Chapter Eight: Fine Print

"You must be Peter."

If one thing has become abundantly clear to Peter during his short time in this world it's that: Aunt May was so right.

Upon Homelander's pointed, barely there nudge in his side, Peter quickly blurts. "Yes…?"

The blonde woman frowns at him from across her desk, fingers drumming a pattern along the tabletop as she scans his person. She doesn't seem very happy to see them and Peter finds that he can entirely sympathize with her opinion, not that Homelander seems to notice.

"Peter Parker, Madelyn." Homelander is grinning broadly down at him, patting his loose hold on his shoulder before dropping it entirely. The second they had entered the room the man's entire demeanor had shifted, like a mask had slid down over his face, a secret identity of Homelander's own.

Peter isn't sure what he prefers more: The honesty of Homelander's blank expressions or the forced extremes apparently burying them. "This is Madelyn Stillwell, Peter. She's your new agent, of sorts."

Peter nods, unsure under the man's expectant stare. "Uh… Yes?"

Homelander pauses, seemingly pushing down a sudden grin at his response before he dramatically sighs, patting Peter on the shoulder again absently before spinning on his heel with his arms held loosely behind his back in that soldier pose he's fond of.

Madelyn's office is sleek and modern, the warm glow light of the lamps a misconception of comfort. Peter is starting to wonder if that is just a facet of every room Homelander walks into.

"Well?" Homelander peaks over his shoulder after a moment of dragging silence, his pleased smile splitting into a full on grin as he glances back and forth between the both of them. Dropping the pretense, he spins back around to face them again, completely satisfied. "Did I do good, or what?"

Click. Click. Click. Click. Peter turns to fully observe the emotional war fighting on his new 'agent's' face all of a sudden, her expression flickering from seemingly genuine unease, knowing and concern. Knowing.

The incessant tapping of her nail on the wood comes to a sudden still as Peter daringly makes eye contact, morbidly curious to see what she's got to say. He's been going off of a lot of assumptions about this place and that is never a solid foundation for problem solving so, maybe, hopefully, this woman will be able to urge Homelander to explain a little more than cryptic exclamations and empty hand gestures.

Clearly the man holds some form of respect for this woman, more so than Peter's seen him have for anyone else so far at the very least, and she doesn't look scared at all…

Homelander scrunches his shoulders up a bit in an overexaggerated shrug, eyes bunched with humor as he waves a hand out purposefully modestly as he breaks the weighted silence once more, almost seeming unable to bear it. "Naaw, Okay, okay, you're right, what am I even saying, there's no need for me to be so modest. It's more like I hit this out of the fucking ballpark, I know. Petey here is a nat-ur-al, just wait until you see him work his magic, Madelyn. Those suckers are going to eat his shit right up and thank us for it."

"Oh, I've seen the clips." Madelyn says eventually, neutrally as she gets up from her chair with purpose, avoiding Peter's questioning stare. Her hand drags along the desk as she rounds it casually, intent gaze only for Homelander, seemingly searching for something unidentifiable in his eyes as they look over her. A conscience, maybe… Hopefully… "Homelander…. I- I'm sorry, but the- The Dawn of The Seven has already been fully set in position, with Starlight-"

Homelander's brow rises. "Wow. You're really fighting this, huh? But don't worry! Peter isn't, replacing Starlight, or anything. Christ no, no, Starlight is still a part of The Seven. I mean, with those points of hers already? Fucking indisputable. She and her religious crap are the only things keeping us above the water right now." Homelander dismisses with a tightly wound chuckle as the woman pauses in her approach, his alert, still blue gaze drinking in her every movement and possible rebuttal like a lion preparing to pounce. "No, I have a different role entirely in mind for Petey over here. 'Sides, the kid wouldn't have it any other way! And he is just dying to- To get out there! Isn't that right bud?"

The thing is, Peter has a plan brewing, of sorts. A not so er- legal, at first, plan, heavily relying a bit more on the if's and maybe's than he'd prefer right now. But a plan nonetheless.

And the first step of that sort of plan sort of entirely hinges on Homelander somehow trusting him enough to leave him alone. Then, maybe, he can get access to one of the Vought computers, and well…

Taking a calming, resolving breath, Peter straightens his shoulders, willing the nerves to wither and frail away. There's no more opportunities for hesitation anymore. "Yes."

