Yay! Another chapter! More Peter and a brief intro for Sam. I can't really do the same as in the movies as HYDRA is no more (crosses fingers behind back).
Peter had never been happier. Well, okay that was a bit of a lie. He had been plenty happy with Uncle Ben and Aunt May, but that happiness had quickly disappeared since losing them. The last six months had wiped out years of happiness. Pulling on his sleeves, Peter headed towards his last class of the day, eager to be done for the semester.
He was heading straight to SI after school to fill out the paperwork for his internship. The last two weeks had been talking with different members of the intern program over when he was available and what he wanted to work on. It had been decided that he would start over the Christmas holidays as it would give him more time to work with the other interns and try to find his place.
Class couldn't go by fast enough. He just wanted out already. When the final bell rang, Peter was up and out of his seat faster than normal. Rushing to his locker he grabbed his coat and bag then headed for the door, after all, he still had to take the subway over to Manhattan.
Arriving at the building Peter headed for the welcome desk. The lady behind the desk smiled up at him. "Hello, how can I help you?"
"Um, my name's Peter Parker and I'm supposed to start my internship?"
"Oh yes! Mary told me you were coming by today." She spun a little in her chair and grabbed a manila folder off the side of the desk along with a pen. "Here you go, honey. You take these over to the sitting area and get started filling them out. I'll let Mary know you're here and she'll be down in a bit."
"Thank you, ma'am." Taking the folder Peter headed over to the group of chairs and couches on the other side of the hall. Dropping his backpack on the floor, Peter sat and opened the folder. The paperwork was standard. Name, birthday, social insurance number, address. He only paused when he saw the spot for the name of parent/guardian that had clearly been added in the last minute. Scowling at the paper Peter grudging filled in that last spot. He was nearly done filling out the papers when he heard footsteps approach.
"Peter?"
Looking up Peter smiled at the woman. "Yes?"
"Hello, I'm Mary Graham and I'm the intern manager. As such, I oversee every intern here at SI."
Peter quickly stood and held out his hand. "It's wonderful to meet you, ma'am. I'm truly honoured to have been given this opportunity."
Mary smiled at the young man, perhaps Mr. Stark was on to something. "Well, if your exam marks are anything to go by, we will be the ones honoured in a few years. Now, if you are done with the paperwork, I will show you around and we can work out a schedule for your time here and get your security pass."
"Yes ma'am, I'm all done here."
"Peter," Mary sighed. "Please lay off the ma'am. If you must please call me Dr. Graham, though I do prefer Mary. Our first stop will be the security office." She turned and led Peter down a hall. "There are several different types of badges, each colour represents the different levels. As an intern, you will have a blue badge. If you decide to specialize in a particular department then that department's colour will be added to your badge. Here we are." Mary opened a door and gestured for Peter to enter.
"Dr. Graham," the man behind the desk greeted them. "Who's this?"
"Peter this is Mr. Hogan the head of security. Happy, this is Peter Parker, the newest intern I was telling you about.
"Ah. Okay then. Come and stand in front of this wall so we can get a picture for your ID." Happy waited for the Parker kid to move over before taking the picture. "Good. For now, take this guest badge. Make sure it is visible at all times. Swing back on your way out and your badge will be ready for you."
"Thanks, Happy," Mary nodded at the man as she guided Peter out of the room. "Don't worry too much about Happy. He's just a little…enthusiastic about his promotion. Come on, let's start the tour. I won't bother with showing you the museum today, but I will make sure that you have time set aside during your break to do so. The museum is currently two floors, but I believe Dr. Stark is planning on expanding it."
"What does the museum cover?"
"The history of the company mostly along with some basic tech history. The next expansion will be for the avengers. Members of the public can view the museum at no cost, but a donation to the Maria Stark Foundation is encouraged. This is the only area of the tower that will allow people with a guest badge unaccompanied." Together the pair made their way to the elevator bays and waited for an empty elevator to arrive.
"Floors five through fifty-five are offices for the lawyers, PR, supervisors, and everything else business-related. There is a small coffee shop which sells pre-made sandwiches and baked goods on each floor and there is a larger cafeteria every five floors. If you are ever in need of a washroom, just look for the clock on the wall. You will mostly be spending your time between floors sixty-six and seventy-four as these are the R&D floors. Occasionally, if you show some interest, you may be sent to the biology labs which are lower down or even the test floors."
"Wow," Peter let out a small sigh. "I had no idea there was so much here. I think most people assume that some of the floors were rented out to other businesses."
Mary laughed, "yes that is a common misconception. Stark Industries deals with far too many classified projects to risk the presence of other companies in the building."
"I know I'm being super nosy, and you don't have to say if you can't or anything…but where does Dr. Stark work?
"Dr. Stark's lab is the seventy-ninth floor and Dr. Banner is on seventy-five. Floors eighty to ninety-three are for Dr. Stark and the Avengers. Here we are floor sixty-six, most of the interns work on the lower levels of R&D. This is Alexander Marsh; he oversees all the new interns. Xander, this is our newest intern, Peter Parker."
"Hello Peter, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. You can call me Xander or just Mr. Marsh, I haven't finished my doctorate yet. Like Mary said I oversee all the interns who have been here for under three years, though you will be the youngest intern here. We've been going over your test scores and you have everyone impressed already."
