Chapter Text
The flight back passed mostly without incident, mostly. After Peter gave the Super Soldiers a lecture on leaving an asthmatic child alone, they both apologized and finally hugged, the boy fell asleep almost immediately, protected in his friends' arms. It was nice to see Peter finally feeling safe.
But even though the danger was over, the team was tense. How could they have allowed a child to be kidnapped from a maximum security cell in the most secure building in New York, maybe in the United States, if not in the world.
The two Super Soldier held Peter in their arms. The boy had made himself comfortable with his head resting on Bucky's chest and his legs, along with those of the man he was using as a pillow, stretched across Steve's lap. The metal hand ran through the boy's hair only to reveal the burns and bruises on his face, covered by two wet towels, before the brown strands hid them again. Bucky couldn't help but watch this, forcing himself to look at what Peter was going through because he wasn’t there to protect him, because he letting him down-
"What's his favorite color?" Tony interrupted his thoughts. He was sitting across from them, a tablet in his hands.
"What?" he asked, his voice quiet.
"There's no reason for him to go back to his not-so-secure cell. Coincidentally, there's a vacant room right across from yours. Only problem: it's bland, white walls, white furniture, absolutely no taste, not suitable for a teenager ." Tony looked at the tablet, tapped it, then turned it over so Bucky and Steve could see what was on it. Different color palettes were shown. "I thought we could start on the wall paint. I'd ask Peter directly but he seems busy." His eyes pointed to the sleeping boy, who showed no signs of wanting to wake up anytime soon.
Steve and Bucky followed his gaze for a moment and then aimed it at the tablet.
"If I remember correctly, his room was blue." The blonde said with a thoughtful face, remembering when this energetic boy invited him and Bucky over to have dinner with his aunt and uncle. He wanted to show them his room, a few of his mechanical creations.
Tony made a few changes to the tablet before flipping it back to the trio, now with different shades of blue. It took a few moments for the two men to agree on a blue. ("No, he won't like that, you don't have a flair for art.") The three men spent the entire flight choosing colors and new furniture for Peter's room. It would take a day or two before everything was ready, but they were sure that they could make Peter happy with this. After everything he had to go through, he deserved to be happy.
"Arriving in ten minutes. I contacted Cho a while ago and explained the situation to her, she's already in the tower waiting for us." Said Natasha from the cockpit.
"Given the speed of his recovery, I would be surprised if he needed medical attention." It came from Bruce. He was quiet for most of the time, observing the others as they chatted or engaged in other activities, but always kept a watchful eye on Peter. Although he knew, of course, that the boy could heal his broken bones in under an hour, he was worried. "I have to admit that I'm curious as to how exactly his regeneration abilities work."
"As intriguing as this may be for you, and I have my own questions, Peter should be fully recovered and settled before any research or experimentation begins. Anyway, he's being asked if he wants to participate in any of that. If you notice that he's uncomfortable, then leave it alone and kindly apologize."
"Don't worry Papa Bear, we won't harm the boy. And believe us, we'd be the last ones to do anything against his will." In response, Tony only got a sullen stare from Bucky. He probably took his role as protector very seriously. Tony figured he was already enjoying these judging by the soft grin as soon as he turned his attention back to Peter.
"As much as I hate to do this, we should wake Pete up. Better now than him waking up while Cho is examining him." Said Steve.
Bucky didn't want to wake the boy, he was sleeping so peacefully, not aware of the horrible world. But the blond was right. If Peter were to wake up in the med bay while a person in a lab coat was examining him, it would probably startle him more than just a little.
His metal hand continued to run through the hair that had grown too long, with the other he grabbed Peter's shoulder and shook it as lightly as he could.
"Hey Peter, wake up buddy, we'll be there any minute." Steve rubs his shins, his voice just a little above a whisper.
The reaction wasn't a grumpy, sleepy typical teenager though, no, the boy jumped up and looked around frantically, the towels slipping and finally landing on Bucky's stomach. Peter lost his balance and almost fell off the edge. The Super Soldier could just about grab him. However, that only made Peter try to escape the hands that were holding him.
"Pete. Peter! It's okay, it's us!" But he didn't stop fighting. "Steve, let him go!" At the same time, as gently as they could, while the boy still tried to wriggle out of their grasp, they laid him on the ground and let go of him.
He immediately crawled into the corner farthest from his would-be attackers. When he reached it he turned around, back against the wall, knees drawn to his chest and his hands in a defensive stance. His breathing was rapid. his eyes filled with fear.
"It's okay," Bucky said, voice calm and steady. He sat up slowly. "You're safe. We're on our way back home." He knew how menacing he must look: a tall, muscular man with a metal arm. Who wouldn't be scared. Although he was aware that he wasn't the trigger for Peter's reaction, he made himself as small and non-threatening as he could in the situation. Keeping himself stooped, at eye level with the younger, he approached the corner to which Peter had fled.
This caused the boy to press himself even more in the corner. His eyes open but they didn't seem to see Bucky or anyone of the Avengers.
"Steve help me to get him to stand up." The brunette ordered his friend.
Without questioning it too much, trusting Bucky to know what he was doing, Steve jumped to his feet. The two men grabbed the boy's arms and jerked him to his feet. The sudden movement seemed enough to bring him back to himself, for suddenly he stopped struggling against the hands that were holding him and instead slowly looked around, taking in the quin-jets interior.
"It was just a memory," Only then did he seem to realize that he wasn't standing on his own. "We're in the quin-jet and we'll be landing any moment." His head whipped around to look at the person talking who turns out to be Bucky, his friend, someone who would never harm in.
The fear from his eyes was immediately washed away with tears of relief but also regret.
It hurt to see him like this. If only they had protected him better, Werner would never have been able to get him. If they hadn't treated him as a prisoner, they would have known immediately if something was wrong. If only they had never left him alone with a dying aunt and no one else to take care of him.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean, I, I didn't want that." His voice was low and so broken. It was those moments that showed them that Peter was just a kid. A child who had to experience far too much suffering at a far too young age.
The older ones didn't hesitate to take the crying boy in their arms.
"There's nothing for you to apologize for."