Author's Note: More bonding as promised. Hope you enjoy!

"Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you."

—C. Joybell C.

"Peter?" His aunt took his hand within his own and squeezed it tightly. The contact broke through the fog in his brain and he immediately refocused his gaze on his aunt. She looked better now, much stronger and though the grief was still evident in her eyes, she seemed to be smiling a bit more now. The weight of Uncle Ben's death still hung over both of them, but it seemed like they were coping. "Something on your mind, honey?" She titled her head to the side slightly, hair barely obscuring her eyes.

"Just . . ." Being a new superhero living in a house full of superheroes. Learning how to go on without Uncle Ben by his side. Managing school and Gwen all while saving the world. "School." She didn't seem to completely buy it, but she nodded her head.

"Peter," Her voice was measured, carefully deliberate. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Aunt May." He answered quickly, not wanting her to worry excessively over nothing. It was just being a teenager on top of everything else he was doing. When had he grown up so much? When was the last time he had allowed himself to have some fun? He ran a hand through his hair and stifled a sigh.

"You can tell me anything." May told him quietly.

"I know." And, if he thought it would help, he would tell her the truth. About who he was and where he was living—all of it, he would tell her if he knew she'd be safe afterwards. But he was Spider-Man and he couldn't risk her failing into the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. or his advisories. No, in this case, ignorance truly was bliss.

"This hotel suite is really nice." May commented, changing the subject. "And I have full time nurses should I need anything."

"You seem to be feeling better," Peter informed her, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "I'm glad." That had been too close of a call. May was his only family left, the one person who knew what he was like before the powers came along. Sure, the Avengers were great and he got along with them, but at the end of the day, they were a team. They weren't there to be friends with each other. They weren't there to get to know each other. They were put together to fight and save lives.

"Don't worry about me, Peter," His aunt chirped brightly, patting his shoulder. "I'll be just fine, you'll see."

"I know." He assured her.

He just hoped that when these two months were up, he would be fine as well.

"Ah, there you are!" A voice boomed as the teenager stepped off the elevator. With a grin, he spotted Thor standing by the toaster, a plate of Pop-Tarts in his hand. The God of Thunder beamed as Peter dropped his backpack by the counter and moved towards the counter.

"Thor, you're back!" The young superhero was surprised by how happy he was to see his teammate. He'd only been gone a few days, but Peter had noticed it not only during their combat but also with how quiet the tower had been. The God grinned and Peter noticed he was dressed in casual clothes, jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. "How was your trip?" A brunette woman waved nervously at him as the teen fully entered the kitchen area. He stopped abruptly, somewhat confused by what this stranger was doing in his kitchen. She rose from the barstool, her hand already extended out towards him.

"Jane Foster." She greeted and his eyes immediately widened. Jane Foster . . . this was the woman Thor had been talking about, his girlfriend! He quickly shook her hand and grinned, pleased to see that things had been patched up between the two.

"Peter Parker." He replied. She kept the smile on her lips, but he could see that she was a bit confused as to why he was here. Thor hadn't told her who he was. The teen shot a quick glance at the God of Thunder, who simply nodded his head in acknowledgement to his silent question. It was his choice whether to tell the scientist or not. "I'm an intern, uh, at Stark Industries."

"Ah, I see." She didn't believe him, but she also didn't press it, something that he was eternally grateful for. Then, her eyes glistened with happiness. "You must be excited to work with some of the best scientists in the world." He nodded.

"Yeah, I love science."

"Peter is quite adept at it," Thor interjected, coming around the counter to stand by Jane. "He prefers chemical engineering though."

"Really?" Peter ducked his head, slightly embarrassed by this sudden attention. He wasn't used to being asked so many questions, to having so many people care about he thought. At school, he did his best to blend in and avoid trouble. With Aunt May, he did his best to try and stay out of her way and not cause trouble. But now . . . now, with the team, he found himself tentatively reaching out and wanting to get to know people. "I'm an astrophysicist myself." He perked up at that.

"You are?" She tucked a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear, but slowly nodded her head. "That's amazing." If chemistry hadn't been his calling, he probably would've wanted to become an astrophysicist. There was something fascinating in that branch of science that called forth to him.

"Jane is one of the smartest scientists I've ever encountered, both here and on Asgard." Thor praised, much to his girlfriend's embarrassment.

"No, no, I'm just—"

"Don't be so modest," Thor chided her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. "You are one of the best scientists, Jane."

"Maybe." She relented. Peter awkwardly tried to find an excuse to leave the room as he felt he was becoming the third wheel more and more with each second that passed by. "Peter."

"Yeah?"

