Standing Steady

Peter took one last look at the paper, then stuffed it in his bag. Here's hoping Bucky and Steve didn't know about it.

He stepped out of the elevator onto their floor and peered around the corner into the living room. Bucky and Steve were nowhere to be found. Peter took the W and dashed to his room, closing the door behind him.

He couldn't resist looking at the paper again, so he pulled it out of his backpack and set it on his desk.

Dear parents,

Our science class has received the incredible opportunity to tour Stark Industries' research and development labs. Please sign the permission slip and attached non-disclosure agreements to grant your child permission to join us on the trip.

Mr. Raymond Warren

Below his name, Mr. Warren had provided his email address and school telephone number.

After May had passed away unexpectedly, Bucky and Steve took Peter in without hesitation. Peter would always be grateful for them, but he had worked so hard to keep this a secret. Sure, Ned and MJ knew, but he thought about all the lies he told to kids who asked why he walked a different way than he had for the past 2 years, or how he had to be careful not to talk about Bucky or Steve at school for fear of being asked too many questions. How was he supposed to get out of this now?

His thoughts were interrupted by a short knock at the door. Peter scrambled to hide the paper in the others on his desk, then tried to act casually. The door opened just as Peter sat stiffly in a chair.

He turned, trying to be casual, "Hey, Buck!" He squeaked.

Bucky raised an eyebrow, "Hey, kid. How was school?"

Peter made a vague gesture, "Y'know..."

He cringed at his own answer, Damn it, Parker!

"Alright...Where's your permission slip?"

Peter's heart dropped to his ass, "W-what permission slip? Did you get a permission slip? I didn't get a permission slip. Maybe I should call Ned and see if he got a permission slip. Maybe I missed it. Which would be strange because I-" He almost cut himself off when Bucky crossed his arms and gave him The Look, "I would definitely have gotten one if there was one."

An awkward silence encased the room as Peter avoided Bucky's stare.

Steve approached Bucky from behind and entered the room too, "Oh, hey Peter! Did Bucky sign your permission slip?"

Peter gulped, "I-uh, well I-"

Steve mimicked Bucky's stance, raising an eyebrow and giving him The Look (Patriotic Edition).

Finally, Peter sighed and pulled it out from under a pencil cup and a stack of flashcards, "I don't want to go."

Bucky took it and grabbed a pen off Peter's desk, "Too bad. Tony set it up and he insisted we sign it. I think he just wants to show you off."

Peter thought rapidly for a minute, trying to find something, anything, to keep Bucky from signing the form, "Isn't it weird that I have to sign a permission slip to go to my own house?"

Bucky scribbled Steve's name on the paper (Steve scoffed indignantly) and dropped the pen back in the cup, "Aren't our lives wild?"

Peter stared at the black ink on the paper in front of him, "Bucky!" He called as Steve and Bucky left the room.

Bucky looked back and reentered, leaning against the doorway, waiting for Peter to get out with it. Peter blushed and stared at the carpet, unable to meet Bucky's gaze, "I've worked so hard to keep this...living situation...a secret. I know that the school knows, but it's different talking about it with the kids in my class. I don't want to talk about Aunt May with people I don't even know. I don't know how to explain this."

Bucky looked almost hurt, "So, you don't want anyone to know about us. Because, what, you're ashamed?"

"No!" Peter jumped out of his seat, standing in front of his desk, "No, of course not. I just..." He looked at the ground again, fiddling with his hands, "It still hurts to talk about her. I don't want to waste my time and energy explaining my life to people."

Bucky wrapped his arm around Peter, "Well, I'll let you in on a little secret: you don't have to explain anything to anyone. If they ask you why you live here, your answer can simply be 'Because.'"

Peter giggled, leaning into him, "I guess you're right. As long as you guys don't embarrass me too bad."

Bucky gave Peter a quick kiss on the forehead, then left him with instructions to finish his homework. When he stepped into the hallway and closed the door, he found Steve, Bruce, Clint and Natasha standing outside the door, eavesdropping on the conversation.

Bucky stared at them with wide eyes. They all stared back. Clint spoke first, "We're gonna embarrass him so bad."

Steve had to practically drag Peter out of bed but he was there. No backpack, no supplies. He had gone to school, only to get on the bus and turn back around.

He was standing in the lobby, his security pass tucked into his jacket pocket. Ned was practically shaking with excitement, "Is it weird to go on a field trip to your house? Did Steve and Bucky think it was weird? God, it must be so weird."

