AN: Apologies. Suffered a nasty writer's block and a lack of motivation at that. Also, I have been addicted to Detroit: Become Human, so that doesn't really help either. I'm also going to be revising previous chapters for grammar mistakes (there are a lot of them) so I hope that makes this story a lot easier to read.

Aquaify, Terminal Illness, Guest (thank you!), Ghosttigrex (sorry for making you wait!), Hawkfeather (your enthusiasm gives me joy), Curry-llama (you are absolutely correct), PhantomGoat13, Melancholy's Sunshine, and Monkeybaby thank you for your reviews!

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Peter does look for Bucky but not before looking for the bag he left behind. Certainly enough, it's exactly where he left it, and that alone sends a wave of relief through Peter's system. He changes quickly in the cafe's bathroom and stuffs his suit back in his backpack. At least now he didn't have to worry about Harry discovering him without warning. Falcon was escorting him home so he wouldn't fret about walking around in the open.

Bucky is not a hard person to follow.

Bucky leaves a trail of destruction filled with spider corpses. He is unforgiving. Peter can tell from the gruesome state nearly all of the spiders are in. Bucky was violent when taking them down. Many of them were missing legs, torn in half, or with heads popped off. The sight is, quite frankly, disgusting. Needless to say, all Peter had to do was follow this trail, and he eventually found Bucky. The man was still trudging forward through the streets, eyes scanning his surroundings, and Peter mentally prepares himself for what is to come. He isn't sure how Bucky is going to react because the man is unpredictable in nature. Peter would like to think he knows him, but he couldn't be farther from the truth.

Peter braces himself.

"Bucky?"

His voice is quiet but somehow Bucky hears him anyway.

Bucky turns at lightning speed. Once he sees Peter that all it takes for him to stride forward and crush the boy to his chest.

The hug is bone-crushing. Peter gasps for breath after a mere second in Bucky's hold. At Peter's sound of struggle, Bucky lightens his grip to give Peter some breathing room, but he doesn't let him go.

"Thought you were..."

Peter can feel Bucky's chest vibrate as he speaks.

"Thought I was what?" Peter encourages him to finish.

"Thought you were dead." Bucky finishes. "Couldn't find you and... assumed... assumed the worst."

Peter feels nothing but sympathy for his friend. He wanted to tell him that he was running around as a costumed vigilante for the sole purpose of aiding Harry. Here, in Bucky's comforting arms, he wanted to tell him everything. He knew he couldn't do that but it didn't stop him from wanting to do so.

"I just needed a breath of fresh air," Peter tells him. "Being in the house all day was suffocating."

Bucky silently tightens his hold.

"Hey, hey, I didn't mean to worry you." Peter lifts his hands to return the embrace. This probably looked weird. They were in the middle of a street, devoid of any oncoming traffic, and filled to the brim with dead spiders. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just didn't want you following me." Peter tells Bucky the whole truth. Bucky would have followed him if he told him where he was going, no doubt about it, which was why he depended on Aunt May to distract him. It seemed that Aunt May couldn't keep him long though. That in itself could have been attributed to the sudden invasion of eight-legged arachnids. Speaking of which, where did they come from, and why had they come in the first place? Were they sent by something? Peter knew there was something more to it than just a mindless invasion.

"Am... I a nuisance?"

Peter winces at that. Bucky says it with a hurt in his voice.

"No. No, no, no. Not at all." Peter is quick to calm Bucky, "You're not a nuisance."

Bucky lightens his hold once more and pulls himself back so that he can look Peter in the eyes.

"Was... worried for you," he says.

"You had good reason to," Peter sighs, "no one could predict the city being attacked. I was careful though. I made sure not to get hurt."

Bucky looks Peter up and down to make sure Peter's words were indeed true. Once he was satisfied, his eyes settle on Peter's once more.

"Good."

Peter smiles weakly.

"Yeah. Good." He agrees. "I'm thinking that we should head home though. I've had enough excitement for a day."

Bucky does not keep him back. When Peter turns to head home Bucky is right on his heels, as usual, and Peter finds himself not minding at all.

.

Even at home, Bucky doesn't let Peter out of his sight. Aunt May is eager to welcome them home.

"I'm glad you are safe, Peter," she expresses her relief and affection by tucking one of Peter's stray hairs behind his ear. "Bucky had enough of staying home. I couldn't hold him back. I apologize."

"Don't." Peter quickly says. "Apologize, I mean."

Aunt May looked as if she wanted to say some more but then, surprisingly, Bucky speaks up instead.

"I understand... my position. To leave the pack... without permission... worthy of punishment."

Peter raises a brow.

He had no idea on what Bucky was saying.

If Aunt May understood, she didn't say anything about it, instead, she answers, "Silly man. I can't keep you here. I don't know why you'd think I would punish you for leaving. I'm not that type of woman, to begin with"

She reaches past Peter to assess Bucky. She straightens out the wrinkles in his shirt and reaches up to check a new scratch on his cheek. At the sight, she frowns, before continuing, "I believe I have a band-aid for that. Wouldn't want that to get infected."

"It's nothing..." Bucky begins but Aunt May is not having it.

"You sit down young man. Allow this old woman the pleasure of taking care of a member of her family."

Bucky's expression betrays his personality. His eyes are as wide as saucers.

Peter couldn't help himself. He grins.

"Or I should put that in Bucky terms," She laughs, unashamed, "I suppose you'd call it pack."

And with that Aunt May ushers Bucky to sit down on the couch. He does so obediently. Aunt May leaves to retrieve a band-aid and returns just as quickly. Her fingers are careful as she cleans Bucky's cut and applies the band-aid to his cheek.

Peter watches the scene with a welcome warmth in his chest.

Family, huh? Peter liked the sound of that.