Chapter 10
Bucky looked out at the city. He could see the coffee shop and the alleyway where he had met Spider-Man for the first time. He took a deep breath and let it out. He knew he was doing the right thing, he just wasn't sure how the others would feel about it.
"Do you think he'll show?"
He looked over his shoulder as Natasha walked toward him.
"I should have known you'd follow me."
"I figured you might try something. I also told you I wanted to meet him."
She stood beside him, not really focusing on any one thing. The two stood quietly, neither feeling the need to talk.
"Two Avengers. To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you here on my turf?"
The two turned to see Spider-Man crouched on the rooftop ledge. He cocked his head to the side, waiting patiently for a response. Bucky took a step forward.
"I came to give you a heads up. I'm sure you know about S.H.I.E.L.D?"
Spider-Man nodded, waiting for the man to continue.
"The Avengers want to stifle their involvement and bring you in for questioning by us. You come to the tower and we'll keep S.H.I.E.L.D off your back." Natasha broke in.
Spider-Man stared at the two before snorting.
"Seriously? This is why you two are hanging out in my web path?"
"If you don't come in willingly, most of the other Avengers are in agreement to make you come in." Bucky's words holding a warning tone.
"So you two breaking away from the pack to come find me on your own? Isn't that a little risky with what happened in Germany? Arn't you all supposed to be a working team again?" There was a slight bite to Spider-Man's tone as the mask's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"I told you kid, I like you. I don't agree with bringing you in honestly. You're doing good out here and I think it's stupid to mess with that."
"Then why bother me? You're not telling me something and I don't like it."
"You won't like why you're being brought in either." Natasha shrugged. "It's going to happen regardless. It's either us or a personal meeting with Nick Fury. Your call Spider-Man."
"What is it with people being so honest with me?" The web-slinger mumbled.
"I just want you to be aware of what's about to happen. I had planned to come alone, but you can clearly see that didn't happen. I'm not touching you kid, but I make no promises on what she'll do." Bucky sighed, throwing a thumb up in Natasha's direction.
There was a tense moment as Spider-Man shifted his body to make a hasty escaped if needed.
"I'm not here to fight." The spy crossed her arms. "We've told you what's happening and I'm willing to leave it at that for now. This is your free pass. I just wanted to see you in person. You're definitely not the same kid you were at the airport."
"Time's change and people grow. Facts of life, what can I say? I'll tell you what. Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you the opportunity to tell me why you want me to come in and I'll give you my answer right here and now."
"Even if you have to face Tony?" Natasha raised her eyebrow.
There was a moment of hesitation before Spider-Man spoke.
"If I come willingly or forcefully, I'll be seeing him either way. Choice? No, I've got no desire to have anything to do with the Avengers. You all seem to enjoy your gossip though."
"Deadpool. The Avengers were supposed to be watching out for him but we've slacked on the job and something has changed. We want you to tell us why he's not painting the city red anymore, or at least why it looks the way. People like him don't have a tendency to change."
Spider-Man stared at the spy, emotions hidden behind his mask.
"Good luck bringing me in, Avengers." Spider-Man growled before swinging off on a web.
"That could have gone better." Bucky sighed.
"I could have lied. He's lucky I didn't."
"Why didn't you? I figured you'd be more eager to get him for questioning."
"If we bring him in and blind side him, he'll fight us. Truth is, we'll only win due to numbers. Tony won't lift a finger against him and his precognition prevents Clint from being much use. It also gives him an advantage in hand to hand combat, even with our skills. His super strength is nothing to ignore either. Also, his web shooters and ability to stick to walls give him the option of never having to physically fight us. I'd never turn down having him watch my back, and I don't say things like that lightly."
Bucky stared at the red head. He hadn't realized she had such an interest in vigilante.
"Tony's not going to like the fact we outed the plan to the kid." Bucky smirked.
"Tony has his Spider-Man secrets, now we have ours. I'm not telling if you don't." Natasha returned his smirk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter fumed as he swung through the city. Who did the Avengers think they were? He guessed he could appreciate them wanting to spare him from Fury, but it still annoyed him. Why was all the high profile groups so set on pinning Wade down? Spider-Man was a vigilante, he didn't follow the typical super hero rules the Avengers or Fantastic Four did. Luckily all Reed and his group had done was question why he thought hanging out with Deadpool was a good idea, and that he should be careful. The Avengers however, didn't just want him to leave Wade alone, they wanted to know how to control him.
