Happy Wednesday!

Yep, I'm putting out a mid-week update, even though I said I wouldn't, because I'm impatient. You've all been so patient with me with the Homecoming events and the wait for Tony and Peter to reunite. I was committed to waiting until Saturday and then I got a sweet comment from theresalwaysmoretothestory and it gave me the push to post. Enjoy xxx

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Peter listened to Ned's rambling as they left their lockers and headed towards the exit, glad that another day of school was done. "And Mom is complaining about the dust, which, yeah, kinda expected it, but I think I've got her to come round to the idea of the Millennium Falcon fund."

Peter chuckled. "If you'd started doing the dusting yourself, she wouldn't complain."

"Yeah, but you know I have allergies. A hint of dust and I start choking. I'm pretty sure my throat would swell shut."

Peter elbowed him. "That doesn't work on your mom, and it's not going to work on me."

Ned grinned. "Yeah. Okay. But it was worth a try. What shall we do this evening? You changed your mind about us making you a new suit yet? Because I've got ideas and maybe some sketches already."

Peter sighed. "No, I don't think so."

Though he felt guilty about the people he was abandoning by not patrolling, he now had a paranoia of helping that he couldn't seem to shift. If he did something wrong, someone could be hurt or killed. Besides, Tony wanted him to step down, so he was doing the right thing obeying.

Ned pushed open the door, and they exited out into the chill of New York in Mid-October. The days were getting colder all the time, and Peter was going to have to start bundling up even more for warmth. Of all the benefits of the spider bite, like his asthma clearing up and not needing glasses anymore, the fact he felt the cold so much more was a problem. Still, he had enough thermal t-shirts, so he could layer up when he went out.

He blinked in the sun and didn't immediately notice that Ned had stopped walking. When he realized he was alone, he looked back over his shoulder and saw Ned staring forward.

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Ned smiled slightly. "I think your ride is here."

Peter turned back and saw a sleek black Audi parked just outside the gate. He knew the car because he'd ridden it many times before. As he looked, the driver's window rolled down, and Happy leaned across the seats to gesture him forward.

"Damn," he muttered.

"You've got to go, Peter," Ned said, coming to his side and shoving him in the small of the back. "Happy is scary, and he came all this way. He'll be pissed otherwise, and I don't want to see a pissed Happy, which is actually an oxymoron, so, huh, yeah, you've got to go."

Peter knew he was right. He liked Happy and had missed him these past weeks, but he was sure he wasn't getting into the car without ending up at Avengers Tower, which meant finally facing Tony.

He swallowed hard and said, "Yeah, I'll… uh… call you later."

"You better," Ned replied.

With heavy steps, Peter walked to the car and opened the passenger side door. "Hey, Happy," he said dully.

"Not the front this time, kid," Happy said. "In the back."

Frowning, wondering if Happy was angry with him, too, because he'd ridden in the front for a while now, he closed the door and opened the back. He stopped dead when he saw who was sitting in there already and licked his suddenly dry lips.

Tony was against the other window, his glasses on and his face unreadable.

"In you get, kid," he said.

Holding back a groan, Peter slid in, preparing to face the music at last.

Though Steve had said Tony was worried, not angry, Peter wasn't sure he believed him. He hadn't believed him enough to answer the phone when Tony called or to read any of his text messages, which he'd been deleting as soon as they came in to avoid temptation.

"To Queens, Hap," Tony said.

Relieved the ride would at least be short, Peter snapped on his seatbelt as Happy pulled away from the curb. He took a breath and forced himself to look at Tony.

He couldn't see his eyes behind his tinted glasses, but his mouth was downturned with what Peter read as disappointment. At least it wasn't anger. He had to be pissed that Peter had been ghosting him for so long, but he wasn't showing it.

Tony blew out a heavy breath and took off his glasses. Peter was shocked to see his eyes were sad, and they seemed to be taking him in with intensity.

"I'm sorry," Peter said quietly. "I know I should have waited until you could have spoken to me before leaving the med bay, and I should definitely have answered the phone. I'm sorry. I just… I was being a coward."

"You're a lot of things, Pete, but you're not a coward. If I was in your position, after what I did, I wouldn't have waited either—and I'd have been too angry to answer the phone."