Peter blushed and lowered his gaze. "Oh, well…I'm really not that impressive."
Mary and Xavier shared a fond look over his head. They had only known this kid for a few minutes, but they were already quite fond of the kid. "I think you'll prove to everyone here, including yourself that you are worth the effort," Mary laid a hand on the teen's shoulder. "For now, I'll leave you in Xander's care. I'll come and get you later and escort you back down to security. Have fun." With a wave, Mary headed back to the elevator.
"Okay Peter," Xander gestured to the lab. "What floats your boat? Biology? Chemistry? Coding? Robotics?"
"Yes?"
Xander laughed. "Okay, here's what I'll do, it's a bit hard with it being so close to Christmas but, I'll schedule you to have a day in each department until you go back to school. Then we'll need to work out a schedule for you that works around your school. Thankfully, most of the departments work late and on weekends. Follow me and I'll show you to your locker then we'll go around to the departments and introduce you to those lab heads."
The day flew by for Peter. He was introduced to so many people and he got to see multiple labs. He was excited to start really working tomorrow in the biology lab. Now he was following Mary back down to the security office to collect his badge. "I swear I'm going to get lost," Peter laughed.
"Yeah, it can get a little confusing around here, especially when all the labs look the same. If you do get lost just ask Jarvis, he's always willing to help us out."
"Who's Jarvis?"
"Oh! I can't believe I forgot to introduce you! I'm sorry. Jarvis, this is our newest intern, Peter Parker. Peter Jarvis is Dr. Stark's AI."
"Hello Mr. Parker," Jarvis' voice came from the nearest speaker. "Dr. Graham is correct, should you need any assistance please let me know."
"That's so cool! It's really nice to meet you, Mr. Jarvis."
"The pleasure is mine Mr. Parker. I look forward to working with you in the future. Now, I believe that the Forehead of Security is waiting for you with Mr. Parker's new identification badge."
"Thanks, Jarvis," Mary said.
"Forehead of Security?" Peter asked.
Mary laughed, "yes. Dr. Stark likes to give people nicknames and program them into Jarvis. If Jarvis ever uses a name, you don't understand just ask him to clarify. You can also ask him where I am if you need me for anything. Even if you don't want to bother me in person, Jarvis can pass along messages. Here we are, I'm sure Happy is horribly excited to see us."
"I heard that Mary," Happy snorted as he opened the door. "I have Parker's badge here."
Peter accepted the badge on a red and gold lanyard with a bit of awe. "Thank you, Mr. Hogan."
"Keep that visible on your person at all times. I don't want to have to replace it."
"Yes Sir. I understand."
"Don't frighten the kid already Happy," Mary scolded. "We want him to stay with us."
"If you say so," he teased while smiling at the boy.
Shaking her head Mary guided Peter out of the security office. "Don't listen to Happy," she told him. "He likes to rile everyone up. If he gets on your nerves, just remind him that he was Iron Man's bodyguard." Peter had to laugh with her. "Now, you head home for the night, and I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning. I'd like to get you in as many labs as I can before you head back to school. See if we can't find your place."
"I'd like that. Thank you, Dr. Graham. I really appreciate this opportunity." Peter shook her hand and allowed her to push him out of the building. Still smiling, Peter made his way towards the subway. He had plans to spend as much time away from his foster home for this break.
The next two weeks saw Peter spending most of his days at SI. As Dr. Graham had intended, Peter spent at least half a day in each department. He loved every minute of it. By the time he returned to school, Dr. Graham had requests for Peter to be assigned to multiple departments. Currently, Peter was making his way across the lobby to meet up with Dr. Graham to discuss his options.
"Hello Peter," she smiled at the boy the moment she saw him. "How was your first day back?"
"It was alright, nothing new."
"I suppose school can be rather boring when you know it all," she laughed a little.
Peter shrugged, "I wouldn't say I know it all."
"Okay," Mary nodded. "The sciences then and seeing as you are attending a science school…" Seeing Peter blush Mary decided to let the matter drop. "I'm going to partially disappoint you. Today you won't be heading into the labs. We are going to my office to discuss your schedule." The pair made their way to Dr. Graham's office in silence. Once there Mary offered Peter a comfortable chair then refreshments.
"So, I'm sure you're excited to get into the labs again, but we need to talk about your schedule. Did you have any preferences for where you wanted to work?"
Peter thought about it for a moment then shook his head. "I enjoyed all the labs really. Um, if I had to pick then I would have to say the robotics or engineering."
"I have received requests from every lab you spent time in for you to be assigned there."
"Oh," Peter felt overwhelmed. While he had enjoyed his time, he never thought anything he had done would have impressed the real scientists.
"Yes. If you want, I thought we could work out a schedule where you can continue to spend time in all the labs, or I can put you into one or two. Up to you, however, I want to remind you that none of this is set in stone. If you change your mind and want to move into a specific lab or start moving around, we can do that. Even the scientists move around the labs, so it's nothing new."
Peter took a deep breath still not believing what was happening. "Um, could I continue moving around for now? Only, I'm not sure what I want to focus on just yet."
