Hey everyone thanks again for all the support it really does mean the world to me. This is the final chapter that draws from the original version of this fic so from the chapter 30 onwards everything is new material, if they is anything in particular you want to see I'd love suggestions. Also this chapter does contain a few smacks for Peter but not a full spanking and also he does get his mouth washed out so if you don't want to read just skip those bits or the chapter entirely.
-EmptyFridges
The lounge remained in complete silence for several minutes as everyone tried to digest what had just happened before Rhodey broke it with a snort. When everyone turned to stare at him…or in Tony's case glare he threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry Tones, it's just when Peter met all of us but Thor for the first time he was in some kind of trouble. He's got a theme going on. He's as bad at first impression as you can be." That comment earned a chuckle from Bruce and Nat on the opposite side of the room.
"No Peter's better than me. I'm sorry Rogers I should have seen this coming" he said looking at the man before addressing the room as a whole, "I apologise for my son's behaviour he's a great kid, honestly. He's just upset, he's had a rough time recently. You shouldn't have had to see that."
Everyone nodded accepting the apology, none of them were really offended by the teen's words after all. Clint and Scott were sure their own kids would do the same in that situation as well, Steve had been out of line.
"I'm sorry too Tony, I shouldn't have accused you like that. It wasn't my place especially in front of your son." Steve said apologetically to the billionaire. "But how did he end up in Berlin?"
"He became Spiderman when he was fourteen and I discovered him through Youtube there was a video of him catching a car, he was clearly enhanced. I managed to find out who he was, I was shocked when I found out his age. I knew he was young, but I didn't know he was still a boy. I was always planning to make contact with him but even more so when I found his age, he was running around in a onesie for Pete's sake! He desperately needed an upgrade, it just so happened Berlin came up and I thought it would be safe. None of us were aiming to kill." He told them imploringly willing them to understand why he did what he did. He felt bad for taking his son to Berlin, in a way he had used the boy but it seemed like a good way for him to gain experience in a low risk situation.
"And his mother?" Sam asked after several moments of silence as Tony seemed to be getting lost in his head.
"I don't know I never met her."
Clint raised an eyebrow at that comment "Stark, you know how babies are made yeah? When a man and a woman….."
"What no. No. He's adopted. He was living with his Aunt when I found him, but she passed away a few months ago so…." He did some jazz hands to illustrate his point earning a laugh from Nat.
"Right…so you just took him in? Just like that?"
"Well yes." Tony replied non-plussed, it had been a no-brainer. "He was my son long before May died, he's the best kid I've ever met. Now If you could excuse me for a few minutes I'm going to have a quick word with my little Spider. Make yourselves at home, there's menus over there tell FRIDAY what you want we'll order in a bit." He told the others as he left the room, everything wasn't sorted but his family came first, they knew a little about Peter, enough not to assume he was a child soldier anyway and it seemed unlikely there would be further arguing for the moment.
ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ-ʘ
Peter entered his room angrily wiping the tears from his eyes as he did so and threw himself on his bed face down in an attempt to stifle his crying in his pillows. He hadn't bothered closing his door knowing one of his parents would be in soon to scold him, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel bad about what he said though. Maybe saying it in front of so many people and the crying…ugh embarrassing…but he wasn't sorry for saying that to Captain America he had meant every word.
He heard his mom walking down the corridor and couldn't help but let out a breath, he hadn't wanted to face his dad immediately he was sure the man would be furious with him for embarrassing him in front of everyone.
Pepper was sure her heart broke a little when she entered her son's bedroom, Peter had rolled onto his back when she came in and he looked terrible. The boy's eyes were red rimmed and puffy and his nose was similarly red and running, he truly looked his age. "Hey Pete, do you want to talk about what just happened in there?" she asked as she perched on the edge of his bed and ran her fingers through his curls soothingly smiling as he lifted his head to rest on her lap.
"I was just angry mom, I'm sorry. How could he speak to dad like that after what he did? It's not fair. I can't help the way I feel, I shouldn't be in trouble for that." Peter's voice cracked part way through once again.
"Ssssh, Pete I know, I know. You have the right to be angry with him but you can't behave the way you did. You aren't in trouble for being angry with the man. We told you already you aren't obliged to like him but you are obliged to be polite to him Pete. He is staying here for the next three weeks at least, all of them are."
Peter nodded at her words still not looking thrilled. "I hate him mom."
