Chapter Text
True to his word, Peter leaves the tower before anyone else wakes up. He spoke hesitantly with the team at dinner and spent the rest of the night in his room. Nobody knocked on his door the rest of the evening, which is both entirely predictable and very much appreciated.
He heads back to his apartment in the early hours of the morning, foregoing a shower and brushing his teeth to burrow into his own sheets until he’s ready to face the world again. His home is tiny and in a sketchy part of the city, but it’s his . There are people who have it much worse than him.
Later, when the sun is much higher in the sky, Peter wakes up again. He stretches, yawns, and peels himself out of the bed. It’s Saturday, so he has no school, and in a stroke of pure luck, he’s not scheduled to work tonight. An entire day off only comes once in a blue moon these days, and Peter plans to take full advantage of it.
He trudges to the bathroom, running his tongue over his fuzzy teeth in disgust and picks up his toothbrush. He brushes slowly, staring at himself in the mirror. He looks awful . His cheeks are gaunt, his skin a sickly pale, and his dark circles could rival a raccoon’s. There’s a bruise marring his cheek where a brick hit his skin yesterday afternoon. It speaks a lot about his state of health that his healing factor hasn’t dealt with it yet.
Peter spends far too long in the shower, letting the lukewarm water soothe his aching muscles. His healing factor may work on superficial wounds- if not as well as it used to- but it does nothing for soreness, and holding up a building has certainly caused some discomfort.
He makes his way to the kitchen and slides a few pieces of bread into the toaster. It’s nearly 10 o’clock, the time the New Avengers are supposed to go live for the press conference. Peter snorts at the thought, chuckling to himself at the idea of watching that particular shit show. He spreads peanut butter over the toast, walking towards his small living area.
He turns on the TV, sitting down and switching to the news channel. On screen are the Avengers sitting at a table. An older woman- Valentina, his mind fills- stands in front of the panel, a toothy grin on her face. She’s introducing herself and the Avengers, who stare at her scornfully the longer she speaks. Yelena looks like she’s about three seconds away from launching herself at the woman, held back only by a small nudge from Ava.
Peter’s gaze slides to the rest of the team, laughing loudly at the sight of John Walker sitting disgruntledly next to an excited Alexei, who’s waving at a few reporters.
“Give it up for your New Avengers!” Valentina says, gesturing to the team. There’s clapping from behind the camera, not well received by the team, who sit there awkwardly, sending each other uncomfortable glances. Bob is there as well, half hidden by Bucky’s larger frame, which he doesn’t seem to mind.
Once the ruckus calms down, Valentina smiles again, and it’s entirely shark-like. Peter feels dread pool in his stomach, sitting up slightly to listen. On screen, the others seem to notice the change in demeanor as well, straightening in anticipation.
“Now, you may all be wondering why I called this conference so abruptly,” Valentina says smoothly, “I’m sure you all know about the small robot invasion that occurred yesterday.”
There’s a few murmurs from the crowd. Peter feels his heart beginning to race as the faces of the team go carefully blank. Even Alexei and Bob seem coiled tight, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“The Avengers worked together to not only take down the hoard of robots attacking Manhattan, but located and eliminated the puppeteer, as you might say,” Valentina says with a laugh.
A reporter stands. “Where did that happen?” She shouts.
Valentina smiles placatingly at her, “In a small, secluded house a few blocks from the tower.”
There’s a bit of mumbling throughout the crowd, before another speaks up, “It was destroyed, almost completely displaced from where it originally stood. How is that possible?”
Valentina’s lips curl into a secretive smile, like she was waiting for that exact question. She gestures behind her, where a screen comes to life. Choking on his toast, Peter’s eyes bug out at the sight of him fighting off several robots at one time. The other reporters gasp, cameras aiming towards the screen.
The camera follows the Avengers as they enter the house, sitting just out of sight. There’s a cut in the video, and only a few seconds later the house comes down. Another cut and Yelena crawls out of a hole in the house, followed by all the Avengers aside from Spider-man.
The video doesn’t pick up on any audio, but it’s very obvious that Bucky is fighting- or scolding- the team. It takes a minute, but he wins them over, and Peter watches as they jog a few hundred feet away. He rolls his eyes as they take cover behind some rubble.
