A/N: Here's chapter five!
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Five
"You don't need to report for debrief tomorrow," Coulson told him before he and the team left. "You deserve the day off."
Peter had smiled solemnly and chuckled.
"We all do, sir," he'd said with his arms crossed
After Coulson had left, Peter still stood like that, his arms crossed and his feet shoulders-width apart, even when Fury and the Avengers walked in and stared at him expectantly (well, the Avengers did, Fury was just there to make sure Peter didn't reveal anything he wasn't supposed to). He'd adopted the infamous "policeman pose" shortly after joining S.H.I.E.L.D., and not only did it make him feel more confident, it made him look tough (and slightly terrifying).
His glasses hung from his shirt, and his tags (every agent was given a set of tags with their full name and nickname on them) hung from his neck, the metal clinking slightly as he moved.
"So," he said, breaking the silence.
"So," Natasha repeated, nodding. "I already knew, but when were you planning on telling these bozos?"
Peter smirked when Steve, Tony, Bucky and Sam turned to look at her with shocked expressions.
"You knew?" they all demanded in unison.
Peter laughed, but covered it up with a cough.
"Of course she knew," he said. "How could she not? She's Natasha Romanoff."
Natasha hummed in agreement.
"Okay, he's got a point," Clint commented a moment later.
Peter sighed.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell the rest of you sooner," he said. "But my orders were clear. I was not to blow my cover under any circumstances."
Tony leaned against the table behind him, his eyes locking onto Peter's. He couldn't believe he was looking at his kid.
"What about today?" the billionaire managed to ask.
Peter stiffened.
"Today was… unexpected," he said, his eyes filled with an emotion Tony couldn't decipher, "to say the least. My orders were to not blow my cover. I followed those orders to the best of my ability, and Fury and Coulson know that. Grant Ward is a man of many talents, and apparently blowing covers is one of them. The moment I saw him enter the cafeteria this afternoon, I knew there was nothing I could do to further keep my identity as an agent a secret."
"Why couldn't you tell me?" Tony demanded, his expression full of hurt. "As your mentor- your father figure- don't I have a right to know that you're a secret agent of the government? You're only sixteen, Peter! You shouldn't have to deal with this kind of crap!"
Peter swallowed and looked down. This was going to be the hardest part. He took a deep breath, and slowly looked each of the Avengers in the eye.
"This is exactly why Fury and I wanted to keep this on the down-low. We knew you'd react this way. You'd say I was too young, too fragile, too innocent to have this job. But the truth is, guys, I've been doing this a lot longer than you think. I've been doing this since I was fourteen, since I became Spiderman, since the day I held my uncle in my arms as he bled out on the street. The past two years have been the hardest of my entire life, but they've also been the best by far, for one reason and one reason only- I found my purpose. You might be standing there, telling yourself, 'Gosh, this kid doesn't know when to quit,' and you'd be absolutely right. Because no matter what you say to me, no matter how many times you tell me you don't think I should go out there every day and save as many lives as possible, I'm not going to quit. And yeah, maybe I get shot at least once a week, if not every day. Maybe I have more scars than all of you combined. Maybe I'm only a teenager, maybe this will affect my future education. Maybe I've seen a lot of death and destruction in the decade-and-a-half I've been on the planet. It's definitely more than I'm supposed to have seen, I can tell you that. Maybe I have the most red in my ledger out of everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. combined and maybe people don't take me as seriously as they should because I'm still just a teenager, but it's worth it. It's worth it to see the smiles on people's faces after you save them or their families. It's worth it to be able to go home after an excruciatingly long and painful day and know that you have people that'll be there for you, unlike more people than you realize. It's worth the nightmares, and the guilt, and the pain and it's certainly worth my life if it ever comes to that. My team is my family, just like you guys, and I'm not going to give up the bonds I've created just because you don't think I should do this."
Nobody said a word. They simply stared at Peter in awe, except for Natasha (she'd heard his argument before), who was looking at him with pride.
Peter swallowed. It was good to get all of this off his chest, but he still had more to say.
"Now that you know who I really am," he continued, "I'm not going to act the same. You didn't really get the chance to know the real me. I'll be a little more rough during training, I won't be afraid to use my full strength, and I'll be more confident than what you're used to. I'll understand things you probably wouldn't expect me to, and the way I talk and the things I say are going to do a complete 180. But I want you to know that, just because the way I act is a little bit different, I'm still just the same old Peter you've practically adopted."
Everyone looked upset (minus Natasha and Fury), but they also looked proud (especially Natasha and Fury).
