Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

        Soulmarks were a funny thing. For one, being born with a romantic red mark or platonic blue mark always made for interesting baby showers. Some soulmarks would show up in the middle of kindergarten, when a child’s soulmate was born. Sometimes someone would be walking around with one soulmark, when a second would appear just underneath it. And it was always hilarious when someone’s soulmark said, “Who the fuck are you?” instead of a simple, “Hello.”

        But soulmarks could also be a wonderfully terrible thing. For some, it meant the hope that there was someone out there, almost tailored specifically for you. For others it was a curse, always looking for someone you may never find until the last second. Those with red marks would put dating on a permanent hold until they found them, because what was the point if they knew nothing would come of it? Those with blue often never married, knowing there was no one they would love more than their best friend, never realizing their heart was capable of loving more than one person. But there was one thing for certain, anyone with a blue or red mark would tell you they were happy to be spared from the burned and blackened mark.

        The mark of a lost soulmate.

        Over the years, the burn would heal into a dull scar, a momentum to a lost love. But their soul would never truly heal over. Not until they were reunited. If they were reunited. No one could ever quite agree on the possibility of an afterlife.

        For Tony Stark, it was all of those things wrapped in one. It was a curse and a blessing, hilarious and awful.

        Tony hadn’t received his soulmark until he was thirty-two years old. For most of his life, he’d assumed he didn’t have one. It had never been heard of, but there was always a first time for everything, he supposed.

        For a good chunk of his life, jokes were made that he just wasn’t compatible with anyone or that the soulmate of a narcissist could only be himself. Some were in good fun, some were downright cruel, but they all chipped away at him slowly over the years to the point where when he woke up the morning of August 10, 2002 to the little blue word printed on his forearm, he half expected it to be a prank.

        But it was real, and it meant that there was some teenager walking around the world right now waiting to meet him.

        Tony had no idea why his soulmate would be a kid. What kind of kid could be compatible with a jaded old guy who only had relationships with his robots?

        Maybe they weren’t meant to meet until the kid was older?

        Tony looked down at the word printed on the inside of his arm. Well, if you could even call it a word. Apparently, Tony was destined to be shackled to someone who couldn’t even string two words together to make a sentence. “Um” in royal blue letters, that was all it said.

        He had to admit, it was possible whoever was meant to be his soulmate would be starstruck and therefore couldn’t think of anything to say. But that was a problem in and of itself. Tony couldn’t calculate how many people had said “um” upon meeting him. Most of his interactions with people started that way. And he never once saw that flash of recognition when he said something back, which meant he hadn’t found them yet.

        When he’d first met Pepper, he’d hoped she would be it, even though he knew it was impossible. But the first thing she did was nod and say, “Mr. Stark.” Tony didn’t want to explain to anyone why he looked disappointed after that meeting.

        He had since seen Pepper’s soulmark, blue like his, but it wasn’t even close to what he’d said. Whoever was meant to be Pepper’s soulmate was a lot more polite than he had been.

        “Mr. Stark?”

        Tony pulled his sleeve down over the soulmark and gave a small smile to the teenager that had just walked into his lab, backpack slung over his shoulder and his cheeks slightly pink most likely due to running as fast as he could.

        “She’s ready,” Tony said, standing up from his stool and stepping over to one of the display cases for his suits that was currently covered to keep Peter in suspense.

        Peter dropped his backpack with a grin, following Tony to the case and wringing his hands together in excitement.

        Tony had announced he was going to make upgrades to Peter’s suit almost a month ago, and Peter had been relentlessly badgering him about it until Tony sent a text that morning that said simply, “Come to the tower after school. I’ve got a surprise.”

        “Did you run all the way here?” Tony asked, his hand hovering over the button as a way to torture the poor kid further.

        Peter knew exactly what he was doing and shrugged. “I might have swung a little.”

        “With your mask on?”

        Peter rolled his eyes and folded his arms in frustration, though he was smiling. “Of course with my mask on. Can we move this along, please?”

        Tony chuckled and turned back to the case. With a glance at the antsy teenager, he brought his hand down on the button and the suit was revealed.

        “Holy shit,” Peter breathed out, stepping closer to the case and getting a good look at his new spider-suit.

        It was sleek and shiny, red and blue still the main colors, but gold accents laced in between them.

        “I incorporated my new nanotech,” Tony said as Peter began to circle the case, staring up at the suit as if hypnotized. “You won’t have any worries about your mask being ripped off, so your identity can remain secret. Karen has a few upgrades. Oh, and the protocols have been reactivated.”

        Peter looked at him sheepishly.

        “Don’t disable them again,” Tony said sternly, but smiling at the little genius and knowing he’d do the exact same thing if he’d been in Peter’s shoes. Not that he would ever tell him, of course. “There are some things you’ll still be able to use though, like Karen and a few of the web options. Instant Kill has been deactivated.”

        Peter laughed. “Karen will be disappointed. She really wanted to use that one.”

        Tony smiled slightly. “There’s a heater and cooler, parachute, GPS, and a direct link to me if you need it. If you’re ever in trouble and can’t call for help, Karen is set to send out a message to whoever is close enough to get to you. The Avengers all have phones and beepers, I have my suit and you have yours.”

        “ My suit?” Peter asked.

        “You’ll also be able to receive distress calls from any of us. But if you do receive a call, you make sure to notify me first before going out there and possibly getting yourself killed.” He said it seriously, offering no room for debate.

        “What if you’re the one in distress?” Peter asked.

        “In the unlikely event that that happens, you tell Cap. Or the closest adult,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

        “So long as they’re an Avenger.”

        “Exactly.” Tony nodded.

        Peter looked back at the suit. “Can I take it out for a spin?”

        “By all means,” Tony replied, typing in a code to open the case. He then reached up and tapped the wrist of the suit and it disappeared from the mannequin, leaving only two skinny wrist cuffs, about an inch thick, in its place. Tony plucked them from their spot and gestured for Peter to come close so he could snap them on his wrists.

        “These are so cool,” Peter said, staring down at the little black bracelets.

        “This way you can have the suit with you at all times,” Tony said. “You won’t have to worry about someone catching a glimpse of the suit and you’ll always be prepared in an emergency.” He reached over and grabbed what looked like a cell phone charging pad. “You charge the cuffs with this,” he said, handing it over. “They’ll keep their charge for seven days of regular superhero activity. If you find yourself doing more than normal, make sure you charge them as soon as you can. Karen will let you know when the charge goes below thirty percent.”

        Peter looked like he was no longer paying that much attention, so Tony decided it was time to take the suit for a test run.

        “Okay, Underoos,” Tony said, getting the boys full attention again. “Activate the suit and let’s see what you can do.”

        Peter smiled wide and looked down at the cuffs. “How do I…?”

        Tony stepped forward. “Thumb pad,” he said, pointing. “It’ll only activate for your thumbprint. Or mine,” he added as an afterthought.

        Peter ripped his jacket off and kicked away his shoes before pressing his thumb against the small square on the cuff.

        The suit immediately began to cover him, and Tony watched the look of excitement overtake the boy’s face completely right before the mask closed over it.

        “It smells like a new car in here,” Peter mused.

        “Hello, Peter,” Karen said.

        “Karen,” Peter said, happily. “It’s been a while.”

        “Unfortunately,” Tony said, getting Peter’s attention once more. “There’s nowhere for me to store your web fluid in the suit, so you’ll have to use your own devices for that.”

        Peter rushed to his backpack and placed his web shooters on his wrists.

        Tony smiled and activated his own suit. “Let’s take her for a spin.”

        Peter aimed for the conveniently open window and flung himself out of it, Tony hot on his heels.

        Tony let the kid take the lead, hanging back as he swung through the city. It was an interesting combination of shooting, swinging, and flipping and Tony was exhausted just watching it. He knew the enhanced abilities, plus the fact that he was a teenager, made it possible to keep this up for hours, but at some point Tony wondered if he could convince the kid to put thrusters in the suit.

        That was definitely a conversation for later. For now, it was all about Peter happily swinging through skyscrapers and above citizens.

        “Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter’s voice could be heard over the comm.

        “What’d’ya got, Pete?”

        “There’s a holdup about a block away,” Peter replied. “Wanna catch some bank robbers?”

        Tony smiled. “I dunno, that sounds like something Spider-Man could handle. I think he’s in the area, let me give him a call.”

        “Woah, cool,” Peter said after a minute.

        Tony knew Peter would like that feature. Along with being able to pick up distress calls from the team, Peter’s suit could also inform him of anything happening around him. Any of the Avengers could send him a location if they needed him or thought he could take care of something, but he was also able to receive reports from the police and help them when needed. Karen would let him know and the GPS would kick in.

        “This is the coolest suit, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, swinging around the corner toward the bank.

        Tony hung back to watch, realizing in that moment that he’d never actually watched Peter in action. He’d seen the videos, and there was the whole airport debacle, but he’d never actually watched Peter be the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man he was. This would be enlightening.

        He touched down across the street and watched through the windows as Peter slowly snuck through an open one, completely unseen by the two men in ski masks. One was in charge of the shotgun, the other in charge of the money. There were also about a dozen civilians already on the floor as they waited for them to leave, hopefully without shooting anyone.

        Tony stayed where he was and listened through the comm, ready to jump in should he need to. He was almost positive he wouldn’t, but Peter was also notorious for getting himself in trouble.

        Peter crawled across the ceiling until he was right above the one with the gun and then slowly lowered himself upside down behind him.

        “You know,” Peter said, startling the robber and causing him to turn around. “I don’t think you need a gun to make a withdrawal.”

        Before the guy could even think of shooting the kid, Peter had shot a web at the gun and pulled it clean out of his hands before landing a very well-aimed punch to his nose, blood spurting everywhere. The second robber hadn’t shown up unarmed, but his shot missed as Peter flipped to the ground in the perfect superhero pose.

        Tony was impressed.

        “I think your friend’s hurt,” Peter said, shooting two webs to the guy’s legs and yanking them back, causing him to fall flat on his ass and the sack of money to fly out of his hands, bills flying every which way. “You should probably take him to the doctor, he might have a broken nose.”

        Tony took a step forward when he saw the first robber try to attack Peter from behind, but the spidey sense was no joke and Peter dodged the punch easily, gripping the man’s fist and twisting, causing him to cry out and fall to his knees.

        He then shot another web and swung himself back to the ceiling as the second robber recovered and tried to shoot where Peter had been standing only seconds before.

        Peter crawled fast along the ceiling tiles as the man took shot after shot, never coming close to hitting him. He came to a stop just above him and flipped off the ceiling, kicking the man in the stomach and sending him flying backward.

        Tony winced as he was sure Peter had broken a rib or two, but evidently that’s what you get when you rob a bank in Spider-Man’s neighborhood.

        Peter grabbed the gun that had fallen to the floor and tossed it above him, shooting a web to effectively stick it to the ceiling. Only Peter was going to be able to get it now.

        Tony was certain the one Peter kicked was out cold at this point, but the one with the bleeding nose was still willing to fight. But not well, apparently.

        Peter turned, almost bored, and shot the man in the face with a web, causing him to yell and pull at the sticky stuff, making his hands stick to his face. Peter flipped and kicked him in the chest, not quite as hard as the other, and he went sprawling into the wall. He shot a couple webs to keep him stuck to it and then shot another at the first guy in case he woke up. He grabbed the gun that was left and shot it up to the ceiling with the first before turning to look at the civilians, a mixture of fear and awe on their faces.

        “When the cops get here, let them know the webs will dissolve in about two hours,” he said cheerfully before shooting a web and swinging out the window.

        Tony watched him flip and cling to the building behind him. He started to clap slowly. “Not bad, Spider-Man.”

        Peter shrugged. “Those guys were chumps. Barely gave me a workout.”

        “All in a day’s work, huh?”

