I Promise

Peter, Tony, Bucky, and Steve went up to the Penthouse and sat in the living room. Tony had FRIDAY order four large pizzas with various toppings of each person’s choice, since Bucky and Steve alone could each eat an entire pizza with their enhanced metabolism. Peter probably could as well. Although when Steve asked for pineapple on his pizza Tony put his foot down and went off on a rant of how it is considered an Act of War in Italy. To which Peter rolled his eyes and Bucky just laughed at his boyfriend and Tony fighting over something as inconsequential as pineapple.

When the pizza came they all ate at the dining room table, discussing various things. One of course had to be how Peter actually picked up Thor’s hammer. Everyone was still in a bit of a state of shock. Peter just shrugged not knowing what to say. He could tell by everyones reactions that it was a huge deal, but to be honest he didn’t feel worthy. He had hurt/killed too many people to ever feel worthy in his mind.

When it became clear he wasn’t going to talk about it, they switched the conversation to training. Bucky and Steve talked about how they control their super strength, so as to not hurt anyone. They also admitted it took a while to learn to control it fully, but that it is possible and they can help Peter. Peter smiled along and nodded, grateful they were willing to take time out of their days to help him, but still felt strange and said “You don’t have to help me.” He felt like he was taking too much of their time and he didn’t deserve it.

Both Bucky and Steve had just smiled softly, if not a bit sadly, at him and Bucky spoke up, “You're right, we don’t have to, but we want to.” Bucky had emphasised the word ‘want’ to show that Peter was not making them and that they would be doing it out of their own volition. There was none of that at Hydra, Free Will was a forign concept there.

They then went on to talk about movies, well mostly Tony did. Bucky and Steve had lost so many years, at Hydra or in the Ice, that they weren’t caught up in that aspect. And Peter was either too young to know some of the great movies or missed them due to being captive.

All in all lunch was a pleasant, fun occasion and Peter got to learn more about Steve, which was nice since he meant so much to Bucky. He was getting closer to them both and hugged them both goodbye when they headed for the elevator. After that the rest of the day was quiet. Tony and Peter went onto the balcony, after putting on sunscreen after Tony insisted, and Peter read his book while Tony worked. For dinner they ordered Thai food, which Peter fell in love with. And after reading some more and getting more work done, which in Tony’s case was secretly making some more designs for Peter suit, they got ready for bed. Tony tucked Peter in and left his door open just a crack just like the night before, before heading off to his room.

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In the morning Tony let Peter sleep in a little. Reluctantly though, so they wouldn’t be late he had to wake the boy. He pushed Peter’s already ajar door and walked in making his way to the bed. He sat down on the edge feeling the mattress dip beneath him.

“Hey Pete?” He said gently. Peter shifted a bit, but kept his eyes closed., “If you want to train with the team then you have to wake up.”

That got Peter moving, he opened his eyes a second later and smiled up at Tony, Tony smiled back. “Morning,” Peter said groggily.

“Morning kiddo. Get up and get dressed and you can have some breakfast before we head down, sound good?” Peter nodded, rubbing his eyes with both fists. It was adorable.

Tony got up and left the room to finish getting breakfast together in the kitchen. Peter sat up, in bed trying to wake up a bit more. After a few moments he stood up and went to use the bathroom. After he came out he chose his clothes for today. The shirt he picked had Darth Vader on it and it said “Sith Happens.” He picked a pair of sweatpants as well and a new pair of boxers. He changed into them and headed out of his room. Tony was just finishing making the eggs and toast when he came in and sat at the dining table.

A minute later Tony joined him with two plates in hand. He put one in infront of where he was sitting and one in front of Peter before grabbing his coffee and the apple juice. “How’d you sleep?” Tony asked. Last night was the first night Peter slept alone in his room voluntarily. He had the night before, but that was only because he fell asleep in the living room and Tony carried him and tucked him in while he was still asleep.

“I slept well.” Peter said with a genuine smile before taking a bite of his egg. Sleep was never a given for someone who has been through things like Peter, or even Tony, so it made Tony overjoyed to hear Peter actually slept well.

“Good,” Tony smiled back. They ate in comfortable silence until Peter had finished his third portion. Once done he cleared his and Tony’s empty plate before Tony could try and do it. Tony smirked at him but said nothing.

