Peter blew out a raspberry and sunk into the couch. "I'm kinda beat."

"That tracks." Tony strolled into the kitchen and tossed open the fridge. "You did get very excited when you saw Thor."

"I can't believe I got to meet him!" Peter squeaked excitedly before apparently remembering Tony 'didn't' know he was bisexual. "Uh, I mean- it was cool to meet everyone."

Tony rolled his eyes, smiling to himself. Kids. He peered at the steak he'd been marinating. "How's your energy been doing?"

"Better. Still a little 'eh' y'know. But it's alright."

"That's good." The kid was still skinny as a stick, but his dark circles were looking significantly better. "What should we have for a side? I'm already making baked potatoes. How do you feel about salad? We should probably have salad or Pepper'l give me a lecture about 'setting a poor example'. How about Caesar? Or should I do something more fancy, like… I don't know, goji berry salad? Is that a thing?" With a head of lettuce in one hand and a carrot in the other, Tony turned to look at Peter. The kid was staring at him, blinking. "What?"

"You're staying for dinner?"

"Yeah, why? You got a problem with that?"

"No! No- I- you've been at the Tower for, like, a month straight. Don't you have, y'know, a family to get back to?"

Tony set the food down and pulled out a cutting board. Goji berry salad it was. Of course, he'd have to text Peps and tell her to bring some goji berries. WAIT. It was winter. Dammit. So Caesar salad it was.

"Did I forget to tell you? Pepper and Morgan are coming here for dinner. We're having steak, potatoes, and Caesar salad."

Peter blinked again. "You chose Caesar…?"

Tony sighed heavily. "I have no choice."

"WAIT-" Peter shot up- "what?! Your- Mrs. Potts and your daughter are coming here?!"

"Yeah. In-" he checked his watch- "'bout 30 minutes."

"I- you- you- what?"

Tony wagged a knife at him. "Why are you short-circuiting on me?"

"I-" his voice dropped into a rash whisper and his arms flailed about. "You do realize you're the Stark family, right? Like, the Starks."

"So you… don't want to meet them?"

"No! I mean- yes! I don't not want to meet them, is what I'm saying. But, like, in 30 minutes? And what am I- what am I supposed to wear to a dinner with the billionaire Stark family? And what am I supposed to talk about? Yachts? I don't know anything about them other than the fact that orcas seem to hate them!"

Tony had paused his meal preparations to blankly watch the kid ramble. He held up a 'time-out' gesture and the kid stopped mid-word. "We're not animals in a zoo, y'know. Just talk to them like you and I talk."

"We don't talk though?!"

Tony opened his mouth to respond then shut it. Had they actually ever just hung out and talked before? Tony shrugged after a moment. "Well, now we can."

"But about what?"

"I dunno. Whatever. School. Your asshole boss - that's a good one."

"You want me to cuss out Mr. Jameson in front of your daughter?"

Tony paused, squinting. "Ok maybe not that." He shrugged again and started chopping up the lettuce. "What do you talk about with other people? I mean, come on kid, you managed to befriend that one lady who bought you a churro in, like, two minutes flat."

The kid seemed to think about that one. "So… just talk to them like I would a strange old lady."

"Yeah. Well, maybe avoid the 'old' lady mentality when you meet Pepper."

"So, I could tell them about this dog that I saw a month ago-"

"Pepper and Morgan are here, boss," FRIDAY chimed from the ceiling.

"OH GOD!" Peter jumped up from the couch. "What do I do? Do I change? How fancy is this dinner? I only have my funeral suit!"

Tony's heart lurched a little at that one. The kid didn't notice though, still flailing about.

Goddamn funeral suit. Jesus christ.

"What you're wearing is fine, jeez, kid."

"Uh ok. Ok. Ok. okokokokokokok-"

"Daddy!"

Peter's head snapped in the direction of the voice. A little girl with messy brown hair was half-way across the room, barreling straight for Tony who panically tossed his knife away just in time for the girl to leap into his arms.

She buried her head into his neck. "I missed you!"

