Boys like Boys|| Peter Parker

.20.

"I have a few questions for you.. Oliver"

"I have a few questions of my own"

It was a real wonder Oliver hadn't fainted again. According to the nurses, he had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while now and he couldn't believe them when they said he had been knocked out for a day and a half.

The last thing he remembered was collapsing into Spider-Man's arms and now he was in a hospital. He tried not to let his fear show, but he was shaken to his core. The last time he'd been that defenseless and vulnerable was with Bucky and now Bucky wasn't here. 

So Oliver had been alone and unconscious, only to wake up and find Tony Stark in the room. 

His chest hurt less now, which he was glad for, but he was instructed to not wear anything that would restrict his breathing for at least a couple of weeks as he had a bruised rib and internal bleeding.

Other than a nasty bruise on his left cheek and the feeling that he had absolutely no energy in him, Oliver felt somewhat fine. He wasn't dead. Though he wished he was when Tony Stark walked into the room.

Tony Stark was the kind of man that Oliver thought cared about no one except himself or at least that's what he presented as to people. He cared a lot actually, he had a big heart but a fucked up life. He didn't know how to express himself, he... was an okay guy who made mistakes sometimes because he didn't know what else to do.

"Come on kid, I'm only here to help you"

"Help me?" Even though Oliver felt like shit, he managed to let out a scoff which turned into a madman's laugh. "Help me like you helped Bucky Barnes?"

"This isn't about him" 

"Of course it is" Oliver rolled his eyes, "Everything this past week has been about him"

"I'm being serious, kid. This isn't about him. This is about you." He massaged the bridge of his nose. 

Oliver was silent for a while. He had nothing better to do than hear the guy out.

He did what first came to his mind. The handcuffs clicked and fell onto the bed, his hand freed. He rubbed his wrist a little, taking his time to think about he could say to Tony Stark.

The young boy sat up in the bed, and to an extent he reminded Tony of a younger version of Bucky even though the two weren't that similar looking. And yet, Tony could recognize the deep frown, the eyebrows drawn and most importantly, the death glare.

"Natasha, she had some... interesting information" Tony didn't look alarmed that Oliver had taken the handcuffs off, instead he seemed curious. "She has reason to believe you two have similar backgrounds, is that true?"

"I feel like I should have a lawyer" 

"Kid—"

"My name.. is Oliver" He moved to the edge of the hospital bed, letting his feet dangle over the floor before planting them firmly and feeling the cold floor on his bare feet. "And I don't owe you any information"

"It's for Natasha"

The boy stopped in his tracks, he turned around slowly to face Tony. 

"She thought she took down the place, man on top and all"

"Well, obviously she didn't" Oliver gestured to himself. He walked over to the small bag on one of the chairs in the room, rummaging through it. 

"She wanted more information and it seems you're the only one who can give that"

"Why isn't she here if she wants the information so bad?" Oliver raised his eyebrows  "Not only was I wearing a binder for more than ten hours, I also wore it during a fight, so pardon me if I seem exhausted"

He was going through his bag, making sure everything was there. Thankfully, most of his stuff looked untouched. 

"She has her reasons. She just needs whatever you know"

"I—" A memory came to mind. Bucky's angry face, a woman, snakes and ladders, talk about some chemical... Oliver debated lying, on one hand he would have nothing to gain and the red room would continue its killing. On the other, this middle man act did not seem like something an ex assassin would do. Surely Natasha couldn't trust these people so much. 

"Melina Vostokoff" He said, "That's the woman she needs to go to. Head of the research in mind control under D— The big guy"

"Thank you for your time" Tony nodded. "Now, unfortunately— I will have to turn you over to the authorities"

Oliver tensed, a hundred thoughts running through his head. "What?"

"You were caught on video aiding a war criminal to avoid arrest, I have the warrant for your arrest right here—"

Tony showed him the papers. 

"Now, we can do this two ways. One— you go to juvie, you break out, you have governments of multiple countries on your ass. Or two— you work for me."

"What?"

"You have the skills"

It felt like a slap to the face. His skills. His powers. Is that all people cared about? How they could use him? How his powers could be useful for them? Everybody only thought about their personal gains. 

Bucky had been the only one who cared about the boy underneath, not just the powers. 

Oliver turned around, he slipped off his hospital gown, grateful for the fact that he had underwear on, but he didn't care much about his naked top half. In the red room, they had stomped shame about their bodies out of them.

Which was terrible because it meant the girls would sometimes be naked around each other and for a teenager attracted to women, Oliver was conflicted.

He slipped on a sports bra, a black hoodie, and some torn jeans before grabbing a bunch of tools from the side table including scissors, bandages, basically everything he could get his hands on in the room.

"What are you-"

"Stocking up" He refused to elaborate. When he had stuffed everything into his bag, he decided to finally address Tony Stark for what he hoped would be the last time.

"Kid, think about it" Tony told him, "You'll be safe, protected. You can be a normal teenager and in return, all you have to do is be there when I need you"

"Oh? is that all? Does your government know this?" Oliver questioned, "I thought you were on the side of the sokovia accords. That you wanted to sign them"

"I do."

"Then I can't help you. I'm not a fucking weapon, I refuse to be used" Oliver spat out. "And I sure as hell won't sign the accords. I like my freedom, thank you very much"

"Is this what you call freedom? Skipping countries, fighting, overexerting."

"Goodbye Tony Stark" He slung his bag on. It was stupid to think he could explain his side to Tony Stark. All the man cared about was himself.  "And say hi to the hot Spider guy for me will ya? Tell him he looks good in spandex"

Oliver flashed him a grin, though his eyes were humorless. And as Tony watched the little guy peer out of the window and salute him before falling out of it, he couldn't help but gasp aloud.