Pepper sighed, "Pete, you don't hate him that's a strong word. Come on now."
"I'm not changing my mind, I don't care if dad spanks me, I hate him."
She knew there was no changing her son's mind, he was just as stubborn as Tony at times.
"Okay Pete you're not in trouble for your feelings but the language you used was deplorable and I know you know that, you've been in trouble for this before and you're in trouble for your blatant disrespect to everyone that had to witness your display right now. Do you understand me?"
Peter nodded mulishly.
"A verbal response please."
"Yes mom. I understand." He muttered refusing to meet her eyes.
"Good. Now I want you to go through to the bathroom and take a seat."
Peter paled at his mom's words as he knew what she meant instantly. "No mom! Please, I don't want my mouth washed out. I'm sorry."
Pepper raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her son. "Peter you know the consequences for bad language, I know your Uncles have been letting it slide but that stops now young man. No son of mine will be heard using such foul language. And don't argue with me, you're already in trouble do you want to make it worse for yourself?"
Peter shook his head angrily, this was all Rogers' fault, if he hadn't come back this wouldn't be happening.
"Go to the bathroom Peter."
Peter heeded his mom's words and dragged himself to the bathroom dreading what was to come. He had only had his mouth washed out the once before and the memory of it made him feel slightly sick. He swallowed nervously when his mom entered the room with a washcloth and bar of soap in hand. "Please mom," he tried once again "I won't swear ever again I promise."
Pepper whipped around from the sink to look at her son. "Peter, so help me god if you try to weasel your way out of your deserved punishment once more you will regret it." She couldn't help but let her anger seep into her words. She knew Peter didn't try to bargain with Tony and she was furious he thought it would work on her. She nodded as her son fell silent clearly chastised and finished covering the washcloth in suds.
Peter swallowed nervously as his mom stood in front of him.
"Open your mouth Peter. You are going to sit there for six minutes before you can spit okay?"
Peter did as she asked grimacing as she coated his entire mouth in suds, it had barely been two seconds and already he was willing for it to be over. He closed his mouth and drummed his fingers against his leg in an attempt to distract himself while his mom washed the offending washcloth.
Pepper had no clue how Tony could do it. She knew their son deserved punishment but she still felt horrendous for punishing him. She turned back to look at her son, his eyes were now closed and tears leaked down his cheeks as he bounced his leg in an effort to take his mind away from the soap in his mouth. She wiped away a tear and pressed a soft kiss to his head all her fury from before melting away. "Sssh, Pete only two minutes left to go."
To Peter it felt like a lifetime as the saliva in his mouth made the suds multiply again and again. He knew he was crying once again but couldn't find it within himself to care, it was just his mom here, he knew she would never laugh at him, the kiss she had pressed to his forehead told him that.
Pepper tapped the teens shoulder so he would open his eyes. "You can spit now Peter." She told the boy and it was frankly astonishing how quickly he moved to the sink and began to rinse his mouth out.
Once he had got rid of the horrible taste in his mouth…or as much of it as he could he was sure the taste would never fully go away Peter turned to look at his mom. "I'm sorry. I won't swear again I promise mom. It was rude and disrespectful."
Pepper blinked in astonishment, she had never been there when Peter had received a full spanking from Tony but the man had told her he was always quick to apologise afterwards, he always knew what he had done wrong. "Thank you, Peter. Now I want you to stand in that corner for ten minutes and think about the apology you are going to give when we go back through for dinner."
Peter blushed scarlet. The thought of going back in made him feel ill. Having to apologise like a little child sounded terrible, he was almost an adult after all. "Mom…"
Pepper didn't let the boy continue she knew exactly what he going to try and do. Gripping the boy's arm she spun him round and activated the gauntlet in her bracelet. She didn't wear it often but she had had a suspicion this morning that it may have been needed and here they were. Once it had activated she brought her hand down six times hard on her sons ass before spinning him back around and forcing him to meet her eyes. "Peter what did I just tell you not ten minutes ago?" When he didn't answer immediately she raised an eyebrow.
"Not to argue about my punishment."
"Exactly, now you've just added another day to your grounding, get your nose in that corner for fifteen minutes."
Peter nodded at his mom's words and quickly turned to stare at the wall. He had been spanked once or twice by his mom before for being rude but that was the first time she had done anything like that and he was embarrassed. He was mortified he had been so rude his mom had felt the need to do that and couldn't stop himself from sniffling quietly to himself.
