A/N: Phew! I thought this would be short, but it is the longest chapter yet! I want to give a special thanks to Phoenixhp5 for inspiring me to add the opening scene with Tony and Pepper!

The characters still don't belong to me.

Chapter 9: A Familiar Routine

Tony and Pepper stood outside of the compound and watched as May and Peter drove away. This weekend certainly had not gone according to plan, but Tony personally felt like it was really much better than he planned.

"It looks like you're going to get to do right by the kid after all," Pepper commented, referring back to the conversation they had the night before.

Tony gave her a smile before putting his arm around her shoulder and guiding her back inside. "Yeah, their plan couldn't have been better. It was as if I came up with it or something."

They made their way to elevator, and Tony thought back to his conversation with Pepper the previous evening:

"Tony, this isn't helping us get our planning done," Pepper complained. Tony would have felt bad if it weren't for the amused smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes.

He had met her upstairs right around 4 o'clock like he promised; however, Tony was spending most of their time talking about his day with Peter.

"Seriously, hon! Pete was great today. I couldn't believe how quickly he got to work in the lab. You would've thought he'd been working in there and using the equipment for weeks!" Tony praised.

They had been talking about Peter Parker over dinner, and they had finished their meal a short time ago. Some people from the kitchen were clearing the last dishes from the table. Pepper took advantage of the empty table space next to her and placed her elbow on the table, leaned her head in her hand, and watched Tony pace as he spoke. She knew she would have to let him get this out of his system if she was ever going to get a chance to talk to him about the wedding.

Suddenly, Tony stopped pacing and looked at Pepper with a dumbfounded expression. "Oh God, Pepper. How did this happen?!"

She raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders slightly, but her head never left her hand as she spoke, "How did what happen, Tony?"

"How did we get here? How did that kid manage to…I don't know…" He looked to Pepper for help in finishing that thought, but she stayed quiet, "…how is it that I LIKE him so much?" He threw his hands in the air as he spoke the last words.

Pepper removed her head from her hand and stood up. She walked over to Tony and put her arms around his neck. She gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before looking him square in the eye, "You've lowered some of your walls over the years, Tony. You're letting people in…that's a good thing." She raised her left hand and wiggled her ring finger. "There's nothing wrong with letting people get close."

He gently pulled her hands away and took a step back, shaking his head slightly. "I've let you close, and that is and has proved to be a good thing," he said before adding, "but not everyone wants to stay close once they get to know me. Either that or they turn out to be a major disappointment."

Tony didn't have to elaborate on that with Pepper. She knew he was talking about the Avengers that turned their back on him with the signing of the Accords. But even more, he was referring to the disappointment that was the fall out with Steve Rogers.

"It's not easy opening up your heart to people," Pepper agreed. "Sometimes we get hurt." She reached forward and lifted his chin so that he was looking at her again. "But sometimes…at the best of times, we find love."

Tony gave her a look at the use of the word "love," but she continued before he could protest.

"You know what I mean, Tony. There are different kinds of love; even friendship and brotherhood are a form of love. You can't find that if you don't at least try to let people get close, and I'm happy to say that you are…" she thought a second, "…putting your self out there, so to speak."

Tony nodded his head before smiling again. "You know what I think it is?" he said, raising a pointer finger in the air and shaking it as if to make a point. "If I were to design the perfect mini-me, I think he would look a lot like Peter…or act like him at least." He now waved his hand in front him, "I won't say he's smarter than me…"

Pepper suppressed the urge to laugh, but Tony noticed it none the less.

"…but he does impress me," he went on. "Sure, I had to show him some things, but he naturally has all the tools he needs, both as Peter Parker and Spider-Man. With the right guidance and support, Pete can be unstoppable." He gave a laugh and added, "With that heart of his, he can be an unstoppable force for good."

Pepper smiled and decided to sit down again. She knew he wasn't finished.

"I guess that's why I saw him as an asset to the team." He frowned now and took a seat of his own not far from Pepper. "I saw that footage of some guy in a onesie stopping a moving car with his bare hands, and I knew I had to meet him. I just never expected to find a kid, especially one with a good head on his shoulders. It seemed like the perfect solution. It was like he would easily see that I was right, and Cap was wrong. I'd simply have him help me bring the traitor in and leave him with new gear for his troubles. It should have been so easy, right?" He looked up and saw the truth in Pepper's eyes. Of course things were never that easy.