        “Ooh!” Peter said instead of replying. “Fire on tenth. Let’s go see how the suit reacts to extreme heat!”

        Instead of making a sarcastic comment at Peter’s excitement over a fire, Tony activated his thrusters and followed the teenager to the next location.

        To call it a simple fire was grossly understating it. The building was at least forty stories, if not more, and the closer they got, the louder the roar of the flames were.

        This was much more than Spider-Man could handle alone, even with Iron Man’s assistance. But the next second, Tony realized he wasn’t going to have to call anyone as that had already been taken care of.

        “Love the new suit, Spider-Man!” Sam said over the comms just before they saw him flying next to them.

        They glanced below and saw Steve and Bucky sprinting toward the building.

        “Hey, we’re gettin’ the kid’s help this time,” Steve said as he ran.

        “Well, that’s good, because you old timers might fall and break a hip,” Clint’s voice said in all their ears. They couldn’t see him anywhere, but they assumed wherever he was hiding, Nat was with him.

        “Anyone who can fly, start evacuating the upper floors,” Steve said, switching seamlessly into Captain Mode. “Spider-Man, that includes you. The rest of us will take the bottom floors.”

        Tony knew everyone expected him to counter anything Cap said, but he wasn’t stupid. Steve knew how to direct soldiers and think on his feet better than any of them, and Tony wasn’t about to get into an argument when people were in danger. And besides that, it was nice leaving the decision-making to someone else, especially when he had a kid to look out for.

        The thing was, though, everyone looked out for Peter. The second Tony had introduced him as the newest member of the Avengers, there was a silent agreement among them all that, if any of them got out of a serious situation alive, it would be Peter. It was save the teenager first, then save each other. And Tony appreciated that more than he could put into words.

        It was no secret that Tony had a guilt complex. He couldn’t calculate how many times someone said, “It’s not your fault!” And any time Peter so much as got a bruise, they could see the guilt in his eyes. Tony had brought Peter into this, so any injuries were directly his fault.

        That was how he saw it, anyway. No matter how many people tried to convince him otherwise. So, he really appreciated the help in keeping Peter breathing.

        “The building is unstable,” Nat’s voice could be heard over the comms. “We have to move fast before it collapses.”

        “Double time, people,” Steve said.

        Tony was able to carry many people at once, but Peter had found a rather efficient way of getting them out faster. He stuck himself to a wall right next to a window and used a web to slowly lower people to the ground. It wasn’t the fastest, but it was faster than most of them and Tony had to give him props.

        The building shook and Peter almost lost his grip on one of the webs, making the lady he was currently saving scream.

        “I got you,” Peter reassured, adjusting his grip and continuing the evacuation.

        Tony wanted to stay and watch Peter like a hawk, but he knew he had to keep pushing to make sure everyone got out okay. He took one last look at the kid before shooting up to a higher floor and continuing his own rescue procedure.

        “That’s everyone for this floor,” Peter’s cheerful voice said over the comms. “Moving up to…”

        “Peter?” Tony asked when he didn’t continue.

        “I think there’s someone stuck under a desk in there,” Peter said.

        “Peter, don’t go in,” Tony said. “Let someone else-”

        “They’re right there, it’ll take two seconds,” Peter interrupted.

        Tony gripped the last person on his own floor and lowered them to the ground quickly before flying back up to where Peter was last seen. When he saw no trace of him, he aimed for the window, but was stopped short when the building shook and the floors above began to collapse.

        “Peter!” Tony said, flying forward and being stopped by slabs of concrete blocking his way in.

        “I got him,” came the soft voice of Bucky over the comms.

        Tony had no idea how Bucky had gotten to him, but he wasn’t worried about that. “Where are you?” he asked.

        “Tenth floor,” Bucky said with a cough. “South side.”

        Tony was there in a flash and saw the two of them, a civilian slung over Bucky’s shoulder, standing behind a broken window.

        “Peter, are you okay?” Tony asked, flying to the window as fast as he could.

        “I’m fine,” Peter reassured. “He needs to be evacuated though, and I’m out of web fluid.”

        “How are you out already?” Tony asked, taking the unconscious man from Bucky.

        “I might have forgotten to bring refills,” Peter mumbled.

        Tony took the civilian back to the ground when the building shook again.

        “You guys have to get out of there, Buck,” Steve’s voice said.

        Tony looked up as both Peter and Bucky leaped out of the window at the same time just as the floor above them caved in. Peter flipped and stuck to a light pole, but Bucky didn’t have those skills and Tony activated his thrusters to meet him halfway, catching him around the middle and lowering him to the ground.

        Tony’s relationship with Bucky was probably the strangest. For one, it took him months to finally call Steve. It wasn’t even because there was a crisis. It was because The Avengers were dangerously understaffed and, if a crisis did arise, Tony and Rhodey were the only ones there. After Vision ran off to find Wanda, it was clear The Avengers needed to patch things up.

        Bucky’s first night in Avengers Tower was the most tense, and no one got any sleep. Tony was upset, Bucky half expected him to start shooting at him again, and Steve seemed to be waiting for the bomb to explode. But after about a month, and a lot of refereeing by Steve, things began to settle down.

        Tony could almost say he liked Bucky now. At least, Bucky was one of the only ones who listened intently when he explained something and didn’t give him weird looks when he had a panic attack. Tony knew Bucky had his own from time to time. After a while, they’d formed a weird relationship that consisted mostly of Bucky silently watching Tony work on things.

        And, of course, Bucky was overly protective of Peter, and how could Tony hate a guy who made sure Peter finished his homework before fighting bad guys.

        “You okay?” Steve asked as he ran toward them, concern on his face as he looked at his soot-covered boyfriend.

        “I’m fine,” Bucky said, running a hand through his hair to keep it out of his face. “Thanks,” he said to Tony.

        Tony nodded and looked up as Peter flipped off the light pole and landed next to them.

        “That was sick,” Peter said happily.

        “That was reckless,” Bucky said, but he smiled.

        “FRIDAY,” Tony said. “Anyone still in the building?”

        “All citizens have been evacuated,” FRIDAY said.

        “Way to go, team,” Tony said, deactivating his thrusters to fall to the ground beside them. “I think we can all go home.”

        “There’s still a fire,” Steve pointed out.

        “Well, unless you actually have Capsicle powers, I’m thinking they can handle it,” Tony said, pointing to the many fire trucks finally making it to the scene.

        They stayed to make sure no one got crushed by the building and the flames were completely out before finally calling it a day.

Chapter Text

        Peter crawled slowly in through his window. May knew about Spider-Man, but he didn’t want to wake her up in the middle of the night all the time, and besides, he was used to being sneaky. He lowered himself to the floor and retracted his suit, watching as it disappeared into the wrist cuffs.

        “Peter, is that you?” May called.

        Peter winced, worried he’d woken her up, when she opened the door, wearing her robe around her pajamas.

        “Hey, tough guy,” she said with a smile. “You just get in?”

        “Yeah,” Peter said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

        She gave him an affectionate smile. “Peter, you know I don’t go to bed until I know you’re safe at home.”

        Peter was taken aback. “You don’t?”

        “Of course not,” May said, as if it were obvious. “I agreed to let you fight bad guys all night, but that also means I can’t sleep until I know you’ve won.”

        Peter instantly felt bad, but May caught on quickly and put her hand on Peter’s shoulder.

        “It’s not your job to worry about me, Peter. But it will always be my job to worry about you. Superhero or not.” She smiled. “I’m making tea, do you want anything?”

        Peter smiled slightly and shook his head. “No, I’m okay,” he said softly.

        “Alright,” she said, pulling him forward and giving him a kiss on the forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

        Peter watched her leave and shut the door behind her. He knew he shouldn’t feel so guilty when it came to his aunt, but he couldn’t help it. He already felt the need to save everyone he could, and it killed him that there was nothing he could do to save Aunt May.

        She’d assured him that she didn’t blame him for the death of Ben, even after she’d learned the whole story, but Peter would catch her looking sadly down at the scar on her arm and feel like he’d been punched in the chest.

        It had been almost two years since Ben had died, and the mark on her arm had faded significantly, but it would never go away completely and Peter would forever feel responsible for it. That night when he’d come home to find her holding her arm to her chest and crying, he felt like he couldn’t breathe. All he could do was let her hug him and cry and he would never be able to forgive himself for it.

        He knew he couldn’t stop being Spider-Man, but he also knew that May couldn’t lose anyone else. And he refused to be the one to break her.

        Peter sighed and sat down on his bed, absentmindedly touching the mark on his own arm. He swallowed hard as he thought about who it was. He had a feeling he knew, but there was a part of him that was afraid to even say it out loud.

        Because what if he was wrong? What if he brought it up and got a strange look instead of the happiness he was hoping for.

        Peter knew Tony hadn’t found his soulmate yet, and he felt a very strong pull toward his mentor every time they were in the same room, but he couldn’t figure out if Tony really was his soulmate, or if he just wanted him to be that badly.

        As far as he could tell, Tony didn’t seem to feel the same pull.

        Peter sighed and fell back against his bed, lifting his sleeve to look at the words printed there. Even if they hadn’t been his soulmark words, he would never forget the day Iron Man appeared in the nick of time and saved him from a killer robot.

        Nice work, kid.

        He’d never talked to Tony about that. He assumed he wouldn’t even remember it if he did bring it up, but it would always be burned in his memory as one of the coolest nights of his life. Well, if you take away the killer robots.

        Nah, the killer robots were cool, too.

        But he remembered going home that night and looking at his mark and wondering if it were possible. Aunt May had said anything was possible, but there was a grain of doubt in her words. When was he ever going to actually meet Tony Stark again?

        But then he showed up in Peter’s apartment and he gave him a suit and then another suit and made him an Avenger and Peter spent a year and a half wondering if maybe he’d been right all along.

        It was hard to know for certain since Tony always wore long-sleeved shirts and Peter had never seen his soulmark. But he also wondered if he’d even recognize it, because now he couldn’t remember what he’d said when Tony showed up in his apartment. All he knew was that it was a string of barely coherent sentences.

        And that alone would be a problem. Tony probably had something stupid written on his arm and he didn’t want everyone to see it.

        Peter groaned and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow. He needed someone to talk to about this. He needed a pair of soulmates he could talk to that wouldn’t make fun of him. He didn’t want to ask Aunt May, because every time the subject of soulmates was brought up recently, she’d get that look. He was sure she didn’t mean to look so sad, but she always did anyway.

        He sat up suddenly, remembering in that moment that there actually was a pair of soulmates he could talk to about this.

~.~.~

        Peter took a deep breath as he stared at the door. He’d had to wake up early in the morning to stop by the tower before school, as he knew Steve and Bucky would be the only ones in the gym at this time, but even with all the thinking he’d done on the way, he still didn’t know how to bring up the conversation.

        Most people were touchy about it, but Steve and Bucky had been so open that Peter assumed they’d be okay with questions.

        At least, that’s what he was hoping for.

        He took another breath, grit his teeth, and opened the door.

        Steve was standing behind a punching bag, shouting encouragement as Bucky wailed on it. Bucky stopped when he saw Peter enter and smiled.

        “Hey, Peter,” He said softly. Peter loved that about Bucky. He was always a quiet and calming presence, and Peter really needed that right now.

        “Peter,” Steve said, turning. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have school?” He asked with a smile.

        “Uh,” Peter hesitated, wringing his hands together a bit as he tried to come up with a plausible lie.

        No, you are not going to chicken out, Parker. Just ask.

        “Uh, I wanted to… to ask you something,” he said finally, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from looking too nervous.

        Steve and Bucky exchanged glances.

        “Okay,” Steve said. “Shoot.”

        “It’s… it’s about...” Peter took a breath. “It’s about soulmarks.”

