"It was great meeting you—you better stay out of trouble, lil' miss." Harley warned me, brushing his shoulder against mine. I hit his arm, "For the billionth time, don't call me that."

He grinned at me, "Never."

I rolled my eyes, "Well, at least give me a hug as penance."

"Now that, I'll always be willing to do." He swept me up into a tight hug, lifting me up into the air. I squealed quietly, wrapping my arms tightly around him.

"You started the hugging without me? I should have expected nothing less from Americans." Shuri said as she entered the room, Peter beside her.

Harley let me go and we both reached out to Shuri and Peter, pulling them in for a group hug.

We stood like that for a moment, separating only when Dad, T'Challa, Okoye, Uncle Bucky, and Steve entered the room.

Peter and I said our goodbyes to T'Challa and Okoye as well, before stepping back to let the adults move forward. Uncle Bucky and Steve both gave T'Challa a quick hug, while Dad just fist-bumped him. Then Dad turned to Shuri, pointing his finger at her, "And you, I'm going to want an apology for your disrespect towards our technology before I consider letting you back in this tower."

She just grinned at him, "I'm not concerned, Stark, I have a secret weapon to make sure I get to come back." She glanced over at Peter and I, Dad's eyes following hers. We just smiled innocently at him. He rolled his eyes. "Why do I even try?"

"Don't worry, man, I'm sure it'll all work out." Harley patted Tony's arm.

Tony turned to him, pulling him into a quick hug, before ruffling his hair as he pushed him towards the Wakandans. "Go bother them for a bit."

Harley grinned unrepentantly at Dad, then turned with the Wakandans, waving goodbye as they all boarded the jet—they were going to drop Harley off at home on their way back to Wakanda.

Once the plane lifted off, I turned to Dad, "So, did you need any help setting up for the party tonight?"

He scoffed, "Of course not, that's what the staff is for."

I rolled my eyes, but before I could respond, Peter piped up from behind me, "So, what time do we need to be there again?"

Dad gave us a sheepish look, "Listen, kids, the thing is, this is an adult-only party. Without a bunch of other kids running around, you two would stick out too much. Plus, it's going to be a bit more of a…mature environment. I'm sorry."

Peter's brow furrowed, "Mature environment?"

I crossed my arms, "He probably means they'll all be getting drunk, and that he hired strippers."

Tony gave me a shocked look, "I would not! Pep would kill me if I hired strippers. Not to mention Capscicle would probably freeze right back up the moment he entered the room."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You didn't answer the alcohol part."

Peter nodded, crossing his arms to match mine.

He shrugged, "Can't have a New Year's Party without alcohol, kids."

I nodded slowly, "As long as we don't have to carry you to your bed while you puke your guts out."

A pained expression crossed his face so quickly that I almost didn't notice it, "Don't worry. I'm only providing the alcohol, not indulging in it."

"You don't drink?"

"Uh, no."

"Why—"

I cut myself off as Peter bumped my shoulder, shaking his head at me. I gave him a confused look, but turned back to dad, changing the subject to what kind of foods they were serving. Tony seemed grateful for the subject change, happily listing off all sorts of fancy hors d'oeuvres.

"And of course, chocolate dipped strawberries for Pep—hey, hon."

Pepper had entered the room, giving Tony an amused look of exasperation as she came over to us. "Were you talking about getting strawberries for me again?"

Dad nodded proudly.

"And do you think you might remember one of these days that I'm allergic to them?"

I choked back a laugh as dad's face immediately fell and he vaguely looked like he'd very much like his head to meet a wall. "God, I'm such an idiot. Sorry, Pepper."

She chuckled, "It's okay, Tony."

She turned to Peter and I, "Mind if I borrow this guy for a bit, we have some SI business to attend to before tonight."

"He's all yours."

Peter and I headed off, him going down to the intern floors to get some time in there. I wandered up the main lounge, not quite sure what I wanted to do next.

My phone dinged and I looked down to see who was messaging me. Taylor. A small grin crossed my face. While I would admit it to no one, I'd rather enjoyed spending time with Rose's brother the other night, as well as the few text exchanges we'd had since. I sprawled out on my stomach on the couch, my lower legs in the air as I began texting with Taylor.

A short while later, Uncle Bucky walked into the room, "Hey Y/N, what's up?"

