I can't stop smiling as I take off my suit from another long night of patrolling with Spiderman, aka Peter, aka my no longer crush but not quite boyfriend. We spent nearly the whole night talking as we patrol, and Peter spent most of it talking about how the crush he didn't realize he had had agreed to go on a "not quite date" with him since she apparently doesn't like labels.

It makes me smile even though I knew everything already. There's just something so pure about Peter rambling in the cutest way about me to the person he thinks isn't me. I swear, it makes me fall even harder for him, while also realizing he could never ever be anything like Henry.

Unfortunately, the happiness doesn't last for long. The boxes of my things that Dad finally retrieved from mum's are piled up in the corner of my room. It sends a wave of nausea washing over me. For a while there, I actually forget my own mum hates me enough to let Dad grab my things—that she really kicked me out for telling the truth about the man she believes can do no wrong.

"You're mom said that should be all of your things." Dad says as he leans against the doorframe. "She left me with a key if it's not and said you can stop by while she and Jim are at work."

I nod absently as I open up the first box. "Let me guess, the place looks like I never even lived there? Or did she hit the 'it looks like I never existed' phase where she takes down any reminder of me?"

"How did you—?"

"She did the same thing when she sent Gran away to the home." I mumble and shrug. "It's one of her things. Mum's never been good at processing things; her usual way is trying to scrub every reminder of whatever's bothering her away so she doesn't have to think about it. I just never thought she'd do it to me."

"I'm not trying to justify what she's doing, but I know it's hard on her too. Just imagine, the one person you thought you knew and trusted wasn't who you thought they were."

"I already have imagined it." I reply and glance up at my Dad. "Every time you tell me that Peter can't know the truth. I always wonder if he'll even speak to me, if he'll cut me out like Mum has, or if somehow, in that wonderfully kind heart of his he'd forgive me."

"Can we not have this conversation right now?"

I can't stop the bitter laugh that escapes me. "That's what you always say."

"Fine, we'll talk about it in the morning." He sighs, "I mean really talk about it. If you have a good enough reason, maybe we can come to an agreement."

"Thank you." I whisper as I tug him into a tight hug and hope he can't feel or see the tears in my eyes. "I—um— I should probably get ready for bed."

"Sleep in tomorrow, okay? You've earned it, bug." He smiles and ruffles my messy, knotted hair. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"There's no way I couldn't, and I love you too, in case it wasn't obvious." I smile and give him another tight hug. "Now, I'm really exhausted. So I'm gonna shower and crash in the coffin for like two days."

It earns a chuckle from Dad as he bids me goodnight before heading towards his and Pepper's room. Meanwhile, I indulge myself in a long, hot shower to clean off all the sweat and grime from today.

There's also a small glimmer of hope. I mean, Dad said we can talk tomorrow morning about me coming clean to Peter. Even if it's one or the other, I'm exhausted from all the lies, and I don't know if I would be able to really have a relationship with him if I can't tell him.

I brush the negativity aside and try to keep up what little hope I have. It's a bit of a battle when the first thing I see is the stack of boxes from Mum's, and I decide to test my luck by opening one up.

Right on top is a haphazard pile of photos from back in Kingston. It's a flurry of emotions as I flip through them, remembering all the fun and trouble Trish, Will, and I would get into. We were always known for the mischief that followed us.

Directly beneath the photos is an old, worn book that takes me a moment to recognize. It's the one my gran gave me before Mum put her in the elderly home because she though gran was a going round the bend. I had thought I grabbed it when I left that night and cried when I realized I didn't. Gran always was eccentric and told the most wonderfully imaginative stories—usually about other worlds and elements that were living beings.

I hold the book close to my chest feeling like it's the only link I have to that part of my family. She once told me this was the book her and my grandfather used to read together before they had my Mum. It still makes me sad sometimes that I never got to meet him or Dad's parents. The three of them died before my parents even met. A part of me wants to call Gran, but I know the time difference means I'll never get through to her, and I wish I could just to feel that connection to my family's past again.

It's something I rarely get to experience, and I'll just have to live with that.

"Lia," ARTI's voice chimes in my room, "I found a file that might be of interest, but it's heavily encrypted."

I shake my head, desperately wishing ARTI could have found it in the morning. It's already a struggle to stay awake, much less focus on a strings of code swirling around my screen. My shoulder slump as I try to figure out what to do. "Tap into Friday for backup. I'm not going to be able to finish it without sleep—blessed Stark insomniac genes or not."

"I'll start running the necessary programs and notify you of the results when you wake." ARTI replies, and I nod through the yawn as I climb into the coffin—even though it's been a long time since I started gaining control over most of the supernovas. There's still no telling when a nightmare will happen; so I sleep inside the containment unit to be safe.

