It was a good thing that the gala happened only weeks before graduation, because Peter wasn't able to go back to Midtown. It took one week for Peter to be released from the hospital, and one more to move him and May to move into the Facility. Now that everyone knew who he was, he couldn't stay in the apartment without endangering everyone around him.

For the next two weeks, Peter helped the Avengers verify that he wasn't a child soldier and that they had played no part in giving him powers. Due to overwhelming public support, the authorities couldn't touch them. The only thing they could do was declare that Peter couldn't return to Midtown as a matter of public safety.

Peter didn't really mind. He still saw Ned and MJ all the time and did the assignments his teachers sent him. He even took his AP tests at the Facility. The only condition he had was that he and all of the Avengers could go to his graduation.

Once the authorities reluctantly agreed that after everything he'd done he deserved to at least graduate, they had to choose a secure building to hold the ceremony. Tony offered up the Facility without hesitation, and redid an entire wing to accommodate all of the incoming students and their families.

The ceremony was strange for everyone, but even more so for Peter. He had resigned himself to the fact that there was no way the Avengers could possibly attend his graduation, but everything had changed. The Avengers and their companions took up the entire front section of seats as Tony was the generous patron of the graduation. Pepper and May flanked Tony, who was in the dead center. Harley was sitting next to Pepper, having come all the way from Europe to see Tony's other child and his family were next to Harley, and Natasha was with them as the honorary aunt, Nathaniel Pietro in her arms. Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, and Sam were on May's left, looking both bewildered by the turn of events and proud at the same time. Wanda, Vision, and Bruce were next to the soldiers, looking distinctly uncomfortable. This was way out of their comfort zone.

It wasn't just them, though. Scott and Hope were in the row behind them, and an entire delegation from Wakanda was next to them. T'Challa, Nakia, Shuri, and Okoye drew nearly as much as attention as the Avengers. Hill and Fury were also there dressed in simple but efficient disguises. Peter didn't know any of them except for Shuri very well, but they weren't there for him. No, they were all there for the giant after party Tony was throwing in celebration of successfully repealing the Sokovia Accords once and for all. They could no longer stand now that there was teenage superheroes and public support for the Avengers had been renewed.

Peter tried hard not to squirm as he sat with all of the fellow graduates on the stage, very much aware that most of the audience and his classmates were looking at him. He hadn't left the Facility in a few weeks, so this was the first semi public glimpse of Spider-Man anyone had seen since the gala.

Peter caught Natasha's gaze and she subtly signed pay attention while still holding the toddler. Peter couldn't help it. He laughed. Clint elbowed Natasha, but the damage was done. Every Avenger's eyes were on them, which meant that everyone's eyes were on the master assassins as they engaged in a subtle mock fight.

To the everlasting credit of Principal Morita, he kept going and didn't let the Avengers distract him. Clint and Natasha settled down after a stern glare from Steve and Peter did his best not to look at any of them. They were too distracting, but Peter was glad they were there. They were family, albeit a traumatized, messed-up family.

Principal Morita began calling up the students to get their diplomas. Peter didn't recognize lots of names, but he grinned for all of his friends from decathlon and band. It was a while before his best friends were called, though.

"Edward Leeds," Principal Morita said.

Ned looked dumbstruck as he shook the principal's hand and accepted his diploma. Peter wanted to clap for his friend, but they were under strict instructions not to. He settled for smiling and giving Ned a subtle thumbs up.

A few more names before he said, "Michelle Jones."

Though she had claimed she found the entire graduation ceremony stupid and a waste of time, Peter could tell MJ was happy as she held her diploma. She turned around to smile at Peter and give him a vulgar gesture. Peter laughed even harder than before.

MJ was going to Princeton in the fall, and Ned was going to MIT. A few months ago, Peter had been debating about whether or not to join Ned or to make Spider-Man his full time job. In his weeks of isolation, he had decided on a third option. Shuri was going to college in Wakanda and had pulled some strings to get him in so late. It seemed like the perfect answer. He could continue to learn in the most prestigious college in the world no less, and stay in contact with all of his superhero friends. As for Spider-Man, Peter hoped to spend awhile figuring out who he was without the mask. He was still determined to team up with the Avengers when he had the time, but he finally had the chance to balance his two worlds instead of trying to reconcile their warring problems. Even Tony agreed it was his best option, though he was upset that Peter wouldn't follow in his footsteps by going to MIT.