Tony sighed, "I should've been more careful when taking him to Germany. I'm a tech guy, Pep! I should've cut the security cameras that would capture us all on the tarmac at that airport. I read the Accords; I should've known Ross would want the new guy to be accountable!"

Pepper leaned forward and asked, "Just how does Ross figure that he broke the Accords? He wasn't an Avenger."

"That's not how Ross sees it." Tony scrubbed his hands over his face before adding, "The Accords are clear. No enhanced individuals are authorized to cross international boundaries at any time they wish. Since I had Ross' permission to go after Rogers and Barnes, I stupidly believed I could bring anyone else with me." Tony shook his head at his own foolishness, "Plus that business with the plane…the Accords indicate that any enhanced individual that is deemed a threat to the general public may be detained indefinitely without trial! Ross thinks Spider-Man put people in danger by stopping the plane the way that he did!"

Pepper nodded her head in understanding, and she couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought of poor Peter being locked away indefinitely.

"God, he was only trying to impress me," Tony admitted. "And I had rewarded him by taking away the one piece of equipment that could keep him safe as he tried."

"Tony…" Pepper soothed, "You can't expect to be perfect. Ask any parent or guardian and you'll learn that kids don't come with an instruction manual, especially super-human ones. It's hard to know what the right call is going to be, and hindsight is always 20/20."

"I need to make this right, Pepper," Tony said with determination. "One way or another, I will find a way to do right by that kid."

FRIDAYs voice suddenly filled the room, "Excuse me, sir. Mrs. Parker and Peter are requesting a meeting with you in the morning. Ms. Potts has your schedule free after 10:00 A.M. Would brunch be agreeable?"

Pepper gave him a sheepish smile, "I had a feeling we might not make progress tonight, so I left us some time in the morning as well," Pepper explained.

Tony smiled at her before answering his AI. "Yes. You can go ahead and confirm the brunch FRIDAY."

"Very good, sir," FRIDAY replied.

"Tony, that reminds me," Pepper began. "I know you want to make things right and be there for Peter, but we will need to respect May's wishes. She is Peter's legal guardian. We need to hear her out in the morning. If you want a chance with the kid, you are going to need to earn a little trust from May."

"Of course!" Tony smiled and gave a cocky grin, "I'll be on her good side in no time!"

Shaking his head at the memory, Tony set off to finish his weekend with Pepper. He briefly found himself wondering if she would be willing to discuss plans for Peter's next visit, but he decided to keep his mouth shut. He owed Pepper some time free of any talk about Spider-Man.

Back in Queens, Peter was anxious to get back into his routine. On Monday, Peter filled Ned in on every detail of his visit upstate. Ned listened with a great deal of fascination and asked Peter not to leave out anything interesting about the Avenger's facility and all of its amenities. Peter had his phone back, but May held firm about keeping his suit under lock and key. If Peter was honest, he had no idea where she even had it hidden away. He did, however, use his phone to send messages and updates to Tony.

After school, Peter found a private place to fill in Ned on some of the scarier details relating to Ross. He begged his friend to be even more careful with his identity. To his credit, Ned looked genuinely concerned and swore to Peter to be more careful in the future.

As time moved forward, Peter was surprised at how easy it was to focus on school during the day and answering May's questions at home. Being grounded wasn't so bad. He thought for sure that he would miss his patrol time, but it didn't seem to be as important as helping May adjust. What May did not know was that Peter kept his old web-shooters and mask in his backpack (in case of emergency, of course). Thankfully, he hadn't needed them.

Peter was becoming so accustomed to this new routine that he didn't even notice that the two weeks were over until May came into his room with the red and blue suit.

"It's been exactly two weeks since I stood in this doorway and saw you in this thing," May said while holding the equipment out in front of her for Peter.

Peter carefully took the suit from her hands but remained quiet.

"I have to admit, Peter," May continued, "You've taken your punishment in stride, and you've kept to your end of the deal. I appreciate that more than you know, and that is why I need to stick to my end of the bargain." She took a deep breath, "Here is where our agreement with Tony truly begins. Tomorrow, you go to school as usual. When the day is over, you may return to the streets with your webs and the suit. However, you are to focus only on things that will help you to improve your abilities."

