^^I did another drawing, what do you think?

Requested by multiple people!! This kinda goes through how the different Rogues/Avengers connect with Peter and what a proud dad Tony is. Hope you like it! (Forgive typos, as always!!)

A couple of days passed. The Avengers somehow got used to seeing Peter around. He'd leave for school in the mornings, go on patrol after his homework was done, and join them during meals. He seemed to fit right in.

The thing that was strange for the Rogues was Tony. He acted like a father to the boy, and it was so different from how he used to be.

For example: When Peter left for school, Pepper and Tony would make sure he had a good lunch (something about his metabolism) and wish him a good day.

When he left for patrol, Tony told him to stay safe and to call him if anything big happened so he could help.

During meals, Tony asked Peter about his day, and Peter would talk about all the things he'd done at school and the projects he was working on. He'd also talk about his friends Ned and MJ, and Tony loved to tease him about 'asking MJ out already'.

So yeah, it was strange. Strange for the Rogues to see Tony so different. But it wasn't a bad type of strange. It was... heartwarming

I'm the Queen of the castle...

Get down you dirty rascal

(gEt DowN)

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter greeted, stepping into the common area out of the elevator. He slid his backpack off of his shoulder and set it against the wall.

"You can call me Tony, y'know."

"I know," Peter said cheekily.

Natasha, who was on the couch, smirked to herself. She liked this kid a lot.

Tony smiled. "Lab night? We can watch a movie and work together on the suits."

A grin spread across Peter's face. "Sure, but we'll have to start at 8:00 instead of 7:00."

Tony's forehead creased. "Why's that?"

Peter smirked to himself. "That's when my date ends."

Tony's eyes shot open, and Natasha looked over her shoulder to see the interaction.

Teaaaa. I can get behind this.

"With MJ? MJ MJ??"

"Yeah, Tony. MJ MJ."

Tony suddenly had a grin to match Peter's. "Nice, Underoos!"

Natasha chuckled. And Peter, with his enhanced hearing, looked over at her.

"Oh, hi, Miss Romanoff! I forgot you were here..."

Natasha smiled at him a bit. "Good job, fellow spider."

"Thanks..." Peter replied, a little red.

"Well," Tony intervened, "get ready, then!"

Peter nodded. "Right."

He ran across the room to the hall leading to his bedroom, excitedly running up the wall and around the corner.

"No shoes on the walls!" Tony yelled.

"Sorry!" Peter's muffled voice sounded.

"Wow, Stark. At first, I was wondering how you could possibly be a father. But I see it now." Natasha stood up from the couch and walked over to Tony.

Tony laughed a little, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I didn't peg myself for the type, either. But here we are."

"Yeah," Natasha smiled, turning to go to her room, "it suits you."

She turned the corner and passed by Peter's room, then backtracked when she saw Peter laying facedown in his floor.

"You okay there, kid?" she asked, a little concerned.

"My people skills are a joke to society," the teen stated blatantly, still unmoving.

Natasha was now fully intrigued and walked in slowly, her boots making an echoing sound on the light wooden floors. "Please elaborate."

Peter flopped over, now staring at the ceiling. "I'm going on a date but I don't know how to talk to her."

Nat nodded. "Just ask her about herself, be polite, no crude or dark humor, that kind of stuff."

Peter laughed a little. "You don't know MJ.  Dark humor is kind of her thing."

"Well," the assassin spoke slowly and articulately, "she already likes you, or is at least interested. Otherwise she wouldn't have said yes. So just... don't panic. She probably feels exactly like you right now, y'know?"

Peter thought on those words for a moment.

" ...yeah, you're probably right."

"I'm Black Widow, of course I am," Nat joked.

Peter sighed, then groaned. "Ugh, I have no idea how to dress for these things. YouTube shall save me," he said, sitting up.

Natasha could have left, yes, but something about Peter's disposition made her feel like she had to help him... protect him, even?

"Or," she said, "I can help you."

Peter turned to look at her, bewildered. "Seriously?"

Nat shrugged. "Why not?"

And so they worked. And talked. And laughed.

Peter made Natasha laugh, which he was very proud of.

And, in a strange way, his family felt a little bit bigger.

•~•Sometimes I wish I had real eyebrows•~•

When Peter returned from his date that night, he flopped down onto the couch, grinning.

Tony, who was on his phone on the armchair, looked up. "Good night, I presume?"

"Is it too early to say I'm kind of in love, or is that always a viable option?"

That got a fond look out of the billionaire. "Glad you enjoyed it, Pete."

"I did," Peter said softly, standing up again. "Well, I'm gonna get ready, then."

Tony looked up at him. "Lab night?"

Peter nodded curtly, walking over to the fridge to grab some food.

At that moment, Bruce walked in from the hall to sit on the couch, smiling and waving at Tony. He was holding a mug of steaming tea and had his glasses sitting crookedly one his nose.

