Chapter 1: Happy Hogan

Happy led Peter Parker out of the school. It's been a long time since he's return to this side of town and yet, he remembered exactly where to park and find the kid. Seeing Peter, amongst his peers, threw Happy back to the times when the kid was just a kid, trying to squeeze his way into Tony's world. And now that he got through, it saddened Happy that the kid couldn't go back.

If only they did better.

They passed a highly decorated locker. Peter slowed down, lingering a minute to take in the make-shift shrine of whoever that locker belonged to. Peter gazed at it for a few seconds until Happy tugged on him to continue.

"You know the kid or something?" Happy asked.

Peter quizzically furrowed his brows. "It's my locker, Happy," he said. "My old one, at least."

Happy took another look. It was then he noticed the spider-man themes, the notes left for Peter and the Fuck Accords signs. "Oh."

"I don't know how I feel about it," Peter confessed, taking one last peak over his shoulder. "Makes me feel... like I'm dead."

"Well, you're not," Happy proudly stated. He was thankful the kid survived the nightmare Ross created. "And we really need to hurry."

They exited the school building. The white, morning glare struck them hard across the face. Happy dropped his chin, looking at the cemented stairs as he headed in the direction of the car. "Hood up, kid," he advised, remembering the precautions Peter needed to take.

Peter flipped his hood over his head, barely concealing his face. They hurried down the steps, arriving close to the car when Happy heard a sharp gasp from his left.

Both Happy and Peter turned to the noise. A woman, with her young child, was rooted to the sidewalk. Her eyes were round and eager and wonder. The little one, a boy, stood right beside his mother, hand in hers. He didn't have a reaction at all. Kept looking up at them and then to his shocked mother.

"You're... you're..." the mother struggled to find her words through the shock. "Oh my god! You're Peter Parker!"

The little boy reacted. He sucked in a gasp, eyes just as round as his mother's, peering right up into Parker's face. Peter stiffened, unsure what to do in the scenario as to whether confirm or deny it.

Happy knew what to do. He protectively grabbed Peter, ready to put himself between Peter and the mother. Not that he believed she would attack him, but it was out of habit for guarding Tony for so many years.

Yet, the mother beat him. She didn't grab Peter or shout at him. She did nothing like what most of Tony's fans did. Instead, she whipped out her phone. "Can you please take a photo with my son?" she asked, her hand a bit shaky. "He's a huge fan!"

Happy felt Peter hesitate. "Um... sure."

"Kid—" Happy began to dissuade him, ready to remind him that Tony didn't want him to be recognized yet.

"It's okay, Happy," Peter assured, stepping out of Happy's protective circle and went to the mother.

Happy groaned softly. Why did his clients always insist on a bodyguard if they were never going to utilize their protective services? It annoyed him.

Peter squatted in front of the boy, smiling. "Hey, little man," he said. "What's your name?"

The boy was still. His mouth flopped open and eyes glued on Peter's face in stunned disbelief. The mother tried to get her son to respond, but ended up answering on his behalf. "His name is Mateo," she said to Peter. "And I swear, he's usually chatty."

"It's okay," Peter said and turned back to Mateo, the boy. "Hi, Mateo! I'm Peter. Your mom wants us to take a picture together. You want that?"

The boy finally moved. He slowly nodded his head.

"Great," Peter said and soon enough, the boy was in Peter's arms, listening to the mother's instructions to get the best lightening for her camera.

Happy sunk against the car, watching it with exaggerated annoyance. The boy couldn't stop looking at Peter. No matter how many times his mother called for him to look at her for the picture, the kid never turned his head away from Peter. Eventually, the mother gave up and took two, quick photographs of Peter and Mateo. One of Peter smiling and the other of Peter helping Mateo reenact his Spider-man webbing pose.

The mother was so thankful when Peter returned her child to her. "Thank you!" she told Peter. "We are so happy for you to be here again. Everyone in Queens supports you. You're a hero."

Peter's cheeks reddened. "Thank you."

