A/N: Tada~! I present to you the sequel to No Trust? No Understanding? Not Friends. This first chapter is set right after the USM episode, Strange. Enjoy!

Important PSA: This story was conceived before Season 2 of USM aired and thus was based solely off of the information Season 1 provided. I understand that all of the character's back stories are different in the show; however, I do not intend to change anything I have written or will write here (excluding grammatical/semantic errors) to fit with Season 2. I suppose you could just think of this as an 'I wish this was canon' fic. Thank you for taking the few seconds to read this. Carry on.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my own life, possessions, and ideas.

Today had been… strange. Peter chuckled as he turned the front door knob and entered his house. Calling out an "I'm home" to his Aunt May, he clomped his way sluggishly up the stairs to his bedroom. His body required some sleep and food. In exactly that order. Mechanically dropping his backpack by his desk and kicking off his shoes towards his closet as he crossed the threshold, he flopped down into the inviting softness of sheets and closed his eyes. He was close to entering the blissful land of dreams and cuddled deeper into the fabric, relax his sore muscles.

"Is this a bad time?"

Or not.

"Danny, what?" Peter groaned internally as he raised his head up to make out the figure of one, out-of-costume Iron Fist seated awkwardly on his windowsill, visibly bordering on entering or fleeing. "Why are you pulling a ninja act in my house?"

"Forgive me. I just wanted to talk."

"Huh," he had automatically thought it was going to be one of those times when his teammate dragged him out of the safety of his house and into trouble that he had to fix, mostly by himself. Moving to a more welcoming position, Peter motioned for Danny to come in and take a seat next to him. "That's fine. …Hey, is this going to be one of those heart-to-heart sorta things? I mean, I'm all for it, I guess. Just prepare yourself for me saying something stupid. I do that sometimes."

"You mean a lot of times?" the monk smiled as he got comfortable and gave a cursory examination of the hero's room, a bookshelf filled with science books and a desk covered with tinkering. Just as he had noticed in the video clips Fury had shown.

"Yeah," Peter nodded subconsciously before shaking his head quickly in denial. "No! Wait, not that much. Just… occasionally. Maybe, 3 to 4 times a day. Not a lot."

"Dude," Danny chuckled. "That's a lot."

"Shut up," he was tempted to reach for a pillow and childishly smack him with it but resisted after a short debate with his shoulder Spideys. Rubbing the back of his neck, Peter got to business. "So, what exactly do you want to talk about?"

"Me."

"Uh, okay. You mean you'll just lie down in my bed and tell me your problems like I'm some sort of psychologist?"

"No," Danny stated indignantly. "Peter, what do you know about me?"

"Well, today, I learned that you got your magical iron fist-y power from a dragon. Which, by the way, I think is totally awesome. Way better tale than mine."

"And before that?"

"Uh…" the little office workers in Peter's head drew up only a partially-filled, flimsy sheet of paper on the file of one Danny Rand. "You tend to use proverbs a lot?"

"I have not told you anything about my past until today?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Don't be," Danny sighed, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees and tilt his face so that it was shadowed by his golden-brown locks. His next words were but a breathy whisper. "Director Fury was right."

"Come again?" Peter cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Nothing. Peter," he met the web-slinging teen's blue gaze. "How much do you think the team knows about you?"

"Considering the fact that all of you plus Coulson infiltrated the school to keep your 'eyes on me' and Fury had about a bajillion cameras all around my house, which is creepy by the way, I'd say it's fair to assume that you guys know just about everything that's ever been documented about me."

"You're right."

"Not surprised," Peter scoffed, weaving his fingers behind his head and leaning back into his mattress. The inner metal springs groaned slightly at the shifting wait.

Silence.

"So, obviously, you know about Uncle Ben."

"Yeah."

"I'm guessing S.H.I.E.L.D. figured out where I got my powers."

"Surveillance at Oscorp is easy to hack into."

"…You read about my parents?"

"I am truly sorry for your loss, Peter."

"I was just a little kid, then. Barely remember them," his laugh was short and humorless, blue eyes staring sightlessly at the peeling paint on the ceiling. "…yours?"

"Gone. They're actually the reason I became Iron Fist. Sorta."

Peter sat up again, serious and completely focused on his teammate, "Do tell."

Hours passed by as the two teens came completely immersed in the life story of Daniel Rand. He was born to Wendell Rand and Heather Duncan in the fair New York City, a common place of origin for several superheroes. When Daniel was seven, Wendell decided to take his family and close friend, Harold Meachum, to visit the mystical city of K'un-L'un, a land hidden the Himalayan Mountains which only appeared every ten years. Wendell had the fortune of discovering it in his youth. Misfortune took place when Daniel slipped off a narrow path, accidently dragging nearly everyone over the edge of a cliff because of the rope connecting them. Meachum had the opportunity to save all of them.

