As soon as they drove off towards the Avengers compound after leaving the hospital, Peter had fallen asleep in the car. Tony smiled at the sleeping teen, and he hadn't noticed Happy watching them from the rearview mirror.

"He's had a rough day, hasn't he?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah. The poor kid. He needs the rest."

"So how long do you think he's going to be staying with you?"

Tony shook his head. "I don't know. As long as he needs. I mean, his high school is pretty far away from the compound, but he'll have to go back eventually after he's done grieving. This is a really weird case; the kid has no family left. His parents died when he was little, and his uncle, and now his aunt… I just can't imagine what he's going through."

Happy frowned. "He's had it rough. He's lucky to have you. You're a good guy, Tony."

Tony smiled and shut his eyes, hoping to nap for a bit before arriving at the compound. He hadn't noticed himself dozing off until he woke with a start as the car came to a sudden stop.

"We're here, boss."

Tony groaned and stretched his arms, looking over to the still-sleeping Peter.

"He's been out this whole time?"

Happy nodded. "Yeah. He hasn't stirred."

As much as he hated to, Tony shook the kid's shoulder a bit. "Hey Pete, we're here. Time to wake up."

Peter jumped up, causing Tony to move back, startled.

"W-where am I?"

"Relax kid, we're at the Avengers compound, remember?"

Peter frowned. "Oh yeah." He must've just been dreaming about him and Aunt May sitting at home, eating popcorn and watching Empire Strikes Back on the couch… Though he wished it was real.

"C'mon kid. Let's go inside."

Happy grabbed Peter's bag from the trunk, ready to carry it inside when Peter stopped him. "I can do it, Happy."

"You sure kid?"

"Yeah."

"Alright." Happy said handing Peter over the small bag.

Tony led the way inside, Happy following closely behind them. "So as I mentioned last time, I believe your room is next to Vision's… I don't even see why he needs a room; to be honest I don't think he even sleeps. Whatever, not important. Anyways, I'll show you upstairs. It's late so everyone's probably in bed."

"I'm sorry, but who exactly is 'everyone', Mr. Stark?"

"Well, y'know… Like the Avengers. Natasha, Bruce, Vision, Rhodey, Steve-"

Peter stopped in his tracks. "Wait, Steve as in Steve Rogers? Like Captain America? The war criminal?"

"Uh, yeah. That's him."

"I don't understand, I thought you two weren't speaking after what happened."

Tony chucked. "A lot's happened in the past few months. There's still a bit of tension, but c'mon, we're the Avengers- we stick together."

Peter just nodded, pretending to understand as he followed Tony towards the elevator. As they made their way down the end of the hallway Peter was startled by a sudden presence. A young woman, probably in her mid-twenties stepped out. Peter recognized her right away as the witch lady from the airport battle in Germany. He almost wanted to run, remembering what she was capable of, but didn't as he was reminded of Tony saying how the Avengers 'stick together'.

"Tony, who's this?" She asked, in a thick Sokovian accent.

"Hey Wanda, I didn't expect anyone to be up. This is Peter; he'll be staying with us for a while."

Wanda moved forward holding her hand out and Peter carefully shook it, still unsure of how "patched up" things actually were.

"Nice to meet you, Peter. I'm Wanda."

"Yeah, I-uh-we've met before." As soon as he said it he mentally cursed himself.

"We have?"

"Umm-"

Tony cut him off, "It's okay Peter, your identity is safe here no one will spill your secret."

Wanda cocked an eyebrow. "What? Tony who is this?"

"This is underoos."

Wanda stared at Peter with a look of confusion on her face. "Pardon me?"

"I'm, uh… I'm Spider-Man… The guy from the airport… With the webs…"

Wanda's face lit up in surprise. "You're the Spider-Man?"

"Uh, yeah."

Wanda glared at Tony. "He's a kid! How could you-"

Tony stopped her mid-sentence, "Yes, I know he's on the younger side, but need I remind you that he can also stop a moving vehicle with his bare hands?"

Wanda just shook her head. "Whatever, Tony I don't feel like arguing. Peter, it was nice to meet you, but I'm exhausted and need to sleep."

Peter smiled at the girl, "Nice to meet you too."

"Goodnight Wanda!" Tony called after her, but his only response was that of a middle finger directed towards him before she shut her bedroom door.

"Well that was sufficiently awkward… How about we get you settled in?"

Peter nodded as Tony opened the door to a bedroom not too far away from Wanda's. Peter stepped inside and gasped in shock at the size of it. "Wow! Mr. Stark, this is incredible!"

Peter placed his bag down onto the large queen-sized bed. "This room alone has to be bigger than my old apartment…" The old apartment that I shared with Aunt May.

Peter shook off the memory and turned to face Tony. "Mr. Stark, I can't begin to thank you…"

Tony raised his hand to stop him. "No need to thank me, kid. I'm just looking out for you. But, I think you should get some rest."

