Potts and Parties
Peter paused on his way to the kitchen as a light knocking came from his door. He wasn’t expecting any company, and no one who came to visit him ever knocked so politely.
Curiously he peeked out the (look up hole in door), only to the back of a strawberry blonde head as the person seemed to slightly glance up and down the hall.
Frowning, Peter slowly opened the door, only to freeze as Virginia “Pepper” Potts turned to smile at him.
“You’re a hard man to track down Mr. Parker, or should I say, Mr. Jones?”
Peter stared, dumbfounded at the sight of Stark Industries CEO.
“Do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you.”
Peter struggled between letting her in and slamming the door in her face.
What was she doing here? Did the Avengers know she was here? Did they now know his address?
“No one knows I’m here, or that I know where you live, Peter.” Pepper’s smile softened.
Hesitantly, Peter moved to the side, motioning for her to enter.
Pepper nodded as she stepped past him, looking around his apartment.
“You’ve got a very nice place here.”
“Yeah, I like it.” Peter replied, closing and locking the door, knowing it wouldn’t keep someone like Rogers or……….Barnes from busting it down.
Perhaps he should fortify the door.
“You said you wanted to talk?” Peter asked, moving towards the living area.
“Yes, and you probably need to sit down for this.”
Raising an eyebrow, Peter sat down on one end of the couch while Pepper took the other.
“Let me start by saying, thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“Yes. If you hadn’t detonated your bomb, who knows how long Tony would have had me trapped in that building.”
Peter felt as though he had been hit with ice water.
“Wha-“
“You’re not the only one who came here, Peter.” Pepper said, looking him in the eye.
“I knew what was about to happen.. You were right above me. I saw the three of you arrive and the bomb in your hand. I cried out as you passed the window, but you must have been to distracted to hear me.”
“Wait, I-what?”
“After the Avengers went rogue, I tried talking to Tony, but he was to far gone. Instead of killing me, he hid me away in that nearly abandoned part of town where no one would find me. He only kept me alive to save face. I was brought SI documents and made to sign then under careful scrutiny. I basically ran the company from that tiny apartment. At least he was nice enough to make it comfortable.”
Peter stared as Pepper laid out her situation from the fall of the Avengers to Peter’s endgame.
“I wasn’t afraid.” Pepper gave a breathy laugh.
“I was glad. I was ready for it to be over.”
“Ms. Potts, I-“
“I think we’re way beyond Ms. Potts, Peter. Call me Pepper.”
“Pepper, by the time we decided to do that, I swear we thought that area was-“
“No. I am so thankful for what you’ve given me, Peter.” Pepper smiled brightly, placing her hand on his.
“Everything is how it should be here. I’m actually happy here.”
Peter stared at her, the sincerity in her voice and face almost overwhelming.
“But, how long have you been here to be CEO?”
“About a month before you. Time was wonky in that tunnel I guess.” Pepper grinned.
“And I was already CEO when I got here.”
“I never existed here, Pepper.” Peter frowned. “For you to be CEO already…..what happened to the Pepper here?”
“Oh, she’s living it up on a tropical island.” Pepper chuckled. “I send her money every month for expenses and leisure.”
“What?!”
“She was remarkably accepting on my situation when I suddenly appeared in her apartment. Guess she was used to strange things happening.” Pepper shrugged.
“We had a long conversation, and here we are. I’m the Virginia Potts of Stark Industries and she’s retired, although we have an agreement that she’ll pop back in and give me a vacation now and then.” Pepper smirked.
“I’m sorry,” Peter said, running his hand through his hair.
“I’m having trouble processing all this.”
“I understand.” Pepper smiled gently. “You can’t imagine my surprise when I overheard Tony talking about you. At that point you had been here a few months. But running a company is exciting, boring and busy.”
“I imagine.” Peter replied. “How…what are…”
“I’m an alpha. So is the other me.”
“But, you said the other you had her own place. Is she not part of…the pack?”
“Oh, I am, it’s just that this Pepper and I are only honorary members. We’re not around the others enough to build a pack bond, but we are enough to build a familiarity bond. It basically gives us a pack without the intense need to be around each other all the time. Bruce, Sam and Clint could technically leave anytime they want. They’re betas. However, they’ve been around everyone enough they’ve built a strong bond anyway.”
“I learn something new every day.” Peter sighed. “And you’ve been the best person to explain things out of everyone I know.”
Pepper laughed, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
“Probably because no one else understands as well as I do.”
“Yeah.” Peter sighed before frowning.
“How have you adjusted so easily? Tony had you locked away for……I’m not even sure how long!”
“It wasn’t easy.” Pepper admitted, her brows slightly furrowed.
“I guess it helped having my other self here to help me adjust. Having her was probably easier on me than having to rely on friends you lost in you’re own world. I’m sure that was a big adjustment as well.”
“Still, you went back to the very job that got you locked away!”
“And believe me, I was a mess.” Pepper let out a breath. “But I got in there and it was like nothing changed. It was like all that time locked away never happened. Everything worked exactly the same way it did before the fall.”
“But that was the company part. What about when…”
“I saw Tony?”
Peter nodded.
“I ran.” Pepper sighed. “Luckily He didn’t see me before I left. I actually spent a few days pretending to be so busy I couldn’t see him. In that time, I plowed through every article I could find about him, as well as talking with the other me.”
“What did you find?”
“I found my old Tony. God, it was like I had traveled into the past. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a few more days before I finally got the courage to see him.”
“What happened when you did?” Peter asked, not sure he liked the uncertainty he was feeling.
“I was so awkward! I didn’t know how to act. I’m sure he thought something was wrong with me. But, he pushed on like he always does.” Pepper chuckled.
“I went home that night and cried myself to sleep.”
Peter’s eyebrows lowered as she watches a sad expression full Pepper’s earlier happy face.
“I’m sure it wasn’t much different than how you probably felt when you realized these Avengers weren’t evil, and that Bucky and Sam are part of them.”
“I’m still not ok with it.” Peter mumbled, looking away.
“I would think not.” Pepper smiled. “I didn’t suffer near as bad as you did. Spider-Man was public enemy number one.”
“Nice to know I was number one at something.” Peter smirked. “I’m sure Sam and Bucky would argue differently.”
“Of course they would.” Pepper chuckled. “Who wouldn’t want to be the number one most hunted person?”
“It’s a talent, I must say.” Peter shrugged with a grin.
Pepper smiled take another look around the apartment before speaking.
"I know it might be hard considering my connections, but I really would like us to stay in touch. It's nice to have someone else who knows what I've been through."
Peter looked at her, his mind muddled.
There was a chance that agreeing to keep in contact with Pepper would increase his chances of meeting with the Avengers, but, he couldn't deny the desire to have someone to talk to who completely understands his troubles.
"I think, I think I'd like that."
Pepper smiled widely at him.
"In that case, ready your disguise for tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" Peter asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
"You an I are meeting for lunch and we can't risk being recognized." Pepper grinned conspiratorially.
Peter laughed, shaking his head.
"Deal. GWEN, take Pepper's number so we can make plans tomorrow."
"Of course."
Pepper jumped at the voice, looking around.
"Is that an AI?"
"I am. Of course, I'm far more advanced than Tony Stark's FRIDAY."GWEN replied, the smugness clear in her voice.
