Sorry this is late, I've been reading too much Batman fanfic (after this I'm off to the comic book store for the new issue of Grayson!)

Also, thank you for all the reviews, faves and follows

Enjoy

The first thing the Avengers did was take Peter to the hospital. He was shredded of his costume and checked over. Although he had sustained new injuries and aggravated earlier ones, he wasn't actually that bad, all things considered. When the doctor said that, Tony instantly came up with the idea of moving him to the Avengers Mansion, wanting him to be able to sleep in a proper bed and get away from doctors. The press was also still downstairs so it would be nice to visit without a bombardment of cameras and questions.

Peter was too exhausted to wake up for anything; not the doctors prodding him, not Steve lifting him up and putting him down or the loud voices of people arguing about his well-fair. When Peter finally did wake up he found himself tucked into a large, comfortable bed. The room was dark with the only light coming from his door that was open ajar. That didn't mean anything though. Tony could have just bought really good curtains. It didn't matter though, Peter just rolled over and drifted back off to sleep. He didn't even notice that he wasn't in much pain. It was a nice feeling.

Steve stood by Peter's door and watched him sleep. Although most would consider it creepy, he found the sight of Peter not in hospital and very much alive to be the most comforting sight he had seen in a very long time.

Steve moved back to his room down the hall, making sure that Peter's door was open so that he could hear if anything was wrong. It was a silly thing, Jarvis would inform him immediately if there was a change but Steve was an old school man, he preferred to do things the original way.

After making sure that he too had his door open slightly, Steve climbed into a large bed, identical to the one in Peter's room, and drifted off to sleep.

People say that internal alarm clocks, those set due to your sleeping patterns, are a good thing. They believe that it helps you function or something like that. This morning, Steve had to disagree. He just wanted to sleep in but at six o'clock on the dot his eye jumped open and he stared at the ceiling.

Knowing that the only other person who might be up at this unreasonable hour was Natasha, Steve climbed out of bed and got ready to do a work out. If Natasha was awake, she would be training. Before heading to the training room, Steve checked Peter's room. The boy looked fast asleep so Steve walked out.

It was only then that Steve realised he had no idea how to navigate around his new housing. He knew where the entrance was, the stair case and his room. That was about the extent of his knowledge about the house. Oh, and Jarvis was online in the house. Ten minutes later found Steve throttling a punch bag after being given a detailed navigation of the house from his room to the gym.

The others congregated in the kitchen at around eight. That was where Steve found them once he had finished.

"Morning, Cap." Tony greeted. Steve gave a nod and greeted the others. They sat in a companionable silence for a good while... by Tony's standards. Actually, it was two minutes.

"So, what do we do now?" Tony asked.

Steve raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Are you not content with finishing your breakfast, son of Stark?" Thor asked, confused.

"I mean with Peter. What do we do now?" Tony elaborated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why would we need to do anything?" Clint asked.

"Well, you know-"

Natasha cut him off, "Do you enjoy having him around?"

"Well, yeah bu-"

"Do you care any less about him because of what he does?"

"No, bu-"

"Fury doesn't think he's a threat so that means he good on that end." Clint pointed out.

"Do you want him to move out?" Natasha finished firing off questions and gazed meaningfully at Tony.

"No! Of course not!" Tony retorted angrily.

"Then I don't see what the problem is." Natasha said calmly before going back to her breakfast.

Tony gave an angry sigh.

"So we're not even going to talk to him about all... this. Not going to ask him about Connors and not going to tell him he's an idiot?" Tony argued.

"Who's an idiot?" came a voice from the doorway. Peter stood, dressed in pyjamas Steve had put him in last night.

"Um... well... we were just..." Tony stuttered, caught off by Peter's appearance.

"Smooth," Snorted Clint. "Like sandpaper."

Peter hobbled into the room and Steve jumped up to assist him. He was going to help him sit down but instead, Peter brushed him off and he stood helplessly at the side. Peter asked about bowls, cereal and spoons, seeing that the milk was already on the table. He then sat down next to Steve and began to pour the cereal. He stopped himself adding the milk when he felt everyone's eyes boring into him.

