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Chapter Text

For once in his life, everything was... silent.

He didn't know where he was. Didn't know anymore. Two seconds earlier, he'd been lying on the asphalt. Now he was on something more comfortable for his aching back.

But... why was his back aching? Why...was his whole body aching?  What had happened? Where had he been? Who was he with? 

The young man tried to take a breath to calm the obvious panic rising inside him, as he felt his heightened senses gradually returning around him.

He would have preferred to remain unconscious.

The continual noise of the engine of the machine he was in, the sensation of the bandages on his body, itching so much he wanted to rip them off on the spot. Every millimeter of fabric that brushed against his skin was like a tiny thorn sticking into it every second. It was unbearable.

A mixture of voices and screams sounded too loud for his liking.

"...vital that..."

"...age?..."

"...sorry?...co...dead"

In addition, the smell of Mr.Stark's sweat, blood (his blood?), and cologne filled the hero's nostrils as he inhaled.

Mr.Stark? 

Mr.Stark.

If he was here, he was safe, right?

The hardest part was opening his eyes. Too much light, so much that it brought tears of pain to his eyes and forced him to blink repeatedly. 

Finally, he heard a familiar voice amidst all the chaos.

"FRIDAY, turn the lights down to 20%."

"Mr.Stark...?" the boy asked in a trembling voice.

"It's me, kid, how do you feel?" continued his mentor's voice.

Peter Parker decided to open his eyes this time and remembered everything that had happened when he saw all the Avengers in the Quinjet around him.

Spider-Man had been injured during their mission. He had been thrown against a building and fainted, falling some ten meters away before crashing to the ground in New York. He hadn't initially been asked to fight, but he wanted to prove to Mr. Stark that he was capable of helping.

And that's where it got them.

"Let's just say I've seen better and worse...” Peter muttered before massaging his temples.

The teenager's whole body tensed. 

He could feel the fabric of his suit against his skin. The actual skin of his face. His face.

His face was uncovered in front of all the Avengers. 

"We had to check your head for injuries." Tony intervened immediately, seeing Peter's panic. "You know I didn't mean to break your trust, kid, but when I saw you tumbling against that wall, I nearly had a heart attack. I've told you I've got heart problems, haven't I? My word, you're exp..."

"What do they know, Mr. Stark?" The teenager cut him off in a deep voice.

Get to the point.

"Nothing. You're the only one who decides what information you give them. You don't owe them anything, okay?" Tony murmured reassuringly, before placing a hand on his shoulder. 

Peter unconsciously deepened this contact the second it happened, looking for something familiar, that made him feel safe, something not lost on most of the Avengers.

The young man nodded before finally looking at his childhood heroes after taking a breath to give himself courage.

What a mistake.

Some looks were neutral, others filled with pity for him, others with incomprehension, and Steve's was filled with anger.

"What do you want to know?" 

A silence followed his question. 

"Your name." Natasha Romanoff replied without a moment's hesitation.

"It's Peter. Peter Parker."

At last, they could put a name to their teammate.

"Nice to meet you, Peter." 

The redhead sent him the faintest of smiles, but it reduced the tension in her shoulders. Still, she seemed to disapprove of his young age inwardly.

"Your age." Sam asked, who seemed far more worried than Natasha at the moment.

Peter knew that no matter how he answered, he'd be asked to stop being Spider-Man. He knew, but he wouldn't lie. No one could tell him to stop, not even Aunt May or Mr. Stark. They'd already tried and failed.

"I'm sixteen." 

Cries of exclamation rang out the second those words escaped his lips.

"Are you kidding me, Tony? You took a kid to Germany?!" suddenly exclaimed Clint, who couldn't imagine taking his fourteen-year-old child to fight with (and against) the Avengers.

"I just told you I was sixteen, I'm not a kid!" 

He was already no longer taken seriously. Yet he'd said so little.

He was no longer the friendly neighborhood spider who cracked jokes between fights, but a kid who got reprimanded by adults.

"You don't realize what you're doing, son. This is a dangerous job, you could get hurt like you did today, or worse, die. You've got to stop this childishness right now and think of your parents, who surely don't want to lose their son at such a young age." Captain America argued with a look of disapproval on his face.

"My parents have no say in the matter."

Steve was about to speak again, as were Sam and Clint, but he cut them all off before he could be further reprimanded.

"They're dead. My aunt knows, and Mr. Stark, and that was enough until now." He said, omitting to mention Ned for fear of being seen as an irresponsible child for putting his friend in danger, before adding in an even colder voice. "And stop calling me son, Mr. Captain America, thank you."

Steve was speechless for a while, as were the Avengers, who found Spider-man's answer in him, with a newfound aggression they didn't know he had.

"You're going to see some really ugly things that could traumatize you and change you forever, a child shouldn't have to go through that. Understand that we just want to protect you, and to do that you'll have to give up Spider-Man for now, kid."

Tony stood up to face Steve, ready to argue the point.

Peter was breathing faster and harder. He could feel it deep down, he was going to break down in front of his (former?) colleagues because of the one who'd hurt Tony. The one who'd almost killed Tony. 

"It's already too late for that. I saw my uncle die before my eyes, even before I became Spider-man. He's the very reason I started. I had my powers when he died, and I did nothing. When you can do something but don't, bad things happen because of you. So I decided to be Spider-Man to use those powers, and to prevent that kind of thing from happening."

"The last time Mr. Stark took the suit off me, a building fell on me. With or without the suit, I fought. So it's not you and your condescension that will make me stop. Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm any less capable of helping others than you are. I understand that you're worried, but I was Spider-Man before Mr. Stark, and thanks to him I get hurt less often or get treated faster. I'll keep on being Spider-Man until I decide to stop. Do you understand?"

Unwittingly, tears had welled up in his eyes with anger, his hands were shaking, and Mr.Stark decided to position himself again at his side when he saw his distress.

"Look, kid, we'll just have to..." began Sam to ease the discomfort in the room.

"We've arrived at the tower, sir." FRIDAY's voice echoed through the quinjet. 

"I'll have to call May to let her know how you're doing, Pete. You're staying in the tower tonight, and there's no way I'm letting you go home in your condition. Capiche?"

The teenager nodded and refrained from speaking to Steve after his outburst. Natasha winked at him as she got out of the quinjet, and Wanda, who had remained silent, smiled briefly at him, while Vision remained as neutral as ever. Bruce, for his part, observed Peter's wounds and asked him to explain more about his abilities and his accelerated healing factor if he ever had a moment. Deep down, Peter was euphoric in front of one of his idols. He began to speak again, or rather to mumble happily very quickly. It was Bruce Banner!

"I'm a big fan of your work, Dr. Banner, I've read all your essays on biochemistry, nuclear physics, and especially Gamma radiation, you're very impressive. There's even a picture of you in my classroom on the wall of great scientists. My teacher can't stop quoting you in her lectures." Peter confessed shyly, before stepping out of the quinjet and following Mr. Stark, who couldn't take his eyes off him. 

Bruce smiled and had tears in his eyes. He loved him. Him, Doctor Banner. Not the Hulk. 

Looking at Tony, he could see how much more Peter meant to him than he let on. 

+++

May's advice was clear: Peter had better not move from the tower tonight. His body needed to recover. Helen Cho examined Peter, she tended to any wounds that hadn't already closed. Tony hadn't left her side for a second, for which he was grateful, and blushed at the attention. When they were finally alone in the medical wing, the man decided it was a good time to talk to his intern about what had happened in the quinjet.

"I'm sorry you had to talk about your uncle. You weren't even ready to tell me, so to the Avengers?" 

"It's all right, Mr. Stark. I got carried away, I should be the one apologizing."

"Stop talking nonsense Pete, Steve went too far, and he didn't have the full context. He said the wrong thing and everyone would have cracked up."   

The spider shrugged, doubting the veracity of his words. He felt guilty and thought back to the looks of the Avengers on his too-young face.

"I know what you're thinking, kid, but everything's gonna be okay, all right? Nobody's going to make you take off your mask, and we're going to have a normal evening like we usually do. We'll go to the lab, do really smart man stuff, eat under Pepper's threat, and watch a movie. The others will probably be there for the last part, but you don't even have to talk to them. I'm here for you, Peter, okay?"

Tony's arm went behind his back to squeeze his shoulder, while the teenager rested his cheek against his mentor's shoulder. Moments like this didn't come along very often, but Peter made the most of them. It was so soothing and comforting to be so close to Tony, who let so few people into his inner circle.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." whispered the young hero.

"You're welcome, kid." he replied in a breath that made a few brown curls move across Peter's forehead.

+++

The Avengers floor was rather quiet this evening, despite their hectic day.

Bucky was reading a book, propped up on a footstool in the corner of the room, to get an overview of the whole room, while Steve was drawing him without much discretion, which made his model smile inwardly. 

Sam was playing Mario Kart with Clint, who was losing miserably to him, occasionally letting out shrieks of rage at his defeats.

Natasha was sitting next to them, openly mocking the loser while cheering on her best friend. 

As for Wanda and Vision, they were preparing tonight's meal (actually only Wanda, as Vision was simply observing and memorizing the steps to be repeated in the future to please his girlfriend).

No one had mentioned the quinjet again, or Peter, let alone Spider-Man, and that was surely for the best. There were bound to be differing opinions on the subject, and no one was prepared to break the light-hearted atmosphere.

Except for Pepper Potts, of course.

Bruce had just come out of his laboratory and was chatting with the company head in a low voice about his latest research, to which Pepper listened patiently, even if she didn't understand everything. But when she saw that two people were missing, she sighed.

"FRIDAY, tell Tony and Peter to meet us here for lunch, or they'll be out of the lab for a week." 

"Right away, Mrs. Boss."

A silence followed Pepper's request before FRIDAY's almost human voice answered.

"Boss and Peter arrive, despite Boss's complaint that and I quote, “Science waits for no one, Pep', you just don't understand”."

Pepper sighs again. 

"Men." she says, rolling her eyes.

A few seconds later, the two exited the elevator, laughing as they saw the blonde's annoyed face.

"We're here, Pep', but you're much prettier when you smile, did I tell you? Look, we were in the middle of..."

"I've already told you not to forget to eat, especially for Peter with his metabolism, you know he has to eat larger quantities than you and more often. So next time, there's no question of giving you several warnings, if at the first call you're not there, no more lab. Have I made myself clear?"

Both were now silent.

"Yes, Pepper, sorry."

"Yes, Mrs. Potts, I'm so sorry."

The woman tucked a lock of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear, before finally smiling. She walked over to Peter and took him in her arms before kissing his forehead.

"Hi honey, how was school today? And I've already told you that you can just call me Pepper."

The teenager's cheeks were flushed, clearly unable to hide the fact that he adored the kisses the woman often placed on his forehead or cheek. Now the Avengers could see him too, which made some of them smile. They could all read his face now.

"I had a Spanish test today, which I think went pretty well, and Ned suggested I go to his place one of these days because he's got some new Lego! And Mr. Stark and I worked on my web-shooters because I'd damaged them a bit this afternoon, but now everything's fixed and I'll be able to go out on patrol tomorrow night. I'm already missing tonight because May ordered me to rest, but at least I got to see you, Pepper! Oh, and what's for dinner? I'm starving!"

"Pepper, does the little spider ever breathe? It's getting worrying." Natasha commented, at last, a sneer on her face.

"Sometimes I wonder if he knows what it's like to breathe." added Mr. Stark, ruffling the teenager's hair.

Peter simply blushed but sat down at the table, between Pepper and Tony. Safe and sound. 

"It's much nicer than hearing Clint yell because he's losing at Mario Kart. I mean, because I win every time." Says Sam with a mocking laugh as he takes his seat.

"You're cheating! Nat's seen it all!"

"How can you expect me to cheat?"

"I hate playing with you and you know it."

"And yet you come back every time."

"You're the only one who wants to play with me!"

"Calm down, kids." Wanda scoffed as she set the food down on the table.

Suddenly, Clint turned to Peter as if he'd had an epiphany.