Meachum was a jealous man.

Meachum allowed Wendell to fall to his death in front of his wife and child. Then, he turned to offer Heather and Daniel help off of the mountain, a sickly smile on his face despite the fact he had just murdered his best friend for stealing the woman he, too, had fallen in love with. Heather refused and decided to continue the journey to K'un-L'un, to see the place her deceased husband wanted him to see. With, or without him. Meachum left silently. So, the two trekked through more freezing snow and biting wind. Finally, after an arduous hike, they were greeted by a magical bridge, the entrance to K'un-L'un. Their journey was over. They were safe.

And then, the wolves struck.

Rescue from K'un-L'un archers came too late. Heather Duncan Rand had died protecting her son from a wolf's fatal bite. A grief stricken Daniel was taken in by monks and presented to the leader of K'un-L'un, Yu-ti. Daniel wanted vengeance against Meachum, so he was apprenticed to the martial arts master Lei Kung, the Thunderer (no relation to Thor the Thunderer). For the next 10 years, he was trained and became Lei Kung's most gifted students. After his 17th birthday, Daniel was allowed the chance to fight the fearsome dragon, Shou-Lao the Undying, for power of the Iron Fist.

"You won, obviously."

"That's right," Danny stared at the hand he primarily used for his punches and clenched it into a fist. "Soon after that, the entrance to K'un-L'un reappeared, and I returned to New York."

"Did you ever find Harold Meachum?"

"I did," the monk's eyes hardened, and his fist shook slightly. "But I never got the chance to find out whether or not I truly wanted to avenge my parents."

"Why?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened before I could even get close to him."

"How did they find you?"

"By following the path of destruction I left from practicing my powers on men that Meachum sent after me. Not just anyone could leave gaping holes in brick walls and cement sidewalks."

"Nice."

Danny nodded, continuing his story, "Director Fury gave me the choice of resuming my goal of committing revenge against Meachum and getting arrested or joining the team he was assembling and having the chance to become a hero. As you can see, I chose the latter," a pause, and the lazy smile that the monk usually wore graced his lips once again. "And I believe I chose well. I was introduced to Sam and Ava and Luke, and we got to know one another, become friends. Then, we met you, and we've been fighting the good fight ever since. Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D... and you."

"You think so?" Peter rubbed at his neck again, turning away to hide his goofy smile and blush. He was a sucker for praise.

"Yeah," the heavy tension from Danny's story morphed into another long, uncomfortable silence. For a minute, they exchanged glances, Peter appearing as if he wanted to rub all of the skin off of his upper back and Danny worrying at his fingers distractedly. Then, in one swift motion, Danny stood up and turned, intending to depart through the window. "Well, this was a good talk. Thank you, Peter. I should go."

"Wait, don't just ninja your way out of here just yet," the science nerd got on his feet, his tone slightly pleading. "My Aunt May's just about finished cooking dinner and I'm pretty sure we're having meatloaf tonight. Let me tell you, her meatloaf is to die for. She hasn't met you yet, so I think it'd be a pretty good time to introduce you to each other. You know… If you want to…"

"I would love to, Peter, but I'm expected back at the Helicarrier soon to turn in my mission report," Danny shook his head, the muscles on his shoulders relaxing. "Although, Ava has probably given a very detailed account of what she experienced, it will not provide much information since she did not participate in the actual battle against Nightmare."

"Well, next time, then. Okay?"

"Definitely."

"…Have you ever told anyone else about your past?"

"Bits and pieces of it to those who ask, like Director Fury or Ava or Sam. Luke's the only other person I've ever told the whole story to. You would be the second."

"Wow," Peter was speechless, too touched to find the right words. "So… uh… I'll be seeing you tomorrow. At school?"

"Indeed. Farewell, Peter."

Danny had climbed halfway through the window when Peter spoke again.

"Hey, Danny?"

"Yes, Peter?"

"Thanks. For telling me. About everything, I mean. For trusting me with your story."

"I owe you that much, my friend. 'He who gives has all things, but he who withholds has nothing.'" And Danny disappeared, ninja-ing away to wherever he had to go to get to the Helicarrier.

"Heh, you've got that right, buddy," Peter beamed. Somewhere in his subconscious, his little imaginary office workers were busily organizing the filing cabinet of Daniel Rand and preparing three others for use. The teen never had thought about sitting with his teammates and talking to them as he had done with Danny, but now he was open to it. To learning more about the people he sincerely wanted to call friends.

A/N: I'd like to note that before USM, I didn't know anything about the team besides Spider-Man, who I've loved since the old cartoons. I had to do a bit of research on Iron Fist before I could even start this chapter; and truthfully, those paragraphs of Danny's back story are basically what's written on the Wikipage of him, albeit changed a bit (his age being a major one since he's been teen-afied for the show). Next up, Luke Cage. :D