A/N: the more i look at this gif, the funnier it gets

so i've been facing a bit of writers block lately but good thing i've already written 6-7 chapters ahead of this so i don't have to worry about that for a while at least!

other than that, things have been pretty chill since the semester ended and all i've been doing is watching netflix so no complaints there

this is a pretty decently long chapter that i think you guys are gonna like. as promised, it's fluff as usual so enjoy it while it lasts :)

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"What the fu—!"

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"SURPRISE!"

Suddenly, all the lights came on at once and when Adelaide turned around, the entire decathlon team was standing there, smiling at her.

Adelaide's lip parted in shock as she looked around the room. Betty and Abe were holding up a banner that read WELCOME BACK, ADELAIDE!!! and the entire auditorium was decorated with several party decorations. Her eyes flitted over everyone's smiling faces, still wondering if this was a surprise party for her or if she was severely misinterpreting the situation. Was there another Adelaide that went to this school?

"Wha..." she managed to say, "What's all this?"

"It's a surprise welcome back party," Mr. Harrington smiled warmly, stepping forward, "We're all ready glad you came back from the hospital safe and healthy."

Adelaide couldn't believe it.

"So this is all...for me?" she breathed.

"Unless you've got an identical twin, this is your party, Adelaide," Mr. Harrington laughed.

"Oh...wow..." she said, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the team cared this much about her. "I don't know what to say...Th-Thank you."

"If you want to thank anyone, thank Peter. He put all of this together himself," Mr. Harrington said, gesturing over to where Peter was standing in the crowd, smiling sheepishly at her. Adelaide looked at him in a bit of shock. He did all this...for her? She couldn't look away from him. He was just smiling at her like it was just the two of them in the room alone.

"Is it true that JLO came to visit you in the hospital?" Betty asked her. If she had, Adelaide had no idea.

"Did you really flatline?"

"Flash cried when he heard you flatlined."

"I did not!"

Adelaide laughed, looking at Flash who was obviously lying.

"I didn't know you cared that much, Flash," she smiled. He tried to look manly.

"Like I said, I did not cry," he said.

"So then why did Ned find you crying in the janitor's closet—"

"Hey! This is Adelaide's party," Flash said, trying to change the topic, "We aren't here to talk about things that never happened."

"Flash is right," Abe said, "LET'S PARTY!"

And party they did. Well, as good of a party a bunch of nerds could have together. Regardless, Adelaide loved every second of it. The idea that they all cared enough to throw her a party for coming back from the hospital was more than enough to warm her heart up. It felt nice knowing that they all cared.

"Hey Adelaide?" Flash said, approaching her. She was standing off to the side, watching Betty and Michelle arm wrestling on a desk as the rest of the club cheered them on over the loud music. Mr. Harrington was somewhere in the back, grading papers. He had decided it would be best to just leave the teenagers be.

"Yeah?" she said, taking a sip of the punch in the solo cup she was holding.

"You really don't think I actually...cried, right? Because I never cry. My mom told me, when I was born, I wasn't even crying then," he said. Adelaide decided to give his ego a little break just this once.

"Of course I don't think you cried," she told him and his face flooded with relief.

"Good. Cool," he said and then grew serious again, "So...you think we can go on a date sometime or something? I have a coupon for Bernolli's and I can only use if I have a plus one."

Adelaide scrunched her eyebrows, slightly confused.

"Um...I don't think I can," she said.

"Oh," he said, "You like someone else, don't you?"

Adelaide looked past him at Peter who was sitting with Ned and Abe, trying to balance a coin on the tip of pencil. Peter had his eyebrows drawn in on focus and the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth. She couldn't help but smile to herself.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "There's someone else."

"Yeah, I mean, I didn't really want to go on a date with you," Flash said, "I was just...I was asking for a friend."

Adelaide smiled at him, "Gotcha. Tell your friend I said sorry."