"Hey kid, want to play later? I need a new opponent."

Surprised to be spoken to, the teenager raised his head quickly.

"Uh...I don't see why not. But I don't think I can appease your anger, Mr Barton." replied the boy with a small smile.

"Call me Clint. And you seem very confident, but I'm sure you're just bluffing."

Peter gave Tony a mischievous look, knowing full well that he wasn't joking.

"Well, I warned you."

"The spider's got his repartee back, I see." Bucky observed before returning to his meal.

Once again, the young man's cheeks flushed red at this remark.

"Thanks for the meal Wanda, it's very good." Pepper commented to the witch.

Peter nodded as he ate, which she noticed. The redhead was happy that her cooking was appreciated by her colleagues and friends.

"You're welcome, it's no big deal. Vision helped."

"Come on, don't be so modest, I've just been watching your moves. You deserve all the credit." replies Vision, running her hand down the redhead's back. 

The meal then passed mostly in silence, although a certain spider was swallowing down his plate at breakneck speed.

"Your food won't disappear if you don't eat it fast enough, you know?" Bruce remarked with a soft smile. "We have two hungry super-soldiers every day, so we're used to making large quantities."

"Leave the little one alone, Brucie, he's still growing, you can't blame him." Tony retorted, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "His metabolism is so much better than the two lovebirds, I think he'd even win a feeding contest against the Capcicle and Barnes, believe me."

"It's definitely something I need to see in my life." Sam confessed, more than a little curious. 

"And I don't think so, Tony. It's a terrible idea." Says Pepper, frowning, before turning to the spider. "Would you like another plate, sweetie?"

"I'll be all right, but thanks, Pepper. I've already had my fill. Mrs. Maximoff, do you need help clearing the table?" 

"She's not much older than you are, kid. You really need to learn to call people by their names."

"It's politeness, Mr. Stark!"

"We've known each other for several years now and I always get “Mr.Stark” whereas she got “Pepper” right away, and you're being polite?" 

Peter was about to explain that he was much more afraid of Pepper than of him, but Clint cut him off.

"Don't listen to the old fart, come and play with me, Peter!"

"Don't you dare, Katniss!"

"The kid offered to help Wanda, but you should do it, Tony, it'll be your good deed for the week."

"Let Peter go and play, darling, maybe Clint's right."

"My fiancée against me, I can't believe it! Go away, you unworthy intern, you don't deserve me."

Peter didn't hesitate a second before leaving the table with Clint and settling down on the big sofa in the living room. He was excited; after all, it wasn't every day you got to play video games with Hawkeye! He couldn't wait to tell Ned about it - his best friend would never believe it!

"Pep', he didn't even think about it, he went straight off with Barton, can you believe it?"

The spider heard his mentor's words and held back a laugh as Clint handed him the controller.

Now he had to prove he wasn't lying, by saying he'd win.

+++

Wanda and Natasha watched them on the sofa, Sam didn't miss the opportunity to mock his friend's defeat again, Bucky and Steve were in their corner, Steve still immersed in his sketch, but this time Bucky couldn't help being curious about the youngest of the group too. 

Natasha could see Tony's gaze in the distance, like a proud father. Interesting.

"He warned you, Legolas, so I don't see why you're bawling like that." Tony remarked before running his hand through Peter's hair from behind the sofa. 

"Have you seen Mr. Stark? I got here just before I got Clint's blue shell! And earlier..."

Peter talked on and on to his mentor about what was going on, enthusiastically, while Tony listened with a smile that the Avengers saw too little of on their friend's face.

This was how Tony had held up after Siberia. Thanks to Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and Peter. It was time for them to see this. He wasn't just an intern or the friendly neighborhood Spiderman. 

Peter Parker brought smiles to everyone around him.

The Avengers couldn't wait to get to know him.

Chapter Text

Friday. One of Peter's favorite days. He often spent the weekend with Mr. Stark, since May was working. But this time, he was going without hiding from the Avengers. He'd probably have to answer some questions, which he hadn't wanted to do last time, given his outburst against Captain America.

He was ready to get to know his team even better. (his future team? According to Mr. Stark, he was still too young to be an Avenger, so technically he wasn't one yet).

Getting into Happy's car, Peter greeted him warmly as he told him about his day, and although the driver didn't say a word, the teenager knew he was being listened to.

Arriving at the tower, the brunet thanked the adult before heading for the elevator. Without a word, FRIDAY led him to his mentor. As the doors opened, Peter watched Tony nodding to an AC/DC track in his lab. The sound dropped immediately, due to a protocol Tony had installed for the spider's sensitive ears, announcing his presence in the process.

Tony raised his head towards the entrance where his favorite intern (his only intern) was standing.

"Pete! Come on, I've got something to show you!"

Curious, the dark-haired man stepped forward, but not without a remark to his mentor.

"Good morning to you too, Mr.Stark."

"Tony. Call me Tony. How many times do I have to tell you?" He said with a sigh. "Anyway, Nat was on a mission yesterday and damaged her widow's bites, so I thought you might like to fix them."

"Really? Are you serious? Tell me you're not messing with me, Mr. Stark! So far I've only worked on Mr Barton's arrows, but I can't wait to find out what electric shocks are like..."

No sooner had he arrived than he was immersed in the project, discovering all the facets of Natasha's weapons with pleasure.

With a smile, Tony watched him get to work.

+++

Once again, Peter found himself at the table surrounded by the Avengers. The conversation already seemed more natural, and only he could be heard, as he talked to Natasha about her weapons.

"Your weapons are so impressive! The power of the electric discharges delivered is perfect for doing the damage needed to an enemy. And the electrical capacitors that can electrocute someone on contact? I'd never seen anything like that! And I discovered that it was much more than that! Who could have believed it when I saw your bracelets? Grappling hooks, taser disks, and who knew there were so many wires residing in widow bites? It's so practical for your style of attack, it's quick and efficient, and above all, discreet! I loved working on it!"

No one could stop him in his monologue. The teenager made grand gestures as he spoke quickly, and wore a smile capable of lighting up the whole room.

"Good for you паучок, I'm glad you like them, I'm very proud of them." Replied the redhead with a sneer.

The appellation seemed to intrigue him, and Peter tilted his head to one side.

"What did you call me?"

"паучок." Natasha repeated.

"Little spider." Translated Bucky quickly.

Peter's cheeks tinged red for the umpteenth time. Black Widow had given him a nickname!

"Is that Russian? I'd love to learn! Spanish isn't fascinating, and Mr. Stark is teaching me a few words of Italian, I've heard that Russian is a very complicated language to learn!"

"I'll teach you one day if you've got the time. But what you need is practice. Your fighting style is really messy."

"She's got a point, kid." Adds Tony, ruffling Peter's hair. "You rely too much on your Peter tingle."

"It's not my Peter tingle! It's my spider sense, which sounds a lot less ridiculous!"

"Spider sense? What exactly does that mean?" Asks Bruce, suddenly intrigued by the conversation.

"It's like a sixth sense, it warns me of danger and I've got these super good reflexes too!"

"I swear, when something falls he can catch it without even looking at it." Supports Tony, placing his hand on the spider's shoulder.

Suddenly, Peter's hand reached up and grabbed a pen before his eyes even looked at it. Hawkeye smiled proudly and the brunet rolled his eyes at his stupidity.

"You weren't fucking kidding, Stark!"

"Language, Clint." Steve muttered. "That's impressive. Any other abilities we don't know about?"

"I'm sticky." Continued the teenager, shrugging.

"Do you mean it's not the suit that does it?" Sam asked, surprised.

"No, my hands and feet are sticky,” Peter continued. "When it first happened to me, I panicked so much that I was glued to the chair in my room for over an hour, a pure nightmare."

"You talk as if your powers had suddenly appeared, so how did it happen?" Wanda finally asked after staying silent the whole dinner.

He'd been expecting this question, although Ben's painful memories surfaced when he thought of Spider-Man's beginning. He shook his head to refocus on the question and give the redhead an answer.

"I got bitten by a radioactive spider on a school trip to Oscorp."

"I wasn't expecting that kind of answer." Confessed the red witch.

"I know, but it's true. On top of all that, that spider gave me heightened senses, super strength, speed, and everything else that goes with it."

"Last time you mentioned web-shooters, I got the answer to my question, but I must admit I wondered if those webs came out of you." Clint confessed.

"Ew, no thanks." Peter replied with a look of disgust.

After all these revelations, more far-fetched questions were asked, which made the teenager smile as he thought back to his best friend.

"You don't lay eggs, do you?"

"Can you control spiders? Or can you talk to them like Scott does with ants?"

"Are you hiding any more spider legs from us? That would be super cool, really gross but super cool."

Having finally left the table after all these questions, the group settled down on the various sofas and ottomans in front of the TV to choose a film. Peter couldn't believe he was spending his evening with many other Avengers! It still seemed unreal to him, even though he was a superhero swinging between buildings daily.

"Any ideas for a movie?" Wanda asked, placing a plaid blanket on Vision's lap and hers.

A long debate ensued about the cinematic tastes of some.

"Hunger Games is a classic!"

"A classic for you Katniss, just you."

"For once, I agree with Stark." Says Bucky, plopping down on a corner of the sofa next to Steve.

"Shut up, old man." said Sam, who simply received a middle finger from the super soldier.

"Star Wars, that's a classic if you ask me."

Everyone turned to Peter at once, bringing silence back to the room. And after a collective shrug, the first film began.

+++

Throughout the film, Peter commented in Tony's ear on behind-the-scenes and anecdotes he knew by heart. The genius kept a neutral face but deep down appreciated his interventions.

The teenager's head was now on Tony's shoulder, as he had begun to doze off halfway through the second film.

It was true that in the early days of their relationship, the billionaire had found it difficult to initiate physical contact. He'd never really liked it, given that he'd never received any.

But gradually, after the Vulture fiasco, he realized his mistake, and how easily he could have lost Peter that night. After that, contact became more frequent. Hands ruffling his hair, hands on his shoulders, on his back during an experiment in the lab, the rare hugs they gave each other after a major injury that had scared them a little too much.

Now was one of those moments when Tony let himself go and enjoyed the contact. Gently, he rested his cheek against the teenager's hair and sighed with contentment.

He'd give his life for this kid.

The confidence with which this thought occurred to him was surprising.

After all, he'd been willing to give his life, saving New York a few years ago. But this was different.

Tony would like to wrap Peter in bubble wrap and never let him go again. If he could, he'd lock him safely away in his tower, away from stalkers, thieves, bandits, or even a man dressed up as a fucking bird.

Who would have thought that the great Tony Stark would one day love children? Crazy, isn't it? Well, one kid, let's not push things too far.

Lost in his thoughts, the dark-haired man didn't see the looks his colleagues and friends were giving him and the spider.

When Spider-Man had been attacked, Tony had rushed towards him, pulverizing every enemy in his path. In their earpieces, the superheroes could hear the billionaire's screams. They'd never heard him like this, or seen him act like this.

"Kid! Kiddo, answer me! Open up those puppy eyes for me, will you? Shit, shit, shit! Cap, we've got to end this as quickly as possible and get him to the Quinjet immediately, do you hear me?!"

In the Quinjet, Tony had not let go of his spider colleague's side, and the team wondered if they knew each other outside the suit, personally.

The answer was clear enough.

"FRIDAY, scan for any head trauma."

"Boss, the mask prevents me from making a full diagnosis."

Everyone froze. Were they going to see their teammate's face?

Tony sighed, seemed to think for a few seconds, and then muttered something that only Bucky and Steve heard.

"I hope you'll forgive me, kid."

+++

Tony had also fallen asleep, surprising many who were used to his random sleeping schedule. Only Pepper and Rhodey were not surprised. The strawberry blonde even took the liberty of snapping a photo.

"May will love this." Pepper says to Rhodey, trying to keep the volume just right.

"May?" Asked Steve.

"Peter's aunt. She and Rhodey have a band full of photos of Tony and Peter. Even FRIDAY is taking part." Clarified the businesswoman before letting out a small, satisfied laugh.

