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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xxv. FAMILY SECRET

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   FOR THE NEXT FOUR days, Riley O'Dair was on strict bedrest until she could regain optimum health and maintain stable vitals. According to the tests that had been run on Riley, using so much power in one go the way she had, especially for the first time, was extremely terrible for Riley's health. It was dangerous for her young, developing body; however, Riley couldn't help but feel way too badass.

   Riley watched the video JOCASTA had recorded through her suit over and over again. She couldn't quite figure out how the hell she did... well, whatever she did that night. She knew she'd been training her powers for years, but she couldn't understand what the final push was. Maybe there was a link between her emotions and her powers? The minor details weren't that important. The real question at hand was if she could do it again without being hospitalized.

  Rob O'Dair was imprisoned shortly after Riley nearly murdered him with her powers. Peter Parker hadn't stopped calling Riley out of worry for his friend, but Riley could only respond with a simple text that told him she was okay and would be able to talk to him as soon as she was better. This text, as a matter of fact, had to be sent by someone else through another phone, for Riley accidentally destroyed her phone by touching it. Her powers had been out of balance ever since her big fight against Rob.

  Oddly enough, the strangest part about it all wasn't the fact that Riley was a lot cooler than she originally thought she was, nor was it the fact that she actually went head-to-head with her biological father. The strangest part about it all was the fact that Tony Stark had gone MIA.

  She hadn't spoken to Tony since the incident with the Ferry in Staten Island, which was baffling. She was sure that she would at least hear from him or see him in person after what happened, especially since he had been so bitter that Riley hadn't called him after what happened in D.C. All she'd heard was that he ordered some of his workers to keep Riley on bedrest in the Avengers Headquarters upstate.

   Perhaps he was just busy, as per usual.

  Riley laid on the bed in the room that was meant to be hers once she was able to officially move into the new Avengers Headquarters. It was nostalgic for her, being back. Memories of her days spent with the team rushed back to her. The bickering, the training, the long nights of talking. A life before the Accords changed everything.

  Shee had attempted to sneak out of her room countless times due to her own boredom, but she was always caught. Now that she couldn't use her powers until she was stable, Riley had forgotten how to be stealthy without them. This and the fact that she had a target painted on her back meant that she was really stuck. If she so much as walked near her door, someone was there to make sure she got back in bed. It was ridiculous, but also probably very necessary.

   Upon hearing a casual knocking on the door, Riley called out, "Come in!" She kept her gaze glued to the television, assuming it was someone to check on her once again. "Is it really time to check my vitals again?"

   "Oh, well, I could always come back," teasingly suggested Tony Stark. Hearing his familiar voice caused Riley to jolt upward in her spot with wide eyes. She would've run at him had she not still been physically exhausted. Chuckling at her reaction, Tony added, "There's the reaction I deserve!"

   Riley rolled her eyes and threw a nearby pillow at the man. Despite it not hurting, Tony whined, "Hey! What was that for?"

   "For not stopping by sooner, you dick," joked Riley. Her eyebags became more prominent as her eyes narrowed due to the fact that she had been smiling. "So what can I do for you? Did you miss me?"

   Rather than retorting back as usual, Tony silently scratched the back of his head. He walked to where she sat on her bed, moving her legs to sit down in a much more formal manner. "I have to be honest," Tony started, "you and I have been needing to talk for... for awhile." Riley tilted her head at this. "I haven't... been entirely honest with you."

   "Please don't tell me my mom's alive, too," Riley attempted to joke.

   Tony shook his head. "No, that's not it," he assured, refusing to make eye-contact with the girl. "You know how I told you that you had to babysit Mr. Parker because I signed papers saying I'm your legal guardian...?"

   "Yeah...?" trailed off Riley, nervous.

   "I never signed any papers," revealed Tony awkwardly, causing Riley's heart to sink in her chest. "I just... I just made something up because I knew you wouldn't go out of your way to make me prove something like that. I was worried about the kid and I knew you were the exact person I wanted for the job." Riley stared at him in shock. "I feel awful about it. If I had never said that, you wouldn't... be, you know... here."

   It was then when it clicked in Riley O'Dair's head. Tony felt guilty. If he had never forced Riley to take on an extra mission, then she wouldn't have confronted Rob O'Dair. She wouldn't have been stuck in bed fighting to stay healthy. She wouldn't have been in this mess at all. He was blaming himself for Riley's hospitalization.

   Riley shot upward, straightening her posture. She physically winced at how speedily she'd done this. "Tony, stop that," she demanded with a calm voice. "No one could have prevented what happened. Rob still would have found a way to get to me and I still would've kicked his ass. Understood?"

   "Hm..." hummed Tony, taking her words to heart.

   Riley slowly leaned back against the headboard of her bed. "You know, it's funny," began Riley. "After everything, my father taught me two things: family isn't defined by blood and there is always room to improve."

   Tony glanced over at her, baffled. "You learned all that from that son of a bitch?"

