The night was drawing to a close and Peter had to admit that even he was exhausted. After the incident, he had found Happy and stuck by his side for the remainder of the party. The older man had given him a fake glare, but had made no comment to the cut on his suit jacket or the dirt on his pants. He seemed to understand Peter's desire to remain hidden for the rest of the night and allowed the boy to linger close. Finally, just after mid-night, Peter could hide his weariness no more and asked Happy if they could head back to the tower.

"Sure thing, kid. Boss just wanted me to let him know when I'm taking you back. So, give me a sec." Happy said, and walked over to where Pepper and Tony stood chatting with other guests in the now darkened pavilion.

Peter watched as Happy touched Mr. Starks arm lightly, getting his attention, then said something for his ears only. Mr. Starks eyes lifted and met his own before going back to Happy's face. He seemed to nod and then excused himself from his guests and made his way over to Peter, the disco lights dancing around him as he did.

"Hey Kid." He greeted Peter softly. "Sorry for yelling before. It's just been a hectic day, as you can imagine."

Peter just smiled up at him from where he sat. Mr. Stark pulled out the chair next to him and sat down close to Peter so that they faced each other.

"You sure you're okay to housesit while we're away for the week?"

Peter nodded eagerly.

"Yes, sir!"

Mr. Stark smiled, happiness returning to his face and a small chuckle escaping him.

"Now, remember. If you need anything, you can call Happy. I know you're excited to have your own space for a few days, but if you do get lonely, you can invite Jed over. But! You can only go into the lab if Happy is there or someone else responsible."

Peter laughed and shook his head a little at this.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Mr. Stark let out a small, but happy sigh and stood up, Peter followed.

"Be good while we're gone." Mr. Stark said gently, and placed a hand on Peters shoulder.

Peter rolled his eyes jokingly extracting a laugh from Mr. Stark.

"Have a good time away, Mr. Stark" Peter finally said with a small smile.

Mr. Stark grinned at him wickedly.

"Oh I will, boy!" He exclaimed as he walked away, leaving Peter a little embarrassed.

Happy appeared next to him.

"You ready, kid?" He asked, obviously ready to leave himself.

"Yeah, Happy, let's go."

He followed Happy out of the pavilion into the dark night outside. They walked down the pathway, now lit by small solar lights on each side of the path. Peter couldn't stop his mind from flashing back to his earlier fight with the Captain against the mysterious woman. He frowned a little and he thought to himself.

"You alright, kid?" Happy asked suddenly.

"Wha-oh, uh- yeah! Just thinking!"

Happy just nodded at him and they continued to the car. They arrived and Peter climbed into the back seat of the Mercedes. He leaned his head against the door and shut his eyes, immediately feeling the pull of sleep.

His mind began racing in his sleep, a dream forming in the depths of his mind. A dream, or a memory. An orange planet, he was not alone. There were others there. The doctor, the alien, the man with the red coat, and the blue man. They were scared. But then, a space ship arrived, and out walked Tony Stark.

"But…how?" He asked in his dream.

Suddenly, the dream changed, he was sitting in a field and Mr. Stark was yelling at him

"I said, enough!" He screamed at him.

Even in his dream, Peter could sense the deep pain in Mr. Stark as he had yelled at him nearly a year ago. But this time, it was different, he felt weird. He felt odd.

"Mr. Stark?" He asked shakily, he held up his hand, and began hyperventilating when he saw it vanishing before his very eyes, turning into dust.

"Mr. Stark!" He cried.

"Kid!" Came a different voice.

Peter's eyes snapped open. Happy was next to him on the back seat, he looked worried.

"Wha-"

"You fell asleep and I couldn't wake you up for a moment there! Nearly gave me a heart attack!" Happy said quickly, looking a little irritated.

"Oh, uh, sorry" Peter mumbled, still sleepy.

"We're here." Happy announced. 'You alright to go in or would you like me to walk you in?"

"Oh, no. You don't need to do that. I'll go in."

"You got your security card?" Happy asked, an eyebrow raised.

Peter patted the pockets of his jacket, feeling the small card inside.

"Aha." He said.

"Alright, out you get kid. I'll drive off once you get inside the lift." Happy said.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Happy." Peter said as he slid out of the back seat and made his way to the entrance of the tower.

He looked behind him to the car, Happy had gotten out of the backseat and was now climbing in the driver's seat. Peter continued forward to the front door, while this door was automatic during the day, after hours it remained locked. He swiped his card and the doors opened for him, allowing him into the giant entry way of Stark tower. Normally it was bustling with people, but now, it was dark and empty. He walked quickly down a hall way on the opposite side, still visible to Happy from the road, and pressed the button for the lift. Seconds later the doors opened. He turned and gave Happy a wave before he stepped in. The car horn honked twice and Happy drove off, knowing Peter was safely inside the lift.

The doors closed.

"Good evening Peter. Which level?" FRIDAY asked.

"Hi Friday. Um, living quarters please." He replied.

The lift began to rise quickly. Peter couldn't help but notice how silent it was by himself at night. He felt as though he were the only one in the entire tower. The doors opened to the living area and he stepped into the Stark's expansive living room. Too tired to dwell, he headed down the hall to his left toward the room that had become his. Again, he noticed how silent the apartment was without Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts there. He sighed to himself and opened his door. Without changing, he fell straight into bed and into a dreamless sleep.

Steve sat in his darkened apartment well after two a.m passed. He was anxious and nervous, something he had been beginning to feel a lot more often recently. He couldn't help but think about the way Stark had snapped at him after he had seen Peter's arm. He had realised immediately after Tony had found them that he didn't care that the two of them had left to check something out, he was mad because Steve allowed his protégée to be hurt. Of course, there had been a mixture of irritation at them for running out as well. But now Steve sat staring at the wall, wondering how he was going to be able to fix this one with Tony.

There had been a time when they would have considered each other close friends. Sure, the relationship had never been easy, they were extremely different people. But after the accords it had been all out war. He'd held out hope for a moment in Siberia, but that had ended worse than anything else.

Steve felt another jab of anxiety run through his heart as he thought of how he and Bucky had left Tony there all alone. After that, they had not spoken for years, giving each other space. But then Thanos happened, and after the war, Stark had offered an olive branch of sorts by buying Steve's apartment and allowing him to live there for free. He knew that it was a small gesture on Tony's part, the man wouldn't miss the money, but to Steve, it was everything. After that, he'd thrown himself into his work at Shield and into his relationship with Tony. Things had gotten better, Tony even inviting him to his wedding, but the strain was still there. As long as Steve was friends with Bucky, the strain would always be there.

But now, he knew he would have to apologise privately to the man after he got back from his short honey moon. He knew he'd crossed a line by dragging Peter into his fight. But still, the kid had proved useful. And the woman had been greatly concerning. He suspected that she had received some form of super soldier serum, allowing her to withstand a fight between both himself and Peter. He needed help if he was going to crack this one and Peter was a smart kid, perhaps he could ask Peter to help him research the case without involving him in the action.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Peter. Then, locking his screen, got up from his chair and made his way to his bed.