Tony patted her back and shared a look with Pepper who was taking off her coat by the elevator.

"Missed you too, Maguna." He peeled her away so he could look her in the face. "You can't go running at me like that when I have a knife. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, daddy."

He smiled. Like really smiled. Expression warm, eyes crinkled, and with teeth showing. He looked happy. With a start, Peter realized he'd never seen the man smile like that. The most he'd ever witnessed was a closed-mouth smirk-like smile.

"-ot sure we've ever actually met. I'm Pepper."

Peter's eyes drifted toward the voice that was right beside him. He blinked.

Mrs. Potts was looking at him. And she was close. And her hand was extended.

Oh god. She'd said something, hadn't she? And now she was waiting for Peter to respond. What had she said? And why was her hand out?

What?

Peter clenched his jaw and leaned forward a little. "Hmm?"

Mrs. Potts blinked then briefly looked at Mr. Stark. She smiled warmly, an amused twinkle in her eye. "I was introducing myself. I'm Pepper. You must be Peter. I've heard lots about you."

"Oh." Wait what? Mr. Stark talked about him? Why? "What? I mean- I'm- I'm- I'm Peter. Which you already know because you just said it, so I'm not sure why I said it. Anyway, uh, h-hi. Mrs. Potts. Uh…."

"Hi Peter. It's nice to meet you, I'm excited to chat with you and get to know you better."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Why?" Filter! "UH I MEAN th-thanks. You too. Or- me too. I'm happy to meet you too, is what I mean. To say."

God. Shoot him. Just shoot him now.

"He he, you're weird!" Morgan giggled.

"Morgan!" Pepper exasperated. "You can't say that to someone!"

"Your mom's right," Tony added. "You can't call people names like that, even if they are accurate."

Peter scoffed in offence.

"Am I wrong?"

A heartbeat. "No…"

Tony smirked. Peter rolled his eyes.

"Tony!" Pepper gave him a look.

Tony's face fell and he leaned close to Morgan. "You got me in trouble with Mommy."

Morgan giggled and Tony ruffled her hair. Pepper rolled her eyes with a head shake. Peter stood awkwardly, trying to not intrude on their family bonding.

What the hell was he doing here? Like, this was Tony's life- Tony's family. Why the hell was Peter here?

"Alright, get of 'a me. I gotta start grillin' the steaks."

Morgan let go and Tony set her down to return to his Dad™ cooking duties.

"Can I help?"

Tony paused, thinking for a second. He shrugged. "Sure. A five year old kid and fire? What could go wrong?"

"Yay!"

"Unbelievable," Pepper muttered as she watched the two go out into the balcony. A moment of silence fell over her and Peter. "Help me set the table, Peter?"

"Huh? Oh sure, yeah."

. . .

"So, Tony tells me you're in university. What are you taking?"

Peter swallowed his mouthful of steak. It was the most tender steak he'd ever had in his entire life. He'd inquired later how Tony had cooked it so well, to which he got the answer of 'I dunno, FRI tells me when to take them off'. He'd also learned that the steaks themselves costed an absurd amount of money.

"Chemical engineering."

"That sounds interesting. Do you have a specific career in mind?"

"Uh, not really, no."

"Something'l come to ya," Tony muffled through a mouthful. Pepper gave him a look. He spread his arms. "What?"

Pepper ignored him.

"Uh y…eah. Yeah, I'll, uh, see," Peter answered.

"What's your favourite food?" Morgan piped up.

Peter was thankful for the pivot in conversation topics. Thinking about his future was stressful. And hard. Honestly, he had a hard time picturing a future for himself at all. Now that he wasn't dying, it all seemed so… much. So overwhelming. And empty. And lonely.

He didn't want to think about it.

"Pizza. Pepperoni from Eddie's in Midtown."

"Pizza! I like pizza too! Cheeseburgers are my favourite, though. Do you like cheeseburgers?"

"Of course, who doesn't?"

Morgan's face soured. "Jimmy."

