It's Time

2016- part 1

There was a kid at my lab bench. My age, brown hair, brown eyes. He was in my space and he was talking to Tony. My Tony.

"Emily!" Tony called to me. I met his eyes and walked over to them. "This is Peter. He is my new intern." Was I not enough or something?

"I thought Stark Industries didn't take high school interns." I hadn't looked at Peter yet. Tony gave me a weird look and chuckled.

"He's not with SI, he is my personal intern. I thought it was high time you two met." Personal Intern? I really wasn't enough then.

I finally turned to face Peter. "Hello, Peter. I'm Emily. It's nice to meet you." I kept my voice as emotionless as I could, just as Nat had taught me.

The kid looked me up and down and extended his hand. "Peter Parker." I shook it and Peter pulled back and stepped behind Tony. The kid was fucking cowering behind him.

"By the way, you're in my part of the lab. It would do you some good to leave everything as it is." I let some ice slip into that one and Tony just glared at me.

"Actually, Em, you finally get your own lab!" Tony tried to add some enthusiasm, but I wasn't buying it. "Bruce has agreed to let you have half of his top intern floor."

"You're kicking me out?" I could hear my voice crack and I cringed. I met Tony's eyes and laughed. "Nice to know that once new brains are brought in, the one that has been by your side through everything gets demoted to a fucking intern." I spun on my heel and stormed out.

I was able to wait for the elevator door to close until I broke down into tears. The whole interaction played over and over in my head and each time it hurt more. I knew that he was bringing Peter in to help with Germany, but that was three months ago. It was September now and he should be nothing but a distant thought. I sighed and stepped onto the main floor.

"Hey, Emily, what's up?" Bruce called from the dining table. He had a computer and several books spread out in front of him. I flopped down next to him and put my head down.

"Tony kicked me out of his lab in place of Parker."

"Yeah, he made me give up half of my top intern floor. I was wondering what that was about." That made my head snap up.

"You didn't know?"

"If I knew that it was for you, I would have given you something much more. You are leagues ahead of all my interns." I looked up at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Thanks, Bruce. That means a lot."

"Of course kid. It's only true."

After that, I left Bruce with his books and went to my bedroom. It was still on Steve's floor, I just never moved out of the one he gave me all those years ago. I would never say it aloud, but I missed him. I missed all of them. Having a full tower was nice. Not being alone was nice. I laid down on my bed and just stared at my ceiling. Peter Parker.

"Friday, can you give me a rundown on Peter Parker?"

"Peter Parker: 16 years old, as of August 10th; His parents were killed in a plane crash as a child, he lived with his aunt and uncle until his uncle died last January. He currently is a sophomore at Midtown Science Technological High School." Jesus, he really was a high schooler. He must have just started his year. I had gotten my high school diploma through Tony and Bruce last year. Tony wanted me to go straight to MIT, but Clint persuaded him to let me have a normal teenage experience. Tony had responded with, "Yeah because this is totally normal." Clint had just smacked him.

I groaned and put a movie on. That's how I spent the rest of my day, watching movies and avoiding fucking Peter Parker.

I must've fallen asleep at some point because I woke up and my movie was actually playing the sequel and it was dark outside. I trudge out of bed and down to the main floor for dinner. When I get up there, I see Tony, Pepper, and Bruce all sitting down.

"Em, you decided to join us," Tony calls. He pats the space next to him, but I slide into the chair next to Bruce.

"Stark." I regard him icily. He winces. "Where's your son? He's not staying for dinner?"

"Peter's not my son." I hold his gaze and shrug.

"Coulda fooled me. With all the nepotism and whatnot." I break it and take a bite of the food that was placed in front of me. From the corner of my eye, I see Pepper and Bruce trade glances. Tony continues to stare at me.

"If you are going to be nasty, you can go eat elsewhere." Tony suddenly speaks. I look up and look at him. There is some emotion behind his eyes, I just can't tell what it is.

"Fine with me." I stand and walk to the elevator. It opens and I tell Friday to take me to the bottom floor. I think Tony must have heard because his eyes widen and his back straightens. He doesn't chase after me, though. Whatever.

I burst into the New York night with the intention of going to the 24-hour coffee shop and getting a coffee. I ended up getting coffee and a book and staying for a while. I noticed that it was actually getting quite late, so I bid goodnight to the workers and headed home.

For the second time that night, I flopped down into my bed and fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning and made myself breakfast. I never really used this floor for things like cooking and hanging out, I really only slept here. It felt empty without Steve. I made myself eggs and toast and took my time eating them. I didn't want to go upstairs and face Tony so I pulled out the book I bought last night and headed to a new coffee shop.

This one was a little bit further away but it was really a book store with a small cafe inside of it, so I made the long walk. I could have driven, Tony and Steve had taught me along with Wanda a couple of years back, but I liked the walk. New York City was much prettier in the morning than it was at night, and I liked the exercise.

I ended up staying at the cafe till about noon when I got a call from Bruce.

"Hey, what's up?" I answer.

"I wanna show you around your new space. Could you come down?" Shit.

"I'm actually at a cafe right now, but I will be there in about half an hour. I also wanna grab all my things from Tony's."

"Is everything ok between you two?" Nope.

"I'll explain everything when I get back. I don't want to do it over the phone." I grab all my stuff and begin to walk back.

"Yeah, ok. See you soon." I hang up the phone and keep walking.

Before I brave Tony's lab, I make a quick stop at my floor to change clothes and grab a water bottle. Then I make Friday take me down.

Fuck. The second I step off, I see Peter staring at something on the wall. I stay as quiet as I can, but he notices me.

"Why are you back here? I thought Tony booted you." I hate him.

"I'm just grabbing my stuff. You know, from the three years that I was here before you." I start to stack things carefully and take things down.

"Three years too many, I guess. He really couldn't wait to give me your place." He was baiting me. He wanted me to freak out so he could tell Tony.

I take a deep breath and look at my table. Under different circumstances, I would be crying right now. Seeing it empty, really meant that I had a new place. "That's nice, Parker," I said in a sugar-sweet voice. I could almost hear his blood pressure rise.

"I've met the Avengers. All of them." How cute. He was trying to best me.

I picked up my box and turned to face him. "Have you, really?"

"Yup. I even fought them."

"So, you don't actually know them. You knew their personas when they were all against each other. I hate to break it to you, but that doesn't count." He sputtered and I pushed past him. Stepping into the elevator, I looked over the lab once more, and then the door closed in front of me.  

A/N: this is a sequel to A Long Time Coming.