Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You

A Day in the Life of a Citizen

"I highly doubt that, but off we go." He buckles his seatbelt and Peter quickly does the same. Mr. Delmar's shop isn't exactly the closest, but Peter isn't really familiar with the restaurants up here. "So, a deli, huh?" Tony looks at him, utterly unconvinced.

"Unless you're in the mood for larb." Peter shivers at the thought of that waiter hitting on May. It was almost as bad as when Tony tried to hit on her. Tony takes off his sunglasses just to give Peter one of the most baffled looks the teen has ever seen.

"Larb? Are you kidding me? Kid, you gotta get out more." Peter holds back a scoff.

"Get out more ? I don't think I could get out more if I tried. Between school and decathlon and patrol, I spend more time out than I do in," he rambles, partly talking to himself and partly to Tony. It's true though, he has zero free time. Not that he minds.

"I'm talking about normal teenage stuff," Tony continues "like going to the movies with your friend Ted or shopping with your aunt."

"His name is Ned."

"Him too. My point is," he ignores Peter's correction "you're only a kid for so long. Don't waste it by trying to grow up too fast or screw it up like I did." Peter narrows his eyes at the way Tony says that.

"What do you mean like you did?" he asks curiously. Happy glances at them through the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the road.

"I'll tell you when you're older, squirt." Tony ruffles Peter's hair. Peter pouts and attempts to fix his hair.

"Technically, I'm already older by a few seconds. Y'know, we're always living in the past because of the way our brains process what's around us. By the time it takes light to reach our eyes, the image to be flipped, and then our brain to comprehend it, we're already seeing the past by fractions of a second." Tony raises both of his eyebrows.

"Fascinating," he humors Peter.

"Not that this wasn't f un," Happy interjects "but we're here." He pulls off to the curb and parks the car on the corner right in front of Mr. Delmar's. Peter can't believe he has gone two whole days without eating one of Mr. Delmar's sandwiches!

"You sure about this place, kid?" Tony questions uneasily as he stares at the deli.

"Of course! C'mon, Mr. Stark! Let's go!" With a sigh, Tony opens the door and gets out. Peter quickly follows and shuts the door behind them. Before they walk towards the deli, Peter knocks on the passenger window. Happy seems reluctant at first, but rolls down the window nonetheless.

"What?" he asks impatiently.

"Aren't you coming in too?" Peter asks. Happy seems taken aback, but quickly composes himself.

"Someone's gotta watch the car, that's my job. I appreciate it though." He clears his throat.

"Do you want me to get you a sandwich? They're really good! I promise it's worth it." Peter tries his best to convince him, but Happy shakes his head.

"Thanks, Peter, but I have to watch what I eat." He pats his chest with a small smile and Peter remembers that the man has heart issues.

"No problem!" Peter returns his smile brightly and then walks into Mr. Delmar's with Tony, who's wearing his sunglasses and hat as if it'll help him stay unrecognizable. The deli was remodeled after the ATM incident, but it still has the same charm to it. Mr. Delmar is behind the counter like usual with his forearms resting on it.

"What's up, Mr. Delmar?" Peter greets. Mr. Delmar turns towards them and raises both his arms with a smile.

"Mr. Parker lives," he announces. "I was worried I'd lost my most loyal customer." Peter grabs two bags of gummy worms off the shelf and sets them down on the counter.