Tony touched his wife's arm lightly to get her attention as she watched their son. He had walked in just as Peter had tried to argue about his punishment and had activated his own gauntlet to discipline the boy but Pep had beaten him to the punch. He knew how much she hated punishing him, he did too but they would not let their son grow up without rules. Neither of them wanted him to become the Tony Stark of fifteen years ago.
"Peter come here."
Peter jumped when it wasn't his mom's voice that called him out of the corner after what felt like a lifetime. He turned around to see both his parents perched on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry for being rude mom. I shouldn't have done that it was disrespectful." He smiled softly when he received a nod from his mom.
"Peter, dinner will be arriving soon and I expect you to apologise as soon as we go back through but first of all we need to talk about why you said what you did."
"Mom said I don't have to like him." Peter said immediately unable to stop himself.
"I know son. And that's your decision. But you don't need to protect me, I am an adult and you are a child. I don't need you to fight my battles, as flattered as I am. It's unnecessary Pete."
Peter nodded at his dad's words knowing full well he would never not stand up for his dad and he was fairly certain his dad knew the same. "Sorry sir."
Tony knew his son wasn't being entirely truthful with his apology there but honestly what could he do? The boy had lost four parental figures already it was understandable he would be protective of those he still had. He glanced at his watch quickly "right dinner is ten minutes away. Come on Pete, you've got an apology to give."
Peter sighed as he made his way back into the lounge behind his dad where the Avengers were gathered. He couldn't stop himself from fidgeting foot to foot, this was going to be sooo embarrassing, he couldn't remember the last time he felt like such a child.
Tony gripped his son's shoulder and manoeuvred the boy so he was in front of him. He could feel how tense he was so pulled him close so his back rested against his front. He knew Peter was embarrassed both by being made to apologise and for his actions, he knew his son knew what he had done was unacceptable the moment he had done it.
Peter couldn't help but relax as his dad rested his hands on his shoulders, he always felt protected and safe with his dad behind him no matter what. Taking a breath he made eye contact with Uncle Rhodey, he didn't want to look everyone in the eye and he knew looking at his uncle would make this easier. "I just wanted to say sorry for how I behaved before. You shouldn't have had to witness that, you came here for somewhere to stay and had to witness my misbehaviour and bad language. I was rude to you all and it was wrong of me." He gazed around the room as he finished, he briefly met everyone's eyes, so they could see the truth behind his words, he did however steadfastly avoid Captain America. He would not apologise to that man.
Tony smiled softly as Peter apologised without further prompting, he knew the boy was avoiding looking at Rogers but there was nothing he could do about that. He couldn't make Peter like him after all, hopefully it would sort itself out over time.
"It's fine Peter, water under the bridge." Clint spoke after several seconds of silence. Clearly these idiots hadn't spent much time around kids, he knew how important it was to accept apologies, children needed to know they were forgiven. He had been surprised when he first saw the boy and a few hours ago if anyone had told him Tony Stark was a dad he would have scoffed but the proof was right in front of him. The man seemed confident in his abilities in a parent, the boy had obviously been disciplined just now but he didn't seem overly upset over it and he wasn't trying to distance himself from his adopted parents. Also, the look in Tony's eyes when he talked about his son was the same look he had seen in Scott's eyes when he spoke of Cassie and the same look he was confident appeared in his own when he mentioned his own children. Fatherhood looked good on Tony Stark.
"Dinner has been delayed it will be another ten minutes sir."
Peter saw Rogers jump at the voice and couldn't stop himself from smirking ever so slightly at the man's discomfort, he did earn a sharp look from his uncle but it was definitely worth it.
"So it's the school holidays kid. What are your plans?" Scott asked looking at the teen.
Peter blushed unsure what to say "Ummmm…"
"He's grounded. So at the moment he has none." Tony said bluntly ignoring the incredulous looks thrown his way. Why did they keep staring at him like that whenever he did something even slightly parental?
"Tony if this is because of me I don't…." Steve started but Peter cut him off.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was already grounded. You're not that important." Peter bit out ignoring his dad's grip on his shoulders tightening and the looks he received from the others in the room. He saw Nat shake her head in slight amusement as she covered her mouth with her hand.
