After a few days, Peter and Nick Fury met and Spider-man was soon thereafter appointed as an official member of the Avengers team. This made Nick quite happy, as he had wanted Spider-man on the team for some time, but had been consistently rejected by Peter's parents. As a little congratulatory gift, and in an attempt to cheer up their son, Tony and Steve threw a small party, only inviting close friends, thinking too many people might overwhelm and/or upset the college student. Before Spidey could return from his forced early patrol however, the fathers issued a warning to the guests.

"Don't talk about Deadpool." Several people showed their disappointment and confusion. "I know you may all be curious with what was in the news a few days ago, but it's a sensitive subject, alright?" A few guests attempted to gain more info, but eventually all agreed, just in time to greet Spider-man as he landed on the veranda.

Even with his mask on, it was obvious he was confused as he made his way into the building.

"Congratulations!" The room cheered as confetti burst from the ceiling. Peter chuckled as he pulled off his mask, revealing a face that was clearly the worse for wear. He may have been smiling, but it was easy to see that Peter hadn't been getting enough sleep. Although no one commented, they all had a good guess as to who was responsible.

"You all heard huh?" Peter asked as he was pulled into the crowd of friends. They all gave him various congrats and insisted the party start. "Sure, but let me get changed first okay? I'll be right back," the college student said as he ran for the temporary sanctuary of his bedroom. As soon as he was out of ear shot, the questions were presented to the fathers.

"My god, what happened to the poor boy?"

"Did Deadpool hurt him?"

"Just shut up about it!" Tony shouted, obviously not happy with the badgering, his son's disposition, and the slight guilt that bubbled within him. The subject was then dropped, the guests waiting somewhat awkwardly for the guest of honor to return, which thankfully wasn't long. The taboo topic couldn't be left untouched for long however, and it was Mary Jane who finally asked, having watched her best friend's lack of energy and enthusiasm, and that his mood dipped dramatically when he was asked how he convinced his dad's to finally let him on the team.

"What's up MJ?" the brunette asked as he was escorted out onto the currently empty veranda.

"I'm just a little worried about you Peter," she admitted. "What happened, has Deadpool done something?" The boy's lips almost instantly turned down into a small frown. "I knew it had to do with him. What's going on?" The woman asked, her protectiveness shining. "He didn't, like, force you into sleeping with him or something did he?"

"What!? No, no, nothing like that," the brunette assured her, letting Mary Jane breathe a sigh of relief.

"Right, good, sorry about that, it's just those bags under your eyes. You haven't been sleeping lately."

"Yeah, but don't worry, it's not that. He barely pushed for a kiss let alone sex."

"Really? Because I figured that would be the first thing on his agenda," MJ said, a smile rising to her lips.

"You'd think, but he was actually quite gentle and slow with me," Peter said, a slight but sad smile coming to his face.

"So you two are a thing, huh?" She couldn't resist asking.

"We were, but then..." There was a pause as Pete's gaze drifted to the ground in thought.

"You want to talk about it?" the young woman asked, wanting to help in any way she could, but not wanting to push any boundaries along the way.

"Not now, I'd rather not get emotional in front of my new teammates," he replied, gesturing to his fellow Avengers still enjoying the party inside. "But maybe tomorrow. Can I come to your place and vent some feelings on you?" he asked with a half-hearted grin.

"Of course Peter, I'm here for you, whatever you need," Mary Jane assured him, patting her best friend's arm. The hero gave her a warm 'thank you' smile before pulling her into a hug.

*Meanwhile, inside*

"Tony!" called Steve, causing the inventor to jump and yank off his head phones.

"What!?"

"You're spying on them aren't you?"

"Look, he was getting that expression, I was just making sure the conversation didn't go too far," Tony argued, receiving a groan from the blond.

"What did you expect to gain from snooping?"

"I wasn't expecting to gain anything, but was damn surprised when I did."

"Oh, and what was that?" Steve questioned, crossing his arms in front of his chest with a raised brow, indicating that while he may be curious, he was still upset at his husbands spying.

*Time Skip*

Peter did feel a bit better after explaining things to MJ, but that stone of guilt still weighed down his heart, even with her support of his decision. Nevertheless, life went on. Spider-man began to train with his new teammates, still went to school, still did his patrols, though it all seemed so much more boring without Deadpool popping up now and again with his jokes and crazy antics, but Peter got by. It just felt like he was going through the motions, like he was always alone, like he was waiting for something that wasn't coming, but he shoved off any concern for these feelings. They would pass.

It wasn't until his first serious mission that he realized this was not true.


The party scene was originally going to be part of a much bigger collection short scenes where Tony and Steve gain a little respect for Wade but I decided not to go through with it. The party however, I had already written so I decided to put in there anyway, hope that's okay. ^^

I kind of feel like the conversation with MJ went fast and jumped from subject to subject, but I'll get over it.

I know this chapter is just a ball of moping but I didn't want to waist it, so I stuck it in, sorry.