Red rimmed Aunt May's eyes, and Peter felt like the worst fucking human being in the world. "I'm so sorry," he apologized again, even though words were nowhere near enough. "I lost track of time."

"For five days?" Aunt May shrieked. She grabbed another tissue, dabbing her eyes, blowing her nose, and adding it to the pile. "Peter, I had the police file a missing persons report. You didn't think once, in that entire time, 'I wonder if Aunt May is worried about me?'"

"I'm sorry."

He'd already contacted MJ and his boss, not sure who was angrier. After taking some convincing that he really was okay and hadn't been kidnapped, MJ had giving him a tongue lashing like no other. His boss had very coldly informed him that a formal letter had been placed in his file and further reprimands would wait until after the HR hearing.

As scared as he had been to face his boss and his loved ones, he was absolutely terrified of facing Gladys once more. He could see her stern face now, her bun pulled tightly back from her face, her scowl leveling him over her glasses…literal hellfire surrounding her.

"Don't worry about a thing," Tony had said as Peter left his bedroom. "I'll always take care of you."

But as he had to squeeze past Pepper to exit the room, she had grabbed his upper arm and said solemnly, "You know he can't actually promise that."

Aunt May insisted he stay the night, pleading with him that she was too worried he'd disappear again. He hugged his knees to his chest as he listened to her call the police station and let them know he'd be found, spiders crawling in his stomach.

But nothing compared to how he felt listening to her cry after she'd gone to bed, thinking Peter couldn't hear her talk to Ben. His uncle had been missing for nearly two weeks before his body finally turned up, a victim of a burglary gone wrong. He hated himself for putting his aunt through that again.

But he really had lost track of time.

And the feel of his cock in Tony's ass…even with the pain he'd put his aunt through, he wasn't totally convinced he wouldn't do it all again.

Peter had been right in suspecting Gladys would be framed by actual hellfire. She even wore a red suit, bringing to mind the devil herself coming to bring an end to Peter's life.

He'd been summoned to HR at eight the following morning, his heart leaping at the sight of Tony in spite of everything. Pepper, lawyers, HR employees, members of the labor union, representatives of the Stark Industries board, and his boss rounded out the committee hearing.

"We are here today…again…to discuss the ethical discretions of Anthony Edward Stark and Peter Benjamin Parker. Employees at Stark Industries have brought forth complaints that Peter Benjamin Parker is receiving special privileges due to his sexual nature with CEO Anthony Edward Stark. Mr. Bridges, do you have anything to add?"

Tom Bridges, Peter's direct supervisor, had always seemed relaxed and jovial. Now he brought to mind an unholy terror ready to bring an end to Peter's career. "On the date in question, Thursday, June 12th, at or around 2:00 in the afternoon, employees observed Mr. Parker leaving work without permission. He told one coworker that he was going to see Mr. Stark. Mr. Parker then did not report for work on Friday or Monday, at which point Ms. Potts determined Mr. Parker had spent that time in the personal residence of Mr. Stark where they engaged in sexual activities."

"Mr. Ledford, you've indicated that you would like to speak at this time."

A representative of the labor union introduced himself and spoke. "Thank you, Gladys. An employee has come forward to describe seeing Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker engage in a sexual rendezvous during a work trip to Batavia, Illinois. While the employee did not directly witness the act, she went to retrieve her belongings at the pool and…heard the actions of Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker."

Shuri.

Peter blushed deeply and tried to hold back the tears prickling the corners of his eyes. Part of him felt betrayed, yet he knew she was right to complain. If he had heard someone having sex with their boss on a work trip, he would have done the same thing.

The representative continued, "At the time, the employee did not come forward with allegations, for it appeared Mr. Stark and Mr. Parker had gone their separate ways after the incident. However, earlier this month, they seemed to have a rekindling. Then, as was already mentioned, the employee observed Mr. Parker leaving the office without permission, allegedly to have sexual relations with his boss.

"Is there anything else anyone would like to add before we give Mr. Parker or Mr. Stark a chance to speak on their own behalf?"

Peter shrank further and further in his chair as the members around the table took turns speaking out against the moral and ethical wrongdoings of Peter and Tony. It was one thing to get your cock sucked in what you thought was private; it was quite another to have a table full of elderly gentlemen take turns airing your dirty laundry in front of God and everyone.

Finally, Peter and Tony were given a chance to defend themselves.

Almost too embarrassed to speak, Peter squeaked as he requested that he get a chance to talk to his lawyer before saying anything.

