Archive of Our Own ^beta

Aged nineteen years, Cooper Barton slipped through the busy foot traffic of Manhattan.

Music was playing loudly in his ears, earbud cord slithered under his shirt, which most definitely went against one of his father’s most implemented rules: Always be aware.

Yeah, well, whatever, Cooper just lost a small role in some cop show to some whiny fourteen year old. He should be allowed to be a little less aware of the world today.

Cooper still scanned the area around him every few seconds though, habits built up since he was sixteen taking the lead. Which was fine, really. Cooper didn’t really want to get kidnapped on his way to pick up Lila from her ballet practice.

Lila had picked up ballet when she was around four and had ended up sticking with it, mostly because Cooper himself had gotten into ballet at around ten years old and she wanted to join in on what he was doing. But, now at nine years old, Cooper thought Lila was a pretty good ballerina.

Surprisingly, the hobby was actually how Cooper met Gwen Stacy, just shy of three years ago during this one time in which his ballet school tried to incorporate their younger, advanced, kids with the older kids for duets.

In the end, it only worked out for some students, but it was an attempt.

It was Cooper’s first year in the school and New York, so Cooper hadn’t expected to have this little twelve year old blonde girl come up to him and declare them partners, but it worked out fine for the most part.

However, only a year after that, when he was seventeen, Cooper had made the decision to take a step back from ballet so he could direct his focus on to acting entirely. Since Lila was still involved in ballet, Cooper didn’t lose contact with Gwen once he left the studio though.

And, at this point in their friendship, it even felt like she was his Wanda and Pietro to his dad. Just, like, younger, and more of a friend rather than a daughter or sister or whatever.

Either way, she was cool at twelve and cool now at fifteen, so Cooper didn’t plan on ditching her any time soon.

Once thing turned to another and apparently meeting Gwen Stacy turned to meeting Miles Morales only a short two years after he first met Gwen.

Which then, of course, turned to finding out that they were buddies with Peter Parker, who was technically Cooper’s uncle since he was married to Cooper’s also honorary uncle Pietro Maximoff, who was related to Wanda Maximoff-Romanoff, his honorary Aunt, who was married to Natasha Maximoff-Romanoff, his other honorary aunt, who was pretty much his dad’s sister/best friend kind of thing.

It’s a whole thing. At this point, it felt like Cooper had a million aunts and uncles.

So, yeah, Cooper met Gwen because of ballet, back when she was twelve and he was sixteen, but they didn’t become nearly as close as they are now until she and Miles joined the spider-party last year. He actually didn’t even meet Miles until he found out about Gwen’s late night hobby and, well, Cooper was literally the oldest of all of his close superhero friends if he were being honest (except the X-Men, but he didn’t get to see them as often since they were always on active duty with their team, which was a total bummer).

Lila adored Gwen, of course, so Gwen stuck around not only to be friends with Cooper but to be a better role model for Lila than Cooper could ever be. Her words, not his.

Nowadays, Miles and Gwen were rowdy fifteen years old, kicking villain ass, and being cute in their little relationship, soulmates and all.

Cooper dodged an elbow to the stomach and huffed out an annoyed breath. Some days he really missed the farm and it’s utter lack of people. Back in Iowa, the most ruckus they got was when the chickens threw a tantrum, not people jamming their bony arms into your ribs.

The song on his phone took a sudden switch.

With an inquisitive look, he somewhat tilted his head to the side as a beat started up and a realization fell upon him.

Oh, this was the one Kate liked, right?

Thing is, Kate Bishop alone was a lot to unfold. She was his dad’s protege, a Hawkeye in training. Kate had only been under his dad’s wing for about a year at this point, and she and Cooper got along fairly well, able to tolerate each other's presence for more than an hour, but they had to get past a mild bump when she first hopped into his life in which his dad was dividing his time between Cooper and Kate. They got over it though, although Kate wasn’t a common sight when Cooper hung out with his friends. She had other priorities most days, just like Gwen and Miles had such priorities for night patrol.

The Kate Song faded out and another came thumping after it, song changing once more and pulling a miniature smile at Cooper’s lips.

Cassie Lang’s favorite song.

Now, Cassie Lang was Cooper’s day one (basically). They’d known each other since a mere eight years old, thanks to their fathers, and they had gotten to hang out whenever they happened to be in New York at the same time. They also, once more thanks to their fathers, got to attend each other’s birthday parties each year, which was amazing as kids who loved to celebrate birthdays to no end especially with your pretty much best friend.

Cooper didn’t really have a best friend back in Iowa, and Cassie swiftly took that spot in his life. Which was awesome .

When he was sixteen and hastily moved to New York, Cassie and her Dad visited the following week and Cassie spent as much time as she could with Cooper in attempts to try to cheer him up and comfort him, telling him all about how cool New York was and how they had great pretzels, even though she lived in San Francisco. Nowadays, however, Cassie was living in New York as she attended college.

In the past two years, Cooper and Cassie had gotten closer by tenfold and he couldn’t think of anything better— except for beating an ‘I cry on demand’ kid out for a role on a cop show.

Cooper turned a corner, thankful to be out of the really busy foot traffic.

Lila’s ballet school was only about a block away now as long as he didn’t take a wrong turn or got mugged, which really wouldn’t be all too pleasant.

The plan so far was to pick Lila up, take her home to their mom, and then go out to hang out his dad(s) until Gwen, Miles, Cassie, and Ganke (Miles’ best friend who Cooper honestly didn’t know all that well) were all ready to meet up (Cooper thought some of the X-Men were going to crash their little party as well, but he could never be too sure. For superheroes with impeccable timing on mission arrivals, they really could be unpredictable for small things).

Cooper had the decency to at least pause his music, even though it was half way through a song that James liked, and tug his earbuds out when he entered the dance studio. The class wasn’t quite finished when Cooper stepped in, so he wandered in and leaned back against the wall by all the waiting parents.

He picked out Lila amidst the students easily, with her pink leotard and brown hair pulled up into a sleek bun. She looked fiercely determined, but Cooper could only see her little four year old self stumbling around their house when she first picked up ballet, dressed up in her own tutu and everything. Ugh. Adorable.

Cooper’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he did his best to look at the notification sneakily:

‘tommy   |    now

mom said to tell you to pick up the hoodie you left here soon or else she’s throwing it out lol’

Cooper held back a sigh, opened the message, and typed a response:

Cooper

tell natasha i’ll grab it tomorrow

tommy

other mom said tht

tommy

mom threatened to give it to warren n let him cut it up lmao

Cooper

not funny just tell her ill grab it later, k?

tommy

she said if you stay for food then she’ll give it back

tommy

both moms are in agreement

tommy

billy also agrees

tommy

i do too

tommy

youre never around anymore

tommy

it’s fucked up

Cooper

struggling actor. thats all i got to say.

tommy

that’s what happens when you cant run fast like me bitch

Cooper

i like texting billy more than you

tommy

you’re a little bitch, cooper barton n i h8 u

Cooper

</3

Cooper grinned slightly down at his phone before he switched messages:

Cooper

billy you’re the best cousin

billy

thank u means a lot since tom just came into my room and yelled at me for being your favorite lol

Cooper

lmao see you tomorrow night for dinner

billy

cool :)

A small hand tugged at Cooper’s jacket.

Swiftly, Cooper shoved his phone into his pocket and smiled down at his sister, “Hey, Lila.”

Lila smiled up at him, “Hey, Coop.” She greeted back, “I’m ready to go.”

Cooper hummed in acknowledgement and took hold of Lila’s bag, which likely held her ballet slippers and whatever things she personally needed for ballet today, when offered and took hold of Lila’s hand with his other hand. As they left the studio, she stuffed her free hand into her jacket pocket, of which she had zipped up over her leotard. She had even slipped on a pair of white sneakers onto her feet in replacement of her ballet slippers and sweatpants already, eager to get home.

Lila stuck close to him on the busy New York streets.

“So,” Cooper started, “How was class?”

Lila shrugged, “Good. We’re going to start rehearsing for the show next class. Sadie was sick again, though.”

Cooper hummed, “What’d the teacher say about it?”

“Nothin’. But I thought she looked a little annoyed. Probably ‘cause that’s another class missed before things get intense for the show, y’know.”

Lila talked more of her class as they walked and Cooper interjected with a  question here and there and nodded when appropriate. Turns out Lila’s class friend, Angeline has a crush on him, which was… strange, to say the least. He wasn’t sure why this friend apparently felt like that, but he just hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with an awkward turning down of a nine year old. That’d just be fucking weird.

Lila snorted at his pinched up expression at the admission, swiftly switching the topics onto him.

“You think I can go to the Mary Janes’ next show?”

Cooper shrugged, “Depends. Gwen’s band might play at a bar next, so neither you or me can get in legally.”

“How can they get in then?”

Illegally, that’s how.

“Somehow.”

“You’re full of shit, Cooper.”

Cooper faked a gasp, “Wow, would you want Mom to know you said that?”

Lila nearly shoved him into traffic for that one.

➳

Cooper unlocked the front door and pushed it open with his shoulder, “Mom, Garrett, we’re home!” He called into the house.

After moving to New York, shortly after leaving Iowa in a haste with the HYDRA attack on their home fresh in their minds, which sucked and ended up earning Cooper two years with a therapist so fuck you HYDRA, Cooper, his half-sister, his mom, and his step-dad Garrett moved into an apartment in his father’s apartment building temporarily until they found a house to move into. It wasn’t nearly as large as the Iowa home, but that was fine. Cooper and Lila had their own rooms and the place felt overall homey, so Cooper wasn’t about to complain.

Cooper kicked the door shut behind himself and Lila, reaching back and locking it on instinct.

His mom was walking down the stairs when they entered and she smiled at her kids when she saw them, “Hey, guys. We just finished cooking lunch, so you’re right on time.”

Lila retold her stories of ballet class to her mom as she and Cooper followed their mom to the kitchen.

When Lila scurried off to put away her ballet things and change, Laura Barton’s attention switched to Cooper, “So, any plans for tonight?”

Cooper set down his water, wiping at his mouth with the side of his hand, much to his mother’s distaste. Behind her, Garrett was rinsing out the dishes he cooked with in the sink.