Peter snorted. There was no controlling Deadpool. The man was a force of nature when he wanted to be. What made them think Spider-Man had a handle on the mercenary? Sure, Wade had been changing his tactics. The jobs he took now were high ranking crime lords where gunfire was inevitable because that's just how those guys operated. Despite that though, Wade only ever wounded enough to put the goons out of commission of the fight. Basically, his kills rate had just about completely vanished. The ones that did die, were always unfortunate tragedies but never intentional.
If he was speaking to Felicia, he would probably call her and get her opinion. he wouldn't dare call her right now. He knew with out a doubt he'd eventually be back to talking to her like normal, but her unwanted arrival on the roof was still hanging with him.
Peter Parker did not jump into relationships. Felicia had pursued him pretty hard before he finally gave in to her. When he thought about it, he could see why she noticed all the signs from Wade long before he did. So there he had been, not one to take a relationship lightly, about to have a serious make-out session with Wade. He wasn't sure if he was mad at himself for leaving though. He couldn't really blame Felicia for that as Wade had been quite eager to get right back to business. Peter Parker however, needed to get his shit together.
"Alright Spidey, your disastrous love life can wait, we have a lawyer to meet."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Matt looked up as Peter strolled into his office in his civies. He was nervous about not only having a discussion about how he felt about Tony at graduation, but he'd also be telling Matt about his meeting with the two Avengers.
"You're more nervous than you should be." Matt frowned. "Why do I feel like this talk is about to be much longer than I thought?"
"Because it probably will be."
Matt nodded and walked to the door. He peered out, catching sight of Foggy.
"The Pete's here and it's gonna be long. Can you cover my appointments?"
The man nodded and titled his head. "Everything ok?"
"We've apparently went from mostly simple to convoluted."
"I'll cover you."
Matt nodded in thanks and shut his door.
"You got me for the day Pete. Let me pack up and we'll go back to my place."
Peter waited while Matt got his things then followed him out the office. They made their way to his apartment in record time, both eager to talk. Once inside, Matt shuffled off to the kitchen to make himself some coffee.
"Chocolate milk?" He smiled over his shoulder as Peter followed him.
"Never turn it down." he grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter settled in to Matt's couch as he was handed a cup. Matt sat down in the padded chair across from him and took a sip of his coffee.
"You know I think you can handle yourself, but I feel like we need to talk about everything that's been happening lately." Matt said, setting his mug down on the coffee table.
"I don't know what happening. It seems like things are closing in on me. I've been avoiding Tony for 8 years and now he's everywhere I look. It was fine when the emails got more frequent, but the job offer, my graduation, and now..."
"Now, what?" Matt's eyebrows furrowed.
"Before coming here I came across Black Widow and Winter Soldier on a rooftop, waiting for me." Peter frowned.
"For what?"
"Can't say I fully understand or trust Romanov, but Barnes said he wanted to warn me about the Avenger's coming after me. According to Romanov, they want to question me about Deadpool."
Matt's eyebrows drew down and he frowned.
"Did she threaten you?"
"No, neither of them did. I was basically issued a warning about what was to come. If I don't go in willingly, they will come take me in forcefully. They said it was to protect me from having to face Nick Fury."
Matt gripped the armrests till his knuckles turned white as he tried to reign in his anger. Peter wasn't some run of the mill vigilante, he was Matt's. If Fury or the Avengers thought they were going to touch his spider, they were in for a surprise. Spider-Man was under the protection of Daredevil. If Matt cared to acknowledge it, Spider-Man was also under the protection of several vigilantes in the city. A direct threat to him, and in Matt's case May, was a certified call to fight.
"I'm not sure what to do, Matt." Peter sighed. "It would be easy to throw Wade under the bus, but that's not me. I can't help with his past, but I do know about his present. I'm not going in for them to grill me about something that isn't any of their business."
Matt released the chair and grabbed his mug. The coffee had cooled to a perfect temperature as he took a long gulp. Peter was in a difficult spot and it was setting Matt's nerves on edge. He could hear Peter's heart race and slow as his emotions filtered through him.