"You know what, I'm gonna go tell him right now," Flash said, pulling out his phone and walking away. Adelaide shook her head, smiling to herself. Some things would never change. Her eyes wandered over to Peter again who was laughing as Ned unsuccessfully tried to touch his nose with his tongue. She loved his laugh. Especially when his eyes crinkled at their corners.

As if sensing her gaze on him, he caught her eye and his laughter faded into a bright smile. She bit her lip, smiling back.

He mumbled something to Ned and stood up, walking over to her. He fixed his sweater, tugging it down before his hands went up to the collar of the shirt he was wearing beneath his sweater.

"Hey," he said, stopping to stand in front of her.

"Hi," she smiled, "Thank you for the party."

He shrugged, "It was nothing, really."

"It's something to me," she said earnestly, "Seriously, thank you." He caught her eye, nodding.

"Of course," he breathed, "You really do belong here, Ada. And everyone cares about you."

Before she could say anything in reply, there was a commotion behind them and Adelaide turned around to see that it was only the club cheering because Michelle had beat Betty in the arm wrestle. Betty was rubbing her wrist while Michelle was hiding a smile.

"Okay, who wants to go next?" Abe asked.

"We do!" someone said and it took Adelaide a minute to realize that someone had been Peter and that he had already grabbed her wrist and was pulling her towards the table.

"I didn't agree to this," she said to him under her breath, taking a seat. Peter grinned at her from across the table.

"Too late to back out now," he said. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're just doing this because you want a win," she said. He shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe you can beat me,"  he said and she rolled her eyes. As if. The boy had super strength. She had seen him stop a literal car in its tracks. There was physically no way she could beat him at an arm wrestling competition. Only an idiot would go up against him in an arm wrestling contest. Either that, or Tony. Which gave her the idea to ask Tony and Peter to arm wrestle sometime now that they were bffs. She would love to see Peter make Tony lose.

"Okay, ready?" Abe asked.

Peter put his hand up, resting his elbow on the table. Fighting a smile, Adelaide did the same. Peter reached forward, firmly grabbing her hand in his. His hand was surprisingly warm and much larger than hers. She looked at their hands together and that was when Abe shouted Go!.

Immediately, Adelaide pushed on his hand, but there was obviously a lot of resistance. At first, neither hand was moving in either direction. They were both stuck in the middle, sometimes a little bit to the left and other times, a little bit to the right. She gripped his hand tightly, trying to push it as hard as she could. She was able to tip it slightly over to her side.

Adelaide looked up at him in surprise, wondering why had hadn't just flipping her hand over yet, but he was gritting his teeth, looking down at their hands. They went on that way for a few seconds, with Adelaide pushing his hand down with all her strength, and Peter not flipping her hand over.

And then, Peter's hand hit the desk.

"Ha!" Flash said, "Parker lost to a girl!"

Everyone cheered around them, but Adelaide was looking at Peter, wondering why he had done that.

He just grinned at her like a dork.

—————

The party had come to a point where Flash and Abe were singing a Bad Romance karaoke duet on stage together. And they weren't the best of singers. It sounded terrible, to be completely honest. They didn't hit a single note right throughout the entire song.

But the team didn't seem to mind at all. They were all gathered around, below the stage, cheering them on and dancing. Adelaide was sitting in one of auditorium seats, watching them. Dancing wasn't exactly her strong suit. In fact, dancing wasn't Ned's, Vivian's, Michelle's, or Peter's strong suit either because they were all sitting with her. The music was too loud to talk over and they all sat quietly, just watching Flash and Abe embarrass themselves.

After what felt like eternity, the song finally ended.

Mr. Harrington walked up onto the stage, taking the microphone from Flash's hands to make an announcement.

"Everybody, that concludes the party. Once again, we're all very happy that Adelaide is safe and healthy—" The team cheered at that, all looking at her. Adelaide smiled. "—But now we have to decide who is going to be out next team captain so please gather around for that. Flash, stop mocking me behind my back."