"I love that they both ignore it." Rhodey added, looking down at her phone.

"I want to be in it if there are any embarrassing photos of Tony." Commented Clint.

"I need a few myself for future blackmail and threats against him." Nat continued, crossing his arms under his chest.

"The most shocking thing for me is to see Tony sleeping." Sam said as he stood up, seeing that the film had just finished without anyone paying attention. "I always thought he was a vampire who didn't need to sleep, cloistered in his lab, and addicted to coffee."

"It's a bit like that, it's true." Added Steve, rising to his feet. "Well, guess it's time to say good night, everyone."

An echo of “Good night” said in a low voice resounded in the living room.

Silently, the blond took Bucky's hand before heading for their apartments.

Wanda did the same with Vision, but not without floating a blanket over the two bodies slumped on the sofa.

They all left, leaving Pepper, Tony, and Peter alone in the room. The woman took the liberty of placing a kiss on the foreheads of her two favorite men, before turning off the light.

She would never get tired of it.

Chapter Text

Entering the training room, Peter was greeted by a wave from Sam, who was watching Bucky and Steve fight without restriction in one corner of the room. On the other, he watched Clint shoot a variety of arrows to perfection at the many targets in front of him. Next to him, Natasha stretched quietly. She'd probably just arrived too.

Wanda, on the other hand, was practicing lifting heavy objects with her powers. A concentrated, tense expression on her face. Peter approached her gently.

"Hello, Peter." Wanda said, putting down what she was lifting before turning to him.

"Hello Wanda! I have a question about your powers."

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

A nod followed this question.

"I guess you can ask it then."

"You're very strong with heavy weights, it's so impressive! I wondered if you could do more precise tasks with them."

His question piqued her curiosity.

"What do you mean by that?"

"For example, if I asked you right now to thread a needle using your powers, would you be able to do it?"

"Oh." She replied, thinking about her answer. "HYDRA has made it possible for me to do tasks as precisely as possible. I'm still working on it though. I think after a while I'll get the hang of it."

Peter's smile disappeared immediately.

"I didn't want to bring back bad memories, I hope I didn't pry."

Peter was too pure for them. At least, that's what Wanda thought before giving him a reassuring smile.

"Not at all, don't worry. I'm glad you're interested in all this. People are often afraid of it."

"Why? You can help so many people with it!"

"They don't think so. To them, I'm...a monster."

She thought back of Sokovia, of the damage she had caused, to all those victims, to Pietro and...and it all became...too much...

"Well, I don't think so, and neither does anyone else here, I hope you know that." The spider murmured, placing a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

The touch brought her back to reality. She raised her head suddenly, greeted by the teenager's smiling face.

"Thanks, Peter."

"You're welcome." replied the younger man as if it were the most serious thing he'd ever said, before returning to his usual happy self.

"Did you come to train?" Wanda asked next.

"I was waiting for you паучок." Cut Natasha off before he could answer. "Follow me."

After a wave sent to the witch, Peter had no choice but to follow the spy. She wrapped her hands in bandages before silently doing the same with his, assuming he didn't know how (she was right).

"Hit me."

"Excuse me?"

"Hit me. I need to see how you're doing before I give you advice."

He always held back, even against the bad guys, how could he hit someone he admired? He didn't want to use his super strength against Black Widow!

"I-I can't hit you, Mrs..."

"Call me Nat, kid. And you can, you just don't want to. Know that there will always be a time when you have no choice but to fight. Don't hold back."

"No, I'll hur..."

Suddenly, his body screamed “Danger!” and he dodged without thinking. The redhead had just attacked. She repeated her action, and Peter his.

A rapid exchange ensued. Natasha's blows rained down on the spider, and the latter dodged them at full speed. Even so, he was taking blows from the Russian woman, and they hurt. Really hurt. He couldn't help letting out a few grunts of pain.

At one point, Natasha blocked him by putting her arm around his neck.

Acting automatically, he grabbed her arm, swung it above him, and crushed it (and the body that went with it) to the ground.

Being caught by the neck made him feel weak and helpless, he hated it, as if he couldn't breathe. But he didn't want to hit Natasha!

Silence reigned in the training room as the Russian stood up, quite surprised by Peter's outburst.

"Oh my God, oh my God I'm so sorry I didn't think, oh my God Nat are you okay? Sorry, I..."

She wore a satisfied smile.

"See when you put your mind into it. Let's go again."

She didn't even notice to him that he'd called her Nat. One small victory after another.

After that, Peter took the liberty of striking back, though still restraining himself, which Natasha sensed. But they'd made progress today.

After finding himself on the ground for the umpteenth time, the teenager stood up to the sound of a familiar heartbeat.

"You didn't break him, did you?" Tony Stark's voice asked from across the room.

"Hardly." Said the redhead, removing the bandages from his hands after tossing Peter a bottle of water.

The billionaire approached the two, followed by Bucky and Steve. The others must have left while they were fighting.

"You fight well, Queens." Captain asserted.

"You think so? I've been on the ground more times than I can count!"

"You've managed to apprehend Natasha." Remarked Bucky.

"Just once! And I didn't even mean to!"

"You're fast and unpredictable and I'm sure if I teach you a few techniques, you'll come in handy in certain situations. But you were holding back, паучок."

"I know."

He'd never really used his super strength to its full potential. Except for the Vulture and...that building that fell on him.

"Why did you?"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"It takes a lot to hurt her, kid." Says Steve.

"Cap, I think..."Tony began before being cut off by his protégé.

"I try every day to hide my true strength, it's hard enough to let go against someone, especially someone I like. And I don't cause serious injury; Spider-Man doesn't kill, and he doesn't hurt bad guys to death either. I do my best to keep New York safe, whether they're good or bad." Peter replied with a nonchalant shrug before taking a sip from his bottle of water and leaving the room, hunger overriding his other needs.

The adults watched each other slowly.

Peter was too pure for them.

Chapter Text

After an exciting weekend with the Avengers, Peter Parker had to return to Midtown.

He knew it was unbelievable, but the brunette still looked forward to seeing his friends every Monday morning.

After a secret handshake with Ned and a nod to MJ, it was time to head to class. 

"I can't believe they really know you now. Do you call them by their first names? Oh my God, do you have their phone number? Do you practice with them?" Ned asked hurriedly in a low voice.

"Of course I don't have their number! They're the Avengers!"

"You've got Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes' numbers!" 

"You losers talk too loud. It's a good thing nobody cares enough to listen to you." MJ muttered, looking up from her notebook. 

Peter watched the beauty of her brown eyes for a few seconds before she looked back at him and he quickly looked away.

What was she thinking? MJ didn't see him that way. This was MJ after all, an observant, intelligent, confident girl who didn't let anything get in her way. 

What was she going to do with a guy like him?

He didn't dare meet her gaze for the next hour, trying as usual to ignore Flash's provocations behind him. He was far too energetic for a Monday morning.

"Yeah that’s it Penis Parker, you're ignoring me like the pussy you are!"

The brunet rolled his eyes, but remained focused on his task.

"Hey, your best friend Spider-Man had a fight with the Avengers a few days ago, did he tell you about it? So you know the Avengers? I bet you had a cup of tea with Captain America!"

Peter was sure Steve would enjoy a cup of tea during an art session. He'd watched him during his Mario Kart competition with Clint that first night. He had drawn Bucky to perfection.

Of course, he wasn't going to tell him.

"Everyone's heard about that fight, Flash." Peter replied simply.

The hour was filled with remarks about his supposed friendship with his own alter ego, among other things, accompanied by wonderful reminders of the absence of parents in his life. Nothing he couldn't learn from Flash.

From time to time Ned tried to intervene, but Peter stopped him and told him again that he could take a few remarks.

However, Flash stopped when MJ intervened.

"I don't know what emotional hole you're trying to fill by continuing to draw attention to yourself, but you should know it's not working, Flash. Nobody cares." 

That had silenced the teenager for at least half an hour.

What had he done in his life to deserve MJ?

+++

After an hour of academic decathlon with his team, Peter left the school with a terrible headache. There had been a lot of distracting noises today. Cindy's chewing gum, MJ's pencil on paper, the sound of Mr Harrington's watch, Abe's shoe squeaking on the floor and, above all, the paper balls Peter was constantly receiving from Flash. Peter had to ignore his Spidey-sense screaming at him to move his head, and ignoring his instincts was really hard, despite all the practice.

He decided to go home with his webs, his senses no longer able to cope with the noise of the underground. The mask helped to block out the noise around him, thanks to Mr Stark. He would be forever grateful.

When he got home, he noticed that May had left him a note saying she would be home in a few hours, which suited him. He would return after his patrol to spend some time with his aunt before she retired after an exhausting day. It would be a good evening.

Despite everything, Peter glanced at his bed. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but he had to patrol. New York needed him. So he decided to eat something to satisfy his appetite before he hit the streets again to help anyone who needed him.

+++

Tony was in the Avengers' lounge, chatting with Rhodey and Bruce, while Sam was preparing a meal with Bucky, introducing him to a family recipe. 

"You'll see, it's delicious, and it'll teach you how to cook food with some flavor." 

"What does that mean?" 

"Sir, the Training Wheels protocol has been activated, Peter is suffering from a serious laceration to his forearm, as well as a cracked rib and numerous bruises."

The dark-haired man stood up immediately, his eyebrows furrowed. All the men in the room turned to the billionaire.

"Call him, FRI."

"He denies it."

"Override it."

"Heeeey, Mr Stark...!" The teenager's voice echoed around the room.

"Peter, I strongly advise you to come to the Tower for medical treatment before I come for you myself."

"Mr Stark, really, I'm used to it, it's not like that..."

"Do you really want me to come and get you, Pete?"

A silence followed his question.

"No."

"Then come here, right now." the older man said before hanging up and sinking back against the sofa with a sigh. "The boy's going to give me a heart attack."

"How often does that happen?" Bucky asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Far too often for me. And that's only when he tells me and doesn't come to school with an infected wound."

"Reminds me of someone.", the super-soldier thought aloud.

"A certain Capsicle I suppose?" Tony guessed.

"He was always getting into fights with people three times his size, and he was convinced I wouldn't notice." 

"I'm not even surprised..."

A sound silenced the billionaire. Someone had just tapped on the window. Spider-Man greeted them with a wave and Tony asked FRIDAY to open it for him. He immediately surrounded the teenager with a wave of concern.

"Remember what we said about not climbing the tower if you're hurt? About letting me know if you're hurt? About not refusing my calls?" 

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark, I knew everything was under control!"

"You call that under control?" He said, pointing at the spider's wounds. 

"Tony, calm down, you can see it's not that serious, we're taking care of him, there's no need to activate your 'angry dad' mode." Rhodey pointed out. 

The word 'dad' immediately made the billionaire tense up, which Peter seemed to notice.

"Come on Peter, let's look at this together." Bruce added as Peter followed in silence. 

By the time they reached the medical wing, Bruce was tending to the wounds that hadn't closed by themselves and still found his recovery impressive. The teenager still couldn't believe that Bruce Banner was looking after him. He thanked him as the scientist prescribed plenty of rest, super painkillers to take and hot baths to ease the pain of his cracked rib. 

"You shouldn't be on patrol for a few days, Peter."

"What!? But I'm fine!" 

"Even if you heal quickly, your body needs some real rest to do that. So I want you to eat a full meal tonight, go to bed at a reasonable hour, and if possible, not wear the mask for a few days. Do you think you can do that?"

Peter hated not patrolling. It meant a couple of days when bad things could happen that he could have stopped, that the police wouldn't have seen. He felt that responsibility crushing him every day, even though he felt a sense of pride when he thought of New York, and especially Queens, where he had lived all his life. The city he had to protect at all costs.

Still, he shook his head. Spider-Man couldn't help people he couldn't defend. He understood Bruce's point of view and Tony's concern, as he always did. But the dark-haired man still felt like he was bothering the billionaire when he was hurt. He still didn't feel entitled to the help and comfort he received from him every day. Even though he'd seen his body tense when he'd said the word 'Dad'. Peter would never dare tell him that was how he had come to see his mentor over time. 