"That's fine, Peter. We encourage those who are still students to move around as much as they want. We want to help you find your passion. Now, with that in mind, I've drawn up a basic outline for your schedule. I know you wanted to be here every day, but you still need time for schoolwork and a social life. This schedule has you here four days a week, but if your grades start to drop then we'll drop you down a couple of days. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. You'll be here Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from four till seven and Saturday from nine till five. Does that work for you, Peter?" Mary held out a sheet of paper for Peter to take.
Peter looked over the schedule and smiled. "That's perfect. Thank you, Dr. Graham."
"I'm glad you approve. Now," she quickly checked her watch. "Our meeting did not take as long as I thought, and I believe you have a couple of hours before you are scheduled to head home. Why don't you head into one of the labs? I'll leave the choice up to you."
Stuffing his new intern schedule into his bag, Peter stood and threw the bag over his shoulder. "Thank you again for all this Dr. Graham." Leaving the office, Peter made his way to the elevators which Jarvis opened for him. "Thanks, Jarvis." In his short time at SI, Peter had spent quite a bit of it talking to Jarvis and had become quite close with the AI. "How's it going today, Jarvis?"
"I am doing quite well Peter. Where are you headed?"
"That's good. I was thinking of heading to the robotics labs if that's okay."
"Indeed, it is. Dr. Lee is currently the only one in the lab and he says that he would be most pleased to have your company."
"Thanks a lot, Jarvis. I appreciate it." Peter headed down the hall towards the robotics lab.
"Afternoon Peter," Dr. Lee greeted the boy. "How are you today?"
"I'm doing alright. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Not at the moment, however, there are a few boxes of spare parts on one of the tables. See what you can come up with on your own. If you need extra bits or different tools just ask and if I'm busy, ask Jarvis."
Nodding, Peter headed over to the boxes and rummaged through them. The more he rummaged, the more excited Peter became. Pulling up a holo-screen he began sketching out an idea. After a quick check to make sure he had everything he needed, Peter began building. The teen lost himself in the building, only leaving the tech to make changes to his plans as he came up with new ideas or had to change them due to not having the materials he wanted.
Up in the penthouse, Jarvis interrupted Tony and Bucky making dinner. "Sirs, you may want to look at this."
"What's up J?" Tony asked watching his husband's ass as Bucky bent over to pull the lasagna out of the oven.
"Shall I pull up the video for you?" Jarvis did not bother to wait for his creator to say anything, instead just putting up the live feed of the robotics lab.
"Is that?" Bucky asked.
"Peter," Tony smiled. "What's he doing Jarvis?"
"Would you like me to show you, his plans?"
"Please." A moment later a holo-screen appeared in the kitchen showing a blueprint for a small robot. "Was he given any instructions?"
"No. Dr. Lee, said that he was busy and that Mr. Parker should go through boxes of extra parts."
"J, can you pull up the video from when Peter started for me?" A moment later a second screen appeared. Tony and Bucky watched Peter move around the lab, going through the boxes before pulling up a holo-screen and start creating. "I think I may have a reason to approach this kid sooner than we planned." Beside him, Bucky could only smile.
Harry's pregnancy was progressing easily, just like it had with Sarah. Steve had spoken with Fury about taking a step back from the Avengers. He wanted to be there for his family in the years to come, not off every few weeks like Fury wanted.
"Are you sure?" Harry asked one night after the kids were asleep. "I know how much being Captain America means to you. I can't ask you to put up the shield."
Steve pulled Harry close, burying his face in his husband's hair. "I know that. You haven't asked…it's something I've been thinking about since we were reunited. I don't want to miss any more time with you and the kids. I've already missed so much with Jamie. I'm not giving up the shield completely, not yet anyway, but I do feel like I need to step back."
"What does stepping back look like?"
"Not sure yet," Steve chuckled. "I won't be going on every mission Fury asks me to mostly stick to training new recruits and planning missions. Maybe only stepping in when it's something big." Steve paused and let out a sigh, "I'm thinking of finding someone to take up the shield."
Harry pulled away so he could look Steve in the eye. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "I'm not getting any younger and I want to be there for you and the kids. See the kids go to school, graduate, get married. I want to be there when we become grandparents. I can't do that if I keep fighting. Eventually, I won't be coming home from a mission and that's not acceptable for me." The thought of losing Steve again scared Harry and he tightened his grip on his husband. "I know," Steve returned the squeeze. "That's why I'm stepping away from this. Merlin, if Fury had his way I'd be living in DC and going on missions every week."
"Fuck Fury," Harry muttered into Steve's chest making the other man laugh.
"More or less. Unfortunately, Fury has demanded that I head to DC for a month and do a couple of missions from there. After that, I'm free."
"Who's going with you?"
"Natasha."
"How many missions?"
"Right now, only one. Hopefully, it'll stay that way. I told him that come February I'm back in New York and not leaving for any length of time again."
"When do you leave?"
"Next week. Fury wanted me to leave in the morning, but I told him you would hex him six ways to Sunday if I did."
"Well, you weren't wrong," Harry laughed. "I don't want to think about it anymore tonight. Take me to bed and make me forget you are leaving."
