When I wake up the next morning, it's to a pleasant weight on my back. And my head. And one of my arms.

I'm laying on my stomach, and Morgan has somehow managed to move in her sleep so she is now laying face down on my back, with her head over my right shoulder, and one of her arms wrapped around my head, hand tangled in my hair. Her other arm around my right, and she has her left leg along my side, with her foot tucked under my own left hip. Her right leg is curled up underneath her, and digging into the middle of my back. Her hair is spread out in a tangled mess all around her head, some of it falling into my eyes.

It's hard, but I manage to get out from under her without waking her up. May's already in the kitchen, drinking coffee when I get there.

"Hey, Aunt May." I yawn. I only woke up from nightmares once last night, as opposed to my usual two or three, so I should feel better rested, but trying to sleep with a toddler can be exhausting. It's worth it, in my opinion. This is a good exhaustion, certainly preferable to the terror I sometimes feel when I wake up alone.

"Hey, Baby. Sleep well?" I nod. "Alright. Good. Then, can we talk real quick before she wakes up? We need to talk about what happened yesterday, on your trip especially. Is that okay?" I od again, this time digging through the fridge for some juice. "Peter." Her voice is sharp. "I need an actual answer. Can we talk? I saw the news, and I know what it looked like, but you have to know that it… It wasn't him, Pete. I'm sure Pepper or Happy just summoned a suit to help out. And just cause the lady had red hair, and the man had a shield like Captain America, doesn't mean that it was actually them, right? The three of them are gone. I know you and Tony were close. Trust me, I do. Morgan used to tell me stories about her 'Big Brother Peter' when I babysat her before the Awakening. Mr. Stark wouldn't have told her about you like that if you two didn't have something special. But Baby. We gotta talk about this."

I understand where she's coming from. Really, I do. I was in her shoes less than 24 hours before. So I don't speak to her. I finish pouring my glass, put the juice back in the fridge, then grab my phone from the counter. "Karen, pull up Baby Monitor footage of our conversation with Nick Fury yesterday." Handing my phone to May, I sit at the table, drinking my orange juice, but otherwise focusing on a single spot on the wall. I can distantly hear the video in the background, can recognize Mr. Stark's voice, and it sends a pang through me.

What if they don't stay, what if Pepper wants nothing to do with him, since he isn't really hers? What if Aunt May doesn't want me to see him because he technically doesn't belong here? So many thoughts run through my head, all playing the worst-case scenarios, many of which either end up with one of us dead (again), or being banned from communication, either by Fury, Aunt May, or Pepper. I doubt she would do such a thing, but grief and love make people do crazy things.

Soon enough, May finishes watching the footage, and I can hear Morgan beginning to stir in my room. We exchange glances as I get up to get her.

When we walk back into the kitchen three minutes later, Morgan on my back like a little monkey, May has her head in her hands, almost as if she is praying. She doesn't say anything, and neither do I as I pour two bowls of cereal for me and Morgan.

Throughout the meal, she is silent, still trying to process. I steal my phone back and shoot Pepper a text.

Peter: Is there a plan?

Less than a minute later, I get a response.

Pepper: Come to the apartment at noon, bring May and Morgan. We'll discuss more then, and try to introduce the kids.

I smile slightly. Even just based on that message, I know that they are staying. Otherwise, why would they even bother introducing them? Why would they let Morgan see Mr. Stark?

(A/N: This is where I left off back in June. I'm a fool and just watched Endgame again, so… let's see what happens, I guess?)

The hours pass rather slowly. Don't get me wrong, I love this girl, but I don't understand how her parents can keep up with her. Mr. Stark used to complain about me having too much energy, and I can barely keep up with her. Plus, that was five years ago now - he's had plenty of time to age.

By the time eleven-thirty hits, we've played 3D hide n seek, we've colored, we've raced each other to see who can go up seven flights of stairs faster, and I've somehow managed to get black marker on my face and neck. I'm tying her shoes for her when she asks where we're going.

I feel my face go pale. I'm not sure what to tell her. Should I say we found her dad? Should I just say it's time to take her home? I go with the easier answer. "We gotta go see someone, Morgie. Is that okay with you? I can't tell you who yet, cause it's a surprise!" I try to sound upbeat for her, but I'm terrified that they'll change their mind, that our visitors will decide to move on. That he'll decide to move on. That he'll decide that it's not worth staying if it means he needs to have an extra kid, that I'm not worth -

My inner panic is cut off by May. "Are you ready to go, sunshine?" I start. Is she talking to me? She never calls me that?

I nearly respond, but thankfully, Morgan says something first. "Alllllll ready! Petey! Where's your shoes? We can't leave without your shoes!"

I blush. Bright red. "I'm getting them! I had to help you with your shoes first, you silly goose!" Thankfully, my back is towards them so they can't see my tomato of a face.

We are out the door and on the road quickly. Before the Decimation, we didn't have a car. We would've just taken the subway or a cab, maybe even walked, depending on how far it was. But in the five years that I was gone, it had apparently gotten a lot easier to get a car. And drive, as the roads were not nearly as clogged. Sure, some areas had been converted into massive car gravesites and others, just plain old dump sites, but life still had to go on, right? People still had to get places. So May had gotten a car. So now, we drive places. I'm still trying to come to terms with that, even though it's already been a few months.

Before I know it, before I have time to even begin to prepare myself for what lies ahead of us, we are at Pepper and Morgan's apartment. I still have trouble calling it the Sta- by their last name.

Morgan is already unbuckled, out of the car, and racing up the front steps of the building with May chasing her. Even though she says it under her breath, I can easily hear Aunt May still talking to me. "Peter, I don't know exactly what happened in Italy. And I don't know how difficult it was for you to see him, knowing that it wasn't the man you loved. But I need- no, we need you here. Pepper, and me, and Morgan. We need to face this together. So I need you to get out of the car, and meet us at the elevator so we can all go up together. Okay, baby?"

I brace myself and get out of the car. Time to face my new reality.

The elevator ride is not nearly long enough, and the walk to the door is entirely too short. When we reach the door, May knocks. Almost immediately, the door is pulled open by Michael. In the background, we can hear Mr. Stark telling him to stop, to wait for an adult, but he doesn't listen.

Morgan, on the other hand, does. "DADDY! YOU'RE HOME!" I try to hold onto her, but I'm still shaken from hearing him again, so she slips through my fingers and throws herself at the man she thinks is her father.