The next morning, Matt started to stir awake when his phone buzzed in his pocket, calling out a muffled, "FOGGY, FOGGY, FOGGY-"

It may have been muffled, but to Matt it was like an alarm clock. He sat up, the memories from the previous day washing over him. He groaned lightly, hearing Claire's slowed heart and shallow breaths from the arm of the couch. He pushed himself up and pulled his phone from his pocket, answering the call. As he answered, he slipped into the hallway so as to not disturb Claire. "Hey, Foggy-"

"Dude, where the hell are you?! I came over to check on you guys when Karen told me what was going on and you're not here??? I thought you had a broken leg???" Foggy asked him, pacing around Matt's empty apartment.

Oh. Matt grimaced. He had completely forgotten to tell Foggy where he went. Which would be strange if he were any other guy, but when one of Matt's specialties was disappearing only to come back half dead... Yeah this reaction was called for. "Sorry Foggy. Kasey, Claire and I are at Stark Tower right now. The tech head developed something that could stabilize Kasey, and we had to leave unexpectedly."

He sighed heavily. "At least try to call me next time?" He told him. "But you guys are still over there? How is Kasey?"

"I'll try to." Matt promised. He pulled the phone away from his ear, and listened for Kasey's heart. It was blissfully normal. He returned his phone to his ear. "Yeah we're still here, and she's doing fine. We had a few bumps along the way, but she pulled through."

"Thank God... After what Karen told me, I was worried something was wrong again." He explained.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you." Matt apologized again. He leaned against the hallway wall. "I'll keep you updated on what happens, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to come back soon."

He sighed. "Alright. Just... Be careful, okay?" He told him. "I'll keep working on her case file and what not for her papers, you focus on just helping her figure things out."

"I will, and thank you." Matt told him earnestly. A lot had happened in the past few days, and he had no doubt that it showed in his voice.

Foggy smiled a bit. "No problem, bud. Just fill me in when you get back, alright?"

"I will. Over a drink from Josie's, on me." Matt responded with a grin. He could tell from the way Foggy spoke that he was smiling. For what reason? He didn't know.

"Sounds like a good time!" He laughed. "But you shouldn't have to worry about Karen poking by since you told her you guys were sick so I'll keep an eye on your place till you get back." He offered.

"Thanks again, Foggy. I've racked up a lot of IOUs in the past week alone." Matt chuckled lightly. "I'll try and get what work I can get a hold of done from my end."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll let you know if I make any progress. I'll let you go- Oh! I know Claire will already harass you about it but eat some damn breakfast for once, alright?" He teased him.

That earned another small laugh from Matt. "Alright, alright. Maybe I will since everything calmed down. But it also depends if I can find something around here that isn't nuts and bolts."

Foggy laughed. "Surely Stark keeps something Kasey can eat!"

"Mmm. I'm sure we can find something." Claire's voice replied as she came over, brushing the hair from her face.

Matt turned in Claire's direction, wondering how he hadn't heard her sneak up on him. Maybe he had gotten too used to her. "I'll see if we can find anything, I'll call you later okay?"

"I'll hold you to it!" Foggy replied. "Talk to you later." He hung up as Claire approached him.

"Foggy?" She asked.

Matt tucked the phone back into his pocket, his attention now on Claire. "Yeah, I unfortunately forgot to let him know we were gone. You can assume how that went."

She chuckled. "I can. You owe him another drink at Josie's?"

"Yup. I've got to add that to my current list." He grinned. "Sleep well? I didn't think it could be comfortable draped on the couch arm."

She chuckled. "It's not my fault you take up the whole couch!" She pointed out, heading back towards the kitchen.

"This is a big building, and I know for certain there are guest bedrooms around here somewhere." Matt pointed out, trailing after her. It was still touching to know she had spent the night with him instead of going somewhere else.

"I don't know where any of those are!" She argued back with a laugh as she started looking for stuff to cook with.

"I'm sure Stark would've been fine showing you to one. I wouldn't put it past his ego to show off all of his stuff." Matt joked lightly. He didn't act like he had remembered what he said the night before. If he had remembered, he might've thought it was more of a dream.

"I didn't know where he wandered off too." She replied with a small shrug. Which was true but... she also couldn't bring herself to leave his side either... so scared that if she did, he'd disappear again...

