Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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The bell rang in Midtown Tech, sign of the end of that usual, utterly boring Thursday, and brought Peter Parker’s mind back to Mr. Harrington’s science class he was currently attending.

 With a look around the class, he saw that his classmates didn’t look any more interested than he was, some of them hiding their phones on their lap, or absently looking at the window. His eyes scanned the room, until he found the one he was looking for. 

 Since the beginning of the year, Wanda had joined him at school, and since they were the same age, the Avengers had been able to enroll her in the same class as Peter, even though she was quite behind in academic knowledge after her years in the streets and Strucker’s experiments. They were telling everybody that she was Peter’s cousin from another country, and that she had to move to America after her parents had died in an accident. That actually could explain her accent, that was slowly beginning to fade.

 The two teenagers were the only Avengers still able to lead kind of a normal life, as Peter always wore a mask when he was Spider-man, and Wanda had always managed to keep her face and name hidden, thanks to the help of the rest of the team.

 Said girl was currently doodling something in her notebook, her head propped up on one elbow, paying no attention to him or anything around her, until the bell brought her back to reality.

 As everyone started to put their stuff in their bags, Mr. Harington began talking again, raising an arm to catch his student’s attention.

“Before you leave, it’s time to announce where the class will have its annual field trip, as it’s the tradition in this school, as all of you are well aware.”

Whispers of excitement ran in the room, replacing the groans of boredom, and grumpiness for being held back after the bell.

“This year, and for the first time ever, we have the extreme privilege and honor to have been granted an invitation to visit Stark Industries, at the Stark Tower itself, also known as the Avengers compound.”

He hadn’t even finished his sentence that whispers became shouts all over the classroom. Peter’s eyes went wide, and he whipped his head so fast towards the back of the room that he thought he had pulled a muscle, but right now he didn’t care. His eyes met a pair of green orbs, as wide as his.

 Wanda had gone white when she heard the location. How could they keep their life a secret if their field trip was to happen in their own home? It was almost impossible.

 Mr. Harrington went on: “The slips are on my desk, take one before leaving, and I want them signed by tomorrow. The trip will be on next Monday, the whole day.”

Everybody got up, took a slip, and left the room. Peter was waiting for Wanda just outside the door, as she was always slower to pick up her things.

 As he was leaning against the wall, he was shoved by Flash that towered over him, looking at him straight in the eyes.

“So, Parker?  Ready to be exposed? Everybody will know that your internship was only a lie. And same with your precious little cousin too stupid to defend herself.”

Peter was about to answer when he felt. A hand on his shoulder. He looked down and recognized Wanda’s slim ring-covered fingers. When he turned around to face her, she just shook her head.

“He is not worth it, Peter, he will just see on Monday” she said, slipping her hand in his and pulling him in the opposite direction.

Indeed, everyone knew that Peter worked at Stark Industries as an intern, even if very few actually believed him. But that status had to be extended to Wanda when one of their classmates had saw her enter a Stark car, when Peter was not there to be her excuse. 

 Flash particularly enjoyed questioning that piece of information, telling everyone that Wanda was way too dumb to work there, and that her English was not even good enough to be understood. Peter always stood up for her, knowing how her education was a sore topic for her. Wanda herself rarely fought back, afraid of the possibility that she might lose control and cause an accident that would have terrible consequences for everybody.

 Once they had made a few steps in the hallway, and that they were far enough so Flash’s voice didn’t reach them anymore, Wanda let Peter’s hand go and they walked together to the school’s gates.

“I’m so going to kill Tony, he has to be the one that set that trip up” Peter said, sighing.

“Probably, but I am sure he isn’t the only one involved, the others must have backed him up.” Wanda answered, nodding her head.

“They only did that to embarrass us, and that’s just not cool. Why does it have to be us?”

Wanda couldn’t help but laugh at Peter’s pouting face, even though she felt exactly the same, and she could have done without the extra attention that the trip would surely bring on her.

But it really sounded like their team to plan such a thing just to annoy their youngest members.

 School was over for the day and Wanda and Peter took out their skateboard. It was something that Peter had taught Wanda in the early stages of their friendship, and both of them now enjoyed wandering in the streets when neither of them had a mission or patrol. They had decided that they would go to school like this when Happy couldn’t take them, and that was the case today. 

 Quickly enough they were at the tower and they headed for the back of the building, where there was their usual smaller lobby, reserved to the tower’s inhabitants, the Avengers team. They entered and after flashing their badges and saying hi to FRIDAY, they entered the elevator. In a few minutes span, they were at the top, where the living quarters were, happy to finally be home after that exhausting day.

But one problem remained: how could they tell their fellow Avengers about that one field trip? And more importantly, how could they make sure they that wouldn’t interfere?

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"Je t’ai vu tracer le long du paysage
Une ligne des aimées qui détruisent ton langage
Et quand tu chantais plus fort dans ton silence
Je voyais les larmes couler toujours à contresens"

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas 

Chapter Text

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Natasha had just finished her training session in the gym with the others. She went to the kitchen to find something to drink and have a few minutes to herself. When she entered the common space, she spotted two backpacks dropped on the floor next to the door, a blue one, and a red one. “Peter and Wanda must be home” she thought.

 Going further in the room, she noticed Wanda sitting on a bar stool at the kitchen island, buried in her books. The girl knew she was very behind in her studies and academic knowledge but didn’t hold back her efforts to catch up, impressing everyone with her focus and dedication as well as her will to do well.

Natasha went closer and leant over Wanda’s shoulder. She was reading a poem and taking notes at the same time, with a look of pure concentration on her face, frowning every time she met a word she didn’t recognize.

“Hey, how was your day?” the red head asked, making Wanda jump a little and yelp when she heard Natasha’s voice in her ear.

The spy laughed and Wanda sighed, before lifting her head to make eye contact. She shrugged, and went back to her poem.

“As usual”

Wanda didn’t really like talking about school and Natasha knew the girl didn’t have many friends, but she never complained.

“What about yours?”

 “As usual”

Once more, Wanda met Natasha’s eyes and pretended to be hurt by the repetition of the answer she gave just a few seconds earlier.

Natasha was the one Wanda felt the closest to and the more comfortable with, even more since she became her legal guardian, just like Tony was now Peter’s. 

“Where is Peter?” Natasha asked, when she looked around but didn’t see any of the boy’s books nor any school stuff.

 “In his room.”

Natasha leant forward and placed a gentle kiss on the girl’s temple before straightening up. She went to the cupboard and took out a glass, that she filled before starting drinking.

“Clint and Tony have planned a movie night tonight, so I hope that you want pizza and pop-corn because there is no way to bail out on this one. Team building, they said.”

 “As long as it’s not one of their 80’s bad comedy, it’s fine by me”

 “Please, let them hear you” Natasha answered.

Wanda rolled her eyes and closed her books, homework done for the day. She stood up and put everything away in her bag. She liked to keep everything tidy and neat.

“I’m going to have a shower then. Let’s hope they won’t mind me being in my pajamas”

 “You know they won’t” the redhead answered, turning her back to the girl to put down her glass.

Wanda went out the door, leaving Natasha wash her glass and go to her own room to have a shower as well.

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When the elevator dinged, announcing the arrival of pizzas, Tony and Clint had the movie and the pop-corn ready for movie night.

 The whole team of Avengers was sprawled on the living room couches. It was quite a common occurrence to have them all gathered at night in front of a movie, but who could have thought that the great Avengers could be so domestic?

 Pizzas were shared, and they were far into the movie, almost reaching the end. Wanda was starting to fall asleep with her head on Natasha’s lap, that was distractedly running her hand in her auburn locks, and her legs across Steve.

 Tony suddenly began to talk, catching everyone’s attention. 

“I think our two little students here have something to tell us, or at least make us sign, am I right?” he said with a wicked grin.

Peter rolled his eyes so high that his eyebrows disappeared under his hair falling on his forehead, and Wanda sat up, definitely awake by now.

“I am sure you’re the one responsible for all that” Peter said, pointing an accusing finger towards his father figure.

 “What are we talking about?” Natasha asked, confused

It was Peter that answered: “Our class has a field trip planned on Monday”

Looks were exchanged all across the room, and playful grins started to appear on the other’s faces.

“And isn’t that nice?”

 “It should have been” Wanda said, slumping back on the couch, arms folded on her chest. “But someone thought that it would be so fun to invite our whole class to come visit here”

No one bothered hiding their laughs anymore, confirming the teens’ suspicions about who had planned their ordeal. Wanda sank further on the couch, movie definitely forgotten.

“You got to be kidding me” she whispered, but loud enough for everyone to hear and cause another fit of laughter.

But Tony went on: “We just wanted to meet your class, see who your friends are, just to know you guys a little better”, he tried to justify, without feeling sorry in the slightest.

“So, I guess there is no problem for you to sign our papers.” Peter said, his position mimicking Wanda’s.

 “Bring them here, kid”

Peter and Wanda got up and came back a few seconds later with each a bright pink paper slip and a pen. Peter gave his to Tony and Wanda hers to Natasha. They both signed and gave the papers back.

“I swear I didn’t know” Natasha told Wanda as she gave her back the signed paper.