"Hey, there," Tony greeted his friend, who was messy-haired and sleepy-looking.

"Hey, Tony," he yawned, sitting down.

"You work all day again?"

Bruce laughed. "You know me."

A good thirty seconds of comfortable silence passed before a sharp and sudded "Holy shit!" was gasped out from the entry of the kitchen area.

Bruce and Tony looked over to see Peter, holding a giant bag of Doritos, staring at Bruce with a starstruck expression.

Bruce had come back the day before the Rogues, and he tended to lock himself away a lot. It wasn't exactly his intention to be a shut-in, but he was just so happy to he himself after being Hulk for so long, he took some time to enjoy it.

So, basically, Peter hadn't met Bruce yet.

"Oh, Peter, meet Bruce."

Peter set his chip bag on the countertop. "Oh my heck, I can't process this right now."

"Hey," Bruce said shyly, "you're Spider-Man, right? And your name is Peter?"

Peter nodded, about to explode. "I-I'm such a big fan, I can't even begin to explain—I'm just—I'm talking a lot, I'm sorry."

Bruce laughed a little bit. "You a big Hulk lover?"

Peter creased his eyebrows as Tony watched, deeply amused.

"Hulk?" Peter questioned. "No— I mean, Hulk's fine, I guess, but who needs him when you've got Bruce Banner??"

Peter began rambling. "I've read all your books, like, eleven times. And your essays. I love your work on Gamma Radiation, I even did a science project on it. We have, like, four posters of you in my science room! It's such an honor to meet you," he said excitedly.

And suddenly, Bruce lit up.

"Wow... it's not often I meet someone who, y'know, likes my work..."

"How??" Peter asked, still ecstatic. "You're literally one fo my heroes, you're one of the main reasons I got into science!"

Bruce was smiling, feeling a sense of pride in his work. "Thank you, that's really nice to hear, actually."

Tony spoke up. "Y'know, Bruce is gonna be around for a while, kid. You too can always work in one of the labs together if you feel up to it."

Peter, a little embarrassed at Tony's proposal, nodded shyly. "Sure."

Bruce smiled and kept sipping his chamomile.

He liked this kid a lot.

I THINK YOUR PANTS LOOK HOT-

Peter was going at his punching bag in the training room ruthlessly. With every hit, the bag swung violently in the other direction.

He'd gotten a 90% on his math exam.

He'd always been so good at math. How could he have gotten a 90? How??

As he was punching and kicking his frustration away, he sensed someone else's presence in the room, but he didn't bother to look. He was focused, in the zone.

"Steve, that you?" a feminine voice sounded. It wasn't Nat, though, it was younger and more delicate.

"No," Peter grunted out, kicking the bag again, his body twisting sideways.

"Oh, who, then?"

"It's,"—punch— "Peter."

"Oh," the voice said, a hint of surprise in its tone.

Footsteps nearing Peter revealed that it was Wanda, in sweats and a hoodie (me rn no joke lol).

Peter stopped punching, worn out and giving the bag only faltering hits by now.

Wanda giggled a tiny bit. "I thought you were Steve, you were making the bag swing," she commented, her accent apparent but not overbearing.

Peter smiled a tiny bit, wiping his forehead and grabbing his water bottle. "Yeah, just letting out some energy."

Wanda was silent for a moment. "So, you're Spider-Man, right?"

"Yeah," Peter said simply, walking a few steps to the side to sit on the bench by the wall.

Wanda nodded. "You're very impressive, you know. What you do is honorable."

Peter looked up at her, surprised that she was speaking sentiment. "Oh... thank you. You too."

She chuckled. "I'm not quite as honorable. But you're brave. Tony talks about it a lot, he admires you. Because you do good for your people and never stop helping."

Peter felt himself smiling. He did have a lot to be proud of, didn't he?

"Thank you, Ms. Maximoff. And I think you're cool, too. You can move stuff with your mind, that's awesome."

Wanda picked up the water bottle with her ability and gave it a little flip before setting it back down. "It's pretty fun, I suppose."

Peter nodded, not really sure how the conversation would end. Was he supposed to say something?

Might as well do something bold...

"You wanna make a TikTok with me?"

I'm too tired to think of a good line break. You do it.

A few days later, Peter was doing his history assignment at the table. It was almost funny, seeing as it was on WWII and he lived in the same building as two guys who served during the time.

Part of him wanted to ask them some questions, but that was weird, right? To ask about that?

And just then, almost like the heavens were listening in, James Buchanan Barnes walked in.

Unlike the other Rogues, he hadn't been on the run for the last two years. He'd been in Wakanda, getting the help he needed. He'd gotten the programming permanently removed, he'd been given therapy, and he'd even been given a job to help him feel useful and adapt to doing more 'normal' things.

