but also alert and aware of everything happening.
"Yes sir," he mumbled in response, using his hands to push himself off of the couch. I filed it in my memory how hesitant Peter was to take a seat on the couch. He looked like he either had no idea what it was or that it was something he shouldn't be sitting on.
[Almost like he wasn't allowed to.]
I was going to have to talk to him again about the whole sir thing, but I knew now wasn't really the appropriate time to bring it up. He was clearly unformattable enough as it is.
I steered Peter over towards my desk and we started to look into things that we needed to get done. I showed him around my lab and instructed him on everything that he would be doing for me as my personal intern. He would help me out with projects, get me coffee, schedule meetings (that I probably won't go to anyway), etc. I made it clear that even though Peter is living with me in the tower, he doesn't have to work as my personal intern 24/7. I can still pay him if he works overtime, but once his designated hours are finished, he can stop and just live his own life.
I had a feeling that Peter wouldn't really listen to that and would still act like an intern, but I can't do anything about that.
After we got through all of the logistical things out of the way, I had a lot of fun looking at online stores to buy things for Peter. I soon came to the conclusion that Peter didn't really know what he liked, so I just bought him a wide assortment of clothing and shoes.
It's just pocket change to me.
I honestly felt extremely bad for Peter, though. Living on the streets of New York City is not one for the weak. Being homeless itself is already extremely difficult, but with the crime rates as high as it is here, it's practically an open door to get mugged and harmed. Peter clearly didn't have a lot of money. I knew that he had to steal some money to get food for himself and sustain himself. I don't even blame him and honestly won't punish him for that.
He did what he had to do to survive.
I have always grown up with everything I've ever needed and more all around me. Sure, my parents weren't the most attentive and would honestly be placed into the "negligent" category, but I still had enough money to make sure I wasn't hungry all the time and my clothes didn't have holes in them. I had a jacket and blanket to keep me warm when winter became really cold.
"Hey Peter, you want anything to drink? I'm going to head over and get myself something," I told Peter as I got up from my chair and stretched out the stiff muscles a little bit. God damn I am getting old.
YOU ARE READING
Not Anymore
FanficS-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...
