Monday

'You mean you'll actually become part of the team?' Ned asks as they finish up in class and head towards their lockers.

'Technically I won't be on the Avengers roster,' Peter replies, voice equally as quiet, 'I'll be on the separate one with all the people they'll call in if something big happens, eventually I'll be allowed to join the team but Tony wants me to finish up school and everything first.'

'Didn't he already offer you a place on the team? Why do you have to have an interview?'

'It was Mr Fury's idea,' he replies, checking no one is close enough to listen in. 'You know I said about Tony wanting to… change how the team is run?' Ned nods, both of them being careful what they say in case anyone is close enough to pick up the odd word. 'Well he suggested a member of the team joins me on a couple of my patrols. That way they can agree with the assessment I'm ready to help out, and they can give me pointers.'

'So it's just for this week? Then you find out?' Ned asks, voice getting a little louder as they exit the school grounds.

'Yeah. I've got Steve joining me tonight,' Peter's stomach is a mess of butterflies. 'I never thought I'd be nervous about going on patrol.'

'What have you got to worry about? They aren't going to say you aren't qualified after everything you've done with them.'

'I know,' he sighs, 'it's just… I'm worried about letting them down, and letting Tony down.'

'Come on dude,' Ned laughs at him, 'you're Spider-Man. You'll be fine. Just go do what you normally do.'

Peter waves goodbye to his friend and tries his best to believe his words. He hurries home and drops off his backpack before putting his suit on underneath his clothes and heading out to where he said he would meet Steve; the soldier isn't on the rooftop when he arrives so he takes off his outer layer of clothes and shoves them in his spare bag, tucking it away out of sight on the rooftop and webbing it for good measure. He's losing a lot less bags than he used to, but it still happens on occasion. Maybe he should just ask Wade if he could get changed and leave his stuff at his.

'Sorry I'm late, ran into a bit of traffic,' Steve says as he vaults up onto the roof from the fire exit.

'I've only been here long enough to get changed,' Peter reassures him, giving the man a nervous smile; he's dressed in his less conspicuous uniform of dark blues and black, but the iconic shield is slung across his back.

'You look nervous,' the soldier laughs, coming up and ruffling his hair, which Peter makes a half-hearted attempt to dodge.

'Well it's not every day you interview for the superhero team,' he rolls his eyes.

'Hey, Pete? None of this is because Fury doubts your capabilities,' he reassures him, 'if anything it's because he doubts our judgement.'

'Why would he doubt your judgement?' he asks.

Steve looks a little embarrassed. 'He wants us to come on these patrols with you so we can report back and give him as unbiased a report as possible. It's one of the reasons Tony wasn't allowed to come on one with you. We, uh, well because we've all spent so much time with you and become so attached he's thinking we'd say you should be on the team without really assessing you like we would anyone else. Hence some of us joining you on a patrol.'

'Oh,' he's not really sure how to respond to that.

'But, to be honest,' he adds, 'I'm actually glad of the idea. I'm looking forwards to seeing what a friendly neighbourhood superhero gets up to as opposed to a called in to stop the end of the world hero.'

'It's definitely a lot less eventful,' he laughs in response, pulling on the mask. 'Think you can keep up with me old man?'

'You've been spending far too much time with, Tony,' Steve rolls his eyes. 'Where to first, Spider-Man?'

'Well,' he looks at the time as Karen flares to life behind his mask, 'we need to be about four blocks from here in around five minutes. Hope you've already done your stretching Captain.' With that he turns and runs, leaping the gap between this building and the next and waiting for Steve to follow. Usually he'd just swing his way down the street, but he has a feeling he'd be leaving his interviewer behind if he did that.

'See you down below, Cap!' he calls, somersaulting off the side of the last building and using a web to slow his decent enough that he can land in the alleyway without injuring himself. Steve take about a minute longer to reach the ground but Peter's already stepping out and heading towards the supermarket. 'Damn impatient woman,' he mutters to himself as he spies the old lady, shopping bags overflowing in her arms, heading towards the crossing.

'Senora!' he calls, switching to Spanish as he hears the soldier catching up behind. 'Senora Valdez why didn't you wait for me?'

'You young people are never on time,' she retorts in her native Spanish. 'Why would you make an old lady wait? I thought you weren't coming. Thought my churros weren't good enough for you anymore.'

'The day I don't dream about how good those churros taste,' he replies, taking one of the bags from her, 'is the day I stop thinking you are the most wonderful and patient lady I have ever met in my life.'

Senora Valdez laughs and pats his cheek with a wrinkled hand, grey hair flying around her head as if she's stuck her fingers in an electric socket. 'Flattery will get you everywhere young man.'