Peter threw his hands up, "That's what I said!"

Flash had kept his distance, but he kept an eye on Peter from across the room. Peter was avoiding his glare as a nervousness settled in his stomach.

Finally, an intern Peter recognized as Sawyer from Dr. Banner's lab stepped up to the front of the group. He waited until the group had settled, then launched into his speech, "Hey guys, welcome to Stark Industries. I'm excited to give you guys a tour of our R&D department and of some of the Avengers memorabilia. Before we head upstairs, each of you will come and get a security badge. These must stay on you and visible at all times. Your teacher will pass them out." Mr. Warren began to move through the crowd, "There are a few levels of security here at Stark Industries. Guests and tours all receive Zeta level badges. This means you cannot go anywhere unless accompanied by someone of a higher security level. R&D interns all have Gamma level badges, meaning they can access labs, research facilities located in other places, and certain designated offices.  Personal assistants, office workers, and other staff receive Beta level, which is essentially unrestricted access to labs, offices, research facilities, and all floors except the personal floors. Finally, the Avengers and their family receive Alpha level clearance, giving them access to everything, including personal floors, such as gyms and bedrooms."

Shit. Peter hadn't realized so few people had his level of clearance. He knew FRIDAY was going to out him to all these people. He cringed as Sawyer shepherded the class toward the scanner. He caught Peter's eyes and smiled brightly, "Hey, Peter! I didn't know you where here!" 

Peter nodded curtly, "Yep."

Sawyer smiled, "I'm sure you know all this stuff already." He joked, then he headed back to the front of the group, "One at a time through the scanner, please."

As each person stepped through the scanner, FRIDAY graciously announced their name and clearance level.

Ned stepped through, "Ned Leeds, Zeta."

Peter took a breath, then stepped through the scanner, "Peter Parker, Alpha. Welcome back, Mr. Parker. Should I inform Mr. Stark, Sergeant Barnes, or Captain Rogers of your arrival?"

Peter cringed, feeling everyone's head snap towards him, "No, thank you."

"Very well, Mr. Parker."

Whispers spread like a wildfire and Peter could pick up some of them, "Who is Alpha clearance for again?"

"Why would it tell Captain America that Peter was here?"

Flash was the only one bold enough to say something, "Really, Peter? How much did you have to beg Stark to get it to say that?" He tilted his head in mock thought, "Is that why you were so tired this morning? Up all night, begging?" 

Ned stepped between the two, "Back off, Flash."

Peter sighed as Flash stepped back to the group. Somewhere, Sawyer was talking but Peter didn't bother to listen. Ned turned to him, keeping his voice low, "Don't listen to him. He's just jealous."

Peter buried his face in his hands. God forbid someone shows up right about now. He wasn't sure if he would be able to handle the embarrassment.

As if on cue, Bruce stepped out of his lab. He smiled brightly at Sawyer, "Ah. Hi, Sawyer. Touring today?"

Sawyer nodded, "Trying to pick up some extra hours. Saving up for a ring for my girl." 

Bruce nodded and smiled warmly, "Let me know when you're finished. I'm sure I can find something for you to help out with." Bruce scanned the group of kids, then his eyes landed on Peter. For the umpteenth time that day, Peter cringed. Bruce raised his eyebrows, "Peter! I forgot this was today."

Bruce excused himself as he pushed past students. He turned to Ned first, "Ned, it's good to see you again."

Ned beamed, "You too, Dr. Banner."

Bruce chuckled, taking off his reading glasses and sticking them in his pocket, "Bruce, please." He then looked at Peter, "Will you help with the demonstration for your class?"

Peter sighed and met Bruce's eyes. He really couldn't say no to him, "Yeah. I'll help."

Bruce grinned, a rare sight, "Perfect!" He walked up to the front and Sawyer settled the group, "Welcome to the labs, everyone. Sawyer has already gone over the rules, so I won't do it again, but I will remind you guys to be careful. Don't make me use my Ph.D. in medicine and we'll get along just fine." He joked, then he waved Peter up. Peter's face burned. He knew exactly what was expected of him.

Bruce gestured to Peter and handed him some black gloves, "I'm sure you guys all know my friend Peter. Peter's going to demonstrate these gloves for me. They were designed in collaboration with Wakanda's own Princess Shuri." Peter smiled at the thought of his friend. He should call her; it's been a while, "These gloves absorb impact and redistribute the kinetic energy. The Black Panther suit does the same, but we wanted to see if we could make it more compact."