"Of course. I should have guessed considering what I saw about Spider-Man on the news back in our old world." Pepper smiled, shaking her head before giving her number.
"I'll call you in the morning and we can make the final arrangements." Peter smiled, following Pepper as she made her way to the door.
"Sounds good. And don't worry Peter, they'll never hear where you live from me. This friendship is my little secret." Pepper winked before leaving with a wave.
Once she was out of sight, Peter shut and door and let out a breath.
"That's an interesting development."
"I'll say. Pepper Potts was an amazing woman in my world. She ran Stark Industries before the fall."
"How do you feel about her friendship offer?"
"Is it weird to say I'm kind of excited?"
"I don't think so. She understands you in ways no one else can. She admitted she had her own problems when she got here."
"Yeah, but she seems to have moved on pretty well." Peter frowned, pushing away from the door and sitting back down on the couch.
"She wasn't hunted down. She said so herself. Her situation wasn't great, but it wasn't as bad as yours. You can't really compare the two."
Peter didn't respond, mulling over GWEN's words and his interaction with Pepper.
"Stop thinking you need to be like Pepper. She doesn't hold any expectations for your feelings towards the Avengers. I feel like she made that pretty clear. She talked about her personal feelings, they don't dictate yours."
Peter couldn't help the odd feeling inside him.
Pepper had adjusted to her new life well, so why couldn't he?
She knew how evil the Avengers had become, yet she was here and happy, and worked closely with Tony.
It wasn't fair how she could feel so safe and yet he felt so lost.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter looked up as a woman with short, white hair with pink roots, large black sunglasses and soft pink lips sat down across from him.
"You know, if you're trying to blend in, you need to do a better job. No guy in his right mind would miss you." Peter smirked as Pepper took off her glasses to reveal her contact green eyes.
"I'm an alpha honey, I'd get noticed regardless." Pepper grinned, flashing a little teeth. "Still, this might have been a little to flashy. You look pretty inconspicuous."
Peter flicked a tuff of black hair from his wig and winked a blue eye.
"Jessica has an arsenal of various identities."
"I prefer the brunette look on you myself." Pepper nodded.
"You don't think I pull this off?"
"Yes, but your natural look is to cute." Pepper chuckled.
"Maybe I should keep this then. Might keep certain people off my trail." Peter huffed.
"I don't think a change of appearance is gonna do it."
"Wow. Thanks for the encouragement."
Pepper shrugged.
"Just saying. They're pretty smitten."
"Is this where you tell me to give them a shot?" Peter asked, his tone defensive.
"Not at all. I had to get over things in my own time and way, same for you. I just want you to understand that they're going to keep trying. It's the alpha in them to please and attract their omega. It's biological."
"So I keep hearing. How come I don't get so easily overwhelmed then? I've been around them and, yeah, I can get a little distracted by their scents but-"
"I think it's because we're not from here. I don't have overwhelming urges either. I've been around plenty of omegas who have removed their scent blockers and have never reacted the same as the other alphas in the room." Pepper answered simply.
"I wish I had known about you sooner, Pepper." Peter sighed. "Everyone's been great, especially Karen, with trying to help me understand things, but I feel so much better with you."
Pepper smiled softly, reaching across the table and laying her hand over his.
"To be completely honest, I feel the same. It's nice having someone else who understands. If it weren't for certain circumstances, I'd take you for myself."
Peter blinked in surprise as Pepper tossed him a mischievous smirk and wink.
"I think I could easily be Pepper Potts' boy toy."
"I'd be a great sugar momma."
"You keep talking like that and I'll pack up and move in. I'm a great cook and I can do my own laundry."
"Throw in nightly massages and you're mine."
The two stared at each other a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, I think you and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other, Mr. Jones."
Peter easily returned her smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday rolled around faster than Peter expected.
After his chat with Pepper, he had been feeling a lot lighter. It was nice to know she was only a phone call away if he ever needed her.
Even Matt had noticed a change when they talked, although, Matt tended to notice everything.
It was with this lighter feeling that Peter stood outside Matt's apartment building waiting for Logan to pick him up.
He had stopped by to see Jack and inform the Murdock family where he was going.
No sense in another mishap.
"Hey kid." Logan greeted, pulling alongside the curb. "Let's get going. I gotta get this load to the school for tonight."
Peter looked into the back seat and blinked in surprise.
"That's a lot of booze."
"Graduations are a big deal."
Peter grinned, sliding into the passenger seat and shutting the door.
"Scott should have led with that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wow, you weren't kidding." Peter said as they parked behind the school.
The tree line was covered in lights for once the sun set. Streamers hung from everywhere. Tables dotted the line, all covered in cloth and decorations.
There was a straight row of tables that were currently bare, but Peter had no doubt they'd be full of food by the time for the party.
An area was cleared out with a large sound system set up for music.
"These kids don't get to have anything typical, so Chuck goes all out for their graduation celebration." Logan chuckled.
"Does the whole school attend or just the graduates?"
"Whole school. Most of these kids leave the following week to start their own lives. So for a lot of them, this is the last time they might see each other for a while, if at all."
Peter nodded, a longing setting in for times past. Times before things went south with the Avengers.
"So, you're the alpha like omega I've heard so much about."
Peter turned to see a smirking blonde dressed in white.
"Emma Frost." Peter breathed.
"So we knew each other?" Emma asked.
Peter nodded.
"How did I die?"
Peter's jaw dropped at her abrupt question.
"Wow, subtly is a thing you know." Peter let out a breathy laugh.
"No since in beating around the bush." Emma shrugged. "I'm curious about a lot of things and I only have you for so long."
"Well, You didn't go down easy, that's for sure."
A devilish smile spread across Emma's face as she leaned forward.
"Go on."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There you are."
Peter looked up as Jean and Rogue made their way over to him.
"We didn't think you were ever going to get away." Jean grinned.
"Emma had a lot of questions." Peter laughed. "Also, I get what you all were saying. She's got some serious alpha vibes in her."
"It's hilarious to see her and Scott together." Rogue laughed.
"But they make it work somehow." Jean shrugged with a smile.
"Which is fine with me as long as she never hurts him." Jean's eyes took on a hard look.
"Scott's very special to me, so I can be pretty protective."
"Hey, I get it." Peter said, holding up his hand. "Probably better than anyone else."
"Enough with all this small talk, I wanna know about your little vacation." Rogue grinned.
"I thought you were gonna read my mind?"
"Of course, it's always an option if you don't give up the goods, Par-Jones." Jean giggled slyly.
"Fine, I crack!" Peter cried dramatically. "However, maybe I should have an audience so I don't have to keep retelling it, not that there's much to tell."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a full retelling, minus a few unneeded details, like Venom's actual methods of crime fighting, Peter found himself watching as the graduates and other kids from made their way out to the lawn.
Everyone was smiling and laughing, piling up to the food tables and loading down plates.
It had to be hard to feed an entire school of mutants with a lot of them having enhanced metabolisms, yet the food kept coming.
"Well, well, well, fancy seeing you here Petey."
Peter turned his head as Johnny Storm slid his arm around his shoulders.
Peter raised an eyebrow, sliding out of Johnny's hold.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ouch." Johnny winced.
"Can't you act even a little happy to see me?"
"Oh, Johnny, how lovely to see you again." Peter smirked, holding his clasped hands up to his face.