"If I wanted to be an asshole Pete, I'd tell you I warned you, but I'm not going to. Deadpool hasn't been high on Daredevil's list of people to hang around, but he's been doing a good job the past few years. I also know he's been watching your back and I've been fine with that. He's also helping us out with our case. Deadpool can take care of himself, it's you I'm concerned for. Like I said, I know you can handle yourself, but Nick Fury is above a vigilante's pay grade."
"You think I should just give myself over to the Avengers?" Peter asked, surprise evident in face.
"No. No I do not. I don't want you anywhere near the Avengers. Honestly Pete, any other time I'd let you do whatever, but I'm ordering you to stay away. I know this will be hard if the city falls under attack in your area, but if the Avengers show up, you leave."
"Well, that's good. I mean I kind of already told Barnes and Romanov good luck with bringing me in." Peter shrugged.
"Good job." Matt smirked.
"But what about Fury? They told me it was either the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D."
Matt sat his chin on his laced fingers. Out of the two, the Avengers were Matt's choice of who to deal with. He couldn't deny however, if Peter avoided the Avengers to long, Fury would step in. S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't on anyone's favorite list. It was an obnoxious organization that had good intentions but dubious methods. When they created the Avengers, Fury really had thought he was doing the world a favor. Matt could give the man that. The problem was Fury didn't actually have all the power he thought he did and the organization had been a sham that he wasn't aware of. The discovery of Hydra members on the inside was a big blow, and Fury and those loyal to him were struggling to regain some sort of purpose and authority. This had lead to harsher tactics to gain information they didn't have access to anymore. Before this, Fury hadn't been all that bad. Sure he had his secret side projects and motivations, but creating the Avengers was his specialty project and what he was most proud of. Still, Spider-Man wasn't Fury business. If he wanted to know about Deadpool, he should have instructed the Avengers to bring the mercenary in instead.
Matt paused and picked his head up.
"Keep doing what you're doing Pete. Don't worry about the Avengers or Fury."
Peter opened his mouth as question Matt but stopped as his phone started ringing. Pulling it out, May's name came up on the screen. Worried if she was in trouble, Peter quickly answered.
"Aunt May, are you alright?"
"I'm fine Peter, I just have a question."
"Ok?"
"Did you pay all the bills for this month?"
Peter paused. He remembered bills being mentioned by traitor mctraitor face when May got hurt, but he hadn't paid anything for this month he was sure.
"No. Is there a problem?"
"Maybe?" she sounded uncertain. "Felicia stopped by to check on me and brought the mail in. I opened the bills and they all have a zero balance due. Even stranger, we got a letter that the hospital bill has been paid in full."
Peter blinked, his mind blank. Paid bills didn't make since. Who pays someone's average bills and hospital.....
"Aunt May, I'll take care of it. I'll call the hospital and see what's going on. It's probably a mix up from someone else's account."
"Maybe so for that, but what about these other paid bills?"
"I'll figure it out." Peter said, hoping his voice sounded calm and assuring.
"Alright then. Where are you now?"
"I'm with Matt."
"Ok. Tell Matty I said 'hey' and 'thank you for the chocolate and ice cream'." He could hear the smile in her voice.
"Will do Aunt May. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
Peter hung up the phone and tossed it away from him on the couch.
"Problem?"
"Not sure actually. Aunt May says thanks for the chocolate and ice cream."
Matt waved it off. As if he wouldn't take care of May Parker as well at this point.
"But that's not why she called. She called to ask me if I had payed the bills this month." Peter's eyebrows furrowed. "I know I haven't, but more so than that, Aunt May's hospital bill has been fully taken care of." Peter looked at Matt, his voice carrying a pleading tone. "Please tell me you took care of it Matt. Please tell me it was you."
Matt didn't respond, taking another sip from his coffee.
Peter held his head in his hands. He couldn't deal with this. He needed to focus on a plan to avoid both the Avengers and Fury. He didn't want an IOU on his conscious, especially when he had a feeling he knew who he owed it to.
Matt was fuming. He had hoped this would be a simple comforting talk about Peter's feelings on having a face to face run-in with Tony. This was not what he was expecting. Peter had other things to deal with. May was still recovering and he was about to start his job at Oscorp in two days. He should have been focusing on that, not fighting for his privacy. As Peter warred with himself, Matt felt he was making the right choice in what he was going to do.
