Thanks for the lovely reviews, yes this is a very loving family. Wish they could adopt me!

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Peter swerved Happy and made his own way home, planning to hide until dinner. If he could avoid his dads for a few more hours, they may have cooled down by then.

His head was virtually healed but he had been ravenously hungry all day- he now realised that if he was healing he had to eat a lot, an awful lot.

He followed his nose, finding Harley sitting amongst training gear in a storage shed beside the quad.

He coughed as he came in, the air thick with smoke.

''Hey Pete,'' Harley smiled at him.

''They're gonna find out, you know that right?'' Peter sat down on a nearby bag.

''How?'' Harley shrugged.

''Cos you are doing this way too much. You look out of it most of the time,'' Peter was starting to worry about his brother's habit which was getting out of hand.

''They are too busy being on your back to notice me,'' Harley replied. Peter frowned.

''That's not true; they pay just as much attention to you. Anyways, you're the golden boy, I'm the pain in the ass.''

''Golden boy? Yeah right! I stole a car remember? Anyways, you're their real kid though aren't you? Right down to the enhanced status,'' Harley shrugged.

Peter was stunned, Harley had spoken about his mom but he had never heard him express insecurity about their parents-he was really agitated, in a stoner out there kind of way.

''They pick on me,'' Peter grumbled and Harley laughed.

''Cos you make it easy for them. You're hiding from Pops aren't you? What did you do this time?'' Harley shook his head.

''They love you just as much as me Harley,'' Peter ignored what Harley asked and focused on what was bothering him.

''I know they do but it's kinda hard Pete. They got me at fifteen, they've had you from the start,'' Harley opened up a little.

''It's not my fault,'' Peter didn't really know what else to say.

''I know little bro, don't stress. I will figure it out,'' Harley felt bad, Peter was a little kid and this was very adult stuff.

''So you must have really aggravated Pops if you're hiding from him? I ask again what did you do?'' Harley changed the subject.

''He caught me going out as Spiderman,'' Peter admitted reluctantly.

Harley whistled.

'' Aren't you grounded?'' It was a rhetorical question.

''Yeah,'' Peter shrugged and pouted at the ground.

'' So Pops is gonna kick your ass big time then, they do have a point bro. You need to be more careful, I saw what happened to Delmars- freaked me out. That might have been you that was sliced in half, do you ever think about that?''

Peter did, but when he was in the suit flying through the city, he felt indestructible.

''They're gonna stop you, you get that right? After last night, they will be watching you all the time,'' Harley actually approved of his parents' reaction. He didn't want to lose his little brother and last night had been very extreme.

''Dad called Ned's mom about hacking Friday, made a huge deal about how it's illegal and he could get arrested so now he's in trouble too,'' Peter felt guilty. Ned's dad used a belt which horrified Peter.

''Wow okay, so that's not good. Maybe cool it Pete? Try just being a little kid for a while? What do you think?'' Harley tentatively suggested and Peter nodded.

The destruction from the previous night had scared him; he had seen the footage and those weapons were dangerous.

''Stick to the small stuff huh?'' he suggested with a smile.

''No Pete, have a break from Spiderman. A complete break,'' Harley insisted.

Peter frowned, he wasn't sure he could actually do that.

''So why are you hiding out?'' Peter avoided answering his brother.

Harley pulled his report card from his pocket and grimaced.

''Oh shit, not you too. Mine's real bad,'' Peter rolled his eyes.

''Maybe we should run away?'' he suggested.

Harley hunched a shoulder.

''Or just hang out here? They are going out to a Gala, they can't miss it. Aunt Pepper insists,'' Harley had it worked out.

''I love Aunt Pepper!''

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''Where the hell are they?'' Steve was irritated; he had rung both boys' phones about twenty times and no reply. They had turned them off.

''Well as you told Peter he should expect a spanking plus its report card day; I think they may just be avoiding us,'' Tony remarked caustically as he shrugged on his jacket.

''Mmm, I guess. My fault then?'' Steve was mortified- his children were scared of him.

''Yep babes, totally your fault. Not our badly behaved, disobedient children's fault at all. All down to you, the best father I know,'' Tony laughed.

