Agent Carter walked into Leo's apartment and gave it a quick once-over. Going off the way she crinkled her nose, he would wager she wasn't all that impressed by what she saw. He closed the door behind her and locked it.

He put the safety on his gun, tucked it into the waistband of his jeans, and wiped his sweaty hands on his thighs. "Can I get you something to drink, ma'am?"

"I'm good, thanks," she said. "So, Mr. Suarez, tell me about how you got involved with HYDRA."

"I didn't know they were HYDRA at first," he insisted. "They came into my shop one day -- I own the gun store a block over. They started asking all these questions about weapons and shit, but I get guys like that in there all the time so I didn't think there was anything wrong. I helped them get their hands on some guns, helped them with some modifications. They offered me a job and I took it. It took me a while to realize what was really going on, who these guys really were. I tried to back out. That's when they asked if I had any kids."

Agent Carter nodded. "And you told them about Bianca."

"I didn't identify her by name, but yeah," Leo admitted. "I told them I had a daughter, that we weren't close but I wished we were. And then they asked me what I would be willing to do if her life was in danger. Now, ma'am, I ain't stupid, I knew exactly what they were implying. I told them I was done and to leave me the fuck alone or I'd call the police on them. They told me I'd regret it. Next thing I know, I turn on the TV to see Bianca's dead."

The room went still as Agent Carter took all that in. After a moment, she excused herself to make a call. He busied himself by fetching a beer from the fridge. There was no way he was going to get through this sober.

"Mr. Suarez, I'm going to need you to come with me," she announced, walking back into the living room.

"Whoa, whoa, where are we going?" he asked, backing away from her. His hand went to his gun.

"There's no need to panic," she assured him. She held her hands out in front of her, far away from her gun, as a sign of good faith. "I'm just going to take you to the Avengers Facility. There we can protect you from HYDRA while we figure out our next step."

Before he could say anything else, a spray of gunshots shattered the windows and everything went dark.

*

Meanwhile, in a conference room in the Avengers Facility, Daisy was sitting at the head of the table. The gang from the last conference plus Peter were spread through the rest of the room and taking in her every word.

"So, her dad was definitely involved with HYDRA?" Peter asked.

"SHIELD has had an eye on Leo Suarez for a little while now," Daisy confessed. "We discovered a chapter of HYDRA operating out of an old SHIELD safe house in Arizona a few months back. Last night, one of our teams went and raided the facility. All of the HYDRA operatives were apprehended without too much fuss, but our agents discovered that they'd been stalking Bianca for months now. We think they initially wanted to take her to punish her dad for walking away from their deal but when they started looking into her, they realized they could get to us through her."

Carol rubbed her face tiredly. "Yeah, maybe advertising you're friends with some of Earth's mightiest heroes on social media isn't the smartest move."

"Do you have any idea what they were planning to do with her?" Sam inquired.

Daisy shook her head as she took a sip of coffee, then elaborated, "My people are going through the files recovered now, but so far, no mention as to what they were actually planning for Bianca. My best guess is they were going to take her to draw us into a trap."

"Or to torture her," Natasha suggested.

"Or to experiment on her," Bucky added.

"Or a combination of the three," Tony sighed.

Bruce smiled tiredly. "I always have so much fun at these meetings." Natasha snorted. Peter was trying desperately to keep his cool. This was his fault. He was the one who introduced Tony and Wanda to Bianca's music. If he hadn't, maybe she would've stayed far away from all the superhero nonsense and she'd be safe right now. Well, no, actually, because no matter what Peter did, her dumbass dad would still accidentally get involved with HYDRA, so maybe it was for the best Peter introduced Tony and Wanda to Bianca's music because that started the chain of events that led to Bianca performing at the Avengers New Year's Eve party and him saving her life.

Him saving her life. Peter saved Bianca's life. And she knew. She knew he was Spider-Man, she knew he'd been using the Spider-Man account to interact with her on social media, she knew he'd nearly gotten himself killed protecting her. His first time seeing her in years and he saves her life and he should be happy about that because he saved her, but all he could think about was how she possibly felt about him now. 

Did she think he was a creep, or did she think he was a hero? Or maybe both? And what comes next? What happens when this Bianca-is-dead ruse is all over and she can go home? Will they go right back to never interacting, or will they be friends again, or will they be more? What song did she want to sing him last night? What was she so desperate for him to hear?

"Peter?"