        There was a pause and the warning bells started to go off in Peter’s head. Though, his spidey sense did do that to him over really trivial stuff, so he wasn’t sure if he should trust it anymore.

        “What about them?” Bucky’s quiet voice reached through the panic.

        “Well, how did…” Peter shrugged. “How did you know? I mean, if your soulmark says something really generic, how do you know for sure who your soulmate is?”

        There was a pause as Bucky looked down at the red word printed on the inside of his arm.

        Thanks.

        “I never really thought about it,” Bucky murmured. “I mean, the odds of someone saying that to me weren’t exactly lousy. But my words matched up with his and… it was just a gut feeling, I guess. Besides, you can get them tested now, just to know for sure.”

        “We never have, mostly because since neither of our marks have gone black, we assume we’re the only ones from the forties we could possibly be soul-bonded to,” Steve added, looking down at his own mark.

        Are you okay?

        “Why do you ask?” Bucky said.

        “Do you think you found your soulmate?” Steve asked eagerly.

        Peter rubbed his arm where the soulmark was hiding under his sleeve. “I dunno,” he said. “Maybe? It’s just that I don’t know what their soulmark says, so I can’t know for sure. And honestly, I don’t even remember the first thing I said to them anyway.”

        Steve and Bucky exchanged another glance and Peter had to wonder if soulmates could read each other’s minds.

        “Who do you think it is?” Steve asked.

        Peter hesitated.

        “Okay, well, can we see the soulmark?” Bucky asked.

        Peter chewed on the skin on his lip for a second before stepping forward and lifting his sleeve to show the blue letters written across his skin.

        Steve looked up at the kid’s face with a look of happy surprise.

        Peter shoved the sleeve back down and hugged himself.

        “You think it’s Tony,” Steve said, the smile still on his face.

        “Maybe?” Peter said, chewing the skin on his lip again. “I mean, it’s the exact same thing he first said to me like years ago. But it’s also not definite. It could be someone I haven’t met yet.”

        “I suppose,” Bucky said, deep in thought. “But if I were a betting man, I’d say there’s a very real chance it’s him.”

        Steve nodded his agreement.

        Peter ran a hand through his hair. “So then, how do I bring it up? How do I ask him? What if he doesn’t want me as a soulmate? What if I make a complete idiot of myself and-”

        “Okay, slow down,” Bucky said, holding a hand up. “First of all, I’ve never heard of anyone rejecting a soulmate outright. Soulmarks happen when two people are so compatible they can’t help but be drawn together. Honestly, you and Tony are about the most compatible soulmates I’ve probably ever seen. Aside from me and Steve, of course,” he added, smiling at his boyfriend.

        “We might not be,” Peter pointed out.

        “Somehow, I think you are,” Bucky said, sure of himself.

        “If you want, we can try to get some information out of him,” Steve offered. “We could see what the soulmark says, what color it is, when it showed up.”

        “When it showed up?” Peter asked. “You aren’t born with your soulmark?”

        “No, not everyone is,” Bucky said. “Steve was, but because I’m a year older than him, my soulmark didn’t show up until a few months after my first birthday, when Steve was born. If you and Tony are soulmates, his mark would probably have showed up on your birthday.”

        “And you being born with your soulmark means your soulmate is older than you at the very least,” Steve added.

        Peter hesitated, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” he said. “Maybe if you guys talk to him, we can come up with some answers.”

        “We’ll ask him today,” Steve said. “Maybe get him a little drunk. I can almost guarantee Tony won’t want to talk about it. He’s never liked feelings.”

        “Yeah,” Peter said softly. “That’s another thing I’m worried about.”

        Bucky smiled softly at him. “You shouldn’t be,” he said. “I haven’t known Tony for a long time, but I do know that the only time he branches out of sarcasm is when he’s around you. Regardless of your soulmarks, Tony cares a lot about you and I can only assume if he found out about it, he’d be thrilled.”

        “We’ll talk to him,” Steve assured again. “And if he’s an ass about it, we’ll beat him up for you.”

        Peter laughed. “Thanks, guys,” he said. He started to turn before catching himself and moving to face them again. “I do wanna know, though. What’s the story behind your soulmarks?”

        They smiled at each other.

        “Steve got into a fight. Again,” Bucky said, chuckling at the memory. “We were kids at the time. I’m not sure how old exactly, but Steve had stepped in to help a kid who was being picked on. And you know bullies. They don’t care who they pick on, just that they get to pick on someone.”

        Steve folded his arms and shook his head. “They were assholes,” he said. “Picking on a kid who couldn’t defend himself.”

        “ You were a kid who couldn’t defend himself,” Bucky pointed out.

        Steve said nothing but gave Bucky a half-hearted glare.

        “Anyway,” Bucky continued. “I pulled them off of Steve, got in a pretty good punch to one of their noses and they ran away.” He smiled over at Steve. “And he gets up, completely out of breath because of the asthma, and says ‘Thanks’.”

        “And you said, ‘Are you okay?’.”

        Peter watched them as they relived the memory together. “And you knew immediately?” He asked.

        “We compared marks,” Steve said. “And, like Bucky said, it was a gut feeling. We didn’t tell anyone, though. They were red, and of course we couldn’t be together in that way back then.”

        “You’d think soulmarks on two men or two women would be enough to convince the world there was nothing wrong with it, but apparently not,” Bucky grumbled.

        Steve put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “But then we woke up in the 21st century and didn’t have to hide it anymore.”

        Bucky smiled at him.

        Peter gazed at them, envious. He wanted that. Well, not that exactly. He just wanted his soulmate. He wanted that bond more than anything.

        Steve turned back to Peter. “We’ll figure it out,” he said as if he could read his mind. “If it’s not Tony, we won’t stop until we find whoever it is.”

        “It’s probably Tony, though,” Bucky said.

        Steve laughed.

        Peter smiled.

        “Now, get outta here,” Steve said. “You’ll be late for school.”

        Peter turned and ran out of the room.

        “You finished that report, right?” Bucky yelled after him.

        “Of course!” Peter replied. “See you guys later!”

        In order to get to school on time, Peter was going to have to be Spider-Man. This wasn’t the first time people would see Spider-Man swinging around at the ass crack of dawn with a backpack, so he was sure they knew he was a student. The trick was to find somewhere to take the suit off without anyone seeing him and making the connection. Far enough away from the school so no one would look for him there, but close enough that he could run and get to his first class on time.

        He swung into his most frequented alley and pressed his thumb to the one of the wrist cuffs, watching as the suit retracted into them. This was the fastest he’d ever suited down and he had to remember to thank Mr. Stark.

        He tossed his web shooters into his backpack and slipped his shoes on before sprinting out of the alley and trying to run and zip up his backpack at the same time.

        His phone dinged with a text and he dug it out of his pocket to see a message from Ned awaiting a reply.

        Where are you? You better not be dead.

        I’m on my way.

        Peter took a corner a little too sharp and had to apologize profusely to a lady he almost knocked down.

        Even with his abilities, he reached the school out of breath and barely made it through the doors when the first bell rang, signaling that he had five minutes to get to class. He breathed a frustrated sigh and kept running, dodging students that either had a free period or weren’t in trouble for being late as much as Peter was and didn’t have the motivation to hurry.

        With seconds to spare, Peter darted into his first class and almost doubled over as he tried to get his breath back.

        “Nice to see you here on time, Mr. Parker,” his teacher said. “Have a seat.”

        Breathing heavily, Peter sat down in his usual seat next to Ned who was giving him an amused smile.

        “Tough morning?” Ned asked.

        Peter ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “Swinging all the way here from the tower isn’t easy,” he grumbled.

        “What were you doing at the tower so early in the morning?” Ned asked in a whisper as their teacher began the lesson.

        “I had to talk to Cap,” Peter whispered back.

        “Captain America?!” Ned’s whisper wasn’t exactly quiet.

        “Keep the conversations outside of my classroom, please,” their teacher said loudly.

        Peter ducked his head. “Yes,” he hissed. “Stop getting me in trouble.”

        Ned kept quiet for the rest of the lesson, but ambushed Peter the second it was over.

        “What did you need to talk to Captain America about?”

        “Nothing,” Peter said. “Just, ya know, superhero stuff.”

        “And that couldn’t wait until after school?” Ned pressed as they walked to their next class.

        Peter sighed. “I just wanted to talk to them about their soulmarks, okay?”

        Ned tilted his head to the side. “Their soulmarks? Wait, who’s Captain America’s soulmate?”

        Peter looked at him confused. “Bucky, Ned. Everyone knows that.”

        “... No they don’t,” Ned countered.

        Peter swallowed. “Okay, well, don’t tell anyone then,” he hissed.

        “Are they red or blue?” Ned whispered.

        Suddenly realizing that only the Avengers knew about Captain America’s soulbond with his oldest friend, Peter hesitated.

        “Come on, Peter,” Ned urged. “My life is crap, I have to live vicariously through you.”

        Peter sighed again. “They’re red, okay, but you can’t tell anyone.”

        “Oh my god, Captain America is gay,” Ned said in awe.

        “He’s bisexual, Ned, shut up,” Peter said.

        The questions continued all day, which was par for the course ever since Ned had found out about Peter.

        What’s Bucky like?

        Is his arm really metal?

        Do they ever kiss in front of you?

        Can they help you on your history exam?

        Does Bucky ever turn into a psycho assassin out of nowhere?

        Have you met Thor yet?

        “Ned,” Peter said at lunch, trying to keep his cool because, really, Peter would act the same if their roles were reversed. “Take a breath every once in a while.”

        “Sorry,” Ned said. “This is just the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me, I can’t believe I’m best friends with an Avenger.”

        Peter smiled in spite of himself.

        “So, why were you asking about soulmarks?” Ned asked, shifting the conversation.

        Peter absentmindedly put a hand to his arm, his soulmark hidden under his sleeve.

        Ned noticed and sighed. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

        Peter leaned back and rubbed a hand over his sleep-deprived eyes. They’d talked about this in length, ever since Peter had showed Ned his mark when they were kids. At first, it was an idle fantasy, a lot of what if’s and hopeful speculation. But since Ned learned about Spider-Man and knew Peter was actually friends with Tony Stark, it became a much more solid reality. Peter could actually be soul-bonded to Tony, and it scared him.

        He couldn’t exactly pinpoint why. To everyone else, being Tony Stark’s soulmate would be the best thing to ever happen to them, something Ned often told him. But to Peter it felt like having to live up to an impossible standard.

        Tony Freaking Stark would not want to be soul-bonded to a dumb kid who was notorious for getting in trouble.

        “Well,” Ned said when Peter remained silent. “You’ll have to tell him sometime.”

        “It’s not that simple,” Peter protested.

        “I think you’re over complicating it,” Ned countered without missing a beat.

        Peter opened his mouth to retort when everyone in the cafeteria got up and ran to the wall of windows, distracting them both from furthering their argument.

        “What’s going on?” Ned asked as he stood and followed the crowd, Peter going with him.

        The sight of the giant alien spaceship in the sky made some stare in silent awe and some start to panic.

        “Ned,” Peter said, staring at the ship. “You think you can cover for me?”

        Ned furrowed his brows. “You’re not gonna take on that thing alone, are you?”

        “Of course not,” Peter said. “But I’m thinking The Avengers are gonna need some help.”

        Ned stared at him. “That is literally the coolest thing you’ve ever said.”

        Peter couldn’t help but smile as he ran off, grabbing his backpack as he went.

Chapter Text

        Bucky looked up at Steve, a touch of annoyance striking him at the fact that he was now taller than him, and indicated he should open the door.

        “You open it,” Steve whispered.

        Bucky sighed. “You really think he’ll be okay if I walk into his lab unannounced. He barely lets me live here.”

        Steve looked from Bucky to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.

