Natasha Romanoff
Natasha Romanoff is not supposed to be in Queens right now.
S.H.I.E.L.D had sent her on a mission about a week ago and she was given orders to go straight to Iceland and back. No detours.
Natasha is a good spy. She is a trained assassin, she can remove her emotions to finish a mission, and she can get things done quickly and efficiently.
She can hide things from Shield. Well enough.
Not that she’d ever admit it- to the team, at least- she’s interested in this Peter kid. By all means, she shouldn’t be, it’s just some kid that a few of her friends ran into (or got ran into.)
And there’s really nothing special about him from what she’s gathered. The boy is young, short, smart- to some degree, and he likes to spend time on rooftops.
Just an average homeless kid.
And maybe that’s why she’s so interested. Natasha’s always had a soft spot for kids, and one that’s in a shitty situation like Peter is bound to pull on her heartstrings.
But she can’t help but think there’s more going on.
What are the chances that three Avengers meet the same kid over the span of a month?
Maybe she’s paranoid or her training is making her over vigilant, but either way, she wants to figure out exactly who Peter is and why he’s popping up in their lives.
So she’s searching for him. Secretly. It’s not stalking, she just wants to check up on him. It’s getting cold, after all.
She tucks her jacket closer to herself as she walks through the busy streets of Queens. People bumble around, it’s loud with the sounds of cars honking and people yelling. Natasha assumes Peter is a New York native, so he might find these sounds comforting.
But at the same time, he might want to stay out of the way so as to not bother the people walking around. Given the information from Clint and Sam, he seems like the type to feel bad for just existing.
She’s looking for a happy medium. A secluded alley on a slightly busy street. She walks for a few blocks, head turning to check in various alleys.
She reaches a junction with an alley that has an alcove from one of the sides of a building and her ears prick when she hears a soft breath.
Natasha turns into the alley and looks around. It’s cleaner than most back alleys she’s been in and it doesn’t smell like garbage. Her eyes catch on a bundle of grey laying against the wall.
When she creeps closer, she sees a small boy curled into a ball, sleeping peacefully. His head is pillowed on Clint’s jacket instead of wearing it, the hoodie that he does have on is thin and frayed, and he’s shivering- hard.
This is obviously Peter. Clint’s jacket and a small, brown haired, pale boy.
It’s late November in New York, so the temperature can get pretty cold, especially at night. The boy is shaking violently while he sleeps. Natasha curls her lips in worry. This kid will not survive the next few months without something heavier.
That prompted her trip to a local bed and bath store a few blocks from the alley. She picked out a small blue blanket that Peter could carry around if he needed to, but it would also keep him slightly warmer.
Natasha returns to the alley, where the boy is still dead asleep, shivering. He’s wrapped himself in a tighter ball, his hands tucked deep in his pockets. She drapes the blanket over the boy, ensuring it covers his entire body.
She can’t help but notice how the blanket drowns Peter. The boy is so small, and his skinny figure isn’t helping. His shaking calms slightly when the blanket touches his body.
He tucks his face deeper into the blanket to hide his face from the wind, shifting to curl around the blanket to conserve warmth.
It’s adorable, Natasha thinks.
There’s no way this tiny kid has any ulterior motives other than surviving the night. Natasha isn’t sure why she thought there could be any other reason that Peter ran into her friends.
There’s nothing dangerous or strange about him, how could there be? It’s just a boy trying to sleep or eat or make money in a city where living with a steady job is hard in itself. There’s no way he has time for any nefarious plans, he’s barely surviving as it is.
It’s a sad thought, but there’s nothing Natasha can really do. She doesn’t even know the kid. She tucks the blanket closer to Peter, patting his head, and walking back home.
Maybe she’s wrong. Maybe he is just a homeless kid with some weird luck in meeting a few Avengers.
—---------------------
“I got a hit!” Tony yells, speed walking into the lounge.
Clint whirls around in surprise, letting out a small yelp. Natasha just raises her eyebrow. She hadn’t told anyone about her little excursion.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Pepper and Morgan tonight?” Rhodey asks.
Tony begins typing on his Starkpad, nodding, “Yes, I’m dropping this info off and then I’m leaving.”
The team gathers around, sitting on various couches while Tony stands in front with a manic glint in his eye.
“He’s a difficult kid to look for, I’ll give him that. I got into some security feeds so I could track Peter’s movements-” Tony starts.
Sam cuts him off, “That’s not stalkerish at all.”
Tony flaps his hand in an ‘I don’t care look what I found’ kind of way. He taps his Starkpad and an image pops up. A school picture of a much younger Peter is shown on the screen. He’s got the same doe-brown eyes, brown hair, and cheesy smile. His cheeks are fuller and pinker, and he looks happier.
“This is Peter Parker.” Tony says.
“Parker?” Steve asks.
Tony hums, “He turned fifteen in August.”
Clint lets out a sigh, “Jesus he’s young.”
Natasha nods, looking at the mousy boy on the screen, remembering how gaunt the kid looked while he was sleeping. What happened in two years to change him like that?
“Anything else?” She asks.
Tony nods, “It gets worse, unfortunately. His parents died when he was six, and he went into the care of his aunt and uncle. His uncle, Ben, died a little over two years ago in a mugging. According to the police report, Peter was there.”
Natasha sucks in a harsh breath. She sees her friends grimace at the information. This kid has had a really hard life.
“The universe really has it out for him, huh?” Sam says, “Losing his parents, watching his uncle die, and then his aunt kicks him out? Jesus christ.”
Steve shakes his head, leaning back against the couch, “I can’t imagine there’s anything that would bring someone to kick out a thirteen-year-old. Is he, like, a bad kid or something?” He directs at Tony.
The man shakes his head, “Not anything that’s on his record. In fact, he was enrolled in Midtown School of Science and Technology. And even more, he got in on a full scholarship. The kid is smart.”
“That’s a good school, right?” Bucky asks.
Tony nods, “One of the best in New York. It’s a lot of rich kids who got in ‘cause of their parents, but the curriculum is difficult.”
Natasha is not one to be stumped, but she can’t quite figure out why the boy’s aunt would kick him out if he’s smart, obviously very kind, and doesn’t get into trouble.
“So what happened?” Clint asks.
Tony shrugs, “No idea.”
The room is quiet. Everybody’s in their own heads, trying to come up with a reason for this kid having to survive on the streets, alone.
“I sought him out today.” Natasha admits.
“What?” Sam asks.
“I got back from Iceland this morning and I was curious, so I looked for him.” Natasha explains.
Clint raises an eyebrow, “Did you talk to him?”
Natasha shakes her head, sitting up. “He was asleep in an alley, shivering like crazy.”
She hears Sam curse. She knows the man also has a soft spot for kids. They all do, really, it just happens eventually in their line of work.
“I got him a blanket.” She adds.
She sees Sam relax slightly. The crease in Tony’s brow smooths and he waves the image in front of them away.
“That’s nice of you.” Steve says.
Natasha shrugs, “Didn’t want the kid to freeze.”
The team nods.
“Well, I gotta go, if you guys figure anything else out about this kid, let me know.” Tony says, walking out of the room.
“I’m going down to the gym.” Natasha says, standing up.
Steve and Bucky follow behind her, talking in whispers about Peter. They haven’t even met him, but their worried voices echo in her ears.
She didn’t even talk to him, and she doesn’t think he’s dangerous, but there is something odd about his whole situation.
And she is going to find out what.