I will find my way back home.

Homelander sends him a sharp, considering glance, lips pursing into an unreadable smile as Madelyn sighs, as if she had been expecting that reply. Peter stares. "I'm afraid it's not as simple as that."

"Oh, I think you'll find it is." Homelander bites out at her rebuttal, narrowing his eyes suspiciously and tilting his head.

Hesitancy seems to spark in the woman, but it does not deter her in the slightest. "And just who approved of this, exactly?"

"Why, the boys up on 82, who else?" Homelander's jaw stretches, eyes flicking over Madelyn as she loses some of the fight in her stance at his terse reply. "Read over the contract Madelyn- Don't- I don't care. What's done is done, and nothing you can say, or do, will change that. And, I mean, I'm sure you can just imagine the possible blow back from legal if they were to, I don't know, come to the realization that you're trying to break a Vought approved contract before the ink has even dried. Yikers." Somehow Peter knows that Homelander hasn't just been talking to Madelyn this whole spiel as the man makes pointed eye contact.

"Peter is a part of The Seven now, well, sort of. As a wise man once said, 'you'll see'." Homelander cranes his head as if to roll out the tension with an empty smile, before it drops entirely. "Now, I'm sorry Madelyn, but you'll have to excuse us. Gotta show Peter the ropes if he has any hopes of surviving tomorrow. Big things are ahead of us, I can tell you that much."

"What are you talking about?" Madelyn draws back a bit as she crosses her arms tightly, seemingly both defeated and reluctantly intrigued as she glances back towards Peter, subtly forgotten. "You can't expect him to-"

"Contract, Madelyn. It literally explains everything." Peter can feel his shoulders tense at that, having had a sneaky suspicion of such lingering in the back of his mind until the outright confirmation now. There's a reason why he doesn't want me to read it, after all. Which isn't foreboding at all to think about, or anything, nah.

"This-!" Madelyn gusts out a breath after a tense pause, arms dropping loudly. She seems unsure whether to fully vocalize her frustrations and it makes sense considering Peter's also privy to Homelander's unimpressed stare right now, seemingly ready and waiting to smother any possible arguments about to come his way.

Peter has no idea about 'the boys' 'up on 82,' or how much weight the power they seemingly hold in Vought has, or if that even matters, because it really seems like Homelander's running the whole show around here, not them, or this Madelyn chick. Man, and isn't that thought just comforting?

"This is unfair, Homelander. And you know that. How could you keep something like this from me?"

"Oh, we are not going to go down that particular road tonight. That is, unless you want to?"

Madelyn sighs cuttingly at Homelander's overt goading, dissatisfied but she still somehow manages to give Peter a tremulous, but seemingly genuine smile. It surprises him a little bit. She's really not scared. "You know what? You're right. I'm sorry Peter, look at us, arguing like children in front of the actual kid."

Homelander narrows his eyes as the woman looks back at him pointedly, puffing up. "I wouldn't say-"

"No, you wouldn't." She says with a laborious sigh, almost fondly admonishing. Peter can't fully work out the context of their relationship and he can feel the jitters building in his nerves the longer he ignores his gut instincts. It all appears airy on the surface, sure, but he just can't ignore that undercurrent of wait. "Fine. I'll read the contract and then we'll talk, okay? Now, it's like you said, there is still a lot left to handle before tomorrow, so if you two don't mind…"

It strikes Peter rather obviously then. He has been wondering about Homelander's true motives since their first explosive meeting, the man so filled with a dangerous rage that clearly had nothing to do with Peter at all, teetering the edge of something much darker and unreachable. But Homelander's a charmer for the cameras and Peter sees that face now, an almost exact replica of the smile he had seen plastered on the articles he had read and it's suddenly more telling than any of the blank expressions and red hued threats.

Peter knows the saying, has seen the living proof, crushing his windpipe as the universes turned to dust. That absolute power corrupts absolutely and Homelander, well-

He might be right. Peter purses his lip at his thoughts because while it's not a particularly nice thought to have, Homelander is probably right. He just might be the only man ruling the sky in this universe, and he's rewarded for it.