        “Okay, okay,” Tony said, never looking away from whatever project he was currently working on. “I’ll be there in a minute, just let me-” He cut himself off when he saw who had come into his lab. “Oh. It’s you.” He went back to his project. “I thought you were Pepper.”

        Steve stepped closer, Bucky behind him. “What are you working on?”

        Tony glanced at them. “Uh, modifications to the suit. I wanna see how long I can keep it charged.” He looked up at them with a wary expression. “What are you guys doing here?”

        Steve shrugged. “Just wanted to see what you were working on down here and, you know, say hi.”

        Tony gave him a long look before going back to the piece in his hand. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Neither of you have ever been down here, but sure. We can lie until we get to the point.”

        Bucky suddenly regretted letting Steve take the lead. Tony might not like him, but at least he was capable of lying. Steve couldn’t lie worth a damn.

        “Alright,” Steve said, putting his hands on his hips and taking a deep breath. “We wanted to know about your soulmark.”

        Tony gave him another look. “Awfully blunt there, Rogers,” he said. “Why do you need information about my soulmark?”

        Bucky and Steve glanced at each other.

        “Well,” Steve said, clearing his throat. “We were just sort of wondering… if maybe you’ve found out who it is yet.”

        Steve was bad at this. Steve was terrible at this. Steve should never be allowed to do something like this again.

        Tony slowly set down the piece he was working on and squinted at them. “And why, exactly, is that any of your business?”

        “So, you have found them,” Steve said.

        “I didn’t say that,” Tony said, stepping closer to them and folding his arms across his chest. “I just don’t think my personal life is any of your business.”

        “Tony,” Bucky said softly, stopping Steve from continuing and making things worse. “We’re just curious, that’s all. Steve has this strange...fascination with soulmarks and wants to compare his to everyone else’s.”

        Okay, maybe Bucky wasn’t good at this either.

        Tony looked between them, still unconvinced. “I’m gonna go back to my suit now,” he said. “And pretend you guys aren’t here until my wish comes true.”

        Steve opened his mouth to protest when all three of them received a distress signal at the same time.

        Tony pulled his phone out first and scanned the message. “We’ve got aliens,” he said, shutting the phone.

        “Again?” Steve asked.

        Tony pressed a button and his suit began to attach itself to him. “Better suit up. I’m thinking we’ll need everyone on this.”

        Bucky and Steve shared a glance before nodding and running out of the lab.

        “Saved by the bell,” Bucky said as they ran.

        “We were doing fine,” Steve replied.

        Bucky snorted. “I don’t actually see a scenario in which that could have gone worse.”

        Steve sighed. “We may just have to tell him what’s going on with Peter.”

        “After that? Yeah, I think so.”

~.~.~

        It was always aliens. Why was it always aliens? What was it about earth that made aliens think this was a great place to invade?

        Tony slowed his thrusters and stared wide-eyed at the ship coming in through what could possibly be a portal. It probably was. It was always a portal.

        The ship was huge, enough to carry hundreds of people. Or aliens, as the case may be.

        “Mr. Stark, what’s going on?”

        Tony turned to find Peter, already suited up, swinging toward him and standing next to him, staring up at the ship.

        “Hopefully we can find out before people start dying,” Tony replied. “Wait, aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

        Before Peter could answer, a portal opened up next to them and Doctor Strange stepped through it, looking at the both of them as if this was their fault.

        “What’s going on?” He asked, the portal closing behind him.

        Tony said nothing as he indicated the giant ship in the sky.

        In time, the rest of the Avengers took their places beside Tony. Steve and Bucky ran toward them, gun and shield at the ready. Vision appeared seemingly out of nowhere, Wanda with him. Sam flew in, Rhodey right behind him. Scott was there, though only Peter knew since he was currently tiny and sitting on Peter’s shoulder. Clint and Natasha sauntered in almost bored.

        They all vaguely noticed a man dressed all in red sitting off to the side and eating what looked to be a chimichanga, but the alien’s took precedence.

        “What do you think it is?” Steve asked, stepping up to Tony.

        Tony shrugged. “So far, they haven’t made a move, hostile or otherwise,” he said.

        Steve paused as he took in the whole scene. “Well, if they haven’t done anything yet, we should try to evacuate as many people as we can before they do. Who knows what they’re capable-”

        He was cut off by a flash of lighting and the thunder that followed.

        “Wait a minute…” Tony murmured, taking a step forward.

        “No way,” Natasha said.

        They all looked up at the small figure, looking as though lighting was carrying him safely to the ground, two other people with him.

        Thor reached the ground in front of them with a smile, Loki standing a fair distance behind him, and to his right…

        “Banner?” Tony said, letting his face plate lift up so he could get a good look at him.

        “Tony,” Bruce said with a smile, stepping forward and giving him a hug.

        “Where…” Tony stepped back. “Where have you been?”

        “Oh my god, it’s a long story,” Bruce said. “I was Hulk for, like, two years and I don’t even remember it. Thor lost his hammer and his dad and his eye and all of Asgard,” he said, listing them off. “He got Loki back, though.”

        “Yeah, I can see that…” Steve said, keeping a wary eye on the God of Mischief hiding behind his brother’s back.

        “It is good to see you, Captain,” Thor said, stepping forward and pulling Steve into a bone-crushing hug. On anyone else, it probably would actually be bone-crushing.

        “You got a haircut,” Steve said as he was allowed to breathe again.

        “I see you’ve copied my beard,” Thor replied with a smile. He turned to Tony. “And, of course, the Man of Iron,” he continued, hugging him as well and lifting him off his feet some.

        “You lost Asgard?” Tony asked as he was set back on the ground.

        A shadow passed over Thor’s face. “Like Banner said, it is a long story.” He looked up at the group. “There are many faces here I don’t recognize,” he said cheerfully.

        Tony looked back at the group. “Yeah, I guess we’ll have to introduce you to all our new recruits.” He looked down at Peter who looked like he was about to jump out of his skin with excitement. “Starting with this guy,” he said, gripping Peter’s arm and pulling him forward. “This is Spider-Man.”

        “Man of Spiders,” Thor said, extending his hand.

        Peter made a noise that could only be classified as a squeal before taking Thor’s hand and shaking it vigorously. “Thor, oh my god…” was all he was able to say as he held Thor’s hand in a death grip, unable to find his voice.

        “You have quite a strong grip,” Thor said, matching Peter’s strength and shaking with as much gusto. “You must be among the strongest of the Avengers.”

        Peter made another squeak and Tony put a hand on his shoulder to pull him back.

        “He’s… a little star-struck,” Tony explained.

        “So, this isn’t a threat?” Stephen said, stepping forward.

        Thor suddenly looked very grave. “We have brought something with us,” he said. “They’ve been following for days and attacked the ship once. There are many of them, and I would not bring them here, but I have Asgardian citizens on my ship and I did not want to risk them. They’ve already lost too much.”

        Tony looked up at the ship and back at his friend. “Thor, what did you bring with you?”

        Thor took a breath. “I have not met them before,” he said. “They are easy to kill, but with so many of them, I will need help.”

        “And that’s where we come in,” Tony said. “Is there no way to close the portal before they get here?”

        “Loki called in a favor,” Thor said. “I am told the portal will stay open for at least an hour, but they will be here before then.” He paused. “I am sorry to have brought this upon you, but I do not have many choices,” Thor looked at them guiltily.

        “Well, you are an Avenger,” Steve said. “Which means your citizens should fall under The Avenger’s jurisdiction.”

        “I’d love to see you try to argue that one with the UN,” Tony muttered.

        “When will they be here?” Stephen asked, turning the conversation back to the imminent threat.

        “Any second,” Thor replied.

        “And him,” Tony asked, gesturing to Loki still standing far away from them all.

        “We can trust him,” Thor said. “Today.”

        “That doesn’t inspire much confidence,” Tony said.

        “Well, he hasn’t tried to kill anyone in a while,” Bruce interjected.

        Tony gave him a look.

        “He is on our side in this,” Thor assured.

        “If it comes down to it,” Loki said, taking a step forward. “You can always take me down again. And it seems you have more people to help this time.”

        Tony looked from Loki to Thor and opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, when they heard a loud crack in the sky and their attention was shifted elsewhere.

        “They’re here,” Thor said, turning to face what looked like a swarm of bees from far away.

        But the closer they got, the more they realized, they were going to be much harder to kill than a bee.

        “Aim for the head,” Thor yelled over the sound of thousands of aliens flying over the city.

        They looked like giant green beetles, almost as if they’d been grown in a radioactive lab. Most of them had wings, and the ones that didn’t were being carried. They had way too many legs, at least six each, and claws instead of hands. Their eyes were huge and black and shiny, and the closer they got, the louder they became. Along with the sound of the wings, they shrieked.

        Peter put his hands to his ears, covering them as the shrieking got louder.

        “Karen, compensate for the noise,” Tony said, not taking his eyes off the swarm.

        Peter let out a soft gasp as his suit dulled the sound.

        “Okay, like Thor said,” Steve yelled over the buzzing. “Aim for the heads.”

        As if to test the theory, Tony fired up a repulsor and shot one straight between the eyes. Its head exploded and green blood fell from the sky.

        “Yep, that works,” Tony said as his face plate fell back into place and he activated his thrusters.

        Without another word, everyone sprung into action.

        Those that could fly headed straight into the fray while Bucky and Clint shot them from below. Those that were grounded stood at the ready, but they didn’t have to wait long as many aliens got past their fliers and were heading straight for them.

        To say it was a bloodbath was an understatement. Within minutes, the entire city looked like it was completely covered in green goo, aliens exploding left and right from repulsors and arrows, bullets and lightning bolts. But it wasn’t just weapons that were useful. A well aimed kick or punch did the job just as well, and they had to wonder what exactly their motivation was and how something as weak as this could have lasted this long in the universe. Clearly they had numbers on their side, and their claws did pack a wallop, but if a kick from a sixteen-year-old kid could kill an alien, they couldn’t be doing too well.

        “What the hell are these things?” Peter said, ripping one of their heads clean off and then shooting a web at another to keep it still while he drove his heel into its skull. He made a disgusted noise and pulled his foot back.

        “A warmup,” Tony said.

        Peter stopped and looked up, the blood draining from his masked face as a swarm of much larger aliens descended.

        Tony shot a replusor at one of them and it bounced off its shell, not even slowing the thing down. “I thought Thor said they were easy to kill,” he said, backing up a bit.

        “Well, he was half right,” Peter said, swinging out of the way of another alien heading straight toward him.

        Tony aimed another repulsor at its head and it exploded. “Head shots still work,” he said, his resolve strengthened.

        “Yeah, well, if they keep getting bigger and tougher, we’re in trouble,” Steve said, as a flash of lighting shot overhead and brought thunder and the beginnings of a heavy rain with it.

        The fight continued, the Avengers now taking a real beating. Teamwork was really going to be of the essence now as those without weapons would have to rely on those with. It became a series of distracting the aliens long enough to get a good shot in. Steve, Bucky, and Sam were an excellent team as Sam went high, Steve went low, and Bucky came in for the kill. Wanda and Vision created a ruthless team that should absolutely be feared as Wanda lifted the aliens in the air while Vision had perfect aim. Scott, Stephen, and Rhodey formed an unlikely team as Scott was able to keep the aliens distracted, Stephen provided illusions and escape portals, and Rhodey shot them from behind. Clint and Natasha were their own brand of tough and were able to incorporate all their training into exploding as many heads as possible. Thor and Loki killed the most, though it wasn’t surprising as they were Gods, and had been joined by a woman in a silver suit none of them had noticed before. Everyone stayed out of Hulk’s way as he did the one thing he knew. Smash.

        No one saw where the guy in red had gone off to.

        That left Tony and Peter. There was a definite rhythm to the way Peter and Tony fought together. From an outside perspective, it looked like Spider-Man was just using his extra sense to know exactly when to strike and when to get out of the way. But to the both of them, it was different, a gut feeling. And, were they not in the heat of battle, they might have noticed.

