Behind the foggy mirror

Chapter 10

***

"Petey" Tony broke the silence in the lab. They had been working for two hours putting the parts of the new engine together, and Tony felt that they both needed a break.

"Yeah?" Asked the boy glancing curiously at Tony.

"We could use a break for a while. How about going down to the interns labs?"

"Yes!" exclaimed an exultant Peter jumping up on the spot and running to the elevator to press the button.

The elevator doors opened immediately. Tony stepped inside behind the boy with an affectionate smile and ruffled his hair.

"It's been a long time since you've been there, huh?" asked Tony while arranging the boy's hair after he ruffled it.

"Mhm," confirmed Peter trying to escape Tony's hands, which were only making more and more pitiful on his head.

The elevator doors opened, revealing dozens of interns.

"Give me a hand. You probably don't want to get lost here." Said Tony warning the boy. He knew he had to be strict about safety.

He didn't want to lose the boy, because on this floor FRIDAY he wouldn't help him find him, and he knew that Peter had a tendency to move away when he was interested in something. Peter obediently grabbed his hand.

"Let's perhaps go there first," Tony pointed to a group of several students who were working on some kind of project.

As they came closer the murmur quieted. The silence was uncomfortable until Peter spoked up.

"Rob? Is that you? Hey, remember me?"

One of the interns leaned out.

"Peter? Hey! I was wondering how you were doing!"

"Hm, well, Tony and I are building an engine," he said, flexing his arm muscles to show that he was doing everything with his own strength.

The situation was comical, so everyone laughed. Peter didn't have much muscle development which also added to the comedy of the situation.

Tony rejoiced that Peter had such a good bond with these few trainees, so just by coming here he wanted to nurture it.

***

The next 1.5 hours were spent by the guys in the interns' labs in a cheerful group. After some time, Tony was tackled by his subordinate, who had a problem with the electrical wiring in one of the rooms, pulling the man away from the boy. Tony made a mental note to FRIDAY to call a professional.

Just as Tony was about to take a closer look at the problem Peter ran into the room.

"Tony, I have to pee!" threw out Peter pulling the man by the hand.

"We'll go in a while" said Tony with compassion looking at the child.

"But I have to now!" Peter stomped angrily, which proved to Tony that Peter was absolutely serious.

"Okay buddy, let's go now" Tony understood the urgency, so he grabbed the kid's hand and they ran towards the elevator.

They could have gone to the bathroom on this floor, but Tony wasn't sure where the toilet was located here. Instead, he chose the Penthouse, which would guarantee privacy.

"How is the situation FRIDAY?" Tony didn't ask the boy because he already knew the answer.

"The chance of making it on time is 42%."

Tony knew that if they hurried, they had a chance of making it in time. As soon as the door opened Tony didn't look back. He picked up the boy with his one hand and ran as fast as he could toward the restroom.

Fortunately, they made it in time. Tony breathed a sigh of relief sinking onto the couch. Who would have thought that a child could provide such entertainment.

***

"And for dinner, young sir, we'll go down to the Avengers floor, because Cap made a meal for everyone," said Tony coming over to Peter after they stayed in the Penthouse and played with toys for the rest of the day, picking up a boy.

Tony would never admit to even liking some of the toys.

He put his hands under the kid's armpits, then supported his butt with one hand and hugged his chest with the other. Peter threw his arms around the man's neck, and that's how they made their way to the Avengers floor.

As soon as they got there Peter kicked Tony lightly, thus letting him know to put him on the floor.

"I get it, restless boy," laughed Tony.

The moment Peter was on his feet, he immediately rushed towards the other Avengers.

"Steve!" He shouted hugging the man.

"Hi Petey, we missed you a lot," said Steve spreading his arms wide to hug the boy.

"Hey Pete," said Natasha from the couch where she was cleaning knives.

"Seriously Nat? Are you going to clean them now? Put them away before the kid gets them."

Nat rolled her eyes, but carried the knives out of the room.

"All right," said Tony, once they had greeted everyone. "We can eat, what's for dinner Cap?"

"What you see on the table Tony," muttered Steve with a wince.

"Let's get down to eating before it gets cold."

With that, Tony sat down in a chair. Next to him sat Peter, and everyone else sat down where there was an empty seat.

"So how is school going for you Peter?" asked Bruce. Classic Bruce, he always thought only about studying.

"Good," said Peter under his breath.

"Oh, don't be shy, tell everyone what the math and Spanish teacher said, if memory serves me right." Tony combed his fingers through the boy's hair. As usual, it was soft and fluffy.

In this way, dinner passed. After the meal, the Avengers sat in front of the TV watching Bucky, Sam, Clint and Peter playing some kind of racing game. The three men sat on poufs, while Peter sat on Tony's lap, resting his legs on Steve's thighs.

Tony rocked the boy lightly, because he knew the boy didn't want to go home, and that way he would be sleepy and wouldn't fight so much. This had wondering Tony for some time now. Why didn't the boy want to go home? What was going on in Peter's house? Tony knew he had to find out as soon as possible. Was May being strict? Maybe she wasn't letting him play with his toys? Tony didn't know.

Fortunately, 5 minutes later Peter began to shut his eyes, so showing the rest of the Avengers a sign to shut up Tony picked up the boy and hugged him to his chest. Peter began to moan quietly, so Tony tried to calm him down and repositioned his hand awkwardly poking at a particularly painful spot between his ribs.

"Ouch" cried Peter in his sleep.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered Tony bouncing the boy slightly. "You are safe."

"Tony, I think he's hurt," said Bucky, who noticed the grimace on the boy's face.

Tony leaned Peter slightly away from him to look at his face. Indeed, the way the boy crinkled his eyes and forehead left no doubt. Just what was wrong?

Tony began to watch the child turning him around in search of the cause of the pain. Suddenly, Tony lifted Peter's shirt revealing a series of bruises, the sight of which made him want to vomit.

Unexpectedly, Peter opened his misty eyes. So Tony spoke to the child.

"God, baby, who did this to you?" Tony wanted to cry. Peter was so small and delicate. How could someone hurt a child like that?

Suddenly Tony went pale, as he pieced together the facts and everything came together in a twisted way.

"Peter, is May physically abusing you?"