"That's more like it." Johnny grinned.
"We always get invited to these things. Reed likes to scout talent for the foundation."
"That's cool. Where is he?"
"Who knows, but I'm right here. I'm a lot more interesting than Reed." Johnny said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, I know, and here comes your fan club." Peter said, nodding over to the group of girls rushing their way.
"Later Storm!" Peter shouted, dashing off.
"Jones!" Johnny yelled back before the girls descended upon him.
Peter laughed as he made his way around the party. If he was lucky, he'd catch Reed, Sue or Ben.
Just as he thought he caught sight of Sue, a disturbingly familiar scent filled his nostrils.
It was extremely faint, and anyone with a normal sense of smell would miss it, but Peter's wasn't normal.
As if by some act of unwanted fate, the crowd parted enough to give him a full view of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
The two stood, chatting easily with Charles, Scott and Logan.
His Spider-Sense remained infuriatingly calm, despite his racing heart.
The last time any of the Avengers had been at the Xavier Institute, it had ended in a bloody massacre.
The students were completely unprepared for such an attack and the X-Men had been falsely led away from the school prior to the attack.
He felt his breathing become strained as panic filled him.
How would be possibly be able to save so many kids in such a close setting? It was going to be another disaster!
Why were they even here?
Where were the others hiding?
"Peter!"
Peter jumped, looking wide eyed as Sue grabbed him and led him away.
"You need to calm down. Look at me."
Peter stared at her face as her cool hands cupped his.
"Look at me. Match my breaths." she said, placing his hand on her chest.
"You're ok. Everyone's fine. No one's in danger. The kids are safe. Jean, Emma, and Charles are nearby. The X-Men and The Four are here. Spider-Man is here. It's ok. Breath."
Peter stared into her blue eyes, his breathing slowing down.
After a few moments, he lowered his hand and rested his forehead on her shoulder.
Sue wrapped his arms around him, continuing to whisper soothing words in his ear.
Peter let out a sigh, soaking in the warmth of Sue's hug.
"Thanks Sue." he smiled, pulling back to look her in the face again.
"It's ok, Pete. I may not have known you long in this world, but I can still feel a connection."
Peter chuckled, his voice thick with emotion.
"It's just...they're..."
"They come every year, just like us. Tony and Reed compete for prospects." Sue giggled.
"Come on, we'll go hide for a bit."
"The Invisible Woman helping me hide? I couldn't ask for anyone better."
"Shut it you brat." Sue said, swatting his arm lightly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve stood frozen as he watched Sue Storm drag off a panicked Peter.
His alpha instincts demanded he rush to his omega, but he fought them down, knowing it was best to let Sue handle the situation.
Peter surly wouldn't appreciate being approached in such a state.
Every year Tony attended the graduation at Xavier's school and at least one of the other Avengers went with him.
This time though, somewhere out in the crowd, were also Natasha, Bucky, Thor and Sam.
He worried as to how Peter would react if he saw any of the others. He hoped Sue would explain why they all were there and that Peter wouldn't think they were stalking him.
Things had been rather quiet from their little spider after he had bailed Deadpool out from SHIELD.
Maybe if they were all lucky, he'd run into Sam first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thor happily made his way amongst the young students, all eager to get to speak with him.
He enjoyed their joyous energy and absolute delight when they could show off and be complimented on their abilities.
It wasn't everyday a god visited and admired your talents.
Still, it was time for a break. He wished to enjoy a drink and a delicious snack.
Wandering over to an out of the way table, he wasn't paying attention as he bumped into the only other occupant.
Turning to apologize, both he and the other person froze, eyes locked on each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll be right back." Sue said, looking out at the crowd.
"I see Ben so I'm gonna let him know we're gonna duck out for a bit. Stay here and load up a plate. It doesn't seem like anyone is paying this table any attention yet."
Peter nodded as he watched as Sue slipped back into the crowd before feeling someone bump into him.
Turning to address the other person, Peter froze as he locked eyes with God of Thunder himself.
There was silence as the two stood, both afraid to move in fear of what would happen.
Finally, Thor spoke.
"Peter, it is...it is good to see you are well."
It was so awkward Peter internally cringed.
"Um...h-hi." he replied slowly, desperately wishing Sue would return, he needed backup.
"Are you...enjoying the party? The younglings are quite excitable." Thor asked, his eyes casting around for any topic.
As Peter studied the nervous man before him, he actually wanted to laugh.
Watching the sheer desperation on Thor Odinson's face as he tried to create some for of conversation was almost to much.
His wide eyes and fidgety demeanor was nothing like the domineering and frightening visage of the Thor he had known.
To his absolute inner horror, he felt himself smile.
"Yeah, they are."
Thor's eyes got even wider at Peter's response.
"A-as they should be! I understand this is an important milestone for them." Thor smiled widely, his shoulders relaxing a bit.
Peter's mind screamed at him to back away, but his feet stayed firmly planted as Thor rambled on about the event and how his own people celebrated things by allowing their children to go out on various hunts, all of which sounded insane to him.
"Loki never did enjoy such things." Thor said, a small smile on his face. "He preferred to read and study with our mother."
Peter tilted his head, debating on his next question before finally giving in.
"Are you two...close?"
He knew the Thor of his world had not been overly close with his brother.
"I like to think so, but we share very different interests, so there isn't much we do together. We meet monthly to eat a meal with our mother."
Peter's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Your mother....is alive?"
"Very much so! She is a blessing to all!" Thor said, pride fully displayed in his voice and face.
"What about...your father?"
"Oh, he joins us, but he and my brother have a strained relationship due to Loki's lack of interest in many of the things other Asgard males have."
Peter nodded, allowing Thor's words to create a picture of what this world's Loki might be like.
It wasn't a whole lot of information, but it didn't seem like Thor thought anything ill of his adopted brother.
Maybe this Loki wasn't quite the same, but again, it wasn't a lot of information to work off of.
"Well, that sounds...nice." Peter said, beginning to feel just as awkward as Thor.
He felt so lost.
He was panicking, but he felt wrong for doing so.
His emotions waged war with each other as his memories of the past and experiences of the present collided.
Sue's voice echoed in his head how they had all been doing this for years and everyone was ok.
It's ok.
It's ok.
It's ok.
"Perhaps you would like to meet my mother and my brother one day?" Thor asked, his words slow and careful.
He didn't want to overstep and scare his omega away with Peter being as willing to speak to him as he was.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Peter didn't seem to register his words as he seemed lost in thought.
"I..I need to go." Peter gasped suddenly, backing away slowly before running and disappearing amongst the other people.
Thor stood, stunned at both Peter's abrupt departure and the fact he had been able to hold a conversation, though awkward and without any real substance, with him.
"Hey big guy, you good?"
Thor turned to see Sam looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Peter is here. I was able to converse with him!" Thor smiled happily.
"He's really here?" Sam asked, eyes scanning the area.
"He just left though." Thor replied, a little of his excitement gone.
"Well," Sam said, noting Thor shift in tone. "He actually talked to you, hu?"
"Yes!"
Thor's good mood returned quickly with the question.
Sam took one last look around before letting Thor give him the, sadly, brief conversation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter took a deep breath as he ducked into the tree line.
He felt heavy from his interaction with Thor, but he wasn't sure if was out of fear anymore.
