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ghostspideys-moved · 4 years

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Spidey || S.H.

A/N: This idea has been sitting around my computer for a while, but I’m finally trying to beat my writer’s block. I might mess around with this au some more in the future, but for now, here’s a Spider-Man au.

Word Count: 1.4k

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Summary: Steve shows up at your window, more than a little beat up. That’s when you find out his biggest secret.

Despite how late it was, you're up studying. You have a lot to get through, and you've already devised a plan. As long as you focus, you can finish soon enough to still get a good seven or eight hours of sleep. It'll have to do.

You're so focused, so in the zone, that you almost don't catch the light tapping on your window. It's just loud enough to catch your attention.

Curiously, you get up to open the window. "Steve?"

He has a few cuts and scrapes on his face, and he's slouching tiredly. Overall, he looks awful.

What really catches your attention is the Spider-Man costume he's wearing, the mask hanging in his hand. You're quick to connect the dots, though you have so many questions.

"Can I come in?" Steve asks.

You nod quickly, escaping your trance long enough to pull him into your room. Your questions can wait.

While you don't know exactly what you're doing, you know there's a first-aid kit in the bathroom, and you fetch it. You make him sit on your bed as you dab at the cuts all over his face.

Steve hisses and flinches before settling again, trying his best to stay still. "Sorry." You try to press lightly and more carefully. If you can, you want to spare him as much pain as possible. He already looks impossibly beat and worn out as it is.

As soon as he's cleaned up, Steve seems prepared for the onslaught of questions you must have. And boy do you.

You're silent for a moment, trying to decide where to even start. "So, you're Spider-Man, huh?"

"How could you tell?"

You snort and push him playfully, careful not to hurt him. He laughs and nods. "Yeah, I am," he finally admits. Not that he can hide it when he's clearly still in his suit, and he's obviously taken a beating. It didn't take a genius to put the pieces together.

"I wasn't sure how to tell you, but I wanted to eventually," Steve continues. For as long as he's been doing the whole superhero thing, he'd thought over time and time again how to bring it up. Especially once the two of you started dating. He knew it had to come up eventually.

Your mind is racing still, but you're glad you know now and that he's safe. "That's why you always disappear so much," you realize. You can't believe you never figured it out. It just seemed outlandish to think that Steve Harrington and Spider-Man were one and the same.

Now that you know, it explains so many things.

"Someone has to save the city," he says. Steve is silent for a moment before taking your hand. "I'm sorry you have to find out like this."

Of all the ways he envisioned telling you, he never would have guessed you'd find out after finding him beat up outside your window.

You sigh and shake your head. "It's fine, really. I'm just glad you're okay." It occurs to you how often Steve has to fend off villains. He must look worse than this some days, and the thought of that breaks your heart. Because if that's the case, then he clearly continues to go out as Spider-Man despite all of the pain.

"If it makes you feel any better, I heal fast," Steve assures you. "Like, a lot faster than everyone else."

It doesn't totally make your worries disappear - they probably never will - but it helps. And your previous questions come back to mind.

"Okay, wait. How did you even become Spider-Man?" That was perhaps your biggest question.

Steve grins sheepishly. "You remember that trip we took to Oscorp?"

You nod. It was sometime last year, but you remember.

"I got bit by a spider, but I didn't think about it at first," he explains. "Turns out it was a radioactive spider, and now I have all these cool powers."

Honestly, you were amazed. It was pretty clear by the way your eyes lit up as you listened. Just listening to him go on about everything he'd been through - it was amazing. Sure, you'd kept up with a few of Spider-Man's run-ins with criminals. Who hadn't? He was all over YouTube. It was crazy to think that was Steve the whole time, though.

"So can you climb walls?" you ask. Obviously, he could. You just wanted to see for yourself.

Steve grinned and stood, only limping slightly. You gasp as he starts climbing until he's right on the ceiling. "Holy shit," you mutter.

He climbs down. The look of awe on your face gives him a confidence boost. "Does that answer your question?"

You nod quickly, still shocked that this was real. "Oh my god. My boyfriend is Spider-Man." You can't believe it.

Steve can tell you're still processing everything. It's a lot to take in, and he knows that. He sits next to you again, kissing your cheek. "I know this is a lot of information all at once," he says. "I really am sorry." He just didn't know who to turn to, and he panicked. But he was glad you were accepting it so far.

"Does anyone else know?" You'd feel like an idiot if everyone else had it figured out before you.

Steve nods. "Just Dustin," he admits. "But only because he helps me." The kid wouldn't give up once he had it figured it out. If Steve didn't let Dustin help, he'd never hear the end of it. Besides, Dustin was much more technologically skilled than him.

You're at least relieved you're not the last one to find out.

It finally dawns on you that it's late, and your studying went forgotten. Oh well. Not the end of the world.

"Do you want to just stay the night?" You ask. If he was hurting too much, you didn't want him making it worse.

Steve shook his head. "I've caused you enough trouble."

"Nonsense. I still have some of your clothes you can change into."

The look of concern on your face breaks him. "Alright, fine." He's able to get changed without feeling too much like he's been run over. You even hide his suit for now and help him settle into bed.

Once the light is off, the two of you are cuddled as close as you can without causing Steve any discomfort. It's not the worst pain in the world, but he knows it'll be a while before he can actually get any sleep,

You try to stay up with him as long as you can manage, but after studying hard for hours on end, you feel drained. He can tell.

"You should get some sleep, Y/N," Steve insists. "I'll be fine."

You protest, though it dies out when you yawn. It's clear you can't win this one, and the thought of sleep tempts you. It isn't long before you give in and fall fast asleep in his arms.

Steve feels much better being able to hold you. It almost feels like he can shield you from the horrors the world has to offer. And he's faced so many of them himself that all he wants is to protect you.

There's a lingering feeling of unease in the back of his mind. Now that you know his secret identity, you could easily become a target. The idea makes his stomach churn, and the fear weighs him down like a ton of bricks. If he can help it, that'll never happen. And though he knows you would never blame him if it did, Steve can't help thinking you deserve so much better.

As if sensing his anxiety, you snuggle closer, wrapping your arms around him. Steve smiles and brushes your hair from your face. It's enough to reel him back in, grounding him to the moment.