Tony groaned, the kid didn't even last ten minutes, he clearly was his son. Spinning the boy round he bent his knees slightly so he could meet his eyes. "Peter, do we need to go to my office for another discussion? We just spoke about being disrespectful."
Peter toed his foot into the ground moodily "no sir," he mumbled blushing slightly, he couldn't believe his dad would say that in front of everyone. And he added emphasis to the word discussion! "I was just telling the truth."
Tony ran his hand down his face as he tried to decide how to deal with this. Technically Peter was telling the truth he had been grounded for invading his privacy and the extra day was added for being disrespectful, it wasn't really anything to do with Steve, but he couldn't let the boy off. "You know perfectly well that tone is unacceptable, this is your last warning kid. If I catch you talking like that again we will be going straight to my office. Now apologise."
"Sorry." Peter snarked at Steve not sounded the slightest bit apologetic.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose as Steve accepted the non-apology. Had the man always been such a pushover or was he just uncomfortable? He grabbed his son and spun him landing two hard smacks on his ass. "Nose in the corner."
Peter's jaw dropped as he turned to look at his dad. He couldn't believe his dad had done that in front of everyone! In front of Thor! When his dad raised an eyebrow he huffed and made his way to the corner his dad was pointing to. He was being so unfair, although he had to admit the man hadn't activated his gauntlet so it was more to gain his attention that for a serious punishment.
Sam couldn't help but raise his eyebrows at the display in front of him. He didn't know how to react, he didn't have kids of his own, he had a few nieces but he hardly ever saw them. This was new territory. He turned to look at the boy, his ears were red, probably in embarrassment, he thought it unlikely the boy regretted his actions, he was not a fan of Steve. Understandable if what he had said was true, it made sense a boy would be upset at anyone who attacked his dad, especially as apparently Stark had almost died. To a boy that had lost so many parental figures it was probably terrifying.
Peter heard conversation pick up around him and mentally thanked Uncle Rhodey for that. After several moments of silence his uncle had started chatting in order to distract everyone and he was grateful for that. As soon as he had moved to the corner he felt a few eyes on him, not loads though…but then again Nat, Bruce and Uncle Rhodey had seen him in trouble before and Hawkeye and Antman were both parents so probably knew he wouldn't appreciate staring. He shifted from foot to foot slightly, he was angry his dad had sent him here in front of everyone and smacked him but he couldn't deny that he had deserved it. He had multiple warnings but was still blatantly disrespectful to Rogers, he knew his dad was probably embarrassed by his actions, it probably made him look like a terrible dad. And he wasn't! His dad was the best.
"Pizza's have arrived sir." FRIDAY spoke and Peter couldn't have been more thankful. His dad wouldn't leave him in the corner over dinner so he couldn't have long left.
"I'll go" Clint volunteered as he dragged Sam along with him to go down and retrieve their dinner. They tended not to allow deliveries all the way up here and with so many pizzas being ordered a tip was needed so they had to go down in person rather than just tell the pizzaboy to leave them in the elevator. Also, he wanted first dibs.
"Two of the meat feasts are the kids!" Tony yelled after the retreating pair, knowing exactly why Clint wanted to fetch the pizzas. The man had taken Tony's favourite Chinese order for a month after he had flushed him out the vents that one time. He still didn't regret that to be honest, Barton's face had been hilarious. Now for his son. He did feel slightly bad about smacking the boy in front of everyone but he had it coming and if Peter's behaviour didn't sort itself out soon then it would undoubtedly happen again. He would never give his son a full spanking in front of everyone but a warning smack or two was fine in his books.
"Peter come here."
Peter blushed at his dad's words as eyes turned to stare at him from all directions until a sharp look from his mom put a stop to it. Thank god for mom. He made his way to his dad and stood in between his knees before looking into the man's eyes. "I'm sorry." He said immediately before his dad could speak.
"Thank you, but it's not just me you need to apologise to is it? We discussed your attitude not even half an hour ago and yet here we are again. You're a good, polite boy Pete, this isn't you. Your behaviour today has been unacceptable, is this really the first impression you wanted to give? Your fifteen not five but your behaviour has said otherwise son. You keep telling me you want to be treated like an adult but letting anger take over your emotions isn't something adults do." He could feel Rhodey's judgemental look at that last comment but ignored him. Peter would be better than him.