“Gonna hang out with Gwen, Miles, Cass, and Ganke later after I go see Dad and James.”

His mom hummed in acknowledgement, leaning against the table, “Does Cassie ever feel weird hanging out with such young kids?”

Cooper shrugged, “I think we’re all cool with it. Miles and Gwen are, like, wise beyond their years or whatever, and Gwen’s in a cool band. They’re both also insanely smart and not annoying, so I think Cass and I are completely fine with hanging out with them. And Ganke, Gwen, and Miles are like a trio deal, so it all kinda works out.” Cooper pushed his hair out of his face, “It also just kind of feels like hanging out with cousins, especially when Tommy and Billy tag along. And I’ve got other friends too, older friends, acting friends, and Cassie’s college buddies so it’s not like I’m always hanging out with high schoolers.”

His mom nodded and patted him on the shoulder, “Just text me when you’re coming home, alright?”

Cooper nodded just as Lila slid into the room and Garrett placed lunch down at the island table.

➳

Before he left for his dad’s place, Cooper stopped by his bedroom. He tossed his earbuds onto his desk and rid of his jacket. Left in a blue sweater, Cooper searched his closet for that one really comfortable hoodie he liked.

His search came up empty, however, and Cooper resolved to search his dad’s place for the garment. Instead, he tugged a different hoodie out of his closet for his trip to his dad’s place (ignoring the fact he’d probably just leave this one over there as well). Cooper paused to check over a couple emails. Unfortunately, none of them looked too interesting.

Around Cooper, his room, painted a basic white color, was marginally cluttered. There were movie posters, band posters (one for The Mary Janes as well), a Hawkeye poster, and pictures upon pictures of his family and friends taped and pinned onto his walls. There was a forgettable script on his desk, along with his sticker covered laptop, and his bed was only half made.

Some days, Laura Barton really saw a reflection of Clint in her son.

Soon enough, Cooper was leaving his room and stopping by the kitchen to bid his family goodbye.

As Cooper’s hand curled around the doorknob to the front door, he heard Lila call out, “Say ‘hi’ to Gwen for me!”

He called back an affirmative before he slipped outside.

Today his dad and James were over in the Bed-Stuy apartment, so Cooper had to take the subway to get over there in time. He distracted himself by texting a picture he took of a dog he saw on his way to the subway to the group chat he had with all the Avengers. Most of them liked the message, but, more notably, his dad responded with a picture of Lucky and a message about how cute the dog and his own dog was and Vision sent back a picture of himself and his cat Albert. Sam also sent a smiley face.

Cool.

Cooper also texted a few of his buddies who were struggling actors as well, besides the girl he met last year who just got a role in a big movie coming out next year. Not only was she able to expand Cooper’s connections, she was also pretty nice (and had been a good kisser, but they didn’t talk about that drunken mishap). He sent the same picture of the dog he saw to the group chat he had with most of the X-Men. Three of them even sent back their own pictures of dogs, which aw .

He nearly missed his stop, distracted by Kurt’s retelling of this dog he met that morning over text, but stumbled off the subway just in time.

After that, walking to the Bed-Stuy apartment building was a piece of cake.

Brooklyn is Miles’ and Steve’s stomping ground, and the location of his dad’s apartment building, so it’s a pretty familiar trek.

As Cooper neared the apartment building, he could see Simone and her kids walking towards the entrance. Her toddler, Charlie, had a hand curled in Simone’s pant leg while she held her baby in one arm and a grocery bag in the other.

Cooper moved a little faster, waving at her when she noticed him and wordlessly holding the door open for her.

Simone smiled at him in thanks, “Good to see you, Cooper.” She greeted, Charlie waving up at him excitedly. “And thank you for that.”

Cooper nodded, letting the door shut behind himself and Simone and her family, “Need any help getting to your place?”

Simone seemed to think it over before she sighed, “Wouldn't hurt.”

Cooper followed her up to her apartment, minor conversation flowing between them. Cooper held her grocery bag while she unlocked her door and he followed her inside to put it on her counter. He stuck around to finish their brief conversation before he bid her and her kids goodbye and went the short distance to his father’s apartment.

He knocked on the door a few times, grinning when he heard Lucky bark excitedly inside.

The door was pulled open slowly a few moments later, revealing James. Dressed in sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, Cooper could guess James spent his day at home. Before James or Cooper could speak, the door was pulled open even further as Cooper’s dad joined the scene, happy as always to see his son.

His dad was smiling as he looped an arm around James’ shoulders. He, in contrast to his husband, was dressed in what Cooper knew was SHIELD gear.

“Cooper!” His dad greeted excitedly, “We were planning to head out for lunch if you wanted to join.”

Cooper shrugged, “Had lunch at mom’s, but I’m always up for getting deserts on your credit card.”

“Very funny.”

“Not joking.”

“Oh, I know. You’re my kid.”

Cooper snorted, following behind his dad as he guided James back into the apartment.

“Lucky’s coming with us too, Coop.” James added, “And hi, by the way.”

Cooper waved at the man and plopped down onto the couch, hearing the telltale sound of Lucky running into the room, claws scraping against the floor.

As Lucky hopped up onto the couch and happily licked at Cooper’s face, James walked by the couch and ruffled Cooper’s hair, much to his distaste.

Cooper squawked in surprise, batting at James’ hand. He only got a chuckle in reply.

“We’re gonna finish getting ready then we’ll head out, alright?” His Dad called as he hurried past him to the bedroom.

Cooper hummed in acknowledgment, laying back onto the couch and letting Lucky sprawl out on top of him. He pet the dog, clearly content, and settled for waiting on his dads.

James entered the room before Clint, unsurprisingly. He sat down on the coffee table across from Cooper and reached out to pat Lucky on the back, the dog pulling his head up to try and lick at James’ hand.

“So,” he started, “Any plans for tonight?”

Cooper shrugged a shoulder. “Hanging out with some friends. We might go do some drugs for fun and bring down the hierarchy.”

James hummed, noncommittal, clearly used to what Cooper’s mom liked to call the ‘Barton Humor’, “Just be home to your mom on time, okay? Or stop by here if you need to.”

Cooper nodded and gave a small smile, “Got it.”

His dad entered the room shortly after that and called Lucky to the door to hook him up to his leash.

As his dad and James collected their things to leave, Cooper stood, brushed off the dog hair on his clothes the best he could, and sighed as he glanced around the apartment. James had obviously cleaned recently….

“Hey, James?” Cooper called back, “You know where my black hoodie is? With the snake and the rose?”

“Basket in the hallway.” James replied, not even a beat later, and Cooper glanced back to see him turning his dad’s face to the side with his metal hand, an inquisitive look on his face.

Based on the tact gear he had seen his dad in, this was probably James’ first chance to look Clint over for injuries since he got home.

Cooper called out his thanks before he wandered off to the hallway. Sure enough, buried under the countless amount of purple fabric and what Cooper was pretty sure was his Aunt’s dress, specifically from that dinner they’d gotten together for, he found his hoodie folded up neatly.

They’d only had that dinner last week and, well, it was a pretty nice dinner where his Aunt Wanda brought along her birth father and had to catch Cooper’s clumsy ass when he nearly went face first into the table. After that, somehow, someone bumped into Erik’s friend (practically husband, really) and thoroughly pissed Erik off when they blamed Charles for being in the way. Then the douche tried to throw James’ drink in Erik’s face but James caught the guy’s arm and ended up spilling the drink all over Wanda instead. Tony made sure the douche got kicked out of the restaurant after that, but the evening had soured just a bit. Fun times. Well, typical times.

James must’ve promised Wanda he’d get the stain out or something.

Cooper plucked his hoodie out from the basket, pulling it on over his sweater as he left the hallway. He flashed a smile at James, “Thanks for washing it.”

James shrugged, “I had a feeling it had been awhile.”

Cooper rolled his eyes and nudged at his dad’s shoulder, “Now that I’ve been insulted, I think I deserve cake.”

They walked to this little restaurant with outside seating, for Lucky. On their way there, Clint recalled the details of his mission that day. He really liked talking about how he finally got to try out the new trick arrow he’d developed.

At the restaurant, his dad and James ordered their meals and Cooper happily ordered a large piece of chocolate cake and coffee for himself (and a slice of pizza for Lucky, but that was to be expected).

Over lunch (and dessert), Cooper told the story of his recent audition and expressed his mild urge to fight a smug fourteen year old. Clint seemed torn between supporting the attitude or putting it down.

James reminded Cooper that jail was a place instead.

Conversation flowed from the Avengers, to stories heard from the X-Men, to Tony nearly blowing a gasket when Wade Wilson showed up for a brunch he planned alongside Rhodey and Pepper (turns out Peter invited him). Conversation even strayed to how Harry Osborn was doing recently, to the article MJ just published, and to all three of them collectively wondering if Ned and Betty were ever having kids. Cooper supplied his own stories, talking about his recent adventure to a bowling alley with Scott Summers and how he almost blew up his mom’s kitchen when he made popcorn for Cassie. It ended up being really funny, he swears .

After lunch, Cooper went along with James and Clint to the grocery store for old time’s sake (and because he’d been crashing on their couch some nights). Cooper and his dad nearly crashed into displays when they each had their hold on the cart but James caught Clint before he could and, when Cooper nearly crashed, both Clint and James caught Cooper before he could knock things down like a wrecking ball.

However, even James managed to accidentally knock over a cardboard cutout with his elbow, going on to also accidentally knock a pickle jar off a shelf when he got startled from the loud bang the cutout made when it hit the floor.

All in all, a really chaotic shopping trip.

They also ended up getting yelled at for bringing Lucky inside, being told animals weren’t allowed in the store due to health risks. Against most warnings given by SHIELD, Cooper knew, his dad and James both flashed their SHIELD badges and gave flimsy excuse that Lucky was there on SHIELD business. Shockingly enough, the worker bought it, even though Lucky was straining against Clint’s hold on him to attempt to lick at the spilled pickles.

They stopped for coffee on their way home and Cooper ordered an extra just the way Cassie liked it. She’d probably kill him if he showed up to pick her up with coffee only for himself.

His dad hid an amused grin at this.