For now, you're safe and in his arms. If nothing else, he can hang onto that thread for as long as possible. And you look so peaceful that it melts his worries away, if only for the night.

With how much of a fight he put up today, Steve knows he's earned the right to get a good night's rest. He pushes aside any nagging worries, letting his troubles go forgotten for the time being. It's late, and so he holds you close, kissing your forehead, before drifting into sleep.

Taglist: @charmedtenderness @nxncywheeler @musicalytrashpanda

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington imagine #stranger things #stranger things fic #spider-man au

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thwip--thwip · 5 years

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Hey, I was looking for some new reading material and wondered if you could give me some recs? Please and thank you sm!

ho BOY anon, COULD I! I’ve got over 2,000 bookmarks on AO3 - what are we looking for? I’m going to assume IronDad, or at the very least Peter Parker-centric; short or long? MJ or Gwen Stacy? Angst, fluff, whump? Sorry this took a minute; I went into the vault for you and pulled out some rare gems:

LONG FICS

In the Home by @captainkirkk | 68k

The Avengers have been infected, turned violent and aggressive against their will. And Peter, the only one unaffected, is trapped inside the Tower with six feral teammates.

“Natasha,” Peter says cautiously, “what happened here? Steve attacked me, and if there was ever a sign that something was wrong, it’s having the embodiment of Truth, Justice, and the American Way throw you across the room—”

Natasha comes closer, her stride controlled. Nothing necessarily out of the ordinary, but there’s something in her face, in her eyes—

Natasha lunges across the space, and slams into Peter, hard.

This just…hoo. A classic if I’ve ever seen one. There’s going to be plenty of aloneintherain on this list because she’s the bomb dot com and its no secret I’m in love. we Stan in this house; this might be my favorite Spidey fic ever written.

POW Avengers by Punny_Puck |122k

Tony Stark is thrown into a new Nazi POW camp. It’s his fifth–or sixth–and he’d really like to make it to his fiftieth escape attempt this time. But Stalag III isn’t like any of the other POW camps he’s been in. He suddenly finds himself facing an impossible task: Getting two-hundred and fifty men out of the camp in one massive escape attempt. And dammit if he’s not going to make it work.

Very impressive, very lengthy and detailed historical AU set in WWII. This one is more Tony than Peter, and quite a fair bit of Loki (this author does a great job with all the different POV’s, that’s why it’s so long!). Nice and juicy!

5 Times Peter Fell & Tony Caught Him, and The 1 Time He Didn’t by eva7673 | 35k

Peter has a nasty habit of falling. And Tony, bless him, will catch him every. single. time. Until the day he can’t.

I love this series with all of my heart, but especially this first fic! It’s the perfect amount of whump and IronDad, and oh man, that last time? GETS me. Eva definitely put in so much work on this series, and it SHOWS!

Twelve Days of Peter Parker by @upcamethesun | 27k

In each of the twelve days leading up to Christmas, Tony runs into one Peter Parker — for better or for worse.

In other words, an excuse for this author to write gratuitous Peter fluff/angst/nonsense with a Christmas theme, because ‘tis the season.

This fic is so cute I Die. Perfect bit of holiday nonsense! I read it every year lol. It’s got everything you’re looking for and more, to scratch the itch you didn’t know you had.

ever in your favor by @iron–spider | 153k

Peter startles awake when someone shakes him.

“Sorry, honey,” May says. Peter blinks a couple times and she comes into focus, her hair pulled back from her face. She’s trying not to look a certain way, but he can see it in her eyes anyway. She clears her throat, keeps talking. “But it’s…” She glances away, wets her lips. “You gotta get ready.”

He remembers what day it is, and his heart beats like a drum at someone’s execution. But he tries to put on a mask, make it all seem normal. It’s everything but, despite the fact that he’s been dealing with reaping day since he was born, between himself, Ben and May. That fear that one of them could be taken away. Sent to surefire slaughter. But now Ben is gone, taken despite never having his name drawn from a bowl, and May’s finally safe. Now Peter’s name is in there alone. The last Parker sitting on the chopping block. He doesn’t know how to be. He doesn’t know what normal is, when the Hunger Games are looming on the horizon.

I mean…how could I possibly do a fic rec list without this on it? Iron–spider’s latest masterwork, and it truly is a masterwork. The Hunger Games AU your soul has been crying out for, and quite possibly the greatest AU to ever live. Do yourself a favor and get settled in - you’re in for a ride.

Magazineverse by @copperbadge | 56k

Heroes In Manhattan: From Captain America’s Hidden Talents To The Truth About The Hulk, We Debunk The Myths And Expose The Daily Lives Of The Avengers.

Avengers-centric, takes place post-2012. The Avengers team we deserve! The whole series is amazing, and I definitely didn’t see the twist coming (SO original, and you totally got me. Well played.)

MEDIUM FICS

devil in a sunday hat by @captainkirkk | 14k

Peter wishes he hadn’t gotten out of bed that morning. Then, maybe, he wouldn’t be reduced to this—limp-crawling through the rabbit burrows that is Oscorp Tower, a monster of a man on his heels, bloody and bruised and choking on a panic attack.

This series really speaks to Peter, and his experience as a street-level hero. I don’t think I’ve ever not cried reading this series - it’s really beautiful. Aloneintherain always manages to capture how much weight and anxiety sits on Peter’s shoulders - and how dire his consequences can really be.

5 things that change for Peter after the end of the world by @iron–spider | 14k

…and one thing that always remains the same.

(SPOILERS FOR INFINITY WAR)

Peter knows he’s different now.

The first three months were like a bubble. He didn’t think about the newness of his old life, he didn’t think about the state of the world now that it had been saved—he just worried. Worried about Tony and Steve recovering. Worried about May worrying about him. Worried about everything in general—he didn’t allow himself specifics because specifics didn’t make sense, not yet. He just focused on his routine, kept it normal, the same schedule every day so he didn’t throw himself off.

It felt like the bubble popped when the party ended, and everything became clearer. The differences in who he is now were highlighted, like there was a spotlight on his every move, like everybody could see the invisible scars the world-ending experience left on him.

The first thing he notices is the sleeping. Or lack thereof.