Peter knew his lip was trembling at his dad's dressing down, the man was right he did keep complaining he was being treated like a child but here he was acting like one. He knew crying would make him seem like more of one but he couldn't help himself as he fell into his dad's outstretched arms. "M-sorry dad." He mumbled into his chest not caring that he was soaking the front of his shirt.
"Ssssh it's fine Petey." Tony assured the boy as he stood up still holding onto the teen. Had Peter not been so upset he probably would complain about being carried like a toddler but the boy remained quiet. He made his way out the room towards the bathroom just down the hall, he didn't want everyone to see his son cry or himself for that matter. Peter crying always made himself feel wretched after all.
Peter tightened his grip as his dad stood but refused to move his head from the man's chest as he carried him out the room. "S-sorry for acting like a baby dad. Didn't mean to be an embarrassment."
Tony's heart broke a little at the statement and he had to swallow the lump in his throat. Once they were in the bathroom he sat on the edge of the bath. "Sssh Peter. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Your disrespect was unacceptable, but you weren't acting like a five year old, that was wrong of me. I know you have a lot on your shoulders and you're rightfully angry and upset with Steve but I can't let you get away with being rude."
Peter nodded as his breathing calmed at his dad's words. "Sorry."
"And Peter you could never be an embarrassment, you are my son. I will always be proud of you no matter what. Yes your actions were wrong but you've been punished and it's been forgiven." Tony told the teen soothingly as he wiped his tears away with a washcloth. "Now, how about we make our way back in there, there's two pizzas with your name on them."
"Thanks dad." Peter mumbled still embarrassed about crying in front of everyone. "Will anyone…do you think…"
"No one will mention it Pete, don't worry. Now go and apologise to Steve, properly this time and we can eat."
"Yes sir."
Peter once again stood outside the lounge with his dad's hand on his shoulder nervously trying to come up with an apology. An apology he didn't particularly mean or want to give, the last time he had at least felt bad about behaving poorly in front of everyone and being rude, but he didn't feel bad about being rude to Rogers, the man deserved it. But he also didn't want to be in even more trouble with his dad, ugh. He sighed softly as his dad propelled him back into the lounge causing everyone to look up from the huge pile of pizza boxes on the table.
"I'm sorry Captain, for being rude to you, it was wrong of me and I apologise. Sorry for being sarcastic and rude when I apologised before as well." He briefly made eye contact with the man who nodded at him accepting his apology then turned to address the room as a whole. "I'm sorry for putting everyone in an uncomfortable situation again."
Tony let out a breath of relief when Peter gave his apology, he really didn't want to have to punish the boy fully especially not when it was the first night the whole team were back together. He took a seat next to Pepper on the couch and couldn't help but grin when Peter sat between them a giant pizza on his lap.
Peter had to pinch himself, there was no way this could actually be happening, he was sitting eating pizzas with the Avengers! Sure Rogers was here so that was a bit of a damper and he had already met most of them but still. God, he wished he was able to send Ned a snapchat but noooo being grounded meant grounded from Spiderman, fun and Ned apparently. It sucked.
Clint had been watching Peter since he came back in and the boy was putting away that pizza like nobody's business, it was pretty impressive but Tony claiming two of them were for the teen had to be a ploy to keep one for himself. "Hey kid." He called across the room causing said teenager to look up. "You sure both those pizzas are for you?"
"Uh….yeah. Who else would they be for?"
"Kid, you're tiny, no way are both of those yours. Those pizzas probably weigh more than you do. I've only got one and it's a medium no chance you can eat two extra larges." He scoffed.
Peter opened his mouth to tell the archer about his metabolism but was elbowed sharply in the ribs by his dad.
"Two pizzas is nothing for the kid Barton, Why do you care so much? You think you could eat more than him? Need I remind you of the last time we had an eating competition here?"
Clint scoffed, he had tried to forget about the time he tried to eat more hot dogs than Thor to be honest. "Easy. I can definitely eat more than him."
Peter smiled and leaned forward, "How sure? How about we bet on it?"
Pepper made a noise of discontent at her son's words but he simply turned to look at her puppy dog eyes on to the max. "C'mon mom please, this is like a business transaction, it's practice." She smiled at the boy, really she should say no but those eyes….and it seemed like a good bonding experience.
"Fine."
Peter cheered before he turned to look back at Hawkeye. "If I win you have to teach me how to shoot a bow and arrow." He stated crossing his fingers in the hope his dad wouldn't stop him, it would be soooo cool to be able to shoot a bow and arrow. Admittedly it wasn't a useful skill really but still.