Standing, Steve picked Harry up and headed for the stairs. "It would be my pleasure."
The next morning, Steve and Harry sat down with Jamie and explained that Steve had to go away for a bit but would be home within a month. After a few questions, they agreed that Jamie could stay home from school until Steve had to leave so that the family could spend more time together.
That first day the small family stayed home, spending time together. Jamie decided it was past time for his dad to learn how to play video games and spent most of the morning playing Mario together. Harry watched while cuddling with Sarah. After hours of playing, Harry passed Sarah over to Steve and took Jamie into the kitchen so they could make lunch.
As was normal, lunch was a loud and rambunctious affair. Steve took over feeding Sarah, at seven months she was starting to eat solid food. Though it usually ended up everywhere but her mouth. Laughing at the sight of his husband and daughter Harry passed Steve a wet cloth with one hand while wiping Sarah down with another.
After lunch, the family took the dogs and went to the nearby park for the afternoon. Steve and Jamie threw sticks and balls for the two younger dogs while Scout, being older, was content to sit with Harry and watch over Sarah as she played in the snow. After much discussion on their walk home, it was decided to order pizza for dinner.
The next week followed in much the same manner, the family wanting to spend as much time as possible together before Steve had to leave for an entire month.
The morning of Steve's departure was quiet, making Steve laugh. "Come on," he lifted Jamie and bounced the boy in his arms. "I'm not gone forever, and I should be able to call you nearly every night. DC isn't that far. You can even come and spend a weekend. I'll be back in a month. Now, I need you to look after your mum and Sarah for me. Can you do that?"
Jamie nodded seriously. "You can count on me, daddy."
"Good," putting Jamie down, Steve took Sarah from Harry and kissed his baby girl. "You be good for your mum okay milseán (sweetie)." Putting Sarah in her jumper, Steve pulled Harry to him. "Is breá liom tú an oiread sin agus beidh mé chailleann tú." (I love you so much and I'll miss you.)
Smiling, Harry kissed Steve. "Ná bheith ridiculous," (Don't be ridiculous) Harry booped Steve on the nose. "You'll only be gone a month and whatever mission Fury sends you on will be easy. They're gone, we made sure of it."
"I know," Steve sighed and hid his face in Harry's neck. "I just worry, I can't lose you again."
Harry couldn't say anything to ease Steve's worry, so he just held the other man close and kissed him deeply. Eventually, he was forced to pull away and pushed Steve towards the door where his bag was waiting. "Go already. The faster you go the faster you can come home to us."
Laughing, Steve picked up his bag and opened the door. "Okay. I love you all and I'll call when I'm settled. Be good for your mum." Closing the door behind him, Steve made his way to where the car was waiting for him. Harry was right he need to get to DC and finish Fury's mission so he could return to his family.
Saturday Peter arrived early for his day at SI as had become his norm in the last month. As far as he was concerned the less time he spent at 'home' the better. Thankfully, no one at SI had kicked up a fuss at him arriving early and staying late. "Morning Jarvis," he greeted the AI as he entered the elevator.
"Good morning, Peter." Jarvis truly liked the young man. Peter reminded him of Harry and Jamie, both of whom had never questioned his humanity.
"Where am I heading today?" Peter hadn't bothered trying to remember his schedule as it tended to change quite a bit and rather last minute. Instead, he just asked Jarvis when he arrived as the AI always knew exactly where to send him.
"It is supposed to be a surprise, but I can tell you that you haven't been there yet."
"Okay…" Peter was confused but trusted Jarvis. Peter watched the numbers in the elevator climb as he tried to guess where Jarvis was sending him based on the floor. "Wait! Jarvis, you can't be serious!" Peter was shocked when the elevator stopped. He wasn't supposed to be on this floor this was –
"Ah! There you are!"
Peter looked around the elevator's open doors and nearly passed out. There was Tony Stark himself waving at Peter like the genius was expecting him.
Tony tried not to laugh at the look of shock and disbelief on Peter's face, but it was highly amusing. Waving the boy over Tony gestured to the lab doors. "Come on. I'd like to talk with you about something."
Numbly, Peter followed Tony into the man's lab too shocked to have a good look around. It was only when Dr. Stark stopped in front of a table that Peter was shocked out of his shock. "That's…that's the robot I made."
"It is," Tony nodded with a smile. "Jarvis showed me a video of you making it and I was impressed. Dr. Lee sent me your bot when I asked, and I've gone over your blueprints. They are excellent. Your genius is going to waste if you don't do something with it, so that's what we're going to do. You are going to be my personal intern."
"WHAT!" Peter shouted not believing what he was hearing.
Tony wiggled a finger in his ear, the boy sure had a set of lungs on him. "I said I would like for you to be my personal intern. Dr. Graham has already put it in your schedule. She did tell me that you would probably want to continue working in the other labs."
"Yes sir," Peter whispered.
"Ew," Tony filched. "Please never say that again. I would prefer that you called me Tony, but I have a feeling you won't do it."
"Of course, Dr. Stark," Peter couldn't help the small smile at the offended look on Dr. Stark's face.
