sixty.
Three days after Peter's rescue, he's sitting in the living area of the Avenger's base with Wanda and reading a book. He thinks that she's nice. She reads to him and lets him help her cook. She even shows him her magic every time he asks. They've bonded over the whole, I was tortured by Hydra thing.
He doesn't get to move much considering that just a little over half of his body is covered in stitches and bandages. Mr. Doctor Strange has had him on some pretty powerful painkillers for the last couple of days, which means he can't feel the pain.
Today they're supposed to be traveling back to the place that they live, which makes Peter a little wary because he doesn't remember what it's like there, but he wants to learn. Wanda asks him if he's ready to head down to the kitchen where Bucky is, and he nods. She very carefully helps him into his wheelchair. He asks if she can fly with her powers and she says yes. He tells her that he thinks it would be cool to fly and she uses her powers to wheel him to the kitchen.
Bucky is there roasting some kind of meat on the stove, and with him is the tall blonde named Steve. Peter thinks it might be easy to confuse the two Stephen's if they looked anything alike. This Steven was engaged to Bucky and is very nice to Peter. Next to them is Natasha, who he learned was a spy. She's also dating Bucky and Steve. He didn't really understand how that worked, but he wasn't going to judge.
Natasha heard the click of Wanda's heels and turned, smiling at them both. They really were like siblings, which made sense considering the three of them treated them both like their children. There had even once been talk of Wanda coming to live in the apartments with them once upon a time.
The offer was, of course, still on the table if she wanted it. Given her newfound connection with Peter, they imagined that she'd take the offer.
Nat stepped around the counter to greet them and Peter smiles, holding small-talk with her until his eyes are drawn to the bracelet she was wearing. He reaches up and carefully touches a finger to one of the shiny spiders. Nat crouches next to his wheelchair and allows him to keep looking at it, loving the interest he's putting into the glittering jewels.
"I... Bought this for you, right?" She nods, watching the way that Peter smiles over remembering that he gifted the bracelet to her.
He remembers seeing colorful lights and sparkly ornaments on a too-small tree, but nothing that happened around said tree. Well, nothing except a small dog and loud laughter and a pair of shiny shoes. The dog he remembered was now not so small and was standing by the counter with Bucky.
Nat stood and gently ruffled Peter's too-long hair before asking him if he was interested in having some of Bucky's stew, and he agreed with a smile. Bucky glanced over his shoulder with a smile and made up a bowl for Peter as Nat wheeled him up to a place at the table. He said a sweet thanks for Bucky as a bowl was placed in front of him.
Steve mentions that Peter used to like what had been made, and would ask Bucky to make it for him a lot. Bucky, of course, would always come through and make stew for the boy, who would usually put it in a thermos to take to school for lunch. It always made Bucky happy to know that Peter enjoyed his meals.
Pulling up to the multi-story apartment building, the nerves in Peter were a little bit overwhelming. He asked for the third time if they were positive that Wade was going to meet them here, and for the third time, Nat patiently agreed, saying that he should arrive shortly.
Everyone makes their way out of the car and Steve pulls Peter's wheelchair from the trunk, carefully setting it up before opening his door. Peter takes the man's hands and accepts his help in getting out of the car and into his chair. Wanda offered to push Peter up the new ramp that Steve and Sam built for him so he could access each floor of the building.
He wishes that he could do it for himself, but his arms just aren't strong enough yet. He watches as Bucky walks around the yard before asking Peter where he thinks a good place for a garden would be. Peter says that any place would be a good place for flowers, as long as there could be a lot of space for them to grow. Bucky noted that the yard wasn't much of a yard before asking what Peter thought about a regular garden for vegetables and such.
Peter thought it was a great idea to start a garden, and Bucky promised that they'd get started on that as soon as Peter ate dinner tonight and Peter smiled before allowing himself to be wheeled upstairs. He knew that everyone was being so nice to him because he didn't remember a whole lot about them or the places he'd been with them. Nervously, he asks Nat if he has windows that open in his bedroom and she said yes, without asking why.
He asked if there were any tight spaces in his room and she says no, they made sure to make sure everything seemed open and big for him because they knew he didn't like tight spaces. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
When they get to his floor, and he means his because he's currently the only one on it, he smiles up at the little spider decoration on his door. Wanda used her powers just briefly to push the door open so she could push Peter inside. He looked around in awe.
"This is... Mine?"
Steve nods from the door. "Yeah, Pete. All yours. You worked hard for this stuff."
On his desk lie a smart-watch with a scratch on the screen and an old looking mp3 player. He touches them gently, afraid that they're just a memory and aren't really there, but his fingers connect and they're real and he remembers them and he knows what they are and what they meant to him. "These are mine... The watch... Shakes?"
He looked up at the closest person, Wanda, and she nodded as she gently took it, quietly asking if it would be okay to put it on his wrist. He nods and holds it out to her and she, being the Saint that she is, pays no mind to the things already there and gently fastens the watch on. The screen lights up and displays his heart rate to him, and she quietly points to the little icons and tells him what they mean after he asks her to.
Bucky and Steve are watching with fond eyes and hearts as she treats him gently and patiently. He was still a person, and she was treating him like one. She was being calm and answering his questions to the best of her ability. When he asks where he got the mp3 player from, a voice from the door provides that he provided it.
The sudden appearance of another person is enough to make Peter jump. The last time someone snuck up on him like that he was kidnapped, and tears spring to his eyes as he turns his wheelchair.
Wade instantly apologizes as he sets a bag from Delmar's down on Peter's dresser. "I didn't mean to startle you, Petey, I'm sorry."
The scarred man looks up at Steve from under the bill of his cap and mentions something about having the light beam checked because he noticed it didn't go off when he approached and Peter ended up startled, which was the exact reason that the lights were installed in the first place, so that didn't happen.
Wade kneels next to Peter with the bag and smiles. "You told me once that this was your favorite sandwich, and I didn't want to show up empty-handed on your first day back."
Peter gently takes the bag, quietly asking if he made sure it was smushed down flat. The question brought a smile to Wade's face. Maybe Peter didn't remember a whole lot, but he remembered some things every once in a while, and that was a good start.
And yes, the sandwich was smushed.