Cooper walked James and Clint home and even helped them put away groceries before he went on his way. After spending part of the day with a dog, Cooper had the decency to stop by a mirror before he headed out. He did his best to get rid of the dog fur sticking to his hoodie and jeans and even tried to run a hand through his hair in order to make it look a little nicer. But, just as his luck might have it, his hair was feeling particularly fluffy and curly that day, so he gave up pretty quickly when he realized his efforts were fruitless.

Picking up Cassie on his way to hang out with friends was pretty standard ever since she moved to New York. They’d probably be hanging out after their friends left anyways, so they figured they may as well meet up earlier. It was also convenient since Cooper pretty much always had to walk past her college to go to the usual hangout spot anyways.

Gwen, Miles, and Ganke would likely already be waiting for them, too.

Cooper kept a careful hold on Cassie’s coffee as he neared where she would be waiting for him outside of her dormitory. And, just as expected, she was leaning against the building with her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets.

When she saw Cooper, she smiled and met him in the middle. Cooper stubbornly pushed down the small flutter of his heart.

Because, when it came down to it, it wasn’t worth it.

Cooper sensed the moment Cassie saw the extra coffee in his hand, as a relieved look came over her face and she hurried forward the rest of the way, “God, Coop,” she drawled, “You’re a godsend .”

She took hold of the extra coffee cup and took a long sip. Cooper watched her, amused, “Hey, Cassie.”

Cassie startled at Cooper’s voice, pulling her from her coffee high, “Oh! Hey, by the way. And thanks for this. I was up so late last night working on that stupid paper.”

Cooper hummed noncommittally, first switching his coffee cup to his other hand before taking his own sip of his coffee.

Cassie swiftly looped her arm with Cooper’s, already starting to walk down the sidewalk, “I think I nailed this paper though if I’m being honest. Professor Harper can take his stupid PhD and stick it where the sun don’t shine. This paper is going to get me that A.”

Cooper nodded along, “Hopefully Harper doesn’t say your intro was too wordy this time.” He replied, “Or else I think he’ll have to deal with the entire Lang family storming his office.”

Cassie laughed at the joke, pulling Cooper closer, “You aren’t wrong,” she replied, amused, “Alright, enough about school and me. Any news on the cop show role?”

“Well, I certainly didn't call you with good news.”

Cassie frowned and nudged Cooper, “Personally, I thought you nailed it when you rehearsed with me.” She took a sip of her coffee casually, “‘Sides, it's their loss. One day, some super huge studio is going to swoop you up and these guys will regret not casting Cooper Barton as Victim Number… whatever!” Cassie suddenly stopped and swiveled on her heel to face Cooper, a large smile on her face, “One day, you, Cooper Barton, are going to be a big movie star in Hollywood or New York, wherever you choose, and it will be awesome .”

Cooper couldn't hide his smile, feeling his cheeks tint red slightly with the admiration, “Thanks, Cass.” He muttered.

Cassie, satisfied with her work, looped her arm with Cooper’s once more and started walking again, “We’re picking up pizza first, right?”

“‘Course.” He confirmed, “We can just stop by that joint a few streets down from Miles’ place.”

Cassie hummed in agreement. After a moment of silence, she spoke again, “Did David from Work give you any good news at least?”

“David’s holding auditions for his Sundance film soon,” Cooper chose to share just as they turned the corner. “ And he offered me the chance to audition, so hopefully that goes pretty well.” Hoping was good, but Cooper couldn't guess who David actually wanted to cast for the roles.

Cassie nodded, “ And ?”

“ And , David even pitched the plot to me and it sounds so cool. It'd be awesome to have any part in it.”

“Well, I’ll be crossing my fingers for you, Coop.” Cassie assured happily. She took a long sip of her coffee again.

As they turned a corner, Cooper followed suit and downed the rest of his coffee. He dropped the empty cup into the trash can they passed.

Next to him, Cassie furrowed her brows, “I will never understand how you finish coffee so fast.” She eyed her own cup, “You drink it like its fuel, not a drink.”

“It honestly is at this point in life.”

Cassie laughed, which brought a smile on to Cooper’s face. He nudged her just as she had done a few moments ago, “So, how was that ‘really important, I can’t get below a ninety-eight percent on it, Cooper’ test today?”

Cassie rolled her eyes, “It went well.” She mumbled.

“See, I told you you had nothing to worry about, Cass!”

“I’m still going to worry,” Cassie replied pointedly, “But thanks for being my little cheerleader, Cooper.”

Cooper smiled, “Any time, Cass.”

Cassie finished her coffee about a block later and rid of the cup as well, telling Cooper all about said really big test.

And, he had to admit, it did really sound complicated. But he was the one who wasn’t going to a smart person’s college, or even college right now, so most of what Cassie was studying was going to sound complicated anyways.

He still listened closely and replied to her questions and exclamations fondly.

Cassie Lang was pretty damn smart, just like her father. She was also clever, nice, and so selfless. Her family was truly one of those picture perfect ones you’d see in movies once you got past her dad’s criminal record and all the shady business they got up to sometimes.

Cooper fell more under the category of a mini Clint Barton with his clumsy habits and disaster self, but his mom at least shown through in some of his habits and in his good memory. According to his father, Cooper had also been lucky enough to have the eyes of a Barton but at least not the ears.

Scott and Cooper’s dad introduced Cassie and Cooper during Cassie’s first real visit to the Avengers compound when they were both eight years old. As young best friends, they didn’t get to see each other very often, but they shared countless memories and inside jokes nowadays.

And if, along the way, Cooper got a little crush on Cassie, that was for him (and his dad who figured it out) to know. Unlike most of the people in the whole damn world, Cooper had been granted a lack of a soulmate, just like Sam Wilson, which was at least nice to know. Cassie, on the other hand, had words clearly written into the skin of her wrist. So, even if Cooper had a stupid, mushy heart, he wouldn’t risk his closest friendship with a girl who already had a soulmate for a little crush. It was pointless. So, nowadays, Cooper avoided that little part of his mind, which really only lingered from when he was thirteen, and put off his appreciation of Cassie’s eyes and the way she looked in his hoodies.

In conclusion, Cooper loved having Cassie as a best friend and she was awesome.

“Do you think I could sneak a ferret into my dorm?” Cassie suddenly asked, pulling Cooper from his contemplative mind, “My roommate keeps showing me pictures of her brother’s and now I’m seriously considering getting one.”

“If you try hard enough, I think you could get one in,” Cooper replied seriously, “‘Sides, if you get caught, I’ll just take the little guy and mother him.”

“I hope you know I’m actually thinking of getting a ferret right now.”

“Name ‘em Cassie Jr. I’m not even kidding.”

They were starting to near the pizza place now as Cassie laughed.

As they waited in line inside the shop, Cooper played the part of a legal adult and persuaded Cassie out of getting of ferret, even if he silently supported the idea. Her dorm was very, very strict on its no pets policy. He learned that the hard way when he got temporarily banned for bringing Lucky in. And, realistically, Cassie should probably avoid getting kicked out of the dorms.

“You think Ganke will actually stick around tonight?” Cooper asked Cassie as they left the counter. As he spoke, he stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. This time around, he had to tell Cassie there was a dog walking by outside in order to pay for the pizza.

Cassie smoothed down the skirt of her dress before she took a seat at one of the tables. Cooper followed suit and sat across from her. Cassie’s face scrunched up briefly before she spoke, “Doubt it. This guy in one of my classes said there was some new superhero comic that came out. I think Ganke will stick around while we’re at Miles’ but definitely not after. Either he’s got an essay to write or he’s gonna want to finish that new comic.”

“As long as he eats some pizza and comes out of his cave for a little while, at least, I’m good.”

By the time they got their pizza and left the shop, Cooper had already responded to Miles’ texts that yes, they were on their way over now.

He’d also had to respond to an email from Vision regarding his promise to watch his cat next week, which the answer was still hell yes.

Cassie and Cooper walked the rest of the way to Miles’ apartment. Last time Cooper and Cassie came around there, Cooper nearly fell off the roof so Miles parents told Cassie and Cooper it’d probably be best to avoid the roof of their apartment for awhile in the nicest way possible.

Which, of course, led to Cooper and Cassie making their way up to the roof by way of the fire escape. Cooper got up to the roof first, reaching down and grabbing the pizza box from Cassie and making sure she was safe up on the roof alongside him before he gave in to turning around to face the voices and quiet music on the roof.

Cooper curled his free hand around Cassie’s wrist and gently tugged her along with him.

Before him, the roof was set up like it always was. Near the roof door, lights were strung up and strung across a little ways away to some additional, standing outdoor lighting. There were still some old folding loungers positioned within the lit area. The sun hadn’t set yet, but Cooper was already looking forward to seeing the lights on and illuminating the roof.  

Today, Miles, or Gwen, had dragged up a large blanket and laid it out with a few pillows scattered atop.

Ganke was sprawled out on one of the loungers, a comic in his lap, while Gwen, on the other hand, was laying on her stomach on the blanket. A notebook Cooper recognized as the one she wrote songs in was open before her and she was tapping a pencil on the corner of the book.

Miles was a little ways away, a speaker playing the quiet music positioned just behind him. As Cooper and Cassie neared, he shook a spray paint can. On the ground before him, there was a large, white, poster board, already in the beginning of being painted. Unfortunately, Cooper wasn’t able to make out what he was painting just yet.

“Howdy, howdy!” Cooper called, although he didn’t get more than a mumbled hello from Ganke and a vague wave from Gwen.

Cassie swiftly took the pizza from Cooper and held it above her head, “We got pizza!”

Now Ganke and Gwen looked interested.

While Cassie walked over to the two with the pizza and talked about the toppings she and Cooper chose, Cooper wandered over to Miles.

“Hey, Morales.” Cooper greeted, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pocket.

Miles glanced back briefly before he leaned back down and sprayed a strip of white paint at the corner of his board, “Hi, Coop.” Miles greeted as well, “Cassie here too?”

“Yeah, she actually just yelled about pizza if you missed that.”

Miles furrowed his brows and looked back long enough to see Gwen, Ganke, and Cassie digging into the pizza. He let out a quiet ‘hm’ before he looked to Cooper, “Save me a slice?”