Even worse if it wasn't.
"You're not from here." A soft voice spoke next to him.
Peter turned to see an auburn haired girl studying him closely.
Her green eyes scanning his features.
"No, I'm just here for the graduation. Who are you? You don't look a student."
"I'm not." the girl smiled. "I'm older than I look, like you."
"I'm Peter, Peter Jones."
"Jones isn't your real last name. Are you giving me a fake name for a reason?"
Peter blinked in surprise before shaking his head.
"It's a long story."
"Oh, you are the enhanced from another universe." she smiled excitedly.
"I'm Wanda Maximoff. It's nice to finally meet you."
Peter accepted her outstretched hand and shook it.
"If you're not a student, what are you?"
"I help out with training the students with their powers. My abilities make things quite interesting."
Peter raised an eyebrows rose.
"Your abilities?"
Wanda smiled as her eyes turned red and her fingers glowed.
Peter gasped as he looked around him.
He was no longer in the woods of the institute. Instead, he was back inside the school.
Peter looked around in confusion.
"Wanda? Did you just teleport me?"
Suddenly the air around him rippled and he found himself back in the woods with a giggling Wanda grinning at him.
"No, as great as that would be, I can teleport anyone. I can manipulate reality though. Accidently changed my entire hometown once when I was little."
"Wow." Peter whistled. "I bet that does make things interesting. What are you doing out here though?"
"I just wanted a break. Much like you I assume?"
"Yeah." Peter smiled.
"Tony Stark keeps approaching me about becoming a member of the Avengers."
Peter blanched as his eyes snapped to her. She had a thoughtful look as she stared out into the party.
"How...how do you feel about that?"
"I don't know. I know they're a close knit pack, and it makes me nervous to try and insert myself into it. That said, I'm not all Tony's after."
This caused Peter to frown.
"What else does he want?"
"Well, he'd like my brother to come as well, but Pietro likes working with the X-Men, so he's going to stay. Tony's other goal is getting Vision to return."
"Vision?"
"Tony's first AI, JARVIS, who's taken on human form." Wanda grinned.
Peter stared dumbly as he wracked his brain trying to remember if a "Vision" had existed in his own world.
He didn't recall ever seeing anyone else with the Avengers, much less hearing Tony had created a humanoid AI.
"How did-"
"It's a long story." Wanda chuckled. "Short story is, Vision and I met one year when they came for graduation and decided to stay....with me."
A blush dusted her cheeks as she smiled softly.
"So, are you two together? How does that work?"
"It just does." Wanda shrugged.
"I'm a beta, so it's not like I feel the draw to any omegas or alphas, and Vision is sweet and loving. We....we have as normal a relationship as a "witch" and AI can have."
"I don't remember ever meeting a Wanda in my time. I wonder if you existed there and I just never met you." Peter said, thoughts distant.
"Who knows." Wanda replied.
"But we've met now, and I think it's nice."
"I agree." Peter smiled.
"So, when do I get to meet your brother and Vision?"
"Pietro is out there somewhere. Probably competing with Johnny Storm for attention." Wanda snickered. "And Vision is probably trying to keep him out of trouble while avoiding Tony. It's become sort of a game to the three of us."
"Can I ask you a question?" Peter spoke, ending their pause in conversation.
"What do you think about the Avengers?"
Wanda looked at him, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I could look into your mind, and make a comparison if you want me to. I know how I feel about them, but it might make things easier for me if I know your history."
"You mean you know about me, but haven't heard my whole story?"
"The omegas you talked to were pretty closed lipped about it. I only know that your Avengers weren't heroes, but nothing outside that."
Peter debated on letting the woman into his mind. He had a lot of painful memories in there, and didn't really know if he wanted anyone else to have to see them.
He had already let Jean do it.
"If you don't feel comfortable-"
"It you who might not feel comfortable." Peter said, looking down.
"I've seen a lot of things, Peter. Give me some credit."
With a shake of his head, Peter looked at her.
"I can't believe I'm about to let you do this but, go ahead."
Wanda nodded, stepping up to him and placing her red, glowing fingers against his temples, before closing her eyes.
Peter felt his own eyes shut for, what felt like only a moment before Wanda was removing her hands.
"Your world was a very painful one." Wanda said sadly, looking out at all the smiling faces around them.
"But ours in much better. I'm not sure what answer you're really looking for Peter, but the Avengers here are nice people. They're good to the people and are admired for what they do. I'm very grateful to say they're nothing like yours."
"So I keep hearing." Peter sighed, rubbing his hand down his face.
"Um...I also saw that...you're their...um-"
"We do not talk about that!" Peter snapped, before feeling guilty.
"Sorry, Wanda. It's just, that's not something I want getting out, nor do I want to deal with it. I'm not going to be their omega." Peter sneered at the thought.
Wanda didn't speak, once again studying him in her eerily intense way.
"I won't tell anyone, but I don't think you should be to closed off to the idea, but," Wanda started, holding her hand up to stop his response. "It's not my place to degrade you over your choice either. From what I saw, you've got more than enough reasons to have trust issues."
"But everyone is so damn happy with them!" Peter shouted, his frustration finally breaking through.
He knew Wanda didn't deserve it, but for some reason, he felt comfortable with her.
"Everyone praises them all the time! All I hear is how I should, 'Give them a chance, Peter.'. 'They're good people, Peter.'. 'They're your alphas, Peter.'. 'This could be a real chance at happiness for you, Peter.'. I'm just sick of hearing it!"
Peter took heaving breaths as he seethed.
"Scars! I have scars all over my body! Some of them have actually seen them, and yet, they still try to convince me I should give them a chance!"
Wanda watched silently as Peter ranted, noting the wet look of his eyes.
"Peter." she said softly, drawing his attention.
"They're telling you that because this is your home now. They don't want you to spend the rest of your life wound so tight over a worry your don't need to have. They're not saying it to be cruel, they're saying it because they love you. They'll never understand everything you went through, but they're doing their best."
Peter's jaw tightened as he listened to Wanda's calm and soothing voice.
Life just wasn't fair.
"Think about this, then," Wanda started. "Pickonealpha, and have an actual conversation with them. Do it here even, while you're surrounded by enough people with powers to help if things went wrong. It's only six of them."
Peter stared at the ground, his stomach churning.
The thought of willingly engaging one of the alphas in conversation was a horribly intimidating idea.
"Wait, what do you mean six?"
"Sam Wilson came with them." Wanda replied, raising an eyebrow.
Peter felt his hopes lift a little. If Sam was here, then he definitely had someone close to the Avengers on his side.....right?
"Just give it a thought, Peter. It was nice meeting you. I'm gonna go find Pietro and Vision." Wanda smiled, patting his shoulder.
"It was nice meeting you too." Peter nodded before watching her walk away.
"That wasn't a bad idea, you know."
Peter let out a squeak of surprise as GWEN's voice came out his phone.
"Jesus, GWEN. Give a guy a heart attack why don't you."
"Oh, excuse me. Next time I'll give a heart attack by warning you I'm about to speak."
"I did not raise you this way."
"Whatever. Anyway, back to what I was saying, that wasn't a bad idea."
"So what, you're gonna start pushing me too?" Peter growled.
"I'm not the one that was calling for an alpha while sniffing my fingers, now was I?"
"You make it sound perverted when you say it like that."