(a follow up to my story “the rattle of their hearts” from Peter’s POV. You can read this one without having read the original, but it would make more sense if you have read it!)

Everyone knows Rattle, and if you don’t, definitely read the first fic in this series! But this second one is really special to me (and MJ never fails to make me laugh out loud, every time). Peter’s PTSD is dealt with intimately in this fic, and I love it to bits.

the conspiracy kids by @tempestaurora | 13k

WHO IS SPIDER-MAN?

The screen showed Peter Parker, sixteen years old and determined to prove the identity of Spider-Man over the course of the three-part documentary he was making, unknowing that it would become viral within days of the first part being released. Behind the camera, way off screen, was Harley Keener, Tony Stark’s other prodigy child, grinning like crazy as Peter started the documentary. Only a few people knew what was to come, and those few people were about to have a great few weeks.

“My name is Peter Parker, and with the help of my friends, Ned Leeds, Harley Keener, and my Aunt, May Parker, who provided me with a lot of red yarn for this project, we’re going to uncover the identity of Spider-Man.”

“what if peter just decided to fuck with everyone who didn’t know he was spider man and make a documentary about him trying to uncover the Truth.”

Looking for a fun, Peter-and-Harley-being-ridiculous-teenagers fic? This is the One For You. I can see it all in my head, and it never fails to make me laugh. Delightful piece of fluff and probably the best social-media-esque fic I’ve read.

Primary Reason Tony Stark Would Throw Down With An Anti-Vaxxer In The Street by @caraminha | 12k

Prompt from my Tumblr: Have you heard of tetanus? I’m studying it for school and it’s got lots of angst potential - it causes severe, seizure like muscle spasms which can break the patient’s bones, but they’re conscious and fully aware of what’s happening. It also causes fever and lockjaw, and difficulty breathing. I’d love to see an angst fic where Peter has bad tetanus and Tony and co are looking after him whilst his symptoms get worse and worse.

Looking for some Peter!whump? This fic is so sweet. Tony is Dad. What more do you need?

SHORT FICS

Come Together by @captainkirkk | 1.8k

From the ground, Tony squints at Thanos and the young heroes the villain is chasing through the city. “Are they…” Tony begins.

Steve, being lifted onto a gurney by starstruck paramedics, laughs a little. “Leading the man who almost destroyed the Earth in a wild goose chase?” In the sky, Johnny Storm sticks his tongue out at Thanos, ducking and weaving out of the villain’s grasp. “Yeah. I think they are.”

Didn’t I promise she’d be on here a billion and one times? All of her stuff is so good, for every fandom. Go READ this queen who’s been killing the game for years. This fic is such a sweet one, an Endgame fic before Peter was even in the MCU. It’s perfect.

Only Road by @garamonder | 2.8k

A rare breather between fighting should have been a relief for the Avengers. Instead, one small comment triggers a confrontation Peter had been avoiding for months.

Oh wow this one…this dialogue between Peter and Tony is incredible. One of my favorite things in a fic is a good argument, especially one where Peter has a distinct and mature point.

Every Penny and More by Princessfbi | 1.2k

She forced herself to inhale air and hold it before releasing it from her lips. She grounded herself in the cheap vinyl in a crappy diner that she wasn’t sure she was ever going to be able to look at the same way again. She thought of the life Peter would have if she said yes because she knew that’s what all of this was about: Tony asking her permission to let him do this.

May and Tony co-parenting Peter is…oh, be still my heart. This is such a sweet little fic of something that definitely happened off-screen :’)

5 Times Spider-Man Saved An Avengers’ Ass (and the 1 Time They Saved Him) by TunaFishChris | 7.2k

What it says on the tin.

Going through an angsty Spider-Man phase. I regret nothing.

YES give me Peter x Avengers team! Peter gets a great moment with each of the Avengers, proving himself a capable hero (and getting assistance when he needs it the most :’) baby makes some friends!). Really cute, a fun little romp.

unbearable loss by @iron–spider | 1.6k

“Peter…he was so afraid, Pep,” Tony says, his voice breaking. “He…he just lunged for me, he was so afraid, he wanted—he needed someone to be there for him. And I tried, I tried—I held him, I told him he was alright, which was a—goddamn lie, and the only fucking thing that came out of my mouth. The last thing I said to him.” He shakes his head, swallowing hard. “The last thing I said to him was a lie.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Pepper says, quietly.

“I do,” Tony says. “He trusted me. That kid trusted me, and I failed him every possible way I could have. I couldn’t save him, I couldn’t—he died in my arms and I couldn’t do one single solitary thing about it. And I couldn’t—me, the human fucking chatterbox—I just stared at him. He was dying, turning to fucking dust and apologizing to me and I just stared at him, like a moron.”

This fic Fucks. Me. Up. Iron–spider’s Tony angst is unparalleled. It hurts me every time, and the dialogue between him and Pepper is just…it’ll get you.

yesterday, I saw a change by @captainkirkk | 6.8k

Inspired by prompt: ‘Peter is unmasked on live television, and everyone goes berserk—you’ve already heard this one but here’s the twist—he’s wide-eyed, staring into the camera, frightened, but not because of his own safety. The first thing that comes out of his mouth is, “Someone please, please protect my Aunt May.” And the entirety of New York cries out simultaneously. Heroes and neighbours and fellow students rain down on the Parker house, ready to defend her.’

This is - surprise! - a May Parker fic. This fic will move you. You will probably cry. I love it with all my heart. If I ever need a refresher on who May is and how she feels - how New York feels, about Spiderman - this is my go-to.

Hope that gave you some new stuff to check out! I have more, do I ever have more. Enjoy & remember to leave comments for all of these wonderful writers!!!

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kitcat992 · 4 years

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Sitting on the edge of my seat, looking forward to your next sneak peek! Venommmmm *maniacal laughter*

GUHHHHhhhhhh I’m so behind on updating.

Here, have a sneak peek. You earned it for waiting.

Identity Crisis | Chapter 15: Slithered Here From Hell

Tony popped his lips, the sound echoing throughout the office. “No one finds it coincidental that a teleporting magician appeared in the same week?”

Norman smirked. Just a little. Just enough.

“And gone the next,” he regarded Tony evenly. “There were no ties with that incident and OsCorp.”

