Apparently this chapter is 7,663 words long, not counting author's notes. Wow. I don't think I've ever written a chapter this long for any of my stories before. I guess I just got so into writing the chapter that the word count pretty much spiraled out of control. I was going to stop with the first part of the chapter, but since I like having multiple POVs per chapter and I really wanted to add the last part that I wrote it anyway. And I have to say, I had a really fun time writing it (I mean, I have a great time writing all of my chapters but this one was especially fun).
In other news, thank you so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and over 100 follows! :) They ensure that this story always goes to the top of my To Do pile, which ensures quick updates!
Enjoy the new chapter!
Having gone to public schools his entire life, Peter Parker was used to seeing a lot of strange things. Earlier in the year he'd had to stand outside for nearly an hour because someone had set a trash can on fire-and there were kids in a few of his classes who did stranger things than that. Mostly he just kept his head down and tried to stay out of all the gossip and the drama synonymous with schools of any kind; he was a mostly good student, with especially high grades in math and computer science and a low grade in history (in the first place because history was boring and secondly because he was pretty sure his history teacher hated him). He kept his nose to the grindstone, worked hard, and didn't do much to put himself out there. He had some friends, but not a posse-and he was just fine with that. It was easier than having to lie to a bunch of people about where he went at night-it certainly wasn't the library, as he would have them believe.
"Mr. Parker?" his English teacher, Ms. Gardner, said, hanging up on a phone call from the office. "Please go down to the office. There's someone waiting who wants to talk to you."
Automatically, Peter's mind began to scroll through the list of people who could be bothering him the middle of the school day. Unless it was an emergency it wouldn't be Aunt May-if something was going on, she'd wait until after he got home from school to tell her about it. Which meant he had zero other he found himself packing up his books and pencils, swinging his backpack almost carelessly over one shoulder, and leaving anyway.
He happened to glance outside at the school's small parking lot and immediately everything made sense. It took all the self control and maturity he had not to run the rest of the way to the office. He hadn't heard from Tony Stark in nearly a month; he'd taken that to mean he hadn't been impressive enough in Germany. He'd been upset at first, of course; fighting alongside other superheroes, especially the ones he'd read so much about, filled him with a kind of frenzied joy he'd never felt before. But as it became increasingly clearer and clearer his involvement had just been a one time thing, he realized that he didn't really mind having a couple more years of normal either. Of course, that didn't mean he still didn't regret losing such a dream job. But if Stark was here now…
The school's secretary handed him a pass and said "Your aunt called. Apparently you have a last minute doctor's appointment?"
"Yup. Doctor's office-completely forgot. See you tomorrow." He gave her one last smile and took off running out the front door and down the steps-completely ignoring the security guard who yelled at him to slow down-jumping the last five to the pavement and racing over to the fancy red car that definitely didn't look like it belonged in Queens.
The same car he'd seen parked in front of his apartment building a few weeks ago, before his already strange life became extraordinary.
"Good to see you again, Peter." Tony said as Peter slid into the passenger's seat after unceremoniously depositing his backpack in the backseat. "How's school been treating you?"
"Fine, I guess. None of my teachers were really happy that I just flew to Germany with no advanced warning, but when I told them what you told me to say-you know, that I was going to apply for a really competitive scholarship they instantly changed their minds."
Stark smirked as he gunned the gas pedal and they roared into traffic. He drove fast, with almost a controlled recklessness; Peter found himself enjoying the ride immensely but at the same time worried they would crash. "I would think that most teachers would."
"Does Aunt May really know I'm here?"
"Nope. Does that bother you?"
"No-anything to get me out of History. But the secretary said that she called-"
"Voice recognition software. Top of the line-not even available on the market yet. I have to say, it's some of my best work. Did it work perfectly?"
"Yeah, you could say that." For the first time it seemed to strike him that they were driving out of the city, big skyscrapers giving way to smaller office buildings that soon melted into even smaller subdivisions. "I guess I should ask where we're going?"
"I thought I'd clean house a little bit today and I found some old tech I thought you might want to go through. You know, since there's almost nobody living at the base anymore-"
The pieces fell together in his mind and he nearly jumped out of his seat in shock. "You're taking me to the Avengers base?"
"Calm down, kid. It's not Area 51-although I'm sure it's even more impressive than you think it is."