Bruce ushered Peter inside his testing chamber as Peter slipped the gloves on and assumed a strong stance to catch whatever was being thrown at him. Bruce made sure the mic was off, then put a hand on Peter's back, "These are just some gloves I stole from Clint's bedroom, so you better catch this car."

Peter stood up in shock, "I'm sorry, what?"

At that moment, Bruce signaled someone. The garage door opened and a blue Camry came whizzing toward him. Peter assumed Spider-Man mode and crouched to level with the bumper. Closer, closer...

There was a crunch as Peter caught a 1.5-ton car with only a pair of Clint's winter gloves to between the unforgiving metal and his bare hands. There was an awed noise from his classmates as Sawyer continued to talk about Wakanda's contributions to the world and collaboration with Stark Industries. Bruce reentered the testing chamber, chuckling to himself, "Feel good?"

Peter pulled off the gloves, "Is the mic off?"

Bruce nodded, trying to keep a smile off his face.

He put them in Bruce's hands, "I'll kill you in your sleep."

Bruce doubled over laughing as Peter exited the testing room. His face burned as he felt everyone stare at him. Some kid he didn't know very well shouted, "That was so cool!"

Ned puffed out his chest proudly and looked like he was about to say something, but Sawyer spoke before he could, "Let's continue down through the offices, then we'll break for lunch." Sawyer launched into his spiel about how hard everyone in the offices worked. Peter knew that firsthand; Pepper was always working like crazy.

Ned looked awestruck, "How do you just live here?" He said, eyeing some of the tech in the labs they passed.

Peter put a hand on Ned's shoulder, "Dude, shut up."

Ned looked at him with wide eyes, "Oops. Right. Secret."

The clicking of high heels snapped Peter out of their conversation. Peter turned to see Pepper typing on her phone, walking toward the group, followed by a glum-looking Clint. She looked up and smiled warmly at Peter. The rest of the group had begun to take notice, but nobody said anything, "Hi, Peter. Hi, Ned." She said, brushing Peter's hair off his forehead and smiling at them.

"Hi, Pepper!" The two boys chorused (although Peter's response was far less enthusiastic than Ned's)

Clint waved half-heartedly, "Hey guys."

"What are you in for?" Peter joked. 

Clint's face crumpled to frustration, "I was hiding in the vents to scare you guys, but Pepper caught me."

Pepper patted his cheek, "Next time, darling." Then she smiled and walked back into her office.

"I should go too, but just a warning, Barnes said he and Rogers were coming down to see you at lunch."

Peter's heart swelled, but it was short-lived. He loved Bucky and Steve more than anything, but he couldn't hide behind this internship much longer. His Parker luck kicked in as Sawyer announced, "Now that we've talked a bit about the day-to-day operations of Stark Industries, we'll break for lunch. You guys can follow me to the cafeteria."

Peter had never eaten in the cafeteria. He was always in someone's penthouse when he ate at the Tower, so this was a new experience. He sat next to Ned and pulled out the sandwich that Steve had insisted he take ("I can just grab something from the kitchen!" "Yeah, okay, Pete, talk about drawing attention to yourself!").

He was on alert, waiting to see Bucky and Steve walk into the cafeteria. As lunch was in its last 15 minutes, Peter let his guard down. Maybe he could get through this.

Of course not.

Bucky entered from the furthest entrance from Peter's table and crossed through the group of students, who whispered, "Oh my god, that's the Winter Soldier." Dramatically, Bucky rolled his left shoulder. The metal plates in his arm shifted and clicked into place with a quiet whir.

Peter's face burned and Ned looked at him in alarm, "Bucky. Behind you." 

Ned's eyes got wide, "Holy shit." 

Bucky rounded the table and sat next to Peter. He nodded at Ned, "Hey, Ned."

Bucky and Ned had only met a handful of times. Usually, Bucky hid out in his bedroom when Peter had friends over. Ned and Steve got along quite well, however. Ned all but swooned, "Hi, Mr. Barnes."

Bucky smirked at the formality, then leaned into Peter, "Nobody's been giving you too much trouble, have they?"

Peter thought for a moment, "Hmm. The kid or the team?" 

Bucky chuckled, "Pepper already caught Clint and I hear Bruce made you catch a car." Bucky looked a little perturbed at that.

"Yeah, but it was fine. I've caught trains before."

Bucky gave Peter The Look (Lite), "You're not making me feel better. I'm 100 years old. Cut me a break here, kid."

