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spiderscanner · 7 years ago

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Never Alone

Concept: Peter Parker’s life months after the end of the war (Avengers 4).

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“We at least have to try,” Ned insisted as he and MJ walked around the corner. They spotted Peter down the hall, putting some textbooks into his locker.

They reached him and then glanced at one another anxiously before Ned spoke first. “Hey, Peter!”

Without looking away from the inside of his locker, Peter replied, “Hey, Ned. Hey, MJ.”

“What are you doing after school?” MJ asked.

Peter shrugged as he zipped his backpack closed. “Working on some projects.”

“You work on your projects all the time. We should hangout! I got the new Battlefront video game and MJ said she’s all for watching us play!” Ned pleaded. He turned towards MJ and nudged her arm.

“Oh! Oh, yeah. There’s nothing else I’d rather do than spend time watching you losers,” she added.

Peter half smiled and then closed his locker. “Sounds like fun…” Ned’s face brightened with hope, “but maybe next time, okay? I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He turned and walked away, leaving them staring after him.

“Told ya,” MJ muttered before she patted Ned’s slumped shoulder and walked away too.

***

The commute to the Avengers Facility wasn’t always long, especially when Happy offered the ride. Thanks to Pepper, Peter had access to everything in the building but he mostly spent his time in the tech lab.

He flashed his badge at security and walked straight towards the doors that opened up to a warehouse-like space. Tables were scattered all around with different scraps of different things on them. In the center of it all, stood one of Iron Man’s suits, ready to be tinkered with.

“Hey, Friday,” Peter called out as he threw his backpack on a chair.

“Hey, Peter. How was school?”

“Eh. Did Shuri send her notes, yet?” He asked as he approached a large desk with blueprints and a laptop.

“Already waiting for you.”

“Thanks!”

Peter got to work, just like he did every day after school for hours and hours until Aunt May practically begged him to go home.

As he tore apart what looked like an old computer system, Peter didn’t even notice someone standing behind him.

“I brought you a water. You forget to stay hydrated when you work. Just like him…”

Peter turned in his chair and smiled at Pepper Potts. He took the water bottle and practically chugged it down. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he really was.

Pepper looked around and then froze when she saw the suit. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing! I was sort of looking at it as an example for some updates I want to do on my suit,” Peter stood up. “I mean– uh, if that’s okay. I can have Friday take it back, I’m sorry–”

“No, no, Peter,” Pepper laughed softly, “It’s fine. I actually came in here to tell you that I was able to get that trip to Berlin for you. It’s all been taken care of.”

Peter smiled and nodded. “Thank you, Ms. Potts. It really means a lot.”

Pepper waved it off before placing her hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good kid, Peter. I hope you know he would have been very proud of you.”

***

“Aunt May? I’m home!”

“Just in time! Could you take the lasagna out of the oven, please?”

As Aunt May and Peter sat down at their small dinner table, Peter talked to her about all the new stuff he had been working on. Aunt May listened, even though to her it seemed like he was talking a different language.

“Guess what? Remember the Berlin trip idea I had weeks ago? Pepper Potts was able to pull some strings and get us there for the summer. It’ll be great Aunt May.”

Aunt May smiled at him as she gazed at how excited he was. After the horrifying events that happened months ago, it had been difficult to even get Peter to talk. He had opened up about everything since then but she still worried.

“What about MJ and Ned? Are they coming along too?” She asked as she took a bite of her dinner.

Peter shrugged, pushing his food around the plate. “Haven’t told them about it yet.”

Aunt May put down her fork. “Peter. They’re your friends. I understand why you would push them away in the beginning but you’ve even said you’re fine now. They worry about you but most importantly, they care about you. Try harder, please?”

“I will, Aunt May. Promise,” he replied before dumping extra parmesan cheese on his lasagna.

***

Just on time, Peter’s watch beeped repeatedly, announcing that it was fifteen minutes past midnight.

Peter threw back his covers and got up from bed. He opened his closet and reached into the corner for his other backpack, the one where his suit was hidden in. Aunt May already knew his secret but he still felt strange just leaving the suit out.

He quickly put it on before he walked over to his window and pulled it open. He didn’t sneak out as often as before but there were nights where he couldn’t just lay there and wait for sleep so he’d go out and tire himself out.

Once outside, Peter slid his window closed and climbed to the top of the building.

The night was cold despite it being close to summer. Peter took his mask and slipped it on. The eyes turned on and his vision immediately became magnified.

“Hello, Peter.”

“Hey, Karen. It’s been a while, huh?”