Peter could only shake his head in disbelief. He knew about the Avengers base, of course-everyone did. The Avengers were already subject to constant media scrutiny and an almost cult following of fans; when word got out that a new facility was being built to accommodate an almost entirely new team of heroes, it had been all over the tabloids in the grocery store aisles for weeks. The world had scrambled to find leaked pictures of the base's new rooms online (apparently, it cost half a billion dollars to build and was rumored to contain a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a state of the art training facility, a screening room with a plasma screen TV and surround sound that rivaled any movie theatre, and over forty bedrooms-and those were just the highlights-spread out on an estate that spanned miles in every direction) but even so, the new facility had remained frustratingly secret. "Wow. Is there really a swimming pool?"
"Two, actually. Three if you count the hot tub. Why? Think about going out for the swim team?"
He shook his head, mind still stuck on the fact that he was actually going to get to see where the greatest superheroes in the world stayed when they weren't on duty-at least, until they'd all been arrested. "Mr. Stark, do you know where Captain America and his team are?" It had been all over the news for days; apparently, they'd disappeared without a trace in the middle of the afternoon and chances were high it was an inside job.
Tony's fingers tightened on the steering wheel and his knuckles turned white. "Not you too, Parker. I thought I'd given enough statements about that."
"Right. Sorry." He knew when he'd pushed too far-and he sensed he was just treading an invisible line between what he could ask about and what would get him dropped in the middle of the road so he'd have to hitchhike back to the city.
He considered asking another question, maybe something about whether or not he'd be able to get something to eat at the Base because Tony had so inconsiderately forced him to skip lunch, but he decided against it. They spent the rest of the ride in silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts-and, in Peter's case, warm anticipation.
~A~
"You actually live here? This place looks like a museum!"
Tony smiled quietly as Peter leapt out of the car, examining the building in a look of openmouthed awe. For once the tabloids had gotten something right-in fact, they'd even managed to fall short of the facility's splendor. It covered the horizon, long and sprawling with plenty of glass windows to look out at the cloudy spring day, while a single gray 'A' looked back at them calmly. "Yeah, well. It's a training facility first and foremost...but it was always meant to be a home away from home as well. Come on-you haven't even seen the inside." He stepped up to the door, was buzzed through by a retinal scanner, and held the door for Peter-who walked into room upon room furnished in polished chrome or neutrally painted walls. Everything was sleek, streamlined, and ultramodern-in fact, the entire room looked like it had come straight out of one of the fashion magazines Aunt May loved to read.
"Wow." he whispered in wonder, passing a wall that glowed blue when he ran his fingers along it absentmindedly.
"I know. I'm quite proud of it, actually. Granted, I never thought I'd really be living here but...Rhodey needed a little help getting around and I realized I could actually use a break from the outside world for a little while. You'll have to mind the mess; I've been trying to clean up, but the others didn't really have a chance to take their stuff with them when they got arrested so there's a lot of random stuff just lying around." As if to accentuate his words, they passed a framed photograph on a side table of Sam, Rhodey, and Wanda sitting outside on the base's back porch with glasses of lemonade, laughing at something off camera. It made Peter stop short; the three people in the photograph looked completely different from the ones he'd fought with and against in Leipzig-they looked happier, while in real life they just looked tired...like they constantly felt the weight of the world pressing down on their shoulders. He was struck anew by the realization that being a superhero certainly wasn't as fun as it looked.
"That's okay. I live in Queens. I'm used to messes." His stomach growled before he could stop it and he cleared his throat in embarrassment. "Hey, do you have any pizza lying around?"
"Follow me-there's some cold stuff in the fridge." Once Peter was comfortably seated at the kitchen table with a couple of pieces of pizza on a paper plate in front of him (and a couple more on the counter, in case he got hungry) Tony went to get the accessories he'd wanted to show him in the first place. That left Peter with about five minutes to gather his thoughts-not that they particularly wanted to be gathered. Rather, they were spinning around in random directions. This sure beats that English test 7th hour.
"You must be the famous Spider Man."
He looked up in surprise as someone else stopped in the doorway and looked in at him-War Machine (Rhodey), though Peter almost didn't recognize him without his mask on. They hadn't exactly had much time to get to know each other before the airport battle. "Hey. Yeah, that's me. I'm Spider Man. And you're War Machine, right?"
