Peter considered sound dampeners the greatest invention ever created by mankind, and wonders how he survived the past year without them. They cut extra noise that only he could hear with his super hearing out completely. The silence really was relieving. He considers the throbbing migraine that resided in his left temple disappearing to be an added bonus.

The hearing aid within his right ear amplified the sound waves, and made it more clear for him to hear people talking rather than mumbled gibbering. However, the noise received only travelled through his right ear, which made Peter feel imbalanced. Noting that it was like only getting sound out of one earphone piece and not the other.

"Let me take a look at them later," Tony says while holding his duffle bag. "See If I can't fix that little issue."

Peter laughed while hunched over the side of the bed that he lied in for the past seven weeks, tying his shoes.

"Mr. Stark, is there anything you can't fix?"

"It's 'Tony' now, remember?" Tony eyes Peter when he makes to stand on his own. "Can you walk alright?"

"Yeah, I think I got it."

Tony places an arm around Peter's waist who leans in on his shoulder anyway. They both know that Peter likes to test his limits, even in the most dire of circumstances. That right ankle that healed weird had been broken by doctors again, and straightened itself this time. Though, Peter still found it hard to walk straight, given that he was bedridden for over a month. Tony offered to get the wheelchair, but Peter politely declined. Stating that he'd have to learn how to walk again anyway, so no point in putting it off.

Tony couldn't argue with him, given that he had no current broken bones. Peter's healing factor did it's job and healed all the physical damage, save for the damaged hearing, and burn scars.

They slowly make their way out the entrance where Happy is waiting, and helps Peter into the car.

"Wanna grab some food before we head home first?" Tony asks sliding in next to Peter from the other side.

"Yeah, that's fine." Peter stretches the corners of his mouth, fully aware of Tony's ability to read him like a book. It's never mentioned during the drive.

Fast food tastes absolutely incredible after you're forced to eat hospital food, and whatever that healthy crap was that Pepper brought him that one time. Peter sincerely appreciated every effort that Pepper made at helping him recover, but goddamnit, quinoa was so gross.

At least Tony was on his side when it came to unhealthy choices. Though Peter imagined a different outcome if Pepper had been there with them. Glaring a hole through Tony's skull until he caved into her demands, and forced Peter to eat a kale salad instead.

Halfway through eating his second burger, Peter noticed the car pull in front of a large building. The large overhang above the front doors read, The Centurion.

"Mr. Stark, what are we doing here?"

"This is where we live." Tony says calmly while exiting the vehicle.

Peter, clearly confused, got out of his side before Happy reached him, and ran over to Tony. "What do you mean, 'This is where we live?' I thought we were going to the compound?"

Tony shrugs, "Pep and I figured you'd want to stay in the city. So that you could be close to your friends, and your school."

"Oh."

An arm snakes its way across Peter's back, and rests firmly on his shoulder. He feels himself being pulled toward the large building.

"You got all that, Hap?" Tony turns to Peter, pleased with Happy's nod. "Come, let's get you settled in, kid."

The lobby of The Centurion took Peter's breath away. The walls and floor matched an ivory color. The sharp click of their heels as they walked towards the elevator made Peter gaze down to stare at his reflection in the tiles. To his right a sat a small group of men and women wearing expensive suits and dresses, all chatting away on the large furniture that looked comfortable enough to fall asleep on.

One person looked his way, then Peter realized he'd been staring, and hastily looked away to regain focus to where Tony was taking him. The man in uniform pressed the elevator button, opening the doors and Tony guided him in without pause. Another man within the elevator greeted them, then pressed a button near the top. A small plaque to the right of the button reading, T. Stark.

Tony thanked the man as they step foot into the small hallway that lead to what was technically the front door to the penthouse. Peter gasped when he set foot into the living room. Hands pressed against the ceiling high windows, presenting him with a wide view of Central Park, and the hundreds of other buildings that surrounded it.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Tony stood by him.

"It's amazing."

"Wanna see your room?"

"Yes!" Peter grinned and followed Tony down the hallway.

The bedroom was the size of his old living room. A large, king-sized bed rested against the wall to the left, in the middle. Two doors on either side; one leading to a bathroom, the other to a large walk in closet. A corner desk was settled to the far right of the room. The windows were as large and wide as the ones in the living room, and it took Peter a second to realize that one of the panes that seemed off, was actually a door that lead to the balcony outside.

Peter slowly sunk down on the bed, mouth hanging open. Trying to comprehend everything that he'd seen that day.

Tony stood in front of him, observing his behavior for a moment. "You okay, Pete?"

"Yeah," Peter breathed forcefully. "It's a bit overwhelming is all."

Tony nodded, "If it's too much, we can always find something smaller."

"No, it's great, really!" Peter holds his hands up in assurance. "It's just going to take some time getting used to."

