(Recap: Peter kicked a guy a bit too hard while saving a woman's life and his death had been haunting Peter for days. Now, at the Avengers compound, he wakes from a nightmare, throwing Steve into the next room in the process...)

Well, I'm screwed for life.

Peter sat on the edge of his bed as the three confused and worried heroes stood around him. Clint was looking quite annoyed about the fact that there was a hole in his wall. Tony looked like he was torn between demanding answers or getting him ice cream to cheer him up. Steve looked like a worried mother, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted together.

"Please talk to us, Peter," Tony started to lean towards the begging route. "We want to help."

"I-I can't," Peter's voice broke. They couldn't know. They would hate him. He was a murderer. That man had died by his hand, (well, his foot, but that was beside the point).

Steve seemed to pick up on his emotions. "We won't think any differently of you, Pete. I promise."

Why would he be feeling guilty about... A thought suddenly hit Tony. "Kid, please tell me this isn't about the robber that got away. You can't get every bad guy. Trust me."

Something broke in Peter. He couldn't believe they still thought the best of him. He didn't deserve that. Even if it had been an accident. Tears welled up in his eyes and spilled sloppily down his face. They would figure it out and turn him away, never speak to him again.

Tony, Steve and Clint were taken aback by the sudden burst of tears. Now they all knew it had something to do with the thief, seeing the kid's reaction. Should they pry deeper though?

Peter buried his face in his hands. Now they would know he was a killer and think he was weak. How could he even call himself a hero?

Of course Sam chose that moment to walk into the room, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. He froze at the sight of Peter and the confused men. Damnit, Barton, you're supposed to be a father! He should know how to handle this. Obviously not. The archer glanced up at him and quickly motioned him out, then followed, leaving the couple and the kid alone.

"Go get Nat or Hope," he murmured lowly once they were out in the hall. Sam nodded and jogged down the corridor.

Tony and Steve sat on either side of the sobbing teenager and crushed him with a hug.

"Shh, shh," Tony stroked his hair. "It's fine, you don't have to tell us. It's okay."

"Bu-but I have to! I ca-can't deal with-th this weight o-on my chest," Peter sobbed. "It's ki-killing me! But I-I don't wa-want you to ha-hate me."

His voice dropped down to a whisper as his tears slowed down and he stopped choking up so much. Tony squeezed him tighter when Steve let go to hear better.

"Nothing you could do would make any of us hate you, Peter," the billionaire promised.

"You don't even kn-know what I did."

Tony tipped the boy's head up so he could look Peter in the eyes. "So tell me. Please."

Peter nodded slowly and numbly. He had run out of tears and only hiccuped occasionally as he started to recall that night.

"W-well I was on patrol like u-usual when this alarm went off in a ba-bank. Three guys ran out and I went up to th-them and took one down and the other one surrendered. Th-the last one ran away, so I chased him down a-a alley and he was on the phone but he saw m-me a-and pointed a gun a-and I thought 'no big deal.'

"B-but the-then he p-pointed it at th-this lady a-and he was abo-about to pull the trig-ger and I cou-couldn't let tha-t happen so I...I kicked h-him into a-a-a wall and I heardthiscrack–," Peter chokes on his words, but pushes on. "–andiaskedKaren...if he was okay. B-bu-but he wasn't."

Tony hadn't understood most of it, but he had gotten enough to figure out what happened. "Oh, Peter, it wasn't your fault..."

"But I killed him!" He burst out sobbing. There. He had finally said it out loud. He had finally come clean. It was relieving but horrible at the same time. He jerked away from Tony and covered his face. He probably doesn't even want to touch me now.

Tony hid his hurt expression as Peter shed away from him. Nat pushes the door open to find a shocked Steve and a helpless Tony sitting on the bed while Peter was curled up, head between his knees, as far as he could get from them without falling off the mattress. Of course she had been listening to everything behind the door, so she didn't need to be caught up. She remembered when she had first killed a man at age twelve. Devastating. Horrible. Guilt and fear weighing down on her and no kind mentor to help her through it. She was not about to let sweet little Peter go through what she did.

"Hey," the assassin put a light hand on his shoulder. Peter flinched a bit, but didn't move away.

She sat on the bed next to him calmly, keeping her voice steady. He needed reassurance right now.

"Look, Peter. I know how you're feeling right now. We all do. And we are all going to support you and love you no matter what you do. What happened wasn't your fault. It was an accident. If you hadn't done what you did an innocent girl would have lost her life. There was no way around it, no way you could tell the future. Don't blame yourself. None of us do and none of the team will. Your team will always have your back."

"You should hate me," he looked up with red eyes. "I'm a killer."

"Did you do it on purpose?"

Peter paused. He slowly shook his head. Where was she going with this?

"Then you aren't a killer," she decided. "And, all due respect, you are talking to an assassin right now. It's unfortunately part of the job description. And there's another one RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR."

She directed the last part to the hallway. The door slowly opened to reveal Clint and the rest of the team anxiously listening in. They all froze at the sight of Steve's glare. At least it seemed to snap Tony into action. He got up and sat on the other side of the kid.

"Hey," he wrapped an arm around Peter comfortingly. "You are still the same Peter you were last week. Except more sleep deprived."

Peter chuckled weakly.

"You're still my son."

The teenager and the rest of the room froze. Um, what? Tony's face heated up to a max.

"I meant INTERN. I MEAN FRIEND. You're still my friend," Tony smacked himself in the face. "Ugh, never mind."

Peter grinned and hugged him. "Thanks Mr. Stark."

Tony smiled at the sight of a now-happy Peter. He missed that. And he was going to make sure he stayed.

Steve joined their hug next, wrapping his one arm around Peter and the other around Tony. The billionaire kissed him lightly in the happy moment. Nat and Scott were the only ones who noticed Clint snap a picture.

"Send that to me later," Antman murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

Clint did the same. "You got it."

Soon they all joined the hug and it turned into a cuddle puddle. Even Sam and Bucky got roped into it by Steve's get-your-asses-over-here-and-enjoy-the-moment glare. Scott was silent for a full four minutes before breaking the too-long-for-him silence.

"So, are we thinking pizza, or...?"

THE END

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I love Scott too, he's also one of my favorites. Wow I just realized that Thor is barely mention in any of my stories. I don't have anything against him, I just keep forgetting. (Good job me.) Anyways, thanks for reading, see you next time web heads.

- Wanda