"Yeah, but call me Rhodey. We're not on duty right now." For the first time Peter saw that one of his legs was completely metal, though he was trying to cover it with a pair of grey sweatpants. He winced inwardly; people had gotten hurt in Germany, though he'd had so much fun fighting alongside them. "Did Tony abduct you to show you all of his old tech?"
"He didn't really abduct me. I mean, I guess technically he did but I really don't mind. I have a test today I didn't study for."
Rhodey laughed. "How old are you, kid?"
"Fifteen-but I'll be sixteen in August."
He couldn't be sure, but he thought he muttered something along the lines of "Now a lot of things make a lot more sense." but to Peter's face he said "So what's it been like, getting back to your normal routine? Do you miss being part of the team?"
He shrugged. "Kind of. I mean, what happened in Germany was pretty fun-besides you getting shot out of the sky, I mean. That looked really painful-but I guess it's kind of nice to come back home and have things be just like they were before. I don't think I'd really want people coming up to me all the time and asking me if I was Spider Man or thanking me for saving the world or anything like that. It's nice that no one knows I left because no one thinks to ask any weird questions."
"That's true-but you did a good job. I was really impressed-and I know Tony was too. You've made a name for yourself, kid-in a few years, I'm sure the Avengers would be happy to offer you a job."
"I just might take you up on that offer."
"I thought you said you were going to take a nap." Tony brushed past Rhodey and practically slammed a dusty box down onto the kitchen table.
"I did, but I couldn't stay that way. Your Black Sabbath was too loud."
"Then go turn it off. The kid and I need to look through some of this stuff; I don't think you'd find any of it interesting."
Rhodey rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted. But make sure you bring him home at a decent time, Stark-the last thing we need is his aunt suing us or something."
"His incredibly hot aunt will most definitely not be suing anybody. Spiderling will be home before she misses him." Peter didn't even bother to correct him as Rhodey left and Tony pulled out the first item at the top of the box. At first, it didn't look like much; just a tiny piece of plastic barely bigger than his thumbnail-but Tony held it reverently, with the utmost care. "This, Parker, is going to become your new best friend."
"What is it?"
"Why don't you see for yourself. Just hold it to your face." Peter did as he said, taking the small square and pressing it to the side of his cheek. The reaction was instantaneous; he felt something cold run down his spine and Tony handed him a small hand mirror. The face that looked back at him wasn't his own; his usual brown hair had turned an inky black and he was somehow sporting a stylish mustache to match. When he pulled the square away he turned back to Peter Parker. "What do you think?"
"Wow. How does it work?"
"I'm glad you asked." He spouted off a bunch of scientific jargon that Peter, with his limited knowledge of machinery, didn't understand. When he realized the teenager was staring at him in blank confusion, he added "Basically, it analyzes your DNA and shifts it slightly to change your appearance-perfect for your last minute getaway." He pulled a box off the back counter and placed the square inside of it before he reached for the next item.
For the next two hours, he and Peter went through the entire box. Everything did something that would be incredibly useful for a crime fighter who was still in high school; there was a fake dummy that Peter could inflate with the push of a button who would copy his breathing patterns exactly so Aunt May would never need to know he snuck out at night; tools that would help him break into and out of almost everything (except banks); and a handheld GPS that supposedly picked up on any criminal activity within two hundred yards (though even Tony admitted the technology was old and faulty at best). All of it was in amazingly pristine condition even after spending a few decades in dusty corners of various attics; Peter could have gone dumpster diving for the rest of his life and never found anything that even came close. By the time Tony had finished packaging everything up he was speechless, unable to believe his luck-and wondering if it was all just some really weird lucid dream.
"Thanks, Mr. Stark." he said, examining his new haul with no small amount of excitement. "I don't know how to repay you-"
"Hey, don't worry about it. I still owe you one for Germany, don't I?"
"Well, considering you paid for airfare, meals, the new suit, that little Spider Man signal-thanks for that by the way, it's amazing and I use it all the time-bribed those TSA officers at the airport and helped me fabricate a cover story for Aunt May so I wouldn't get in trouble...I don't think so."
"Then consider it a gift from a lonely man." Peter's knee jerk reaction was, of course, to wonder how a billionaire like Tony Stark with all the money and gadgetry he could ever want could be lonely-but it didn't take him long to remember the photograph and the way the entire building seemed to have an air of loneliness and regret around it. Like something was missing. Or, to be more precise, eight someones. "I don't need any of this stuff anymore and I'm sure you'll put it to good use."