They then both headed to the elevator to go down to the training room. Peter stopped right before walking into the elevator and suddenly ran back to his room yelling, “One second!” over his shoulder. Tony smiled amusedly and shook his head at the kid’s antics as he held the elevator door. Peter came bounding out of his room and down the hallway a minute later, web shooters in hand. “I wanted to show the team.” Peter started a bit bashfully when he came to a stop in the elevator. With the way Peter was so excited it almost reminded Tony of show and tell from elementary school. It was adorable and Tony was really happy Peter was so proud of his invention, as he should be since he’s the first person ever to make synthetic spider silk that is also sturdy and strong enough to support a person’s weight. Tony put an arm around Peter’s shoulder and they walked out of the elevator together, down the hall, and into the training room together.

That day Peter sparred with Bucky and then Steve. They agreed that Peter wouldn’t spar with anyone else until they knew he could control his strength. They didn’t want him to accidentally hurt someone, and neither did he. He showed the rest of the team his web shooters and webs and swung around for them. Some of the team looked on with awe while others, like Natasha only had a small smirk. He also used his webs to fight, which definitely gave him the upperhand. He would swing above Bucky and Steve’s reach and then web them to the floor. After they had to wait an hour for the webs to dissolve they agreed he could use them to swing around, but not to trap anyone. At least not for training purposes, but in the real world, if he ever fought with them he could use his webs however he wanted.

At one point in the training session Steve let him throw his shield a couple of times. After Bucky and Steve got tired, which took a really long time, Thor stepped up. They weren’t really worried about Peter hurting the God, and Thor knew not to push Peter's limits. They spared and at one point Peter swung across the room, Thor was holding his hammer ready to strike, when Peter grabbed it out of his hand mid swing. It still surprised much of the team to see Peter hold it. Tony just smirked, during all of this he was either watching, boxing, or on his phone working on Peter’s suit, which was almost done.

After training before they left the room he asked Peter if he wanted to fight for good. He wanted to see if Peter wanted to just keep training and have that be it, or if he wanted to use his powers to do good in the world. He wanted to make sure giving him the suit wasn’t forcing him to fight, outside of training, if he didn’t want to. He wouldn’t have held it against Peter if he said no, since it was his choice, and fighting in the real world might bring back unpleasant memories of missions from Hydra. He was honestly kind of surprised that the training sessions hadn’t already done that, not that he was complaining of course, he was glad it hadn't happened. Luckily Peter was super enthusiastic about using his powers to fight for good. Peter still feels like he has done so much bad, even though it wasn’t him technically, it was Hydra making him. He feels like fighting with the Avenger gives him a chance to make up for the bad he has done. Even if it just makes up for a little of it. After Peter's reaction Tony planned on finishing the suit tomorrow and presenting it the day after. Right after training finished, he was so excited to see Peter’s reaction he almost didn't want to wait.
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The following day started the same as before, Peter ate breakfast and went down to training with Tony. Tony insisted on taking a team photo after training finished. Peter had rolled his eyes at how much of a dad Tony was being, but still smiled when it was time. In the picture, that FRIDAY took, he was standing next to Tony and Bucky. Tony had his arm around Peter’s shoulders and Peter was holding Bucky’s metal hand. Although it might look childish it made Peter feel safe. Natasha was next to Tony and even she smiled softly for the picture. One of the only times you can see Black Widow smiling in a photo, no doubt because of the Spider kid, he brought the best out in all of them. Steve was on Bucky’s other side holding his flesh hand. Thor was in the back holding up his hammer, Bruce was off to the side a bit as well as Sam, but he was on the opposite side. And Clint was behind Peter giving him bunny ears. Tony immediately told FRIDAY to print it and frame it for him.

Thor had to go back to Asgard that day and Peter said goodbye and gave him a hug. The smile on the God’s face was priceless. Tony snapped a quick picture of Peter with Thor, Peter was holding mjolnir in it. Once Thor left the rest of the team started to disperse, but Tony asked Bucky to stay back and then had FRIDAY take a picture of just the three of them. Bucky was more than honoured. Peter hugged him goodbye and after Bucky left Tony insisted on taking one with just him and Peter. Peter agreed with another eyeroll, but looked genuinely happy in it, and Tony, well the only way to describe his expression was one of a proud father.