If GWEN was capable of shrugging, Peter felt like she would be.
"Just try it. If things get dicey, find Johnny and let him take the heat." GWEN snickered evilly.
"That's the last thing I want to do. I can't get anyone else hurt because of me." Peter whispered, hugging himself.
"I love you Peter, but this isn't healthy. You live an overly structured life. You refuse to venture to close to Manhattan due to fear of running into any of the Avengers that aren't Sam or Bruce. Every fight they join is a nightmare to get you to focus on just the actual threat and not the people fighting alongside you."
Peter scoffed, angry at GWEN's words because deep down, he knew they were true.
At this point, he had already been in this world a year, and nothing had happened.
The Avengers here had been in operation longer than his had, and also got along well with other heroes.
It infuriated him.
Why couldn't they just be the evil villains he knew they could be.
As sad as it sounded, it would make things so much easier for him. He spent so long running and fighting that not having to do so was taking a toll on him both mentally and physically.
Maybe...maybe he could try?
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Peter kicked his foot at the ground, tossing up a small bit of dirt and leaving a dent in the ground.
He wished Wanda had stayed. He didn't really know if he wanted to venture out to try and find Sue again, although she was probably worried when she didn't find him where she left him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take long for word to spread amongst the alphas that their little omega was also in attendance.
It also didn't take long for the jealousy to set in that Thor had actually been able to speak to him, however short the conversation had been.
They each kept an eye out, taking careful note of where Johnny Storm was as well, since they knew Peter knew him.
Tony grinned as he caught sight of Wanda, but stopped as the amused expression she gave him before quickly vanishing.
He frowned a moment before realization hit him. The entire team had been given that look many times since Peter's arrival, meaning Wanda had recently spoken to him, and learned something in the process.
"Any luck?" Steve asked, moving up beside him.
"Not personally, but just caught sight of Wanda and no doubt she's spoken to him."
"Everyone but us seems to be getting that pleasure." Steve huffed lightly.
"Oh, Thor got it." Tony grumbled.
Like a gift from above though, the two caught movement off to side and froze as Peter made his way towards Jean Gray, a hesitant smile on his face.
She welcomed him warmly before pulling him into a hug.
The two talked for a moment before Logan joined them, causing the two omegas to laugh at whatever he had said.
Tony and Steve drank the sight of Peter laughing in hungrily.
They wanted their omega to be happy like that all the time......they just wanted it to be with them too.
It wasn't long before an extremely pleased Reed Richards joined the group and Jean and Logan wandered off, leaving the two science nerds alone.
Peter began to wave his hands around excitedly as he and Reed got deep into discussion.
"You know, you could go over there and join them." Steve said, nudging Tony. "I probably wouldn't understand anything they're talking about, but you would."
Tony debated a moment on whether or not Peter would appreciate his intrusion, but decided to take a risk anyway.
He slowly made his way over to the two, trying to pick up on what they were talking about as he got closer.
"As much as I hate to say this, Pete," Reed sighed. "It could also have been a fluke. I mean, Strange would probably be better to talk to."
"Let us know when you find him, I've got a bone to pick with him over magic verses science."
Peter and Reed jumped as Tony spoke, easily joining in.
Peter tensed as Reed rolled his eyes, stepping closer to Peter.
"Stark."
"Richards." Tony replied, making a point not to put all his focus onto Peter instead of the other man.
"I was just talking with Peter about his journey here from his own world."
Tony winced at the mention of Peter's world.
There was nothing good in store for him and the other alphas if Peter was thinking about his old Avengers.
"We're debating what caused the rift that sent him to us." Reed supplied, noting the strained look on Tony's face.
Tony blinked in surprise. He had never heard the exact events of what happened before Peter came crashing into their lives, and he couldn't believe he had never thought of it before.
"What did actually happen?" Tony asked, looking at Peter.
He knew vaguely what happened due to Karen and Matt, but Peter was the direct source.
In his utter curiosity, he didn't even think about just what his question might entail.
Peter took a step back at Tony's intense expression. He could practically see the gears turning in the genius's mind as his own theory swirled, all waiting to be confirmed or disproved by whatever Peter might respond with.
"I...I set off a powerful bomb, and then I was falling. It was like being in a dark tunnel before a loud pop had me falling out the sky."
"So, nothing seemed unusual about what was going o-" Tony shut down his question quickly.
He knew exactly what was going on when Peter used that bomb, and it wasn't something he wanted to get in to.
"Nothing seemed unusual about the bomb?" he asked instead.
"No." Peter said, shaking his head with a frown. "I built it myself, so I knew every inch of it. It was a basic as you could get despite the destruction radius I gave it."
Tony hummed. There wasn't much, if anything, to go off of. After everything he had seen, he wouldn't count out that the bombhadactually broken a barrier, but he found he had to begrudgingly agree with Reed.
"Of course Strange would be needed." Tony scoffed.
"So you do have a Stephen Strange here?" Peter asked, his eyes bright with excitement and completely forgetting his apprehension at the appearance of Tony.
"Did you know yours well?" Reed asked.
"Thats....I don't really know." Peter frowned. "He would always make cryptic remarks around me. He was a great partner in a fight though."
Strange had been great in fights. It was just odd how he had always seemed to stick close by Peter whenever the two were in the same place.
In fact, if it hadn't been for Strange, there were a few times Peter wouldn't have made it out.
It had been a massive blow when he just seemed to vanish.
The consensus was that he had been killed when no one was around, but his body was never discovered.
"Well, our Strange has a tendency to disappear when you actually want him." Tony huffed.
"Tony and Stephen have a rather tense relationship." Reed grinned at Peter.
Reed's words brought Peter back to himself as it clicked that he was talking to Tony Stark, as if nothing was wrong.
Voices bounced around in his head, all comforting and encouraging words to just try to talk to him.
"I...I'd like to talk to him. Wade said a Doctor Strange is who sent him to check on me."
"On you?" Reed asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Well, not me specifically, but the disturbance my arrival caused."
"He could have sent someone other than Wilson." Tony growled lowly.
"Wade's not a bad guy. Yeah, a bit eccentric and annoying at times, but he's actually a good friend to have in your corner." Peter pouted.
Tony stood, struggling between his rational mind that knew Wade could in fact be dangerous, and his alpha that wanted desperately to agree and please his mate.
"Maybe for you, but he's exhausting for the rest of us." Reed chuckled.
"Well, give it time, I'm sure he'll be back to do it again. Guy loves to push his luck." Tony said flatly.
Looking at Tony's completely unimpressed face, Peter couldn't help the laugh that escaped.
Reed and Tony looked in shock as Peter laughed, oblivious to it's affect on Tony's inner alpha.
It was rumbling in delight at the sound.
"I can't argue with that." Peter said, grinning widely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bucky and Sam stared, slack jawed as Peter stood laughing with Reed andTony.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Sam asked.
"That is Peter over there, right?"
Bucky didn't respond, his eyes locked on Peter's happy face.
He hated how he seemed to be the only one who couldn't seem to make any ground with the omega.
For all the world how Peter hated the others, it seemed he avoided him in particular.
"Hey man," Sam said, placing his hand on Bucky's shoulder to make sure he was listening. "You know things are different between the two of us and Peter. His versions of us were his friends, and we weren't apart of the Avengers."