Happy tapped on the car door, garnering Peter's attention. "Come on, kid," he said. "We gotta go."

Peter said his goodbyes and went to the car. Happy closed the car door and turned to the mother and child, who still hadn't left the steps of Midtown yet. "Hey, listen," Happy addressed her, causing the mother to flinch in surprise that he was talking to her. "You can't upload those photos. Not yet. Wait for later on in the day, okay?"

The mother was surprised. "What? Why?"

"Because no one is supposed to know he's here."

The mother understood. "All right. I'll hold off."

"Thanks."

Happy turned back to the car and got into the driver's seat. He pulled out and away from the school and, the mother and child.

Peter, sitting in the back, scooted to the edge of his seat. "Hey... why did you ask her to hold off posting those photos?"

"Because Mr. Stark doesn't want word out until after the press conference," Happy answered, looking in the rearview mirror to see the kid. "You know this."

He should have at least. Didn't anyone brief him?

"Does it matter though?" Peter questioned. "The press thing is today."

"Still. Rules."

Peter slunk to the back of his seat. His eyes flickered to the familiar background of his former neighborhood. Happy watched him in the rearview mirror. "What are you thinking about?"

"Home," Peter answered. "How much has changed and how much hasn't."

Happy looked around. He couldn't tell. It all looked the same. "What about your friends? Are they the same?"

The kid nodded. "Yeah. More or less."

"Then that is all that matters," Happy said. "As long as they don't change for the worse, then you're pretty lucky."

Peter shrugged, remaining quiet for a moment. "Hey, Happy?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"I missed you."

Happy snorted. "Oh, come on, kid. You don't have to say that."

"It's true," Peter avowed. "I was so used to texting you every day. And then… I couldn't. I'm… it's just good to sit in the back of the car again and talk with you."

Happy checked the mirror again, spying Peter in the back seat. For a moment, it was like they were back to the time Happy drove him to the airport, ready to take him on his first Avenger mission. Peter was excited, videotaping everything and making weird sound effects. An excitable child wanting to grow up fast and be amongst his heroes. He thought little of the consequences of what it all meant even when him and Tony tried their damnest to keep him young and innocent. Away from all the madness the Avengers entailed. But Peter Parker was not one to be afraid to grow up. Especially, when he lived in a world that made children grow up faster than they should.

A year ago, Peter Parker was a kid. Excitable, bright and eager to move up in the world.

Now, Peter Parker was a young man, staring at the passing scene with a doe-eyed melancholy. His home coming and going. A boy forced out of his childhood long before ready. Blissful to relive old memories of sitting in the back seat after leaving decathlon practice, heading off to meet up with Tony or simply to go home. Like they did every Friday before Ross betrayed them.

Happy breathed. "Yeah… it's good to talk to you again too."

They arrived back at the compound in a good hour time. Peter was still new and unsure where to go; therefore, opted to follow Happy around until he recognized something. At least, that was what Happy hoped as he needed to speak to Tony about... delicate matters that weren't for Peter's ears.

Unfortunately, they happened to run straight into Tony and Rhodey upon entering the compound.

"You're back! How was it?" Tony asked Peter.

"It was good," Peter responded, perking up a bit since the drive out of Queens. "Great to see my friends and teammates again."

"And they recognized you?" teased Tony.

"Not at first. It was a bit awkward, but then they remembered."

"I imagined it was more out of shock than failure to recognize," Rhodey spoke up.

Peter conceded to his wisdom with a tilt of his head. "Yeah. Probably."

"Either way, it's good that you got to see them," Tony said, clearly driving the conversation to another topic. "Now, we need to get this ball rolling. You?" He pointed to Peter. "Change into better attire."

Peter crinkled his nose. "You mean like... a suit and tie?" he asked. "Because I don't have any of those. At least, not yet anyway. Aunt May said we'll go shopping for more clothes later, but—"

"No, kid, no," Tony said, waving Peter's concerns aside. "You can wear whatever you want. Just... not something that looks like you put on in five seconds."

