Hi friends. Happy New Year! I'm wishing you health and happiness in the year to come. Thank you for all the support! I can't say how much it means to me.

The motion of the sliding doors caught Peter's eye and he looked up in time to see Julia entering the lab. A toothy smile came over her face and with a small blush she waved when she saw him. He managed to smile back.

It was just over two months of the internship gone and their work was steadily progressing. Peter was never fond of the intricacies of group work and was especially hyper sensitive to the forming of them in this one. He didn't want to do anything that would cause the group to collapse or, more likely, implode.

Frank and Monica were the natural leaders of the group and, for the most part, got along with each other. There was this underlying tension between the two that had Peter carefully managing his interactions. When they first were assigned together it was difficult to move forward because they were both trying to prove themselves to the group and then to themselves.

They spent hours brainstorming their ideas. He thought it was a done deal and that they could begin researching immediately but unfortunately, they had other ideas. Both came in with huge presentations. Him and Julia were stuck in the middle of their debates for which direction they should go forward. It would have been funny if Peter wasn't so scared of their group falling behind and getting in trouble.

Peter couldn't bring himself to choose and saw the benefits of both choices. He remained firmly neutral and it was Julia, cheeks a deep red, that came up with a plan. It leaned more toward Monica's overall but combined aspects of Franks into it. Neither party was particularly happy but Julia quietly guided their group together.

Peter thought it was odd how it came to pass. He connected with her because they were both quiet. Both seemingly the followers, the enactors of their group. But it was through this circumstance Julia showed her true cards.

It wasn't unnatural but something Peter simply wasn't used to. He knew of leaders like Uncle Ben who vocalized their role and authority. People respected his uncle because of the honor he bestowed to his code and to the people around him. Ned was the same way. Peter watched as Ned spoke to the people at the lunch table the few times he went back. The others looked to Ned on what he thought. Midge and Brian were always arguing about something and when the point needed examining, they sought Ned to do it.

Julia was completely different. Instead of outright leading she guided their group through the members. The situation with Monica and Frank was the perfect example.

He saw her talking to Frank after the presentation battle. She handed him her notes and began asking him questions about why he chose aerobic digestion for their topic and what he still needed to research. Peter assumed they sat there after he left, engrossed in the benefits and negatives of each segment. Later in the week they met again and Frank presented a bunch of new ideas on how they could incorporate his idea into Monica's. Frank didn't say anything about the talk he had with Julia and the girl was equally as silent. Peter did see a small smile play across her face when Monica assented to the whole thing and their team began planning again.

There were also little things she did to smooth of the wrinkles. Small questions she asked or new material she would bring that would shed light on a constraint or help them broaden their research. Without all of her inputs, their project would be in a completely different place and she did it all without being the 'leader' of the group. Peter wasn't even sure if the two others knew what was happening.

Julia was also the one who he had the most interaction with. Frank worked on different hours than all of them. Although Peter technically worked with Monica the most, they rarely talked and never about anything else. It was Julia who he felt connected to, which was normally something Peter didn't feel so easily.

She slowly integrated herself in Peter's work time. On the always arrived at the Tower first because her school was farther away than Midtown. The first of which Peter was already knees deep in paper at his little table by the window. She told him afterwards she'd been trying to gain his attention for a while and on receiving no answer decided to give up. She sat down and began working herself.

Peter came out of his trance and realized the sky was dark. He stretched and looked down at the desk. There piled on top of the papers was a head of hair. His breath stole away as he realized she must have fallen asleep sometime during her work. Uncertainty coiled in his stomach. Should he wake her or let her rest? He checked the time and saw how late it was. He had to get home so wake her it was. Gently he lifted his hand up and, after hesitating, set it on her shoulder, giving one firm nudge before snatching his hand back. She didn't move and Peter repeated the action again but this time he whispered her name.

She groaned and lifted her head, revealing a line imprinted into the side of her face. A notebook lay innocently on the desk where her head had rested on. Peter broke out in a smile.

"Peter?" She asked, her voice foggy with the remnants of sleep.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if I should wake you but I didn't want to leave you here."

She yawned and started gathering the papers.

"It's alright. Thanks for waking me." Julia smiled and Peter stared as she went back to organizing. They didn't talk on the way out. Just wandered down the down the streets until they got to the subway. Her stop was after his but he rode next to her until her spot. It was quiet between them. Not uncomfortable or anything but easy, relaxing.

