Disclaimer: I don't own The Avengers, Marvel, Spiderman or Lucky the Pizza Dog. Nor do I make any sort of profit from this.
Okay so this is my first fic for the Avengers/Spiderman verse. For all you hardcore fans, I apologise in advance. I haven't read the comics and I doubt I'll ever get round to it. I did do some research regarding Lucky the Pizza Dog but that's about it. To be honest this isn't really set in any particular timeline. I just liked the idea, put Peter in college and gave him an internship.
Edit: I had some trouble the last time I posted this and for some reason it wouldn't let me change what I needed to change. So I have deleted it and reposted it, sorry for the confusion.
Enjoy!
It all starts with a dog. A brown labrador to be exact. Or if you want to be more specific, a brown labrador with one eye, a quite frankly worrying number of scars and quite possibly the worst breath he's ever encountered. Although to be fair, the three-day old pizza the dog's obviously pulled out of the garbage might be partially to blame for that.
So Peter does what any normal concerned citizen would do. Okay sure he wouldn't exactly classify himself as normal, but he is concerned! And still, as far as he knows, a citizen. So obviously being the nice young man his Aunt May raised him to be, he swings down and pulls the dog to safety, seconds before a Doombot crashes down right where the dog had been too busy stuffing his face to realise the battle that was raging around him. Peter half wondered if he was deaf too, it would certainly explain a lot.
Now Peter's not used to being thanked, as either himself of Spiderman. Let's face it, New York's not exactly known for people using their please's and thank you's. Of course as Spiderman, there's usually the sweet young girl or frail elderly man willing to give him their thanks, after he pulls them from a fire or stops them from being mugged. And those are always nice, great confidence boosts, you know? But then of course you get people like Jameson or the cops, the ones who just don't want to give him a break. Although to be fair, some of the cops have been awful nice to him lately. They've even left him donuts from time to time which is always good. Free donuts? Count Spidey in!
Wait where was I? Oh right.
Now Peter likes being thanked, who doesn't? But when he's being thanked by a dog who weighs a ton, won't stop squirming and whose breath could literally peel paint, well he could sure do without it. And yeah he gets it, dogs show affection by licking whatever part they can reach. But seriously, the drool is already seeping through and that combined with the smell it's just…ugh! Still, he is pretty cute.
Of course the minute he puts the dog down, away from all the screaming and explosions and yup, the Fantastic Four have just arrived, Peter hears something. Evidently so does the dog, because with one last lick, he's off like a shot. Braving Doombots and explosions alike to be reunited with…wait…is that, are you serious?
Hawkeye, as in one of the Avengers, as in a serious big league superhero, has just picked up the dog. Lucky wasn't it? The dog's name that is, although to be fair it is pretty lucky on all accounts.
"Hey you! You the guy that saved my dog?" Okay Hawkeye is talking to him, wait he is talking to him isn't he?
Peter turns just to be sure and yup, no one there but him. Well except for the smoking pile of Doombot over there, but it's a pretty safe bet that's not who he's talking about.
"Uh yeah, yeah that's me. I'm uh, I'm Spiderman, in case you…didn't know". Okay that could have gone a whole lot better.
"Hawkeye. But my friends call me Clint". And wow, the guy's shaking his hand and everything. Thank god he got the whole sticky hands thing under control because that, well that would have been super awkward. Like seriously awkward.
"Clint, wow yeah um…so he's your dog?" A flaming piece of who knows what crashes down next to them. Clint doesn't even react.
"Yup, his name's Lucky". Another piece of something lands less than a foot way from Lucky. It's pretty impressive that the dog hasn't fled yet. You know how any normal animal or even human would.
"Sounds about right".
Was that, was that a smile? Holy, that was totally a smile! It's a good thing he's wearing a mask right now because he's about five seconds from turning into a total fanboy.
"Clint! You found him?"
A blond comes running up to them and Peter just about faints. He was already struggling to keep it together around Hawkeye, arguably one of the lesser known members of the team. But this guy, it's Captain Freaking America! You don't get more Avenger-y than that. Hell he's like the superhero poster boy! And he's here, right in front of him! He can almost touch him even! Obviously he won't because that'd be super creepy, but wait until Wade here's about this. Dude's gonna freak the fuck out! Although he kind of hopes it'll be the kind of freaking that won't end in decapitation, explosions and copious amounts of glitter. That shit turns up everywhere, the glitter I mean.
"Yeah. Spidey here saved him. And judging by the smell, I'd say it's time for a bath".
It really is amazing just how fast that dog can run. It's even more amazing the speed at which Captain America tackles it to the ground. Captain America tackling a dog, if only he had his camera. Jameson would kill for a shot of that. Hell forget Jameson, any newspaper, blogger or media outlet would probably pay thousands for a shot of America's golden boy tackling man's best friend. That's the kind of shit that would go viral in like a nanosecond. Not that it matters, because like a complete idiot he didn't think to bring his camera. Seriously the one day he doesn't and look what happens. It's just so typical.