"Sure kid," Clint shrugged. "But when I win I want to get a go of those webs."
Peter nodded, he didn't think the man would actually be able to use the webshooters, you needed super strength for them to work but it wasn't like he'd lose so why not?
"If you spew Katniss you're on your own." Tony told the man as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen with a huge stack of boxes. "And you can't teach the kid a thing till he's off restriction.
Clint nodded as he followed the man through to the kitchen.
"I'm with my nephew." Rhodey announced as Nat, Bruce, Thor and surprisingly Sam backed him up.
When Clint turned betrayed eyes to look at Sam the man simply threw his hands up. "Hey man, he's a teenage boy, he can easily eat more than you."
"Pfft sure."
Clint sat down at the table opposite Peter and took a slice looking the kid in the eye. He would definitely win this.
Ten minutes later he realised he maybe would not be winning this. He had gotten through the first eight slices easily but was starting to struggle slightly while the teenager looked perfectly fine and was still eating with the same gusto he had been the whole time.
Tony was actually quite impressed with Barton he hadn't expected the man to eat as much as he had what with being a totally normal human…on second thoughts maybe that meant it was kind of disgusting. The man had eventually had to admit defeat however and he couldn't help but grin at his son, sure he knew Peter was going to win but he was still sort of proud despite Pepper's disapproving looks. It was only eight o'clock though and although this spontaneous competition had taken up a fair amount of time he wasn't sure what to do for the rest of the evening. It was probably rude to just send everyone away after all.
"Okay kid. You may have beaten me at this but there's no way you'll beat me at Mario Kart." Clint told the still grinning teen. How the boy could still be cheerful after eating so much was honestly a mystery. He could see everyone had relaxed somewhat during the contest though and was sure more friendly competition was the way forward. It may not be a long lasting solution to the discord within the team but if it would help everyone relax somewhat it was worth a shot.
"I'm in" Sam shouted grabbing a remote from the basket as the team headed back towards the lounge.
Peter hung back and looked up at his parents who were the only two left in the room. "Ummm…am I…I mean…" He started, he wasn't usually allowed to use electronics while grounded and Hawkeye hadn't really given him an opportunity to refuse the offer.
"You can play Pete" Tony told the boy earning a beaming smile in response, he held up a hand before Peter could run into the lounge. "It's a one off though, and if you play I don't want a single complaint out of you when you have to go to bed otherwise you'll have an early bedtime for your entire grounding."
Peter nodded at his dad, he would have agreed to almost anything to be honest. He had the opportunity to play Mario with the Avengers! So cool. Like sure he played against his dad and Uncle Rhodey occasionally but they didn't really count.
"Hey! I totally count as an Avenger Pete!"
Peter blushed at his dad's words not realising he had said that last bit aloud, he couldn't help but grin cheekily at his mom as she laughed though. "Yeah but you're dad first then an Avenger second."
Tony wasn't sure whether to be touched or offended at his son's words so settled for ruffling the kid's hair as he pushed the boy into the lounge and took the final controller for himself.
Pepper took a seat on the couch next to Natasha and simply observed as the evening wore on. She took part in the odd conversation but was content to watch as the team became more relaxed around each other. The issues from the past would not be forgotten in a single night but tonight was a good starting point for them all. Even her husband looked relaxed as he sat on the couch between Clint and Peter playing his sixth game of Mario, she had been worried he still felt guilty over what had happened to the team…despite having literally nothing to feel guilty over at all but still. If she had just walked in now she would have thought she had gone back in time if not for the presence of their son, coming home to see the Avengers sprawled out in the lounge surrounded by snacks while trash talking each other had been an everyday thing and she was relieved it appeared to be making a comeback.
Steve didn't know how to feel, he had been bullied into one game of Mario Kart and promptly lost badly just as he always did so now sat on a barstool as he watched the others. Although everyone appeared to be relaxed the atmosphere wasn't quite what it had been before and there was nothing he could do about it. Himself and Tony would once trade jokes but with Peter's presence he felt he shouldn't, whenever he even looked at the billionaire he could feel the teen's glare burning into him. He knew logically he shouldn't be intimidated by a child and he supposed he wasn't, he was just ashamed and burdened with guilt over his actions. He had little to no experience with teenagers other than from when he himself was one so had no idea how to get into the kid's good graces, he supposed time was the only option.