Work Text:
After formally meeting the Avengers, Peter was eager to get to know them. He was always good at making friends with intimidating people, even if making friends at school wasn’t his specialty (not that Flash made it easy with how he targeted everyone around him).
After the movie night when they first met, Peter started to interact more with the various team members, thankful that he had the slight social buffer of having fought with or against them before – not a great buffer, but still, it kept him from panicking and running away again. He was eager to learn more about them, and they seemed to be interested in learning about him, deeply curious about Tony’s odd-yet-endearing young intern.
That was how Peter ended up sitting on the couch with all of his DVDs spread out around him, across from Captain America who was showing the boy his original phonograph and vinyl collection.
Peter had a dedicated Star Wars DVD book, plus several other DVDs that he had stolen from May or thrifted over the years. They were mostly older movies, but he also on occasion he and Ned would make a DVD for movies they really liked. His collection had grown rather large since he started collecting a few years ago, and it was one of his most prized possessions.
Tony had looked personally offended the first time Peter suggested a DVD of Star Wars. Kid, you are in the tech epicenter of the world. We have things people could only dream of here. We have holograms. Even negating that, we have regular streaming services! Why would you want to use old tech?! DVDs are so unnecessary! We have Star Wars five different ways! I don’t think I even have a DVD player anymore. Peter had just grinned back up at him. I have one! Plus, I like the DVDs. They’re nice. I don’t know, the vibe is just better. Please, Mr. Stark? Peter had begged earnestly, pulling out his foolproof “puppy-dog eyes”, as MJ teasingly called them. Tony had folded immediately, sighing and embracing Peter’s odd preference. Now, the tech genius was used to his little protege’s DVD collection and always went there first for movie night with Peter, instead of the streaming platforms he would usually go to.
Steve had an equally impressive collection of vinyls, along with a beautifully preserved phonograph with a custom engraved shield symbol on it. It was a gift from Howard Stark, not that he told Tony that – he didn’t want to bring it up and risk reentering a civil war. Various people had kept it generally in shape for him until he came out of the ice, upon which he took to restoring it to perfection. It was a nice project to focus on, something consistent despite the fact that the world had completely changed around him in what felt like a single moment.
He had taken to growing his collection, mostly focused on hunting down his favorite vinyls from before he went into the ice, though he did on occasion pick up one from a new singer (he liked Laufey, sue him.) He found that they helped ground him on days when everything about the modern world felt overwhelming, drowning out the constant hum of technology he could never understand and bringing back the familiar crackle of his childhood music.
Peter and Steve went back and forth, showing each other their favorites and explaining fun facts about the movies/music. They talked about their favorite thrift shops, excited to find that they both frequented a store near the tower. They also exchanged stories about how Tony was so adamantly against old tech, laughing as they schemed to prank Tony by replacing a bunch of his tech with older media.
As they reached the last of their collections, having agreed to save their most meaningful piece for last, Steve looked down at the vinyl in his hand, the most worn, yet most well kept one. “See, these were the best musicians of the 40s. This one right here,” Steve said, excitement blending into a bittersweet nostalgia, “this was the vinyl Peggy and I planned to dance to. It’s her favorite. It’s mine, too, now.”
“Peggy?” Peter asked, softly. He had read about her in the museum lower in the tower, but it was a short section. Plus, as much as it hurt, he did like when people gave him the opportunity to talk about Uncle Ben. Everyone tried to avoid bringing him up, and he understood why, but sometimes he just wanted to talk about him and their memories together. “What was she like?”
Steve looked up at the boy, eyes widened slightly with surprise, but accompanied by a small smile.
“No one really asks about her anymore. But she was amazing. She was fierce, strong, beautiful, intimidating. She was like no one else I’d met. You know, one time, when I first got my shield, she just started shooting without a word to “test” it. That woman was terrifying. And I love her. I wish we got that dance. But this is how the world worked out. I’ve long since accepted it, choosing to move on with the positive memories, leaving behind what could have been.” Steve was smiling down at the vinyl he was turning in his hands.
“I know what you mean.” Peter responded, carefully picking up a DVD of “"It's a Wonderful Life”. He hadn’t told any of the Avengers besides Tony about Ben, but it wasn’t something he intended to keep secret, just something he hadn’t had a reason to bring up yet. “I used to watch this movie with Uncle Ben. He loved it. Any time one of us was having a really bad day, he would turn the lights off and we would sit on the couch with May and watch this until we calmed down. I fell asleep to it a lot. After Ben died, actually, this was the only way I could sleep. I would turn it on every night and it reminded me of him. Made everything feel a little bit more okay. I still watch it sometimes when I miss him.”
Peter felt tears pricking at the edge of his vision and quickly blinked them away, throat squeezing at the memories. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Peter. But I’m glad you found a way to stay connected to him. If you ever want to talk about him, I’m here.”
Peter looked up, surprised at how kind the man was being even though he’d only met Peter a week ago. “Thank you, Mr. Rogers, sir. Same here, I’d love to hear about Peggy whenever you want to talk about her.”
Steve and Peter smiled at each other, feeling an acknowledged understanding that they rarely found anymore. By the end of it, they agreed to have monthly media days to thrift together and show each other new additions to their collections.