Innocent eyes

"Come on, I'm not carrying your bags. Let's go." Happy says as he takes Tony's things and carries it towards the plane, leaving Peter to fend for his own.

The kid was okay with that since his things weren't so heavy, also add the factor that he literally has super strength under his belt. "Hey, should I go to the bathroom before?" the kid asks, unsure. He looks over to the bodyguard who wasn't even looking at him and towards Tony freaking Stark who was still busy talking with someone over the phone.

"There's a bathroom on it." Happy answers back, clipped and short.

Peter nods, "Cool," he whispers to himself.

"Aah," Peter sighs as he sits in front of Happy, not really sure where to go since there were no designated seats for this flight, unlike the one that he and Natasha had ridden.

"Is that where you're gonna sit?" Happy asks.

Peter looks at the seat that he was sitting on, unsure why Happy had asked that question. Should he not sit here? Should he sit in front of Tony Stark? Is that even allowed? "Yeah," he answers back, unsure.

"Is this your first time on a private plane?" the man asks.

Peter shrugs at that, "Well, yeah," the kid answers back, "This is only my second time riding any plane." Happy rolls his eyes at that, Peter had seen it even though the man was wearing some thick sunglasses.

The man stands up and leaves Peter, transferring to another seat, away from the kid.

"Should it--? Should it be--? Should it be making that noise?" Peter asks, unsure and a little bit scared as he looks at Happy who was paying him no mind and the kid also catches a glimpse of Tony Stark, sitting a few seats back, his eyes closed, clearly showing his black eye that Peter doesn't know where he got. "Happy?" the kid asks, scared.

--

The flight has been going well. Tony was sitting quietly on the plane, enjoying a little nap and trying to relax for a bit before he goes back to New York and faces Avengers problems. However, that little bubble of quietness bursts as the plane meets turbulence in the middle of the flight.

Turbulence was never a problem for Tony--he has been riding planes ever since he was a kid, though it does nerve him a bit thinking about how his kid had died but all things considered, Tony had come to terms with that a few years ago so it doesn't scare him that much--for the young buck however, is not the case.

Tony observes the kid who had changed his seat several times now ever since they had been on air. If Tony had not known that the kid is Spider-man, he would've comforted him because surely, Spider-man can't be scared of a little turbulence. The kid's been swinging through skyscrapers for as long as he knows. He can't be scared of merely riding the plane, right? Wrong.

The kid stands up as he sneakily changes seats, wanting to be next to someone and that lucky someone was sleeping Happy who was content in his own seat.

"Happy?" the kid whispers as he tries to rouse the man.

Tony nearly jumps out of his seat when Happy almost smacks the kid in the face in surprise, "What the hell's your problem kid?" Happy asks sleepily.

"Can I sit here?" the kid asks, his voice hopeful.

"Why?" the man asks grumpily.

"Why don't you sit here kid," Tony offers, immediately regretting the words he just said as soon as it left his mouth. Rhodey had strictly told him not to be anywhere near the kid. His best friend had always taken good care of him ever since they first met in MIT and thank God for the man's kind heart because even on the hospital bed, his best friend was still thinking about his mental wellbeing. "Happy's gonna be grumpy when we land if he doesn't get his beauty rest." the man says. And though he wanted to follow Rhodey's advice, he didn't take it--just like any other advice that the man had told him throughout the years. "Come on," the man urges calmly.

Somebody should probably get him an Oscar because of the way he's acting right now. It’s award-winning! Because he isn't calm, no... he's far from that--he's scared that the kid's face might trigger something in him and he might mourn his kid all over again, but he's also curious as to who this kid really is.

Peter looks at him, unsure, "Are you-- are you--" the kid stutters, "Is that okay?" Peter asks.

"What?" Tony asks, nonchalant, "Is it okay to save ourselves from Happy's wrath later? Of course. We don't want him cruising Queens with a hot head, I'm telling you, it'll be a dizzying ride."

Great acting, Tony. Great freaking acting.

Peter fidgets with his hand a little bit but the kid spurs to action as another turbulence hits them. The kid all but walks, almost landing on his face when he arrives in front of Tony's seat.

"You okay kid?" he asks as Peter tries to sit properly in front of the man.

Peter looks anywhere but at him, "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay, Mr. Stark, sir."

Tony almost laughs at that, "Tony's fine." he says. Peter just nods at that as the kid finally sighs in relief, "You okay?" he asks, "Is this your first time riding a plane?"

Peter looks at him and Tony almost recoils as he meets gaze with those innocent brown eyes--just like Peter's, his Peter. "No," Peter answers back, clipped, "I--uh-- it's just, it's my first turbulence." the kid says, "Ms. Romanoff and I's plane ride wasn't this rough so..." Peter trails.

Tony nods at that as he grabs one of his sunglasses and puts it on, not wanting to see the kid's eyes in such clarity because his mind might trick him, yet again into thinking that this might be Peter, the Peter who was supposed to be dead.