Nor would he ever tell him about the terrible feeling he'd had of betraying Ben by thinking of Tony in that way.

"All right, I'm done." 

"Thank you, Bruce." He said, almost blushing at the thought of calling one of his idols by his first name.

The adult replied with a broad smile.

"You're welcome. Let's go and tell the others about your condition. We're really worried about you, kid."

"Like I said, I've had worse and I heal quickly, so there's no need to worry about me."

The last thing he wanted was for them to waste their time on him. 

"You're part of the team, Peter. It's normal to worry about a member of our team."

Our family. Bruce was about to add, but thought better of it when he saw how much the younger man found himself annoying them just by being hurt.

With that, the two men reentered the living room, which was now full of people, approaching dinner time.

"Peter? What are you doing here?" Steve asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "Are you all right?"

"I hurt myself on patrol, nothing serious."

"I wouldn't call it ‘nothing serious’, Pete." Tony pointed out.

"Tony." 

Bruce stopped him immediately and silently made eye contact with Peter's downcast eyes and hunched shoulders, showing that he was uncomfortable, as if he didn't think he belonged here.

Bucky was the first to change the subject.

"Are you staying for dinner? Sam and I have cooked and it's usually edible."

"Very encouraging." Nat added later.

"I'd better be getting back. My aunt should be back from work soon."

He started to put his mask back on, but Tony beat him to it.

"Broken ribs and a lacerated arm, kid." His mentor reminded him. "You weren't thinking of going home like that, were you? I called Happy, he'll take you home."

"But it's late, Happy will..."

"He'd rather take you home than have you hurt any more, Peter, like the rest of us." 

Tony walked over and put his hand on his arm. Unconsciously, the younger boy's body relaxed under his fingers.

"I'm just worried, you know me, kid. Heart condition, gray hair because of you, you know how it is. I'm sorry I shouted, go in and say hello to May. Will you?"

Peter nodded and took a step towards the door before stopping himself. Despite the obvious hesitation visible to all the Avengers, the spider took Tony in his arms for a few seconds, the adult unable to even respond to the gesture, before the teenager ran for the lift after a quick 'goodbye'.

The exit was followed by silence before Tony spoke again.

"So, shall we eat? We were promised a decent meal, weren't we?"

"You're clearly in denial." Clint muttered.

"I beg your pardon, Katniss?"

"I didn't say anything!" 

+++

His evenings with May were restful, and it was always a pleasure to be in her arms as they watched television in comfortable silence, accompanied by a few laughs now and then. 

Even if she had to go to bed early, they both knew that those few hours in each other's company were worth everything.

The next day he found that the wound in his forearm was almost nothing but a bad memory, but his rib still hurt. He swallowed one of his painkillers and a hearty breakfast before going to class, as Bruce had instructed.

It was Tuesday, which meant he got to work with Mr.Stark in their lab. Every day was like going there for the first time, so much so that the excitement of going there never wore off.

After a math test and a very long history lesson, Peter sat in the cafeteria with his two friends, and although MJ didn't seem to pay them any attention for a second. Ned and Peter knew that she was listening, but that this was a time when the young woman was reading her book and should not be disturbed (unless someone was in mortal danger, and even then it depended on the person, she had once replied). A light conversation between the two best friends was all the spider needed to relax, as was the comforting presence of the young woman at her side.

As always, he watched the curls that encircled her face before looking away when he felt his eyes were becoming too insistent. Peter Parker was certainly not known for his subtlety. 

He sighed slowly.

He would tell her one day.

Maybe she already knew. After all, it was MJ.

The afternoon went by without a hitch before Flash pushed him violently against a locker. If it had been any other day, he would have taken it, but his broken rib reminded him that this wasn't the case. Without meaning to, he let out a real scream of pain as he made contact with the locker, Flash's laughter echoing through the school corridor at the end of the day. It was as if his head was spinning from the pain, his eyes immediately shining with unshed tears. He tried to breathe normally as he felt MJ's gentle hands on his shoulder. She seemed to be trying to support him.

"Hey loser, are you all right? I know a real cry of pain when I hear one. You've been hurt last night, haven't you?" She replied in a low voice as Ned picked up the things Peter had dropped on the floor when Flash had pushed him. 

He just nodded and exhaled quietly.

"It's nothing, it'll pass. Just a cracked rib."

"We have different definitions of nothing, Parker. You're going to see Stark now, aren't you? Tell him to use his billionaire's money to look after you, so it doesn't go on fancy cars."

Peter was about to reply that his mentor was much more than that, but she already knew that.

"I know, dumbass, there's no need to defend him as if your life depended on it, just go and rest in his huge, narcissistic, egocentric tower. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, thanks MJ... Thanks Ned." He said as the other young man handed him his things. "You guys are the best."

Ned sent him a gentle smile, while MJ's look was...proud.

"I know."

Chapter Text

Peter got into Happy's car with a slight grimace of pain, knowing that Tony would know the second he arrived. Happy could see things like that. 

"It's just that my rib still hurts a bit, Mr Stark, there's no need to..."

"I don't care what you say to convince me, just sit down. You can work sitting down and be just as efficient."

He didn't try to argue any more and sat down while his mentor ruffled his hair.

"Thanks, Pete. Come on, let's get to work."

For three hours the two men worked in perfect harmony, each knowing what the other needed. AC/DC played in the background and the smell of oil, Mr Stark's cologne mixed with a hint of jasmine, probably from Pepper, didn't bother Peter in the least.

He loved this place.

He felt at home.

+++

When he heard the lab door open, he was surprised to see Bucky and Steve. 

Peter, who was in the middle of welding, lifted his helmet and grinned at the two soldiers. They replied with sincere smiles. It was always a pleasure for the Avengers to see the teenager again.

"Hi Steve, Bucky, what brings you here?"

"Let's ignore the fact that you're calling them by their first names and I'm still 'Mr Stark', that's fine." Tony remarked. "Capsicle? Is there a problem?" 

Bucky's expression was more tense than usual. He held Steve's hand in his own while his vibranium arm rested on the other side of his body.

"It’s your arm, I suppose?" Asked Peter.

He nodded.

"How did you know?"

"You look more tense than usual, like you're in pain, and I suppose you are."

"He's only tense because every time Tony has to fix his arm it brings back... bad memories."

"The first time Steve wasn't there and I ended up with a bloody nose."

Tony had struggled to get over it the first time, with Siberia still fresh in his mind. Even though Bucky had apologized every day for two weeks, it had been difficult.

"We observed it was better when he was here." Tony replied, pointing at Steve.

"Even if it's done gently? Does it still trigger something?"

"The problem is that removing the arm itself is painful enough, you can't really do it gently Pete." 

The younger man watched Bucky, hiding behind his long hair.

"Can I help Mr Stark? Please? I'd like to try something. Bucky? Do you mind?"

He seemed to think for a few seconds and shook his head as the two lovers moved towards a metal chair, but Peter stopped them. 

"Oh! Wait a minute! Here, Bucky, take my chair, it'll be more comfortable for you as you'll be staying here for a while."

Deep down, Peter was hoping to create a pleasant environment for the soldier, to calm him down. Labs and metal chairs don't bring back good memories.

"Thank you, Peter."

Steve had not let go of his hand and seemed to be drawing circles on it with his thumb.

As for Tony, he was preparing his equipment to find any anomalies or damaged wires that might be causing his teammate pain. 

"Ready to go?" The billionaire asked.

When Bucky nodded, Peter did what he did best.

Talk without stopping.

"Did I ever tell you about the time a nice old lady gave me a bagel after I helped her?" 

He explained the exchange he'd had with this lady, not giving Bucky time to reply, time to think, to think about the pain. Peter continued his story.

"Afterwards I called Happy to make patrol reports and told him about it. He doesn't usually listen to me much, but since a certain incident, he listens to all my voicemails. At least I hope so, that's what he told me."

Bucky just looked at Steve and Peter, ignoring Tony who was carefully working on his arm.

"When I got home yesterday, I was watching TV with my Aunt May. It's important for both of us because she works at the hospital all day so I don't get to see her very often. Of course, she's always looking after me, feeding me and keeping a roof over my head, so even though I don't see her as much sometimes, I know she's looking after me. And now Mr.Stark is here to look after me."

Speaking of him, the billionaire turned to the teenager.

"Pete, can you hand me the...?"

Before Tony had even finished his sentence, Peter handed him the requested tool, observing both Bucky's condition and his mentor's process.

Tony gave him a proud, teasing smile before getting back to work. 

Steve and Bucky refrained from commenting on the ease with which Tony had taken the tool from Peter's hands, as he hated being handed things. 

They became even more aware of the strong bond between them.

"Have I ever told you about my two best friends? Of course you haven't! I haven't told any of you, but I have to tell you! First there's Ned, we've known each other since preschool, and even though I was the weird kid who loved science and had far too many asthma attacks, we became inseparable. He surprised me once in my Spider-Man costume, and even though he's very loud and awkward, he managed not to say too much. He's always there for me."

He sighed, remembering the many times his friend couldn't keep the volume down when they talked about... sensitive subjects. But his heart sank as he thought of how Ned had stood by him when Ben was gone. He loved him so much.

"And MJ and I are getting closer, we didn't really see it coming with Ned. She calls us 'losers' half the time, but she reminds me a bit of Pepper. She's dedicated, strong, talented and clever. So clever, in fact, that she guessed who I was all by herself."

Her cheeks flushed inadvertently at the thought of the pretty brown haired girl.

"You don't hide it very well, I'll let you know." Tony added.

"Hey, that's not true at all!"

"You seem to care a lot about her."

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. Bucky never spoke during these repairs, as if it was forbidden in his mind. That HYDRA had forbidden it.

Peter had turned tomato red.

"Yeah, well, I care about them both, they're my best friends after all and..."

"And there's nothing going on between you and this girl?"

"I've been talking to him about it for months and he's still not ready to take the plunge." Tony continued.

He was acting like a father trying to embarrass his son and it was working. 

"I'm just afraid of ruining our friendship! She's MJ and I'm just... Peter Parker."

"And that's just as well." Steve replied, putting his hand, which Bucky had not taken, on the younger man's shoulder.

"I'm done."

Bucky looked surprised.

"Really ?"

"Really." Tony couldn't help smiling at him before turning to his protégé. "And I hate to say it, kid, but Cap's right. You are smart, generous and brave. Peter Parker is great, and I will attack anyone who tells me otherwise."

He didn't know what to say to the three men's words, afraid he'd cry if he opened his mouth to respond. He hid his bright eyes as he changed the subject.

"How are you feeling, Bucky? Any pain?" 

"A lot less than usual, how's that possible, Tony?" The soldier replied, slowly moving his arm.

They all looked at the dark-haired man.

"I haven't changed a thing."

The couple turned to the spider.

"I'm afraid of needles." He explained. "And every time I went for a vaccination or a blood test, my Aunt May and Uncle Ben would distract me by telling me about their day or something that had happened at work, and with my mind on something other than dreading the pain, I almost forgot about the needle."

"Is that what you did?"

The teenager nodded.

"Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome."

Then he turned to the man who'd been working on his arm.

"Thank you, Tony."

"Like Pete said, it's nothing. Now get out of our lab."

"Actually, all of you, get out of the lab." Said a voice that made them all turn. 

The sound of her heels echoed as she approached them.

"You've been in there non-stop for over three hours now and you know you need a break. Besides, lunch is being prepared and Sam wants to steal Peter to play with him before dinner." Pepper says before turning to the main man. "Only if you want to, darling, of course." 

"Of course!"

The redhead puts a hand to his cheek.

"How is your rib? Are you feeling better?" 

"Yes, I can hardly feel anything, but thank you for your concern, Pepper." He said with a broad smile.

"Perfect. If you're ever in pain, don't hesitate to let me know."

She planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

He loved it when she did that.

"Come on, get out of here!" 

Bucky and Steve walked away, their hands never leaving each other's. Tony kissed his fiancée tenderly before leaving, leaving Peter and Pepper alone in the lab.