 “But I guess it will not keep you from enjoying all of this, will it?”

 “Probably not”

Wanda sighed and took both papers. She was used to keeping the important papers for both of them because Peter had the habit to lose everything that fell in his hands, especially if it was important.

 It was time for bed now, and everyone went to their room, Peter and Wanda still mad at their teammates, that were more family than colleagues.

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"Mais quand les saisons attendront ton retour
Ce sera le vent qui portera secours

Et si la terre est sombre, et si la pluie te noie
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse trembler ensemble
Et si le jour ne vient pas dans la nuit des perdus
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse crier tout bas
Crier tout bas "

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

Chapter Text

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“Kids please, before leaving, don’t forget to hand in your permission slips for Monday’s field trip. Put them on my desk please” Mr. Harrington said when the bell rang the next day.

Everybody gathered their things and left the room.

“And Mr. Parker, and Miss Maximoff, can I see you for a minute?”

The two Avengers stayed behind and stood in front of the desk, not knowing what to expect. They kept glancing nervously at each other. Mr. Harrington leaned back on his chair and looked closely at the two teenagers. Wanda had never been more tempted to peak into his head to see what was coming, but she stood still and started wringing her hands. Their teacher’s silence was beginning to feel oppressive.

“I heard Mr. Thompson talking about your internships at Stark Industries, and how this trip would be the occasion to expose both of you. I know it can be hard to fit in, especially in high school, and even more when you come from another country and another culture” the science teacher said, looking at Wanda particularly, whose eyes were downcast. “But you both really shouldn’t lie to your classmates to be more interesting.”

Peter and Wanda were at a loss. Even their teacher didn’t believe them.

“Sir, I swear it’s the truth”

“I really advise you to tell the truth before Monday, or it will be embarrassing for you, but mostly for our school. I don’t need to remind you that this visit is a privilege that we were kindly given by Mr. Stark himself, I do not wish to be disappointed nor embarrassed by your behavior.”

 “But Sir, we just told you that…” Wanda said as she took a step forward.

 “No Wanda, enough of this. Do as you’re told, and we won’t talk about it anymore.”

 “You don’t believe us” That was more a statement than a question, and the girl had spoken in a really soft voice, but with a look in her eyes that Peter knew way too much. He put his hand on her forearm, grasping the fabric of her dress to keep her from moving forward.

 “Okay, let’s go Wanda. Sir, I am really sorry that you don’t believe us, but I guess you’ll see on Monday, just like everyone else. Excuse her, she hates being called a liar. And so do I, by the way.” Peter said, pulling the little witch towards the door.

In the hallway, Wanda was fuming, and to make everything worse, Flash was waiting for them. Apparently, he had heard the whole conversation.

“Well, so you’re even lying to the teacher now, congratulations, I didn’t think you had it in you. But seriously guys, who would believe that Stark Industries could hire two dumb people like you two?” he said in an almost condescending tone of voice.

It only made Wanda angrier, and Peter had to hold her back to keep her from jumping on Flash. A red spark appeared in her eyes, and Flash took a step back when he saw it. 

“And on top of that, she’s crazy. No wonder why she had to leave her country, I am sure no one wanted an insane girl like her back there.”

Wanda stopped trying to escape Peter’s hold and went still, eyes more threatening than ever.

“You don’t know anything about me, you don’t get to talk about my country, or my family. You don’t get to talk about it at all” she said in a low voice, her accent thicker with every word that left her mouth.

Peter felt that the situation could easily get out of hand, especially when he felt Wanda’s hands grow warmer in his own. Now was definitely time for them to leave.

“Okay Flash, we get it, you don’t believe us, just wait for Monday, you’ll see then. Please come on Wanda, let’s go”

Happy was waiting for them a few streets away and they climbed at the back of the black shiny car. The head of security really liked the two young fighters and when he picked them up from school, light and lively conversation always seemed to float between them. But today, Happy felt that something wasn’t right as silence fell heavily on them.

He looked in the rear mirror. Peter seemed fine, glancing from time to time towards Wanda. The girl had her face half hidden behind a long curtain of dark hair and was leaning against the window.

“Miss Maximoff are you alright?”

 “Yes Happy, I am sorry, I am just a bit tired”

 “Do you want me to inform Mr. Stark and Miss Romanov that you’re back”. He asked once they were parked in front of the huge tower they called home.

 “No thanks, Happy, it’s fine” Peter said, before slipping out of the car.

Clint, Steve and Tony were all in the living and they heard FRIDAY talk to them.

“Mr. Parker and Miss Maximoff are back, they will be here in approximatively twenty seconds”

 “Thanks FRI” Tony answered, and they turned towed the metal doors of the elevator. Indeed, the metal box dinged, and the doors opened, revealing the two teenagers. Wanda didn’t even look at them and headed straight to her room, shutting the door behind her. 

 “Bad day at school?” Steve asked, stating the obvious.

Peter shrugged and slumped on the couch next to Clint.

“You could say that”

Silence fell upon them. Steve wanted to know more, but Wanda’s room door opened once again, and she came out, wearing a pair of black leggings and a baggy burgundy shirt, with trainers on her feet. She disappeared in the hallway that led to the gym.

“I guess she doesn’t want to talk about it,” the super soldier said, looking expectantly at Peter.

 “Nah, I guess not”

They all knew that sometimes Wanda needed to be alone et let loose to calm down, and that it was better to just let her be if you didn’t want to be hit with a beam of scarlet magic.

When she came out two hours later, she was back to “normal”, at least by Peter’s standards and the rest of the evening went smoothly. Only Steve was missing, as he had to leave for a mission and wouldn’t be back before Saturday evening.

 The two kids spent the rest of the evening in Tony’s lab, with Tony and Peter working on their latest project, and Wanda reading, curled on one of the chairs and covered by her favorite red knitted blanket that Laura had sent her a few months ago.

Tony had tried to know what had put the girl in such a bad mood by asking Peter, but the boy had refused to answer him and when he saw that Wanda had calmed down, he decided to drop the subject, as he afraid that pressing the issue would upset the witch and spark a scarlet storm, and he was way too tired to deal with that tonight. The kids would open up when they would feel the need to. At least that’s what Natasha had said, and Tony trusted her judgment. Among all of them, she always seemed to know what was best for the kids, especially if it involved Wanda.

 Tony and Peter then blew up their third vial for the night and Tony decided to call it a night, at least for the two kids, after promising Peter that they would ask for Bruce’s help next time. They both went to bed, each of them trying to figure out how they could survive Monday.

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"J’ai voulu calmer ton souffle qui s’étouffait
Des courses vers le vide, ton rire qui soupirait
Si tu mets le cap vers des eaux restant troubles
Je serai le phare qui te guidera toujours" 

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

Chapter Text

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Monday morning came way too quickly for Peter’s liking. We woke up as usual with FRIDAY’s voice telling him the time, weather and wishing him a good day. He sat up in bed, and when he realized the day, and what he had to do today, he fell backwards, covering his head with his pillow.

 Still, he had no time to dwell on that thought, and leisure in bed, so he got up in order not to be late. Once properly dressed in old jeans and blue shirt that Tony had given him, he headed for the kitchen, where everyone was already there.

 As always, he was the last one up. Clint was sat on one of the kitchen bar stools, nose in his coffee, Steve had his back to him, preparing what looked like scrambled eggs. Finally, Wanda was in the living room area, sat on the floor in front of Natasha that was on the couch braiding her hair in an intricate long auburn plait.

Peter plopped down next to Clint, sighed and let his head fall on his folded arms. The archer patted his back, without looking at him.

“Please, don’t embarrass us too much, the trip is not that big of a deal” Peter said lifting his head.

 “You know us Peter, you really should trust us more, kid, we’re a team after all” Clint answered, sipping his coffee.

 “That’s exactly the problem, I know you, that’s what scares me”

Wanda’s voice reached them from her spot on the floor: “I really am with Peter on that one, it is already awkward enough to have a field trip at home, we don’t need you to make it worse.”

“I’ll keep them in check, don’t worry” Natasha said, tying the braid with the black elastic Wanda was handing her.

 “I don’t know why, but that doesn’t make me feel better. At all.”

Natasha tugged on the braid affectuously before letting her stand up to join Peter. She helped herself in his plate, which earned her a playful shove from the boy, but didn’t keep her from doing it again.

 Steve turned around and pointed to the watch on his wrist.

“Okay kids, you might want to get going, or you’re gonna be late”

Wanda sighed and threw her head backwards, groaning.

“Tasha, do I really need to go? It’s going to be horrible, please, don’t make me” she said in a whining voice while sending the spy her best pleading look, with puppy eyes and all.

Natasha didn’t even answer, laughed quietly and only pointed to the elevator. Wanda sighed again but stood up and grabbed her back that she flung on her shoulder: “I though you would be a little bit more understanding but apparently, I was wrong.”

“Too bad Missy. Now go on, Steve is right you’re going to be late, and I’m sure you don’t me to be called by your principle because you were not there in time.” Natasha said, and Wanda hung her head theatrically.

 “But since the trip is here, it’s rather pointless to go to school just to come back here right away, could we just wait here for the others?” Peter tried to negotiate.