Tony hums then gestures around the room, "Feel free to decorate however you want. We've started you out with the basic essentials." He walks to the closet and opens it to reveal it's half full. "Pep went on a shopping spree for you last week, if you couldn't tell."

Tony smiles at Peter's reaction when the kid stumbles into the closet and he says, "This is bigger than my old room!"

"You should see the bathroom, then."

It was almost the same size of the bedroom. A large stand-alone bathtub was the main piece pressed against one end underneath large windows that overlooked the city. It was fitted with whirlpool jets, and a head rest.

On the left upon entry, sat the toilet and the standing shower. Both were separated by glass doors. At closer inspection, Peter noticed a small television mounted on the wall at eye level directly in front of the toilet. There was another one elevated on the wall where the tub was, but with a bigger and wider screen.

To their right is where the sink with marble countertop resided. A wooden bench made of mahogany sat between the sink and the large tub with white cotton towels neatly folded on it. The floor matched the counter in terms of design, but was a stark contrast in color being white. Peter only then noticed the large, fluffy dark brown rug taking up the empty space. He figured that he probably could lie down, limbs spread, and still not touch either wall.

Peter's mouth hung open, marveling at the sight of his new home. He barely registered being pulled out of the room by Tony who brought him to a panel built into the wall next to his door. It showed camera feed into the living room, the kitchen, the library, and just outside of the front door down to the elevator.

"These smaller buttons let you switch between feeds, so you don't have to view all of them at once." Tony's fingers hovered over a large red button on the left. "And this is the intercom. Simply select which room you want to activate the intercom, then press the button to talk. It's like a walkie talkie, basically."

Peter nodded understandingly then slightly jumped after catching movement on the panel out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, look, Pepper's home!" Tony laughs at his reaction.

They go to meet her in the living room where she's sunk into the cushions of the large white couch, and is taking off her heels. Tony manages to sneak around and jump over the back of the couch to surprise her by shouting her name in close proximity, and nearly gets clocked in the face for it.

While Pepper is cursing him out, Peter takes the time to really draw in the detail of the place. There are no walls separating rooms. Everything about the kitchen can be seen from his vantage point. Eyes trail up from the base of the windows up to the ceiling which expand higher than he originally thought. What really catches his eye is the wooden staircase with iron railing painted black indicating there's an entire second floor. At about where he thinks the ceiling ends, he can see more of the iron railing. Just how big was this place?

"Peter?"

Being pulled from his observations, Peter snaps back to reality and comes to face the worrying gazes of Tony and Pepper. He really wished they stopped looking at him like that.

"You okay, bud?" Tony's tone is delicate and instead of easing Peter, it only succeeds in irritating him.

"Fine." His own tone is not meant to sound so curt.

Pepper doesn't seem to notice, but Tony steels his gaze and Peter dreads the talk he's sure to get later on. He deliberately avoids looking at Tony and instead focuses on Pepper who's holding up a small black box to him.

"From the hospital," she answers an unasked question. "They forgot to give it to you before you left."

Did he leave anything behind? He had nothing except for the new clothes that were bought for him just days before he was released.

"Thanks," Peter fiddles with the box in his grasp. "Uhm, I think I'm going to rest for a bit, if that's okay?"

"Sure thing, honey."

Once Peter's back in his new room, he briefly thinks about locking the door. However, his imagination spurs a fantasy about Tony, donned in the Iron Man suit, bashing down the door, so the idea is quickly discarded.

Peter trenches across the too large room, and sits atop the too large bed. Laying down is out of the question, because the ceiling is like, fifty feet tall, and he feels like the entire room is swallowing him up. So, he opts for sitting cross-legged, tossing the box a bit. Trying to decipher the slight jingle before caving and opening it.

The box held one item. The remains of May's wedding ring. Where the band had melted slightly, and was burned all around, the diamond remained untouched almost. Just the sight of it was enough to bring Peter to tears.

Reality was settling in, and suddenly he felt sick to his stomach. Everything was fake. The new clothes, new room, new family. Peter wanted none of it. He wanted his old family back, with his old room, and old worn-out clothes.

He wanted to revel in the stench of May's burnt turkey loaf. He wanted to cringe at both his aunt and uncle dancing old people dances like, The Sprinkler, in their cluttered living room. He wanted to make food puns with his aunt, and more than anything he wanted to sit in one spot while she yelled and screamed at him for getting hurt while he was out being Spider-Man.

Peter didn't hate Pepper or Tony. It just felt like they were showering him with fancy gifts, and a luxurious lifestyle because it was all they know. It was a distraction. Just focus on the shiny trinkets, and forget the old life.

Kicking off his shoes, Peter curled up onto his side, and brought one of his pillows forward to hug on. He buried his face into it, and tried to forget where he was. Wishing to be back at his old, musty apartment with May. Still wishing they shared the same fate.