Chapter Text
It had been a drastic flight.
No, scratch that, it had been one of the most panic-ridden and stressful flights Peter has ever been on.
For one: Tony hadn't come with them, since he was needed on the ground to put out the fires
and two: the whole reason till why they even needed to leave in the first place, was because Ross, (AKA the inventor of an accord that held no mercy against the people who didn't sign it) had somehow found out about Spider-Man's identity and had immediately send an army of soldiers to attack the Avengers Compound the second they'd found out.
Perfect way to start the evening, huh.
Colonel Rhodes had warned them about Ross's plan as soon as he had heard about it, which had left Tony on the verge of a panic attack before he had stormed into the living room where all of the Avengers were currently hanging out and told them what was going on.
"Wait, are you saying Ross is on his way right now?" Wanda asked from where she was sitting on the couch, her eyes glowing dangerously red.
Tony ran a hand through his hair"Yes, and if we don't do anything, he'll take Peter to court -that he will definitely win by the way- and send the kid to the Raft" Tony sighed "So we got like, 30 minutes before Ross storms this place, which means we need someone who can go undercover with Peter until this whole shit show is over" Tony clapped his hands together "So, any volunteers?" Tony looked around the room.
"I'll do it" Sam suddenly said. Tony nodded.
"I'll go too, probably good to have someone who knows how to hide from the government" Bucky of all people said. Peter saw Steve pale a little at Bucky's words.
"Are you sure bucky?" Steve asked a bit worryingly. Bucky rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Steve I think I can handle it" Bucky waived a hand at the super soldier. Steve didn't comment further, but he could see the worry linger in the soldier's posture.
Peter had seen the surprise in Tony's eyes, probably from the fact that only a year ago Tony had literally done the opposite of what they were doing now, and two of the people he'd fought were now offering to go high and about if it meant Peter was safe.
A part of him wanted to ask further, ask as to why the hell they would do so much just to keep him from getting arrested, but he decided against it. There was enough going on around him for his insecurities to be the last thing they should worry about.
Another part of him wanted to scream at Tony to fix this, wanted him to tell Ross to go to hell and make him leave the Sokovia Accords for good. nothing good came out of that contract, the only thing it did was causing normal people who simply wanted to do the right thing having to either hide or completely stop with what their doing. Peter's blood always boiled at the thought.
He was struck out from his thoughts when he heard Tony shouting his name, he snapped his head up from where he'd been staring at the windows who showed the outside of the compound, shrinking a little as he saw the whole team was staring at him.
Tony looked a him concerned "Pete, you good?"
He stabled himself a bit, trying desperately to appear calm even though he was probably having a mild anxiety attack at the moment.
"I- yeah I'm- I'm okay" Peter gave him a wavy smile. Tony seemed like he wanted to argue, but a quick look at the watch on the wall made the billionaire take another direction and turned his attention to the team.
"Alright" Tony started "I've only had like, three minutes to come up with this plan, so hopefully it will work. Wilson, Barnes, you'll be taking a plane in about fifteen minutes, until then, pack the things you need, but do not bring any electronic devices, or you can be tracked"
"I've already ordered the staff to prepare a plane for you, Keep yourself under the radar, you'll be alone on the plane with Peter, I'm trusting you to keep him safe" Sam and Bucky nodded in confirmation "Everyone else, do anything in your power to prevent Ross from finding out anything about either Peter, or the location they're going for. I'm letting Sam and Bucky have full control over the plane, which means we won't know where you'll be going" Tony explained.
Peter frowned at that. "Wait, how will you contact us then?" He asked, while trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. Tony seemed to think for a moment before he grabbed Peter's arm and raised it. On it, there was a watch Peter had gotten as a birthday present. It wasn't new, if the slightly torned and discolored leather strap was anything to go by.
Tony smirked as he waived Peter's arm in the air for a moment.
"With this" Tony triumphed. Peter was pretty sure he had gone insane when he looked at what Tony was pointing at.
"This is my watch" Peter said dumbly as he raised an eyebrow at Tony.
"Indeed it is" Tony explained flat, as if that would answer all of his questions.
Peter rolled his eyes "Why on god greens earth, would my watch have any use in this situation?" Peter asked annoyed, really not having the energy to joke around for the moment. he looked at Tony who for some reason looked a bit sheepish.
"Well" Tony cleared his throat for moment "Remember when you told me it needed to be fixed, and so I brought it down to the lab to replace the glass. But, for some reason, I got this weird thought that there could be a possibility that you might get... kidnapped, or whatever" Peter just stared dumbly at the man who he thought was considered a genius " And I may have, installed a tracker in it" It took a moment for Peter to wrap his head around what he'd just heard, but once it did, Peter could feel the irritation bubble in his chest.
