Peter was somewhat annoyed to find that he was, in fact, wiped out by the time he made it to his rooms. He could practically hear Stephen's easy drawl telling him that he was using a lot of energy to heal and his body needed to replenish its stamina, and that was annoying, too. The guy was always right.

"He's been around longer than you have," Alex reminded him. "And he's a doctor."

"Stop being reasonable," Peter said, as he sprawled on his bed, carefully tucking his hand against his stomach, and making sure Nutmeg was comfortably settled on a pillow. "I want to be grumpy about it."

He couldn't, though. Not after the morning that he'd had. Not after spending time with his mom and dad, and actually holding them, and being held by them. He wanted to tell Ned and MJ – or Shuri, but knew that he'd never be able to. Not only would it be crazy, but they'd never believe him – or maybe they would, and that would be crazy, too.

There was a silent response that was amused.

"Go to sleep, Peter."

He closed his eyes and did as he was told.

OOOOOOOO

He dreamed of the planets. A soothing, calm dream that was intended to keep him asleep. A lazy spinning opaque sphere interacting with other planets, all moving in the same orbits and paths that they had been spinning in for years. He was used to the dream, by then, recognizing it as coming from the mind stone.

As he slept, he remembered the events of the day. The memories were clear, and he could feel his mother's arms around him. Could feel Pepper's embrace, as well, and the love that he received both from his biological father and from Tony. The boy was bathed in that love in the dream. Was literally immersed in the warmth of their affection and the promise that it would always be there for him. Peter sighed, happily, even in his sleep. They were proud of him, and they loved him.

He didn't need any further assurance.

Another presence was there, though. Just as careful not to hurt him, and willing to allow him his rest, but there was an underlying concern, too. Peter recognized all of the stones, now. He knew how each felt when they were close to him. The mind stone, obviously, since it was really the most intimate with him, having the ability to be in his head like it was, and had been for so long, now.

The power stone, however, was definitely making itself felt. Even while he slept, he felt it. Not in pictures like the mind stone, but he felt the very power of the infinity stone on the edge of his awareness, as if it was reminding him not to forget about it. Which was fine, because Peter was well aware that he couldn't keep it in the polymorph any longer than necessary, but he was open to suggestions as to where to stash it, since the previous possessors were no longer able to muster enough population to defend it should someone come seeking to control it.

There was the oddest sensation of a multiple participation conversation going on, then. He felt the mind stone. Felt Vision, who was always connected to the mind stone, felt the power stone and even felt Alec. While Peter slept, the underlying conversation continued, and several places flashed through his thoughts – all but one were places that were alien and on planets that he'd never seen or heard of.

The other place was right there on earth. In a place that Peter was beginning to know well. He frowned.

"That would put three of the stones on one planet," he pointed out, talking to the mind stone, or the power stone – or maybe to Alec. "We can't risk that."

"Three would be a disaster," Alec agreed, keeping his voice light, and his tone even so as to keep his young friend asleep and in a position to be able to focus purely on the conversation and allowing the stones to have an active participation. "Except if they were on a world where they could be gathered, immediately, if needed – and by someone who could use them all to defend them from being abused, and the world they were hosted on from being destroyed by the one attempting to abuse them."

"Me."

"Of course, you. If someone decides that Thanos had the right of it, and somehow found out there were three infinity stones on Earth and came looking for them, you would know, immediately. The mind stone would know the thoughts of the person coming, just as it had Thanos', and would alert you. Either directly, or through its association with Vision – or his association with Wanda. Once you were aware of the danger, you could act. You wouldn't even need to gather the stones, really," the ancient sorcerer added. "With the talents of the people you're surrounded by, you could make a stand before it even became necessary. Or, if you were inclined, you could dig up the power stone and take care of the aggressor yourself. With a single thought."

Peter hesitated, despite the argument that Alec was making.

"I don't know. It isn't fair to them to put them in danger…"

"No people on your planet would be a better choice," Alec pointed out. "And they are incredibly protected. The power of the stone is too alluring to be close enough to you that you can simply go and wield it, so you can't allow it to stay with your own people."

"No. I know."

Besides, he didn't want it to stay where it was – any more than the stone wanted to be there.

"Well, think about it. There's no real hurry, and there's plenty to consider before you decide. It's a good fit, though."

There was agreement from the stones, and Peter sighed, rolling over in his sleep and jarring the hand that he'd been subconsciously protecting. He came awake in an instant, of course, with a muffled curse and a soft yelp of pain.

"Do you require medical assistance, Peter?" Karen asked, immediately.

"No." he groaned and sat up, careful not to disturb Nutmeg as he did. "No. I'm fine. I just hit my hand."

"Should I tell Tony?"

"No. It's okay. Really."

He couldn't have him rushing in for every little ache, now could he? Besides, he'd call Stephen back to look at it, again, and really there wasn't anything that he'd say that Peter didn't already know. It was hurting and he needed to be more careful. The boy lay back on the bed, once more, mulling over the dream that he'd had, and the conversation that had taken place.

Alec was silent in his head, and Peter knew that he would be, unless he addressed him, directly. The alien sorcerer had given him his options. Had offered up a suggestion for a fairly safe place for the power stone to go. Now he would allow Peter the chance to think about it. Peter closed his eyes, still feeling good, despite the ache, now. The dream had been that good, really, even with the conversation about the power stone.

He was still debating pros and cons when he fell asleep, again.