Ian looked up at the One Direction posters, down at the floor, and outside at the cloudy sky. Anything was better than acknowledging the disembodied hand with it's index finger pointed up at the roof. Appearing at Thor's Hammer was bad enough. Strange had some nerve showing up at Ian's home where Hannah could walk it at any moment. Ian wouldn't reward that kind of behavior. Strange needed to learn that like it or not, Spider-Man was gone and showing up uninvited wouldn't bring him back.

After five more minutes of pointing, the hand inched forward and poked Ian on the nose. "Go away," Ian hissed. "I'm not interested in whatever you have to say."

The hand poked Ian harder. Strange wasn't taking no for an answer.

"I said no!" Ian said, forgetting that he wasn't alone in the apartment. "Go away and don't come back!"

The hand flipped Ian the bird and disappeared.

Ian took a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves. Why couldn't the Avengers just leave him alone? He was just a teenager when he agreed to join him. The idea of fighting alongside his heroes thrilled him. He didn't know that putting on that suit came with a terrible price. Teenagers were supposed to worry about crushed and grades, not psychotic aliens and bloody thirsty weapons dealers. Ian wouldn't allow himself to get sucked back into that world. Tony Stark had and now his daughter would grow up without her father.

The smell of apple walnut pancakes filled the air and lifted Ian's spirits. The sweet aroma conjured up memories of movie marathons and Hannah's warm body curled against his. Between work and endless home improvement projects, lazy weekends had fallen by the wayside. It was far past time for a break. They could take a trip to Michigan or visit Hannah's brother in Iowa.

Still dressed in yesterday's clothing, Ian slipped out of bed hoping that nothing weird was waiting for him. He tiptoed into the kitchen and was dismayed to find Sam standing by the stove.

"Take a seat." Sam said without turning around. "Pancakes will be ready in a few minutes."

Ian collapsed into a chair and laid his head down on the table. The thought of breakfast with a dead man made his head spin. What would happen next, lunch with the easter bunny? Dinner with Santa? Sam pushed a plate of pancakes into Ian's arm with a lot more force than necessary.

"Better eat now," Sam suggested. "There won't be any left when Hannah gets out of the shower."

Ian glared at the perfectly round pancakes.

"How did you get Hannah to give you the recipe?" he asked with a scowl. "I've been asking for the last two years, but she won't give it to me."

Sam wandered into the living room and stopped by the mantle. He picked up a framed picture of Ian and Hannah on their first anniversary. "I'll tell you that if you tell me something in return."

Ian swallowed hard. The look on Sam's face was far from friendly.

"How long have you and Hannah been dating?" Sam asked as he stared at Hannah's smiling face.

"Almost two years." Ian whispered. The lights went out leaving the small apartment pitch black. Ian sighed in relief when the generator turned on a few seconds later.

Sam, unbothered by the power outage, nodded and set the picture down. "Hannah didn't give me the recipe. It came from my father he is...was a fabulous cook." He took a deep breath and sat down next to Ian before continuing. "It's a secret family recipe. I gave it to Hannah on our wedding night." Sam smiled and suppressed a laugh. "Hannah said getting that recipe was the second best thing about that night. Almost as good as the...well...you know."

Ian's cheeks reddened. How many times had he eaten those pancakes completely unaware of their origin story?

Hannah entered the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her shoulders. "Do I smell pancakes?"

"Yep." Sam said, his tone light and happy. "Fresh out of the pan."

Ian didn't have the energy to protest when Hannah stole his plate. She took a bite and moaned.

"Perfection." She tipped an imaginary hat. "My compliments to the chef."

Sam leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Only the best for my beautiful wife."

"We should talk about the whole wife thing later." Hannah winced. "A few things have happened legally since you've been gone."

"What do you mean?" Sam said with a panicked look in his eyes. "We are still married, right?" He stared at Hannah's bare ring finger. There wasn't even a tan line anymore.

"We'll talk about that later." She patted his hand. "We'll all feel better once we've had something to eat."

"But!" Sam protested.

"I promise that I'll get you caught up after breakfast." Hannah said sharply.

"Why not now?" Sam pointed his fork at Ian. "Did the two of you get married?"

Hannah glanced over at Ian who was slowly inching his chair away from Sam's.

"We are dating, but we aren't engaged or married." She placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "We'll figure things out, I promise."

The lights flickered and went out. They sat in silence, wondering how they could untangle such a colossal mess without someone getting hurt.

Three knocks at the front door provided a much needed distraction. Ian opened the door and found Stan Lee, their elderly neighbor, holding hands with a white haired woman.

"The generator seems to be out again." he said. "We'd like to watch the morning news." He grinned at the woman and squeezed her hand. "It's been far too long."

Ian wasn't sure what was more unnerving, Stan's smile or seeing him at the front door. Who was this blissful imposter? Certainly not Stan, the cranky old man who took no interest in the world outside his apartment.

"I see that Sam has returned as well." Stan said. "That must be awkward."

"You could say that ." Ian sighed. "I'll take a look at the generator."

"Thank you." he lowered his voice to a whisper. "This city needs a hero, Peter. You can do much more than fix one lousy generator."

Ian climbed onto the roof with his head spinning. Tony Stark and his infinite resources had all but erased Peter Parker. As far as Hannah, his friends, and Thor's Hammer knew he'd always been Ian Storm. Stan didn't have internet access and hadn't left Illinois in close to a decade. How could he have possibly figured out Ian's real name?

Figuring that he must have slipped up at some point, Ian went to work on the generator. He opened the side panel and found a tangled mess of melted wires. Ian cursed under his breath. He could fix it, but he'd have to make a supply run to Thor's Hammer. The streets were a mess, but Ian didn't have a choice. Mrs. Caba in unit 34 needed refrigeration for her insulin. The Carver family in Unit 45 had just brought home a new baby and needed to keep him warm. Ian didn't like it, but knew what he had to do.

The hair on the back of Ian's neck rose. Something or someone was lurking in the shadows.

"Is that you, Strange?" Ian called. "I told you to go-"

He was cut off mid-sentence when something slammed into his back.