Checkmate

Stepping off of the motorcycle, Peter slipped off his helmet, letting out a long, shaky breath as he hung it on the handle. This time he only stumbled slightly, though his legs still felt weak, like jelly. Looking up, Peter saw that the sky had gotten significantly darker in the time that they were gone, and he could see the incoming darkness of night approaching in the distance.

“You coming, kid?” Steve asked, and Peter’s head turned to meet the soldier’s eyes, and he nodded, smiling a little. The hero gave him a slight nod back, and he turned to walk towards the tower with Natasha. Peter jogged up to catch up with the two, eventually meeting their pace and fell into thought as they walked to the door. Man, it’s getting pretty late, he mused. I wonder if it’s time for dinner yet...I really hope May’s cooking something at least a little bit edible because I’m starving. Realizing what he just thought with a startling crash, Peter froze, causing both of the heroes to look back at him.

May.

“Peter?” Natasha asked as Peter’s face steadily started to grow pale (Oh god I’m in so much trouble, she’s going to kill me--). “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, uh, I…” Trailing off slightly, Peter bit his lip, dread slamming onto him in large, suffocating waves. “I need to make a call. You guys can go ahead.”

A knowing look passed between the two Avengers as he spoke, and Steve nodded, giving him a soft smile. “Alright. We’ll be inside if you need us.”

Peter nodded, and he watched the two move closer to the door, taking in a sharp breath when he reached into his empty pockets. His eyes widened as he continued to search, suddenly realizing where he left his phone.

“Wait!” He exclaimed, caused the two heroes to stop. “Can I have my web shooters?”

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows and looked back at him. “Your...web shooters?” She asked, the words sounding foreign on her tongue.

“Yeah,” the teen nodded. “Y’know...thwip thwip?” He made the gesture of shooting his webs as he made the noises, almost immediately cringing afterwards. (Why did I do that?)

“You mean these?” Natasha asked with an amused smile, taking the web shooters out. Peter’s eyes immediately lit up. “Yeah, those!”

The spy held out the shooters, chuckling softly as he rushed over to her, grabbing the devices and slipping them around his wrists. Glancing around quickly, Peter spotted a large building towards his left and he smiled brightly, holding out a hand towards it as he looked back and said, “Thank you!” And with that, Peter shot a web at the building’s roof and propelled himself upwards, shooting another web at a building towards the right and falling into his usual rhythm, blissfully unaware of the startled expressions of Steve and Natasha he left behind.

It didn’t take him long to reach the alley he left his backpack in, which surprised him a bit. Usually it took him about ten minutes to arrive home from the tower, but he felt oddly lighter than usual as he moved. He figured it was because he was a bit shorter in his younger body, and smaller objects tend to move faster. A very small part of him thought it was because of his weight, but that was a bit unreasonable as he literally had a six pack. But is the six pack just something that’s going to just exist regardless of anything? His eyebrows furrowed as the thought crossed his mind. Can I even get fat…? No, that’s stupid, I can. Maybe.

Approaching the alley he left his backpack in, Peter shook the thoughts away and dropped onto the ground, taking quick glances around before making his way over to his surprisingly untouched backpack. He hurriedly opened it, taking his phone out, and he winced seeing the many notifications from May and Ned, their missed calls and messages littering the screen. 47 missed calls from Aunt May, he read with a wince. I’m going to die.

Hand shaking slightly, he slid the notification bar over and called May, bringing the phone to his ear. The phone only rang once or twice before his aunt picked up, and for a few moments all he could hear from the other end was a soft ruffling. Eventually, the noise stopped and the call went silent for a pregnant pause.

“Peter?” May’s soft, weary voice broke through the silence, and Peter felt a large stab of guilt hearing her voice. “Is that you?”

Swallowing back a large lump in this throat, Peter nodded, “I’m here, May.”

“Oh, Peter,” she cried, her voice shaky as she let out a soft sniffle. Oh god, she’s crying, I made her cry-- “Jesus Christ, where are you?! I got a call from the school that you weren’t there, and I called Ned’s mom and she said you weren’t there either and no one’s seen you all day, and I already called the police and--” Her voice broke as she let out a soft sob. Peter’s eyes started to fill unwillingly, and his heart sank into his stomach with guilt.

“I’m so so--” He tried, but she cut him off sharply.

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it this time, Peter!” She exclaimed. “You scared the living hell out of me! You can’t pull something like this--I was so scared that you were taken or…or something!” The dead was left unsaid.

Peter fell silent, the full weight of May’s stress causing him to sit down, and he wiped his eyes. He’d forgotten just how torn Ben’s death had left the two, and just how much of a toll it had taken on his aunt. He knew he had to go see the Avengers, and he knew it was important, it had just been a while since May hadn’t really known. After homecoming, May and Tony had adapted a sort of back and forth schedule (after she had chewed him out for bringing Peter to fight in Germany, of course) and both of them helped him balance his schoolwork with Spider-Man. If something big came up, she understood, and it had become so regular that he could just look at her and she’d know that he needed to leave. But this May, the one he was on the phone with, was different. She hadn’t adapted to Peter’s antics yet--she hadn’t even accepted the fact that Ben was dead yet. Even years after his death, Peter still got anxiety about losing Tony like he lost Ben, and when Tony went off on missions he could barely sleep because he didn’t know if he was safe. He knew exactly what that fear was like.

Guilt thickened in his stomach as the thoughts crossed through his mind. He felt awful for doing this to her. He had reasons, but he should’ve been more sensitive to the time, or let her know he was going to be out or something. Speaking of, he needed to come up with some sort of cover as to why he was out. Sure, he could tell her the truth, but even if it was a responsible decision, he couldn’t do it while she was so emotionally worked up. If his May’s response (which consisted of a lot of yelling and crying) was any example, he should wait until she was a bit more calm.

“Where were you?” May asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Her voice had a slight hysterical edge to it, and it shook a bit as she spoke. “Why did you skip? Oh god, Peter, don’t tell me you’ve gotten involved with a gang or something--”

“I’m not! I…” The hero swallowed harshly, mind whirling as he spit out the first excuse he could think of. “I went to Uncle Ben’s grave.” He winced as soon as the words left his mouth. His aunt fell silent on the other end, and he swallowed harshly, feeling significantly worse than he did before.

