The next chapter! And this time, I'm so excited to see what you think! Please let me know! And thank you for the reviews!

I don't own the characters or places!

The next morning, Tony was feeling tired. After the evening with Pepper and Gerald, his mood hadn't been too good. Before they went to bed, Tony and Pepper didn't talk very much anymore. They both had been lost in their own thoughts.

Tony was still annoyed by Gerald's behaviour. And he would have given everything to know what Pepper was thinking. However, he couldn't figure it out. And the image of her face when Gerald talked about an evening on the beach years ago wouldn't leave his mind. He could imagine what happened back then very well. And the thought alone made him sick.

He didn't sleep that night. Next to him, Pepper was also turning in her sleep. Sometimes, she murmured words Tony couldn't understand.

At about five in the morning, he couldn't stand it anymore and left the bedroom, careful not to wake Pepper. He made his way downstairs. The others were also still asleep, so he went to the gym. Maybe he'd feel better after training.

To his surprise, he found Steve in the gym. He didn't notice Tony yet and he watched him in silence for a few moments. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked loudly to announce his presence and Steve flinched.

"Why are you up this early?" Steve asked and raised his eyebrows. "And no, bad dreams. You know that stuff."

Tony nodded. Steve had told him about his nightmares concerning the ice and Bucky before. "Couldn't sleep as well." He said shortly and hoped that Steve wouldn't ask questions. "Mind if I join you?"

Steve shook his head. "Would be good to have a partner. And we didn't practice for some time by now."

They spent the next hour practicing self-defence. Slowly, Tony was getting better at fighting without his suit. And Steve also told him that, which made him kind of proud. After all, Captain America was a master at fighting.

When they finally finished their training, it was seven o'clock. They decided to sit on the small balcony in front of the training centre for some time, and Tony enjoyed the time with Steve. He didn't ask any questions yet and Tony was glad about it. However, he knew that Tony might need to talk either way.

"So one of Pepper's old friends visited yesterday?" Steve asked hesitantly and Tony sighed.

"Yup. He's living in Paris now." He told Steve about the previous evening shortly.

"What a nice guy…" Steve muttered and shook his head. "But you shouldn't worry. After all, Pepper loves you."

Tony sighed. "When you say it like that, it sounds so easy."

"Do you trust Pepper?" Steve's sudden question made Tony raise his eyebrows.

"Of course I do." He replied immediately. "But I don't trust this man when he's around her."

"From what you've told me, you'll be with them all the time at their next meeting." Steve noted. "So you can watch him all the time."

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Probably, you're right. But I don't like this either way."

"No one likes something like that." Steve muttered. "But it'll be alright, I'm sure of that."

Tony didn't reply. He just watched the city in front of them in silence. He considered asking Steve about his dream, but he decided not to do it. Steve would tell him about it in time.

When they finally left the gym, the other Avengers were awake already. After a quick shower, Tony joined them at breakfast. Pepper was already gone with Happy, she had a meeting on the other side of the city at eight. In the bedroom, she'd left him a short note. Gerald wanted to meet them at seven in the afternoon in front of the tower. Then they wanted to make a tour through the city and in the end, they'd have dinner in a small restaurant. The note that Tony should be punctual was underlined two times. Tony sighed. Apparently, Gerald had called Pepper very early in the morning. Or did she call him? Honestly, he didn't want to know.

At breakfast, he mostly listened to the conversations of the others without saying much himself. The others were talking to Sam most of the time. They asked questions about his past since he'd be part of the team from now on.

Luckily, Tony could leave the table early. A call from Rhodey saved him from questions about his bad mood this morning. When Rhodey announced that he'd be visiting soon, Tony had to smile. It was always good to have him there. And then, they could talk about the problem in Alaska again. They'd completely ignored that the previous days.

When Tony made his way to the lab, he noticed that JARVIS had decoded some files about Wakanda. However, he couldn't get into their system. Apparently, someone skilled had invented it. Tony would have to look at it himself, but right now he didn't feel like doing that. So he just read the files in silence.

It was interesting, finding out more about the Vibranium. He even got to know how his father got the material for Steve's shield. And the legend of the Black Panther made him curious. He wondered if it was true, that the king of Wakanda was the Black Panther. Tony decided to find out more about it soon. Maybe when they'd meet king T'Chaka and his son T'Challa in Vienna.

He skipped through the files for some time, until JARVIS interrupted him. "Sir, something happened that might interest you."

Tony looked up from his screen. "What is it, J?" He asked slowly.

An image appeared in front of him and Tony held his breath. It was the young man he'd seen before, what was his name? Peter Parker. And from the looks of it, he was being chased. By a police car?