“It has. Could you not sleep tonight?”

“Nope,” Peter replied. “Let’s go for a ride.”

He shot a web to the nearest lamppost and took off, swinging this way and that.

“Karen? Look for the tallest building near here,” he shouted.

Karen highlighted the building Peter was looking for and he followed the map until he reached it. He climbed up, becoming almost breathless until he reached the top. He sat down and sighed heavily. He looked around him at the surrounding buildings and at the many cars driving past even though it was late.

“Karen–”

“I already know,” she replied softly.

Peter nodded and then waited until his voice spoke into his ears.

“Hey there, kid! Listen, I don’t know if you’ll ever listen to this and I’m hoping you never do but I never got to say goodbye to my parents nor did I get the chance to tell my father all the things I wanted to say so I guess this is just a precaution. Anyway… if something goes wrong in the next few hours or days– who knows how long this war will last– then you’re probably listening to this right now. I didn’t have an excellent father when I was growing up so I never knew if I was ever up for the task. The thought scared the hell out of me. But kid, I have made my mark on this Earth in many ways, good or bad, who knows, but I hope I left a good one on you. I believed in you from the start and I’ll continue to do so no matter what. I hope I had a good influence on you. God knows I tried. And Peter? Thank you. Thank you for being my best student. It has been a pleasure watching you grow not only as a young man but a strong and worthy Avenger. Take care, kid.”

***

The next morning, Peter got off at a different stop than the usual for his way to school. With his headphones on and his hands deep in his pockets, he maneuvered himself through the traffic of people.

It was cloudy, rain threatening to fall at any second. Peter pulled his hoodie up and continued walking until he reached an enclosed lot. Peter waved at the caretaker, who waved back, and the gates suddenly opened.

“No flowers today, Mr. Parker?” The caretaker asked.

Peter shook his head as he walked past him. “Not today, Will. It might rain,” he said, pointing up at the sky.

Will smiled and nodded.

Peter followed the familiar path of the cemetery until he reached three huge headstones. The center one had an arc reactor engraved on it. Peter took off his backpack and took a seat in front of the headstone. He zipped open his backpack and pulled out a pair of familiar glasses with orange lenses.

“Brought these for you. Just thought it would be like the good final touch, you know?” He placed them on the ground near the headstone. “Remember that calculus test I was worried about? Aced it! That was also the same day Captain Barnes came by, which Aunt May was very happy about.” Peter shuffled his feet as he tried to get more comfortable. “He keeps insisting in me calling him Bucky. Being captain fits him.”

“I was working on that self repair mode for my suit from Mark 42 when I suddenly hit a dead end. Lucky for me, I found one of those kimoyo beads King T’Challa gave me after… well, after everything. I used it to connect with Shuri and she helped. You would love what she’s doing back in Oakland. I asked her about a way to get one of the beads to Quill because I finally found a way for me and Groot to play this game I know he’ll love. Come to think of it, I think Ned would be pretty psyched about it too…”

Peter fell silent and a small frowned formed on his lips. “I miss Ned. And MJ. Aunt May made me realize that I’m still pushing them away after all this time. It’s just hard, you know? I guess I just kept thinking ‘they weren’t there, they don’t get it’ but I guess that’s unfair. They’re here now, right? I hope they’ll come to Berlin with me, though.”

“Your wife is awesome, by the way. She was able to get me those flights, no problem. She misses you, although she never really says it to me. But I can tell.”

Peter gazed at the headstone that had now turned a shade darker from the rain. He swallowed back the huge knot that had formed in the back of his throat. “I– I mean, I miss you too. I miss everyone. I still have so many questions.”

He took in a deep breath and sniffled, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. “I’m fine, you know. The panic attacks are less frequent now. I’m fine. More than fine actually and I have you to thank for that. From the moment it was all over, I was never alone. Just… thank you, Tony, for making me be a part of something that’s bigger than myself and basically– basically giving me a bigger family.”

Peter wiped at his cheeks just as the rain fell even harder. “I gotta go now but say hi to mom and dad for me? Oh, and tell Uncle Ben that Aunt May’s lasagna has definitely improved,” Peter smiled to himself as he stood up.

He picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He took one last look, “Talk to you later, Tony.”

***

MJ stole another of Ned’s fries without him noticing as the doors of the cafeteria opened. There, standing in dripping clothes, was Peter, smiling from ear to ear. He waved and started to make his way towards them. MJ and Ned stared at him, shocked, until he sat in front of them.

“So,” he started, “I have this crazy idea and it involves Berlin…”

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