Bless The Broken Road

A Shellfish Reaction

Spending time with Peter turned out to be Steve's favourite things to do. In the few days he was looking after the kid, Steve had had the most fun he'd ever had in years. All the stress and traumatising thoughts about the War and losing everyone close to him would go away each time Peter cracked a joke or they played.

They also had a lot in common, spending hours talking about their favourite hobbies and things to do. The one major difference between them was Peter's massive brain. Steve was a smart guy but Peter was something else; the kid could solve complicated algebraic equations without even spending 5 minutes on it and could talk for hours about Bruce's science papers.

Peter was a really impressive kid and Steve had to hand it to Tony for raising him all alone the past few years. It was clear that Peter's confidence came from being well loved. From everything Tony had hinted in the few weeks they'd lived together at the Tower, Steve was able to pick up on the fact that Howard hadn't exactly been a caring father; Tony, on the other hand, was the most devoted father in the world.

Before Steve knew it, it was already their last day before Tony arrived home. He wouldn't get back until the early hours of the morning the next day but Steve still felt sad about how it would be his last full day taking care of Peter. The past few days had been nothing but Mario Kart, walks around the city and lazing around but Steve found them to be the most fulfilling.

There was something about the kid that just made Steve happy. Like part of a jigsaw coming into place. He'd only known Peter for a short while but there was a connection between them, something that made Steve's heart happy each time the kid would smile at him.

"You excited for your Dad to come home?" Steve asked Peter on their last night, sitting around the table at some restaurant in New York. Since Tony was going to be coming home soon, the rest of the team had decided to go out for a nice meal in celebration of their last night before the warden returned home (as Clint had put it). The restaurant chosen was just a shabby seafood joint not too far from the Tower; it was in a less busier spot in Manhattan, making it perfect for the Avengers to go mostly unnoticed.

"Yes!" Peter looked happy about the concept, smiling wildly as he nodded across to Steve. Clint sat next to Peter whilst Nat sat opposite them with Steve on her left. Bruce was sitting at the end of the table, sipping a glass of water quietly. He'd been reluctant to come, terrified something would happen and he would Hulk Out but Peter had managed to persuade him to come. "Dad's been gone for so long!"

Clint chuckled, ruffling Peter's hair, "You're really Stark's number one fan, aren't you kiddo?"

"Duh," Peter rolled his eyes, his hand trying to flatten down his now-untamed curls.

"I think it's cute," Natasha pursed her lips, giving Peter a smirk when he looked in her direction. They'd already ordered their food, everyone having decided to just buy a heap of seafood and have it sit in the middle of the table for people to pick and choose what they wanted. No one was shy about ordering mass amounts of food considering Peter had brought along the sleek credit card Tony forced him to carry at all times. (Clint, for one, couldn't help but chuckle when thinking about Stark going through his bills to see his son had brought over £200 worth of seafood the night before he'd come home).

"Alright, here we go," the waitress came forward balancing several large plates of food, gently placing them down in the middle of the table with practised ease. She smiled at everyone, not recognising any of them, as she asked if they wanted anything else. "Oh, just to let you: today there is a buy two, get one free deserts deal— kids get to have desert free, as well." She winked at Peter, tilting her head towards Steve. "Maybe if you ask your Dad nicely, he'll let you have one of our bottomless ice creams."