"Pepper? I'd like to ask you something..."

Curious, the CEO gave him a smile before encouraging him to talk to her.

"I'm all ears."

"Well, you see... there's this girl I really like and..."

Chapter Text

The last hour of the day was a class that Ned didn't have in common with them, which meant that he and MJ were alone for a few minutes after class before he got into Happy's car and her dad picked her up. 

Come on, Parker, get on with it.

"Uh...MJ?"

The young woman turned to him, a questioning eyebrow raised, her arms crossed under her chest. His cheeks took on three more shades of red. 

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you, um..."

Now he was at a loss for words. What had Pepper said again?

Don't change, be the same Peter Parker, don't try to become someone else to please people. Especially if you want to ask her out, do something you would do as friends, nothing too fancy at first, and you'll be fine. 

"Would you like to go out, I mean come with me, I mean... come home and watch a movie, of course you can choose, but, I mean without Ned, not that I don't like him, you know he's my best friend, but just that, you're my best friend too and..."

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Parker."

He lifted his flushed face to see a smile on the teenager's face. 

"Sorry."

He couldn't say more.

"Okay." 

His big eyes spoke for him.

"When do you want to do it? Tomorrow night?"

He was always at a loss for words, while she always had the last word. He loved that about her.

He nodded.

"7pm? We can eat at your place. How about that?"

Another nod.

"Great." The brunette averted her gaze from Peter and seemed to look further out towards the parking lot. "My dad's here. See you tomorrow, Parker."

He found himself alone on the Midtown steps as a horn ripped him from his thoughts.

Damn, Happy !

He ran to the car, the biggest grin on his face. He apologized to the driver, but said nothing the whole way. He couldn't believe it. A date. With MJ. 

A date!

With MJ!

His first instinct was to talk to Pepper instead of Tony, he wasn't sure why. He was really looking forward to going to the tower. Happy could guess what made him feel that way, having seen the exchange between the two teenagers from a distance. He made no comment, but deep inside he was anxious to see how it all went. 

He almost rushed out of the car after thanking Happy for the ride, still with that big smile on his face. He asked FRIDAY to take him to Pepper, but when she informed him that she would be in a meeting with Mr.Stark for another half hour, he decided to go to the Avengers floor to get something to nibble on and pass the time by chatting with those who would be there.

Two redheads were sitting on the sofa, one running her hand through the other's hair. She seemed to be styling her hair. It was an unusual sight, to say the least.

"паучок." Natasha greeted without even turning around to see who had arrived.

"Hi Nat! What are you doing to Wanda?"

"Braiding her hair." Replied the spy simply.

"I never learned how." The other young woman confessed darkly. 

"They're very pretty." Peter admitted, observing the intricate braids Natasha was making with Wanda's locks.

"Thank you, Peter."

"Would you like me to show you how to do it, Wanda? I could use Nat as an example, that is... if you agree, of course." Replied the spider, red with embarrassment.

"Would you do that?" Wanda replied in astonishment. 

"Of course I would! I don't mind! Then you can't say you don't know how to braid hair anymore !"

After completing her masterpiece in the witch's hair, Natasha changed places and positioned herself with her back to Peter, her long red hair now at her disposal. Wanda watched meticulously beside her. 

"You see, you divide your lock into three and..."

Peter showed her the different types of braids he knew how to make, although it wasn't much, and Wanda copied next to him, step by step. 

"When did you learn to braid?" Nat asked curiously.

"I make them with my aunt sometimes! And since there were two men in the house, she forced us to learn for the times when she didn't feel like doing it alone."

"Very clever, your aunt." Wanda agreed.

"Particularly terrifying. She reminds me a bit of Pepper when she's angry." 

"I couldn't agree more, and I'm going to say it loud and clear before my terrifying fiancée kills me !" Exclaimed Tony as he arrived, his hand around the waist of said fiancée, who was rolling her eyes at the billionaire's stupidity.

"Pepper!" Peter suddenly stood up and approached the CEO to apologize. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, I really didn't..."

"I want you to know that I take it as a compliment, Peter, so I don't mind at all." 

"Am I dreaming or were you in the middle of a braiding session ?" Tony asked, dumbfounded by the braided hair of the two Avengers. Peter was resourceful.

"Oh! Pepper! I had to tell you something!" Peter cut him off, almost jumping up and down as he took her hands. 

She already knew what he was about to say.

"What did you say? What did you suggest?"

"To watch a movie at my place!" 

"And?"

"And she said yes! I was talking too much, as usual, and she just cut me off with "Okay" and then I couldn't talk anymore! Then she suggested the day and time, and I could only nod, and then she had to go, but I'll see her tomorrow night!"

Pepper couldn't help but laugh at the boy's obvious excitement. She smiled back, Peter’s smile contagious.

"This is great! I told you everything would work out!" 

Peter threw himself into Pepper's arms, an embrace she returned immediately. She gently stroked his brown curls as the three Avengers looked on, some a little lost and others very happy for him. 

"What exactly just happened?" 

Wanda had just asked.

"He finally asked his girl friend out! I've been talking about it for months and Pepper convinces him to do it in a few days!" Answers Tony.

"I'm a woman, darling, we understand these things much better." 

"What’s her name?" asked Nat curiously.

"MJ." Replied the young man, stepping back from Pepper's arms, his cheeks as red as ever. 

The redhead nodded slowly.

"I am proud of you, but now I really want to get to the lab after this interminable meeting. Follow me?"

Of course, the next thing Peter knew, he was off to the lab, not without a fond farewell to the women in the room and a kiss on the forehead from Pepper.

And if Natasha had researched this girl to make sure she wasn't a threat to Peter that night, she wouldn't say anything about it.

+++

MJ walked into the Parker apartment as she had done many times before with Ned. But this time they were alone. May wouldn't be home until late that night. 

Peter thought his legs would soon give out because he was so nervous.

"I ordered pizzas, one vegetarian and one pepperoni, I hope that's okay. They should be here in about ten minutes." The dark-haired man announced, fidgeting with his fingers as he walked into the living room.

"That's fine, thank you." She said, sitting down nonchalantly on the sofa. "So, Parker, what movie did you pick for tonight?" 

"I was thinking about La La Land, it's one of my favorite movies, it's a romantic comedy but it's also a musical, but if you don't want to because of the songs, I understand..."

"Oh, no, no, it's true, I'm not really in the habit of watching romantic comedies, because I think they're a ploy to prove that in order to conform to societal norms, you have to find love, have a love-marriage-child model that puts you in a box forever, and that you can't find happiness in solitude. But I've never seen the movie, so why not? It could be a pleasant surprise or something very predictable."

What could one say to that? 

He let out a nervous laugh as he tried to defend his favorite movie.

"You'll see, it might surprise you!" 

The young woman replied with a hint of a smile. 

While Peter browsed Mr. Stark's Netflix account, MJ couldn't help but make a comment.

"I don't know why I'm surprised that this kind of movie is your favorite."

"And what's that supposed to mean? You haven't even seen the movie yet!" The teenager replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I already know everything I need to know to deduce that if this movie could be called anything else, it would be "Peter Parker in the Midst of an Emotional Crisis.”"

The dark-haired man thinks for a few seconds about the movie's content: songs, romance, humor, tears, anger.

"He is not wrong. Wait until you see it, and I think you'll think it even more." 

"I look forward to it, loser."

Someone rang the doorbell, cutting them off. Probably for pizza. Peter almost slipped in his socks as he stood up, causing the brunette to chuckle, and it was with extreme embarrassment that he opened the door to get their food. 

When he returned, MJ started the movie while he put down the drinks and the two pizza boxes. 

Peter already knew how this was going to end.

+++

Tears rolled down his cheeks as Mia and Sebastian shared their last dance. He could see MJ watching out of the corner of his eye.

"If I had my notebook, I'd draw you right now."

He couldn't help laughing through the tears.

"I know you would."

"I can see why it's your favorite movie." 

He gave her a mocking look.

"Because I'm having an emotional crisis?"

"It is different from other romantic comedies. It has a realistic ending. She doesn't leave the man she's currently with for her former love. But it's still very beautiful what they share, they still love each other deep down, I think their relationship is very strong even though it's not really a "happy ending" by any standards."

She added after a pause:

"And the music wasn't bad."

Peter almost jumped off the sofa when he heard her opinion and turned to her, overexcited.

"You see? That's why it's my favorite movie! I knew you'd understand!" 

"I always thought you preferred Star Wars." The brunette confessed.

"I love Star Wars, of course, but La La Land, MJ!" 

"Does Star Wars make you cry as much?" The brunette asked, wiping the remaining tears from Peter's cheek.

His heart almost skipped a beat when he felt her hand on his cheek. 

"You would be surprised." He said in a low voice, as if MJ's touch had calmed him instantly. 

Her hand still hadn't left his cheek and Peter couldn't believe it. After a moment's thought, he dared to place a slow, trembling hand on her cheek. 

"MJ, I... I'd like to ask you if..."

His flushed cheeks spoke for him. 

The brunette placed her lips on his briefly before pulling away almost immediately. The boy froze as she nervously bit her lip. He'd never seen her like that.

"I don’t really have much luck when it comes to getting close to people, but I'm very glad I met you."

Peter couldn't help but smile, and he was sure that his heart would burst from his chest at any moment, and that everyone could hear it from a mile away.

"I'm really glad I met you, too."

Shyly, and not really sure about what he was doing, he kissed her lips for a few seconds before stepping back, each hand on the other's cheek.

It was awkward, as a first kiss should be, but it was their first kiss, and he couldn't have been happier than at that moment.

Chapter Text

The next day, as he returned to school, Ned wasn't surprised when Peter's hand, despite a clear lack of confidence stemming from the newness of the relationship, found MJ's. It was probably true that Spider-Man had immediately texted his best friend after the date, too euphoric to stop thinking about it all night. That very morning, May had smiled knowingly because she already understood. She asked him if he was happy with his evening, and although he hadn’t explicitly explained what had happened, she had guessed on her own.

Peter had been afraid of ruining their friendship, but in the end, nothing had really changed. She still called them losers every morning, read her books on her own at lunch, teased them during Academic Decathlon, and sketched them when stressed.

Only now, he could hold her hand, kiss her, and look at her as much as he wanted without shame. And he loved seeing how MJ would blush every time they touched or caught each other’s gaze. He loved that side of her.

At the end of the school day, the two teenagers held each other’s gaze for a few seconds after saying goodbye, before leaning in and sharing a kiss. He couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, Peter gave Ned their signature handshake and dashed to Happy’s car waiting for him, as he did every Thursday evening.

"MJ, I assume?" The bodyguard asked as he settled in.

Peter furrowed his brow in surprise. 

"How…?"

"May and Tony told me."

"Not even surprised." Peter replied, rolling his eyes.

"Congratulations, kid."

"Uh… thanks, Happy." Peter murmured, surprised at his involvement in his life.

Sometimes Peter wondered if Happy cared about him at all or if he just drove him out of obligation, ignoring his messages like he used to before the Vulture incident. But whenever Happy genuinely worried when Peter wasn’t doing well, kept Mr. Stark informed of any issues, or actually listened to his voicemails, he couldn’t help but feel that Happy might actually care.

"We’re here, kid." The older man announced, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, thanks for the ride, Happy!"

He entered the elevator as usual, ascending to his mentor’s floor. But a sudden thought made him pause for a second.

Since when did May tell Happy those kinds of things?

+++

"How’s my favorite intern?" Tony asked as Peter walked into the lab.

"Still your only intern, Mr. Stark."

"That’s not the point."

"I’m doing great." Peter answered honestly with a smile.

"So? You guys are finally together, for real?" Tony asked, patting Peter’s shoulder.

Peter nodded.

"Guess I owe May some money, then."

Peter's head shot up at that. 

"What?! What do you mean?”

"I was sure you’d chicken out and wouldn’t make a move for a few more dates, but she thought the opposite!"

"You bet on my relationship? Mr. Stark!" He exclaimed, stepping back from his mentor.