"Jimmy sounds dumb."

Morgan giggled big time.

"Peter…" Pepper gave him a gentle, yet still stern look.

Oops. Peter cringed. "Sorry Mrs. Potts."

Tony snickered.

Pepper leaned close to Peter and whispered, "you're not wrong, I've met the kid and he is dumb."

Peter couldn't help but chuckle at that. Pepper was pretty cool.

"So how's the, uh, Stark Industries business?" Peter attempted after a moment of silence. "Since I acci- I mean Spider-Man accidentally, y'know, made a giant mess of things?"

"Oh hunny, no one blames you." She placed her hand in his and looked him earnestly in the eyes.

"Well, I mean, you probably should-"

"The blame lies solely on that horrible Beck man. Besides, you should never have had those glasses in the first place."

"My bad," Tony added. "But seriously, kid, it wasn't your fault."

Peter wondered if they knew he gave the glasses to Quentin. Maybe it was for the best that they didn't… Peter felt bad enough already, he didn't want to make things worse. What was done was done. There was no point in digging himself down even further.

He attempted a tight smile instead.

"We've almost got it all figured out anyway." Pepper waved a dismissive hand and took a bite full of salad.

The meal continued, scraping of forks disbursed by occasional quick conversations. After a while, Peter was done and got up to put his dish in the sink.

As Peter flicked on the tap, it went flying and smashed into the backsplash. Peter barely had time to process what had happened before a stream of water hit his face like a jet. He reeled back and nearly tipped over when his right foot stuck to the ground through its own volition. He elegantly flailed, left foot shooting into the air in a half-ditched attempt to regain his balance. Said foot smashed right into a cupboard and he tried to rip it away. Apparently it had decided to stick as well and the cupboard door came with it, splintering with a crack as it smacked the quartz countertop. Water was flying everywhere, wood was flying everywhere, and Peter was stuck and confused and drenched. His right foot unexpectedly unstuck from the ground and he tumbled, back ramming into the island. He slid to the ground, water still streaming from the broken sink, splattering on him and floor. The broken cupboard door slowly peeled off his left foot and clattered to the tile.

Peter blinked, trying to grasp what had just happened. He scanned the 3-foot radius around him. In a rapid succession of events, Peter had destroyed the entire right side of the kitchen.

He heard slow footsteps approaching and then Mr. Stark's face came into view. The man made a show of looking over the damage. Pepper's face came into view next. Then there was Morgan.

The little girl cringed and approached Peter, whispering in his ear, "you're gonna be in so much trouble," and darted away.

Welp.

Peter's brain was going into panic mode now. He could feel his chest tightening, his lungs suddenly incapable of expanding fully. He felt dizzy and light headed. And he felt a twist in his gut, making him queasy. He hadn't dared meet either of the adults' eyes, but he could see them looking dead-straight at him through his peripheral.

He gulped, throat feeling tight.

It didn't help that he was starting to shiver from the cold water, still raining down on him like the world's crappiest shower.

"What did I just witness?" Peter couldn't get a gauge on what the man's tone was. Was he mad or curious or both? Peter couldn't tell and it was StREsSinG HiM oUT!

Peter gulped. "I think my strength and stickiness are back…. the stickiness is hard to, uh, to control. And I'm kinda, uh, out of practice. And… I destroyed your kitchen…"

"I can see that." The man crouched and Peter finally looked at him. With a start, Peter realized he didn't look mad, like, at all. He looked amused more than anything. He reached out a hand and squeezed Peter's upper arm. "Look at that, your muscles are starting to come back."

"They are?" Peter felt his arm. Sure enough, he felt hard muscle starting to form. Based on the first time his powers had shown up, he'd probably be back to being toned in a few hours. "Neat."

"That was one hell of a way to find out," Tony muttered.