It was the tone of deceptive innocence that got to Tony, so immaculately perfected that it could fool anyone’s ears, surely pass any lie detector, win over any judge. Tony imagined that had it not been for the hell he’d been through earlier in the year, Norman’s act of virtue might have even instilled some doubt in his accusations.

But there weren’t accusations to have. Not anymore. They knew the truth — Tony knew the truth. The truth was nightmares that woke him up at three a.m. Panic attacks he could barely stave off at the smell of salt water and ocean life. The endless reminders of sleepless nights in his compound’s medical bay, praying relentlessly to a God he didn’t believe in at the bedside of a kid too young to experience the trauma he’d been put through.

He didn’t need to hear the truth directly from the fool’s mouth to feel vindicated.

He just needed to buy the time until he had his proof.

“Hm. So you claim,” Tony said, his voice still calm, still leveled. They could both play the game of bullshitting some professional nonsense. “Just as you claimed that your numerous east-coast research facilities were all up to code and legally abiding. Yet the case of one Max Dillon, circa 2008, might see things differently.”

Norman hadn’t looked away from Tony, not even as his fingers began to dance across the plush leather armrest of his chair.

Tony stared right back into his eyes, refusing to be intimidated.

“Remember him?” Tony flippantly waved a hand, dismissing a response. “Doubtful that you do. He was just another college student, Montclair State University, too desperate for a couple bucks to know what participating in your underpaid studies would do to him.”

Tony leaned in, just an inch, the soft tapping of Norman’s fingers audible in the quiet space between them.

“Amazing how an incident that put a nineteen-year-old boy into a coma brought on by high-voltage electrical shock could just be...tossed out of court like some suburban soccer mom suing their neighbor for leaving Christmas decorations up past New Years.” His voice grew harder, his need to remain reserved slipping between the cracks where his emotion began to surface. “But you claimed — sorry, let me rephrase that — you ‘claimed’ that your study participants were subjected to the highest level of care and consideration in your faculties. Just as you claim now that you’ve had nothing to do with the Collar City Bridge incident. Or the magician in Times Square. Or the revived, modified Chitarui remains in Brooklyn.”

Tony said nothing for a moment; he wasn’t too sure if it was to add suspense to his lingering words, or to control the growing pit that started to claw its way into his throat. He could feel his lip twitch, the memories all too vivid, too personal. Close enough to his chest that he was sure each hammering beat of his heart kept them alive and present in his mind.

Norman stared at him, face so expressionless it was as if he knew nothing of the pain he’d cause Tony. Or worse, simply didn’t care.

“Among other events I can’t list, of course,” Tony finally added, managing a nonchalant shrug that took more effort than it appeared. “But like I said...security clearance. Not sure if I’d be able to get horses blood out of Egyptian Cotton bedsheets. And I would rather not have to try.”

The false image of calm and collected pervading every fiber of Norman’s persona hadn’t taken a hit. His fingers finally stopped moving across the armrest, his hands settling on the smooth surface of his desk not far from where the mountain glass sat, condensation still leaking onto the wood below it.

“And it would be ill-advised to discuss anything further without a lawyer present,” Norman added. “That is, so long as you continue to throw subpoenas on my desk every other week.”

A full blown grin pulled tightly at Tony’s cheeks, the phony act coming back just as quickly as it left.

“Hey, it’d stop if I got my answers.”

The chuckle that came from Norman was downright unsettling, surprising at the very least. Tony arched an eyebrow high, watching with disturbed interest as Norman picked up the mountain glass from his desk and shook his head, little laughs rattling his chest.

Tony narrowed his eyes, noticing how his muscles tensed at every low chuckle that escaped Norman’s throat. He’d heard a lot of sinister sounds in his life. Somehow, this one felt the worse.

Norman took a sip of scotch, and for a moment, neither of them said anything.

“You know who does have a tie to those incidents you speak of, Stark?” Norman returned his gaze to Tony, openly gesturing the glass in his direction. “Queen’s local Spider-man.”

#fic preview #irondad #spiderson #tony stark #peter parker #norman osborn #venom #venom symbiote #whump

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queenofmoons · 5 years

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@chironeis requested a fic about the Buzzfeed Unsolved boys trying to figure out who Spider-Man is and I don’t feel comfortable writing the fic but here are some headcanons:

- Shane isn’t convinced he’s real. “There’s such thing as video editing, Ryan. It’s your job.” He repeatedly challenges Spider-Man to come show up at the office and prove him wrong. “Fly by our window Spidey-boi I DARE you!” JJJ vibes, but instead of calling him a menace he’s just trying to call his bluff.

-They cute JJJ a lot, too. Not because he’s a reliable news source, but because he talks a LOT about Spider-Man, and because Spider-Man saved his son’s life once. Also, because all of the photos he has of Spider-Man were bought from the same photographer— this photographer must be a friend of we webslinger, right?

- Peter is actually a really big fan of BFU. These are his favorite episodes, if only bc Ryan is Very Off The Mark. He’s not too worried about it because they live on the other side of the country, and it would be almost impossible to figure out who he really is from over there until...

- someone gets footage of him changing into his costume. You can’t really see his face in it, thankfully, but it manages to startle Peter, ESPECIALLY when it ends up on an episode of BFU. He leaves a comment as Peter Parker asking when this channel became an investigative channel rather than one that discusses cold cases and most of the replies say “sounds like something Spider-Man would say”

-Harley finds those comments hilarious, but peter is worried he’s outed himself. He asks Tony to please get them taken down and both Tony and Harley have to remind him how suspicious that would look. C’mon dude there’s 3000 comments online a day joking that people are Spider-Man.

- The BFU boys get an email from someone named No1SpideyFan who has been saved by Spider-Man. He gives them all the information he knows. Ned is the one to suggest to him that maybe Spider-Man doesn’t appreciate that and he probably wears a mask for a reason.

-There’s an episode where they go to NYC and stand on top of a tall building and yell for Spider-Man, it’s nonsensical and hilarious. Shane jokes that he’s going to jump off and if Spider-Man really was in the city he’d have to come catch him. Spider-Man actually swings by in that second because he’s late to a meeting at Avenger’s Tower. Ryan is very excited.

