It's Saturday! The wait for this has been tough. I got spoiled being able to share the story with you all twice a week.

In case you missed it, I posted a one-shot prequel (kinda) of Morgan's view of the return and her first meeting with Peter. It's called Coming Home At Last, and it's the last of the prequels. From now on, bonus scenes and outtakes will be set in the existing timeline of the series. I plan to post lots more of these outtakes/scenes for the series, so it might be a good idea to add me to your alerts. The one I am hoping to have finished in time to post next Wednesday is the continuation of Morgan's birthday party from Who Am I? – I'm Spider-Man that some of you asked for.

Thank you so much Rjcarreno77 for pre-reading and Russetmoth2786 who has created a YouTube playlist for this story. The link can be found on my profile page.

I'm done rambling. I hope you enjoy the chapter xxx

Chapter Two

Peter dropped down onto the couch beside Bucky and ran a hand through his hair, destroying his carefully gelled style and releasing the curls.

"Rough morning, bud?" Bucky asked.

Peter grinned. "Kinda. I love hanging with Mo, I really do, but I'm kinda wiped."

"I'm starting to think she's got more energy than you, Queens," Steve said from Bucky's other side. "I didn't think that was possible."

Peter laughed. "Honestly, me either. I'll be fine, though. I just need a minute. And maybe a nap."

Bucky tousled Peter's hair and grinned as he made a face. He loved this easy contact he had with Peter now, the bond that was on both sides instead of just his as it had been when he guided a catatonic Peter through the days. He also enjoyed seeing him play with Tony's daughter.

Bucky hadn't spent much time with Morgan himself, apart from at meals when she charmed her parents into eating in the main kitchen with the rest of them. He liked her, though, thought she was sweet, and the obvious adoration she and Peter felt for each other was nice to observe.

"Where is your play buddy now?" Natasha asked, turning her eyes from the TV, which was playing a news channel.

"Home-schooling," Peter said. "Tony and Pepper aren't enrolling her in kindergarten until summer, but they want to get her prepared. It's good for her—she's got the brains of both her parents, so she needs to be challenged. She's not happy that I'm not doing it, too, though."

"What are you doing about school?" Steve asked, leaning around Bucky to look at Peter.

Peter shrugged. "I have no idea. The Returned for my class are home-schooling until summer but don't think I can just slip into that life with them. I had it all mapped out before—school, graduation, college, career—but everything is different now. I've got the Stones, which is a whole other responsibility. Besides, it's not like I'm going to run out of time to do it. The Stones say there's things we can do about aging, so I don't end up wrinkly and ancient if I don't want to—which I definitely don't. Can you imagine how gross I'd look in two-hundred years? Ugh. Maybe I'll take a while to settle into life with the Stones, a few years, and then go to school somewhere else. Or test into college. I've not decided anything."

An awkward silence fell over the room, and Bucky wondered if Steve and Natasha were also thinking about the idea of Peter being alive and alone in two centuries. They'd all be gone then, just memories and maybe headstones in a graveyard to visit. Would Peter make new friends, build a new family, or would he be alone without them?

Natasha turned her assessing eyes from Peter and turned up the volume of the news with the remote. It was playing the segment on Spider-Man's return that had been showing almost every hour all morning.

Peter looked up at the TV, and a small smile quirked his lips. "You know, I wanted this once. After the craziness in Germany, I wanted to be an Avenger more than anything. And yeah, I did think about seeing my face—or the mask, at least—on the news while they talked about the missions we'd gone on. Then Tony offered me a spot on the team, and I realized I didn't want it anymore. It felt more important to be on the ground in Queens, taking care of the little guy." He snorted. "Now, I've got the Stones, and I'm taking care of the universe."

"How do you feel about that?" Steve asked. "It's a lot of responsibility."

Peter shrugged. "You saw the BARF simulation—I knew what I was doing when I accepted and embraced the Stones. Before that, it was intimidating, scary, but now it feels like I can handle it. When I was traveling, seeing all those planets and people, I realized that the universe is full of little guys to take care of. Even with how I felt about it before, it's what I want to do now, and that's what matters."

Bucky stared at the kid sitting beside him, his solemn face and rainbow eyes, and marveled at his strength. Bucky couldn't imagine handling that kind of responsibility and power, yet Peter was embracing it.

He wondered if that was, in part, the Stones influencing him. They'd all seen what Power was capable of. He didn't like the idea of Peter being browbeaten into it, but he couldn't deny the pride he felt in the evidence of just how incredible a person Peter was.

"Hey, I've got a question," Peter said, apropos of nothing. "Do you think contact lenses would hide the crazy eyes?"

Natasha considered. "I think it's worth a try."

