Chapter 4
Felicia sighed as she stretched. She was disappointed to have spent most of her night out without seeing her spider.
"I could really stand to work off some....stress." she grinned.
"I'd love to help kitty cat, but there's only one for me."
Felicia spun around, ready to fight her unwanted guest. She rolled her eyes in exasperation at the large man in red and black leaned against the rooftop door. Strapped to his back were his signature katanas and favorite two guns holstered on his hips.
"Back in town I see." Felicia smirked, straightening up.
"And looking to catch myself a sexy little spider. I tried big red first. Can you believe he broke my jaw and threw me off a roof? Rude! Anyway, just puts you next on the list sweetie."
"Not tonight. This cat is in need of some attention. The spider is mine tonight, Deadpool." she huphed.
"No fair!" Deadpool's shoulders slumped. "You get to see him all the time! How am I supposed to woo him if I can't get any alone time?"
Felicia giggled as the mercenary whined. A familiar sound of webs being shot caught her attention.
"Hey Cat."
The two looked as the man in question dropped down facing her, missing the perking up mercenary.
"You ok?"
"I'm not-" she was unable to finish.
"Spidey!"
"Oh no." Peter groaned before being enveloped in a tight hug and lifted off the ground.
"I've missed you my love!"
"Put me down!"
The man squeezed once more before lowering Peter back to the ground, keeping him locked in-between his arms an close.
Felicia could only watch in amusement as joy radiated off Deadpool while Spider-Man was less than enthused. Looked like her night's plans had changed, but given the circumstances she was that upset about it. She's be lying if she said it didnt entertain her immensely to watch the mercenary and spider continue their game of cat and mouse.
"Well, don't you two look cozy." Cat grinned.
"Cat, please!" Peter glared, struggling out of Deadpool's hold. Despite the fact he was stronger and could have easily broken the hold earlier, Peter couldn't bring himself to intentionally cause the man harm. Deadpool only ever took that as a sign he was wearing the feisty spider down.
"Don't worry Spider, I'll leave the two of you alone so you can catch up. Just remember you're in public boys, so keep it clean." She winked as she walked past the now free Spider-Man, slapping him hard on the ass. Peter yelped at the unexpected contact, watching as the thief blew him a kiss before jumping off the roof and disappearing.
Peter turned to look at Deadpool as the man let out a strangled sound.
"How long before I get to slap that perfect ass?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter groaned as he fell face first on to Matt's couch. His face still burned from the embarrassment of fleeing in sheer panic from Deadpool after Black Cat deserted him.
"Traitor." he huphed into the cushions.
A ping from his phone had him fumbling blindly for it where it had fallen to the floor.
[I saw you flee like a scared baby bunny. Is that how all heroes handle things? >;D]
Peter glared at the text. She had stayed to watch!
(I hope you know a good lawyer. I'm turning you in the next job you pull.)
[Oooh, I love it when you get all righteous hero. Doesn't matter though, I happen to know a fabulous lawyer in Hell's Kitchen.]
(Matt Murdock only defends Spider-Man. He's on payroll.)
[Last I heard, Spider-Man couldn't afford a payroll.]
(You don't know what Spider-Man's working with.)
[Oh, I know very well what Spider-Man is working with. I hear a certain mercenary is extremely interested in finding out as well.]
(I hate you.)
[You're precious.]
Peter stared at his phone. Leave it to Felicia to find utter enjoyment in his humiliation.
(You're loving this.)
[The itsy bitsy spider and the big bad mercenary. It's a love story I the making! I'm shipping it so hard.]
(I don't know what to do with you.)
[You could always pay me a visit. This talk about what Spider-Man is packing has me a little hot and bothered.]
(You just told me you're supportive of the idea of me, a hero, hooking up with a guy who kills for money!)
[I prefer the term anti-hero. Plus we all know he's really cut down on his jobs and what kind they are. He's changing for his love!]
"Peter."
Peter peered over the back of the couch as Matt walked toward him in full Daredevil attire. His shoulders were tense and his brow furrowed. Peter hadn't even heard him come in.