Hesitantly she began talking about her family after Peter forced himself to ask. They'd just introduced three new members into their family. A small baby named Alex and two fluffy cats. One was named BOGO, short for Buy One Get One, and the other was Free as they were having a sale on the cats at the pound.

The doors closed behind her and Peter continued sitting. Her small hand waved beyond the glass and then she was out of sight. After taking another subway back some stops he got to his exit.

He remembered eating dinner alone that night. May was at work and while his food cooled untouched he thought of the way she let him borrow the notes and her hand, eclipsed by the large jacket sleeves, waving from the platform.

From there on out it was little things like that. Julia would always come over and sit with him at the table. She started bringing in snacks and always had enough for both of them. Sometimes they would talk and other times not. It was little things that had Peter relaxing around her and soon he felt a burst of warmth when she sat across from him.

Today she came straight to their table and Peter began moving his papers to his half of the table.

"Hey, Peter. What's up?"

"I think I've got what we need." He bounced up on his seat and tucked his legs underneath.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I found out that Oscorp has a prototype of the equipment that would work great. Of course, it would need minor readjustments and actually we just could build it ourselves but we would have to see the prototype and then figure out from there. It might be too much time. And, uh, we'll just have to see." He laughed awkwardly and brought his hand up to the back of his neck. Julia sat with a smile crooked smile on her face.

"That sounds great, Peter. Can I see your notes and over the weekend I can email them to Frank and Monica? See what they think?"

The papers were sitting in front of her before she was done talking. She nodded and gathered them into their folder.

They worked into the early evening. The elevators chimed and Friday's voice carried over the sound system.

"Good Evening Peter and Julia. You are required in lab two." Julia raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you, Friday."

"What was that the Friday?" She whispered. He grinned bringing his eyes up in sympathy to Friday. On one of their many talks to lab two Peter discovered Friday was quite the celebrity around the Tower. Friday told him that some of the younger workers would try to get Friday to speak out loud. He laughed out loud when Friday relayed how one person would walk around empty rooms knocking on walls and whispering to the ceiling.

"I've been helping out on another project after this one. Will you - are you alright going home?"

Julia tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about me. Thank you again and I'll make sure everyone has that stuff."

"Thank you. Have a nice weekend. I'll see you next week?"

"Yeah. See you, Peter."

His fingers brushed against the seam if his pants and reminded himself to text her later that night to make sure she got home safe. He decided to take the stairs and Friday chatted with him on the way up.

"Boss has an update in the coming month so I will be offline for the day." She said.

Peter worried his lip.

"Will you be okay?"

"I will be fine, Peter. It is protocol, but thank you for the concern."

He frowned at the thought of Friday being… tampered with. The stairwell was chilly and he pulled the sleeves down around his hands.

"Peter." His head whipped around and he saw Mr. Stark walking toward him. Mr. Stark walked coolly down the hall, a spring in his step. Peter could image the people in the rooms he was passing by. They would all turn their heads, crowding around the windows just to catch a glimpse of the boss.

He set his hand on Peter's shoulder and Peter was proud when he didn't flinch back.

"Hey Mr. Stark. How's it, um, going?"

"Good, good." Mr. Stark looked down and Peter flushed at the searching gaze. "Shall we?"

He began heading into the lab when he realized Mr. Stark was walking back down the hallway. Peter scrambled to catch up and filed in line next to the man. On observation Peter was surprised to find his earlier thoughts were correct. As they walked down the hallway people were looking out of their offices. Some looked put out Peter was walking, now blocking their view of Mr. Stark and others quickly looked away when they were caught staring.

Peter wanted to ask where they were going and why they weren't going to the lab, but the people in the rooms lining the hallway kept distracting his question. He slid his eyes to the other side to observe Mr. Stark. The man was… unperturbed. There was nothing in his body language to give away he was feeling uncomfortable. He walked, well, it was like everyone in the world was watching him or no one was and he was free. Eyes forward, hands relaxed at his side, and the barest of sways with each stride. There was confidence there and acknowledgement of something, maybe power.

"Mr. Stark…is this normal?"

The man looked down at him for a moment and then looked to the side. This turned out to be the wrong thing to do because it sent some of the workers into a tizzy. A giggle bubbled out of his stomach and soon he was fully laughing at the image. Mr. Stark was cracking a smile at their antics.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Stark but did you see that guy? You gave him the side eye and he spit the coffee everywhere." His hands braced on his legs right above his knees as he took deep breaths.