"So," Steve swallowed the lump in his throat. "So you're saying, everything we know about you is a lie?"
Peter's eyes widened in surprise. He was not expecting that. He was quick to walk up to Steve and place a hand on his shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face.
"I can assure you, Steve," he told the soldier firmly, "that everything you know about me is true. I'm still Peter Parker, the smart nerd that loves cooking dinner and sketching in journals with you and likes to go on insanely early morning runs with you and talk about simple things, like what the weather might be like that day." He moved over to Thor. "I'm still Peter Parker, the kid that has long conversations about the stars and planets with you, and tells you all about Earth and the people that live here." He stood in front of Bruce. "I'm still Peter Parker, your lab and chemical equations buddy and the reason you have grey hair." Bruce chuckled a watery laugh, and Peter smiled and went to Clint. "I'm still Peter Parker, the wild spirit that plays pranks on everyone else with you, and tells jokes with you and absolutely adores your kids because how could I not?" He turned to Loki. "I'm still Peter Parker, the kid that isn't afraid to admit that you are one of the coolest people to ever exist, the kid that is always going to be there for you when you need to rant about something or when you just need someone to talk to or just let you be angry." He stood in front of Wanda, now, and he smiled a bright, happy smile at her and took her hands into his. "I'm still Peter Parker, your annoying, sort-of-adopted brother that screams the lyrics to your favorite songs with you at midnight and who loves you so incredibly much even though you hate spiders which I will never understand but I am willing to look past it no matter how much it hurts my ego." Wanda laughed, and Peter grinned before moving to stand in front of Bucky. "I'm still Peter Parker, the punk that'll upgrade your arm whenever you ask, the kid that reads the newspaper with you on Sunday mornings and loves hanging out with you, despite your insecurities that I don't." He turned to Sam next, a playful twinkle entering his eyes. "I'm still Peter Parker, the kid that gets on your nerves and you're not afraid to say so, and I'm still the kid that, despite our differences and our really stupid arguments over nothing, loves you like an uncle." He smiled at Vision, who smiled back at him with pride. "I'm still Peter Parker, the dramatic Gen Z teenager that spouts internet memes and vines with you all day long and hacks into people's computers to confuse the heck outta them." He faced Natasha next. "I'm still Peter Parker, your маленький паук, the kid that loves training with you and going out for ice cream and coming back and watching reruns of trashy reality shows when one of us is having a crappy day." He looked at Rhodey. "I'm still Peter Parker, your sidekick and partner in crime when it comes to lying to Pepper about what we've been up to." Lastly, he turned to Tony, who was watching him intently, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. "And I'm still Peter Parker, your kid and emotional support person. I'm the kid that annoyed you at first, but then I became the kid that hung out with you on the weekends. And now I'm the kid that practically lives with you, I'm the kid that tinkers on beat up cars with you, I'm the kid that laughs at everything and nothing at all with you, the kid that pulls pranks with you, the kid that sings rock songs as loud as I can with you. I'm the kid that's lucky enough to get to call you my mentor and my friend. I'm the kid that's lucky enough to call you my dad. I'm still Peter Parker, your kid." He swallowed and took a breath, ready to finish. "I'm still Peter Parker. I'm still me. I'm just a little tougher and a hecka lot cooler than you thought I was."
The last part earned a few chuckles, and then it was silent once more, until Tony moved forward and engulfed Peter in a hug.
"I love you kid," he whispered in Peter's ear. "And I'm so stinkin' proud of you." After running his hand quickly through Peter's chestnut hair, Tony stepped back and held him by the shoulders. "But don't you dare ever keep something this big from me again, or you're grounded until you're my age."
Peter laughed, a loud, boisterous laugh that made everyone else smile.
"I'll try not to," he replied, glancing at Fury quickly. But some things are better left a secret, he added to himself.
Tony smiled and ruffled his hair again.
"Whatever you say, Spiderbaby," Peter scowled at the nickname. "Now go to bed, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."
Peter blew a puff of air out of his mouth, nodding.
"Yeah," he shook his head. "Tomorrow isn't going to be fun."
He smiled once more at Tony and the others before turning to leave.
"Sir," he nodded at Fury and left.
As he closed the door, he could hear his boss say to the heroes,
"That kid is the strongest of all of y'all, you know."
Peter smiled softly when he heard Bucky say,
"Yeah, he is."
As he entered his room a few minutes later, he looked towards his closet. His eyes landed on the thick back uniform he wore to work almost every day, and an idea struck him.
He grinned.
Tomorrow was going to be awesome.
