The Avengers sat comfortably in the briefing room, discussing just what to do with the teenager sitting in a cozy cell just down the hall.
"We can't just keep them there forever, Capsicle! We're Avengers, not babysitters. What the hell are we supposed to do? As a matter of fact, what exactly are we waiting for? We've got plenty enough proof that he's not a threat. Why not just let him go?" Tony banged his fist against the table, pointing angrily at the surveillance of the kid attempting to pull the chair free from the floor. "We shouldn't even be involved in this. Isn't it a bit below our paygrade? Why Spider-Man?"
"Dear God I say it, but Stark's right. We can't just lock him up forever. Why is he still here, Rogers?" Clint's voice was cold from where he sat across from Tony. He wasn't even looking in Steve's direction, instead staring murderously at the footage as the kid punched the wall before dropping to his knees clutching his hand.
"They're not wrong, we should hand him over to SHIELD already and let them deal with it." Natasha pitched in from beside Clint, sounding slightly annoyed that they hadn't done so in the first place.
Steve scrubbed a hand over his face with a sigh. He looked over the team, momentarily locking eyes with Sam, who leaned back with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. As if to say that if Steve didn't explain, then he would. Steve stood, grabbing his satchel from behind the chair and pulling out a manila folder, to which Tony rolled his eyes. His muscles were tense as he stood with his back to the team, taking in a deep breath before turning around and placing it on the table. He looked up.
"Sam and I have a lead on Bucky." He hesitated before saying the next part, "Spider-Man seems to have… run into him previously." Clint took in a sharp breath.
"You mean that kid fought The Winter Soldier and lived!? "
"Of course, that's what this is about. Your mission to track down a psychopathic Hydra assassin that tried to kill you more times than you can count. For God's Righteous Man you're pretty fucking selfish."
Tony and Clint and even Rhodey were staring bitterly at Steve now, incredulous and outraged. Natasha's lips were a thin line and Sam was staring patiently at Steve, who sighed and explained further.
"Not exactly fought, more like met with." He slid a picture across the table, of Spider-Man sitting on a ledge making wild hand gestures to a man in a dark hoodie and jeans. The camera was angled just enough to get a clear picture of the serious face that looked back at the exuberant teenager. "We don't know if Buck knows who's behind the mask, nor do we know what his mental state is. The one person who does know that, however, is sitting in that room right now. He's the only lead we have guys. I admit I should have handled this better, working as a team and in how we… I… have been treating the kid. It was selfish. I should've told you my main reasoning for going after him before we did. I apologize for that, but this is the situation we have on hand, and now's the time to fix it. Better late than never."
The room was silent, his fellow Avenger's faces calculating as they took in his earnest expression. Sam gave him a small nod, Rhodey giving him a bitter warning from beside him.
"We're a team Roger's, and you're the leader. If we can't trust you to tell us the whole truth, how can we trust you in battle. I understand, though, that everyone makes mistakes. If you can assure me that you won't keep information from us again, I'll give you a second chance. Lord knows I've given Tony enough of them."
Steve gave a small smile and nodded, turning to a smirking Tony next. "Who would've known. Mr. Perfect can screw up after all. Gotta say, not as impressive as I thought it'd be. If you've got Rhodey on your side then sure, whatever." He gave a small wave of his hand and a half-shrug, and Steve resisted the urge to glare at his "Mr. Perfect" comment. Instead he opted for a small nod and looked toward Clint and Natasha.
They stared in silence for a long moment before Natasha stated with a shrug, "Nothing I didn't already know, boys. I've got a meeting to get to, see you around." She left without a word, and Steve winced slightly at the cold shoulder, but knew that she would seek him out later about it.
Clint glared at him for a tense moment before standing up to follow her, "Fix the kid situation, then I'll see about it."
The rest of the Avengers filed out, and Steve dropped back into his seat, head in his hands.
"Okay, fix the kid situation…" He winced, knowing that if plan A didn't work, plan B would take some convincing from the team.
Peter glared at the door, his ribs had long since healed up, and a doctor had come in to look at the bandages. He'd had a suit of armor and an Avenger guide him to a bathroom just across the hall, and he'd glanced around to see if there was anything of use. Even if there had been anything -which there hadn't been- the suit of armor that stood watching his every movement with it's creepy glowing eyes quickly deterred him from making a run for it. He'd have to time it right, he didn't have enough information yet to try to escape.
The armor watching him also made him try to use the bathroom as least often as possible, and when he'd grumbled complaints about the invasion of privacy Tony had merely snorted and told him to be lucky he didn't have a prison toilet inside the room itself. Hawkeye had raised a brow and offered to go in it's stead, to which Peter had glared at him and promptly decided he didn't need to use the restroom then, bitterly giving the asshole of an archer the silent treatment until he left. Which lead him to where he was now, slightly regretful and sitting on the edge of the bed bouncing his foot as he debated on whether or not pounding on the door would gain enough attention to get him a restroom break.