'I know,' he laughs, then gestures to a very confused looking Steve. 'I apologise for being late, Senora, but I had to let the old man catch up- ow!' He rubs the back of his head where she's just clipped him with her hand. 'What was that for?'

'You should know to show respect to your elders young man!'

'Err…what did I miss?' Steve asks, obviously unable to follow the Spanish.

'Captain America meet Senora Valdez, a lady who is as stubborn in the amount of food she buys as Iron Man is when it comes to pizza flavours. Senora Valdez, may I introduce Captain America? I'm on interview for helping the Avengers and the Captain is joining me today.'

'A pleasure to meet you Senora,' Steve says, taking the other bag from the lady and pressing a kiss to one of her hands.

'I hope you can teach this young man some manners,' she says in heavily accented English. 'Otherwise he's going to keep calling you "old man" despite you not looking a day over thirty.'

Steve gives him a wry smile from the corner of his eye. 'I'm afraid that is Iron Man's doing, Senora, but I shall definitely do my best. Does Spider-Man help you often?'

'Every Monday,' she explains as they cross the street, 'he insists on carrying my food shopping because he thinks I buy too much for me to carry. It's only a block and a half, and he obviously doesn't understand how much food it takes to feed everyone around me.'

'I understand that two super-soldiers and me could eat this much,' Peter counters, 'but not how you can.'

'I feed the neighbours,' she shrugs. 'Those boys don't eat properly.'

'Don't,' Peter advises Steve with a laugh as he opens his mouth, 'I've had this conversation many times.' He turns back to the old woman. 'How are your grandsons doing at school?' They continue to talk about the Senora's family as the walk along the street and up to her flat; he waits patiently for her to rifle through her bag for the keys, and then follows her up the stairs to her apartment, where he places his bag on the kitchen top and gestures for Steve to do the same.

'Need any help with the high cupboards, Senora?' he asks, reverting back to Spanish.

'No my dear,' she responds with a smile, 'Pedro and Carlos should be round later to get their food so they can do it then. You want some churros? I made them fresh this morning hoping I'd be seeing you.'

'I can never say no to your churros,' he reminds her, giving her a hug of thanks when she presses a paper bag filled with the treats into his hands. 'You let me know if you need anything doing, Senora,' he reminds her as they say goodbye. He waves to some of her neighbours as they head up onto the roof, calling greetings to some of the younger children of the tower block.

'Well,' Steve says, as they finally exit onto the roof, 'I'll admit I didn't expect that. You help her every week with her groceries?'

'Yeah every Monday,' he replies, offering the bag to the soldier, 'and every Wednesday when she goes to the library. She can afford the taxi there with all her books, but I can save her the fare back if I carry them home for her.'

'What made you start?'

Peter shrugs. 'I'd see her struggle along the road every Monday when I patrolled and no one stopped to help her. One day one of the bags split and her groceries went everywhere, so I made a make-shift bag from some webs and helped her home; just became a habit after that. It's not exactly heroic-'

'Well I wouldn't say that,' Steve interrupts, a smile of pride on his face, 'to that lady you're a special part of her week. You take the time to help her with her groceries. Not many superheroes would do that.'

'I asked her once why she doesn't ask Pedro and Carlos to help her,' he's not sure why he's telling Steve this, 'and she told me they keep getting mixed up in gang stuff. Nothing too extreme, mainly just hanging around on street corners and intimidating people; but they've started going to school again since she started feeding them and taking an interest. If they helped her with the shopping they wouldn't be doing their homework, because the only time they do it is when she's out shopping; they tend to go out with the gangs after they've eaten with her to avoid their dad when he's had too much to drink. If she got them to help her, they'd be failing in school. So if I help her carry her groceries, she can keep helping them to stay in school and when they get older and graduate, maybe they can find jobs and get away from the gangs before they get sucked into it anymore.'

Steve smiles and pulls him into a one-armed hug. 'I'm proud of you, Spider-Man.'

'Why?'

'Because you see the effect something as mundane as carrying some bags can have on people. You may end up being the best hero out of all of us.'

Peter's glad of the mask because he's blushing bright red. He's saved trying to find a response when he hears a cry for help as someone's bag gets stolen. 'Fancy catching a bag snatcher?'

'I'll let you have some fun,' he replies, standing back as Peter runs for the edge of the building and vaults off, sending out a web to the side of the building, and pulling the snatcher to a stand-still with another.

'So is it always groceries and bag snatchers, or do you usually get something a little more extreme?' Steve asks as they take a break, eating a sandwich each as they sit on a rooftop.