He looked up to see the smile gone from his face. The man looked in deep thought and Peter's stomach clenched. Was this a taboo topic? Was he friends with the guy in the room?

"I shouldn't laugh. I'm sorry. I…"

Mr. Stark raised his hand and Peter fell silent. He shifted back and forth, and his hands began to sweat. The elevator chimed and they exited into a living space area. Well, a living room if you were mega-rich, which Peter knew Mr. Stark was.

There were fancy glass tables and bookshelves with only really large books in them. The whole far wall was a window and the skyline view was better than the one at his table.

"This is beautiful." He said wandering closer to the window. He could feel Mr. Stark following him and the two stood, staring out. "Wow, Mr. Stark. This view. I feel like I'm seeing the whole world."

Peter could feel eyes on him but he couldn't worry. For the moment the way the sun's rays were caught by the buildings and then distributed out over the city was all he could see. Fire rose in the normally grey cityscape and ignited the world like a painting. His breath caught at the sight. The gaze left him as Mr. Stark looked back out.

"It is." He said. The man sighed and poured himself a drink, fixing Peter a water. They sat down in the living room. Mr. Stark made sure their seats were facing the window. Peter sat on the edge of it. The crisp material was too new under him and he wanted to limit how much he touched.

"It's always like that and, to be honest, I haven't even noticed it recently. Not until we walked down that hallway." He sighed and ran his hand thought his hair. Peter wasn't sure Mr. Stark was actually talking to him. The man almost seemed like he forgot Peter was there. He could smell the alcohol from his spot and worried the inside of his check about it although he wasn't sure why.

"It was funny with the coffee, wasn't it?" He said and Peter nodded, clasping his hands tight. Mr. Stark finally looked up and saw Peter. He must have looked a hundred kinds of pathetic because the man got up. Peter couldn't see but he heard the sink running and then some tinkering.

Mr. Stark came back with a snack for them and another water.

"It's been a week." He said and Peter, feeling like a bobble head nodded again. "You know I haven't even noticed the view until just now too. But you're right, it's like we're looking at the whole world."

Mr. Stark stared out again and then clapped his hands, making Peter jolt back.

"Alright. I really wanted to check up and…"

The air was cool despite spring ending soon. The cool wicked against his overheated skin and Peter breathed out for what felt like the first time that day. He could honestly say he wasn't sure what just happened.

The plans were originally to work in the lab. The prototype was almost done and time before the school year was short, but they hadn't talked about the work at all.

Instead Mr. Stark was… weird. And then he wasn't.

At first there was such a poignant melancholy draped around him. It was unlike the Mr. Stark he'd worked with so far. The way he stared out that window. Peter couldn't tell if he was seeing it for the first time or saying goodbye. Then he snapped back to normal.

Peter was left unsure of their words or his responses.

They' talked about normal stuff. Well, what seemed normal. Mr. Stark asked about school and Peter hesitantly dived into English class. He wasn't sure with Mr. Stark being a science guy if he would be interested in literature and Peter had seen the state of those bookshelves. To his surprise the man easily conversed about the newest section of Pride and Prejudice they were reading. They discussed the importance of letters as a form of communication in the novel and Peter found himself debating whether Caroline was really coldhearted in the end. It was pleasant to get his mind off of everything. To talk about nothing for a while.

But his maudlin expression and the smell of alcohol stopped Peter in his tracks. Mr. Stark got rid of the alcohol. Peter was sure he saw the uncomfortable look on his face and without making a big deal, without saying anything, he got up and dumped it out. His heart clenched. Maybe he should have said something to make him feel better, if he was feeling ill at all.

His phone buzzed and Peter flipped it open. He smiled at the background. Before he left he took a photo of the skyline and sunset. It really was beautiful. A text came in and Mr. Stark's name appeared. He opened it and felt a warm feeling in his belly settle.

Peter, text me when you get home safe. Next time I'm not taking no for an answer to driving you home.

He shut the phone and leaned his head back. He wasn't certain why Mr. Stark was asking about him, but for the moment he didn't care. With a smile on his face he flipped the phone open once more to see his new background and to read the text one more time.

Thank you to everyone who is involved with this story. You all make it so much more special.

I just wanted to say that I will not abandon this story without warning. I am excited to continue writing for it! This is another filler-ish chapter but it is important for the rest of the story. Thank you again.

I love hearing what you guys have to say! Let me know what you think, please!