-The theories about who Spider-Man could possibly be range from Tony Stark’s son, to an intern at Oscorp that was experimented on.

#spiderman #mcu #spider-man #spider-Man AU #spiderman AU #buzzfeed unsolved #buzzfeed unsolved AU #iron family #tony stark #harley keener #mcu headcanon #spiderman headcanon

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ema--vee · 6 years

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you don’t have to hold your head up high

He comes to slowly, head heavy and eyes blurry. The world around him is brown and grey and so incredibly dull and ugly that he knows it can’t be home.

It’s a basement, he realizes when his vision finally clears. Dirty cinderblock walls, cold cement floor, one big room with nothing in it but an arm chair, a side table, and a small lamp.

Oh, and the creepy metal box in the middle of the room.

It’s about three feet wide and four feet tall, made of metal walls and a thick glass front. It’s dark and empty inside, but a control panel on the outside blinks a steady yellow light. He doesn’t know what it’s meant for, but it can’t be good.

He’s handcuffed to a pipe against the far wall, stripped of his wrist gauntlet and his jacket and left on his ass. For now, his kidnappers are nowhere to be seen.

Wanting to get it over with, Tony shakes his arms back and forth, rattling the handcuffs, hopefully loud enough to be heard by whoever else is hiding in this ugly house. His plan works, and soon enough, two heavy pairs of footsteps descend the stairs to his right.

Standing in front of him now are two slimy-looking men. One is a big burly guy with dark curls and an unkempt beard. The other is a smaller man, more weaselly-looking, with ashen hair and a hooked nose. Both of them smile down at him, looking thrilled to see him awake.

“Hello, Mr. Stark,” the smaller man says. “It’s good to see you finally awake. You slept much longer than our other prize. Of course, that’s to be expected.”

Tony’s mouth goes instantly dry at the mention of their “other prize,” especially since he can take it as a hint that the other person is enhanced in some way. Most likely a faster metabolism to burn through whatever drugs were pumped into their systems.

Tony has a number of enhanced friends (or at least, enhanced acquaintances), but the idea of one in particular… one certain spider kid, being here, in this dirty basement with multiple psychopaths…

His blood runs cold.

“That’s nice,” Tony says curtly. He ignores his pounding heart. “Why don’t you go ahead and cut to the chase and tell me why I’m here.” The words earn him a pair of cold, glinting smiles.

“It’s simple, Mr. Stark,” the smaller guy said. “Revenge. And understanding.”

Tony resists the urge to roll his eyes. Of course. Another pair of mediocre villains who felt Tony Stark—or maybe the Avengers—had wronged them in some way or another. Of course.

“You robbed us, Stark,” the bigger one says. “Stole our handiwork.”

“And we can’t let that go. You understand.”

“No, asshole,” Tony spits back, irritated. “I don’t understand. I’ve never stolen anything. And even if I had, I wouldn’t want whatever you brainless low-lifes could come up with.”

“Of course the great Tony Stark would feel entitled to whatever he wants,” the small one growls. “You think you can just take our creation and use it for yourself? You think that because you have the wealth and the fame that you should get to steal our work and twist it for your own purposes?”

“You’ve lived a life of luxury,” says the other man. “Whatever you want, it’s yours. Whatever you want. Well, that ends now, Stark. And I do believe you’ll live to regret it.”

“Go get Thomas,” the small one says, never taking his snake eyes off of Tony. “Have him bring down our creation. Then we can begin our lesson.”

“What the fuck are you going on about?” Tony asks. He really, really doesn’t want to know what their creation is, but he’s growing irritated with their rambling nonsense.

He’s answered with a smug grin and the sound of heavy footsteps descending next to him. He twists, craning to see what’s coming, and his heart drops to his shoes.

The big guy comes lumbering into the room, dragging a far-too familiar teenage form. Another man—presumably Thomas—practically skips down the stairs after them. He’s short and stout and decked out in a lab coat that’s smeared with half-dried blood. Even more of the stuff lingers in the cracks of his hands.

Peter is awake, but somewhat dazed. The big guy grips his bicep with one hand and the kid has practically no choice but to try and scramble uselessly for some sort of purchase as he’s dragged. They must have him at least somewhat sedated. There’s a line of blood running down his arm from the crook of his elbow and judging by the lack of any other visible injuries, Thomas has probably taken a few pints. That probably doesn’t help with his alertness.

Peter’s eyes go wide when he spots Tony. “Mr. Stark!”

The guy lets go of Peter and practically throws him onto the floor. The kid lets out a tiny yelp as he falls, barely catching himself with his hands and pushing himself up onto his elbows. He lifts his head, meeting Tony’s eyes and there’s so much worry there that it makes Tony’s chest ache.

Tony can only think about the kid and how he’s going to somehow manage to keep him safe and get him out of here. He forgets he should be putting on a brave face, for Peter, for the assholes that have them, so they won’t know that there’s nothing in this world that could hurt Tony more than seeing that kid suffer.

“Did they hurt you, Mr. Stark?”

Of course they didn’t. That’s the whole idea. Peter’s there to suffer for Tony.

His stomach rolls with nausea.

Peter’s wide eyes are still searching him imploringly though, so he gives a tiny shake of his head, just to appease the kid. Peter seems to relax just slightly at the knowledge.

“Mr. Stark is very interested in knowing what’s going on here,” the smaller kidnapper says. He nudges Peter with his foot. Peter glares at the guy’s shoe in disgust and pushes himself into a slightly more upright position. “Tell him who we are,” he commands.

Peter just glares up at him, mouth planted firmly shut.

Then, the man pulls a remote out of his pocket and Peter’s expression turns to confusion.

“Go on, tell him who we are. Tell him who made you, spider. Tell him about how we’re the ones who made you.”

“No one made me,” Peter growls. “I’m not yours.”

“You are not Stark’s! We made you, not him.”

“I’m not anyone’s! I’m a person!”

Damn right, kid.

Tony smiles smugly at their captors.

“You are a laboratory creation,” the man says, his voice icy calm. “As your creators, we have the rights to you. We control you. Now, tell Stark whose work he’s stolen.”

“No one st—”

Peter’s cut off by the involuntary scream that rips through Tony as the guy presses a button on the remote. White hot agony is coursing through his bones, turning his nerves into livewires, and it isn’t until the pain recedes that Tony can realize that his cuffs are electrified.