He looked up. Steve instantly decided to break the uncomfortable silence.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, eyeing the boy with worry.

"I'm fine." He shrugged. Steve frowned so Peter sighed and continued. "Seriously, I'm not that bad. Just a little sore."

"I am glad you are well, boy of spiders." Thor boomed. Peter flinched at the loud noise and then went pale, remembering that they knew his secret now.

The others seemed to take note of his mood change. Tony was the first to actually make a comment.

"You know you're an idiot right?" Tony asked, he could feel anger and annoyance build up inside of him, he just wasn't one hundred percent sure that he was angry at Peter.

"I've been told that before but feel free to elaborate." Peter commented, looking bored.

"You could have told us something! We were just downstairs. Instead you go gallivanting off by yourself and almost get yourself killed!" Tony ranted.

"He was heading to Gwen's house!" Peter argued.

"And, we would have helped." Tony shouted back.

"How? How could I have called you?" Peter questioned angrily. "With my phone that I didn't have? Or how about pushing the emergency button by my bed which would have caused a lot of panic and you wouldn't have even gotten there in time?"

Tony sat there dumbstruck, trying to come up with a feasible answer.

Peter huffed in triumph before pouring the milk in his bowl and beginning to eat his breakfast. He just ignored the people staring at him.

"Tony's right, you know." Steve said calmly. "You could have talked to us before this got out of hand."

"I was going to tell you when you came back up." Peter said, glaring at his cereal.

Bruce decided to join in the conversation, instead of sitting in silence and observing.

"Did you notice anything weird with your... abilities?" Bruce asked. Peter looked curiously at the scientist.

"Yeah, they were acting up a bit." Peter said hanging his head in shame.

"I thought you were a scientist, Peter." Bruce pushed on. "I thought you were meant to be bright enough to realise you weren't at your best and waited for back up."

"I- I wasn't thinking." Peter stuttered. "I just did! I realised something was off but I didn't think into it."

"Well, Gramps here is the reason your powers were acting funky." Tony said, pointing at Steve. "You know, biology and stuff. Blood cell count being majority not yours."

Peter nodded and they went back into silence. This was not how anyone had predicted this conversation would go. Some thought there might be more arguing (cough Tony cough), other thought there would be more explaining and some just hoped they could avoid it.

"So," Steve broke the silence this time. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get your powers? Were you born with them? Are you a mutant?" Steve quickly tried to cover up any insult that might have been given. "If so, I'm seriously fine with that a-"

Peter snorted loudly and Steve just stopped talking. Even Clint gave a smirk while Tony laughed at Steve's embarrassed face. Natasha looked vaguely bemused while Bruce gave a grin. Thor just looked down right confused.

"I'm not a mutant." Peter clarified. "I got bitten by a radioactive spider."

Now it was Tony's turn to snort. The others just stood there gaping.

"Kid, I have heard some weird excuses but that is just the cherry on top!" Tony laughed.

Peter looked amused.

"I wasn't joking." He smirked.

"Wow, your family is just weird." Clint said blatantly.

Both Steve and Peter gave Clint a mocking glare.

"Where the hell did you find a mutant spider!" Tony cried, still trying to get his head around it.

"It wasn't a mutant spider, it was radioactive." Peter pointed out. "And long story short, it was at OsCorp."

"Why the hell did they have radioactive spiders?" Tony questioned. "What were you even doing there? We both know Stark Industries is way cooler!"

"They were trying to create this strong thread which could move large amounts without snapping. As to why I was there, I snuck in to try and talk to someone who knew my dad." Peter said. The others could tell there was more to it but they didn't say anything.

"So getting bitten by a radioactive spider gave you spider abilities?" Bruce asked. Peter nodded. "So you have super strength, what else?"

Peter went into detail about his many powers and how they worked. It was more comfortable than arguing about the future of Spider-Man or his stupidity of trying to go after Connors. It also allowed him to be honest and Peter enjoyed that. He enjoyed that he didn't have to lie any more.

Slowly though, one by one, they left the kitchen table and went off to do other duties. Finally, it was just Steve and Peter in the room. Steve still listened attentively as Peter told him about a robbery he once stopped.