(Matt just got here and he's got his 'we need to talk' face on. Looks like you're on your own kitten.)
[Boo. Next time Spider.]
"Something wrong Matt?" Peter asked, setting his phone on the coffee table.
Matt sighed as he sat in the reclining chair across from him. He remained quiet a moment, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers under his chin.
"I had a visitor earlier tonight."
Peter raised an eyebrow. It had been a while since Spider-Man and Daredevil had last patrolled together. In the time lapse, Matt rarely ever had anything he felt should involve him. However, given his own night, he had a pretty good idea what Matt was about to say.
"Deadpool is back."
"Yeah, I ran in to him when I found Cat. Apparently he went looking for her after you."
Matt groaned and ran a hand down his face.
"Peter, when was the last time Tony tried contacting you?"
Peter blinked in surprise. Matt never asked about things between him and Tony.
"I heard from him through Dr. Connors today actually. I was offered a paid internship with SI."
Matt sat in stunned silence.
"Is there something I should know?" Peter asked, growing anxious at Matt's silence.
"Peter." Matt took a deep breath. "Deadpool plans to stay in New York for an indefinite amount of time. I want you to avoid him as best you can. Given his obvious interest in you, I know that might be a challenge."
"I can handle Deadpool, Matt." Peter tilted his head in confusion. Matt had never said anything about his interactions with the mercenary before.
"I'm not worried about you handling Deadpool, Pete. I'm worried about you and The Avengers. Every time Deadpool has been around, it's been extremely low-key or The Avengers have been occupied. Deadpool's interactions with you have managed to go unnoticed because of that."
"And it won't stay that way long now." Peter nodded with a sigh. "Especially since The Avengers are free and Tony's looking in to me again."
"I'm sure they already know he's here, Pete. If they find out there's a connection between the two of you, they'll come after you like they do anyone he's involved with. Tony will make sure you get brought in and questioned about him."
Peter watched as Matt stood and made his way to his room to change. He smiled softly to himself at Matt's words. Matt has always respected Peter's skills and judgment. He knew Peter was more than capable of handling himself. No, Matt's concerns mostly centered on anything that unnecessarily put him in the path of Tony.
Laying back on the couch, Peter stared at the ceiling. His mind was sorting through everything that had happened in just the last few hours. While tucked into the safety of Matt's apartment, Peter relaxed and let him mind wonder to his current and unexpected job offers.
Peter snorted.
No contest. He was definitely taking the job at Oscorp. It was exciting to think he was actually going to be able to afford things and help Aunt May more. Harry's excited and hopeful face was unexpected though. It disappointed him to realize he had gotten so used to a tense and anxious Harry that he had unconsciously began to just accept it as Harry's personality. The Harry that offered him the job though, was none of those things. Peter smiled, happy that Harry could now be as well.
His smile fell however at the thought of Dr. Connors excitement at telling him about the Stark internship. Surely he would be just as happy about Oscorp.
Peter sighed.
Just what kind of stunt did Tony think he was pulling? Going through Dr. Connors guaranteed Peter had to at least acknowledge the offer instead of just brushing it off. Making it a paid position only made it a more appealing offer for Dr. Connors to pass along. It was an underhanded an arrogant move. It was completely Tony Stark. Was that why he had tried to contact him more than usual?
Peter growled and threw his arm over his eyes. He lay there a few minutes before he felt Matt stand in front go him.
"Here."
Peter removed him arm and sat up. Matt was holding his favorite cup, which only ever housed one particular drink. Peter grinned and took the offered cup.
"Now, tell me about your day after you left preschool."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt frowned as he exited the shower and changed. Peter had left to head back to his aunt's an hour ago, a text letting Matt know he had made it home on his phone.
While Matt had been wary of Oscorp, It had become well known that the heir had big plans for positive changes in the company. Peter seemed excited to take the job Harry was offering, and it relieved Matt to know Peter would be better off financially. His feelings on the Stark offer however, were a different story entirely. Matt would be hard pressed to deny that after the past few years he had somewhat adopted Peter as a son.