Every one of his senses has turned to white, but as they slowly fade back in, he can hear someone yelling.

“—p! Stop! Please! Stop!”

“Tell him who made you, freak!”

“You made me!” Peter cries, and Tony looks up. The kid has his eyes squeezed shut, and his head is bowed, embarrassed. “I—I was made in a lab. You made me. Mr. Stark had nothing to do with it.”

“Tell him who we are,” the man hisses, leaning down to get right next to Peter’s face.

“Y-you’re Davis,” he stammers, pointing but still not looking at the man. “And—and that’s Smith,” he says, flailing a hand out to gesture towards the big guy. “And, uh, Thomas. You are responsible for my powers—”

Davis kicked the kid sharply in the side and Peter corrects himself. “You made me. Please, please don’t hurt Mr. Stark again. He didn’t do anything.”

“He stole—”

“He didn’t!” Peter says quickly. “I—It was all me. I—I ran away from Oscorp. I hid from you.” Tony isn’t sure how long he’s been out, but these assholes have clearly been drilling this bullshit into Peter’s head for a while. And the kid is telling them what they want to hear—horrible things, things he knows Peter’s struggled to not think about himself—just so they won’t hurt Tony.

Davis bobs his head side to side like he’s considering Peter’s words. “Of course, part of the blame is on you,” he agrees. “But Stark, he’s a man of science. He should have known not to try and reap the benefits of someone else’s hard work.”

“Hey, asshat,” Tony snaps. “He’s a person. He’s not mine, he’s not yours, he’s not anyone’s. Get that through your thick skulls and let us go now and maybe I won’t break every bone in your body.”

Peter shoots him a weak, appreciative smile.

“Oh, Stark,” Davis chuckles. “You’re wrong. We’ve been observing for months, like any good scientist would. We know more than you ever could. You don't deserve to use our creation when you don’t even understand it’s physiology.”

“You see,” Thomas adds, beginning to pace the room. “We’re incredibly fascinated with what characteristics our little pet spider shares with, well, actual arachnids. Over these months, I’ve made a wonderful number of observations. There are some obvious difference, of course: he has two legs, two eyes. He doesn’t generate webs, not biologically. But he climbs like a spider, senses things happening around him. And…” Thomas’s face morphs into a sinister smile as he locks eyes with Tony, “he has such a hard time thermoregulating.”

The basement is cold. Cold enough that Tony can feel goosebumps up and down his arms, cold enough for his fingers to start to cramp, but not cold enough to induce hypothermia. It won’t kill anyone, not even Peter.

“You missed all the signs, Stark,” Thomas continues. “The spider was shivering in early September, and you never put it together. Pathetic.”

The worst part is, he’s right. Peter was shivering in September. He was wearing three sweaters and making Happy crank up the heat in the car and he even made a few off-hand comments to Tony about feeling colder than he used to. He’d had no idea.

Peter won’t meet his eyes and guilt gnaws at Tony's chest.

“Did you get everything you needed, Thomas?” Smith asks.

Thomas nods. “I did. We can proceed with the last phase.”

Last phase. There’s a terrifying finality to it that sends Tony’s heart rate skyrocketing.

No no no no

“Last phase?” Tony demands. “What do you mean? Answer me, fuckwad!”

They’re laughing, all three of them, while Tony struggles against his chains and Peter scrambles on his hands and knees towards him, trying to reach him. Tony wants nothing more than to reach out and protect him.

Peter’s just a few feet from him when Smith leans down and scoops the kid up.

Tony is yelling obscenities and Peter is kicking and hitting, but whatever drugs are in his system have weakened him too much. Davis opens the little metal box and Smith chucks Peter in before slamming the door.

Thomas starts fiddling with the control panel, and when he presses one of the buttons, Tony can see Peter’s eyes go wide with fear.

“Just above freezing should be good to start,” Davis suggests. “Don’t want it completely freezing too fast.”

“Let him out!” Tony roars. He’s struggling hard enough against the chains now that he can feel the skin of his wrists beginning to rub raw.

“When it gets too cold,” Thomas says, ignoring Tony’s protests, “most cold-blooded creatures die because crystals form inside their veins at freezing temperatures. Did you know that, Stark? This is why its such a shame you stole from us. We could have done so much better. We could have learned so much more. You didn’t deserve our spider.”

He can still see Peter thanks to the glass door of the box. He’s crawled forward towards the glass, slapping and hitting uselessly at it. Already, Tony can see him starting to shiver. The fuckers took his jacket, left him in a thin, stupidly nerdy t-shirt and jeans.

Tony tries a different approach. “Since you know so much about him, you should be able to tell that leaving him in there will kill him. All your hard work, down the drain.”

Davis smirks. “We already gathered all our data. Thomas took enough blood and samples for us to continue our research long after the primary source is gone.”

“Gone? You…”

The man shrugs. “If we’re wrong, and the spider somehow survives this, we’ve some other theories we’d be interested in testing.”

“Like if it reacts to combustion the same way as a spider does,” Smith adds with a grin.

If Peter doesn’t freeze to death, they’ll burn him alive. And Tony will have to watch.

He tips his head to the side and spits out the bile that’s been slowly rising up his throat.

He should have been better about hiding Peter’s identity. He should have done more to protect him. He should have known people would be interested in the kid’s physiology.

He should have predicted this and put a stop to it before Peter could get hurt.

Tony meets Peter’s terrified gaze through the glass and tries to pour as much reassurance as he can into a look, but it’s hard when he’s so scared himself. Peter responds by trying to put on a brave smile, but it falls short when a violent shiver tears through him and leaves his facial muscles twitching.

“We’ll be back later,” Davis says. “Enjoy the front-row seat to our experiment, Stark. Few have such a privilege.”

“Go fuck yourselves,” Tony snarls as the three men stomp up the stairs. They don’t even glance back.

His glare falls as soon as they’re gone, and he turns his attention back to Peter trapped in that box.

“Can you hear me at all, kiddo?” He knows Peter hearing is good, but he doesn’t know anything about that box. Maybe it’s soundproof. Hopefully not.

