"I can't believe someone just threw this away." I tell Peter as we head back to his apartment. "It's still in near perfect condition. All I can find is a couple small scratches."

"Right? Which means, you might just have the parts you need to improve your suit, and I can take whatever's left for my computer." Peter tells me with a beaming grin. "Plus, we aced that chemistry quiz. It's a pretty good day."

"As cheesy as it is, every day is a good day with you as a boyfriend." I smile and press a quick kiss to his lips. "Plus, we'll get to celebrate our anniversary this week! Which reminds me, I have something for you."

Peter gives me an odd look as I pull a bag of gummy bears and m&m's from my backpack. There's a moment as the realization dawns on him. "Just like the day we met."

"I saw them last week when I went grocery shopping with my mom. She couldn't understand why I was getting so emotional over packages of candy." I look down at my feet as his hand finds mine. "You know, you were a hero to me, even before all of this. I mean, no one ever stood up for me or was so kind to me like you and Ned were. I'm pretty sure you saved my life."

Peter stops, which yanks me back, and he lifts my chin up so we're eye to eye. "And you've saved mine a hundred times over."

I grin and shrug. "I know. Now, c'mon, we should get back to your apartment before May starts to freak out."

"Nah, it's okay. She knows we were going to be busy after school today." Peter grins as he bumps my shoulder. "So, wanna stop and get delmar's?"

"Is it bad that I'm too excited to think about food because of the possible upgrades?" I question, and Peter just laughs in reply. "What? I've been working on these suits for over four months now. I think I've earned it."

"Yeah, you have."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"Because you're cute when you get excited, and I still can't believe you're my girlfriend." He presses a kiss to my temple. "Which reminds me, I have a surprise for our official anniversary."

"You know I hate surprises."

"No, you say you hate them, but I know you. Deep down, you love it when people do something nice for you without you having to spell it all out. It makes you get that really particular smile that makes everything light up. I love that smile."

"Oh, is that why you keep giving me all those little notes and cute gifts lately?" I question as it hits me. "You just wanted to make me smile?"

"I always want to make you smile." He says simply as we head down the street to his apartment building. "Woah." He breathes when we're less than a block away.

I follow his gaze and see a beautiful, sleek, modern car parked in front of his building. "Now that's what I call a nice car."

"For real." Peter says as we pause to look it over like many other people are. "You don't see a lot of cars that nice very often."

"One day, after we're working for Tony Stark, we should get ourselves something like that."

"You mean when you work for Mr. Stark, which is inevitable."

"Then what will you be doing?"

"Being Spiderman, hopefully still being your boyfriend or something more, and working somewhere—I just don't know as what yet."

"I'm sure you'll find and be ridiculously good at whatever you choose." I tell him with a grin as we head inside. Peter just shakes his head as we climb in the elevator. "Oh, I forgot to tell you! My parents keep bugging me about when you're going to come over for dinner again. I'm starting to worry that they like you so much you're gonna be stuck with me forever."

"I wouldn't mind that." Peter replies with a grin.

"Really? 'Cause I'm pretty sure they're looking for anything they can blackmail you with if we ever decide to break up." I tease, and he just shrugs. "I'm serious, if you wanna run, now's your chance. I wouldn't hold it against you for not wanting to get involved in all the insanity."

"I mean—everyone's got at least one crazy family member." He tells me with a shrug as we leave the elevator. "It just so happens that you have a few."

"Does that include me?" I question.

"I plead the fifth." He answers and unlocks the apartment door as he dodges my joking swing. "Hey, May. There's this crazy car parked out front."

I follow Peter into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water as he talks, but it slips from my hands when I see who's sitting across from May. "What the heck?" I whisper.

Peter follows my gaze and has a similar reaction. "You're Tony—you're Tony Stark."

"Babe, I think he knows that." I nudge him and smile at my hero. "Sorry, um, hi. I'm Y/N, and this—this is Peter Parker."

"I'm well aware." Tony Stark replies with a chuckle. "I was actually looking for the pair of you."

"Of course, about the—um—" Peter stutters, and we both rack our brains for a reasonable excuse or lie.

"Why didn't you two tell me about the grant?" May questions with a proud grin.

"Right! The one through September Foundation." I agree, but only because there has to be a good reason Mr. Stark would be looking for us. The grant applications are only open to college and master students. I was researching it for options to get my foot in the door after I graduated school, but I guess there's a window open instead.

"Exactly. I was hoping to speak with you two about it. Privately if that's alright with your aunt here—which I have a hard time believing this woman is someone's aunt."

"Well, we come in all shapes and sizes, you know." May laughs and blushes at that. "And go ahead."

"Um, we can—we can talk in my room." Peter says, and we both walk down the hallway. "Any idea what's going on?"

"I have a few." I whisper back to Peter and turn towards Mr. Stark as he shuts the door behind him. "'Cause we definitely didn't apply for your grant."

"Ah, ah. Me first. Quick question of the rhetorical variety:" He interrupts, and I take a second to wonder where he got the black eye. Except, my attention is quickly drawn away as his phone projects a video of Peter and I nabbing a carjacker. "That's you two, right?"

I try to hide the sudden spike in pure anxiety at it and just shrug. Peter, on the other hand, crosses his arms, "Um, no. What do—what do you?"

Tony just flips his phone to bring up another video. "Look at you two go. Wow, nice catch—three thousand pounds at forty miles an hour." His gaze flickers to me as I use the iron suit to pry the car open and help the driver out. "And you, just opened that up like it was nothing—in a homemade suit no less. It's not easy. You've got mad skills."