   Riley shook her head and looked away as her cheeks burned red. "No," she admitted shyly. "I learned that from you, Tony."

   Tony would have to be a liar if he said he wasn't teary-eyed at her words. Tony smiled softly, looking away to hide the fact that he was, truly, a softie at heart. Riley continued to say, "I know you don't think you're father material and that you think you're just like your dad, but... for what it's worth, I think you're awesome. You'd be a really great dad."

   Riley had to admit that she was disappointed. Rob was right. She was just an orphan with no family to call her own.

   Tony was silent. He was thinking to himself, absorbing everything she said. He couldn't erase the prominent look of disappointment on her face when he'd revealed what he had, or rather, hadn't done.

   Tony and Riley had known each other for seven years. Since the Avengers Initiative was finally put in place, Riley spent almost all of her time working. If she wasn't doing missions for S.H.I.E.L.D, then she was with Tony, learning and observing him in his everyday life. She found him fascinating, and Tony just liked her company. They had seen so much as individuals and as a duo. It had gotten to the point where Tony couldn't imagine the past few years without Riley. Riley couldn't even accurately imagine what her life as a whole would look like without him. They were a little family at this point.

   Keeping this in mind, Tony glanced back at Riley with a serious facial expression. "Let's sign the adoption papers."

   Riley's eyebrows shot upward. "Huh?"

   "I'm serious," Tony continued, suddenly much more energetic than he was a moment ago. "Pepper and I have been talking about it for years! Be our kid."

   If her heart stopped beating at that point, she wouldn't have been surprised.

   "You... You wanna adopt me?" Riley repeated. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm kind of a handful..."

   Tony shook his head. "Technically, it's kind of illegal that you're not claimed by anyone, so really, I'm doing you a favor—" He was interrupted by Riley throwing another pillow at him. "—Ow!"

   Laughing, Riley nodded her head. "Alright," she said with a wide grin. "Alright, I'll let you guys adopt me."

   "Hallelujah!" Tony exclaimed, embracing Riley in a tight hug, causing her monitors to start going off. Tony's eyes widened. He released her quickly. "As your dad—"

   "You're not even really my dad yet, technically."

   "—Shut up, Tink! Anyways, as I was saying, if you ever have another near-death experience like that again, you're grounded."

   Riley just laughed.

   Things really were looking up for once.

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   Peter Parker couldn't have been more thrilled to be upstate. Not only was he upstate, but he was standing inside the new and improved Avengers Headquarters. This was the place where the Avengers had meetings and lived in. Captain America had walked these halls before the Sokovian Accords were implemented. Falcon, War Machine, and Iron Man had flown on and off the rooftop of this building before. Hell, Peter was breathing the same air the Maximoff twins had breathed once before!

   It was an absolute, complete dream come true, which was why it was so hard for Peter to say after being offered a spot on the Avengers by Tony Stark himself, "Thank you, Mr. Stark, but... I'm good."

   Tony was taken aback for a moment. "Y-You're good? What does that mean? How are you good?" he questioned.

   "Well, I-I mean, I'd rather stay on the ground for awhile," Peter nervously stammered. "Friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man, and all... Somebody's gotta look out for the little guy, right?"

   Taking off his glasses in surprise, Tony asked, "You turning me down? You better think about this. Look at that." He pointed at the Iron-Spider suit that he had designed for Peter. Peter followed his gaze. "Look at me. Last chance: yes or no."

   "No."

   "Okay," Tony replied, surprised. He placed his sunglasses in an interior pocket in his coat. "Bruce Springsteen working man vibe you've got going on. Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"

   "Yeah," Happy confirmed, standing not too far away from the two heroes. "Uh, mind waiting in the car?"

   Peter turned back to Tony. "Thank you, Mr. Stark," he said, offering his hand to shake.

   Tony shook it. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Parker."

   As Peter began to walk away, he had to pause and looked back as Tony put the Iron-Spider suit away. "That was a test, right?" he queried. "There's nobody back there? No reporters to report me being an Avenger and all that?"

   "Uh, yeah... Yeah! You passed! Now... skedaddle...!" Tony called out.

   "Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Stark!" replied Peter.

   As he hurried off, Peter Parker couldn't help but feel extremely proud of himself. He had a feeling that Tony offering him a place with the Avengers was a test, and he was right! He knew he would make the right decision this time! He wasn't ready to be an Avenger like Riley was. He just had to give it some time.

   Peter couldn't help but look around and gawk at the Avengers Headquarters one last time as he made his way outside. He purposely slowed his pace just so that he could really get a look at his surroundings. After all, he had no idea when the next time he would be able to be in the Avengers Headquarters would be. Nonetheless, Peter soon found himself standing in front of the car that would finally bring him home, bring him back to reality.

   He pulled open the door and practically threw his body inside, only to pause in confusion when he heard a loud, "Ow!"

   Peter paused and looked around the interior of the running car. "Huh...?" Peter trailed off. Did he actually hear something or did he imagine that? Was he being haunted by a ghost? Wait... a ghost? "Riley? Is... Is that you?"