Peter's mouth dropped open. "Angry? No, I wasn't angry. I was…" He bit his lip. "I was scared. I know I should have sucked it up and faced you, but I just…"

"Peter, I'm not angry," Tony said gently. "I wasn't angry at any point of what happened, not even when I took the suit; at least I wasn't angry at you. I was angry at the position I was in. I didn't want to take your suit, believe me, but I really didn't have a choice."

"I know," Peter said quietly. "I messed up. It was totally the right thing to take it."

Tony stared out of the window a moment, jaw clenched, and then he turned back to Peter and said, "If I could have, I would have been there for you instead of taking the suit and cutting you off. I really didn't have a choice. It was beyond my control."

Peter thought that was strange because who could have been in control if not Tony? Maybe he meant the situation was out of his control, which it had been. The only thing to do was shut Peter down.

Wanting to defend himself, needing to, Peter said, "I've not patrolled since the Coney Island thing. I know you didn't want me to. Obviously, I don't have a suit anymore, but I've not made another one."

"I know," Tony said. "I've been checking. Peter, I don't want you to give up Spider-Man—that's the last thing I want. You do good as Spider-Man; you help a lot of people. It's who you are—who you're meant to be."

Peter frowned. "But I hurt people."

Tony nodded, his lips turning down again. "I know you did. But I also know that everyone injured recovered fully and that a donation means the damaged parts of the school can be rebuilt better than before."

"Was that you?" Peter asked. "The donation, I mean. I heard it was anonymous."

Tony smiled slightly. "It was an investment in the future of Stark Industries. My star intern needs a space to learn which will help him reach his full potential."

"But…" Peter shook his head. "I'm not your intern anymore."

Tony cleared his throat. "You're not, but that's not my choice either. I needed to think, to get my head around what happened, but I never wanted you to give it up completely. You're too good to give it up, Peter. It's not about the money. If you don't want to work with me anymore, I'll understand, I'll have earned it, but the funding is already in place for your education. You'll never lose that."

Peter's mouth dropped open again, and he had to make a conscious effort to snap it closed again.

Tony wasn't reacting how he'd expected at all. Peter had written off the scholarship the same time he'd written off the internship, accepted it as fair punishment. But to think he still had it—that Tony even wanted him as an intern again—seemed too good to be true.

"You actually want me still?" he asked.

Tony smiled at last, and it softened the sadness in his eyes. "Of course I do. Look, we both made mistakes. You messed up at the school, and people were hurt, but you also saved thousands of lives when you shut down Toomes' weapons operation. I messed up when I cut you off, but…" He grimaced. "I had to do it."

Peter shook his head. He knew Tony had done the right thing, for whatever reason he'd done it. This whole conversation was confusing him. Tony seemed genuinely upset, as Steve said he was, but it made no sense.

"Do you want the internship?" Tony asked tentatively, his eyes concerned.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, absolutely, more than anything. It's not about the scholarship—it's really not. I was learning so much from you, and I could help Ned's grandmother, and I felt like I was helping you a little sometimes, too."

"You were," Tony said. "More than you know." He rubbed his chin. "If you want it back, and I want you back, I think it's decided. Happy will pick you up Saturday morning."

Peter felt the weight off the past weeks lifting from him, even his breaths seemed easier, and he grinned. "Yeah, okay. Thank you, Mr. Stark. I won't mess up again, I promise. I'll be really careful, and I won't—"

Tony held up a hand. "Do you want the suit back?"

Peter bit his lip. The truth was he did, he wanted to be helping people again, but he was so scared he'd mess up and hurt someone. He wasn't sure he was safe to be out there now.

"What are you thinking?" Tony asked.

Peter ran a hand through his unruly hair and said, "Well, it just… I'm kinda scared now. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Tony frowned. "Okay, yeah, I get that. I know you won't hurt anyone, but we can work on your confidence. Give me time to think about that; I know there's a solution since working things out is what I do. In the meantime, maybe I can patrol with you."

Peter's mouth dropped open. "Like, as Iron Man? Come on patrols with me in the suit?"

"If you want it, yeah, we can do it together. That way, you've got backup which I know will please your aunt, and you've got me there in case things get out of hand."