And she did know what he said but perhaps it wasn't the best thing to bring up before breakfast...

"Okay that's fair. Dude may be smart and all that but he can be mysterious when he wants to be." Matt shrugged lightly, finding a barstool near the kitchen island to sit on.

She finally found a skillet and some eggs. "Looks like there's only eggs." She told him. "That okay?"

Matt laughed lightly hearing that. "Yeah, I'm alright with eggs. Before you were helping us back at the apartment, that's what we were basically surviving off of."

She laughed. "You guys need more than eggs!" She scolded him lightly.

"Why do you think we went out to get groceries that day?" Matt asked, a grin sprouting onto his lips.

"And proceeded to lose them." She pointed out, starting to cook the eggs.

"Which was entirely not our fault, by the way." Matt pointed back, hearing the sizzle of the eggs along with the aroma of them starting to cook.

"Alright, I'll give you that." She chuckled. She finished them and slid him a plate. "Here,"

Matt took the plate, and only then was he made aware of how hungry he actually was. In all honesty, he hadn't thought looking after a teenager would be that hard. But he had basically focused all of his energy and attention on Kasey. So much so he'd forgotten to feed himself.

Claire chuckled as she dished herself a plate and turned the stove off. "I'll make more if you want them." She told him as she started to eat.

"No, that's alright." Matt declined. She had already done so much already. He started eating, finding the taste to be absolutely delicious. "Your cooking never ceases to amaze me."

She laughed. "They're literally just eggs-" She lightly shoved his arm. "I think you're just flattering me." She had a grin on her face.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But aren't you deserving of a little flattery anyway?" Matt sent her a coy grin.

He could tell her cheeks warmed up a bit as she smacked his arm a bit harder. "You're a smartass." She replied back, a smile still on her face. "But you're damn right I do with how much I help you with the shit you pull on me."

Just by the way she became warmer, and the way her words came out sounding wider, he knew she had smiled and he knew he had succeeded. "Which I will always be grateful for."

"You better be. You practically fell asleep on me last night." She teased him. "Took the couch all for yourself, have you no shame?" She was still grinning.

"In my defense, you were the one that made me fall asleep in the first place." He had said it before he even thought about it.

She let out a laugh. "Have I finally found a way to get you to actually get some damn sleep?" She asked him, her tone teasing but he could tell she was a bit flustered from him admitting she had put him to sleep. "I just have to run my hand through your hair?"

"Don't try to weaponize that against me." Matt told her, but couldn't help from grinning. He wouldn't tell her how he loved the feeling of her touch, loved the- oh lord. The train of thought led him right up to when he confessed.

Claire laughed and started to respond when she saw his expression shift a bit and raised an eyebrow in confusion as she watched him seem to be... processing something? She slightly tilted her head but she saw the slightly alarmed, flustered look on his face as he gazed at the floor and she realized.

Oh- did he not remember- Oh- She couldn't help the bubble of laughter coming from the back of her throat. "Something wrong?" She asked him, trying to keep the amused tone out of her voice and promptly failing.

How had he not remembered that? Hell, why did he even say that in the first place?? Well, the why was obvious, but why had he admitted it? He simply spaced out, trying to remember if he really had confessed to her, or if his mind was playing tricks on him.

He was brought out of his stupid when she asked him a question. He could hear the amusement behind her tone, but prayed he dreamt it. "No. Nothing's wrong." Liar.

"You know, for a lawyer, you're awfully bad at lying." She pointed out, watching him try to find a way out of the hole he had dug with a smile on her face.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about." Matt denied knowing anything. "Aaaaand you're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Maybe just a little." She replied, her voice amused. "For someone claiming that nothing's wrong, you sure look rather flush."

He didn't have to feel his face to pick up on the hot sensation burning under his skin. "Okay. Maybe you got me. What do you want me to say?"

She hummed. "Did you remember what you said last night?" She asked him, a knowing tone to her voice.

Yup. She definitely heard him last night. Definitely wasn't a dream either. He ran a hand down his face and chuckled lightly. "..Yes?"

She was very clearly amused. "Do you remember anything after that?"

"...also yes." Came Matt's only answer. He went further down the train of thought from before, noticing he had forgotten one very important piece. She had answered him.

"And...?" She asked him, putting her plate away as she finished eating.

Matt smirked. "I can't believe you called me a dumbass."