Tony sighed and shook his head. "You can put your stuff down over there," he pointed to a smaller desk across from them. "Then I want you to look at a few things and see what you think." Tony waited for Peter to put his coat and bag down before rejoining him. "Here," Tony gestured to a holo-screen that had a set of equations on it. "See what you can make of this."
Nervously, Peter glanced over the set of equations then relaxed as he recognized most of them. Taking the offered pen, he quickly began going over the math, even correcting the equations in a few spots. Peter lost himself in the math, enjoying the challenge so much he completely forgot about Dr. Stark being there. Until a loud scream startled both men.
"UNCLE TONY!" Jamie rushed into the lab and tacked his uncle from behind.
"Hey kiddo," Tony turned around and picked Jamie up. "Oh, you're getting too big for me."
Jamie laughed as he threw his arms around his uncle's neck. "Mum says the same thing." Jamie smiled and turned, immediately freezing at seeing another person in the lab. "Who are you?"
"Jamie!" Tony scolded. "I know your mum taught you better manners than that."
"Sorry uncle Tony."
"Jamie, this is my intern, Peter. Peter, this is my nephew, Jamie."
"Hello," Peter smiled at the small boy. "It's nice to meet you."
"What kind of science are you doing?" Jamie asked pointing to the holo-screen as he nearly jumped out of Tony's arms.
"Hold up munchkin," Tony gently set the boy down. "Are your parents here as well or did they just drop you off?"
"Daddy had to go to DC and Uncle Draco called and said he needed some help. Uncle Bucky took Sarah while mum helps Uncle Draco and Uncle Jarvis said you were down here, so I came to help you."
"Only if it's okay with Peter," Tony told his nephew. "It's his first day working with me here in the lab."
"Oh," Jamie turned looking at Peter wide-eyed. "I'm sorry. I know how special the first day in the lab is."
Peter couldn't help but laugh at the boy. "It's alright. I didn't know I was coming up here. Do you come and help Dr. Stark out often?"
"Who's Dr. Stark?"
Tony threw back his head and laughed at the confused looks on Jamie and Peter's faces. "Oh," Peter laughed. "I guess you just call him Uncle Tony."
"You're a doctor Uncle Tony?"
"Not that kind of doctor," Tony quickly said.
"You sound like Brucie."
"I guess I do. Why don't you go and play with Dum-E and Butterfingers for a bit while Peter and I get some work done."
"Okay!" Jamie rushed off to play catch with the two robots.
Tony watched his nephew with a smile then turned back to his intern. "So, what have you discovered from the formulas?"
Peter looked away from the boy and turned his attention back to Dr. Stark before explaining what he had found and the corrections he had made. The two men spent the next few hours working together in near-perfect sync. They perfected the formulas Peter had started on and fixed the bugs in the boy's robot. They only stopped when Jarvis interrupted them.
"Sir, Harry has instructed that the three of you are to stop and eat the lunch he has sent down for you."
"What?" Tony looked up and had to blink a few times. "Oh, is it lunch already?"
"Indeed Sir."
"Thanks, Jarvis," Peter smiled up at the closest camera as he put down his tools.
"Come on kiddo, your mum sent us food," Tony called for Jamie while he headed for the now-open elevator which contained a serving cart covered in food and drink. Pushing the tray, Tony led the way to the sanitized corner Harry made him keep for eating and resting. "Both of you grab a seat then grab some food. Harry will kill me if you don't eat."
"After lunch can I help you, Uncle Tony?" Jamie asked after devouring half a sandwich.
"Sure thing. I'll find something all three of us can work on. What do you think Peter?"
Peter looked at the man in shock, he had fully expected to be kicked out so Dr. Stark could spend time with his nephew, not to be included in the activity. "That sounds great," he answered honestly. He really didn't care if they had to spend the rest of the day working on basic science, he would enjoy the time he spent in Dr. Stark's lab.
The hours after lunch was spent on designing a robot. Jamie insisted that he didn't want to have to pick up after his dogs and wanted a robot to let loose in the backyard to clean the poop. Tony had laughed then ruffled the boy's hair before getting to work. Peter was surprised at how smart Jamie was despite his youth and enjoyed not having to dumb down his words too much.
When Jarvis interrupted them, telling them that it was time for Peter to return home, all three pouted. They had enjoyed their afternoon immensely. Peter was ecstatic, it had felt like he was part of a family again and he wanted more of that feeling.
DC as it turned out was…alright. It wasn't New York and maybe if he had been single Steve could see himself staying on a slightly more permanent basis. Despite Fury telling him, it was for a mission; he hadn't been sent on one yet and he had been there for two weeks already.
Though, he had met an interesting ex-airman while on his morning run. Steve had been running around the National Mall every morning for something to do and had seen the other man every day. One morning he decided to push the man and had lapped him multiple times. He had been quite pleased when the other man, Sam, had joked with him. Despite clearly knowing who he was Sam hadn't treated Steve any differently.
On his third weekend in DC, Harry and the kids had come out to visit and Steve had even invited Sam over for dinner. It had come as no surprise when his family had like the ex-airman. Harry had smiled and teased Steve that Bucky would be very jealous when he found out Steve had a new friend. After the kids had gone to bed the three men had sat around sharing war stories.
