And Then I Wrote Marvel

Valid (Approved Alternate) (dad!Steve Rogers/Peter Parker x Reader)

"We can get her back."

"You don't understand, I left her!"

"She knew what she was doing, Parker. She told you to get out of there--"

"That shouldn't have mattered!" Peter huffed, his anxiety apparent in his posture. He was curling up into himself, his hands furled around each other close to his face. "It was my responsibility to keep her safe, and I failed."

"Kid, come on," Steve said, placing a steady hand on the boy's shoulder. "Give my daughter some credit here. She told you to leave her there for a reason."

"I--no, I was the senior agent," he argued. "I could have--I should have--"

"You don't work that way," Sam reminded him. "You've never been a commander and a unit, you're a team."

"And if one of you does have to take charge, it's almost always (Y/N)," Natasha added. "It's doubtful that she would have taken no for an answer."

"She knows what she's doing better than you do anyway, punk," Bucky pointed out.

"Hey, I thought I was punk," Steve complained.

"Your daughter is trapped alone at a Hydra base and you're more worried about a nickname?" Peter questioned incredulously.

"Peter, you need to chill out," Tony said.

"Chill out? I'm the only one thinking rationally here!" he exclaimed, standing up rapidly. "She's alone and we don't even know if she's okay! Our comms are jammed, so we don't have a way to communicate with her, and the last time I saw her, we were being attacked by so many people that I couldn't even see her! Why don't you all--" Peter's breath hitched-- "Why can't you--" he fought back tears as he continued to work himself up.

"Peter?" Steve prompted.

"Why wasn't I enough?" he agonized.

The boy fell back into his chair and buried his face in his hands. Shrinking into himself once more, he fought to control his breathing as his emotions became overwhelming. Never before had he failed like this. The one person he had promised to protect with his life he had left alone, and why? Because she had promised the same thing to him. She was stronger than him; she hadn't backed out of her promise.

Above all else, Peter felt weak.

Peter felt weak and incapable and ashamed for having left. All he wanted was for you to hold him in your tight embrace so that he could know that you were all right, but that couldn't happen because he had abandoned you. Why didn't he stay? Why wasn't he capable of taking you with him?

"Why wasn't I enough?" he whispered again.

Steve reached out to put a hand on Peter's shoulder to try to comfort him, but Peter recoiled as if Steve's touch were caustic.

"You don't get it, Captain Rogers, I left—" Peter stuttered— "I left your daughter because I wasn't strong enough to get her out with me."

"I'm not blaming you."

"You don't get it!" he repeated angrily, meeting Steve's eyes. Peter's shone with tears ready to spill over. "You weren't there."

"Walk us through," Bruce requested. "What would we have seen if we were there?"

"What happened to make her feel like she needed to tell you to leave?" Natasha added.

Peter took a breath to stabilize himself, swiping his arm over his face. "We were stormed by at least twenty men twice our size," he related.