The Mimic

133

"We can trust him." Y/n repeated under her breath, yet she didn't seem very sure of it at all.

The pair were on their way to Peter's apartment. That was where y/n had planned to stay for the duration of their time in America, but it didn't seem like a good plan anymore. But, they had to go through with it. She had to keep that promise.

School had just about ended for the day, and the rush of students making their way home was something that they used as an advantage. The busy crowds - despite the high risk of getting recognised - enabled y/n and Bucky to practically disappear, but even with their cosmetic enhancers the pair opted to keep their heads down. Almost every street corner had Team Cap's faces plastered across them, all offering a pretty decent amount of money for turning them in. It was terrifying. Bucky and y/n were simply relying on the hope that people cared for their lives more than the prize money, and they both knew that the money seemed to be more of a valuable asset. Hell, if y/n was in their shoes she'd take the money too.

"The rooftop has easy access to other buildings, and there's a fire escape outside of Peter's window." Y/n murmured quietly as she guided Bucky into Peter's apartment building. Both of them were scanning around for every possible way of escape, but y/n knew the building far better than Bucky did. "If everything goes to shit, a jump out of the window from Peter's floor is survivable. Very painful, but survivable." She sighed, squeezing Bucky's hand in an attempt to find some comfort. It felt wrong to be analysing the apartment building for ways of escape. There had been countless times where y/n had blindly stumbled into the building and crashed on the couch with no care of her surroundings, and now it felt as if they were walking in a minefield. Every creak in the floorboards had y/n and Bucky on edge. It was horrible.

"How fun." Bucky hummed, causing a small smile to appear on y/n's face. The adrenaline and stress hadn't been something that he'd missed. He'd enjoyed just relaxing on random beaches with y/n, but he knew that this visit meant a lot to her. God, he prayed that they weren't walking straight into a trap. Peter had no knowledge of them even being in the country, but everyone knew how close y/n and Peter were. Videos of the pair dancing around on missions were still pretty popular on social media. It was a logical decision for law enforcement to be watching him.

Bucky let out a shaky sigh as they finally approached the apartment door, the nervousness coursing through him almost made him feel sick. He was so prepared to sprint as soon as that door opened. They both were. He squeezed y/n's hand once more, lifting it up so he could press a few reassuring kisses to her knuckles. "We've got this." He murmured quietly. Bucky was as scared as y/n, but he wanted to do everything he could to make her feel safe. Even if it was a lie.

Y/n nodded, taking deep breaths as she finally knocked on the door. She was ready to drop everything and run. "C'mon Peter..." She whispered to herself, her foot tapping out of impatience. Her mind was running wild with scenarios of the door opening and it being the police or even Tony. Everything could go wrong. Everything. For all they knew the whole building could be swarming with agents.

The wait for the door to open was excruciating. Every small sound caused y/n and Bucky to jump, and every siren - whether it be an ambulance or a police car - had the pair ready to sprint at any second.

The door suddenly flying open almost gave y/n a heart attack. Her hands quickly raised up in preparation to blast the person on the other side, and Bucky grabbed y/n's arm so they could escape together.

But, attacking or escaping wasn't needed. The person who answered the door was completely oblivious and already rambling several apologies.

It was Peter.

He looked like a complete mess. The suit that he had on was far too big for him, and his tie was wrapped around his head as if he were trying to be a rock star. One hand rested on the door handle whilst the other was holding onto a hairbrush that he'd definitely been using as a microphone - yeah, he definitely hadn't been expecting visitors. Music was playing loudly somewhere in the apartment, but it wasn't classic 'teenager' music. It was.... High School Musical?

"Hey! My aunt's not home at the moment, so if you want her then well... I can take a message?" Peter asked in a rushed tone, yanking the tie off of his head. He hadn't even looked up to see who it was. Bucky and y/n had taken off their cosmetic enhancers as soon as they saw him. "Or if you're here to complain about the music then I'll turn it down! I just had to listen to the soundtrack for..." He paused, trying to find an excuse for listening to High School Musical on full blast. "Research! Yeah, research for school. You see, I have an essay on-"

"Peter." Y/n interrupted, a fond smile plastered across her face. This was Peter. No traps, no tricks, no setups. He was home alone and dancing to a soundtrack to a musical. Nothing else was needed to get y/n to trust him. "Can we come in, or are you just going to keep making excuses?" She teased, crossing her arms over her chest. God, it'd been such a long time since she'd seen him. He hadn't changed at all.

Peter froze in shock at the sound of y/n's voice. He finally looked up, his mouth hanging open in surprise for a few seconds. "Oh my god... What're you guys doing here?! Come in, come in!" He exclaimed, a mixture of excitement and worry in his eyes as the pair finally stepped into the apartment. "You know you're criminals, right? Like, they're looking for you everywhere." Peter rambled, shutting the door behind them. He raced across the apartment to pause the music, his cheeks shifting to a bright red out of embarrassment.

Y/n and Bucky couldn't help but laugh as Peter continued to ramble on and on. They stepped inside of the apartment, sharing a fond glance as Peter rushed to pause the music. Even if he'd never admit it, Bucky had missed him too. "We're aware, bud." He chuckled, setting his backpack down on the ground. There was no way it could be a trap. If it was a trap, the apartment would be clean, and Peter wouldn't be acting like his normal self. That kid was terrible at keeping any other secret except for his identity.

"We're here for you, idiot!" Y/n laughed, lifting her suitcase up onto the kitchen counter. She unzipped it with ease, pressing a few buttons so it'd switch to the correct compartment. "I promised that I'd help you prepare for your first school dance with MJ, so here we are! I even bought you a fancy suit, and that necklace that you were talking about buying for her." Y/n grinned proudly, gesturing toward the suitcase so Peter could take a look for himself.

Peter's eyes widened in surprise, hurrying toward the suitcase so he could take a look. "You bought the Black Dahlia necklace?!" He asked excitedly, carefully pulling the necklace out of the suitcase. MJ had been talking about getting that exact necklace for so long, but he'd never been able to find it for her. The only place he could find that it was being sold was in a different country, and that was far too expensive. The smile on his face was priceless. He gently set the necklace down before he suddenly pulled y/n into a tight hug. "You're the best, y/n."