Peter went home around ten minutes later, assuring Grace that he was already beginning to heal and would be fine by the morning — Monday at the latest. She went back to the Tower, and Tony and Pepper got back less than an hour after, as Happy had called them as soon as she took off.

They were relieved that she was okay, and she had to relate the whole story to them, though she saved the conversation on the Cyclone for later (well, actually, for Harley, whom she called after getting ready for bed).

Peter managed to conceal his visible injuries from May, telling her Ned's mom dropped him off early because he started feeling sick. She grilled him for a few minutes, asking him about his symptoms, then, when his answers weren't entirely believable, came to the conclusion that Peter said he was sick simply because Grace wasn't at the dance and therefore he wanted to go home. Peter readily confirmed her suspicions.

By Monday, Peter and Grace have been talking about as much as they ever have, though she's been moving and unpacking all her stuff at the new compound. Other than that, life is back to normal.

Almost.

"It looked so insane," Ned says as he Peter walk down the hallway. "That whole- like, it was just crazy. He was just like, 'Zzzz,' and you were like, 'Ah!'" Peter laughs, but tells him to be quieter. Ned continues anyway. "And then I just hit him with the, 'Pew.' It was so cool."

Peter smiles. "You saved me. It was awesome."

And then they see Liz at the end of the hallway, with her mom and MJ. Ned frowns. "I just wish I didn't have to leave Liz to do it, you know?"

Peter pats him on the shoulder. "I know, man. Maybe you can work it out, though — go talk to her."

Ned hesitates, then nods, walking towards her as her mother and MJ walk off in different directions. "Hey, Liz."

She turns. They are tears in her eyes, but she waits for Ned to reach her. Peter stands off to the side, watching.

"Liz, I'm so sorry," Ned says earnestly.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. At the dance," Liz replies coldly.

Ned is at a loss. "Liz..."

"That was a pretty crappy thing to do, Ned," she says.

"I know," Ned replies. "But I... I mean, your dad... I can't imagine what you're going through. If there's anything I can do to help..."

Liz shrugs, fighting down tears. "I guess we're moving to Oregon. Mom says it's nice there, so that's cool. Anyways, Dad doesn't want us here during the trial, so..."

"Liz, I..."

"Bye, Ned," she says. "It was fun while it lasted." She looks over at Peter. "Bye, Peter." Peter raises his hand silently, and then Liz turns and walks away with a single, regretful glance back at Ned.

Peter can only see Ned's back, but he knows that he's hurt. "Ned-"

Ned turns around, wiping his eyes. "Well, we don't want to be late to Decathlon practice, do we? Let's go."

Peter sadly lets him change the subject and follows him to the library, where the rest of the team is gathered at a table.

Mr. Harrington sits at the head of it, smiling. "Congratulations, Decathlon national champions." As everyone cheers, he holds up the trophy. "I'm gonna have to put this back in the trophy case soon, but we'll keep it just for motivation right now at this practice. I'm a little ahead of the game, but we'll need a new team captain next year. So I'm appointing... Michelle."

Everyone looks at her and claps, while she just looks surprised. Quickly, though, she composes herself, "Uh, thank you. M-My friends call me MJ."

Ned turns to her. "I thought you didn't have any friends."

MJ shrugs, looking back at him and then at Peter. "I didn't."

Peter smiles a little, but then his phone vibrates. Fearing it might be important, he checks it, and — sure enough — it's a text from Happy.

A... curious one.

'Go to the bathroom.'

Peter looks up at the table, beginning to stand. "I-I gotta go."

MJ stops him. "Where are you going?" Peter looks like a deer in headlights, struggling for something to say. She squints at him. "What are you hiding, Peter?"

"Um..."

And then she relaxes, a half-smile on her face. "I'm just kidding. I don't care. Bye." She looks at everyone else. "Alright, so we should run some drills."

Ned nods. "Yeah."

Peter heads to the boys' bathroom, confused, but then he finds Happy inside waiting for him — so now he's just a little less confused. "Hey, Happy. What, uh... What are you doing here?"

Happy sighs, smiling a little. "I really owe you one. I don't know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony-"

And then a toilet flushes, so they both go quiet as a boy exits a stall, washes his hands, and then stares at them in confusion as he dries his hands and walks out.

Peter clears his throat. "So, uh, how long you been here?"

"Long enough to be awkward," Happy replies. "Boss wants to see you."

Peter looks around, then quietly asks, "Is he here too?"

Happy brows furrow. "In the toilet? No, he's upstate."

Peter nods. "Oh. At the compound. Right."

Happy sighs. "Yeah, so let's go."

They head outside, an easy process since school is dismissed, then get in Happy's car. Peter sits in the front seat, excited the whole ride over. Not only is he going to talk to Mr. Stark again, but he'll probably — hopefully — get to see Grace too.

A little over an hour and fifteen minutes later, they're driving through a rural area, and there's a large, white building in the distance getting closer and closer. Happy glances at Peter. "Take a look. It's pretty impressive, huh? They just finished remodeling the whole thing."