“I’m sorry I scared you,” Peter added softly, hoping for some sort of release from the hurt on the other line.

“Just come home,” May said shakily with a soft sniffle. “We’ll talk about it when you get here. Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No, I’ll walk, it’s fine,” Peter said.

“Alright. Just be home by seven, please,” his aunt said desperately, and he quickly nodded. "Okay.”

“I love you, Peter,” May said softly, her voice so vulnerable that it made his heart ache.

“I love you too, May.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you,” Peter whispered, and ended the call, bringing the phone down from his face with a soft sigh. He then stuffed in back in his backpack and zipped it up, swinging it around his shoulders in one swift movement before crawling up the side of the building. Crouching on the edge, the teen sighed, looking down at the streets below him. I still need to let the Avengers know where I’m going so they don’t freak out, he thought, his heart still fluttering childishly at the thought of working with his heroes. Maybe I’ll get Mr. Stark or Happy to give me a ride home. Yeah, that should be simple enough. Nodding a little for the extra confirmation, Peter stood up, shooting a web at the building across from him and swinging across the street.

Just gotta get back, first.

“Where’s the kid?” Sam’s voice cut through the room, and Steve paused in the doorway, sighing heavily as Natasha walked past him.

“Hi Steve! How’re you doing Steve? Nice to see you, Steve!” the soldier mumbled to himself, and Sam snorted, causing a smile to rise to the super soldier’s face. The winged hero looked back over the couch with a wide grin. “You’re an ass.”

“Peter’s making a call,” Natasha said, leaning against the island counter bearing a smile of her own. “Probably family.”

Clint nodded at this, standing up from his spot on the couch and walking over to the spy, setting his coffee on the island. Natasha raised an eyebrow at the choice of drink, and the archer only shrugged in response. “How did it go?”

“Surprisingly well,” Steve said, walking into the kitchen and opening a cabinet full of glasses. He grabbed one, setting it down on the counter as he closed the wooden doors. “He agreed to help us, and he’s tracking the stones and the guardians now.”

“Was there actually a sentient cloak?” Sam said with a snort, taking a sip of tea from his mug. Steve nodded, causing the hero to pause mid-sip, blinking rapidly as he set the mug down.

“Oh.”

Steve chuckled softly, and the room fell into a soft silence. Clint sat down on one of the stools by the island, shifting uncomfortably as he looked around at his teammates.

“What do you guys think of Peter?” The archer asked softly, taking another sip of coffee. Steve paused at this, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked over at Clint. Sam seemed to do the same, taken aback by the sudden question.

“What do you mean?” Natasha asked, voicing Steve’s confusion. Clint only shrugged. “I don’t know, just...what do you think of him?”

“He’s young,” Steve said slowly, choosing his words carefully as he took his glass and moved over to the fridge. “Too young.” Pressing the glass into the water dispenser in the door of the appliance, the group fell into another bit of silence, the only sound filling the room being the sound of water pouring into the glass. “Even with the time travel, he’s only sixteen,” Steve continued after a moment, filling the glass completely. Clint nodded, and the soldier assumed that was what the archer was trying to get at.

Sam stood up from the couch, shaking his head as he walked closer to the small group. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and holding his mug just underneath his lips as he looked them over. “His eyes say otherwise,” he said. “He has the same look as the soldiers I counsel. He’s not a normal kid.”

“That’s not right,” Clint said softly, and Sam shrugged.

“Well, that’s life.”

“But he still shouldn’t be so deep in this, he can’t even vote for god’s sake,” the archer protested, turning to look at Sam. “We should…” Clint trailed off at this, and Natasha raised an eyebrow.

“We should what?” She pressed, and the question was answered with silence as Clint slowly met her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you know he’s already involved in a much deeper way than we are.”

“Then we should distance him or something. Send him with Laura and the kids, let him go to school and be with his friends. He gave us the information we needed, his work’s done here,” Clint beseeched, crossing his arms.

“I can already tell you that’s a bad idea,” Natasha said. “He won’t like it one bit.”

“Tough luck!” Clint exclaimed. “He’s a kid, Nat. He shouldn’t be doing this--you know what it did to us. We can stop it now before it’s too late.” He kept eye contact with the spy knowingly as he spoke, and a flash of uncertainty crossed her eyes as he finished. She continued to look at him, lips sealing themselves shut as she battled with the rebuttal, her emotions starting to conflict with her argument. Steve furrowed his eyebrows at this, and he pointed his gaze on Clint.

“No,” the soldier spoke up, gaining the attention of the two agents. “He needs to finish this.”

“Finish what?” Clint said tartly, narrowing his eyes.

“This fight.”

“So now we’re sending children off to war? Is that what this is?” The archer challenged, rising to his feet.

“He’s already at war,” Steve snapped, raising his voice, which caused Clint to tense. The rest of the room seemed to fall silent as a result and Steve let out a breath, softening his voice and continuing, “His entire world was destroyed, Clint. You know what it’ll do to him if we take him out of it now.”

“I know,” Clint responded softly, falling back down onto the stool. “I just…” He rubbed his temples, letting out a somewhat frustrated breath as he tried to organize his thoughts. “Cooper’s ten. And I know Peter isn’t mentally fourteen but to hear the things he said from that body just…”

Natasha walked over to the now hunched form of the archer, pulling out the stool next to his to sit down. “I know,” she said softly, setting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly. “We know.”

“I guess since we’re already kinda on the topic,” Sam started after a moment of silence, “the kid’s a little weird around Stark.”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded.

“I mean, they were probably close in the future,” Natasha said, leaning back slightly and pulling her hand away from Clint’s shoulder. “Three years is a long time.”

“Honestly, I’d say close is an understatement,” Clint muttered, voice soft as he picked himself up slightly. “He looks at Stark like he’s looking for his dad. Stark’s not picking up on it either.”

“Do you think they’re related?” Sam asked, taking another sip of tea.

Steve shook his head. “They don’t look it,” he said, falling silent for a moment before he let out a soft sigh. “I think there’s just a lot we don’t know right now, and speculation’s not going to help anything.”