"Awesome," Peter said. "I passed the colors off as custom contacts a few times when I was traveling, but the person I want to see is not going to buy that if I tell her."

"Pete's got a girl!" Rhodey said gleefully, approaching them from behind and grinning. "And you didn't tell us because…?"

Color flushed Peter's cheeks, but his voice was steady as he replied. "She's a friend, that's all. I did like her, yeah, but that's obviously out now. It's not like I have a future with anyone, and I'd be hiding too much to even have a casual relationship with her for a little while. I just want to see her, is all."

Natasha nodded. "Then let's try contact lenses. I've got some in my room. What color were your eyes before?"

"Brown," Peter replied.

Steve frowned. "You have colored contact lenses in your room, Nat? Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a spy, Steve."

Bucky snorted. "Even I worked that out, Steve."

Natasha smirked and got up and slipped out of the room. Peter took out his phone and tapped the screen, the keys clicking as he composed a text.

Natasha came back, and she gestured Peter up and pointed to the door. "Go wash your hands first."

Peter nodded eagerly and darted out of the room. When he came back, he bounced to her side in front of the mirror. Natasha unscrewed the small case and said, "Put it on the tip of your finger, and use your other hand to pull up the eyelid."

Peter obeyed, and, with Natasha's guidance, slipped the lens in place. He blinked a few times and said, "I don't feel it the way I expected."

"You shouldn't," Natasha said. "Try the other."

Peter put the left lens in place and checked his reflection. "Whoa. That's weird. They're not quite the same color they were before, but it's close enough." He peered closer. "You can't see the colors still, can you?"

Natasha tilted his chin and examined him closely. "No. You just look a little bright-eyed, like you're excited about something."

"That works," Peter said. "I am excited."

"So, you're heading out to see her soon?" Bucky asked.

Peter's phone beeped with a message which he checked and said, "I'm going now. Well, I'm going to meet Ned, and we'll call MJ when I get there."

Natasha smiled. "A surprise?"

Peter shook his head jerkily. "No, no, no. MJ doesn't do surprises. I'll just find Ned and then see if she wants to join us."

"She doesn't like surprises?" Bucky asked.

Peter frowned. "MJ doesn't seem to like anyone or anything much, at least she doesn't show it. She's really passionate about causes and politics, but people… She's hard to read. I think she likes me; she talks to me sometimes, at least. Mostly she reads and sketches people in crisis. I give her a lot of material."

They all laughed, and Peter said. "When Tony appears, can you tell him I've got into the city for the afternoon? I'd go tell him, but if Morgan hears I'm taking off…"

"Tantrum?" Steve suggested.

Peter nodded. "Probably. Best not to find out."

He checked the mirror again, fixing his hair, which made Bucky smirk as Peter was taking more care with his appearance than usual. It made Bucky think this girl he was hoping to see really was more than a friend.

Peter gave them all a wave and then disappeared.

There was a stunned silence that Steve broke. "I guess that's the teleporting Tony was talking about."

"Do you ever get used to that stuff?" Natasha asked. "Him flying and the eyes and the whole sentient Infinity Stones thing?"

"And the raising from the dead," Bucky said. "Don't forget about that."

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him.

"No," Steve said. "You really don't. But it's Queens, so you just find yourself accepting it as part of him. Besides, after everything that's happened since the second snap, what's going on now is the easy stuff. We're happy, he's happy, you and Vision are back, and he's got a handle on everything else. This, life, is good."

Bucky smiled, "Yeah, it is."

He turned his attention back to the news, watching the old footage of Peter catching a speeding SUV before it hit a bus, and then looked around as Tony came into the room, face thunderous.

"Uh, what's going on, Tone?" Rhodey asked.

"Fury just passed security at the gate," he said. "He wants to see Peter and the rest of us. I guess the CNN and Twitter thing stirred him up."

"Well, he's going to have to wait for Pete because he just left to go into the city to see his friends," Rhodey said. "And we're not calling him back for Fury. Kid needs time with people his own age."

Tony frowned. "True, but that means we're dealing with Fury alone until he gets back."

Steve smirked. "Well, he's welcome to come sit down and watch TV with us, but we can't possibly talk about Queens without him actually here to join in."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "When did you get so sneaky, Cap?"

Steve shrugged. "About the same time Queens saved the universe. Fury wasn't on that battlefield, he had no active part in what came after until Peter recruited him to deal with Ross, so we don't owe him anything." He crossed his arms over his chest. "And if he's sticking around, I think we should have a Harry Potter marathon. Queens says the movies aren't as good as the books, but they're not bad. Besides, it might get Wanda and Vision out of their room to spend some time with us."

Tony smiled wickedly. "Sounds good. I'll go meet Fury, and you can get the movies lined up." He strode from the room, and Steve grabbed the remote from Natasha.