Just as he decided that pissing himself would be a bigger blow to his pride then admitting defeat, the door opened. He jerked his head up, foot still bouncing anxiously. The super soldier in the doorway raised an eyebrow at him, letting out a small snort before turning his hand and jerking it toward the door.
"Hawkeye mentioned you'd given him the cold shoulder earlier." The super soldier sounded amused, and Peter glared and grumbled.
"Hawkeye. More like Hawkass." The super soldier wrinkled his nose slightly at the comment, but didn't say anything.
The second Peter stepped into the hallway the soldier next to the door sprung to life, ready to follow him and leave him wallowing in misery. Captain waved a hand at it with a short stand down and a hand landed on his shoulder leading him to the bathroom across the hall. Peter looked suspiciously at Cap, but was relieved when he stopped outside the doorway.
When he finished his business and stepped back into the hall, he automatically started walking back to the room, but the soldier's hand landed back on his shoulder in a firm grip, not letting him move anywhere. He looked back in confusion, to which the older male gave him a gentle smile before leading him down the hall. Peter subtly glanced around as they walked, taking in and memorizing as much as possible while keeping an eye on the Captain.
"We're going somewhere else this time, actually. I think you'll find it a bit nicer. I called your aunt so she wouldn't worry, she didn't pick up, but I left her a message and told her what happened. Don't worry, when she calls back I'll make sure you get a chance to speak with her."
Peter stopped walking to look at him in shock.
"You did what!? " Steve stopped as well, confused.
"Shit, oh shit, oh shit. She's going to murder me!" Peter was frantic, hand running through his hair repeatedly.
"Don't worry, son. I kept out the whole resisting arrest thing, made it seem more like we asked you to help us out with an investigation and you so kindly offered your knowledge on it. Told her you'd be staying with us to lay low for a bit and to call back to discuss it more when she could. I'm sure she won't murder you." The super soldier let out a small chuckle and patted the kid's shoulder.
"No!" Peter brushed the hand off, face going red in anger. "You don't get it! She doesn't know! Nobody knows ! IT'S A SECRET FOR A REASON! Please tell me you didn't mention that I was Spider-Man, please!" Peter was terrified. If Aunt May knew then she would kill him, if she didn't he might get away with eternal grounding for missing dinner and worrying her.
Hawkeye had come around the corner during the speech, having heard the yelling. He took in the scene with wide eyes, glancing back at Steve who just shook his head slightly. He stayed nearby though, in case things got out of hand.
"Son. Calm down. I didn't know, but I don't think I'd mentioned Spider-Man at all during the voicemail. She's your guardian though, she has a right to know." His hand came back to land on the boy's shoulder, looking at him sternly.
Peter clenched his jaw and looked away.
"Whatever. You wouldn't understand anyway."
Steve shrugged off the teenage angst, turning and placing a hand at the base of the kid's neck, ignoring the immediate tensing. "Alright, son. Let's get going." The hand tried to propel him forward, but Peter stubbornly crossed his arms and planted his feet. Utilizing the lack of shoes and sticking ability to stay put despite the strong hand attempting to guide him forward.
"I'm not your son. Stop calling me that." Peter knew he was just looking for a fight at this moment, but he was so angry. They weren't going to tell his aunt, he couldn't let them do that. He didn't care what they said, all it did was put more people in danger. It'd get her killed, just like it did Ben.
He was oddly satisfied at the long-suffering sigh from above him, missing the knowing smirk Hawkeye threw the super soldier.
"Alright, Peter. C'mon, I'm sure you'd rather come with me than go back to that room."
"You mean the cell , that you put me into in the first place." Peter corrected, but he walked forward anyway. Even if he didn't want to go anywhere with the super soldier, he couldn't turn down the chance to map out more of the building. That didn't, however, stop him from muttering just loud enough for the archer to hear as he passed him at the end of the hall.
"Hawkass."
The bewildered expression was definitely worth the light headslap and muttered language from the super soldier. He couldn't keep the smug smirk off his face until they were standing at a new door, and he realized that he wasn't sure what exactly lay behind it. Did Iron Man's threat happen? Is he going to an actual cell now? Or was there someone waiting for him? He found himself slightly worried at the possibilities.
There was a slight squeeze from the hand on his neck, which he assumed was meant to be comforting but ended up making him flinch harder and shivers go up his spine. The hand was only a few inches below the spider bite. He distantly realized that the dull buzzing of his sixth sense had died down to a faint tickle now that he had left the cell. When his aunt pulled him into a hug her hand would rest unknowingly over the location of the bite, thumb rubbing smooth circles and gently massaging the tense muscles. She was the only person he felt comfortable with touching the area, and yet she had no idea just how much it meant when she did so.
Peter jerked out of his thoughts at his name, and blushed when he realized Captain America was looking down at him from just inside the open doorway in concern. He glanced past the Captain and looked into the room, eyes widening at the sight. It was huge! And an actual room, not a cell. The furniture wasn't bolted down, the bed was huge and covered in what looked to be the softest blankets and pillows in the world. There was an open door to the right that looked to be the bathroom, an open closet full of clothes next to it. There was a dip in the floor to his left that had a small sitting area with couches and bean bags, a flat screen mounted onto the wall.
