Long Days

Chapter 10: Part II

Too anxious to sit back down, he remained standing at the end of the counter. Now that she seemed warmer and calmer, he ventured to ask once again, "Where's Peter?"

"He's not here." She looked down at her hands.

"Yes, where can I find him?" Tony questioned calmly.

"Why do you care? What do you want with him?" May felt defensive: she couldn't provide for him financially, but she could still protect her beloved nephew's privacy.

Tony wasn't sure if he should lie or not. In the end, he went with "He left a message, looking for me."

After a long stretch of silence, May decided to accept his word. She said, "I don't know where he is. And I don't know when he's coming back."

"He just left?" That didn't sound like the Peter he knew. He wouldn't have left his aunt like this.

"No, they took him from me," May clarified, her voice rising. Her eyes watered again at the memories.

"He was kidnapped?!" Tony practically yelled, unable to keep the sudden hysteria out of his voice.

"What? No!" May's head shot up to look Tony in the eyes. "Why would anyone want to kidnap a fifteen-year-old kid like Peter?"

Of course, no one would have any reason to kidnap a kid like Peter. Apparently, May still didn't know that there were plenty of people who might want to kidnap a kid like Spider-Man, however. Tony took a deep breath to calm himself down before speaking in a low voice. "May. Please. What the hell happened here?"

May looked away again. She whispered, "It was child protective services. I think someone from Peter's school reported something because Peter came home from school early today. He seemed upset, but he didn't want to talk about it. A couple hours later, social workers showed up and demanded to speak with me and Peter." Her tears flowed freely now as her voice grew shakier. "They-they came in with notepads, looking through our cabinets for food and accused me of-of child endangerment!" A choked sob broke her explanation. She hunched over into her hands and her entire body shook with raw emotion, namely, the shame of being unable to provide for her nephew. Inhaling deeply, she regained enough composure to say, "Apparently our situation was so bad that they couldn't let Peter stay here another night. They had him pack his bags and took him away."

When May looked up at her listener, he was looking down at the ground, hands clenched into fists at his sides. These people just took the kid with, what? An hour's worth of 'investigation'? With no warning? And with no further notice of where the kid was now?

"Where," Tony began, taking a pause to press down his anger. "Where did they take him?"

"They never told me. He's in a foster-care home somewhere in the city, I think. They said that they'll contact me again soon to see if my financial situation has improved enough for Peter to come home."

"You need a job?"

"I have a job. I've been looking for a second job for a couple weeks now."

"You need a better job," Tony corrected his previous statement.

May scoffed and muttered, "Yeah, sure, I'll find my salary-paid job with full benefits as soon as I win the lottery."

"I can help you find a job, no problem. Peter will be back here in no time," Tony said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the problem entirely. He may have been speaking to reassure himself more than May at this point. The kid would be back in no time at all. Soon his spider-kid would be safe again. And all he had to do was pay their apartment bills, stock the place with food, and find a job for May. No problem.

May just stared at him. Why would Tony Stark help an ex-intern's family? Why would the founder of a major company waste his time like this? Wasn't he busy saving the world or something? May questioned his intent hesitantly, "What do you want from us?"

Tony shook his head. He just wanted Peter to be safe and happy again. He still had images of the last time he saw Peter stuck in his head: overgrown hair, dirty clothes, a ripped school bag and shredded shoes. It was his responsibility to take care of this kid when he got hurt. And as Tony knew so well, mental and emotional pain could be a hell of a lot more debilitating than physical pain. However, he couldn't explain all this to May since that would require an explanation about why he was responsible for Peter's physical well-being. Instead, Tony gave a partial truth: "He's a smart kid. I need him back in the lab."

Just then, Tony's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to check that it wasn't something from Pepper or Happy. Fortunately, it was even better.

After Peter had last visited Tony's lab, the mentor noticed that Spider-Man wasn't very active in Queens. To keep an eye out for him, Tony told FRIDAY to alert him when the program in Peter's suit ‒referred to as "Karen" according to the kid‒ was activated which would mean that Peter had put on his suit. If after three months, Peter hadn't activated Karen, Tony had planned to call the kid to the compound to use the whole "neglecting his duties" bit as a reason to confront him again. Now, the notification system had successfully done its job. Peter was out, and Tony could track his suit to find him.

"Uh, listen, I've gotta run," Tony excused himself, walking towards the door. Before he left, he turned around to pledge, "We'll get Peter back. I promise."

"Wait‒" May started, but he was already gone.

Alone again, she pulled the borrowed hoodie tighter and placed her head down on the counter. For tonight, she would allow herself to believe Stark. They say that money can't buy happiness, but it can bring financial stability and that's damn near close enough. And if there was one thing Tony Stark had, it was money.