Morgan got what she wanted, which seemed to be often the case. Peter had tried to convince her to change the teams, but she had refused.
"I love you, 2000, Petey," Morgan said, smiling sweetly at Peter, but there was some mischief in her eyes as well.
"That's not as high as 3000 so you should want to be on my team," Tony had said.
"Want Petey," Morgan said, clutching to Peter's leg. "He's the best."
Nothing anyone could say would change her mind. Pepper tried to convince Tony and Morgan that he probably shouldn't do this and he should rest, but then he had gotten determined to do the water balloon war too.
"The last thing I need to do is rest," Tony had said. "I feel fine. Better than fine."
"Daddy is good," Morgan said. "He wants to play water balloons."
Pepper sighed but nodded. "Just for awhile."
Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Morgan didn't wait. She picked up a water gun and sprayed Tony.
"Morgan H. Stark!" Pepper said, but she didn't get the chance to say much else because Morgan sprinted outside.
And that was that.
The water balloon fight was fun. Peter got drenched, but not as much as Tony did. Morgan was brutal and wouldn't hesitate to throw multiple water balloons at her father and spray him with the super soakers. Obviously, she wasn't worried about her dad being hurt after everything that happened.
She clearly wasn't worried that he would disappear. That this was just a wonderful dream that would fade away.
There were moments when Peter stopped thinking about that too. When he was completely in the moment and just having fun. Almost like a normal teenager would have. It was great. Amazing.
"Morguna, you're ruthless," Tony said when Morgan finally appeared to run out of water balloons.
Morgan just giggled.
The rest of the evening was amazing awesome. Being around the Starks was like being part of a family. Yes, he was a family with May too, but this was still amazing. He almost wished the day would go on forever.
But of course it eventually ended.
Peter was getting ready for bed when his phone rang. He grabbed it, surprised to see that someone would actually call him. Normally he preferred texts. Then he saw that it was May. In a way that made it less surprising, since she was one of the few people who called him.
Though it wasn't cheap to call Africa and knew that he was in Wakanda. Just not why.
He answered right away.
"May, I'm sorry that you didn't get my call earlier," Peter said. He should have tried to call more than once. He had just been so worried about what he was going to be told in Wakanda. He hadn't really believed that it would be good news.
"It's okay," May said. "I was just worried, but Happy explained everything."
"Everything?" Peter asked.
"Well, maybe, not everything, but he said that you had important Avengers business to do in Wakanda." Peter could hear her smiling on the other side. "And he said that it wasn't dangerous, which is good. I don't think you should be fighting any super villains anytime soon."
Peter nodded, but then remembered that he was on the phone. "I… I don't think I'll have to soon." But he had no way of knowing really.
"So the news? It was good?" May asked.
"It was great." Peter grinned. "It was amazing."
"I can't wait to hear about it eventually, but I know you can't tell me right now, sweetie. I'm just glad that Happy was telling the truth about it not being dangerous," May said.
May was great. Really Peter was lucky to have an aunt like her. They weren't even blood related, but she had still taken him in.
It was tempting to just tell her everything. It wasn't like May would tell anyone that Tony was alive. No, she would keep it a secret, just like she told no one that he was Spider-Man. But Peter knew that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone yet and so he kept quiet, even though it was hard.
"Yeah, it's not dangerous here at all." Peter paused. "You've been okay, right?" He still felt horrible for not calling her more even though she seemed to be fine.
"Yes!" May said. There was a male's voice in the background and Peter froze. May continued. "How did you like Eddie the other night?"
What was Peter supposed to say about that? He didn't know what he thought about the guy but he set off his spidey sense and put him on edge. But May liked him and that was what mattered most.
Peter could deal with someone if that was the case. She deserved to be happy.
"Yeah, he seems nice," Peter said, since it seemed like the right thing to say.
"That's wonderful," May said.