The billionaire clears his throat as he nods, "Why did you come with Natasha?" he asks, "This was a dangerous mission kid."

Peter just shrugs, his nerves finally settling as the man gives him a distraction from the turbulence, "I didn't really want to. I mean, I do want to... I want to help. I just didn't want to be behind on my school work, you know." he says, "There was a lot to submit this week so..."

Tony raises his eyebrows at that, "After all that happened, you're thinking about school?"

"Of course, May will have my head if I flunk even one subject." the kid says, "Besides, Ms. Romanoff also threatened me that she'll tell my aunt about... you know, Spider-man."

Tony rolls his eyes at that, "Natasha and her black mailing techniques, truly." he mumbles, "Next time that woman knocks on your door, you lock it, understand?"

Peter almost laughs at that, "I mean, she was already inside our apartment when I got there. I don't think any lock would've stopped her."

"And what did she tell your aunt for her to trust that double faced agent?"

The kid shrugs, "She said that I got into your foundation."

"Foundation?" Tony asks, clearly no knowledge of this.

Peter's brows furrow at the man's reaction, doesn't he know about it? he asks himself, "The September Foundation," the kid says flatly, "Isn't that the reason why you gave me the suit?"

Tony quickly made a mental note to curse Natasha in his mind, that sly little spy. "Oh yeah," Tony lies, "The September Foundation." he mumbles.

Peter nods, "At first, I thought you guys finally took notice of my techs but turns out, it's because of Spider-man."

"Techs?" Tony asks.

"Yeah," Peter nods, "I mean, I did try to get into the Stark Internship Program before..." he says, "But I never got accepted. Your HR people told me that I was too young."

Tony smiles a little, not realising that he was growing a little fond of the boy--not because he resembles his kid but because the kid's got this charm. He was awfully honest, soft-spoken and endearing as well.

"Say what," the billionaire says, "Send Happy your papers and maybe I could look at it. There's no such thing as too young to be brilliant."

That earned a gleeful smile from the boy and for the first time, Tony truly saw the kid's face... Brown, curly mop for the hair, brown doe eyes... but no mole on his chin...

Not like his Peter.

Peter Stark had a small mole on his chin. Tony had loved it because his mother also had the exact same mole and it was the only thing that his child had gotten from his grandmother.

This is not his Peter.

Tony's smile falters for a little but that doesn't last as the man smiles again, genuinely--that feeling of fear, sadness and the maelstrom of different emotions ebbing away. He doesn't know why he felt relieved. Shouldn't he cry? Mourn? Because this reality was, Peter, his Peter is truly gone and this kid right here is not his person. But he doesn't feel the need to mourn yet again because he knows in the back of his mind that it was only wishful thinking. He had mourned his kid--continues to mourn his kid over the course of the years and sure, it is painful... But the moment he accepted it that fateful night, he felt the burden lifting a little better, the grief a little less damning.

Peter Parker is not and will never be Peter Anthony Stark.

And somehow, knowing that, Tony could finally breathe a little easier. "Maybe you could pass as my intern, young buck."

--

"What are you doing, a little video diary?" Tony asks as he looks at the phone that Peter was holding and using to film everything.

The two had grown a bit close during the plane ride. The two had talked about science and technology till they landed in New York and the billionaire was amazed at how the kid's brain worked, to say the very least. Peter was spouting things that no high school student could ever say, and the thing was, the kid was not simply reciting what he read in books and research papers or the internet, the kid had his input on those things. He was explaining things to Tony Stark himself, he was contributing to the conversation and Tony was speechless. It was as if he was seeing himself back in his MIT days, the only difference was, the kid is still in high school and enjoying every single second of it while when he was at the kid’s age, he was shipped to a boarding school to make his father proud. And somehow, that made him regret the missed opportunity of having the same excitement that Peter has. Because when he was in MIT, he wasn't excited, no--he dreaded every single second in there--afraid of the bullying, the expectation and the burden of making his father proud.

The kid was different and Tony's happy to see that clearly.

"Yeah," Peter answers back shyly.

Tony smiles a little, "It's all right," the man says. Tony understands the kid's excitement. He just had a mission with THE Avengers and well, here he is, sitting next to the one and only Tony Stark--who wouldn't film that, right? "I'd do the same thing." the billionaire added.

"I told him not to do it." Happy says from the driver's seat, "He was filming everything. I'm gonna wipe the chip."

"Hey, hey, hey," Tony scolds the ever so grumpy Happy, "You know what? We should actually make an alibi video for your aunt anyway." the man says, remembering that Natasha had threatened the kid about his identity and well, the billionaire wasn't having any of it. "You ready?" he asks as he removes his sunglasses.

Peter perks at that, "An alibi?" he asks, "Sure, okay."