"Peter, what are you going to do now?" Steve asked.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked. He almost sounded worried but Peter kept the quiver out of his voice.

"I don't want you going back out there for a while. Not till you've healed up. Scratch that, I don't want you going out again." Steve sighed.

"Steve, please-"

"Let me finish. I don't want you going out because I know I'm going to worry. I already am worrying. Tony's right, you're an idiot! You shouldn't have done what you did, you could have left a note! We had to learn from Tony snooping into your private things, finding the note from your aunt. I don't want you back out there," Steve held up his hands to stop Peter talking. "but I'm hardly one to talk. I can't say I was exactly the same but we have similarities. If I was willing to go around different states trying to sign up for the war, lord knows what you'll do, and you already have powers."

Peter gave a weak smirk.

"So...?"

"So, I will support you all the way but I want to put out some rules-"

"Steve!" Peter groaned.

"Just listen, okay. Rule number one: we're getting you a new suit. I saw what you were wearing, it's just spandex. I'll get Tony to add some other material like Kevlar for protection. Although your 'spider sense' helps you, this will protect you." Steve said staring at Peter pointedly, waiting for him to object.

Peter muttered something that sounded distinctly like "fine".

"Rule number two: you will train! You will train with me, Natasha and Clint. Maybe Tony will want to join in, I don't know but from now on you're going to be building on skill and not just instinct. As you've seen, if you lose your powers again you'll be able to defend yourself until back up comes."

Another mumbled fine.

"Rule number three-"

"How many rules are there?" Peter asked, exasperated.

Steve smirked a little.

"You will tell me when you're going out on patrol and you will tell me when you're coming home so I know if you're five minutes late, I can go and look for you." Steve continued.

Peter groaned.

"Peter." Steve said warningly.

"Fine." The teen muttered.

"And finally, rule number four: you are to call for back up. I'll give you a communicator so that you can get in touch with either me or someone else on the team quickly."

"Can I-"

"This is not to be used as a chat line with Miss Stacy." Steve warned.

"I was going to say, can I work on making it. Just to see how it's done and add any features." Peter said annoyed.

"Such as?" Steve prompted.

"I don't know yet, that's why I want to work on it!"

"Fine. I'm sure Tony will also let you work on that web fluid in the labs. He seemed pretty interested in it. Bruce would too, if you asked." Steve finished.

Peter nodded before getting up and clearing his cereal away. He was about to walk out of the room when Steve stopped him by putting an arm on his shoulder.

"Peter," Steve turned Peter around to face him and put both hands on the boy's shoulders. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you. I don't know your aunt or uncle or your parents or my daughter Katherine but I knew Peggy and she would be proud too. If the rest of the family is anything like us then they would have been proud. And if everyone in our family was like you then I'm so proud of that family and I'm glad to be a part of it."

Peter didn't miss a beat. He reached in and grabbed his great grandfather around the waist and held him firmly for a tight hug. Steve responded in kind, not wanting to let the teen go.

They stood there like that for a long while before they pulled apart. Peter hobbled off towards his room. Jarvis had directed him how to get there and now he was using Jarvis to get back. Steve, on the other hand, asked Jarvis for directions on how to find Tony.

Tony was in his study talking to Pepper, updating her on Peter since he believed she had a right to know. When Steve knocked on the door he said his goodbyes and greeted the man.

"So, now we've got most of that in the open." Tony said as he directed Steve to his desk. They both sat either side of it.

"Most of it?" Steve asked.

"Well, yeah. We don't know his connection to Connors or why the guy claimed Peter failed him." Tony pointed out.

"We also haven't told Peter that Connors is dead." Steve pointed out.

"Okay, okay, we're both holding secrets. So, why did you come and hunt me down. I'm guessing it wasn't to become a drinking buddy." Tony said sceptically.

"No, it wasn't. I've talked to Peter about him being Spider-Man-"

"You didn't tell him he had to stop, did you?" Tony said glaring at him. "Because that's a sure way-"

"No. No, I just set down some rules." Steve cut in. Tony gave a sarcastic snort. "I was wondering if you could make him a suit made of stronger material then just spandex."