Finding out about the Falcon suit, Steve had immediately offered Sam a place on the Avengers. Sam had said no, but Steve told him that if he ever changes his mind, he has a spot. Harry added that he was welcome to come and visit them in New York any time.
The next morning Steve decided that he was done hanging out in DC. It was clear that Fury had no intention of sending him on a mission. Part of Steve wondered if this was a way for Fury to drive a wedge between him and Harry. After all Captain America with a family wasn't all that useful to Fury and SHIELD. When Fury called to scream at him Steve just put his phone on mute, tossed it on the couch and carried his husband up to bed.
Peter looked over his history homework and groaned. He had forgotten about it until now, and after searching the school library there weren't any decent books left on the subject. True he could head to the public library, but he was already running late for his internship and didn't want to stop. He had only been working with Dr. Stark for just over a month and didn't want to give the man a reason to get rid of him.
Stuffing the work back into his backpack he got out of the car and gave Happy a cheerful wave before heading to the private elevator. He was silent as Jarvis took him up to Dr. Stark's lab. Normally he spent as much time as possible talking to Jarvis, trying to figure out the limits to the AI.
"Alright kid, spill," Tony said the moment Peter entered the lab. Jarvis and Happy had already warned him that something was off with the kid today as he had been silent. "What's wrong?"
Peter looked up at Dr. Stark in shock. "Wrong? Um, nothing?"
"Yeah right. I've had both Happy and Jarvis tell me you weren't talking their ears off, which is highly unlike you. So, what's up? Girl trouble? Boy trouble?"
"NO!" Peter quickly shouted. "No, nothing like that. It's just, I was so focused on my Spanish test, Calculus worksheet and the internship that I forgot about a history paper that's due Monday, and I don't have any books for it."
"What's the paper on?"
"Captain America and his team during the War. We had to pick a Howling Commando and write a paper on them. Mr. Morita said there would be extra points if we could find information on their lives before and after the war, but to mainly focus on the war years."
Tony had to laugh at that. "Okay, and which Commando did you pick?" Helping Peter out could end up being very easy.
"Um, I've always liked Sergeant Barnes the best. I mean Captain America is great and all, and I think most of the kids in my class chose him, but Sergeant Barnes kept up with him, helping him lead the Commandos, and on top of it he was one of the best sharpshooters of the entire war!"
"I think I can help you out with this one. Grab your bag and let's go." Tony only waited for a moment to let Peter gather his things. Still laughing Tony wrapped his arm around the kid's shoulders and guided him towards the elevators. Science could wait for a bit. "Jarvis, the common floor please."
"Of course, Sir," Jarvis said with laughter in his voice.
"Dr. Stark? Where are we going?"
"The common floor," Tony shrugged. "I have some things up there that might just help you out with your history paper. I don't want your regular schoolwork to suffer because of the internship."
Peter was feeling horribly nervous as the elevator doors opened revealing a large living room with truly massive couches and chairs all around an eighty-inch TV. Just as Peter was getting a good look at the room a large blur streaked across it, crashing into something coming out of a hall.
"JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES!" a voice shouted. The first blur was thrown across the living room before being tacked. "STEVEN GRANT ROGERS! Both of you knock it off!" There was a pause where the two large bodies wrestling in front of the couch paused, only to be tackled by a smaller blur. "JAMES STEVEN ROGERS! Oh, that's it! I give up. Don't any of you come crying to me when you get hurt or break something again!"
Peter could only stare in shock as he watched the wrestling match. After a moment of freaking out, his brain came back online, and he recognized Captain America and Bucky Barnes as two of the wrestlers. The small boy looked very similar to Captain Rogers that Peter figured this must be the mysterious son the public had been told about.
"Tony!" Harry called out when he spotted his brother. "Thank Merlin you're here. Can you do me a favour and distract your husband? They have been going at it all day."
Tony laughed at Harry. "Why are they wrestling in the living room?"
"I'm surprised Jarvis hadn't told you. From what I understand there was an incident involving the shield, Clint's exploding arrows, and a piece of gym equipment that has left the gym in ruins."
"I have taken the liberty of notifying the contractors. They are on their way, unfortunately, the gym is unusable until the repairs are finished," Jarvis told them. "As you were busy with young Mr. Parker, I didn't want to bother you."
"Thanks, Jarvis," Tony sighed. "I'm going to start charging them part of the repair bills." Beside him, Peter let out a meep bringing the two men's attention to him. "Oh right! The reason we came up here. Harry, this is my intern, Peter Parker. Peter this is Major Harry Rogers."
"This is the intern you won't shut up about," Harry teased. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Peter. Tony's told us all about you and your work in his lab."
"Oh. It's nice to meet you Major Harry Rogers sir." Peter was desperately trying to not stare at the man's slightly bulging stomach. He had seen the interview where Captain America introduced his husband to the world, and they explained how the man was experimented on by HYDRA. So, he kind of understood just how the man could be pregnant but seeing it in person was very different.
Harry could only laugh at the boy's eager puppy dog charm and his attempt at not staring. "Not that I'm not happy to meet you, but what are you two doing out of the lab? It's usually impossible for us to tempt you away from your lab before dinner."