Peter glanced down at his jeans, shirt and jacket. "What do you mean? I wore this all the time at school."

"This isn't school. This is a press conference that we are trying to sell to the public," Tony reminded him.

"Sell?"

"Ask your aunt, buckaroo," Tony nudged his head in the direction of the apartments. "Now, hop to! You have less than thirty minutes."

Peter hurried off in the direction Tony gestured to. Once he disappeared though another hallway, Happy relaxed his guard. "Hey, um, Boss?"

Tony directed his full attention to Happy. All the smiles gone, retaken by a serious expression. "Did you drop off the documents?"

"I did. Handed them personally to Everett."

"Everett? Why are you calling him that?" Tony asked.

"That's his name."

"I thought we decided to call him Big E?"

"No—you call him that. Everyone calls him Everett."

"Or Agent Ross," Rhodey added, but Tony scoffed.

Tony scoffed. "Yeah, I'm never going to call him by his last name," he remarked, coarsely. "And I only ever call one person 'Agent'."

Happy knew he meant Phil Coulson. The man who admired all of the Avengers and died for his effort to stop Loki. He was the man who managed to bring the team together. It was both unfortunate and sad that Coulson didn't live long enough to witness the Avengers form. He would have been proud—somewhat.

"Anyway, yeah, I handed him what we procured," Happy carried on. "He said he'll go through it and get back to us this weekend."

"This weekend? That fast?" Tony said, impressed. "Guess he's not a family man."

"Not everyone are parents, Tony," said Rhodey, adjusting his stance to accommodate his braces. "Neither are you... yet."

Tony exhaled. "I feel like one already with all the mayhem going around," he commented. "Jesus—I'm too afraid when another one is added to the mix."

"Well, hopefully, the kid will be more like Pepper than you," Rhodey jested as he moved away from the group. "I have to get going. Gotta get my proper shoes on for the conference. Can't introduce the kid sitting down."

Tony and Happy said their goodbyes to Rhodey before heading up to the apartment complex of the compound. Normally, Pepper prepped the beginning of press conferences, but after the doctor's second, stern lecture about bedrest, Pepper had to pass her mantle to Rhodey. Pepper wasn't too pleased, but she did as the doctor instructed and remained in bed. Probably a nervous wreck, wondering how Tony was going to ruin it.

"Hey Boss," Happy said as he and Tony shared an elevator. "I just want to let you know that we ran into a problem outside the school."

Tony wrangled up a brow. "Oh?"

"Some woman and her child spotted Peter and… the kid beat me to it," Happy explained. "He allowed them to take a few photographs with him. I tried to get the kid away—"

Tony's face slacked, relaxed. "Shit, Happy," he said, whistling low. "I thought you were going to tell me something much worse. Just a random mother and child asked for a photo?"

Happy nodded. "I asked her not to post until later in the day, but I don't know if she will follow through with it. Anyway, wanted to give you the heads up."

Tony was amused. "Well, lucky them. First ones to get a photo-op with Parker," he joked, despite that Happy viewed it as a serious offense. "Don't worry about it Happy. Won't change anything. And nothing bad happened, right?"

"No, nothing bad."

"Then, it's fine," Tony brushed off the concerns with a flick of his hand. "I'm sure Underoos made their day. But thanks for letting me know about it. I knew I could count on you to look after him."

"I'm not the kid's babysitter," Happy reminded Tony. He graduated from that position a long time ago.

But the sly look on Tony's face gave Happy pause. "Wait… Tony—"

"We'll talk more on it later," Tony responded as the elevator doors parted and Tony stepped out.

Happy chased after him. "No—I'm not his babysitter. We talked about this. I'm in management now. Asset manager. Tony!"

Tony ignored Happy, entering the apartment complex lobby where May and Peter waited for them. The kid changed outfits, wearing a plain button shirt and a dark, navy sweater over it. May was trying to fix a strand of hair that refused to be brushed back, staying in a somewhat, curled position near his forehead.

