Captain America
“-----and you’re not even listening!”
Peter Parker was about twenty seconds away from dozing off. And not in the cute, fall asleep, head-in-hand, minimum drool kind of way, but the kind that would mean definitely smacking his head on the table of this crowded cafeteria. Even if he went through with face planting into his textbook, even through all the laughter and commotion of the action, he would still probably find himself in a deep and reverent sleep and honestly he was starting to favor that deal. Who cares if all the best and brightest of the greater NY area would probably meme the hell out of this experience--- sleep, even the kind that came from being knocked unconscious was a very pertinent guest right now. Ned Leeds, best friend supreme, was probably the only thing keeping him awake.
“No, no I am listening… you said…” Involuntarily he closed his eyes again, and could feel the cool tug of sleep. Just five minutes. That’s all he needed, and then he’d be good.
“And now you’re falling asleep again----- DUDE!”
Peter snapped awake, blinking through his exhaustion like it was a physical obstacle.
“No! ‘m not falling asleep I was just…. Visualizing what you were saying.”
Although his yawn impaired his vision, Peter felt rather than saw Ned’s eye roll. “Really? Visualizing? With your eyes closed? Visualize this.” Ned gave him a particular finger and Peter laughed, swiping at his hand as a means to put it away.
Last night had been rough. He was so incredibly close to catching this big-bad who self-named himself ‘The Vulture’ when two of his henchmen had caught onto Spider-Man trailing them. They moved in a caravan, and Peter had taken a wrong guess as to which vehicle would be the most lucrative. ‘The Vulture’ got away in some stereotypical black SUV, but the one at the back of the parade hadn’t been so lucky. His goons were webbed up appropriately by the downtown 8th Bakery, with a note asking for a garbage pick-up ASAP. He hadn’t gotten their ring leader, but whatever was in that van had clearly been important enough for the guys to try (and fail) to barter their way out.
Now, Peter Parker was sitting in some public Brooklyn High School cafeteria waiting for the regional Decathlon match to begin. It was MJ’s first as captain and she had explicitly emphasized that she will castrate anyone under performing, so yeah, maybe he needed a wake up call.
“Seriously dude, where were you last night? Tony called my mom and I had to pretend like you were in the bathroom. For like hours. She thinks you’re trying to pass a kidney stone.”
With the bruises he got from last night, he’s starting to prefer some of the outlandish lies Ned makes up. The walnut sized bruise on his sternum was only just now fading, and that had been from a skirmish two days ago. He may heal fast but it seems like he stays eternally sore now.
“I know, I’m sorry, I was… busy. I almost caught that Vulture guy, it was…” awesome. “painful. He got away but I picked up some weird tech from his car I’ve got to decode…” He patted his backpack fondly as a reference. He would love to consult the world’s most brilliant man Tony Stark on this but explaining how exactly he got his hands on some black market tech was not a conversation he’d like to start.
“I promise to make it up to you, how about you stay at the compound this weekend? Tony put in a new surround sound so it’ll feel like we’re actually in Naboo when we watch Phantom Menance.”
Ned brought a hand to his face and stroked his chin as if in deep thought. It was clear since this morning that Ned wasn’t mad, just worried, but sweetening the deal was just a friendship courtesy. “Accept your apology, I do.” Ned answered.
Peter went in to solidify the deal with their hand shake, but before their fingers could meet, MJ appeared and slammed a dense pile of books on the space between them.
“Brought you nerds some homework.” She announced, gesturing at the mound like it were a present. “I have a feeling they’re going to ask about relative frequencies, statistical probabilities, Z-scores, you know, the fun stuff.”
Ned flipped through the first few pages on one of the books. Even if Peter had been literally struck by lightning in that moment, he still would have fallen asleep just from looking at that book. No way he was going to last the day running on E. The word ‘statistical probabilities’ in itself was like a warm cup of milk to his brain.
“How are you so sure?” Ned questioned, still looking at the book like it was cursed.
“Captain’s intuition. The force. Sixth sense. Pick your favorite nerd reference.” And with no parting gesture, she walked away towards the adjacent table where Flash & Gwen were studying History. It was comments like that that made Peter’s heart drop to his ankle. With all this double meaning MJ packed behind her words she had to know, but what really drove Peter crazy was HOW she could know. He was so careful, not even his father---- the most powerful man in New York had figured it out. Ned only found out when Peter had gotten a particularly bad black eye that he needed a night at Ned’s house to recover from before he saw Tony. Ned would never tell, and obviously Peter would never be foolish enough to let it slip so either Peter was paranoid or MJ needed to be hired by every spy agency in the world.