“I guess…,” Sam responded.

“I feel bad for the kid,” Clint whispered, and Natasha nodded mutely by his side.

The conversation lulled as the room fell into a somber silence, each of the heroes slowly spacing out as they mulled over the others’ words. Nearly everything surrounding Peter was a mystery; they knew next to nothing about the boy’s powers or his family, or even where he lived. What caused Peter to fight against Thanos in the first place? It wasn’t everyday a teenager decided to fight against an alien superpower, and, as Sam said, the conviction and pain reflected in Peter’s eyes was unmistakable. And sure, kids had the conviction to fight in wars in the past, but not so much any more. There had to be a reason Peter was even involved in all this. The mysteries surrounding the boy’s intentions were more than intriguing to the Avengers, especially since he claimed to be one of them. By his show of strength earlier, he was more than qualified, not to mention he deliberately chose not to escape them. He seemed to have a strange relationship with Tony, he knew the address of a sorcerer, and he knew about the infinity stones, and the only time the heroes were aware of that information being disclosed was from Thor himself, which only begged the question:

What the hell was going on with this kid?

Suddenly, a dim yellow flash filled the right side of the room as Vision phased through the wall, the rest of the Avengers’ eyes being drawn to the android as they broke out of their thoughts. He looked over at them, his face an unreadable expression as he made his way over to them.

“I apologize if I’m interrupting,” Vision started, “but I took the liberty of doing some research after Natasha and the Captain left, and I think there’s something you should see.” The heroes perked up at this, and the android began to make his way over to large TV planted onto the wall, the four others following not too far behind. Vision then closed his eyes, the stone glowing faintly as the TV flickered on, showing an article with the picture of a man, dressed in an odd looking red and gray suit with what Steve thought was a gas mask preparing to throw a punch at a man in a black and yellow suit, with appendages coming out of the back that seemed to resemble stingers. The title was plastered above the picture in big, bold letters, and below it was a large paragraph that read:

Darren Cross, the CEO of Pym Technologies and former protege of world-renowned scientist Hank Pym was recently caught and accused of selling quantum technology to the Nazi organization HYDRA during a recent “unveiling” ceremony. The technology consisted of a suit that had the ability to shrink a man down to the size of an ant while still maintaining his original density and mass, which temporarily would give the individual power equal to that of a super soldier. This is done through the harnessing of Pym Particles, or subatomic quantum particles, which was discovered by Doctor Hank Pym in the 1960s. The world-renowned scientist and former SHIELD agent created a suit of his own that he used to aid the agency in missions against the Soviet Union. He resigned in 1989 for reasons he would not disclose when approached about the topic. The suit recently made a comeback, however, when it was revealed that Darren Cross, Doctor Pym’s chosen successor, was attempting to release his quantum technology to the public. “Technology like this shouldn’t be monopolized,” said Pym, when a reporter from NBC questioned him about this retaliation. “It needs to be contained and monitored, if we’re concerned about the preservation of our planet.”

It was been confirmed by the scientist himself that he did have a hand in the revival of his alter ego, though he refuses to comment on the identity of this new superhero.

“Sam, isn’t that the guy that kicked your ass a few weeks ago?” Natasha asked, turning to the man with a small smirk. Sam huffed, crossing his arms as he moved his eyes away from the article plastered in front of them.

“I let him win.” Natasha gave him a look.

“I figured that since Doctor Banner is MIA for the time being that we could use the help of more scientists of some diverse areas of study,” Vision broke in, looking around at the heroes. “Doctor Pym seems to be a likely candidate, since he’s been active recently.”

“Yeah, we need all the help we can get,” Steve agreed, looking at the android. “We’d have to ask Tony about it, though.”

“Once he’s off ‘do not disturb,’” Clint muttered, and Steve nodded with a small sigh.

“I could do more research into quantum technology if you’d like, Captain,” Vision offered.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. We want to know what this guy’s capable of before we let him in on anything,” Steve said, and Vision gave him a soft smile and retracted the article in front of them, turning the TV off.

“I shall take my leave then. Goodnight everyone,” Vision said with a small nod, earning smiles from the rest of the group.

“Night, Vision,” Steve spoke softly, reflecting the others’ smiles. With that, Vision gave the group one last glance before floating back in the direction he came, disappearing through the wall with a soft, golden glow.

Elevator doors opening, Peter stepped out onto Tony’s private floor, letting out a soft breath as the familiar space surrounded him. There didn’t seem to be any drastic changes made to the room since he visited in his time, just a few things here and there that were moved around, like potted plants or the remote. He made his way through the living room without much thought, walking towards the metal entrance to Tony’s lab, which seemed to be sealed shut at the moment. As he got closer, he could hear the faint sound of the iconic guitar riff of “Back in Black” by AC/DC, and he chuckled hearing the familiar tune. Looking up, Peter stopped just in front of the door, clutching the strap of his backpack a little tighter as he silently prayed that this Tony wouldn’t be too mad at him for interrupting his work.

“FRIDAY, override code, ‘Stubborn Stark,’” Peter said.

“Override successful. Access granted,” FRIDAY’s metallic voice rang, and the door slowly slid open. Immediately, the sound of the music increased tenfold, and Peter flinched, his enhanced hearing not appreciating the noise all that much. He slowly walked inside, swallowing harshly as he spotted Tony’s back, situated at the far end of the lab, with various holograms of different molecules and materials spread out around him. The counters were all a mess; there were machine parts and empty coffee mugs and water bottles spread out all over the place. To his side, he spotted the familiar front panel of MARIA resting on one of the few empty countertops, and next to it there was a large blanket of red fabric sprawled out across the space. Peter titled his head in confusion at this, though he chose not to question it.

Stepping a little bit further into the space, the teen cleared his throat, speaking up nervously, “Um, Mr. Stark?”

“Not now Rhodey, I’m busy,” Tony said loudly, not looking away from the machinery in front of him. Peter bit his lip, inching a bit closer as he tried again, a bit louder this time.

“Mr. Stark!”

Tony sighed heavily, setting down a piece of metal as he turned away from his workspace. “Seriously, Rhodey, I’m--” Words cutting off abruptly, the billionaire froze, catching sight of the teen in front of him.

