Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. We're still enjoying the lighter stuff for now, but the angt and hurt/comfort is on its way. There are now additional tags added to the list in C1 so you might want to check that so you're warned.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Peter clicked the last piece of Lego in place and leaned back. "Done!"

"That's great, Peter," Pepper said with a smile. "It looks incredible."

Tony frowned, eyeing Peter's creation. "Yeah, it does. Well done, kid."

"How's yours going?"

Pepper and Peter both stared at him as he shifted in his seat. He wasn't even close to done. It wasn't his fault, though. Legos were apparently created with frustrating the user in mind. Peter made it looked more straightforward than it was, though maybe that had something to do with their different approaches. Peter sorted his pieces and followed the instructions, while Tony relied on his engineering degree. Who needed directions when you were a genius?

"It's coming along. Who's hungry?"

"Tony," Pepper said his name carefully. "Where is yours?"

"He had to move it to the lab because he needed better lights," Peter said.

Tony huffed. Peter was such a little shit sometimes. He probably knew that Tony's hadn't come out well, and it wasn't like Tony had kept his ego in check. He'd been a little smug, at least at the start. That was until the pieces began to click together, and he was faced with a leaning tower of rubble instead of Hogwarts castle.

"Let's go look," Pepper chirped.

"No, no, we don't need to do that," Tony hurriedly. "Let's watch a movie. Or I'll start dinner?"

Pepper's eyes lit with amusement. "You're going to cook? What are you hiding, Stark?"

"I think he's shy about showing his progress." Peter shifted the chair back and carefully got to his feet. He took a breath and then started walking toward the workshop.

"Peter! Wait!"

This was a nightmare come to life. Once they saw his project, he was going to be facing a very smug kid and an amused Pepper. He wasn't used to failing when he set his sights on something. He was a mechanic, an engineer. This should have been child's play, and the fact that Peter's project had had even more pieces and looked like it needed a degree to put together made his progress even more mortifying.

Peter wasn't stopping.

Pepper grinned at Tony and said, "I think I need to see this."

Tony trudged after them into the workshop where, among the debris of his usual work, were the results of his attempts to build a magical castle covered with a rag.

Peter reached the workbench and looked around at the pile of tools, pieces of metal, and stray Legos. "Where is it?"

Tony sighed, knowing he was defeated. "Under the grey rag."

Peter picked it up and stopped dead, the rag hanging limp in his hand. Then a laugh bubbled out of him, and he gripped the side of the bench as he began to rock with laughter.

Pepper examined the shell of what would be a small house for a Lego man without a roof.

There was no point in hiding the truth. He knew he might as well come clean. "That's the twenty-first attempt. It went progressively downhill after the third."

Then they were both laughing, and Tony started to chuckle, too. He was embarrassed, but he couldn't deny how good it felt to hear them laugh.

Peter wiped at his eyes, chest heaving as he caught his breath. "You didn't look at the instructions, did you?"

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't need instructions. At least I didn't think I did until the fifth attempt, and I'd already lost them by then."

"Poor Tony," Pepper consoled. "It must be hard to be a genius sometimes, especially with your extra dose of stubbornness."

Peter snorted. "Do you have all the pieces? I can help you make it."

"I might have tried to modify some to make them fit. Lego is very breakable."

Peter just shook his head as he broke into another round of laughter.

"I'll buy you another one." Pepper patted his arm. "And Peter can help you with instructions."

"Honestly, Pep, there's no need. I'm happier building things that actually matter."

Peter was grinning. "Probably a good idea."

Tony checked his watch. "We should head out soon, Peter. We've got to meet Harrison and Molly in thirty minutes."

Peter nodded, gave the shameful Lego structure another glance, and said, "I'll just get the braces off."

Pepper gave Tony a curious look, and he shook his head. He hadn't told Peter about Harrison. He wanted him to have a surprise for a change.

"Leave them on, Pete. Harrison would like to see you in them."

Peter hesitated. "I don't know … It's not really fair."

Tony placed a hand on his arm. "Trust me, Peter, he'll want to see them."

Peter shrugged. "Okay."

Peter headed out, and Tony went to follow, but Pepper caught his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"Harrison is in the braces now, right?"

"He is, and the control he's got of them is—" Tony whistled. "Maybe it's because he's younger, but he took to them with hardly any of the struggle Peter or Rhodey had. He's great, Pep."

"Okay then."

"Trust me, I wouldn't have set this meeting up if I didn't think they were both ready for it, but Peter's got a handle on them now, he's doing good, and Harrison can show him what else he might be capable of. I wanted Peter to be able to run, and I think it's possible with what I'm seeing of Harrison with his."

Pepper nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Okay. Have fun."

Tony knew they would. He'd seen Harrison a few times when he was setting him up with the braces, and he knew how much the kid wanted to see Peter again. He thought Peter was ready now, too, so he would enjoy their reunion, watching them both walk on their own two feet.

xXx

The sun beat down, warming Peter's face. He and Tony were sitting on a bench in the park, waiting for Harrison and his mother. The edges of worry were slowly closing in on Peter, making him unsure. He didn't know what to expect of this meeting. He was looking forward to seeing Harrison again, but Peter would be walking, and Harrison would not. It seemed unfair that Harrison had to be in the chair and see Peter walking.

It was also the first time that he'd been out since leaving the hospital. It was a lot easier than he had expected it to be. He finally had a handle on how he felt. The medication and techniques he'd learned from the therapist helped, too. Overall, he was just in a better place than before. He had settled in his new life and could cope when he struggled now.