After that they had lunch in the penthouse (shawarma), then they worked in the lab for a while, Peter had started to make DUM-E a small robotic dog. He said, “It’s so DUM-E doesn’t have to be alone when we’re not around.” Tony had just nodded and smiled fondly. In the evening they ate dinner (Steak and mashed potatoes) and watched a movie (The Emperor's New Groove). Peter remembered loving it as a kid, and by the amount he laughed, that had not changed. Tony would give anything to keep Peter laughing. He would honestly rather listen to Peter laugh than the movie. Afterwards, Tony led a sleepy Peter to his room and tucked him in keeping the door open just a crack like always.

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The day after, Tony was excited and nervous at the same time. After training he was going to show Peter the suit. The suit that would be flexible enough to fight in, but protective enough that hopefully Peter would stay safe. It was bright red and blue, Peter’s favourite colours. It was a suit made just for Peter.

Tony woke Peter up and went to the kitchen to get out yoghurt with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Peter came down the hall into the dining room 20 minutes later dressed and ready for training. This routine made Tony feel so domestic, and he kind of loved it. He loved tucking Peter in at night, even if he was in his teens, and he loved waking him up in the morning. He loved watching movies with him and he loved eating meals with him. He honestly just loved him. He loved Peter.

He knows that it’s strange, since they still had not known each other that long, but he can’t help it. He loves the boy like a son. He hasn’t said this to Peter, afraid he would make Peter uncomfortable, but he did. He loved him.

He sat with Peter as he ate and then they walked to the elevator and took it down. They walked into the training room and almost everyone was there, except Thor of course. Peter immediately went over to Bucky and Steve and gave them each a hug. Natasha walked over and gave Peter a smile.

Natasha Romanoff did not smile at everyone, you had to be special to get a smile from her. After the initial suspicion towards Peter has dissipated, Nat's liking for him grew. She even called him her little spider once or twice. Honestly the whole team had taken a liking to him. Sam because he liked to have relaxed conversations with Peter as they watched their other teammates spar. Burce because he could talk about science with Peter. Clint because of the kid’s occasional smart mouth and that fact that he could plot and scheme about new pranks he wanted to try out. Peter had yet to participate in them, but loved talking to Clint about them no matter how many time Tony would say “Stop corrupting him.”

Tony actually accidently said “Stop corrupting my kid.” but everyone let it slide not wanting to make things weird. It wouldn’t have mattered since Tony and Peter both felt a rush of happiness from that sentence, but they didn’t know the other did.

Today Peter was sparring with Steve. He had just swung at him kicking Steve in the chest knocking him down when the wall on the far end of the room, which was made entirely out of windows, shattered. Peter landed and Steve was back up in a moment's notice. Everyone else was out of their seats the second it happened. There was a helicopter right outside and men in all black tactical gear came in through the window. In no time the team was fighting all of them while Tony was trying to get to Peter.

Peter had just punched the lights out of one of them when another threw something into the centre of the room. In an instant smoke started to fill the space. The Avengers were blinded, but the men in black had goggles so they could still see and move easily through the room. A chorus of “I can’t see!” “Who’s got eyes on the kid?” and “Peter, where are you?” sounded through the training room.

Peter was grabbed by his wrist. He yanked his arm effectively, throwing the man off him. But one second later he was grabbed again, he tried to fight, tried to shoot out his webs, but multiple men were holding him down at the same time. One would have been no match for his superstrength, he just proved that, but 7, which is how many Peter believed to be around him, was too much and he was struggling. This entire time he could hear Mr. Stark calling out to him and the team trying to find him in the smoke.

On top of struggling physically, Peter still couldn’t see, he just had to trust his instincts. He would have called back to Tony, but he was focusing on his ‘sense’ to tell him what to do. A particularly sharp pain in his neck made his mind scream ‘Move!’ He tried, he tried to jump up, pull back, and get away, but he was held too tightly. In the next moment there was a needle stabbed into his neck. He felt a sharp pain and then everything got fuzzy, he fought to stay awake. The world started to tilt and he fell sideways to the ground before even realising that the men had let go and backed away. As his vision faded he saw Bucky fighting near him, trying to get to him. Petr saw his frantic eyes full of fury, and worry, but a second later he too went down and thus disappeared from Peter's sight. Peter stared into the white abyss of smoke that turned to black as he fell asleep.

One of the men grabbed Peter and threw his unconscious body over his shoulder and a few others dragged Bucky’s along behind. All the men, who weren't unconscious, headed back towards the window. The helicopter came back down, and once they were all inside, it took off. The propellers acted as a fan clearing much of the smoke from the training room.

It was still hard to see, but after another moment the smoke had cleared and both Bucky and Peter were gone.