He nearly jumped out of his own skin. Everyone was staring at him expectantly, though Natasha and Tony both had these little smirks on their lips. Oh, he really didn't like that. That could only mean bad things.

"S-Sorry, what was the question?" Peter asked, smiling sheepishly.

Carol offered him a kind smile in return. "I asked if you'd be comfortable staying here with Bianca while we take care of this HYDRA thing."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, why me?"

"Tony said you guys grew up together," Carol said, tilting her head curiously. Peter glanced at Tony, whose smirk had grown exponentially. Peter resisted the urge to pout. Was Mr. Stark seriously playing matchmaker right now? How could someone so smart not realize Bianca was way too good for Peter?

"We did," Peter admitted. Now Bucky, Sam, and Daisy were smirking too. Great. He really hoped his face wasn't as red hot as it felt. He cleared his throat, forced himself to sit up a little straighter, and added, "Yeah, I can stay here with her. Is it...is it just going to be us or--"

Natasha cut in, "Wanda's going to be staying here too, so try not to traumatize her." Okay, if Peter's face wasn't bright red before, it definitely was now. Carol was looking around the room, clearly confused.

"Am I missing something?" she questioned. "Did I miss something while I was in space? Why are you all smirking?"

"We're smirking 'cause Peter's got a crush on his ex," Sam teased. Peter slunk down in his seat a little bit.

Carol's eyes widened dramatically. "Peter and Bianca dated? When? How did I miss that? That's it, I'm never going to space again."

"Relax, Carol," Daisy laughed. "They dated when they were like, fourteen."

Bruce raised his hand slightly. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know either." Everyone in the room minus Peter and Carol shot him looks in disbelief. He shrugged. "I don't really use social media. Or check the group chat."

"I knew you had us on mute!" Tony exclaimed. He looked genuinely hurt. Before Bruce could defend himself, there was a knock at the door. They all exchanged looks. Since Natasha was closest, she got up and opened the door to see Bianca and Anna standing outside in the hallway, matching panicked expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Natasha asked. 

Anna passed the super-spy her phone. "It's the Daily Bugle."

*

The Daily Bugle @dailybugle

Is Bianca Sinclair really dead? According to a source close to the pop star AND the Avengers, Bianca is alive and well and recuperating at the Avengers facility in upstate NY. Find out more in an EXCLUSIVE report by the Daily Bugle linked below.

*

"A source close to Bianca and us?" Daisy read off of her own phone. "There's no way. Who the fuck would talk to the Daily Bugle?"

For a moment, none of them spoke. They'd never had leaks like this before. Peter couldn't think of a single person who knew who would sell a story to the Daily Bugle. None of his friends would, and Bianca's friends probably wouldn't. Maybe Harry would, or maybe that was just Peter's bias influencing his opinion. It definitely wasn't Bianca's mom or any of the Avengers themselves. So who? Who would endanger Bianca like that?

"I don't know, but this could be really bad," Tony said. "We need to squash these rumors and fast."

"Sadie and Harry are already on it," Bianca revealed. She managed a small smile. "Sadie's doing an Instagram live and Harry posted a thread on Twitter basically calling the Daily Bugle a bunch of opportunistic pigs who have no respect for anyone's privacy."

Sam shrugged. "He's not wrong." Most of the room nodded in agreement. Natasha's phone rang and she quickly excused herself to take the call. Peter accidentally met Bianca's gaze. She smiled shyly at him. He smiled back. He decided that the moment he got her alone, he'd ask about the song she wanted to sing him. For now, he looked away and fiddled with his shirt sleeve.

Natasha came running back in, effectively cutting off Tony, Daisy, and Bucky's strategizing for how best to deal with this leak. The Black Widow announced, "That was Sharon. She found Leo Suarez. She's going to bring him here for protection."

"Oh, great," Bianca grumbled. Anna laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. Daisy's phone chimed.

"What now?" Daisy whined. As she checked her phone, her face fell. "Oh, shit."

Bucky scowled. "What's wrong now?"

"I didn't know you were sending Sharon for Leo, so I sent Yo-Yo and Joey to pick him up," Daisy explained, her voice shaking slightly. "They just got to his apartment building, but there's been a shooting."

"A shooting?" Bianca echoed, her voice a few octaves higher than normal.

Daisy nodded grimly. "Yo-Yo says they're taking Sharon to the hospital, but Leo...Bianca, I'm sorry. Your dad is dead."

*

this chapter is TERRIBLE but i figured i owe y'all an update