It really just makes sense to have Peter and Bruce be friends.

Peter's chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, taking a quick break from the heat of the battle. He was standing five feet away from an abnormally, perfectly human Bruce Banner. Bruce, being an adult capable of rational thought, was concerned about the 12-year-old gasping for air.

"You're the Spiderman?" Bruce asked, still shocked as an unmasked Peter Parker wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Y-yeah!" Peter leaned against a wall, wheezing, "I'm okay, I'm okay!" To anyone who was paying half a lick of attention.

"How?" Bruce wondered, maneuvering the child into a sitting position and listening for the steadying of his breath. He was Dr. Bruce Banner after all.

"Radiation. You?" Peter gave him the SparkNotes version of his origin.

"Radiation," Bruce said with a knowing nod. Instinctively they shot finger guns at each other.

"You should sit the rest of this one out, kid. I know a guy who can handle it." Bruce didn't give Peter time to argue. The other guy had already emerged. Hulk briefly looked back at the puny infant, shooting him a pair of finger guns before joining the fray.

Peter told Ned all about it the following day, fangirling about meeting the legendary scientist as well as his mean, green alter ego.

"Bruce Banner gave you finger guns?" Ned asked incredulously.

"Yeah!"

"And then the Hulk… Did the same thing?"

"Yep."

"That seems kind of hard to believe but if you say so, dude."

"I bet MJ would believe me."

"Believe what?" MJ walked up behind him, fingers creeping across his back until a hand rested on his shoulder. He shivered before leaning into it, resting his head on her shoulder and looking up at her with wide, excited eyes.

"Bruce Banner shot me finger guns."

"Oh, sure, and then Thor fist-bumped you, right?"

"No, Thor wasn't in that battle. And I'm serious!" Peter relayed the whole encounter.

"And then you got his autograph, right?" MJ asked.

"Uh, no… Then I was rushed off for medical attention before he stopped being the green guy."

"I didn't know he could even stop being the green guy nowadays," Ned mused. He and Peter were huge fanboys of Banner.

"I wish I could have had more time with him… I would have picked his brain for hours."

"Don't worry, dork," MJ said, messing up his hair, "I'm sure you'll get the chance to pick his brain again."

Ned seemed nervous, "Y'know, they say to never meet your heroes. I'm not saying you're gonna end up embarrassing yourself in front of our favorite scientist I'm just saying second-hand shame is pretty real…"

Peter laughed, "I'll be cool next time I'm around Dr. Banner."

"Peter, I really like you, but it's definitely not because you're cool," MJ teased. Peter stuck his tongue out at her and she kissed his cheek.

"I'm sure you won't embarrass yourself in front of your hero. Even though you already did finger guns so I can't really see where you'd go from there…"

"Get his autograph!" Ned pleaded, adding, "But don't seem too desperate about it or anything. Be more chill."

"I can be cool," Peter insisted, his voice cracking. Ned was concerned.

"And I'll put in a good word for you with Dr. Banner," Peter added with a grin, "maybe he needs an intern." Ned almost fainted right then and there.

In all actuality, the next time Peter ran into Bruce Banner, this time in his Professor Hulk form, internships didn't come up. But Bruce did remember the kid and shot him a pair of finger guns the second he appeared. Peter returned the gesture.

"How were you able to appear as just Dr. Banner when I last saw you?"

"Doctor Strange has the ability to separate my two forms. It's never cut and dry and the other guy always has a bit of a temperament afterward but sometimes it's necessary. What about you, any nasty side effects of radiation?" Bruce was fascinated by the boy.

Peter contemplated that for a full minute.

"Yeah. Obligation. I'm more, I'm special now. That means I have to help people. With great power comes great responsibility. And I want to help people, I really do, but more often than not I just don't have a choice. And that scares me more than anything."

Bruce nodded, "I get it, kid. I do. Back when the Avengers first started, I was a major threat. S.H.I.E.L.D. only cared about me if they could use me, dragging me this way or that. I never got what I wanted. It's selfish to think about now, but all I wanted was to not hurt people. I didn't realize how many people I could help if I made use of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

"We read that my Junior year for Science Fiction Literature."

"You're in high school?! That's a real class?" Bruce asked, amazed.

"Yes, and yes, that's a real class."

"The modern education system never ceases to amaze me."

"Yeah, it was a pretty cool class. We read Vonnegut."

"Which Vonnegut?"

"Slaughterhouse-Five."

"That's a good one…"

"Hey, uh… I don't mean to sound like a dork or a kid or anything, but, um, can I have your autograph?"

"Oh, oh! Sure." Before Peter could say anything he had the Hulk's signature made out to him.

"This is awesome! But, uh, I was hoping I could get Bruce Banner's signature? Made out to my best friend, Ned. We're big fans of your work as, well, as Dr. Jekyll."

Bruce began to get choked up, "You're just like Tony… I think he's one of the only people who appreciated me as Banner more than as Hulk. I know he appreciated this form as well. We… We lost some good people in the endgame."

"We did," Peter agreed grimly, as Bruce signed an autograph for Ned.

"I'm sorry you lost a mentor, kid. I know Tony meant a lot to you."

"He did, and I know he meant a lot to you too, so, I'm also sorry. I feel like there should've been more I could've done for him..."

"You and me both. But," he flashed Peter a pair of finger guns, "we've got each other now. I've got your back."