“FRIDAY,” Tony slowly spoke, eyes wide as he continued to stare at the teen. “Turn off the music.” Almost immediately, the loud, rumbling sound of the music stopped, leaving nothing but an eerie silence behind. Peter squirmed slightly under the philanthropists’ unrelenting stare.

“How did you know that override code?” The man’s words were soft, and they held a sort of vulnerability that was rarely seen of the hero. Peter stared at Tony’s eyes as he began to process the billionaire’s words, taken aback by the drastic change in his demeanor. It was rare that he saw something raw and unguarded in Tony’s eyes, though, for some reason, a small bit of familiarity rose in him as he stared at the man. There was unadulterated shock present in his face, and his eyes reflect a bit of sadness, but not in a way Peter could really figure out. His mentor began to walk towards him with a soft smile on his face, and the teen continued to stare at him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Peter.” A hand met his shoulder, and Peter’s eyes widened, surprised by the sudden gesture. He felt a twinge of sadness as the act reminded him a little of Ben, but he quickly shook those thoughts away.

“I’m just going to preface this with the fact that I’m bad at this whole emotions thing, so forgive me if this isn’t very coherent,” Tony said, and Peter laughed softly, making the billionaire smile, “but there’s something I want to give you.” The spiderling blinked in surprise at this. A gift? For what?

“As you’ve probably figured out by now, I have a lot of uh, issues, to put it mildly,” the man said, dropping his hand from Peter’s shoulder and shoving both of the appendages into his pockets. “And I struggle a bit with coping with things, like you with the Vulture thing.”

“PTSD,” Peter whispered, and Tony gave him a small nod, that weird glint of sadness in his eyes again.

“Yeah. When I’m, I guess you could say, emotionally charged, I tend to lock myself in here and work, and I pull a lot of all-nighters and stuff. Don’t really eat much either.” Peter’s eyes widened at this, and a spark of worry filled his chest as he watched his mentor.

“But, Mr. Stark, that’s…,” the teen trailed off, and Tony sighed.

“Unhealthy? Dangerous? I know,” he muttered. “Because of that, Rhodey, Pepper, and I decided to make a code that would let them enter the lab without my permission when I decide to get like this. I usually don’t trust people with this because, well,” Tony shrugged, rocking back and forth on his feet a little to distract him from his discomfort, “I don’t really like showing people that part of me. It’s vulnerability, y’know? But I do trust you.” The man stopped rocking at this, and looked Peter in the eyes.

The teen’s eyes widened as he realized where his mentor was taking the conversation, and he immediately sputtered, quickly saying, “Mr. Stark, that’s--I mean, i-it’s your privacy! I wouldn’t want to intrude, or--”

“Pete.” Peter stopped talking at this, swallowing harshly as the billionaire walked closer to him.

“I trust you. And trust’s not an easy thing to get from me,” Tony said, voice a bit softer as he spoke. “I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t want you to know, alright?” Peter nodded, carefully maintaining eye contact with Tony as he spoke. There was a certain warmth in the man’s eyes that made him push away his doubts about getting this close with him. Since the beginning of this ordeal, a part of him believed that he didn’t belong by Tony’s side because he was just Peter Parker, a loser, and Tony was...well, Tony. But now, something in his mentor’s eyes told him that it was okay, and if Peter didn’t know any better, he would almost say that he felt really loved by the man.

“The code is ‘Stubborn Stark,’ by the way,” Tony said after a moment, and Peter immediately snorted, covering his mouth with a hand, shoulders shaking as he tried to restrain his laughter. His mentor rolled his eyes with feigned annoyance as he turned back to the workbench, saying, “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Rhodey and Pepper came up with it.”

“Well, they’re not wrong,” Peter managed out before bursting into laughter. Tony gave the teen a shocked look as he set a hand on his chest. “I show you a sign of my trust and already you betray me?”

“I’m just saying Mr. Stark, you’re a stubborn old man.” His mentor audibly gasped at this, causing Peter to snicker as he made his way next to Tony’s spot at the workbench.

“You need to learn some respect, young man,” Tony said, saying the last two words mockingly while giving him a pointed look.

“In what, respecting your elders?” Peter quipped, and the exasperated look Tony gave him only made the teen dissolve into more giggles. He didn’t miss the way his mentor’s lips tugged up at this, though.

“Where is all this sass coming from today? It’s like I’m talking to a new Peter,” Tony mused, and Peter could only shrug in response. “I learned it from the best.”

“Oh, great. I’m corrupting him,” the billionaire muttered sarcastically, and Peter knew it was meant to be a joke, but he still gave the man a pointed look.

“I also learned that getting help doesn’t mean you’re weak, and that wearing a mask doesn’t change who you are inside,” Peter said softly, causing Tony to pause and look at him, his expression startled. “And that emotional wounds are just as bad as physical ones, and they still deserve to be treated, even though you can’t see them. Not to mention a bunch of cool things about reactors and nanotech.” The teen couldn’t help but break a smile at the last bit, though it faded as he caught sight of Tony’s shocked face. He immediately flushed a bright red, heart starting to hammer in his chest as he began to wonder if he stepped over a boundary and oh god I think I scared him, what the hell was I think--

The feeling of two strong arms engulfing his small form broke him out of his thoughts, and, eyes wide with shock, Peter began to slowly register that Tony Stark was hugging him. Excitement lit up in his chest as he realized the fact, but it slowly gave way to content as he melted into his mentor’s strong arms, wrapping his own around his chest and pulling himself closer.

“I love you, kid,” Tony whispered softly, and Peter could sense the unshed tears in his voice. The teen smiled softly as he buried his face in Tony’s chest, warmth spreading across his body as the man continued to hold him tightly.

“I love you too, Mr. Stark.”

Memory slowly fading, Peter swallowed thickly, desperate to keep his tears at bay as the warmth of his mentor’s arms melted away. “You gave it to me,” he muttered softly, voice a little tense as he tried to keep it from shaking. Tony chuckled, the sound causing Peter to tense and he shook his head, bringing a palm up to his face.