Peter stared at him, mouth still hanging open. The idea of patrolling with Iron Man himself was incredible, beyond anything he could have imagined. That was like he really was a superhero.

"I… I think that'd be good," he said. "But are you sure you want to do that? I mean, you've got so many things you have to do, and I don't want to take all our time. What about Miss. Potts?"

Tony smiled. "Pepper will understand. She'll probably be glad to have me out from under her feet." His smile faded. "If you're really worried about her, though, we can use Karen to help. I can track your patrols, stay in contact with you, while also spending time with Pepper."

Peter licked his lips. "Yeah, I think that would be good."

As much as he loved the idea of patrolling with Iron Man, he didn't want to take all Tony's time. He was so busy and already gave Peter enough attention with his internship. And if Tony was watching what he was doing, keeping an eye on him, it would be safer. Maybe he could get his confidence back as Spider-Man, stop needing to be babysat all the time. That would be good, better for Tony and him.

"That's decided then," Tony said, glancing out of the window.

Peter hadn't even realized the car had stopped; he saw now they were parked outside his building.

He felt awkward now. He wanted to thank Tony for what he was giving him, not only the internship and scholarship but the support to be Spider-Man again. He didn't know the words to express his gratitude, though, and stammered. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. Really. This is… I mean…"

"It's as much for me as it is for you, Pete," Tony said sincerely. "You probably don't understand that, but I know you will one day."

The way he said it, cryptically and seeming to hold some deeper meaning, made something in Peter's chest constrict. He had a feeling he was missing something important.

"Okay, I… uh… should go," he said. "You've probably got loads to do."

"I have," Tony said. "Thanks to you, we've got a mission going on right now. I'll tell you about it soon." He grinned.

Peter opened the door, but before he could get out, Happy lowered the divider and turned in his seat to look back. "Good to have you back, kid," he said. "I'll see you Saturday. I'll come early so we can stop for breakfast on the way, okay?"

The way he said it, his tone, made Peter feel like he couldn't refuse. Not that he wanted to. He'd missed Happy, too.

"That'd be great," he said. "Thanks, Happy."

"Check the trunk on your way," Tony said.

Frowning, Peter waved a hand and climbed out, closing the door behind him. He went to the trunk, which had popped open and was rising smoothly, and saw the silver case in which Tony had given him his suit. Peter grinned and took it out, the weight feeling good in his hand, like it belonged.

He closed the trunk and walked to the door, turning back, and waving to Tony and Happy, who had rolled their windows down, then let himself in the door and took the stairs two at a time, a spring in his step.

He felt better than he had for weeks, like things were back to the good time they'd been before he found that weapon, and he was plotting to go out to patrol that evening after dinner if Tony was free to help.

He was going to have to call Ned first, as he was probably losing his mind with curiosity about what had happened.

He let himself in the front door and carried the case into the living room. May appeared at the kitchen door, her face smudged with flour and her apron spattered with what looked like cake batter.

She looked from him, his smile wide, to the case in his hand and said, "About time too. I'm making lemon loaf cake, and then I was thinking I'd make chili for dinner. Sound good?"

As much as he loved May, Peter didn't want what had become a perfect day to be ruined with her mouth scorching chili—she measured nothing, including chili powder. "You know what, I'll make dinner tonight while you relax."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're going to cook?"

"I am," Peter said. "I can do a couple things. Mr. Stark taught me."

She looked surprised but pleased. "Then that'd be great. I think I'll soak in a bubble bath while you cook."

Peter nodded eagerly. "Yeah, you deserve to relax."

She smiled. "Then you're going out, right?" she said, giving the case in his hand a pointed look.

"Yeah, me and Mr. Stark have worked something out. I'll be able to patrol, and he'll keep an eye on things."

"That sounds perfect, honey." She kissed his cheek and strolled out of the room and into the bathroom.

Peter smiled widely as he heard the tap turn on, and he set the case down on the floor. He was looking forward to making dinner for May and was eager to get out there again after, talking to Karen and doing his bit to keep Queens safe.

He was looking forward to being Spider-Man again.

So… They're finally in a better place. Mind has promised, Peter has promised, and now I'll promise—there won't be a wedge like this driven between Peter and Tony again. We're going to face angst, but it will not be because Tony has to hold back his love.

Until next time…

Jadey xxx