"Ah," Tony wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders. "Pete here is having a hard time on one of his papers, and I happen to have the resources he needs. So, we came up here."
"I'm scared to ask, but what is the paper on?"
Peter looked down at his shoes feeling scared and nervous. "Um, it's my history paper. We have to write a paper on one of the Howling Commandos."
"Yep," Tony was looking horribly proud of himself. "And Underoos here has chosen to write his paper on my Bucky Bear."
Harry blinked at the two men for a moment before breaking out into laughter, needing to hold onto the kitchen counter to keep from falling over. "You're writing a paper on the Prat?! Oh, Merlin!"
"What's funny mom?" Jamie headed into the kitchen to see what his mom was laughing at. "Uncle Tony!" seeing his uncle Jamie launched himself at the man. Safe in his uncle's arms, Jamie turned to the other person who he quickly recognized. "Peter! What are you doing up here?"
"James!" Harry scolded. "Manners."
"Sorry, Ma," Jamie lightly snarked.
Harry sighed then turned to glare at Steve who had joined them in the kitchen with Bucky. "All of that right there! That's all you."
"The Brat is right Punk. That's all you."
Steve just sighed and ignored them. Instead, he focused on the young man beside Tony. "Hello there. I'm Steve."
Peter could only stare in shock. Captain America was standing in front of him offering his hand. Slowly, Peter reached out to take the hero's hand. "Um…I'm Peter Parker Mr. Captain America Sir."
Tony laughed as he put Jamie down and clapped his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Steve, this is my intern. He needs some help with a school paper so I brought him up here. Peter I would like to introduce you to my husband and the source for your paper…Bucky Stark!"
"Stark?" Bucky stared at his husband. "I don't think so Doll. I think Tony Barnes sounds much better." Done teasing Tony for the moment, Bucky looked at the boy. He and Tony had agreed to go slow, not wanting to overwhelm him too soon. "Hello, Peter. It's nice to finally meet you. Tony's been talking non-stop about you."
"What's this about needing help on a paper?" Harry asked trying to help the boy overcome his obvious case of being star-struck.
Peter stared at Harry for a moment before blinking and clearing his throat. "Oh, yes. I was telling Dr. Stark about my history paper and how I don't have any resources for it and Dr. Stark said he had some I could use."
"And I do," Tony called out tearing his gaze away from his husband. He shot Peter a brilliant smile as he clapped Bucky on the shoulders. "And here is your source. You said you were writing a paper on Sergeant Barnes, so who better to talk to than the man himself."
Steve and Harry were able to hold in their laughter for all of 3.2 seconds before doubling over, bracing themselves on their knees in their laughter.
"You're seriously writing a paper on me?" Bucky asked the kid in disbelief.
"Yes sir. We were told to pick one of the Howling Commandos. I think most of my class is writing on Captain America, but you've always been my favourite."
"Well," Steve wheezed out. "I suppose it's better than writing about Dum Dum."
"Laugh it up you two," Bucky shook his head. "You're just jealous Peter didn't choose you. Come and sit on the couch, Peter. I'll answer all the questions you have." Bucky headed back to the living room while Tony guided Peter to follow.
"Peter," Harry asked quietly. "Is your family expecting you home for dinner tonight?"
"Um no sir," Peter shook his head. "I don't think the ass would care if I never bothered to come back…I mean he's okay with me staying out late on the weekends."
Harry just continued to stare at Peter, fully understanding what the boy was going through. "Um-hum. Well, if that's the case then there is no issue with you staying here all weekend. After all, you'll need more time to interrogate the Prat."
Steve bent down to kiss Harry, "I'll head out and pick up Sarah and some things for us. I'm sure the kids will enjoy staying at the tower this weekend."
"And feel free to just invite yourselves to stay in my tower," Tony snarked.
"As if you don't enjoy having Jamie and Sarah around," Harry laughed as Steve left, "And it's not like you didn't make me my own floor in your tower and tried to convince us to move in."
Peter watched the interactions not quite believing what was happening. Captain America's husband had just ordered him to spend the weekend at Avenger's tower and he had almost admitted how bad his home life was. How was this his life?
"So, kiddo," Bucky said after a minute. "What's this paper about?"
"Oh, um," Peter stared at the man for a second before his brain switched back on. Reaching for his bag Peter pulled out his history assignment. "Right. So, I'm supposed to write on your time during the war, but our teacher said there would be a few bonus marks if we wrote a bit about before and after."
"Well, there's not much to say about after," Bucky laughed. "But I can tell you about before. How do you want to do this?"
"I don't quite understand?"
"Well, do you want to ask me a bunch of questions or should I just start talking and you can copy it down?"
"I have an idea," Tony interrupted. "I can have Jarvis record this and then Pete can ask questions without having to worry about copying everything down."
"That would be great, thank you, Dr. Stark! But I think I'll still need to use some books for this."
"Don't worry too much about it," Harry reassured Peter as he brought snacks and drinks into the living room. "I'm sure we have some around here and if not one of us can take you to the library tomorrow."
"Thanks, Harry," Bucky accepted the coffee. "Jamie, are you joining us for storytime?" Jamie's eyes went wide, and he ran across the room, jumping into Bucky's lap. "I'll take that as a yes. Okay, so let's get the first mix-up out of the way. I never enlisted; I was drafted."