“Kid, I don’t think you quite understand,” Tony said, massaging his temples. “That code is something I only give to people in my inner circle that I wholeheartedly trust, which doesn’t include you, by the way,” Peter flinched at this, although he knew it was true considering this Tony had never met him, “and out of the eight people in that circle, I’ve only given it to two. How the hell did you get your hands on that code?”

The teen swallowed back the lump of emotion in his throat, the sudden lack of trust sending sharpy, stinging tears to his eyes. “Like I said,” he muttered softly, “you gave it to me. About a year and a half after I met you, you told me the code.”

“Bullshit! I have a really hard time believing I gave a very confidential code to some kid,” the billionaire spat, and Peter tugged on his lip harshly, taking in a large breath of air to keep himself composed. Although he knew the man was very territorial of his privacy and didn’t really mean what he was saying, the statements still hurt. The only time he’d heard such a tone from Tony before was after the incident with the Ferry, and that had taken a bit of a toll on him. He’d never outright degraded Peter like this before, though, and the thought alone made his heart clench.

Eyes shining, Peter looked Tony in the eyes and shakily managed out, “I know you think it’s crazy, but a lot of things can change in a couple years. You opened up to me a lot after you started mentoring me, which I know you don’t do usually--you told me that too--but, one day, you just gave it to me because you said you trusted me. I honestly didn’t want to accept it because it’s private but you insisted.” The man’s body started to relieve some of its tension as he worked through Peter’s words, and Peter could see Tony’s mind whirling through what he knew was his worry and anxiety.

“Kid…,” Tony trailed off, breaking eye contact with him, guilt radiating off of the philanthropists’ body as he began to calm down.

“I know you didn’t mean it. You don’t let letting people in, and I get that,” Peter softly reassured the man. “And you don’t need to explain the kid thing--I know about that too.” He’d actually heard this bit of information from Rhodey a few months after the Vulture attack. After the incident Tony had taken to allowing him to come over to visit, and once or twice he mentioned his father during one of their heart-to-hearts, and the teen had asked Rhodey to elaborate in one instance when Tony was out on a sudden mission during their lab time. The man had carefully explained Tony’s relationship with Howard and how he feared turning into him, causing him to avoid the prospect of children altogether. It shed light on a lot of the distance he’d felt between him and the billionaire after the Civil War, and Peter had a newfound perspective on the elusive hero.

Currently, said elusive hero was simply staring at Peter, unmoving. To be honest, Peter didn’t quite understand why his actions were such a shock to the billionaire, but, of course, there were also many things that functioned differently in the past. Maybe he’d never been confronted like this before, though that seemed a bit strange considering him and Rhodey had probably had hundreds of talks like this before. Was it because he knew so much about Tony? Well, actually, that option was very likely considering, from Tony’s perspective, they met today.

Oh god, I think I broke him, Peter thought, restraining his smile as he watched the frozen billionaire stare and occasionally try to form words. “I think that’s enough of the serious talk though,” the spiderling said after a few more moments, deciding to spare the poor man. “I came up here to ask if maybe Happy could give me a ride home? My aunt wants me home by seven and I think I’d probably fall asleep midway if I just swung there.” He laughed sheepishly, the mention of the action drawing attention to the sudden weight growing underneath his eyes. This seemed to snap Tony back to attention, and he almost immediately reformed his composure and returned to his normal, slightly arrogant posterior.

“Of course, I can call him up,” Tony said with a tight smile. “Where to?”

“Queens.” The billionaire furrowed his eyebrows.

“Just Queens?”

“Yeah,” Peter flushed, before elaborating, “I told my aunt I’d be walking home.” The implications of the statement seemed to be quite clear to the man and he nodded, turning to look up at the ceiling.

“FRIDAY, sent a text to Happy and tell him he needs to give a kid a ride to Queens,” Tony announced.

“On it, boss,” FRIDAY responded.

“I think I’m going to go say goodbye to the others,” Peter voiced softly, adjusting his backpack straps slightly as he gave Tony a small smile. The billionaire nodded, and Peter started to move, pausing as he turned back. “Goodnight, Mr. Stark.”

“Night kid,” Tony said with a tense smile, and Peter turned to walk out of the lab, a large breath leaving his body as he made his way back into the living room.

I guess that was a little progress, he thought to himself as he entered the elevator once more. He didn’t seem too weirded out. I mean, he did kinda freeze up but I don’t think that was because he thought I was weird, right? He was just a little shocked. And that makes sense. Pressing the button for the next floor below, the doors closed, and he felt the elevator start to move down. If a time traveling kid telling stories of the apocalypse knew all my deepest secrets I would probably pass out. Oh god, no wonder Mr. Stark looked like he was going to faint. The doors opened with a soft ding, and Peter stepped out onto the Avengers’ main floor.

The first thing Peter noticed was that The Office was playing on the TV (“Depression? Isn’t that a fancy word for being bummed out?” “Dwight, you ignorant slut!”), which almost immediately lifted his mood. Sitting on the couches and chairs set out around the TV were Natasha, Steve, Sam, and Clint, although Clint seemed to be the most engaged in the show. It didn’t take long for the heroes to notice him, and they all greeted him with a smile, making his heart warm considerably.

The interactions themselves were brief, consisting of just simple goodbyes, although him and Natasha exchanged phone numbers, as well as Clint, who caused an uproar at Peter not giving him his number. (“What am I, chopped liver? I caught the squirt, I at least deserve his number!”) After a few more goodbyes and a couple hugs, Peter left the tower feeling content and a bit hopeful, and as he stepped into Happy’s car, he smiled softly, eyes growing heavy as he began to move closer to his home.

To say May was worried would be a large understatement.

Ever since she’d gotten the call from the school, there was a nervous fluttering in her chest that she couldn’t shake regardless of what she’d try to do. It tugged at her heart, and it caused her hands and her voice to shake, and there was that part of her brain that screamed it’s just like Ben, he’ll be gone just like Ben--but she knew that wasn’t the case after getting Peter’s call. And the call did cause her anxiety to subside, but it still was going to be a constant until she was able to see her nephew in front of her and had him in his arms so she would finally be able to know if he was safe.