He took a tentative step inside, glancing at Captain America to see a small grin forming.
"Like it? I asked Tony to fix it up for you, or hire people to at least. Figured that spruced up "cell" that I had you in wasn't exactly fit for a teenager. No matter how temporary your stay here is. I'm hoping to get you home sooner rather than later." He gave the kid a pat on the shoulder, watching as he glanced around the room in awe. It wasn't long before awe turned to suspicion.
"What do you want in return?" Steve cocked his head slightly at the boy, confused.
"Nobody ever does something like this just because. There's always a price. What do you want?" Steve let out a small sigh and gestured for the kid to take a seat in the sitting area. He watched as he perched on the edge of a chair before sitting himself half-way onto the arm of the chair across from him.
"First of all, I don't expect anything in return for this. I screwed up, I made a bad decision. You ended up getting the short stick of that choice. That was my fault, and it shouldn't have happened. This is me trying to fix it. If I could, I'd just pretend we never investigated Spider-Man and drop you back off at your aunt's house. I can't though, not until I know more about the situation. My priority is keeping you safe until we figure things out."
Peter leaned back slightly, crossing his arms and staring at him suspiciously as he explained himself. He sounded sincere and it is Captain America after all, but you never know how different someone can be in person.
"We have reason to believe that you're in danger."
Peter snorted, "I'm Spider-Man. What do you expect, tea and cupcakes? I can handle myself."
Steve shook his head, "You've been doing this for a few months, yeah. I have no doubt that you can handle yourself when it comes to muggers and drug lords. This is a whole new level entirely, I'm talking professional assassins trained by some of the worst terrorist agencies in the world. I'm sure you could handle them, but not without the proper training."
Peter stared at him. He didn't want to admit it, but the Captain was right. He had only started a few months ago… it'd only been a few months since that night. He looked out for the little guys, but he still freezes sometimes when a gun comes into play. This was something bigger than that. He looked away, staring at the ground a few feet to his left with his jaw locked as the Captain's sincere eyes bore into him.
He looked back up, "How do you know this? How do I know you aren't just lying to get me to listen?"
Rogers looked at him and gave a small nod, "Hydra. We hacked into their database and found some interesting files. They've been stalking Spider-Man for quite some time, it seems. Less than a month after you started. It's a miracle they didn't find your identity. It's starting to look like they were planning something though. A hit or a kidnapping, we're not sure yet."
Peter smirked slightly, proud of his spidey sense, before frowning again. "You think they were planning a kidnapping, huh? If they wanted a hit they wouldn't have bothered with the framing or the stalking. They want to know who I am."
Steve hesitated, before nodding slowly. He decided now might be a good time to bring some more information up. He pulled the picture out of his pocket and handed it to the kid, who took it and stared for a moment before looking up.
"James… Do you think they're after him too?! They know his face! What if they found him!" The kid looked up wide-eyed, and looked ready to jump to his feet before Steve calmed him.
"Sit back down, Pete. We're looking for him, the most you can do to help right now is to stay safe. You can't risk going anywhere right now. You being Spider-Man right now means you risking your Aunt's life." He knew it was cruel, but if it kept the kid off the streets until they could get these guys, then it'd be worth it.
"What can you tell me about James? Do you know where he lives? Places he frequents? "
Peter shook his head and crossed his arms. And Steve sagged back into his chair, his only lead lost. How the hell was he gonna find one person in New Yo-
"He won't trust you, and he can handle himself just fine. I can go and talk to him, but I'm not betraying his trust by telling you everything. He's a bit paranoid, and you wouldn't even get within a mile before he knew you were there." Peter shrugged and sat back, arms crossed over his chest with a sense of finality. It was obvious that there was more to the soldier finding James than to just keep him safe. This was the perfect pawn to gamble with. There was no way the super soldier wouldn't take-
"No."
His head snapped back up.
"What!?"
"No. You aren't going to go risk your neck just to see your friend," Steve's tone was stern and commanding, "You're gonna stay here. You can either give us the information to find him, or he can flounder about alone with a terrorist agency on his tail. Your choice."
That didn't fit with what he'd observed from earlier conversation. Steve seemed to really care that he find James. Why would he just let him be?
"You're bluffing. You wouldn't just leave him there."
"Would I?" Steve's eyebrow raised, and Peter clenched his jaw.
"Fine." He bit out, standing up and wishing for all the world that he could throw a punch at the super stupid soldier. He needed to make sure James was safe. After that, he'd leave for good.
"Let me go with, then. I meant it when I said you wouldn't get within a mile without me."
Steve analyzed him before letting out a long breath and nodding, before pointing a finger at the teen.
"Fine, but Tony is making you a new suit and you will listen to me when I tell you to do something. You won't like what happens if you don't. Are we clear?"
Peter stared for a moment, calculating.
"Crystal."