It hasn't started out that way. In fact, He had dismissed the young hero entirely the first time they met. Daredevil was a lone vigilante and he worked best that way. He had no interest in working with a fresh out of the box crime fighter. However, no matter how much he dodged the wall crawler, Spider-Man kept coming back.
He admitted that when he finally gave in, he was startled by Peter's story and request to be trained. He had been even more startled when the boy had confirmed the age his voice sounded.
How had Tony Stark thought bringing a 15 year old kid to fight highly trained, super enhanced, adults was a ok?
"I can't, and won't go back to Tony Stark." Peter had said with a stony face.
Matt had nodded, told him to follow and the two set out on their first patrol as mentor and mentee.
He knew Tony had actively been trying to reconnect with Peter during the past eight years. Peter was very open about it, telling him when a new attempt was made. This was a new tactic for the man though. Hit Peter in two out of three of his most vulnerable spots. His mind and his wallet, which round about effected his third spot, Aunt May. Offering Peter a paid position in a high tech lab was like offering water to someone dying of thirst, of course he would want it!
Truthfully, if Harry's offer hadn't come o the heels of Stark's, Matt wasn't sure if Peter would have been able to turn it down. He didn't think Peter himself would know. At least they'd never have to find out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter yawned as he stumbled into the kitchen. He had been out way to late for the light of day to harass him this way.
"Morning sleepy head." May smiled as she cracked an egg into the frying pan. "Hungry?"
"Starving." Peter smiled, kissing her cheek as he got out plates and cups.
"How was dinner with Harry?"
"He offered me a job after graduation next month."
May faltered in her egg stirring before spinning around to give him an excited smile.
"Peter that's wonderful! I told you everything would be fine."
Peter chuckled lightly.
"He really did seem happier than I remember."
"I told you that too." May winked.
"It's still hard Aunt May. I know I should be thrilled I saved so many people and Harry himself, but I still feel weird about it."
"Oh honey." May smiled softly, dividing the eggs between their plates. When she finished, she pulled him into a firm hug. "It's alright Peter. Maybe spending more time with Harry will help. You can keep an eye on him and help make things easier for him."
Peter returned her hug and took a deep, steadying breath.
"That wasn't my only job offer though." Peter started slowly.
"Look at you, Mr. Popular! What was the other one?" May laughed as she put bread in the toaster.
"Dr. Connors told me I had been chosen for a paid internship under Tony Stark."
Silence descended on the small kitchen. May stood frozen, her back to Peter.
"May?"
"I'm sorry." May turned slowly towards him. "You were what now? I could swear I heard you say you were offered a place at SI....under Tony Stark."
"Yeah, I was." Peter rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Aw, isn't it such a shame SI lost such a valuable potential employee to their biggest competitor, Oscorp." May said, fake sympathy thick in her voice.
"Aunt May!" Peter gasped in mock shock.
May rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.
"You're gonna be the best employee Oscorp ever had. Stark Industries should be quaking in its boots." May said firmly and whirled around the kitchen to finish up the rest of breakfast. Peter just smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't often Peter had free time, so when he did, he spent it out leisurely swinging through the city. He was however, currently on a stakeout of the one nick in his Anti-Tony armor.
Watching the doors to the little hole in the wall coffee shop, Peter waited for The Avenger, James Buchanan Barnes. Better known as Bucky to everyone in Avenger's tower.
The ex-assassin was the only thing about The Avengers that interested him. After all, it was because of him that Tony had drug him out of Queens at all. It also lead to his research of The Sokovia Accords.
Peter growled at the thought of the accords. Tony had brought them up to Peter with the included offer of being a full fledged Avenger. Peter had managed to avoid the whole thing thankfully. Given his ignorance of circumstances and full stories at the time, Peter may have signed without being fully aware of what he was doing. Knowing what he does now, he was relieved to not have gotten caught up in it. The Avengers were a powerful force who only did what they thought was right. Giving control of that type of power to anyone could only lead to an abuse of power with The Avengers taking the blame.
