Thor and Heimdall were the only two Asgardians waiting to see the group off. They were both talking to Pepper and Stark as the others joined them, and both nodded to the rest as everyone stopped. Pepper smiled at Peter when Natasha delivered the boy to her side, and she ran her hand along his face, as always, concerned about just how warm he was.

"Did you have a good time?"

He nodded. There was no way he would have said anything else in front of their host, after all.

"Yeah. This place is amazing."

Thor beamed at the praise. He was very proud of his home world, after all – and the people living there.

"I think next time, we'll have Thor come to us, though," Stark said, also thinking of the high fever Peter was running, and offering the god of thunder his hand.

"You are all welcome here," Thor said, expansively. "Just knock, first, please."

They smiled at that, and everyone said their goodbyes before turning and looking at Wong and Strange, who separated himself from Natasha's side.

"Are we ready?" he asked.

Heimdall stepped toward Peter and offered the boy his hand. It wasn't a traditional gesture for the Asgardians but he knew of it.

"It was good to meet you, Peter."

"Thanks for showing us around," the boy told him, feeling the tingle that was omnipresent in the back of his mind flare when Strange created the portal in front of them. "See you later?"

The Gatekeeper shrugged.

"Perhaps. If I find myself on your world, you will owe me a tour."

"Deal."

"Come on," Tony said, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder, and steering him toward the portal. "I want to get you home." The billionaire looked at Thor. "You know where to find us if you need anything."

"Likewise."

Peter saw that the terminus of the portal was the open field, and it was dark at home. The only light was from the flood lights. He glanced at his watch as he went through and saw it was only a few hours before dawn. The tingle was gone as soon as Strange dismissed the portal, and he gave a relieved sigh, which they all heard.

"Better?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"Let's start on that fever with a cool – but not cold – shower before you go to bed," Strange said.

"After hanging out with those folks, Peter's not the only one who needs a cold shower," Steve said, shaking his head with an amused smile.

As good-looking and well built as he was, he had been particularly sought after by the Asgardians – and didn't have Natasha to run interference for him.

"That's a fact," Clint agreed. "Nice folks, but… wow."

Stark looked at the sorcerers.

"Are you staying here?"

"No." Strange shook his head. "The sanctum can't be unguarded for long, and you don't need us. Monitor Peter's fever. If it spikes or doesn't start dropping within the next few hours, call me."

"Going to take a cold shower?" Natasha asked, with a smile.

"Definitely. I'll see you later."

"Thanks for the help," Peter said, well aware that he was the cause of all the recent activity. He made sure to include Wong as well as the others. "I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble."

"This isn't on you, Peter," Strange assured him. "Loki started it. You were only reacting. Besides, now I can say I've been to Asgard. It wasn't exactly on my bucket list, but it probably should have been."

"We can add to the knowledge in the library," Wong said, approvingly. "That is only a good thing."

Both magicians and the Cloak of Levitation vanished.

"I'm going as well," Wanda told Stark. "It was good to see you all."

"Thanks, Wanda," Tony said, sincerely. "Tell Vision I said hi."

"I will."

She glanced at Natasha, gave her a slight smile and vanished.

"I really like her," Peter said.

"Yeah, me too," Stark agreed. "Come on, let's get inside. It's chilly."

"How do you feel?" Pepper asked Peter, taking the other side of the boy as the group – smaller than it had been – made for the closest door. "Relieved to be home?"

She was.

He nodded.

"Those people are crazy," he told her, good-naturedly. He was tired enough – despite the short nap that he'd had – that he was a bit more loose-lipped than he might have been, otherwise, saying things that he wouldn't normally want her, or anyone else, really, to know. "They kept hitting on me…"

She smiled.

"Is that why you were sitting with Natasha like that?"

Pepper was very observant, especially when it came to Peter, now.

"Yeah. After the mostly naked performer groped me, Natasha suggested-"

"One of them groped you?" Pepper asked, surprised. "When was that?"

"After the play. When Tony and I were talking to-"

"We don't really need to discuss that right now," Tony said, quickly. "It wasn't serious, Pepper. Just an actor. You know how they can get after a performance. Especially after that performance."

"Was he cute?" Clint asked, amused.

Peter smiled at the teasing, and blushed.

"It was a girl. A woman, I mean. I don't really remember," he admitted. "She didn't have a lot on."

Obviously, he hadn't been looking at her face. He was awkward, but he wasn't dead – and at sixteen, her face had been the least interesting part of her, as far as he was concerned. He didn't say that, though.

Pepper glared at Tony.

"You were supposed to be watching him."

"I was. It happened pretty fast. But then, responsibly, I got him out of there."

"And turned him over to me," Natasha added, amused. "Where the only woman allowed to touch him after that was yours truly."

Pepper's frown didn't fade, but Stark could see in her expression that she wasn't annoyed – not much, anyway. By then, the group was at the intersection where they would turn to go to their various quarters.

"Are you good?" Tony asked Peter. "Need anything?"

The boy shook his head.

"I'm fine. I'm going to take a cold shower and go to bed."

"And drink some water," Pepper added.

"Okay."

"We'll see you guys when you get up."

They separated, and Natasha put an arm through Peter's as Steve left the group as well to go get Jack.

"You might want to work on filtering yourself a little," she told the boy. "Otherwise Tony's going to spend a lot of time in the doghouse."

"I thought it was hilarious," Clint disagreed, also walking with them.

"You would. How many times did you get propositioned?"

"He's married," Peter pointed out.

"I doubt any of them really asked, first," Romanoff said, and smiled at Clint's agreement.

"They didn't care," Barton agreed. "Luckily, I do."

OOOOOOO

"You don't think he'll sleepwalk?"

Tony shrugged.

"I doubt it, but we're home, now. Friday and Karen will let us know if he needs anything."

Why bother having the AIs if you didn't take advantage of it?

"Thank you for letting me come. It was really amazing."

He took her hand as they walked down the corridor, and brought it up so he could brush a kiss against her knuckles.

"You were the prettiest woman there. I'm glad I had the chance to show you off."

She smiled at that, but knew that he really meant it – which made her feel warm and gooey inside.

"Even prettier than the woman who was groping Peter?"

"She barely touched him, sweetheart. He just overreacted a bit."

"He's sixteen, Tony," she reminded him as they entered their quarters. "Of course he did. You didn't answer the question, though."

"Far, far prettier. And a much better dresser. Although, next time I see Thor, I might ask him to send some of those outfits in your size. They would really-"

"Tony…"

He smiled, pleased that he'd had a chance to tease her into a good mood. He kissed her, pulling her into his arms and holding her closely for a long moment.

"I'm going to take a page out of Peter's book and take a cold shower."

Pepper ran her hand along his chest and down to his stomach.

"Take a warm one, and I'll join you."

"That sounds even better."