"What? Let the grown-ups play, Pete, you’re no fun!"

"Mr. Stark!" Peter repeated, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, alright!" Tony said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I’ll stop teasing you about it."

"Thank you." Peter sighed, getting to work on their project.

"Just remember to stay safe, kids!"

"MR. STARK!"

+++

The last thing Peter expected when he walked into the training room was to see Natasha moving gracefully to soft music, ballet shoes on her feet.

Ballet. It kind of suited her.

She turned when she heard him enter.

"Hey, Nat, am I interrupting?"

"Not at all. You can stay if you want. Were you looking for me?”

"I just wanted some quiet time to train."

"You’re in the right place, then. Ballet’s great training. It’s the basis for a lot of my attack style, you know."

"It shows; there’s always a certain grace to your moves, even when you’re fighting."

"I’m flattered. Want to try?"

He nodded, then added :

"I did a bit of ballet when I was younger."

Her eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

"I learn something new about you every day."

"It’d be less fun if you knew everything right away, wouldn’t it?"

She shrugged as he took off his shoes and started warming up. Natasha continued to dance nearby, spinning and leaping effortlessly. She must have started young too.

After warming up, Peter went for his favorite thing—pirouettes. He loved spinning nonstop, focusing on a distant point, and trying to beat his own record each time. Using Natasha’s music for rhythm, he began to turn, letting go of his thoughts. He loved how dance helped him clear his mind.

He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it.

He got lost in the music, recalling his lessons, the feelings they stirred, the skills he’d learned. He spun and spun, focusing on an imaginary point, leaping, extending his legs in the air.

Natasha was right. Dancing really was soothing, a way to escape everything.

Peter was so absorbed in the moment that he didn’t notice the new pairs of eyes watching him. Natasha, as always, noticed everything, but she didn’t stop her dance.

It wasn’t until the music ended and he stopped abruptly that he saw Bucky and Sam watching him, their eyebrows raised in surprise.

"You were holding out on us!" Sam called, stepping up and clapping Peter’s shoulder.

"I wasn’t hiding anything! I just never mentioned it!" Peter replied, cheeks flushed from the effort…or maybe embrassement. "Nat just offered, and I said yes."

"I can’t even lift my leg higher than this." Sam continued, lifting his leg barely to his waist.

"I was already flexible, and the spider bite made me even more so, I guess." Peter shrugged and took a sip of water.

"Sam’s just got an old man’s body."

"Says the guy born in 1917."

Bucky shoved Sam, laughing.

"We came to train, remember?"

"Peter? Nat? You joining us?" Sam asked, glancing at the two dancers.

"I’m done for now." Natasha replied.

"Me too, but thanks for the invite."

The two friends moved to a combat zone.

"Thanks for inviting me to dance, Nat. It felt really good. I needed that."

"You’re welcome. All I did was offer; you did the rest. I’m impressed, паучок. I hope this means we can do this more often. Next time, I can show you some of my techniques."

Peter’s smile grew wider, grateful he’d chosen to step into the training room today.

+++

"Get out of my way, orphan." Flash muttered, shoving Peter against a locker without even glancing at him.

The guy seemed angrier than usual. Peter could have sworn he saw his hands shaking. Though he didn’t like Flash, Peter silently vowed to keep an eye on the situation. Rubbing his shoulder where he’d hit the locker, he walked over to his friends.

"Geez, it’s only Monday morning, Flash really needs to chill." Ned said, doing their handshake.

Peter shrugged, used to it after years of dealing with the other teenager.

"He seemed different today, didn’t he? Even though I don’t care about Flash, he looked really mad." MJ added, glancing at her boyfriend’s shoulder. "How’s your shoulder?"

"It’s fine, don’t worry." Peter replied, smiling at her. "And I thought I was the only one who noticed."

"I didn’t notice anything,” Ned added as they walked to class. “Not like I pay attention to Flash every day.”

"By the way, losers, I hope you studied for the math test."

The two boys turned to her, frozen in place.

"There was a test?" They said in unison.

MJ already had her phone out. She quickly took a picture and smiled.

"Thanks, I’ve got material to draw now."

+++

Strangely, Flash was quieter than usual in class—stoic, tense, as if he were holding something back. He radiated rage, obviously, and nobody dared to talk to him—not even his friends or the teachers throughout the day.

It was time for gym with Coach Wilson. In the locker room, Peter changed in the restroom, as usual, to avoid anyone noticing the toned abs that a supposedly scrawny Peter Parker wasn’t expected to have. T-shirt, then his blue hoodie, as always.

As he came out, he noticed Flash was the only other boy still there, struggling to put on his school-logo gray T-shirt, his face tense with what looked like pain.

Flash immediately looked up upon noticing Peter's presence.

"What are you still doing here, Puny Parker? Don’t you have anything better to do than annoy me? Get lost."

Peter hesitated but decided to ask anyway.

"Is…everything okay, Flash?"

For a few seconds, surprise flickered across the other boy's face, but it quickly disappeared. Flash lunged at him, and Peter forced himself not to react.

Flash had grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the nearest wall, lifting Peter a few inches off the ground.

"Listen, Parker, I didn’t ask for your pity—everyone’s already giving you plenty since you’ve got no parents and no uncle."

Peter winced at the mention of Ben.

"I don’t get what Michelle sees in you, anyway." Flash sneered. "Or what that idiot Ned sees either. They should back off before you get them killed like you killed your whole family."

Without thinking, Peter’s reflexes kicked in. He shoved Flash hard, sending him tumbling across the room against the lockers and benches. His breathing was ragged. Thankfully, he remembered to control his strength at the last second, or Flash would have gone through the wall. Still, the noise echoed throughout the locker room and possibly the whole gym. He could hear voices outside falling silent.

Flash was speechless, stunned by Peter’s eyes shining with tears. Neither moved until footsteps approached. Grabbing his things, Peter bolted out, pushing past a few other students who had arrived.

He barely noticed Ned and MJ before rushing out of the gym. His breathing was unsteady, and tears started to roll down his cheeks. He tried to ignore what Flash had said, but sometimes, the other boy knew exactly where to strike to hurt the most. Just Parker’s luck. His parents, his uncle—and soon, it’d be May, Ned, MJ, Tony, and everyone else he’d get killed. It was all his fault. He was just a magnet for trouble.

Stupid Peter Parker.

He had no idea how long he’d been walking, only that his feet had led him to the cemetery. He recognized the gravestones from afar and walked toward them. His legs gave out as he sat down, looking at the three engraved names.

Richard Parker.

Mary Parker.

Ben Parker.

In his mind, he could imagine other names etched beside them.

Maybelle Parker.

Anthony Stark.

Michelle Jones.

Edward Leeds.

He was a danger to everyone around him. Ben had died because of him, bleeding out in his arms, because he had done nothing. He was going to bring death to his loved ones, send them to graves next to his parents and uncle. Stupid, stupid, stupid Pe—

"Peter!"

A voice made him look up.

He felt Aunt May’s arms around him before he fully registered it. Behind her, he saw Mr. Stark, Happy, MJ, and Ned. Avoiding their gazes, he buried his face in his aunt’s shoulder, his body shaking with sobs.

"Oh, my baby…everyone’s been worried about you, you know? You really scared me…" May murmured, stroking his hair.

"I’m sorry…" Peter’s voice trembled as he replied.

"No need to apologize, sweetheart. But can you tell me what happened?"

A lump formed in his throat at the mere thought of Flash’s words.

"Can we go home first?" Peter asked, breathing in his aunt’s comforting scent.

With that, Happy and Tony came over to help May and her nephew up. Their hands were reassuring on his shoulders. Ned and MJ embraced him next. His best friend held him close for a few moments without a word. Michelle followed, brushing her fingers through his hair and planting a kiss on his temple. In a different context, Peter knew he would’ve blushed. Everyone smiled softly, especially May, pleased with their budding relationship.

The ride home in Mr. Stark’s van was silent, yet Peter felt the steady support of his loved ones.

Once home, May led Peter to the couch, where he sat between his two friends. Tony and Happy took chairs nearby as May went to prepare hot chocolate.

"It was Flash, wasn’t it?" MJ asked directly, though she gently rubbed his hand with her thumb.

Peter nodded slowly.

"What did he do?"

It seemed dumb now that he thought about it.

"It’s… it’s nothing, really."

"Pete, we found you at the cemetery; it was clearly not ‘nothing.’ It matters to you, so it matters to us too," Mr. Stark said for the first time, searching his intern’s eyes. "You’ve got to talk to us, kid."

May returned with several mugs. She handed one to Peter, then MJ and Ned with a warm smile, before bringing coffee to Tony and Happy. Peter noticed Happy’s gaze linger on his aunt a bit too long.

"He was really angry today, more than usual. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t seem well, so I asked if he was okay. Then he said…"

Peter swallowed loudly, looking at his aunt with tearful eyes.

"He said something like he didn’t ask for my pity, and that everyone gave it to me because my parents and my uncle were dead."

He heard May gasp, covering her mouth. Happy’s fists clenched, Mr. Stark’s jaw tightened, Ned’s brow furrowed, and MJ’s hand squeezed his a little harder.

"And then…"

And then? What could possibly be worse than what that kid had already said?

Peter’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

"He asked what MJ could possibly see in me and said that Ned and MJ should back off before I got them killed like I’d killed my whole family."

He kept his head down in shame, not looking at anyone's face. He heard someone stand abruptly and walk out, heading to the bathroom. Without hesitation, MJ wrapped her arms around him. Ned, on the other side of the couch, did the same. He hugged them both tightly.

"Peter… I’m going to talk to your principal." May said, her eyes brimming with tears. "His behavior and words are completely unacceptable. I can’t believe such things could come out of a teenager’s mouth."

"May, he was probably just having a bad day and—"

"Don’t make excuses for him, loser; you know he doesn’t deserve them. If I’d been there, it would’ve gone differently."

"I pushed him." Peter said, voice thick with guilt. "I almost lost control of my strength. I could’ve really hurt him, Em’. I’d never forgive myself, even if he’d said the worst insult in the world."

The new nickname surprised them both, but his girlfriend seemed to like it.

"Your aunt’s right, kid. This shouldn’t be ignored." Happy added.

Tony had left for the bathroom, and Peter could hear him pacing and muttering angrily to himself, taking deep breaths as if to calm down. He hadn’t wanted Peter to think his anger was directed at him, as he often did.

"I’ll call them soon, but first, you need to eat, drink, and get into your pajamas." May said gently. "Kids, how about staying over tonight? I can call your parents if you want."

They nodded, and May smiled, grateful for their devotion to her nephew.

"I’m sure Peter has one of your pajamas in a drawer somewhere, Ned. Michelle, I’ll lend you some clothes."

Everyone set to work. Peter went to shower and change, as did his friends. He could hear Happy and May talking to Tony, who had returned from the bathroom, as he headed to his room. When he came back, Tony pulled him into a hug without hesitation.

"I hope you don’t believe any of that." Tony murmured in his ear before placing a kiss on his temple. "You’re one of the best things that’s ever happened to me, kid."

Peter immediately clung to his mentor, not wanting to let go. He could never get enough of their hugs—they were so comforting.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark." The spider replied against his shoulder.

"If I see that kid in front of your school again, I might get violent." Happy added as Peter stepped away from the other adult. "I know who that kid is, and if something happens, you’d better tell me. Otherwise, I’ll find out myself."

"I’ll give you my number so I can keep you updated if he doesn’t say anything." MJ announced, entering the living room in a gray t-shirt and black leggings.

"I like you already. MJ, right?" Asked the security agent.

"Call me Michelle. Only these two losers have earned the right to call me MJ." She said, taking the phone handed to her to add her number.

"Got it." Replied Happy, raising an eyebrow at Peter.

"Traitor." Peter muttered.

"Not my fault if you always hide how you’re feeling, Parker." Said MJ, pressing a finger to his chest. "At least this way, it’ll be harder for you to hide things from us."

When Ned arrived and settled on the couch, Tony announced their departure.