"Well, he seems perfectly fine with you." Bucky grumbled.
"In my defense, I'm not trying to mate him." Sam deadpanned.
Bucky frowned. How was he supposed to fix that? He was an alpha, and Peter was his omega,of coursehe wanted to mate him.
He was perfect.
Strong, stubborn, witty, incredibly smart, and utterly beautiful.
No omega was more suited for them.
Bucky groaned. He was going to have to take a long, cold shower later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's got you so focused?" Natasha asked, moving up next to Steve.
"Watching Peter laughing with Reed Richards andTony."
Natasha's eyes blew wide as her head snapped to where Steve was staring.
It seemed unreal that Peter was laughing with Tony in touching distance.
"How long have they been talking?"
"Not overly long. Whatever it's about though, Tony's making progress."
Natasha nodded, jealousy stirring inside her. She wanted to march over and join in, but she knew that wouldn't turn out well.
"Trust me, I know how you feel." Steve said, as if he could read her mind.
"Baby steps."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony's hands twitched with the desire to reach out and pull his omega close, but he knew better. He didn't want to scare Peter off.
He had never seen Peter laugh so freely, and it was so....tempting. He cursed the blockers Peter was wearing that kept him from knowing what Peter's joyous scent was like.
Peter took a breath as he calmed down. Thinking about Wade's obvious eventual return, despite the warnings, was a nice thought.
He felt closer to the mercenary that he had originally thought, and he was starting to miss him.
With one last chuckle, Peter took notice of Reed's surprised expression before giving a side eye to see Tony staring at him, a restrained look on his face.
Peter felt an uncomfortable stir deep down. It seemed as though a separate presence in the back of his mind prickled in a pleasant response to Tony's attention.
Peter pushed the presence back, uncomfortable with it's sudden, and invading feelings.
Clearing his throat, Peter turned to Reed, a cold feeling coming over him.
"I, um, I-"
"I'll see if I can find out anything on Strange, Peter." Reed smiled, understanding his unspoken request.
Peter nodded, hesitating only a moment before quickly leaving.
Reeds fine. He's safe. There are lots of people around. Don't worry about leaving him.
Peter repeated the words over and over in his head, a thin sheet of sweat breaking out over his brow as he fought with his jumbled thoughts.
Part of him said Reed would be fine alone with Tony.
Another part chastised him for leaving his friend behind, only to protect himself.
"Whoa, the fire's right here!" Johnny teased, straightening Peter up from where he had bumped into him.
Peter stared at his face, studying every inch of it and how it was exactly the same as his Johnny's.
Without thought, Peter launched himself at Johnny, gathering him into a firm hug.
Johnny stood ridged a moment before relaxing and wrapping his arms around Peter's thinner frame.
"Normally I'd make a joke here, but something tells me this isn't the time."
Peter let out a wet chuckle, giving a little squeeze.
"No. No it isn't."
The two stood, locked in their hug until Peter finally pulled away.
"Thanks, man. I just....I really needed that."
Johnny stared at him before smiling softly.
"Yeah, I get it. Come on, it's to open here. I know you went and hid earlier, so let's do it again."
Peter nodded, grabbing Johnny's hand and leading him back to the wooded area where he had met Wanda.
He wondered where she had went, and if she had found her brother and boyfriend.
"So, what do you wanna do now?"
"I didn't get that far." Peter shrugged.
"Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about the Human Torch and Spider-Man."
"What about the Human Torch and Spider-Man?" Peter asked suspiciously.
"We should be doing team-ups!" Johnny exclaimed, throwing his hands up in excitement.
"Two, hot, young heroes making saves together, the public will eat it up!"
"Don't you have enough adoring fans?" Peter grinned, crossing his arms.
"Come on, Spidey! We could have a fandom! SpideyTorch."
Peter burst into laughter.
"Seriously? SpideyTorch? The sounds ridiculous."
"Where's your imagination, Pete? The fangirls will latch on to it."
"It makes us sound like a couple."
"Does that appeal to you?" Johnny grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Being in a relationship with you? Yeah. Sure. Why not?" Peter replied flatly, rolling his eyes.
"Hey! I'm a total catch, Jones." Johnny pouted.
"Of course you are." Peter smirked, stepping up to him. "How have I been able to deny my feelings for you all this time?"
"I knew it." Johnny said, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Oh, Johnny," Peter sighed, his voice taking on a fake, infatuated tone. "Please, take me! Take me right here, right now!"
"You know, we could give it a shot." Johnny said, a shift in his posture.
"Give what a try?"
"You know, dating."
Peter stared in surprise. He knew Johnny was flirt, and had been especially so with him, but this sounded awfully serious.
At one point he might have actually agreed, having once had a crush on his friend, but now....it just felt wrong for some reason.
"I'm not asking for a commitment." Johnny said quickly. "I'm just asking for a chance."
"I don't think so." Peter said, his anxiety creeping in.
"How about a kiss then?" Johnny asked, a little desperation in his voice.
"Just one. If you don't feel anything, I'll accept being friend-zoned."
Peter bit his lip, feeling more and more uneasy, despite the fact Johnny wasn't trying to force him into anything.
It occurred to Peter. after a moment, that he didn't understand his hesitation.
Why did trying a relationship with Johnny feel as wrong as it did? He liked Johnny. They were friends, why couldn't they give being more a try?
Where was this feeling coming from?
Why did it feel like something that wasn't actually...him?
"One kiss." Peter agreed, aggressively fighting back against whatever it was demanding he stop.
He wasn't about to be bossed around in his own head.
Jonny nodded, stepping up to him slowly, making sure to give Peter a chance to stop him if he changed his mind.
When Peter didn't back away, Johnny cupped his face and leaned in.
Peter stared up at Johnny's face, unable to look away as it got closer.
Before he even considered backing away, the alpha's soft lips were pressed against his own.
The feeling of wrong hit him hard, and the once angry presence inside him turned furious at his disobedience.
As fast as the kiss seemed to have started though, it was over as Johnny was ripped away from him and thrown back across the ground.
"Should have known we couldn't trust you!"
Peter was unable to move as Bucky stood in between him and, the now standing, Johnny.
"Keep your filthy hands off my omega!"
Peter couldn't move. The sounds of Bucky's growls igniting a fire inside him as, what he finally acknowledged was his true inner omega, surged forward, delighted by the sheer power of the alpha defending him.
Horror filled Peter's mind as he couldn't push back the rush of sheer desire that enveloped him.
"That's rich." Johnny scoffed. "He doesn't even like you! He doesn't want anything to do with you! I was just offering him another option."
"Find your own omega, Storm."
Peter's body lit up as Natasha wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close and angled away from the other alpha's direct sight. Everywhere her hands touched was like fire across his skin. His breath hitched and he felt, the once gone, thin sheen of sweat return.
"Take Peter away from here, Nat." Bucky growled. "I'll handle this."
Natasha nodded, guiding Peter away from the two alphas, just as Sue burst into the area.
"What's going on here?" she demanded.
The sight of a fuming Sue Storm brought the situation crashing down on Peter, pulling him out of his omega haze. His eyes jumped from Sue, to Johnny, to Bucky.
"Tell your brother to keep away from Peter!"
Sue's eyes widened as she looked between the two alphas and over to where Peter stood, unaware he was still wrapped up in Natasha's hold.