Peter gives a sharp nod and mouths something—or more likely, tries to say something Tony can’t hear. He’s fallen back into a seated position now, running his hands up and down his arms to try and generate some semblance of heat.

The kid can hear him at least. He hasn’t been robbed of the ability to try and offer at least some verbal comfort or distraction to him.

“Alright, kid. I can’t hear you, but I’ll go ahead and run my big mouth for a while and you just focus on that, okay?” Peter nods again.

He talks for what feels like hours; however long it is for him, it must be ten times worse for the kid. Anything that pops into his head, he says it, unless the story has anything to do with cold or kidnapping, which is surprisingly hard to do. Maybe it’s because the terror he’s feeling for Peter is eclipsing most of his thoughts.

Eventually, their captors return. Smith opens the box and drags Peter out. The kid is shivering violently and too tired to fight back. The only thing keeping him on his feet is Smith’s tight grip on his arm. He can see Peter’s knees threatening to buckle.

Davis and Thomas stand in front of him, frowning and mumbling to each other. Thomas pokes and prods at the kid a little bit and jots down a few notes. Peter squirms weakly and twists his head away from the scientists who are looking at him like he’s not human, like he’s a piece of meat.

When they finish their examinations, Smith hauls Peter towards a column in the middle of the basement where they chain him up too. Tony can’t reach him, even if they both stretch out as far as possible. Peter's shivering hard enough to make the chains rattle and the sounds cut through Tony like a knife.

Now the chill in the air makes sense. Peter won’t be able to get warmed up, not fully.

It’ll only slow down the onset of hypothermia.

They’re torturing his kid. Slowly freezing him to death, just to prove that they can.

“Sick bastards,” Tony hisses. Like always, his insults have no effect on them.

Davis sets a plate of food and a glass of water in front of each of them before they leave again, just a tiny cup of soup. It’s not enough for Peter’s metabolism, and they have to know that, since they’re oh so knowledgeable about the world’s greatest spider-kid.

Tony doesn’t feel particularly hungry, in fact, he feels slightly nauseous, but Peter insists that he eat, and he’s never been able to say no to that kid for very long.

“I’m so sorry, kiddo,” Tony says, watching Peter shiver against the column.

“’S n-not your f-f-fault.” Slowly, the kid is lifting the cup of soup to his lips, going slow so he won’t spill any. He takes a tiny sip before his expression turns to a grimace.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asks quickly. “You okay, kid?”

“’S n-nothing. Just-t-t, s-soup’s cold-d. I was h-hoping…”

“It’s cold?” Tony’s own soup is hot, enough that it’s barely comfortable to hold the cup and he burnt the tip of his tongue.

But Peter nods. His soup is cold.

“Those sick fuckers,” Tony mutters under his breath. “Drink it anyway, Pete, okay? At least it’s something. You need all the nutrients you can get.”

Peter nods jerkily and takes a few more sips. Tony wishes he could trade with him, but they were too far apart. He would give anything to be a tiny bit closer to the kid. There’s a whole room between him and comforting his kid.

“Th-thank you,” Peter says. “F-for t-talking to m-me.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that, kiddo. In fact, you should be blaming me for all this.”

Peter shakes his head. “N-no. N-not everything is y-your fault-t, Mis’r St-tark. S-sometimes, bad things h-happen. We’ll get th-through this.”

God, his chest aches at Peter’s optimism.

Peter reaches for the glass of water. Just like with the soup, while Tony’s is lukewarm, Peter’s is cold. He can see the condensation on the outside of the glass from across the room.

Peter sips it with a cringe but swallows it anyway. They can’t afford to add dehydration and starvation onto the list of the kid’s problems.

A sudden shiver tears through Peter and the glass tips, spilling water all down the front of the kid's shirt. He gasps at the added cold and drops the glass in surprise. It shatters on the ground in front of him.

“Sh-shit,” Peter hisses. He’s shivering harder now and curling in on himself to try and preserve some form of body heat. A strong shiver turns into a twitch and Peter’s hand skids along the floor involuntarily.

“Pete? You okay?”

Peter clutches his hand to his chest and already Tony can see lines of red running down his arm. Tentatively, he holds out his palm for Tony to see. He’s sliced his palm to ribbons on the shattered glass.

“M-my healing with t-take care of it,” he says quickly—the alarm on Tony’s face must have been evident because he yanks his hand back into his chest. “I’ll b-be okay. D-don’t worry. We’ll get through th-this.”

It’s hard to believe the kid’s smile when he’s pale and curled up on the floor surrounded by water, glass, and his own blood. It’s hard to ignore the horrible box sitting just a few meters away; the sight of it makes Tony’s blood boil. He can’t stand the thought of Peter going back in there.

God, Tony hates these chains. They’re keeping him from his kid. It physically hurts him, in his already damaged chest, to watch Peter curl up all alone and shake. The kid is breathing like he’s putting all his effort into every single breath—like they’re the one thing he can control. Breathing in the air of this room, warmer than the horrors of that box, is all Peter can do to lessen the pain and the cold.

When Tony talks now, he speaks only in endless reassurances, but he’s not sure Peter hears him.

It’s not much of a reprieve, Tony can tell. If Peter had stayed in the box, he would have likely been dead before the night was up. The temperature of this basement is enough to keep the kid alive for a little while longer, but Tony can tell it hurts. Peter is scared and in pain.

Still, whenever he catches Tony staring at him, he offers up a weak smile. It’s enough to keep Tony from going crazy.

At least, until those men come back.

“Time for the next trial, Stark!” Davis says gleefully while Thomas and Smith throw Peter back in the box. “You’ll let us know if anything interesting happens, yeah?”

“You’re killing him,” Tony hisses. “Don’t do this. He’s a kid. You’re killing him.”

Davis shrugs. “Yeah. That’s the idea. Doesn’t feel so good to see your stuff taken away from you, does it?”

“He’s not yours!”

Another shrug. “Soon, it won’t matter. We’ll have all our data, you’ll have nothing. It’s better than I could have ever hoped for.” Tony hates the faraway gleeful expression on the man’s face. “Crank it down below freezing, Thomas,” he calls over his shoulder. “Enjoy your day, Mr. Stark.”

This time, Tony isn’t sure Peter is hearing him. Well, he’s probably hearing him, but Peter wears an unwavering expression of misery and fear and… confusion.