        “It’s starting to thin out,” Steve’s voice could be heard over the comms.

        By this point, they’d been so spread out, communication was limited.

        “Keep going, I think we’re almost through the worst of it,” Tony said, grunting as an alien claw came down and he blocked it, shooting it in the face and ducking away from the spray of blood. He paused to check the sky, hoping he wasn’t about to be proven wrong by another wave. It was raining properly now, making it harder to see and worse to fight.

        “Mr. Stark!” Peter yelled.

        Tony felt himself being pushed roughly forward and out of the way of two oncoming aliens. He watched as Peter was slammed into, flying backward and into the side of a building.

        “Peter!” Tony yelled as the kid was gripped by the throat and slammed into the ground. He could practically hear the boy’s bones crunch.

        In one swift motion, Tony spun around and blasted one of the aliens directly between the eyes, green blood spraying everywhere, and used his thrusters to shoot toward Peter who wasn’t able to get the upper hand and was struggling under the alien claw still gripping his neck. The alien lifted another limb that looked like one large talon, and thrust down.

        Peter screamed as the talon cleaved right through the suit and the flesh of his abdomen. Tony growled and aimed right at the alien, catching it off guard by colliding into it and sending it sprawling to the ground. He charged his repulsors and the alien wasn’t given a chance to even blink as its head was blown to smithereens.

        Tony glared at the carcass of the alien before remembering his purpose and turning back to the kid who was breathing hard and had a hand pressed to the hole in his side, blood seeping out and mixing with the rain.

        “FRIDAY,” Tony said, kneeling next to Peter. “Talk to me.”

        “He has a concussion and three broken ribs, but the puncture wound remains the most serious,” she said helpfully.

        “No shit,” Tony grumbled. “Is he in immediate danger?”

        “He was stabbed clean through,” FRIDAY said. “Which is serious enough, but the alien venom is spreading faster than any poison recorded. If we don’t get him to a medical facility in the next ten minutes, there’s a very real possibility he could die.”

        “Fuck,” Tony said, quite audibly. “Kid? Peter?”

        Peter’s mask disappeared to reveal a tear-streaked face filled with terror and Tony allowed his own mask to open.

        “Hey, buddy,” Tony said, hovering over him to shield him from the rain and smiling to hopefully calm him down before he could go into shock. “How you doin’?”

        Peter choked on a sob. “It h-hurts,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and letting his head fall back against the wet sidewalk.

        “We’re gonna get help, okay?” Tony reassured. “But you gotta pay attention to me and don’t fall asleep.”

        Peter opened his eyes, a little dazed, but obediently kept them on his mentor.

        “Strange,” Tony said into the comm. “You still alive?”

        There was a grunt as if Stephen had just punched a decently sized alien before he answered.

        “What is it?” Stephen asked.

        “Peter’s bleeding,” Tony said. “Eyes on me kid.” He put a hand to Peter’s tear-streaked cheek. “We need to get him to the hospital as fast as we can. Alien poison is spreading. You’re the only one I can think of that’ll get him there in time.”

        “I’ll be right there,” Stephen said right before opening a portal and stepping through, closing it on the head of another alien, severing it completely.

        It was… well, it was badass. But now was not the time.

        Tony moved aside to give the doctor some room. “I don’t know if our med bay has the right stuff to help,” he said worriedly. “It’s been under construction since the move and it’s not done yet.”

        Stephen gently removed Peter’s hands from the wound to inspect it. “You’re right,” he said after a minute. “But I wouldn’t trust your run-of-the-mill doctor to take care of this either. We can take him to my hospital, they’ll let me work on him there.”

        Tony nodded absently, looking back at Peter as his eyes started blinking slowly.

        “Here,” Stephen said, unfastening his cloak and handing it to Tony. “Wrap him in this so he doesn’t go into shock. I’ll open a portal.” He pressed two fingers to the comm in his ear. “Steve?”

        “Yeah?” Steve’s breathless voice could be heard through the comms while Tony wrapped the cloak around the kid.

        “When Hulk shrinks back down, have him meet me at Metro-General,” Stephen said. “I’ll need another pair of hands experienced in superhero reparation.”

        Steve paused. “What happened?”

        “Spider-Man is down,” Stephen replied before straightening up and opening the portal.

        “Cap, do you think you can handle the rest of this without us?” Tony asked.

        Steve paused. “I think we’re almost through,” he confirmed. “Go.”

        That was all Tony needed as he retracted his suit and knelt down to gingerly lift Peter into his arms. The lack of reaction from the kid had him more worried than before and he hugged the boy to his chest as he walked through the portal and into the waiting room of Metro-General Hospital.

        Stephen followed him in. “We need help here!” He yelled to the nearest nurse.

        At this point, the hospital staff was more than used to superheroes bursting through the doors and demanding help, even more used to Strange appearing in the middle of the waiting room.

        There was a designated area for him.

        “What happened?” The nurse asked, springing into action.

        “Stab wound in the lower abdomen,” Stephen explained as a gurney was wheeled quickly over to them and more doctors and nurses arrived to help. “There’s some sort of poison spreading. We need to try to combat it before it can get any further.”

        “Mr… S’ark?” Peter mumbled as Tony gently lowered him onto the gurney.

        “I’m right here, Peter,” Tony said, gripping his hand. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”

        Peter could barely smile and didn’t seem to even notice the tears still running down his face. Tony reached down and pressed his thumb to one of Peter’s cuffs, watching the suit retract into them and then reaching for one of the hospital blankets to replace the cloak.

        “Superpowers?” A doctor asked.

        “Strength is the only one of note, I think,” Stephen replied as he fastened his cloak back into place.

        “Super healing, too,” Tony added.

        “We’ll bring up his file from the med bay at the tower,” Stephen said. “Wheel him to the nearest OR, I’ll meet you there. Tony,” he said, putting a hand on Tony’s chest to stop him from going any further. “You have to wait here.”

        Tony wanted to protest, but the longer he kept Strange from helping Peter, the closer he was to dying. He  looked down at the barely coherent teenager.“I’m gonna have to break my promise, kiddo,” he said softly. “But you’ll be with Stephen and he’ll take good care of you, okay?”

        Peter looked like maybe he wanted to say something, but couldn’t find the words. The most he could do was squeeze Tony’s hand very lightly.

        Tony squeezed back with a watery smile and then let go, watching them wheel Peter away. He turned to look at Stephen. “Don’t let him die,” he said in barely more than a whisper.

        Strange gave him a long look and nodded once before following the rushing doctors.

        Tony stared at the closed doors and was surprised to find out he’d been crying. He reached up to wipe away the tears when a sharp pain in his arm made him cry out.

        “What the…” He held his arm up and shoved his sleeve back. His breath caught in his throat as he watched his soulmark change colors rapidly. It went from blue to black in quick succession and every time it went black, the burning pain returned.

        But the pain was the last thing on his mind, because Tony had finally discovered who his soulmate was.

        And he was dying.

        Tony looked up at the doors in fear. He wasn’t sure what was worse, waiting in the dark, or literally having a direct link to how well the surgery was going. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and tried to take deep breaths as the possibility of losing his soulmate became more real every time the mark went black.

        How could he have missed it? How could he have been this blind? Of course it was the kid.

        Of course it was Peter.

        “Tony!”

        He turned to find a group of most of the Avengers bursting through the doors, wet and dirty and making a mess all over the floor.

        “Where is he?” Bruce asked.

        All Tony could do was point to the doors leading to the OR and Bruce rushed through them.

        “Tony?” Steve asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

        Tony looked up at him and lifted his arm, not saying a word.

        They all looked down at the mark as it continued to change color.

        “You're kidding,” Natasha said. “The kid?”

        “Please tell me it's blue,” Clint said.

        “Of course it's blue, Clint. Don't be disgusting,” Bucky said, smacking him on the back of the head. With his metal hand.

        “He’ll be okay, Tony,” Steve said. “Bruce and Stephen will see to that.”

        Tony swallowed, not even attempting to stop the tears from falling down his face. “Well, it’s not looking good at the moment,” he said hoarsely.

        “He’ll be okay,” Steve reiterated. “Come on. Let’s sit. It could be a while.”

        Tony let Steve steer him to a group of empty seats and sat down heavily. He leaned forward and put his face in his hands, trying to keep the overwhelming flood of emotions from crushing him. The soothing hand rubbing circles on his back helped.

        “I can’t,” Tony said softly.

        “Can’t what?” Steve asked, continuing to rub his back.

        “I can’t lose him,” Tony said. “Not now. Not now that I know.” He lifted anguished eyes to his friend. “What the hell kind of cruel joke is the universe trying to play?”

        Steve exchanged a look with Bucky before turning his attention back to Tony. “He’ll be okay,” he said for the third time.

        “Stop saying that,” Tony said, hanging his head. “There’s no way for you to know that.”

        Steve paused before reaching down and gripping Tony’s wrist, lifting it up so the soulmark was in view of everyone there. “Then we’ll sit here and we won’t take our eyes off this until it’s solid again.”

        Tony looked down at the mark, barely registering the pain every time it shifted. “What if it stays black?”

        Steve swallowed. “Then we’ll be here. And we’ll deal with it.”

        Tony closed his eyes and let two tears drip onto the floor, trying to ignore that possible scenario. But it became almost impossible when the next second, his soulmark started to burn hotter and he gasped and stood, staring at the mark as it looked like it was trying to brand the word into his skin.

        He watched in horror as it stopped, the black never fading back to blue.

        “No,” he whispered. “Come on, Peter, please don’t do this to me. Please.”

        Steve stared at the mark and then looked back up at Tony’s face, denial written all over it.

        Tony put a hand to his mouth as he stared at the black mark, not even realizing that he was shaking uncontrollably.

        And then, in an instant, the black faded back to blue.

        And stayed.

        Tony let go of the air in his lungs, his legs feeling weak under him. Steve immediately helped him back into the chair and Tony slumped into it, exhaustion from too many emotions and a battle with aliens finally catching up to him.

        He took a minute to breathe deep, letting the oxygen clear the dizziness from his head. He was okay. He was going to be okay. He looked down at the mark for reassurance again, even though the burning never returned.

        “Is…” Tony took a breath. “Is everyone else okay?”

        Steve nodded. “We took care of the rest of them and then came straight here once the portal closed,” he said. “Thor and Loki went back to the ship to check on the Asgardians and Wanda and Vision are helping with clean-up.”

        Tony looked up at the group surrounding him. Along with Steve, Bucky, Clint, and Natasha, Sam was in the corner with Rhodey and Scott.

        They were all completely soaking wet and covered in mud and green goo. Natasha had blood in her hair, Clint had a nasty cut on his bicep, Sam had a split lip, Bucky was trying to squeeze the rain out of his hair before giving up and pulling it back into a bun, Rhodey looked exhausted, Scott had fallen asleep, and Steve was still focusing all his attention on Tony.

        “You guys… don’t have to stay,” Tony said softly, looking around at their haggard appearance.

        Steve smiled. “We’re here for you, Tony. And for the kid. We wanna make sure he’s okay too.”

        They stayed in the waiting room for a long while, none of them keeping track of the time. Every once in a while, someone would look over at Tony’s arm, just for the reassurance that Peter was alive.

        Tony never took his eyes off the word. He spent the next hour and a half staring at the blue letters. At one point, he had to smile at how ridiculous it was. The first thing Peter ever said to him was “Um”, because of course it was. Tony no longer felt ridiculous having the word printed on him. He’d forever wear it with pride. And of course poke fun at the kid every chance he got.

        Steve stood suddenly and Tony looked up to find Bruce stepping up to them, wearing a doctor’s coat and looking much cleaner than he had an hour and a half ago.

