Family is More Than Blood

Days

Hope you all enjoy!

Peter could feel the eyes of his classmates on him as Mark flung words at him, at his friends, at Aunt May. He merely smirked, waiting for the deluge of insults to stop. After a few minutes, Mark froze, realizing that Peter wasn't even responding. He opened his mouth - no doubt to up the ante - but Peter was already walking away.

At night, the nightmares had returned. He imagined the gunshot going off over and over, Tony's desperation in getting to him, Elena chaining him, punching him, hurting him. Now, though, he could easily crawl into Aunt May's bed, the shame no longer creeping over him. Or on the nights he was at the Avengers compounds, he would slide in between Tony and Pepper, and both would wordlessly accept him. Sometimes, Pepper would have to comfort Tony and Peter simultaneously, but she never seemed to mind.

After school, he often brought Ned, MJ, or both to Stark Towers. They would spend hours designing and chatting, talking with the Avengers, Tony or Bruce occasionally slipping in and giving them random advice.

Today he was walking up the stairs of the compound alone. He had shaken off both Ned and MJ by telling them he was going with the other, and he was nearly a shadow as he snuck into the elevator. Pepper met him in the penthouse, pressing a finger to her lips to gesture for silence.

"I have everything set up, except for -"

"I got it," Peter whispered. He pulled a small folded cloth from his pocket, placing it almost reverently in Pepper's hands. They both jumped when FRIDAY's voice came loud and clear over the intercom.

"Mr. Stark is returning home, Miss Potts," she announced. Pepper jumped, and motioned for Peter to hide behind the couch, where she quickly joined him.

Next to him was Nat, who was scolding Steve and telling both him and Clint to be quiet. She turned to Peter with a rare smile. Peter immediately grinned back, then promptly told Steve and Clint to be absolutely silent. They froze, their mouths locked, and turned to wait. Nat rolled her eyes.

"Everyone ready?" Pepper asked in a hushed voice. They nodded a silent affirmative, Thor putting his half eaten Pop Tart on the ground in a solemn promise. The elevator door slid soundlessly open, and Tony stepped inside, his head hanging slightly.

"Happy birthday, Mr. Stark," FRIDAY announced cheerily. Peter groaned internally.

"Thanks for remembering," he said dejectedly. Peter glared at the ground, then prodded Pepper hard in the arm. She nodded, and held up three fingers. Slowly, she put down one. Then the other. Then-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!" all the Avengers, plus Pepper, leaped up from behind the couch. At the same time, balloons and confetti exploded from the ceiling as they began to sing. Presents appeared from seemingly nowhere as Tony wiped happy tears from his eyes. Pepper strode over and kissed him thoroughly enough that Steve jokingly covered Peter's eyes. When she broke away, Peter was surprised to find that she hadn't give Tony The Present. The one they'd planned for months. She made eye contact with Peter and walked over, pressing the cloth into his hand.

"I think you should give this to him," she said quietly. Peter couldn't bring himself to move closer, but Tony took care of that for him. He came over and gave Peter a bear hug, practically squeezing the breath out of him. When he finally let go of Peter enough to gasp in a bit of air, he had found the courage to give the present.

"This is... something we made for you," Peter could feel a knot rising in his throat. What if Mr. Stark didn't like it? What if it made him sad? But now Tony was looking at him expectantly and it was too late to go back. He handed the faded red and gold cloth to Tony. The man unfolded it carefully, his mechanic's hands peeling the fabric gently. With the last fold uncreased, the cloth expanded into a small scrapbook, with a red background and the words 'Family is More than Blood,' embroidered onto the cover. Tony opened it cautiously. Tears were streaming down his face from before he had even flipped the first page. There were pictures of him with Howard, Maria, and Jarvis - but also of him with Pepper, with Rhodey, with the original Avengers, then with the newer Avengers, and finally with Peter himself.

"It... it folds up so you can take it on missions with you if, i-if you want to, I mean, of course," Peter stammered. This time when Tony hugged Peter, he didn't even care if he could breathe or not. The other Avengers piled on and hugged for what seemed like an eternity.

"Now," Tony sniffled, then a smirk spread over his face, "I love the party. But it can't be a party without cake."

Laughingly, Pepper ordered Dum-E to bring out the chocolate cake and they all took turns smashing it in Tony's face. He simply couldn't have that - so he smooshed a bit on theirs as well. It took less than a second for a full-on food war to begin, with Peter as the reigning champion.

A few hours later they collapsed, exhausted. There was food and confetti everywhere, everyone's face were stained with tears and laughter, they would most likely have a horrible argument tomorrow, but they were all the happiest they had ever been. And ever would be.

As family.

Woah! There it is! My first finished story on Wattpad! Thanks for everyone who stuck with this story, who offered me encouragement, and who saved me from not finishing another fanfiction. I really hope you loved reading the story as much as I loved writing it, and maybe you can check out a few other stories I'm writing. Thank you so much for reading! Love you all so much!❤️
~S