"I'm sorry," Pete blurted out. "I didn't know they were back and then I turned on the tap too hard and then I was like 'oh god', but it was too late. And I panicked, and my stickiness is so finicky and acts up real bad when I panic." As if to emphasize his words, when he tried to push himself up, his one hand stuck to the floor and he nearly pivoted face-first into the tile. "Dammit." He pulled. His eyes darted to Tony, who was silently watching him with a raised brow. "Just gotta give- it- a- little- force!"

He pulled with each word. On the final pull, his hand did not unstick; his one foot, however, cracked through the tile floor and buried itself until he felt it dangling through the roof of the floor below.

He stopped pulling.

Oh no.

He'd made it worse. So much worse. Daring a glance back, he saw his leg entombed to the calf in the tile. And to top it all off, water was pouring into the hole and draining onto the floor below.

Pete cringed and slowly looked back at the adults. Tony's face was unreadable as he stared at the hole, unmoving. Pepper had her hand over her mouth, looking wide-eyed at the damage. Morgan came back into view for a moment, her eyes widening like an owl before dipping out of sight again.

"S….orry…" Peter said.

Tony's eyes flicked to his. He then looked back to his wife. Pepper looked at her husband.

Oh god, they were having a silent parental conversation. Those were never a good sign.

Pepper spoke first, taking a step forward, to Tony's side, stopping just short of the water spray. She leaned down. "Are you alright?"

"Oh uh, y-yeah. Yeah, I'm-" he pulled his leg out of the hole and promptly felt a sharp flare of pain as he definitely cut himself on a jagged piece of tile- "fine."

"And you just cut yourself," Tony said flatly. "This is quite the predicament you've gotten yourself into, huh?"

Peter tugged his pantleg over the cut, trying to hide it. It was kinda deep though and blood was now dripping past the cuff of the fabric. "Uh…."

"Come on, sweetie, let's get you patched up."

Pepper held out a hand. Peter almost took it before stopping himself. The woman frowned a little in confusion.

"I don't wanna stick to you," Peter explained. "It happened with a pigeon once. It was stuck to me for, like, 40 minutes."

Tony blew a raspberry and started convulsing. With a start, Peter realized he was laughing, one hand covering his face. After a few moments, he inhaled and looked at Peter again, his face was a little red and his eyes twinkled. He shook his head and smiled. "Come on-" he grabbed Peter's elbow and helped him up "-let's get you to the table."

Pepper went around the island to retrieve a first-aid kit from one of the intact cupboards. She came back to the table where Tony had Peter sitting with his leg propped up on another chair. She pulled up another chair and gingerly pulled up his pant-leg to expose the slash running down the left side of his calf. With a fresh soapy cloth, she started wiping at it. Tony stood over her shoulder.

Peter had to keep himself from squirming at the sting. "I'm good, Mr Stark and Mrs Potts. I appreciate the concern, but I can just-" he bit his tongue to keep from hissing in pain when Pepper sprayed some antibacterial stuff on the cut.

Frickin,,,

God did that sting. Was it supposed to sting that much? He'd never used bacterial spray before. Was he supposed to? Forget it, it was probably too expensive.

"And there we go. All patched up." Pepper smiled warmly.

Peter peered at his leg; it had a strip of gauze wrapped around it. He nodded. "Thanks Mrs. Potts." He paused and scratched the back of his neck, looking cheap. "Sorry about your kitchen."

Looking back at the kitchen he cringed again. God, he'd made a mess. There wasn't water spaying anymore at least; Tony must've shut it off.

"It's no big deal, kid. You should've seen the first time 'smart hulk' came in here. Place looked like a goddamn war-zone."

"It's truly fine, Peter." Pepper laid a hand on his knee, making him look at her. "It was an accident."

Peter inhaled, still feeling uncertain. "Ok… I- thank you."

"Who's in the mood for dessert?" Tony ruffled Peter's hair, but stopped when his hand came away wet. "And maybe get you dried off."

. . .

Dessert went much better. Turned out, once Peter got past the super awkward phase, he actually got along with Pepper and Morgan very well. Pepper was super nice and kept checking up on him even though his leg scratch was nothing compared to most of his past injuries. Morgan was a ball of energy who kept asking him questions about being part spider - something Peter had no way of pretending he wasn't after the whole kitchen fiasco. It took her less than a minute to get to the 'do you lay eggs' question.

