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The smell of Avengers Compound was one of Peter Parker's favourite smells. He loved the way the kitchen smelled when Steve baked cookies. He loved the way his floor smelled. Always a mixture between rain and vanilla. Circe claimed he was weird but he didn't care.
"Pete?" Oliver's green and brown eyes stared at him with wonder. He was wearing a Spider-Man hoodie and dark blue jeans. His chocolate curls were pushed back by a red headband that belonged to Circe. "Can you help me out? I never get these math things…"
"It's basic chemistry," the fourteen-year-old replied, scooting closer to Oliver. "Come on, Oli. Just add this to that. Then write down your hypothesis." Oliver looked at him as if he had three heads. Or extra limbs. (He didn't. Peter checked every morning now.)
"Okay…" Oliver scribbled down his guess. Peter loved watching his boyfriend work. He loved his little forehead head, which had a scar down the middle of it. Skip did that to him. Peter gave both of them scars. Peter sighed. He loved Oliver's heterochromia eyes. Peter loved Oliver's soft hands. "Like this?"
Peter looked at the piece of paper. Olliver's hypothesis made sense. He nodded and Oliver grinned. He hugged Peter and Peter hugged back. I love him so much…Peter pressed his head in Oliver's shoulder."I love you, Oli."
Oliver chuckled and pulled apart from the hug. "I love you too, Pete!"
There was a gagging sound from behind them. Circe Barton was standing behind them, hands on her hips. She had beautiful green-ish gray eyes that glowed in the natural lighting of the Compound. Her blond hair was left loose as if Circe didn't bother to tie it up. And knowing Circe, she wasn't going to tie it up. Her Iron Man pyjama pants clashing with her vintage AC/DC shirt. (Both were gifts from Tony.)
"MJ and Ned are downstairs. I'm going to change and I love you guys!!" She bolted out of the living area. Circe and Wanda were the resident fashionistas of Avengers Compound and teased Peter all the time for wearing science puns on his shirt. To be fair, those shirts were like a wall around a body. A sort of protection, if you will. Both Wanda and Circe knew that. They just liked to tease him.
Peter jumped down from the stool and Oliver followed. He had a large grin on his face and grabbed Oliver's hand. The two boys raced down the steps and almost ran into Steve and Bucky, who was just returning from training. The two smelled of sweat and something else that Peter couldn't put his finger on it. Was that Axe Body Spray?
"SORRY!" Peter and Oliver yelled in unison. Both teens bowed and sounded way to desperate for the super soldiers. Peter felt Steve touch his shoulder. Steve gave him a soft smile.
"You're fine. Both of you. Don't worry, Buck's not going to chop your heads off-"
James "Bucky" Barnes shrugged. The metal arm making a creaking sound. "I mean, I'm still on the fence. Don't piss me off or else." Oliver knew he was joking but Peter hesitated. Buck noticed it too because he smiled after. Peter sighed a sigh of relief.
They quickly sped down to the ground floor where MJ and Ned were waiting for them. Instead of their two friends, Peter and Oliver saw Tony talking to Ned and MJ about something. MJ looked mildly amused while Ned looked like he was trying to hold his laughter in. Tony turned at the sound of footsteps. The Italian turned around a playful smile on his face.
"Hey, Underoos, Olive! Fancy seeing you here," he teased, his hand on his hip. Tony Stark, Peter thought to himself. What the hell did you tell my friends? Peter waved at his friends before glaring at his mentor.
"We live here, Tony," Oliver deadpanned. Peter snickered. "Now what brings you here?" Tony's teasing smile never wavered, even after getting attacked by a fourteen-year-old with lots of emotional baggage.
"Nothin'," Tony said before walking away.
Peter scoffed but shrugged off his suspicions. He grinned at his friends and nudged Oliver, who appeared to be thinking about something. Come on, Oli! Stop thinking and relaaaaax with meeee!!! "So what did Mr Stark tell you guys?
"Something about ghosts. Said Buzzfeed Unsolved made a video about it. He wants us to check it out," MJ said, her curly brown hair tied into a pretty (and messy) bun. She wore a t-shirt with the words #These Curves on it. Circe had the same shirt. Maybe they came from the same shop? "I'm done but I have to warn you three: I don't believe in ghosts."