'Sometimes it's a little more exciting,' Peter replies, mask on the floor beside him; they're not in view of the street so he's deemed it safe. 'Today has been pretty quiet as far as patrols go. Though I don't usually get three bag snatchers in one day; maybe it's National Bag Snatching Day and no one told me.'

Steve chuckles. 'Well then they failed to mention it to me too. You should probably call Tony for your usual check in.'

'Why? You're here.'

'Yeah but he'll sulk if he doesn't get your report and I'll have to listen to him complain all night.'

Peter just laughs and takes out his phone to call Tony. 'Hey champ,' the inventor says as he answers, 'the old man keeping up with you?'

'Just about,' he sends a grin to Steve, who just raises an eyebrow. 'Though I think I may have given him my churros craving, just to warn you.'

'Oh wonderful, that's all I need. A super-soldier with a food craving. Is he still freaking out about the closet?'

'He's not said anything about closets to me?' Peter frowns at Steve who just rolls his eyes.

'Tell him I was not freaking out about it, I was just surprised,' the soldier says. Peter passes on the message and Tony laughs.

'Yeah, yeah. So you had a busy night?'

'No it's been pretty quiet,' he replies and then tells the inventor what had been happening.

'Well have fun, kid,' Tony says when he's finished, 'and try not to tire Cap out too much.'

'I'll try,' he laughs and then hangs up after saying goodbye. He turns to Steve. 'Why were you having a non-freak out over the closet?'

Steve groans. 'I was just shocked that anyone could need a walk-in closet.'

'What?'

'So when I moved my stuff into Tony's room I put my clothes in the drawers where they'd been before. Except today I went to get something and the drawers were empty, so I asked Tony what he'd done with my clothes and he tells me they're in the closet…and I may not have realised he had a walk in closet before and it kind of shocked me how many clothes he actually owns.'

'He has a walk-in closet? As in he actually needs one for all his clothes?'

'Well I mean mine are in there too now, I guess; and I think it was something he automatically put in when he was with Pepper, so I think she used to fill up most of it. But yes he has enough clothes to warrant a walk-in closet.'

'But he only ever wears the same band shirts and ripped jeans!'

'This is exactly what I said!'

They're just about to finish up for the evening when Peter hears something that has him frowning behind the suit. 'Hang on,' he tells Steve, going to the opposite side of the building and looking down at the street.

'What is it?' the man asks, coming to stand next to him.

Peter doesn't answer just points at the bus stop below them. A young woman is sat there, obviously just got off a waitressing shift, waiting for her bus and there's three men around her. From what Peter can hear she isn't interested in any of their propositions, but they aren't taking no for an answer.

'What do you plan to do?' Steve asks when he tells him this.

'Well I was thinking I could go be her chaperone, and you could do one of your wonderful talks on respecting people's choices in the style of those videos they make us watch at school.'

'Yes thank you for that reminder,' Steve sighs. 'I'll see you down there. I take it you aren't going to wait for me?'

'Nope,' he says, stepping off the side of the building. Really, with that kind of exit, he supposes he's spending too much time with Wade. Once he's landed he saunters over to the bus stop and sits down next to the woman, ignoring the men and extending a hand to her. 'Hey I'm Spider-Man. These guys bothering you?'

'Uh…um…'the woman looks shocked at the turn of events. 'A little?'

'What you going to do Spider-Man?' one of them scoffs, and this close to them Peter realises they're drunk which, considering how early it is, is quite a feat. 'You going to stop us talking to this pretty young lady? Sure you don't just want her for yourself?'

'Sorry to disappoint but I'm already taken I'm afraid,' Peter waves them off, 'he might like a word with you though.' He points over the one man's shoulder, and tries not to snigger as they turn as one to see a frowning Captain America.

'Oh shit!' one of them curses.

'I think Captain America would like a word with you about respecting a lady gentlemen,' Peter laughs, letting Steve drag the three men off and giving them what looks to be the scolding of their life. He stays sitting next to the woman and chats away to her, the two of them laughing at the sight of three men nearly reduced to tears by the super-soldier.

By the time Steve is finished with them the woman's bus arrives and she thanks them both before stepping onto the bus. 'Ready to call it a night?' Steve asks him as they wave goodbye to the woman.

'Yeah I should probably get home and do my homework,' he admits with a sigh.

'Before you get another detention you mean?' Steve teases as they head back up the fire escape and onto the roof, making their way back to their starting point.

'You are absolutely hilarious, Captain, maybe you should quit being a superhero and start a career as a comedian.'

'You know, Bucky tells me the same thing,' Steve laughs.