"I’ll see you tomorrow at the lab, Pete. And know this—your aunt is going to make that little punk pay. Call me if anything comes up, May."

"As always, Tony. Drive safe."

May hugged the two men.

"Thank you for everything today."

Once the three teenagers were left alone with May, Peter thought he was in for a perfect slumber party and that his day couldn’t have ended on a better note.

Chapter Text

It had been several weeks since the incident with Flash. Peter hadn't wanted to get him in trouble, thinking it unnecessary, but May had argued with him about going to their principal. After explaining the words exchanged between the two teenagers, Morita decided to suspend Flash for three days, despite the glare he and his aunt received from Flash's parents.

Tony was ready to come with May and fight, but was stopped by Peter. The last thing he wanted was more attention.

Flash had been more discreet than usual since then, but Peter knew that wouldn't last much longer.

Ned and MJ were at his house today, after a boring day at school, before a scream echoed through the Spider's room.

“Do you want us to sleep in the AVENGERS tower this weekend?!”

“If you refuse, I can always…”

“NO, NO, NO! I love you Peter, you're my best friend Peter, oh my God Peter?! We're going to see the Avengers!” 

“Technically, you've already seen Mr. Stark.”

“I barely said a word to him! We're going to spend several hours with the Avengers, Peter, I don't know if you realize that!” 

“I think he does, Ned.” MJ remarked, reading a book on the top bunk while the two men built Legos on the floor. “I don't mind if you get me to meet Pepper Potts.” 

“It was already planned, Em'.” Peter replied without a moment's hesitation. He knew how impressed and interested she was in Pepper.

“I would expect nothing less from you.”

He could imagine her smiling without even looking at her.

+++

When the elevator opened on the Avengers floor, the heroes certainly weren't expecting three teenagers to step out. 

“Hi everyone!” Peter began with a broad smile.

Most of them were there, except for Tony, Vision, Bucky, and Steve. Pepper was obviously in the middle of a meeting, as usual.

“паучок. Will you introduce us?” Natasha began, getting right to the point. 

“Michelle.” The teenager replied simply, her head held high. 

Of course she was impressed by Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, but there was no way she was going to show it. 

“And this is Ned, my best friend.” Peter introduced himself, smiling at the boy's shaking body.

“Peter, these are the Avengers.” Ned murmured even though everyone could hear them.

“We've been here for several minutes.” the Spider replied in the same falsely discreet voice.

“Yes, but I just noticed.”

“Are you panicking?”

“Of course I'm panicking!” 

Peter sighed, falsely annoyed. 

“At least introduce yourself!”

“Uh...nice to meet you, Mrs. Black Widow.” he said with a shaky voice. 

“As polite as Peter, I suppose?” Bruce asked, stepping up to them. 

“Peter...?”

This time he had to laugh.

“Yes, Ned?”

“Dr. Bruce Banner just spoke to me, pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming.”

MJ took great pleasure in hitting him in the shoulder, which made Clint and Sam laugh even more.

“Ouch!” 

It's like Ned was waking up.

“Oh my God! The Avengers! Dr. Banner, I'm one of your biggest fans, I love your work and your theses, you're my favorite scientist!”

This was what it meant to go to Midtown, to choose Dr. Banner over the Hulk. It was a no-brainer for all the science buffs who studied there. 

“Nice to meet you, Ned. And... Michelle? Am I wrong ?”

“No, nice to meet you, Dr. Banner.” The woman held out her hand for him to shake, which he did.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Peter's friends here. Are you here for the weekend?”

“Yes! Mr. Stark has accepted!” Peter replied happily.

“Yes, he did! New embarrassing anecdotes about Peter! I can hardly wait to hear them!” Clint exclaimed, rising from the sofa to ruffle his hair.

The dark-haired man pushed the archer away before turning to his friends.

“I forbid you to say anything!”

“No promises, Parker.” 

“MJ!”

“I like her.” Sam asserted.

“You could at least let them sit in the living room instead of monopolizing them like this.” Wanda remarked, positioning herself next to Clint, who naturally put his elbow on her shoulder.

“Do you boys know how to play Mario Kart?” the archer asked. Sam rolled his eyes.

“You talk like an old man, I swear I can see the white hair from there!”

“Come and fight me if you feel up to it, instead of attacking me because of my age!”

“You already know that Peter and I can beat you.”

“Ned is also super strong!” Peter added. 

“Pfff...not so much!” replied his friend, embarrassed but very happy to be in this situation.

“I say we all join in and see what we're made of!” Sam suggested playfully.

An air of competition hung over the Avengers Tower.

Clint, Sam, Wanda, Natasha, MJ, Peter, Ned, and Bruce (surprisingly). Everyone settled down on the sofa, footstools, and for some, the floor, controller in hand, ready to play. 

Everyone carefully chose their character.

“I can see why you chose Sam, you have the same annoying voice as Toad.” Clint remarked, elbowing him in the ribs.

“Hey, what about you, Waluigi? Look at his state!” Sam retorted, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Rosalina, a sorceress,perfect.” Wanda said simply as she watched Natasha choose Daisy. 

Bruce chose Luigi, though he found it ironic to choose a predominantly green character. 

Ned picked Bowser, while MJ silently chose Isabelle. Peter chose the villager, unconsciously following MJ's character choice.

The former didn't dare speak, far too nervous, but his best friend was convinced that this would soon change after a few errands. After all, it had worked out well for him, hadn't it?

+++

“I will come and kill you in your sleep, just know that, Sam.”

“You didn't have to throw me a red grenade! I thought we were a team!”

“I play solo, I thought you knew that.” 

“Peter! Peter! You betrayed me like this? Me, your best friend?!”

“You're not my best friend, Clint. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but mine is too busy winning! Come on, Ned!”

“Emboldening the enemy is so like you, Parker.” 

“You're just saying that because you're second!”

”I don't know what you're talking about.”

Ned's shouts of victory echoed through the living room, as did Clint's cries of despair. He had finished last, and even Bruce, who had played less than him, was second to last. Wanda was disappointed because she was right above him. Natasha glared at Sam, who had managed to overtake her just before the end.

But the top 3 were the best friends. Still, MJ wore a small satisfied smile as she saw Peter gasp and Ned scream with joy. 

“You put up a good fight, loser.” 

“Thanks Em, you too” he said with a smile, nudging her lightly with his shoulder.

She smiled back at him before a voice interrupted the various shouts and laughter from the various people in the room.

“What happened here? No one's dead, is there?”

“Mr. Stark! No, not at all! We were just playing Mario Kart!”

The billionaire sighed, annoyed with his teammates.

“I can understand the yelling now.”

Then he turned to two less familiar faces.

“Ted. Michelle.”

“Stark.” MJ replied quickly. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark!”

“I put your rooms next to Peter's, by the way. And Pete, no dirty stuff, or I'll ask FRIDAY to tell me tomorrow if you were alone in your room last night.” the dark-haired man continued teasingly.

The spider didn't even have time to answer because a certain hawk was trying to understand the situation.

“Why would you want someone to come into Peter's room?" began Sam.

He looked at the two kids. Several times, one after the other.

“Oh. Oh! Peter, I didn't know you had several…”

“I don't know what you think, Sam, but I'm dating MJ! Only her!” The dark-haired man jumped in, redder than ever. 

“What? Why didn't you tell us, kid? How long has it been?” 

Clint wanted to know everything. The spy hadn't even managed to realize it.

“He doesn't have to tell you his whole life story, and I'm sure Natasha had already guessed.” Bruce replied in a low voice.

“Surprisingly, he told us of his own free will” the redhead replied, also pointing at Wanda. 

“Oops, sorry Pete, I didn't mean to embarrass you.”

“You didn't really?”

“Really, I didn't! I thought you told them!”

“I'm not always talking about my whole life!”

...

“Am I?”

+++

Ned was in a heated discussion with Bruce, who seemed happy to be able to talk to another teenager about his plans, while the others seemed to be relaxing as usual in the selon, each one busy with a different activity. Meanwhile, Peter decided to show MJ where she was going to sleep.

“Mr. Stark said they were right next to mine, so it should be... there!” he said as he entered the room, followed by the teenager. “By the way, if there's ever a problem, ask FRIDAY to alert me, okay? Normally there shouldn't be a problem, but I'd rather be sure…”

“Peter, we're in the Avengers Tower, what do you want to happen to me?”

“Uh…”

He didn't know what to say. Like always with her.

“You're cute when you worry.” 

MJ wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I'll let you know if anything comes up, but I'm sure Ned will just invade our group chat with messages about how great his room is and how he saw the Avengers today.”

“I'm sure deep down you love what's going on. 

“I'm waiting to see Pepper Potts before I give my opinion, I think it could radically change my experience here.”

“I'm sure it will.”

“Thanks for bringing us here anyway, let's just say it's not something you see every day, well except in your case.” 

“You're welcome, it was important for me to introduce you, you're important to me and... this is my team after all.” Peter replied, placing both hands on MJ's cheeks.

The brunette smiled tenderly before placing her lips on his. Immediately, Peter returned the kiss with a smile, a few strands of her hair caressing his face, making him shiver. MJ gripped the brunette's waist tighter and ran a hand up his back, shyly caressing his bare skin under his t-shirt. The young man couldn't help but draw his girlfriend to him, as if he could bring her even closer than she already was.

Of course, someone had to spoil their moment.

“Hey Peter, we're home, dinner is…”

A certain blond man's voice trailed off as he saw the scene in front of him. Steve and Bucky were at the door and Peter immediately stepped back, as did MJ.

“Sorry, I thought it was just your friend in the living room, but apparently I was wrong.” Steve began, while Peter could have sworn he saw Bucky holding back a laugh behind his boyfriend's shoulder.

“That's okay." the dark-haired man replied quickly. “Uh... Steve, Bucky…” he pointed at her. “Michelle. My girlfriend.” before pointing at said girlfriend with a smile despite everything. 

MJ raised his hand in greeting and the super-soldiers nodded in return. 

“Like I said, dinner is almost ready.” Steve added with a teasing smile.

“We'll be right there" the younger man replied, his cheeks still flushed.

The two men left the room, their laughter echoing down the hall.

“Nice first meeting.” observed MJ, who couldn't help but let out a little laugh of his own.

“That's not funny!”

Peter laughed too as he took the brunette's hand. 

“While this is all very pleasant, if we don't go now, Mr. Stark might very well come and get us himself and laugh at me until the end of time.”

“That would be fun to see.”

The young man replied, bumping into MJ as he led her out of the room. 

“You don't see him several times a week! He would remind me every day even if we just kissed!”

“You're the only one who can complain about seeing Tony Stark several times a week, Peter. Flash would kill to be in your shoes.”

“No need to think about Flash this weekend, thanks but no thanks!” Peter growled, the face of his classmate immediately coming to mind.

MJ laughed in front of her boyfriend's face as they reached the living room, hand in hand. 

She stopped suddenly.

Pepper Potts. 

In the same room as her.

The CEO was chatting with Tony.

Peter seemed to understand why she had stopped. Fighting back a teasing smile, he called out to the redhead.

“Pepper! There's someone I want you to meet!”

MJ seemed unable to speak, unaware that in a few seconds she would be talking to her idol. 

The woman raised her face to the teenage couple and approached with a smile, the sound of her heels echoing on the floor. She seemed to have already guessed who the girl next to Peter was.

Without further ado, he made the introductions.

“Pepper, this is Michelle, my girlfriend.” he said, watching her face as she stood still, still in shock.

“Michelle! I finally got to meet you! Peter's told me a lot about you, you know? I'm so happy to meet you!”

She took the teenager's free hand to shake it, and it was as if the brunette had started walking again, returning the handshake.

“It's really an honor to meet you, you're my idol. I'm really impressed by your journey as a woman in this patriarchal society, you're so talented, you're a role model for so many women, including me.”

Pepper's smile widened as she beamed at the words.