Bucky settled in his seat, anticipating the enjoyment of a thwarted Fury that was coming, and then hid his grin behind a hand as Tony strolled back, tailed by Fury whose shrewd eye was darting around. He came to a stop and said, "Where's Spider-Man? I need to talk to you all together."

"He just left," Steve said innocently. "But he shouldn't be gone too long. You're welcome to stay and wait with us. We're about to watch a movie."

Fury scowled but took a seat on the lone armchair and said, "He won't be long?"

"Not long at all," Rhodey lied smoothly. "And you'll enjoy the movies. You like Harry Potter, right?"

Fury's lips pressed into a thin line, and Bucky turned a laugh into a cough. Steve started the movie, and Bucky relaxed in his seat, preparing for an enjoyable afternoon with friends and a defeated spy boss.

The moment Ned's front door opened, there was a cry of happiness, and then Peter was enveloped in Mrs. Leeds' ample embrace.

"Peter!" she gushed. "Oh, it's so good to see you. Ned missed you so much. We all missed you. How are you?" She released him and held him at arms' length. "We're all so sorry about May. I can't imagine what you must have gone through coming back to find she was gone. But you're with a good family now, yes? They take care of you?"

"Geez, Mom, let him breathe," Ned said behind her.

Peter shot him a grateful look, then said, "Thank you, Mrs. Leeds. The people I'm with take really good care of me." No one could possibly do more for him than his new family had.

She patted his cheek and smiled fondly. "That's great. You deserve a good home. Mr. Leeds and I did discuss you coming to stay here, but Ned said you are happy where you are."

Peter felt heat fill his cheeks at the show of kindness. He'd not known Ned's parents had discussed taking him in. If the situation was different—if there were no Stones—he might have wanted it. He could have gone back to school with Ned, patrolled as Spider-Man still. But things weren't different. He had the Stones and felt like he needed to be with his Avengers family.

"Thank you," he said, his voice filled with the gratitude he felt. "I am okay now, though."

She smiled. "Good. What are you and Ned going to do with your afternoon?"

"We're meeting MJ at Delmar's and then going to the park," Ned said.

Peter raised an eyebrow. "You've already spoken to MJ?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I didn't tell her you were coming, which is probably why I had to turn on the full charm to get her to come, but she agreed eventually."

"Ned! MJ hates surprises!" Peter said, face stricken. "She's not going to be happy when I show up, too."

"Dude, she's not seen you in months—or years, I guess. She's going to be so happy to see you. She'll flip."

"Flip is the word!" Peter said.

"I think Peter's right, Neddie," his mom said. "I don't think a surprise is a good idea."

Ned waved an airy hand. "It'll be great. I'm invested now. Don't take this away from me."

Peter groaned. He knew he wasn't going to win this fight, not even with Mrs. Leeds on his side. Ned got something locked in his head and became immovable. Peter was going to have to deal with MJ's anger. He hoped she didn't punch him.

Ned beamed. "We've got to go anyway, or we're going to be late."

"Definitely don't want that," Peter muttered.

Mrs. Leeds kissed Ned's cheek, leaving him to wipe away the lipstick she left behind, hugged Peter, then they were out the door and on their way.

They wandered along the streets of Queens, and Peter resisted the urge to look around again as he had the night before on patrol. Ned was chattering away about everything and nothing, and he wanted to give him his attention. Only when they passed Peter and May's old apartment block did he look up at the window of what had been his bedroom and feel a small twist in his stomach.

Tony had said he'd kept the apartment, so Peter could go there anytime, pick up his stuff, but he didn't feel ready for that yet. The place was steeped in memories of May and Ben, and the last time he'd been there, on the Soul Plane, it had been with them. Being there alone would be hard.

They turned the corner, and Peter spotted MJ standing outside Delmar's on the opposite end of the block. She was leaning against the wall with her nose in a paperback book. Peter felt a thrill of nerves. Unless he was very wrong, he was about to be torn off a strip for disappearing. He'd ghosted on Ned, too, but Ned was way more forgiving than MJ.

Ned hurried the pace, clearly unaware he was leading Peter to the gallows, and called MJ's name when they were close.

She looked up, and her eyes widened when they fell on Peter. He raised his hand in a half-hearted wave and smiled. She tucked the book in her bag and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yep," Peter said quietly. "I'm dead."

They reached her, and Ned, oblivious to the mood of the situation, said, "Look who I found! Peter stopped by!"

"I can see that," MJ said darkly. "But it's weird. It looks like Peter Parker, but I thought he was dead, or spirited off the planet, or maybe he was the one person who didn't come back. I can't think of any other reason for it to have been months since we all came back and I'd not heard from him."