"Pete, listen to me."
Peter looked at Matt, hope for something, anything, radiating off him.
"I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, I really do. I've never had to deal with the Avengers or Fury coming after anyone I care about, and I'm far from even accepting of this. However, aside from avoiding fights with the Avengers, I want you to continue patrols as normal. If Spider-Man disappears from normal activities, it'll draw more attention to yourself. Also, as adverse as I am to admitting it, Barnes did you a favor coming to warn you. If it looks obvious you were tipped off, he may not be so obliged to do it again."
"Ok. Avoid fights with the Avengers, keep up relatively normal patrols, try not to melt into a puddle of anxiety. I think I can handle that." Peter laughed nervously.
"Keep your distance from Deadpool. I'm not going to back down from that this time. You do what I tell you to." Matt said sternly. "He's who they really want, and it'll be better for both of you to not be together. If the Avengers come, you don't want them to find both of you at the same time. They don't want to hurt you Pete, but I can't tell you what they might do to get Deadpool."
Peter frowned. Keep away from Wade? For how long? He hadn't exactly left him on a satisfying note at their last encounter. To be honest, Peter could still feel a tingle where the man's hands had roamed his body. Embarrassingly, he had starred in the mirror at the slight mark on his cheek, where Wade had pinched him, until it fully faded. Now he was supposed to stay away from him? He wasn't sure he could promise Matt he wouldn't see Wade.
"F-For how long?"
Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Not sure. This is a major inconvenience all around. I asked for Wade's help, and he's bartered a deal for you to be his contact. Jessica doesn't want to deal with him, but she's going to have to get over. She draws less attention than either of us. We need whatever intel he can get to figure out what's going on." Matt rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry, Pete. May's injured and you're about to start a new job. You shouldn't have all this extra baggage being thrown on you."
"Nothing to be done about it I guess." Peter sighed. "I'll keep a low profile. I have to figure out how to break the news to Aunt May about our lifted financial burdens anyway."
Matt scoffed. On one hand, he was grateful for the relief for May and Peter, but on the other hand it had come from Tony Stark. The man wasn't known to just do things out of kindness, and the fact he did it for Peter was glaringly obvious why. Matt felt guilty for not helping take care of things before Tony had a chance to swoop in and put Peter in this position.
"Matt?"
"Yeah Pete?"
"Thanks for everything. You didn't have to take me on. You could have left me on my own. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully show my gratitude. After Uncle Ben died, I didn't know how Aunt May was gonna be able to carry us. I was to young for a job. I had these powers and I started eating more and was so restless. Once I hit the streets as Spider-Man, it helped with the restlessness, but it did nothing for the increase in the food budget. Then Tony pops up, and I was blinded by who he was. He threw money at my stomach and I was even more of a fan boy. I thought he was just a nice guy. Turns out I was a nieve kid that couldn't see the ulterior motive behind everything he did. Aunt May found out about Spider-Man, I left Tony behind, and I was alone. I had these powers, but no one to help refine them. I know with time and practice I could have gotten along fine, but when Reed sent me to you and you agreed to help, I feel like it just sped my progress up faster. Tony never encouraged advancement, and that's all you ever pushed. I think, I think Uncle Ben would have liked you. I think he would be happy with who you've helped me become."
Matt sat in silence as Peter finished. Although he and Peter had never denied the fact they had come to think of each other as family more than mentor and mentee, it was completely different to hear it so defined. Truth was, Matt loved his kid and would do whatever he had to to keep him safe.
"I think you would have done fine without Pete. I didn't make you who you are, you did that. All I did was support it."
The two were silent for a moment, Matt sipping his coffee while Peter drank his chocolate milk.
"Still." Peter smiled. "Thanks Matt."
"You're welcome Pete. How about we order some take-out, we'll order extra for you to take home to May."
"That's why she loves you. I'm only ahead of you because she raised me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley grinned as he rode the elevator up to the penthouse floor. It had been a little while since he had seen Tony in the flesh, and he was excited to reunite with him. He couldn't wait to get in to one of Tony's labs and work on projects together.