I glanced briefly over at him before looking back at the message I was typing, "Not much."

"Who are you texting?"

"My friend, Taylor."

There was a bit of a pause before he answered. "Boy or Girl?"

"Does it matter?"

Another pause. "No, unless it's a boy."

Of course, Pepper and Dad walked into the room at that moment. Dad's head immediately swiveled to look at me.

"What's going on with a boy? Y/N ARE YOU TALKING TO A BOY!?"

I dropped the phone and turned to him, my eyebrow raised, "You're not being serious?" I turned to Uncle Bucky, "A little help here?"

He just crossed his arms, staring silently back at me.

I rolled my eyes and picked up my phone as I got off the couch, "It's just a friend, it's nothing to be concerned about."

"We'll decide whether to be concerned. So. Boy. Or. Girl."

Ignoring Uncle Bucky's statement, and Dad's supportive glare, I sent a pleading look at Pepper, who was watching with an amused expression. Her eyes softened at my glance and she placed her hand on Dad's arm, "Come on, Tony, we have to go deal with the business."

He shrugged her hand off, "This is more important."

Her lips thinned and her voice came out stern, "Tony."

He sighed, giving me one last intimidating look before turning on his heel and sulking out of the room behind Pepper.

I looked over at Uncle Bucky, who gazed back with an unchanging expression. I sighed. "Yes, it's a boy. But he's just a friend. It's no different than talking to Peter or Harley."

He pursed his lips, "He's your age?"

"No, he's a year older."

His eyes darkened, "How'd he meet you?"

I rolled my eyes, "He's Rose's brother. The one who came with her to the party."

"The one you danced with aside from your other friends?"

I nodded.

"Hmm."

"What does 'hmm' mean?"

He narrowed his eyes and gave another "Hmmm."

Then turned and walked away.

I yelled after his retreating figure, "What the hell does that mean!?"

I, of course, got no reply. I huffed, sitting back down on the couch.

A few hours later (after a few more fruitless attempts to get Dad—or Uncle Bucky— to let us join the party), I was holed up in the private penthouse, gazing imploringly at Peter.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"No, it'll get us in trouble."

"…probably. BUT, that doesn't take away the fun part."

"Why can't you just watch it from here?"

"You're kidding, right? It's my first New Year's Eve IN NEW YORK, and you expect me to watch the ball drop on TV!? Or from a balcony?! It's my first New Year's in NEW YORK, I can't NOT go to Times Square."

"C'mon Y/N, don't make me be the bad guy."

"Look, we both know you can't make me stay here. Spiderman or not. I WILL get past you. So, you can either explain to Dad and the others that you knowingly let me leave this tower alone to go off to a crowded downtown place. OR, you can explain that you knew I was leaving and went with to protect me."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't. So, you in?"

"Of course I am." He grumbled, not looking happy about it in the slightest (though ironically looking like Happy).

"Yay!" I squealed. "Just give me a sec to get changed and we'll head out."

His eyes widened, "Changed? Why does there need to be an outfit change?"

I give him an are-you-dumb look, "I'm not going to New Year's Eve, in New York, in sweats and a t-shirt, that I've been wearing all day, and with no make-up. I've got to glam it up a bit."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course."

I ran to my bedroom, changing into a shimmery thermal dress, tights, knee-high boots, and a knitted beret. It was thankfully a mild night, so we wouldn't have to bundle up too much—especially good considering Peter's lack of thermoregulation.

We had to take the back stairwell (Tony's party was taking place in the Avengers-accessible penthouse, so we were banned from entry) down one flight. Thankfully since Peter was a high-level lab employee, he had access to the floors directly below us and we were able to switch to the elevator for the rest of the trip down.

Peter was nervously fidgeting and mumbling. I turned to him, "It's going to be fine. If anyone is going to get into trouble, it's going to be me."

"That's a lie and you know it."

I rolled my eyes, "I'll be the one to get in the most trouble."

"He'll probably take my suit away again."

"No, he won't."

His reply was cut off into a yelp as the elevator doors opened and I grabbed his hand, excitedly dragging him out into the parking garage. I led him through the same door and garden secret passage I'd used when I'd escaped off to the Queens Night Market (if I kept this up, I had a feeling Dad might permanently block it off), and out onto the sidewalk. It was 11:30, so we took a leisurely pace as we walked towards Times Square. New Yorkers rushed all around us, many headed in the same direction, their light chatter drowned out by the engines and horns of the cars on the street next to us. I belatedly had a very important thought.

