☀︎︎

𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐼𝑅𝑇𝑌 𝐹𝐼𝑉𝐸
𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔

☀︎︎

When Eddy woke on the morning of homecoming, there was a suit hanging on the door of his wardrobe. It was clean pressed, freshly and professionally dry cleaned, if the smell of cotton was anything to believe. Eddy pulled himself from his bed, pressing down the stray ends of his hair and pulling at the crumpled shirt he hadn't managed to pull himself out of the evening before. There had been too many late nights in the lab with Vision, lately.

He pulled the hanger from the wardrobe and held the suit up against his figure, staring back at himself in the long mirror. He didn't look like himself, in this, though not necessarily in a bad way. When he'd asked Peter to go with him to Homecoming, he'd forgotten all about the need for a suit.

"I heard whispers you're going to homecoming," a voice said from his open doorway, making Eddy jump slightly, pulling the suit away from his body. "I thought you'd need a suit for that."

Eddy nodded as Tony moved further into the room, hands in pockets as he watched him place the suit back up against the wardrobe doors. He looked it up and down, noticing the silver cuff links, and smiled.

"I wore this one the first time I was announced to be taking over my dad's company," Tony said.

Eddy smiled and took the conversation as a good sign. "It looks like something Howard would have approved of," he said with a nod.

"You know, sometimes I forget that you had your time with them all back then."

"Sometimes I forget myself," Eddy said, but then he shook his head and forced himself to speak of something else. "Thanks for the suit, but who told you?"

"Vision. And then Happy, a few days later. He can be a bit slow with these things," Tony said, his eyebrows raised. "I think he was quite pleased with you going, to be honest."

"Happy was happy? I don't believe it."

"You're going with Parker?"

"Yeah. I mean...not like that," Eddy said. He hated the blush that spread across his cheeks. It heated up from his neck. "Just together as friends."

"Sure," Tony said, a smirk gracing his lips. "Hey, about Spiderman."

Before he could speak of it, Eddy shook his head. The past few weeks had been filled with too many unspoken words. Eddy didn't know how he felt- that was part of the problem. But what he did know, was that he appreciated Tony Stark, faults and all.

"You don't need to say anything. They're your suits," he said, sending a reassuring smile his way. "Doesn't mean I won't be annoyed. But they're your suits."

Tony nodded and sat down on his bed. "I mean what I said. Someone said something similar to me. Take off the big suit and what are you?" he said, then let out a sigh, jaw setting before he looked up. "The point is, this is about preparing you both for what I had to go through myself."

It sounded like something Steve would say. Tony's relationship with Cap was something Eddy wanted to know about, but he would choose his time to ask wisely. But the words, looking at them without context, were wise. Eddy liked to think that he was a worthy person without his new gifts, but did the powers make him too as the suit had once made Tony? He'd clearly gotten past that, finding himself beneath the suit, and Steve had always been a big heart hidden beneath human skin. Could he say the same about himself?

"Besides, Spiderman was a hero long before I gave him that suit," Tony said eventually, bringing him back to the conversation.

Eddy's face broke out into another small smile. "He just needs to realise that."

"You have some incredible powers, Eddy," Mr Stark said. "I just want you to be sure you're using them for the right reasons."

Eddy nodded and stayed quiet.

"Vision tells me you're close to finding Cap and the rest."

"Is there anything Vision doesn't tell you?" Eddy said but smiled at the thought nonetheless.

Vision's help had been invaluable: without him, finding Steve and Wanda and the rest of his team would have been impossible. But there were no secrets with him. If they found their location, then Tony would also know it. Eddy could trust Mr Stark though, or at least he hoped. The man would not have done so much for him if he was only going to go after a man who was like a brother to him.

"I think he feels obliged to."

Eddy threw himself back on his desk chair, tossing his feet onto the bench. "You seem to know everything in my life, right now," Eddy said, then he pulled on a cheeky grin as he looked to Tony. "So how did it go with the scientist?"

A smirk spread across Tony's face but somehow, Eddy could see past it. He let out a barking laugh, watching as the older man's face folded with confusion.

"She hated you, didn't she?" he accused.

"Hate is a strong word," Tony said, rolling his eyes. "She got over her problems and agreed to help. Not that we got anywhere with our research."

"I wonder why."

Tony shook his head but laughed along with him.

"I should be getting ready," Eddy said.

Tony nodded and stood from the bed. "Want us to drop you off? I'm sure Happy will be thrilled to give you a ride."

"I'll be fine."

"And Eddy," Tony said lastly, drawing his attention up and away from the suit once again. "Have fun with Peter."

☀︎︎

It was Peter who opened the front door, swinging it wide on the hinges, rather than Aunt May. They both paused, not speaking for a moment when Peter realised who it was. Eddy blinked, letting his eyes drop down.