When Peter had told her that he was at the graveyard, a small piece of her heart sank into her stomach. May knew that he was reacting too calmly to his death, her gut had been telling her time and time again to talk to him about it, but seeing his happy, energetic smile every morning before he’d leave for school took all of her worries away. She should’ve realized that he was grieving Ben too, and she felt so guilty for letting it fester up to this point. Pacing through the kitchen, she ran through these thoughts over and over again, passing by the bags of Thai she had ordered sitting on the counter.

I should’ve paid more attention, god, I should’ve paid more attention, May thought, sniffling softly as she gnawed on her lip for the umpteenth time that afternoon. I need to be there for him. I need to make sure he’s okay, oh god just please let me see my nephew, let him be safe--

Hearing the doorknob turn, May’s head immediately snapped up and her eyes flew to the door, watching it wildly as it opened. “Peter?”

“Hey May,” Peter said softly, giving her an awkward smile as he walked through the door. Closing it softly behind him, he watched as May quickly began to make her way over to him, dropping his backpack to the ground as she enveloped him in a tight hug.

“Peter,” she breathed, clutching onto the back of his sweatshirt tightly. Peter hugged her back just as tight, careful to reign in his strength as she started to tremble. His heart clenched at this, and he closed his eyes tightly, burying his face in her neck.

“I’m so sorry May,” he whispered, voice cracking slightly as he spoke.

“No, I’m sorry,” May responded, shaking her head. “God, I should’ve paid more attention...you and Ben were so close.” The teen felt his throat close off a little at this and he could only nod in response, unable to force any words out.

His aunt gave a soft sniffle, a small tear trickling down her cheek as she said, “Just let me know next time, okay? If you need a day off from school I get it, but you can’t skip like that.”

“Okay,” Peter nodded.

“And talk to me. I need to know what’s going on with you, Peter. And you don’t need to go through this alone,” May said, wiping her tear from her cheek. She smiled softly, slowly threading a hand through her nephew’s hair. “I honestly don’t get it with you two. Both you and your uncle have this thing over sacrificing yourselves. God know you’re stubborn like him, too.”

Peter laughed softly, sniffling, “I will, May.”

Pulling away from the hug, May brushed Peter’s hair away from his forehead and planted a soft, tender kiss against his skin. Peter smiled, giggling softly as she pulled away. “I brought some Thai home, if you’re hungry.”

“Sounds great,” Peter said with a smile, spotting the bags of food set in the kitchen. He started to walk over, but paused, suddenly remembering the sight of the missed calls and messages from Ned littering his phone screen. “But I think I’m going to call Ned first. He left me a bunch of voicemails and texts too and I don’t want him to be freaked out or anything.” May nodded, smiling softly at him.

“Alright, baby. Take all the time you need.” Peter expression warmed, and he smiled.

“Thanks May.” Walking out of the room, Peter quickly stepped up the stairs, making his way into his room as he took out his phone. Sitting on his bed, he turned on the device, staring at the screen as he exhaled softly. There’s no way I can cover this up alone this time, he thought grimly. I could barely handle just Spider-Man stuff when I had the internship excuse along with Ned’s, but now, without Mr. Stark and having to go help the Avengers… Peter’s heart fluttered as a spike of anxiety rose in his chest, doubt filling his mind as he clicked on Ned’s contact. Before, his friend found out on accident. He had never intended to tell Ned anything about his alter-ego--he hadn’t ever intended on anyone knowing. Every time his identity was outed, it was caused by something that was out of his control. But now, he was about to willingly spill all of his secrets for the first time. He was going to tell Ned everything that he had tried so hard to keep to himself, and that terrified him. Suddenly standing up, Peter quickly shook his head, forcing those thoughts out of his mind.

Peter Parker, for once in your life be responsible and do things the right way. Tell him.

Taking in a shaky breath, Peter pressed the call button, making his way over to the door and closing it as the phone rang. The reaction to the call was almost immediate; the phone only rang once before Ned’s nervous voice rang through the call, and Peter found himself smiling as a sense of familiarity washed over him.

“Peter! Are you there?” Ned said breathily, sounding like he had ran to catch the phone. Peter’s heart tugged at this. He already felt bad because he’d worried May, and he hadn’t realized that he could’ve caused Ned just as much worry.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Peter responded, and Ned laughed joyously.

“Oh my god dude, you scared the crap out of me! I thought you were sick or something but then your aunt called my mom and the both started freaking out cuz you went missing, and I called you a billion times and you didn’t respond so I started freaking out and then we all started freaking out,” Ned paused in his rant to catch his breath before continuing, “and it was a huge mess. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, don’t worry. I’m at home now,” Peter reassured him, a small smile rising to his face.

“Okay. Okay, that’s good,” Ned said with a nod. “Where were you all day though? What happened?”

“Uh, that’s actually kinda why I called you,” Peter said, a small spike of anxiety rising in his chest as he spoke. “I need to tell you something.”

“Peter, what did you do?” Ned asked, with an accusatory type of seriousness that made Peter let out a nervous chuckle.

“Don’t worry, it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s actually probably the last thing you would ever think of.”

Ned gasped. “Did you hook up with a high school girl?!”

“Ned, no,” Peter laughed, slightly forced as he felt a small stab to his pride. “Just,” he paused, letting out a breath as his heart continued to flutter with anticipation, “promise you won’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Oh, this is a secret,” Ned realized, and Peter could picture his raised eyebrows as he spoke. “Yeah, I got you.”

“And I know it’ll sound kinda crazy, but I’m not lying, I swear,” Peter said.

“I got it dude. I’ll believe whatever you’re about to say.” A small bit of relief hit him at this, and the teen let out a breath as he nodded.

“Okay. Okay,” he muttered, swallowing harshly.

“So, you remember that field trip we took to Oscorp?”