“You know what my sixth sense is telling me?” Ned broke his train of thought.
Peter yawned ungracefully, his mind too slow to guess.
“I’m hungry. If only I had a best friend who could apologize with snacks…”
The teen laughed at Ned’s comment, but stood up all the same. If a bag of Doritos was all it took to get Ned Leeds to lie to Tony Stark again, then he could spare the four quarters it took.
“Cool Ranch!” Ned called to Peter’s retreating form.
“I know what to do.”
Considering he was still very much a high school student, he shouldn’t be focusing on tracking down a super villain. He should be focusing on the match, or his homework, or hell even the impeding dates of Homecoming! But right now as he aimlessly stumbled through the unknown halls of this Brooklyn school, his thoughts could only be traced back to one thought: what was so important? The guys Peter strung up seemed terrified to have been caught and not because of the mask, or the threat of cops but because of what this ‘Vulture’ dude would do to them when he found out what they lost. Peter had even checked the car---- it was really just full of junk. The only thing he’d taken to get a more in depth look was a few marked trinkets and a small black box that looked like an old school pager. But Peter had seen pagers before, Tony programmed one to sing happy birthday in beeps to Doctor Strange on everyday but his birthday----- and the one he found in the Vulture’s trunk didn’t operate normally at all. It didn’t even turn on, and Peter had hit it like… twenty times. It had to be apart of something, maybe even related to that alien arms dealing the king pin was so fond of. With such a peculiarity safely sitting in Peter’s backpack, his thoughts wandered to conspiracy theories rather than equations.
It was in this spacey mindset that he rounded the corner and was immediately met with a brick wall of a human. They collided instantly, and jumped apart just as quick thanks to two pairs of super human reflexes. The other’s hands had even come down on either side of Peter’s arms to steady him unnecessarily, and while he was confused as to the why, he definitely knew the who.
“Steve?!” Peter greeted with surprise.
“Hey, Pete! Surprised?”
In response, Peter just wrapped his arms around the very sturdy torso of Captain America. It had been what----four months since they last saw each other and somehow it still felt like years. His beard had grown in, his smile was wide, and assumedly Peter had grown as now he could look at Steve’s eyes without craning his neck. He looked good----like he’d actually gotten a night of rest and a hearty breakfast. The super solider wore a loose hoodie and a baseball cap that said ‘Brooklyn Nets’ and did absolutely nothing to hide his features or muscles. Peter knows this is supposed to be Steve’s incognito look, but no man with that level BMI could ever be invisible in a crowd.
“What are you doing here, I thought the Avengers were on some mission?” Tony had called when Peter was in the suit last night to let him know he was flying out first thing to Singapore for some Avengers thing and that if he didn’t ‘livestream’ the whole damn Decathalon match, Tony would make Peter singlehandley recreate it later. He left with a thousand apologies as to why he couldn’t make it, and how he’d find an alternate for his absence but America’s Righteous Man was not who Peter thought would sub in. Especially considering recently he’d been deployed on and off so frequently. Peter had tried facetiming Steve once but it would have legitimately been easier to teach the fundamentals of a video call to a dead person.
“No, I just got back! Tony, Clint, Wanda, Rhodey, and Nat all answered that call, so I figured they could save the world without me just this once. Tony told me you didn’t have your usual fan club, and obviously that’s unacceptable.”
Peter could feel his cheeks flush. Peter had literally seen all of the Avengers in their (surprisingly normal) pajamas-----they were virtually family! But still, every time one of them commented on that fact Peter was left wondering how in the hell he’d gotten so lucky.
When he looked back at Steve, he noticed something peculiar about his stance. He was still staring at Peter as if waiting for the answer to an unasked question, and when Peter did not take the initiative, Cap swung an arm around Peter’s shoulders and they began to walk back the way Peter came. It was meant to be carefree but Peter was very attuned to subtle differences lately.
“So…” Steve started, intentionally not meeting Peter’s questioning gaze.
“So.” Peter attempted humor, but it fell flat. Steve Rogers, while yes, one of Peter’s irrefutable icons was one of those people he’d never felt awkward around. When he first met Steve and he’d stumbled over every letter that he’d tried to speak he felt some discomfort, but ever since then Steve Rogers became more than Captain America. When Ben died it was Steve who held Peter when he’d cried, and when Tony flew through that wormhole in New York it was Steve’s voice that answered his call. Even in his weakest moments he’d always trusted Steve, and it was deeply bothering him to think Cap did not reciprocate the comfort. Rather than push, he let Steve take a beat before continuing.