Insert over exaggerated sigh.
"You okay?"
Probably shouldn't have sighed so loud. But wait, Captain America is asking if he's okay? Best day ever! Seriously Wade's gonna be so pissed he missed this. Hah, wait till he tells him. Maybe he can get a free dozen tacos out of it. Tacos for information, well it wouldn't be the first time they'd teamed up. Not that anyone knew that. Not exactly good for the old street cred, you know? Then again, it's not like his street cred's all that great to begin with. Both in and out of the suit.
"Uh yeah, no I'm fine. Seriously. Just uh, shouldn't that dog have a leash?"
Clint scoffs behind him, silenced by a single look from Captain America that has Peter cringing on the spot. "What's he need a leash for? If you put a leash on him now all that's gonna happen is it's gonna get tangled up in some shit, right as he's running to safety and next thing you know, SPLAT! Some piece of shit falls outta the sky and squashes him. Now I'm not gonna let that happen to Lucky. He's too good a dog to go out like that".
Okay yeah, Peter can agree with that. That does sound like a pretty shitty way to go.
"Anyway thanks again. We'd better get this guy home. But hey, if you're ever in the neighbourhood, you should stop by the tower. Lucky's gonna miss you".
With that, both men disappear with the dog cradled in Hawkeye's arms. It's by far the weirdest day of Peter's life. As such, it takes him a good three minutes for Clint's words to fully register. By which point, he's borderline fanboying over the idea that he was just invited to Avengers tower. Like what the fuck!?
Of course he soon realises that's he's still in the middle of a battle, so helpfully reminded by Johnny screaming up a storm as he crashes into a nearby building. Peter tries not to laugh, he really does, he's been there done that and it fucking hurts. But he finds it kind of hard to feel sympathy for the guy who just a few hours ago had laughed at him for tripping over his (Johnny's) shoes and landing face first into day old pizza. Seriously, this was just karma and who was he to argue with the gods?
The next time Peter meets an Avenger is when he doesn't have his mask on, go figure. But it's cool, it's all good, he's like ninety percent sure Mr Stark doesn't know who he is. And besides, he only sees the guy for like two minutes before he's off terrorising some other department. Or so his supervisor tells him. So he's pretty sure he's safe. Still, he's probably a little jumpier than normal, he just hopes no one notices.
Now Peter wasn't used to good things happening to him. As a general rule, the universe took great pleasure in shitting on him at every possible opportunity. So when he received a letter in the post congratulating him on obtaining an internship at Stark Industries, well he'd been this close to throwing it away. At least until Wade snatched it from his hands and confirmed that yep, this was the real deal. How Wade knew that, Peter wasn't sure he wanted to know. The guy was a serious stalker, so that might have explained it. But it wasn't like he was about to ask. He wasn't that big of an idiot. On that note, what was Wade even doing in his apartment anyway? They didn't live together, for many, many reasons, nor were they a couple, which yeah okay, he may not have been totally against the idea. I mean complete nutcase aside; Wade wasn't a bad guy. Certifiably insane and a wanted mercenary sure, but that didn't mean he was all bad. Hell the guy had a stuffed unicorn for crying out loud! Surely that had to mean something?
So Peter spent the first few weeks being everyone's dogsbody. Which yeah, he kind of expected. But he was pretty cool with it. When he wasn't fetching coffee, donuts or that thing next to the other thing which everyone seemed to ask him for, he got to play around in the labs. Not literally of course, because that was just asking for trouble. But it meant he got to play around with some ideas of his own, he even got credited for them when Mr Stark wandered in, checking out everyone's work. Which yeah, that was seriously awesome. The man was like a living legend, hell Peter could admit to having the tiniest crush on the man when he was back in school. But that was purely about the science, no really it was!
So when Mr Stark comes back the next day, with another dark haired man in tow and drags him over to where Peter is standing, well he's surprised to say the least. More so when he learns that the man is Dr Bruce Banner, his other science crush. Which in his defence is totally understandable, because the guy is a literal genius. His work on radiation, well without sounding like a total girl about it, is pretty damn impressive. It even helped him figure out what the hell was going after the whole Oscorp incident, you know the spider bite and everything. Okay so that might be a lie, turns out there's like zero research out there on the effects of radioactive spider bites on human teenagers. But Dr Banner's was probably the closest that came to it, sorta. Plus, well the guy's like seriously hot. In a geeky sort of way. Like he's one to talk.
Yeah, Peter sort of maybe has a thing about scientists. And Wade. And Johnny on that one night they both agreed never to bring up again, ever. Not that they slept together, not exactly. But adrenaline can do some crazy shit to the body and when you combine it with a shit ton of caffeine, sugar and hormones, you tend to end up with a certain older sister barging in right as Johnny's going down on him, which…yeah. Awkward doesn't even begin to cover it.