Peter's attention was caught as the man he was waiting for exited the shop. He was being extremely careful to try and blend in to the crowd. Despite the warm weather, the man wore a light jacket, most likely to cover his metal arm. His face was hidden under a low titled baseball hat.
Peter wasn't exactly sure when he had taken up following the man, but it had become a habit. He wondered how the man managed to live under the same roof as Tony given everything that happened. Sometimes it made Peter wonder if he was being childish.
No. No, it was better to avoid that line of thinking. Peter knew he was justified in his feelings towards Tony.
What Peter really wanted to know was how the man dealt with the mistrust he was positive had to hang around the team, regardless of their apparent closeness.
The Avengers had been split over him. They had been divided two years before coming back together. Despite the five year passing, Bucky still seemed a little closed off. Unlike the rest of the team, who Peter often saw some of them out together, Bucky was mostly alone. There were times he would be with Steve or Sam, but it mostly seemed he enjoyed going alone.
From his rooftop vantage point, Peter continued his surveillance of the former soldier. Curiously, the man ducked into a secluded alley. Slowly, Peter scaled the wall for a better look.
"You can come out now."
Sighing, Peter dropped behind him.
"You've been tagging me a while, Spider-Man. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Peter didn't respond, unsure where to go from here. He had been caught off guard by his presence being outed. Although, given his past, Bucky was most likely paranoid about his surroundings. Of course he would eventually catch on to Spider-Man following him around some.
"Come on kid, what's the story?" Bucky raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee.
"Story?" Peter tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah. Where you been? The teams been together for five years now and you avoid us as much as you can. After the fight in Germany we figured you'd have a permanent set up at the tower since you were so eager to please. Tony never talks about you. You refuse to talk to him the few times we do cross paths. Inquiring minds want to know kid."
Peter narrowed his eyes under his mask.
"Thats my business. Don't you all have your own problems?"
"Sure we do." Bucky shrugged. "But our problems are all out in the open with each other, so yours is the only secret. Naturally, that makes it the most interesting."
"I wasn't an Avenger then and I'm not now. So keep me out of the tower talk."
"Yet you've been following me. Come on kid, give me something. I promise I'm not going to run back to Daddy Stark and Papa Steve."
Peter raised his eyebrow.
"You didn't know? You got to two Avenger dads now kid. Tony and Steve are an item."
Peter choked.
"He was never my dad." Peter growled. "And if Captain America and Iron Man wanna get married, it won't make Steve Rogers my dad either."
The two stood in silence for a few minutes before Bucky sighed.
"Look kid, you've obviously been following me out of curiosity. I get it because it's my fault Tony dragged you into the fight to begin with. Not gonna lie though kid, I'm just as curious about you. I see you on the news a lot. You do a lot of good, despite some of the less than flattering stories about you. Tony's about as subtle as glitter about watching to see if your ok. Everyone has some sort of investment in you. I won't deny I'm rather pleased to be your first off the clock encounter."
Peter paused, processing the information he had been given.
"So, what? Because Tony can't keep a low profile I'm the hot topic of Avengers Tower?"
"Arn't we the most interesting group of super heroes you've even met?"
Peter didn't know how to respond. He did know he wasn't to happy to be such a big deal amongst The Avengers. He had really just assumed they didn't care.
"I get it kid. You distanced yourself for your own reasons. I can respect it, probably more than most. So, don't worry, I'm not gonna go back and tell anyone we had this little meetup. I like you, so I'm not gonna do anything that would scare you off from ever working with the team again. To be honest, I like having this little secret over Stark." he smirked mischievously.
Peter couldn't help the chuckled that bubbled out of him. He quickly cut it off though and raised his wrist to the top of the building.
"I appreciate the secret." Peter said before shooting a web and swinging off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter felt conflicted as he swung through the city. He should have never let curiosity control his actions. He should have known that alley was a setup to get him to come out. The contract with the man went against everything he had stood for the last eight years. He wasn't supposed to get involved with anything related to Tony Stark. It wasn't that hard a rule to follow, and yet he still screwed it up. Eight years down the drain. Now Tony would take it as an invite to further intrude into his life. Sure, Bucky had assured him he wouldn't tell anyone, but what reason did Peter have to believe him?