"Are we rolling?" Tony asks, "Get in the frame." Peter adjusts the phone in his hand as he and Tony get into the camera. "Hey--" Tony stops as he looks at the kid through the camera, "What's her name again?"

"May," Peter answers back, "Her name's May."

Tony nods, "Hey May," he greets again, "How are you doing? I apologise for not being able to go there personally and ask your permission for this field trip." the man says, "I know Natasha had already hashed everything out but my gosh," he exclaims, "I wanted to tell you what an incredible job your nephew did this weekend at the Stark Internship retreat." Tony pauses, making sure his facial expressions were top tier, "Everyone was impressed." he compliments, which was true. He really was impressed with Peter's skills--the kid did a great job holding off Steve and not many could do that and also add the kid's intelligence–everything about the kid was truly impressive, "And--"

The little video was interrupted by Happy honking the horn as the car swivelled, making the two passengers skid forward.

"Come on!" Happy exclaims angrily, "It's a freaking merge!" the man shouts but when he realised both Tony and Peter were looking at him, he apologises, "I'm sorry," he says.

"This is because you're not on Queens Boulevard." Tony scolds as he turns towards Peter, "See, Happy is hoping to get bumped up to asset management. He was forehead of security, before that he was a driver."

"That was a private conversation." Happy says as he turns towards his boss. "I don't like joking about this. It was hard to talk about that."

Tony pays the man no mind as he turns back again to Peter, "No, seriously, was he snoring a bunch?" he asks.

Before Peter could answer back, Happy quickly steps on the break, "Okay, here we are. End of the line." the man says hurriedly, not wanting to hear that conversation.

"Whoops," Tony exclaims as he chuckles loudly, which got Peter to laugh a little too. The man finally clears his throat to sound a little more serious as he turns to Happy, "Happy, can you give us a moment?" Tony asks.

"You want me to leave?" the driver asks, surprised.

"Grab the kid's case out of the trunk." Tony says, not using Peter's name because he's not sure if he's ready to use that name yet.

"I can keep the suit?" Peter asks, his eyes full of surprise, "I mean, I thought this was only for the trip." he says.

Tony looks at him, "Yes, we were just talking about it." the man says as he quickly puts back his sunglasses on, feeling still a bit uneasy looking at those identical eyes. The billionaire clears his throat yet again as he turns back to the kid, "Do me a favour, though. Happy's kind of your point guy on this." he says, "Don't stress him out. Don't do anything stupid. I've seen his cardiogram, all right?" he asks.

This wasn't in the plan. Happy was supposed to just get the kid back to Queens as per Natasha's orders and that's that but Tony knew that he can't leave the kid just like that. He's already exposed to the superhero world, he needs all the protection that he can get--the suit and it's features and well, his forehead of security too. He can call Happy when things go south, at least doing this will ease Tony's anxiety about the kid literally risking his life every night.

"Yes," Peter nods, a little bit excited about what he's hearing.

"Don't do anything I would do, and definitely, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Tony says, he's probably not the best role model but the kid needs a bit of parameters when it comes to this superhero gig. "There's a little grey area in there and that's where you operate." the man says, earning a little bit of a confused frown from Peter.

"Well, does that mean that I'm already an Avenger?" Peter asks excitedly.

"No," Tony almost whispers.

Happy knocks on the window at that moment that took Peter's attention, "This it?" the man asks.

"Seventh floor," Tony says, remembering Peter's files.

Peter shook his head as he pointed to his luggage, "I can take that. You don't have to." the kid says politely.

"You'll take it?"

"Yeah, I can take that." Peter assures as he turns back to Tony to ask the most important question, "So when's our next, uh--" the kid even wonders what he should call it, a mission? a trip? "When's our next 'retreat', you know?" he asks, quoting the air.

"What, next mission?" Tony asks.

"Yeah, the missions. The missions." Peter nods excitedly.

"We'll call you," Tony simply answers.

"Do you have my number?" Peter asks.

"No, I mean, we'll call you." the billionaire clarifies, "Like someone will call you, all right?" he explains.

"Oh," Peter mouths, "From your team." the kid nods, understanding.

"Okay, all right." Tony says, reaching over Peter's door to open it but he guesses that the kid got a different idea because the next thing he knows, the kid was hugging him with one hand. "That's not a hug, I'm just grabbing the door for you. We're not there yet."

"Oh," Peter mouths yet again as he quickly moves away from the man, "Bye," he finally says as he gets out of the car.

The car leaves, leaving the kid alone, excitement still in his veins, "They'll call me," he repeats as he practically jumps in happiness

--

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Join me, and together..." Peter recognizes that imitation from a mile away, "...we'll build my new LEGO Death Star."

"What?!" Peter asks excitedly as he turns around, Ned's face coming into view. "No way, that's awesome. How many pieces?" the kid asks, his voice lowering a little when he heard one of the girls calling them lame.

"Three thousand eight hundred and three," Ned answers back, pride blossoming in his chest because finally, he had bought it after months of saving for it.