“I’m sure Tony already told you everything, and if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. But I’m here… if you have any questions. Or concerns.” He side-eyed Peter like he was supposed to know what that meant. Okay, now he was really kicking himself for not taking those ‘spy code’ lessons with Nat more seriously.
What had he and Tony talked about last night? Suit modifications on the reactor, Peter’s weekend stay with May, and whether or not ‘Anthony’ was Scott’s brother or ant minion. All of that, while typical in the Stark house could not be what Steve Rogers was referencing.
“I mean, like I said, he can connect with their minds so after some period of time, I think the line starts to blur. I think Scott really considers ants his ‘brothers’ and then we got into the whole ‘do you have to be human to be family’ and----“
“No, that’s not what I----- wait, is that seriously what you two talked about last night?”
If Peter was being honest, that wasn’t even the weirdest dinner they’ve had. Clearly Steve needed to spend more time with them.
“That and about that new tabloid that says Rhodey & Thor are secretly a couple.”
Tony even debated calling to give an 'exclusive interview' about the love affair. He decided against it only after remembering that the last time he did that, the press responded in kind with 'jealous Tony spills all.'
“So, Tony didn’t mention me?”
Peter took a second to think. He could see where the confusion was considering Tony usually finds someway to reference Steve but last night had been an anomaly. “No… not that I remember. Why?”
Steve sighed, and did that thing where he clenched and unclenched his fingers nervously. “Well, it should’ve been Tony doing this, but as usual he marches to his own beat.”
The teenager knows for a fact that Tony would loathe the use of ‘marching’ in the same sentence as his name. On more than one occasion he’s self described himself as a ‘strutter’.
“Steve, what’s going on?” Was Steve leaving again? For how long, and why? Was it another big Avengers fight like Sokovia where Peter had to watch the news to see if his family was coming home? It sounds petulant, but he just got Steve back! And Peter absolutely loved Tony, that was no question; but it was also blatantly obvious that Tony's edges softened when Steve was off duty.
“Well, Tony and I were wondering… how you’d feel…”
“yeah?” Steve was never this insecure. Dramatic? You bet your patriotic ass, but this was just an excessive pause.
“------ if I moved in?”
Peter blinked. That's it?
“You’re not already?” Peter had been in Steve’s room multiple times. Sure it was a little bland for Peter’s taste, but it was Steve’s indisputably.
“No, Pete, like… a part of the family.”
“You don’t consider me family? I consider you family, I mean you signed that report card for me that one time Tony was----.”
Steve let out some hybrid of a sigh and a laugh and stopped in his tracks. He placed both his hands on Peter’s shoulders again, and looked directly into his eyes as if he could translate the message that way. Okay, this was sincere moment of silence serious. Of course Peter had to ruin it.
“Oh my god, Steve are you pregnant?”
“I guess it’s kind of like becoming a father…” Steve mused thoughtfully, unfazed by Peter’s joke. “But more like… a step-father.”
“oh.” He replied without the thought truly processing. Once it did he just repeated the word again, but this time with emphasis. “oh.” That made sense. Why Tony had kept looking over his shoulder last night like he was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows and join them. Why Steve was so fidgety around the kid he used to be so comfortable with, and most importantly, and seriously Peter how did you miss this, the thick black band around Steve’s finger. Oh.
There were several things he wanted to say. Like “congratulations” or “when is the wedding?” or “you’re the most Dad person to ever dad, so welcome to the family… dad” but apparently nothing crossed his lips. In his ears a slight ringing grew and something like a headache was squeezing his brain but he ignored that as Steve rambled on.
“-----And of course your opinion is priority one, we wouldn’t do anything without you. I mean you’re your dad’s entire life. I didn’t even think Tony was the marriage type until well, yesterday, so------”
Fuck, his head was really pounding now. Ever since he was a kid it had always been Tony & Peter against the world. Steve had always been a constant figure in his life, and definitely Tony's. Before Steve, Tony was the kind of person who swore love was just an unfortunate chemical imbalance. They kept their relationship pretty private, but ever since Sokovia, Tony had been acting differently. He'd never mentioned marriage, but he definitely spoke in 'forevers' when talking about Peter & Steve. So in reality, a wedding was no giant revelation, aside from the fact that international repressor of feelings Tony Stark finally came to his senses. So what was the problem, brain?