Cooper nodded, “You got it, man.” Miles focused back on his painting after that and Cooper only took a quick glance at the art before the teen. It still looked to be in its early stages, so Cooper couldn’t make out much about it. It would definitely look cool though, knowing Miles.

Cooper ended up sitting beside Gwen when he got his own slice of pizza, informing the group that the two slices on the opened top of the box were for Miles and Miles only .

Once his first slice was finished, Cooper reached over and nudged Gwen, eyeing the notebook that now rest in her lap, “New song?”

Gwen nodded distractedly, using her free hand to tug her hair behind her ear before taking a bite of pizza. She’d gotten a new haircut a couple weeks ago with no warning, but Cooper thought the shaved side was pretty cool. It even showed off her eyebrow piercing even more and Cooper assumed she probably liked the cut for that too. “Got this really cool beat in my head on my way home today and I gotta play it out on my drums when I got home.”

Cooper’s best guess now was she was hammering out the other parts of the song, especially as she furrowed her brows and hummed under her breath before she took another bite of her pizza.

By the time Miles wandered over and plopped down in the empty space on Gwen’s other side, most of the pizza was gone besides Miles’ saved slices, Cooper had complained about having to work early the next morning (he worked as a waiter at some nice restaurant which, fortunately, meant good tips most of the time, but also led to some late nights for fancy dinners and boring morning shifts), Ganke had ranted about his favorite character dying in the comic he was reading and how he had to go out to buy a new, expensive part for his computer a couple days ago when it broke, and Cassie had retold the recent story of her dad shrinking down in the midst of an argument with Hank Pym.

Miles got to excitedly talk about how his new painting had come together once he sat down. He also, much more quietly, talked about the time he got a free ice cream cone on Spider-Man patrol that afternoon. Pretty cool, if you ask Cooper.

Talking about free ice cream somehow turned to Cooper being goaded into telling of his frat party adventures of the past weekend, with Cassie’s unrequested assistance. It was her attempt to embarrass him and his drunk self, but Cooper had no shame.

Gwen checked out halfway through his animated retelling of getting knocked into a table by an over enthusiastic frat guy, and he couldn’t blame her, to frantically write down what Cooper assumes were more lyrics for her song.

She checked back in, and set her notebook aside, when Cassie spoke up and told her half of the story in which Cooper drunkenly called her for assistance in sneaking back home. Cassie, the angel (devil) she is, did help him. But, she dropped him off to his dad’s place when James was the only one home. That lecture hadn’t been fun.

Conversation split after that, with Miles listening excitedly to more stories of drunk Cooper while Ganke happily listened. Apart from that conversation, Gwen had pulled Cooper into a discussion about her recent ballet endeavors. She was learning this new routine in class with what she said was an arrogant sixteen year old boy.

As they spoke, Cooper fought back his melancholy over no longer being part of that world. He adored ballet, but he loved acting more and, when it came down to it, he wanted to pursue acting seriously. Right now, he wasn’t able to keep up with ballet in the same way he used to. The same way Gwen was now. He was definitely out of practice, but he made a note to himself to look into reviving that hobby sometime soon saying he didn’t exactly have roles lining up in front of him, at least not yet.

Gwen ended up kick starting his unsaid promise to himself, taking hold of his wrist and dragging him to his feet so he could stand in for the male of her routine to the best of his abilities. He didn’t know the moves, obviously, but he knew how to stand in for another dancer.

The routine seemed like it would be intriguing to watch and Gwen looked to be proud of it, despite her pointing out of the mistakes she knew she’d been making.

Somehow, standing in turned to going through a warm up with Gwen in the clear space on the roof. He thought they’d stop there, but Gwen obviously had other ideas (that he was totally up to doing). After a short rehearsal, Cooper abruptly found himself running through a simple routine they both had learned in classes. Just some typical stuff.

After two years, he was pretty impressed with how much he was pretty sure he could still do (okay, well, he had also been running through routines with Lila at home so maybe he was doing something ). Cooper was still a little rusty, admittedly, and not up to par as Gwen, so when he stumbled as he followed Gwen he made a mental note to actually touch on his ballet skills again, not just make some empty promise.

Always a good hobby to have.   

When Cooper was still doing ballet, he had actually worked with Gwen outside of lessons a couple times and once Cooper even dragged Gwen into doing a dance with him for an end of the year project back in high school. So, he understood her movements enough, but not extremely well. It was the same for her with him most likely. Of course, they didn’t stop Gwen from convincing Cooper to lift her. He had been concerned at first, but Gwen reminded him of all the shit she could do nowadays and if he wouldn’t lift her, she’d just lift him, so he got over his worries and readied himself.

Miles, Ganke, and Cassie, on the other hand, trailed off in conversation and watched in excitement as Gwen and Cooper messed around with their ballet skills.

The lift went fine in the end.

He and Gwen moved around a little more before they both returned to the blanket, laughing.

It felt good to return to his old hobby, actually.

By this point, the sun was starting to set. Ganke was staying at his and Miles’ dorm for the night, not checked out by his parents for the night like Miles, so, with a curfew hanging over his head, Miles left for a few minutes to swing Ganke back to their dorm.

When he returned, Cooper convinced the group to not let the fun end just yet. He had also received a text in Miles’ absence in which Warren invited Cooper (and whoever he might be with) to come hang out with him and a few other X-Men. It didn’t take long to convince Gwen, but Cassie took a little work. Mostly because she wasn’t sure what the X-Men’s idea of fun was. The hardest to propose the idea to was Miles. He had been worried about breaking his spider moral code and Cooper assured him he didn’t want to force him into coming along.

Miles seemed split in his decision before he shared a long look with Gwen and sighed. When Miles nodded, Gwen cheered silently before she took hold of his hand and tugged him towards the roof access door. She called back to have Cooper and Cassie meet them by the apartment entrance, as she and Miles would be out shortly.

Cooper carried the now empty pizza box down the fire escape and tossed it in the trash can on the sidewalk. He and Cassie waited patiently outside of the building while Cooper replied to Warren and decided to meet him a little ways away from a nearby park. Since Kurt was coming along, there wasn’t much of a point to walk an hour to meet each other.

The X-Men they were meeting with, Warren, Kurt, Scott, Jean, and Ororo, were all around twenty, which meant Cooper and Cassie weren’t going to be the oldest in their little group for once. Cooper was a little wary about bringing Gwen and Miles around the older group at first, until he recalled that Peter Parker was both of their close friend and mentor and Cooper was pretty confident he had heard Gwen and Miles talk about some other spider people in the world too, and none of them sounded to be fifteen.

The spider people were weird, man.

Besides, there was no way Cooper or Cassie were going to force Gwen and Miles to hang out with older people. If they got uncomfortable, they were completely free to leave if they wanted. He told them this as soon as Gwen emerged from the apartment building and Miles from the alleyway (this probably meant Miles was sneaking out; Cooper did not endorse that).

Gwen rolled her eyes at Cooper’s words and reminded Cooper that most of her friends nowadays weren’t her age besides her band and Miles. Miles pointed out the same went for him.

Well, at least Cooper gave them the option anyways.

Miles and Gwen linked hands as they walked down the sidewalk while Cassie looped her arm with Cooper’s again.

The X-Men were waiting where they promised to be, looking shady as ever in the shadows of a building. Cooper held back a snort when he heard Miles mutter that the X-Men were looking like the kind of people he dropped off at the police station.

Gwen and Miles were introduced to the X-Men as teens Cooper knew through ballet and family friends while Cassie was simply introduced as Cooper’s best friend. He kind of forgot that the X-Men and the spiderlings, plus Cassie, were all kind of separate worlds before this night. Well, Cooper is always up for expanding his social life. He was just glad Jean didn’t get that look on her face that meant she was doubtful of Cooper.

Awesome.

The larger group first walked aimlessly, letting Gwen, Miles, and Cassie get to know the others. Kurt got along with Cassie fairly well, talking amicably with the girl as he gently swung his hand that was interlaced with Warren’s back and forth happily. Gwen and Miles stuck by each other’s side, hands linked similarly, and split their attention between everyone. By the time Warren called them all to a stop, everyone was fairly comfortable with each other, which would always be nice.

“Alright,” Warren started, “As much as I’m an advocate for underge drinking,” Kurt and Jean both smacked him in the arms at his statement, although Warren ignored them, “I’m not about to make two fifteen year olds into alcoholics, so my ideas for the night are out the window, and I don’t think any of you wanna keep wanderin’ around for the night.”

Scott raised a hand, “Bowling.”

Warren furrowed his brows at him, giving him an incredulous look, “Man, you’re literally twenty years old and you’re hanging with an ex-cage fighter. You really think we’re about to go bowling ?”

Scott crossed his arms over his chest, “Bowling is fun , Warrington.”

Jean placed a hand on Scott’s back, “How about a late night movie?”

Cassie raised a hand, “I second that.”

Ororo raised a brow, “We can do better than a movie.”

Cooper nodded, “Something that’s, like… memorable or something. We can go bowling and see a movie during the day and any day.”

Silence fell over the group and just as a mischievous grin grew on Warren’s face, Gwen spoke up, “How about swimming?” She offered, “My friend and I used to sneak into this community pool after hours last summer. It’s always empty and the security on the place sucks.”

Cooper nodded slowly, “Okay, I like that idea.” He said, grin growing on his features. At this point in the year, New York was still switching into warmer weather. The night was likely to be a little cold, and Cooper knew the nearest pool was an indoor kind. Outside, it’d be in the sixties at best, but indoors should be a little warmer. Besides, they didn’t have to get into the pool.

Who was he kidding? He’d be getting into the pool.

A murmur of agreement went through the group, besides from Miles.

The group was already starting towards the direction where Scott knew the nearest pool was located. Seeing the teen’s hesitance, Cooper hung back until he was walking besides Miles.

“Hey,” he started quietly, catching Miles’ attention, “You seriously don’t have to come along if you don’t want to. I can convince everyone to go somewhere else too.”

Mikes shook his head quickly, “It’s good, I’m good.” He promised, “It's not like I don't break some rules as… y’know .” He shrugged, “I just don’t really do this stuff as Miles Morales. Gwen’s the one who's all rebellious and stuff.”