Ned looked terrified of what MJ said. How do you not believe in ghosts? What did she think happened to the souls that were trapped on Earth? "MJ, you're going to make the ghosts upset." Ned turned to each side, yelling: "SHE DIDN'T MEAN WHAT SHE SAID!" MJ looked done with Ned.
"Well," Oliver said, clapping this hands. The loud noise made Peter flinch. Oliver muttered an apology before he continued his thoughts. "We should at least watch the Buzzfeed Unsolved video. To understand how and why Tony knows there's a ghost in the Compound"
"Since when are you the brains of the operation?" Circe asked, jumping from the fifth step to the group. She had changed out of her PJs into a hoodie with a WICKED logo on it. Peter remembered Circe's thirteenth birthday. They'd all gone to see WICKED. Bucky and Steve sang along, which annoyed the people in front of them. Peter and Oliver and Circe acted it out each and every scene after the show. Pepper had filmed the entire thing. Peter bet F.R.I.D.A.Y and/or J.A.R.V.I.S had the video.
"Shut up, witch!" Oliver huffed, referencing the origin of Circe's name. Peter doubted Oliver had ever read the myths but silently applauded him for the comeback. Circe kissed the boy's cheek. Oliver did the same. Circe, Peter, and Natasha and Pepper were the only people Oliver allowed to do that to him. Skip had messed both their brains up. No, Peter thought to himself. Now is not the time to think about Skip.
The doors to the compound opened up, much to the groups surprise. Peter glanced at Circe, mentally asking the blond if she expected any visitors. "No," she whispered back to him. "My mom and siblings aren't coming until next Monday." Then who the hell was at the door?
The visitor had wavy brown hair. His cheeks were dusted with pink and Peter noticed he had an Omega pass. (Only the Avengers, the kids, and certain others (like Pepper and Laura Barton) had passes like that.) He had a suitcase in one hand, a phone in the other. He looked around and Peter immediately knew who it was.
"HARLEY!" Peter yelled. He ran up to the boy and hugged him tightly. Oliver joined in on the hug. Harley Keener flushed red and he laughed.
"It was supposed to be a surprise. But what's this I hear about ghosts?" Harley's Southern accent warmed Peter right down to his toes. Oliver was a dark shade of pink. He looked like he was going to die.
"Umh, Tony asked us to look for ghosts. So we're going to hunt ghosts." Circe snorted along with MJ. Both girls looked like they both were trying to support each other. "But first we need to watch the Buzzfeed Unsolved video about it."
"They made a video about the ghost of Avengers Compound?" Harley asked, letting go of Peter and Oliver. Peter grabbed Harley's suitcase with one arm. Harley didn't bat an eye and thanked him. "Well," he said rubbing his palms together. "Let's see this video!"
"WAIT-how the hell did we not notice our stuff disappearing?" Oliver asked as the video ended. He flopped back onto the couch, beside Circe. "I've been living in this Compound since last year, same as Peter. And I still haven't noticed this?!"
Harley stared at the screen, a confused expression on his face. He looked really cute when he was thinking. He snapped hitting Ned in the shoulder. Ned cried out in surprise. Harley rubbed his elbow and begged Ned for his forgiveness. Ned laughed, telling Harley that it was fine.
Both Circe and MJ were writing something down on sticky notes. They borrowed a whiteboard from Bruce Banner, who had a fear of the supernatural. (Peter suspected that Bruce had a fear of the supernatural because of Thor and Loki's Asgardian ghost stories. Peter had to admit it: those stories were the stuff of nightmares!) They had red silk connecting different photos to each other. They seemed to be knee-deep in the ocean of weird stuff happening in the Compound.
"Maybe cause were desensitized to weird stuff?" Peter suggested. "I mean, like, I'm Spider-Man." - he pointed at Harley - "You're Iron Lad and Iron Man hijacked your garage." - Peter looked at Circe, who knew exactly what the spiderling was going to say. - "And you…You've got a dad who fought a literal goddess and still kisses you good night. The world is crazy, man!" Circe nodded and added Crazy Shit happens to us onto the board. MJ made an AHA sound. She turned to the rest of the group.
"What if it isn't a ghost? What if one of the Avengers is pulling a prank on the rest of us?" Peter raised an eyebrow. Harley looked ready to argue but hesitated. Oliver was still muttering to himself. "We should interview the rest of the Avengers, just to rule them out."