“----And he’s still your dad, that will never change, I mean he even told me he would use me as a human shield once if ever---“
He hadn’t felt a headache this bad since the bite. Usually it came before he passed out from dehydration or stress or the sorts, but ever since that Oscorp accident a headache meant one thing. Danger.
It was in the same moment that he realized what this meant that he understood why.
Cutting off Steve mid-sentence there was a great BOOM and suddenly the wall behind him was shattering into a million pieces. Despite being caught off guard, Steve immediately snapped into Captain Mode and tackled Peter to the ground with a painful thud. The impact might have been heard around the world if Peter’s ears weren’t buzzing.
Debris rained like hail pelting Steve’s back and although Peter squirmed to get out---- to move or to help he was essentially pinned. Peter tried taking steadying breaths, but the air was thick and coated in a layer of soot that Peter could only cough out in harsh bursts. The crunch of gravel signified movement and he counted one, two, three… all the way to six different sets of feet. They were retreating in the opposite way that Steve & Peter had landed, which was lucky for their vulnerable state but unfortunate for the masses. Whoever they were, whether intentional or not were moving directly towards the cafeteria.
Steve didn’t move from his role as shield until the dust had settled, and even then he gave Peter a hard push in the opposite direction of the danger and commanded “Run! Get out, get help. Call Tony.”
Peter didn’t even have time to reply before Steve double tapped a StarkWatch that deployed a shield. Peter wanted to call out, or stop him until he could re-appear as Spider-Man but Steve Rogers had already disappeared into the fog.
Get help. Peter reiterated mentally, kick-starting into action. Fighting now would be a risky bet---what if he slipped and called Steve ‘dad’, or worse, what if he was unmasked? Even as the questions appeared, Peter knew he would ignore them, so turning the corner and double checking nobody else was around; he slipped the Spider suit on. He did take a beat to let Karen boot up, before shouting “Karen, turn on the voice modifier please!”
“Of course, would you like Neeson or Freeman?”
Peter released an exasperated breath before throwing his webs at the ceiling and vaulting upwards. Not the time, Karen!
“Neeson! I could never pull off Freeman.”
He heard it click into place just as he passed the busted wall. Light was filtering in from outside and creating an eerie glow upon the hallway. The black around the edges of the chipped concrete still connected to the wall signified a blast from something powerful enough as a bomb but the florescent blue threw that theory out the window. After having seen those vans filled to the brim with Alien toys, Peter could only assume they had some play in it. If his hunch was right, and it usually was, this had to be the Vulture. Steve was going to need back up.
No one was in sight, but Peter could hear the chaos ensuing from the cafeteria, and with a single web and a strenuous pull, the hallway doors came flying off their hinges allowing Spider-Man to swing into action. The inside was madness.
Adults and teachers tried desperately to usher kids out through the one----now crowded exit while masked dudes with futuristic guns ransacked everything. There were five of them that Peter could immediately see, all dressed in black with stereotypical ski-masks hiding their features. Instinctively, Peter wanted to dive in and save Steve Rogers from this one-on-one brutality with the big-bad, but Spider-Man ignoring the masses for one man would seem a little skeptical. When he had the mask on he couldn't play favorites, only savior.
As soon as he passed the threshold he narrowed in on the scattered thugs, catching one in a surprise strong hold. The man struggled against the webbing, but the shock was enough to let a few of the stragglers run for the exit.
“Boss, we got a Spider situation!” He yelled before Peter’s second web covered his mask where his mouth would be.
“Are you saying I wasn’t invited?” Peter commented, feigning hurt in his weirdly auto tuned voice. Ugh, is that what a Neeson-Parker mash up sounds like? And seriously ‘Spider situation’? At least try and be coy.
Instead of addressing the rest of the goons, Peter decided to work on clearing the area. Students and parents ran wildly for safety and Peter had to mentally remind himself to not take things so personally. MJ was leading a group of smaller kids to the door, and Flash was carrying Gwen who looked like she had a bum leg and Peter Parker was hiding behind a mask. He ignored the feeling of desperation to protect his friends, and instead approached the bigger issue. Spider-Man jumped over to the wall that the mass exodus was happening at and pulled the doors off their hinges. Mid-day heat swept in, and while the crowd of people significantly lessened, there were still those trapped on the other side of the room. Less than ten civilians who had just chosen the wrong table to eat lunch at. Instead of a calm but disappointing public school meal, Captain America and ‘The Vulture’ were battling it out in the center. It was clear that Captain was trying to pull the villain away from the crowd, but he could only deflect so much until one of the blows landed. Peter tried to avoid thinking about that too much.