Tony heard the end of the conversation when he entered the room, his tablet in hand, probably reading the news.

“For someone who wanted to keep his activities here a secret, you realize that if your classmates saw both of you here so early in the morning, they would have even more questions, right?”

Peter stared him down for an instant, opened his mouth to answer, but closed it, having nothing to say. He grabbed his bag and followed Wanda that was waiting for him in the elevator.

“Hurry up, Happy is already downstairs waiting for you!” Steve shouted as the metal doors closed.

When the two young Avengers reached their school, the bus that was meant to bring them back where they just came from was already there, as well as most of their classmates. They tried to slip at the back of the group, without being noticed, but it was unsuccessful. Flash had seen them and moved towards them.

“Parker and Maximoff, I must confess that I didn’t think you would come today, I am impressed.”

 “Just leave us be, Flash, don’t you have something better to do?” Peter said, already tired of his banter.

But Flash ignored him and went on: “I wouldn’t miss for the world the face you will make when everyone finally knows you’re just two pathetic liars.”

Peter took a step forwards, but M. Harrington arrived at that exact moment.

“Hey kids, is everybody there?”

Flash turned his back to them and faced the teacher that had started to call the roll. Once that was done, they climbed on the bus and Peter and Wanda sat at the back. The journey was longer than when Happy was driving them, but they eventually arrived at the gigantic tower that they called home. Peter lifted his gaze to see the top. He was going to kill Tony.

 The lobby was as grand as the rest of the building as it was the first view that people had when they came in for the first time, so it was designed to impress.

Everything was airy and modern, in light tones and with a high ceiling. Abstract sculptures in aluminum were scattered in the edges of the room, and big white couches were next to the walls. Above the main desk hung a big bronze plaque on which the letters SI were carved in an intricate pattern.

 The students were in awe. Their heads were facing every direction, but the group stayed huddled, as if a bit nervous in front of such a display.

“Stay right there, don’t go wandering around, I will check us in.” M. Harrington told them before making his way to the front desk.

People were coming and going around them, exiting and entering the glass elevators. Some of them wore white lab coat above their clothes, some others dressed in expensive-looking suits in neutral colors. The only splashes of colors came from the employee’s badges, pinned on the front of their clothing.

 A few minutes later, M; Harrington came back with a young woman that Peter was sure he had seen at least once but couldn’t place her or remember her name. She was tall, with strawberry blond hair that fell on her shoulders and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a white lab coat and a green badge. With one look that scanned the whole class, she introduced herself with a smile.

“Hello everyone, I am Rachel and I will be your guide for the tour of the tower. Before starting, I am going to give each of you a badge that you’ll have to wear the whole day on the outer layer of your clothes. Don’t lose it, you won’t be given another one, and our head of security is very strict about that. If he sees you without one, he will be quite… unhappy.”

Only Wanda and Peter chuckled at the joke that their classmates couldn’t understand.

“When I call your name, please step forward so you can take your badge.”

She plunged her hand in the little basket she was carrying and held it back up with a handful of white badges. She called the roll and passed the badges around except for Wanda and Peter that already got theirs, even though they didn’t actually need them to wander freely in the building. That raised a few questions from their classmates, that were dismissed by Rachel telling them that she wasn’t entitled to answer that kind of questions.

“Why is yours a different color?” Cassie asked, one of the girls in their class that Wanda particularly disliked. She was, according to the little witch, the perfect cliché of the bratty American girl, blonde hair blue eyes, spoiled by her parents and expected everything to be handed to her when she asked for them.

 “Good question, miss. Every color is associated with a security level. It gives a certain clearance to its owner. At the tower, there is 5 level. First the white, that you all have, and is for journalists and visitors. Then there is the blue level, for lower employees and interns. The third one is green, it’s for the labs that are quite important. As for the last two, there is the yellow level, for heads of departments and highest employees, and finally red badges are strictly for the Avengers, M. Stark and Pepper Potts, as well as very few selected others.”

When everyone got theirs, they headed for the security gates where every badge had to be scanned to move deeper in the tower. Rachel went first to show them how to proceed. FRIDAY’s voices ringed, startling most of the class, including Flash and Peter nudged Wanda to share his laughter about his classmate’s face.

“Rachel Blake, level 3, green badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 6%. Have a nice day miss Blake.”

 “Thanks FRIDAY, those are the Midtown tech student, they’re here for the day.”

She turned to the students; her ever-present smile plastered on her face. 

“Guys, this is FRIDAY, the building’s AI, created by M. Stark himself. She’s the one scanning your badges and granting you the access, so be nice with her.”

 “What does the level of threat mean?”

 “It represents the potential risk one can be on a general scale. I am at 6% because I have access to some delicate info, but even with knowing that, I am only at 6, so it gives you a pretty good idea on how it works.”

Now, Wanda really did feel trapped. She knew her lever of threat was much higher than the average, even among the Avengers themselves, and she hated to be reminded of that, she hated to be reminded that she was indeed way more dangerous than most.

 After one last look toward Peter, she understood that she didn’t really have a choice. The students were going through the gates, with FRIDAY welcoming them one by one.

“Lena Matthew, level 1, white badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 0,2%”

 “Eugene Thomson, level 1, white badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 0,3%”

 “Cassie Taylor, level 1, white badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 0,2%”

The students were almost all through the gates, so Wanda and Peter had to go with them.

 The little witch stuffed her hands in her pockets so the other wouldn’t see them shaking and went forward, hoping that everyone would be too distracted to pay attention to her. Peter followed up closely. She was just a few feet from the gate when Peter got around her with a wink. He stepped in front of her and went first, wanting to avoid her being the center of everyone’s attention, even for a few seconds.

 Peter rummaged in his bag to find his badge, and pulled out his red, shiny badge that he usually didn’t need but kept with him anyway. Uselessly hiding the color with his palm, he scanned it and waited.

“Peter Parker, level 5, red badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 78%. Welcome back Peter. I see you brought some friends over.”

 “Thanks FRIDAY, that’s my class, I’m on a field trip”.

Peter turned around to face his classmates, who were staring at him with wide eyes. Flash opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut by FRIDAY’s voice.

“Wanda Maximoff, level 5, red badge. Access authorized. Level of threat detected: 86%. Welcome back Wanda. Do you want me to tell miss Romanov that you’re home?”

 “No thank you FRIDAY, it’s all right.” Wanda answered in a small voice, not looking up. Instinctively she went to Peter and wrapped her hand around his arm.

Flash had gone pale, so did some of their other classmates.

“86%? Red badges? how did the two of you manage to hack into the building’s AI? Do you really think we’re that gullible? No one could believe it, how could the crazy retarded girl could be that much of a threat, even more than Parker?”

Peter had to hide a smirk. If only Flash knew what Wanda could really do. She was way more dangerous than him. She could blow up the whole place if she wanted to. But Wanda wasn’t in the mood to laugh with him. Everyone was staring at her and it made her feel even more nervous than what she already was.

“And wait, did it say “home”?” Cassie asked, pointing out the one thing they had been wishing to avoid.

And all hell broke loose. Everyone started talking at the same time. There was no way they were getting out if this, Peter thought.

 But he saw thin tendrils of scarlet spreading around them, coming closer to the kids gathered together. Before they saw it, it all disappeared, and the room went quiet. Then, chatter started again, but not at all focused on the two young Avengers anymore. The conversations were back to a much safer topic: excitement over being able to visit The Avenger’s Tower.

 Peter turned his gaze to Wanda, an eyebrow raised in a silent question. She shrugged.

“I just erased the last three minutes from their memories.”

 “You are a genius” he said, emphasizing every word, thinking each of them.

Wanda smiled, and the tour guide interrupted their moment.

“Okay, kids, time to move on. Our first stop is the Avengers museum. Please, don’t fall behind, follow the group!”

They all took off towards the glass elevator that dinged and opened to let them in.

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"Mais quand les saisons attendront ton retour
Ce sera le vent qui portera secours


Et si la terre est sombre, et si la pluie te noie
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse trembler ensemble
Et si le jour ne vient pas dans la nuit des perdus
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse crier tout bas
Crier tout bas"

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

Chapter Text

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When they got out of the elevators, the whole group followed Rachel, with Peter and Wanda at the back. Flash lingered behind and joined them.

“I know you’re lying. I don’t know how you did to convince the tour guide to lie for you, but I will figure it out and tell everyone what filthy liars you two are. Anyway, you’re not clever enough to create believable lies, we all know nobody here would want to work with you.”

 “Let it go, Flash, it’s really starting to get old now. don’t you have something better to do?” Peter sighed, exasperated.

Wanda decided that if Flash didn’t have something better to do, then she would. Without a look for the inquisitive boy, she sped past them to join the group and avoid being called upon by Rachel. But Flash saw her and caught her wrist to keep her in place.

“Not so fast Maximoff, I’m not done yet.” He pulled her towards him, and Wanda yanked her wrist back, but Flash was holding her too tight.

 “We both know that if what you say is true, and that you do have an internship, it’s not thanks to your intelligence. But I have to admit you’re quite pretty, so What did you promise them, or already done?”