Cooper hooked an arm around Miles’ shoulders and looked down at the boy, “Just because Gwen’s doing it doesn’t mean you gotta.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Miles furrowed his brows in what Cooper guessed was in thought. “I wanna come along, I think, just… I can’t get caught. Or else my dad is gonna kill me.”

Cooper grinned and patted Miles’ shoulder, hand resting against the spot, “I’m in the same boat here, Morales, except it will be my Mom, Dad, two other Dads, and an infinite amount of good moral filled heroes. Including your mentor.”

A smile pulled at Miles’ lips and Cooper chuckled.

Gwen fell back to be by Miles’ side after that and Cooper released Miles to take on the same reassurance he got from Cooper from Gwen, who deliberately linked their hands together as she spoke.

Cooper fell into the empty space at Warren’s side, as his boyfriend had sped up to walk beside Cassie and Ororo. Scott was walking right behind them and, from where he was walking just behind the twenty year old, Cooper reached out and tugged on the back of Scott’s jacket until he windmilled his arms and stumbled back next to Cooper. The nineteen year old caught the mutant before he tripped over himself and instead hooked an arm around Scott’s shoulders. Cooper was similar to his father in many ways, which didn’t exclude his tall height that put him as the tallest in the room more often than not. This applied especially when he stood next to Scott Summers and Cooper surely liked to tease the hell outta the  guy (although not harmfully since Cooper would like to avoid a laser to the face). Warren got lucky as he was only a couple inches shorter than Cooper and also had really big, threatening wings and a boyfriend that had both sharp teeth and a spiky tail.

“Summers, Warrington,” Cooper started, “Any interesting tales to share with your favorite Barton?”

“Well, I definitely like you better than your awful Uncle or whatever he is.” Warren muttered.

Cooper nodded wisely, “Same. Barney's a fuckin’ asshole. Pietro, on the other hand, is cool as shit, Warren.”

“I would just call him a piece of shit, but whatever.”

“Well,” Scott cut in, “We got a new refrigerator at the mansion.”

“ Thrilling .”

Cooper was sure Scott was rolling his eyes, “Cooper, the X-Men are literally always home. We don’t really go anywhere except on missions, to the mall, and maybe lunch outs.”

Cooper raised a brow, “Alright, I’ll give that one to you. Life isn’t really exciting for anyone right now I think.”

As they walked down the sidewalk, Cooper traveled between discussion within the group until he was walking beside Cassie, Ororo, and Jean as they neared the community pool.

“Have you ever broken into a place before, Cooper?” Ororo asked.

Cooper gasped, incredibly fake, and held a hand to his chest, “Me? The son of a widely adored Avenger and a brother figure to—” Cooper stopped, dropping his offended expression and gave her a goofy grin. He waved a hand dismissively, “Nah, of course I have. Life is pretty bland after you murder a man at the prime age of sixteen.”

“Cooper.” Cassie hissed.

“Comedy is how I cope , Cass.”

Ororo snorted, “So you know what you’re doing here?”

Cooper shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, “In the most amateur way, yes. You ever wondered where Warren goes alone at night?”

Ororo furrowed her brows, “I always thought he was going to a bar.”

“I’m an ex -alcoholic, Ororo!” Warren pointed out from behind them. “Don’t demean my time at Xavier's School for Rehabs.”

Ororo ignored him, “So, what, you and Warren wander around at night and break into places?”

“More like we did that a couple times until Warren abandoned me in an abandoned parking garage. Now we just kind of get high sometimes and skateboard at the skate park after hours.”

Ororo looked at Cooper for a long moment, “You’re hoping to be a big shot in Hollywood one day, right?”

Cooper shrugged, then nodded.

“You’ll fit in perfectly.”

Jean looked between Cooper and Ororo, “Please tell me that's not all you guys do.”

“‘Course not. Sometimes Warren brings Kurt along and we see movies. Sometimes Warren and I just hang out at my house.” Cooper grinned at Jean, “I promise you we are not complete delinquents, Grey. Most times I even hang out with Warren one of you guys or Cassie also comes along. ‘Sides, I hang out with Gwen and Miles most the time since you guys are always busy.”

“Hey, we’re already here, guys!” Cooper heard Gwen call, which pulled him to a stop. He looked back, finding the rest of the group besides himself, Jean, Cassie, and Ororo already stopped a few feet back.

Once the group was completely gathered again, Gwen lead them to the back of the lot.

Kurt raised a hand uncertainly, “I will not teleport us inside.” He stated firmly, “I will follow you all, but I will not use my power for bad.”

Gwen waved the comment off, “Completely fine.” She replied, “The security here sucks and workers always leave the back window open anyways.” She grinned at the group and pointed up at the window a few feet above her head before nodding Cooper over.

He scrambled forward, not expecting to be pulled into the situation already. He was also surprised since he was used to Gwen just climbing up walls, but, then again, her powers weren’t exactly public knowledge.

Gwen got up to the window by way of Cooper clasping his hands together and giving her a lift up. Before she pulled herself all the way into the window, she motioned at the door about a dozen feet away.

They got the message well enough, so, as Gwen slipped into the building, the group moved to wait at the door.

Gwen reappeared swiftly, pushing the door open and leading the group inside. The lights were all off, with only some light coming in through the windows.

They stayed quiet as they followed Gwen, until they emerged through another door and into the open area that held the pool.

Gwen turned back and smiled at the group, “There’s a security guard in tonight, but he was dead asleep when I walked by his office. Which also means he isn’t watching, patrolling, or checking security footage. As long as we keep the noise down, I think we’re free to wander around in here for a while.” She explained, “And, if you’re into it, the pool gets cleaned every morning so if you feel the need to jump into the water, go crazy.”

Warren swiftly walked past Gwen, a smirk on his face. He patted her on the shoulder as he passed by. Eventually, the group spread out around the area. They didn’t turn on any lights, but the stray light that drifted through the window towards the ceiling did enough for them.

Cooper was starting to think nobody was going to venture very close to the pool but then, well, Jean and Ororo we’re running at the pool with their hands clasped together.

Jean had come along dressed in a hoodie and shorts and all it looked like she had removed for her dive in the pool was her hoodie, revealing a t-shirt. Ororo, on the other hand, jumped into the pool still dressed entirely in her jeans and tank top. When they emerged from the water, the two were laughing joyously.

Cooper laughed with them before he caught Cassie’s eye and grinned boyishly. He made quick work of tugging off his hoodie and t-shirt, dropping the clothes, his phone, and wallet on a chair, before he rushed towards the girl and wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, starting towards the pool, “Anything you need to ditch before I throw you in that pool, Miss Lang?”

Cassie laughed, loudly, only smacking Cooper’s shoulder once, “Cooper, I am wearing a dress , you are not throwing me in that pool.”

Cooper knew her lack of anger or urgency stemmed from her trust for him, so he stopped right before the pool and turned so his own back was facing the water. He placed her down, “Cass,” he started, “ Please ?”

Cassie rolled her eyes, “A dress , Barton.”

Cooper opened his mouth to speak, only to be suddenly pushed backwards. He heard laughter before he hit the water and when he emerged, he pushed his now sopping wet hair out of his face and glared at Cassie, who was still standing at the edge of the pool with a wide smile.

“That’s cheating!” He exclaimed.

Cassie shrugged, stepping back from the pool, “Think of it as payback for when you were late for Movie Night last week.”

Cooper rolled his eyes, lifting a hand to splash water at Cassie only to get sprayed by water himself.

Cooper already knew who the cause of that was, “Warren, you’re a little bitch!”

Warren just splashed more water at Cooper.

As Jean, Ororo, Cooper, and Warren swam around in the pool, Scott, Gwen, Miles, Kurt, and Cassie sat alongside the poolside with their feet in the water, besides Cassie since she was wearing tights.

At one point, Warren got out of the pool and made a show up spreading his wings (Kurt was practically drooling which made Cooper roll his eyes at Warren’s antics) while Jean lingered by Scott’s side, promising him that the water wasn’t all that great. Scott plus water wasn’t always the best combo due to his abilities and lack of good guard for his eyes.

Cooper lingered by Gwen and Miles for a few moments as well. He was making plans to buy Miles ice cream if he promised to come with him to a stupid event at Lila’s school that the entire Barton clan was being dragged to (including Lila. She was required to go according to her teacher), when Cassie flicked him in the head.

Cooper flinched away from the contact, instinctively bringing up a hand to cover the flicked spot, before he looked to Cassie.

The girl was already standing, walking along the edge of the pool until she was by the deep end. She caught Cooper’s eyes, “You owe me a chicken fight.” She told him before the corner of her lips tugged upwards and she jumped into the pool.

Cooper cheered for her, feeling strangely accomplished.

And she did get her game. She ended up stationed up on Cooper’s shoulders while Ororo went atop Warren’s. Safe to say, she and Cooper did not win.

Eventually, the group removed themselves from the water in varying degrees of sopping.

Warren came over to sit besides Kurt in Cassie’s old spot though, which ended with his wings getting water on both Gwen and Miles. The two, aiming to leave the night dry, ended up moving themselves to a chair nearby.

Pool forgotten, the group all came to sit in pool chairs and loungers, gathering into a small circle. Ororo was sprawled out on her own pool lounger, one leg drawn towards her chest and white hair flat against her head and half wet. On a lounger next to her, Scott and Jean had somehow managed to curl up together while Miles sat in a chair next to them, Gwen laying across his lap and the arms of the chair. Cooper had quickly claimed the best pool lounger for himself, only for Cassie to bat at his legs until he let her lay against his stomach and sat between his legs.

It was times like these that he understood why his dad questioned his abilities to hold back a dumb crush.

Warren and Kurt were in the same position across from them, while Kurt had Warren’s jacket over his shoulders.

“Prof nearly killed me when he found out.” Warren recalled at the end of his story. He grinned, one arm loosely around Kurt’s neck and the other hanging around his torso. Kurt looked infinitely relaxed.

“Well it makes sense ,” Jean pointed out, “He literally told you to leave the dog there.”

“He looked like he was fuckin’ hating life though. You’d think Prof would understand that since he lives with Lehnsherr.”

Jean shook her head exasperatedly, “You freaked out the owner, Warren.”

“But I gave the dog the best day of its whole damn life.”