There was a little girl just on the edge of their action who was eyeing the door warily, and when her attention was diverted was when the fight inched closer. Desperately, Peter threw a web that caught and retrieved her.
“You okay?” Peter asked, her wide shell shocked eyes still processing the events unfolding. She didn't have any visible scrapes on her, but watching alone was enough mental damage.
“Y-yeah. I’m okay.” She stuttered out before Peter cut the web and she ran for safety. The Vulture slammed Captain America into the wall and Peter winced. Steve was strong but if the wall was even chipped after that, it couldn't have felt good. The silver lining lay in the fact that this distraction gave enough time for the remaining civilians to book it for the exit. And with all the pedestrians gone, Peter could focus on the fight.
What Peter didn’t understand was the fact that the henchmen weren’t stopping the evacuation, or hell, even the super soldier currently occupying their boss’s attention. Usually in a case like this, to establish leverage they would be targeting the people or addressing the star spangled elephant in the room. Instead, they seemed far more fascinated with average looting as they upturned every backpack and purse in their path. Papers and notebooks littered the ground like sad confetti as they searched for whatever was important enough to cause a public scene. Deciding to ponder on that thought later, Peter went for the minions.
“You know, it’s like, taboo to go through a woman's purse? It's like thirty years bad luck.” Peter scolded the man currently holding the up-ended purse. He dropped it in surprise and reached for his gun-----but not before Spider-Man’s webs immobilized the use of his hands. His fingers still squirmed, but to no use. "Stay and think about what you've done!" Peter commanded.
One of his friends noticed the commotion and ran towards the scene, determination in his dead eyes--- but with an easy flick of web at his feet the guy stumbled and hit the ground with a crash. 3 down.
The other two were on the far side, but they weren’t alone. They were approaching menacingly on a solo figure, who held onto an old marroon backpack as if it were a lifeline. Peter’s face burned with recognition, and he had to physically suppress the yell bubbling in his throat. Peter is going to McFreaking Lose it.
“Ne-----kid!” Peter corrected himself mid swing. What the hell was Ned thinking? Everyone else had already smartly scattered, even those who had to run from the Cap v. Vulcan showdown and why in his Vulcan mind would he be clutching Peter’s backpack and standing his ground? Least Peter remembers, Ned is still 100% human and thus 100% hurtable.
Ned looked up at the (almost) name drop, and the guy on the right took advantage of the distraction and yanked the bookbag. The one on the left raised his gun as if to knock Ned unconscious, and Peter’s heart jumped to his throat. Acting on instinct alone, he shot a web that hit the gun right when the brunt of the clip touched down on Ned and although it was now tied firmly to the wall, Peter could tell by Ned’s face it hadn’t felt extremely pleasant either. He was knealing on the ground, lips pursed tightly, clearly trying to keep his reaction in check.
Luckily, with the webbed spectacle Peter made of his friend, the burly dude holding his backpack, ignored Ned and gave Peter his full attention. He put up two fists like Spider-Man, a guy with super enhanced abilities to fire long shots, was about to move close enough for hand to hand. Yeah, okay bad guy. His steps were measured as he moved forward, and Peter calculated the shot when the dude threw the backpack to the side.
With his focus on the problem at hand, the fallen backpack was the least of his worries. But as it tumbled to the ground, suddenly the room erupted into an ear-splitting constant screech. Its shrieks wrapped its tendrils around Peter’s brain like it was trying to destroy it, and unconsciously he dropped to the ground in pain. From what he could tell (and aside from the pain that wasn’t much) this sound was affecting everybody in the area. Personally, it was shocking his system and overloading his senses and fucking hell, he swears he starts to see that bright white light. Karen’s comms were going haywire and for a flash of a second, Peter considered ripping his mask off his face for air.
Luckily, when he dropped to the ground he was close enough to just barely reach the bag, and with the last coherent thought he could produce, he slammed a hand down on the middle of the bag. It stopped immediately, and in turn the silence felt just as heavy. Slowly, Peter’s brain started to reboot like old software and the TV static currently occupying his thoughts diminished. Ibuprofen didn't work on Peter since the bite, but he was willing to give it a try after today's headaches.