Peter watches it all in awe, seeing a Quinjet depart, wondering who's flying it and where Grace is and what Mr. Stark wants to see him about.

They pull up to the front of the building and get out, heading inside. Happy leads the way, turning left after entering. Peter soon spots Mr. Stark standing there with a smile.

"Oh, there they are," he says. "How was the ride up?"

"Good," Happy replies.

"Give me a minute with the kid."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I gotta talk to the kid. How about you go and get Grace? She'll want to see him."

Happy sighs. "Alright." And then he departs.

Mr. Stark looks at Peter once he's gone. "So... Sorry I took your suit. I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

Peter nods. "Yeah, yeah, I guess."

"Let's just say it was."

Peter nods again, then says, "Mr. Stark, I really-"

"You screwed up big time. But then you did the right thing. The right thing ended up being going after the guy, but you were smart about it, from what I've heard. You didn't do it alone." He smiles a little. "Point is, I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team."

"To the... To the team?" Peter asks.

"Yeah. Anyway," Mr. Stark points to the door behind him, "there's about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers."

And then he presses some buttons on his watch, and the wall opens up and suddenly there's a new Spider-Man suit displayed there — a total upgrade from the one he took from Peter.

"When you're ready... why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man," Mr. Stark says.

Peter is in shock. "I..."

Mr. Stark chuckles, seeing the amazed look on Peter's face. "Yeah. Give that a look."

Peter walks forward, admiring the suit.

"So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters. I think you're next to Vision? Yes, that's right — the room next to his is farthest from Grace's. He's not big on doors, either; it's fun."

"I..."

"You'll fit right in."

But he won't. Well, maybe he would, but... he can't. As much as he would love to be able to see Grace every day... It's not time for that yet. He still has so much to do before becoming an Avenger.

He isn't ready.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," he says. "But I'm good."

Mr. Stark is surprised — confused even. "You're good? Good? How are you good?"

Peter shrugs. "Well, I mean, I'm... I-I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?"

Mr. Stark looks at him long and hard. "You're turning me down? You better think about this." He points at the suit. "Look at that. Look at me. Last chance: yes or no?"

"No."

Mr. Stark purses his lips, nods. "Okay. It's that kind of a Springsteen-y, working class hero vibe that I dig. Uh, Grace should be down any second now, and you guys can... hang out or whatever for an hour or so, and then, uh, Happy will drive you home."

Peter smiles. "Thank you, Mr. Stark."

He nods. "Yes, Mr. Parker. Very well. Oh, and, um... with Grace. I just... Well, you're a good kid, Pete, and you have my full permission to date her, but I will not hesitate to blast you into oblivion if you hurt her. Again."

Peter nods, paling a little. "I understand. Completely." Mr. Stark nods too. After, a pause, Peter holds out his hand, and he shakes it. "See you around, Mr. Stark," Peter says.

Mr. Stark smiles. "Okay. I mean, you're not leaving yet, so-"

"Right. Um..." Luckily, at that moment, footsteps break the silence; Peter turns, looking for Grace. She's bounding down the stairs, a wide smile on her face and Happy trailing behind her.

"Peter!" Grace says excitedly, wrapping her arms around him when she reaches him.

He laughs, hugging her back. "Hey."

She pulls back a little, looking at him, then spotting the new suit out of the corner of her eye, just behind Happy's shoulder. "Oh, do you like the new suit? Dad had me help with the design."

"Oh, uh, ye-yeah, it's great, I love it."

"He turned it down, though," Tony butts in. "Said he wants to be the friendly neighborhood Spidey for a while."

Grace is surprised, but she grins, looking back at Peter. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Seriously?" Tony sighs. "Well, you kids run along now. I'm gonna go talk to your mom."

They start to leave, hand-in-hand, but Peter stops. "Hey, Mr. Stark?"

He turns, putting the new suit away. "Yeah, Pete?"

"That was a test, right? There's, uh, nobody back there?"

Mr. Stark nods. "Yep. And you passed. Congrats, kid."

Peter smiles. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. Thank you."

Mr. Stark smiles back — genuinely. "Yeah, thank you." He nods towards the top of the stairs. "Now, go spend some quality together — and remember: Friday is always watching."

Grace rolls her eyes, leading Peter further up the stairs. "Yeah, yeah, Dad, I hear you."

Happy smiles, watching Grace and Peter smiling widely as they talk and walk up the stairs. "He's a good kid."

Tony nods. "You're right. He is."

Pepper opens the door behind them, a blast of noise from the reporters following her in. She looks around in confusion as she closes the door. "Where's Peter?"

"Upstairs with Grace," Happy says.

"Well, why isn't he down here? Everyone's waiting."

Tony puts his arm around her shoulders. "You know what? He actually made a really mature choice. It just surprised the heck out of us."

Pepper sighs deeply. "Did you guys screw this up?"

"I mean, I don't think I did-"

"Are you kidding me? I have a room full of people in there waiting for some big announcement — what am I gonna tell them?"

"Think of something. How about, um..." He looks at Happy. "Hap, you still got that ring? The engagement ring?"