His eyes combed the park, assessing like he would have as Spider-Man, searching the landscape for issues. When he realized what he was doing, he forced himself to stop. He didn't need to look for threats. He wasn't Spider-Man anymore. And surprisingly, that thought didn't hurt as much as it used to.

"Head's up, kid."

Peter looked around, scanning the paths for a wheelchair, but he couldn't spot one. He wondered what Tony had seen and was about to ask but stopped when he heard his name being called excitedly from nearby. Peter's gaze followed the sound, and his eyes went wide when he saw a kid walking beside a familiar woman.

Peter stared as Harrison hurried toward him, moving faster in the braces than Peter had ever managed before, and his face was shining.

Harrison reached him, beaming. He was shorter than Peter but taller than he'd looked in the chair and the bed. And he was far happier now than ever before, and Peter had thought he was one of the happiest people he'd ever met back then.

Harrison looked him up and down and said, "You got them, too! Cool. Mr. Stark made me some, but I wasn't allowed to tell you." He did a little sidestep shuffle that Peter couldn't manage on his best day and said, "Aren't they awesome?"

"They are," Peter agreed. "You want to sit?"

Harrison shook his head. "Nuh-uh, I want to walk with you."

Tony patted Peter's shoulder. "You two go ahead. I want to talk to Molly about something."

Harrison waved to his mom and hurried off. Peter started after him, careful not to push too fast and fall over.

Harrison looked back over his shoulder. "Sorry." He waited, falling into step beside Peter. "Mr. Stark says I'm a prodigy with the braces, but you'll get good, too. I'm going to run one day. Mr. Stark says he can't make promises, but I know I'll be able to. He's a genius. He made me walk."

"He did, he made us both walk. How's it going being back on your feet?"

"It's better. It sucks a little not being as fast as I was in my chair, I don't win the races anymore, not yet, but walking is great. I'm taller than most of my friends, but we never knew because I was always sitting down. I like being tall."

Peter laughed. "Yeah, I bet that's great. You get on okay at school?"

Harrison laughed. "It was kinda cool at first. We didn't tell anyone what was going on, and I had to go in my chair in case I got tired, so no one knew. I waited until I was called on, and I just stood up. It was great. Everyone was surprised, and then they were cheering."

Peter remembered the moment he walked for May and the others. It had been a special moment, though embarrassing. Seeing their happiness had meant a lot, especially May's. It had felt good to see her so happy after everything he'd put her through.

"How's your school?"

"I … uh … I haven't gone back yet."

Harrison looked suddenly wise. "Yeah. I get that. I didn't like it either."

"Did everyone stare?"

"Yeah, but that was because my chair was so cool." Harrison grinned. "Kinda. They stared, and they asked questions, and one kid asked if they could stick their pen in my leg to see if he could make it hurt, but they got used to it."

Peter hadn't thought of going back to school, though he knows he should. He didn't feel ready, though. No one else was talking about it, which was good, but they would eventually. There were only four weeks until school broke for summer.

"Will you go back soon?" Harrison asked.

"Yeah, soon."

Maybe he could wait until the new year and then go back. He could do classes at home until then, so he didn't fall behind. He figured he'd talk to Tony about it first as he thought he'd be more reasonable about it than May.

They got to the end of the path by the gate, and Harrison did a swift turn while Peter's was more careful.

They headed back towards Tony and Molly, who were talking intently on the bench. Peter wondered what they were talking about. It looked serious, and he was thinking of them while listening to Harrison talk about his friends at school and planning an overseas trip over summer for the first time since his accident now that he didn't have the bag.

When they reached Tony and Molly, they looked up and smiled.

"You two having fun?" Tony asked.

"Yeah. You?"

Tony stared at him for a moment and then shifted along the bench. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about, talk to both of you actually, since you two are the ones that gave me the idea."

Peter took a seat, but Harrison stood and shuffled about as if he couldn't resist the urge to move now that he could.

"I've been thinking," Tony said carefully. "With what I did for you, Rhodey and Harrison, I can see what's possible, and I'd like to extend that to others. Kids at first, but if it takes off and we get the support, create an industry, adults, too. Harrison is proof of what younger kids could be capable of with the braces. I want to give that to others."

Peter's heart skipped a beat, and his eyebrows shot up. "Really? Like, make the braces for other kids?"

"That's the idea. Pepper is in on it, and she's getting the board in, too. I think we can do some real good here."

Peter nodded a few times. "Yes! You have to! Wow. It would be huge for so many people."

Tony smiled. "Then we'll get to work. It's going to mean work for you two, especially you, Harrison. We're going to need you to show people what you can do with them. It'd mean being filmed walking and—"

Harrison cut him off. "Am I going to be on TV?"

Tony laughed. "Eventually, yeah. Though it'll just be boring old people in suits that'll see them."

Harrison grinned. "That's fine. I can wait." He looked at his mother. "Right, Mom? I can do it?"

She nodded. "Mr Stark has given you an amazing gift, Harri, and if making you a poster child is what it takes to make that possible for other families, it's what we'll do."

"He won't be a poster child. Not really. We can work something out."

Harrison's lip stuck out. "No! I want to be famous."

Peter grinned. "Then stick around with Mr. Stark. Making dreams come true is what he does."

Tony looked surprised but pleased, and Molly leaned forward and squeezed her son's hand. "He definitely does."

Harrison did a little sidestep again, looking excited. "Awesome. Come on. Peter!"

He hurried off, and Peter went after him. He wondered what it meant for them to take on Tony's plan. He didn't want to be a poster child, but if it gave other paralyzed people the chance to walk again, he'd do it.

Tony did make dreams come true, and Peter would do his part to make that possible for others.