        “He’ll be okay,” he said with a small smile. “We… we did lose him for a minute there, but he’s tough. He wasn’t going down without a fight.”

        Tony stood. “Can I see him?”

        Bruce nodded. “He’s out cold right now, but we’re expecting him to wake up sooner than normal, what with the accelerated healing and all.” He turned. “I can take you to him, but maybe not everyone at once?”

        “You go,” Steve said to Tony. “We’ll go back to the tower and get cleaned up and come back later.”

        Tony smiled his thanks and followed Bruce back through the doors and to the elevator. It took them up to level five and Bruce then led him to room 514.

        “Stark,” Stephen said from his spot in front of the room, also wearing a doctor’s coat and looking cleaner, his cloak floating next to him looking almost miffed at being replaced by a coat.

        “Strange,” Tony replied.

        “It was… touch and go for a while,” Stephen said. “We were able to stop the poison from spreading fast, but there seemed to be no way to reverse it. We think his accelerated healing and radioactive blood is what finally stopped it and then began to expel the poison from his system.” He exchanged a look with Bruce. “We think his body getting rid of the poison is taking more out of him than any of us were expecting, so he’s not healing as fast as we would like. He still has a concussion and broken ribs and they’re healing slowly, so I’m guessing he’ll be here for a couple of days at least. We can transfer him to the med bay at the tower when it’s safe to move him.”

        Tony nodded and let out a sigh. “Thank you,” he said in barely above a whisper.

        Stephen just smiled and opened the door for him.

        Tony took a deep breath and entered the dark room. He was sure they were keeping it dark due to Peter’s sensitivity, and Tony had to remember to thank them for the small details. He felt his heart jump into his throat when he saw the teenager asleep against the pillows. He looked peaceful, but there were obvious signs of fighting all over him. Dark circles under his eyes, a bruise on his cheekbone, a cut here and there, and of course the bandages holding his ribs in place and covering the gaping wound in his stomach. He was pale, maybe too pale, and gaunt. He had looked so much healthier mere hours ago. Whatever the poison was, it worked fast. Tony didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if Peter wasn’t special.

        With a sigh, Tony grabbed the chair in the corner and moved it right next to Peter’s bedside. He sat slowly and took a minute to stare at the boy’s arm, reaching out and brushing his fingers against the blue mark, feeling a strange sense of warmth flow through him. He didn’t remember what he’d said to Peter the first time he’d met him, and the words on his arm didn’t look right. But they felt right.

        “You little asshole,” Tony whispered. “You knew this whole time, didn’t you?” He chuckled. “You know, you could’ve told me. Did you think I’d be mad or something?”

        He paused, a frown settling on his face. No, Peter didn’t think he’d be mad. But maybe he was worried Tony would laugh at him. Or even worse, that Tony wouldn’t want to be soulmates.

        And then the evil intrusive thought snuck into the back of his head in an attempt to convince him Peter was the one who wouldn’t want to be soulmates. Tony knew this was ridiculous, but he still couldn’t shake the nagging feeling.

        He shook his head of the self-deprecating thoughts and decided to worry about it when Peter woke up. They could discuss it then.

        He swallowed and reached over to grip Peter’s limp hand, reaching his other hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. The curls were soft, the hair of a young child, and Tony was struck with how young Peter really was.

        He shouldn’t be fighting alien wars and getting himself almost killed. He shouldn’t be so close to death that his soulmate has a panic attack in the waiting room. He should be worried about homework and high school crushes. He should be thinking about what college to attend after graduation and choosing his dream job.

        None of this should have happened. None of it.

        Including Tony recruiting a fifteen-year-old kid to fight a battle with him and then spending a year and a half putting him in danger.

        Tony hung his head as he thought about it. He knew there was no way Steve would hurt a kid, but that really didn’t make it okay. Peter could have been seriously injured. Every mission was a possible disaster waiting to happen, and he was lucky this one didn’t end worse.

        “What are you beating yourself up about now?”

        Tony snapped his head up and his heart quickened when he saw a very tired Peter smiling at him.

        “Hey, kid,” Tony said, giving his hand a light squeeze. “How do you feel?”

        Peter took a ragged breath. “Like a million bucks,” he said, his voice raspy.

        “Well, you look it,” Tony said, smiling.

        Peter gave him a long look. “This isn’t your fault, you know,” he said softly.

        Tony shook his head. “I brought you into this.”

        “I was already in it,” Peter said. “I was already fighting bad guys long before you showed up.”

        “You were fighting bank robbers and pulling people out of burning buildings,” Tony protested. “Not fighting vultures and aliens and getting yourself stuck in the hospital.”

        “Come on, Mr. Stark, do you really think if Spider-Man saw The Avengers fighting aliens today that he wouldn’t join the fight?”

        Tony had to admit, Peter wouldn’t stand idly by.

        Peter smiled at his supposed triumph. “Hey, Mr. Stark. Did anyone call May?”

        Tony’s heart dropped into his stomach. May was going to actually murder him this time. She probably already knew about the aliens due to the news.

        He reached into his pocket and fished out his cellphone, wincing at the thirty-seven missed calls from May. He was sure Peter had more.

        “Your aunt is gonna kill me,” Tony murmured.

        “I don’t envy you, Mr. Stark,” Peter said softly.

        Tony looked up and saw Peter’s eyes droop and then snap open as he tried to stay awake. “Go to sleep, Peter,” he said. “I’ll wake you up when May gets here.”

        Peter tried to fight it a few more times, but the exhaustion won and he passed out right when May answered her phone after the first ring.

        “Hey, May,” Tony said, trying to sound cheerful.

        “Tony, what is going on?” She asked. Tony could practically see her pacing in her apartment.

        Tony cleared his throat. “Okay, listen…”

Chapter Text

        “It’s hospital policy that patients have to leave in a wheelchair,” the nurse said.

        Peter folded his arms like an insubordinate child and glared at the wheelchair. “I can walk fine.”

        Tony gave him a look. “Okay, Underoos. Walk.”

        Peter looked at him and squinted his eyes, sure this was a trap but not sure why. “Okay,” he said, pushing himself further off the bed. The second he hit the ground, they could all see his legs wobble, but he was able to remain upright. “See?”

        “That’s standing,” Tony pointed out. “If you can even call it that. Walk.”

        Peter gave him an indignant look before taking one step… and immediately tilting to the side. Tony caught him before he could fall on his face, but it couldn’t take away the blush creeping up his neck and settling on his cheeks.

        “Good attempt, Pete,” Tony said, patting him on the back as he helped him into the chair. “But how about we save the walking for when you’re not on painkillers that throw you off your equilibrium, huh?”

        Peter was exhausted just from that small action and leaned his head back against the chair in frustration.

        Tony placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Pete,” he said. “The medbay at the tower has all kinds of toys to get you back on your feet.”

        “All ready to go?” May said, stepping into the room with a smile on her face.

        “I’m all signed out?” Peter asked, hopeful.

        “All signed out,” she confirmed. “So, are we off to the tower?”

        “We?” Tony asked as he began to wheel Peter out of the room. He was sure the nurse was supposed to do it, but why not give her a break?

        “Yeah,” May said, laughing sarcastically. “Because I’m going to go sit in that apartment all by myself and worry about my nephew until he finally comes home.” She shook her head. “Not a chance. I’m coming with.”

        Tony smiled down at Peter who was looking a little worried.

        “Well, we’ve got rooms to spare,” Tony said. “But just remember, there is a stupid amount of Avengers there waiting for him, and I wouldn’t put it past Cap to have bought a cake and balloons.”

        “Oh, good,” May said, with a smile. “Because my baby deserves the best.” She ruffled Peter’s hair and Peter tried to duck his head.

        “Okay, bud,” Tony said as they made it past the lobby and out to the pick up/drop off area. “This is where we leave the wheelchair.” He looked around. “Whenever our ride gets here…”

        “You dolls going my way?” Someone said from what Tony now recognized as one of the cars from his garage.

        “They let you drive my car?” Tony asked as Bucky exited the driver’s seat and jogged over to help with their bags.

        “I wanted to take the Ferrari, but Steve pointed out there was no backseat,” Bucky said softly as he popped the trunk and placed the bags inside. “And then he said I wasn’t allowed to just take Peter and leave, so I took the only four door car you have.”

        “And why are you the one picking us up?” Tony asked.

        Bucky smiled. “Because I was the only one who didn’t want to help with the decorations.”

        Peter groaned.

        “Told you Cap was planning a party,” Tony muttered as he helped Peter out of the wheelchair.

        Bucky rushed over to help and together they got the kid into the backseat, May sliding in beside him.

        “I’m driving,” Tony said, holding his hand out for the keys.

        Bucky sighed. “Fine,” he said, tossing them to him and accepting his spot in the passenger’s side. “But I’m stealing that Ferrari someday.”

        “Over my dead body,” Tony replied, starting the car up.

        Bucky shrugged. “So be it,” he murmured with a smile.

        Tony gave him a look before taking off.

        It wasn’t a terribly long drive back to the compound, but evidently long enough for Peter to fall asleep. Even with Tony’s reckless driving and cursing at the morons on the road, Peter never woke up.

        When he’d pulled up to the building, he stopped the car and turned around, smiling at the scene. Peter was leaning heavily against May, his head on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist. She was smiling down at him and running her fingers through his hair affectionately.

        “Hey, Pete,” Tony whispered, poking the boy’s shoulder.

        Peter mumbled and snuggled closer to his aunt.

        “Well,” Tony said. “I guess we’ll have to carry him inside.”

        “I haven’t been able to carry this boy since he was eight,” May said softly.

        “I can go get a suit and carry him in,” Tony offered. “I’d do it without one, but my back is not letting me do that again.”

        “I got him,” Bucky said, stepping out of the car and opening the back door. He leaned down and carefully wrapped one of Peter’s arms around his neck and then gently put his metal arm under his knees and his flesh arm around his back. In one swift motion, Peter was cradled in his arms, resting his head against his neck and still breathing slowly, deep in sleep.

        “That kid could sleep through the end of the world,” Tony commented, helping May, grabbing their bags out of the car, and then sending the car to the garage without a driver.

        Bucky watched the car go in awe before adjusting his hold on the teenager and following Tony into the tower. Steve was standing in the foyer, smiling when he saw him.

        “Kid passed out on the way here,” Tony told him. “I’m thinking all parties will have to be put on hold.”

        “Yeah, Buck texted me,” Steve said. “We’ll wait.”

        Tony looked over at Bucky. “You text now?”

        “Got my own cell phone and everything,” Bucky said, leading the way into the elevator.

        As they ascended all the way up to the med bay, Peter stirred a little, a touch of discomfort on his face, but settled again. They knew he would be mortified by all their affectionate looks at him, but they figured if he was unconscious, what was the harm?

        The door opened with a soft ding, and they followed Bucky to the empty bed. He lowered Peter down gently, reaching up and lifting his arm from his neck. Peter mumbled something again before rolling over, his breathing once again evening out as he was pulled further into sleep.

        “Come on,” Steve whispered to Bucky, and the two of them left the room.

        After a minute, May spoke. “I need to put my bag somewhere, where am I staying?”

        “Uh, go to the elevator, FRIDAY will take you there,” Tony replied absently.

        May reached up and gripped his shoulder, causing him to look over at her. “He was lucky you were there, Tony.”

        Tony looked back at Peter, his face falling a little. “I’m the reason he was there in the first place.”

        “Hey,” May gripped his chin and made him look at her. “Peter was a reckless moron before you ever came into the picture. If you weren’t there to get him out of trouble all the time, he’d be dead now.”

        “You don’t know that,” Tony countered.

        “Will you stop with the self-deprecating bullshit,” May said, putting her hands on her hips and making Tony feel like he was being scolded by his mother. “It’s a good thing you were there. You’re good for him, whether you think you are or not. He needs you.” She took a breath and looked down at her sleeping nephew. “More than either of you know.” She reached down and grabbed her duffel bag.