Jean rolled her eyes and leaned into Scott, “Yeah, with the Professor’s money.”

“ He left the credit card out.” Warren stressed.

“Yeah,” Scott cut in, “In his wallet . In his study. Where the door was locked .”

Warren waved a hand dismissively, “Alright, whatever, the dog went back home to its whiny owner and shit. But he went home with a new collar, new toys, and a fresh cut—”

“You stole a dog, Warren.” Kurt reminded his boyfriend, patting his arm.

Warren grumbled but gave up on the conversation while Kurt smiled victoriously.

“Y’know,” Miles started casually, “There was this one time I went to one of Gwen’s shows and someone thought I was a groupie.”

Holy shit .

The group around Miles laughed for a few moments before Ororo sobered up, “How did you find that out?”

“Gwen found me after the show crying and laughing. Her band called me “Gwen’s Groupie” instead of Miles for, like, a solid month after that.”

Cue more laughter.

Cassie patted Cooper’s knee as she sobered up, “That’s like this one time that Cooper fell asleep in my dorm and tried sneaking out. Long story short, I had to pick him up from a holding cell. A police officer thought he was a burglar.”

Cooper’s roll of his eyes and feeble attempts to explain the story went unheard by the amused group.

“Okay, okay,” Cooper rallied the group, “You’ve all heard of that Spider-Man fake that keeps spraying silly string at people on the subway? Awesome, go .”

“He is okay.” Kurt offered up, “I met him. He does not speak, but the silly string is fun. I believe he stopped riding the subway, though.”

“His costume is practically see through.” Gwen noted.

Ororo shrugged, “I think that’s supposed to be part of the charm.”

“The Spider-Man charm?”

“ Subway charm.”

Cassie cut in, “I think he’s kind of weird.”

Miles raised a second, “Seconded.”

Cooper furrowed his brows in fake confusion, “But he’s practically Spider-Man, Miles.” He let up once he saw Miles roll his eyes, “Joking. I think it’s kind of strange too. I heard it was funny when the real Spider-Man met him though.”

It really had been. Cooper had been over at Peter and Pietro’s place when Peter returned from that day’s patrol. He entered through the window, pulled off his mask, and went on an eight minute long rant about how the spider-guy wouldn’t even look at Peter, only spraying him in the face with silly string before running off.

Later, Peter figured out that it was just Deadpool trying to mess with Peter. It very obviously worked, just not publicly.

“Alright, what are the thoughts on Eddie Brock’s break—” Scott’s question was cut short by Jean slapping a hand over Scott’s mouth and furrowing her brows.

When Kurt leaned away from Warren and opened his mouth to speak, Miles held up a finger to keep the room silent.

Slowly, Gwen stood up and Miles followed suit. They shared a look as Jean looked around the room.

Cooper looked closely at their faces before realization hit.

“Ah, shit.” Cooper cursed quietly just as the sound of a door opening a little ways away sounded.

The group flew into motion, gathering their items below their chairs swiftly and as silently as possible.

Cooper rushed into the group, “Okay, you all can’t get caught, especially.” He said to the X-Men. He looked to the two young teens, “Neither can you two either, so let's get going .”

Kurt took hold of Warren’s arm before he could run off, “I-I can’t transport all of us at once but I can transport four of us first and return for y—”

The door to the pool was being pushed open slowly, quietly.

Cooper waved off the rest of Kurt’s words, “Just go, go!” He hissed.

Kurt quickly reached out and placed a hand on the back of Warren and Ororo’s necks, Jean and Scott’s hands taking hold of his tail just before they disappeared in a puff of blue.

Cooper swiftly took hold of Cassie’s wrist and Miles’, who already had a hold of Gwen’s hand, and hastily pulled them along with him to hide behind a stack of stray floaties and what Cooper was fairly sure was a lost and found locker.

Admittedly, it was a shitty hiding spot. Cooper would’ve dragged everyone to the bathroom, but that involved going past the door the security guard would enter through and oh, there he is .

The door shut behind the security guard, his flashlight light bouncing off the walls and footsteps echoing.  

Cassie had a hand tightly wrapped around Cooper’s arm while his own hands were placed firmly around Gwen and Miles’ wrists. At the very fucking least, Cooper hoped Kurt came back in time to get Gwen, Miles, and Cassie out. He knew what a punishment could go up to for trespassing and he didn’t want that on their records. He didn’t want it on his either, but he wasn’t a minor, spider-kid, or in college.

The guard was walking closer to them.

His light skipped over the container they were crammed up against.

Just as the guard wandered over to examine the chairs the group gathered up, a puff of blue smoke appeared just a few feet away from the remaining group.

Kurt’s eyes widened when he saw the guard and he quickly transported again until he was right next to the group. Without a word, Gwen and Miles took hold of Kurt’s tail while Kurt took hold of Cooper and Cassie. Just before they disappeared, the guard’s light switched onto their exact spot, his demanding of who was there falling on nonexistent ears as the group teleported away.

It felt extremely good to be outside again after that.

They were… they were back to where they all met up in Brooklyn.

Scott startled when the five appeared, having to lean against the wall for support after the scare.

“That is all of us.” Kurt assured, looking between the group.

“My heart is racing .” Cassie muttered, mystified. Under her arm, she held Cooper’s bundled up hoodie, which Cooper’s appreciated. She looked up at Cooper, “It’s awesome.”

Cooper shook his head, his own heart racing.

“And,” Jean drawled, “With that, I think we should call it a night.”

Cooper nodded, similar agreements coming from the rest of the group.

Kurt offered to drop Gwen, Miles, Cassie, and Cooper home, but they quickly denied the request. They didn’t want to trouble the mutant but they also likely needed the breath of fresh air.

They split ways after that, the X-Men disappearing in another cloud of blue.

The remaining members of the group walked the rest of the way to Miles’ apartment while Miles excitedly talked about how much fun he had. Cooper pointedly told him to not follow after the group's actions of delinquency and he seemed to get it. Gwen, too, but she had already dabbled in being a delinquent beforehand so his request fell on mostly deaf ears for her.

Gwen snuck into Miles’ room with her boyfriend, the two bidding Cassie and Cooper goodbye after quietly promising Cooper, while Cassie was waiting for Cooper a few feet away, that she and Miles would text him later when they each returned from the inevitable patrol they’d go out on with Peter.

Their nights settled, Cooper joined up with Cassie again and they set off.

“So,” he started, “Tonight.” Only now did he notice his and Cassie’s phones peeking out of the pocket of his hoodie under her arm (thank god ).

“Tonight got mildly crazy, Coop.” She responded simply.

“Fun, though.”

“Mostly.”

“ Extremely .”

Cassie laughed softly, reaching up and tugging her hair out of its ponytail, “Fine, it was fun.” She amended.

Cooper smiled to himself, pushing his own hair out of his face. His pants were still mostly wet, he was missing his shirt, and his hair was only half dry, but maybe Cassie would let him crash at her place.

Before he could propose the idea, Cassie spoke, “So, those X-Men guys,” she started, “You've known them a long time?”

“Not exactly,” Cooper replied, “Maybe two, three years.”

Cassie hummed in acknowledgement, “They’re really cool.” She paused for a few moments as they walked down the sidewalk. They would be arriving back at Cassie’s dorm soon. “What's that whole deal then?”

“The whole deal?”

Cassie waved her free hand around, “You grew up around all these superheroes. I only got to see some of it. I’m just curious… just curious as to how they connect into Cooper Barton’s crazy world. You’ve talked about these guys before, but never much about how you all became friends.”

Cooper shrugged, “Wanda and Pietro met them first,” he started, “Once they knew the X-Men were going to be sticking around in their lives, they started introducing them to their friends and family. My dad’s super close with Pietro and Wanda, y’know, so, in turn, I’m like Wanda and Pietro’s sort of nephew. ‘Cause of that, I just met them when Pietro came up with the idea and asked my dad. Met ‘em and found out they were all pretty much only a year older than me so we hit it off really well.”

Cassie nodded along, “Especially Warren.”

“Sure,” he replied breezily, “But also the rest of them. I hang out with Warren more because we have similar humor and all that shit. I get along with his friends just as well, though. But, I mean, they’re on a team , so I don’t see them nearly as much as I see you, or Gwen, or Miles.”

Cassie hummed, “They were cool,” she repeated, “Interesting, too.”

Cooper grinned, “Does they mean you aren’t opposed to hanging out like this again?”

She rolled her eyes, “Just no more trespassing, or stealing, or— or whatever you had in mind.”

“ Cass ,” Cooper began, “I am not an extreme delinquent. Nights like these don’t really happen.”

“Well, tonight begged to differ.” She muttered.

Cooper sighed, coming to a stop and reaching out to gently bring Cassie to a stop as well, “You know what I’m like, Cass,” he reminded, “Is this because of Warren? Cass, I swear he and I don’t break the law every night or something crazy. You want to know what a usual night spent hanging out with Warren looks like? Hanging out in my room or at the skate park or on top of my dad’s apartment building while we talk about life and shit. Sometimes, sometimes , we get high, but that’s only when life kind of really sucks.” He stared at Cassie for a moment before he heaved another sigh, “Most nights though he just talks about his boyfriend or his team and I talk about acting stuff. We just hang out .”

“No breaking and entering?” Casie asked suddenly.

Cooper furrowed his brows, bewildered by her word, “No.”

“Stealing?”

“ No .”

“Drug—”

“God, Cassie! You know me better than all of those friends. You really think I’d be doing shit like that?” He asked, surprised by her sudden abrasiveness.

Cassie frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, “It's just… this was the first time I actually met those other friends you hang out with and I just didn’t expect for you to be so up to trespassing and stuff.”

Cooper bit his lip in thought before he spoke again, a chill running down his back by the cold biting at his skin, “Sometimes that kind of stuff is thrilling and interesting, but it’s not what defines me over all. Tonight was a single exception.” At Cassie’s doubtful expression, he continued, “Everyone there tonight, Gwen and Miles included, are all my friends and they’re good friends. You, and everyone I choose to have in my life, make life better, Cass. Even Warren and his… vibe or whatever. I just want you to know that. I thought you already did.” Cooper shrugged, wishing he was wearing his hoodie to stuff his hands into the pocket, “And you know what happened to me and my family a few years ago. Hanging out with people, not caring , it just fills in for what happened then… in a way. I’m not irresponsible, not like tonight, but it’s nice to be around people who are just so carefree and fun. Like you, like Gwen, like Jean.”