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Harley was greeted by a smiling Pepper Potts.
"Hello Harley. I hope your travel went well."
"Yeah, it was great." He smiled, only slightly disappointed Tony hadn't been the one to greet him.
"I know you were expecting Tony," Pepper gave a knowing smile. "But he's tied up in Avengers' business right now."
"Oh, well that's ok. It'll give me time to get settled." He smiled. He could definitely turn a blind eye to Tony not meeting him it with was for the Avengers.
He grabbed his two suitcases and followed Pepper down a hall. She stopped outside a closed door and turned to him.
"This is your room, Harley. Tony and Steve are down the hall." she smiled.
"It's still hard to picture Iron Man and Captain America as a couple."
"You have no idea." Pepper laughed as she opened his bedroom door.
Harley took in the room and grinned at the size of it. The walls were a light grey and bare, ready to be filled with anything he wanted to hang. His bedding was a slightly darker grey. There was a large desk by one of the walls while another was all windows.
“Tony wanted to give you the chance to make this room your own, as he didn’t do anything with it. It’s yours to remake so let us know whatever you want to do in here.” She paused as she studied him. “I mean it Harley. This room is exceptionally plain. We want you to feel like it’s home.”
Harley smiled at her.
“Thanks Ms. Potts. I’m just gonna unpack and really check things out.”
“Ok. There’s a bathroom through that door and once your done unpacking, how about you and so have lunch. We can catch up on things until Tony can come up.”
“Sounds good to me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hopefully we won’t have to follow through with Plan B.” Steve frowned as he looked at the screen before him.
Tony had laid out Spider-Man’s usual routes with questionable detail. He had listed several locations that would be good for a peaceful meetup, and others that would be good for an ambush. Steve was hopeful it wouldn’t come to force.
“If we have to bring him in though, we need to do it at night. We don’t want a scandal for any of us. The Avengers going after Spider-Man only leads to two conclusions and they both involve one of us being the bad guy.”
“Well it’s not us.” Tony said confidently. “The kid needs a wake up call.”
“You’d let him be seen as a bad guy?”
“It won’t come to that.” Tony dismissed. “Kid’s smart enough to know the risk he’s facing. He’ll come in. We won’t have to go past Plan A.”
Steve frowned and crossed his arms. He wasn’t as confident as Tony that Spider-Man would be so willing to comply. It was clear he was, at the very least, on friendly terms with the mercenary. He knew he wouldn’t want to be brought in and questioned about any of the other Avengers.
“I hope you’re right Tony. This just doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Listen, I’m not out to hurt the kid. It’s the last thing I’d ever want. Deadpool is a loose canon and I’m worried about what could happen if he snaps. I don’t think P-Spider-Man fully understands what he’s doing. He needs to be brought in, sat down, and have everything laid out on the table.”
“Look, Tony,” Steve hesitated. “You can’t tell me your connection to Spider-Man isn’t an issue in this. You’ve been private about it all, but I want to know what we’re getting in to. You’ve left us all in the dark and I don’t like going in to something blind if I don’t have to.”
Tony didn’t respond as he looked at the glowing lights that documented the best places for an ambush. He didn’t want to get in to his situation with Peter. For the kid’s own sake, it should remain private. He didn’t want the team thinking ill of Peter when he joined. He didn’t want them thinking Peter would just bail completely if he didn’t like something or wasn’t in control. He didn’t want them thinking Peter himself was a loose canon that wouldn’t listen and follow directions.
“The kid and I hit a rough patch. I won’t lie, I’m going to ask him to join the team when we get this Deadpool mess sorted out. I’ve just been busy and so has he. He wasn’t really ready for the big leagues, but after all this, I think it’s time. So yeah, I do have another motive here, but I don’t see anything wrong with it. It also has nothing to do with the initial reason for tracking him down.”
“That still doesn’t answer my concerns Tony. I need to know if we’re getting into something simple or complicated.”
“Simple. You just have to know how to approach the kid.” Tony grinned.
“Then I think you should sit this part out.” Steve didn’t look at him.
“Excuse me?” Tony glared. “Anything involving Underroos is my business. I’m not letting any of you go out there without me.”
"We want him to come in peacefully, Tony. If you're there, he might not be willing to cooperate. We need to find out about Deadpool."