Peter couldn’t believe it. Was Flash really insinuating that Wanda could… Wanda had come to draw the same conclusions. She stopped trying to get her wrist back and stared at Flash right in the eyes. She opened her mouth to answer, but Peter beat her to it.

“If I were you, Flash, I would stop talking like right now”.

He caught Flash’s arm and pulled sharply, letting Wanda free.

“Just wait and see, everyone will know the truth” Flash repeated, a smug look on his face.

He turned around, jogged a little and joined the group, standing right in the front, next to Rachel. Peter turned to Wanda.

“You’re alright?”

 “Yeah, but that idiot really doesn’t know what’s best for him” Wanda answered, trying to hide the look of hurt that Flash’s words had created.

Peter agreed and they reached the group that had started to go down the hall. When everyone was gathered in a room at the end of the hallway, Rachel explained where they were.

“Welcome to the Avengers museum. It’s one of the few places in the Tower that is open to anyone and doesn’t require an invitation. In the next room, you’ll find a space dedicated to each Avenger, new or original, full-time or not. You’ll see some of their props and accessories, maybe some parts of their suits and info on them. We have thirty minutes in this room before meeting back here, so make the most of it! Now go on!”

Every student huddled in smaller groups and went their way to look at each case.

 Up there in the Avengers living room, Clint and Tony were bored out of their minds. They wanted to go and visit Peter and Wanda’s class, but they had promised both Natasha and Pepper that they wouldn’t go all out on them. But their genius' brains, or at least Tony’s was in full swing to find a loop in this promise. Finally, they found a way to make this day way more enjoyable for everyone. Well, maybe not everyone, but the better part of it.

“FRIDAY? Where are Peter and Wanda right now?” Tony asked the ceiling.

 “In the Avengers Museum, on the 12^th floor.”

 “Thanks FRIDAY!”

Clint and Tony exchanged a smug look and headed to the elevator to pay a visit to the two younglings.

The museum’s main room was only dimly lit, the only real sources of light coming from the cases in the walls, one for each Avenger. From where Peter and Wanda stood in the middle of the room, they could see they all had objects in them, and signs that they couldn’t read from where they were standing. Each of them had distinct colors, that allowed them to know which case belonged to which hero. Looking right in front of her, Wanda could see Tony’s red and gold and Clint’s purple. A bit further away on the right, she noticed Natasha’s case, where blue and black were the dominant colors. Despite living in the tower, neither of them had ever been in the museum. They already knew enough about themselves and the other heroes sharing their everyday life, and they trusted Tony enough to do a good job on their cases, without having to check them themselves.

Peter headed to his own case, red and blue like his suit, colors that he shared with Steve. Wanda followed him. She would go and see hers afterwards.

 They reached the designated case and discovered what it contained. Peter’s makeshift suit was there, the one that looked like a pajama. The boy groaned and Wanda couldn’t suppress a laugh when she saw both the suit and Peter’s face.

“How on earth did he get it?” Peter whispered

A sign that read “Fun facts” as a title was hanging next to the case, listing a series of random things on Peter, that were as true as they were embarrassing.

“Spider Man loves sciences but hates reading. His favorite candies are gummy bears and marshmallows. He is terrified of spiders. Very good at video-games.”

The list went on with some more truths about Peter, all of them very careful not to give anything that could help identify him. When she was done reading, Wanda couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore, making Peter sulk even more.

“Stop laughing, we haven’t seen yours yet.” Peter reminded her before dragging her to the other end of the room.

When they got closer to her space, she saw two cases close to each other. One was red, the other one was blue. Wanda immediately understood who they belonged to before even seeing them and reading the names. The red one was obviously hers, and the blue one was Pietro’s, her twin brother. She hadn’t realized that he would have one too, but she was touched that he wasn’t forgotten, and would be remembered and honored but putting him on the same footing as every other Avengers. She refrained herself from looking at it, afraid that she would be overwhelmed with emotions and memories in front of her classmates, and that was the last thing she needed. Still, she made the promise to come back, maybe at night, when no one would be there. Instead, she focused on her own case.

 Behind a glass window, she could see a replica of the red jacket she wore during the Battle of Sokovia, that was actually Natasha’s, but that the spy had let her keep afterwards. She knew for sure it was a replica as the real one was safely hanging in the closet of her room, many floors above them.

Next to the jacket were a few metal pieces all bent, twisted and torn in uneven shapes with a little panel with the following inscription: “The effects of Scarlet Witch’s power on vibranium, the strongest metal on Earth.” Tony had probably picked them up after one of their training sessions. Finally, she saw some of her old rings, the ones that she didn’t really wear anymore, probably for a more personal touch.

“So that’s where they went” Wanda thought, with an amused grin on her face.

Wanda’s case was the only one that didn’t have a picture in it, as she was the only one whose face (or mask in Peter’s case) was not known and whose identity remained a secret.

 She heard Peter sneer next to her and turned towards him, only to find him focused on the sign next to her case, muck like Peter’s next to his case. She began going over her own personal facts, and found it weird to read things about herself, things she had no idea other people had noticed.

“Scarlet Witch’s favorites colors are red and burgundy. She is very close to Black Widow. She hates drinking coffee and would rather have hot chocolate with cinnamon biscuits. Her favorite movie is the animated film Anastasia” … and so on.

“Who would have guessed the great Scarlet Witch’s favorite movie would be a cartoon?” Peter sniggered next to her.

 “Peter, someone could hear you” Wanda hissed, slapping his arm hard enough to make him wince.

Wanda and Peter were too caught in their antics to realize that two people had entered the room and were looking around, looking for two people in particular. But a voice interrupter the kids’ banter.

“Hello Midtown Tech, I think you all know you I am…”

Peter and Wanda froze and looked at each other before turning to face the one and only Tony Stark, his ever-present grin plastered on his face. Clint was right by his side, eyes searching the crowd. They settled for a second on Wanda that unsuccessfully tried to hide behind her hair, before going past her like if nothing happened.

Peter sighed and threw his head back: “Here we go…”

*

*

*

"Je t’ai vu tracer le long du paysage
Une ligne des aimées qui détruisent ton langage
Et quand tu chantais plus fort dans ton silence
Je voyais les larmes couler toujours à contre sens"

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

Chapter Text

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*

*

Whispers of excitement were heard all over the room: Tony Stark was there, the real Tony Stark! And Hawkeye too!

All students gathered around them and Peter and Wanda stayed at the back, trying not to be noticed, even if they knew it was already too late for that. Tony looked around the group and spotted the two little Avengers.

“Hey Peter, I didn’t know you were already there, FRIDAY didn’t tell me…” Tony exclaimed, extending an arm towards the boys to tuck him at his side.

 “Yeah, that was kind of the point.” Peter muttered, looking down.

The rest of the student were looking at them with astonished looks on their faces. Clint taking his turn speaking didn’t help. At all.

“And Wanda’s here too. Look Tony, both of our babies are here!”

This time even Mr. Harrington’s face was laughable. Peter had mixed feeling about that particular situation: should he be glad that people know that he does know Tony Stark, or embarrassed to be singled out like that? One look towards Wanda told him that the girl was all about the latter.

“First of all, we’re not your babies, and then, I thought we talked about this!” Peter whined.

The rest of the class was dumbfounded, and this time, Wanda couldn’t use her magic to make it all go away. She had to play along.

“Sorry Junior, you are, you both are actually.” Tony answered, ruffling Peter’s hair.

 “Wait, Junior? Our babies? M. Stark, do you really know Peter Parker? I’m Flash, by the way” the obnoxious boy said, taking a step forward and extending a confident hand towards the billionaire.

Tony completely ignored Flash’s hand and stared straight at him.

“Why wouldn’t I know him? Peter, didn’t you tell them about your internship with me?” Tony said, confused, but still beginning to piece everything together.

 “I did” Peter whispered, not wanting to tell Tony everything, as he knew the situation could easily get out of hand.

The students were silent for once. Mr. Harrington’s face was ridiculously pale, contrasting nicely with Peter’s redness. Cassie was the first one to talk.

“Okay, Peter is quite good in science, but the Maximoff girl? There’s no way she’s good enough to work here too!”

It was Clint and Tony’s turn to be left speechless.

“Excuse me, what did you just said?” Clint asked, dangerously low.

Cassie paled considerably, and if it wasn’t for her self-tanner, she would be as white as her shirt. Still she refused to back off and held her head high. Her reaction did nothing but infuriate Clint a step further. But Cassie was still oblivious.

“I mean, have you heard her speak English? My little brother speaks better than her, and he’s six.”

Wanda wanted to disappear. She was used to those kinds of comments, but she dreaded Clint’s reaction to it. She knew he tended to be a bit overprotective sometimes, something he shared with Natasha.

“I’m going to pretend you did not just say that. But just for the record, Wanda is one of the most intelligent people I know. Yes, she does work here, and I don’t know what we would do without her. Is that clear for everyone?” Clint said on his no-nonsense tone.

Whispers of agreements where heard, and nods were seen. But it wasn’t enough for Tony. No one could insult his kids like this and get away that easily (not that Clint had planned to let it go that easily, he would just remember it later).

