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THE DRIVE TO PETER PARKER'S HOUSE DIDN'T HAVE THAT DRASTIC OF A DISTANCE. Of course, the reason for that was because it was in Queens.

"Uh–I guess this is it," Alex pulled up at the kerb. He looked slightly awkward and scared when speaking to Tony Stark, but that was kind of mediocre for most. Especially, if you were hitting it off with their daughter, that you would be scared of their own father.

"Yeah. Thanks, kid." Tony got one look at how nervous Alex looked, and decided to have some fun. "You want your pay?"

Unfortunately to Alex, he couldn't pay attention to the grin hiding in Tony's face. All he was concerned about, was the straight line in his lips, one that he couldn't take lightly.

"Uh– okay? Sure." Alex then took another glance at the stern face of Tony, and reconsidered. "No! Actually, it's fine."

While Alex had kept on deciding the answer to this question, Malea and Holland had kept a note of the smirk Tony had playing with his face.

"Are you sure you want your pay?" Tony asked, his face both straight and serious. Inside, he was trying to contain the laughter.

"Oh my God, dad." Holland face-palmed herself. Alex hadn't at all taken a notice.

"Uh-- you know what? Its fine, you can keep the money," Alex's face was evidently red.

Then, Tony burst out with laughter. "Oh my God, kid. You're a fun one."

Alex looked confused. He didn't understand the meaning of what Tony was saying.

"It was all bullshit, Alex. He was just kidding." Explained Malea, calmly while Tony was bawling his eyes out with laughter.

The Brit had a look that got hit with realisation. "Oh-" Alex began laughing a bit nervously with Tony.

Holland, however, looked slightly annoyed and embarrassed. What better way to be in the same car with both your dad and the guy you liked and have your dad put him on the spot?

"Here, kid. Your pay." Tony said, not even stopping to dry the tears from his laughter as he pulled a couple of dollar bills from his wallet. He handed them to Alex, who still looked slightly nervous. "You need to lighten up a bit, y'know?" Alex nodded in return, biting his lip.

"Lets go, girls." said a fully-regained Tony. "Oh, and stay parked here Mr Evans, just so that I know nothing will happen to my car." Tony looked at Alex, "Not that I don't trust you, but I just don't trust you."

As Holland and Malea trailed out of the car after Tony, Holland managed to slip a small sorry towards Alex, through the window.

Leaves trailed all around them, in a complete Autumn-bourn version of Queens. The leaves, which were of all different colours, bobbed up and down and in irregular shapes, they clashed, drifted away and stuck together.

Autumn will be a season to remind people of many things. For some, it will be the tiresome and continuous job of raking leaves out of driveways, or maybe even using the defroster to melt the stiff ice off of a car windscreen, by which you would already have been late to school or work, and couldn't be arsed with using an ice scraper.

And for others, such as Malea herself, Autumn would be a time of cuddling up in front of a fireplace with a steaming mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows and cinnamon in your oversized marbled sweater, and continuously dozing off on the couch on a nightly basis.

It also reminded Malea of that night. The night, where a young girl believed she was cursed. The night, where an 8-year-old girl was helplessly wandering around a neighbourhood, carrying her bare feet under the scratchy gravel of the road, and constantly muttering one thing that had no effect.

"..Help me."

Normally, when a young child was in distress, the person thy would go to would be their parents. But, what would happen when those parents would be perishing inside a fire that you caused, that you couldn't even control? What happens when you were the so-called cause of their death?

People trailed out of their homes, people came to see what was so attention seeking. They heard, worse, they saw the girl's cries for help, but they did nothing. They all knew. She was a mutant.

Beep. Tony, Malea and Holland had arrived at the footstep of the door leading to different apartments. One of them, housing Peter Parker.

"Who's there?" A female voice rang through the speakerphone, the one that Tony's finger just pressed.

"Tony Stark." Replied Tony clearly, even though she knew he wouldn't mishear his name.

"T--ONY STARK?!"

Malea couldn't help in holding back the laughter that escaped her lips. She found the reaction through the speaker too hilarious.

After about a minute or so of hearing the female breathing deeply to herself, clearly not knowing what else to say, she spoke, "Come in, please."

They walked to the apartment number shown on the ripped sticker next to the button they saw on the speakerphone. When they got to the door, said door was already open for them.

Standing behind the door, with her hand casually leaning against the banister, was a middle-aged woman, who looked about 30, maybe younger. She seemed like the kind of person who was always 'down with the kids', but instead made it seem like a cool thing.

     "Hi!" She immediately said, making way for Tony, Holland and Malea to enter the apartment. She shook each of their hands rapidly, as they took their seats on the couch. "I'm May Parker, its great to see you!" She beamed.

     "Well, I'm Tony Stark as I guess you already know, and this is my daughters Malea and Holland." May looked at the two girls sitting next to Tony, giving them a kind grin.

     "Oh- where has my manners gone? What would you like, coffee? Orange juice? Hot chocolate?" May said, slightly flustered.

     "I'll have a coffee, thank you." Tony said.

     "So will I," Holland chimed in.

     May took their preferences and turned to face Malea. "As for you.. Malea, was it? What wold you like?"

     Lea smiled, "I'll take a hot chocolate, please."

     "That's great. I'll be back in a second." May left the room and stepped into the kitchen.

     Holland turned to Tony. "Just to be clear, does she know about the whole Spider-Man thing?"

     "No, she doesn't." Tony answered. "And it must stay that way, for Peter to remain in our good books."

     "She seems nice." Said Lea, gazing over to where May was working.

     "She's hot, I'll give you that." Tony implied.

     "Dad!" Holland harshly whispered, smacking his arm lightly just as May came back into view carrying their drinks on a tray, accompanied by what looked like meatloaf.

      "So, what brings you here today?" May asked.

     "Your nephew, Peter is it?" Tony answered as he took a light sip from his coffee. Suddenly, May tensed up.

      "Oh no, what has he done?" She asked with her voice quavering.

     "Don't be worried, Miss Parker. I assure you that your son is in no trouble at all."

     May breathed out a sigh of relief, and before she could ask Tony on what she was planning to do with her nephew, the door creaked open and shut seconds later.

Malea's eyes travelled over to what came out of the door, or more specifically, who.

He walked freely, having no idea of the company his aunt let into the apartment. He had a lean figure, and his dark brown hair was combed neatly, and he had earphones hanging loosely around his neck.

"Hey– there's this crazy car parked outside," came the voice from the boy. He then noticed that his aunt had people with her, who were all paying attention to him. His hands lightly fumbled with the wire hanging from his earphones, and pulled them off. His eyes widened at who sat there. Tony Stark. "Uhh–, w–what are you doing here?"

"I'm here about the grant." Tony replied, lying smoothly.

"The grant?" He looked confused. "Right– the grant."

Malea and Holland intercepted the look Tony was giving him, that simply said shut up and go along with it.

"The September grant, of course." Tony continued.

"You didn't tell me about this!" Aunt May lightheartedly scolded, obviously convinced.

"Well I know just how much you love surprises," Peter lied just as well. "Uh-If you follow me, we can have a talk in my bedroom."

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yoooo fam the real shit is happening now