Chapter Text
"They're being released under one condition. They must remain under house arrest here for another three months."
"Why can't they just go back to their own homes? Why do they have to come here?"
"For the last and final time, Stark," Fury stood up, slamming his hands on the table in frustration as he addressed Tony and the three other members of the room, which right now consisted of Rhodey, and the newly returned Thor and Bruce. "Many of the Rogues do not have homes to return too, and they have all been deemed to dangerous to be left alone unsupervised so it has been approved that they may return to Avengers Compound until their hearing, where it'll be decided whether they can get an early parole, or a more permanent housing for them will be sorted out. Mr Lang was an exception, and has been allowed to continue his house arrest in his own home."
Tony huffed out a breath, sharing a look of exasperation with Rhodey. Things had been going pretty well recently. Or, as well as they ever got. Everything had come close to peaceful, and they'd started to form a little family dynamic with those who were already living at the compound. Tony hadn't spoken to any of the Rogues since it happened, and he'd found himself better off for it, so you couldn't really blame him for being wary about inviting those people back into his home where his new son now lived.
Speaking of Peter, just as Tony opened his mouth to reply with a snarky response, the glass doors to the conference room were pushed open, and the teenager followed by a certain god of mischief came running in an hour into the meeting.
"Dad!" the teen exclaimed with a grin, cheeks reddened from the run as he walked over to his father, unphased by the others.
"Child!" Tony replied in a mimic of the excited tone, standing up to greet the boy. "Didn't I tell you to keep Reindeer Games occupied in another room?" he gestured with his head to the brunette God stood 'menacingly' in the doorway, who returned it with a smirk. "What exactly am I paying you for?"
Peter completely ignored the tease, as he excitedly went to tell Tony what he and Loki had been up to in the other room. Something involving magic and Peter jumping through sparkly hoops in the air and bouncing off of glowy steps that the man made. He rambled on about how cool it was and how fun Loki was to play with, while all the adults watched him fondly, Tony stroking a hand through the boy's hair and the God sitting down next to his brother.
Thor proudly remarked how good his little brother was with children, and much to the blond's delight no one corrected him about having misplaced trust in Loki. He was so glad his brother was finally allowing them to be a family again. What happened to their home had brought them closer together, and he was so glad he had him still.
"Be honest, how much sugar have you had?" Tony asked, as he pulled the hyperactive teen into his side and moved one of the chairs next to his one so that they could sit together. He half expected Fury to object to having the teenager stay in the room, but the man said nothing. Apparently, even he couldn't refuse Peter.
"Not that much! Mr Loki made a cake out of thin air which was so cool, and it was massive, so we shared it. And then I had to show him all my favourite candy, because he hasn't tried them before-" Peter went on to describe all the sugary treats they had after apparently teleporting to the shops, making Loki chime in every now and then to give his opinion.
Eventually Fury managed to get the conversation back on track just as his patience started to wear a little thin, and they continued discussing the plan.
The rogues would be arriving tomorrow in the late morning, and they were all to be the 'polite' and 'curtious' hosts Fury apparently knew they were deep down.
The only one who seemed to be excited, though, was Thor, as he cheered about how good it would be to see his friend Steven again, not noticing just how stiff the rest of the room's occupants were, even with Loki nudging him to shut up. Peter had noticed the tense atmosphere in the room though, which made his senses spike and a deep pit of worry settle on his stomach. The idea of living with Captain America was, of course, exciting to the teenager. But he couldn't help but be nervous about any arguments that might happen between him and his dad. He was happier than he'd ever been in a home with a big loving family, he'd hate for any arguments to ruin it.
At the end of the meeting, Tony told Peter to 'go play' while he signed whatever documents were needed to make the Rogues staying there under house arrest legal, leaving Peter to revel in his own anxieties.
Thankfully, Bruce came to his rescue after finding him pacing his room not an hour later, and invited him down to his lab.
The doctor gave him a cool chemistry experiment to work on, and Peter soon found himself relaxing in the peaceful quiet he always found around his Uncle.
Of course, the man was quick to notice the different demeanour of his nephew as he worked, when none of the concentrated mumblings that normally left the boy's mouth filled the space between them.
"Don't you worry about us." the doctor spoke softly, making the boy jump. "While Tony and Steve may have their differences, I'm sure he and the others will love you."
"Really?" Peter asked hopefully. He hoped that was true, he knew not everyone could get along but he hated the idea of someone not liking him. And as silly as it sounded, he was worried that if it came to it Tony would pick his friends over him. People he'd known a lot longer over some kid he'd been stuck with for just under a year. He knew it sounded dumb, but he couldn't help it after seeing May pull further and further away from him in favour of her new boyfriend. He couldn't bare to lose Tony too, because... where would that leave him? He'd have no one, and he doubted May would take him back even if he could stomach the idea of living with him again.