Tony clapped his hands together, catching May off guard. Peter didn't even flinch. "You ready?" he asked, checking Peter over his sunglasses, deciding if he needed a wardrobe change or not.

Happy didn't see anything wrong with the outfit. It looked like something Peter would wear and it made him appear geeky and innocent. All the things they wanted to sell to the public. Which wasn't too hard considering Peter was exactly those traits.

Peter nodded, but there was a pause that signaled his apprehension about it. Happy wasn't surprised. While Tony glorified his press conference with abrasive, outlandish behaviors and speeches, Peter wasn't the type to take the spotlight. He preferred the shadows.

May gently squeezed the kid's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Peter," she reassured him. "I'll be with you."

"And if you don't want to answer a question, you don't have to," added Tony. "I hardly ever answer questions to journalists. I mostly antagonize them."

May shot Tony a stern look. "But Peter won't do that," she argued before turning back to Peter. "Just be you."

Peter nodded, but gulped. "Yeah. Just gotta be me. I can do this."

"That's the spirit," Tony said, patting Peter on the shoulder. "Again, we will all be there with you. We're not sending you out to the wolves on your own. Happy here," Tony jerked his head to Happy, "will keep you safe. He's had tons of experiences in these matters."

He did and he hoped none of them were as bad as Tony's. "Don't worry, kid," Happy said to Peter. "Whenever you want to go, just signal me and I'll get you out of there."

Peter nodded again, but his fingers twisted the ring on his finger. May pulled him into a half-hug to be his support as they headed off to the press conference on the other side of the compound. Tony went over etiquettes on how press conferences go, which Happy found entertaining considering that Tony always tossed etiquette out the window during his press conferences. But Tony was adamant that Peter followed all the etiquettes. Do not give more than asked. Do not let your emotion (specifically anger) get the better of him. Do not call on reporters—Rhodey would do that for him.

"And most importantly," Tony said as they reached the doors where all the unbeknownst reporters waited, "do not mention anything about who or where you were in the past year."

Peter nodded. He looked sickly now, skin palled and breathing a little harder than normal. He kept wringing his hands, glancing from the door to Tony to May to Happy and then back to the door. "Yeah, okay."

Tony planted his feet between the door and Peter. He took the kid by the shoulders and gave him long look. "I know it's scary. The first one always is and it always sucks," he counselled Peter. "Now—this is scheduled to last an hour, but you can always cut it short. Mine typically last ten minutes. Once it lasted only a minute.

"The point is... you are in control," Tony said to the kid. "You decide what questions you want to answer and when to end it. Got it?"

Peter nodded, a bit firmer than last time.

"Good," Tony said with vast relief, and his hands slipped off Peter's shoulders. "Ready when you are, Crockett."

May gave her nephew another reassuring squeeze. "You got this," she said. "Think of it as practice for those college interviews."

"Oh—he doesn't have to worry about that," Tony assured them. "I have a lot of pull at MIT. Accept him on the spot. He'll be great there."

May and Peter both stared at him. Peter—a bit humored. May… not so much.

"Peter will be great anywhere," May said through her forced smile. But, we can talk about it all later."

"Like when I'm closer to graduation?" Peter spoke up, showing more discomfort at the talk about colleges than the conferences.

"Sure," Tony answered, catching the hint. "First things first, obviously. So—whenever you're ready."

Peter inhaled deeply. "Ready."

Tony wheeled to Happy. "Um... Happy?"

Happy drew himself up, preparing his job to protect Peter. He headed to the front of the door and gave it a few taps. The door cracked open and Rhodey stuck his head out. "Hey, where have you been? These journalists are getting angsty. Some of them are threatening to leave," he claimed. He glanced at everyone's faces. "Are we all good?"

Happy affirmed. "Yeah, he's ready to get this over with."

"Alright," Rhodey said, propping the door open as he turned his back to them. He stood up next to a podium. "Ladies and gentleman, I'm proud to introduce—Mr. Peter Parker."