"Hi," Peter gave a small wave. There were two kids on the couch playing video games. The boy looked to be about his age, with sandy blond hair and a calculating glare. The other was a really small girl with big brown eyes and an energetic grin. The woman in front of him crossed her arms, her eyes seeming like they might pop out of her head. Her mouth hung open in shock.

"...Intern?" she blinked uncomprehendingly. "You can't just--"

"What happened to his face?" The little girl blurted from the couch. The woman turned sharply.

"Morgan! Don't be rude!" she scolded. Peter smiled.

"It's all right. I just got burned."

"At the crime scene," Mr. Stark mumbled under his breath.

"What?" The woman stared at Peter as if he might pull out a gun. "What was he doing at the crime scene?"

Mr. Stark whispered something in her ear. With normal hearing, he might not have been able to pick it up, but with his super-senses he was able to get every word. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it wasn't like he could just flip an on and off switch for his powers.

"I need to question him about the bank," he mumbled. "He doesn't seem to be the criminal type, but I just need to be sure. This'll be out of your hair soon and then we can all go play Exploding Kittens."

Her expression hardened. "Fine. But we are eating lunch together as as family. Your intern can just join us."

"I...I can?" Peter felt his heart melt. It had been forever since he'd shared a meal with someone.

"Whatever," the woman threw up her arms as she stormed out of the room. Peter felt guilt burning in his chest as he saw Mr. Stark clench his jaw.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter said. "I didn't mean to cause trouble! I can just go and you can find another intern."

"No," Mr. Stark said, a little too firmly. He ran his fingers through his graying hair. "I-I mean, it's fine. This is just a little fight. Come on, let's get lunch."

***

The Stark Tower was huge. It was way more awesome than Peter could've ever imagined. So many people bustled around him that Peter stopped holding his breath out of nervousness when someone walked by because he was getting dizzy.

They stepped into an elevator, the little girl and sandy-haired boy following close behind. Ms. Potts had gone her own way, maybe to blow off some steam.

I can't believe I caused an argument with Mr. Stark and his wife, and it's only my first day here.

Peter tried to force down his guilt. He had enough of that already.

He still couldn't fully comprehend that he was interning for the Tony Stark.

The little girl, Morgan, pulled on his hoodie.

"Hey! Hey, do you like science stuff like Daddy does?" she asked in a sweet high-pitched voice. Her brown eyes sparkled.

"Um, yeah!" Peter chuckled nervously and bent down so he could be eye-level with the girl. "Yeah, I do. You've got a nice princess skirt on. You like princesses?"

"Uh-huh!" Morgan gave a little hop in her bright yellow galoshes. "Harley plays with me sometimes but he likes to play his video games, so sometimes I have to play by myself." She stuck out her lip.

"Oh," Peter bit his lip. The sandy-haired boy glared down at him, so Peter stood up and extended his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Peter. Parker."

"Harley," he replied cooly, ignoring Peter's hand.

"Hey!" Morgan yanked on his hoodie again. "Will you play with me pretty please?"

"Morgan," Mr. Stark sighed, "leave the intern alone. We're gonna do work stuff after lunch."

"But you prooommised you would play Exploding Kittens with us!" Morgan whined. "And you said you would help us build a fort and booby trap Happy's room."

Mr. Stark chuckled. "Okay, I will. I double promise. I just need some time with the intern."

Peter uncomfortably shifted his backpack under Harley's glare. "Um, I don't want to be a problem, sir. It seems like you're busy; we can reschedule this or something."

Mr. Stark shook his head. "Nope. Pepper wanted me to get an intern, so I got one. Not gonna reschedule."

He just wants to question me about the bank, Peter thought nervously. I hope I can come up with some convincing lies.

The elevator opened and they strolled out into the penthouse. Mr. Stark spread his hands.

"Welcome, Intern, to the kitchen."

One section of the place was clearly the kitchen. The smooth stone floor was spotless aside from Morgan's muddy boot prints. Lavish furniture was placed around the room, although there were some Barbie cars parked in various places. Some notebooks and pencils were spread out over the counter at the kitchen.

"We have a dining hall and kitchen for everyone else closer to the bottom of the tower, but Pepper insisted on having her own little kitchen where she could cook family dinners," Mr. Stark explained. "We'll eat at this little counter and have some quality time."

"Family time," Harley interrupted. "Once he's gone."

Peter looked at the ground.

"You can drop your backpack over there," Mr. Stark lazily waved his arm, gesturing to the wall by the countertop bar. "We'll have an awesome lunch ready soon."

***

The lunch was pizza, ordered from a place right down the street. Someone who Peter assumed was Mr. Stark's assistant picked it up. Everyone called him happy. They had pink cups upon Morgan's insistence and used leftover napkins that read Happy 13th Birthday! 

Peter loved every minute of it.

When Ms. Potts returned, she seemed a lot calmer. She asked friendly questions about Peter's life and what he liked to do. He was very careful answering the questions, leaving out the part about how he was now a homeless orphan.

"Where do you go to school?" she asked. Peter panicked, knowing they could easily look him up in the school system.

If they looked you up in any system, they would get the real answers they were looking for, he reminded himself. Mr. Stark had such advanced technology, he probably had scanners in the ceiling reading him right now.

"Um...I..." Peter put down his napkin and rubbed the back of his neck, registering that all of the Starks were staring at him now. Except Morgan, who was carefully drawing on her plate with breadstick sauce.

"I was homeschooled," he managed, his mouth feeling like it was full of cotton.

"Huh," Mr. Stark scratched his nose. "That makes sense." He looked pointedly at Peter's shirt, which had a nerdy science joke.

Ms. Potts narrowed her eyes at her pizza, thinking. Peter bit his lip. Here it comes. She was going to point out his lie.

"What other things do you like to do, Peter?" she asked. Peter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Um, I like building computers. Tinkering with stuff."

"His hair's so long," Morgan whispered loudly to Pepper. "What if he can't see through his eyeballs?"

Peter smiled and brushed his grown-out curls behind his ear. Obviously he hadn't had enough money to get a haircut since the apartment, and he didn't trust himself with the scissors. It was getting a little annoying, though, since it curled when it got long--who knew why.

"I'll cut it soon, don't worry," Peter said with a grin.

"...And where did you say you lived?" Pepper asked carefully, tilting her head to the side.

Before Peter could answer, FRIDAY's voice blared through the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but you instructed me to alert you if anything happened with the Saberling Tech iron?"

"Ugh..." Mr. Stark stood up. "What is it, FRIDAY? Couldn't have waited five more minutes?"

"Apologies, sir, but I have discovered a bit more about the Clusterstorm chip. There was a lot of security to break through."

Mr. Stark clapped sarcastically. "Oh, yes. Congratulations to you, Friday. You're a genius. Now please leave us alone while I talk to the intern downstairs."

"Of course, sir. My apologies."

Mr. Stark stood up and stretched. "Ah. Let's go have a chat, shall we, Intern?"