"But anyway, so my mom happened to be the fifth caller to the radio station, and she won a trip to Legoland. Legoland!"

"Oh my god, Ned, that's amazing!" Peter said enthusiastically as he Ned, and MJ dodged through the crowded hallway toward the front entrance of the school.

"I know, right? Like, who knew the radio was still good for something? It's gonna be during spring break, and she won four tickets, so you're totally invited!"

The two boys made a noise that was definitely not a squeal at the thought of a trip to Legoland, and MJ snorted out a laugh, "Nerds."

Ned flashed her a smile, "Don't worry, MJ, we'll be sure to bring you back a mini-figure keychain of Wonder Woman."

She didn't bother to grace that comment with a response, but Peter noticed the corner of her lip quirk ever so slightly in a smile.

"Also as part of the prize, they sent us a kit of the Kessel run Millennium Falcon, you need to come over and build it with me!" Ned begged.

"I'm sorry, Ned, I can't, remember?"

"Oh, right. I forgot."

"I'm free on Wednesday, though!" Peter suggested, and Ned stuck out his finger for a pinky promise. Peter wrapped his pinky around Ned's solemnly.

"There. Now you can't get out of it."

They finally emerged through the front doors, eyes immediately squinting at the abundance of bright sunlight outside. With a quick goodbye, Ned ran for the bus, determined to get his preferred seat, while Peter and MJ hung back on the steps of the school, shifting to the side so they wouldn't get trampled by the other students desperate to leave for the day. Peter was looking out toward the parking lot, scanning for the car that was supposed to pick him up, when he suddenly felt MJ's hand slip into his.

"I'm really proud of you, you know," she said quietly. When he turned to look at her, she had her eyes trained on the parking lot too. He squeezed her hand tighter in response.

"Thanks. I…I'm kind of nervous, to be honest."

"That's normal. But you'll be okay."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're Peter Parker," she said simply.

Suddenly a car horn interrupted their moment, and Peter looked out once more to see Happy in the parking lot, window rolled down and impatient gaze directed pointedly at Peter.

"I gotta go," Peter said, and MJ released his hand only to surprise him with a quick peck on the cheek before he could flee. He froze for a second and she smirked.

"See you, loser."

His feet took that as their cue to finally start moving, and he made his way to the car, cheeks flushing red at the smug little smile he saw on Happy's face.

"Good day?" Happy asked.

"Shut up," Peter snapped, lacking any and all venom. He opened the door to the back seat and slid in next to Tony, who was currently completely distracted by his phone. Peter wasn't sure if it was genuine or if he was just pretending to save Peter even more embarrassment, but either way, he was grateful. He only looked up once Peter had clicked his seatbelt into place and the car was pulling out of Midtown.

"Hey, kid. How was school?"

"It was fine. I just found out Ned's mom won a trip to Legoland and—oh! I have something for you," he pulled his backpack up from the floor of the car and started to rifle around in it, pushing past textbooks and crumpled homework assignments until he found what he was looking for. He whipped out the powder-blue envelope and offered it to Tony, who only eyed it for a moment before accepting it and tearing it open.

A gold card with a graduation cap and the words, "You're invited!" sat inside, and upon seeing it, Tony shot Peter a confused look.

"Don't you have, like, at least another year?"

"Yeah," Peter said impatiently, "Just open it."

He did, confusion clearing in an instant once he read what was inside.

"It's just a small little ceremony," Peter said, "With like, fifteen other CNAs and cake and punch and stuff, but May's worked so hard, and she really wanted you to be there..."

"Then I'm there," Tony said immediately, and Peter beamed.

"You're invited too, Happy!"

"Hey, I'm always up for free cake," he responded as he pulled up in front of a new building and brought the car to a stop. "We're here."

Peter and Tony got out of the car and entered the tall building, passing by the front desk to the elevator and making their way up several floors before finding themselves in front of another door that led to an office. Peter hesitated as Tony approached it, and the man picked up on it immediately.

"You okay?"

Peter swallowed hard, shook his head to try to clear out his nerves, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, let's do it."

"Remember, if you don't like it, you can leave immediately," he assured, "It's totally normal to have to try a few different places out before finding one that works for you, no one's gonna take any offense. Alright?"

Peter nodded. Tony slung an arm around his shoulders and squeezed in a comforting manner.

"Ready?"

Peter took a deep breath. "Yeah."

With that, Tony opened the door, and they stepped inside of a small waiting room consisting of a few chairs, a coffee table full of magazines, and a lone receptionist behind a desk. He perked up when they entered.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stark!"

"Hey, Ted," Tony responded, a genuine friendliness in his tone that Peter knew was never used on members of the general public. He relaxed ever so slightly as the man turned his gaze toward him.

"And are you Peter Parker?"

"Yup, that's me," Peter responded, not quite up to his usual level of confidence.

The man smiled kindly, "Melissa's ready for you whenever you are. Just right through that door," he pointed to the doorway just to his left. Peter walked right up to it, but couldn't help but look back at Tony one last time.

It had taken a while for them to reach this point. Days of discussing all of his anxieties, fears, insecurities. Tony listened dutifully through it all, acting as a pillar of support that Peter would never have imagined him capable of when they first met. But when he'd said he was there for Peter, he had meant it. He had always meant it, Peter realized. Through all of his injuries, drunken phone calls, relationship troubles, nightmares. From the first time he'd handed Peter the suit, Tony Stark had been there for him.

Eventually, they decided that wasn't enough, that it was okay that wasn't enough, that Peter deserved to get the help he needed. Tony explained that therapy had helped him through a lot. Peter thought about it for a long time. And then they came here.

"You got this, Pete," Tony said, so confident and reassured and proud.

With a deep breath, Peter opened the door.