All eyes turned to Tony Stark.

Tony was wearing his DITA sunglasses. He removed them casually, like he was at a party or the beach, and addressed the room. "The way I see it, these allegations can be broken into two separate arguments, neither of which Peter can be faulted for.

"First, we have the allegations of the events in Batavia, Illinois. Testimony itself has lent to this anonymous employee not having directly observed anything. Therefore, this incident can be thrown out. No evidence; no case

"Second, we do direct evidence leading to Peter leaving work without permission. I am at fault here. I should have immediately contacted his supervisor to let him know where he was and that we were working. I think in the grand scheme of things you will find what we created grossly outweighs any indiscretions. I intended to address this at a press conference, but I suppose it's not too soon to go into the details.

"Peter and I have built a working prototype of the arc reactor. Yes, we used the workshop at my home. However, my personal workshop is much better equipped than the labs at the office. Again, I should have notified Peter's supervisor where we were and what we were working on. But come on. We fucking solved the world's clean energy problem almost overnight."

Gladys adjusted her glasses. "I'm not sure what you mean by 'arc reactor,' but perhaps we should—"

Tom Bridges bolted out of his chair in excitement. "You're not fucking serious, are you?" he exclaimed. "A genuine, working arc reactor prototype? Mr. Stark, this is world changing!"

Gladys gave him a stern look, and he slowly sank back into his chair. "We will reconvene to discuss Peter leaving for work-related purposes after we have had time to investigate, yet there will still be a reprimand in his file for not having reported where he was going. And Mr. Stark, you really should have had more foresight than to bring Mr. Parker, of whom sexual allegations have already been brought forth, into your personal home.

"But Mr. Stark, you seem to have glossed over the greatest allegation, and that is that Ms. Potts did indeed catch you in a compromisingly sexual position when she found Mr. Parker in your home. You've been instructed repeatedly to avoid any and all sexual activities or interactions with Mr. Parker, yet you flagrantly and repeatedly ignored that directive. There is no getting around the fact that you, Mr. Stark, although not a direct supervisor, are indeed Mr. Parker's boss and therefore can be accused of giving unfair advantages to Mr. Parker due to the sexual nature of your relationship."

"That's easy,'' said Tony, still with an air of complete nonchalance. "I'm not Peter's boss. In fact I'm not anyone's boss—at least not anyone in here. You must have missed the memo that I stepped down as CEO of Stark Industries and promoted Pepper Potts to the position. I am still head of research and design, but that has no direct oversight to Peter."

"You what?" shrieked Pepper.

"You didn't know?" said Tony. "Don't you read your emails?"

"Tony, you fucking asshole! That's not something you should tell people over email! That needs to be a direct conversation. We need to have a press conference to release this news." She took her phone out of her purse and began furiously typing.

"When did that change take place?" asked Gladys.

"Right after the last time I was here in HR," clarified Tony. "Remember when I left to take that phone call? I was having my lawyers draft the paperwork."

"Tony, you fucking asshole," hissed Pepper, slapping him in the forearm without looking up from her phone.

Peter felt like he was about to faint. He was only hanging on to every other word, his head swimming dangerously. It seemed like Tony had once again talked his way out of another precarious situation, yet Peter was too overwhelmed to follow his every word.

Tony returned his sunglasses, yet Peter could still feel his piercing brown eyes cut through his core. All the others around the table had erupted into an uproar, trying to speak over one another. Tony leaned forward so only Peter could hear. "I told you I'd take care of my baby boy. You can always trust your daddy."

Peter was shaking as he was escorted from the office by Happy. He still wasn't totally convinced it hadn't all been a dream. He'd had sex with his boss during work hours on company property. He should be unemployed at the very least, yet it seemed like Tony had once again saved his ass.

"What just happened?" Peter mumbled.

"Not a clue," replied Happy, even though Peter's question had been rhetorical.

He opened the back door to the black, sleek SUV, and Peter climbed inside, still too dumbfounded by earlier events to question what was happening. He expected Happy to drive him to his apartment or to Aunt May's and couldn't quite comprehend when they pulled into the parking garage for an upscale suit store on 35th St.

Peter's eyes widened at the pictures of the high class celebrities wearing custom suits on the walls. "Happy, I can't afford this," he hissed. "What are we even doing here?"

The owner had stepped from his office and was leading Peter to an area where he could take measurements. Meanwhile, Happy ignored Peter's continued protests, speaking directly to the owner. "Bill this to Mr. Stark's personal account. Something midrange because we'll need it finished today. Mr. Stark intends for Peter to wear his suit to an engagement this evening."