"Johnny, tell me you didn't." she frowned, disappointed.
"I'd be a much better alpha. Peter actually likes me." Johnny huffed.
"Johnny!" Sue fumed, marching over and grabbing his arm, whispering into his ear.
Johnny glared at the other two alphas.
"Fine, but it's his choice." he spat before turning and stomping off.
Sue sighed as she watched him leave before looking at the two Avengers. She didn't speak, locking eyes with Peter who finally seemed to fully come to his senses.
Panicking, he broke out of Natasha's hold, latching onto Sue before she quickly pulled him away.
"Stop wandering off." she said, though not unkindly. "You're a magnet for trouble."
Peter didn't respond. She wasn't wrong.
"I'll handle Johnny. Go find someone to stay with."
Peter nodded, seeing Scott and Jean talking off by the drink table.
As he made his way to them, he didn't feel one with his body. He knew he should finally feel justified in his fears about the Avengers, but another part of him denied it. He had seen Bucky show violence towards Johnny, as well as Natasha letting it happen.
This was exactly what he had been waiting on! Proof they were just as unstable as the ones from his old world, but his mind kept throwing excuses as him.
This wasn't his world.
The people in this world had second genders.
Bucky and Natasha were alphas, and alphas were protective of omegas, especially ones they were connected to.
He was that omega.
Bucky and Natasha were just doing what was natural, and no one else would think what they did was unusual.
A little overkill maybe, but not unexpected given the circumstances.
"Peter?"
Peter's mind snapped to attention as he found Scott and Jean staring at him with worried expressions.
"Are you ok?" Jean asked, cupping his cheek.
"I...I...I don't..."
"I think it might be time to call it, Pete." Scott said, sharing a look with Jean.
"I'll walk with you back to your room."
Jean gave one last look at Scott, who nodded and walked off, before lacing her arm with Peter's and walking back towards the mansion.
Peter felt like a complete joke.
Nothing had gone right the entire party.
It had been a complete shit show from the moment he saw Tony and Steve.
He was so pathetic.
"Mind if I take a peek?" Jean asked softly. "Might make it easier than having to tell me."
Peter didn't argue, instead giving a slight nod of his head.
Jean was quiet as they walked, waiting until they were tucked away in his room before speaking.
"Well.....that was...something." she winced at her less than eloquent wording.
Peter didn't respond as he sat on the edge of his bed, dropping his head into his hands.
"What's wrong with me?"
"What?" Jean frowned. "Nothing is wrong with you, Peter."
"You saw how I reacted!" Peter cried, looking up at her with wet eyes.
"What's wrong with me that I didn't rip both of them to shreds?"
Jean sighed as she moved to sit down next to him, rubbing her hand over his back in a soothing manner.
"Nothing is wrong with you Peter. You had your first real breakthrough with your omega side. Honestly, we were beginning to figure you never would."
"I don't want a breakthrough!" Peter shouted angrily, jumping up and pacing the room.
"I watched him hurt Johnny, let her hold me, and I did nothing! I stood there, useless when Johnny needed me!"
"Johnny didn't need you, Peter. He can take care of himself. He brought what happened on himself."
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have let him. I felt wrong about it from the start."
"Oh, Peter." Jean smiled understandably.
"No, not 'oh Peter'. Do you know how many times I've fought them since I got here? Every time they get close, I'm on alert. My body acts without any interaction from my brain. You know what it did this time? Nothing! It did nothing! Why did it do nothing?"
Peter continued to pace as his thoughts spiraled.
Would he never be able to fight them again?
Would he no longer be able to use his rational senses to keep them away?
Breaking out of his pacing, Peter ran into the adjoined bathroom, ripping off his shirt and pants, touching and staring at the various scars along his body.
"Peter, what are you-oh my God!" Jean gasped, looking over Peter's body.
"See! This is what they did to me! Why? Why didn't I push her off?"
Peter's lungs burned with his erratic breathing. His mind flashed back to when he had went and saved Wade, and how he had willingly let Natasha touch his face then. How he had willingly grabbed ahold of Bucky.
"No, no, no!" He cried grabbing his hair.
"Peter! I need you to calm down!" Jean said, grabbing him and turning him towards her.
"No, no, no!" Peter continued to mutter; his eyes shut tight.
Making a choice she didn't usually make, Jean closed her eyes and entered Peter's mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What were you thinking?" Sue hissed as she caught up with Johnny. "You know who his alphas are!"
"So?" Johnny growled. "It's not like Peter wants them. Why shouldn't he try dating someone else?"
"Because fated mates will crave their fated mate, Johnny. Once they meet, it's unlikely for them to accept anyone else. If Peter chooses not to mate with his alphas, then he likely won't be with anyone. He doesn't understand that though. He's adamant he won't be with them, but he's also trying to accept they're not the same as the Avengers of his world. There's no guarantee he won't accept them as mates once he adjusts. If you had met him before they had, I'd say fine, but what's done is done, Johnny. Don't push things with Peter."
Johnny huffed, turning his back to her and stomping off again.
Sue sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
What a mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We need to leave." Natasha said, catching up with Tony and Steve.
"What? Why?" Steve asked, a slight frown on his face.
"There was an incident with Peter. We need to go."
"What? What happened with Peter that we're leaving?" Tony demanded, worry for his omega slipping in.
"I'll explain on the way home. Just, just trust me."
Steve and Tony hesitated, neither wanting to leave is Peter was in distress, but both understanding Natasha would never ask they do so without good reason.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sam knew something was up as soon as the alphas began excusing themselves for the evening.
He had attended enough of these graduation parties to know they never left this early.
The fact that Peter was there was another cause for concern that they wanted to leave so soon.
He hesitated about following them. He didn't want to leave if he could possibly help with, what he was sure, was something they had done wrong.
"Go home."
Sam looked over as Logan came to a stop next to him.
"Kid's ours for the night at least. We can handle it."
Sam shuffled his feet before finally nodded and turning to leave before stopping.
"Tell him to call if he needs anything."
Logan just nodded before turning and walking away.
Sam sighed, leaving the party and Peter behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jean ran her fingers through Peter's hair as he slept tucked into her side.
It had taken longer than she had thought it would to calm his mind enough to get him out of the bathroom and into bed. He had fallen asleep as soon as they hit the mattress.
She didn't know what to think. Peter's mind was absolute chaos.
His memories and unconscious instincts to fight, were warring with his omega that was trying to gain more of a voice in Peter's head.
"Is he going to be ok?"
Jean jumped as GWEN's voice flowed out of Peter's phone.
"He'll be ok, but he's going to need to start addressing some things he doesn't want to."
"I have done a lot of reading on this world, but Peter is an anomaly. He's been here long enough that it seems strange he hasn't started to show signs of adapting. How has he been able to fight off his second gender?"
"I don't know. My best guess would be it's because he wasn't born here, so for him, his omega was an invasive thing, not another part of him. For him, avoiding the Avengers made it easy to push it aside because the connections he made here were ones he already had, so his omega holds nothing over them. There is no desire for packs or family bonds with them because he doesn't need it."
"So, I guess he'll be avoiding the Avengers like the plague now."
Jean frowned as she looked down at Peter's sleeping face.
"No doubt. He was very upset with himself over his response to their actions towards Johnny over him. You don't know what it was like inside his head."