She laughed. "You are one!" She countered. "Throwing yourself into dangerous situations without a second thought would count as dumbass decision making."

Matt feigned hurt. "If I didn't get hurt all of the time, how could I be sure you'd come back?" He was joking, really, but saying it felt strange.

"Well, you still have a massive tab to pay off for starters-" She teased him with a grin.

"You've got a point there." Matt sighed. There was an overbearing elephant in the room. "I meant what I said though."

Claire looked towards him, a bit in surprise, her cheeks warming up as she smiled. "So did I." She replied, standing across from him at the island.

She hesitated before sighing. "There's another reason I didn't go find a place to sleep last night."

Matt felt himself relax. Somehow he'd gotten all tensed up, as if she hadn't meant it. "Yeah?" He inquired.

She shifted to lean against the counter behind her. "I- I was worried you would just... disappear again... and you said you had been worried about me so I figured it was best for both of us if I stayed close by."

"Of course I was worried about you. And when you came into that medbay, and I heard your heart speed up like that..." Matt frowned, leaning forward slightly. "I never want to make you feel that scared of me again."

She came around and pulled him into a careful hug. "It wasn't you who made me scared..." She told him softly. "I'm sorry for upsetting you like that but I was still wired with adrenaline and I couldn't be sure at first..."

"No, I don't blame you at all Claire. How you reacted was completely called for." Matt assured her, turning towards her and wrapping his arms around her in return.

"Then understand that I don't blame you either, okay?" She replied before pulling back and kissing his forehead with a smile. "Now, should we go see if we can find Kasey?" She asked him, offering her arm despite knowing he didn't need it.

Matt still took it, of course. He'd never turn down that familiar form of physical interaction. "Sure, I want to check on how she's doing."

Claire led him to the elevator and asked Friday to take them to where Kasey was and she stepped out when the elevator stopped, listening for them.

—

Aura had slept well for the most part. Keyword being most. Next thing she knew she had bursted awake, the relentless beating of her own heart thrumming in her chest. She needed to cool off.

Tearing the bedsheet off of her, she slipped away from the other two and into a small connected bathroom. Turning the faucet on, she cupped her hands under it, using the water to cool her face.

Kasey was still passed out in her bed but she twitched when she heard Aurora moving around and rolled over with a hum only to startle awake with a cry as she fell out of the bed and onto the floor.

This, in turn, startled Peter awake. He jolted upright, a confused expression etched on his face until he spotted Kasey on the floor. He wasn't sure if he should laugh, take a picture, or go over and help her up.

Aurora continued to splash water onto her face, pausing slightly when she thought she heard something. She grabbed a clean towel, attempting to pat her face dry and calm the pounding in her chest.

Kasey was confused as well as she laid there, processing where she was and what had happened. She heard Peter wake up and looked towards him. "Not a word."

Peter laughed dryly, pulling out his phone to start up communication with her again. "Not like I can anyway-"

Kasey was quickly sitting up. "Shit- I'm sorry, I forgot-" She quickly apologized.

Peter waved a dismissive hand, before quickly correcting his mistake. "No, really. I thought it was funny!" He insisted.

They were talking, and she could've sworn she heard a laugh. She decided to wait, her nerves telling her that it would be awkward if she came out now and bummed everyone out.

Kasey sighed a bit but smiled. "Okay, I just- I didn't know if I upset you or anything-" She explained before tilting her head, hearing Aurora's heartbeat. "Aura? You okay?" She called out, starting to stand up.

Peter just then realized a third of their group wasn't there. He couldn't call out, so he depended on Kasey for that.

Shit. She forgot Kasey could hear basically everything. "I'm fine." She pressed the damp towel against her face. Right, the promise. "Just a dream."

"Your heart is racing... Bad dream?" She asked, looking towards the bathroom. "I-It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," She quickly told her. "I get them too..." She admitted. "So I get it... They're not always things you want to talk about."

A look of concern crossed Peter's face as he looked between Kasey and the bathroom door. He was anxious when it cracked open.

Aurora tossed the towel onto the sink, stepping out of the bathroom. She ran a hand through her hair, not really wanting to get into it but... "I don't think Pepper was coming for me in that one."

Kasey frowned and took a small step towards her. "I- do you want-" She stumbled a bit over her words before just holding her arms out, offering a hug towards her.