"Where's Vision?" The android had been on Tony's side during the airport battle; Peter was positive, mostly because he'd been so glad he hadn't had to fight him.
For a second, Tony looked like he wasn't going to respond altogether-but finally he sighed and said "He left a couple of days ago. Said he needed to think about some things, and he didn't say when he'll be back. Honestly, I don't blame the guy-we've all had a lot to think about for the past few weeks. If he can find some closure, power to him. Why? Is the base feeling a little too big to you too?"
"I guess it's just odd not having the Avengers anymore." In the few years since the Battle of New York the team had become such a large part of the world's defense and pop culture; it was hard to imagine not having them to defend the world's hapless population.
"Yeah. We all made some mistakes. I just hope we're able to work through them by the time the next big threat decides to take a crack at us." Tony got up to throw away Peter's greasy paper plate and for just the tiniest moment Peter saw...something as he stood over the trash can: a crack in the inventor's buoyant exterior, revealing a man underneath who might have given away his old tech not just because he could but because he saw it as a way of making amends to a much greater problem. "But you're old enough to know that everyone makes choices-and sometimes choices have consequences."
"Yeah." Like when you chose to fight crime when you were still in high school. That sure changed your whole outlook on life-and homework. "I mean, if I hadn't chosen to be Spider Man, where would we be now?"
"About that…" Tony glanced at his hand, probably remembering how Peter had webbed it to a doorknob back in New York City. "What exactly happened to you? I mean, you don't get reflexes like that just from going to the gym."
"It's kind of a weird story. You're probably going to think it's stupid."
"I've heard a lot of weird, kid. Try me."
Even so, Peter hesitated for a moment before he revealed his best kept secret to someone who was still (almost) a stranger. "I had a little internship at this research facility back in the fall, because I'm really into science and it was just easy stuff-filing papers, taking notes, that sort of thing. I wasn't supposed to be doing anything dangerous...until one day I got bit by a radioactive spider. I started...being able to do these weird things, you know? I could walk on walls and shoot webbing out of my hands...I had super fast reflexes...and they wouldn't go away. At first it was kind of scary...but when I didn't use my powers, bad things started happening. Things that I could have prevented, if I'd just been a little stronger and a little smarter. That was when I realized that, scared or not, I had a duty to use my powers. I had to help people, you know? I had to help the people who couldn't help themselves; because what good is it to have powers you can't explain if you don't use them to do anything meaningful? And I've been fighting crime ever since."
"You're pretty damn good at it, for someone who only acquired your powers a few months ago."
He shrugged. "It's okay. I practice a lot. There's a lot of yahoos in New York City; I'm doing them a favor, really."
"I'm sure you are."
"Mr. Stark? Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"...If I was older, and the airport fight was like my 'audition' to get into the Avengers...would I have passed?"
Tony smirked. "Yeah, kid. You definitely would have passed. But don't try to be an Avenger yet. It's not all parties and fun. Sometimes bad things happen and good people get hurt. If you want to be a member of the team, you have to know what you're willing to lose-and who you're willing to hurt."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, while the clock ticked away in the background. Peter was becoming all too aware of how soon school would let out-and how soon after that Aunt May would expect him to come home. And it wasn't like he could make up an excuse-if he said he was going out with some friends she'd definitely know he was lying, because none of his friends were exactly the going out type. If he stayed here much longer, awesome as it was, he was going to be in huge trouble. "Mr. Stark, I'm really grateful for all the gifts and things but-"
Tony nodded and stood up, grabbing his key ring from the back of the door and motioning for Peter to take the box and follow him down a hallway he hadn't noticed before. "Yeah, we'll head out in just a minute. Wouldn't want Aunt Hottie to ground you or anything-but I want to show you something first."
They walked down a couple of hallways until they reached a long, white room-covered in photos. They were everywhere; hanging on the walls, stacked in piles on tables ringing the room, and overflowing from photo albums on a stainless steel bookshelf-and they all showed the Avengers in some capacity. Whether it was the original team, the new team, or everyone together it afforded Peter a look into a world he was sure very few people knew existed: a world of not just heroes and villains, but of regular people forced to play amazing roles. There were Falcon and Captain America playing Monopoly on the veranda and Black Widow and Hawkeye reading books on a window seat at what was probably Avengers Tower. Scarlet Witch and Vision sitting on opposite sides of the screening room and trying to sneak glances at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Steve and Tony posing together with an ecstatic young woman, in full costume. "Looks like you guys have a lot of fun."