The superhero had barely let out a sigh of relief when he realized the eyes he was currently staring down was the enemies. Apparently the sound had affected him the same, and he had fallen to his knees, almost equidistant from the item as Peter was.
They shared the same knowing look and both sprung for the bag simultaneously. Peter threw a desperate web and the guy’s hand descended in the same split-second. If this thing was important enough for the Vulture to make a personal stop to a public area, it had to be dangerous, and obviously detrimental in the wrong hands.
Never did he think he would care so much about his old beat up backpack.
By some stroke of luck, Peter’s web claimed the bag. The parts of the guys face Peter could see contorted in rage as he pushed up and cocked his fist into a mean right punch. With his hands occupied by the bag, Peter braced himself for the hit (careful not to drop it again), and childishly closed his eyes before the impact.
Which never came.
When he opened his eyes he saw Ned, breathing heavily and holding a linolieum tray over his head with the crumpled body of the bad guy at his feet. Forgetting the situation, Peter had to applaud Ned’s fast thinking.
“nice!” he praised.
Ned seemed to be still processing his own actions. "Oh man, that was so scary! And cool! But mostly scary... I thought-----"
“Spider-Man!” A voice that sounded eerily like the Vulture’s rang through the hall. He turned to watch as the Vulture approached, only slowed by the efforts of Captain America who was throwing his shield at his wings every time it bounced back. He had a couple of cuts that were still bleeding, and despite his super endurance it was clear the fight was wearing on him and Spider-Man wanted nothing more than to web Steve to safety. He doubted that would be embraced by the super soldier, so he refrained.
The Vulture was covering the distance between them rapidly, and Peter was torn between running at the action, and finishing his job here.
Mentally, Peter let out a string of non-Steve approved curse words and decided to clean up his mess first. He webbed the dude to the ground in a messy hurry, not that he cared. He was unresponsive anyway.
“Ned, get out of here.” Peter whispered urgently. Nothing--- not even this demonic pager was worth Ned being in the middle of this. He already had Steve's safety in the back of his mind, but at least Steve could hold his own.
“You’ve messed with my operation for the last time!” The Vulture’s voice was close, so close the hairs on Peter’s arms were standing at attention. Peter was still facing Ned, his face (although masked) begging for Ned to listen to him just this once. If he got caught as collateral damage, Peter would never forgive himself.
Ned was fumbling for an explanation. “They’re after whatever is in your bag, let me take it and----“
“No! Go!” Peter barked. His spider senses nearly electrocuted him and he only had mere moments to evade the sword extending from one of the Vulture’s wings before Ned dove to the side.
“Dude!” Peter released the word exasperatedly, now hanging from the ceiling. “Not cool!” The Vulture responded in kind by throwing a large trash can at the spot where Peter previously resided. He swung away in time, but was still nicked by some of the explosion. A warm spout of blood materialized on his right cheek, and as if mocking him Karen made sure to notify him of the contusion.
"yeah, thanks K."
He’s seen old High School movies----he knows kids used to get thrown into dumpsters. But never did he think he’d have trash thrown at him. Peter webbed his backpack to the far wall, and diverted all of his planning to keeping the Vultures attention away from that side of the room. He kept his movements short and sporadic so that with every blow the Vulture dealt, he was always a step behind.
The criminal let out an animalistic snarl behind the mask, and pulled a gun the size of a small child from his belt. Peter's insides churned uncomfortably and he had to physically quell the 'come on man' threatening to break his lips. Spider-Man has really only practiced in the realm of two bit thugs, not alien tech wielding mobsters! Saying he was in over his head was a laughable understatement.
“Do you know how we deal with insects?” The Vulture cocked his gun to finish the threat. He aimed and fired and Peter jumped frantically to the right to avoid the impact. Where Spider-Man had once resided was now a gaping hole in the ceiling, that could have been Peter. The juxtaposition of blue skies and calm weather outside ridiculed the numerous scrapes Peter had incurred from the blast.
“Actually..." He jumped to the ledge on one of the windows. "Spiders are arachnids.” Peter replied, clutching his stomach that felt oddly like he’d been stabbed. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, it was easy to ignore it, but rational Peter knew he’d have to deal with the repercussions later. He was running out of both time and options, and his stupid brain wouldn't slow enough to form a plan. Think, Parker, Think!
“Spider-Man.” A new voice, belonging to Captain America greeted. He sounded breathless, but continued delivering blow after blow. The call worked in splitting the attackers attention but worked too well as the Vulture delivered a swipe that landed. Steve flew back on impact and broke the table he landed on with enough force to momentarily stun Peter.
"Cap!" He screamed, saved only by the fact that his auto-tune did its job.
Apparently this momentary lapse in action was all the villain needed to proceed with his plans, and he extended a great talon that pierced Peter’s book bag like a kebab. As soon as he had it firm, propellers deployed from below his wings to push him up. Peter was still hanging on the ceiling when this sequence of events occurred, but Steve had thankfully gotten up and was close enough to react immediately. Captain America strained himself between holding on with one muscular arm to the Vulture’s wing, and the other anchoring him to the ground. Peter threw a web at the bag as he jumped down, and although he definitely heard the fabric shredding through the sword, it did not leave the possession of the criminal.
“Spider-Man, can you take care of those thrusters?” The super soldier groaned when Spider-Man landed next to him. His face was red and fingers chalk white as he diverted all his strength into making sure the Vulture didn't escape. Peter nodded wordlessly and targeted the left thruster first, attaching his other webs to the connector between the suit and the power. He kept his feet flat on the floor for more leverage, and pulled with as much strength as allotted. His other hand was still extended towards the web on his bag and he sincerely hoped beyond luck, or fate, or fuck it even divine intervention that the least of Steve Roger’s concerns was a backpack that was now littering textbooks with the name ‘Peter Parker’ written inside.
Unconsciously, Peter let out a groan as his extremities pulled in different directions. He could feel his muscles stretching and begging for the pain to stop, but nothing let up. In fact, almost like a cosmic joke, they got worse.
The Vulture tired of the slow progress and pressed a button that released more power to his jet-pack. Now the heat was starting to infect Peter’s close proximity, and he was finding oxygen a rare commodity. He found himself gasping into the spandex of his mask.
“Extreme temperatures. You will not last very long.” He heard Karen say in his ears.
“Yeah, thank you Karen Obvious.”
“Shall I call Tony?”
“What? No!” He groaned again, but pulled tighter on both the lines, his arms screaming in protest. One of them had to give eventually, right?! “come on, come on…”
If Cap noticed Spider-Man was talking to himself, he didn’t comment.
Thanks to the hole in the ceiling, sirens could be heard from the distance. It took a few closing seconds for the sound to reach the Vulture’s ears, but when it did several things occurred at once.
First, Steve’s fingers slipped from their already precarious spot on the bottom of his suit. Second, Peter’s web pulled the bird’s left thruster clean off and it landed in front of the two superhero’s like a ticking time bomb. And third, and most importantly, the book bag gave one more great tear and all the contents spilled out. Now free from the weights holding him down, the Vulture used his one good propeller to bust up and out of the ceiling, escaping from the scene. For the second time today chunks of dry wall descended upon Peter, only this time they hit him directly on.
Both Captain America and Spider-Man stood in shocked, and exasperated silence.
The Vulture had escaped, but not with the prize. It was both a win and a loss, and with the fact that Peter’s bones now felt like jelly he’d consider this tie a win.
"You okay Spider-Man?" Steve was still speaking through harsh breaths, but the question was sincere. Even without knowing who the face was under the mask, Captain America had this unbelievable ability to care. About everyone. Peter had to have been a saint in a previous life to deserve someone like Steve in this one.
"Fantastic." Peter joked, "How's your day going?"
Captain responded with a soundless laugh and the shake of a hand to say 'so-so'.
Peter could do it. He could tell Steve, and after the (somewhat) successful fight they'd just been through surely Steve would understand Peter was more than capable. That's literally Steve's origin story, is wanting to be more and doing whatever it took to protect those he loves, so why not Peter too? Peter had adopted the mask with Ben's unjustified death and he'd reduced crime because of it, Steve could relate to that. And besides, Peter really needed someone on his team when he eventually told Tony anyway. Maybe telling Steve wouldn't be the end of the world...
“Woah.” A voice from behind the pair broke his train of thought.
“Ned? Son, what are you still doing here?” Thank whatever deity was listening that Steve had responded first. With his thoughts so caught up in the 'what if's' of unmasking, he hadn't even thought about who else would see the spectacle. Aside from Ned people were just starting to return to the scene of the crime.
Ned blinked back to life like he’d just gone through some spiritual journey. Aside from YouTube, Ned had never really seen Peter (or Steve for that matter) in action so while he resented him for staying in the danger zone, he understood it too.
“Are you hurt at all?” Steve asked another question as clearly Ned was too shell shocked to answer the first one.
Seeing that Steve was preoccupied, Spider-Man took this time to collect the little black box that had started this whole mess. What the hell was so important the Vulture would attack a school? And more importantly, how had he known where it was? Did the Vulture know Peter? That was the danger of un-masking, it suddenly opened up the possibility of bystander casualties. If Peter un-masked, even to a select few people, it could get out and people like Ned, May, Tony, and Steve would be put at risk. He couldn't do that to them, not now.
He pocketed the device, and started to gather all the henchmen he had previously webbed up. The police always appreciated it when they just had one big web to cut through rather than five individual. It’s not like Spider-Man would stick around long enough to chat anyway.
“N-no, I’m fine. Thank you, Mr. Steve. Captain Steve. Mr. Rogers.”
Peter suppressed a masked grin at that---- he would give Ned so much shit later.
“Good.” Steve replied with relief. His attention diverted to the star-struck crowd, but his eyes continued to roam. “You haven’t seen Peter have you? I saw him when that bird guy first arrived but my instincts tell me he didn’t follow directions and run to safety.”
Peter froze a little as he tied up the fourth goon to the rest of the squad. He slowly started inching to the door. Shit. He hadn’t really thought about this part.
“Uh….” Ned started, giving a wild deer-in-the-headlights look. Luckily, his eyes didn’t shift directly towards Spider-Man but they were definitely searching for an excuse in the air. Come on Ned! You’re a genius, you can surely come up with some lie to placate Steve Rogers!
“----He was helping people outside.” A new voice answered, emerging from the threshold to the exit. Several people were filtering in now to see the aftermath, pulling out phones to record and chattering in low voices. She specifically was picking up small things by the door and seemed far too uninterested for having just survived an attack.
“I think I saw him picking up some dude who fell.” MJ finished. She gave a pointed look to Ned who, behind Captain’s back gave her a relived look. Steve bought it, said “thanks” and then gave Spider-Man one last look. “Thanks Spider-Man. Stay in touch.”
“Yeah, of course.” Peter waved lamely.
Steve retreated through the double doors to the outside at that, and Peter extended both arms towards Ned in one big universal sign language for ‘what the hell’ before running through the hallway instead. That had been way too close for comfort.
He ran into a classroom, wiggled out as fast as time would allot and ran back to the court yard through the back way. The amount of people was thick here as friends, family and parents all comforted each other and tended to any wounds. Luckily most everyone (dammit Ned) had gotten out before things got ugly but a select few people had scrapped knees or twisted ankles from the rush. One person hanging at the perimeter of the crowd was still on the ground rubbing a bruised ankle as another offered a hand to help him up. Being nearby, Peter extended a hand as well and they had the nameless person up in seconds and being walked off by who Peter assumed was his parents. He watched them go, momentarily forgetting he was out here for a reason until he heard the frantic “Peter!” from inside the thicket of people.
“Steve!” He responded, feigning relief as if seeing him for the first time since the hallway. His relief was real though, as for obvious reasons, Spider-Man could not embrace Captain America after such a brawl.
They hugged momentarily before Steve pushed off to look at Peter like a doctor might. “Are you hurt? What happened?” He moved Peter’s face to the side, and only then did Peter realize he was probably bleeding from that swipe the Vulture got in. He turned away from the grasp and stumbled through an excuse.
“I uh---- there was so many people and I tripped, and hit… my face. But I’m fine, it’s nothing that won’t heal.” Faster than you know, he left unsaid.
Steve nodded along and merely said “Well I’m glad you’re okay.” So sincerely Peter felt like exposing all his secrets right then and there. With the look shimmering in Steve’s eyes of such worry & love, Peter was reminded with lucidity that they were still human. Even though Captain America had just punched an international criminal in the face, he still felt hurt that Peter had not reacted positively before. If things weren't so serious, it might be laughable that Steve Rogers worried about the opinion of Peter Parker.
“And look, I’m sorry for springing all that news on you. Too much, too fast I get it, and if you want Tony and I to slow things down, I get that too, just say the word and we…”
Peter cut him off before he would get to the critical point of rambling. Somehow all that chaos had given him clarity. Steve was already family, and anybody who would legally sign a document that binds them to protect his dad is someone Peter can get behind. His Spider-Man life may be absolute, chaotic turmoil, but at least his life as Peter Parker was pretty great.
His voice didn’t waver when he said “Welcome to the family, dad.”