Peter doesn't really like to think back on that memory, for so many reasons.
So that's how Peter meets yet another Avenger. Not that he actually knows that at the time. Which is just as well, because having a thing for a guy who turns into a giant green monster whenever he gets pissed, just might be the thing to convince him to try therapy. But only if someone else is paying. Hello, poor college student here. Okay yeah he got a scholarship and wasn't that just amazing, but that only covers tuition. Rent, bills, food, Wade, it all adds up you know. Huh, maybe he should try rooming with Wade. He practically lives there anyway, considering how many taco wrappers he keeps finding around.
Dr Banner spends some time with him discussing what he's working on, with Mr Stark crowing in the background, something about being right. Peter's pretty sure he heard the word genius being tossed around a lot too. The media sure wasn't kidding about Mr Stark being a narcissist. Peter just kind of tunes him out after a while. Instead he's too busy having the best day of his life, seriously Dr Banner is just amazing! The things he knows, the things he could teach him…okay that totally came out wrong. Which of course gets him thinking about other things coming out and yeah…he totally blames Wade. The guy's a total pervert and it's clearly been rubbing off on him. Oh look at that, yet another suggestive reference. Okay this is getting ridiculous.
Where was I? Oh right.
The next day, there's no Dr Banner or Mr Stark. Go figure. Just when he was getting his hopes up. There is however a redheaded woman, sat right where he's been working these last few days, who has his Spidey senses going haywire. He actually stumbles a little because of it, clutching his head and praying to god he doesn't actually faint. Because seriously, that would literally be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him. And yes he's including the Johnny incident, he still refuses to think about.
It all makes sense when she introduces herself, she even smiles at him which is both creepy and oddly flattering at the same time. Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow, yet another Avenger, which makes…four he's come into contact with. Seeing as how he doesn't know who Dr Banner is just yet. It's pretty weird sure, but she seems nice enough. Apparently Dr Banner had mentioned him, followed by Mr Stark which apparently made her curious. Since she's not hauling him off to torture him, or even threatening to release his secret to the world, he's about sixty percent sure she doesn't know he's Spiderman. It probably helps alleviate her suspicion when he passes off his Spidey sense as a migraine. Apparently Mr Stark leaves everyone feeling like that, that makes him laugh, even as he's wincing still.
Natasha leaves soon after, suggesting he leave for the day to rest. She even offers to let his supervisor know. To keep up the charade, he agrees, albeit rather reluctantly. Judging by the smirk she sends him, she can understand why. As if his longing stares towards the counter full of interesting experiments weren't enough of a clue.
On the plus side Wade drops by, a greasy paper bag filled with all sorts of goodies. From donuts all the way up to tacos, because of course tacos reign supreme. And so Peter spends the rest of the day pigging out, watching trash tv and arguing with Wade about whether that guy really is the father. He's still not convinced, hell he's been sure the guy was secretly gay since about five minutes into the episode. Wade doesn't believe him, although at this point he's pretty sure he's saying it just to be a pain. Come on, the guy clearly just checked out the bodyguard. How could anyone be so blind?
It later turns out that Peter got paid for sitting home and doing all that shit. Which is both awesome and makes him feel like a complete douche. And yes, it is a paid internship, hence why he was so surprised when he got it. Stark Industries is renowned for treating its employees like actual human beings. They get health benefits and everything. Hell they even offer paternity leave which is pretty cool. Not that he's thinking about that sort of thing. Not since…never mind. But yeah, he still feels kind of crappy about it, seeing as how he wasn't actually sick.
Wade thinks he's being a total pussy. Peter stops speaking to him after that, for a total of twenty minutes until they find out the guy's not the father, who then proceeds to throw himself at the bodyguard he'd been eyeing. Apparently the two of them had been in a relationship for over a year now, which is both shocking and ridiculously funny. Mostly because of everyone else's, including Wade's, reactions. Wade's in particular is hysterical. Peter doesn't talk to him for another ten minutes after that, only because he's too busy laughing he can't find the breath to do so.
By the time Peter is able to speak, Wade's gotten a call about a job, which leaves them both looking at each other unsure of what to say.
"Take care of yourself".
"You too".
Hardly original, but it shows they both care. And yes, Peter's well aware of how sappy that sounds. And yes, Wade can't stay dead, but it doesn't make it any easier knowing what he's about to do. Of course Wade claims it'll be a quick job, he won't even have to unalive someone, which is always nice. Still, Peter can't help but worry. What can he say? It's kind of become his job. Worry about Aunt May, worry about the city, worry about his job and worry about graduating. What's one more worry?
I would really appreciate any feedback.
I am planning to update this at some point, although I do have a few other fics to update first. But I can promise it won't stop there.
Please review!
KB