Peter laughed and Bucky smiled fondly, then it dropped, "Seriously though, anyone I need to worry about?"

Peter shrugged, looking at Ned (who also shrugged), "Not really. Flash is being an idiot as usual, but he wouldn't dare do anything in a place where someone might see him." Bucky didn't look soothed, "Really, I'm fine."

There was a moment where Bucky simply looked at Peter, then he dropped it, "If you say so, kid. Steve and Nat are working on the fighting demonstration, that's the only reason they didn't come," He raised an eyebrow, "And you know they would push this more than me. Be grateful it was just your dad with the metal arm."

Peter put his head in his hands, "I think I would die of embarrassment if Steve had walked in here."

Bucky chuckled, "I'll be sure to tell him you said that." Peter looked up at Bucky, groaned, and leaned back into his hands. Bucky patted his back gently, grinning, "You'll live, kid. Plus, " Bucky leaned in to whisper, "I'll give you five bucks if you volunteer for Steve's demonstration and kick his ass."

Peter looked at Bucky hesitantly, then he grinned back, "You're on." Bucky laughed once more, then left through the nearest door. 

If looks could kill, Flash's glare from across the room could've lit both Peter and Ned on fire. Peter nodded his head toward Flash, "Flash looks about ready to kill both of us."

Ned shrugged, "I don't understand why. We didn't do anything." The two rolled their eyes at the same time, then burst into giggles.

The laughing dispersed when Flash came and sat in Bucky's seat, "So, it's the Winter Soldier now, huh? Wow, Parker, you cougar. You jumped from Stark to Barnes, who's double his age!" Flash leaned back in his chair, "Gotta say, Peter, I am impressed."

"What was that?"

Even Peter flinched at Bucky's low growl from behind Flash. Flash stood and came face-to-face with the world's deadliest assassin. He stuttered, "I-uh, well, I..." Bucky cut him off by giving him a sharp nod back towards Flash's previous seat. With a noise that surprised Peter more than Bucky's surprise entrance, Flash retreated to his table.

Bucky looked furious. He set a water bottle on the table, "You forgot this when you left this morning." He said. He was clearly pushing calmness into his voice, "I'll see you after school." Bucky essentially stormed off. Peter, without thinking, jumped up and followed.

"Bucky!" He called to the super soldier, who was already halfway down the hall. Bucky stopped but didn't turn around. Peter rushed to catch up to him, "Please don't be upset. It's really not that bad."

Bucky tensed, sighed, then softened his face, "I'm not mad at you, kid. I think you should've said something, but fine." Bucky ran a hand over his face and sighed again, tiredly. Peter looked at the floor guiltily. Bucky smiled at him fondly and pulled him into a hug, "I'm not upset, pal. Go back with Ned. I'll see you in the gym, okay?" Peter took a minute to breathe Bucky in, then nodded into his shirt and pulled away.

Bucky and Peter shared a small smile before Bucky ruffled Peter's hair and walked off toward the gym, "Buck?"

He stopped and turned around.

Peter fiddled with his hands, "Don't tell Steve. Not yet." Bucky nodded once, then disappeared around the corner.

Peter returned and finished his lunch without incident. He and Ned talked about something other than SI and the Tower and the team. Then, Sawyer called for everyone to throw their trash away and they would continue into the gym.

The gym was Peter's favorite place, besides the apartment. It was spacious and had large windows that let large waves of sunlight into the room. At the center of the room was a 12x12ft sparring mat. Lining the walls were various exercise machines and workout zones. Natasha and Pepper did yoga, Steve boxed, and Sam liked to run. He preferred to run outside, but after he joined the Avengers, he really couldn't get a moment of peace when he went outside. 

At the center of the room, Steve and Nat were dressed in their usual workout clothes. Bucky was saying something to them and Peter prayed it wasn't about him. When Steve caught sight of the group, he cleared his throat to signal Bucky (who stopped talking immediately) and greeted the class with a warm smile, "Welcome, guys. I'm Captain Rogers and this," He gestured to Natasha, "Is Agent Romanoff. She and I are going to be demonstrating a little bit of the way we train. One of the ways we train is sparring."

Natasha stepped forward, "Sparring is ake the motions of fighting without actually landing any hard blows. We use this to keep our reflexes sharp and learn how to be light on our feet." 

Steve crossed his arms, "Natasha and I will show you guys a bit, then," With a twinkle in his eye, he looked directly at Peter, "My friend Peter will give us a hand."