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, MJ, I'm sorry. I should have called you, but things were so crazy for so long. I can't really explain it all, which isn't fair, I know, but it wasn't that I didn't care."

The truth was things were so crazy at first that Peter hadn't called anyone. And then when he'd connected with Ned, he'd planned to call MJ next, but then the whole thing with Ross had happened. It wasn't like things were less crazy after that.

He'd messed up, though.

"You should have called," she said. "But I'm sure you have a really good excuse. You were part of that epic battle Captain America talked about on the news, so there were probably all kinds of trauma after."

Peter's mouth dropped open. "Battle? Captain America? Me? Why would you think that?"

She smirked. "Well, Spider-Man had to be there, and you're Spider-Man. That's what the whole Stark internship was about, right? And Tony Stark would not ignore a soldier he could use to stack the odds in his favor just because he's only sixteen. There's just no way."

"Tony didn't choose to have me there!" Peter said angrily.

Ned buried his face in his hands. "Dude, secret identity."

Peter's face fell. "Damn. Okay. Yeah, you're right. I'm Spider-Man. How did you know?"

"You suck at keeping secrets. Ned isn't nearly as stealth as he thinks when you're talking about it. Every time you disappear unexpectedly, Spider-Man shows up. You're a terrible liar. And really, what else would you be doing with Tony Stark?"

"They do science and engineering, too," Ned said. "Peter helps him work on his suits, and Mr. Stark built Peter's suit with all these safeguards in place to protect him. I'm sure he didn't want him at that fight."

MJ smirked. "Sure, he didn't. So, were you seriously hurt?"

"Only a little," Peter lied. "And Tony didn't want me fighting. It was out of his hands. A wizard took me there, and the whole battle was crazy, so we needed every fighter we could get."

MJ frowned. "I'll take that with a pinch of hero-worshiping Parker salt. Either way, you should have called."

"I should," Peter agreed. "I'm sorry. And I know you probably don't need to hear this, but Spider-Man has to be a secret. You can't tell anyone."

"Since you were a part of a battle that saved the world, I'll not punch you for being dumb enough to think I'd tell anyone. I'll just say thank you on behalf of the world and buy you lunch."

"You don't need to do that," Peter said. "I've got money. I can buy you lunch."

"I don't need your money, Parker," she said. "I have my own."

Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked into Delmar's with her head held high.

Peter groaned. "That was awful."

Ned shrugged. "I think you got off lightly. I don't think it would have gone any better if she'd known you were coming, except maybe she'd have more time to prepare insults. Besides, she knows about Spider-Man now, so that's one less secret for you to keep. And she's not going to tell anyone; she doesn't speak to anyone apart from us."

"That's true," Peter said, feeling slightly appeased.

Maybe it was good that she knew about Spider-Man. It wasn't a bad thing, at least. As long as she didn't find out about the Stones, and there was no reason she would as long as Ned kept quiet, it would all be okay.

He and Ned went into the deli and were greeted with an excited, "Dios mío! Peter Parker!"

Peter rushed to the counter and shook Mr. Delmar's extended hand. He'd obviously not been one of the snapped as his hair and beard were almost fully grey now, and there were new lines on his face. He looked pleased to see Peter, though, and Peter felt the same. Mr. Delmar had been a staple of his life with May and Ben, and it was great to see him again.

"Look who else is here," Mr. Delmar said, pointing to the end of the counter where a fat cat was curled up in a ball.

Peter gaped. "Murph? No way! How old is he now?"

"He's seventeen," Mr. Delmar said proudly. "And I swear he missed you. He perked up whenever someone ordered extra pickles, and then was sulky the rest of the day when it wasn't you."

"Aww, Murph," Peter said, striding towards the cat and rubbing his fluffy head. "I missed you too, buddy."

Murph opened his eyes and lifted his face to Peter. Peter was no judge of emotion in cats, but he thought he saw a little happy kitty smile as Murph leaned into his hand and began to purr.

"So, a number five with extra pickles, or has five years away changed your tastes?" Mr. Delmar asked.

"Definitely not," Peter said. "A number five would be perfect, and can you smush it down real flat?"

"Of course," Mr. Delmar said. "And what can I get you two?"

MJ and Ned placed their orders, and Peter tickled Murph's chin as he raised his head, and his purrs increased.

Even though he was sure MJ was going to need more than an afternoon to get past her anger at him, Peter was happy. He was with his friends, he was about to have the best sandwich in Queens, and he was able to see Mr. Delmar and Murph again.

Even though this wasn't where he lived anymore, Queens would always be his real home.

So… A little more fluff. Did you enjoy it? Fury is there now, of course, so we have a little plot on the way.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx