Chapter Text
The summer was coming to an end and the inhabitants of the New York compound were deep in preparation for all the changes that would bring.
Many of the former shield agents turned Stark industries employees (after the data dump fiasco that Tony had spent months clearing up) who hadn't returned to Shield after the Ultron situation were based at the Stark tower in the city, whilst other former agents with more practical or in field training worked from the compound, testing and developing their newest range of futuristic tech or testing whatever breakthrough required space away from the high rise tower.
The last of the clear up from Ultron was finalising just as the whole accords fiasco went down and ultimately left him fighting for his life in the colds of Siberia. Tony had been all over the world since then, no time to truly recover from, or even acknowledge, the horrific fight that left him broken all over, he had laws to change and shit to get done.
It was only in the months after the fight, did Tony make time to try sort that little problem out; but then of course he had been away at an SI conference one weekend, trusting Happy to deal with the move to the compound for him when the Spider-Kid manages to get into a huge fight with Adrian Toomes and almost lose his life that Tony really became involved.
So much had happened in the past few months that caused Tony to really reflect on life; too many close calls on his own life and those close to him that he finally made an effort to reach out. Him and Pepper were better than ever after their brief break up, Happy was head of security for the tower but he had employed former shield agents to truly ensure both buildings were secure.
He managed to locate Bruce and invite him to live at the compound- away from the crowds of the city whilst still enabling him to work on whatever research project he wanted, and Rhodey’s recovery was going well; Tony was on brace number 5 before Rhodey finally stopped him and told him to slow down. He had felt so guilty over the incident that practically cost Rhodey's legs that it still kept him up at night. No matter how much Rhodey reassured him, he couldn't help the nightmare and the itch to fix it fix it fix it.
Rhodey’s recovery was going well though; the braces meant he was still able to move around a little as his body adapted to the changes, and he was working with the best doctors and physiotherapists to rehabilitate him. There were good days and bad days, but no matter what, Tony was glad to have his old friend still around.
And lastly the kid.
The whole life threatening fight was terrible for his own heart and once he finally admitted to himself that he actually liked the kid, he made a point to actually formalise the Stark internship he used as a cover for all his spidering and invited him to the lab with him and eventually when he turned up, Bruce.
Peter had freaked out of course, and it had taken a lot of apologising and effort to his aunt before she finally agreed, once she was over the fact that her nephew was Spiderman. It didn't harm that Happy was available to bring him over to the compound whenever he was needed, plus Tony was pretty sure Happy had a thing for Pete's aunt but he was definitely not mentioning all that to the kid.
So here he was at the end of summer in one of his private labs at the compound going over the current projects with the kid and Bruce. To start with it had just been him and Peter tinkering and occasionally keeping an eye when the kid returned to patrolling, but when summer had hit it allowed Peter more time to work on real Stark industries projects and once Tony was happy with the work they would look at modifications to the spider suit and whatever else they felt like working on.
Pepper had come in a few times to check what they were doing when she heard a few too many explosions one afternoon but after seeing Peters embarrassed smile and hurried explanation of the exothermic reactions of the combined chemicals in attempt to improve efficiency and properties of some experiment or other she simply patted his shoulder with a smile and told both of them to remember to eat their food and take regular breaks.
It wasn't the normal kind of reaction from Pepper when Tony was spending so much time in the lab, but he wasn't going to complain so he and the kid got right back to it. Eventually Bruce turned up and after he had a look at the projects and Peter had finished his fangirling over Bruce's recent work, he had started to join them until suddenly almost every afternoon they were able to, the three of them could be found in the lab.
Unfortunately most of the Avengers and powered people accords were being finalised and with Tony being a key contributor to the documents so much of his time was filled travelling back and forth to the UN and having conference calls as the signing was set to begin soon. It meant he was unable to spend the amount of time he’d like in the lab.
Many of the former Avengers had returned to the States after getting far enough into their own agreements: Clint and Scott were angling for house arrest agreements with regular checkins so they were able to be with their families, Sam was going to return to working at the VA on administrative leave, only to be called in when required. Nat had already signed the papers easily enough and essentially returned to working as a shield agent whilst Cap had been the last to get onboard after much back and forth with the UN representative which Tony had entirely avoided.
He wasn’t ready to see Steve, not so soon in the aftermath of it all. It would've been fine if they’d stayed an ocean apart for the rest of his life, but unfortunately the world needed the Avengers, and the Avengers needed Captain fucking America. Maybe one day, when he wakes up slowly to the light peaking through his blinds instead of drenched in sweat, heart racing and panic drowning him, he’ll be able to stand in front of the Captain and forgive for all that happened between them. To look him in the face and not burn with anger, with betrayal, with something just past heartbreak. Maybe then, they’ll discuss the accords and all that could’ve been without a UN representative between them. Maybe then he’ll forgive Barnes too, for the things he could not control.
Until then, T’Challa was looking over Barnes' recovery in Wakanda, Tony was glad he didn’t have to manage his recovery especially on days when the wounds are still too raw and the nightmares too fresh. He really didn't have the heart anymore to hold a grudge against him when he knew logically that Bucky had been brainwashed and was a prisoner of war for 80 years, he hadn’t wanted to do it. His heart doesn’t always understand that sentiment, the only thing his brain and heart seem to agree was that it was far less of a betrayal than what Steve had done.
Despite this Tony still made sure everyone had their own room designated for them at the compound but he made sure it was far away from his and Bruce's room. And eventually when the kid himself had a room near the labs for those times he spent the weekend, it was far from that too.
Tony was currently preparing for an upcoming Accords conference as he walked over to the labs where he was sure to find Peter and Bruce working on their current project of miniature robotic spiders. It was to be extra surveillance for the Spiderman suit in the hopes it kept the kid a little further away from some of the action.
“But come on! Wouldn't it be soooo cool if they also had webs, they'd go pow pow and then the bad guys could be tied up without me even being in the room.” Peter's excitable voice could be heard through the door as Tony finally arrived.
Bruce's huff of amusement followed, “Yes, yes Peter but I think we are getting ahead of ourselves here. Let's focus on the core functionality and see if we can get better results on the cameras and sensors before we add anything else.”
Bruce had been good for the kid, calmer under pressure and more reassuring and kind than Tony expected but the kid was also good for Bruce- he smiled far more often and was more sociable now he had a chatty teenager hounding him for lab experiments and stories of his research.
Tony could hear Peter's huff of agreement, scanning his pass as he walked through the doorway into the mess that was lab 3b- the lab currently designated for any spider projects. Papers and spare parts were scattered along the floor, mechanical parts were spread across the countertop with another table full of electronics behind where Bruce and Peter were sitting at the computers.
It’s an accident waiting to happen, Tony almost gives some sarcastic comment on it but Bruce turns at the sound of Tony's footsteps with a small smile as Peter continues to be laser focused on the code on his screen.
“Hey Tony!” Bruce greets. Peter spins quickly at the name, a beaming smile on his face as he was clearly ready to propose his idea to him, unknowing he'd already heard the end of the disagreement already.
“Nu uhh uhh, kid, listen to whatever Bruce says.” Tony can see the protest before it comes and keeps talking so Peter can’t. “You know he's in charge for the weekend whilst I'm away and that means only working on approved projects with his general supervision. I'm not having a repeat of last month's incident; you fried half the lab.”
Sure, it had been an accident, and sure maybe Tony had been in the room when it happened but the explosion broke the cameras (and accidentally caused Tony's hand to slip and delete any back up footage) that could prove he was there. So when asked, Tony feels quite confident in answering that Peter was completely unsupervised and it absolutely won’t happen again- at least for a little bit while Tony’s not home.
“But Mr Starrrkkkk.” Peter drags out his name as far as he can as if that will change things. Tony is far too old and far too smart to fall for his tricks.
“No can do, kiddo.” He crosses his arms to show he’s serious and adamantly doesn’t look at Peter's kicked puppy look. “Brucie here is in charge, what he says goes and he’s less likely to fall for this then I am.”
Peter immediately turns to look at Bruce. Same sad look on his face. They stare at each other for so long Tony worries they’ll be stuck like that forever if he doesn’t do something.
“Maybe…” Bruce starts, and Tony knows it’s over before it even begins. “Maybe after dinner we can have a look?” His eyes flick back to Tony, and he does his best performance of a man betrayed by his good friend. He makes it light and goofy, everything being betrayed like that isn’t.