"I slept the whole ride here; I don't think I'll be able to."

"Well then, just kick back and relax then. Try not to think about things right now."

"Okay, Mr. Stark."

Tony turned to leave, but spun back around as he heard a sob escape from the boy's mouth.

"Peter?"

"Sorry, Mr. Stark… I just- I just miss her so much."

Tony walked towards the teen, wrapping him in an awkward hug. "I know kid, it's okay. It'll be okay." He didn't even care about the tears that were soaking the shoulder of his shirt.

Peter pulled away. "I'm going to try and rest now. Thanks again, Mr. Stark."

"Are you going to be okay alone tonight?"

Peter nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Alright then kid, goodnight." Tony said as he gently shut the door behind him.

Peter sighed and sat down on the bed. It was soft and he sunk down in the mattress. He lied down and looked at the ceiling above him. As grateful as he was to Mr. Stark and glad to be invited into his home, he couldn't shake the feeling of overwhelming sadness off of him. So much had happened in the past 24 hours that he felt as if he had developed whiplash from all the conflicting emotions: fear, anger, sadness, shock…

Nothing was the same anymore, and things were never going to go back to normal again. Peter vaguely remembered having the same thoughts when his parents died, though he was so young and didn't quite understand what was happening. All he knew is that one day everything had changed and he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who welcomed him with open arms. He and Aunt May had been through everything together; they looked out for each other and only became closer after his uncle died. They both had a hard time coping with that, especially Peter, but Aunt May helped him through it even while dealing with it herself. They hadn't always had it easy, but Aunt May made everything better for the two of them.

Peter hadn't realized that he'd been crying, and apparently struggling to breathe when a loud female voice filled the room.

"Mr. Parker, you seem to be suffering from signs of emotional distress, shall I inform somebody?"

Peter jumped up and fell off the large bed. He looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. "Who's there?" He shouted.

"Mr. Parker my name is F.R.I.D.A.Y, I am an artificial intelligence unit created by Mr. Stark. I've been monitoring your vitals and noticed an increased heart rate and labored breathing, is medical assistance needed?"

Peter shook his head fast. "No, no… I'm fine." Okay so Friday was like Karen except for the fact that it monitors an entire house rather than just his suit.

The voice interrupted his thoughts once more. "Alright, Mr. Parker. Just a reminder that I am here to cover any personal needs you might have."

"Um, thanks?"

"You're welcome, Mr. Parker. Might I suggest you try and get some sleep?"

Come to think of it, Peter was feeling kind of tired despite his rather long nap in the car. He moved from his spot on the floor and crawled under the covers, not even bothering to put his pajamas on. Within a matter of minutes he was sound asleep.

It wasn't until almost noon the next day when Peter found his eyes opening to the sight of an unfamiliar room. He had to think for a second where he was, but the memories came flooding back within seconds. Peter groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers over his head to block out the stream of light coming in from the bedroom window.

He didn't want to be awake right now. He just wanted to go back to sleep and escape from everything, escape from this new reality.

He was startled by a knock at the door. "Yes?" He called out.

"Kid, it's me, can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure Mr. Stark."

The door opened and Tony stepped in with a warm smile on his face. "Friday told me you're awake."

That's not creepy at all. Peter thought to himself. Was he being spied on?

"I just woke up a few minutes ago."

"Are you hungry?"

Peter frowned, he actually wasn't despite the fact that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. Aunt May was going to go pick up dinner for us…

"I'm not hungry."

Tony returned the frown. "Are you sure? I haven't seen you eat at all since I picked you up yesterday."

"I just don't feel like eating, Mr. Stark."

"Okay. I'm not going to force you to eat, but can you please at least come down to the kitchen, maybe get to know a few people? I don't think it's healthy for you to be lying in bed all day."

Peter nodded. "I'll shower first and then come down. Where's the bathroom?"

Peter followed Tony's hand pointing towards a door on the other side of his room. "It's right over there."

"No way, it's in my room? I thought it was a closet!"

Tony laughed. "Alright kid. Do your thing and meet us downstairs. See you soon." He said while making his way across the room to leave.

Peter flung the blankets off and rolled out of bed, sluggishly making his way towards the bathroom that was not a closet. He shut the door behind him and stripped off his clothes. He smirked at the array of items on the counter all prepared for his personal needs. A toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, comb, razor, shampoo and shaving cream were all spread out in a neat line.

He stepped into the shower and flinched at how hot the water was, yet it felt good. Peter always loved taking warm showers. It was a way for him to just cancel out the world. Unfortunately, his old apartment always ran out of hot water too fast for his liking.

Peter was so engulfed with the comforting sensation of his shower that he lost track of time of how long he'd actually been in there until a familiar voice reminded him.