And that is bound to cross some mental wires, for sure. And that makes it all make a little more sense then it probably should, given how Peter's drawing assumptions again with very little information and he really shouldn't be, but the sudden insight in the situation is comforting enough for him to want to cling to it a little bit longer, however theoretical it may be. Nothing is as black and white as you first assume, underoos. Reasons aren't always logical.

"Head out of the clouds, sport." Homelander brings him out of his thoughts without much inflection in his tone, striding towards the door with purpose when Peter only looks at him tentatively. "Let's roll."

Homelander sends him a look out of the corner of his eye as Peter steps out into the hallway beside the man, rooted in place as the door clicks shut. "Nice, right?"

Uh- "Yes-"

"Shut up." Peter does, baffled, a small pit of annoyance simmering at the harsh interruption, much to his immediate alarm, consequently snuffing it out like a stomped blaze before it could even dare to kindle. That's a dangerous road to start going down…

"You know, Peter, I can see really far, hear really, really far, go anywhere at the snap," Peter can feel his blood pressure rise despite himself, the hummingbird hammer of his heart pushing against his ribcage, a motor revving to life violently as he lowers himself slightly in case he needs to- "...of a finger. Jesus, I'm The fucking Homelander, for crying out loud! So, you're probably wondering why I'm so invested in a little fly like you, would I presume correctly?"

"...Yes-"

"Oh- Would you shut the fuck up already?" Homelander's eyes roll sharply in annoyance as he huffs, a stiff frown carving his expression as he waves out a hand flippantly. "Just- fucking speak, forget what I said before, whatever, just- Take an educated guess. Go on, I want to see what that smart little brain of yours can concoct up Peter. I'm curious."

Peter feels his gaze narrow before he can stop himself, anticipation crawling through his veins. His muscles coil tight, ready to spring because the last time he heard that tone a laser brushed his neck the next. "You- You're kidding?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" The man levels him with the most frank expression yet, leaning a bit back as if the minute breathing room would speed up the process of-

What? What is happening right now, exactly? Is he just trying to pick a fight? What is Homelander looking for?

"That's a bit of ah, loaded question there, man, I mean…" Peter shakes his head slowly, skeptically. He can just imagine the few scenarios where he tells Homelander what he's actually thinking, how insignificant all this power struggle really is in the grand scheme of things considering Peter doesn't plan on sticking around much longer, not if he can help it. Or maybe that's just what Peter's hoping for, at this point, it's hard to tell.

"Money…? I guess…?"

Homelander's lip quirks up, faint and it's gone. It seems like the only genuine emotion Peter can inspire out of the man is surprise and anger, and he can't quite tell which one is winning at this moment. "Money, now who's kidding? I don't need any money, that should be readily fucking apparent, no, what I need, is for you, to repair The Seven's reputation to its former glory." Homelander leans down, squinting his eyes violently red as if it's nothing and it just might be to the man. Might be nothing to fry people in two, watch their skin bubble and disintegrate under his eye. That seemingly bottomless anger is the only thing Homelander seems to resonate so unfalteringly with.

"Are you starting to catch up? It's quite simple, really. You fucked the pooch without any lube, and that shit simply does not fly around here kiddo. So, you, and your, little, web tricks, and quips and flips, are going to repair what's been broken, and maybe even then some, consider it interest- The interest- The only reason why I haven't fried you like the stupid fucking bug you are."

Peter's focus sharpens, spidey tingles scattering across his skin like a live wire but Homelander only scoffs, rolling his eyes blue as he steps around Peter in the hallway to start walking. "Oh enough of the dramatics already, mush, kid, you've got a lot of homework to catch up on, we'll meet the rest of the team later, get you all acquainted and such."

Peter purses his lips, Billy's very similar warning suddenly lapping in his ear as a snark, mocking reminder. "Perhaps even mad enough to fry a bug or two-"

I wonder what their history is… It seems like Homelander leaves startling impressions with every person he meets because not once has Peter seen the man interact with someone, well, normally. Every sentence feels like a landmine with this guy, or maybe that's just him… It suddenly hits Peter just how exhausted he is.

"You know, I was a lot like you when I was younger."

Peter blinks as he falls into step with Homelander, silently moving to the man's side as he's ushered forward with an impatient flapping of Homelander's hand. It's really hard to imagine them being alike at all. The man narrows his gaze at him, but doesn't seem particularly upset as he stays quiet, more so indifferent. "Naive. Hopeful. Trying to save any sorry bum who looks at me twice, but, you see, the truth is Peter, not everybody deserves saving."