Peter nodded his head in agreement, "I understand, Aunt May."

"Peter, you cannot take any unnecessary chances. You heard what Tony said…Ross is looking for signs of Spider-Man," She reminded him.

"I know, May." Peter looked thoughtful for a moment. "I learned a lot the past two weeks, too. I was thinking about it. I think I took so many of the risks I did because I wanted to get Tony's attention and impress him."

May offered a sympathetic and understanding smile. "He really wants a father-figure in his life," she thought. "If only it didn't have to be Tony Stark!"

"I promise to stick to the small stuff. Honestly, I am mostly interested in practicing what Tony mentioned about becoming more instinctual with my web-shooters so that I can also be aware of what my enhanced senses are picking up. I think that's going to be the most important thing."

May nodded, "It's settled then. Just promise you won't be home too late tomorrow, ok? I know tomorrow if Friday, but it would help me to know you won't gone too long."

"I'll be home by 10:00," Peter tried.

"You'll be home by 8:00," May corrected.

"How about 9:00?" Peter asked hopefully.

May closed her eyes and took a breath, "ok…but that means that you are home at 9:00 P.M. sharp and not one minute later!"

"It's a deal!" Peter agreed. He put the suit down and stepped forward to give his aunt a hug. "Love you, May!"

"I love you, too!" She whispered back.

The next morning, Peter had his suit in his backpack, and he was excited about the day ahead.

He was heading out the door when May called to him, "Please be careful! 9:00 o'clock, Peter!"

"You got it, May!" Peter called back.

Peter grabbed a breakfast burrito on his way to school (his second breakfast of the day). Upon arrival, he motioned Ned to join him by his locker. After looking around carefully, Peter showed him the inside of his bag.

"Dude!" Ned said, "You got it back?"

"It's been two weeks," Peter smiled.

"Are you going out today?" Ned asked.

Peter wagged his eyebrows at him, "What do you think?" he asked. Seeing his friends excited smile, he added, "I just need to be home by 9:00. I'll probably try to get there sooner, though. I don't want to give May a heart attack with my first day back out there."

"Badass…" Ned mused, "So what will you do?" He lowered his voice and added, "Will you go looking for more of those weapons?"

"No," Peter answered. "I need to lay low, remember? I'm mostly going to be taking care of small stuff, staying below the radar, and doing some training exercises with my webs."

Ned was looking at Peter with wide-eyed fascination, before asking, "Can I come?"

Peter rolled his eyes and laughed, "Dude! How would you come? You plan on trying to web-along behind me with my old web-shooters or something?" he joked (keeping his voice low).

"Can I do that?" Ned asked.

"What? No, Ned! You'd kill yourself. It's much more dangerous than it looks, and I'm uniquely equipped to maneuver around the way that I do," Peter reminded him, referring to his enhanced abilities.

"Ok, ok! I guess I knew that was a long shot." They walked a little further before Ned asked, "What if I just walked along with you and waited to see you change into the suit?"

"Ew, Ned! We talked about this. It's creepy to have someone see me change. Ideally, that is done without an audience!" Peter replied.

Ned thought for a moment, "I don't mean that I would, like, watch you. I could just stand guard somewhere as you got into the suit! I can warn you if anyone is coming…give you a signal!" He spoke quickly and with a great deal of excitement.

Peter was about to turn him down, but then thought better of it. "Maybe you're on to something, Ned."

His friend smiled.

"I've lost my backpack too many times, and it is always a risk changing. It's not like I can change at home all the time because that's too risky. People would connect me to May." Peter concentrated, "Maybe you can help me scope out good places to change and stand guard like you suggested. Then you can grab my bag and keep it safe. I'll have my phone, so I can contact you when I'm done. We could set a meeting place, and you can bring my bag back to me," Peter suggested. "Is that ok, or is that asking too much?"

Ned looked ridiculously excited. "Are you kidding? That's amazing! I would be like your assistant; the guy in the chair that doesn't need the chair!"

Peter smiled at his friend. He couldn't help but think that Tony would be proud of this plan. Surely it would help him to minimize the possibility of getting caught taking his mask off.

"It's settled then. We'll discuss some spots over lunch, and then go out together after school."

"It will be an honor, Spider-Man," Ned slapped a hand to his mouth before whispering an apology.