"You brought your mask, right?"

Peter nodded, pulling at the collar of his shirt to reveal red and blue fabric beneath. "I was planning on doing a post-midnight patrol anyways, so figured I could just head back out after dropping you home when we're done. Why?"

I gave him a sheepish smile, "Because I just realized you and your sensitive hearing may not be a great match for fireworks and loud cheering crowds."

He grimaced, "You're probably right. But I don't know how I can have my mask on and stay next to you, without getting you a lot of attention."

"What if we went up high somewhere, stayed in the shadows?"

"The height won't bother you?"

"I live in Stark Tower. If heights bothered me, I'd probably be a basket case by now."

He laughed, "Heights inside, and heights outside are very different things."

"I was okay swinging around with you when you had to bring me home before." I pointed out.

He shrugged, "Okay then, but if you change your mind, just let me know and I'll head back downwards."

He led me over to a bit of a darker alley away from the crowds, approaching slowly as he used his senses to make sure there was no one there to see us or cause any problems. He quickly changed into his suit, saying hi to Karen as he pulled on his mask.

He turned to me, "You ready?"

I nodded and he wrapped his arm around my waist, telling me to hold on. I tightly looped my arms around his neck, taking a deep breath as he shot out a web and began ascending the building. He swung back and forth between the two towers, gradually going higher and higher, giving small little whoops. I smiled at his adorableness, my hold tightening as I felt the breeze blowing against us.

Of course, I made the mistake of looking down, my breath catching in my throat as a wave of dizziness passed over me.

"You okay?" Peter asked, pausing against a fire escape.

"Mmhhmm." I forced out through closed lips as I resolutely refused to look back down.

"Uh huh." His tone communicating that he clearly didn't believe me.

He gently pressed against my head with his hand, pulling me closer to him, and I tucked my head into his neck, closing my eyes tightly.

His voice rumbled from next to my ear, "Stay like that, it'll help."

And then I felt the jolt as he took off again, my stomach flip-flopping at the sudden lack of gravity.

Thankfully not long later, he landed on top of the roof, gently prying me off of him and retracting his suit.

He gave me a grin, lit up in a way that I only ever saw after he did spiderman related activities. I smiled back, and we walked over to the edge, looking towards Times Square. Only small trickles of noise made its way up to us here, a vast improvement over the deafening chaos it had been on the ground.

I leaned against him, "What time are we at?"

His answer was cut off as a giant number 10 lit up beneath the ball, the volume of the crowd increasing as everyone chanted the countdown. Peter slipped his mask on, and we screamed out the numbers with the crowd below—and everyone counting along from home.

"9!

8!

7!

6!

5!

4!

3!

2!

1!"

As everyone screamed out that final number, fireworks exploded, bright colours spreading through the sky.

Peter turned to me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, and I returned the gesture. We smiled at each other before turning back to the ongoing fireworks show.

Barely another second later, Peter winced against me.

I turned to him in confusion, noticing the eyes of his mask were opened wide. Before I could ask what was happening, I realized that he was speaking rapidly into the mask.

"…sorrysir, shereallywanted to go and howcouldIsayno—I know…I know…I know," his head hung down, "…yes, Mr. Stark—"

Crap.

There was another long pause and then a sullen "And goodbye to you too."

I winced at his tone, knowing that obviously Tony had already hung up on him since he would never speak that way to my father.

I put my hand on his shoulder, "Sorry—"

My phone rang and it was my turn to wince as I picked it up. "Hi Dad—"

His voice was deadly calm with a dangerously tense undertone, "Do you know what it's like, to come upstairs from a party and find your daughter missing?"

"Probably not great."

" 'Probably not great' she says. DO YOU REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH OF AN UNDERSTATEMENTTHAT IS!?"

And the calmness was gone. Here we go. I stood up, walking a few paces away from Peter for a slight illusion of privacy, the fireworks exploding above us as Tony exploded in my ear.