GWEN didn't respond, letting the quiet sink into the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe you acted like such a knothead!" Sam growled, shoving Bucky out of his way as they entered the common room.
"Woah, what happened?" Clint asked, looking up from where he was talking with Bruce.
"Welcome back." Sam grunted. "Where were you when I needed you?"
"What happened?" Bruce asked, looking between Sam and the alphas.
"He went all alpha on Johnny Storm in front of Peter. Probably set them all back for eternity." Sam huffed, rolling his eyes and falling onto the couch beside Clint.
"Storm kissed him!" Bucky shouted, as if that was explanation enough.
The again, Bucky was an alpha who caught another alpha kissing his omega, so it wasn't exactly wrong.
"I miss everything." Clint pouted.
"Clint. Not now." Bruce hissed.
The other Avengers didn't know what to do. On one hand, they were furious at Bucky for showing such aggression in front of Peter, on the other hand, who the fuck did Storm think he was? He knew Peter was their mate, and yet he dared to cross that line.
How could they chastise Bucky for doing what, mostly likely, any of them would have as well?
It was just very unfortunate that Peter had been around.
Frustrated, Bucky stormed off from the group.
"Now what?" Tony asked, moving towards the bar. "We're pretty much screwed. Peter will never trust us."
There was no reply as no one knew how to answer.
Sam pulled out his phone, debating on whether or not to call Peter and see how he was doing. He didn't really know if he would want to talk to him knowing he was with the other Avengers though.
"Should we check in on him?" Bruce whispered, leaning over Sam.
"You two have his number?" Clint asked in surprise, keeping his voice low.
"Yeah. Not sure if it's a good idea though. Logan said they had it. Maybe we should just wait." Sam sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bucky stared at himself in the bathroom mirror.
He had acted completely insane and disgusting when he caught Johnny and Peter together.
Peter was his omega, and the hero community, that Peter was close to, knew it.
Storm knew it.
Slamming his hands down on the counter, he let out a frustrated breath.
There was every chance in the world he had just ruined everything for his entire pack.
It was no secret that Peter's biggest fear was the Avengers becoming the same, violent people they were in his world. He lived in constant awareness of their actions, always looking for a sign that things weren't as good as they seemed.
Things were getting hopeful before this.
With a huff, Bucky stripped down, stepping into the cold spray from the showerhead. As the water ran over him, he went back through everything that had happened from the moment he found Peter and Storm.
The way his anger took over.
The way he threw Storm away from Peter.
Sue Storm's furious face.
Peter's horrified face as he ran and grabbed ahold of Sue, who quickly led him away.
He wouldn't hold it against the team if they hated him, or even threw him out.
Hell, maybe it would be better if they did.
Maybe Peter wouldn't hold his actions against the rest of them.
God how he had fucked up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natasha frowned as he knock on Bucky's door went unanswered. She knew he was feeling guilty about what he had done, but it couldn't be taken back.
If he hadn't been there, she was positive she would have been the one to go after Johnny.
"No answer?"
Natasha turned to see Steve walking towards her, a worried look on his face.
"He's going to beat himself up over this." she sighed.
"I can't say I wouldn't have reacted the same way." Steve said, looking at Bucky's closed door.
"How's Tony and Thor?"
"Tony's disappeared to the lab and Thor went out."
"He went out?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Didn't say where he was going though."
"Should we just break in?"
Steve looked from Natasha to Bucky's closed door. They both knew he was in there, but what state he was in was unknown.
"Let's give him a little bit of time, then we'll break the door down."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thor stared at the door before him. The last time he had stepped beyond it, Peter had entered and fought with him.
It was unlikely to happen this time though.
Hesitating just a moment, he knocked on the wood.
"Do you know what time it is?" a voice angrily shouted behind the door.
"I'm done for-oh, ok."
Jessica Jones stopped mid complaint as she took in the defeated face of the God of Thunder.
"I change my mind. I'm insanely awake and interested."
She moved to the side as she motioned for him to enter.
"I should warn you though that Peter won't be showing up. He's up at Xavier's. A party I wasn't invited to by the way. A party at a school full of mutant kids, who I know probably have high immunity to alcohol because of it, with tons of it just there for the taking."
"Aye." Thor sighed. "We saw him there."
"You all got invited? Figures." Jessica scoffed, moving past him and going towards her fridge.
"So, what did you guys do to screw up this time?"
Thor didn't reply, choosing instead to sit at her table, his hands linked on the table.
With a grunt, Jessica sat down across from his as Thor told her what had happened.
*************
It didn't take long for Thor to realize coming to Jessica had been a poor choice when it came to help and sympathy.
The woman was doubled over in laughter, tears leaking out the corners of her eyes as she tried to catch her breath.
"You guys are completely fucked! Who needs drama tv when I have the best seat in the house to a live show!"
Thor frowned as Jessica struggled to get herself under control.
"Look, I'm the last person you should have come to." Jessica grinned, pulling herself together.
"If you want advise that is actually helpful, you should talk to Karen."
"She is not as easy to get in touch with since the birth of her pup." Thor sighed
"Trust me, she'll make time for this." Jessica snorted. "Like the rest of us, Karen's not above enjoying someone else's drama."
"Then I will try to talk to her."
"Good luck big guy." Jessica grinned slyly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony stared blankly at the specs for an upgraded suit.
He ran back through his conversation with Peter, which would have been perfect if Reed hadn't been there.
Peter had actually laughed!
He had laughed at something he had said!
Peter had been.....comfortable.
Of course, thanks to Barnes' outburst, any progress they had made was completely undone.
He wanted to be angry.
He wanted to throw Barnes out.
He wanted to blame him for everything.
He wanted to, but it was more complicated than that.
Everything about their relationship with Peter was terrible.
The omega was so traumatized by the versions of them from his old world, he couldn't look at them and not remember that pain.
No matter how hard they tried to show him they were on his side, and bore no ill will towards any of the other heroes, Peter kept his doubts and fears.
Now Barnes, acting on alpha instinct, had undoubtedly just given Peter all the validation he needed.
Even though he hadn't been there, he could clearly picture how Bucky had looked and acted. Nothing about it would have seemed odd to anyone else, but of course it would to Peter. Alpha hostility could always be easily confused with senseless aggression. Alphas were naturally stronger than betas and omegas, so even though omegas had their own aggressive instincts they could, and did, act on, alphas were always seen as the worst.
Peter wouldn't see it that way though. He wouldn't give their genders a second thought.
Tony let out a frustrated groan, resting his head on the back of his chair.
He wouldn't deny that he found Peter's brain, and strength, and stubbornness to be a massive turn on, but he also couldn't deny how much he wished Peter had just been born in their world to begin with. If he had been, he was positive the omega would already be with the pack. He would be with the pack and everyone would be happy.
Rolling away from the suit specs, he stopped at Bruce's table.
He had managed to finally get the man to move fully back into the lab after fixing it, and had been delighted when he caught sight of notes Bruce had been making on possible fixes for Peter's blocker patches.
Of course, he'd never admit to Bruce he had found out his secret. He didn't want to risk facing his anger again. Sure, Bruce hadn't done a great job at hiding his notes, but Tony shouldn't have been so nosey about what he had been so focused on either.
He frowned when he realized Bruce's notes were gone.
No finding out how far he had gotten today.
He really could have used some good news.