"Are you kidding?" Happy says, reaching in his pocket and pulling out the desired ring. "I've been carrying this since 2008."

"Okay..." Tony says, the weight of it hitting him when he actually sees the ring.

Pepper hesitates. "I think I can think of something better than that."

"Well, it would buy us a little time," Tony says, shrugging as his heart pounds in his ears.

Pepper can tell; she kisses him. "Tony, I... You know I want nothing more than to marry you, it's just... I mean, we haven't talked to Grace about this..."

Tony chuckles, relieved. "Well, for one thing, she's been calling you Mom for years. And remember when I told you about that conversation Grace and I had after I kissed you?"

Pepper is confused. "Yes?"

"I left out the part where she told me to marry you."

"Really?"

"Really. She seemed excited about it too." Tony can picture it clearly in his mind, his little girl, her chubby cheeks, her blue eyes lit up, the loud gasp just before she asked, "Does this mean you're gonna marry her now?!"

Pepper looks at Tony for a moment, a smile growing on her face. Then, she looks at Happy. "I can't believe you have that thing in your pocket."

Tony smiles, wrapping his arm around her waist as she heads back for the door. "Want me to get the door for you, hon?"

Pepper laughs as she opens it. "I got it."

Happy tosses the ring to Tony as the voices louden again, and Tony catches it, his face stuck in a smile.

~~~~

Grace leads Peter to the living room to see if it's empty and, luckily, it is. They sit on the couch, on the right end, Grace kissing him almost as soon as he's off his feet. He laughs into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her.

When they pull away for air, she studies his face for a moment, reaching up and tilting it with her hands as she looks him over, causing Peter to laugh. She drops her hands. "When you said you'd be healed by Monday, you weren't kidding."

Peter sighs, leaning back against the couch. "Well, I mean, my rib still kinda hurts, but it should be better soon. And to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure when I told you that. I... I'd been through a lot." He chuckles half-heartedly.

Grace scoots closer, gingerly wrapping her arms around his middle and resting her head on his chest. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He adjusts his sitting position to be more comfortable, about to speak, but Grace takes it the wrong way, hurriedly pulling back. "I'm sorry, was that- did that make you uncomfortable? I didn't-"

Peter gently pulls her back to him, assuring her, "No, no, you're fine. I, um... I was pretty happy with that arrangement, actually." Grace blushes and wraps her arms around him again, and then he tells her everything that happened before she showed up and helped him — even when he almost died.

"So, you were right," he says. "I probably should've left it alone. I would've been screwed had you and Ned not helped me."

But she pulls back slightly to look at him, shaking her head. "No, Peter. I was wrong. And I'm still sorry for being too scared to believe in you. You did it. You got back up again. And, yeah, you had help, but so does every great hero. I mean, look at the Avengers. They'd all be screwed without help — except maybe Nat. She's awesome."

Peter laughs. "Well, as I said before, apology accepted. I probably wouldn't've believed in me either."

"Well, you should," Grace says seriously. "I know I will from now on."

Peter smiles, just taking this moment with her in. He assumes they'll be seeing less of each other from now on, as it'll probably be hard for him to get to the compound to see her very often. "I love you," he says, happy that they've said it — that he can say it all the time now.

"I love you, too," she says, leaning forward to kiss him, pulling him closer. He kisses back, both of them gradually getting better at it now that they've done it a few times.

When they pull back for air, Peter grins, almost smirking. "So, I've been meaning to ask you: are my lips as perfect as you thought they'd be?"

Grace playfully rolls her eyes, swatting his chest. "Oh, shut up, Peter."

He laughs as he speaks. "I'm serious, are they?"

"Don't tell me you're serious when you're laughing," Grace replies.

Peter takes a moment to calm himself, though it hardly works. "Okay, I'm not laughing anymore. I'm serious."

Grace sighs deeply. "Don't get a big head about this... but yes."

"I knew it."

"Keep in mind you're the only boy I've ever kissed."

Peter shrugs. "That's fine by me."

"Oh, shut up."

"You're the only girl I've ever kissed," Peter reminds her.

Grace smiles, almost teasingly. "Well, that's fine by me too."

"I think we'll keep it that way," Peter says, leaning toward her.

"I think we will," Grace replies, just before his lips connect with hers and they're kissing again. This time when they pull away for air, it's only for a moment before they're back together, eyes closed in bliss, everything else around them melting away.

Nearly a minute of this passes before Friday, in a warning tone, says, "Grace."

She pulls away. "What? It takes two to tango, so don't just reprimand me."

Peter holds his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just following your lead."

"Oh, bullcrap, Parker."

Peter laughs, putting his hands down. "Okay, okay. Friday's right, anyways. How about you go get your sketchbook? I've been wanting to flip through it..."

Grace smiles, standing. "Okay, but I'll warn you, there's a couple of you in there."

"Well, now I'm all the more intrigued."

And when she comes back with it, Peter looks through it, asking her what each line of a picture means — why it's there, and why she chose to put it there.

At least until she tells him they'll never get through the sketchbook if he keeps doing that.