Peter grunted as he missed his step, hitting the rooftop hard.
He slipped up with Bucky. He was going to regret it.
Peter ground his teeth and slammed his fist on to the rooftop.
"Penny for your thoughts sweetums?"
Peter jerked and pushed backwards in alarm.
"De-Deadpool?"
"Call me Wade, baby boy." Wade grinned through the mask. "Now why don't you tell Daddy what's wrong."
Peter gasped as Wade easily lifted him up into a standing position. He looked up into the expectant white eyes of Wade's mask. He was extremely grateful for his own mask as his face felt hot from the blush he knew he was sporting.
It wasn't like Peter knew what to tell him about his problem though. Wade had always been coming and going, so it was unlikely he had caught on to Spider-Man's strange relationship with The Avengers. The public hadn't caught on. Frowning, Peter turned his head away.
"Well, let's see if I can guess." Wade rubbed his masked chin. "You're moving fine, so no trouble on the ass kicking front. I was worried when I saw you hit the roof though. You're not big on conversation, and knowing how sassy and talkative that mouth can be, it's gotta be personal."
Peter looked back at Deadpool in bewilderment as the man continued to ramble off observations in an attempt to deduce his problem. How did Deadpool know him so well? He shook his head as he realized Deadpool has paused a moment.
"That leads me to the conclusion of, Avengers trouble sweet cheeks?"
Peter just stared.
"I'll take that as a yes." Wade grinned in victory. "Must be something big given how you act around them."
"wh-what?"
"It's pretty obvious Spidey. Even when you help them, you duck out the minute they have it under control. They're also the biggest name in the city and you never talk about them, but I can see that nose crinkle under the mask when they're mentioned."
Peter frowned. He had never thought Deadpool was stupid by any means, but he had no idea the man paid that much attention to things. Or was it just Spider-Man he paid attention to? Peter felt his blush return.
"I notice everything about you baby boy." Deadpool wiggled his eyebrows, moving into Peter's personal space. "And no, I can't read your mind. I'm just very in tune to your body language."
Peter sighed and move to sit on the edge of the roof. Instantly, Deadpool sat down beside him.
"I just don't want to get involved with them and I ran in to one of them today. I don't want to send the wrong message." Peter said, not really wanting to explain his real problem being Tony. Peter paused. According to Bucky, all the Avengers were interested in him in some way. Maybe Tony wasn't gonna be his only problem anymore.
"Stick with me baby boy and I'll keep The Avengers off your tail!"
"Actually, I was told hanging out with you would bring them to me faster." Peter smirked at Wade's fronted gasp.
"Big red tell you that? I knew he was against me."
"He's probably not wrong though."
"Oh, the cat burglar is fine but the reforming merc is where the line is drawn." Wade threw his hands in the air.
Peter laughed softly as the mercenary's antics. He knew Matt was right about Deadpool being a red beacon to The Avengers, but the more he thought about it the madder it made him. Why did he have to regulate who he hung out with? Deadpool wasn't as bad a guy as people thought he was, and he had been doing better. Although he didn't approve of murder, Deadpool had started only taking jobs of taking out major criminals. Not a single hero didn't have blood on their hands, so who were any of them to judge? The only real question was did Peter want what being around Deadpool would bring. Matt wouldn't think so, and Peter hated the thought of putting more stress on him. Aunt May, surprising enough, secretly enjoyed anything Peter did that might annoy Tony. He loved her so much.
Peter sighed. He was most likely about to make a huge mistake, and Matt was going to let him know it later. Did it really matter though, he had already made one mistake today, why stop there? Both were gonna lead The Avengers right to him anyway.
"Hey, Dp?" Peter said, interrupting Wade's rant.
"Yeah Spidey?"
"Stick with me."
Deadpool grinned.
"You got it baby boy."