The thing is, Peter hadn't known about the tracker, apparently it had been too unimportant for him to know that he was constantly being watched day in and out. Sure, he had a tracker in his phone, but at least he could decide weather he wanted Tony to know where he was or not.
Phones, he could do
A watch he never took off, was another story.
"And were you ever planning on telling me that?" Peter glared at him. Tony scratched the back of his neck, looking at anything but Peter for the moment. He rolled his eyes, annoyed, but decided to drop it, since there was way more important things going on or the moment.
"Whatever, just, what am I suppose to do with this exactly?" Peter deadpanned. Tony looked relived at the change of subject, and instead cleared his throat a couple of times before he started to explain. He stretched out his hand, gesturing for Peter to give the watch to him.
"Right, well, the tracker can be turned on and off in case of emergencies, So I'll need you to turn it off for now, on the third day, turn it on again and open the back of it" Tony explained while showing Peter at the same time. He opened the back of the watch where a small button was placed.
"I assume that's the on and off button?" Peter suggested. Tony shook his head.
"Nope, this button is made to transfer Morse codes" Peter frowned as he looked up at Tony.
"I'm sorry, what?" Peter asked a bit dumbfounded. Tony smirked.
"When you turn on the tracker, you'll be able to reach me through Morse code, when I message you back, the watch will vibrate in Morse too, so you'll have to concentrate when you translate, alright?" Tony asked. Peter nodded, although-
"And Morse code was the best communication languages you could think of?" Peter asked blankly. Tony shrugged before grabbing Peter's arm and putting on the watch again, not looking up from his arm as he started to explain.
"I was going to tell you about the Morse thing on your birthday, it was mostly a kind of emergency thing in case I wouldn't be able to come right away, communication on a frequency that no one uses anymore, plus, if I were to make an easier way to talk, I'd have to rip open the whole thing, and I'm pretty sure you'd have my head if I did that" Tony smirked as Peter let out a small chuckle. Tony didn't have to explain why he'd be mad, he already knew how much the watch meant to Peter.
Peter turned his arm back and forth as he carefully watched the newly fixed glistering glass, still a bit in awe at the device, until the realization about the lack of contact he'll be having dawned on him.
"I guess I won't be able to bring my phone then?" Peter said, it sounded more of an known fact than a question.
Tony sighed before wrapping his arms around Peter as he shook his head, Peter let the familiar warmth spread around him before Tony pulled away and looked him straight in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Pete, I wished there was another way, but Ross will be here in about twenty minutes, and then he'll take you and I can't lose you Peter I can't-" Tony started rambling, making Peter cut him off before he would begin hyperventilating.
"Alright, alright, I get it Tony, I get it, don't worry I'll be okay, just..." Peter sighed "Thank you" Peter looked warmly into Tony's eyes, not sure what else to say. Tony gave him an assuring smile before he ruffled his hair.
"No need to thank me Pete, Ross should be the one thanking you for not ordering me to kill him" Tony joked him. Peter chuckled a little before Sam suddenly interrupted them both.
"The plane will be ready soon, Peter should probably go packing" Sam said with an undertone of worry in his voice. Tony nodded before pushing a little at Peter's shoulder.
"Go on then Pete, you heard the bird" Tony joked. Sam rolled his eyes as Peter let out a laugh before sprinting to his room.
He didn't pack much except some clothes, a toothbrush and a book MJ had told him to read. His gaze had landed on his phone that was laying on his nightstand, hating that he couldn't bring it with him. He sighed before shaking his head as he silently packed the last of his clothes, dutifully ignoring the red and blue suit that was hanging on a chair next to his bed. Spider-Man was the last thing that people needed to see if they wanted stay under the radar, since that was literally the whole reason till this mess in the first place.
Peter zipped the bag close before he was up at the door, giving his room a last glance. Don't worry Peter, only a few days and you'll be back again, he tried to assure himself, but he could still feel the worry and overall fear bubble inside him.
He wouldn't have any contact with May, Ned or MJ, and if Tony couldn't convince Ross or the jury, or if Ross found them... Peter shook his head, he couldn't think about that now, May would be fine because if she weren't he would not give Tony a great time, and he was pretty sure the billionaire already knew that. As for Ned and MJ, he could only pray Ross wouldn't go after them.