And now he was in Stark Tower, in the same living area Peter was in.

He didn't stop walking upon his descent into the room. He went straight to the fridge.

His metal arm caught Peter's attention. Peter, being a robotics enthusiast himself, couldn't help but be fascinated. It wasn't the same arm he had in Germany, this one had some gold on it and no red star. And the way it moved... wow.

It moved so well, too. Like a real arm! It was precise in its functions and if you put a sleeve over it, you wouldn't be able to tell it wasn't real.

Peter, being mesmerized by the electronic limb, didn't notice Bucky catching him staring.

"You like it?" Bucky asked curiously.

Peter snapped out of his daze. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just... looking." He blushed a pinkish shade. "Yeah, I do. It's really cool."

Bucky nodded and smiled a timid smile, going over to the table Peter sat at to eat his food, a slice of leftover expensive pizza Tony bought the night before on his date with Pepper.

"The Wakandan tech team built it," Bucky informed the teenager across from him as he sat down. "I thought it was pretty awesome. I've always been a bit of a nerd when it comes to high-tech stuff. Flying cars and all that."

Peter smiled, actually already liking Bucky. He was very stoic around the team, but more verbose around individuals.

It was probably the Bucky that Steve wanted everyone to see.

"Me too," Peter told him, looking up more. "I used to build computers and stuff from things I found in the trash before I met Tony. Now I make cooler stuff, I love it."

"You build your webshooters?"

"Yeah, I did. Mechanics and robotics are some of my favorite things."

Bucky grinned. "Yeah, I have no clue how this thing works," he remarked, lifting his left elbow. "But it works great. I can feel things. Not in the way a normal hand would, but I can, y'know, sense when I'm touching things. Just not the sensations like soft or rough."

"Wow," Peter looked at it again, whimsified.

Bucky looked over at Peter's side of the table. "Whatcha working' on?"

Peter smiled shyly. "History project. World War II, actually."

"Nice," Bucky remarked, actually sounding excited about it. "Fun Fact: punching a Nazi is one of the best feelings in the entire world."

Peter laughed a violent, short laugh before composing himself.

"So" Bucky continued, "what're you doing it on, like, specifically?"

For a moment, Peter was surprised. Then it occurred to him that of course he's interested, he wants to know how people talk about the time he grew up in. Duh.

"Conditions during the war, how civilians lived, and soldier's homes. That's what I'm supposed to be studying, anyway. But I'm dead tired."

Bucky nodded, suddenly standing up and circling the table to see the poster.

"Can I help?"

Peter's expression melted into confusion. "Seriously? I mean, you can, but why?"

Bucky tilted his head. "I have binged four Netflix shows, a ton of music, and slept for the last week. I kinda need something else to do. Besides, primary sources are better than Wikipedia."

Peter nodded. "Good point. You can pull up a chair."

Bucky smiled and did so, sitting down. And they worked.

They next hour or so was spent having miscellaneous conversations and Bucky laughing at old pictures of he and Steve.

"Ew, Banana Cream Twinkies?"

"Yeah."

"I kinda want one, now."

I'm listening to Dear Evan Hansen and I'm about to cry

Steve walked into the common room around 8:00 pm to find his best friend and Peter cackling, the teen already on the floor.

Bucky had tears in his eyes and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Steve smiled softly. "You two okay?"

Bucky tried to answer, but his attempts were futile. All he could manage was a few words. "You—you had the-" and he kept laughing.

Peter was regaining a bit of his composure, getting back on his chair and taking rushed breaths.

"What?" Steve made his way to the table, trying to decipher the situation.

"Just forget it," Bucky laughed, finally able to breathe properly.

Steve shrugged, shaking his head a tiny bit. "What are you two up to, anyway?"

"History project," Peter informed him, eyes red.

"'Bout the war, Stevie. Thought I'd help."

"Ah," Steve nodded. "Well, Nat is taking me to the mall, claims my wardrobe is boring. I thought I'd invite you."

"Oh," Bucky said. "Sure, we're pretty much done."

"Yeah," Peter conformed.

"You can come, too, Queens. If you're interested."

"Peter, come with us!" Nat called from the hall. "Wanda's gonna be there, too!"

Peter smiled at her excitable tone. "Okay, then. Lemme tell Pepper."

Okay my Spotify playlist switched to Hamilton and now I'm HYPED

The mall. What a place.

It amused Peter how the others were dressed. Obviously it was for privacy reasons, but they all had hats and/or glasses. Bucky had gloves and a Dean Winchester-style jacket on, too. Wanda had her hair up in a bun, even!

Sometimes, not having your identity out was nice. Peter could just be... Peter.

Not that that was completely safe, either.

You see, Peter didn't realize that some particular people were at the mall at that same time...

What would happen if Pinocchio said "My nose will now grow"?

They were in a store, Peter had lost track of which one, at this point, and Steve came out of the dressing room for the 1000th time.