"More than you might think, actually. I started creating this room a long time ago, actually-a few months after the Battle of New York. We'd stopped thinking that just because we stopped the Chitauri we'd never be challenged again...and I started to worry about what would happen if a mission went south and we all ended up dead. How I want people to remember us, you know. I guess that's where the habit came from-and it hasn't stopped. I've been trying to capture everything-the good and the bad, everything that made us Avengers and put us where we are today. When the newbies came along, I added them too. But now, after what's happened in Leipzig...it's been giving me more guilt than happiness." He pointed at a picture in front of him; a shot of a girl Peter guessed had to be Scarlet Witch, but she didn't look at all like the red coated telepath they showed on TV. She was wearing a simple black dress and smiled for the camera, but it didn't reach her eyes. In fact, there was a vulnerability to her that Peter hadn't seen in real life; something about her eyes that reminded him that she was just a few years older than he was. "You know, if it weren't for me she wouldn't be a member of the team at all. She'd be in college right now, planning for her future-probably waiting to catch the first plane out of Sokovia. But when she was ten years old...one of my missiles blew up her apartment building and killed her parents. She and her brother lived on the streets for eight years before they submitted themselves for experimentation. They were just like you; they wanted to save their country, to fight for the common man...but they had a deeper motive. They wanted vengeance for their parents' deaths, and they saw joining HYDRA as the only way they could do that. The only way they could make a change in the world. And look how that turned out for them in the end." He shook his head sadly. "The things I've done have hurt and killed a lot of people...but I guess until I met them, it didn't really matter. I turned a blind eye, explained it all away as collateral damage...and I forgot how much collateral damage really does impact people. All the people killed in New York or crushed by falling buildings in Sokovia...their deaths had major impacts on families all over the globe. I couldn't save them all. We couldn't save them all. That's why the Accords are so necessary-but sometimes it doesn't seem that way when I think about how Steve's in the wrong but he still has his team. Probably Natasha too, by now. They were all willing to follow him, more than they wanted to follow me-and now I have to pick up the pieces of their mess. Again."
For a long time, Peter didn't know what to say. He didn't know why Tony had chosen to confess this to him, of all people-and he wasn't sure how to react. How did you fix this kind of a situation, when he could practically feel the guilt like a living being in the room with them? "What happened to the twins-and all the people in New York and Sokovia too-wasn't your fault. You did the best you could, but people slipped through the cracks. People always slip through the cracks, no matter how careful you try to be. You can't always save everyone. I try the best I can to stop crime, but sometimes people still get hurt. The only thing that matters is that you grieve, recover, and stand to fight another day. Because if you don't, the bad guys win and nobody gets saved. The only thing to do is let it go-let them go-and not guilt yourself." He looked down; if they were swapping stories, he might as well share his. "A little while after I got my powers, my uncle died in a hit and run. I know it's not really the truth...but sometimes I feel he died because of me. And I've had to deal with that feeling ever since."
They stood there for a long time, until Tony abruptly turned and walked out-with Peter close on his heels. They went back to the car, got inside, drove off-and didn't start talking until they were halfway back.
"You're smart, kid." Tony said, turning down his rock music by just a small increment. "And not just about algebra."
Peter nodded. "Thanks for the tech. It'll really help out, especially once finals start."
"No problem. Happy I could help. Thanks for coming down today."
He had to smile at that. "No offense, but I don't think I really had a choice."
"No, you didn't-but thanks for coming anyway. You haven't ruined the suit yet?"
"No. I've been trying not to."
"Good. That thing wasn't exactly cheap, you know…" For the rest of the ride back they made casual small talk; they certainly didn't talk about anything deep, and Peter didn't mind. It was incredibly easy to talk to Tony Stark, age and income difference aside; he seemed to understand being a teenager better than almost anyone else Peter knew, including most of his teachers. He was almost sad to have to get out of the car at his apartment building in Queens, almost an hour late. "Sorry it took so long."
"No problem. I know exactly what I'm going to tell Aunt May."
"Here." He grabbed Peter's phone and added his number to the contact list. "I'll text if I ever need Spider Man again, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks for the pizza."