"No!" Peter threw his arms up in exasperation. Why do people keep asking me that?"

"Multiple people have asked you that?" Tony quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"That's ridiculous."

"Thank you! I'm a boy spider- I mean a male. I'm a male spider."

Pepper chuckled and Tony smirked. "Uh huh."

Peter crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. Tony breathed a chuckle and rolled his eyes.

A poke at his arm made Peter turn his head to spot Morgan in his personal space, staring at him. "Do you have fangs?" She tried to shove her hand into Peter's mouth.

"Morgan!" Pepper exclaimed in a disbelieving tone.

"Sorry mommy." She retracted her hand, looking cheap. "Sorry Peter."

Peter waved a hand. "It's alright." He pulled at his upper lip, putting his eye teeth on display. "Nope."

Morgan's eyebrows furrowed a little like she was disappointed. "So how do you protect yourself? Biting is a spider's whole thing."

Peter shrugged. "How do humans protect themselves?"

She stuck her lip out for a moment, eyes crinkling in thought. "Punching?"

"There you have it. I'm still, like, 50% human."

"Can you crawl on the roof?"

"Usually-"

"Will you carry me?!" Her eyes beamed with excitement.

Peter blinked. That was a bad idea. What if he dropped her?! He looked to Pepper and Tony, both of whom stared at their daughter with reticent expressions.

Peter scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, I'm still getting used to, uh, to having my powers back. So, uh, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

Morgan's face furrowed a little and she sat back. "Will you take me up the Empire State when you're used to them again?"

"Uh-"

"AbsOlUTeLy NOt!" Pepper cried.

"But mooooooooommmmm!"

"This is not up for discussion, young lady."

Morgan turned her focus on Tony. "Dad?"

Tony just shook his head and crossed his arms. "Don't look at me. I agree with your mom."

Morgan slumped back, crossing her arms and looking sour. She looked at Peter who threw his hands up in a shrug.

"Sorry, Morgan."

"Aww man."

. . .

"Your family is nice."

Tony shrugged and sipped his whiskey, plopping into the chair across from where Peter was sitting. "They're alright."

After dinner, they'd all chatted for a while until Pepper had to take Morgan to her evening karate class. Morgan had given Peter a big hug, saying he was the 'coolest ever'. She was a sweet kid.

"Still can't believe you're a dad." Tony raised an eyebrow at Peter's words. Peter hurried to explain himself. "NoT ThAT yoU'Re noT A gOoD onE! It's just weird, is all, 'cause you weren't even married when I was blipped, and then I, like, woke up two seconds later and suddenly you had grey hair and a four-year-old kid. I mean good for you, you seem happy, but it's still just- the blip was weird, is what I mean, y'know?"

Tony lips twitching and he rolled his eyes. The kid had a point. Never in a million years had Tony thought he'd be a dad, much less a capable one. But alas, the kid came along and suddenly a warm desire overtook Tony. He'd wanted a kid of his own - one that was like Peter. And so Morgan came along. Not that he and Pepper had been trying, accidents happen, y'know.

The comfortable silence was ruined a moment later when Peter cleared his throat. "So, I guess since I'm not dying anymore, that means I can move back into my place. I just wanna make sure I get paid on Monday first if that's alright."

Tony's whole system froze, all blood, electrical impulses, cells, everything coming to a dead-stop. The glass in his hand cracked.

He saw the kid's eyebrows furrow in one part concern and the other confusion. "Uh, Mr. Stark? Are you having a stroke?"

"No."

"Uh…"

Tony's brain booted up and he gave a tight smile, setting his cup down.

Peter's eyebrows slowly climbed his forehead now. "Are you…" he leaned forward and whispered, "constipated? I've heard cranberry juice is supposed to hel-"

"I am not con- ok, stop asking me stuff."

"Sorry."

"Why do you want to move out?"

