A/N- Sorry this is so late, I've been very distracted trying to get a job and such. Anyway, enjoy
-Third Person P.O.V-
*Location- Jackson Ave street*
Peter kept his head down as he continued to walk home, one arm wrapped protectively over his chest while his other hand played with the end of his sleeve. He kept his head down, not wanting to catch anyone's attention.
He couldn't stop thinking about Bucky and just how kind he really was, Peter had always thought no one would ever be so nice to him, let alone The Winter Soldier. Although, it wasn't really The Winter Soldier was it, it was Bucky Barns.
'And- well if you ever need somewhere safe to go, or want some peace. Or to talk, come here okay,' the words echoed through his mind with every step he took. He trusted Peter enough to not only help him, but let him go back there if he needed.
A small, almost unnoticeable part of him was doubting it was all true, and that Bucky had just lied to him about it all and he didn't really want Peter anywhere near there again. But he- he seemed so sincere.
'Stay safe.'
Peter shakes his head of all the thoughts, he knows if he needs he can go there and he'll be forever grateful for the help Bucky has already given him. Although he was still in a little pain, he was feeling better then he had this morning and was now full from having food given to him. It almost made him never want to leave and go back to the Hell he calls home, but he knew he couldn't do that.
His feet kept him moving, and he wished he could stay out longer. But it was already 5:30 and he knew he was probably already in trouble for being out later then normal, and yet, he couldn't find it in himself to care. Because he finally had a second option, sure, it could be fake, but for now, he would believe it in order for him to at least feel a little safe.
Peter knew his uncle would have left already, he leaves at 5 every afternoon for work and won't be home until 1am if he's lucky. He knows this means May will be home and waiting for him and there will be no way of him stalling or stopping the woman from hitting him.
His mind wandered back to Flash and what he might do when he gets back to school. He really, really hoped that Flash won't bother him for a while, or at least know who it was who stopped him. He knew Flash wouldn't keep his mouth shut if he knew it was The Winter Soldier who had been there, and he didn't want Bucky and the others to get caught because of him.
After ten more minutes of walking he finally made it to the small apartment. It was one of many in the huge complex, and Peter had been living there for almost his whole life. He never got to know his neighbours, they came and went like day and night, as far as he knew, he his uncle and aunt were the longest residents there, at least around them.
The complex wasn't the nicest thing to look at, it was crumbling in some parts and looked old. His apartment wasn't much different in fact, the lock on the door hardly worked and there were damp patches on the ceilings from the above residents. No matter how many times they spoke to the landlord, it would never be fixed so Peter was used to it all by now.
They never did have much money, Ben would work every day for a long time and that paid okay, but it wasn't enough to get them through. So May works at the hospital as a nurse, Peter silently hoped that she treated the patients better than she did him. She would normally work the nightshift and would leave around 10 and not get back till around 6. Ben would still be asleep when she got home, and she would find time before going to bed for hurting Peter and making sure he stayed quiet before going to school. Although the worst was always when he got home from school, with no Ben there, there was no need for restraint.
With heavy sigh he neared his door, silently wishing that Bucky would come along and tell him that he didn't need to go in there and he could come with Bucky and stay with him. He would take that abandoned shop then his apartment any day. Because there, he felt safe. But he knew that was a pipe dream.
He paused at the door, taking some steadying breaths, wincing at the pull of his ribs and the pain that sizzled through his body. Peter knew it was only going to get worse.
With that final thought in his mind he pushed the door open, wincing at the creak that emitted from the door and echoed around the room. Quickly, he walked in and shut the door behind him; his heart was beating quickly in his chest as began to move towards his room, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't see May.
"And where do you think you've been brat," May spits, coming to stand in front of him, blocking the view to the hall where his bedroom door is.
Instinct took over and Peter cowered away, a flinch rocking his body as he did so. His eyes automatically fell to the floor, a whimper bubbling in his throat that he had to physically swallow down.
"I'm sorry, I- I lost track of- of time," Peter stuttered, hoping it would be enough as to not warrant question.
May scoffed, her eyes hardening as a blaze of anger ignited within her, making her eyes shine in darkness. "Oh yeah, well tell me then how you've got bandages on you. You didn't tell anyone now did you, you know what'll happen if you do," May whispers, her voice calm, too calm that it makes Peter shiver in fear.
"I didn't- I didn't tell, I- I swear. Someone- someone just helped- helped me," Peter mumbles, trying to hold back the tears that were rising in his eyes.
A hand suddenly found its way around his neck and his back was slammed into the wall, his head cracked back and his vision blurred slightly as pain radiated from his head. Once his eyes came into view, he could see May stood in front of him, her grip on his neck tightening with every second and making it harder and harder for him to breath, his breaths coming out as wheezes.
She didn't seem to care all that much at the obvious bruise it'll make when she let him go.
"You better not tell anyone, I promise you I can make your whole life painful, even more so then I have now," she growls, her other hand curling into a fist and slamming into his stomach.
The pain is enough to bring tears to his eyes but Peter blinks them away, not wanting to cry in front of her.
Somehow, he manages a nod, the edges of his vision darkening with sicking pace at the hold May has on his neck.
A smirk falls onto her face as she hits him in the same spot a few more times before dropping his neck, allowing him to fall breathlessly to the floor. She squats down in front of him, grabbing his hair and pulling his head up to look at her.
His eyes focus on her and he tries to hold back the tremble of his body and the pain working its way around his body.
"Remember what I said Peter, it will only get worse for you," she whispers before dropping his head and walking away.
Peter sucks in a breath, a shaking hand moving up to massage his throat while the others curls protectively around his mid-section. He's really beginning to wonder if he'll have permanent damage with the amount of times he's been hit there.
