Finding Their Way Home

Chapter Eleven

"Hey Peter?"

"Mhhmm?"

"It's been four days now."

"Mhmm."

"Are you going to talk to them?" Ned asked. Peter sighed and leaned back against Ned's bed.

"It's complicated, Ned," he said. "I want to but..."

"You're not sure how?" Ned asked. Peter nodded glumly, his hand finding the lion plushie Ned had won at a carnival four years ago. He hugged it close to his chest. "Look Peter, I'm gonna be honest with you. It's gonna be hard. But you can't just continue ignoring them. You live in their house!"

Peter sighed. "I know." he said. "I swear I'm gonna talk to them. I just don't know what I should say."

"Well what are you feeling right now?" Ned asked.

"Angry," Peter said. "And sad. And confused."

"Start there," Ned said. "Tell them that you're angry and sad and confused. How do you feel when you think about the fight?"

Shame. Guilt. Peter folded in on himself just thinking about the devastated expression on Pepper's face. "Ashamed." Peter said. "I feel bad for saying the things I did."

"Okay so tell them---"

"But I also feel glad that I did," Peter added. "I feel like it needed to be said."

Ned nodded in understanding. "Peter those emotions are serious. Those kinds of things need to be said for everyone to move on and start healing."

Peter tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Ned sighed. "Peter think about it like this. Mr. and Mrs. Stark lost their son---you---but they didn't lose you. You get it?"

If anything, Peter was even more confused. "Not even in the slightest." Peter said.

"Mr. and Mrs. Stark lost their baby son." Ned said. "They didn't lose a fifteen-year-old child. The reason why they're babying you is because that's all they know how to do. Parents learn how to parent as their child grows up. They didn't get that choice. They went from diapers and tantrums to angst and arguments."

Peter nodded. "I think I get what you're saying." he said. "They're doing this to cope, right?"

Ned nodded. "They're trying to come to terms with the fact their child was raised by someone else against their will," he said. "So they're trying to go back to the way things used to be give them a sense of normalcy."

"But I'm not a baby anymore." Peter pointed out.

"You're right. And they know that," Ned said. "That's why this is so hard for them. They don't know what to do. Babies are relatively easy. You know that they need to eat, sleep, poop and have attention. They got that down. Raising a teenager is different. Harder. Your kid is fighting you every step of the way, and never tells you what they're really thinking. What they really want."

Peter grimaced. "Yeah, it does sound like a mess."

"Exactly." Ned said. "They're at a loss for what to do now that you're a teen. So they're going back to what they do know. And that just so happens to be raising a baby."

Peter sighed and looked down at his hands. He played with the scar on his right wrist, a burn he got when he was playing with the iron as a child, as he thought. "How do I get them to realize that I don't need to be treated like that?"

"They'll come to it in their own time," Ned said gently. "But until then, try to remember they're doing the best they can."

Peter nodded. "I know."