"You know that's all fake, right? All the videos up on YouTube?" I question in the desperate hope to throw him off. "'Cause you know that's all done on the computer. It's really not even that hard to do."

Peter does what he can to keep fro showing his nerves, which he does by fiddling with the DVD player we found today. "It's like that video." He adds, "You know like the—um—"

"Oh, you mean like the UFO over Phoenix?" Mr. Stark asks as he looks around, and I swear I almost collapse when his eyes settle on the ceiling panel. All I can do is watch as he picks up Peter's bat in order to open up the panel, and the suit just drops right down.

Peter rushes to pull it down and stuff it in his closet, but the damage is already done. "So, you're the spider-ling. The crime fighting spider. You're Spider-boy." Mr. Stark says as he stares down Peter.

"It's—it's Spiderman." He mumbles back.

Mr. Stark finally looks at me, "And you're—?"

"I'm just his girlfriend." I reply, but he raises a brow. "But people like to call me Iron Heart."

"Not in those onesies you're not." He replies, and I can't help but wonder what he could mean and what he's doing here.

"They're not onesies." I counter with a scoff. "It's just not everyone has access to billion dollar technology."

"You know, I was actually having a really good day today; you know? We didn't miss the train, found this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there, and algebra test?" He taps his screwdriver against the desk as I settle on his bed. My head is spinning too much trying to process and figure all this out. "Nailed it."

"Who else knows about you two? Anybody?"

Peter shakes his head. "Nobody—with the exception of each other."

"Not even your unusually attractive aunt?"

"No, no, no." Peter repeats, and I can see the anxiety over thinking about how she'd react build up. "If she knew, she'd freak out, and when she freaks out, I freak out."

"Trust me, it's not a fun sight." I pipe up.

"What about you? You're family know?"

I let out a laugh before thinking better of it. "If they did, I'd never be allowed to leave our apartment again."

"You know what I think is really cool. You managed to make a close replica of my work out of junk, and this webbing—" He tosses the vial, and Peter catches it without looking, "the tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?"

"I did." Peter replies and tosses the vial into the hamper.

"Climbing walls. How are you doing that? Adhesive gloves?"

"It's a long story. I was—"

"Lordy!" Mr. Stark says as he looks through the goggles. "Can you even see in these?"

"Yes. I can." Peter replies as he takes his suit from Mr. Stark, and I can't help but laugh at my role model's behavior. "It's just that, when whatever happened happened—it's like my senses were dialed to eleven. There's—there's way too much input, so they just kind of help me focus."

"And you?" Mr. Stark asks me. "What's your story?"

"I couldn't let him have all the fun." I lie. The real reason isn't my story to tell. "Plus, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't have his back?"

"Well, one thing's for certain. You are in dire need of upgrades. Systemic—top to bottom. Hundred point restoration—that why I'm here."

Peter and I share a look as he sits down next to me. "Why?" I ask, trying to figure out why Tony Stark would offer million dollar suits away to a couple teenagers.

"Why are you doing this?" He counters, and I stare down at my hands. "I gotta know. What's your MO. What gets you out of bed in the morning?"

Peter speaks up first, "Because—because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for six months. I read books. I build computers, and yeah, I would love to play football. But I couldn't then; so I shouldn't now."

"Yeah, cause you're different."

"Exactly, but I can't tell anyone that. So I'm not." He sighs and takes my hand in his. "Look, when you can do the things that I can, and you don't. And then the bad things happen, they happen because of you."

"And you?"

I sigh as Peter offers my hand a reassuring squeeze. "I want to protect people. Especially the ones I love."

"So you wanna look out for the little guy, want to do your part, make the world a better place, and all that, right?"

"Yeah." Peter and I both agree. "Just looking out for the little guy."

Mr. Stark lets out a deep breath as he stands up and watches the two of us for a long second. "I'm gonna sit here. So, you move the leg." Peter and I exchange a look as he does so. "Got a passport?"

"No?" I tell him wondering where on earth this could be going.

"No. I don't even have a driver's license." Peter adds.

"Ever been to Germany?" Both of us shake our head, but Mr. Stark seems entirely unfazed. "Oh, you'll love it."

"I—we can't go to Germany." Peter protests, and both of us try to find a decent reason as to why we can't. "We-we've got homework."

Mr. Stark just rolls his eyes. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"But I'm being serious." Peter protests, "We can't just drop out of school."

"Well, it is a little dangerous. So I better tell aunt hottie about it and have her pass on the word." Mr. Stark says as he reaches for the door. Peter and I both have vastly different reactions. He shoots a web that attaches Tony's hand to the door know as I throw one of my electromagnets at it that will keep the knob from turning.

"Don't tell Aunt May." Peter says, deathly serious.

"Or my parents." I add.

Mr. Stark cracks the smallest of smiles at that. "Alright, spider, spark-plug." There's a long moments pause as we all stand there for a moment. "You gonna take care of this?"

"Right." Peter grabs a pair scissors, and I take the screwdriver. "This will only take a second."

"Is that a micro electromagnet?" I nod, and he nods—seeming impressed. "You and I will have to have a conversation later."

My brain just goes fuzzy after that. It's not until after Mr. Stark's long gone, and Peter comes back that it hits me. "Did—did we just get recruited to the Avengers?"

"I—I think so?" Peter stutters, and we both break out into deliriously happy grins and laughter.