Peter tilted his head. "Because… I… don't live here…?"

"You could."

"You'd want me here 24/7? Have you met me? Look, I've been trying really hard to keep my room clean, but you should know that won't last long. I honestly don't think there's a single person on earth that's more unorganized than me."

"You'll always have enough food here, and you can use the time to save to get yourself a better apartment in a safer area."

"Mr. Stark. I'm fine."

"Your apartment is shit and you know it."

"Ok, it's not the most beautiful, but it works. And it's cheap."

"Peter."

"Mr. Stark."

"You were so underweight living there."

"I was not-"

"Yes. You were. End of discussion."

His face soured. "I'm moving out once I get my paycheque."

"You are so fucking stubborn."

"You bet your goatee I am."

"Will you let me help you find a better place at least?"

"My current place is the best I can afford."

"Then how 'bout I help you out with rent? You find a decent place and I'll pay the difference-"

"I don't want your money."

"Fine! Can I at least buy you groceries? Just the basics." Peter gave him a look. "For fuck's sake, kid, how am I supposed to, in good conscience, let you go off and live in some shack in a bad neighbourhood all but starving to death?"

"The same way you did before."

Tonys' jaw clamped shut.

Peter deflated with a sigh and ran a hand down his face. "Look, it's not that I don't know you're trying- and I appreciate it, but I've been looking out for myself for over a year now. I don't need your help."

"Yes you do." Tony's voice was a rash whisper, the thought of Peter living like he had before shredding Tony's heart.

"Well I don't want it."

"I love you, Peter." The kid reeled back like he'd been slapped. "Please give me another chance to prove it."

The room went quiet, the hum of the kitchen appliances and overhead light loud in the dead air. The sound of a distant honk, nearly inaudible up this high, was like a gunshot.

"I…" Peter started. "I know you're feeling guilty, but please don't say stuff like that to me. I have a bad habit of taking it to heart. More than you realize."

"Good."

"Tony." He shook his head slowly, eyes stuck to Tony like he was waiting for him to attack. "Don't."

"You take stuff to heart? Well, so do I, kid. I don't say shit like this if I don't mean it." Even then, he usually didn't say it. Feelings weren't really his language, ok?

The kid's brows slowly furrowed. "I don't understand."

"What's not to understand?"

"Your words. I don't… I don't understand."

"That I love you?"

Peter pointed a finger at him, still looking halfway between curious and scared. "That. I don't understand. Why would you…? Why me?"

Now it was Tony's turn to frown in question. "What do you mean?"

"Why would you- a man who's notorious for being all distant and flippant with people - why would you… why would I stand out to you? I don't get it, I'm… I drive people away. Just ask Happy."

"How many times do I have to tell you: Happy wasn't your fault."

"I'm not that stupid."

"I'm not Happy."

"You know I really started to think he cared. When I first met him, he couldn't stand me, but after you fell into that coma, he was nicer. And then he and May. I… I was really starting to think he actually liked me." He cast his eyes out the window, the mist in his eyes reflecting in the setting sun. "I was wrong. He never cared about me." He ran a hand down his face. "I just- I can't believe he used me to get into May's pants and then just took off."

Tony's face tightened. That didn't seem like a Happy kind of move - the guy wasn't shallow like that. Tony was pretty sure it was more that Happy had fallen in love with May, but Tony wasn't there, so there was no way of knowing for sure. Tony hadn't known about any of that shit until he'd woken up and Happy told him about May's death.

"He cared, Peter. I promise."

"No. No he didn't and that's why-" he bit his lip and inhaled a shaky breath- "that's why I can't believe you. Because I get caught up and I- I can't trust that I'm interpreting this right. I can't have someone else leave."

"I'm not leaving."

Peter looked at him, a dead expression in his eyes. "You will."

"Nope." Tony popped the 'p' and leaned back, arms crossed and face defiant.

"I have baggage, Mr. Stark. You don't wanna deal with it."