"May, are you talking to Peter?" Peter could heat Eddie say. The way he spat out Peter's name seemed distasteful to Peter but he was probably imagining it. "Come on. We need to go to the movie. If he doesn't call you when he's supposed to then he'll be fine with you leaving now."
Peter cringed and felt even worse. Maybe he wasn't the best nephew.
"Oh, Eddie, that wasn't Peter's fault," May said, probably covering part of the phone. She probably assumed he didn't hear any of this but of course he did.
He didn't make out the next things they said.
"Sweetie, I have to go but I'll see you in a couple days," May said just as cheerfully as before, "I larb you."
"I larb you too," Peter said, but hearing Eddie's voice put him on edge again. Why did it?
Peter hung up the phone and plugged it into his charger before throwing himself on the guest bed. He picked it up again and quickly shot a few texts to MJ and Ned. He wished that he could tell them what was going on, especially MJ. He didn't keep secrets from her now that she knew about Spider-Man, but he knew that he didn't have a choice.
Sleep overtook Peter soon.
At first his dreams were pleasant, but then they changed like they often did. He was back in Europe, trying to get to Fury. To tell him what he had done with EDITH so they could find a way to stop Beck. At first everything was exactly the same, not that it made it any better. Peter wanted it to be different. He wanted Fury to actually be there and to be able to stop Beck.
Or that Peter would actually be able to do something.
Then it changed.
They were by the train tracks again. Peter dug his nails into his skin in his dream. He knew what was going to happened even now. He would get hit by it. He would almost die.
Beck laughed. "You thought that everything was going to be different now, didn't you, Peter?"
This… this wasn't what had happened before. Peter could hear the train coming too. In real life, he hadn't been able to but now he couldn't. It would run him over. This time he would die.
"You really thought that Tony was alive. That you could go back to how things were before. Things will never be the same as they were before Thanos. The way they were before me."
Peter's stomach twisted. He had to say something. He had to do something.
But then he took a step back like he had done in real life. He didn't want this to happen. Not again. The only time he had felt this much pain was on… Titan.
He didn't want any of this to happen again.
It hit him. He couldn't breathe. There was nothing. Just…
Peter woke up gasping. A dream. It was just another horrible dream. He tugged at his hair, until pain shot through his skull. Then he realized something. His fingers were wet. Sticky.
He turned on the light. Blood. There was blood on his hands. He had been digging his fingers into his palm. Peter muttered a swear word. His palm looked bad. It would heal fast, but he had gotten blood on the pure white sheets. Just great. He didn't want Tony, Pepper, or anyone else asking him questions about what happened.
Happy knew that he had been hit by the train and everything that had happened, but Peter was hoping—no, almost praying—that he wouldn't tell Tony everything. That was the last thing he needed. Peter could handle this.
He went to bathroom attached to his room and soaked a wet cloth with hot water. Almost hot enough that the steam burned him. He used to get blood off clothes and his sheets before anyone knew about Spider-Man. Sometimes he would get hurt and had to keep it a secret.
So this wasn't anything new.
And it wasn't hard to get the blood out. As for his hand, it would heal fast. It already was starting to.
He sent MJ and Ned a few texts, but they apparently were asleep because they didn't answer. Well, Ned did once, but his text was short and random—even more so than usual—like it was when he was half asleep.
Maybe if they had still been awake he wouldn't have bothered trying to go back to sleep since it was now almost four thirty, but since they weren't up, he tried sleeping. He tossed and turned for what felt like hours.
Really it was only an hour.
Peter groaned and pushed the blankets away. What was the point? He wasn't going to sleep. And now that it was almost a reasonable hour he could just… say he woke up early now.
Not that anyone would be awake.
So he tiptoed out of his room with his phone in his hand in case MJ did wake up. Maybe he'd just go for a run. He'd take his phone in case Tony, Happy, or Pepper woke up and were worried.
The house was completely silent. It was strange. Peter was used to hearing his neighbors' voices through the walls at his apartment and of course the sound of the city. The honking of the cars and the chatter of the people at all hours.