“Hey, Wanda, how many languages do you speak again?” he asked the girl that would give anything to just be swallowed down a rabbit hole, never to be seen again.

 “Six” she whispered, staring at the ground.

 “That’s what I thought. Six, so that’s around five more than most of you speak, am I right? So I guess you can understand that sometimes those languages get mixed up, and you can forgive a couple mistakes here and then…”

Silence fell upon them, as no one dared look up and meet Tony’s challenging gaze. It was thankfully broken by Rachel’s arrival and her ever-so cheerful voice.

“Okay guys, the thirty minutes are over, I hope you had fun, now… Oh Mr. Stark and Mr. Barton, I didn’t see you there.” She turned to the class. “Is everything okay?” she asked when she saw everyone’s face.

 “Oh, hello Rachel, yes everything’s good, we just came to say hi” Tony answered.

Rachel seemed to rejoice in the fact that Tony stark knew her name. “That’s very nice of you, I think the whole class is delighted to see you.”

“They really do seem to be wonderful little people” Tony answered with a grin. Clint sneered at that, but only the ones who knew him well realized how full irony that laugh was.

 “I’m sure they would be very happy with staying here and chat a little more, but we are on a schedule, and we should get going, otherwise, we’ll be late for the next activity.” Rachel told them, after checking the Stark-pad she was holding.

 “Yes Tony, come on, the others are waiting for us. We shouldn’t keep them waiting.” Clint said, taking Tony’s arm to drag him to the door. They both let the group go first, telling them goodbye as if nothing had happened.

Everyone went out but Clint grabbed Wanda but the back of her blouse.

“You and I are going to have a talk tonight. And yes, I’m telling Natasha about it” she said before Wanda could argue.

 “Is there something I can say to make you change your mind?” Wanda tried

 “Nope. See you later.”

 “That’s what I thought” Wanda sighed before joining the rest of the group on the other side of the door.

It was like the scolding had never happened. The whole class was chatting about the fact that they had met Iron Man and Hawkeye in person and how cool that was. Flash was even bragging about how Tony Stark had talked to him personally. Still, some looks were thrown in Peter and Wanda’s direction, but no questions were asked.

 Lena, a sweet girl with long brown hair that Wanda considered her friend and that always believed Peter and Wanda but was too shy to speak up, even told them how cool she thought it was that Peter and Wanda knew some of the Avengers, with no snark nor doubt or personal interest behind it. Wanda smiled at her and a light conversation started between the three of them.

*

*

*

"Je t’ai vu tracer le long du paysage
Une ligne des aimés qui détruisent ton langage
Et quand tu chantais plus fort dans ton silence
Je voyais les larmes couler toujours à contresens"

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

Chapter Text

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*

*

Meanwhile upstairs, Steve and Natasha were just back from a meeting with Fury and were chatting lightly in the common area with a fresh pot of coffee between them and steaming cups in their hands, while Sam was reviewing some blueprints for their upcoming mission on the living room table. Thor was due to come back from Asgard during the day, but he had yet to show up.

 The elevator dinged and Clint and Tony came out.

“Guys, we have a situation.” Clint announced when they reached their fellow Avengers.

The others’ heads turned towards him. They took in their determined faces and Natasha could read anger on her best friend’s features. It sparked her curiosity, even though she knew Clint and knew that it could mean that the end of the world was close, or that the bakery didn’t have his favorite pastry.

“Clint, if the situation is that we’re short on peanut butter again, I don’t think we need to hear you whine about it. Again.” Natasha sighed.

 “Very funny Nat. And for the record, I don’t whine, I express my discontentment, thank you very much. But no, a real situation. And trust me, you want to hear it.” Clint answered, giving her a pointed no-nonsense look.

 “Clint, just tell us what the problem is.” Steve said. the soldier straightened up and look at the archer straight in the eyes in the perfect Captain America’s posture.

 “Well, we went to check on Peter and Wanda…” Clint started, drawing everyone’s attention.

 “And we learnt some stuff that we think everybody here should know about.” Tony went on. “Come on, I’ll show you”.

“Guys, I thought we agreed to let them be.” Natasha sighed, knowing that she would probably hear both Peter and Wanda complain about it later that evening.

 “First of all, that’s not accurate, we agreed to not bother them too much. But that’s beside the point. Just watch.” Tony raised an eyebrow at the spy and pointed to the TV.

He headed to the living room, where the big flat screen was, the one they used for their movie night, or for their missions’ reviews.

“FRIDAY, can you show us the footage from earlier?” Tony asked the ceiling.

 “Right away, sir.”

A few seconds later, an image appeared on the screen, showing Clint and Tony’s arrival in the middle of Peter and Wanda’s class in the museum.

Everybody stayed silent for the whole video.

 When it was over, Natasha sat down on one of the couches.

“So that’s why they never talk about their friends at school.” She said. “We need to do something, I won’t let Wanda be talked down like that, and Peter too.” She exclaimed, standing back up, a determined look on her face.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her outburst. Indeed, Natasha had been the one reminding them to let the kid be during the day, this very morning, and now she was the one pushing for them to do something. But

Tony knew better than ask, after all no one could touch even one of Wanda’s hair without suffering the consequences at Black Widow’s hands.

“Guys, I think we should see what happened before Clint and Tony intervention. This way, we would know if it’s something that happens on a regular basis, or not” the ever-wise Steve said, also trying to mask his anger.

The others nodded and they turned their attention back to the screen in front of them.

“FRIDAY, play the interesting parts, please.” Tony sked the ceiling. They couldn’t see every minute of it, so Tony trusted his AI to select what they had to see.

 “As you wish, sir”

The image resumed on the TV, and this time, they could see what had happened earlier today. The kids’ class were in the lobby, huddled together. They watched as they went through security, whit Clint whispering a quiet and pleased “That’s my girl” when he saw scarlet tendrils reach the little witch’s classmates and heard her explanation to Peter. It even drew a smile from Natasha, who was sat with her arms crossed on her chest, still upset about what she had seen earlier. If only she knew what was to come.

 The image changed again in a fast forward motion and settled on the back of the group where Peter and Wanda stood, soon joined by Flash. Natasha gritted her teeth when she saw the stupid boy grasp her Wanda’s wrist and had to be physically restrained from going straight to the group and beat the daylight out of when she heard the insinuations he made.

Tony’s heart broke when he saw Wanda’s face when she understood what Flash was implying. He had come really close to the young Sokovian since she had moved in with them, and he saw her almost as a daughter, as everyone else did. And as every “father”, he couldn’t stand seeing his kid hurt.  He really should have been harder on this so-called “Flash”. But there was still time. But his heart swelled and gained back a bit of light when he saw Peter take Wanda’s defense, not that he had ever doubted it, but seeing it was still nice.

 The screen went back to what they had previously seen before going black. Silence laid heavily on the room, everyone processing and taking in what they had just witnessed. It was Tony who broke the still atmosphere.

“FRIDAY, find me everything you can on this Eugene Thompson” he said in a dark voice, and Steve glanced at him and nodded, with still a touch of warning in his eyes.

 “I don’t understand why they didn’t say anything.” Sam asked

 “It’s Wanda, of course she wouldn’t tell anything.” Clint said, an unamused smile on his face. “She’s way too much like Natasha for that” he added and received a pillow square in the face so fast that he didn’t even have time to dodge. He set it aside and went on, as if nothing happened: “But I’s surprised that Peter didn’t say anything either. That boy is an open book.”

 “They must have made a deal together. That’s what teenagers do, cover for each other even when they shouldn’t. Especially ours. And don’t forget that Wanda wasn’t the only one, Peter too was on the receiving end of this not so friendly banter.” Sam said.

 “Really, you call that 'not so friendly banter'?” Natasha exclaimed, standing up. “I call that bullying, and no one bullies my kids and gets away with it.”

Clint that was still sitting on the couch next to where the spy was formerly sat, grabbed her wrist and tugged on it lightly. “Easy Tiger, I’m sure a bullet between his eyes would don’t nothing good for neither Wanda and Peter nor you”.

Natasha fell back on the couch with a loud sigh and looked pointedly at her best friend.

“Very funny Clint, very funny.”

They remained silent for a few more minutes, the clock ticking the only sound that could be heard in the room.

“I think we all agree to say that we need to do something” Steve said after a while.

A chorus of yes resounded. “But we cannot embarrass them, we promised them we would behave” Steve added, using his Captain voice.

Natasha rolled her eyes. She knew what Wanda would say, she could almost hear her accented sweet voice in her head saying: “Tasha, you’re over-reacting, it’s only words, I’ve been called worse, believe me”. And yes, she did believe her and knew she could take it, but that didn’t make it okay. Not in Natasha’s book.

 Tony’s voice was heard from behind the couch Clint and Natasha were sitting on: “So, I suggest we find out where their next stop is, and pay them another little visit, but all together this time.”

“It seems that Miss Maximoff and Mister Parker’s class is going to the gym, sir.”