Peter, although he really shouldn't, got up and came over to the two. He joined the two when Aurora accepted Kasey's offer.

She basically melted into them. She couldn't describe it, just how relaxing it was to have all of them there, together. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to dampen the mood." She mumbled.

Kasey shook her head. "Hey, it's alright. It's been stressful. We get it. We're just happy you're letting us help." She smiled softly at her.

"I promised." Aura said simply. Although she couldn't give herself all of the credit. "Kade said I should do something like that too."

"Trust me, it does help. I opened up with Matt and I- It felt like a weight was lifted off..." She explained.

"I'm not sure I can go into it all right now-" She made a vague motion to her head. "Still pretty fresh and all. But I promise I'll tell you guys when I can."

Peter seemed a bit dejected at the unwillingness to open up, but knew once she made a promise she'd keep it. He typed away on his phone. "I'm here when you want to talk. Either of you."

Kasey nodded before looking at Peter and smiling at him. "Thank you. And if you have questions, ask me. I'll tell you if I'm ready to talk about it or not."

"Will do." Came the automated tone from Peter's phone. He considered making a customized voice on there so it actually sounded like him.

Aura smiled before taking a step back. "Thank you guys. Really."

Kasey smiled at her. "You're welcome. Now, I don't know about you guys but I am hungry."

"Tony should have stocked the kitchen." Came Peter's response. "He likes to tell me how we eat all of his food." He grinned.

"I'm famished." Aurora clapped her hands together. That had gone smoother than she imagined. Maybe she had been overthinking it.

"To the kitchen!" Kasey declared and led them towards the elevator.

Peter trailed after her, keeping his phone in his hand in case he needed to say anything. Honestly, it felt almost normal, this routine of theirs.

Aurora followed after the two, Kasey's energetic words a comfort to her ears.

She waited by the elevator for them and pressed the button when they were all inside.

Aurora leaned against one of the walls, biting at her cheek. Elevators were always awkward for no reason.

Kasey leaned against one of the other walls when the elevator stopped.

"I apologize but the top floor is off limits for a little bit. Is there somewhere else you'd like to go?" Friday spoke up.

Aurora's heart lurched as the elevator stopped. "Off limits?"

Peter glanced between the other two spiders, unsure of what to do next. "Tony always has a stash of snacks in the lab?" He suggested.

"Uh, lab is fine." Kasey agreed, a bit tense as well.

"Of course." Friday replied and the elevator moved downstairs.

It seemed the air in the elevator lightened once it got moving again. Aurora was glad for it.

The doors opened on the lab floor and Kasey headed towards the main lab.

The other two teenagers filtered out onto the lab floor. Peter couldn't help his eyes flickering to some of the ongoing projects, finding them interesting.

The lab also reminded Aurora that she had a whole new suit she needed to fabricate. At least she could spend her resting time doing that.

Kasey's nose twitched as she wandered around before grinning, pulling out some of Tony's hidden snacks. "Score!"

"Yes! I knew he had another bag of those hiding around here somewhere." Came Peter's response, as he plucked a small bag of chips from the stash.

Aurora laughed and just grabbed something that looked appetizing.

Kasey had found something to snack on as well, sitting on the counter. "So, thoughts on what we should do to entertain ourselves for the next few days?"

"I've got to put together a new suit. Mine got pretty cut up." Aurora muttered, leaning against the counter.

Peter had perched himself on one of the lab stools. "I haven't really thought of anything."

"Hmm..." Kasey hummed softly before snapping her fingers. "Guys- A web fort-"

Matt stepped out alongside her, nodding in the direction of the kids. It was joyful, hearing them just talk like kids for once.

Claire chuckled softly when she heard that as they approached.

"That would be freaking amazing. I vote we should do it in the garage. Tony's way too overprotective of his cars." Aurora snickered.

Matt smirked, staying close at Claire's side. "Well they probably cost him a fortune." He commented, turning towards Kasey. "How you feeling Kase?"

Kasey turned to them and grinned, hopping up from the counter and burying herself into his side. "I haven't felt this good in forever!" She replied, happily. "Though I'm really hungry-"

Claire laughed. "I can make you guys some food if you'd like." She offered.

Matt stumbled back just by her force, but chuckled and wrapped an arm around her nonetheless. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Or maybe she could. After all she could hear how proudly his heart beat.