MJ made a valid point. Even if she did look like that one Todoroki meme, where he's pointing to a bulletin board full of conspiracy theories. She circled her first theory in black marker. Peter got up, followed by Harley, Ned, Circe, and Oliver. The group made their way to the first Avenger's room: Wanda Maximoff.
Wanda Maximoff, age sixteen. Prefers she/her and hirs/hirself. Is currently in a relationship with Vision, who uses they/them. Has the ability to move things with her mind. Can also alter memories and control others. Speaks fluent Sokovian, Russian (does not like to tell us where she learned it), and English. Hates snakes but has a soft spot for Loki. Loves Steve Rodger's baking. Suspect Number One.
"Your stuff has gone missing too?" Wanda asked. She looked genuinely concerned. Peter nodded and MJ sat beside the older teen. Peter was grateful that Wanda wasn't the ghost. No offense to Wanda or anything, but she was pretty scary. (He remembered how pissed Wanda was when hirs heard that Netflix cancelled Anne with an E. Wanda sued Netflix with Tony. Netflix didn't care.) "My red jacket went missing a week ago. I looked all over the compound. I even checked CCTV footage. Nothing…"
"Have you noticed anything…suspicious?" MJ questioned, writing down what Wanda just told her. "Like your fellow Avengers acting weird?"
Wanda was silent for a minute. "I mean, all of them are kind of weird." A round of laughter from the group. "Steve and Bucky were acting weird the other day. But it's probably because they haven't seen each other in a long time."
MJ nodded and wrote that down as well. She turned to the group. "Thanks, Wanda. We shall report back to you once we have new information!" The group left Wanda alone and headed to the next suspect, or rather suspects: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
Steve Rogers, age-old. (Looks to be in his late thirties.) Uses he/him and has responded to it/its. Has been known to flirt openly with James "Bucky" Barnes, his childhood best friend. The two are inseparable and can be found watching new movies together. Hence, Avengers Movie Night. Has the ability to heal faster than a normal person, can shatter the Iron Man Suit. Rogers can also sing very well. And his baking is second to none. Can speak fluent English, Russian, and Spanish (taught by Oliver, who sometimes gets angry and frustrated. Only knows the swear words.)
James "Bucky" Barnes, age-old. (Looks to be in his later thirties.) Uses he/him and has responded to it/its and they/them. Has been known to opening flirt with Steve Rogers, his childhood best friend. As said in the previous notation, they are never seen apart. Can beat the shit out of Steve and Tony at any given moment. Can also break people's hearts (see: Hot as Fuck "NO, Peter we can't take that out!" ) Has a metal arm but hasn't shared to Peter, Circe, or Oliver where he got it from. Can speak fluent English, Russian, and Spanish (also taught by Oliver. Knows more than swear words.)
The group quickly made their way to the common area. Circe and MJ handed each other the phone and notepad from the Wanda interview, talking in hushed whispers. Peter noticed that Ned and Oliver were playing with Ned's phone. He heard Pokemon Go noises. The sound of capturing a Pokemon brought him back to his old apartment. Skip used to put on Pokemon before he- NO! Peter shook his head and ran next to Harley, who was smiling about something.
"You're happy," Peter noted.
"I am happy," Harley replied. "But I'll tell you later. I promise."
Peter nodded and soon they were standing in front of the television. Oliver cleared his throat and both super soldiers frowned. Bucky got up and moved Circe and MJ out of the way. Circe jumped in between both men, crossing her legs once she sat down. She had this sort of silly expression as if she knew what was going to come next.
Plot twist, she did not.
"Circe Isabella Barton," Steve grumbled, crossing his arms. Circe froze at the use of her full name. No one ever called her that, not even her father. Only Laura Barton and Steve Rogers did. "What are you doing?"
The background noises from Space Jam (the original one) played as the silence hung in the air. "Have you noticed anything that's missing?" MJ asked as Ned turned on the camera. Peter snuck a glance at the footage and noticed it belonged to a folder. MJ was the most organized out of the group. "Wanda's red jacket went missing a week ago."
Steve nodded. "My copy of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo went missing a while back. I left it in Bucky's room while we were taking a nap and when I woke up, it was gone. I wasn't even done." MJ, Circe, and even Harley nodded at the book. Peter had never read it because one, Tony said no and two, May forbid him from reading books with mature content. Fat chance, Peter thought. I've already done all of those scenes.