Wandering through the hallways and rooms of the tower, Vision hummed softly to himself, studying all of the different object within the room with great notice to detail as he floated about aimlessly. After the fight with Ultron, Vision had taken to developing a greater understanding of human emotions and habits, to try to be able to understand his teammates better as they continued to fight together and meet. He desperately wanted to be able to experience all of the things he’d missed out on. Sure, he was aware of things such as vacations and celebrating a birthday and cracking jokes, but he had never really taken part in such things and wasn’t sure how to go about doing them. So, he was going to start by observing these things in person, and studying the things that his teammates interacted with on a day to day basis. The things he had noticed so far were quite interesting. He’d noticed that different members of the team reacted to different things with different emotions unique to themselves. For example, if Tony were to crack a joke, Clint might laugh loudly, but Sam’s laugh would be more reserved. Steve would chuckle at most and Natasha would crack a smile. The range of emotion between all of the different members of the team was vast, and it was something that took a lot of close observation. Their body language around each other was a whole other field that Vision had yet to look into, but it related very closely to the emotion that was reflected in their eyes. The emotion in their eyes was different than their expressions, by the way.

As he wandered through the halls, a small sniffle interrupted his ponderings, causing him to pause in his movement. The noise seemed to have come from one of the rooms lining the halls (he had wandered into the living areas, he realized), and as he paused to listen more, he noticed it was coming from the end of the hall and, as he got closer, he identified it as Wanda’s room. Slowly making his way over to the doorway, he bit his lip, hesitantly opening the door.

“Wanda?” Vision asked softly, causing Wanda to jump as he peeked into the room. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” she said quickly, nodding as she quickly glanced at him, eyes almost immediately returning downwards. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He asked slowly, stepping into the doorway. “Is...is there anything you need to talk about?”

“Um…,” the witch trailed off, curling in slightly as she continued to look at the small frame in her hands. Vision’s eyes widened at the gesture, and he quickly spoke, “I-I, um, don’t mean to overstep or anything, if you don’t want to talk about it that’s completely fine too.”

Wanda nodded a little at this and slowly looked up at Vision, and he noticed that her eyes were slightly blotched and teary, and he realized with a start that she had been crying. Shifting so she was facing the doorway, she thumbed at the frame in her hands.

“He a lot like him,” she muttered softly, and Vision tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

“Peter,” Wanda said softly, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “He reminds me of my brother.” The android fell silent at this, the weight of the words leaving them hanging in the air as the room fell into a soft silence. Shifting uncomfortably on the bed, the witch set the picture down, the new angle allowing the android to see the picture inside. The picture consisted of a much younger Wanda and Pietro in the middle of what seemed to be a park or the woods, Pietro tugging at Wanda’s hair as she grabbed for his sleeve, both laughing and smiling widely. Vision’s heart gave a soft tug at the image and he smiled, starting to make his way over to the bed as Wanda began to speak again.

“It’s kind of funny, honestly. I mean, Peter, Pietro...what kind of coincidence is that?” The witch laughed softly and sniffled. Vision sat down next to her on the bed and she brought her knees up to her chest. “I know, me getting all emotional like this is stupid. They’re not even close in age or look anything alike, but…”

“But?” Vision pressed, and Wanda took in a shaky breath before continuing.

“But he reminds me of how we were before our parents died. Before HYDRA.” She paused, wiping her eyes once more as tears began to gather in them again. Sniffling, she took in another breath, swallowing to try to keep her voice steady. “Pietro had this sparkle in his eyes whenever he talked. Everybody loved him. How couldn’t you? He was so charming and funny, and he always went out of his way to make everyone’s day a little better. Everyone in the neighborhood called him their little treasure.” Wanda smiled softly at the memory, and Vision moved a little closer to her, picking his legs up onto the bed.

“I’m guessing young Peter has this spark you speak of as well,” Vision said softly, and Wanda nodded.

“I always kind of envied him for it, to be honest,” she muttered, looking down. “I was always so scared to go and talk to people and offer my assistance because I was afraid they would say no, or they would hurt me. But Pietro didn’t really seem to care, and just...god, I don’t know…” She shook her head, lip trembling as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. “He should be here instead of me.”

“No, Wanda,” Vision whispered softly, an emotion he had never felt before (it was very similar to sadness, but it had a different edge to it. Pity, maybe?) lighting up in his chest as the witch buried her face in her knees. He softly set a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “Wanda, what happened has happened, and there’s not much we can do to change it. Maybe you’re right, I don’t know enough to agree or disagree, but you are here now. All of us are here. We need to make the most of it while we can.” The witch said nothing, a soft nod being her only reaction to his words. Reaching a hand out, Vision softly set a hand on her cheek and led her face upwards to look at him, and his heart clenched seeing the fresh tear marks on Wanda’s cheeks.

“Wanda,” Vision said softly, “you’re possibly one of the most stunning people I’ve ever met. You’re beautiful, kind, considerate, and so, so strong, and I’m blessed to have been able to meet you. Pietro unfortunately had his time cut short here, and we should honor and remember him. But we don’t know how much time we have left on this Earth either, so let’s try to make the best of it together, okay?” A light pink rose to Wanda’s cheek as his touch lingered, and she nodded a little, looking up at him.

“Yeah, together.” Vision smiled, softly rubbing her cheek with his thumb as he looked at her, a warm fluttery feeling enveloping his chest. She gazed back at him, her eyes just as warm as he imagined his to be, and she leaned slightly into his hand, causing him to pause, blinking as he realized with a start what he was doing.

“I-I, um,” Vision stammered, pulling his hand away quickly. “I just, uh, forgot I need to...f-fold the laundry.” The android moved to stand up, stumbling a little as he misjudged the distance to the floor, and Wanda giggled, causing his face to warm. “Um,” he started, looking down with burning embarrassment, “It was nice spending time with you, Miss Maximoff. I hope you feel better.”

“It was nice spending time with you too, Vision,” Wanda smiled fondly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Vision said a little breathlessly, meeting her eyes once more as he smiled. He stared at her for a few moments, taking in the different dimensions of her face as that warm feeling enveloped his body once more. Vision then paused, eyes widening as he realized he was supposed to be leaving.

“Um.” He looked around awkwardly, turning to the wall as he gave her a small wave. “Bye.”

Watching him phase through the wall, Wanda waved back, chuckling softly at the android’s antics.

“Bye.”

“...and now I’m home,” Peter finished. The call fell silent as he concluded his story, Ned trying desperately to absorb all of the information he had been told.

“That’s…,” Ned said weakly after a moment, voice trailing off as he tried to find any kind of word to describe what he was feeling.