"No problem. See you later." With that he drove off, a last wave over his shoulder and Black Sabbath blasting from the car stereos. Peter couldn't help laughing as he let himself into the building and studiously maneuvered the box around the stoners that made camp on the first floor, heading for the elevator bank that would take him up to his floor.
"Peter Parker! Where have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is?" May asked as soon as he stepped through the door.
He sent her his most winning smile and said "I was with Tony Stark. He wanted to talk about the grant again. I think I have a really good chance of getting it, Aunt May!" That shut her right up.
He retreated to his room and sat on the edge of his bed, touching his new equipment with a new reverence; a reverence for what had truly been an extraordinary day.
~A~
"You know, if we're going to be living domestic and everything we should really get a cat." Scott said one morning at dinner after about three weeks on the run.
Sam rolled his eyes as he poured himself another cup of coffee. "That is the worst idea I have ever heard in my entire life."
"Why? Don't you like cats?"
"Sure I like cats-but that doesn't mean we need one, especially when we could have to make a quick getaway at any given moment. What're we going to do, try and find a way to take it with us?"
Now it was Scott's turn to roll his eyes and try to appeal to Steve instead. "I think a cat is just what we need after everything that's happened-"
"Sorry, Scott." Steve replied. "I'm with Sam on this one. It's just not practical for us to get a cat right now."
He shrugged in conceded defeat and grabbed a waffle from the center of the table. Bucky always made waffles on Saturday mornings; he was an expert at making sure they came out of the iron light and fluffy and everyone else adored them. Everyone else had been too lazy to cook, so it was requested that he make them again-a challenge he'd accepted gamely. "It was worth a try."
"I think I'm going to try and go hunting tomorrow morning." Clint said, glancing at his bow and arrows that were permanently kept by the front door. "We're kind of running low and I don't think we want to risk another trip to the grocery store yet." The reward for information leading to the Avengers' capture had risen to fifteen thousand dollars.
"It's probably going to rain. Don't bother. We'll get by-there's canned chili in the pantry that we can live off of for a while if we have to." Steve replied.
"We can play Monopoly." Sam suggested, prompting a round of groans.
"All we've done for the past week is play Monopoly." Wanda said. "It's fun-but not that fun."
"Well, no one's mentioning any better ideas." Spending all day every day cooped up inside the cabin was enough to drive them all slightly stir crazy. They were used to action-saving people, throwing themselves recklessly in harm's way so innocent civilians could be saved. Not all of this sneaking around and trying to lie low, knowing that if they were found again there was a good chance they wouldn't be able to escape.
Almost as if in answer to his words, a clap of thunder seemed to practically shake the house on its foundation. Rain came down in sheets, slashing at the glass windowpanes and pooling in the gutters and wet, soaking pools on the grass. Everyone sighed inwardly; there'd be nothing outdoors for the rest of the night-and maybe into the next morning, if Weather Underground could be trusted. "Monopoly it is."
They'd barely started dealing out cards when there was a particularly loud clap of thunder that made them all jump. Wanda bit her lip and started to pick up the handful of fives, tens, and ones she'd dropped; thunder just reminded her of helicopter blades and gunfire, which reminded her of the Raft-which she was trying to forget.
It took a minute for everyone to hear the knocking on the door-and immediately everyone stiffened, the tension in the room ratcheting up to a ten. There was absolutely no reason anyone would be knocking on their door in the middle of a thunderstorm; they didn't have any neighbors for miles. And yet...the noise was too quiet to belong to law enforcement. They exchanged a glance as another knock sounded through the silent air.
Clearing his throat, Steve got to his feet and said "I'll get it." Taking one for the team. Just like always. With bated breath, everyone watched as he crossed to the door, out of sight, and opened it. There were a few minutes of conversing in a low voice with whoever happened to be at the door and then he called back to them, very strangely, "Wanda, would you mind coming here please?"
"Sure." she said, getting up from the table and trying to ignore the way she had started shaking, not meeting anyone's eye.
She didn't know what she'd been expecting to see at the door, but she certainly hadn't been expecting to see Vision standing there in the rain. Holding her guitar.
For a long moment they just looked at each other; him in calm understanding and her trying to make sense of why he was here, of all places. How had he gotten here? What did he want? Was he going to report them to Ross-and if he wasn't, what was he going to do instead? She glanced towards Steve, who looked back at her helplessly (obviously he'd been under the impression she'd know how to handle this better than he did-which was, unfortunately, mistaken) and then back towards Vision, who stood watching her patiently and not seeming to mind that his suit was completely soaked through. Because yes, of course he was wearing a suit in the middle of a rainstorm. It was such a...Vision thing to do that she reacted the only way she knew how to.