"Mr. Parker, you've been in the shower for approximately 25 minutes now. Exposure to hot water for long periods of time is considered unhealthy."

Peter rolled his eyes at the AI's voice. "So I'm being spied on in the bathroom, too?"

"I cannot physically see you, Peter. This does not classify as 'spying'."

Peter ignored the voice and stepped out of the shower proceeding to wrap a towel around himself. As soon as he was dried off he changed into a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants. Making his way down the stairs and rounding the corner to the kitchen, he stopped when he heard several voices talking about him. He stayed behind the corner, eavesdropping in on the conversation.

"Tony, I can't believe you recruited a kid. Do you know how irresponsible that is?"

"For the last time that kid can do some pretty impressive things. Need I remind you that he survived a plane crash? He's pretty tough. And besides, Cap- didn't you hit him with your shield a couple times?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't realize he was 14!"

"He's 15."

"Sir, Mr. Parker has arrived."

Peter cursed as he had forgotten that the AI would of course give away his hiding spot. He didn't want his eavesdropping to be noticed and thus walked into the kitchen to be greeted by several familiar faces.

"Hey Peter! Come make yourself comfortable!" Tony said motioning for him to sit down in the chair next to him. Peter complied and made his way over.

If it was any other scenario Peter would have felt joy at the abundance of food that filled the table. Waffles, yogurt, fruit, pancakes, bacon, 3 different kinds of eggs… But, given the circumstances Peter felt nauseated by all the different aromas. He was in no mood to eat, or enjoy himself.

He looked around the table and felt uncomfortable at all the faces staring back at him.

Tony quickly cleared his throat to give a proper introduction. "So, everyone, as I've been saying… This is Peter Parker. Many of you may know him as Spider-Man, however he wishes his identity to be secret to the public so no one go ratting him out. He's going to be staying with us for a while and I don't want any of you giving him a hard time."

Steve reached across the table to shake Peter's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Peter. Well, it's nice to meet you properly and not while we're fighting each other."

Peter took his hand and shook it. "I'm a big fan of yours, sir. It's an honor to meet you."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Stop blushing, cap. Anyways, I believe you've already met Natasha." He said pointing to the red-haired woman sitting on his opposite side.

"Yeah, we met at the airport. Nice to see you again, Peter."

Peter awkwardly waved back.

"You met Wanda last night, of course."

Wanda smiled and waved. "Hi Peter."

"Hello." He said, still feeling uncomfortable surrounded by all these new people.

"And that colorful guy over there is Vision, who I believe you already know as well."

Peter gawked at the robot-man looking thing. He remembered fighting along Vision in Germany, but hadn't actually met him.

"Hello Peter."

"H-hi." Peter stammered out.

Tony clasped Peter on the shoulder. "No need to be nervous, kid. You're surrounded by friends here. Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

Peter nodded. "I'm sure."

"Mr. Parker is suffering from feelings of nausea, sir." Came the overhead voice again.

Tony frowned. "You feel nauseous?"

"N-no Mr. Stark, I feel fine! How did it even know that anyways?"

"It knows everything, kid. But in all seriousness if you're feeling sick you could always go down to the lab and see Bruce or Stephen."

"No, Mr. Stark I swear I'm fine, I'm good."

"Alright kid, if you're sure. But that reminds me I have to speak to you anyways. Let's go in the other room for a minute." Tony said, standing up. Peter stood up and followed, waving goodbye to the others in the room.

He followed Tony down the hall and into a large room filled with several bookcases and 2 leather couches next to a cozy-looking fireplace.

"This is one of our reading rooms. Vision and Wanda are in here almost 24/7 but you're welcome to come and check it out anytime you want." Tony sat down on one of the couches and Peter sat on the smaller one across from the man.

"So, Peter. We have a few things to discuss."

Peter looked down at his feet. He knew what this was about.

"Peter, the hospital contacted me this morning asking if we had any funeral arrangements yet. I know this is the last thing you want to be thinking about right now, but we're going to have to. I understand that you and your aunt didn't have a lot of money, so I've offered to cover everything."

Peter looked up, surprised. "No Mr. Stark! You've done enough already, you don't have-"

Tony put his hand up to silence him. "Don't worry; this is something I want to do. I don't want you to feel stressed about a single thing. I'm going to handle the hospital bills and funeral planning. I was thinking of having it this Sunday, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, Mr. Stark that sounds fine. Thank you so much."

"Your aunt was a great woman. She cared about you so much."

"I know." Peter felt himself starting to cry again and excused himself, heading back upstairs to his room.

Tony sighed as he was left sitting in silence.

The poor kid couldn't even cry in front of him. Tony was trying to make him feel as comfortable as possible, but it was hard. Especially with what he was going through.

This wasn't a happy-go-lucky fun getaway weekend at the Avengers mansion. This was a tragic story of a little boy who lost everyone he ever loved.