"Guess I owe you the same warning. I'm a truly miserable person, I deflect none-stop, I insult everyone, and I'm extremely annoying." Peter opened his mouth then closed it. That was pretty much what he was gonna say about himself with different wording. "Also I've got Class-A self-destruction tactics."

"Huh." Is what Peter said.

"Pretty sure I've got PTSD too, but who has the time for a diagnosis, am I right?"

Peter blinked. It was uncanny how many similar boxes the man was checking. Maybe he could match Peter's insanity. "Huh."

"So unless you've got something worse than any of those, then I think we're gonna be completely fine."

"I'm more annoying. And I make jokes instead of full-on insults, so people will get less mad at me."

Tony blinked. "Pppffff, ha! That's smart. I prefer to commit to it. I love watching their faces twist up in anger. Really makes my day."

Peter couldn't help the small breathy laugh that came out. Ok maybe Tony wasn't as grown-up and perfect as Peter had initially thought. His smile fell and he inhaled. "I'm needy." Tony just tilted his head, expression warm, giving Peter the space to continue. "I've never had that much family, so I rely heavily on the few people I am close to for emotional support and stuff." His eyes dipped and he tugged at his sleeve. "I cry a lot. Kind of a baby, actually."

"My daughter just left the toddler phase, Pete, crying does not faze me."

"Are you comparing me to a toddler?"

Tony smirked. "Your words not mine."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure they were your words," Peter shook his head, unable to help the small smile playing on his lips. He inhaled, smile fading. "I get nightmares."

"Me too."

"Huh."

"You keep saying that."

Peter shrugged. "I dunno. You just seem more…"

"More…?"

"More messed up than I thought, I guess."

Tony snorted. He chuckled to himself for a few moments, then nodded his head. "For what it's worth: none of what you've told me is new information. I'm starting to think you don't have any curveballs you can throw at me."

Peter tilted his head. He had a couple. Might as well be honest. If he was gonna drive Tony away, better now than later. "I've tried to murder two different people."

That got the man to pause. He stayed frozen for a few moments then frowned. "What're you talking about?"

Peter held the man's eyes, although his heart was hammering in his chest. Maybe that confession wasn't a good idea… "The man who shot Ben, I… I tracked him down with the intention of… I almost did, but I didn't. It wasn't going to bring Ben back. But then when Osborn killed May, I felt that anger again and I… I was gonna go through with it. It wasn't self-defense, it was going to be murder. I wanted him dead. But the other Spider-Man stopped me."

Tony stared at him for several heartbeats then slowly bobbed his head once. "Ok, one curveball. You're not a bad person, if that's what you think this is gonna make me think. The fact that you stopped yourself the first time proves that. As far as wanting to murder the man who you learned murdered a parent - or guardian -" he inhaled- "I have some personal experience with that."

No friggin way. Peter and Tony could not have that much in common. "Say what now?"

"Bucky."

"Bucky?"

"Formerly known as the 'Winter Soldier.'"

"Huh?"

"You know how after I picked you up from the airport after Germany and I had a bigger black-eye?"

"Yeah…"

"I got that 'cause Steve and Bucky kicked the crap out of me when I tried to murder Bucky. I saw a video of him - as the Winter Soldier - assassinating my mom. So," he shrugged, "I tried to kill him."

"Oh…. wait, seriously? I thought I was…"

"When anger and grief combine, it's, uh, a little tough to get a hold of. I get it. Doesn't make you a bad person, kid. You were hurting. You're, like, the least violent person ever, I think. Like the human equivalent of a bumble-bee."

"I beat up a lot of people, Mr. Stark. Not really 'bumble-bee' material."

"Fair enough. We all have our dark sides. But lashing out because you're hurt doesn't make you bad."

Peter shifted uncomfortably. He'd almost committed murder - murder. He didn't think he could just brush that off because he was 'a little upset at the time'. He was a super-powered mutant who had the strength to easily crush a person's skull with one punch without even breaking a sweat. He didn't get the luxury of losing control. Ever.

"It doesn't change how I see you." Tony's voice brought Peter back to Earth.