The camera cuts once more, aimed at the Avengers who stare at the house. There’s a loud creaking noise and the video swings towards the building. Peter watches himself lift the house over his head and throw it behind him. It lands with a loud crash, brick and asphalt crumbling onto the ground.
Seconds later, the camera catches Bucky sprinting towards the rubble where Peter sways, catching him just before he tips over. Bucky picks him up like a baby, walking over the rubble with Ava and Yelena in tow, leaving John and Alexei to look over the remains of the house.
The camera cuts out after that, leaving everyone in the room in silence. A reporter stands, “Spider-man helped the Avengers?”
Valentina smiles, nodding, “Although Spider-man works primarily in Queens, he’s been in close contact with the Avengers. They’ve come to trust him, especially after holding up a building to save them.”
It’s only a half-truth, and suddenly Peter realizes why the team hates this woman so much. She’s more so exaggerating the truth than outright lying, which makes her dangerous. Peter can’t really deny anything she said.
“Is Spider-man okay?” Someone from the crowd asks.
“Perfectly fine,” Valentina says, and Peter knows she’s lying this time, “The tower’s medical bay only hires the very best.”
“What does that mean? Does Spider-man live with the Avengers?” A reporter asks.
Valentina takes to the question like a moth to a flame, her eyes flaring in excitement. She clasps her fingers together, but Peter can see how they shake ever so slightly.
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Avengers and Spider-man,” Valentina says, “I’ve watched how well they work together, how much trust they have for him, and how integral he was in the fight against the robots. With all that being said…” she trails off.
All eyes are on Valentina, the room stilling as they await her next words. She’s building up the tension for entertainment, Peter thinks. People all across the world are watching this, leaning forwards in their seats in anticipation. Unexpectedly, Peter thinks that this will be his last moment of peace for a long time.
“Spider-man will be joining the Avengers!” Valentina says cheerfully.
The crowd is quiet. All of the Avenger’s faces drop in shock. There’s a few beats of tense, unsure silence. And then, it erupts . There’s shouting and questions and reporters yelling at Valentina and the team, vying for answers.
Peter sits there, toast hanging half out of his mouth.
Fuck.
—--
Bucky can only stare in shock as the reporters jump out of their seats, microphones waving in the air and cameras flashing. He knew Valentina was up to something, but he wasn’t expecting something quite like this.
He glances over at the team, who seem just as blindsided as him. Ava has a firm grip on Yelena’s wrist, preventing her from tearing Valentina to shreds.
Valentina holds up a hand, silencing the crowd. Bucky can only imagine the reaction of people watching this. He’ll be getting a call from Sam later, that’s for sure. Spider-man will most definitely make an appearance at the tower too.
“I know you have many questions,” Valentina says, an infuriating grin on her face, “and I’ll try my best to answer them now.”
“Where is Spider-man?” One reporter asks.
Valentina turns to the man, “Oh, he’s still resting up in the tower. He did hold up an entire building after all.”
The crowd coos, Valentina wielding their adoration and worry for their neighborhood vigilante like a knife. She’s got them, and the rest of the world, hook, line, and sinker. And there’s not a thing Bucky can do to stop her. For all that they’ve tried to keep Valentina in check, she still holds power over the team.
“Will it be permanent?” Another asks.
Valentina nods, her hands threading together in front of her, “You can count on Spider-man to show up to an Avengers level threat.”
People nod happily, like it’s only right that Spider-man be an Avenger. And maybe he should, Bucky thinks. Maybe it would be better to keep the kid close, if only for his own peace of mind, Bucky knows Spider-man is struggling, that he’s more similar to the rest of them than he thinks. Maybe it’d be better to give the boy a support system, as dysfunctional as theirs is.
“Is Spider-man only a part of the New Avengers because he’s keeping them in check?” A woman asks.
Valentina freezes. She wasn’t expecting that kind of question. She turns to the woman, licking her lips in a false sense of calm, “Can you clarify what you mean?”