Tony didn't respond as he turned and stormed out the lab.
Steve sighed and sat down at Tony's desk. He hated benching Tony, knowing the man wanted nothing more than to get this opportunity to talk to Spider-Man. He actually felt sorry for Tony. It was clear buy the way he talked and acted, Tony had tried to help the kid and been turned down. It was admirable how much Tony continued to reach out and offer to overlook their past issues. Maybe this would be a good opportunity for Tony. Still, if the kid was feeling guilty or rebellious towards Tony, having him there wouldn't help anything.
Steve ran his hand down his face then paused. He hadn't noticed when he sat down, but laid out on Tony's desk were suit designs. They looked similar to Tony's usually suits, but there were obvious deviations. There were notes scribbles all over the sides. Underlined twice was the words, Iron Lad. Steve frowned in confusion. Clearly this wasn't a suit design for Tony, but who was Iron Lad? He briefly thought of Spider-Man but quickly threw that idea away. He remembered though that Natasha had mentioned Tony having designs for a new suit for Spider-Man tucked away. Curious, Steve opened the desk draw and shuffled around its contents. He stalled as he came across an unlabeled manilla folder. He pulled it out and opened it.
Pages and pages of Spider-Man suit designs sat inside the folder. Steve sifted through them with wide eyes. Tony had been putting in a lot of work. Each suit had better upgrades than the last.
Steve frowned. Tony was putting such work in to creating a new suit for Spider-Man. It hurt that the vigilante didn't seem to appreciate Tony's efforts to bond with him again.
Steve shut the folder and put it back in the drawer. Once they had Spider-Man back at the tower, he would make sure the man stayed until he listened to Tony. Maybe he could even get the other Avengers to agree to help. It only seemed right to try to make Spider-Man understand everything Tony was trying to do for him.
Standing up, Steve left the lab in search of his teammates.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Harley!" Tony smiled as he stepped out the elevator. "I'm glad you came."
"Hey Tony!"
Harley grinned as he walked over to Tony and was pulled into a loose and friendly hug.
As the two separated, Tony studied the young man before him. He was surprised how good he felt at seeing Harley. The kid was incredibly smart and enjoyable to be around. He was positive he'd make the lab interesting. As he animatedly talked about his trip, Tony couldn't stop the inner sadness about the loss of having both Harley and Peter together. The two boys were a lot alike, and would have been a great team, maybe more. During the short time he had been with Peter, he had learned the boy, was in fact, bi. Although he had only ever been with girls, he wasn't opposed to being with men. Harley, he had found out, was gay and had been in a few relationships over the years. Usually Tony could care less about someone's love life other than his own. In this case though, he couldn't get Clint's words out of his head. It was a disturbing thought to Tony that Peter could possibly be in a romantic relationship with Deadpool, when he could be in one with Harley.
Looking at Harley, Tony smiled. His plans for the Iron Lad suit were almost complete. As soon as he got Harley in the lab, they would begin work on it. Once it was finished, Harley would be given the suit and Iron Lad would become the newest Avenger. All that would be left then, would be for Peter to join the team. Surely once Peter and Harley were Avengers, Deadpool would be kicked to the curb and left to S.H.I.E.L.D.
"So," Harley started, breaking Tony out of his thoughts. "Can I hear what Avengers business has you tied up?"
Tony debated whether or not he should tell him before ultimately deciding to.
"We have to bring Spider-Man in for questioning about an unstable mercenary in the city."
"Really? He's not in trouble is he?" Harley pushed.
"No. He's just been seen with the man and we want to know about the change in the merc's behavior."
"That's good." Harley smiled. "No offense Tony, but Spider-Man has my attention way more than Iron Man."
"You wound me kid."
"Well, when you develop an ass like his, then you can get back with me." Harley laughed.
Tony shook his head with a smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard after all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter groaned as he made his way back to May's with a bag of food. He poked at his swollen belly.
"Aww, cute little food baby belly you got there, Parker."
Peter jumped and looked up to see Felicia grinning at him.
"Oh no. Not today traitor."
"You've been ignoring my calls!" she pouted. "You know how I hate to be ignored. I simply won't stand for it."
"Well, that's all I have for you, especially now." Peter grumbled as he walked past her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, walking in stride with him.