It felt like all of this was his fault, if he only had been more careful, better at lying, something... then maybe he wouldn't have been here. He knew he couldn't possibly have seen this coming, that no matter how much he would try to hide, his identity would have been revealed sooner or later, weather it was from the people or the government didn't matter, he would be in danger either way.
With one last sigh, ignoring the guilt bubbling in his stomach, Peter gripped his bag a little tighter, before he made his way to the outside of the compound where the team was standing and watching the plane getting ready a few yards away.
Tony slung an arm around his shoulders as Peter joined them, the weight of the whole situation suddenly dawning on him as he saw his team-mates looking almost frozen on the spot.
As for Peter, who was practically vibrating from nervousness, the stiff-like trance that seemed to have settled itself over the team did nothing to calm him down, it only made his thoughts louder from the lack of movement, where the sound from the plane slowly getting prepared in the fastest way possible before Ross's men would come being the only sound except everyone's heavy breathing, made him pretty sure he was slowly going into a panic attack.
God, he hoped this wouldn't take long...
Tony must have sensed his nervousness, since Peter felt the arm around his shoulders tighten as a kiss was pressed against the side of his head.
"You'll be alright bud, I promise" Tony whispered in his ear, and for a second, Peter felt his nerves calm down.
They bordered the plane after waving a goodbye to the team, Peter took a quick glance around the -what he assumed- very expensive vehicle. The cockpit didn't have a door and the gap leading into it was pretty big, which means Peter had a perfect view of Sam flying the plane. There was only four rows with seats in the cabin, every row having two seats, with the two middle rows turned towards each other with a table between them. Bucky took a place at the same table as Peter did, with Peter at the window and bucky on the other side closest to the isle.
Peter pulled up the book MJ had given him and began reading, while bucky was examining his gun or something. The plane shook a little as Peter tried desperately not to think what planes had done to him in the past, one almost killing him while he thought the vulture, and the other killing his parents.
Well, that took a dark turn
Peter shook his head before returning back to his reading, but was abruptly interrupted again as the plane shook another time. He sighed in frustration before putting down the book altogether and instead went to look outside the window. The sky was dark, since the time was almost 9 P.M. He wondered where they were going, since they would have to leave the country if they would ever get a chance to stay low.
"Hey, Sam?" Peter asked.
Sam hummed in acknowledgement.
"Where are we going exactly?" He saw Bucky perk up in the corner of his eye.
"Well, Spider-boy, we are going to Italy" Sam said casually. Peter almost choked on his own spit at that. Did he just say?
"wait, did you just say Italy?" Peter winced at his voice going three octaves higher, making Sam chuckle a little.
"Yup, so get ready for a long flight, kid, and if Bucky starts snoring, just take one of his knives and he probably won't punch you if you wake him up" Sam warned playfully making Bucky glare at him. Peter snorted but didn't comment further, and instead went on to his previous thought.
"So, why are we going to Italy exactly?" Peter asked.
Sam paused for a moment "Italy is one of the few countries that didn't agree with the accords. Apparently they've had a problem with their police lately and have only been able to rely on a few Super Heroes to keep the country safe" Sam shrugged "It made sense to choose it"
Peter nodded in understanding, feeling the excitement bubble up inside him. He had always wanted to go to Italy, he was pretty much fluent in the language from multiple lessons with May and Delmar. May had wanted him to have something from her side of the family since they weren't related, and decided to teach him what she held closest to her home country.
It had always been a fun little thing they had. joking and making fun of Ben when he would do something incredibly stupid, such as dropping a glass or tripping over the shoes in the hall. He would always grumble under his breath when Peter and May would burst out laughing and shouting non-English words in between, claiming that he was too busy saving people on the streets through his career as a cop to have any time learning a useless language, which only made Peter and May laugh harder, with Ben joining them a minute after.
Peter smiled to himself at the memory, he would never forget the sound of Ben's laugh.
ten minutes later, Sam turned on autopilot and joined Bucky and Peter in the cabinet. Their conversation was mostly just small talk between the heroes, with Sam and Bucky playfully bickering back and forth as they tell Peter about the time Sam helped Steve when HYDRA took over S.H.I.E.L.D and saved Bucky from the Winter Soldier, Peter had heard that story over and over from news sources and late night YouTube videos, but it was way more awesome to hear it from the actual people who'd experienced it.
He was surprised Bucky was willing to talk so much about his Winter Solider days, the man had been quiet when he'd met him officially after the airport fight, when the rouge Avengers first came back to try and stitch things up again. Tony had been hesitant at first, obviously not wanting to look at the man who lied to him about a horrible tragedy that Peter knew still haunted Tony even after 26 years of time.