"That's insane," Peter mused as he got one of his books from his locker.

"I know," Ned answers back excitedly, "You want to build it tonight?"

Bummer.

"No, I can't tonight." Peter says, closing his locker, "I've got the Stark--"

Ned nods, "Mm-hm," he hums, "Stark Internship." he finishes.

Peter looks at Ned's face, reading his friend’s expression because Peter knows that he has not been spending time with Ned lately. After the fight in Germany, Peter feels like there's something that he can finally do, there's something worth doing. So yeah, he had been getting behind spending time with his own best friend because of that.

"Yeah, exactly." Peter finally says when he doesn't detect any disappointment on Ned's face.

"Always got that internship." Ned says.

Peter scratches the back of his head, his half-baked lie making him uncomfortable, "Yeah, well, hopefully, soon it'll lead to a real job with them." he shrugs.

Ned looks at his friend with pride as he nods, "That would be so sweet." the kid mused.

"Right?"

"He'd be all, "Good job on those spreadsheets, Peter. Here's a gold coin."" the kid says, his voice thick like he's mimicking how Tony Stark would actually talk, making Peter scrunch up his brows because certainly, that's not how Mr. Stark talks. Peter looks at Ned, unsure, "I don't know how jobs work." Ned shrugs.

Peter chuckles at that as he nods, "That's exactly how they work."

"Oh, heh," Ned laughs a little.

--

It has been a busy day today, well, actually, Peter's day has been truly busy ever since he got his powers and the kid isn't complaining about it. He'd rather chase those bicycle thieves than to be at his apartment, lying down on his bed with an oxygen mask strapped on top of his face.

So yeah, doing acrobatics and going after car jackers is Peter's description of fun now. That's why he couldn't help but to share that same fun to other people. People, meaning grumpy, old Happy Hogan.

"You have reached the voicemail box of: Happy Hogan."

"Hey, Happy. Here's my report for tonight." Peter begins, "I stopped a grand theft bicycle." the kid chuckles, happy with his pun, "Couldn't find the owner, so I just left a note, uhm..." he pauses as he takes a bite from his snack, "I helped this lost, old Dominican lady. She was really nice and bought me a churro." It was a really nice churro, Peter thought, "I just, uhm, feel like I could be doing more. You know? Just curious when the next real mission's gonna be." the kid sighs, "So, yeah, just call me back. It's Peter.” he says, “Parker." he added, wondering if Happy and Tony had already forgotten about him. Peter lets out another big breath after hanging up, "Why would I tell him about the churro?" he asks himself, a little bit embarrassed.

It has been his routine now after Germany. He goes to school, attends decathlon, leaves the school and patrols the neighbourhood–he helps old ladies cross the street, helps cats off the trees, helps lost dogs go back to their owners. And well, after all that, he eats his snack and tells Happy all about his day. But of course, every day that he sends Happy a voice mail, the man wouldn’t respond to it.

But he guesses that today’s a different day.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," Peter says like a mantra, his heart hammering against his chest. He continues to swing, hoping for Happy to answer his call.

Peter was beat. Everything aches in his body--from his head to his toes. He's never had this kind of patrol before. He had started patrolling with only cats and old ladies to help but now he's dealing with high tech guns and bombs?

Mr. Stark certainly needs to know about this.

He needs someone to help him fight these bad guys because the matter of fact is that this is not a simple theft. Those goons were carrying around high tech guns that could kill hundreds of people when used wrongly and he doesn’t want to go over his head with these kinds of things.

Sure, he can probably beat those thieves but he’s not sure if Mr. Stark would be happy with the sentiment.

And when Peter thought Happy would never answer, the line went through, "Yeah?" the man asks from the other line, clearly bored.

"Happy, the craziest thing just happened to me." Peter exclaims, frisson of excitement and fear clear in the boy’s voice, "These guys were robbing an ATM with these high tech weapons--" the kid narrates as he lands on top of the apartment complex just down the street.

"Take a breath. Okay," Happy says calmly as he turns towards one of their guys and signs the documents that he needed to sign--the man was surely busy, "I don't have time for ATM robberies..."

"Yeah, but--" Peter had tried to reason out. This wasn't some minor thing. This is more than ATM robberies–Peter doesn’t even want to know how those men got their weapons. Mr. Stark should really know about this. Peter thought.

"... or the notes you leave. I have a moving day to worry about." he says as he dismisses the guy after signing the papers, "Everything's gotta be out by next week." Happy says, completely ignoring everything that Peter was saying.

"Wait, wait." Peter mutters, confused, "You're moving? Who's moving?" he asks.

"Yeah," Happy confirms, "Don't you watch the news?" he asks, "Tony sold the Avengers Tower. We're relocating to a new facility upstate where hopefully the cell service is worse."

Peter tilts his head at that, "But what about me?" he asks, truly wondering the answer to that question.

