Project Alpha

Ch. 14 - Family Reunion

**I'm not really sure if you guys want this to be kind of a story that ships Bucky and Nat, so let's vote here, shall we?

"Should we tell him?"

This was the one question being asked by a lot of the Avengers. Should they tell Peter that his best friend was actually his father? If so, how to break the news?

Peter was still unconscious in the medical wing. The director would've wanted to put him in an interrogation cell; keyword, would've. They had no intentions of telling Fury anything. As Bucky had said, "He can kiss my ass, so no." Although, just in case of the worst scenario, he did have restraints on his wrists and ankles.

After running a few blood tests and scans, Tony and Bruce learned that his enhanced senses had gone overboard and into a sensory overload. That must've been how this dangerously spider-like teenager had gone down so easily.

The team wasn't even sure why Peter came here. He appeared to be by himself, not wearing proper Hydra prisoner gear, and had come through the most obvious entry point: the elevator. But then again, his method was still smart. He had managed to hack Jarvis and get the elevator to make it as far as the common rooms.

Bucky and Natasha were hoping that Peter defected and escaped the day they had gone to rescue him, but they still had no evidence until their son woke up. It also reminded Natasha of when she had left the Red Room, for a better chance at life. Of course, she was tracked down by the one and only Hawkeye; he made a different call by not killing her that day.

Bucky thought about the life Peter could've had. If only- if only he had remembered his son and gone back. But no, he had been selfish and joined up with Steve and the Avengers. The guilt left a dark pit, like a storm, brewing in Bucky's stomach. He knew, deep down...that this was all his fault, his own burden brought upon everyone.

"We have to tell him, and that's final," Bucky said while staring back into the vivid green eyes piercing through his skull. "I'm sorry, Natasha."

"This isn't your fault. None of it is. You didn't know at the time, while I did," she paused and blinked away the tears threatening to make an appearance, "I knew I had a son out there; I did nothing to fix things, to save Peter."

They both frowned at each other; the ghost of a smile plastered over their faces. They would forever feel like this was their fault. But then, they kept insisting that it wasn't; they told themselves and each other that, but they never really believed that.

"Peter has woken up," Jarvis' voice filled the room, immediately breaking the tense silence that was always present nowadays. The voice also seemed to have a hint of urgency to it, but that wasn't possible...? "He seems to be in distress."

Bucky and Natasha started running. The only reason they weren't in there waiting for him to wake up was because Steve and Clint demanded they are some food. After all, it had been about 8 hours that Peter was out.

"Shall I talk to him first? Or are we just going to yolo this together?"

Natasha didn't break her stride, and smirked, "You should know me better by now."

They opened the door to show Peter laying on the bed with his head up. His eyes widened first when they landed on Bucky, but also got even larger when he spotted the familiar red head.

"Hey, Peter," Bucky started, unsure of how to proceed with this necessary but awkward conversation.

"Hullo," he nodded at both of them, but stayed fixated on his mother for a few extra seconds. It seemed like he was taking it all in still. "I escaped Hydra."

"That explains why you weren't there when we tried to do the same," Bucky lightly chuckled.

Peter put his head down and blurted out, "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm the one that should be sorry, Pete. I didn't come back for you after I left," Bucky's voice broke; this was getting more and more difficult to say.

"And I'm sorry that I didn't come and find you. I didn't once question my mystery child out there, somewhere in the world." Natasha knelt down next to Peter and removed the first cuff locking his arm to the bed. She knew it was a risk, but she was always willing to take them.

Once fully free, Peter hugged Bucky and said, "I don't care about that stuff. I care that you're here and and safe and still with me.

"And you're my mother. Of course, I can forgive you; we're here now, reunited- son and mother, right?"

Bucky and Natasha shared a look. It's now or never.

"No, reunited- son and mother and father. I was your old man all these years, and we didn't even know it."

Peter said nothing, not needing or trusting words to describe the array of emotions he felt. A real family... It really felt too good to be true, but the facts were right there in front of him. So instead of talking, he just hugged his family even tighter, not wanting to ever let go.

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