        “FRIDAY will let you know when he wakes up,” Tony said.

        She looked at him and nodded. “Thank you,” she said, giving him a look that suggested there was way more behind her words than appeared on the surface.

        “May,” Tony said before she could leave. “How… how did you do it?”

        May tilted her head in a silent question.

        Tony hesitated. “How did you handle the loss of your husband?” He asked finally.

        May took a minute to think about it, not exactly sure what to say.

        “If you don’t want to answer-”

        “No, it’s okay,” she said softly. “It was… probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.” She looked down at the scar on her arm. “Losing a soulmate is like losing a part of yourself. It’s a void that I don’t think will ever completely fill.” She smiled down at Peter. “But even though I’ve lost Ben, I’ve also realized that soulmates aren’t the only important thing in the world. People usually think they’re the most important to us, but it doesn’t mean our relationships with others have to suffer.” She looked at Tony. “To be honest with you, I don’t think I could have gotten through it without Peter.” She gave him a warm smile before turning and walking away.

        Tony watched her walk to the elevator and then turned his attention back to the boy in the bed.

        With a sigh, he sat down in a chair next to Peter, happy for the comfort it provided. He knew he wasn’t leaving Peter’s side again tonight. According to the monitors, his vitals were fine, Tony knew he was fine, but he didn’t want to let the boy out of his sight for longer than absolutely necessary.

~.~.~

        Peter slept until the next morning. Either the painkillers he’d been given were that strong, or his body was too exhausted to do much else. Whatever the case, he finally opened his eyes to Tony sitting in a cushioned chair with a laptop and some kind of earpiece, his feet propped up on a coffee table.

        “Okay, well did you talk to Pepper about it?” Tony was saying as he typed something out on the computer. “See, and that’s why I made her CEO. All this is her job now.” He paused as whoever was on the other line said something. “Tell you what. Ask Pepper first and she’ll ask me and then you and I don’t have to talk anymore, okay?” He didn’t give whoever it was a chance to say anything more as he hung up on them. He ripped the earpiece out of his ear and tossed it aside, not even looking at where it landed.

        “Stark Industries in crisis?” Peter asked, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded.

        Tony snapped his head up and smiled. “You’re awake,” he said, setting the laptop down on the table and standing. “And yes, it’s always in crisis. How do you feel?”

        Peter pushed himself to a sitting position, wincing slightly. “Better than the last couple days, actually,” he admitted. He put a hand to his abdomen. “I think my ribs are probably healed all the way now.”

        “That’s great,” Tony said, stepping forward. “But let’s let Bruce take a look at them before we eighty-six the bandages.”

        Peter nodded and looked around. “I… don’t remember how I got here,” he said softly.

        “You fell asleep in the car,” Tony informed him. “And we had to carry you up here. But don’t worry, you didn’t do or say anything too embarrassing.”

        Peter ran a hand through his hair. “Did Cap have the party?”

        “From what I understand, it’s been postponed until tonight, due to the guest of honor being in a coma,” Tony said as he stepped over to the side table where a pitcher of water and a glass were sitting. He poured a cup and handed it to Peter, who drank it down as if he’d been hiking in the desert for three days.

        Peter wiped at his mouth and set the glass down.

        “Are you hungry?” Tony asked. “I can have someone bring something up.”

        Peter nodded. “Yeah, actually.”

        Tony pulled out his phone, tapped it a few times, and then shoved it back into his pocket.

        Peter looked at him strangely as an awkward silence fell. Tony hated awkwardness and was always filling the dead air with something to ease the tension, whether it be a witty joke or clever anecdote. But instead, he stood to the side looking, for the first time, at a loss for words.

        “Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “Is something going on?”

        “No,” Tony said a little too quickly. “Not really.”

        Peter waited for him to continue.

        “Well,” Tony said. “There is one thing that I need you to explain.”

        Peter tilted his head like a confused puppy.

        Tony stepped forward and reached down to the boy’s arm, lifting it and softly touching the mark there. He then lifted his own to compare. “Obviously, I’m the more articulate one.”

        Peter’s eyes widened and his cheeks burned.

        Tony sighed as he let go of Peter’s arm. “Why didn’t you say something?” He asked. “Did you think I’d be mad?”

        Peter hesitated. “No,” he said softly. “I… I guess I just thought you wouldn’t like the idea.” He looked away in embarrassment.

        “The idea?” Tony asked.

        “You know,” Peter said, still not looking at him. “You don’t want to be… shackled to a kid.”

        Tony’s face softened as he looked at him, wondering how in the hell he got so lucky and who the hell made Peter think so little of himself.

        “Peter,” Tony said, pulling the chair close and sitting so he could look him in the eye.

        Except Peter didn’t want to look him in the eye, instead staring at the tile.

        Tony reached out to grip the kid’s chin and forced him to look at him. “Peter,” he said again. “I want you to understand something very important. This,” he let go of his chin and reached down to grip Peter’s arm, twisting it slightly so the mark was in full view. “This is the best thing that has happened to me in sixteen years.”

        Peter looked down at the mark and back up into Tony’s face, the beginnings of tears making themselves known.

        “This mark showed up sixteen years ago, and until then I thought it was entirely possible I’d be the only one without a soulmate. And it crushed me.” He let go of Peter’s arm and swallowed.

        Tony had prepared a speech, but wasn’t saying anything he’d planned. Hoping he’d still be able to get his point across, he continued.

        “I have been looking for you for so long,” he said. “And when you showed up a year and a half ago, I missed it. I wasn’t paying attention and I missed it.” He took a breath and closed his eyes, trying to pull his thoughts together and hoping he got them out before he became a blubbering mess. “Look,” he looked back at the kid, the boy’s eyes wide and shining with tears. “I’m not trying to replace anyone. I know your dad and your uncle meant a lot to you, and I could never take their place. But I want you to know that this,” he waved his hand between them. “This is something that I never want to let go of. Because,” he swallowed the lump in his throat, but he had to say it. He had to. “Because I love you, kid. I just didn’t realize how much.”

        Peter stared into his mentor’s eyes, looking for any sign of deception, but the only thing he found was earnest truth. And before he knew what he was doing, he threw his arms around Tony’s neck and hugged him tight.

        He didn’t think of super strength until it was too late, but apparently it didn’t matter because Tony was hugging him back with almost as much force.

        Tony put his hand to the back of the kid’s head, running it through his messy curls and then rocking back and forth when Peter let out a sob.

        “Shit, kid, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Tony said, the snark back in his voice.

        Peter huffed out a laugh. “It’s probably just the drugs,” he said, his voice cracking.

        Tony smiled. “Yeah, probably.”

        After a minute, Tony pulled away, reaching up to wipe at the tears streaming down Peter’s face.

        “Now,” Tony said. “First thing’s first. I want no more of this Mr. Stark business. You are officially required, as my soulmate, to call me Tony. Capisce?”

        Peter laughed. “Okay,” he said.

        “And secondly,” Tony paused, taking a deep breath. “Secondly, you are officially part owner of Stark Industries.”

        Peter gave him another deer-in-the-headlights look. “I… I what?”

        “I need someone to pass the legacy down to, and you’re a prime candidate.”

        “B-but-”

        Tony cut him off. “Listen,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I was going to give it to you anyway, I was just planning to wait until you were eighteen. But, considering the circumstances, I figure I can name you my heir now.”

        “What,” Peter swallowed. “What about Pepper?”

        “Well, part owner doesn’t mean all,” Tony shrugged. “And at some point Pepper and I will be too old to deal with this shit. So, we agreed to give it to you. You’ll have to go to college, which will be paid for, of course, and then we’ll set you up with an actual internship so you can see how everything works.”

        “Mr. Stark, you don’t have to-”

        “It’s Tony,” he said, folding his arms. “And you’re right, I don’t. But the thing is, these are all things you deserve. You’ve been through a lot, Peter. You should be given every opportunity because you’re a fucking genius and I am not going to watch you struggle to get into college. If you decide you don’t want SI, then we can figure something else out. But for now, the offer stands.”

        Peter was silent for a solid thirty seconds, looking off at nothing as his brain processed the information.

        “That was too much too fast, wasn’t it?” Tony said, beginning to regret ever saying anything.

        Peter looked up at him. “Well,” he said. “It’s a lot to take in.”

        “You don’t have to make any big decisions right now. We can talk about it later,” Tony assured. He sighed. “I’ve just... had a lot to think about over the last few days and ever since I made the decision, it’s been hard keeping it from you.” He smiled at the kid.

        Peter smiled back. “I think,” he said, swallowing. “Maybe I should graduate High School first?”

        Tony laughed. “Baby steps.” He paused as he looked down at Peter’s arm, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “I do have another question.”

        Peter looked down at his arm and back up at Tony.

        “I don’t remember saying that the first time I came to your apartment,” Tony said, raising an eyebrow.

        Peter chuckled. “Uh,” he said, clearing his throat. “That’s because that’s not… the first time we met.”

        Tony remained quiet as an indication Peter should continue.

        “Um, you remember the Stark Expo in Queens like eight years ago?” Peter said. “That guy tried to create like a robot army and you and Rhodey had to stop him?”

        Tony squinted as he remembered. “Yeah,” he said.

        “I, uh, was like eight years old. I practically begged Uncle Ben to take me because I thought you were awesome,” he smiled sheepishly. “I had a toy mask and gloves with LED lights attached to them. Made ‘em myself.”

        Tony’s eyebrows rose up as he began to remember the details of that night.

        “This one robot landed right in front of me and I kinda froze,” Peter continued. “All I could do was raise my hand like maybe I could shoot him, like you do. And then you landed behind me and shot it.” He looked down at his arm. “And that’s the first thing you said to me.”

        Tony’s breath caught in his throat. “That was you ?”

        Peter looked up at him and nodded.

        Tony sat back, the memories of that night hitting him full force. “I’d already found you,” he whispered as he remembered. “I didn’t even question why, it was just a gut feeling…”

        Peter tilted his head to the side again.

        “I knew you were in danger,” Tony elaborated. “I didn’t know how I knew, I just thought I was acting on instinct. But you were in trouble, and I knew.”

        Peter smiled slightly.

        Tony sighed. “I’d been looking for you for so long and I missed it twice.” He huffed out a laugh. “Did you know then?”

        Peter shrugged. “I think I did maybe on a subconscious level,” he said. “I didn’t shut up about it for like a week. But Aunt May and Uncle Ben told me it was unlikely I’d meet you again and not to get my hopes up too high. And then years went by, and I thought maybe they were right.” He smiled. “Until you showed up in my apartment.”

        Tony shook his head in disbelief.

        “Hey, where did we land on food?” Peter asked, breaking the silence.

        “I think your aunt should be coming in in a couple of minutes with a sandwich,” Tony said, looking down at his watch and then up at the door right as May entered.

        “Hey, baby,” May said with a smile, rushing over to Peter and hugging him tightly. “Tony said you were hungry, so I got you a sandwich.”

        “You went all the way to Delmar’s?” Peter asked, unwrapping the sandwich happily.

        “Well, Happy did,” May said. “But I brought it the rest of the way.”

        Peter took a huge bite and smiled at them, one cheek full of sandwich.

        “That’s very attractive, Peter,” May said, taking a seat. “So, how do you feel?”

        Peter shrugged. “Better,” he said through a mouthful of food. He swallowed. “Tony and I were just talking,” he said, looking up at Tony. “About soulmates.”

        May looked between them and smiled. “Oh, thank god you finally figured it out,” she said with a sigh.

        “You knew?” Peter asked.

        “Honey,” May put a hand on his shoulder. “Everybody knew.”

        Peter deadpanned. “Does no one tell me anything?”