Oliver tilted his head, a confused expression making its way onto his face. "You and Bucky take naps together?"
Bucky sighed, adjusting himself so that he was sitting up. Circe stood up and made her way back to MJ, who was already piecing together mentally. "We were going to wait to dinner, but fuck it-"
"Language!" Ned teased, earning a horribly masked smile from Steve. He turned off the camera, handing it back to MJ. Steve whispered a thank you after Ned shut it off.
"-AND we planned on doing it after dessert but you kids are annoying. Me and Steve are getting married." The group went wild. Oliver hugged the two men and Harley nodded, a knowing smile on his face.
"I kind of already knew," MJ replied, mindlessly scrolling through her video gallery. "You two are the most obvious power couple ever."
"Really?" the two asked in unison.
MJ rolled her eyes. "You have a museum exhibit that is shared by the both of you. And there's like fifteen pictures of you in that exhibit with the most obvious lovey-dovey expression. The Heteros just don't see as well as us." Harley, Circe, and Oliver and Peter snapped. Ned just shrugged. "Congrats on your marriage or something. I've" - a group of coughs - "sorry, we've got a mystery to solve."
They then decided to question the person who started it all. Suspect Number Four: Tony Stark.
Tony Stark, age-old. ("He's an old man, Circe. Who cares if we piss him off?") Uses he/him and has responded to xe/xem. Is in a relationship with the CEO of his company, Pepper Potts, who uses they/them and she/her. He's a big name and is also known as Iron Man. He fights shit with the Avengers and has gotten beaten up by Suspect Number Three. Can uses science to outsmart everyone. Hates peanut butter but loves Reeses Peanut Butter cups. Has been known to get into arguments with Loki while making dinner for the team.
"I didn't leak the video," Tony said as he adjusted the visor on the Iron Man suit. "It got leaked while I was fixing the Iron Lad, Iron Man, and Spider-Man suits, Miss Jones." He never referred to MJ as 'MJ' nor Michelle. He referred to her as Miss Jones because she intimidated him. "And the blueprints for the Iron Lad suit disappeared three hours ago."
MJ blinked, clearly surprised to get all this information just by walking in. Harley on the other hand was furious. "You lost the blueprints to my suit? Stark, I worked my ass off to make that suit! You asshole-" Oliver covered the boy's mouth with a soft chuckle.
"I never lose blueprints," the older man replied, never once looking up from his work. Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton snapped at that. The group frowned at the spies. "It was on my desk and I went to take a shit. I come back and it's gone."
The spies were vouching for themselves, saying they were with Pepper and Loki, who were both in the common room. Harley noted that they had passed the group before coming down to interview Tony. "Damn," Natasha teased. "Looks like you've got yourself into a pickle."
Tony glared. "Maybe you should check with the people with powers?" Clint suggested, his favourite bow had gone missing two days ago. MJ added it that to her list. "Like Thor or Loki? Vision?"
MJ's eyes lit up just Oliver's did.
"FILE OUT TROOPS!" MJ yelled, clapping her hands. The sound made most of them flinch, but not because of past issues or trauma. MJ just clapped really loudly.
"My knives went missing," Loki replied, messing with a kitchen knife as Pepper stirred the chilli. Both women were making turkey chilli because one) turkey was healthier than beef and two, Thor hated beef. Thor was asleep on the table. Like he was lying down on the mother fucking table, snoring every once in a while. "I checked everywhere," she grumbled. "And the oaf can't find his hammer. No one can lift it other than him, but it's missing."
"Vision is the only other person who can lift the hammer," Ned pointed out. He was silent just as the group jumped up. "VISION!"
"F.R.I.D.A.Y?" Circe asked, as they all crowded into the elevator. Fae cracked her knuckles, Harley wincing as fae did.
"Yes, Blonde?" F.R.I.D.A.Y answered, the nickname programmed by Tony, causing the group to laugh. MJ patted Circe's shoulder, the two stared at each other for a moment, before shaking their heads.
"Where is the Vision?"
"They're currently in the abandoned lab."
"Thanks!" Circe sang and pressed the button to the basement. Girl in Red blared as the elevator took them down to the basement. The song, You Stupid Bitch, began to play. Oliver grinned. Harley knew the Latino loved the song.
You let the wrong people love you
But you don't see that, do you?