 “Well, the gym it is then. “

*

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"Mais quand les saisons attendront ton retour
Ce sera le vent qui portera secours

Et si la terre est sombre, et si la pluie te noie
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse trembler ensemble
Et si le jour ne vient pas dans la nuit des perdus
Raconte-moi, qu’on puisse crier tout bas
Crier tout bas"

Coeur de Pirate, Crier Tout Bas

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Chapter Text

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“Guys, please, do not fall behind, or we won’t be able to do everything that was planned, and I’m sure you don’t want to miss it” Rachel told the group as they were walking through the hallways of the tower.

“Where are we going?” Cassie asked, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“The gym, but first, let’s take a minute to just admire the view we have from those windows!” Rachel answered pointing to their left where the entire wall was made of glass, allowing visitors to see New-York’s landscape. “it’s even more beautiful at night, believe me.”

“I thought we were on a schedule” a kid lost in the middle of the group muttered, much more interested by the gym and what he could find in there than the view.

“Oh, we are. But how do you know this stop is not on that schedule?”

Wanda once again was lost in the landscape. She saw it literally every day, but she couldn’t get enough of it. She was always amazed by what she could see, always finding some new things. She could stay for hours curled on one of the little sofas in the common room on the highest floor mesmerized by the details of the city below her. Natasha sometimes stayed with her, but the spy couldn’t sit still like Wanda did, she had to have something to do. But that didn’t bother the little witch too much, as she just enjoyed being in Natasha’s company.

The short stop at the window came to an end, and they continued down the hallway to the elevator at the end of it. Soon enough, they were on one of the higher floors, next to the closed door of the gym, in which clatter and voices could be heard.

“Guys, it seems like the Avengers are training in there, so let me just check if they’re okay with you coming in for a minute.” Rachel told the kids, before knocking softly and disappearing inside the room.

Peter’s eyes met Wanda’s and he rolled his eyes, of course they would be there. So much for their promise to let them be for the day.

Lena turned slightly toward Wanda and whispered: “Can you believe that the real Avengers are training in there? Maybe Scarlet Witch is there too! She’s my favorite, I wish we knew more about her.”

Wanda smiled softly and shrugged, trying not to appear too pleased, but she was over the moon that somebody liked her and didn’t see her as only the human experiment with freaky scary powers.

Rachel came back with a big smile on her face.

“Guys, you won’t believe how lucky you are. The Avengers have offered to let you watch them, and even participate for a while. But please, behave, it’s an honor that you’re granted here. “

Peter and Wanda’s classmates couldn’t contain their excitement anymore, and the light chatter that surrounded them until them burst into a roar of anticipation and eagerness.

Rachel held the door she just came out from open and the students all flowed in the gym, that Wanda and Peter knew so well.

The high-ceilinged large room was full of training equipment, from dummies to targets. One side of the far wall had a mirror and a barre, built at Natasha’s request where she was used to practicing her dancing, and had even started teaching Wanda.

If her classmates were looking around with big wide eyes, Wanda and Peter were only focused on the people in the room that had stopped their fighting to greet the incomings.

Tony, Clint, Steve, Sam and Natasha were all in full gears, which was surprising as only Tony usually used his full uniform to train as he needed his suit, the others preferring casual sportswear. But the two teenagers knew they were dressed to impress.

Natasha spotted Wanda right away, and the girl couldn’t decipher the look she received. But one glance at Clint told her everything she needed to know. Natasha knew, and she was not happy about it. At all. Wanda sighed and she knew she was on for a lecture and thought that she better start preparing her arguments right away if she wanted to hold her own in front of the spy.

Tony landed in front of the mesmerized bunch of kids.

“Hi guys, it’s so good to see you again. We thought it would be interesting and fun for you to learn a few things around here with us.”

“Today, we’ll teach you the basics of self-defense.” Natasha added. “Who wants to go first?”

Many hands shot up, but the spy knew exactly who she wanted to start with. Her eyes surveyed the class, before stopping on the boy she recognized from the video.

“You.”

Flash took a step forward, flexing his muscles while doing so.

“What’s your name?”

“Flash”

A scowl escaped Natasha’s mouth, with her barely trying to cover it. “It didn’t ask for a made-up name, I asked you what your actual name was”

“Eugene Thompson” Flash muttered, suddenly embarrassed, losing all of his previous confidence.

“Sorry boy, I didn’t hear you, what was that?” Clint interrupted from the other side of the room.

“Eugene Thompson” Flash repeated louder this time, red as a tomato.

The whole class snickered. Of course, everybody knew that already, but hearing it always rekindled that sort of reaction. Peter laughed with the other, knowing that the Avengers weren’t going to hold back. For once, he would enjoy the show, and he couldn’t wait for it.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it? Okay then, Eugene” Natasha went on, emphasizing his name “Let’s see what you’ve got… Try to pin me down”

“Wait, against you? I thought I would go against one of the others, you know, the men!”

“Oh, are you scared to go against a girl?” Natasha tempted, knowing perfectly what he meant.

“That cannot end well” Wanda whispered to Peter, who was still by her side. The boy only smiled wider and winked.

“Just wait and see, Wands, it will be priceless”

Wanda wasn’t really sure if she should share Peter’s excitement over Flash’s imminent humiliation, as it was bound to happen. Sure, she was glad that someone was finally setting him straight, but she knew Natasha, and an angry Tasha wasn’t something she wanted to see, even with Flash.

Still, she stayed silent, and watched the “altercation”.

“No, but I wouldn’t want to hurt you too bad…” Flash answered, standing tall and cocky.

“I wouldn’t stress about that if I were you.” Natasha merely said.

Tony couldn’t contain his laughter. “Kid, just shut up, she’ll bring you down in no time.” This earned him a slap on the arm from Steve.

“Okay, then.”

Flash took a fighting stance, and even Wanda could tell that it was sloppy and weak. He threw the first punch and before he could even comprehend it, he was on the ground, wind knocked out of his lungs, with Nat standing over him.

“That was exactly what you shouldn’t do. Don’t give your opponent an opportunity to hit you in the stomach, always keep it guarded and covered.”

She turned towards the boy lying at her feet.

“Do you still think you could have hurt me? Maybe you still want to try with one of the men now?” she asked smugly.

Flash stood back up and brushed his clothes.

“I wasn’t ready, that’s all.”

“You weren’t ready, of course. Well, you should now, that in a real fight, no one would wait for you to be ready. That’s your second lesson: you should always be prepared. You can go back to the group, now”

Flash walked slowly the rest of the class and went to the back for once.

“Someone else?” Natasha asked, cheerful as ever.

This time, no one raised their hands.

“Well, Peter? I’m sure you remember a few things from last time, right?”

“Yeah, I mean, why not…” The spider boy shrugged and walked to the middle of the room.

He stood before Natasha, and the pretend fight began. Natural instincts kicked in and they started to move on a kind of dance, dodging, jumping and hitting at all the right moments. Trained eyes could see that both of them were holding back as to not expose Peter, and Natasha gave just enough for people to see that Peter could indeed hold his own.

Wanda’s classmates were in awe, and Wanda couldn’t feel prouder than what she did at this exact moment.

Finally, Natasha pinned Peter down, and helped him back up, both laughing. Tony took the teenager under his arm and ruffled his hair.

“That’s my boy, I see you’ve practiced!”

“See guys, that’s what I call a fight” Clint exclaimed and high-fived Sam.

Steve then stood in front of the class to give the instructions for the next exercise. They would fight in pairs and try to pin down the other, just like they had just witnessed. Safety measures were given, and Clint was tasked to put the students in pairs.

Obviously, Wanda was put with Cassie, and Peter with Flash.

“We’ll add a new rule and make it a competition. Every time you lose, you stand aside, and the winners go against each others. Come on, let’s start.”

Cassie tried to destabilize Wanda with a few taunts, mostly about how a small and skinny girl like her could even think that she could fight and win, but was quickly silenced when she found herself staring at the ceiling, after having both of her legs swiped out from underneath her by a proud-looking Wanda. The little witch just looked down at the peroxided blonde sprawled on the ground, looking shocked.

“Oh sorry, I hope I didn’t mess up your hair too badly! For your information, the loser spot is just over there.”

Cassie was just about to answer, but she saw Steve looking at them, and she didn’t dare say anything in front of Captain America. She was even more infuriated when she saw that she was the first one to lose. She leant against the wall, and crossed her arms over her chest, disgruntled and humiliated.

Wanda went easier on the other girls, but still managed to win with no difficulty whatsoever. In no time, Wanda was the only girl left, and Peter the only boy, making them the two winners of the game.

“Well, I think we have our winners. Wanda, Peter, congratulations.” Sam declared when everyone, but the two little Avengers were next to Cassie.

Peter smiled widely while Wanda blushed.

“Now, you know that you shouldn’t mess up with them…” The Falcon said in a joking tone, but the underlying message was clear for everyone.

Wanda went back to stand with the group and Lena came to her.

“Hey, where did you learn to fight like that? You were amazing!” she asked, almost with stars in her eyes.

Wanda discreetly stole a glace to the Avengers, lined up in front of them and whispered back.

“My parents taught me.”

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The rest of the morning went by without any hitch. No one really talked about what had just happened in gym, but most students kept glancing at Peter and Wanda like they had never seen them before. However, no one came to talk to them, which wasn’t that great a surprise. Still both of the little Avengers could feel a shift in the atmosphere.