She slammed the door.
And, of course, instantly regretted it.
"Are you all right?" Steve asked and she realized with some embarrassment that the shaking had only gotten worse.
"No...I mean, I don't know. I don't know what's going on...why is he here?" That seemed to be the most obvious problem, so she decided to tackle it first.
"I don't know. I was hoping you did."
"Should we let him in? Can we trust him?"
Steve shrugged and gestured to the door as if to say Maybe you should ask him.
She took a small breath to collect herself again and opened the door. Vision was still waiting there calmly. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to give you this." He handed her the guitar case, scattering more water onto the already soaked Welcome mat. "You left it back at the Base and I thought you would miss it."
She couldn't deny how nice it felt to have the instrument back in her hands where it belonged-but this didn't change the fact that he'd driven all the way from the Avengers base just to give it to her. "Is that all?"
"Not quite. May I come in?"
"...Okay. Will you tell General Ross or Mr. Stark where we are?"
"That is not my intention. I would never turn you over to their justice." There was an edge in his voice she'd only heard there once before, when he'd told her she couldn't go to the grocery store when she was on house arrest back at the compound. It was almost as if he was...angry at the thought of her going back to the Raft. Strange. We don't exactly see eye to eye.
"Then I suppose."
He came inside and stood on the Welcome Mat, dripping wet-at least until he seemed to phase in and out of being, returning in a fresh suit-white tie instead of black tie. "Thank you. It was quite rainy outside."
"What's going on, Steve?" Sam called from the other room, game paused indefinitely. He ran in-and skidded to a stop when he saw Vision.
"Hello, Mr. Wilson." Vision said calmly.
"What's he doing here?" Sam asked, turning to Wanda. She (almost) rolled her eyes; why did everyone think she was suddenly an expert on the android's strange behaviors? She barely knew him. As it was, she just shook her head.
"He says he's not going to sell us out." she muttered, turning back to Vision. "Although he brings up a good point. Why are you here?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
Oh my God. He hadn't just said that. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself; when she opened them again Clint, Bucky, and Scott had migrated in to watch the proceedings and everyone was looking at her-mostly in amusement. Except for Vision, who was of course completely serious. He didn't just say he came all this way to talk to me. "What?"
He cleared his throat, though he obviously didn't mean to. "Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes suggested I find you so I could find some closure. I did not tell them where I was going or how to find you-and I don't plan to tell them, either. I did not come for them, or for the government. I...came for me. I came because...I missed you." The words sounded strange as he said them, as though he was unused to their taste on his tongue. "I missed the conversations we had. I missed the way you smiled whenever I could get you to laugh. I thought that when you left it wouldn't matter because you made your decision and I made mine...but it did matter. It made all the difference to me because I realized something that I should have realized a very long time ago. I wanted to be in your life not because you needed me, as I had once thought, but because I needed you far more than I thought I did. So I did the only thing I could do...and I understand if you do not see me the same way or if you would like me to go back. I will do so, willingly. I just wanted you to understand...and perhaps see if you felt the same way."
It was definitely the most human thing he had ever said; she'd give him that. As for exactly what he had said...that was a different story. Do we have to be having this conversation right now? In front of
everybody? She felt blood rush up the back of her neck and for a minute she was seized with the urge just to run outside, rain or no rain, and not come back until the universe sorted itself out. Steve, bless his soul, just looked confused; Sam and Clint were watching the proceedings like it was some kind of soap opera-which, she supposed, was exactly what it was-and Scott just had a smug I told you so expression plastered across his face.
Bucky was the only person who took it in stride and said "Well, we'll leave you to it." He headed back to the Monopoly board and reluctantly everyone else followed-although Scott needed to be practically grabbed by the arm and dragged around the corner. As soon as they were alone Wanda felt herself relax infinitesimally-at least until she realized she didn't have the faintest idea what she was supposed to say to a speech like that when she'd avoided thinking about her feelings for weeks because they were too painful.
