Three months later…

"Peter, come back here, you're not leaving this floor looking like that!"

"Come on, Pepper, you've been messing with it for hours!" Peter whined impatiently, "My hair looks fine, now let's go."

"Peter, listen to Pepper. It's just easier that way." Tony sighed, scrolling through his phone and leaning against the elevator doors. He'd been ready for twenty minutes already.

"Exactly." Pepper nodded, lifting a comb, "Now stay still."

Peter rolled his eyes, but did as he was told. "You know, I do know how to comb my own hair-"

"Yeah, but then you walked all over the place upside-down, looking for one of your little bot- things. So I just have to do it this time." Pepper hummed, pulling the comb gently through his unruly curls.

"Nah, don't let her kid you, Pete. She just likes doing motherly stuff." Tony smirked.

"Maybe." Pepper shrugged, "But you can't tell me you didn't play catch with Peter yesterday-"

"That was a reflex test!"

"Uh-huh." Pepper smirked. "Whatever you say, dear. Okay, Peter, I think that does it for now, but don't you walk anywhere but the floor until you get off that stage, got it?"

Peter gave her a sarcastic salute, "Ma'am yes, ma'am!"

Tony rolled his eyes at Peter's antics. "Can we go now?"

"Alright, alright." Pepper sighed, "Let's go get the rest of the merry misfits."

They stepped into the elevator and made their way a few floors down to the common area. The doors opened on a frantic scene, and they really shouldn't have expected any less. There was running, yelling, blood. Cat hair and water was flying through the air. Pepper sighed. Tony laughed. Peter, frankly, didn't know what to do.

Bruce, completely untouched by the chaos, saw them arrive and made his way over with a smile. "Hey, there's the man of the hour!" He had never been big on physical contact, but he pulled Peter into a hug nonetheless. "You ready?"

Peter returned the gesture as gently as possible and nodded as they pulled away, "Yeah, I'm just grabbing a piece of paper. No big deal."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Yeah, no big deal. You're only graduating."

"Exactly."

Tony might have argued with him, but that's when Clint stumbled forward and tackled Peter.

"There he is!" Clint somehow got the kid in a headlock and was noogieing him relentlessly.

"Clint!" Pepper smacked him lightly on the shoulder with a scowl, "You messed up his hair!"

"Won't he be wearing a cap, anyway?" Bruce asked.

"Yes."

Pepper sighed, "That's not the point."

Peter broke free from Clint's grip and darted around Bruce. "Truce, truce!"

"Look, it's all fluffy now."

"Can we stop talking about my hair?"

"Fine." Pepper gave the mess of curls one last disdainful glare before turning back to Bruce. "So what's going on, here?"

"Oh, right." Bruce rubbed the back of his neck as Scott popped up to full size on the counter, screaming. "Well, somebody got soda on Butterfly, though we don't know who-" He cut off with an accusing glance at Clint.

"For the last time, it wasn't me you anxious cucumber." Clint protested, to no avail.

Bruce continued, "And when Scott found out his cat was all sticky, he tried to give him a bath, and forgot to close the door, so naturally Butterfly escaped-"

"And is pissed." Clint finished.

"So this is all because of a cat?" Tony balked, "Oh, come on, you're Avengers."

"And Butterfly isn't a very fitting name!" Clint argued.

They all turned as a yowl tore through the room, and Steve ran past them with a hissing and spitting animal between his hands. With urgency he usually reserved for battle, Steve hurled Butterfly into the nearest room and slammed the door.

"Got him!" Steve panted, slumping against the wall with relief. He turned to Scott, "Your cat is an asshole."

"Um, language, Cap." Tony called, "There are innocent ears present!"

"That's right!" Clint agreed, reaching over and covering Bruce's ears, "You should be ashamed of yourself."

Scott crossed his arms over his chest, "I'd be upset too if somebody got coke all over me."

"That demon animal tore me up worse than a literal plane crash." Steve emphasized, waving his scratched arms dramatically.

"We get it, you crashed a plane!" Tony sighed as he rolled his eyes, "If you're all done with the theatrics, we have to get going. Peter's graduation starts in an hour, and for some reason he doesn't want to show up in a jet."