   Turning herself visible, Riley gave him a small smile. "Hiya," she greeted.

   Peter's eyes widened. "Riley!" he exclaimed. He lunged forward to embrace the girl in a tight hug, who just barely reacted in time to hug him back. He pulled away to add, "I've been calling you like crazy! Where have you been!?"

   "I've been under strict bedrest," explained Riley, very obviously shaking with how weak she still was. "Technically, I'm not even supposed to be out of bed, never mind outside. My vitals have been unstable ever since the big fight. Any electronics I touch are destroyed because of the UV rays pouring out of my body. But I heard you were here and I just had to surprise you, so... here I am! I didn't even think I'd last this long using my powers, so you really came at a good time."

   Peter's eyes widened. "You gotta go back to bed! You've gotta get better ASAP!" Peter worriedly told her.

   Riley laughed. "I'll be fine. At least, I think I will." She shrugged. "Tony told me everything that happened with Liz's dad. I gotta say, I'm pretty impressed by you, Bug-Boy."

   Peter's cheeks burned a bright shade of pink at the kind words. "Hey, what happens now?" Peter wondered. When Riley appeared to be confused, he continued, "I mean... you're probably off the hook now and you don't have to "babysit" me anymore, right? Does that mean I'm never gonna see you again?"

   "Of course you will, silly," she said. "There haven't really been any troubles in the past year, so I'm off the hook until the world needs the Avengers again. I thought it might be fun to actually experience a real childhood and stay in high school for a little while longer. It's not like I have anything better to do. Plus.... I think Spider-Man still needs some mentoring from the greatest Avenger of all time."

   Peter's eyes widened. "Thor!?"

   Riley smacked his arm, causing Peter to laugh and add, "Kidding! This is awesome! I can see it now: Valor and Spider-Man tackling crime one bad guy at a time!"

   Riley grinned. "Queens won't know what hit 'em."

   It was strange to think how fast Riley O'Dair's life had flipped upside down within the past few months. She had faced her psychotic biological father and realized how deep her own strength lied. She had learned how to look the truth in the eye and tell it to go fuck itself. She learned so much that she was sure that nothing else could possibly go wrong.

   For once, Riley O'Dair was ready to take on the world without the sliver of a doubt.

END OF ACT ONE: BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

oh my god... act one is done!! wow, i'm so proud of it. i really am. :) this is gonna be sort of a long author's note, but it's a little important if you wanna nerd out with me hehe. plus i'll be talking about act two so stick around!

firstly, can i just say we really have come full circle !!! at the beginning of this story, tony asked riley to babysit peter and to specifically "look out for the little guy" — which she did. then, we watched peter grow as a person/hero and we watched as he learned his limits/what he's capable of. then, he says to tony in this chapter/the movie, "someone's gotta look out for the little guy, right?" BITCH i love that!!! we've come full circle!!

secondly, writing riley o'dair has been one of my favorite things ever. she's extremely layered and she's written in a complex manner because i wanted to write riley as realistically as possible while still playing into the whole "this is a comic book world — none of this makes sense at all!" concept lmao.

riley is sensitive/naïve in a lot of cases. she lost her childhood and she has a lot of baggage. she let her guilt control her for a long time. on top of this, she became an agent/avenger and learned how to control her powers. hell, she's still learning about/exploring her powers! yall don't even KNOW what she's capable of yet! riley is so badass and clever and strong and intelligent, but also so sweet and caring and will lay down her life for literally anyone. i feel like a lot of people forget that sensitive people can be badasses too. (GREAT EXAMPLES ARE THOR, LOKI, AND WANDA!!)

thirdly, listen... I KNOW tony stark being used as a fatherly figure is done. it's been done. it's overdone. it's overcooked. sis it's basically burnt. like take it off the stove. HOWEVER, i really wanted to take a new approach to it and it felt like one of the best, most appropriate ways to explore how close riley is to tony, nat, and the other avengers. i considered having nat adopt her officially, but it felt so wrong and out of character in a sense. it wouldn't feel right. nat is highkey the cool aunt anyway.

i dunno i just feel like riley and tony's relationship is a new approach to the "tony being a fatherly figure" trope. i know it's overdone, but i really wanted it to work out this way for the sake of the future of this fic. one of my favorite things is taking an overdone idea and putting my own twist on it. for example, the sibling trope, which i've taken as my own in my twilight fic and my peter pan fic. so pls i'm sorry it's overdone, but it's my story and i wanted it to play out this way.

finally, pls let me know what you all think of this story! let me know what you wanna see in the future (riley x peter scenes, obviously), such as riley/tony/pepper family time, more of riley's backstory/flashbacks, etc. also please let me know if i'm writing tony, peter, natasha, and anyone else in the mcu accurately! feedback is so appreciated!

thank u so much for reading all this if u did - or even just reading the story of course. thank u for all the support <3 <3