"Vizh...that's very sweet of you to say but...I don't know. I just don't know. I don't know how I feel about...any of this, really. I'm still trying to come to terms with the Civil War...I'm sorry, I haven't spared a single thought to...us because I thought our paths had separated for good and it wasn't worth it…" She trailed off, suddenly out of words. She became all too aware of the way her heart was pounding and her blood was pulsing in her veins, white hot and slightly terrified. Everything had come to a head; the anxiety of the storm, the shock of seeing him there, the feelings his speech had stirred up that she couldn't quite name, Scott's expression, the stress of trying to say the right thing-
She felt Vision's hand on her forearm, slightly warm and extremely gentle as she looked up at him out of habit-and directly into his bright blue eyes that held far more wisdom than she could ever comprehend. He didn't need her, not when he had a brain like that and could learn everything there was to know with a single thought. But the fact remained that his touch quieted the voices in her head and slowed the beating of her heart. "I don't mind waiting...but I need to know now whether you would like me to stay or go."
She absolutely could not deal with this right now-but it looked like she had to anyway. "You can stay-for the night, at least. We'll talk again in the morning. I just have to think. I'm sorry." Before he could tell her that she didn't need to apologize or something equally noble like that she'd brushed past him, run past the game table, and bolted up the stairs to her closet, her ladder, and her room-where she climbed into her bed still in her regular clothes, pulled the duvet over her head, and wished the universe would just absorb her completely. She stayed that way for a good five or ten minutes, waiting to go back to normal. She'd never felt that out of control before, especially not about a boy. What was happening to her?
If Pietro was here, Wanda knew he'd just laugh about the whole thing. What am I supposed to do about this?
Deciding to let the problem rest until morning, she changed and got ready for bed as quickly as she could before she turned off the light. Vision could wait until morning, until she could approach the problem more logically.
Even though she was exhausted, it took her a long time to fall asleep.
~A~
"What did she say?" Scott asked as Vision walked into the room and took a seat in Wanda's vacant chair. "She looked pretty upset when she ran upstairs."
"She told me I could stay for the night. Apparently, she needs time to think about what she feels," he replied, looking the closest thing to tired Clint had ever seen him. "Which is understandable, as I'm sure none of you were expecting me tonight."
"Nope. You fooled us all." Sam said, swearing loudly as he landed on Broadway-which Scott controlled-and had to fork over three quarters of what little money he had left.
"I can go try and talk to her." Clint said. He had little experience with romance, of course-but he could try at least.
"Don't bother." Bucky said. "I know girls-at least, I did, and I'm pretty sure they haven't changed that much in the last century-and that's the last thing they want when they're trying to figure out their feelings." To Vision, he added "Just give her time. She's been through the wringer and love is probably the last thing on her mind. She'll come around."
"Who knew you were so good at giving dating advice?" Steve asked. Bucky through him a fake glare, as if to say You know what, Rogers?
"I mean, at least you came." Sam said, still talking to Vision after throwing his money disgustedly in Scott's general direction. "That counts for a lot-and hell, you brought her guitar. That'll get you points."
Vision sighed. "This is all very...uncomfortable. I feel as though I've made things worse, when my only intention was to make them better."
"Love is always uncomfortable, even if you're not an android-but sometimes you can't help it, and the rewards always outweigh the risks. I'm sure we didn't help matters either-sorry-but we'll help however we can. Until then...try not to worry about it. Just give her time to figure things out."
He nodded. "I can definitely give her time." Clint had to say, he admired his dedication. He seemed like he was serious about it, too; Clint just hoped he wasn't setting himself up to get hurt.
But if he knew Wanda at all he was positive she wouldn't come back down tonight for anything short of an emergency-which meant they all still had a night to relax, come what may tomorrow morning. "Vision, do you want us to deal you in for the next game?" Scott controlled half the board-which meant the game was getting tedious for everyone else.
The android considered it for a minute before he nodded-another surprise; for as long as he'd known him, Vision had always remained carefully aloof when it came to human activities and games. But then again, the day couldn't possibly get any stranger than it already had. Wait until Laura hears about this one.
I should probably say right off the bat that I'm not really well versed in Spider Man lore. I saw the Amazing Spider Man movies a couple of years ago, but I've forgotten a lot of the particulars-to be honest, I didn't really like the character until I saw Civil War and now he's one of my favorite characters! So I apologize for any inaccuracies; I don't really know how they'll introduce him in Homecoming, so I did my best.
Also, Natasha will be in the story. I know it's taken a very long time to introduce her, but she will make an appearance in a couple chapters.
Review, follow, and favorite! Thanks for reading!