Peter just shook his head. They were the last ones in the hallway, so they were safe. Wait…empty hallway? Peter took a hold of Ned's arm and quickly pulled him into their next class just as the bell rang.

It was after school, and Ned and Peter were already standing by an empty alleyway together.

"Ok," Peter said, "What do you say if you see someone else walking towards the alley?"

Ned answered, "I'll be all loud and like…HEY MAN THAT'S MY CHURRO!"

Peter nodded, "Good, yeah…" he started into the alley, only for Ned to pull him back.

"Wait, could you like come out and give me a shout-out or something?" Ned asked. "Maybe I could record it on my phone, and you could be all like 'Hey Ned! Good to see you! Cool Shirt!' or something?"

"What? Come on, man," Peter rolled his eyes. "That is a bad idea. It's best if we don't draw too much attention. No recording! I'm laying low, remember? Plus, it may be better if I'm not obviously connected to you right now."

"Fine…" Ned agreed with some disappointment.

"Look," Peter said. "No phone and I'll give you a salute or something as I take off down the street."

"Awesome!" Ned said eagerly.

"Great," Peter said impatiently (he really was ready to get back into his suit now). "Please don't forget my bag. I'll text you a location when I'm done."

Ned smiled and nodded as Peter entered the dark alley, then he made his way to the corner to keep an eye out for anyone. Ned wasn't waiting long before he heard a "Pfffft" sound over his head and a "woohoo" from his friend. True to his word, Peter gave him a salute with one hand while shooting out a web with the other. Ned stared with his mouth agape and watched as Peter disappeared around a corner down the street.

"I still can't believe my best friend is Spider-Man," Ned thought to himself. He continued to look in the direction in which Peter took off for a minute before turning to recover Peter's personal items from the alley. It was a little awkward carrying two bags, but Ned was happy to help. He made his way home to wait for further instructions. "Guy with the bag!" Ned mused as he began to head home.

Already blocks away, Peter was elated to be swinging around on his webs again. Making his way around the buildings and skyscrapers felt like pure freedom! Peter probably spent over an hour just having fun with his webs and getting comfortable with some of the web combinations and settings. He stopped on a rooftop to catch his breath and look around a little. He decided to do some flips and practice some wall-crawling and balancing exercises. After a while, he jumped down to the street by a food truck selling pulled-pork tacos. The vendor looked surprised to see him, but shrugged it off and asked for his order. Peter was about to pay for his food when the man told him it was on the house. Apparently, Spider-Man had helped his nephew get his bike back. Peter thanked the man, but couldn't leave him with nothing and decided to put a big tip in his jar. With his taco in one hand, Peter used the other hand to shoot a web and pull himself back up.

Not too far away, Peter found an empty fire escape. He pulled his mask up far enough to eat his meal. It was delicious, and it was exactly what he needed before starting his next task. Pulling his mask back on all the way, Peter took off with his webs once again. This time, Peter tried focusing less on where the webs were going or using fancy maneuvers. He decided to really try focusing on his enhanced hearing. As he moved around, he tried to isolate and identify different sounds. Before long, he was able to distinguish between sirens and alarms, car horns and door bells, friendly banter and arguments. Next, he tried to listen for very specific things. Not long into this exercise, he started listening for voices that sounded distressed. He heard what sounded like a little boy crying for his mom and stopped to look around. He was sticking to the side of a building when he spotted him. From his perch, he saw the kid crying on one side of the road and his mother frantically looking for him on the other. He didn't know how they were separated, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to help out on this one.

Peter shot a web and swung down to the street beside the boy. "Hey, buddy!" he said as he landed.

The boy looked startled for a moment before saying, "You're the Spider-Man!" Peter didn't miss the look of admiration in the child's eyes.

"Yes, I am. What's your name?" Peter asked.

"Miguel," the boy answered, then sniffed, "I can't find my mom."

"Don't worry, pal. I could see her just across the street ahead of us. I'll help you." Peter held of his hand and the young boy took it with complete trust.

They took a step before Miguel asked, "We're walking?" he said confused. "Can you swing me to my mom?" he added hopefully.

Peter looked around. There were a lot of cars, and there were a number of people pushing their way along the sidewalk. Peter momentarily wondered how more people didn't stop to pay them any attention, but he supposed the people of New York were becoming desensitized to seeing something as strange as a guy in red and blue spandex.