Why didn’t Mr. Stark not tell me that he’s moving? I haven’t even seen the interior of the Stark Tower and they’re already moving? That can’t be happening!

Happy furrows his brows at the kid’s question, not understanding what the kid was getting to, "What about you?" he asks, unsure.

"Unh," Peter grunts as he lands on top of the street lamp post, "Well, what if Mr. Stark needs me or something big goes down?" he asks truthfully. Because what if Tony really needed him? How can they get to him that fast if they’re halfway across the state? "Can I please just talk to Mr. Stark?" he asks, almost begging.

Happy rolls his eyes at that, this is why I don’t deal with kids, he thought, "Just,” he starts, “Stay away from anything dangerous." he warns, "I'm responsible for making sure you're responsible, okay?" he says, "I don't even know how it came to this. I was just supposed to bring you back home as per Natasha’s order. I’m not supposed to be babysitting you." the man grumbles.

"Well, Mr. Stark told me to call you when anything happens and something did happen.” Peter reasons out, “Besides, where is Ms. Romanoff?" he asks, "Maybe I could talk to her about it." the kid mutters, leaping from roof to roof in order to go back to the alley where he had left his bag, "Also, I am responsible." Peter says with conviction, "I--Oh, crap." the kid deflates, "My backpack's gone." he groans.

Happy raises his eyebrows at that, "That doesn't sound responsible." he says.

"I'll call you back." Peter says, annoyance laced in his voice.

Happy beams at that, wanting to get the kid off his back immediately, "Feel free not to." he says as he quickly hangs up.

–

This day is just getting worse and worse. He had made the wrong call with the guy and his car, and then he skidded his face on an apartment’s roof… then come those goons who totally wrecked Mr. Delmar’s place and now this–swinging through the streets of Queens and climbing up his apartment complex because his bag is gone, again.

May will totally have my head.

Peter carefully slides his bedroom window, making sure not to make any sounds as much as possible. The kid slithers his way inside his bedroom through the small window and crawls on the ceiling in order to get to his door and close it.

Peter slowly drops into the ground and slowly shuts the door completely, sighing when the door clicks.

“This day’s truly a–”

Mess.

“What was that?!” May asks from the kitchen.

Ned had dropped his half-done LEGO death star on his floor, making a huge freaking sound. Or maybe, it was Peter’s heart hammering against his chest that May had heard.

“Uh, it’s nothing. Nothing!” Peter exclaims hurriedly.

“You’re the Spider-man,” Ned says. It wasn’t a question, it was a statement and it shook Peter to his core, “... from Youtube.” he finishes.

Peter quickly pushes the spider emblem on his chest, making the suit loose–a futile attempt of getting rid of the evidence.

“I’m not, I’m not.” Peter denies, letting his suit fall on his feet.

“You were on the ceiling.” Ned pointed out, surprise still written on his face.

“No, I wasn’t!” Peter vehemently denies, “Ned, what are you doing in my room?!” he asks, annoyed, scared–Peter doesn’t even know how he’s feeling right now.

“May let me in.” Ned answers back, “You said we were gonna finish the Death Star.” he explains because he can still remember Peter agreeing to him earlier this morning.

Peter was clearly panicking, “You can’t just bust into my room!” he says, gritting his teeth so he wouldn’t scream and let May hear their conversation.

Peter hears his bedroom door click, quickly turning around to see May chuckling, smoke coming inside his room.

“Haha,” May laughs, “That turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster,” May says, “Let’s go to dinner. Thai?” she asks as she looks at the two kids, “Ned, you want Thai?” she asks again as she turns to Ned.

“Yes–”

“No!” Peter exclaims, “He’s got a thing,” Peter says, wanting nothing more but for Ned to leave because he needs to freaking think! How is he supposed to break it out to his best friend that he has powers?!

Ned furrows his brows at that, confused, “A thing to do after.” he says, not wanting to leave.

May nods, “Okay,” she says, “Maybe put on some clothes.” she added, “You might get a cold.”

Peter just nods at that, grabbing his hoodie that’s on top of his chair and offering his aunt a small smile. May also nods at that as she closes the door.

Ned marvels as he looks at his best friend in excitement, “Oh, she doesn’t know?” he asks, not believing what’s happening right now.

Peter was truly panicking now, “Nobody knows,” he grits his teeth, trying so hard to keep his voice as quiet as possible, “Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit and Ms. Romanoff too because she’s the one who recruited me but that’s it!” he exclaims, fighting against his hoodie as he tries to put it on.

Ned’s eyes got bigger, shock and surprise written all over his face, “Tony Stark made you that?” he asks, whispering, “And you know the Black Widow too?! Are you an Avenger?”

Am I an Avenger? Peter asks himself every now and then too.

Peter shrugs at that, not really knowing the answer to that question but he had fought with the Avengers and he also fought against the Avengers so… “Yeah, basically.” he answers back.