Cassie looked more sympathetic now, reaching out and wrapping a hand around Cooper’s wrist, “I know sixteen was a really, really hard year for you, Coop.” She whispered. “I never really thought about how that affected you and your social life, I guess.” She tugged Cooper into her side. She wrapped her arm around his waist and started walking with him again. Cooper stubbornly ignored the feeling of her arm pressing into his bear skin, “Just tell me right now, are these people actually good people? They don’t influence you badly or guide you wrongly?”

“They’re good people, Cassie, I swear.”

Cassie nodded with finality before she pasted on a smile, “So...did you think the pizza place started using a different sauce? It tasted more… expensive this time.”

Cooper was startled by her sudden change in conversation, but he worked with it and spent the rest of their walk analyzing the pizza from earlier in the night.

When they stopped in front of Cassie’s stop, she turned to face him with a timid smile on her face.

Cooper looked down at her with a similar smile, although he was thinking of how accustomed he was to Cassie always leaving on an upbeat goodbye. This felt like a different moment compared to the past goodbyes.

Cassie stepped closer to him and Cooper did his best to suppress his age old crush. The girl’s smile grew, “Okay, I have a secret to tell you, Coop.” She said quietly.

Cooper nodded, brows furrowed in confusion and leaning down when Cassie beckoned him to.

This is really strange.

Cassie tucked her hair behind her ear before she tilted her head up and cupped a hand over her mouth as she whispered to Cooper, “One day,” she whispered quietly, “I’m going to do what my dad does.”

Cooper furrowed his brows further, “Be an electrical engineer?” He asked quietly.

Cassie shook her head quickly, smile growing, “No, no, the other thing.”

“A criminal?”

Cassie smacked his arm, but worry was growing in Cooper. Cassie laughed lightly as if her next words meant nothing, “No, like Ant-Man .” She whispered.

Cooper’s face dropped, unbelieving, “Ant-Man?” He echoed.

Cassie nodded excitedly, “I want to be like my dad, Coop. Help people in the way he can. And I know how , too—”

“No,” Cooper interrupted, leaning away, “Cass, you can’t .”

Her brows furrowed, “What do you mean ‘I can’t’.”

“Because you aren’t your dad, Cassie. You aren’t some superpowered being either.”

“Well, your dad isn’t superpowered either.” She pointed out defensively.

“Yeah, he’s not. But he was a spy first and was trained in archery since he was a kid. Your dad got picked up by some smart old guy and was a good enough man to take an opportunity and do good with it. Cass, you and me are just people who happen to be related to them,”

Cassie shook her head, anger brewing in her eyes, “But I can do more , Cooper—”

“No, you can’t, Cassie.” Cooper repeated firmly, “You're human, average, going through college and being nineteen.”

“Cooper—”

“I’m not done,” Cooper cut her off, concern for his friend growing stronger, “Cassie, you aren’t your dad. And you aren’t like Hope, or Hank, or my dad, or Natasha, or any of ‘em. I’m sorry to break your heart here, but being a superhero doesn’t look like it’s part of your life plan.”

Cassie stepped back from Cooper, looking offended and standoffish, “But I can do this!”

Cooper crossed his arms over his chest, trying to maintain his cool, “What would your dad even say about this crazy plan, Cass?”

Her fury grew, “Stop bringing up my dad!”

“Then stop thinking about this stupid plan!”

“I want to help people!”

“Then volunteer places, research something important, Cassie, do anything else but become a superhero!”

Cassie shook her head, disbelieving, “I was hoping you’d support me, Cooper.”

Cooper scoffed, “I can’t support an insane plan, Cass.”

Cassie’s fury grew with each of Cooper’s words, showing within her pinched up expression and tense shoulders, “I can do this, Barton, whether you believe me or not.” She stated, “And I will . I’ll be as good as my dad, better even.”

“And what’s your dad gonna say if you die out there?” Cooper dared to say.

Cassie looked as if Cooper had slapped her, flinching away from him, “You’re a fucking prick, Cooper.”

Cooper shook his head, “No, I’m being your best friend, Cassie. Because I know how dangerous that kind of life is and I don’t want you to get involved in it.”

“And how would you kn—”

Cooper straightened up, anger bubbling to the surface, “Cassie, there’s a fucking reason why I didn’t live around my dad until I was sixteen . There’s a reason why he never taught me anything about archery, a reason why he kept me and my mom at an arm's distance. It’s because his life , his career , is dangerous and it has been since before he even met my mom! He cares for us, loves us, so he didn’t want us getting hurt! And you want to know something, Cass? I understood why he had to do that shit. Especially after his life came to bite us all in the ass when I was sixteen and I had to kill somebody to escape HYDRA ,” He hissed, “Being a superhero, a vigilante, anything , is dangerous, Cassie, and there’s a fucking reason why your dad never let you around Ant-Man.”

Cassie looked up at Cooper with disdain and a visual feeling of betrayal. Cooper knew his words hurt, knew that what he was saying would bite deep, but what Cassie was proposing was insane . Cassie Lang is as normal as Cooper. The kind of lives their families live wasn’t made for them. Their parents had made sure of that.

“You just won’t understand what I’m saying, Cooper. I want to do good things in the world, not as an Ant-Man, but as my own hero. Out of my father’s shadow.” She said pointedly.

Cooper raised a brow, “You sayin’ I live in my father’s shadow, Lang?” She looked satisfied enough with his words that Cooper was fuming , “What am I doin’ in life, Cassie? Being Cooper fucking Barton! I’m doing the thing I love and making a name for myself! I’m having fun with friends and spending time with my family. I’m doing all that great shit instead of dreaming of saving the world with superpowers and guns.”

Cassie backed away from him, shaking her head.

“I can’t wait for the day I prove you wrong, Cooper.” She muttered before she turned on her heel and hurried towards her dormitory.

Cooper threw his arms up into the air, “I just want you safe , Cassie. Everyone does!” He yelled after her.

She ignored him and only now did Cooper feel the loud thumping of his heart. He felt like punching something, yelling some more, maybe even cry.

Because this shit was frustrating and scary .

By instinct, Cooper stuck his hand into his jeans pocket to slip out his phone to text his dad, mom, or just someone , since his he was obviously now stranded in Brooklyn, but his heart dropped when his hand come in contact with nothing.

He searched the rest of his pockets frantically, and came up empty for both his phone and wallet.

His heart sank further when he realized what had happened.

Cassie still has his hoodie, which had his wallet and phone in it.

Fuck .

The door Cassie had entered through only led to the dorm hall and had automatic locks, he knew that pretty fucking well, and he had no way of contacting her now.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Cooper groaned aloud, running his hands through his hair and cursing under his breath because now he was stuck in fucking Brooklyn, shirtless, phoneless, moneyless, cold, angry, maybe down a best friend if things went wrong enough, and wetish.

Life fucking hates the Bartons.

Cooper’s eyes burned with angry, frustrated tears.

He refused to cry though and instead sucked in a slow, shaky breath and turned on his heel and started walking.

He was fairly sure there was a payphone a few blocks down and he could only hope and pray that there was a stray quarter there or along the way.

If there wasn’t, well, Cooper would have to walk his shivering ass down to a police station or something or else he’d be fucking screwed.

He just really hoped he didn’t end up being the poor soul to get mugged or something. He just… couldn't deal with that tonight. And if HYDRA could keep their grimy hand to themselves, that’d also be fucking great.

When Cooper reached the payphone, he sighed, long and hard, and went searching for a quarter.

When Cooper nudged something small and round with his foot only a moment later, he sent his ultimate thanks to whatever god was sympathizing with Cooper on this cold night, because he found a single quarter on the ground.

Cooper entertained a few people to call.

First and foremost, there was his mom. But he had no way to explain why he was walking around shirtless, wet, and angry in Brooklyn without revealing his evil and nefarious acts of the night (according to a certain, upset girl).

There was his dad but he was pretty sure even his dad couldn’t excuse his actions. His dad was a really, really possible option, but he just couldn't talk to his dad like this, right now. And there was no way of telling if James would cut him any slack tonight.

Cooper already knew he couldn’t just avoid getting a lecture. It was inevitable, but he just. Couldn’t. Do. It. Right. Now.

Not when he was on the verge of crying over his best friend and screaming over his worries.

He could call Pietro, but he was probably worried enough over Peter patrolling. He also definitely wasn’t calling any of the original Avengers because they’d just call his dad immediately and he would at least like to get a shirt on before that happened.

Cooper ran a hand down his face.

Even if she’s his dad’s best friend, even if she was only visiting New York right now, even if she had her own kids to deal with…. Cooper wanted, needed , to dial his Auntie.

And dial he did.

Unexpectedly, Natasha answered on the second ring.

A part of him thought she may ignore the call since her number was supposed to be hush hush, but maybe that’s why she answered.

He spoke before she could, “Hey, Auntie.” He whispered.

There was silence on the end for a moment, “Cooper?” Natasha asked, just as quietly.

Cooper nodded, even if she couldn't see it, “Yeah, yeah… it’s me. I, uh, need a ride if you can help me out.”

Silence again.

“Of course, Cooper,” Natasha replied earnestly, “Where are you?”

Cooper sighed in relief before he glanced around and listed the street, “Same one that Cassie’s school is on.” He muttered afterwords.

Natasha hummed in acknowledgement, “I’ll be there soon, okay? Just sit tight and… and watch your back.”

“Sure. Thanks— oh, and, uh, if you can… I’ll need a shirt, maybe.”

Silence once more, “Okay, Cooper. I’ll be there soon.”

Cooper gave her an affirmative before she hung up. He had a feeling she could tell just by his voice that this situation wasn’t the same as a ‘I need Black Widow!’ situation. It was an ‘I need my aunt’ situation.

Cooper sighed again, this time tiredly before he hung the phone back up and turned so he was facing the street.

And he waited. For a long while.

Natasha pulled up in her deep black car, some sleek but family friendly model that Cooper vaguely recalled as something he’d seen in Tony’s garage and in his home’s driveway before.

