Have you ever been to Germany?

The question seemed simple enough at the time; pretty straightforward, no hidden meaning that Peter could see, and Tony assured him that he would take care of the whole homework situation and any questions that Aunt May could throw at him.  A quick jaunt, throwing a few webs here and there, and maybe even help take Captain America to the ground.  It sounded almost fun. 

That was, until the moment was upon him, landing securely with the shield in hand and giving a small wave to the group before turning to see you standing a few feet behind Steve.  Peter's heart sank into his stomach heavily as if he had swallowed a boulder, his throat tightening as he breathed, and his mind swimming with ideas as to why you were there.

"H-hey, everyone," he choked out meekly in his stupor, "Cap- Captain, big fan...I'm Spiderman..."

You were frozen at the sound of his voice, not realizing that he would be here, and certainly not on the side of your opposition. There hadn't been anything that would have led you to think that Tony would seek him out, and if there had been, you would have put a fast stop to it.  Peter had no business here as far as you were concerned; he was an outsider.  He wasn't an Avenger, and he had no stake in the politics that were tearing the team apart.  He was only here because he had fallen under the spell of Tony Stark charm and money, confirmed by the upgrade he was now wearing.

"You've been busy," Steve said plainly, only angering Tony further.

"And you've been a complete idiot," he shot back.

As the dialogue continued, you couldn't focus on anything other than Peter, with his attention solely on you in return.  If you could see his eyes behind the mask they were likely filled with confusion and maybe even a little betrayal, but you couldn't think about that right now; you were here with a purpose and a clear directive, ready to follow any order that Steve set.  If that meant that you fought Peter, then so be it.  As luck would have it, that's exactly what you were doing only minutes later.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered harshly, holding your arms tightly pulled behind you as he held you to the ground.  "You never told me that Cap called you."

"I could ask you the same," you grunted under his hold. "So what, Stark buys you a few new toys and now you're one of his?"  Thrusting your head back, you caught his jaw hard enough to startle him, allowing your escape from his grip.  You pulled two batons from your belt and held them ready, your eyes flickering to his wrists. "You gonna web me up too, Pete? What did Tony tell you about us?"

"(Y/N), I don't want to..."

"That's not what I asked."

"Fine, you wanna go?  Then let's go.  He said that you're wrong, but you think you're right..." he paused, tilting his head slightly and securing his stance, "and it makes you dangerous."  His hands raised up and shot two webs over head that were meant to pull him up and away, but you thrust your batons forward, wrapping the material around them with a hard tug to disconnect them from where they landed before he could flee.  "Oh come on, (Y/N), are we really gonna do this?"

"I can't let you get in the way, Pete, I'm sorry."

"I can't let you go, (Y/N)," he replied sorrowfully, taking a step back.  "So what do we do?"

"We fight."

~~~

It was a joke to Peter, a sick and twisted joke that anyone would expect him to go back to life as usual after that day, and the last person that he expected to agree was Tony.  But that's what happened; Stark brought him home, gave him the promised upgrade of a few new gadgets, and said his goodbyes like nothing horribly traumatic had happened.  Your name never came up in the limited conversation on the flight home, and Pete wondered if Tony even realized the connection between you.

"May," he called out from the front door, "I'll be back later, don't wait up."

"Hold on just a minute young man," she replied, hurrying to meet him before he could get away, "where do you think you're going?"

"Uh...I'm gonna do some studying...with (Y/N)..." he stammered, "yeah...big geography test tomorrow, and I can't seem to get Germany to stick."

With a skeptical eye, she watched him grab his keys and give her a small wave, ultimately choosing to trust him and let him be on his way.  "You call me when you leave."

"Yes, ma'am."  Slamming the door shut with a cringe at the anticipation of May's yell, he hurried to the elevator.  He tapped his foot impatiently with a strength that shook his whole body as he waited for the lift to arrive, each passing second feeling like hours.  When the doors finally opened he all but leapt inside and pulled out his phone, the new tech that Tony had rewarded him with, and hoped that the man would reply to his message.

Mr. Stark?

"Come on, man, answer me," he whispered to himself as the elevator dinged with each passing floor.

What's up, slinger?

I need to talk to you.  I'm about to grab a train.

I'm at the tower today, just swing in.  I'll leave a window open.

~~~

A mere five minutes later, Pete had swung his way from Queens to the Avengers Tower on Park Avenue, landing at the front door with a sudden surge in his nerves.  He had never been inside before, but suddenly here he was with an open invitation to go right in.  With a cautious and tremulous hand, he pushed against the heavy glass door and made his way through the lobby toward the elevator banks.

"Mr. Stark is waiting for you in the lab, Mr. Parker," Friday announced, much to his surprise, "please step inside and I will take you to him."

"Uh, okay...thanks?"

"You are most welcome."

Peter stepped into the lift and watched each floor pass by through the glass rear wall of the enclosure, enthralled by the sights that made up each separate level.  For just a moment he allowed himself to wonder what it was like to live here, amongst the newest and best tech, luxurious furnishings, and never a want or need unfulfilled.  He wondered if Tony would ever ask him to join the team, now that he knew of his abilities, but he himself hadn't even decided if he would ever accept if he did. Certainly seeing one of the homes that the team called theirs swayed him into wanting it more than he had before.