"If you have some time later, maybe you and I could talk about your work in chemical engineering." He grinned and found himself going along with that.

"Yeah, I'd enjoy that." He assured her.

"Great." She beamed. He grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder before moving towards the elevator. "It was nice meeting you!" She called after him and Peter smiled.

"Yeah. You too."

He stepped into the elevator, feeling a hidden weight suddenly lift off his shoulders.

"Peter?" Natasha stood in his doorway, rubbing a towel through her wet hair. Noticing his books and notes, she frowned slightly. "Sorry. Are you busy?"

"Just studying." He waved dismissively. Spinning in his chair around, he faced the deadly assassin standing in his doorway. "What's up?" She stepped into his room, saying nothing, eyes carefully scanning the area.

"You've decorated." She remarked and he nodded. He had put up a few pictures of his aunt, his uncle and his parents on his walls. On his desk, he had a few Spider-Man figurines that Gwen had gotten him as a joke. He'd grown quite attached to them though. Considering the amount of Iron Man merchandise that Tony owned, it seemed somewhat normal. Then again, nothing Tony did was normal.

"Yeah, just a bit."

"I like it." She was stalling, though why, he had no idea. He could sense her indecision, something that he only knew because he lived with her and had gotten to know her somewhat well over the past few weeks he had been here.

"Something wrong, Natasha?" She shook her head, a bitter grin tugging upwards at her lips. "You sure?" He pressed, leaning towards her.

"We're having game night." She informed him instead. "Come downstairs if you have a moment." He paused, digesting the information. Something was still going on. She was keeping something from him, but what could he do? Call her out on it? She was a spy, first and foremost. He couldn't endanger her job by asking her for answers. So, he plastered a smile and nodded.

"Be right down."

They ended up playing charades with disastrous effects.

Thor seemed to miss the point of the game and kept talking whenever his turn came up. He compared it to a game on Asgard, but the team couldn't seem to comprehend what the game he was referring to was. Natasha and Clint refused to play, choosing instead to sit on the plush couch and whisper to each other, exchanging sharp glances at the teenager across from them. Peter attempted to play with Bruce by his side, but the two of them were awkward and bumbling and Jane only barely managed to figure it out. Tony, for once, was focused on his laptop, seemingly working on some sort of project. Steve good-naturedly played along, but he too could sense the tension in the air. Like current of electricity as it neared, it zapped the air and heightened everything.

Something was going to happen soon, of that Peter was sure of.

"Well, this has been fun." Jane commented as she rose from the couch. "But I have to return back before my intern manages to blow up our research lab, which in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have given her access to." Thor immediately came to stand beside her and the two walked hand in hand towards the elevator. It pinged and they vanished within it.

"This was interesting." Peter muttered, wondering why he had agreed to come down here if the game was just going to fail. "I've got homework though so—"

"Sit." Tony commanded and something in his voice caused the teenager to hesitate. Gone was the jovial nature of his tone and in its place was a fury that simmered close to the surface. It was a scary tone, one that conjured up images of a man ready to snap and unleash his rage on anyone standing by.

"What is it?" Steve questioned, picking up on this. Clint and Natasha seemed to freeze, sharing a careful glance with each other.

"What?" Peter questioned, worry starting to filter into his veins. Tony hit a few keys and onto the TV screen a S.H.I.E.L.D. report filled the monitor. "This is an operation report?" He leaned in and quickly let his eyes begin to read.

"Tony!" Natasha exclaimed, trying to turn off the TV.

"I'll call Fury." Clint muttered, pulling out his phone.

"This . . ." He read the report over once more and then once more over that. This was a report on how to recruit him. A full-proof plan to get him to train with the Avengers in order to minimize him going rogue.

And at the bottom, an order to execute the plan to stage an accident for his aunt in order to force him into the team, with Fury's signature.

Fury had ordered his aunt to be injured and had almost killed her and for what? For him to join a team that might have known about this all along? This whole time, he had thought that he was finding a place here and maybe forming a few friendships, how wrong could he have been?

This whole thing and his whole time here was a lie.

A lie orchestrated by Fury and his stupid organization.

"Peter—" Natasha reached out from him but he jerked away.

"You knew." He breathed, the pain of betrayal forcing his air out of his lungs. The room spun and he needed to get out of here and go somewhere else. Anywhere else, but here.

"Peter, wait!" Someone called after him, but he couldn't process it. He was in the elevator and out on the street within five minutes. He took off running, not sure where he was going as long as he went anywhere far away from here.

So much for being a part of a team.

Author's Note: And the big twist that I've been planning since day one finally comes out. Please review if you have a moment!