My muscles are tight but rested when I finally wake up. I take a few minutes to stretch them out before slipping on my glasses and look at ARTI's progress in decrypting the files I got from OSCORPS. "Talk me through it while I get some breakfast."

"I should inform you, it's closer to lunchtime." ARTI teases, and I shake my head at the comment as I head out to the kitchen in search of food.

I'm so invested in watching the decryption that I nearly run into Dad. "Woah, slow down, bug."

"Sorry, I'm just distracted today." I mumble and set my tablet aside. "So, are we still gonna have that talk?"

"Actually, I've been thinking and talking with Pepper about it, and I came to a decision." My heart drops as he sets his coffee down and faces me. "If you really want to tell Peter the truth about being Phantom, then I think you should. As long as you don't tell him about me being your father, it's still too much risk for people to—"

I cut him off by wrapping my arms around his neck in an impossibly tight hug. "Thank you, Dad. Thank you so so much." I whisper, not even bothering to fight the tears. "I-I have to go call Peter, but I also need to finish decrypting these files."

"Here's an idea." Dad says with that classic Stark smirk. "You call Peter, have him come here. I want to talk to him before you do, just to make sure he knows this wasn't your choice to wait this long to tell him. While I'm doing that, you can work on this. If you're not done with it by the time Peter gets here, I'll finish it up."

"Have I told you lately how thankful I am that you're my dad?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to remind me every once in a while." He calls after me as I run back to my room for my phone. I make sure to text from my Phantom number and tell Peter to meet at Tony's, which he still doesn't know is where I actually live.

Once the text goes through, I purposefully set aside my phone to avoid thinking about it. Instead, I put every once of energy into decoding this file that my gut tells me is far too secured to just be experiment notes and results.

I remain hunched over my computer, furiously typing with my trademark chaotic coding finesse that I've used to break into more systems than I should admit. It only takes me what feels like a few minutes before I reach the final layer of security.

Of course, that's the exact moment that there's a knock on my door. I look up to see Pepper leaning her head in, careful to block most of the light filtering in. "Hey, sweetheart. Peter's here; your Dad is talking with him."

"O-okay. I'll—um—I gotta put on my mask and figure out what I'm gonna say." I frown as the nerves begin to bubble back up. "Any motherly advice for me?"

"Be honest, be understanding, and be genuine." She smiles at me. "Peter's a sweet kid, and he seems to really care about you. I know you never wanted to lie to him, and I'm sure he'll understand that if you give him a chance."

"And if he still hates me?" I question as I fiddle with my mask.

"Then your Dad will do everything he can to change that. He already feels guilty for waiting this long, and I don't think he'd forgive himself if you lost Peter because of it."

"I know. Here goes nothing, I suppose." I sigh and put the mask on. "Can you give this to Dad? Let him know he just needs to get through the last bit of the encryption."

"Of course, and if he finds something, I'm sure he'll let you know." She takes the tablet from me and pulls me into an encouraging hug. "Alright, go talk to Peter."

The quiet mumbling of Dad and Peter's conversation reaches me as I leave the comfort of my room. "I want you to know, this was never her choice. Honestly, she's spent a long time wanting to tell you and working to change my mind."

"Okay, but, I'm still confused, Mr. Stark. Why exactly am I here?" Peter questions with that cute line appearing between his brows as he scrunches them up. "I know I got a text from her asking me to come, but she didn't say why."

"Because—" I call to draw their attention as I take a seat on the couch next to Peter, "Tony finally agreed that it's time you know my real identity."

"Wait, does that mean we know each other?" He immediately questions as the line becomes more prominent.

"You'll find out in a moment. I just—I need you to promise me you'll hear me out and won't get upset until I can explain, please."

"Yeah, I promise." He replies with that encouraging smile.

I take a deep breath and try to hold back the tears already threatening to spill as the only thing hiding my identity slips off my face. My eyes remain locked on the couch as Peter seems to take it in, but I'm too scared to find out.

"Lia?" He whispers in complete shock, and I barely manage a nod as the tears begin to scream down my face. "You—you're Phantom? We've been friends for over two years, and you never told me?"

Peter stands up and shakes his head, clearly upset as he storms out of the room. "Wait, please, just let me explain." I call as I run after him. "I promise, you can hate me and never speak to me ever again. All I ask is that you let me explain myself."

He stops with his hand on the door and looks back at me. "I just—I need some time." His voice comes out in a shaky whisper as he looks at me with tear-filled, red eyes.

Then, before I can even blink, he's out the door.