**Inspired by the art above bc it looks a little like Peter and then Tony and Steve and I'm crying. So this is obviously semi-dark!Peter, but its so good, I swear! TW: sexual assault (it isn't Peter) so please please please don't read if that's a sensitive topic to you. Enjoy!**

Peter hated the way his stupid suit got sticky and hot and made him itch when it got too heavy with blood, so the first thing he did when he left his old line of work was change his uniform. HYDRA was big on functionality and tough materials, but the Avengers... they were so much more relaxed.

"Really, Pete?" Tony watched as the teen slipped out of his room, dressed in a pair of soft, cotton shorts and a sweater. "That's the winner?" It was the fourth times the teen had worn that particular outfit this week alone.

Peter shrugged. It wasn't exactly his favorite outfit, but the sweater was soft and the shorts were cool and breezy. It looked a little like a private school uniform, but he didn't care. It's not like he ever went to any school of any kind. HYDRA kept a tight leash on their experiments.

"You said I can pick my outfits from now on."

Tony just grumbled something under his breath about Peter finally bringing some color to his wardrobe.

The teen wandered through the kitchen, seemingly lost. It was still new - being free to do whatever he wanted. Ever since The Avengers had recovered Peter from a HYDRA base they busted, ever since Tony had adopted him, Peter was trying to adjust to the new lifestyle the team had provided him. He finally grabbed a soda from the fridge and popped the tab.

"Is that a good choice for breakfast?" Tony asked.

Peter shrugged again. He never claimed to make good choices now that he was making his own choices.

The afternoon was warm and slow, full of sleepy naps and Peter leaned up against the couch and Tony relaxed against the arm of the couch. They watched a movie for a bit, then worked a bit on Peter's school work. Having missed out on traditional school, Peter was both the smartest kid Tony knew, and the most uneducated. Peter could speak 13 different languages, stalk silently through any scenery, hit a target from half a mile away, and pilot a plane, but he couldn't tell you anything about algebra or the historical impacts of World War 2.

Peter's mind was analytical and machine-like. He tore through math and science like it was a game, but things like writing and history were hard for him. There wasn't one right answer. It was left too much to choice.

After a few hours of working through that, Peter and Tony settled back on the couch to watch some sit-com that had come on earlier. A rerun from the 90's. Peter appreciated the easy-going plot and simple jokes.

Steve burst through the penthouse doors, startling both Tony and Peter out of their lounging. "Meeting."

Peter wasn't supposed to be going to Avenger meetings, but he also wasn't supposed to be left unsupervised for now. Tony tried calling Pepper, but there wasn't any answer.

"Pepper's not picking up," the billionaire said, looking up at Steve and then glancing Peter's direction. "You can just fill me in later."

Steve shook his head. "This can't be filled in."

Tony furrowed his brow. "Is it anything to do with SHIELD? Or HYDRA? Or anything else that could be considered high profile?"

Steve shook his head again. "It's very high profile, but it's not like we can't tell Peter."

The teen pulled a face. "Oxymoron, there, moron."

"Peter," Tony warned. The teen huffed out an apology.

Steve led Tony and Peter out to the hall and down to the elevators. They headed down to the medical ward, which was unusual and instantly made Tony tense.

"Who got hurt?" he asked. Instead of answering, Steve just let the elevator doors slide open and Tony was greeted by an entire group of worried superheroes.

Tony was very good at taking charge, so he quickly ran through who was there and who wasn't. Natasha, Bucky, Clint. Steve. Bruce and Thor-

"Where's Wanda?"

Peter's eyes narrowed quickly. He and Wanda were quite close now. She was the only one who could get him to go to sleep when the nightmares got too intense to work through, or when he was starting to feel the effects of HYDRA's programming again. Through their time together, they had become close, almost like brother and sister. It was nice for Peter to have someone to care about and keep him grounded - it was nice for Wanda to have another brother to love.

"She's... hurt," Steve said quietly. He knew that Peter was close with the witch, and he was honestly worried he'd run off and make a bad decision.

Tony immediately tensed. He took a look around at the team, looking for anything that gave away clues. He knew that if it was something to do with a super villain or a HYDRA thing or- well. The point was, if it was a really bad guy who had put Wanda in the med bay, the team would give it away with their looks. No one had that steely gaze, no one looked like they were really gearing up for a big bust-up kind of mission, one where they'd be gone for days and infiltrating a highly guarded lair. It must have been something else then.

"What happened?" he asked.

Steve looked over at Bucky, who had been the one to pick Wanda up and get her to the med bay.

"I picked her up this morning. She was at a party last night and decided to stay over night there. She... someone hurt her while she was asleep. Someone took advantage of her."

Tony took a moment to catch up, his brain working to put the pieces together. Peter didn't need that time. He knew what happened as soon as Bucky said those few words.

"Who was it?"

Bucky looked over at Peter. "Her friend said that the only guy who stayed over night was some kid named James."

Peter nodded a little. He knew what had to happen now. "So who's going to go take care of him?"

Tony looked over with concerned eyes. "We're going to leave this to the police, kid."

"That won't do anything," Peter said unhappily. "We all know that these things get buried under paperwork and ignored and half-assed and forgo-

"Peter," Steve said to cut him off. "We have to think about this clearly. Wanda is one of the most loved and cared for heroes on the team, we love about her just as much as you do. And the public does! But we also need to be rational. We'll wait until Wanda gets out of here and we'll see what she wants to do."

Peter huffed and began to stalk back to the elevator. He was so done with these heroes, claiming that they were so thoughtful and worked for some sense of peace and justice. This wasn't justice. Waiting for the police to do nothing wasn't justice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony and Steve were mulling around the penthouse, waiting for Wanda to make a decision about police and wondering between themselves about where Peter had gotten to. Sometimes, the teen would take a whole afternoon to himself, so they weren't too concerned. Even left the Tower to wander the park or get some food at the little sandwich shop down the street, they knew he wasn't going to go bizerk and kill someone for looking at him funny, . It was one of the perks of his new found freedoms.

"After what happened to Wanda, I wouldn't be too surprised if he went for a walk. He told me a while ago that walks in the park made him feel normal. Like he was just some kid living in New York City taking a little stroll."

Steve laughed at that. Peter being some normal kid from the city was about as far from the truth as possible. "I just hope he's not blaming himself or something. He has that self-destructive streak."

Tony nodded. The elevator dinged open and they both looked over at the living room. Peter wandered in, a determined look in his eyes and his shoulders stiff. He was covered in blood from head to tow, some dripping down his face. The teen leaned against the door way between the kitchen and the living room, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Before either man could say anything, Peter gave a heaving sigh and looked up at them.

"I wished I lacked critical thinking skills," he started. "You guys seem so happy."

Giving a shrug, the teen pushed himself off the door frame and headed down the hall.

"Peter!" Tony found his voice and shook out of his stunned state. "Peter! Who's blood is that?"

"Wait, critical thinking skills? Are you insulting us?" Steve asked, following the teen down the hall.

Tony pushed past Steve's shoulders and raced down the hall faster. "Peter! Peter! Did you kill someone?"

Peter just shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Like I said." He turned back to the men behind him. "I wished I lacked critical thinking skills."