        May chuckled. “‘Fraid not, sweetie. Some things you just have to figure out on your own. However,” she said, wagging a finger at Tony. “I don’t want my kid down in your lab every second of every day. He still has school and Ned and his Aunt May to make time for. Not to mention Spider-Man.”

        Tony smiled. “I might be his soulmate, but I’m no mother,” he gave them both a smile before sauntering out of the room. “I’ll see you tonight, Peter!” he called. “Bring your party hat!”

        Peter groaned.

~.~.~

        Tony smiled down at his little protégé as he fussed with his hair, trying unsuccessfully to rearrange the curls into something more presentable. It was a losing battle, one that Tony was glad he was losing because, even though he’d never tell Peter to avoid embarrassing the poor child, the messy curls added to his charm. As the youngest avenger, Peter was constantly trying to seem older than he was. Clearly, he didn’t realize how young that made him seem and how adorable it made him look to everyone else.

        But, of course, no one said a word. They’d admire the baby avenger in silence.

        “Peter, you look fine,” Tony said, batting his hands away from his hair. “You’re hardly going to have the worst hair there. Have you seen Thor’s new haircut? He looks like he got into a fight with a lawnmower.”

        “You know, I miss his old hair,” Peter said as they stepped into the elevator.

        “So does he, so don’t mention it,” Tony replied, pressing the button for the penthouse. “Natasha said she liked the old hair and he almost burst into tears.”

        Peter was silent for a minute. “He’s different from what I expected,” he said softly.

        “In a bad way?” Tony asked.

        “No, it’s not bad,” Peter assured. “It’s just that, you know, you see him on the news and you hear him say stuff and it seems like he’d be more…”

        “God-like?” Tony supplied.

        Peter nodded.

        Tony chuckled as he led the way out of the elevator. “I’m not sure what all happened since I last saw him, but I think he got the stick removed from his ass.” He paused before opening the door to where Peter’s party awaited. “And I can’t be sure, but I think he and Banner got way closer.”

        Peter’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth in silent shock.

        Tony gave him no time to say anything, however, because the next second he was opening the door to a room full of noisy avengers greeting them.

        Peter’s attention was taken over completely as he received pats on the back and a drink of something he was assured wasn’t alcohol.

        Tony stood off to the side and smiled as Peter was the center of attention.

        He felt like their whole dynamic had shifted. Ever since their first official meeting, Tony had felt the inexplicable urge to parent him. He’d seen the internet videos, did as much research on the kid as was available, but the second he actually saw his face, he knew Peter was something special.

        But now? Well, now Tony knew that if it came down to it, he’d die for Peter. Kill for him. Whatever that child needed, Tony would be there to provide it.

        Was this what having a child felt like?

        “You guys really don’t have to congratulate me,” Peter was saying, blushing down into his drink. “I didn’t actually do anything. I was unconscious for most of it.” He shrugged. “Maybe we should be congratulating the doctors that saved my life?”

        Bruce laughed. “We didn’t do much either,” he said. “Really, it was your spider DNA that saved you.”

        “Well, then,” Peter smiled. “To the spider?”

        “To the spider!” They chorused, lifting their glasses.

        The Avengers party was much different from any other party Peter had been too. Of course, it could be the fact that this party was full of tired old men who’d heard the word “booze” and decided to make an appearance. But Peter had to admit, he preferred it this way. Less noise, less flashing lights, less worry you were going to be called Penis Parker all night. Yes, this was much better.

        Peter looked over to the far corner and watched Loki staring down into some drink Thor had given him. He seemed strange. Almost… lost?

        “Thor, why exactly did you bring Loki?” Tony asked.

        Thor looked fondly over at his brother. “Well, would you rather I leave him unsupervised?”

        Tony sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s better we keep an eye on him. And… who’s the chick with the war paint?” He pointed to the woman drinking all his expensive whiskey.

        “Valkyrie,” Thor supplied. “She’s valuable when she isn’t drunk.”

        Tony gave him a look. “I really don’t understand the people you choose to hang out with…”

        But by that point, Peter had stepped away from Tony and made a beeline for Loki.

        Loki looked up when he entered his space, an eyebrow raised.

        Peter swallowed, not exactly sure where he was going with this. “Are, uh… are you having fun?”

        If possible, Loki’s eyebrow raised higher. “Being in a room full of people who’d tried to kill me the last I saw of them? Yes, this is exactly how I enjoy spending time.”

        Peter laughed and sat next to him, making Loki lean away from him a bit, mostly in confusion. “Well, they’re not trying to kill you now,” Peter said, taking a sip of his drink.

        Loki paused. “The night is still young,” he said, looking pointedly over at Tony who was staring at the two of them with a mixture of shock and anger masking his features.

        Peter smiled at Tony before turning back to Loki. “He did the same thing to Bucky when he first moved into the tower,” he said. “He got over it.”

        Loki looked at Tony disbelieving, but said nothing.

        “I just wanted to say,” Peter continued, bringing Loki’s attention back to the conversation. “That I know you tried to take over the world or whatever, but you don’t seem like the same guy you were.”

        Loki swallowed. “Looks can be misleading.”

        Peter smiled. “Maybe,” he said, standing. “But I guess you could say I have a sense about these things, and you don’t seem like a bad guy to me.” He started to walk away, but turned back around. “And, hey, if you do get homicidal urges, let me know.”

        Loki stared at him as he walked away.

        “What did he say to you?” Tony asked, ambushing the kid almost immediately.

        Peter shrugged. “Not a lot,” he said, continuing to where Thor was standing looking proud. “I did most of the talking.”

        “Okay, what did you say then?”

        “I just said that I don’t think he’s a bad guy and to let me know if he starts feeling like one.”

        Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Loki’s dangerous,” he said, like a father scolding a son.

        Peter smiled at him. “I could be too, if I wanted.”

        “Okay, one, no you couldn’t,” Tony said. “And, two, you didn’t have that man grip you by the throat and throw you out of a thirty-eight story window.”

        “Well, who knows?” Peter said. “He might be sorry about that.”

        Tony said, “No, I don’t think so,” at the same time Thor said, “No, he’s not.”

        Peter laughed. “Okay, fine. But I don’t get a bad feeling from him. I think he’s okay.”

        Tony looked from Peter to Loki before heaving a sigh. “Okay, kid,” he said. “I’m going to trust you on this. But if he does anything to put you in danger, he’s out of here.”

        “Deal,” Peter said with a smile.

        The party continued. Anyone who could get drunk did and the two that couldn’t played the role of the concerned grandparents. Clint suggested they experiment to see if Peter could get drunk, and Tony, Steve, and Bucky said “NO!” at the same time.

        At one point, Valkyrie was dancing on the bar and the next second Natasha joined her, Steve and Bucky were making out in the far corner, Sam and Rhodey were singing off-key into a wine bottle, and Scott was passed out behind the couch.

        Peter sat curled up on one of the chairs, watching them all with a smile on his face. They were, without doubt, the weirdest family. But up until now, the only family Peter knew was his aunt. Now, he had his aunt, a dad, two grandads, five uncles, another aunt, and two weird space cousins and their friend he’d only met briefly.

        “You tired there, kid?” Tony asked, squeezing himself into the chair with Peter.

        Peter scooted over some to let him in, but they were still very squished together. “Maybe a little,” he said softly.

        “Want me to tell everyone to fuck off so you can go to bed?” Tony asked.

        Peter snorted. “Let’s give them all a few more minutes before we pull the plug.”

        Tony slung his arm around Peter’s shoulders, taking a drink of whatever brown liquid he’d chosen for the night. “I’m glad you’re okay, Peter,” he murmured.

        Peter smiled at him and rested his head on his shoulder. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep curled into his father’s side.

Chapter Text

        Peter stepped through the doors of the gym and was immediately met with everyone huddled around something.

        “Peter!” Steve said when he spotted him.

        “What’s going on?” Peter asked, setting his bag down and stepping over to the group.

        “Someone has made the front page,” Bucky said, holding a smartphone out for Peter to look.

        Peter’s eyes went wide when he saw it and he grabbed it out of Bucky’s hand, staring down at the article in shock. The picture was candid, taken a few days ago when Tony and Peter went out for ice cream. It wasn’t a bad picture, as far as paparazzi pictures go. They were both smiling and enjoying themselves. But Peter had had no idea anyone was taking pictures then, which meant it was only a matter of time before Spider-Man was outed.

        He scrolled down to begin reading when Tony’s voice echoed through the room as he read it aloud.

        “Tony Stark, owner of Stark Industries, blah blah blah,” he said as he walked down the stairs. “Announced Friday in a tweet that he was going to hand over the entire Stark Company to a kid known only as ‘Peter’.” He reached the bottom of the stairs and continued on toward them. “Sources say this ‘Peter’ is one Peter Benjamin Parker, seen here enjoying a frozen treat with the billionaire. No one yet knows why Stark would hand his entire company to a sixteen-year-old, but theories continue to pop up all over the web. The most popular by far: Peter Parker might possibly be Stark’s illegitimate son. Are these rumors true? Or is Parker running a con? Tony Stark was unavailable for comment.” He lowered his phone and smiled sarcastically.

        “School’s gonna be a nightmare on Monday,” Peter breathed out.

        “Yeah,” Tony shoved his phone back in his pocket. “It’s entirely possible I drunk tweeted something last night. I… realize we never actually hashed things out…”

        Peter smiled. “It’d get out eventually,” he said. “Besides, now the whole school will know I wasn’t lying about knowing you.”

        “They accused you of lying?” Tony asked, looking like he was ready to fight a whole school of teenagers.

        “Well, yeah,” Peter shrugged. “No one believes a sixteen-year-old kid has an internship at Stark Industries, appointed by Tony Stark himself.”

        Tony hesitated. “You’re sure you’re okay with this?”

        “Yeah,” Peter nodded. “I don’t care what the media says about anything anymore anyway. Most people know that nine times out of ten they get things wrong. Though, the picture is pretty damning evidence.” He looked down at the phone before handing it back to Bucky.

        “You are somethin’ else, kid,” Tony said, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “Come on, I wanna show you some modifications I made to the suit.”

        “Hey!” Clint said as they began to walk away. “You can’t just monopolize his time!”

        “Oh, put a sock in it, Legolas!” Tony called back. “You guys had him training for three hours yesterday, it’s my turn.”

        Peter smiled wide as the Avengers fought over him. Two years ago, he’d never have believed it.

        “Forget them,” Tony said as Clint yelled something after them. “I’ve got something I want to show you.”

        They headed down into Tony’s personal lab and Peter smiled when he saw the Iron Man suit in the center.

        Tony stepped over to it and smiled at Peter as he tapped the center of the suit and it retracted into the triangular arc reactor.

        “I decided to make one for myself,” Tony said. “Actually, if I’m being honest, I’d started developing the tech for my suit originally, but then I knew I had to get yours done first, you being so accident prone and all.”

        Peter smiled softly and stepped forward. “Hey, Tony,” he said hesitantly.

        Tony looked up, a touch of concern on his face. “Yeah, what is it?”

        Peter cleared his throat. “After the hospital,” he said. “You know, when we finally figured everything out.”

        Tony nodded.

        “You… you said…” He chewed on his lip a little. “You said you love me.”

        Tony’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh,” he said. “Yeah.”

        “Well, it’s just,” Peter said quickly before any kind of self-deprecating thoughts could get into the lab. “I… never said it back.”

        Tony let out the breath he’d been holding. “God, Peter,” he said, smiling. “It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

        “No,” Peter said, taking a step forward. “I just mean, I do.”

        Tony gave him an amused smile.

        Peter sighed. “I love you, too,” he mumbled, ducking his head and hoping his blush didn’t completely cover his face.

        Tony laughed and stepped up to Peter, ruffling his hair. “I know, kid,” he said, wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “I know.”