I tuned back into what he was saying, "—of ALL the IRRESPONSIBLE, RECKLESS—"

I cut him off, my own voice coming out with a sharp edge, "Enough, Tony. Yes, I get where you are coming from, but you are MAJORLY overreacting. Yes, I didn't tell you that I was leaving or where I was going. But it's not like I hid it from you either. FRIDAY knew. I had my phone on—and don't you dare try to tell me you wouldn't track it—, and Peter has his suit, which we ALL know you track. I WAS NOT being 'iRrEsPoNsIbLe' and 'ReCklEsS'. I was going to a familiar part of the city, only a few blocks from home, to an event where there are literal children and I brought freakin' Spiderman with me. I couldn't be much safer than that!"

I heard him give a hard exhale, but kept going before he could get a word in.

"And don't you even DARE to think about getting Peter in trouble for this. I basically twisted his arm into doing this, and he's too much of a sweetheart to let me go off into the city at night alone—no matter how safe it is. I'm your daughter and his friend and he has a guilt complex almost as big as yours. ALSO—"

"NO. NO 'ALSO'. I don't care how you rationalized this in your head, young lady, what you did was not smart and we're going to talk about this even more when you get back to the tower—"

"Oh joy—"

"DO NOT SASS ME."

The hand that wasn't holding my phone shifted to my hip, "I'LL SASS YOU IF I WANT TO. IT WAS MY FIRST NEW YEAR'S IN NYC, AND IT WAS NAÏVE OF YOU TO THINK THAT I WOULDN'T WANT TO GO SEE THE BALL DROP IN PERSON. NOT ONLY THAT, IT WAS OUR FIRST NEW YEAR'S EVE TOGETHER AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO SPEND IT TOGETHER! YOU HAD YOUR PRECIOUS PARTY TO ATTEND. SO EXCUSE ME IF I'D RATHER SPEND NEW YEAR'S AT TIME'S SQUARE THAN IN AN EMPTY PENTHOUSE WITH PETER, THE TWO OF US FORBIDDEN FROM JOINING THE REST OF YOU!"

And I hung up, turning around to see a maskless Peter staring at me in the too-quiet night, the lingering smoke from the completed firework show wafting around us.

He took a small step towards me, "Coming here wasn't just about wanting to see the ball drop in person, was it?"

I gave a small shake of my head.

He gave me a sad smile, taking several quick steps to come and pull me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, burying my head in his shoulder as I sniffled slightly.

My voice was muffled against his t-shirt when I spoke, "New Year's Eve has always been a family night for me—and now the only family members I have left didn't want to even be around me…"

His grip tightened, and I shifted slightly against him, "And please don't take it the wrong way, because I did love spending it with you, and I do consider you to be like family, but you're just not—"

"I'm not a blood relation. I get it."

He led me over to a small cement block of some kind sticking out on the roof and we sat down. He draped his arm over my shoulders as he looked out at the city, "When I was really young, New Year's was always a family thing for me too. With my parents, then with Aunt May and Ben, and then even just with Aunt May. But eventually, we started needing the money she was able to get working overtime today, and she started working New Year's whenever she could. And I got used to spending it alone. Even after joining the Avengers, I continued spending it alone, because Mr. Stark has a social commitment since he's well him. This party tonight. It isn't any reflection of him not wanting to spend time with you. It's because it's been his tradition for several years. It probably never occurred to him to do anything else or that you would even want to spend it with him. And it's probably a similar situation for Bucky."

I wiped at my eyes, "Sometimes I forget how different this life is from mine…even though it's glaringly obvious from everything around me. There are so many reminders that I don't fit in with this life, that I often don't think about how Dad wouldn't have fit in with mine."

Uncle Bucky somehow seemed both far-off from my old life, but also like he could have walked through the door at any time and been perfectly at home—but that was a whole other enigma of a problem, and right now Dad's abandonment, unintentional though it may have been, was what hurt.

Peter gave my shoulder a squeeze. "You two are still getting used to each other."

I nodded, forcing my voice to take on a playful tone, "Do you want to make a bet about how long it'll take him to show up here?"

Peter stiffened, shaking his head, "No because I'd have an unfair advantage. His suit just came into hearing range. Prepare for incoming."

My smile immediately fell off my face again, "When he gets here, take off. I know you wanted to do a patrol, I don't want this to get in the way of that."

"I don't want to just leave you alone—"

"I think we may need the alone time."

"Y/N—"

He was cut off by the clank of metal boots behind us. I gave Peter a push. "Go."

Then I turned to face my dad, his mask retreating to reveal his angry expression. Oh boy.