Winter's solace

too far.

Avenger's compound:

Peter stood at the window with Mj, watching the back of the property. Alyssa and Bucky were out in the field training.

"Why don't they just use the gym?" Peter asked, looking back at Sam.

"Alyssa's too hyper for the gym. She liked to use her acrobatic skills a little too much." Sam replied, leaning against a wall.

Peter looked at Mj, who was watching Alyssa in awe as her dad threw her backwards. She jumped off an old car and landed on his shoulders, her legs hooked under his arms. Peter laughed a little as she flipped, taking Bucky down to the ground. He remembered watching Nat do that at the airport years ago. He looked back to Mj who was smiling at Alyssa.

"You like her don't you?" Peter asked in a whisper.

MJ nodded. They'd known Alyssa for months now and were close. The girls had a special bond. They'd sit in front of the TV whenever Peter was out fighting whatever big bad had decided to threaten the area and worry over him together. He loved their attention. Not so much the being slapped in the head for doing stupid things. It was double the pain with the two of them. And though he knew it'd only get worse if they were dating, he couldn't help but play matchmaker with the two of them.

Sadly, Alyssa's boyfriend wasn't as supportive of Alyssa's orientations. He was jealous and possessive. Two things that didn't go well within a poly relationship. His treatment of Alyssa was less than kind and everyone wondered why she was with him. Above all the others, Peter hated him.

Peter walked away from the window as Alyssa and Bucky walked back towards the building. He sat at the table and dug his study materials out of his bag. Their SATs were in a few weeks. Alyssa ran into the room and grabbed her brush from her bag. She brushed her hair back into its smooth ponytail and rebraided the length. Peter noticed a small mark on her shoulder as she slipped on her jacket.

"What's that?" He asked

"What?" Alyssa replied

"The mark on your arm."

"Oh it's nothing." She replied "Just a little clumsy this morning. I'm going to see Harry. I'll be back tonight. You'll still be here?"

"No. I've got stuff to do at home." He said. "But I'll see you tomorrow."

"Or you could come over to the apartment. We do need to study." Mj piped up.

Alyssa nodded, running from the room. Peter heard the roar of a motorcycle and sighed.

"I hate that guy." He groaned "He's so mean to her."

"Is it hatred or jealousy?" Bruce asked

"Both." Peter admitted before gathering his things and sighing "I've gotta go. Aunt May's out of town and someone has to be at the apartment...our neighborhood isn't the best."

He grabbed Mj's hand and walked out to the car..

-----------------------

Peter's Apartment:

The sun had set and Peter and Mj were sitting down to eat just as a knock came at the door. Peter furrowed his brow in concern. Mj had invited Alyssa but he wasn't actually expecting anyone. Had Alyssa really decided to come over? Or was it Bucky or her uncle? Had she made it home safe? He walked to the door and looked through the peep hole, seeing as the door was locked.

His eyes went wide as she struggled to undo the deadbolt and slide lock. He opened the door to Alyssa, who was standing before him bruised and bloody. She looked weak.

"I didn't know where else to go." She said quietly.

He pulled her to him and called for MJ.

"Its okay." He said soothingly "Who did this?"

"Harry." She said as she started to cry "I said something about you and Mj and he just got so mad..."

Peter bit his tongue and led her to the couch. His instinct was to go after Harry. To punish him. But that wasn't what Spider-Man did. He didn't dole out justice the police could handle. He stepped in only when necessary. He sighed, brushing her hair back out of her eyes and pulling the first aid kit out from under the coffee table. Peter got hurt so often Aunt May had started keeping it within arms reach. Peter doubted she ever thought he'd be using it to patch up an avenger's kid. He wiped her cuts down with an alcohol swab and she winced pulling away from it.

"It's gonna sting." He said "but we have to clean them.

He finished cleaning the wounds and MJ brought her a set of clothes from her overnight bag. Alyssa smiled weakly at her as Peter got up and went to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

"Get cleaned up." He said softly as he entered the living room "I'll call Bucky and tell him you're staying here. I won't tell him why. I promise."

She nodded and walked to the bathroom. Peter pulled out his phone and attempted to dial Bucky's number. His hands were shaking too bad so he handed the phone to MJ.

  "Call Bucky. Tell him she's safe with us. No details." He said, pulling his mask over his face "I've got some thing to handle."

He swung out the window without another word.