The young Flerkin purred when Peter scooped him up from the desk that he'd been lounging on, idly batting his paw against the mouse being used by one of the SHIELD security people.
"Did you miss me?" Peter asked the kitten, rubbing his belly and smiling somewhat goofily.
"He told me that he does," Tony told the boy. "And that you should probably consider just doing college online when it comes time to decide that kind of thing. That way you're not too far away."
Peter smiled, knowing Nutmeg wasn't the one who was thinking that and touched.
"It's years away," he reminded the kitten – and Tony. "We won't worry about it, yet."
Tony didn't respond to that. It seemed like forever, now, but he knew it wasn't. He took the kitten from his son.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go to your rooms and you can tell me more about what you've been doing while you write your letter."
Pepper would want to know, too.
"You're okay with me giving the lighter to Nico's family?"
The billionaire shrugged as they walked out of the control room.
"It's your lighter," he reminded the boy. "And I have to admit, I like the idea – and I think Pepper will, too. Don't let me forget to get it out of the safe for you before you head back to the hotel."
"I won't." Peter put his arm around Tony, giving him a one-armed hug, truly happy to be with the guy. "I'm glad to see you."
Tony smiled at that.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You doubt?"
"Nah… I know you like living here better than at the hotel."
"The food's better here."
The billionaire chuckled.
"I'll make sure to tell Pepper that."
They walked down the corridor to Peter's room, not talking about anything important just spending time together. Peter took Nutmeg back from Tony and looked around his living room.
"Home sweet home."
"Could always tell MJ you're too sick to go back…" Tony said, seating himself on the arm of the sofa. "She probably wouldn't believe you, though."
"If I didn't go back, that would only leave Ned and Abe for the physics and calculous questions," he pointed out. "I want our team to make a good showing of things – especially with the others all being from other countries."
"Blah blah blah I want to do good and win one for the team…" Tony smirked to assure Peter that he was only teasing. "Do you need anything back at the hotel?" he asked. "Need any money? There's a gift shop there, I know. You might want to pick something up for Shuri – and mom."
Peter smiled.
"I'm good." He hadn't missed the gift shop and fully intended to buy presents for everyone, not just Shuri and Pepper. He just didn't need any money. He had plenty in his bank account, since his allowance was generous and he didn't have a lot of things that he needed to buy with it. Cat food and replacements for things that Nutmeg broke were the main expenses after gas for the Pontiac. "Think I should find Stephen an ugly shirt for Natasha to present him with?"
"I think she's probably already thinking about that, herself," Tony replied. "She might ask you to help her pick something out, though."
Peter pressed a kiss against Nutmeg's furry head.
"If you really want to help me…" he said, settling the kitten on his cat tree. "I'm not sure what I should say in that letter. You're better at that stuff than I am. Will you help me with it?"
"Of course." They didn't need to wait for the official letterhead paper to at least start figuring out the verbiage that he'd want to use. "What do you want it to say?"
OOOOOOOOOOOO
"Where's Parker?"
Ned rolled his eyes, but it was MJ who answered Flash.
"He probably decided that he doesn't really need a tour of the place that he lives and snuck away to do something more interesting."
"Can he do that?"
"Why not?"
"He should be here, helping impress the other teams. I would be, if I was him."
"If I was him, I'd be in my room, right now," Ned told Flash. "Playing video games or checking my email and doing something that doesn't require SHIELD looking over my shoulder every minute."
"Are we sure he didn't sneak away to do his thing…?" Flash asked, dropping his voice into a near whisper and looking around to make sure no one else was around.
"He's not doing his thing," MJ said, scowling and also lowering her voice. "And we shouldn't be talking about it."
"She's right," Ned agreed, looking at the large group of kids and chaperones who were walking along the corridors with them. They'd seen some of the conference rooms and briefing rooms – and a very quick glance as they walked by the control room. Ned had noticed that one of the windows had been covered with blinds that were never usually closed, and he assumed (correctly) that they didn't want to share anything more than they absolutely needed to during the tour. "Tony wouldn't want you even mentioning it out in the open like this."
Flash looked like he wanted to say something smart – or just mean – but he visibly clamped down on whatever it was going to be and shrugged, instead.
"We've all been here, before," he said, changing the subject. "Maybe we could skip the tour part and go play the flight simulator, or something…"
"Probably not."
"Is the Hulk coming, Ned?" Abe asked, coming over to get closer to the little group. He looked excited and had the French twins with him. "I was telling them about when he came to Shuri's birthday party."
"Is that really Peter's girlfriend?" one of the girls asked, curiously. "Abe showed us the pictures of you guys with the Hulk."
The boy blushed, putting his phone back in his pocket.
"She asked if Shuri was on our team as an alternate, but I told her no. That she lives in Africa. I didn't say who she was, though," he added, quickly. "In case we're not supposed to."
"Who is she?"
Naturally the girls were both curious, now.
Ned and MJ both hesitated – for the same reason that Abe had. They weren't sure if that was something they shouldn't say, because both of them knew that Shuri might be coming to the competition one day – especially if their team made the finals – and it might be a security issue if her identity was known. Flash didn't hesitate for a moment. Not only did he want to impress the girls by knowing what they wanted to know, he was still somewhat hoping that one of them (or both?) might be willing to forget they had boyfriends in favor of some happy fun time with an exotic, handsome, and brilliant American teen.
"She's a princess from Wakanda," he told them, smugly. "She thought about dating me but settled for Parker."
MJ wasn't the only one to frown.
"When did she think about dating you?" Ned asked, sarcastically.
"Before Peter asked her out…" he replied, dismissively, not even looking at Ned because he was watching for any reaction from the girls. He smiled and brushed his hand against his shirt. "My dad's a famous surgeon," Flash added.
"Where is Wakanda?" one of them asked, frowning, prettily. "I've never heard of it."
"You'll have to look it up," Ned told her. "But you won't find much. They're pretty secretive."
"She's a real princess?"
Before anyone could answer – or even decide if they should answer – the SHIELD agent who was leading their section of the tour came over to start them moving down the corridor, again.
"We're going to show you folks the Quinjet," she said, shrugging an apology to Ned and MJ since she knew both of them had actually flown in the jet, so it wasn't going to be too exciting for them. "Then we'll head into the gym, and you can all meet Ironpig."
"Who's Ironpig?" one of the Japanese boys asked, curiously.
Abe grinned, knowing that Ironpig was a much safer topic than Shuri.
"Tony Stark's pet pig."
"He has a pet pig?"
"Yeah. You'll see."
They started walking, following the tour guide, but Ned hung back.
"I'm going to go find Peter," he said to MJ when she looked at him, curiously. "I'll catch up."
"Okay. Stay out of trouble."
He rolled his eyes, amused, and gestured to all of the security there was around them.
"That shouldn't be a problem."
