Peter's pissed. Beyond pissed. Pissed doesn't even begin to describe how he's feeling right now.

"Parker, you're going to be late for the graduation ceremony."

He looks down from the detention room's ceiling and finds Phil Coulson standing below him, complete with mild smile and too-neat suit. Exactly the person Peter doesn't want to see right now. Peter huffs and folds his arms across his chest, knowing he must look ridiculous stuck to the ceiling in his cap and gown.

"I don't care."

"You might not, but I know May does," Phil says.

Peter shifts his glance guiltily and drops from the ceiling. Phil watches him closely before sighing and taking a seat at one of the student desks, motioning to the one opposite him.

"Why don't you have a seat and tell me what's bothering you," Phil instructs.

"Oh, I don't know… everything?" Peter declares. "It's just… everyone's leaving. We're supposed to be a team and teams don't walk out on each other like this."

"They've all been accepted to excellent schools. Ayala got a very nice scholarship, as did Cage and Rand. Alexander's off to one of the best culinary schools in the country," Phil says. "Are you saying you're unhappy for your team?"

"No! Of course I'm happy for them," Peter says quickly. "But how are we supposed to be a team when we're all spread across the country?"

"You're not," Phil answers.

Peter's not sure what kind of answer he was expecting, but it wasn't that one. Phil shifts in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands.

"You're not just graduating from high school, you're graduation from Director Fury's program. As with high school, that means you're all headed in separate directions. Some of the friends you make in high school you will have for the rest of your life, but the majority of them you will almost never see again," Phil explains. "It's just the way of things. Now, that's not to say you'll never see your team again. Some of them will be working with the West Coast Avengers and some of them will be working solo. You might not be a team ever again, or maybe you will. We just can't say at this juncture. Regardless, you will still have the experiences that have made you what you are today and no matter how far down the line you meet each other, you will always have that shared bond. You'll be seeing them again, Parker, it just may not be the way you see them now."

"And what about you?" Peter asks sullenly.

"What about me?" Phil counters patiently.

"You're leaving, too!" Peter says angrily. "Look… Everything's changing now and I thought I could at least count on you to be around, but no. Fury already told us that you're off to go play with the Avengers. We know it was your original assignment and you got stuck with us instead, so I bet you're real fucking happy to be finished with babysitting duty, huh, Phil? Just couldn't wait to get rid of us, could you?"

"Working with the Avengers was my original assignment and I will admit that in the beginning I was frustrated by what I thought was a demotion," Phil admits. "I'm not going to lie about that. But I will say that I was very, very wrong. And for that I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' doesn't make up for the fact that you're leaving," Peter retorts.

"You don't need me around anymore," Phil says with a patient smile. "You haven't for a long time."

"I know I don't need you, I just…" Peter says, letting his sentence drop off. "I just don't want everyone to leave."

Peter doesn't get an answer. Phil leans back in his seat, gazing pensively at the desk beside him. The teen waits for an answer, any kind of answer. Minutes tick by and when it's apparent he isn't going to get one, he rolls his eyes, and rises from his seat.

"Just a minute, Mr. Parker," Phil says, his tone crisp with authority as he rises with him. "We're not finished here."

"What, then?" Peter asks, crossing his arms.

"When Fury first recruited you, I had my doubts. You didn't play well with others, you talked a big game that you couldn't always deliver on and you had a habit of letting your ego get in the way," Phil says.

"If you're trying to keep me from leaving, you're not doing a good job of it," Peter says flatly.

Phil holds up a hand and Peter falls silent.

"Now, you may be as stubborn and as big a pain as you were when you first started, but you've learned. Over the years, I've had the privilege of watching you grow as an individual as well as a hero, and at times have even had the honor of aiding that growth," Phil says slowly. "Along with your team, you've struggled and overcome more obstacles than anyone your age should have to face."

Phil chuckles.

"Being a teenager is hard. I was one once, as difficult as it might be to believe, and those years were not kind to me. Being a teenage superhero, however… that's even harder. So, today, instead of focusing on what you believe you're losing, focus on all the things you've gained and all that you've accomplished. Today is a big day and you've more than earned it," Phil tells him.

Phil has never struck him as the touchy-feely type, so Peter's more than a little surprised when the agent's hands come to rest on his shoulders.

"I'm proud of you, Peter," Phil tells him.

Peter finds it hard to swallow around the lump in his throat. It's not as though he's ever sought out the man's approval, but getting it makes it feel as though it's something he didn't know he wanted. And maybe he's a little overemotional, and maybe he just needs it, but he doesn't know exactly why he throws his arms around Phil's middle and buries his face in the agent's jacket when his eyes start to prickle.

Because it feels like goodbye, like something's ending, like it's over and he doesn't want that. He doesn't want goodbyes, he doesn't want change. Why can't things just stay the way they are? But they can't. He knows that. They have to change, they all have to grow and move on.

"Thank you," Peter says.

He can hear the tears in his own voice, and wishes they weren't there, but can't will them away. A simple thank you is all he can manage, but he hopes the agent understands that it's not just for today's pep talk.

He feels a hand patting his back firmly and he swears he thinks Phil might be holding onto him as tightly as he's holding on to Phil. Eventually they do break apart and Phil is handing him tissues and Peter blows hos nose and desperately tries to make it look as though he hadn't been crying. Because he totally hadn't. Just like Phil's eyes are totally not watery.

The agent clears his throat. "I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Captain Rogers and I have been discussing the matter… and we'd like you to join the Avengers."

"Me?" Peter says dumbly.

"No, the other Peter Parker in the room," Phil says flatly. "Yes, of course you. What do you think?"

"I… yeah. I'd be honored," Peter says, feeling a bit numb. "That would be amazing."

"Good," Phil says with a grin. "I'll meet with him tomorrow with your decision and the three of us can plan a meeting for next week."

Peter's still a little blown away when they step out of the detention room and walk down the hall together. It still feels like there's too much happening in one day, too many things to take in, but he feels better about it. Lighter somehow. It's not the end of the world. It's an end of sorts, but just to this chapter. He knows there's still more to be written.

"I was thinking," Peter says suddenly, finding the way his voice echoes along the eerily empty halls to be distracting. "No one's going to replace Uncle Ben. But Aunt May could do a lot worse. And if you want to ask her… I'd be okay with that."

He's surprised by how much that makes Phil blush, but the agent's flustered look quickly turns into one of suspicion. Peter clears his throat anxiously.

"I, um… I saw the ring," Peter admits.

"You've been snooping through my desk again," Phil says.

"If you know I've done it before, maybe you shouldn't have left it there in the first place," Peter says defensively.

"You're right. That is, unless I was banking on the fact that you would go snooping again and would therefore see it," Phil says.

"You son of a bitch," Peter says.

"There you are!"

The two of them look up at the voice and find the rest of Peter's team running down the hallway towards them.

"Come on, they're about to start seating us!" Ava says insistently. She looks to Phil. "You're supposed to be up on stage!"

"Uh, right, well… had to make sure the detention room door was locked," Peter says with a shrug.

"It's locked, good, great, grand," Sam says. "Now hurry up so we can get those diplomas."

Peter gives Phil a questioning glance, but the agent just shoos them away. "Go on, be with your team. I'll see you all on-stage."

Letting his team drag him through the halls, Peter knows they won't get many more opportunities like this. There are a lot of changes just around the corner, but here and now, he's not going to let them bother him. Here and now he's with his team and together they're about to take a monumental step forward. Whatever happens after that, well… they'll just have to wait and find out.