Noticing his hesitancy, Homelander smiles sympathetically, arms loosely clasped behind himself as they stroll down the hall. "It's alright, I get it, you still have the stars in your eyes. It took me a long time to learn that one too, but I did learn, and so will you. Now before anything else, I need you to level with me Peter, is there anybody who's going to come looking for you? You have five- Three seconds."

"I-"

"One." The both of them have stopped walking, at an impasse in the hallway as the world fades into unimportance. Heart bumping, thoughts whirring, Aunt May's tinkling laughter rings in his ears. Portal Baddy, the Avengers, Billy knows his name-

"Two."

"Yes!"

"Okay… Who?" Peter swallows, fidgeting with his hands and Homelander glares. "I am really about to lose all of my patience."

"There's… This guy, that um, really doesn't like me…" Okay, breathe Peter, you can do this. He sucks in a deep, calming breath, wishes he could hold on to the feeling for longer than a couple seconds. "I don't know his deal or his name I-I was just hanging around Brooklyn like usual before this-this guy started attacking and now I'm here and I am, like, so confused man-"

"Peter." Peter sucks in another quick, deep breath as Homelander laughs, lacking its usual gusto by a wide margin. "Okay, I guess I should have expected as much… Well?"

"Well… I think… He might um…"

"Oh just spit it out already-"

Taking a breath, because wow, there are just so, so many ways this can go wrong- "I think he works here."

Homelander makes a face, clearly perturbed by the thought for some reason, but once again, there comes an obvious excitement at the news. He's impressed. "You think? Just, how many people- no, supes- Have you fought before, anyway, kid? What, you got some, vendetta, against Vought or something?"

While his tone remains lighthearted, it's cusping on something far more dangerous as Homelander almost prowls forward at a pace, shoulders hunching inwards almost as if to tower over Peter.

"A bone to pick? I just, don't get it, why's it that a young man, such as yourself, with a bright, squeaky clean future ahead of them, throwing it all away to get into fights with the real heroes, wasting our time having to clean up your inconsequential, little fucking complexes and gag for attention."

"Why has nobody come looking for you, huh, Peter Parker? That wasn't even your real name, was it?"

"What? No, that's… My name is Peter Parker, it's- It's because I don't have anybody here…" Peter has to look away, it's almost too much being vulnerable like this because Homelander doesn't deserve this from him right now, shouldn't be allowed to pry this part of him out, but it just so happens that the truth will set him free…

May always had complained that Tony was rubbing off on him more than she'd like, but the amused, little smile she always had on her face when she said it did kind of dwindle the effect over time. The distant memory spurs him forward with a puckering burn in his veins he hasn't felt since-

In.

"Hmm. So, what, does he scare you or something, bud? Think you can't take him?"

Out.

Peter meets Homelander's eye, spine ramrod, feeling like he needs to prove something, just not entirely sure what. The musk of the battlefield last month is an easy one to remember nonetheless, sometimes, he can't help but do nothing but. Never forget. "No."

Despite it all Peter likes to dream, dream of a future where Aunt May scolds him about his Spider-Man thing with an amused, little smile instead of underlining terror. Pepper and Morgan and Happy and just about everyone cry less, a dream where he doesn't forget for a different reason, a better reason, if even for longer than fleeting moments.

Clearly he is far, far off from making this dream a reality, but damn it all if he isn't going to at least try. His PTSD wasn't nearly this bad back home, he was getting better, he could more often than not work through his attacks, even! Especially in battle, because, duh, people are so much more important man, it's not difficult to compartmentalize when lives are on the line but here he keeps, just-

Failing.

Well, Peter has done enough failing, he feels like he's been failing for far too long now and this will not- Can Not- Just be another one added onto the list. In the face of fear and self preservation, it can be almost too easy sometimes to not think and just move. But when he moves without thinking it's so much harder for him to remember the one thing he should above all else-

What is really important?

Can he… Really go back home now with a free conscience, knowing just what he's going to be leaving behind?

As Homelander smiles emphatically, Peter can't help but correct himself with a swallow. Just who I'd be leaving behind.