TW: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of drug and alcohol addiction, mentions of trauma.

Peter's P.O.V

Peter sat in the lobby of the Stark Industries building, his knee nervously bouncing up and down as he waited for Happy to come and get him. He hadn't seen either Happy or Tony since he had hung up the Spider-Man suit and had left the Avengers after MJ had died. Back then, he figured that if he couldn't save the one person that mattered, he didn't have the ability to save anyone. But now, he had Y/N, and the next step to getting his life back on track was becoming Spider-Man again, or at least trying to get the role back. And that was where Tony came in. The misted glass doors opened and Happy walked out, a smile instantly adorning the man's features as Peter stood up to greet him.

"Peter, oh my god, look at you!" Happy laughed, making Peter smile as Happy pulled him into a tight hug.

"How you doing, Happy?" Peter chuckled.

"I'm great, Pete, but how are you? Wow, you grew up." He smiled.

"You've got my new girlfriend to thank for that." Peter nodded, making Happy's smile widen.

"By the way, have you spoken to your Aunt May since you got back on track?" he asked.

"Yes, she was actually the one who suggested that I come back here." He shrugged.

"Okay, cool, did she mention anything else?" Happy gulped. Peter narrowed his eyes slightly at the man.

"Like what, Happy?" he chuckled nervously. Happy returned it and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.

"Um, like the fact that we may or may not have seen each other, briefly, a couple years ago." He nodded. Peter looked at him, his mouth opening and closing slightly as he tried to figure out what to say.

"Sorry...what?" he scoffed.

"Um...yeah." Happy shrugged. Peter raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Okay, well, we're definitely talking about that later." Peter chuckled nervously, making Happy smile sheepishly as the misted the door opened again. Tony walked out, making Peter look at him.

"Happy, cancel my two o'clock, I'm not feeling it-." He stopped talking and his eyes widened as he saw Peter. The boy gulped nervously, completely unsure of how his former mentor was going to react to seeing him again, especially after everything that had happened.

"Peter...fuck me, what are you doing here?" Tony asked.

"I'm your two o'clock." Peter smiled sheepishly. Tony's eyes widened and he looked at Happy.

"And you didn't think to tell me? What do I even pay you for?" he scoffed before rushing to Peter and engulfing the boy into a hug. Peter returned it immediately, burying his face into his mentor's neck as he felt tears prick his eyes.

"In future, kid, you just walk in, okay? You don't even have to knock, you just walk in." Tony nodded as he wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulder and guided him through the double doors.

"Okay." Peter chuckled, subtly wiping a tear that had fallen as he took a seat at the long glass table that sat in the middle of the conference room. Tony took the seat opposite and looked at the boy as he sat.

"So, what can I do for you?" Tony asked.

"Well, Mr Stark, I've started to finally turn my life around again. And I'm hoping that part of the process of that will be me re-joining the Avengers, and maybe even getting a job here as cover for that." He smiled sheepishly. Tony nodded, his lips curling into a smug smile as he held his chin with his fingers.

"Who is she?" he asked. Peter's lips curled into a smile. He shook his head and looked down as he chuckled before looking back at his mentor.

"She's called Y/N, she's my best friend from high school, actually. She was the only other one there when MJ died, and she came to see me after five years and got me off of everything. She let me move in, she helped me get clean, and then we admitted our feelings for each other. Honestly, Mr Stark, she's...she's amazing." Peter chuckled and shook his head again, Tony nodding along as he spoke.

"She sounds it. I must say, though, kid, the Avengers aren't really a thing anymore. Since Thanos happened and Thor died getting rid of the army, everyone else has either died too, or has retired. That being said, Queens definitely needs its hero back if the hero is willing to come back." Tony nodded. Peter's smile dipped, and he sighed as he looked down.

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure that I want to come back." He spoke. Tony looked at him.

"But that one percent is stopping you. What's the one percent?" the man asked. Peter gulped and looked back at his former mentor, tears pricking his eyes as his heart and mind started to race with the toxic thoughts. The toxic thoughts that he was still having every day and could control more often than not, but there were still times when they slipped back through.

"The fear is that somehow, because of me becoming Spider-Man again, Y/N will meet the same fate that MJ did. And I can't handle that, Mr Stark. If I lose her too because of my role as Spider-Man, I know that I'll slip right back into the depression that had me drinking and using every night, and this time, I won't be brought back to life." He scoffed and shook his head, his eyes wavering as the tear fell. Tony sighed and nodded.

"I understand your worries, kid. But the thing is, those worries have always been there for you, the only difference is that you're now letting them control you. Let me ask you something, does Y/N want you to become Spider-Man again?" he asked.

"She's been practically begging me to since she first saw me again." Peter nodded.

"And is she worried about her life being threatened because of it?" he asked. Peter sighed, his eyes wavering as he looked down.

"No." he mumbled as he felt slightly like a child being told off.

"Then why are you? I fully appreciate the worry, but you know that your job in life is to help people. You know that you're at your happiest when helping people. So, fuck the consequences, fuck what could happen, it may never happen for all you know. Because all that matters is that you'll be happy to be back in that suit." Tony encouraged. Peter nodded, his mentor's words getting to him as he looked back up.

"I'll take the job." He decided.

"Attaboy. Get in here!" Tony laughed, making Peter return it as both men stood up and tightly hugged each other.