 They kept climbing up the levels of the tower, until it was time for lunch, that they all shared in the cafeteria, a place peter and Wanda didn’t really know, as they didn’t use it at all.

The afternoon started with a visit of the labs where Peter met some of his friends, the ones he was used to spend his weekends with when he wasn’t working with Tony in his own lab. They chatted for a while with everyone and explained what they were working on at the moment, a small device able to translate any language faster than anything ever invented before.

The sound level bothered Peter a bit, but Wanda created a little invisible bubble that kept his safe from the sound. He threw her a thankful smile when he felt the surrounding hustle-and-bustle quiet down.

Everybody got to try it and chose the language they wanted. For half an hour, the whole room was filled with foreign languages coming from every table, as everybody preferred the out-loud version instead of the quieter one that came in the form of something that Wanda recognized as similar to the comms they used during their missions.

When they left the labs, the day was almost over, and Wanda couldn’t wait for it to end. It had been nothing but terrible ever since it began in the morning. She just wanted to have a hot chocolate in her bed, with her favorite book and forget all about the day.

They had just set foot in the elevator that would take them back to the lobby, when all Wanda’s hopes for a quiet evening were shattered.

An alarm went off somewhere in the tower, and it blared in the speakers of every room and hallway. Everybody turned towards Rachel, fearful and panicked expression on every face.

Wanda and Peter were the only not too worried about it, as they knew that this tone wasn’t the one for emergencies, so it wasn’t a Avengers-are-needed-otherwise-the-world-will-be-destroyed kind of situation.

Rachel tried to calm everybody down.

“Guys, it only means there is a small technical problem somewhere in the tower. The tower will go on lockdown for sometimes and then everything will be back to normal.”

That didn’t seem do the trick.

No one really paid attention, until FRIDAY’s voice resounded in the small space.

“Emergency lockdown. You will be transported to the closest safe place.  Please, do not move from there before being told so.”

The elevator started to go up and they saw the numbers rise on the control pad newt to the door. The only moment when Wanda and Peter started to panic was when they didn’t see the elevator stop. It just kept rising and they were dangerously closer and closer from the top.

And the top of the tower happened to be the place they lived in.

Rachel appeared to have reach the same conclusion. She paled a little and she realized what floor they were at when the elevator came to a stop.

“Okay guys, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Remember I told you that the elevator would take us to the closest safe place? Well, the closest safe place happens to be the Avengers living quarters, so I’m asking you to be very respectful of the place. Please keep in mind that real people live in there, and they probably don’t really enjoy a group a noisy teenagers around them for god knows how much time. Understood?”

Those words seemed to have a magical effect on everyone. The last traces of fear were replaced by enthusiasm and excitement upon being able to spend more times with the Avengers.

Wanda sighed. It really couldn’t get worse. Her earlier prayer for a quiet evening clearly hadn’t been heard.

She brushed Peter’s mind with her scarlet to establish a link between them. He turned his gaze to her when he felt the internal knock and granted her access.

It was a habit they had when one of them felt overwhelmed or needed an escape from the real world. Wanda used to have a permanent link with Pietro, and it had taken her a while before she felt comfortable enough doing it again.

It had started with Natasha, who despite a slight hesitation about it at first had accepted and enjoyed it by now, and then Peter, who was much easier to convince. Sometimes, she extended the link to others, like Steve or Tony, but only when needed or when she was in real distress.

At this exact moment, she just needed to see how they could deal with that particular situation without being exposed.

After all, they were going straight in the lion’s den. This place was home, where they had all of their stuff, their personal belongings, everything…

Sensing her fear and apprehension, Peter reminded her that the Avengers had probably been warned that they were coming, so they would have taken care of hiding everything that needed to.

That did nothing to calm her nerves, but it eased some of her apprehension.

A silent thank you travelled between the two of them and they kept on passing through little remarks to the other, Wanda giving every reason possible on to why it could go wrong and Peter every reason why it should go well.

They were the Avengers, so everything should go well.

But that was the problem too: they were the Avengers, so nothing generally went well…

The elevator dinged and the door opened.

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The Avengers were back to their living quarters after paying their little visit to Peter and Wanda’s class. They all felt much better after setting things right with the kids.

Still, Natasha feared they had gone a bit a too far, whereas Tony felt they were just too nice about it. Steve, always the sensible mind, convinced them that it was the right amount.

They knew that what really mattered on that would be Wanda and Peter’s feedback on it, and they would only have it on the evening. But there would be no real surprise there either, as they already knew that Wanda would be mortified, and Peter wouldn’t really care as long as his identity remained a secret.

They had just resumed their usual activities, with Clint and Clint starting a friendly competition of Mario Kart and Natasha heading straight for the coffee pot to brew a brand-new hot coffee that she needed more than anything right now. She was soon joined by Tony and poured him another steaming cup. He took it with one hand and continued typing away on his tablet with the other hand, muttering to himself about a defect of his latest invention.

They all went their way for the rest of the morning. They shared a light meal at lunchtime and scheduled another training session for the beginning of the afternoon, with a real training purpose this time, and not only showing off like in the morning.

After their said training session and they all had had a much-needed shower, they once again gathered in the living room. Fury had contacted them earlier in the afternoon to inform them that they had collected more intel for their upcoming mission, that would take place at the end of the week and that he had already sent it to them, so they were reviewing it in order to have a better idea on what they would have to face. It didn’t seem to be a particularly tricky one, only a routine mission. Still, they needed to review it together, and that’s what they were doing.

Well, together, except for Tony, who was late for their meeting, probably engrossed in another one of his experiment. They didn’t wait for him, as this as known to happen on a regular basis. He would just catch up when he showed up.

Still, their discussion concerning the new blueprints Fury had brought them was interrupted when a loud ringing went off from the ceiling.

Just like Peter and Wanda, they knew what type of alarm that was, so they only sighed, knowing that it wasn’t something to be really concerned about. At least, now they knew why Tony was late.

“Okay FRIDAY, what has Tony done this time?” Sam asked, crossing his arms on his chest, leaning back on his chair, while Clint covered his ears with his hands.

The AI didn’t need to answer as the genius himself entered the room, hands raising in surrender when he saw his teammates’ faces.

“I know, I know, again… But I swear, it couldn’t be avoided this time.” Tony exclaimed, plopping down on a seat next to Natasha.

“Do we want to know?”

“No, I don’t think you do. The only thing you absolutely need to know is that the tower is going into lockdown for a couple of hours, which is the time my genius bots need to fix that slightly problematic situation.”

“Slightly problematic situation that you caused, let’s not forget that part” Natasha added, slapping his arm.

“Well, as much as that statement happens to be true, I don’t think that it is relevant in the situation.”

Clint huffed. “Of course not, why would it be? So what, we just stay here, and wait for it to pass?”

“Yeah, that’s it, basically, everyone present in the tower is meant to find a safe place, but here is one of them, so yes, we just stay here and wait for the problem to be fixed, and that’s what you would have done anyway. See? No big deal?”

“And the ringing?” Clint asked, pointing to the ceiling

“It should stop in a minute”

Indeed, it did, and silence fell again on the room. They were just about to focus again on the task at hand, when FRIDAY’s voice interrupted them.

“Sir, it seems that a group of people was in one of the elevators when the alarm went off. The protocol demands that be led to the nearest safe place. It appears to be here. They should be here in a few minutes and hare planned to stay for the whole time of the lockdown.”

“Wait, what? But It’s not a real emergency, they don’t need to come here! And I thought the elevator’s safe place was one of the room three floors below!” Natasha asked, turning to Tony accusingly.

“It was, but I may or may not have had it turned into another lab…”

“Tony, you’re kidding right?” Steve added, backing Natasha up

“I swear I had planned to have it replaced real soon, but with the upcoming mission, my mind was elsewhere, and I haven’t told Pepper yet… so yeah, I know, I screwed up.”

“Yes, big time”

“Sir, you might be interested to know that the group is actually Miss Maximoff and Mister Parker’s class. They should be here in approximatively 3 minutes and 42 seconds.”

They were all dumbfounded for a second, before Natasha let out a laugh, a really unamused, unimpressed nervous laugh.

“Great, just great…  You realize, they’ll kill us tonight?” Natasha stood up and went to pour herself another coffee.

“Hey, not my fault…” Tony tried to defend himself but was cut short

“Yes man, it is” Sam answered, a smirk on his face.

At this point, Clint couldn’t contain his laughter anymore, the situation was so absurd that it became ridiculous. But apparently the archer was the only one that didn’t see the kids’ class coming up as a real problem, and the others just looked at him like if he had grown a second hand.

“Guys, calm down, we’ll just do like we did this morning, it will be fine! And I’m sure their faces will be priceless, I can’t want to tell that story to Laura and they kids, they won’t believe me.”

“Oh, really then, I’ll make sure to give Laura a call too, I’m sure she’ll be delighted to learn how you make fun of a situation that could jeopardize Wanda’s whole secret identity”

That shut him up on the spot. He knew that it wasn’t an empty threat, and even I it could be, he wasn’t totally sure he wanted to test that theory either. Still, he didn’t see the real issue. It was Steve that started to enlighten him a little.

