Family Secrets

Loose Ends

It had been a few days since Peter had woken up. In that time, he'd been able to get up and walk around, despite his lingering soreness. He was back in his room, though, which was enjoyable to say the least. A real bed, real clothes, real food.

It took some time getting used to the dull glow of his arc reactor. It was very hard to sleep that first night, but after putting a piece of tape over it, he'd been able to drift off.

Which is why Peter, on his fourth day up, was found in the lab, working on changing his reactor. He'd, so far, installed a music player and headphone jack, and the color controller was coming along nicely.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, stepping into the lab. "Whatcha working on?"

"Hey, I'm actually working on the reactor. Nothing too major, just... fixing some of the little details."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"I swear, it's totally fine, I'm just changing the color."

What's wrong with the color?" Tony's voice had a hint of hurt in it, but one look to his smirk told Peter he was joking.

"Nothing, it's just hard to sleep with such a bright blue light."

Tony offered his help, and Peter gladly took it. The two of them worked for a while, listening to rock music at a low level.

"So," Peter said, elongating his 'o'. "Any word on the HYDRA base Liz told us about?"

"I haven't heard anything new from Steve yet, so as far as I know, they are still working the mission."

"It sucks we couldn't go," Peter said offhandedly. He already knew he wasn't going to be going on missions for quite some time, but it never hurt to push it just a little.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're not operating at 100% yet, Underoos. Besides, you still have a birthday to celebrate and a new suit to try on."

"Try on?"

Tony smiled before placing a box in front of Peter. The teen furrowed his brow, but took the box nonetheless and examined it before opening it up. Inside, there was a navy blue ring, just the right size to fit around his arc reactor.

"If you'll allow me," Tony said, gesturing to Peter's tee shirt. The boy quickly stripped it off, and Tony fiddled with the reactor and ring for a moment. "Voila," he exclaimed, scooting his chair back.

"Okay, now what?"

Tony laughed. "Press your hand over the reactor, kid."

Peter did as he was told, and a moment later, his suit expanded outwardly.

"No. Way. Ned is going to flip!" Peter put his hand over the now glowing spider in the middle of his suit, watching the suit retract. He repeated this action, calling the suit out and then retracting it a few times before Tony pulled his hand away with a laugh.

"Nano tech? New nano tech? It feels so light and flexible, how did you make it? Did Shuri help? It feels like my old suit, I don't know-"

Tony cut him off his a wave of his hand. "I've been working on it for a while, Shuri helped by lining it with Vibranium, and the tech should give you enough give to be able to move freely." Tony was rushed with a hug, which he gladly returned.

It was good to have his boy back.

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"Coms are down," Bucky  told Steve. "I can't get a message to Nat, Clint, or Wanda."

"They'll meet us back at the plane, they always do."

The two men moved toward the HYDRA base stealthily, ready for whatever came next.

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Peter yawned and stretched. Day 6 since waking up. Ned and MJ promised to come over and hang out, too. As the boy remembered this, he jumped out of bed, took a quick shower, then tore off towards the kitchen.

"Morning!" His voice had a sing-song lilt to it, and it made his family smile. Speaking of family, Natasha was at the kitchen island.

"You're back," Peter cried, throwing his arms around his aunt.

"Hi," she whispered, pulling him in for a hug.

"How was it, did you get em all?"

"Of course we did," Natasha laughed. "HYDRA should be gone for good. Seeing as we said that last time, though, maybe just gone for now."

"Don't say that," Tony chastised her. "You guys got them, everything is fine now. Liz is in jail, HYDRA is done for, and Peter is fine!"

"And, if my information is correct, almost 16, right?" Bruce wandered into the kitchen, interrupting the conversation.

"3 more days," Peter said, proudly.

"You want an early present?" Pepper smacked Tony's arm at his question, but there was a twinkle in her eye.

"Yes!"

Tony laughed and held Pepper by her waist as he strolled over to the elevator. "Come on, kiddo."

Peter practically bowled them over as he ran to the elevator. The ride down was excruciating, he was just so excited!

The elevator stopped at the garage. "No," Peter whispered, his eyes doubling in size. There, in the middle of the car port stood a bright red Audi. The hubcaps were a beautiful blue, with dark, matte webs for accents.

"Oh, my God!" The teen's shouts of excitement echoed in the garage. "What model is this?"

"An Audi R8 Spyder," Tony said. "They aren't on the market yet, and I did some customizing. Karen's all loaded up and ready, too. You like it?"

"Like it? I freaking love it!" Peter threw open the door, just wanting to sit in the car. "I know I can't drive yet, but this feels amazing!"

Tony and Pepper laughed. "You can test it out in a few days when you get your licence, hun," Pepper said. "For now, I think it's best to head back upstairs."

Peter followed his parents, still bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had been through a lot, there was no denying that, but he had parents he loved more than anything, and who loved him just as much, more aunts, uncles, and sisters than he could have dreamed of, a best friend who could pull of 'guy in the chair' like no one else, and a girlfriend who was just as beautiful as she was smart.

Peter Parker Stark was the boy who had it all.