Natasha and Wanda looked at the pair of Khakis he was wearing and tilted their heads.

"I dunno, thoughts?" Nat asked the other girl.

Wanda shrugged. "Hard to tell. Bucky, what do you think?"

Wanda discreetly reached out to touch the man's arm, wanting to know what he was actually thinking. (He was usually pretty neutral when he spoke aloud.)

But all Bucky's thoughts read was:

His ass looks great in those.

Wanda pulled back her hand and suppressed a snort, grinning.

"I dunno," Bucky said, acting chill. "They look fine, I guess. It's really up to Steve."

Peter was keeping quiet, just leaning back on a store bench and watching the heroes interact. They were pretty good entertainment, actually.

But, at one point, he decided watching Captain America try on clothes was only fun to a certain extent, and he spoke up to notify the team that he was gonna wander around.

"Hey, guys, I'm gonna check out the store a tiny bit, I'll be close by."

"Alright," Wanda said, shooting him a quick smiling glance.

Peter nodded and sprinted out of the changing area.

The store was a basic mall store. It had t-shirts and pants and dresses, all the things you'd expect. But something that caught his eye was a bright red shirt with a very familiar spider logo on it.

It always gave him a little jolt of pride when he saw Spider-Man themed clothes or the logo on everyday items. Like Spider-Man was really making an imprint on the history books.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a rough tap on the shoulder that, honestly, he sat coming. His senses were buzzing in annoyance, meaning it could be only one person.

Flash.

Peter sighed and turned around, facing the other boy, who had a friend by his side.

"Sup, dickwad? Why you at the mall? Looking at stuff you can't afford?"

Peter's brows furrowed. "Look, I really don't want any trouble. I'm just here to mind my own business, kay?"

Flash raised a brow. "You kidding? This is fantastic! This time there are no dumbass adults to protect you."

The other boy with Flash, who's name Peter didn't know, snickered.

"Dude, I'm just gonna go, we can avoid this."

"Why would I want to do that, though? You scared?" Flash sneered.

"No, I-"

Peter saw Flash going to grab his shirt, but he couldn't fight him here, same reason as he couldn't fight him at school.

Flash backed Peter up against one of the mirrors in the store, his friend holding Peter's wrists down to the glass.

Meanwhile in the dressing rooms...

Wanda's head perked up.

"Guys..."

"Hm?" Nat looked over her shoulder to look at Wanda.

The brunette furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side. "Something's wrong."

Bucky, figuring her powers must've tapped into something, stood up. "Where? Here?"

"Maybe", Wanda sighed.

It was then that Steve came out of the dressing room again. "Something wrong, guys? I heard yo-"

"Let's go check," Nat interrupted, walking out of the changing area. The others followed close behind.

Back in the shopping area

Peter's face was now pushed up against the glass, Flash and his friend taunting him. Peter wasn't hurt, just frustrated and embarrassed. Why him?

"Bet you wish you had your mom here, huh? Wish she'd save you. But you don't. You don't even have a mom, from what I can tell."

"Maybe not, but he's got something better."

Flash looked up in the mirror to see a group of strangely well built and familiar looking- oh, shit.

The Rogues.

Peter saw them and was both relieved and surprised. They'd come to back him up?

Flash let go and stumbled clumsily away, his accomplice by his side.

"Not wise, kid," Nat said approaching slowly.

"Cap, here, doesn't like bullies," Bucky remarked.

"So you better never lay a finger on Peter again, because we'll find you. I swear it."

The color drained from the bully's face.

Natasha stepped a little closer, and suddenly, Flash nodded and ran off, the other boy close behind.

The Rogues quickly turned back to the teen hero and gave him a look.

"So... why didn't you fight him off, exactly?" Steve asked Peter, genuinely confused.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's complicated..."

I'm tired but I'm gonna finish writing this anyway

"Stark," Steve said upon entering Tony's lab.

Tony looked up at the soldier. "Yeah?"

Steve smiled and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You've got one hell of a kid."

UwU

With time, the team as a whole only grew closer with Peter. They became like the family he never had. Game nights, dinner, movies, things families did, aside from the crime fighting.

Nat became sort of like another mother, perhaps an aunt.

Wanda treated Peter like a little brother, while Steve was like a mentor.

And Bucky? Bucky was more of a goofball best friend than Peter had thought he'd be. But he was.

Sure, there were struggles, arguments, the usual. But at the end of the day, they had each other's backs.

And all was well.
**********
Tag yourself:

I'm 100% Bucket Bornes

Yayyyy!

I hope you all had a fantastic New Years, and I hope this next decade treats you well. Remember, you're all amazing and lived, and I'm looking forward to what's to come (oNLy PosiTivE ViBeS fOr mE).

All my love and uwus!

-Lizzie

**********

January 1st, 2020