"What am I seeing there?" He frowned and scaled up the picture on the screen.

"Apparently, he tried to avoid a bank robbery. However, he was injured in the course of it and when the police arrived, the perpetrators already escaped. They thought he was guilty and started to chase him. Because of his injury, he nearly didn't succeed at escaping." JARVIS explained the situation. Without thinking about it, Tony jumped to his feet.

"Where is he now? And did they stop chasing him?" He was already on his way to his suit, not looking at the clock. He had to help that kid.

"Someone at the police station looked at the camera records as well, so they know that he's innocent. They stopped chasing him a few minutes ago."

Tony nodded. "Good. And what about my other question?"

"I've located him, Sir." JARVIS announced. "He's sitting on a rooftop close to the Empire State Building."

"Then let's go." Tony muttered.

When he arrived, the kid was still sitting on that rooftop and looked at the city. He didn't notice Tony, so he stepped out of his suit silently and looked at Peter Parker more closely. He was really still very young. Probably too young to be a superhero. And there was much blood on his arm, ruining the ugly suit he was wearing. The mask was lying on the ground next to him. Also ugly, but good enough to hide his face.

The blood on his arm came from a bullet wound, as far as Tony could see it. It had already stopped bleeding.

There was a sad expression on Peter's face and Tony wondered why. Because the criminals escaped? Or were there other reasons?

He stepped closer quietly, trying to figure out what he could say without scaring the kid to death. However, he couldn't find the right words. So he just spoke without further thinking about it.

"Looks like you've had a bad day." He said just loud enough for Peter Parker to hear him.

As expected, the kid flinched violently and if he wouldn't have that good reflexes, he might have fallen from the roof. He turned around quickly, with a shocked expression on his face. It took him only a few seconds to realize who was standing there in front of him and his wide eyes flickered from Tony to his suit and back.

"What – You're Tony Stark – I mean, how did you find me? Mr. Stark. It's a pleasure to meet you. An honour, I mean. An honour to meet you. But how –" He was stuttering hysterically and Tony held up his hand quickly to make him fall silent.

"Woa, slow down, kid." He said loudly and took a step forward. "I'm not going to hurt you or something. Now breathe in deeply. And you might step away from that edge, otherwise you might fall from this rooftop."

After a few seconds, Peter nodded slowly and stepped forward. Then he breathed in deeply, trying to calm down.

"To your first question, I've been watching you for some time now." Tony explained and sat down on the ground. He gestured for Peter Parker to do the same. "I think your abilities are impressing. The things you do." He copied the gesture Peter always made when he jumped from building to building and grinned.

The kid was still staring at him with wide eyes and his mouth open.

"How are you calling that? And yourself?" He pointed at the suit. "Spider-Kid or something like that?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Spiderman." Peter whispered, still shocked that Tony Stark was sitting in front of him. On a rooftop, right after he's been injured. And chased by the police.

"Spiderman." Tony repeated slowly. "Sounds cool. What's not cool is this suit. You need something better. And something that might protect you better." He grimaced when he looked at Peter's arm. "And someone might have a look at that."

Finally, Peter seemed to come to his senses again. "I can't just go to a hospital. My aunt will kill me!" He said loudly. "She can't know what I'm doing!"

"So you also keep this secret." Tony concluded.

"My best friend knows about it." Peter argued. "His name's Ned."

Tony nodded. "Alright."

"Can I ask you something, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked suddenly.

"Anything." Tony said immediately.

"Why are you here?" He sounded curious and still shocked. "Well, except for the fact that you think I'm interesting or something like that. I mean, it doesn't happen every day that Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, shows up."

Tony chuckled at the look on Peter's face. "That's true. Let's just say I noticed you were in trouble and wanted to help you. The police stopped chasing you, by the way. They saw the records. However, I still think that this Spider-Guy, like they call you, will be in the papers tomorrow." He grinned.

"Spiderman." Peter muttered darkly and again, Tony realized how young he was. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed. "Do you really think that I'll be in the press?"

Tony nodded, still grinning. "Jup, JARVIS hinted something like that on my way here."

Peter grinned. "That's so cool." He whispered excitedly.

"You still need some training, though." Tony replied. "The way you acted wasn't very professional. Which doesn't surprise me, since you're still a kid without experience."

The smile from Peter's face vanished slowly. "You're not going to tell my aunt May about this, will you?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I've got a better idea. I could help you. If you want it, of course." He added hastily, not knowing if the kid would like his help.

Peter was still looking a little shocked. "Honestly? I still don't know why you're here."

Tony shrugged. "Let's just say that I appreciate young talents. Especially those who have as much potential as you."