When the doors reopened, it was directly into Tony's lab, where he sat at a workstation with tools and parts strewn across it with even more resting at his feet.  He didn't see Peter at first, so he stood and watched the man work, amazed at the intellect that he was being given the gift of observing.

"You wanna know what it is?" Tony finally said, breaking the silence.

"Um, hey, Mr. Stark," Peter gasped, "yeah, I'd love to."

"Perfect."  Tony stood and held the connected pieces in his hand, turning to toss the mechanism to his guest.  "If you can tell me, then I might actually get somewhere with it."

"You don't know what you're making?"

"Nope.  That's how most of my inventions start, just pieces that fit together until they become something more.  Tell you what," he moved to stand behind the young man with a grip on his shoulders to push him forward, "you sit and figure out what else you can slap on there and see where it takes you while we talk."

"Yeah...okay, sure..." Peter nodded, taking a few tools in hand and studying what he had to work with.  "The reason I'm here...well, what I wanted to talk to you...I mean, I was wondering..."

"You were wondering if I knew where (Y/N) was, right?"

Peter's mouth dropped open and hung there for a moment as he processed what he was hearing.  "How...how did you know that?"

"I'm a genius, remember?" Tony scoffed, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a phone, rolling it over in his hands a few times, considering what he was about to do before finally giving in and tossing it to his companion.  "It's pretty archaic, but being a dumpster diver you should be able to figure it out."

Peter frantically dropped the materials from his hand to catch the phone as it bounced against his chest and slid down towards the table, gripping it just before it hit.  Just as Tony had, he turned it over in his hand and flipped the lid up to see a single number lit across the small screen.  "What is this?"

"It's a direct line to Steve.  I'm assuming that she's still there.  If not, he's going to be the guy to know where she went, if he'll even tell you."  He took a few steps back to a stool at the far end of the lab, sitting quietly with his arms crossed as he watched Peter decide what to do.  "I haven't used it yet, if you're wondering," he added, his voice lowering to nearly a whisper and laden with sadness.  "I can't think of what I would say."

"Oh, shit," Peter exclaimed, his face paling with realization, "what do I say to her?"

"You didn't think of that till just now?"

"I never thought I would get this far."

"For that, you're on your own, kid," he nodded towards the phone.  "No time like the present."  He watched Peter press the button to open the line and hold the phone to his ear, but he wouldn't listen in; no matter how much he wanted to rip the phone from his hands and talk to Steve, this wasn't his time.

"Yes?" came the deep voice as the line was answered, shocking Peter for a moment that he was again talking to Steve Rogers.

"Um, Captain...Ste- I mean, sir, this is Peter Parker."

"Hello, Mr. Parker," Steve replied with a more soothing tone, "how can I help you?"

"I was hoping that I might talk to (Y/N)...or if you knew where she might be?"

There was a long pause at the other end of the line, leaving Peter to wonder if the connection had been lost or if Steve had simply hung up on him at the ridiculous request that he had made.  He looked to Tony with a shrug, holding the phone away from his ear enough for him to realize what Peter was experiencing. Just as he was about to take it from him, the voice that Peter had been waiting for filled his senses.

"Pete, what are you doing?  Why would you call me?  This could put everyone at risk."

"I missed you and I wanted to be sure that you were okay."

"I'm fine. Now please, don't call again-"

"Wait!" he practically yelled into the device.  "Please, (Y/N), just give me another minute.  I just...I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I didn't want to fight you, and I don't want to fight you anymore."  He paused and let out a weary sigh, dropping himself onto one of the stools behind him and lowering his head into his free hand, "I'm always here, okay.  I'll be here if you need anything...or me."

"Thank you, Pete.  I'm sorry too," you replied, much calmer now, "but I can't stay on the phone anymore."  You could hear the pained breaths from his end of the call, and despite the fact that you were still angry about how things had played out, you felt an empathy for him and a pain from missing him too.  "I'll contact you, okay?  It might be a while, but I will, I promise.  Things just need to settle for a bit first."

"Okay," he smiled faintly into the phone, "I'll wait as long as I have to."

"Bye, Pete."

"Bye, (Y/N).  I love-"

He stopped abruptly and sucked in a harsh breath, closing his eyes before they had a chance to fill with tears when the line cut off before he could finish.  He may still be just a kid, a fact that Tony reminded him of with each interaction, but he'd be dammed if he was about to prove it to him.  He set the phone down on the table and stood, straightening his posture as best as he could, giving Tony a quick nod as he took his leave.  "Thank you, Mr. Stark.  I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Never a bother," Tony replied quietly with a small wave, "fly safe."

Peter could feel his emotions building into a lump in his throat, making his steps come faster, almost stumbling over the other on his way to the elevator.  As he waited for the lift, he could tell that he was about to break, so he spun around to find a faster way out.  On the level just below he could see the night sky; a few well-placed webs later he was on the balcony, climbing the rail and leaping into the openness below.

As he swung from building to building, the cold air beating against his skin stung, but not nearly as much as the tears that were now falling; not nearly as much as the regret that filled his chest.  Nothing could hurt as much as the fear and realization that might have just spoken to you for the last time, and in that moment he swore that if he had lost you because of Steve or Tony, they would never make the mistake of calling him a kid again.