Indeed, the super soldier stood up as well and took matters in his own hands.

“Enough of the blame game, they’ll be there anytime and now, and we better start sorting this place out. From where I am, I can see one of Wanda’s textbooks on one of the couches with her name clearly written on it, or Peter’s jacket, that I’m sure some of his classmates must have seen at least once. So, let’s move and make sure that nothing could give them away” Steve ordered, in his best Captain America’s voice.

It seemed to wake up everyone and they sprang into action.

Thankfully, there wasn’t much to do and a single trip from Natasha to both of the teenagers’ rooms allowed the room to look like if neither Wanda nor Peter had apparently set foot in it. Apparently, being the key word.

Just as she entered the living room again, the elevator dinged, and the door opened.

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The excited class entered the Avengers’ common room, every recommendation about remaining quiet and calm forgotten when they saw their favorite heroes in front of them. For some of them, meaning Tony and Clint, it was the third time this day the class saw them, but the thrill and frenzy was still very much there.

Steve welcomed them with a warm smile.

“Hey kids, it’s a pleasure to see you again. We’ll be stuck here for a while so please make yourself comfortable”

“Not too comfortable though please” Tony muttered when he saw some of the most wayward kids do just what Captain America just said and started to wander around the room. “Please stay in this room, don’t wander on your own or touch anything that seems dangerous, because it probably is.” He said at loud this time.

Since it had been made obvious earlier that day that they knew each other, Wanda joined Natasha at the bar, but still, she made sure to keep a proper distance between them so it wouldn’t be too suspicious. If she only faced the kitchen and blocked out the sounds of the room, she could almost pretend everything was normal, and she was just sitting at the bar with Natasha like she would on any normal day. Almost.

The assassin smiled at her and Wanda’s posture relaxed. It felt good to feel a bit of familiarity in this insanely stressful day. And Natasha was that familiarity.

They both turned around on their bar stools so they would face the rest of the room and saw Wanda’s fellow students and Peter take seat across the room, some on the many couches, some directly on the floor. None of them seemed to be able to take their eyes off the Avengers standing in front of them. They were legends after all, who could blame them?

Steve and Tony made eye contact in a silent question : what could they do to entertain a whole class of high schoolers long enough for the lockdown to be called off? That was a whole new type of mission, and for the first time, they weren’t sure they were up to it.

It’s Clint who for once provided an appropriate answer to their silent interrogation.

“Alright guys, since you’re there and we’re here, we might as well use that time to do something fun and useful. I suggest a little Q&A session. I’m sure you guys are dying to know us better.” The archer said, winking and puffing out his chest and Natasha rolled her eyes at his antics.

“Yes, let’s do that” Tony confirmed, always the one to have the last word. “Who wants to start?”

Many hands shot up at once, from every corner of the room. Tony’s gaze flew over it all and stopped on a boy, sitting on one of the couches next to Peter.

“You with the blue shirt and glasses”

The boy, Brandon, almost flinched when he recognized himself. He hadn’t expected to be called upon by Iron man himself, even if he did have a question to ask.

“Hum… okay… Hum… Is it true that all of the Avengers live here?”

It was Steve who answered that one.

“Well, not every Avenger lives there, but most of us. The tower’s permanent inhabitants are currently Tony obviously, Natasha, Banner, Scarlet Witch and Spider Man, and me. Thor travels back and forth, so does Clint, even if it doesn’t really feel that way, I swear that guy is always there somewhere… Next question?”

Another extraordinary amount of hands rose up. Wanda could have sworn that she had never seen so many hands up in class. Steve picked a girl, one that Peter used to have a crush on in seventh grade.

“Why do you use everybody’s real name except for Scarlet Witch and Spider Man?”

Natasha felt Wanda tensed next to her and took matters in her own hands.

“Their identity has not been revealed yet, it’s up to them to decide when we do so, or if we do so, and how we do so, so until them no one will know their real names.” The assassin said, standing up and walking closer to Steve that had remained standing in front of the class. “Next question please”

“What was your scariest mission so far? The toughest?”

Wanda blocked the answer and questions after that, no longer interested since it didn’t involve her of her secret identity anymore. She let her eyes wander over the room, soaking in its familiarity, noticing every detail that made that space theirs, and not only their workplace.

She saw some of Tony’s tech on the kitchen table, on which he had spent the better part of last night, she noticed Peter’s skateboard hidden on top of a cupboard, that only trained eyes could see, or her own “Little Witch” mug she had used the same morning in the sink since she was too late to properly wash it.

That particular mug had been a gift from Tony when she had been enrolled in school with Peter, he had it created especially for her in her favorite colors and ever since she got it, she refused to drink her hot chocolate in any other mug. It was this one or no chocolate at all. What she didn’t know was that Tony had several others made just in case the first one got broken, so he could sneakily replace it and avoid a breakdown over trivial things like that. That’s what he said, but deep down, he knew that it was only so he wouldn't have to see the look of sadness he was sure to see on his little witch’s face if it shattered. Natasha had figured it out and teased him to no end about that, but she knew she would have done the same anyway.

She went on surveying the room with her eyes, stopping on a shelf next to the window on the far end of the room. Several pictures were framed on it, like you would find in any other normal family. Pepper doing, obviously. She saw a shot of Natasha and Clint on one of their night walk, probably taken by Steve as he sometimes went with them.

Next to that one was a candid picture of Clint with Lila on his shoulders and Cooper in front of them, a toy bow in his hands. That particular picture was a testimony that they were indeed a family and that they trusted each other to no end. Clint would never had risked exposing his family like that if he wasn’t a hundred percent sure it was safe to do so. And it was, until a bunch of teenagers came to crowd the room and invade their privacy. That's why Wanda silently wandered if letting the picture there while strangers were in here was a wise idea.

Next to Clint and his children was a picture of Natasha with Wanda this time, leaning towards each other as if Natasha was telling the younger girl a secret. Only their backs were on display, but it wasn’t hard to recognize Wanda’s long auburn hair and Natasha’s fiery locks.

Wanda smiled at the memory it brought, that day had been great. She and the redhead had decided to spend the evening on the roof to see the sunset and… wait… a picture of her on display?

Wanda stopped looking at the pictures and sat up straighter on her bar stool and turned her gaze around the room. Everybody seemed totally engrossed in what Steve was saying, but she was too panicked to pay attention.

Natasha sensed a shift in her demeanor and shot her a quizzing look. Wanda focused and brushed the assassin’s mind with a ribbon of scarlet. Natasha granted her access and Wanda shared the mental image of the shelf. It took the redhead only a second to figure out what she meant.

Swiftly excusing herself, she went towards the window and, pretending to sort through the books of the small library shelf above it, she rearranged the pictures so every risky one would be hidden behind safer ones.

Close call. Again.

Peter had remained oblivious to the whole thing; he was more focused on avoiding eye contact with Tony as he knew it would only lead to more embarrassment and he wasn’t ready for it. He had had enough to last for his whole life, or at least for the whole week. He glanced at the digital clock in the kitchen part of the room. Thankfully an hour had already passed, and he knew lockdowns weren’t usually any longer than that. He had thought that his classmates would have run out of questions by now, but they were still going strong, going back and forth between serious and silly questions, between missions-related questions to questions about their everyday life. Tony, Clint, Steve and Natasha did their best to answer the ones they could and remained evasive when they became too personal or touched secret topics.

After all it was like a press conference for them and they were used to that kind of exercise.

Suddenly, another alarm went off in the tower, but another tone and much shorter than the last one.

Peter sighed and finally relaxed. Finally, it was over.

“I guess that’s goodbye then, kids… considering how late it is right, I think you’ll go straight to school to go home, right?” Tony asked, looking at Mr. Harrington who seemed almost as disappointed as his students to see that moment end.

The teacher flinched when he realized he was being spoken to and it took his another few seconds to process what Tony had asked.

“Yes, the bus must be waiting for us outside of the building.”

“In that case, I suppose it’s no trouble if we keep Peter and Wanda here instead of them going back to school to come back here right after. They’re supposed to work here tonight.”

“Of course, hum… I guess they can, if they have their guardian’s permission.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure of that.” Tony assured flashing him a dazzling smile.

Wanda and Peter held their breath. There was no way Mr. Harrington would let them stay here without a parent’s consent. No responsible teacher would.

“Okay then, sure they can stay.” Mr. Harrington eventually said.

Well. No responsible teacher except for Mr. Harrington would.

“So, class, say goodbye and we’ll be on our way. Thanks again for welcoming us here and sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It was no trouble” Steve answered. “I’ll see you off.”

Steve led them to the elevator and soon enough, the doors closed behind the whole class.

Wanda slumped against the couch and almost cried in relief. Finally, it was over, she could finally behave normally. Peter joined her under the amused gaze of the other Avengers.

The elevator dinged again.

“You must be kidding me” Wanda muttered under her breath.

The doors opened and Thor got out, all smile and blond flowy hair.

“Hello, my friends, what have I missed?”

This time, the “grown-up Avengers” couldn’t contain their laughter any longer and burst out laughing.

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