Flash, who had been making silly faces standing behind Mr. Harrington as he had been talking, immediately stopped, clearing his throat awkwardly. He touched the tip of his nose with his index finger, trying to come as nonchalant as if he hadn't just been caught.

Mr. Harrington stepped off the stage and everyone else seated themselves in the theater seats as he stood in front of them. Flash sat down in front of her, but not before giving her a wink. She rolled her eyes. He really needed to grow out of his undying need for her attention.

"I'm a little ahead of the game, but we will need a new team captain next year," Mr. Harrington said, "So...I'm appointing Michelle."

Everyone turned to Michelle with big grins on their faces and Michelle looked a little surprised at all the sudden attention she was getting. She figured she should probably say something.

"Yeah Michelle!" Abe cheered.

"Uh, thank you," she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable at all the attention, "My friends call me MJ."

"I thought you didn't have any friends," Ned pointed out from beside her. She shrugged.

"I didn't," she said, glancing at Adelaide and Vivian sideways before casting her gaze on the floor. Adelaide smiled to herself. She liked how MJ sounded. It had a nice ring to it. She reached over Ned to pat her shoulder, figuring this would be the only time the girl would ever allow physical contact.

"Hey MJ, congrats," she said and the girl gave her a small, tight-lipped smile.

"Yeah, congrats," Vivian said. Mich— MJ nodded at her in appreciation.

"All right, so we should run some drills at our next meeting," she spoke up, immediately taking her position as the new captain into action. The team agreed and began conversing on planning for the next decathlon competition.

And it ended up being the most perfect welcome back party that Adelaide had never even asked for.

All thanks to the boy in the gray sweater sitting beside her.

—————

Once again, Peter found himself in the backseat of Happy Hogan's car. He was driving him to the compound upstate for reasons unknown to Peter. They had been driving for a while now, but no matter what Peter did, Happy just wouldn't cave.

"Just give me a hint," Peter said, leaning forward in his seat.

"Can't," Happy said briskly. Peter sighed, falling back against the leather seats. A moment later, he pulled his phone out to shoot a quick text.

Happy is driving me to
the compound and
I really don't know why

Ada: No clue. I would ask
Tony but he's not here

Ned: Maybe he wants to
give you a promotion?

Vivian: ^
Think positive.

Ada: Or maybe
Happy's going to fly
you off to boarding school

Ned: ~positive~ thoughts Adelaide

Vivian: Don't listen to her
she's joking

Thanks guys (not Ada)

Ada: Anytime, Pete :)

"Alright, kid, come on," Happy said, parking the car and when Peter looked outside, he realized that they were already at the compound. Taking a deep breath and pocketing his phone, he stepped out of the car.

"Woah," he breathed, looking up at the building.

"Pretty impressive huh?" Happy said, appearing beside him, "They just finished remodeling the whole thing." Peter had to admit: the building was wildly impressive. Looking at the giant Avengers logo marked on the side of the compound brought chills down his spine.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted an Avenger's jet taking off.

"Don't see that everyday," Happy smiled. Peter couldn't pick his jaw off the floor long enough to answer. "Let's go inside. Tony's probably waiting." Happy turned around and began walking towards the compound.

It took a minute for Peter to pull himself together again.

"Wa— Mr. Stark?"

Happy glanced over his shoulder, not slowing down, "Yeah. Why do you think I drove you here?"

"Definitely not to ship me off to boarding school," Peter mumbled under his breath.

"You coming, kid?" Happy shouted, already halfway down the lawn. Peter glanced over his shoulder one more time to look at the jet before it flew out a view and then jogged quickly to catch up with Happy. The teenager followed him into the building.

Inside, Peter didn't know where to look first. He couldn't believe it. Mr. Stark had actually called him to the Avengers compound! Either this would be really good or really bad.

"Oh, there they are," Tony said, walking up to the pair, "How was the ride up?"

"Good," Happy nodded, glancing at the kid.

"Give me a minute with the kid," Tony said and Happy looked between the two, before giving the billionaire a look.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah," Tony said, "I gotta talk to the kid."