"Of course. I can have him try on from our in-stock collection and make alterations. Does Mr. Stark have a color in mind?"

"Tony will be wearing medium gray with a black shirt, I believe."

"Then navy with an almond shirt should do nicely. Though tell Mr. Stark he'd do better with a light blue shirt with the gray. Will Mr. Parker be purchasing accessories as well?"

"Yes. And shoes."

After taking his measurements, the owner left Happy and Peter in a side room while he worked on the alterations. "Happy, what's all this about?" Peter demanded.

"You know how Tony never does things by halves?"

Peter snorted. "That's an understatement."

"Well, this is Tony's way of taking you out to dinner tonight."

Peter nearly tripped over his own jaw when Happy pulled up to Eleven Madison Park. "Tony's meeting me here?" he squeaked.

Before Happy could answer, Peter was escorted inside and to a secluded table where Tony was already waiting for him. Tony stood while Peter's chair was pulled out for him, and for a moment the room rocked as his head spun. Peter practically collapsed into the chair before grabbing his glass of water and steadily drinking the whole thing.

"Are you alright, Peter?"

"No, I'm not alright!" he choked, trying not to shout in the crowded, upscale restaurant. "We sat through that whole meeting, and I still don't know if I've been fired or not. Do you know if I'm reporting to work tomorrow? Because I have no idea!"

Plates were set in front of them, and Peter's head whirled once more. They were beautiful, is pretty much all he could say about them; he didn't think he could even name a single ingredient on any of the plates.

Tony arranged the dishes as he spoke. "Yes, you're reporting to work tomorrow. Of course you still have your job. Leaving work early and missing a few days will be brushed aside as adhering to one of my whims and eccentricities. Disappearing for five days is not even a long time for me, though I should have thought to ask JARVIS to contact your boss. That's on me."

Peter gazed at the bite of food held out to him at the end of Tony's fork. "What…is that? I mean, is it chicken or beef…?"

"Venison."

"And that's a…bird?"

"Deer."

"Oh." Images of Bambi flashed through his mind, even though he hadn't seen that movie in at least fifteen years. "I don't know if I can eat that."

"He was a very mean deer, I promise. He beat up all the other deer at deer school. Quite the bully. Now open up."

Peter wondered if it were possible to orgasm from just a bite of food, and he had to physically restrain himself from moaning.

"Good?"

"That could be the best fucking thing I've ever eaten in my life. What else is there?"

"Try the halibut."

"And that's a…farm animal?"

"Fish."

Tony watched Peter sample from the other dishes, a warm smile across his face. The suit he'd had purchased for him fit him flawlessly, and he made a mental note to ensure Happy had tipped exorbitantly. Cocktails were ordered, and he watched Peter's eyes light up at the blend of vermouth, gin, and lemon meeting on his tongue.

Before he could lose his nerve, Tony steeled his expression into one of nonchalance, burying his tension down deep, and said, "I was thinking we could call this our official first date."

Peter carefully placed his silverware on the table, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and peered intently at Tony. "Did you really step down as CEO of Stark Industries?"

"Yes."

"It wasn't…" Peter averted his gaze and suddenly wasn't sure what to do with his hands. "You didn't step down because of me, did you…?"

"Yes."

"Oh." The tears that were threatening to spill earlier in the day were back, and Peter wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "Tony, I can't live with myself if I'm the reason you—"

Tony reached across the table and took Peter's hands in his, doing his best to avoid the dishes and glasses with his elbows. "First of all, I would do anything for you. I've told you that. Second, you weren't the entire reason. This move has been a long time coming. My lawyer has been drafting the paperwork and working on the logistics for almost five years now. I just needed a final push to start the official process. Besides, you've met Pepper. She was born to fill that role. And I… I just want to work with my hands."

Peter looked shyly between his lashes, and Tony felt his heart race. "You're very good with your hands."

"So you accept my proposal of this being our first date?"

Peter took a sip of his cocktail and smiled mischievously around the rim of the glass. "I hope your change in job doesn't come with a pay cut because if this is a date, I don't know if I can pay for my half. This place is absurdly expensive."

"I wanted the absolute best for my baby boy."

"Don't…make me pop a boner in this place. I don't know how well this suit can hide an erection."

Dessert was served, and at the first bite of sour cherry, Peter wondered if he'd be testing his suit pants after all.