Silence Speaks (Book Two to Silence Series)

Sixteen

"Lo." I put my legs over his waist and straddled him. He groaned and slowly lifted the arm away from his eyes. "Yeah?" I smiled and leaned forward, pressing my lips to his nose gently. "We've got to get up for school." He hummed and wrapped his arms around the small of my back. "I don't really want to get up." He mumbled and I chuckled, putting my head in his neck. "We've got a couple hours before classes start." I felt him smile and I lifted my head, kissing him passionately. "More than enough time." He mumbled against my lips and rolled us over.

I walked into the student advisory building, Loki behind me. He wanted to make sure I knew where I was going. "You okay from here?" I smiled and put my hand on his chest, lightly patting. "I'll be okay. Go to class before you're late." He kissed me quickly and left, leaving me to walk up to the desk. "Appointment?" I hummed and lightly tapped my fingers against my leg. "Peter Parker for my master's proposal." The receptionist nodded and began to type before smiling. "Okay, sit over there and Mr. Michaels will be out to bring you in soon." They pointed to a set of chairs and I sat down. My phone rang and I quickly grabbed it. "Hello?" I heard some laughter. "Hey Pete. I was wondering if you could babysit the kids tonight?" Tony asked and a door leading to more rooms opened. "Peter Parker?" I stood up and quickly followed him. "Yeah that's fine. I'll be at the compound with Loki to take care of them." Tony thanked me. "I've got to go Tone, I'll see you tonight. Love you." I quickly hung up and sat down in a chair that the man pointed to. "Sorry about that." He laughed lightly and shook his head. "Siblings?" I made a little head motion. "Something like that. My family is big and recently two more kids were added into the mix. Normally, I wouldn't have to babysit, but the eldest is mute and cannot effectively babysit."

We went over the classes I'll be taking my first year before he asked if I had any questions. "My thesis, could I extend that onto my doctorate? I already know what I'm doing and it's been a project for a few weeks now." Mr. Michaels thought for a moment before nodding. "The research and development could be your masters while the actual testing and building be your doctorate." I nodded and began to gather all the papers he had given me. "I have a question for you Mr. Parker." I stopped and looked up at him. "You're Spiderman correct? Why do you bother even going to college?" I hummed. "The same reason Tony Stark did. Just because we're something bigger to the world doesn't mean we cannot seek the same ambitions others have. I've always enjoyed physics and carrying on my father's legacy will be the day I feel like I truly offered something to the world." I finished gathering my stuff and stood up. "Thank you for this opportunity sir, it means a lot."

"Babysitting?" Loki questioned when we got home. "Mhm, Tony called and asked this morning. I figured we could order pizza, do some homework while the kids watch TV, put them to bed and then it'll just be you and I the rest of the night." He smiled and put his head on my shoulder. "I think that's a great idea."

I pulled up to the compound and Loki took my hand, pulling me inside. I chuckled at his urgency. "Hey guys." Pepper greeted when we came out of the elevator. "Hey Pep." She handed me Morgan and I bounced her lightly in my arms. "Look how beautiful you are." I cooed and she giggled quietly. "I swear, you and Tony are the same person." I laughed and Loki stole Morgan from me. Pepper walked to the hallway and called for everyone. "Her formula is in the fridge, just heat it up and feed her thirty minutes before bed. Make sure you change her too. The baby monitor is in my room. I left money for food on the counter and no drinking until they're all in bed." Pepper put her hand on my face and I could see the worry. "Don't worry Mom, we'll be fine." She bit her lip and looked at me closely. "Call if you need anything." I nodded and she turned away. "Petey!" Cooper shouted and I gasped playfully, picking him up. "Hey bud. You say bye to your dads yet?" He nodded excitedly and waved to Clint, who passed by me. "His bed time is eight." Pietro told me before leaning forward and kissing Cooper on the forehead. "Be good for your older brother bud." Pietro gave me a meaningful look before following Clint into the elevator. "Sage!" Natasha called, emerging from the hallway. I set Cooper on his feet, who instead ran to Loki. "Hey Aunt Nat, you look beautiful." She chuckled and pulled me into a tight hug. "Have fun. Not too much fun." She glared playfully and I rolled my eyes. "If we do, it's on your bed and only on your bed." She pulled her gun out from her under her skirt and I laughed.

My baby sibling ran in, their leg finally out of the boot. They barreled into me and I lifted them into my arms. "You guys thinking pizza?" Cooper shouted and Sage nodded happily. "Okay, follow Lokes into the living room and he'll put on a movie." I set Sage down and she ran after Cooper into the living room. I hopped up on the counter and quickly ordered a couple pizzas from Domino's. "Everytime we come here, you hop up on that counter." Loki commented. He handed me Morgan and I held her, staring down at her with a smile. "Yeah, I liked to be around everyone but I didn't want to be in the way. Tony never got onto me for doing it but he'd yell at Clint all the time." Loki chuckled and stayed quiet. "I don't think I could be a good father." I muttered and looked up. "Why's that?" Loki placed his hands on my knees and I sighed. "I've had four father figures. Two of them died, one literally disowned me and the other has just integrated me into their way of living that I'm not sure if it's really an adoptive son thing or he just wants to mentor me. Morgan is his new project and I feel selfish for saying that I wish he'd be more fatherly toward me. I just feel like, if I couldn't keep fathers around, why should I be capable of being one?" Loki shook his head. "You love these kids more than anything. To them, they'll always have a parent in you because of who you are. It wasn't your fault that people have died or that Clint decided you were not worth his time. What got you thinking about this?" I shrugged and sighed.

"It was something that I said to my academic advisor this morning. 'Carrying on my father's legacy will be the day I feel like I truly offered something to the world.' Everyone's wanted me to carry on the Parker name. I just don't know if I'd be any good." Loki grabbed Morgan and held her up in front of me. "Don't tell me you won't be good because I know damn well that you will be the best father ever. That child is going to feel loved and they'll know that no matter what, you're going to be proud. You can't possibly tell me that you're not going to be the best father ever when I've seen how you love and care for these children. During your patrol, the children are your first priority. You'll be the best father to any child and you know I don't lie." I smiled and wiped my eyes, where tears had built up. "I love you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. "I love you too Peter. Now come on, I put on Bambi and I love that movie."