Ned sways at his best friend’s answer, “Whoa,” he mused, completely shocked.

Peter quickly walks closer to his friend and looks him straight in his eyes, “Ned, you can’t tell anybody about this. You gotta keep it a secret.” he says, almost begging. Peter knows Ned and, well, Ned is crazy about the Avengers and it might be only a matter of time before his secret explodes right in front of him with his best friend lighting it all up.

Ned frowns at that, not understanding Peter at all, “Secret? Why?” he asks.

Peter can’t really afford to explain everything to Ned right now, his mind is still in shambles after what happened at the bank, “Because you know what she’s like.” Peter explains pointing at the door where May had vanished, “If she finds out people try to kill me every night, she won’t let me do this anymore. Come on, Ned, please,” he begs, wanting his best friend to level with him too.

Ned sighs at that, “Okay, okay, okay, I’ll level with you.” he says, “But I can’t keep this a secret. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, Peter!” he replies, his voice rising up a notch in excitement.

Peter was nursing a freaking migraine right now because of his own best friend, “Ned, May cannot know.” he says, “I cannot do that to her right now. You know?” he asks, his voice breaking a little, “I mean, everything that’s happened with her, I–Please.” he begs.

Finally, Ned gets it as he nods–of course he gets it clearly. May has enough on her plate… with Ben gone, with Peter’s heart trying to self destruct… to now, this…

“Okay,” Ned finally relents.

Peter lets out a big sigh at that, “Just swear it, okay?” he asks.

“I swear,” Ned answers back, the initial excitement slowly ebbing away and understanding for his best friend taking over.

“Thank you,” Peter mumbles as he turns away, walking to the door, “I can’t believe this is happening right now.” he tells himself.

“Can I try the suit on?” Ned asks, his excitement being replaced by curiosity.

“No,” Peter quickly answers back.

“How does it work? Is it magnets?” he asks, “How do you shoot the strings?”

Peter’s at the end of his string now so he quickly leads Ned out of his bedroom, “I’m gonna tell you at school tomorrow.” he bargains.

Ned thankfully accepted that answer, “Great,” he says. Peter is almost dragging Ned out of his bedroom now but Ned stops him before they could even open the door, “Okay, well, wait.” he says, “Then, how do you do this and the Stark Internship?”

Peter frowns at that, wondering what Ned meant until he realised it, “This is the Stark Internship.” he answers back.

“Oh,” Ned mused.

“Just get out of here.” Peter says, pushing Ned out of his room.

–

“Hi. I’m Captain America. Whether you’re in the classroom or on the battlefield…”

“Do you know him too?” Ned asks, his questions slowly irritating Peter bit by bit. Ned had single handedly annoyed Peter all day with all his spider-questions. Do you spit venom? Do those strings come out of you? Do you lay eggs? Like seriously, what even is the last question?

Peter just shrugs at that, “Yeah, we met.” he answers back plainly. After a beat, he says, “I stole his shield.” Peter was proud of himself for that–of course he is because it’s not everyday that someone could overpower Captain America, especially not a 14 year old kid.

Ned’s eyes get bigger and his mouth forming an ‘O’ in amazement, “What?” he asks, his voice full of astonishment.

“Today, my good friend, your gym teacher, will conduct the Captain America Fitness Challenge.”

“Thank you Captain,” Coach Wilson says, clearly bored, “Pretty sure this guy’s a war criminal now, but, whatever, I have to show these videos. It’s required by the state. Let’s do it.”

And the whistle blows.

“Do Avengers have to pay taxes?” Ned asks.

Peter really wants to change his gym buddy right now because Ned’s really getting on his nerves. Ned just doesn’t know when to stop with his thousand questions.

“Ssh,” Peter chastises.

“What does the Hulk smell like?”

Peter obviously doesn’t know the answer to that since he hasn’t even met the man yet, “Ssh,” the kid shushes yet again.

Ned shrugs at that, “I bet he smells nice.” he mumbles.

Peter grunts at that, wanting nothing more but to trade Ned as his gym partner, even Flash would be better as his partner right now, “You have to shut up.” Peter grits.

“Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?”

“Ned, just, ssh, okay?” Peter begs.

Ned wasn’t taking any of his best friend’s signal as he continued, “Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?” he asks.

Peter’s brows furrow at that, “What?” he asks as he finishes yet another seat up.

“Yeah, you know how there’s a guy with a headset… telling the other guy where to go?” he asks, “Like, if you’re in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. There’d be screens around me, and I could swivel around, I could be your guy in the chair.” he explains.

Peter grunts as he finishes another seat up, “Ned, I don’t need a guy in the chair.” he says with finality.

“Looking good, Parker,” Coach Wilson praised.

And thank God for Coach Wilson because that made Ned shut up. And because of the silence between them, they became aware of the chats in their surroundings.