Here he couldn't even hear the hum of the fridge. Once in the kitchen he could but it was quiet. Just a mumble. Peter scribbled a note for the adults in case they woke up and worried.
And to think some people had called him irresponsible.
As soon as he stepped out of the house, the quiet ended. Birds chirped in the background and insects made their loud insect noise like they did in Animal Crossing in summer. Even though it was early.
It was hot even now. Hotter than it even was in New York City in the middle of summer. Peter didn't run at first partially for that reason. He played on his phone, looking at some Vines. He couldn't help but smile at it.
Now it was time to actually run. He didn't get to even take a step forward when a door creaked quietly.
Peter spun around and sure enough it was Tony who was giving him a look. One that clearly showed that he was worried.
"So you're going for a run?" Tony asked.
Peter nodded. He wasn't sure he would ever get used to Tony being alive. After that dream, seeing him caused him to smile weakly. This was real.
"Yeah," Peter said. He actually couldn't help but grin. Tony was alive. "Just for awhile."
"I'll join you," Tony said.
"That…" He almost said it was good, but Tony was recovering and it was really hot outside.
"Okay, I know what you're thinking kid, but I'm fine. I'm not going to fall over and die. Don't get like my doctors. All paranoid."
"I…"
"I'm seriously all right. Contrary to popular belief I do know when I'm okay. Don't be like Pepper and everyone else."
Peter stared at him.
"I'm the adult. You're the kid. You don't get to worry about me."
"That doesn't even make sense," Peter said.
"It makes perfect sense," Tony said. "And like I said I'm better than fine and that's that. Good talk. I'm going running with you now."
"Fine," Peter said, caving because arguing with Tony was pointless. "But I was actually just going to walk. I hate running."
Tony gave him a look as if he was studying him to see if he was lying. "You run when you're Spidermanning."
"I don't really have a choice. It's worth it then."
Tony kept looking at him. Peter didn't wait for him to spit out a reply and walked away.
"Hey, don't walk away when the adult is talking," Tony said, hurrying over to him, but he smiled.
"You know I'll be an adult soon—"
"Not that soon. You still have a year left."
"But when that year is up you won't be able to say your whole adult is talking thing. You'll have to come up with something else."
"I could still say it, but I'll come up with something else. I'm very witty," Tony said. "So what have you been up to the last year? Are you still friends with Fred?"
"You know he's Ned and yeah." Ned's mind was going to be blown away when he found out that Tony was still alive. Not that Peter could tell him anytime soon.
"Flash still giving you shit?" Tony asked, raising his sunglasses. They looked similar to EDITH but obviously weren't the same ones. "Because you know I never got to make him regret drugging you."
Peter cringed. Couldn't Tony just forget about that?
"Now that I'm back—"
"No, no, no," Peter said because anything that Tony would want to do would be a disaster. "May and I don't want you to do anything."
"And he's still bothering you so obviously-"
"Nope," Peter said, popping the p. "No way."
He didn't even want to think about what Tony might do. Maybe show up to the school as Iron Man or something worse. Even Pepper couldn't stop him from doing something crazy when he had his mind set on it.
Tony sighed. "So what else is new with you? Did you finally ever ask MJ out?"
What? He had never told Tony what he thought about MJ. Yes, Tony had teased him about it, but Peter thought he only did that because MJ was one of his only friends and she happened to be a girl.
Maybe he had been right this one time, but he had started teasing him about it before he even liked MJ in that way.
Tony laughed. "Yeah, I know you had a thing for her. Probably still do. She sounds scary, but in a good way. Reminds me of Pepper a bit."
That was a weird thought, but MJ was pretty badass like Pepper. She didn't let anyone give her crap. That was one of the many things that Peter liked about her.
"MJ and I are together." Peter bit his lip, wondering what Tony was going to say about this.