"I guess that would be quicker," Peter agreed. "Ok…" He bent down towards Miguel (who was smiling ear to ear), "put your arms around my neck and hold on tight."

The boy did as he was told, and Peter shot a web up when he was sure that Miguel was secure. Peter kept one arm around him as he used the other to hold onto the webbing and swing to the other side of the road. They landed not too far from his mom, and she turned the moment she heard something plop down on the sidewalk.

"Mommy!" Miguel yelled as he let go of Peter and took off running to her side.

"Oh, Miguel!" She cried. "I told you to be more careful about walking away from me."

"I'm sorry. I thought you were with me in the group of people that crossed the street," Miguel put his head down, and Peter noticed that he was embarrassed to be scolded with his hero nearby.

"Spider-Man helped me find you, Mommy!" Miguel squealed with delight.

His mother looked up and gave Peter a grateful smile, "Thank you, sir. I couldn't see where he went!"

"No worries, mam," Peter said giving her a small salute.

He didn't wait to hear if she said anything else. He shot another web and was back up and moving along in no time. Peter felt happy that he was able to help someone, and he decided to try listening again. Helping people with those things seemed perfectly harmless, and Peter was eager to see if anyone else might need his assistance. After going a few more blocks, Peter felt a chill go down his spine as he heard a familiar voice in distress.

"No! Please! You can't take that!" She screamed.

"Oh No!" Peter realized. "It's MJ!" Again, Peter stopped by sticking to the side of building and looking around.

He spotted her another block away, trying desperately to hold onto her purse as a man was trying to roughly pull it away. Worried for her safety, Peter took off quickly in her direction.

"Hey, Man!" Peter yelled as he landed near the two. "That bag does not go with your outfit! Hands off!" He shot a web onto his forehead with one hand, and he used the other hand to shoot a web onto his chest. The guy instinctively reached towards the webbing on his head, letting go of MJ's bag. She took a step back, clutching it close to her side and watched Spider-Man pull the man away with a yank at the web attached to his chest.

"Aghh!" the purse-snatcher yelled as he was yanked forward by Peter.

When he was closer to him, Peter said, "Dude! Man-purses are so uncool!" He pushed the man over to a nearby wall and shot two more webs quickly securing each hand to the wall behind him.

"Hey!" the guy yelled, "Let me outta here…mmmph!" Peter shot another web over his mouth to shut him up.

He moved over to his friend and quickly pulled her over to an empty side street and away from the bad-guy. "Are you ok?" he asked worriedly.

"Thanks, Peter!" she breathed with a sigh of relief. "I was just at the ATM getting grocery money for my parents. Things are tight right now, and there was no way we can afford to lose this money!" A funny look crossed her face and she looked up towards Spider-Man.

"It's no problem, I'm glad I could hel…help." Peter's voice trailed off as he softly finished that sentence. "Did she just say Peter, or did I imagine that part?"

He looked to her face to find her studying him, as if trying to look beyond the mask.

The eyes of his mask had gone wide as he stared back at her. "Ahem…uhh…what? Erm…Did you say something, miss? I thought I heard you say a name or something. Was it Patrick?" He tried using the same accent from DC, but it sounded more like a strange combination of a British and Brooklyn accent.

MJ raised an eyebrow at him and put a hand on her hip. She looked around carefully before she spoke again. "Do you think I'm stupid, Parker?"

He didn't answer. This was dangerous. He quickly snatched her around the waist and shot a web up the side of the building next to them. MJ only gave a slight squeal of surprise as Peter lifted them off the ground. Peter took them up to the roof and looked around carefully.

"You should call the police and tell them that Spider-Man stopped and secured a purse snatcher at the corner of…umm…" he looked over the side, "75th Avenue and 169th Street."

She nodded and took out her phone. While she was one the phone, Peter paced back and forth. He was trying to think of what to do next.

MJ ended the call and said, "The police are on the way. I told them that I was just a witness."

Peter could already hear the sirens. "We should get farther away," he said, snatching her once again.

"Wait!" was all she got out before Peter was moving them over to another spot, putting some distance between them and the police.

Once safely on another roof, MJ caught her breath and scolded him. "Stop that! I'm not a huge fan of heights. Why do think I really stayed on the ground in DC?"