It must be a good show because Bruce rolls his eyes, a smile creeping onto his face again. Peter takes this as victory, jumps up from his seat and grabs Bruce’s hand to drag him along with him.
“After dinner works!” He’s far too excited, eyes set on the route to the kitchen. “I’m starving, we should eat now!” It’s 3 in the afternoon. Too early to be eating dinner, but Tony doesn’t deny the kid his meal.
He needs to eat more than most people and Tony knows he doesn’t, even now when the kid has the money and supplies to eat. He’s too used to a time when he had to pretend that each meal his aunt supplied him was enough, and when asking for more wasn’t possible on her wages. Tony often thinks of how hungry Peter must’ve been all the time, how being Spider-Man, saving people with every spare moment, would’ve made it so much worse. How Peter would’ve never even thought about giving it up. It breaks his heart, it makes him so incredibly proud of the kind of person Peter is. So a meal is never denied to him, even when it’s an obvious ploy at getting his way. Tony knows it, Bruce knows it, Peter definitely knows it.
That, however, does nothing to stop dinner from being a mismatched meal of whatever is in the fridge, none of them are particularly competent cooks, and the delivery of premade meals from Tony's private chef were dropped off on Monday- they had yet to account for Peters metabolism in the current order and so they typically ran out early on in the week, especially as Peter spent more and more time at the compound.
It manages to be a lively affair, with Pepper dropping in towards the end to update Tony on Stark Industries developments for the week whilst he was away. She leaves with a brief kiss to Tony’s cheek and a pat on Peter's shoulder, phone already to her ear as she picks up another phone call. Tony was so glad his relationship with Pepper had improved, not only for the fact she was a fantastic CEO and could take away much of Tony's previous workload, but to have her in his space once more, bossing him around, or even their slow mornings together. It was everything he could ever want- especially after the Siberia fiasco- a place and people he could really call home, and she was a big part of making that happen.
After clearing up dinner, Tony, Bruce and Peter walk to the hanger on the other side of the compound where Tony's plane was waiting to fly him to the UN building in Brussels to continue finalising the accords. Peter is talking a mile a minute, like he always does when Tony’s about to leave again.
Neither of them like the distance much, trips about the accords help none but having Bruce here makes it that little bit easier. Tony is endlessly grateful for him being back on Earth.
Peter only stops talking when they pass the doors to the hanger, his eyes switch between the plane and Tony. He has more to say, wants to ask him not to go, wants-
A lot of things really.
“Okay buckaroo. We’ve covered the game plan for this week already.” He reaches out and places his hand on Peter's shoulder. “You have any more questions?”
Peter shakes his head, quiet in a way he never is so Tony drags him closer and throws an arm over his shoulder. The kid leans into him and lets Tony guide him towards the plane.
“You know,” Peter starts, still quiet but Tony knows him better than he knows himself some days and can hear the mischief hidden there. “The creator of The Smurfs was born in Brussels.”
“The Smurfs? Those creepy singing blue monsters-” He’s cut off before he can continue describing all the ways the Smurfs suck.
“They are not monsters!” Peter cries, Tony isn’t inclined to agree but to be completely honest he doesn’t have much skin in the game here. He just knew it would rile Peter up and get him talking again.
Bruce must understand the end goal too because he chimes in before either of them can argue any further.
“That means the great Ironman will only be the second most important person to ever create something in Brussels.” He says it innocently enough, yet it still does its job. They’re at the plane now anyway so Tony could let it go and yet:
“What does that even mean Bruce! I am more important than Peyo!” Tony wasn’t aware he was also capable of getting worked up while talking about the Smurfs but well, here he is. “No one cares about Peyo!”
“Then why do you know his name, huh?” Peter backs Bruce up, like the traitor he is. Tony doesn’t even know why he likes the kid. He’ll stop picking him up for lab time that’ll show him-
Except he’s never actually going to do that is he?
“Because-” He starts but he’s cut off once again, it’s not Peter for once but there's a mix of voices coming from the other side of the hanger. They all watch as the Rogue Avengers leave their own plane. They must’ve had their own Accord meeting today.
“Oh.” Peter mumbles from behind him. They had been back at the compound for a couple weeks now and Tony had been pretty lucky at keeping them away from Peter. Excuses of school work and lab time had worked wonders until now.