Peter sighed. He tried hard to be mad at her but the truth was, he loved Felicia and how easy she was to talk to.
"I have to stay away from Wade for a while."
"What?!" Felicia shouted, anger creeping in.
"Not by choice." Peter snapped, then blushed furiously. "I'm kind of in trouble, and not with May or Matt."
"Ok, who's screwing with my OTP?"
"Who's not?" Peter frowned, shuffling his feet. "We have that problem with what happened at the docks. Someone might be targeting Matt and me. Then, this morning I get the bomb dropped on me that the Avengers want me and if I don't go with them, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be coming for me. They want to question me about Deadpool's activities. Matt said I need to stay away from him for real. He's not wrong. They might want me to come in and talk, but they could bypass me completely if they get their hands on Wade."
Felicia glared at the ground as they walked.
"I am most displeased by this." she growled, then stopped walking. "Peter, how are you gonna explain this to Wade?"
Peter stopped and blinked at her. He had not considered what telling Wade about their situation would do. After their last encounter, the merc probably wouldn't be keen on not seeing him.
"I don't know. I haven't thought about it. Now I'm worried about telling him."
"How do you feel about it?" she asked, her voice soft.
Peter blushed and looked at the ground. He felt so conflicting. After their rooftop meeting, he had come to terms with the fact he was generally attracted to Wade and even interested in pursuing a relationship. However, Peter was also socially awkward about his love life and struggled with voicing his thoughts. He took a deep, slow breath and let it out. He looked Felicia in the eye and answered.
"I don't l-like it." he answered, voice unsteady. "I-I've never been in this situation before. I've only ever been with women, and other than you, no one knew about Spider-Man. It's a whole new feeling for me. I-I want to see where it goes. You'll be happy to hear me say, you were right. We've known his a while now, and I didn't even know it was happening. Now though, I have to stay away from him and I don't even know how long."
Felicia closed her eyes, took a breath, then opened them. She looked at him sadly.
"What happens if you do go talk to them? I mean, are they planning on using you to bring him in or something? Are they wanting a strategy to subdue him?"
"I honestly don't know what they expect to get out of me. Wade made the choice to change on his own. I don't have the answer for it." Peter huphed in annoyance.
"Oh my God! You're such a idiot, Parker." the blonde rolled her eyes and she linked her arm in his and they continued walking.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Felicia gave him a deadpan look as she steered him towards a car garage. He hadn't even noticed they had walked towards her apartment building.
"He changed for you jackass."
Peter looked at her blankly as she lead him towards her car and pushed him inside. She got in and cranked the car, then pulled out. They were almost fully back to May's before Peter spoke again.
"What do you mean he changed for me? I didn't do anything to make him stop taking murder jobs."
"Really Peter? How can you be so smart but so oblivious? As soon as he started trying to woo you, he quit taking those jobs because he knew you didn't like them! You are the big secret! You are the reason behind the change which gives me no choice but to agree with Matt. What did he tell you about Spider-Man's usual nights out?"
"That I should stick to normal patrol because it might draw to much attention if I just quit all of a sudden."
"Makes since." her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm gonna offer and extra suggestion though."
"Let me have it."
"Black Cat is going to take a break for her usual nights out and shadow you." she grinned at him, pulling in to May's driveway.
"What?"
"Yes. I'm going to shadow Spider-Man for a while. I think it would be best for you not to be totally alone. I can be with you and not be noticed. I don't think Daredevil would be able to escape their notice, mostly because I think they'd be watching out for him just incase you went out together."
Peter thought about it as they walked up to the front door. He pulled out his key and the two went in. He took break from his thoughts to smile at the woman sitting on the couch talking to May.
"Hey Mrs. Ann." Peter smiled. "Thanks for sitting with May for me."
"Are you kidding? It's been a great day! We don't get together enough, May."
The two smiled at each other and went back to their conversation. Peter motioned for Felicia to follow him to his room, pausing just long enough to snatch the bills off the kitchen table. Once inside, Peter shut the door and leaned against it.
"Alright, I'm in." he nodded. "I've gotta figure out a way to tell Wade we can't see each other without telling him exactly what's going on. I don't want him putting himself in the Avengers' path. You can help me avoid him if he tries to catch me, and help me avoid the Avengers."