When you cry and need my comfort
I drop everything to come over
Harley leaned on Peter for support as he scrolled through his texts. Peter hummed along as he waited for the doors to open. Ned and Oliver began to pretend to play the instruments in the song. He's silly, Peter thought as he thought about his boyfriend.
Don't bite your lip or grit your teeth
Just count to ten and try to breathe
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
The perfect one for you is me
The perfect one for you is me
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
Oliver yelled the lyrics and soon Circe was joining in. It was odd, to say the least. Circe never really screamed the lyrics to the songs unless it was a Disney song. Harley pulled out his phone and filmed as the four of them danced and sang to Girl in Red's song.
You don't know what you deserve
And that's why you end up hurt
But you never listen
Take my advice as criticism
"Then make the worst decisions!" the four sang in unison. Oliver and MJ were dramatically dancing with each other, while Circe and Ned jammed out.
Don't bite your lip or grit your teeth
Just count to ten and try to breathe
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
The perfect one for you is me
The perfect one for you is me
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
"Arrived," F.R.I.D.A.Y said, opening the door to the creepy basement. Harley raised his phone, the recording not yet stopped. The footage would have been shaky had it been an iPhone. But it was a StarkPhone, so it wasn't as shitty. (Don't tell Stark, Harley begged Peter later on.)
Don't bite your lip or grit your teeth
Just count to ten and try to breathe
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
The perfect one for you is me
The perfect one for you is me
You stupid bitch, can't you see
The perfect one for you is me?
The dripping of the abandoned level caused Oliver, Harley, and Peter to hold hands in terror. Circe and MJ were huddled together, both using their phones as flashlights. Ned raised his own phone to illuminate the way. They saw a couple busted up Iron Man suits, the remains of Ultron (which wasn't destroyed for some reason), and then a thud.
A figure began to move and Circe screamed. Her heart thudded in faer chest, Circe's grip on MJ's arm growing tighter. The light from Ned's phone lit up a clearly annoyed Vision, who was leaning down to grab Thor's hammer. The Vision yelped in surprise, once again dropping the hammer. They turned to look at the group.
"Shit," Vision chuckled, a hand on their chest. "You all startled me."
"Why do you have Thor's hammer?"
Vision rubbed their neck sheepishly, before clapping their hands. The lights suddenly turned on and a bright mural lit the room. Dozens of beautiful brushstrokes filled a crumbling wall, as the missing items littered the ground. Oliver grabbed a stuffed animal, which had belonged to his late grandmother, and hugged it tightly. Circe found her father's missing bow.
"I was attempting to clean up the messy basement when I found a Bob Ross tutorial on Youtube. I wanted to paint something to honour the Avengers."
"You're really good," Harley said as he picked up the Iron Lad blueprints. "Like, Mx, paint a mural on the outside of the Compound."
Vision, had they been human, would've flushed bright red. They rubbed the back of their neck, an embarrassed grin on their red face. "Thank you, Harley."
"AND THAT'S HOW WE SOLVED THE MYSTERY!" Peter laughed, cheering in between slurps of chilli. They were all sitting on the couch watching Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon was yelling at some old lady because she was letting her son run the family restaurant into the deepest pits of hell. "Turns out Vision was just being awesome, like always."
"And they're my lovely artist," Wanda smiled, leaning into her partner. Steve and Bucky stood up, clearing their throats.
"Buck and I have an announcement," Steve said, nervously playing with his fingers. MJ and Circe shared a smile before MJ went back to braiding Circe's blond hair. "We're getting married."
A loud round of cheering. "WE KNOW!" The Avengers and Co yelled back. MJ grinned before the two men were covered with an entire weight of the group on their massive and definitely built bodies. Harley backed away, standing on the coffee table.
"I've got an announcement, too."
Tony and Pepper crossed their arms, a really soft smile on both their faces. Peter and Oliver swung their hands back in forth, in anticipation for the Southern boy's account.
"I'm moving to the Compound."
Harley was then covered by Circe, MJ, and Ned and Peter and Oliver tackled him in a hug. Oliver laughed and told Harley that he was an idiot for not telling them sooner. The Southern Boy apologized, saying he wanted it to be a surprise since his sister was going to come after she gets out of their father's custody. But Peter was glad, just because he had both the boys he loved in the Compound.
"Thanks for surprising us, Harls."
Harley winked, "Anytime, Darlin'."