Chapter Three
One thing midtown students noticed about Peter Parker was his style. He looked good in absolutely everything, nobody could deny it. It wasn't fair at all. How could someone look so hot in a nerdy Star Wars T-shirt, a button-up shirt, and a soft pastel sweater?
He didn’t have a single style, it constantly changed.
Some days, he wore graphic t-shirts with some nerdy reference on the front and jeans. They were nothing special but Peter was good-looking enough that he made them look extraordinary. He was more buff than he should be allowed to be. It was unfair that he had smarts, good looks, charm, and muscles. It was a mystery what he had done to get them.
A few kids that knew him from when they were little, swore he was a scrawny kid with asthma. Something had definitely changed.
Flash and his friends suggested (well made an accusation) that maybe he was on steroids, but that muscle looked natural. No one even considered their accusation. It didn’t even become a rumor, it was sad. Their nasty remarks were left in the dust, instead, people were more impressed. And besides, if he was really that close to Tony Stark, he must have access to high-tech gyms.
One day, Peter had shown up to school all dressed up like he had somewhere important to be. Presumably, he was likely going to an event straight after school and didn’t have the time to change. He was wearing all but a suit jacket and man, if people weren’t swooning before, they were now.
Betty swore, she saw a freshman start bleeding out of her nose when she saw him.
And Peter just casually went about his day like he wasn’t dressed to the nines in some designer suit. If he was modest, confident, or clueless, no one could tell.
He didn’t seem to notice all the people that already had crushes on him.
He occasionally wore a slightly oversized leather jacket that didn’t look like it belonged to him. He didn’t look like a bad boy at all, it honestly looked adorable on him. But it left people wondering if it was his, it didn’t belong in his wardrobe based on everything else he wore.
Peter was versatile too. Sometimes he dressed a bit soft with a feminine touch.
He often wore pastel colors without a care in the world and he looked amazing too. He wore slight makeup every once and a while, he always matched it to his pastel clothes.
He seemed like the type of guy to wear a skirt and not care what anyone said about him.
Most of the clothes he wore didn’t look too expensive but occasionally he would wear something designer or notably expensive and they would wonder just how much money Stark was paying him.
…
Peter drove to the tower once he finished with decathlon practice. He hadn’t been there in a bit because Tony was out of town. Bucky was meeting him there today, however. He was having issues with his arm after his last mission and Tony wasn’t there to fix it.
He had bonded with Bucky the minute the super soldier had been brought to the compound. He wasn’t sure what it was, but they just meshed so well. Other than Tony, he was the Avenger he was closest to. If Tony was like his overprotective dad, Bucky was the overprotective big brother.
He parked in his regular spot in the garage. He was willing to park anywhere but Tony insisted he had a private spot where all his expensive cars were. If Tony had a choice, he would have given Peter one. But Peter didn’t want anything expensive for his first car.
They had compromised by getting a reasonably priced car and making some adjustments together. It was a fun summer project that they had finished just in time for him turning sixteen in August
“Hello Peter, it’s nice to see you again,” Friday said as he walked onto the elevator. The good thing about parking here was Tony’s private elevator, he didn’t have to go through security or stop to talk to anyone.
“Hi, Friday! I missed you.”
“I missed you as well, you haven’t been by in a while. Did you eat lunch?”
“Yeah, I did at school.”
“It’s good to see you’re not injured.”
His cheeks heated up, he was getting better at that. Why did everyone have to keep bringing it up?
Friday was a snitch too. She always told Tony if he came in injured. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t heal in a few days, he did not have to be coddled.
Bucky was napping on the couch in the workshop already when he got off the elevator. He and Tony’s relationship was rough at first, but they had way too much in common to not become friends.
He quietly walked over to the couch and laid beside the man, resting his head on Bucky’s chest. He wasn’t planning on waking him up. Bucky always had so many nightmares, it was a miracle when he was sleeping peacefully. He could work on the arm when they woke up.
He nestled against the supersoldier, who was comfortable and warm. Bucky rolled over, still sleeping, his real arm wrapped around Peter, pulling him closer.
He hasn't been getting much sleep himself lately. With school, decathlon, college applications, and Spider-Man, he didn’t have much time left for anything else.
He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Bucky was already awake when Peter woke up, but he hadn't moved for his benefit.
“Hey.”
“Hey, when did you get here?” Bucky asked in a tired voice.
Peter shrugged, “A few hours ago, you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.”
“You should have, I don’t want to waste your time. I know you’ve been busy.”
“It’s okay, I was tired too. Let me get my tools and I’ll fix you all up.”
Bucky took away his arm and allowed Peter to get up. He grabbed his toolbox from his workstation and pulled up a stool in front of Bucky.
“So what happened?”
Bucky’s face flushed red, he looked down, avoiding Peter’s eyes. This story ought to be interesting.
“It’s not important. It’s not damaged, but it just stopped working.” He held out the arm, Peter hadn’t even noticed it wasn’t attached to his body.
Peter flipped open the control panel and looked into it. It looked like it had been short-circuited.
“Were you struck by lightning?” He glanced at Bucky in suspicion.
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.” He said petulantly.
“I kind of want to see that.” He snickered, imagining the super soldier as a cartoon character, his hair sticking up, bones jumping out of his body as he was struck. Though he could have been electrocuted in other ways, this was just the most comical to him, so he chose to believe it.
He hoped that the new arm Tony and him were building for Bucky would be done soon. This was just temporary, he wasn’t even sure where it came from. Shield probably. No wonder it sucked so much.
Steve had brought him there when he first found him. And based on Bucky’s hatred of Hydra, he would want that arm off immediately. And Peter was sure Shield we’re happy to oblige so they could get their hands on the disastrous tech.
He and Tony had just started the new arm a couple of months ago, it was taking a long time to complete. It was going to be a surprise but they wanted to be sure Bucky would be okay with receiving it before they got started. Once they gauged it would be okay with him, they started on it.
“I heard you started your new school.”
“Yup.”
“Do you need me to come rough anyone up? I'm used to defending scrawny punks.”
Peter gasped dramatically, grasping his chest as if Bucky had shot him in the chest. “Don't compare me to pre-serum Steve Rogers.” He would not allow himself to be insulted like that.
“It was a bit harsh huh? He really was a punk back then, I was tempted to just let the guys he picked fights with beat his ass so he would learn.”
“I’ll beat his ass now if you want.”
“Nah, I can do that myself. But seriously, I'll beat anyone up if I have to.”
“You can not beat up teenagers, Bucky.”
“Watch me.”
“It’s illegal!” Peter's voice had a hint of exasperation but it was mostly amused. No one at his school, except him, could stand a chance against Bucky.
“You think that would stop me?”
“I’d be concerned if it didn’t. Besides everyone is really nice for the most part, there is no one to beat up.”
“Good, you deserve to be treated well. You know that right?”
Peter answered without hesitation, “Yeah I do.”
He wasn't always able to say those words with full confidence. His old school had turned him into a shell of himself. He had just gotten his powers and he felt like he was on top of the world. But when he got to high school he was targeted the moment he stepped foot into the hallways. And then his uncle died, and he didn't save him. He hated himself for a bit, wondering what he had done, what was wrong with him, why was so cursed. It made him reckless, he didn't care how much he got hurt as long as he could save other people.
But then he met more and more people that made him feel like life was worth living. His messy, mixed-up family made no sense but he loved them all the same.