He had noticed that Steve was increasingly unsure and less confident when it came to the boys- it was starting to worry him.

He understood it had been difficult for Steve to just resume his former role but this was something else; however Tony couldn't quite put his finger on what.

''Steve babe, please stop second guessing yourself with the kids; you are not responsible for their bad choices, they are. And they are not frightened of you, they are just trying to get out from under,'' Tony straightened Steve's tie.

''I don't think they're frightened of me,'' he stammered, was he that transparent?

''Yes you do and they're not. It is completely normal for kids to avoid being punished and that is all this is. Please sweetheart, give yourself a break,'' Tony placed a gentle hand on Steve's cheek.

''Okay, Okay! I hear you,'' Steve smiled tightly as anxiety churned in his chest.

'' You look amazing and smell even better, you sure we don't have time?'' Steve made an effort to relax; he was actually looking forward to a night out with his husband. He flicked his head towards the bedroom with a suggestive grin.

''Oh do not tempt me but Pepper will string us up if we are late,'' Tony kissed him but pushed him back gently when he started to deepen it.

'' You guys are gonna be late,'' Sam came into the room; he hid a smile as the two men stepped away from each other. It was touching to see how strong their union was again.

''You and Clint gonna be okay with the kids?'' Steve asked anxiously.

''Cap, we have this. Clint is getting Morgan ready for bed and I am more than okay with blasting your boys when they get home. I will make their ears bleed, then feed them pizza. Go enjoy yourselves- take a break,'' Sam replied nonchalantly.

Tony looked at Steve who was still too tense, he was definitely the more nervous, fussy parent and Tony adored him for it.

''You really need to relax, kick back some. Stop worrying about the kids so much,'' Tony said as he took his hand- Steve smiled at him, he knew he was right but it was hard.

''You want me to kick Peter's ass for you? Save you the trouble?'' Sam joked and Steve shook his head.

''No Sam, don't think that would help much. Just make sure they eat and get some sleep okay?'' Steve slapped his friend's back and he nodded.

''Okay, so now you really need to get out of here.''

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Clint and Sam looked down at the tin sitting on the kitchen counter.

''Shit! So this is not good,'' Clint grimaced.

''You think?'' Sam had been suspicious, he had counselled war veterans who sought refuge in weed; he had picked up the signs very strongly in Harley but convinced himself he was wrong.

'' How should we handle it?'' Clint was out of his depth; his kids were too young for this issue.

Sam paused, he was conflicted, in his heart he knew they should tell Tony and Steve right away but on the other hand, they were already dealing with so much. What with Peter and his unstoppable death wish plus Steve was wound so tight at the moment; they were under a lot of pressure. Sam really wanted to take some of the weight from his friends' shoulders.

''I will talk to him, find out how much of an issue this is then I will have a clearer picture,'' Sam made a decision. He wasn't at all sure it was the right one.

''Do you think that's a good idea Sam? If this was my kid, then I would want to know right away. We are only just getting the Avengers back on track, this could take us back to square one again,'' Clint was less than convinced.

''I know and I will be careful but I don't want to stress out Steve and Tony unless I have to,'' Sam replied.

Clint nodded, although he had a bad feeling.

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Peter and Harley snuck into the apartment, it was quiet and no one was around.

''Halo?'' Harley suggested and Peter nodded.

''Aaah gentlemen, what time is it exactly?'' Sam popped out of nowhere and the boys froze.

''Just after 8,'' Peter replied with a shrug, he still wasn't that comfortable around Sam and avoided him as much as possible.

''Where have you guys been?'' Clint startled the boys as he walked up behind them.

Peter looked nervously at Harley who smiled reassuringly.

''We were hanging at the Quad,'' he said.

''Doing what?'' Sam's voice hardened, he stared directly at Harley who shifted uncomfortably.

'' Just hanging,'' he said again.

''Right, hanging. You and me, we require a conversation. Let's go,'' Sam pointed at Harley and held his arm up to guide the way towards Steve's office- which was to the side of the open plan kitchen and living room.

''What?'' Harley didn't move.

Peter gulped and looked at his shoes, Harley was definitely busted and by Sam of all people.

''I said now! Let's go!'' Sam was formidable so Harley went.