"Gee, I wonder why." Peter dead-panned.

"Right, I just gotta change!" Scott said as he ran down the hall to get in a suit that didn't shrink. Probably.

Just like that, the chaos resumed, with a whirlwind of various heroes trying to get in normal clothes, and recover from the morning's attack.

Tony glared around the room until he noticed the problem. "Hey," he asked nobody in particular, "Where's Nat?"

Clint ran by with a tie in one hand and a sock in the other, "She went early to save seats. I think she expects us to leave late or something."

"Well, she's not wrong." Pepper sighed, glancing at her watch.

Once everyone was properly dressed and Steve's arms had been wrapped in bandages by Bruce, they all went down to the garage, where they would carpool. Honestly, the biggest struggle for Peter had been convincing Tony not to make a big scene. He was super happy to know the Avengers at all, let alone live with them. It was a dream come true. That being said, they had the potential to be the most embarrassing people alive.

So that's how Peter ended up in the backseat of a plain Nissan Altima between Scott and Clint, with Pepper and Tony in the front. Steve would be riding his motorcycle, with Bruce on the back. When Peter had questioned this (Um, would Bruce really be okay on a ride so…?) Tony simply chuckled and said, "You should have seen his dramatic entrance to the Battle of New York! He'll be fine."

As Peter recalled, the Hulk was very much at the Battle of New York.

It wasn't long before they were pulling up the already packed-out lot.

"Tony, look, Steve already parked." Clint pointed out after fifteen minutes of circling the lot like a vulture.

"Oh, so you mean Steve found a place to park his enormous vehicle? Well, thank you for telling me, Clint, that was so helpful-"

"Maybe I would have more luck if I was driving."

"Peter, you don't even have a license. How the hell would you find a spot better than me?" Tony sighed.

Peter leaned forward, grinning at Tony in the rearview mirror. "Because I'm a Parker."

Peter would have been kicked out of the car then and there if not for Pepper.

"There!" she cried, pointing out a spot just down the aisle. Unfortunately, a minivan was just as close, and by the way the woman in the front was glaring at Tony, he could tell she was eyeing the space, too.

Eight months ago, Tony may not have pictured himself as the type to get in a drag race with a soccer mom for a parking spot at a school event.

But he got the spot. And that's all that matters.

This was it.

Peter's leg bounced to the beat of his rapid heart. He bit his lip and kept his eyes resolutely fixed to the stage in front of him. The principal was speaking. For some reason, Peter had no idea what she was saying.

From his seat, among a sea of his peers in matching deep blue cap and gowns, Peter tried to calm down.

This was ridiculous. He had faced everything from carjackers to super villains. He had saved lives and, more than once, New York. So why was he so shaken up about this?

Peter wasn't scared by many things, anymore. But the future terrified him.

The principal stepped away from the podium with a round of applause following him to his seat. Peter instinctively clapped along. The valedictorian stepped up to take the principal's place.

Gwen. God, that brought back memories. Nine months ago, he loved her. Now, the blonde on the stage was a stranger. Their lives had changed. And so had they.

But that's high school isn't it?

And now it was ending. He would no longer see Harry and Flash every day. He would never again be puny Parker, the young genius that was different from his classmates. In college, people didn't care so much about that stuff. He would never crawl out the window of the boy's bathroom to fight a villain, or sneak into the chem lab to make some more webbing, as he had done before moving into the tower.

Basically, everything was ending, and he had no idea how to feel.

The worst part about Peter's crisis was, though he was walking across the stage with his peers, his life was moving in a totally different direction, now. The others were all entering adulthood, while Peter, the nerd who skipped two grades, was still very much a child.

Sure, his life was never really going to turn out like anyone else's, as a teenage vigilante. Still, to know that Flash was off to the military and Harry was in training to run Oscorp, while others, like Gwen, were going off to college, Peter felt absolutely alone.

Her speech ended. Peter's applause was sincere, despite the fact that he hadn't been paying attention.

The first row of students rose from their seats and began to file toward the stage.

It had all happened so fast.

The first name was called.

Too fast.