“You flatter me, thank you for saying that, if you only knew how much it pleases me to see that I have an emotional impact on the people around me! I spend a lot of time in the boardroom so I don't get to see the results of my efforts, you are proof of that, thank you again Michelle.” Pepper replied, putting her hand on Michelle's shoulder.

The brunette blushed visibly in front of the CEO, but she'd never been happier.

Pepper gave Peter a discreet look that meant, "You chose well" before speaking again.

“So we have vegan and vegetarian options for the meal since we didn't know what you liked. By the way, I met Ned, and I've never seen Bruce talk as much as he did with you, Pete, he sounds like a lovely boy.” 

“He is, isn't he?” The dark-haired man replied with a smile.

Everything was going well. 

Of course, something had to go wrong.

An alarm sounded and the TV automatically turned on, showing images of aliens invading New York. FRIDAY's voice echoed through the room.

“Boss, the Quinjet is ready.” 

“Thank you, FRIDAY. You know what to do.” 

Everyone nodded before Steve took over.

“You have 5 minutes.”

Everyone went to get dressed.

Peter didn't move. This was a mission for the real Avengers, not for a guy like him.

“You too, kid!” the blonde shouted before leaving in his turn.

Hiding his excitement, Peter left. A kiss was placed on MJ's lips and a hand on Ned's shoulder before the Spider went to change into his costume. 

+++

“Spidey, you're in charge of evacuating the civilians as quickly as possible, come and help us when you're done, is that clear?” Steve ordered, adjusting the shield on his arm.

Peter nodded, determined to get the job done.

“Sam, Tony, Clint, Vision, we're counting on you for the air attacks, Natasha, Bucky and I will stay on the ground. Wanda, do what you can in the air and on the ground, and watch out for civilians if you have to move heavy loads they're trapped behind. Bruce, only come if you feel like it and you and the other guy agree, otherwise be ready to treat anyone.”

They all nodded and the Quinjet landed. Everyone got into position. The first out was Peter, who jumped into action with a flick of his web thrower, ready to save anyone. The others followed just as boldly, attacking the intruders without a moment's hesitation. 

The Spider followed Karen's clues as to which civilians were in danger, in addition to his super hearing that picked up the cries of the innocent. He carried them to safety, lifted cars when people were trapped under, carried the wounded, protected everyone from the aliens he sometimes had to deal with. 

What reassured him was hearing each other's voices in the communications, talking to each other, protecting each other, advising each other (and sometimes joking with each other). Everyone was efficient, despite the violence of their enemies, who kept firing at them with weapons that were far too loud and blinding for his eyes. Why make them so bright?

“I'm done with civilians!” Peter shouted, swinging from a net.

“Great kid.” Tony replied immediately. “We could use some help over here! We're almost done, but these last ones are tough!” 

He could hear the explosions behind him.

“Like a final boss? You know, like in that really old movie…”

“Spidey, get your ass over here!” Sam shouted, cutting him off. 

He didn't hesitate twice and took off towards his teammates. He landed near Natasha and wrapped his arms around the spy's target, knocking her out with the butt of his pistol. There were now nearly a dozen of them left, so Peter neutralized those within reach of his web and hand, while trying not to disturb the others around him.

“Cap, on your left!” Peter shouted over the comms, even though he was far away from the Super Soldier. His Spidey sense had warned him of the danger.

The blond turned to his left and came face to face with one of the aliens, which he easily dispatched.

“Thanks, Spider-Man!”

The teenager didn't have time to reply as Clint had just spoken.

“I just took care of the last one! Well done, everyone!” 

A smile spread across everyone's face, and a few sighs of relief could be heard. Peter quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for any wounded.

“Is everyone all right?” Tony asked, answering his own question.

“One almost impaled me, but I dodged. I have a cut on my shoulder, but it's superficial.” Natasha replied, shrugging as everyone came closer.

“A few bruises, nothing serious.” Steve announced.

“Are you okay, kid?”

Tony had just put his hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, Mr. Stark, a few bruises like Steve's, but nothing that won't disappear in the next few hours.”

“Show-off.” Sam said with a cough.

He rolled his eyes and stretched.

“I'm sure I'll be sore though, I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting.”

Peter yawned as he headed for the Quinjet. He couldn't wait to get home to his friends. The others did the same.

“FRI, send a donation immediately to help rebuild the destroyed buildings.”

“Right away, boss.”

“Nat, go to Bruce so he can treat your wound. I know you can do it yourself, but we're a team, that's what we're here for.” Tony continued, looking at the redhead. “Damn, I'm starving, what's the idea of attacking us before dinner?” 

“I just took a shower! I'll have to take another one because of the blood from those disgusting things!” Clint complained and got out. 

“Who knew you took showers?” the russian spy retorted, nudging him teasingly.

“The chances of an attack were pretty slim, considering the last one wasn't that long ago.”

“Vision, it's not like they're on a schedule, they don't care about aliens.” Bucky replied as he settled into one of the Quinjet's seats. 

“The most important thing is that no one got hurt.” Wanda finished, taking Vision's hand and sitting next to him.

“Good work, you've all been very efficient.” Bruce said as he quickly nursed Natasha back to health. 

The Spider sat next to Tony and talked to Steve about the fights.

“Steve, I loved it when you did that thing with your shield, it went ‘pew’' and then 'pow'! It was great!” Peter exclaimed, making the sounds with his mouth.

“Thanks, kid, and thanks for warning me when the alien attacked me.”

“You're welcome! And I am happy to help in any way I can!”

The conversation continued until the Quinjet arrived at the tower. Peter could already see Pepper, MJ and Ned waiting nearby. As he climbed out, he was bombarded with questions from his best friend, who just couldn't keep still. 

Smiling, Peter took off his mask and began to tell him all about the battle and the people he'd saved. True, maybe Ned hadn't dared pull out his computer to be the guy in Spider-Man's chair while he was with Pepper Potts and his best friend was fighting with the AVENGERS. 

They all went inside, and the dark-haired man took MJ's hand as he passed, as if to say he was okay without saying it. She squeezed his in return.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Pepper hugging Tony tenderly. Although fighting aliens had become something of a routine, it was no less frightening and dangerous. 

“Everyone wash up and change into comfortable clothes, we're waiting for you to eat, we just need to heat everything up.” 

“Excuse us for saving the world and stinking up the place when we're done, my dear.” Tony replied with an exaggerated curtsy.

Peter obeyed like everyone else and came out of the bathroom wearing a beautiful pair of Hello Kitty pajama bottoms. MJ looked him up and down without saying a word, while Ned proudly showed off his: pajamas based entirely on Thor. 

Everyone else had worn something more comfortable, and Ned and MJ couldn't deny that it was unusual to see their heroes in pajamas, as if the image had never existed in their minds. 

“Nice pajamas, Ted, Thor would be proud of you, even if I thought I was your favorite Avenger, I'm disappointed.” Tony Stark commented as they sat down to dinner.

Ned immediately tried to reassure Tony, not understanding his sarcasm.

“Mr. Stark, I adore you, you know, you're one of my favorites, and you're a genius like Dr. Banner, who's also incredible and…”

“Calm down, kid, I was just teasing you, I understand that Point Break can have fans.” 

Ned was tomato red, but nodded anyway.

“And who's your favorite Avenger, short stack ?” asked Clint, now curious.

“I'm the tallest next to these two losers, so there's nothing short about me, Mr. Barton” replied the brunette, crossing her arms under her chest. “But I'd say Pepper Potts and Black Widow, obviously.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her face. Pepper couldn't help the look of surprise on her face.

“Pepper doesn't count, he's not an Avenger!” Sam replied with a laugh.

MJ took a deep breath, ready to demolish her statement.

“She runs the largest company in existence, doing more in an hour than you do in a week, dealing with sexist men who may not take her seriously because of her gender, managing all the crises, and doing it all in an impeccable suit and stilettos. If you don't call that a hero, I don't know what you need. And in your little boy band, the women are underrepresented, and that's a shame, because they're your best people. I mean... magic? What can Iron Man do about that?" the teenager finished, pointing at Wanda, who couldn't help but smile flatteringly.

Silence fell over the table.

MJ tends to have that effect on people. 

“I don't know whether to be insulted or proud of my fiancée.”

“Don't be sad, you're still my favorite Avenger, Mr. Stark.” Peter reassured, putting his hand on his mentor's shoulder.

“I already knew that, kid, but thanks.” Tony replied resignedly, placing his hand on his intern's shoulder.

“It was Thor when you were a kid at first!” Ned retorted.

“It’s yours too!”

“Of course it was! He was like my first crush! Don't make me think it wasn't yours!”

“Stop talking about it in front of the Avengers!” Peter turned redder and redder during their verbal sparring match. 

Next to them, Natasha presented MJ with her fist. The brunette did the same so the two could meet discreetly. Pepper thanked the teenager, flattered, surprised, but very happy. Wanda smiled at her from across the table.

“You had a crush on Point Break? Did you? I feel betrayed, kid, I thought we had something, you and me!”

“Mr. Stark, stop! Forget what Ned just said!” Peter continued, hiding his face in his hands.

“I won't. FRIDAY Record this for me, will you, darling?”

“Right away, boss.”

“Leave him alone Tony, you want me to remind you of your college crush, you know…”

“Not another word, Rhodey.”

“But Peter would love this story!” 

“It's not for his innocent ears, and neither are his friends, and nobody loves this story, it just happened, and we're not talking about it anymore. Period.”

“Now everyone's interested, you know.” Clint says curiously.

Pepper watched the scene and laughed to herself. She knew what story they were talking about and couldn't wait to see how it all ended.

“No you're not.” Tony replied. “I won't tell you anything, and neither will Rhodey.”

Quiet.

“James Rhodes. You better shut up.”

His best friend held back a laugh. 

“It can't be that bad, Mr. Stark, can it?” Peter asked with a teasing smile. 

“I will have something against him if one day he decides to rebuild weapons with his billionaire money.” MJ muttered as his friend pretended to tap him on the shoulder.

The dark-haired man blew out a long breath.

“This is stupid.”

“Mostly hilarious.” 

“Rhodey.”

“Come on! Let's laugh about it and never talk about it again!”

“I unknowingly slept with one of my teachers one night during a party, I was drunk and we didn't talk after that. Rhodey laughed at me because he'd warned me, but I was so drunk that I forgot what he said. There, happy?”

Tony sighed and it was his turn to hide his face in his hands. He sighed long and loud as his friends laughed around him.

“Damn, Stark, you did it! When I was younger, I was in love with my history teacher, but I didn't sleep with her!” Sam says, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

“He was a young teacher, I didn't sleep with a forty-year-old either! Besides, I don't have to justify myself!”

“In truth, he wasn't that bad.” Rhodey admitted, shaking his head. “It was Mr. Powell, wasn't it?” 

The dark-haired man nodded as a certain brunette turned to her two friends.

“Imagine Flash banging Mr. Harrington.”

“Ew! MJ! I don't want to have nightmares tonight!” exclaimed Ned, mimicking vomiting.

“That's illegal and disgusting, Em!” Peter's reaction was similar to his best friend's.

“Flash? What kind of name is that anyway?” Clint asked with a furrowed brow.

“A nickname he gives himself to make himself feel important.” Natasha replied in a monotone voice.

“That's exactly what it is.” MJ continued, confirming the redhead's statement.

“His real name is Eugene.” Ned informed, sticking his fork in his mouth.

“No wonder he wants to change his name.” commented Wanda, holding back a laugh. 

Tony, happy that the attention was off him, said nothing and watched as his team chatted with his fiancée, his intern and his friends. Despite the attack earlier, the billionaire had had a very good day and was pleased to discover a little more about Peter's friends than he already knew. He could see the others doing the same, in a light atmosphere. He loved these meals when they were all together, unlike before when he dreaded the thought of seeing Steve or Bucky in the same room. Things were getting better, at least he hoped they were for everyone. 

He placed his hand gently on Pepper's thigh to stroke her gently under the table. He let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back in his chair. Without a word, understanding him as always, the redhead placed her hand on his in return.

His family was noisy, but it was his own: a little broken, but now repaired. He couldn't ask for more.