Peter looked at Clint guiltily.

''You want some pizza?'' Clint smiled at him and Peter nodded.

''Come on then,'' Clint placed his arm around his shoulders, expecting Peter to shrug him off. To his surprise, he didn't.

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''Explain,'' Sam placed the tin on the table between them.

Harley panicked, he really panicked, he stared at Sam unsure how to respond.

''Harley, how long have you been smoking this shit?''

''Have you told my parents?'' Harley managed to ask.

''Not yet but I will. So how long?''

''A while, I was scared and it helped. A kid at school offered it to me and it relaxes me,'' Harley was actually relieved to talk about this.

''It just numbs your feelings Harley. It doesn't truly help; if you have a problem then you need to talk about it. You have a lot of people you can talk to,'' Sam was in his element, this was what he did back in the day and he was good at it.

''I know but I thought I was going to lose another family. Pops left and Dad was a wreck; Peter just cried all the time. It was too much,'' Harley dropped his head. Sam moved over next to him, placing his arm around his shoulders.

''Tell me, tell me it all,'' Sam said and it poured out.

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''Can I play a video game please?'' Peter gave his best charm smile and Clint glowered at him.

''Do you deserve to? You're grounded aren't you?'' he asked bluntly.

''What?'' Peter faltered. He hadn't expected Clint to care.

''You kid are giving your folks a real hard time and it needs to stop,'' Clint folded his arms and Peter looked at him warily.

''Why didn't you come home when you were supposed to?'' Clint cupped his ear.

''I… Pops is mad at me so you know…I..'' Peter stuttered, Clint was intimidating.

''Cut the BS Peter, you didn't come home because you knew that you were gonna get a well-deserved roasting. Gotta tell you kiddo, if you were my boy then you would not get away with half of what you do. You have amazing parents, although in my opinion they cut you way too much slack,'' Clint lectured and Peter quaked. Clint like this was scary as hell.

''So now you cut it out, cos I am watching you and I may decide to teach you a lesson myself which you will not enjoy believe me? Do we understand each other?'' Clint pointed at him and Peter nodded immediately.

''Go take a shower and get ready for bed. You can come watch a movie with us,'' Clint said and Peter shot away.

Clint smiled to himself, mission accomplished, fear of God instilled.

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Sam was holding Harley as he cried, he had opened up completely and Sam now knew about his past; which thankfully did not include abuse but most definitely neglect and contact with untrustworthy men. It went some way to explain Harley's insecurity about his parents, he lived with the constant fear they were going to abandon him. Steve leaving had exacerbated that fear.

'' Peter is their son, I am just the charity case they took in,'' Harley said what was really bothering him.

''Oh no kiddo. No, absolutely not true. Your parents love you; they love you just as much as Peter. They chose you kid, they chose you. They had a choice and they chose you. Do you have any idea what that means? They chose you because of how special you are,'' Sam ruffled the boy's hair and smiled at him.

''I hadn't thought about it that way,'' Harley raised his head.

Sam touched his cheek.

''But they are always focussed on Peter. I am kind of jealous,'' Harley sniffed.

''Your little brother is an amazing kid but he is also a naughty kid, a real naughty kid. He disobeys rules, defies your parents all the time. They focus on him because they have to, that is not attention you want. They would be straight on you if you gave them cause- they don't as much because they don't have to. What happened when you got all those speeding tickets? When you took the car? Did they ignore it? No, they consequenced you as good parents should. Kiddo, they love you more than you can comprehend,'' Sam squeezed Harley's shoulders. He nodded, a modicum of clarity beginning to settle.

''So this, this kiddo must stop. Do you understand me?'' Sam got very firm.

''Are you gonna tell 'em?'' Harley was suddenly scared to death.

''Yes Harley, I am,'' Sam knew he could not keep this to himself.

''But.. they're gonna kill me,'' Harley went white.

''No they won't. They will help and support you; you boys have the best parents in the world which you don't get. You are going to have to trust me cos I know I am right, okay? Your parents will never, not ever abandon you. You are stuck with them for life.'' Sam squeezed the back of the boy's neck.

''Okay, I will trust you,'' Harley agreed.