The woman shrugs, her eyes icy and sharp, “Spider-man is known for his good deeds for this city. He never kills. He never falters. He always gets back up. The New Avengers are a team of well known assassins. How do we know that Spider-man isn’t just a mediator? How can we trust that he’s safe with these people?”
It’s a testament to how much the community loves Spider-man. The reporter isn’t necessarily worried about getting a good scoop, she wants to know that their neighborhood hero won’t come to harm with them.
Valentina visibly hesitates, and the crowd notices. Murmurs sound about the room. Now, Bucky knows Spider-man won’t be happy about this. He knows the kid wants nothing to do with them. But he also saved them and they need to save face desperately. Bucky wants to curse out Valentina for putting them, and Spider-man in this position.
He needs to make a decision. Either way, someone is going to be angry. But Spider-man will always be the lesser of two evils. Bucky stands, capturing the attention of the entire crowd. His friends stare up at him wide-eyed, silently asking what the hell he’s doing. He knows Spider-man is watching, and hopes he knows there was no other choice.
“This team came together in an odd series of unprecedented coincidences. We’ve all done terrible things, things many of you would see us condemned for. We’ve all killed, whether we wanted to or not,” Bucky says, “Spider-man hasn’t. He fights with the resolve not to kill.”
The crowd is silent, enraptured by Bucky’s impromptu speech. He was never good at dealing with the press when he played Congressman, but the words come easily now.
“The kid saved us yesterday. End of story. And we don’t take things like that lightly. I know many of you are worried that we’ll harm Spider-man, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Spider-man is kind, clever and brave. He never backs down from a fight and I think we’d all be a bit better off if we were like him.” Bucky continues.
He looks around the room, at his silent, gobsmacked teammates, and takes a deep breath, “We’re incredibly lucky to have Spider-man on our team. He’ll be the best of us, I can promise you that.”
Bucky sits back down, making direct eye contact with Valentina, who flinches minutely at the white hot rage reflected in his eyes. Nonetheless, she looks annoyingly pleased, soothing the crowds applause and yelling.
Eventually, they’re allowed to leave, and they exit into the wings of the stage. Immediately, Yelena whirls on him.
“What the hell was that?” She asks.
Bucky sighs, “Damage control.”
“Damage control?” She scoffs, “You agreed with Valentina!”
Bucky throws his hands in the air, “What else were we going to do? Say no? Tell the public, who adore Spider-man, that we won’t let him on the team?”
“We would have figured something out.” Yelena insists.
“Valentina was scrambling, she had no ground to walk on. Anything she said would’ve looked suspicious.” Bucky argues.
“Spider-man will hate us even more than he does now -” Yelena starts, ripping her hand out of John’s grip when he goes to get between them.
“Enough,” He says, “Bucky’s right. There was nothing else we could do. We can deal with Spider-man. He’s not the type to go rogue.”
Alexei grins, “The Thunderbolts are growing ! The spider is great addition!”
“You didn’t have to wax poetic about him, I doubt it’ll get us in his good graces.” Ava mutters.
“He’s gonna be pissed .” John agrees.
Bob wrings his hands together worriedly, “He’s never been hostile before.”
“No,” Yelena says, “he just doesn’t like us. He doesn’t trust us in the slightest and now we're uprooting his entire life. Anybody would be angry about that.”
They make their way to the car, avoiding cameras and dreading the confrontation to come. Bucky stands by his decision, even if it may not have been entirely for saving face. He still feels strange around Spider-man, like his brain is yelling that something is amiss, but he can’t figure out what. It may be better to keep the kid close so Bucky can figure it out.
When they arrive in the tower, the receptionist winces at the sight of them. Bucky hears John curse next to him. Spider-man is already here.
The elevator climbs too quickly for their liking, reaching the penthouse floor in a matter of seconds. When the doors open, Bucky walks through, looking around for red and blue. He finds it by one of the windows. Spider-man’s arms are crossed, his foot bouncing in agitation and anxiety.
He turns at the sound of their footsteps, the lenses of his eyes narrowing.
“What the fuck?” Spider-man seethes. Bucky can’t remember ever hearing the boy sound like that, even when fighting Thanos.
He puts up his arms placatingly, “It wasn’t our choice-”
Spider-man scoffs, “Oh, it wasn’t your choice? Oh, how relieving! That makes everything better, doesn't it?”