“Now, see,” Betty begins, “It would be F Thor, marry Iron Man and kill Hulk.” she says.

Seymour looks at Betty and shrugs, “Well, what about Spider-man?” he asks.

Betty also shrugs at that, “It’s just Spider-Man.” she says.

Spider-Man.

Of course, that one name could easily summon both Peter and Ned into the conversation.

Liz frowns at Betty’s dismissal, “Did you see the bank security cam on Youtube?” she asks, “He fought off four guys,” she says, stressing on ‘four’, wanting to make a point.

Betty rolls her eyes at that, chuckling at her ridiculousness, “Oh my gosh,” she exclaims, “She’s crushing on Spider-Man.”

Seymour smiles at that, “No way,” he laughs.

Liz smiles a little at that too, shrugging, “Kind of,” she answers back, unsure.

“Oh, gross,” Betty says as she shakes her head in disapproval, “He’s probably, like, 30.”

Seymour looks at Betty, “You don’t know what he looks like.” he says as he turns towards Liz, wanting his friend to reconsider her answer, “What if he’s seriously burned?” he asks.

“I wouldn’t care.” Liz answers back, “I’d still love him for the person he is on the inside.”

Peter almost smiles at Liz’s answer until great, old Ned destroys his moment.

“Peter knows Spider-Man,” he declares.

Silence.

Seymour looks at Peter in disgust while Betty smirks at that, not believing what Ned had just said.

Peter quickly stood up, distancing himself from his best friend, “No, I don’t. No. I–I mean–” he stutters, not knowing what else to say or what excuse to give.

“They’re friends.” Ned clarifies.

“Yeah,” Flash says, butting in on their conversation, “Like how Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends.” he says, his voice laced with sarcasm.

“I’ve met him, yeah.” he shrugs, “A couple times.” he added, “But, it’s uhm… through the Stark Internship.” Peter then turns towards his ex-bestfriend, sparing a glare at him, “Yeah, well, I’m not really supposed to talk about it,”

Flash tilts his head at that, “Well, that’s awesome,” he smirks, “Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz’s party. Right?”

Liz smiles at that as she turns to Peter, “Yeah, I’m having people over tonight. You’re more than welcome to come.” she says warmly.

Peter beams at that, completely ignoring the fact that his best friend almost shared his best kept secret out there, “A party?” he asks, a small smile creeping on his lips.

Flash answers him, ruining the mood, “Yeah, it’s gonna be dope.” he chuckles, walking closer to Peter, “You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man.”

Peter now understands where Flash is going with this. He's going to humiliate him at that party.

That wipes Peter’s smile away, “Uhm,” he contemplates.

“It’s okay,” Liz placates, “I know Peter’s way too busy for parties anyway, so…” she shrugs, knowing that Peter is always preoccupied with something.

Flash rolls his eyes at that as he taunts Peter further, “Come on. He’ll be there. Right, Parker?” he asks.

Thank goodness for the school bell because he literally just got saved by it.

“What are you doing?!” he asks, completely frustrated with Ned.

Ned shrugs, “Helping you out,” he says like it’s the most obvious answer. “Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you.”

As Ned pointed it out, his anger slowly dissipates because his friend is right. Liz has a crush on Spider-Man and he’s Spider-Man, therefore, Liz has a crush on him!

“Dude, you’re an Avenger.” he says. “If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it’s you!”

–

This is truly a mistake. He should’ve just been himself in the party, contrary to what Ned had wanted or… Peter should’ve just gone home, like yesterday.

Drowning in a lake was not in Peter’s bingo card tonight. He was supposed to be with Ned, or Liz, partying at her house. Well, he would’ve been the party’s clown, thanks to Flash, but he would rather take that than be in this position right now–being saved by Iron Man is way more humiliating than that.

“And then he just, like, swooped down like a monster!” Peter narrates as he dries his mask, wringing it to remove the water, “He picked me up, and took me up like a thousand feet and just dropped me.” he continues.

He looks back at the piercing blue eyes of the Iron-Man mask, shrinking a little, remembering that Tony Stark just literally hauled his ass off of the lake.

“How’d you find me?" he asks, “Did you put a tracker in my suit or something?”

“I put everything in your suit,” Tony answers, his voice stoic, robotic, “Including this heater.”

Peter immediately felt a thousand times warmer when the heater was switched on with Tony’s voice command. “Whoa,” Peter beams, “Whew, that’s better. Thanks.”

“What were you thinking?” Tony spats, his anger coming across even if his voice sounds robotic due to the Iron Man mask.

Peter frowned, “The guy with the wings is the source of the weapons. I got to take him down.” he exclaims.

“Take him down now, huh?” Tony asks, clearly angry but Peter wasn’t hearing any of the anger, he was hearing sarcasm. “Steady there Crockett,” the billionaire chastises, “There are people who handle this sort of thing.” he explains.

Peter perks at that, “The Avengers?” he asks.

