Imagine If You Assembled The Avengers: Volume 2

You Chose the Wrong Side (Parker x reader)

Angst, past event are in italics

"You can't possibly save them both, so stop wasting your time and decide who lives and who dies. The choice is yours to make, Mr. Parker."

~~~

"This is my dad, Steve Rogers," you told Peter cautiously, seeing that his eyes were about to burst out of his head at his sudden proximity to Captain America. "Dad, this is Peter Parker."

"Mr. Parker," Steve greeted in his most authoritative tone, his hand thrust forward eagerly to show the young man just how strong his grip really was; he wanted there to be no confusion about his role in keeping his only daughter safe. The boy in front of him seemed unassuming enough at first glance, but Steve had learned long ago to not make a first impression on appearances; it was something that he had used against his opponents back when he looked about as scrawny as this kid.

"Hey, I'm...I'm...I'm Peter..." he struggled to speak, readily taking Steve's hand. When the Captain gave his best fatherly shake and put a little more power behind the hold, Peter didn't even flinch, much to his surprise. "I'm a big fan."

"Hmm, so how long have you and (Y/N) been seeing each other?"

"Dad..."

"Um," Peter laughed uncomfortably, pulling at his collar as if it were suddenly strangling him, "about...um, like six months...Captain...sir." He took a shuffled step towards you and bent slightly enough so that he could whisper, completely forgetting that Steve could hear everything clear as day, "he's so tall. He's got the ratio of a Dorito."

"Is that supposed to be a joke, Mr. Parker?"

"Shit...I mean, no! No, sir...I'm sorry...no."

The agonizing introduction of your boyfriend to your overprotective and overbearing father went on this way for the next fifteen minutes without reprieve; Steve would ask a question that would be harmless if asked by any other man, and Peter would stumble his way through the answer with barely a competent response. You may have been more entertained if you weren't the common denominator here, and if you weren't the one who wouldn't hear the end of this from either of them any time soon.

~~~

"(Y/N), hold on!" Peter called out to you as calmly as he could muster, but his tone was filled with panic. You were hanging precariously over the side of one of the city's highest buildings, supported by a few straps that were woven into a mechanism that could drop you at any second. Harsh and cold winds were blowing between the skyscrapers, making you sway along with them, only adding to your already paralyzing fear. On the other side of the building was another woman in the same situation; Peter's Aunt May. Standing directly in between was the man who had challenged Peter to make the decision as to which of you he would save, but insisting that it couldn't be both; you were too far apart for him to run that fast, and even a precisely slung web wouldn't be any guarantee against the winds and the force of gravity in the fall.

"Don't look down," you whispered to yourself, keeping your eyes tightly closed. If you were to fall, you didn't want to see the ground as it came closer; it would be better to be a surprise and immediate nothingness than to watch it coming.

"Pete, save (Y/N)," May insisted, "it's okay, honey! Don't let her fall!"

"Tick, tick, tick, Mr. Parker, time's a-wasting," the man sneered. "Choose, or lose both."

~~~

Steve had been watching you and Peter intently since the messy introduction that day, keeping a sharp eye on the boy that had set off alarms in his head; there was something about Parker that seemed strangely familiar to him, but he was certain that he hadn't met him before. Each time that he came to the compound to pick you up for a date, it was the same, with Steve running through his mind as to how he knew Peter, but he always came up empty.