“We didn’t know Valentina would do that-” Yelena tries.
“So you decided to keep going with it?” Spider-man asks, “Lovely little speech you had, Bucky, I hope I live up to the Avenger title!”
“Spider-man, if you’d just listen-”
“I explicitly said I wanted nothing to do with you. We worked together once , and now I’m supposed to do this full time? I have a life ! I have a home and responsibilities. I can’t just drop everything to be an Avenger.” He says.
“We know, we know,” Bucky says, “We were just as blindsided as you. We want to make this easier for you.”
“You can make it easier by leaving me the hell alone. I became an Avenger once and I lost everything and everyone I love. I won’t make that mistake again.” Spider-man says lowly.
That’s worrying, Bucky thinks. He knows Tony meant a lot to the kid, but it feels like more than that. A few glances at his friends tells him they’re thinking the same thing.
“You’re safe here,” Yelena says, “You can keep doing things your way, but you’re not in any danger around us.”
Spider-man barks a laugh, “I’m not worried about you hurting me. I’m worried about getting too close-”
He stops dead, teeth clacking shut. He’s quiet in the same way he was on the roof, like he knows he’s nearly said too much. It’s tense for a moment, a silent staredown between Spider-man and them.
“I know this isn’t ideal,” Bucky says quietly, “but we would genuinely be happy to have you on the team. I wasn’t lying when I was up there. I’m not sure why you don’t like us, but none of us will push if you don’t want it.”
After a few beats of those creepy white lenses boring into Bucky’s soul, Spider-man relaxes slightly. It’s a tiny movement, but the relief is palpable in the air. It’s ruined by Valentina’s loud arrival. Spider-man’s lenses turn into slits as she walks through the elevator, and the tension in the room skyrockets.
“The New Avengers!” She says cheerfully, eyeing Spider-man.
“You’re out of your mind, Val.” John grits out.
Valentina waves him away, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, this is good. It’s wonderful PR!”
“You never told us about it. You never even asked Spider-man.” Bucky says.
Valentina rolls her eyes, “Who wouldn’t want to be an Avenger?”
They all point at Spider-man, who looks
angry
. If he was mad at them, he looks like he’s ready to tear Valentina apart. She stumbles back a bit at the boy’s demeanor, her smile dropping slightly.
“Spider-man,” she says, “how lovely to see you! Congratulations!”
Spider-man remains deathly silent, his stance threatening and tense. He takes a few steps forward, startling the woman. He doesn’t say a word as he flicks his wrist, sending webbing to her mouth and feet.
He walks up to her swiftly, bending down to get in her face. Valentina’s eyes are wide as she glances around for help, something she won’t get.
“I am not a puppet,” Spider-man growls, “I won’t let you treat me like one.”
He straightens, looking down at her. If the mask were off, Bucky’s sure the force of his glare would send Valentina to her grave.
“You think you have power with me?” Spider-man says, laughing coldly, “New Yorkers love me. If you so much as breathe wrong around me, it’ll be your head they want on a stake.”
He pulls back completely, taking a few steps away from Valentina, who’s breathing has picked up. Bucky isn’t entirely surprised by his reaction. He watched how vicious Spider-man could be with Thanos, how cutting his quips could be when he was truly pissed off.
Spider-man looks at all of them, lenses widening a bit as they run over Bob, who stares back at the boy calculatingly. His eyes land on Bucky.
“You don’t question why or when I leave. I’m entitled to privacy if I’m being forced to stay here. I’ll do whatever training you have and I’ll join in fights. That’s it .” Spider-man says.
And he storms out of the room.
pee wee soccer team:
Bucky: I’ve added Spider-man to the group chat.
John Walker: What if he spills all our secrets
Bob: this isn’t fight club
Ava: what secrets? there’s nothing secretive about this chat
Bucky: If you abuse the chat privileges, you get muted.
Yelena: he says that but he never follows through so
Alexei: The Thunderbolts need a new logo for Spider-man!!!!!!!
Ava: alexei should’ve been banned ages ago
Spidey: hey
Spidey: fuck you guys
John Walker: Alrighty