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Peter berated himself as he felt a knot forming in his chest. He needed to get over himself, this happened every year! See, Midtown had a long running tradition of career day. On one day every year, students would bring in their family so that they could talk about what they did for a living. Everyone seemed to have someone there with them, whether it be parents, grandparents, or aunts and uncles. Everyone except Peter.
Two years ago it was Ben, last year it was May. Ben died a few weeks before career day last year and it was just a sad reminder of what Peter and May had lost. May couldn't make it this year, she was swamped with work and had apologized profusely when she learned that she couldn't come. Peter had told her that it was fine, that he didn't really care, but he knew he was a terrible liar.
Not even Flash teased him today. Peter grew up with a lot of the kids in his grade, so they knew that Peter’s parents were gone. A lot of them shot him pitying glances as he walked the halls alone. Ned had invited him to hang out with him and his moms, but Peter declined. Ned seemed to get it and just hugged him, leaving him alone. MJ didn't look at him with pity, she just nodded at him in a weird show of support as her own mother stood beside her, telling another parent that it was just her and Michelle now.
The schedule for the day was weird, there was a mingling period for the first hour in the cafeteria where the adults could brag about their children to the other rich parents. Then there was a pep rally to show off their school spirit and talk about the students achievements so far in the year. Then everyone was sent to their homeroom class for the next few hours for presentations. Then everyone ate lunch in the cafeteria, after which they could go home early. It's how it went every year.
Right now, everyone was heading to homeroom, the pep rally was fine, kinda awkward like they always were, the music played too loud and the yells were generally unenthusiastic. Peter hid in the bathroom for most of the time, pep rallies were always hell on his senses, so he sat in a stall wearing his sound cancelling headphones and playing on his phone. Nobody came looking for him, as he expected, but when a larger amount of people came into the bathroom all at once, he could tell that it was time to leave.
Peter slumped in his desk, eyeing everyone that came into the room discreetly. There was a large pile of metal foldable chairs by the door for adults to grab when they came in, allowing them to sit next to their kids. The knot it Peter’s chest grew as kids and adults filed into the room with huge smiles on their faces, he wanted to be bitter that he didn't have anyone like that with him, but he couldn't be. He could never be bitter at May for providing for them.
Instead of doing attendance like normal, his teacher, Ms. Hawk, asked everyone to stand when they were called and introduce the adults with them today. Peter zoned out as each kid stood up and talked. Suddenly, “Peter Parker?” Ms. Hawk called. All of the eyes in the room were on him in an instant as he stood up. “Peter, where-?”
Peter cut her off before she could say anything. “My parents are dead, by uncle is dead, and my aunt couldn't make it.” Peter quickly stated before sitting back down, looking out of the window so he could ignore everyone's pitying gazes. He spotted a familiar motorcycle in the parking lot and blinked, then there was a knock at the door before anyone in the room could say anything else.
The door slowly opened and a head of brown hair stuck into the room. “Hello? I'm here for-"
The man was cut off as Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the door. “James!” The young boy yelled.
James’ face lit up as he spotted Peter, “Hey kid, sorry I’m late. We had debriefing this morning and Stevie wouldn't stop talking. Got onto Sam and I about being reckless as if he's not the worst of all of us.”
The two laughed. “What are you doing here?” Peter asked, looking up at James.
He furrowed his eyebrows, “Did May and Tony not tell you? I'm here for career day!” Peter lit up at his words and dragged him over to his desk, snagging a chair from the pile. He unfolded it and pointed at it, inviting James to sit down.
Peter looked back at the confused class, a bright smile on his face. It was a stark contrast to the gloom look that was present just minutes before. “Okay, this is James. You guys can call him Bucky. He’s my sorta father figure but also not really, we're kinda just friends. It's weird.”
Peter sat back down and smiled at James, who smiled back. Almost everyone called him Bucky, but Tony and Peter only ever called him James. They were also the only ones that were allowed to call him that. Clint once called him James and he ended up with bruised ribs.
Many of the woman and girls in the room, as well as some of the men, were eyeing James as they continued the introductions. Peter rolled his eyes when he noticed that many of the married woman were also blatantly staring at him. James always had admirers according to Steve, wooing dames and fellas alike before the war.
Today, James had worn an old leather jacket to cover his arm, black ripped jeans that Peter had bought for him, a plain white shirt, and some of Shuri’s sneakers. He also wore a glove over his metal hand, not yet comfortable with other people staring at it. His hair was freshly cleaned, hanging a little past his shoulders is soft waves. All in all, he looked kinda like a greaser without the greased back hair.
Soon, they started the presentations. Most of them were honestly really boring, so Peter started tuning them out. A few presentations in, James leaned over to him and whispered, “Hey Pete, your internship isn’t a secret, right?” Peter gave him a confused looks before he elaborated. “Like your actual internship with Tony, not the cover up story.”
Peter nodded, “Yeah, it’s not a secret, though most people don’t believe it exists.” James’ brow furrowed, but he just sat back in his seat and looked back at the guy talking about his job as an accountant.
About an hour later, it was Ned’s turn. Both of his moms stood up and talked about their work with an LGBTQ+ shelter for kids and teens who don’t have a good home life. Some adults in the room had looks of disgust or even disdain on their faces, but James looked riveted. Ned’s moms ended the presentation by talking about what support those in the room could give, talking about donations, both financial and with stuff like food and toiletries.
When they sat down, James leaned over to Peter and whispered in his ear again, “I just sent a text to Tony, they’re about to get a pretty hefty donation.”
