Peter had expected to come home to an empty apartment, which is how he left it this morning. He planned on making a hot cup of tea - since there was nothing else to eat minus a sandwich from Delmares, which counted as his food supply for the following day- that helped him to warm up slightly. Then he'd put on a couple shirts, a sweatshirt, double up on sweatpants and slide under his duvet in hopes of getting a decent amount of sleep; more than three hours would be ideal. Then he'd get up the following morning around six and repeat.

Instead, he was greeted by a literal god whose thunderous voice echoed throughout the small apartment. He was wearing civilian clothes; jeans and a plain grey hoodie, the sleeves bulging under the strain of his muscular arms.

"Son of spiders!" Thor greeted happily, lifting peter off the ground into a bone crushing hug. "It is so good to see you my young friend. Loki and I have missed you."

"Th-thanks Thor." Peter squeaked, wriggling out of the hug. Once he was free and could breathe normally he took a big gulp of air. But he couldn't help the smile growing on his lips. "Still rockin that cool hair cut?"

"Aye," he ran his fingers over the short blond strands, "Valkyrie says I look less like a girl this way."

"Is he home?" Bruce stepped into the the small entryway and greeted Peter just as Thor had, though his enthusiasm was a bit more contained. "Hey Pete, it's great to see you."

"Um, uh… you too." Peter looked between the two, not bothering to hide his confusion. He went to the avengers tower three sometimes four times a week, he even slept over every other weekend. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Thor or Bruce recently, he had a lab day with Tony and dinner with the team not two days ago. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course Underoos." Peter's head snapped up towards the voice that brought forth a wide variety of feelings, the most prominent being love and safety. The genius, billionaire, philanthropist flashed him a reassuring smile and gently guided him to the living room where Steve, Sam and Natasha were sitting. Thor sat down beside his hammer, followed by Bruce. Their expressions brightened immediately when they saw their kid.

He was glad to see his team and with everyone in casual clothes it gave the experience an even more domestic feel.

But as usual, his mind thought up the worst scenarios as to why his mentor and father figure had decided to meet him, along with half the team. Maybe he'd done something wrong on patrol, or they thought he wasn't healthy enough to fight with them. Did they know about his parents or May? He started trembling at the thought.

Tony sat the kid down beside him on the weathered loveseat facing the others, he wrapped his arm around Peter's thin shoulders the moment he saw his distress, playing off the affection as casually as possible. Smiling when he leaned into the touch. "Just wanted to check in with our baby spider." He laughed as Peter's face turned pink at the nickname.

"M'not a baby." He huffed, relaxing slightly at the teasing. "Not to sound rude or anything… but… but um, why are you guys here? Do you need Spider-Man?"

"Can't we just check up on our little arachnid?" Natasha questioned, using her excellent spy skills to mask the hurt in her voice. "Peter Parker and Spider-Man are one in the same."

Peter wanted to protest. Spider-Man was strong and brave, a hero, someone people could count on. Peter Parker was a nobody, a skinny nerdy freak, and a burden to everyone. But the sincerity of her words and the honesty in her voice; it made him reconsider, albeit briefly.

The touching moment was interrupted by Bucky, who flung the door open so fast it put a dent in the wall. He frantically looked from the kitchenette to the living area, relief flooding him as his eyes fell on Peter.

"Holy shit kid!" He pulled him in for a hug which rivaled Thor's. "You are way too fast. Oh my God! You're also insane." The others were giving the soldier questioning glances and Peter shrunk under his teams gaze.

"Um… mind filling us in Buckaroo?" Tony pulled Peter back against him, his paternal instincts kicking in. "Anything that happens to my kid is my business." Peter flushed red, a warm feeling alighted within his chest when Tony called him his kid.

"This kid," Bucky rolled his eyes, turned to Steve and pointed like a tattling child. "this kid is just like you!" Steve had the nerve to look offended. Bucky just scuffed. "Don't look at me like that. You've got no sense of self preservation, neither do you Tony." The billionaire huffed but didn't deny it. "And you..." he turned back to Peter, "you're even worse!

"S-Sorry."

Bucky's anger diminished the moment Peter spoke, guilt and fear written across his features. God this kid was too pure.

He knelt down and put his flesh hand on Peter's bony knee. "I'm not mad kid. You're a great hero, but you've gotta take care of yourself. Kay?"

"Jerk!" Clint panted as he stumbled into the room, shortly followed by Scott and Rhodey whose leg braces started clicking. "We don't… have… enha… enhancements like you." All three men sprawled themselves out on the floor around the room, breathing heavily, their faces bright red from the exertion and the cold. "You're a bad ass Pete."

Tony huffed impatiently and turned towards Peter who shrunk back under his gaze. "Do enlighten me Underoos."

"Well… I was coming home… from wo-work…" Tony shot him a look that said we'll talk about that later but didn't interrupt. "And um, I um… I was walking home and uh this gu-guy tried-tried to mug m-me. But I knocked him out after um… uh I uh distracted him with an um… reverse Uno card."

"What!" Peter cringed at his tone, he hadn't meant to upset or worry him. "Christ… I-" Tony cut his rant short by pulling his kid tight against his chest. This kid was giving him so many grey hairs.

Peter instinctually flinched - but after a whole of five seconds - he melted into the embrace. He loved when Tony hugged him and played with his hair and right now he was doing both.

Gently, Tony pushed the kid away and held him at arm's length. "Kid, from the bottom of my heart, what the Hell."

"Big mood Mr. Stark," Peter nodded, a small smirk on his lips, "big mood."

"No. No, no and no." Tony tried to be stern but the kid just made his heart melt. "No internet or pop culture references." Peter nodded sheepishly, trying to surprise a yawn and failing. He'd been going nonstop since six that morning and was thoroughly exhausted. "Okay kiddo," he smiled and gently pulled peter to his feet and guided him to his room.

Tony couldn't believe how parental he was being - making sure the kid brushed his teeth and tucking him into bed - not that he was ashamed of it though. He never really said it, but he loved Peter as his own.

He was about to leave when a quiet "stay" caught his attention. Without a second thought he sat on the edge of the stiff mattress and began carding his fingers through the teenagers curly brown locks. The billionaire couldn't help but think he looked absolutely adorable.

And if he stayed there for a bit longer than he needed too, relishing in the time he got with his kid, he figured it was time well spent.