“Come on kid,” Tony blocks his line of sight, guides him closer to where Tony will get on the plane. Peter hasn’t seen any of them since the airport, Tony hates that he has to leave now. “I’ll be back before you know it alright?”
Peter nods, eyes glancing back to where the Avengers must still be. From here they can’t see the Avengers at all but he still tries to see them. Despite the fact that Peter came away relatively uninjured from the fight in Germany, he was still pretty wary of the others, even with his typical friendly nature, he kept his distance from them; it was something both Bruce and Tony were happy to support.
“Pete?” Tony asks and gets no warning before he has arms wrapped around him and all he can see is the kids hair. He doesn’t waste time, wraps his arms back around him and hugs him tight.
They pull away from the hug after a minute but Tony keeps a hand on his shoulder, he squeezes his shoulder once, twice, then fully pulls away.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He says. Peter rolls his eyes, smile small but complies with what Tony wants anyway.
“And definitely don’t do anything you would do.” He steps back, as Tony makes his way up the plane's stairs. Bruce slings his arm over his shoulder, ready to lead him back inside. “See you soon, Mr Stark.”
It’s not until they’re nearly back inside and Bruce asks what other ideas Peter has for the Spider-Bots, does he perk back up. Mouth already running a marathon with all the very, uh, creative ideas that he has.
The Rogue Avengers are just getting off the plane, discussing all that happened in the very long, very boring meeting, when they see the kid for the first time. Nat notices him first, like she does most things.
“Who’s the kid?” She interrupts with no remorse, completely ignoring Sam’s upset. They all look over in time to see Tony standing by the plane, hugging a kid. They keep watching as Tony gets on the plane and Bruce is walking across the hanger with his arm over a kid's shoulder.
The kid looks, not upset, but something close to it. Bruce is talking softly as if comforting him. He must say the right thing because the kid perks up and starts gesturing wildly as he explains something. Everyone is suddenly way more interested in this than whatever happened at the meeting. Steve rolls his eyes, the meeting had been important, and it matters that they all stay on the same page afterwards. But, well, when in Rome.
“A nephew?” Steve suggests, since they aren’t paying attention anyway, he might as well join in. “What?” He asks when they all turn to look at him like he’s the crazy one in this situation. He sighs, “They look pretty similar?”
“Who?” Sam asks, almost as if he’s personally offended by this claim. “Bruce and the kid?” He looks over to where they are just passing through the doors, and seems to reconsider the relationship with the new information.
“I was going to say Tony but I guess he does look pretty similar to them both.” The staring is probably getting to be a bit much, with all of them gawking at this kid from half a mile away. Steve wants to tell them to stop but maybe he’s just as bad a gossip as them all.
“Huh, that's… weird.” Sam replies, before falling silent with the rest of them. They let the silence drag on between them, until Bruce and the kid are completely out of sight and no more information can be found.
“An intern!” Clint offers, snapping his fingers as the thought comes to mind.
Nat shakes her head, arms crossed. “An intern who's at the compound rather than Starks building in the city? Why would he be dragging the kid all the way out here?”
“Maybe he’s working on an Ironman project? Or Avengers tech?” It sounds ridiculously to even Clint but it’s all he has to back up his own claim. To not let Nat be right again.
“He is literally a kid, when have you ever seen Tony, or Bruce for that matter, with a kid?” Nat argues back, Clint stutters as he tries, and fails, to come up with a retort.
“Or an intern” Sam adds, both men aren’t very well known for working well with others, especially after all that lead them to being here, to becoming Avengers, to what broke the Avengers apart. “Plus, I mean what kinda intern hugs their boss?”
“Yeah! That is definitely weird behaviour!" Clint backs him up. Smacking Sam on the shoulder to emphasise his own agreement. Sam shoves him back.
“Alright!” Steve interrupts. A lot has changed since they’ve been gone, and maybe it’s all their fault. “It’s really none of our business.” Maybe they will never find out the extent of that change. “Lets just keep our heads down and get through all these Accord meetings, let’s not go looking for trouble.”
But the best they can do is not make the divide between them even bigger than it already is. They all, albeit reluctantly, agree but Steve still finds himself staring at the spot the kid and Tony had hugged wondering, and wondering, and wondering.
Just who was he?