A/N: I'm still here and sorry about the silence all. Work has been really busy and they have us working mandatory OT because of all the bad weather. By the time I'm done working, I'm just too tired to do more than eat something and spend some time with the dog before bedtime. It should start settling down, soon, hopefully!

Thanks for sticking with me.

OOOOOOOOO

Peter was just finishing up the letter to Nico's family when his watched chimed. He looked at it, and then at Tony.

"It's Ned."

The billionaire smiled.

"Think he misses you?"

Peter rolled his eyes and answered.

"Hey, Ned."

"Peter, where are you?"

"In my quarters. Why?"

"Tell Theo that it's okay to let me leave the tour and come talk to you."

Theo was one of the SHIELD agents that Peter knew well since he lived full time at the compound. He also knew that he was one of those responsible for perimeter security for the tour. Peter looked at Tony, again. His adopted father shrugged and nodded, silently.

"Okay. Tell him Tony said it's alright."

"Thanks. Stay there, okay? I don't want to have to look around for you."

"Right."

The call ended.

"Friday?" Tony didn't have access to his AI the regular way while in Peter's rooms, but he had his watch on, too, and through it he had access to everything and everyone. "Anything going on with the tour that we need to know about?"

The assumption being that Ned had spotted something or heard something that wasn't an emergency – or he would have told one of the SHIELD people, presumably – but something that Peter needed to know about. And maybe Tony since Ned probably assumed that Tony would be hanging out with Peter since they were both at the compound.

"Nothing of note," the AI replied. "The tour is heading to the jet pad and then will go to the gym to meet Ironpig."

Peter grinned.

"Now the whole world will know about pig sweaters."

Stark shrugged.

"They'll think I'm eccentric, is all. Most of the public already thinks that, so no biggie." He snapped his fingers, gesturing to the letter. "Let me read what you've got," he said. "Then we'll see what Ned wants, and I'll go get the zippo from the safe in my quarters while you rejoin the tour group."

Peter made a groan of distress at the thought of wandering around the compound with a group of tourists, watching as they poked their heads into everything and oohed and awed about mundane things like where Captain America eats his dinner and where Tony Stark likes to swim laps. He handed over the letter, though, hoping his handwriting was neat enough for something so potentially important.

Tony read it through, but he pretty much knew what it said, since he'd helped the boy with some of the phrasing, after all.

"It looks good, son."

"The handwriting's alright?" Peter asked. "I could type it out."

"It's more personal, this way. They can read it. Your handwriting isn't too terrible for a teenager."

Peter smiled at the dig.

"Thanks. I think."

Before Tony could reply Karen announced Ned at the door and there was a quick knock before the boy let himself in.

"Hey…" he closed the door behind him and nodded a greeting to Tony. "Are you hiding?"

Tony snorted, amused, and Peter shook his head.

"No. Just working on something, else, while I'm here and have a chance. What's going on with the tour?" he asked. "Anything interesting?"

"Not with the tour," Ned replied. He glanced at Tony. "Abe was showing some of the other kids pictures from Shuri's birthday party – he was showing them the Hulk," he added. "But then he mentioned that Shuri was Peter's girlfriend and they started asking about her. If she was on the team as an alternate."

"She's cute," Tony pointed out. "It isn't a big surprise they'd be interested."

"Flash was saying that he was going to date her before she decided to go out with Peter." Ned shook his head. "What a dumb ass. No one believed it, of course. He was just trying to show off. You know how he is."

Peter nodded.

"Yeah."

"But they mentioned that she was a princess and also that she was from Wakanda. I thought someone should know," Ned added. "In case there was some kind of security thing that you needed to take care of, or something."

"Good call, Ned," Tony said, approvingly. "I'll make sure Romanoff is aware of that and she can talk to Okoye and make sure there aren't any concerns – presuming Shuri is planning on coming to the competition."

"She's planning on coming," Peter confirmed. "On the last day, though – if we make it that far. She doesn't want to be a distraction."

Tony smiled at that, well aware that she'd be a distraction for his son no matter how far his team made it through the competition.

"I'll go talk to her, now," he told them. He put Peter's letter in his suit pocket, careful not to wrinkle the paper. "You guys go back to the tour. I'll meet you when you end up in the lounge for the snack."

"Or…" Peter said, looking sly (for him). "We could just stay here and play video games until it's time to go to the lounge…"

A smirk.

"No."

Bah.

OOOOOOOOOO

"I can't believe he has a pig…"

"It was Peter's pig, first," Ned said grinning when he watched one of the French twins cooing Ironpig, who was more than willing to be cuddled by a cute girl. "But Tony decided to keep him and made Peter get a cat, instead."

"Is that true?" Nico asked Peter who was watching the others look around the gym – but were mostly watching Ironpig since he and his pen were the most interesting thing in the room, really.

"It's true I have a cat," Peter told them. Kind of. He wasn't going to mention the tentacles or the pocket dimension. "But Tony didn't make me get him. I found him and I kept him."

"Can we see him?" one of the Australian girls asked, reaching around the French girl so she could rub Ironpig's head. "What's his name?"

"Nutmeg. He might be in the lounge, later," Peter told them. "He pretty much has the run of the place."

The girl flashed Peter a smile and a hopeful look.

"I hope we get to see him. I miss my cat."

Ned was quick to recognize an opportunity where Peter was more than willing to step back.

"He's low-jacked," the boy said, magnanimously, speaking up before Peter could. "SHIELD can tell us where he is and I'll go get him when we head to the lounge."

The offer was met with a smile that was all for Ned, now, and another hopeful look.

"That would be wonderful."

"I'm a wonderful guy," Ned said, preening, and ignoring the way Flash rolled his eyes. "Come on," he added. "I'll show you where we play HORSE when I'm here on the weekends."

He led her – and a few of the others – away, and MJ smirked.

"He does know that they're all going home in a few days, right?" she asked, making sure only Peter heard the question so she wouldn't embarrass Ned.

Peter grinned.

"He doesn't care." Besides, he knew that there would be far less chances for attempted romance once the real competition started. The teams would be a lot more competitive, then, and the chaperones wouldn't want their teams to be getting too chummy with the people on the other ones. "Come on," he said, raising his voice, now, so the other could hear. The gym wasn't very exciting (except for Ironpig, of course) but he knew the next stop would be a little more interesting. "I'll show you guys some of the training that SHIELD and the Avengers do in the sparring rooms."

"With guns?" Nigel asked, interested.

"Hand to hand," Peter told him. "It's pretty impressive."

He wasn't giving any demonstrations, though – no matter who brought it up.