"This is crazy. Don't get me wrong. Good kind of crazy. But either way… I don't know what to say, Mr. Stark."

"You just have to say yes. Or no, even if I think that's unlikely. Not many people would say no to an offer like this. You could also say yes now and tell me to back off later. I wouldn't mind that." Why did he already like this kid? And did he really just offer him his help? Yes, in the past weeks, he'd thought of it a few times, but really doing this was something different. What would the others say?

"You want to help me. With my powers." Peter repeated slowly and shook his head in disbelief. "I'm dead, right?"

"Not yet." Tony replied immediately. "So what do you say?"

"Yes. I mean, I'd really appreciate your help, Mr. Stark. It would be an honour. After all, you're famous. And you've been my idol for years." He was grinning again and Tony smiled back at him.

He stood up and held out his hand to Peter. "Sounds like a deal. And now someone has to look at your arm."

He took Peter to the tower since he refused to go to a hospital. Bruce didn't ask any questions, he just looked at Peter's arm and announced that it wasn't a bad injury. He shouldn't stress the arm too much in the next days and then everything would be fine again.

In the tower, Peter didn't say very much. And when he did, he was stuttering incoherent words. Tony already feared that it was too much for the kid, but he was just excited. Very much. Somehow, Tony liked this character trait.

A short glance at the clock told him that they would meet Gerald in front of the tower in about five minutes. However, he couldn't just let Peter walk home alone. On the other hand, he didn't want Pepper to be alone with that guy.

When he looked at the tired kid in front of him again, who was still wearing his bloody suit, Tony made his choice. He let Pepper know that he would join them later, got Peter some clothes, and told Happy to get the car. Then he changed into a suit quickly.

In the car, Peter was still speechless. "And you're coming with me?" He asked for the sixth time in a row.

Tony nodded. "I want to meet your aunt." On their way to the tower, Peter had told him a few details about his life. Which didn't seem to be too interesting. And hard when you counted how the kids at school dealt with him.

"But how on earth should I explain that Tony Stark is standing in front of her door?"

Tony grinned. "I've already figured something out. Which will also explain why you're not at home sometimes."

"And you'll really help me to deal with my powers?" He sounded hopeful and Tony nodded.

"Of course. Spiderman has to be trained. And I think I'll get you a new suit. You can't wear yours anymore." He already got a few ideas for the new one.

"And I'll meet the Avengers?"

Another nod. "They're living at the tower, so yes. And Steve wants to meet you too."

"Captain America wants to meet me?!"

Tony chuckled. "Don't act so surprised." He couldn't continue since Happy announced that they'd arrived.

Thirty minutes later, Tony left the building again. After he'd told Peter's aunt about the Stark internship. Which was a pretty good idea, he thought to himself. It would explain why Peter spent time at the Stark tower from now on. And it would give him an excuse to leave more often. However, Tony had made him promise to be more careful from now on.

JARVIS told Tony that Pepper and Gerald were already at a small restaurant close to the tower. When Tony noticed that it was their favourite, he had to breath in deeply. Why did she take him to their favourite restaurant?

When they got there, he hesitated. Should he really just go in like this? But why shouldn't he? After all, Pepper had told him to come.

Before he reached the entrance, he looked in through one of the windows. And there they saw them. Pepper was wearing a dark red dress, while Gerald wore the same suit as the previous evening. They were standing in front of each other and it looked like they'd just arrived.

Suddenly, Gerald wrapped his arms around Pepper and she got hold of his shirt.

And then he kissed her.

And she didn't push him away.

The afternoon with Gerald had been nice, but Pepper had been disappointed that Tony couldn't join them. JARVIS had just said that there was an emergency, but not of what kind. The entire time, she'd hoped that Tony would join them at the restaurant. She'd chosen their favourite and hoped that he could forget his resentment towards Gerald for some time.

However, he didn't show up in front of the restaurant. Inside, it was very crowded. One of the guests even had his dog along. Which made Pepper stumble when he jumped at her unexpectedly.

Luckily, Gerald caught her before she could fall. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she got hold of his shirt.

And then something Pepper never expected happened. He kissed her. In the middle of the restaurant, in front of everyone! First, she was too shocked to push him back and just froze in her position. However, she slapped him when he let go of her. "What was that?" She hissed and he just looked at her wide-eyed.

"Pepper, I'm sorry…" He started, but she didn't listen to him anymore since something else caught her attention.

"Look, there's Tony Stark! Right outside, and he's looking inside!" One of the guests said loudly and soon, everyone was looking outside.

"No one's there, darling." A man said and chuckled. "You must have imagined it."

"No, it's true." One of the waiters said. "He just left again."

In this moment, Pepper felt like her whole world was breaking down.