"How could it not?"

"Because I know you. And you don't murder people. You don't enjoy hurting others. In fact you almost compulsively protect them - even actual murderers. So I think it's pretty safe to say you weren't being yourself at the time."

Peter shrugged. "I guess." He bit the inside of his cheek, tugging at a string on the cuff of his sleeve. "I feel like a monster."

"You're not." Tony's voice was soft, but firm. Peter's eyes flickered to the man to find him leaning forward in his seat, looking directly at Peter. "You're not."

"You don't know me well enough to say that for sure."

Tony leaned back and tilted his head. His eyes squinted like he was regarding Peter with a newfound interest.

"What?" Peter asked, suddenly feeling like a bug under a microscope.

The man shook his head. "I think I know you better than you think."

Peter scoffed. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Tony answered defensively.

Peter gave him a flat look. The dude had thoroughly stalked Peter, sure, but he didn't know anything real abou-

"I know you try to dumb yourself down so people don't get intimidated by you."

Say what now? "Huh?"

Tony smirked like he'd won. He waved a hand around. "The way you say something smart then backtrack with something quote-on-quote 'dumb'. It's like you sometimes forgot to pretend to not have an IQ of - I'm guessin' around 190 or so."

Peter blinked at him. "Uh, I don't think I'm that smart. Kinda dumb, actually. I mean did you forget the whole Ferry incident?"

Tony pointed at him. "See you're doing it again!"

Peter clicked his jaw. "Ok, so you know one thing about me, big deal. That doesn't mean anyth-"

"I know your favourite subject in school is biology, although mechanics is a close second."

Peter's jaw clamp shut with an audible click.

Tony continued. "I know you like hanging out on rooftops when you're upset - your favourite spot being your highschool. I also know you hate Larry's Pizza with a fiery passion. Also you don't like eggs. Or yoghurt, but you will tolerate the occasional cherry flavoured one. You haven't seen the godfather trilogy yet, but you want to, but you keep putting it off because you're a procrastinator."

"Ok that's enough." Peter held up a hand. "I don't understand. How do you know all these things about me?"

"Because I pay attention. That, and you told me some of them."

"But why… why did you remember that stuff? I don't even remember telling you most of that."

"That's what I've been trying to tell ya: I care about you, Pete."

Peter stayed silent, mind churning. Tony let him think, expression remaining open and warm.

Something pressurized in Peter's chest.

Peter rushed forward and burrowed into the crook of Tony's neck. He felt the man startle for a moment before his hand cupped the back of Peter's head, holding him tightly. Peter's fingers curled into Tony's shirt, scared that if he let go, the man would leave. He was scared of opening up, of letting himself be so vulnerable again, but the loneliness was killing him and he knew it. He had no choice but to trust.

Tony wasn't going to leave.

He wouldn't abandon Peter. Peter had to believe that. He had no choice.

He didn't want to be alone. He couldn't be alone.

"I'll stay," Peter said, voice muffled by Tony's shirt.

Tony peeled away quickly to meet Peter's eyes with a look of tentative joy. "What did you say?"

Peter rolled his eyes and (somewhat begrudgingly) repeated himself. "I said I'll stay, BUT-" he held up a finger to stave off Tony's excitement- "I'm gonna move out as soon as I can lock down a better paying job, ok?"

Tony jaw clamped shut and he nodded his head, obviously biting back his joy. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say, kid." Then, "y'know, if you ever get bored here, you can stay at our place anytime."

"Your place?"

"Upstate. By the lake."

"You have a house by a lake?"

"Have I not taken you there yet?" Peter shook his head in answer. "Huh. What does your weekend look like?"

"Uh, I don't know-"

"Great. I'll pick you up Friday evening and we can have a fire. I'll take you on a boat ride too."

"A boat ride? Ok that actually sounds kinda cool."

"It's a plan. FRI, add it to my calendar."

"Sure thing, Boss," she responded.

Peter smiled. Maybe getting sick had its silver lining after all.

FIN