"Why is the thought of him catching you hot? Like he's going to hunt you down and carry you off caveman style once he gets you." she grins.
"You're not filling me with confidence about keeping us apart."
"I really don't want to. Progress was being made my little spider. This whole ordeal is going to set everything back. I know you, you know have time to over analyze everything. You'll panic."
"I will not!" Peter blushed and sat down at his desk.
"Yeah, ok."
Felicia rolled her eyes and plopped down on his bed. She stared at him a while before speaking.
"Wade's done so good. Why can't they just leave him alone?"
"Apparently he's on some list of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. Like a most dangerous or serious watch list. I guess they don't trust that he's reformed. Felicia," Peter looked at her, his features twisted in worry. "I think they want to take me from him. I think they intend to stop me from being around him. He was the Avengers' responsibility to watch, and they haven't been. I guess they feel like I've been doing their job and they want to know what I know about him and send me on my way. I'm positive I'll be issued a severe warning about continuing to be involved with him if they bring me in."
"How is them not doing their job your problem?"
"I get the feeling they didn't care until Nick Fury got involved."
"This is so stupid."
Peter hesitated before tossing the bills on the bed.
"It gets worse." he frowned as she picked them up and went through them.
"These are just paid bills Peter. How is this worse?"
"I didn't pay those bills. I definitely didn't pay the hospital off in full."
Felicia narrowed her eyes.
"I want to ask who, but I feel like I'd be wasting my time. I guess the question really is, how? How did he know?"
"I don't know. I mean, I know he's kept a few tabs on me, but I didn't know it went this deep. If he's trying to impress me, he's failing."
"The Parker's don't just do charity." Felicia nodded.
"May called my while I was with Matt. I haven't had a chance to tell her yet." he sighed, sitting down on the bed. Felicia pulled him down so his head lay in her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm mad with myself. I don't want his help, but it's a weight lifted off my shoulders. I could have made payments to the hospital, but the regular bills were going to be a problem. I won't be getting a check from Oscorp for a few weeks after starting."
Felicia was quiet a moment before speaking.
"There's nothing you can do about it now, Spider. You didn't ask him, or want him to do it so don't feel like you owe him anything. He shouldn't have pushed it on you. Yeah, we both had to choke on the fact he did something legitimately helpful for you, but you can't carry it with you. Just accept the relief he's given you and continue on your way. He made his choice to do it, you don't have to grovel for it."
Peter closed his eyes as Felicia's cool fingers continued to stroke his head.
"I think," he whispered. "Its the fact that I honestly do feel grateful for his interference that bothers me most."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Seriously?" Jessica scoffed, as she sat down on Matt's couch. "The Avengers' want Pete to ask aboutDeadpool? I figured if they ever came after him it would be about his involvement with Tony."
Matt sighed and leaned back in his chair. Jessica studied his face and frowned softly.
"How you holding up spider dad?"
Jessica wasn't a generally soft person, but the way Matt was holding himself sat wrong with her.
"If I"m honest, not well. Even worse, I'm about to do something highly questionable."
"Oh, really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm going to tell Deadpool what's happening. I want to give him the option of going to the Avengers himself and sparing Pete the trouble."
"Matt," Jessica frowned. "That's....I don't know. Even though he's not the same guy he was a few years ago, that doesn't mean they would turn him loose if he went in. Peter wouldn't appreciate you telling him."
"He's not going to know. I won't tell him, and Deadpool won't either. Everyone keeps telling me Deadpool wants a relationship with Peter. If that's true, he won't want to let Peter deal with his mess. I don't want to do it Jess. He may annoy me, and I'm not amused by his pursuit of Peter, but I don't wish anything on him. I don't like taking advantage of his feelings, but I can't let Peter get taken in by the Avengers."
"Look, what's the deal between Peter and Earth's Mightiest? I get the gist that something happened, but that's it. What's the full story that would make you back Deadpool in to a corner?"
"It's not really my story to tell. Long story short, Pete is on the run from Tony Stark. He came to me looking for a mentor after leaving Stark. He didn't paint a pretty picture of his involvement with the man."
Jessica nodded. "I could see it. Alright Matt, I hope this doesn't backfire on you or Peter."
"Me too."