"...I'll be close behind," Happy said. He looked between the two again.

"How about a loose follow?" Tony suggested, "Alright? Boundaries are good." The billionaire walked up to the teenager with a grin on his face and lightly punched his arm before putting his arm around his shoulders and leading him down the hall. Peter grinned.

"Sorry I took your suit," he said, "I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment that you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

"Yeah-yeah, I guess," Peter answered, not sure what the right thing to say was.

"Let's just say it was," Tony said and then sighed. Peter hesitated.

"Mr. Stark, I really—"

"You screwed the pooch hard. Big time. But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies...All right, not my best analogy," he admitted, "I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team."

Peter thought he had heard him wrong and he skipped a step, forgetting how to walk for a moment.

"To the...To the team?" he breathed. Tony patted his shoulder before walking around him and tapping the watch on his wrist.

"Yeah, anyway...There's about fifty reporters behind that door," he said, pointing to the double doors in front of them, "Real ones, not bloggers."

Next to the doors, a secret compartment in the wall opened, revealing a brand new Spider-Man suit. Peter's lips parted in surprise.

"When you're ready...Why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest official member of the Avengers: Spider-Man," Mr. Stark said. Peter stepped forward slowly, his eyes running over the suit in mild shock.

"I..." he started and then laughed nervously.

"Yeah. Give that a look," Tony encouraged. And Peter did. The suit looked incredible. It was so much more than he had ever expected.

"So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters," Mr. Stark said, turning to Happy, "Where's he between? He's next to Vision?"

"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors," Happy said, shaking his head. Tony smiled at the teenager.

"It's fun."

"Or walls," Happy added.

"You'll fit right in," Tony said, patting Peter's shoulder.

Peter hesitated, his gaze lingering on the suit for one moment longer before he turned to Mr. Stark once again.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. But...I'm good," Peter said.

"You're good? Good? How are you good?" Tony asked, confused.

"Well, I mean, I'm...I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?" he asked, smiling a little. There was a beat before the billionaire took his glasses off to look at the kid.

"You turning me down? You better think about this," Mr. Stark said seriously, pointing to the suit, "Look at that. Look at me. Last chance, yes or no?"

"No," Peter said confidently. And he knew he was making the right decision.

"Okay. It's kind of a Springsteen-y, working class hero vibe that I dig," Mr. Stark said, nodding. He glanced at Happy who was grinning, "Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"

"Yeah," Happy said, glancing at the teenager, "Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter said to the billionaire.

"Yes, Mr. Parker. Very well," he said, shaking his hand.

"See you around," Peter nodded.

"Okay," Tony said and Peter turned around, walking away from the suit and the billionaire with a slight spring in his step and grin on his face. It wasn't until he walked a few steps away, did he realize something and stopped to look back at Mr. Stark again.

"That was a test, right? There's, uh, nobody back there?" Peter asked.

"Yes, you passed. All right, skedaddle there, young buck," Tony said without hesitating. Peter nodded, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark. Thank you," he said before leaving through the same doors he had walked in through earlier with Happy.

"Told you he's a good kid," Happy said after he was gone. Tony grinned and then laughed lightly. He couldn't have agreed more.

Suddenly, the doors opened behind him and Pepper hurried outside, looking frenzied and frantic.

"Where's the kid?" she breathed, looking around. Tony and Happy shared a look before the billionaire turned around.

"He left," Happy said.

"Everybody's waiting," Pepper said, not believing it.

"You know what? He actually made a really mature choice. It just surprised the heck out of us," Tony said. Pepper gave him a look.

"Did you guys screw this up?" she asked. Tony pointed his finger at Happy.

"He told the kid to go wait in the car," the billionaire tattled.

"Are you kidding me?" Pepper said, threateningly walking towards Happy, "I have a room full of people in there waiting for some big announcement. What am I gonna tell them?"

"Think of something," Tony said, "How about, um...You know what? Happy got you into this, I'll get you out of it."

Before either of