Author's Note: More bonding chapters will be coming up shortly. Thanks for all your kind words! Please enjoy this chapter!
"Family is not an important thing, it's everything."
― Michael J. Fox
"I thought I would find you here."
Peter's head jerked up and immediately, the teen was up and ready to attack.
"Easy there," Steve emerged from the shadows, his voice soft and yet still containing an authoritative undercurrent. The Super Soldier had a tight smile on his lips and Peter relaxed immediately, his body slumping back down to the ground in front of his uncle's grave. The stress from the revelation coupled with the cold New York air made him long for his comfortable bed back in his old apartment. Back then—before the Avengers, before the spider bite, before all of this even occurred—things were so simple.
He had taken it for granted. Those carefree mornings when Uncle Ben would do the crossword and shower compliments upon his aunt, the way Aunt May would laugh like she hadn't a care in the world and the feeling and through it all, and the certainty that this was where he belonged. He had taken it all for granted.
And now, it was too late.
"I knew one of you would find me," Peter muttered, running a hand through his hair. His eyes burned, a mixture of exhaustion and crying and he blinked, trying to get the pain to pass. "I just didn't think you'd have the nerve."
His uncle's grave was, needless to say, a sacred place.
"If the situation wasn't as grave," Cap began quietly, almost ruefully. Peter wondered if he had intended the pun. Probably not. "I wouldn't have come." He met Peter's gaze and grimaced slightly. "I'm sorry, Peter."
"I can't go back." Peter stated quickly. "I can't—"
"Okay," Steve sighed softly, taking a cautious step towards the teenager. "Just hear me out, all right?"
Peter turned his head, his eyes locking on the stone letters that spelled out his uncle's name. This space was his last trace of the man that had been his uncle. Here, under this dirt, was the last connection that Peter had to him on this Earth. In the months that followed the shooting, Peter had ended up here more times than he could count—sometimes by chance, other times deliberately—and he had sat here silently, just allowing himself to grieve. As the grief faded away and gave way to some semblance of calm, he had kept coming, allowing himself to feel the connection.
Sitting by the grave, it was like his uncle was still here. He was ready to give advice or comfort or tell a joke—all Peter had to do was talk about whatever was bothering him. That's the way it worked between them in life and now, even in death.
"Go on." Peter breathed, voice steady and even.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. acted on its own volition." He came to stand beside the teen and knelt down, grass crunching under his boots. "They believed that you were a risk if left to your own devices."
"A risk?" He echoed, disbelieving. He had saved New York! Where was S.H.I.E.L.D. back then? Why hadn't they stepped in then?
"Fury signed off on this plan because he knew that you would never willingly leave your aunt and join the Avengers."
"Is this supposed to make me forgive you guys?" Peter questioned sarcastically. "Because it's just making me angrier." He wanted to just take off and just swing through the air. He wanted to forget his problems and allow himself to just be a normal teenager. He had never wanted this life nor had he asked for it. Yet, here he was, fighting alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes and trying to have some semblance of a regular teenager life.
Who was he kidding though? He'd never be normal.
"We didn't know," Steve stressed, placing a strong hand on the teenager's shoulder. "You have to trust me on this, Peter, because if I knew—"
"Clint and Natasha—" He began.
"They knew of the threat against you," Cap interjected. "But I'm not sure of their involvement with the accident that Fury staged." He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair. "Natasha and Clint, they're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents first, but I know they wouldn't deliberately let something go on that could hurt people."
"My aunt could've died." Peter growled, turning to face the leader of the team. "She's all I have left! My parents are gone, my uncle too, and I was stupid to think that I could count on this team—" He jumped to his feet, wanting nothing more than to escape from the feelings of grief mingled with fury bubbling up within him.
"You can count on us, Peter." Steve told him sincerely. "Just come back with me. Give us one more chance."
He wanted to. Living with the team for the past few weeks had made him feel somewhat normal. Conducting experiments with Tony and Bruce, being regaled by Thor's tales of Asgard, combat training with Clint and Natasha, and getting history homework help from Steve—they made him feel like he belonged. For the first time since his uncle had died, he had thought he was part of a family.
Could he take that risk one more time?
"Come back, please." Steve pleaded, voice low.
He glanced back at his uncle's tombstone and waited for some sort of sign. There was none, but Peter knew he didn't need one. His mind was made up. Turning to face the Super Soldier, he let out a shaky breath.
"Okay." He conceded; Steve beamed.
"Let's go home."
Peter allowed a small smile to pull upwards at his lips.
Home. That sounded amazing.
"Director Fury," Maria stood in the hall before his office, his second in command grimacing slightly. "Mr. Stark is here to—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Tony barged past her. The billionaire inventor lacked any of his usual charm. His trademark smirk was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by a hard grimace.
"Stark." Fury greeted, waving off Maria's concern. He had been expecting this conversation since news of the staged accident was leaked. The Director was surprised that Tony had deigned to stop by though, considering how much the inventor hated S.H.I.E.L.D. and seemingly everything it tried to achieve.
"Cut the crap," Tony growled. "We both know why I'm here."
"I am aware, yes." The Director kept his tone formal and calm. He didn't need to risk losing his head and divulge anything else of importance. The fact that Tony had hacked in was maddening, but Fury doubted that mentioning it would cause anything productive to happen.
"Isn't this the part where you try to convince me that you had to injure Peter's aunt? That it was the only way?" Tony asked bitterly.
"What's the point?" Fury started. "You won't believe me." Tony opened his mouth, ready to protest when the Director continued. "But yes, it was the only way. After the Lizard's appearance and Spiderman's arrival, S.H.I.E.L.D. thought it best to keep an eye on him." He pushed a folder forward, one containing their early data on Peter and his activities as the superhero. "Once we found out he was a teenager, we knew he had to be trained properly."
"So, you took out his aunt—" The inventor hissed, seething with fury.
"May Parker was perfectly safe from any other additional injuries besides the ones we wanted her to have." He replied. "Our stunt drivers are the best in the business and S.H.I.E.L.D. medics were standing by on the off chance that something went wrong."
"You deliberately hurt someone and for what? To get Peter to train with us?" Tony rose from his chair, tossing the folder aside. "How the hell can you sleep at night?"
"Peter was a potential disaster waiting to happen." Fury stood up, his gaze hard and unyielding. "I did what I had to for the good of everyone—"
"So, what?" Tony challenged, voice near yelling. "Peter doesn't get a choice, is that it?"
"You've read the files," Fury began. "You know who else wanted him and we couldn't allow—"
"And you really think that Oscorp was going to go out of the way to take him because of what his father did?" The billionaire snapped. "Look, the company is shady, but why would they think Peter could fix whatever their mysterious project was? They probably scrapped the whole thing—"
"You don't know Norman Osborn." The Director interrupted. Then, moving towards the door, he faced Tony once more. "Look, believe what you want, but the bottom line that Peter is a liability. He's young, he doesn't know how the world works and would sacrifice anything to protect his aunt or his girlfriend." Tony wanted to interject, but Fury kept going. "Either he stays with your team or he stays confined to a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Your choice."
And with that, the Director stormed out.
Author's Note: Next chapter: Peter's homecoming and more info on Oscorp! Please review if you have a moment.