The A names turned to B names, and another row of students took the stage. He heard a few air horns go off as "Brant, Betty." took her diploma.

It would be okay.

As the ceremony wore on, Peter swore he saw a kid down the row to his left take a swig from a flask. That's the spirit.

Things were gonna change. But things had been changing, hadn't they? That didn't change the fact that the future was terrifying…

Peter's row stood, so he went along down the middle aisle, around the front, and waited his turn with the rest.

He scanned the crowd of parents and extended family. Right smack in the front of the group was his own family. Tony had a video camera out, ready to record. Bruce caught his eye and gave a thumbs up. Steve, Clint, and Nat were all looking ready to burst with anticipation. Pepper was leaned over, whispering something to Scott. They were all there…

"Parker, Peter."

He was snapped out of his thoughts as his name was called, and he carefully walked across the stage to grab his diploma. God, why had Harry shown him that video of people tripping at their graduations?

All fear was forgotten, though, as a wave of air horns, cowbells, and thunderous cheers came from the stands, where Peter caught sight of the Avengers. Oh, God. They had brought signs.

Embarrassing? Yes.

Strangely uplifting?... Also yes.

Peter took the roll of paper and shook his principal's hand.

He stepped off that stage with a light heart and huge smile.

Yes, things were still changing, and the future was uncertain and daunting. But Peter knew that he would never really be alone again.

That was what really mattered.

The after party was, in a word, insane. Pretty much everyone from the Oscorp incident had shown up, including Harry, who they were celebrating just as much as Peter. Within a few visits to the tower, Tony had gotten over his whole Osborn hating thing. Now, it wasn't out of the ordinary to find them talking about business stuff, with Tony giving the young heir some valuable advice. Peter loved it, obviously.

The SHIELD agents had come too, with the exception of Ward. Apparently, he had gotten into some trouble on a mission, and was bandaged up in a hospital with severe burns. Ouch. Peter was gonna make him a card.

It goes without saying that no super villains were invited.

Peter watched from the side as the party wore on. FitzSimmons were in a heated argument with Tony and Bruce about superhuman metabolism, and how much it would take to get somebody like Peter or Steve drunk. Meanwhile, Nat and Agent May were swapping stories. They were laughing. This made everyone nervous.

Scott, Clint, and Harry were busy making some kind of sculpture out of stuff from the snack table. Harry was surprisingly good at it, and Scott had plenty of help from some ants that had definitely not been invited. As for Clint… he was doing his best.

Then there was Steve. He was telling stories from his time in the war, while Phil listened with rapt attention. Pepper listened as well, fascinated especially by the tales of one "Peggy Carter".

Peter took all of this in with a warm feeling growing in his chest. This was good. This was really good. God, what did he do to deserve this? Looking over the assembled agents and heroes, Peter found himself feeling completely content. And life was good.

He pulled from his thoughts as a hand clapped on his shoulder. "Hey, Spidey!" Skye grinned, a glint in her eye, as though she knew exactly what he had been thinking, "What are you doing over here? Reenacting the Great Gatsby? Classy, I like it."

Peter chuckled, "Nah, I think we both know that Tony has the whole Gatsby thing covered."

"Really? I always figured him for more of a Daddy Warbucks."

"What?"

"You know, from Annie."

Peter considered it for a moment before his eyes widened, and he murmured "Holy shit."

"What?"

"He is Daddy Warbucks."

"I knew it."

The party came to an end much too soon. I mean, it went on past midnight, but still. Stuff like that always ends too soon. The highlight had to be when Daredevil finally showed up. Honesty, when Peter had invited the man earlier that week, he didn't expect him to actually come. Regardless, come he did, in full costume no less.

It had been awkward, at first. Most of them were pretty used to him by now, but the costume was a pretty obvious thing in a room full of heroes in normal clothes.

After about ten minutes of this uneasy atmosphere, Peter went up to his room. He was in there for a while. Tony was about to go talk to the kid, thinking something had upset him, until Peter came back fully suited in his Spiderman garb.

There was a deliberate moment of confusion. A single beat of "What the Hell-" from everyone… then a beat of understanding. From there, the whole affair dissolved into a costume party.

