Work Text:
Steve Rogers was not expecting to wake up tied to a chair. However, that is precisely how he found himself this morning. Once his eyes adjusted, Steve looked around to see himself in a bedroom, each wall plastered with movie posters that Steve did not recognise. When his gaze panned forward, he came face-to-face with one Peter Parker. Who stood proudly to the side of a camera.
“Peter? W-what’s going on?” Steve asked, blinking in confusion.
Peter beamed an enthusiastic smile, tainted with mischief.
“Good morning, Mr Steve Rogers, sir!”
“Hi, kid,” Steve said slowly, “I’ve told you it’s just Steve. May I ask why I am tied to a chair in your bedroom?”
“Of course you may!”
“…Okay, why am I tied to a chair in your bedroom?”
“Good question, Mr Steve Rogers, sir! Today, you will be the special guest of my history project. The assignment is to research World War II, and since I have… majorly procrastinated, I’ve decided to make a video report instead! Your participation is very much appreciated,” Peter exclaimed.
“Oh. Okay,” Steve replied cautiously, “But why’d you have to kidnap me?”
“Don’t be silly, Mr Steve Rogers, sir,” Peter said, waving the question away, “It was ambiguous whether you’d voluntarily join. Hence, I scooped you up and placed you here. So, care to begin?”
“Uh, can I be untied?” Steve asked hesitantly.
“Negative, sir. Ready to start?”
Steve has not anticipated this. But he assumed Peter would not let him go unless he answered his questions. Hence:
“Sure, kid. Fire away.”
Peter tapped a button, and the camera light blinked red.
“Welcome to Peter Parker’s history project!” He said from behind the camera, “May you all have an informative and entertaining time. Today we have a special guest!”
The camera zooms in on Steve’s face, creatively covering the fact that he’s tied up.
“Please state your name for the record, Mr Steve Rogers, sir,” Peter requested.
“Um. You just said it?”
“Please state your name for the record,” he asks again, narrowing his intimidating eyes.
“My name is Steve Rogers.”
“Lovely! And which year were you born?”
“1918.”
“So, you were alive during the time of World War I?”
“Yes.”
“Please tell us your experience.”
“Uh- anything specific, kid?”
“Please tell us your experience, particularly referring to your time in the army.”
“I enlisted in the army in 1943, though technically I was a volunteer for the Super Soldier program before that-“
“Pause!” Peter darted forward and adjusted the camera. “You look too serious. Can you be more ‘documentary’? Maybe like David Attenborough, but patriotic?”
Steve gave him a confused look. “Kid, I fought Nazis, not penguins.”
“Fair point! Continue.”
Steve resumed. “As I was saying… I served in World War II as a part of the SSR. After receiving the serum, I led missions to stop HYDRA and their leader, Johann Schmidt-“
“Red skull!” Peter exclaims, a bit too excitedly, “Yeah! I wrote that in my notes. And then you crashed the plane, froze for seventy years, and woke up in modern New York!”
“Uh… yes. I suppose that’s the short version,” Steve said.
Peter beamed at the camera.
“And that’s it, folks! Right in front of you - a living history textbook!”
“…Can I be untied now?”
Peter tilted his head. “Hmmm… not yet. We need a conclusion shot.”
He leaned into the camera frame beside Steve, grinning.
“In summary: World War II was like, really bad, but also really important. Thank you, Captain America, Mr Steve Rogers, sir, for your participation today. Do you have anything to add before we log off?”
“Um. Not really?” Steve said, wanting to be freed so he could get on with his morning.
At that, Peter turned off the camera and began untying the ropes holding Steve down. When he was freed, he leapt up before Peter had the chance to tie him back down.
“Thanks, Mr Steve Rogers, sir. You’re the best! Oh, and by the way, if my teacher asks, you totally volunteered, right?”
Steve rubbed his wrists, giving Peter a long, unimpressed stare.
“Kid. I’ve been through a lot of strange things in my life. But this? Being kidnapped by my colleague? Perhaps the top of the list.”
Peter shrugged cheerfully. “Well, sir, it was only a moderate kidnapping. And you’re not even a kid, so it doesn’t really count, does it?”
Steve groaned. “Moderate?”
“Yep! Could’ve been worse. At least it was for an educational reason!”
“Sure,” Steve mumbled as he walked out the door.