Peter didn't answer, and he chose to instead to interact with his AI, "KAREN scan the area for cameras. Let me know if any of them have a view of this roof."

MJ cocked her head but chose to wait patiently for an explanation. However, she didn't look at all amused.

"You're all clear, Peter." KAREN replied.

Peter turned back to MJ. He took a few steps in her direction and slowly removed his mask.

Despite using his name, MJ somehow still looked surprised to see his face. She quickly pushed away her surprise and tried to look at him as if unfazed. "Well, I've had my suspicions for a long time now, but it's weird to see them confirmed." She looked him up and down. "Not bad, Peter." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What? Seriously? What do you mean you were suspicious? How long have you…" He didn't finish his question. Instead he threw up his hands, deciding she understood what he was asking.

"Come on, Peter. I'm very observant, remember?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly, I can't believe anyone else missed this!"

Peter still looked confused, so she continued.

"What was it? Like, a year ago when you were tripping over your feet and wearing those huge glasses? You could hardly manage in gym glass, and you were always fighting a cold or something!"

Peter looked uncomfortable.

"You might have been invisible to everyone else, but I notice everyone. I saw you then…a struggling kid, flash's favorite target. Then we had that field trip and you started looking all pale and acting weird. No one else noticed, but I did! You were sick the next day, but when you came back…"

Peter remembered that day. He had changed drastically, but the kids at school seemed to brush it off as Parker finally "blooming" or reaching puberty or something. Apparently, MJ was never fooled. Even Ned had shrugged it off then.

MJ continued and started listing her evidence and observations faster, pacing as she talked, "You came back looking healthier than ever before. No glasses, tighter shirt, no pimples, steady on your feet! It was crazy! Then…everything happened with your uncle, so I left it alone. You started disappearing, which I tossed aside as grief. But then this guy starts popping up around town and stopping petty crimes. He popped up when you were MIA. The pattern only increased. Then, I see "Spider-Man" alongside the Avengers in Germany at the same time when you started your Stark Internship! It should be obvious, right? I can't believe everyone else is so stupid! Don't even get me started on DC or Homecoming!" She stopped pacing and turned to look at Peter.

His mouth was hanging open. She was right. It should've been obvious. Yet, no one would expect the nerdy kid to be a superhero. No one except the very observant Michelle Jones. "Oh my God, I hope Ross doesn't put that together." Peter pushed that aside as unlikely since that man wasn't a student at Midtown Tech.

"Ned knows, right?" She asked knowingly. "I'm surprised no one else has noticed your hushed conversations. I mean, what is it with our generation? You're lucky the other kids are so obsessed with their phones; it keeps them from observing the world around them. I fight that, though. I prefer to keep an eye the real world as opposed to the virtual one on my phone." She pointed towards Peter. "Clearly my powers of observation paid off." She gave him a hard look. "Why am I the only one talking?"

Peter rubbed his gloved hands over his face before finally speaking, "MJ…this is…I mean…I'm supposed to be more careful. I thought I was! This is very dangerous! I am supposed to be keeping a low profile right now!"

She looked pointedly at his suit but didn't speak.

Peter noticed, "This is for training purposes. I promised Mr. Stark I wouldn't get involved in anything too big and attract attention. A purse snatching wouldn't normally be a big deal, and it was you! I couldn't just keep going and ignore it!" He blew out a breath. "You CANNOT tell anyone. It's hard enough for Ned, but he knows to be especially careful right now!"

"Slow down, Peter!" MJ stopped him. She stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, "I never said a word once to you before. I don't intend to make a big deal of it now." She quickly removed her hand and stepped back, looking at him, "I'm really not the type to make a big deal of anything…in case you haven't noticed."

He gave a small laugh without any real humor, "I noticed."

She continued, looking at him with her eyes squinted, "Out of curiosity, what's the big deal all of a sudden? Ned practically gave you away before Homecoming. I mean…come on… 'Peter knows Spider-Man'" she mimicked Ned's voice from that day in gym class.

"I'm in trouble, MJ," he admitted to her. "After what happened in Germany and with Liz's dad, I'm being accused of violating the Accords! Spider-Man is an enhanced individual, and Secretary Ross wants my identity in order to make me sign! It would be the end of my life as I know it! Nothing would be the same! Please understand…I can't sign!" He gave her a pleading look, hoping she would understand.