Of course, not everyone ended up in their own suits. For instance, Clint had switched with Scott. This was fine until Clint accidentally shrunk himself, and refused to grow again because 'he was having fun'. The next hour was full of people walking around very carefully.

There were two Captain Americas that night. Coulson had left for half an hour and come back in his cosplay. It was flawless, naturally, and soon everyone had lost track of the real Steve.

While Coulson was gone, Nat had opened her room to go get her tactical suit, but was thrown back as Butterfly burst out in a ball of fluffy fury. Tearing her gaze away from the retreating cat, Nat locked eyes with Clint and said "If that cat tore up my room, I'll make Budapest look like a trip to Disney World."

Clint disappeared for the rest of the night.

Fitz, somehow, ended up in a real Iron Man armor.

The rest of them ended up in a weird mix of half-outfits and loose accessories. Harry, for instance, got Peter's mask and a web-shooter.

Needless to say, Daredevil was no longer out of place.

And that, Peter decided, was what really mattered.

Of course, just because Peter was out of school didn't mean he no longer had any paper work to do. The next weeks were filled with meetings, interviews, and lots and lots of papers.

Finally, two weeks into summer, Peter walked into Nick Fury's office flanked by Tony and Pepper on either side.

"Well, here you are." Fury sighed and casually slid a stack of papers over to the other side of the desk. "You're all set."

"About time." Tony huffed, picking up the papers and thumbing through the pages. "What took so long, anyway?"

"First of all, this isn't usually my job." Fury rolled his eye impatiently, "Other than that, background checks, Stark. None of you have very clean records, you know."

Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he turned to Tony, "Wow, I figured you had a shady past, but what did Pepper do?"

"Maybe it's those killer heels. Maybe she looks so good in that skirt it's a crime. You may never know, kiddo." Tony said. Pepper shot him a look, which he returned with a cheesy grin as he patted his pockets. "Anyone got a pen?"

Pepper rolled her eyes and handed him one from her purse, "I need a new husband."

"Aw, you know you love me." Tony leaned over the desk and, within a few moments, had signed in all of the necessary spots. When he stood and turned back to his wife, the pen was held out to her, and a giant smile had spread over his face.

"Your turn."

Pepper did the same as Tony had done. While she was writing, Tony put an arm around Peter's shoulders. "You ready, kid? You're about to be official."

Peter kept his eyes resolutely fixed on Pepper's hand as it scraped her name into the paper.

"Yeah." Peter tore his gaze away with a nod, "I'm ready."

Ready to move on. Ready for the future.

Part of him knew that this was just his name on some papers, and it wouldn't really change anything. After all, he was already a part of the family. He knew that.

But as he took the pen and added his signature to the bottom of the page, he felt like something really did change.

Oh, yeah.

His name.

Tony Stark had started out with almost everything. Peter started out with nothing. Now, they both had it all.

At least, all that really mattered.

The End.

Well, guys, this is it. I have to admit, I had a hard time writing this. I always wanted to end with the graduation, and the adoption, but other than that I had a bit of a hard time… hence the not writing for a few weeks. But I recently got accepted into college (Woo, go UT!), and a bunch of my friends are graduating this semester, so I won't see them anymore. I'm gonna move out. I won't have to go to class every day. Honestly, I'm so terrified of it all, so when Peter says all of that stuff it's kinda just my own thoughts and anxiety. Everything is ending right now, even this story. I swear, I never thought I'd be getting so emotional over fan fiction.

Still, this story has been my child for the past year. You guys have stayed with me to the end, and I want to sincerely say I've loved having you along for the ride. And it's been quite the ride hasn't it? Regardless, everything has a time to end, and this is it.

So... yeah.

I want to thank you all one last time. Your follows, favorites, and reviews have all been amazing. This whole year has been amazing. For my first story, I'm happy with it, and I'm really glad you all enjoyed it as much as I did. I think this is only time I'll do a story like this, but who knows? As for now though, I'm just gonna assume this is it.

So, thank you once again for reading. For the last time, this is Tardis Thief, saying goodbye and, as always,

EXCELSIOR!