"Really!"
Bucky had to laugh, "yes really. Harry was gone and someone had to stay and look after the Punk. I was called up in July of Forty-two and shipped out in June of forty-three, the day before Steve went to basic." Bucky lost himself in sharing his story with Peter and Jamie. He did keep quiet on some of the gory details due to Jamie being around but promised Peter that he would tell him more after the kiddo went to bed.
"Alright you lot," Harry called from the dining room. "Dinner is ready, and everyone is on their way down. Come to the table."
Bucky and Jamie moved quickly, Tony only pausing to pull Peter up. "Come on Underoos, dinner time. You'll learn soon that when Harry tells you to do something, you do it right quick."
"Peter, I've put you between Tony and Bucky to protect you from the family," Harry chuckled. "No one will hurt you, but they are usually too curious for their own good. Or the good of others. If you get uncomfortable let one of us know and we'll step in."
"Uncomfortable?" Peter looked around as he took his seat. "Why would I be-"
"Dinner!" Clint called out. "Oh, and Harry cooked awesome! Hey, who's the kid?"
"Clint, leave him alone. Hold Archer for a minute, will you?" Draco passed over the five-month-old then headed for the kitchen.
Peter could only stare in shock as the rest of the Avengers and their family gathered around the table around him. It got worse when Captain America returned carrying a little girl in his arms. "Oh!" Tony made 'gimmie' hands at the blond. "I want my goddaughter. Give her to me!" chuckling, Steve passed Sarah over to Tony before joining Jamie on the other side. "Hey Pete," Tony said getting Peter's attention. "This angel is my goddaughter, Sarah. She happens to be Capsicle and Harry's other kid." Peter stared at the little girl while nodding. It was fairly obvious that the girl was Captain America's.
"Okay," Tony called over the noise level. "This is Peter, my intern. We're helping him write a history paper, so he's staying over this weekend. Be nice. Peter, this is the rest of the family. The avengers you know. Beside Nat is Sirius her sort-of boyfriend. The redheads sandwiching Bruce are Fred and George. Remus and Phil are at the other end of the table."
"It's a lot of names," Harry told Peter as he and Draco carried food to the table. "Don't worry if you can't remember them all. And just to add to it, this is my brother Draco, Clint's husband." Peter looked between the two men fully confused making them laugh. "I'm adopted," Harry told him. "A couple of times over really. Help yourself, there is plenty more in the kitchen."
Peter had a moment of panic. He was sitting at the same table as the Avengers! Feeling a nudge, Peter turned and saw sergeant Barns holding out a bowl of potatoes. Accepting the bowl, Peter began filling his plate before passing the bowl to Dr. Stark. The passing of bowls and plates continued until Peter had a heaping pile of vegetables, ham, and salad. He was feeling a little self-conscious about the amount of food on his plate until he looked beside him. Barnes had two plates piled high, and the captain had three.
Seeing Peter's look Tony laughed. "Yeah, those two can really pack away the food. The terrifying part is that Jamie is slowly catching up to them in the food department. I dread to see what this one will be like when she gets bigger."
As if sensing Peter's discomfort, the family kept themselves under control, for the most part. Peter started to relax as dinner passed and by the time Harry brought out dessert he was laughing along with the others. After dessert was done the family broke up into smaller groups. Some returned to their floors while the others headed to the living room. Peter stayed close to Dr. Stark, joining the other man on the couch, finding himself once again between his two heroes.
Bucky continued telling stories of his time at basic and his time during the war before Steve had rescued him from HYDRA. Eventually, Jamie, who had cuddled up on Peter's lap fell asleep and Steve had leaned over to pick his son up. "We'll take this koala to bed now. Don't stay up too late listening to Bucky, you have all weekend, Peter. Good night."
"Night," Peter mumbled still a bit in shock. He was still trying to get used to the idea of Dr. Stark wanting him for his intern but having dinner with the Avengers and being invited to spend the weekend was something else. After another couple of hours, Peter began to feel the late night along with the shock of the day catch up with him and he cuddled up against a warm body.
Bucky smiled at his husband when Peter slumped against Tony. "We should get him to bed." Standing, Bucky reached down and picked the boy up and was horrified at just how light he was. There was no way a teenager should be this light, even if he was a super-soldier. Tony led the way to the elevator that Jarvis had waiting for them and led the way through the penthouse to the room they had set aside for guests, pulling the blankets down so Bucky could set the sleeping boy down. Reaching down, Tony took off Peter's shoes while Bucky removed his glasses.
The pair tucked Peter in then headed for their room. "We need to get him away from whatever place he is living Doll," Bucky told his husband. "He's far too light for his age. It reminds me so much of when Harry first came to live with Stevie and that's not good."
"I know," Tony ran his fingers through Bucky's hair trying to comfort his husband. "We'll get him out as soon as we can. Until then we will look after him as best we can."
So first off, no Peter does not have any spider-powers yet. Yes, he will be getting them at some point and probably will be hiding it from the Avengers. Just have to wait and see what comes up...I know I'm excited to see what happens, cause as of right now, I have no idea.
Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.