His eyes widened and then he grinned. "That's awesome. Peter Parker has a girlfriend. Wow."
"Why do you sound so shocked?" Peter asked, trying to look offended, but he doubted he was doing a good job of it.
"Well, I didn't think a girl would want to hear about Star Wars all the time or… what was the other movie. Aliens? Also you can be awkward." Tony smiled probably to let Peter know that he was kidding, but really he was right. "But she's a lucky girl. You're a great person."
"I'm the one who's lucky." And that was true. "She knows about how I'm Spider-Man too. She figured it out on her own."
"Not surprised. You're not all that good at keeping secrets."
"Yes, I am. I kept being Spider-Man a secret from everyone until you found out."
"And I didn't even know you when I found out. It wasn't hard," Tony said. Peter still wasn't sure how he had found out. Yes, it was from watching Youtube videos, but Peter had seen all of those a million times, and he shouldn't have been able to figure it out.
But Tony was Tony Stark after all.
Peter just shrugged.
"I'll have to meet MJ soon."
"Maybe, if you don't tell her any embarrassing stories," Peter said, but of course, he would let him meet her. He had wished that Tony was able to for months now before he had started to date MJ.
"Can't promise you that, kiddo, but I won't tell the worst ones. I'm nice like that."
Nice like that? Peter doubted it. He was probably trying to come up with the worst possible stories he could tell MJ right now.
"So why'd you wake up so early?" Tony asked.
Peter just stared at him.
"I remember what it was like when you would stay at the Tower. You wouldn't wake up until noon," Tony continued as he took off his sunglasses and looked at Peter.
"I just like to wake up early now," Peter said, but he knew that he wasn't going to buy that. It didn't even sound convincing to Peter.
"Even when you have just traveled across the world and should be jet lagged?"
This wasn't good. Couldn't he go back to talking about MJ and how he was going to tell her horribly embarrassing stories about him?
"I… I don't know. Just woke up and couldn't sleep." Peter shrugged his shoulders. "No big deal."
"May told me once that you used to have nightmares after what happened with the Vulture," Tony said. Now that was something that Peter didn't know. May wasn't even supposed to know about his nightmares because he hadn't told her. He thought that he had done a good job of hiding it. Had he been muttering something in his sleep or something? "And if that is happening now after what happened with Beck?"
"You don't have to worry about me," Peter said. "I can take care of myself. And I wasn't having nightmares, not that nightmares are a big deal."
Tony stared at him. "Like I've said a lot, you can talk to me about this kind of stuff if you ever need to."
Maybe Peter should. Tony was a superhero like him. He had gone through a lot and might even get what it was like to still be in pain after all the horrible things that had happened, but no… no… he couldn't do that. He would have to tell Tony about how he was hit by a train then. How he had felt like he was going to die.
And that would hurt him. He didn't want Tony to feel like he had let Peter down when he obviously hadn't.
Also he would have to tell Tony about how he had given Beck EDITH. He couldn't do that. Tony would be ashamed of him, and hurt. He would never understand why Peter had done that. Peter hadn't felt worthy. He was just a kid. An orphan.
And Beck had tricked him.
Peter forced himself to smile. "Thanks, I'll remember that. I'm fine right now."
It was obvious that Tony didn't believe him, but at least he didn't push it further.
((AN: Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please comment. Comments make my days so much better.
Bunearybunny: Aww thank you. I hope you like the next chapter.
Cheshire-sama: I'm glad that you thought it was sweet. I wanted it to be :)
Moorsey23: Thank you! I'm glad you are enjoying it. Writing it has been a lot of fun!
kellentia: I'm a pretty fast writer so I'm hoping that I can continue to update it fairly often. I love reading stories when Tony kicks the butt of people who mess with Peter
UntamableWyldeRaptor: I think pretty much anyone would be traumatized after that. At least I would be. I felt so bad for Peter when watching Far From Home. I wanted to punch Beck in the face.))
