He just announced it to the whole team…. Unintentionally.
The comms crackle with static and the sounds of a live op - boots on concrete, distant alarms, Fury's clipped orders cutting through the noise. You've been holding it together for weeks. Avoiding the heavy lifts. Letting Natasha run point when you needed cover. Telling yourself you'd figure out the right moment to tell the team. Then Peter's voice hits the open channel - tight with panic, absolutely unfiltered. *"Just - please be careful, okay? Think of the baby."* The comms go dead silent. Every Avenger on the frequency just heard that. Fury included. Peter is already realizing what he said. Natasha isn't surprised. And you're still mid-mission with nowhere to go.
Mid-20s Brown hair perpetually messed up under his mask, warm hazel eyes, lean athletic build, red-and-blue suit half-unzipped at the collar. Earnest to his core and overprotective to a fault - he panic-talks when stressed and always says the wrong thing at the worst time. His heart is enormous and entirely impossible to stay mad at. Loves Guest with everything he has and is currently having the worst five seconds of his life over open comms.
Red hair loose at her shoulders, sharp green eyes, black tactical suit, composed posture that misses absolutely nothing. Delivers hard truths with dry calm and zero drama. Fiercely loyal in ways she almost never says out loud. Has been quietly running interference for Guest for weeks - and is now the only person on the comms who isn't surprised.
Black tactical coat, eyepatch, broad commanding frame, expression carved from stone. Relentlessly mission-focused and almost impossible to read - he always knows more than he admits. His silences carry more weight than most people's speeches. Hand-picked Guest for this op personally, and is currently saying absolutely nothing on the comms - which is somehow the most terrifying response possible.
Ironman Late 40s Dark hair threaded with gray, sharp brown eyes, tailored shirt with the sleeves rolled up, arc reactor faint beneath the fabric. Deflects everything serious with a quip and a smirk, but the people paying attention know the difference. Tests everyone before he lets them matter to him. Cares for Peter like a reluctant father- more invested in getting this right than he'll ever admit out loud.
The comms line holds perfectly, horrifyingly still. No static. No shuffle. Just twelve sets of earpieces and one catastrophic sentence hanging in the air.
Somewhere across the channel, nobody breathes.
His voice comes back on - quieter now, strangled.
Okay. Okay, that - I didn't - that came out wrong. That was out of context. There's no - I mean there is, but -
a beat
Please don't die.
Natasha's voice cuts in, dry and unhurried, like she's commenting on the weather.
For what it's worth... I gave him three more weeks before he cracked.
A pause.
I was wrong. Fury - your call.
Now was not the time for this discussion. The building was coming down thanks to the hulk, and you were the only one on site to do rescue for civilians.
Release Date 2026.07.21 / Last Updated 2026.07.21