"Already on it." Tony said. "Started it last night, it'll be made out of the same material as my suit but more flexibility. That aspects definitely made this challenging."

"Good, thank you." Steve said. "I've also told him he has to tell me when he's going out and could you help him make a communications device so that he can call for back up?"

"Will do. How about an ear piece with GPS so we can keep tabs as he flings himself around the city?" Tony asked, jotting down notes on a random notepad on his desk.

"That's actually a very good idea." Steve said trying to hide how surprised he was. Normally he and Tony never agreed! Tony raised an eyebrow and glared.

"What else can I do for you?" Tony asked. "You seem to have something else on your mind."

"I was wondering if I could put you as Peter's guardian in my will. You know, if something happened to me, he would be looked after." Steve said.

Tony sat there in silence contemplating the request.

"You know what," Tony said. "No."

"What!" Steve asked immediately.

"No, Peter's already seventeen, when he's eighteen he won't need a guardian. Him not having a guardian in your will should give you more incentive not to die and leave the kid!" Tony pointed out.

"But-"

"No but's capsicle. I will not have you abandoning that kid!"

Steve wanted to glare at Tony but also thank him. His annoying logic sort of made sense. Sadly, that 'annoying logic' would not stop a bullet from stopping his heart.

Steve sighed in defeat and started to get up.

"Oh stop mopping, Rogers. Of course I'll do it. I just wanted to get my point across." Tony said, grinning.

"And if I die after his eighteenth birthday?" Steve asked.

"Steve," Tony said seriously, looking his friend in the eyes. "if anything happens to you, I will look after the kid. He'll have money if he wants it, a house if he needs it and friends even when he wants to be left alone. Like I told you when your idiot of a great whatsit ran off, you aren't the only one who cares about him. Even if I go out in bright lights and awesome glory, since we know that's the only way I'll ever die, Peter will be looked after. There's Pepper who would care for him with the drop of a hat, Natasha would help, Clint's always here, Bruce would die for the kid. Peter will be fine. All that being said, that doesn't give you a right to pop your clogs or kick the bucket."

Steve smirked.

"I don't plan on dying for a long while." Steve said seriously.

"Good, now get lost, I have sciency stuff to deal with." Tony waved Steve away.

"And I need to talk to Clint and Natasha about training Peter." Steve said, mentally going through his to do list.

"Wait, you're going to get them to train him?" Tony asked. Steve nodded. "Can I join?"

"Sure." Steve grinned.

"Oh and one last thing, Cap. I want an arm wrestle between you two." Tony called out.

Steve just laughed and left.

He then found Natasha and Clint in the simulator room. They had put it on a high level but seemed to be doing well. Steve noticed that they only had two minutes left so went and grabbed two bottles of water, he was sure they would want it.

He was right. Clint gulped down the water as if he had never tasted such a glorious drink.

"You seem to be taking this whole Spider-Man thing very well." Natasha said after sipping some of her own drink. "I expected you to freak out a bit more."

Steve smiled.

"Don't worry, I am freaking out. I'm just good at hiding it." Steve said.

"So, are you here to train or to talk?" Clint asked bluntly.

"Talk, actually. I was wondering if you would help train Peter. You know, build on his fighting skills so he's not fully relying on instinct." Steve said.

They both looked like they were considering it. Natasha nodded.

"That sounds feasible. When do you want him to start?" Natasha asked.

"Whenever he's ready." Steve answered. Steve walked them to the changing rooms while they discussed the different approaches in his training.

By the end of the day, they had set up a good training timetable and for the first time in a long time, things seemed to be looking up for everyone.

DON'T FRET! So many of you got so paranoid that it ended last chapter! No, one more to go probably. What did you think of this chapter? Was it any good?

Two things.

1. Can I be so bold as to ask anyone who wants to (and is willing to) do some art for this? I've seen other aurthors ask and only now I've decided to ask. So please if you want to, will you please?

2. To those going back to school... Have fun? I think good luck is more appropriate ;)