After a moment of composing himself he finally pulls himself up on shaking legs, removing the hand that was massaging his throat to hold the wall to help support him. He stumbles to his room, grateful that Bucky had given him some food as he knew he wouldn't be coming out of his room for the rest of the day.
As soon as he made it to his room he collapsed onto his bed, eye lids heavy and wishing that he could be somewhere safe.
'Stay safe.'
He wasn't safe anywhere.
-
*Location- Rouge hideout*
Bucky kept his expression impassive as he walked back into the warehouse, sticking to the shadows to make sure no one saw him. He couldn't stop thinking about Peter, the kid he had helped. Something about the kid just didn't sit right with Bucky.
Whether it was just how skinny the kid was.
How scared he was through it all.
How he had seemed so shocked to receive help, and how grateful he seemed when Bucky had offered him some food.
Or the fact that he had agreed rather quickly to Bucky saying how it was bullies who had already hurt his stomach and chest. That was the one that stood out for him, he seemed so scared when Bucky had asked about it, his eyes flashing with what Bucky could only think of as a memory of sorts.
He really hoped that if the kid needed he would go back there, even if Bucky wasn't there, he just wanted to make sure he had a place to go if he needed. It confused him slightly why he wouldn't even let Steve come with him, and yet he invited a kid who he doesn't even know to go there whenever he needed.
But something told him that he had done the right thing, he knew if Peter needed help again Bucky would happily help.
He's never been a fan of kids, but Peter he can stand. He would happily spend time with him if he wanted. He frowned to himself not understanding where all of this was coming from, he met the kid today and yet it doesn't feel like it.
Bucky sighs silently with a small shake of his head, the kid probably won't even come back. But he knows he helped him so that's good and he knows he told him he could come back there whenever he needed. Bucky had made sure to leave a little more food there if the kid were to need it and some extra blankets and pillows.
"What are you brooding about?" Natasha asks, coming from seemingly nowhere and looking at him with her analysing stare. She could tell something was different about him, his usual heavy and tired expression seemed to have lightened slightly and his eyes were sparking with what she could work out as protectiveness that she had only ever seen in his eyes when protecting Steve.
Bucky closed off his expression, making his eyes blank, knowing the spy would be able to notice the slight difference in him.
"Nothing," Bucky grunted, wanting her off his back. He didn't want to tell any of them about Peter just yet, he didn't even know if he would see the kid again and he really didn't think it would be a good idea if he suddenly met all of them.
Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, she could see as his whole form changed as soon as she had spoke and she wondered what it was he was hiding.
"Hmm, it better not be anything even more incriminating Barns," she growled, no real bite in her voice, but Bucky knew she was being serious.
"It's not," he replies shortly, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Before she could reply though, he was already walking away.
He walks over to where Steve is and sits silently beside him. Steve startles slightly, not having heard his best friend walk over. Steve can tell something has happened, he just can't work out if it's good or bad just yet.
"Are you okay Buck?" Steve asks, his voice taking on a softer tone, knowing Bucky isn't one for talking about his emotions, or really anything to do with him.
Bucky thinks for a moment, contemplating telling Steve the truth or not. He knew Steve wouldn't judge him for it, the both of them had seen each other at their lowest and their highest. And something about Peter really wasn't sitting right with him, he just couldn't put a finger on it yet.
With a small, almost inaudible sigh, Bucky shakes his head. "I'm not sure Steve," he replies honestly.
Steve frowns, wondering what could have happened while he was out. He knew this wasn't about what had happened. This was something new. "What happened?" Steve questioned lightly.
Bucky shakes his head a little, but nonetheless replies, "something just isn't sitting right with me."
Steve was going to ask more, but he could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn't going to say anything more about it. So Steve stays silent, sitting beside his friend as he allows him to think about something, while Steve thinks over his own problem.
Bucky was grateful Steve didn't ask anymore of it and instead they sat there silently, basking in each other's company without having to say anything to one and another.
-
*Location- Stark Tower*
Tony swallowed down the last of the contents in the bottle before standing up abruptly. He hadn't left the lab in over a week and he knew he needed to. Part of him just wanted to stay here forever, but he also knew he needed to try and deal with this.
Ross to be more precise.
The man wanted the rouge avengers found and placed in the raft and wanted Tony to help. As much as he was hurt by what happened between them all, they were still thought of as family to Tony, and he wouldn't help anyone to put them into a shitty jail.
Yet still, the man wouldn't stop bugging Tony in pursuing them.
Instead, he was trying to work out a way to fix the accords. He knew Steve wouldn't agree to them if he asked him again, so he was trying to change it and make it more flexible. He could understand Steve's anger for the accords, but that still doesn't make Tony like him anymore for what he had done. He had left him to die in that wasteland with a shield having just been embedded within his chest.
As for the other one, Barns, Tony wasn't sure how he felt. On one hand, he hated the man more and more with each day; the video of him murdering his parents- his mother- repeating over and over again as he watched the merciless killer end their lives, no remorse in his actions or face. But then, when he thinks back to the day of the fight, he could see the remorse and sorrow in his eyes. He knew deep down it wasn't Barns fault but actually HYDRA's, but Tony still finds it hard to find it within himself to not think of it as Barns who had done.
Shaking his head with a sigh be stumbled his way out of the lab, silently readying himself to deal with the others and their questions.
He is able to make it halfway to his bathroom before three figures move to stand in front of him, faces hard with both concern and anger.
Sighing once again all Tony can think to himself is that this will be a long, long day.
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A/N- :D
2.6k words
- Bear xx