But even with all the broken trust, the demons who still waited silently under over-polite conversations and stiff replies, they moved on, found a peace that Peter thought they would never see again. He'd heard all the stories about Siberia from Tony, he'd heard the man's howling and broken cries in the dead of night when Pepper hadn't been by his side, he'd seen his Idol, his hero screaming and fighting at an invisible monster only he could see and leaving Peter to save him, both from nightmares and reality.
Bucky was almost the same too, except Peter never did anything about it but silently listen to the man by his enhanced hearing, while waiting for Steve to calm Bucky down.
Peter wouldn't fall asleep before 2 hours later.
He was happy Bucky was feeling safe again, he didn't know the man that well, but he could tell there was kind heart under the heavy layers of protection through years of being held at an unknown place against his will. Sam was usually the guy who brought back the confident and loving person Bucky still was, so it was nice to have them with him, he felt safe, since that was the most needed feeling in this situation right now.
But Peter would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit suspicious, why would they ever agree on helping the dude who literally webbed them to the floor the first time they met? They hadn't been hesitant about it either, just simply threw themselves in on a mission that could lead them to either die or get arrested, all to keep him, Peter Parker, safe.
"Why did you agree on this?" The question came out before he could stop himself. His voice hadn't been higher than a murmur, but it was enough for the soldiers to whip their heads around and look at him, the confused frown on their faces clear as day.
Peter looked up from where he'd been staring at the cover of his book before quickly backtracking as he realized what he'd just asked.
"I-I mean, why did you agree on doing, all of this" He said as he gestured around the plane "You both have been on the run from the accords before, we literally thought against each other when you did that, and now your agreeing to do all of this again to save a kid from queens you barley know" He said blankly before sighing "I just... want to know..."He shrugged.
The soldiers glanced at each other, probably stunned from Peter's outburst, he was about to backtrack his way out of the whole conversation before Bucky sighed and met Peter's eyes, there was something soft in his gaze, to Peter's surprise, soft but still protective, a gaze he'd seen in Tony a billion times before.
Bucky smirked a little "Look, kid, I don't know if you knew this, but your whole presence in Tony's and our lives is probably the only reason to why we're even a team again. I've heard enough outbursts from Steve to know Tony hasn't always been as warmhearted as he is now"
"yeah, he could be a real douche bag sometimes" Sam piped in. Bucky rolled his eyes as he smacked Sam's shoulder before continuing.
"Look... If it weren't for you, I'm not sure Tony would ever forgive me, or even Steve for that matter, but somehow you were able to convince him, even Rhodes hadn't been able to, and yet, you come in here and cleaning up this whole mess we started like a bunch of six year old's" Bucky sighed "And... If we would ever lose you, weather it was because of us, or an accident... I'm not sure any of us would be able to move on after that" Bucky explained as Peter stared with wide eyes at him.
"We wouldn't" Sam cut in "Plus, we do not want to be the people who murdered May Parker's nephew. That women can just team up with Pepper and we all would be dead in about 2 hours"
Peter let out a small laugh as he rolled his eyes fondly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, I guess your right" He said at last.
Peter watched the two men as they went back to their earlier bickering, both loud-mouthed and charismatic, as if they didn't just have an emotional roller coaster of a conversation. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit shocked at the fact that they actually cared as much as they did about him, he'd always thought he was simply just, that kid who walked right into being a superhero before he was old enough to drink.
He assumed weirder things has happened to them.
But either way, Peter still felt his heart swell at Bucky's and Sam's words.
If we would ever lose you, weather it was because of us, or an accident... I'm not sure any of us would be able to move on after that.
And yeah, it was a bit selfish to see that sentence as something good, but he assumed Sam wouldn't say it if it was true, besides, Peter rarely took anyone's words of adoration towards him as truth, but this time, maybe, he might just believe them enough to not immediately see past them.
It was enough to keep the thoughts of the outside world in the dark as he relaxed into his chair. He pulled out a comforter under his chair and picked up the book, feeling comfortable enough to try and read again.
The next time the plane began to rumble, Peter was already asleep, the book laying lazily in his lap as the two soldiers looked fondly at the youngest hero.
"I see why Stark like him so much" Bucky whispered. Sam nodded, glad that Peter at least couldn't be disturbed by reality in his sleep.
Yeah. The kid really was something else, and he would soon be through one hell of ride, Sam thought bitterly as he glanced at the young hero one last time.
He promised himself something at that moment.
He would protect Peter, no matter what.
The kid was too good to leave behind.