Peter grinned at him. James actually did this quite a lot, often lending his own time to a cause that had caught his interest. Even just being gay was a crime when Bucky was young, so when he was educated on LGBTQ+ issues after they got rid of his brainwashing and trigger words, he was ecstatic. He could hold hands and love anyone he wanted without the fear of being persecuted for it and that never ceased amazed him.
Sure enough, not five minutes later one of Ned’s moms got a call and exited the room to take it. James sent Peter a quick smirk when she came back into the room with a shocked look on her face. She quickly sat down and whispered to her wife, who then matched her look of shock. Ned, who had heard what she said, immediately looked to Peter, who just shrugged and nodded his head to James. Ned’s eyes widened and a grin split his face.
A little less than 30 minutes later, it was Peter’s turn. He looked to James for direction of if he should stand up there with him or if he should just stay seated like most of the kids had. James jerked his head, invitation to stand at the front with him. When James stood at the front of the room, he looked both relaxed and tense at the same time. He still had issues being at the center of attention, but the fact that there were kids and also Peter in the room helped. Peter has been known to relax James quite a bit with just his presence.
“Hey everyone, I’m Bucky and I’m here with Peter to tell you guys what I do, or at least all I’m legally allowed to tell you.” Peter snorted, but most of the people in the room looked almost scared at that. Bucky sent them a wolfish grin, “So how many of you have heard of the Avengers?” All the hands in the room flew up. Bucky nodded, “Not very surprising, we do live in New York after all.” Everyone laughed. It was common knowledge that New York had been attacked far more than any other state. New York had probably been attacked more times than any other country had combined.
“What some of you guys probably don’t know is that the Avengers are so much more than just a small group of people that defend the threats that most other couldn’t, there are actually more than two dozen Avengers worldwide and half a dozen structures built to house those Avengers. Outside of the hero’s most already know, there are a few hundred personnel that help with financing, public relations, and really anything to help out a large and rowdy group of mostly enhanced individuals.
“That’s actually how I met Peter. As most of you probably know, Peter started an internship with SI a little less than a year ago.” Peter flushed as many of the eyes in the room turned to him. Flash’s face of shock was particularly funny. “Peter here made quite the impression on one Tony Stark, so he got him transferred from SI to the Avengers, where he continued to impress everyone he worked with. Now, he’s the personal intern to the Avengers.”
Now everyone was staring at the Peter in disbelief. “I know a lot of you probably don’t believe me, because I hear that many students didn’t even believe that he had an internship with SI to begin with, but it’s true. He’s got all of us wrapped around his finger.” James looked at Peter fondly.
Someone, Peter’s not sure who, spoke up. “Wait, us? As in-”
James cut them off. “Us as in I am also an Avenger.” he said to clarify. Eyes were quickly back on Bucky. “That’s actually why I was late today, as an active duty Avenger I have to be ready for whatever may come my way. We got a call to assemble at three in the morning and I was at debrief before I came.”
“Now thankfully most of you won’t be Avengers. It’s really not as fun as it may seem, so let’s talk about what else you could do if you work with us. Let’s us Pete as our example. He’s worked with Doctor Banner with creating medicine that works on enhanced metabolism like mine and Steve’s, you can almost always find him working with Tony on the Iron Man armour or weapons for the other Avengers, he’s trained on self defense with Black Widow, and even helped Princess Shuri build my arm!”
Everyone perked up at the mention of his arm, so Bucky took off his glove and shucked off his jacket, revealing his beautiful metal arm. Many people oohed and ahhed at it as the metal plates shifted when he flexed.
Suddenly, Flash yelled out, “You're the Winter Soldier!”
Peter could see James flinch at being called that, though nobody else would have been able to spot his discomfort. “Actually, Flash, his code name is White Wolf, not the Winter Soldier. This is common knowledge.”
A couple people giggled at Flash's surprised face, and James shot Peter a thankful look. Peter smiled back softly.
“No, we can't talk about the Avengers without talking about one of the most important members, if not the most important. Tony Stark!”
Peter almost rolled his eyes, of course James would gush about Tony.
“Now, I might be a little biased, but the Avengers wouldn't be around without Tony. Being a superhero doesn't pay, so Tony is our primary source of money, all out of pocket for him. He builds our gear, works the press like putty, gives us a home, goes on missions, all while being the head of R&D for SI!”
James looked more comfortable talking about Tony than he had the entire time. Honestly, if he didn't stop soon he would totally expose their relationship. Peter subtly elbowed James in an attempt to get him to move on.
James coughed and blushed, realizing what he had just done. “Anyway, Tony Stark is amazing.”
The super soldier took a few more minutes to talk about opportunities that the kids could take to get internships, told a quick story about a recent mission, and subtly insulted the American government. It was actually impressive.
“Thank you Mr. Barnes, Mr. Parker! That was a lovely presentation.” Ms. Hawk said, smiling brightly. She, very purposefully, stuck out her left hand for James to shake. James just smiled politely and shook her hand with his metal arm.
When James turned around, Ms. Hawk giggled quietly. The super soldier smiled, definitely hearing the laugh.
The rest of the presentations went by like a blur, Peter hardly paid attention, choosing to focus on drawing random things on James’ organic arm. The older man smiled at him the entire time.
“Thank you adults for coming and sharing your careers with us, I think I speak for everyone when I say that this has been a very informative experience! We ended right on time, so how about we all head down for lunch. Kids, please put up the folded chairs before you leave.”
Yeah, maybe career day wasn't so bad after all.