"I really don't want to put you out or anything, but that would be amazing." Peter spoke, a smile on his face. "Something not too rough maybe?"

"I made eggs for us earlier, I can make more." She offered, ruffling Kasey's hair a bit as she happily cuddled against Matt making her gasp in offense.

"Don't you start this again!" She warned her with a grin on her face.

Peter nodded carefully. He was getting used to working around this injury. "That sounds amazing Claire, thank you."

Matt chuckled. "You heard the girl. She said she wanted to start it up again." He started to ruffle her hair too.

Claire laughed, letting Matt toy with Kasey while she turned to the other two. "It's not a problem." She replied, heading towards the elevator while Kasey swatted at Matt's hands.

"This isn't fair! I can't reach you!" She fussed with a laugh.

"All the more reason I should take advantage." Matt laughed, moving towards the elevator after Claire. "Come on kid, let's get you some breakfast."

The other two teens trotted after eagerly. The offer of food was too enticing for them to stay behind eating all of Tony's snacks.

Claire led them into the kitchen and started making eggs again, Kasey hopping up onto the counter while she cooked.

"You asked how I was doing but what about you? You seem to be walking a lot better." She pointed out to Matt.

Once again Aurora took a spot leaning against the counter, and Peter used one of the bar stools to sit on.

"That's because I am. Sometime after that glitch switch, my leg just... started feeling better." Matt explained with a shrug.

"Huh..." Kasey muttered. "That's good though! That means you can go back to work and stuff, right?" She didn't specify which work.

Claire passed Peter a plate of eggs, working on the others.

Matt turned towards Claire for a moment and then back towards Kasey. "Slowly but surely. I don't want to let anyone else have to pick up where I'm slacking." He didn't specify who.

Peter started on the food, finding the eggs to be soft and easy to get down. It was a warm welcome, and a comfort.

Claire passed Aurora a plate as well and then Kasey who thanked her and started eating. "How long do you guys plan on staying here?" She asked.

Aurora ate happily, just glad to have a solid meal.

"Hopefully, as long as Tony will let us. I can try to heal and keep watch over you." Matt spoke. He didn't know if Claire would stay, considering her job.

"I'll try to be in and out as much as I can if Tony's fine with that but I do have work now that Matt can function without damaging his leg more." She gave him a look that she knew he could see but she knew he could sense it.

Kasey laughed a bit but looked back at Matt. "You're really going to stay here??" She asked, kind of surprised by the answer.

Matt sent Claire a reassuring grin. He'd still be careful. "If I'm allowed to." He responded. That, and he wanted to make sure Kasey was okay, and wanted to make sure she wouldn't glitch out again.

"I'm sure Tony will agree! There's a lot of extra rooms here!" Kasey replied, happily.

Claire chuckled. "You two are just having all the sleep overs, huh?" She teased them.

"Hey, if you didn't have a job to get to, you'd be invited to all of them." Matt retorted with a smirk.

"Are you suggesting I do what you do and ghost my job for sleepovers?" She teased him.

Their banter made Kasey beam happily. It felt comforting and familiar.

"I'm not suggesting anything." Matt replied smugly.

"Uh huh, sure." She replied back. "I'll see if I can come back later tonight but I do have to get to work." She told them.

Kasey pouted. "But Claireeee-"

"Trust me, I want to stay too but I have bills to pay." She ruffled Kasey's hair as she passed her and did the same to Matt's. "I'll call you after work."

"Alright. Be careful." Matt told her, before taming his hair back to a way that he hoped looked fine.

She grinned at him. "I will." She promised as she disappeared into the elevator.

Kasey swung her legs on the desk before grinning. "You wanna help make a web fort?" She asked Matt.

"I don't know how helpful I can be. I don't shoot webs or know how to get them unstuck." Matt chuckled lightly. He would love to spend time with Kasey of course, he just didn't know what he'd do.

"Well we are going to use blankets and stuff too-" She explained. So you can help with holding them in place and stuff!"

"I could do that." Matt nodded. "Go ahead and finish your breakfasts first before we do anything." Jeez he was sounding like a dad.

She laughed a bit at that but nodded as she worked on finishing her eggs.

The other two teens did as well, eager to get started on the web fort. It was a semi-normal thing, and it sounded fun.