“No, no, no,” Tony answers back, his anger slowly dissipating because the kid was clearly unaware of his anger, it was pointless, “This is a little below their pay grade.”

“Anyway,” Peter says, “Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to come all the way out here.” he mutters, “I had that. I was fine.”

He was lying of course, he literally thought he was going to drown there, in that dark abyss. And sure, he's thankful that Tony had helped him out but, at what cost? Getting scolded?

That got Tony’s attention as he looked at the kid, “Oh, I’m not here.” he says, opening the mask to make the kid see, “Thank God this place has a Wi-Fi,” he mumbles almost to himself, “or you would be toast right now.” he finishes. “Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please.” Tony almost begs, his stress levels racing through the roof.

Peter's brows meet, not understanding why Tony was forbidding him to do the thing that he was supposed to do. He had seen the blast, it was his responsibility to check it out. If he hadn't, those weapons would've landed on someone else's doorstep and they'll be facing an even bigger problem. Peter can't have that in his conscience.

“Why?!” Peter asks in defiance.

“Why? Because I said so!” Tony exclaims, “Stay close to the ground.” he adds, his voice going down a notch, trying to be a bit calmer. “Build up your game helping the little people,” he mutters, “Like that lady that bought you the churro. Can’t you just be friendly… neighbourhood Spider-Man?”

Peter scowls at that, “But I’m ready for more than that now!” he explains, exasperated that Tony wasn’t seeing what he can bring to the table, it was like talking to Ms. Romanoff all over again, there, back at that old alleyway.

“No, you’re not,” Tony answers back plainly.

“That’s not what Ms. Romanoff thought when I took on Captain America.”

“Trust me, kid. If Cap wanted to lay you out, he would’ve.” Tony explains, “Listen to me.” he says with finality, “If you come across these weapons again, call Happy.”

Peter scoffs at that because he has been calling Happy, the man just won’t answer it.

The kid was about to talk back again when he heard a car revving in the background, “Are you driving?” he asks incredulously.

“You know, it’s never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT.” Tony says, “End call.”

“No, I don’t need to go to co–”

“Mr. Stark is no longer connected.” a robotic female voice says, it was FRIDAY.

Peter sighs when the Iron Man suit flies away, leaving him in the cold, “That’s awesome,” he mumbles, not really meaning it.

--

"Stay close to the ground? What is he talking about?" Peter asks himself.

He has been thinking about the argument he just had with Tony and even after repeating it at the back of his head, he just can't seem to grasp the billionaire's point.

And now, here he is, walking. He figured he could take some time off since he can't swing through low-rise houses, there was not enough momentum for him so here he is, contemplating all his decisions.

But he guesses that it was just meant to be for him to walk because there, in the distance is a freaking glowy-thing, "Whoa," he marvels.

It was a part of one of the guns that those men had shot and it was still humming with energy.

He was disrupted from his musings when his phone started to ring, "Hey man, what's up. I'm on my way back." he greets.

Ned sighs from the other line, "Actually, I was calling to say that maybe you shouldn't come. Listen,"

It was Flash's voice that greeted him, "When I say "Penis", you say "Parker"." then comes the voice of a crowd, "Penis," Flash eggs, "Parker," the crowd finishes. They chanted that many times until Ned came back to the phone.

"Sorry Peter. I guess we're still losers." Ned says sadly, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Peter just sighs at that, "I'll see you tomorrow in school."

–

Peter was drowning.

He surely was… like there’s no air to breathe… but there’s also no water to choke on.

But why can’t he…

“Breathe,” Peter cries, looking at Ben’s face. “Ben, please.” he begs, “The–the ambulance is coming, okay? I–” the kid cries, “Help, somebody!”

“Peter…”

...

“Peter, honey,” May calls, her teary eyes meeting his own. “It’s okay,” she soothes, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Peter stares at his aunt, eyes vacant.

He wanted to speak… he wanted to tell her something. Because Ben had told him something…

...

“...important,” his dad had said.

“More important than Peter’s first robotic competition?” Ben asks.

Peter’s dad sighed at that, “I would love to go. He literally didn’t shut up about it ever since he got in but you know, we need to go… It’s work.” 

Ben sighs at that too, “Just make sure you get his favourite Star Wars Lego set when you come back.”

Peter’s dad chuckles, “Of course.”

“Dad?” Peter’s dad looks at him, quickly smiling when he sees him.

“Hey buddy.”

...

“Buddy, listen to me.”

“No,” Peter says, “You need to stop talking,” the kid cries as he puts even more pressure on Ben’s bleeding chest, “I… you need to preserve your strength.”

“Peter, listen,” Ben whispers, “You–”

Peter wakes up, covered in cold sweat, his heart hammering wildly in his chest… while his head…

His head was spacey, like clouds roaming around... like air...

like...

What was it like?

Peter wished he could remember.

Remember?

.

.

.

.

Remember.