The feeling he gained around Peter was a subtle one. It wavered, and sometimes he questioned whether it was still there. But the truth was that it was as familiar as the oxygen in his vessels, engrained within his bloodstream. The feeling was there each time he breathed, always. It was a feeling that betrayed him- it was not only Peter who gave him it, though he ignored the fact readily.

Peter wore a striped tie beneath a black suit. He held himself awkwardly in it, at first. But as Eddy finally broke out in a smile, his shoulders dropped and he grinned back.

"Hey," he said as he brought a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"Hey."

"You look good."

"You too. Really good," Eddy said, watching as Peter looked away, cheeks flushing.

"Okay, you two! I need a picture," May shouted from the kitchen, beckoning the two further into the apartment, immediately dispelling the awkwardness.

"Again, Aunt May?"

"It'll be something to remember it by!"

"It's just a dance, Aunt May," Peter complained.

"Trust me, you won't be saying that in the future," she said as she brought the camera to her eye and waved them in. "Now squeeze in. I only have a little camera."

Eddy shuffled in closer, feeling Peter's elbow brush against his abdomen. May grinned as she pulled the camera from her face and hurried them out of the door and to the elevator. The entire drive to the dance was quieter than any of the three were used to. Aunt May tried to fill it with talk of her own memories of homecoming or suggestions for their own. Peter and Eddy stole glances at each other, choosing to remain speechless, rather than give up words they may regret.

"Okay boys, go and have fun! Just give me a ring whenever you need to be picked up. I don't care what time," Aunt May said as her old red car pulled up at the school. "And Peter! Remember what I said."

"Aunt May," Peter complained as he bent down to her window with a widened look.

The woman just smiled and blew him a kiss. "Love you."

"And what were Aunt May's words of wisdom?" Eddy asked as Peter jogged to catch up with him.

Peter's eyes widened as he shook his head. "Nothing I want to tell you."

"Oh, really."

Midtown Highschool had been completely flipped around for the night of Homecoming. The neutral, green walls of the entranceway were strung with metallic, paper chains and wide banners. Brilliant, bright lights flooded from the doors to the hall, the sound of the fast-paced music streaming through after them.

Peter had stopped at the doors, head turned, eyes trailing off after something at the very end of the corridor. He'd been out of it since the car park, and Eddy had only just been able to guide him inside.

"Hey, Pete, you alright?"

"Yeah, um..." Peter trailed off before he shook his head. "Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. Come on, let's head inside."

He swung the door open too quickly and stepped into the loud, flashing room. Eddy waited a moment, watching his movements before he followed. Peter was already groaning at the sight of Flash Thompson, by the time he reached his side again.

"Oi, Penis Parker! Where's your boyfriend?"

Eddy let out a harsh breath, hoping it would calm him, but the slow mechanism failed him. Eddy pushed past Peter with a glare.

"Are you looking for a problem with me, Flash?"

Peter caught him by the wrist and tugged him backwards with a surprisingly strong grip. "Just ignore him, it's Flash. No one listens to him."

"Just because no one listens, doesn't mean he gets to say it," Eddy said.

He finally turned to look down at him. The expression on Peter's face made him stop. It was pleading, raw, completely disregarding the boy who still stood across from them. It was as if he only cared about him- Eddy- as his fingers wrapped further around his wrist, eyes begging him to remain in contact.

"Hey, Eddy, Eddy. Please. Drop it, for me," Peter said quietly. "I'll get us a drink and we can go find Ned, MJ and the others. Does that sound good?"

Eddy swallowed and pushed the thoughts from his head.

"Yeah, it does," he said, letting out another breath.

Peter waited until he began to walk away from Flash before he headed toward the drinks table. Eddy took a moment to walk around the room a few times before he headed towards his friends. Ned and MJ were dancing with Liz and Betty in the centre of the room, painted pink under the flashing lights. He smiled as he noticed them, but walked past them once more. It was as if on instinct, that he did so.

It was then, that he felt it. A drop in his stomach. Eddy glanced to his wrist, expecting to see a flash of red on the band with a sharp zap against his skin quickly following it, but there was nothing, not a note to say that his feelings were correct. This feeling had built last time Spiderman had been in trouble. But last time, there'd been a suit to contact him with. Spiderman had nothing.

Eddy swallowed and strode forward, hurrying past Ned, shouting at him as he went. "Hey, if you see Peter, tell him I went to the bathroom."

Something was wrong. God, he only hoped that his plan would work. There was no suit to connect them. It hadn't even worked, with such disconnection, with Steve and Wanda. He'd ended up disorientated, confused as to where he was with no sign of his friends in sight.

But despite the uncertainty, Eddy hurried toward the bathroom, took one step into the empty room, and teleported to the boy behind the mask.

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