Pull Us Back

the friends

Ned and MJ quickly fell into rhythm with Peter and Clint. Even though Ned had a minor meltdown over seeing the Hawkeye, when Peter and him started mocking each other, he calmed down.

"Hey, bird bitch. I bet I could beat you in Mario Kart," MJ bragged, purposely insulting him to test his coolness even though Peter was giving him that 'MJ what the heck are you doing?' look.

"Oh yeah? Let's go, homo." Clint grabbed a controller. "You're a lesbian, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"My gaydar is amazing. Plus you have a lesbian flag pin on your jacket."

"Oh, shit, yeah!"

Peter clicked on the TV and tossed a controller to Ned. "Sorry, guys. I'm going to destroy you both. You too, Ned."

Ned shrugged casually. "I'm better at Mortal Kombat. And Lego Games."

It was almost scary how competitive the three teens and one manchild became. So far, they have played two rounds, four races each. MJ won the first, Clint narrowly won the second by a single point, and now they were on the last race of the last round. At the moment, Clint and MJ were tied for first, Peter in second, and Ned coming in at a nice fourth. In the current race, Clint had a pretty massive lead.

"Yes, yes, yes! I fucking win! In your face, MJ!" Clint yelled.

"Uh, Mr. Hawkeye-"

"Quiet, Peter. I'm bragging to your teen friend." Clint started doing a mocking dance.

"Mr. Hawkeye!"

"How does it feel to lose to an old man, MJ- why are you smirking?"

MJ laughed loudly. "You never crossed the finish line, bird bitch."

"What?!" Clint turned to see his kart's ground wheels centimeters from the line, him officially in twelfth. "No!"

Clint fell the the ground, face first, groaning in defeat. MJ and Ned were in absolute hysterics while Peter just patted his back.

"Hey, children, Tony wants to know if you want pizza- why is Clint on the floor again?"

"A-again?" Peter asked, making MJ and Ned laugh even harder.

Rhodey sighed. "I just won't ask. Tony wants to know if you want pizza for dinner."

"Heck yeah! Just get us some pepperoni."

"You sure? You can have anything you want, and you simply choose pepperoni? You do realize your dad's rich, right?"

"We are simple children with simple needs, Corneal," MJ replied, smirking.

"Get me Hawaiian," Clint groaned from the floor, making Ned throw a throw pillow at him. Clint yelled loudly, but still didn't get up. Rhodey sighed loudly and left to tell Tony the orders.

After about thirty minutes, the entire team chatting casually with Ned and Peter. MJ was staring at Tony, which was making him very uncomfortable. Why was this tiny teen glaring at him?

He wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin before tossing his plate. "Hey, Pete. I have to go do something, but I should be back before you have to get to bed, alright?"

"Okay, Dad. See you."

"Talk to you later, kiddo." Tony ruffled the teen's hair.

Tony was about to leave before a girl stood in his way.

"Oh, hey! You're MJ, right?"

"Okay, cut the shit, Stark," she snapped. "You're not a good person, and we both know that, but Peter is. Peter is the kindest, sweetest boy in the entire fucking world, yet he's been through some tough shit. If you ever hurt him, even unintentionally, I will fucking end you. I don't give a shit that you're fucking Ironman. Are we clear?"

"Listen, I would never hurt Peter. I'd rather die than let him get a scratch on him, alright? I'll protect him to the ends of the earth in the real world if you'll protect him at school. He won't let me talk to whatever little douchebag is hurting him. He's too nice to let me."

"Fine. One more thing, Stark. Don't pretend like you care." And with that, MJ stormed off. How can do much intimidation fit into such a small size? Then again, she was taller than both of her friends, so.

Tony shook his head, a habit he picked up when he was trying to clear his mind. He stood up straight and made his way out. He called Happy to make him drive Tony to Brooklyn.

When he hopped out of the car, he glanced up at the building. For such a dinky, run down apartments complex, it filled him with absolute dread. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he walked in and up the many flights of stairs.

He swallowed harder as he walked up to E-12. He lifted his hand and knocked on the dusty door. A tall man with a bun and a metal arm opened the door. "Oh, hi, Stark. Whatcha doin' here?"

"I'm not here to talk to you, terminator."

"If you're here to chew out Steve, you can kindly fuck off. Sam has done enough of that for you."

"I'm here to talk to him like civil people, alright? I need to talk to him about something very important."

Bucky sighed, the gears turning in his head. "Fine. But if you hurt him, I'll hurt you."

Bucky turned and motioned for Tony to follow. "Hey, Stevie? Someone's here to see you."

"If it's Sam, tell him to go away. I don't feel like dealing with all that guilt."

Tony walked in to see Steve doodling, which slapped a smile of the billionaire's face. He loves Steve's drawings.

"It's not Sam, Stevie."

Steve's head popped up. "Tones?"

Shit. And Tony thought Steve looked broken after their first fight. Tony's heart was beating miles a minute. "Can we talk?"

"Y-Yeah! Yeah. Come sit, Tony." Steve scooted over, pulling away the blanket from the seat next to him. Tony sat on the vision, facing towards the blonde.

"Look, Steve. I'm not even gonna stall. Neither of us can deal with that anymore. So, I had a conversation with Peter and it really made me open my eyes. Peter deserves a family who loves each other and... even though we've hurt each other, you're still apart of our family. So, if you'd like, we'd enjoy having you in the tower again. You could even bring Bucky. This place is tiny for two super soldiers. Once you've decided, call me, alright?" Tony stood and brushed himself off. He placed a kiss to his blonde locks before leaving the apartment, smiling to himself because of how damn good it feels to forgive a man you still love.

Word count: 1095