Fireflies↳Bucky Barnes

6- The grave adventures of having a brother

      "Peter!" I call out as I wander the streets of Queens. "Peter!" I yell louder this time. Tears of worry stream down my cheeks as I search effortlessly. I've given myself one hour to find him before I have May and Ben call the police. "PETER!!" In the distance I hear the sound of grunting and yells. My eyes widen as I bolt in the direction of the noise. "Peter!"

      As I pass by an alley a group of men run out. "C'mon! He's on the roof! Get him!" They couldn't possibly mean...? I shake my head and continue walking, then I hear a groan of pain behind the next building. I run over to find a figure sitting on the ground running their shoulder. "Peter?" I ask cautiously. The figure's head turns around and my eyes go wide. "Peter!" I bolt to his side, checking him over. "Where have you been! Aunt May, Uncle Ben and I have been worried sick!"

      Peter shoves my hands away. "It's okay! I'm okay!" I shake my head and phone my phone's light over him. "Peter, you are covered in bruises! How is that okay?!" He scoots away from me and stands up. "It's nothing, okay! I just fell." I look around the alley. There isn't anything he could have fallen from besides... "Peter, were you on the floor?" I ask, my mind thinking about the group of men running from the other alley.

      "On the roof? No way! How would I even get up there?" I stare at him for a moment, then sigh. I suppose he has a point. "Okay," I pull myself to my feet, clear worry in my eyes. "Let's get you back home." Peter nods and follows me out of the alley. We walk to my car a few blocks away and climb in. I turn the heat onto full blast after having noticed Peter shivering. The ride back through New York traffic is long, and most of it is left to silence.

      "You aren't going to interrogate me anymore?" Peter asks, barely above a whisper. I glance at him and grip the steering wheel tighter. "No." Peter nods and I look at him again. "But I am hoping you'll tell me what that was about when you are ready." He looks down and I see the guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry for making you worry." He mumbles. I shake my head. "It's not me you need to apologise to." Peter nods and looks out the window.

      We finally reach May and Ben's building and to make sure Peter doesn't run off again, I walk him back up to the apartment. May and Ben thanked me and made Peter apologise for causing me to have to leave work early. I said it was fine, but they didn't take it. After a few minutes of hearing Peter apologise, I left. I know Peter better than anyone, and right now, there is something he isn't telling me. I can only hope he knows that he can tell me anything.

      After all, I have a few secrets of my own.

۵

      All through Sunday Peter was grounded to his room. It was Ben's day off so every 10 minutes he would go in and check on Peter. He called me laughing saying Peter must have gotten so bored that he started sowing. I didn't believe it so I had Ben send me a photo and indeed, Peter was sitting on his bed, tongue sticking out, one bloody finger and red and blue fabric all around him.

      I saved the photo, determined to use it as blackmail in the future. We are siblings after all, and I am the oldest. It's my job to embarrass him. Peter also hadn't spoken about what had happened last night and Ben didn't push him. We were waiting for him to tell us on his own.

      Now I am walking into the Avengers tower, hoping Tony doesn't hate me for continually ghosting him. Navigating the upper floors is easier now that I got an inkling as to where everything is. Finally I reach Tony's lab and find him working on one of his suits, AC/DC blasting through the speakers. I try knocking on the door to get his attention, but it's useless with how loud his music is.

      I bite my lip as I look at the thumbprint lock. Hesitantly, I place my thumb on it, and surprisingly, the door unlocks. How had Tony gotten my prints? Probably the DMV. As I walk into the lab the music dies down and he looks over to see me. "Peyton, I was wondering if I'd be seeing you today." I smile and nod. "Sorry about last night. My brother ran off." Tony raises an eyebrow and I shake my head. "Don't ask me. I have no idea."

      He nods, then swirls around his chair. I look around the room and frown. "No Bruce?" Tony grabs his desk to stop his spinning. "No, he said he forgot something somewhere." I nod, then stand awkwardly. Tony chuckles at me then points to the other side of the lab. "I set you up over there." I nod and walk over. Everything from my old desk is already here.

      "I don't know exactly where to start." I say as I look at Tony. He walks over to me and hands me a picture frame. In it is my notebook paper that has my nanobot notes on it. "I usually start by experimenting." I nod, then slide my tongue along the inside of my mouth. "Well, you want it in your suit right?" Tony nods then I turn to face his several suits. "I guess I could look at the tech you already have in yours, see what we'll need the nanobots to build."

      Tony nods, then presses a button on one of the suit's display cases. "Go crazy." He starts walking away, then stops and points at me. "Just not too crazy. I still need that." I laugh and nod, then Tony leaves the lab. I chew my lip as I stare at the Iron Man suit, looming over me. I better not screw this up.

      My phone buzzes in my pocket and I whip it out, silently begging that Peter hasn't done something again. Instead, I find a text from Cody.

Cody:
Have you seen this yet? It's pretty sick

      Under it is a link to a video titled 'New Vigilante in New York'. I watch the short video and blink in surprise. On it, a guy dressed in red and blue with weird goggles, swings on some type of rope and pulls a woman about to be hit by a car to safety. "Huh." I save the link and send it to Peter. He'll think it's awesome.