"Dude! The government does not have a good track record when it comes to 'arrangements' with people in the minority, enhanced or otherwise. You don't need to explain it to me. The Accords are bullshit." She stated simply.

"Huh…ok." Peter said, only mildly surprised at her response. He supposed he should have expected that from her.

They looked at each other for a few moments.

MJ shook her head finally, "This is wild, and the uniform raises some questions. I have many questions, actually. However, I really need to get back home. My parents will be worried."

Peter's eyes went wide, and he pulled out his phone. It was already 8:00 o'clock. He shot a quick text to Ned…

Peter: Meet me behind MJs house in 30 minutes.

Ned: Is that a good idea? She might see us, dude!

Peter: Just do it! I'll explain later.

Ned: Ok. See you in 30 mins

"So, are you going to help me down? I'm not using that rusty fire escape, Parker!" MJ scolded impatiently.

Peter tucked his phone away and pulled his mask back on. "Let's get you home. Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight," he said as he guided her closer to the side of the building.

She reluctantly agreed, and Peter was shooting his webs to navigate them both towards her house. MJ had a tight grip around his neck and even wrapped her legs around his waist for extra security, hugging him tightly. They weren't too far from her house, and Peter decided that this was the fastest way to get her home. He carefully lowered them down in the alley behind her building.

MJ was still holding onto him tightly. Peter cleared his throat, "Ahem…we're uh…we're here. You can let go now."

MJ had her eyes closed, but slowly opened them to take in her surroundings. Recognizing solid ground beneath them, MJ quickly let go and stepped away, embarrassed that she had been holding on to him like that.

"I'll go up on the building and keep an eye on you as you go inside. No one else will bother you tonight."

She smirked at him, "Thanks for your assistance, Spider-Man." She turned to walk away, and Peter started to climb the wall. She called back to him, "Oh! I intend to have a further inquiry with you later!" She continued towards the front and Peter got up and crawled where he could see her safely inside.

Once she was in the building, Peter held onto the wall so that it was behind his back and slammed his head on it. "Ugh! This is bad. I'm going to have to report this to Mr. Stark. KAREN, what time is it?" he asked as he turned to climb the rest of the way to the roof.

"It is 8:16 P.M." KAREN answered, "Your friend should be expected to arrive around 8:32 P.M., judging by the time you sent your last message to him."

Peter sighed, he had time to text Tony before Ned arrived. While he used his phone, the messages were sent securely through KAREN and never stayed on his device. Tony's responses were usually vague so that no one could guess that Peter was not just an annoying intern.

Peter: Successful day back in suit. Lots of practice. Made progress. Helped a lost kid find his mom. Stopped a purse snatcher. Ran into a girl from school. Apparently, she's known my secret all along. Plans to continue to keep it. Thought you should know. Sorry.

T. Stark: We will need to talk more at the office.

Peter sighed. He knew that meant that Tony would call him over a secure line later.

He didn't have to wait much longer for Ned. His friend was walking quickly down the street.

Peter: Walk behind the building and drop my bag. Wait for me at the corner.

Ned: Ok

Peter watched as Ned followed his instructions. Once Ned was stationed at the corner, Peter jumped down and quickly shed the suit and stuffed it in his bag before putting his own clothes back on. He met Ned at the corner.

"Thanks, Ned!" He said, making his friend jump slightly.

"Dude, what is going on? Why did we meet here?" He asked. Ned looked up to see MJ at her window, looking out at them. She waved down before giving them the finger with a smirk and closing her blinds.

Peter shrugged at his friend, "It's a long story. Walk with me to my house and I'll tell you everything."

"I'll text my mom and tell her I'm staying at your house tonight." Ned didn't need to ask if Peter was ok with it since this was something fairly normal for them.

Peter nodded, "I'm going to let May know we'll both be there around 9:00. I just hope we aren't a minute late, or she will kill me!"

The two friends made their way back to Peter's apartment. Peter was filling in Ned along the way.

Peter paused in his story, and Ned seemed content to let him sort through his thoughts a bit. Peter felt like it was important to keep May and Tony informed about everyone who knew his secret. It was just too bad that he was forgetting to warn them about someone else.