She rolled down the window facing Cooper as she parked against the curb. Due to a lack of light, Cooper didn’t see Natasha’s reaction as he walked up to the car. It didn’t really matter, as Natasha suddenly left her car and hurried around the front. She reached out quickly and took hold of Cooper’s arms, face screwed up with concern.

“Cooper—” she started.

Cooper shook his head, cutting her off, “I’m fine.” He assured wearily. He sighed just the same, “Just needed some support or whatever.”

Natasha looked at him closely for a long moment before she nodded and guided him to the passenger side of the car.

They got in on their own but still didn’t properly talk, even as they started driving. Admittedly, Cooper wasn’t entirely sure where Natasha had been tonight. Maybe she had been with his dad, maybe getting ready for bed at the compound.

After the first turn, Natasha spoke up, “There’s a t-shirt in the backseat if you can reach it.”

Cooper nodded, hesitating before he lifted himself up and stretched back to curl a hand surround the fabric he saw lying on the seat. He pulled the shirt on silently.

They slowed at a red light.

Natasha tapped a finger on the steering wheel. Cooper noticed that her long, red hair was pulled up into a ponytail while she wore what looked like a romper of some sort. Now that he was looking, Cooper was fairly sure his aunt had been out doing things still. She still seemed dressed for the day.

It made cooper feel a little better that he hadn’t stolen his aunt away from sleep, but he worried he had stolen her night away.

Light still red, Natasha angled her face towards Cooper, “Did you need to talk?”

Cooper really, really did.

He shrugged, leaning into his seat, “Some shit happened tonight.”

Natasha hummed. The light turned green and the car began moving again.

“Can you promise to not get mad at me for what I’m about to admit to?” Cooper blurted.

Natasha didn’t flinch or reveal her true emotions, “As long as you don’t say you murdered someone or stole something.”

Cooper steeled himself, “My friends and I broke into a pool.”

Natasha raised a brow, turning on her left turn signal, “Breaking and entering or found a way in.”

“Second one.”

“Trespassing then.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Natasha nodded slowly before she pulled up to the curb and put the car in park. She turned towards Cooper, “Tell me whatever you can, Coop, I’ll listen.”

That alone brought tears to Cooper’s eyes.

Cooper wrapped his arms around his torso and sighed, “The night was actually fun for awhile there and, uh, yeah, we trespassed. Almost got, uh, caught, too. But we didn’t. And I’m… I’m sorry for even doing that in the first place. But after is what really went bad.” Natasha nodded along to his words, “I was walking Cassie home and… we got in a fight, bad fight. We… it’s not my place to talk about what , I guess, but Cassie left mad at me and I left feeling like I needed to fuckin’ sob . A-And now I’m not sure where we’re at now a-and I just feel so frustrated . And apparently Cassie is all suspicious about my friend or s-something when all I want for her is for her to be safe and okay and happy. I hope she wants the same for me but then she said some stuff and it all just sucks, Nat, it sucks .”

Natasha stares at him with a sympathetic gaze before she reached out and gently wiped at his cheek. He hadn’t even know that tears had escaped his eyes.

“Oh, Cooper,” she mumbled, “Darling, it’s okay .” Natasha pulled Cooper into a hug over the center console, “It will all turn out alright, Coop, I promise you.”

“But it’s all so bad .” Cooper choked out quietly.

Natasha held him tighter, “You and Cassie have known each other for far too long to let one fight break you apart. And, if it does, Cooper, there are many people for you to comfort you or reprimand you, whatever is needed.”

Cooper nodded, holding onto his aunt tightly and squeezing his eyes shut.

When they eventually pulled away, Cooper hastily wiped at his eyes and gave a self deprecating laugh.

Natasha eyed him for a moment before she spoke again, “I think it's best to let you know that your mom, dad, the entire family is over at your house right now worried over you. You didn’t answer our calls or our texts—”

“Cassie has my phone.” Cooper cut in.

Natasha’s brows rose, “She has your phone?”

Cooper nodded as he wrapped his arms around himself again, “M’hoodie too,” he mumbled, “And my wallet.”

Concern grew on Natasha’s face and Cooper abruptly spoke again to reassure her, “Cassie stomped off with my hoodie and my things in it after our fight. I’m sure it was an accident. A really, really unfortunate accident.”

Natasha’s face cleared, but there still seemed to be mild irritation lingering.

She put the car back into drive with a sigh, “Be prepared for the worried people waiting for you, Coop. And maybe try to get away from them as quick as possible so wash off the smell of chlorine.”

Cooper nodded and let his head drop back against the seat.

His heart still felt heavy.

➳

When Cooper woke up the next morning, he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom.

He wasn’t exactly sure that Gwen and Miles got home fine since he didn’t have his phone, but he just tried to reassure himself that when Pietro was at his house the night before he didn’t look worried about anyone but Cooper.

Speaking of, Cooper, after a short shower, had to sit through three lectures. One from his mom, one from his dad, and another from James. In his still emotional state, Cooper had accidentally let it slip that he had trespassed so that earned the first lecture from his mom. The lecture from his dad came from staying out past curfew. The one from James came from the realization that Cooper had gone along with the illegal activities of the night. He tried to find joy in the fact that they hadn’t found out about all the specifics of the night.

But, upon hearing how his night ended with Cassie, his grounding got relieved from a month to three weeks. He was even banned from taking the subway past six o’clock. Not that Cooper really minded. He didn’t even like taking the subway at night.

Cooper took another shower after he got out of bed. He bumped into Lila on his way to the kitchen after that, but all she did was quickly wave at him as she left the room with a granola bar in her mouth. She walked over to the front door where Garrett was waiting for her. She was dressed for ballet, so Cooper assumed she must’ve had a morning class today. It reminded him of the promise he made for himself, which made him think about last night all over again.

Cooper sighed and went about making himself breakfast.

Once he sat down with a bowl of cereal and coffee, Cooper was… unsure. Usually he would be texting his friends and family good morning and checking emails. A pit of worry formed in Cooper’s stomach at the thought of his situation with Cassie.

He stuffed a bite of cereal into his mouth.

He had work today anyways. He had other things to worry about.

Surprisingly, as Cooper was washing his hands after sticking his dishes into the dishwasher, the doorbell rang.

Cooper startled with the noise but gravitated towards the door. He looked through the peephole first and was even more startled when he saw who was standing there.

He threw the door open.

Cassie jumped, letting out a quiet, surprised gasp.

She and Cooper stared at each other for a few moments.

In her arms, Cooper’s hoodie was gathered with his phone and wallet resting atop it. With another look at her face, Cooper realized that the girl looked... relieved,

“Hey.” Cooper greeted quietly. He leaned against the doorframe, feeling nervous.

Cassie shifted on her feet, “Yeah, uh, good morning.”

Silence fell over them momentarily.

Cooper nodded, mostly to himself, eyeing the items in her arms, “What’re you doin’ here?”

Cassie hesitated, “I texted you last night to apologize… got pissed when you didn’t respond.” She lifted her arms and the items in them slightly, “Then I realized I had your phone. And your wallet. I kind of freaked out because that meant I stranded you out in the middle of Brooklyn, shirtless, cold, and with no means of contact or money. I ran outside, but then you were gone, I freaked out some more, but then your dad texted your phone and I found out you were fine. And at home.” She shifted on her feet again,” And… now I’m here.”

“I had my aunt pick me up,” Cooper muttered.

Cassie nodded before she awkwardly jut out her arms, “Here’re your things. I kinda feel like a dick for taking them.”

Cooper took the items back, feeling unusually awkward around Cassie. Their past argument still hung over them.

“Cassie,” Cooper started, “I’ve gotta get ready for work and I’m grounded, so I can’t really talk.”

Cassie’s eyes widened partially before she waved a hand dismissively, “‘Course,” she stepped back hesitantly, clasping her hands together in front of herself, “I’ll… see you ‘round, Coop.” She mumbled.

As she turned around and started walking away, Cooper found himself speaking again, “If you stop by at the end of my shift at work, we can talk during my walk home.”

Cassie nearly stumbled, turning around to face Cooper quickly, “Really?”

“Yeah. Four o’clock.”

Cassie smiled, a small smile, before she nodded, “See you then.”

When she was gone and Cooper shut the door behind himself, he really did start getting ready for work. Moreso to busy his mind.

➳

gwen   |    1:20 am

got home fine, barton :)

gwen   |    1:21 am

text me when you can so we can do some more ballet lol

miles   |    12:06 am

home now! parents didn’t know i even left for the night btw

miles   |    12:06 am

are you free tomorrow cuz i wanted to buy some new spray paint and i need a second opinion and gwen’s busy

cassie   |    11:56

I'm sorry for snapping at you tonight. It’s just frustrating that you don’t support me on this. I know you want the best for me, but I really want you to understand that this is really important to me.

cassie   |    12:00 am

I think we also really need to talk this over in person sometime soon.

cassie   |    12:10 am

Did you get home okay? Can you at least tell me that?

cassie   |    12:15 am

I’m going to stop by tomorrow morning with your hoodie, phone, and wallet.

cassie   |    12:15 am

Don’t know why I texted that. Obviously you aren’t going to see it in time.

warren    |    3:10 am

We’re throwing a party @ the mansion this Friday bc prof is gonna be gone. You up for it? Scott even convinced his brother to come along. Bring Cassie if you want, too. Not Gwen and Miles though. There’s definitely gonna be some drunk people there and I don’t want them getting involved in that.

warren    |   3:12 am

Thought it over, gonna ban alcohol from this party. Don’t need that kinda shit around anybody. Still thinking about if Gwen and Miles can come. Party may not be suitable for anyone under eighteen either way.

warren    |    4:00 am

dude Kurt is so fucking cute I can’t stand him I love him text me when you wake up so I can talk about my boyfriend please and thanks

dad   |    12:00 pm

I know you’re grounded but did you want to see the new Disney movie with James and I

mom    |    2:00 pm

Hope work is going good today, buddy!!! We’re having chicken tonight and Vision dropped off some cupcakes today in thanks for cat sitting Albert so make sure you’re hungry when your get home!!! Love you

tommy    |    6:00 pm

you didn’t come for dinner tonight so say bye bye mr. hoodie