"Peter Parker."

A slight hush fell as his name was called. Peter walked forward on shaky legs and shook his hand.

"Congratulations, Mr. Parker," Principal Morita said, handing him the diploma.

In stark contrast to a few seconds ago, the room exploded with applause and whistling, mostly coming from the front of the room. May was crying as she clapped, Steve rubbing her back in a useless effort to comfort. Tony was all but giving him a standing ovation, pride clear in his eyes. Peter felt his own eyes well with tears as he look at his teammates, his family. They really were an emotional lot.

Peter barely felt as his classmates clasped his shoulder and patted his back. The next hundred or so names seemed to go by in a blur, and before he knew, they were tossing their caps in the air. Tony had printed on his spider symbol to the top of his cap, so everyone could clearly see his in the throng of black.

The cheering barely reached Peter as he made his way out of the cluster of graduates, only pausing to kiss MJ's cheek and to hug Ned. The Avengers waited as he leapt of the stage and scooped up Aunt May, letting his super strength show for the first time in public. May laughed and clung to her little boy, crying too hard to even say anything. Peter kissed her before heading into the waiting arms of his team.

The soldiers tousled his hair as Pepper and Wanda kissed his cheeks. Peter nearly was nearly knocked over by Lila and Cooper, Clint's children, before picking them both up and delivering them back to their father, who enveloped the young man in a big hug. Natasha smirked as she hugged Peter, seeing that he was seconds away from crying.

Harley shook his hand, grinning like a madman. "Go to him before he slips away. He always feels out of place at these kinds of things."

Peter knew who he meant. Tony was talking with Pepper quietly away from everyone, his fingers nervously drumming against the side of his leg. Peter quietly pushed his way out of the group of well wishers. They smiled and moved aside as they saw where he was heading. Peter didn't notice as a few of them slipped out their phones.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, but Peter didn't let him finish. Pepper stepped back as Peter buried his face in Tony's chest, hugging Tony even harder than he hugged his aunt.

Tony was caught off guard. "Peter?"

"Thank you," Peter whispered, crying a little.

"What for?" Tony asked, trying to keep his composure as he saw that several Avengers were recording this.

"Everything."

That did it. Tony broke down crying, his head resting on his Peter's. Tony was a man of science. He didn't believe in magic or fate, but he could think of no other explanation as to how he had managed to find Peter. Out of the billions of people on this planet alone, how could he, the unluckiest person to ever live, find the smartest, most compassionate, and most forgiving boy anyone had ever met? How was it possible that a boy desperately in need of a father had met the one man who didn't know he needed a son?

"I love you, Peter," Tony whispered, careful to keep his voice low so that only he would hear.

Peter cried harder. "I love you, too."

"You're getting all of this, right?" Natasha asked, watching the two of them with a smile.

"Every second of it," Shuri said with an mischievous grin, her phone recording.

The End

Phantom Blood was a story I began writing while I was bored in class and didn't want to do any actual work. My sister recommended the prompt that birthed Phantom Blood; how would Peter react to killing someone? I'm a big fan of writing angst and hurt/comfort stories so the prompt immediately appealed to me. I loved exploring the depths of Peter's trauma, his relationship with the Avengers, and, above all else, his relationship with Tony. I honestly didn't mean to focus on Tony as much as I did, but I found that I both enjoyed writing how Tony fit into all of Peter's craziness and seeing how many different directions their relationship could take.

I'll be honest, I began to grow bored of writing this story in the last few chapters. As a writer, I'm constantly coming up with new ideas both for original works and fanfiction. I very rarely finish stories that I start, but I knew that Peter's story deserved a proper ending and that lots of readers also deserved that. I hope that you enjoyed my story and found that the ending satisfied your hopes for Peter.

I plan to continue writing on this site, but won't be posting any new stories for awhile. If you enjoyed this story, I've posted three others, all one-shots. I highly recommend reading The Lessons That Save Lives, which is perhaps my favorite story that I've ever written. I would like to thank Lady of Lorule for both helping me polish this story and supporting me throughout the entire writing process. Lady of Lorule is a talented writer and has many amazing stories on this site that you should check out. Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, and reviews. I see and appreciate all of them. Your reviews in particular always make my day.

-Beauty In Her Darkness