Bucky sauntered over and stood next to Peter. He gave a low whistle to get Peter's attention, then held his hand out at waist level. In between his metal fingers was a $5 bill that was almost certainly from Steve's wallet. Peter and Bucky shared a chuckle until Steve cleared his throat. When they turned to look at him, Steve raised an eyebrow and the two smothered their amused grins.

Steve launched into his tangent about safety when fighting or even sparring, and talked about how you have to know your limits. Peter and Ned stood in the back, watching Bucky make fun of Steve when he wasn't paying attention. 

Finally, Natasha and Steve took a fighting stance. Steve lectured the class about different sparring drills, showing some of them. Bucky rolled his eyes and leaned down to Ned and Peter, "He talks about those like he ever does them." Ned and Peter snickered, then Steve gave Peter a mischevious smirk.

"Well, now that we've talked about drills, we can show you some freestyle sparring. Peter, why don't you come up here?"

Peter flushed and heard Flash snicker, "Peter and I have trained together a bit already, so he knows how to spar a little bit." Then, Steve turned to Peter, "How much is Bucky paying you to kick my ass?" He said in a low voice.

Peter shrugged, "$5. Not like I need it." Then, Peter lunged forward and took Steve down by the waist. The group let out a gasp (Did he just tackle Captain America?)

Peter pinned Steve down, but Steve pulled a knee up and pushed Peter back up onto his feet. Then, Steve laughed a fist forward. Peter caught it, twisting it behind his back and pushing him back down on the floor. Nat slapped the floor, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5!" She cheered when Peter held a struggling Steve down against the ground.

Steve chuckled and Peter let up. When Steve stood up, he pulled Peter into a one-armed hug, "And, that's how you spar, kids. Thanks for coming to see our demonstration!" He said, back in full Captain America mode. Then, he looked down at Peter and ruffled his hair, "Nice going, Pete." 

Peter leaned into Steve's side, "Thanks, Steve." The group seemed too involved in their own conversations (which Peter could hear were about him) to notice Steve press a kiss to the top of Peter's head and then push him off towards Ned and Bucky.

"Dude, that was AWESOME!" Ned said, bouncing excitedly. 

Bucky chuckled too, handing Peter the bill and crossing his arms, "Nice work, pal. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

Peter blushed, "Whatever." He said, dodging the compliment.

Bucky followed the group as Sawyer closed the tour and brought everyone back downstairs. As the group filed out (all staring at Peter. He knew he would have to deal with that tomorrow), Bucky leaned over to Peter's teacher, "Peter is going to be staying here."

Mr. Warren's eyes widened a bit, "Um, I'm sorry, but Peter has to return to school."

Bucky crossed his arms, the metal plates shifting and whirring as Steve came up behind him, "We sent him with a note this morning, but we'd be happy to have another conversation with the principal if necessary." Just like Steve to go through all that bureaucratic nonsense, while Bucky would use sheer intimidation and force. 

Peter chuckled a bit when Mr. Warren gulped and backtracked, "Oh, I'm sure that won't be necessary. Peter, do you have all of your things?"

Peter nodded, knowing that he would burst out laughing if he spoke. With that, Mr. Warren nodded and followed the rest of the class outside. Peter bid Ned a goodbye with the promise of calling him tonight, then turned back to Bucky and Steve. 

He glared at them, "You two are the worst."

Bucky and Steve doubled over laughing, "Hey, at least Pepper caught Clint before he dropped out of the vents and made you and Ned shit yourselves." Steve managed to get out in between gasping breaths. Bucky was laughing so hard that his face was red and he was leaning against the wall for support.

"I hate you both." He grumbled, walking into the elevator with Bucky and Steve close behind.

They leaned all leaned against the wall of the elevator. Bucky leaned over and poked Peter in the side, "No, you don't."

Peter smirked and let out a small giggle.

Bucky raised his eyebrows at Steve, mockingly, "Oh my god. Someone's ticklish."

Peter tried to force his smile back down, "No, I'm not."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, poking him on the other side. Peter giggled a little more this time.

Then, as the doors opened, Steve scooped Peter up and tickled his sides and stomach.

"S-stop!" Peter gasped out, attempted to push Steve's hands away. Steve didn't relent until they got to the couch, where he deposited Peter into Bucky's lap. 

The three of them laughed breathlessly. Peter's legs stretched out over Bucky's lap, his head on Steve's chest. Steve's right arm stretched around Peter to play with Bucky's hair gently.

"So," Steve said, smiling mischievously, "When's the next field trip?"