Bruce gave him a small smile, before turning back to his work as he continued talking. "Really. I have a feeling Natasha in particular will take a liking to you, she'll probably get a kick out of having a mini spider to train."
Peter smiled happily at the idea. Black Widow was terrifying, but from the brief interactions he'd had with her and the way his Uncle Bruce always spoke about her, she sounded nice. And imagine how awesome it'd be to have the Black Widow as family!
"And get this," Bruce added a moment later after Peter had turned back to his own work too. "You'll finally have someone to play Mario Kart with, Clint loves video games. But be careful, he's a bit competitive."
"Oh my God, really?! Cool!"
~~~~~
Peter felt a little better after his talk with his uncle, and now it was mainly just excited nerves that kept him up as he cuddled his prized teddy bear in bed. He'd been trying to go to sleep for a good two hours but to no use, when Tony came in to check on him.
"Thought you'd be up." The man noted, in that quiet voice people naturally used when it was late at night. Peter gave him a shy smile and turned onto his side as Tony came over and sat on the edge of his bed. They were both silent for a moment, waiting for the other to talk, until Tony started carding his fingers through Peter's hair, gently untangling it. The teen let out a deep sigh at the relaxing feeling.
"You, Rhodey and I are going for a quick fly around in the morning to pick up some waffles and pancakes for everyone when they arrive." He stated, not bothering to make it a question because he knew the boy would happily agree. He loved flying around with his dad and uncle, and showing them all the cool flips he could do in the air.
Sure enough, Peter grinned, nodding his head enthusiastically before letting his eyes slip shut as Tony continued to play with his hair. He was half expecting his dad to give him a pep talk about tomorrow, but he was pleased when none came. He'd rather not talk about it, because it'd just make it seem like a bigger deal than it was.
Instead, he yawned sleepily, and enjoyed the feeling of his hair being played with and his father's comforting presence until the man pulled away. He fiddled with Peter’s teddy for a moment, lifting it up a little so that it was above the covers, before straightening out the bed sheet over him and standing up. "Goodnight kiddie" be whispered, which Peter followed with a sleepy "G'night" of his own, a yawn breaking out.
Peter fell asleep not long after as he thought about all the toppings he'd put on his waffles in the morning. He wondered what toppings Miss Black Widow and Mr Captain America liked.
~~~~~
Rhodey and Tony had made sure that Peter had a great morning. They woke up kinda early (well, early for them anyway) and got to fly around for a good two hours as the rest of the City woke up. Both adults had made sure to sound an acceptable amount of amazed and impressed as Peter did tricks in the air with a cheery “watch this!”, and Tony played along when the teen swung over and landed on his back to ‘hitch a ride’.
They let the boy pile all the sugary toppings he wanted onto his waffle, and they ate their breakfasts there before taking a bunch of boxes back to the Compound. Peter had seconds- his metabolism having already burnt through the first round- with his other Uncles and then he took to waiting with Tony for the Rogues to return.
He stood in front of the large window, looking out onto the helicopter pad, and bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously. He hoped they liked him. He really, really hoped they did. And he hoped everyone else got along too; he’d hate to see any of his family upset or angry. He’d been on the phone to Pepper earlier and she’d assured him that Tony would be an adult about it and wouldn’t initiate any arguments, but the same couldn’t be said for everyone else.
The sight of the large Quinjet appearing out of the cloudy sky above made his eyes widen, as he spun around with a yell of “they’re here!” before skidding across the floor to the doors that led outside. His socks on the tiled floor almost had him slipping if it weren’t for Tony’s hand grabbing his shoulder just in time.
“Cool it, rocket, you won’t get to meet them if you smack your head open on the way.” He chided, worriedly giving him a cursory glance over.
“Sorry! I just really wanna greet them when they get here, to make a good first impression!” Peter explained, hands waving nervously in the air. Technically, he’d already met them all, but that was as Spider Man and in the middle of a fight… he hoped none of them would be mad at him about what happened! What if they were?
Tony smiled fondly, opening up the glass doors for him while keeping an arm carefully wrapped around his shoulder so that he didn’t run off again. “Oh Romeo, don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. Just mind your language around Grandpa and everything will be just fine.”
Peter wasn’t so sure, as the Quinjet landed in front of them sending a loud blast of cold wind towards them both. Tony seemed unphased despite his clothes getting all ruffled, but Peter found himself having to cover his sensitive ears from the sound.
Here goes nothing…