“I know, it’s a lot,” Peter responded with a soft laugh, looking down as he played with his fingers. “And it’s a little hard to believe, but I swear it’s true.”

“I believe you dude, don’t worry. It’s just...wow,” Ned breathed.

“Yeah,” Peter nodded, a small smile finding his way to his lips as he sensed the building excitement on the other end. Wait for it.

“And like...all that happened. For real.”

“Mhmm.” Wait for it…

“Dude, you’re an Avenger.” A pause. “Holy shit. You’re an Avenger!”

There it is.

“Wait, Peter, oh my god this is actually one of the coolest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” Ned exclaimed. “You have superpowers! You went into space and fought aliens! And you went back in time using a real life time machine!! You’re like, a cooler, more awesomer Marty McFly and Tony Stark’s Doc!” Ned then gasped loudly as he realized what he just said. “Oh my god you know Tony Stark.”

“Ned…,” Peter said with a slightly exasperated laugh.

“Hold on, just,” the other end of the call became muffled as his friend cut off his sentence, and the sounds of a far-off scream reverberated through the phone. Peter let out a loud laugh at this, and the muffled noises briefly resounded through the call once more as Ned picked up the phone again. “Okay, sorry, I know this is a lot more serious than I’m acting it is, I just needed to let that out. I’m good. Or well, for now. Because this is so cool. You’re so cool.”

Peter felt a spark of pride at this, and he temporarily let his ego inflate as a smile rose to his face. “Yeah, I guess it is,” he said with a small laugh. “But uh, I just really need your help with handling all of this, I guess. I have a lot of stuff to do now to help prepare for Thanos so I need someone to cover for me while I’m at the tower.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Definitely,” Ned asserted, excitement still underlying his tone.

“Thanks, Ned. That actually means a lot,” Peter said sincerely.

“It’s no problem. I mean, it’s literally the end of the world. Like, what you said with the dust and the stone things and stuff is honestly terrifying. I could never even imagine that kinda thing happening in real life,” Ned said, tone taking a turn towards something more serious, and Peter nodded.

“Yeah. I still can’t either, to be honest, It all feels kinda surreal,” the hero muttered softly. “I was really excited at the beginning of all this, y’know? I freaked out over hanging out with Mr. Stark and going on missions and stuff because it all seemed so cool and new, but after Thanos it suddenly seems so…”

“Real?” Ned softly offered.

“Yeah.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence as the words started to settle. After a brief moment, Ned took in a breath, and said, “It makes sense. You saw people die, and you went back in time. I really can’t imagine what that must be like. Just the thought of going back and having to do three years over again is crazy. I mean, no one would remember all the cool stuff we did and the funny stuff we said and all that. And I know I don’t remember a lot, but I’m still here for you Peter. You don’t have to go through all this stuff alone.”

As he listened to his friend, Peter felt wetness start to gather in his eyes, the familiarity of the situation lifting a weight off of his chest that he didn’t even realize was there. After long, and particularly heavy patrols the first person Peter thought to go to about it was Ned. The two would very often have long calls at night to try to process through the events of his patrol and take his mind off of it, and the fact that it was happening again truly made Peter feel like he was in familiar territory. It was one of those things he didn’t want to leave behind, and that fact that it had come back made him feel stronger.

“Thank you,” Peter managed out, and he could feel Ned’s warm smile from the other end.

“You’re welcome,” his friend softly. After a small pause, Ned’s voice came through the voice again, much more lively than it was just a moment ago. “Hey, so like, can I help you though? If you ever go out and fight.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked, eyebrows only furrowing slightly before he realized where the conversation was heading.

“You know in movies how the main guy has his friend with all the computers telling him where to go?” Ned asked, before elaborating, “The guy in the chair. I could be your guy in the chair!”

Peter could help the bright smile that rose to his lips. “The guy in the chair?”

“Yeah! Come on Peter, that would be so sick!” Ned pled. “Can I do it?”

Sighing, Peter nodded, “Sure. Yeah, you can be my guy in the chair.”

“Sweet!” His friend exclaimed excitedly. “Oh my god this is going to be so cool! I’m like, the Robin to your Batman, but I don’t actually go out and fight or have a cool costume or anything--wait, oh my god we should make costumes--”

“Hey, why don’t we talk more about this tomorrow at school,” Peter quickly cut in before Ned could start rambling. “It’s getting a bit late, and I’m pretty tired.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Okay!” Ned said. “Night Peter! See you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

“Bye!”

“Bye.”

Ending the call, Peter set his phone down on his bed with a sigh, plopping down on his mattress. He really was tired; the day was really eventful and long, and he felt like he’d been moving non-stop--which was true, he had been moving non-stop for the past couple of days. The past three days of his life had consisted of going into space, crashing onto an alien planet, meeting alien superheroes, fighting a giant purple alien, dying, going back in time--god, it was so much. And now, he was stuck in an unfamiliar body in what seemed like a completely different world, with the literal weight of the universe on his shoulders.

As he rolled onto his side, he realized with a start that he wanted to go home. Not his literal home, because he was in his room, but his home as in his time. He didn’t want to do everything over again, he just wanted to be able to go out and be Spider-Man, and sleep over with Tony on the weekends and gossip with Pepper about her fiance's antics. He wanted to be able to chat with May about his nighttime activities and joke around and make spider puns without feeling weird and insecure, and he wanted to be able to joke around with MJ about how stupid Flash was. He just wanted his life back.

But that was naive, he thought, blinking back the tears that had crawled into his eyes. He knew that there was no physical way he could be able to go back whether he wanted to or not, and he knew he couldn’t afford to want to either. There was too much at stake for him to let these feelings get in the way. It was going to be long and difficult, and he’d have to rebuild relationships and trust that he had worked hard to gain, but it was something he would have to do. Thanos was a real, eminent threat to their world, and it was his duty as a hero and as an Avenger to protect everyone he could. Mr. Stark sent me here with a purpose, he reminded himself once more, bringing a pillow up to his chest as he hugged it tightly. We have to win this time. This is our last chance to save the world from Thanos, and we need to do it. And I’m going to do it.

Whatever it takes.