Sometimes Tony says something particularly loud or bizarre, Peter glances up, looking like he doesn’t remember where he is or what’s going on.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Tony says with a sigh. Peter looks at him through the glass, dazed and confused. “We—we’ve been taken. It’s all my fault. But you’re gonna be okay, okay? I’m going to get you out of this, I promise.”

Peter simply nods, and Tony’s chest constricts painfully.

When they finally pull him out again, Peter is shivering so violently that Smith can barely maintain his grip on him. He shifts so he’s holding both of Peter’s arms and the kid is slumped in front of him, unable to hold his own weight.

“Hmm,” Thomas says. “It’s not looking too good.” There isn’t a single echo of concern in his voice, just amusement.

“Mis’r Stark,” Peter mumbles, and the words are slurred.

They really are freaking psychopaths. Peter’s never looked younger in all three years Tony’s known him than this very moment. He’s thin and wilted and looks far closer to twelve than seventeen.

“Ya know,” Smith interjects, “my wife’s really into conservation and preservation and all that shit. Read an article about how if you don’t want spiders in your house during the winter, you should throw in the garbage. ‘S supposed to give ‘em a chance to stay warm.”

How do any of these monsters have spouses? They’re despicable human beings and—

“There’s a dumpster out back…” Davis grins.

No. They wouldn’t… No.

“Don’t you dare,” Tony growls. They just laugh and drag Peter out. “Sick bastards!”

The kid manages to lift his head and meet Tony’s eyes. All the reassurance from before is gone, just the fear and the misery and now, humiliation and shame. He’s gone before Tony can try and comfort him.

They leave him food, but this time he’s too nauseous to eat it, and there’s no dying kid in front of him that he needs to set an example for.

No, he’s alone.

It’s the first time they’ve left Tony alone with nothing, and that means it’s the first time Peter’s alone.

With nothing else, with no kid to focus on, he can hear their captors upstairs laughing and—Tony’s blood burns—mocking Peter. Apparently, it’s goddamn hilarious how the kid was shaking and begging for his life.

He tries to tune them out, and eventually does when he starts planning everything he’s going to do to them as soon as he gets free of these cuffs. First, he’s going to get Peter safe and warm and make sure he knows that everything’s going to be okay. Then, he’s going to tear these sick idiots apart piece by piece and he’s going to savor it. How dare they hurt his kid? How dare they treat him like a freak? Like he’s less than human? How dare they touch a single hair on Peter’s head?

He imagines scenario after scenario, each one more painful and satisfying than the last, and none of them are enough of a punishment for what they’re doing to Peter. He wants them to bleed and burn and freeze.

Eventually he hears them stomping around upstairs. They’d fallen quiet for several hours, so Tony had assumed it was nighttime. If they were really serious, then they’d left the kid outside all night. It's late October, and although Tony has no idea if they were still anywhere near the city, the nights back home had already turned frigid.

When they drag the kid back downstairs, Tony is one dose of gamma radiation away from Hulking out of these chains and destroying everything in sight. Peter is, if it’s possible, shivering even harder than before. He can’t support his own weight and his legs just drag limply behind him. He doesn’t raise his head when they stop in front of Tony, just flicks his gaze towards him for a moment before looking back at the floor.

There’s dirt and grime all over his skin and clothes, in his hair and smearing his cheek. The basement reeks of garbage now and Tony’s stomach churns, not out of disgust, but anger.

“How was your night?” Smith asks, shaking Peter slightly. “Comfy?” He and the others chuckle.

Peter practically whimpers, turning his cheek so he’s no longer looking at the men or at Tony. Tears roll down his cheeks.

“Oh, kid,” Tony murmurs, quiet enough that their captors probably can’t discern what he’s saying, but Peter can. “I’m so sorry.”

The kid manages to get his feet under himself, and Tony sees a flicker of pride on his face. Tony is just as proud of him. After spending the night freezing in a dumpster, it’s a miracle the kid has any strength left in him.

Still, the asshats pull him towards the box. Peter tries to walk, but he stumbles, tripping on his own feet. Smith and Thomas laugh and push him back and forth between them, taking pleasure in the way the kid staggers around and scrambles to grab onto anything he can to steady himself.

“Stop it,” Tony growls lowly. “I swear to god, I’ll—”

They throw him in the box again, ignoring all of Tony’s threats and protests.

He’s going to die. He’s dying he’s dying he’s dying

Peter slumps at the back of the box and shivers and shivers and shivers until it stops. Tony is watching the kid so intently that he knows the exact moment Peter’s body slows to a still. He knows the exact moment it gave up on shivering.

He can see Peter’s eyelids drooping, but that kid, that absolutely incredible, perfectkid listens when Tony tells him to stay awake.

“Eyes open, Pete.” It’s nearly every other sentence now. For every MIT or Iron Man story Tony tells, he throws in at least five demands that the kid stay alert, keep holding on.

He tells the same story multiple times, partly because he only has so many family-friendly adventures to share, partly because he can tell Peter’s memory is failing him. Tony knows the symptoms of hypothermia. He’s taken first aid—watching out for a reckless teenage superhero makes you want to keep up with the basics—and he can see it, clear as day, even across the room and through a thick glass door. Confusion and memory loss, slurred speech, drowsiness, clumsiness—it’s a horrible cocktail of symptoms and Tony has no choice but to watch them all unfold. And not shivering anymore? That’s bad. That’s really, really bad.

Peter likely won’t survive another box session. It’ll be a miracle—and a true testament to that kid’s incredible will—if he makes it through this one.

He’s slumped against the metal side of the box, his limbs hanging limp. Tony can tell he’s fighting hard to keep his eyes open and he’d proud. He’s never been more damn proud. Peter’s still fighting, even though Tony knows how easy it would be for him to let go.

He says it. “I’m so proud of you, kid.” There are tears in his eyes and a thick heaviness in his throat. “So, so proud, Pete.”

Peter, in all his pure goodness, smiles.

Then, the kid shifts, something Tony doesn’t know how he’s summoning the energy to do. Weakly, shivers gone and limbs scarily still, Peter lifts his arms. With what looks like extreme effort based on the way his face screws up, Peter points a single finger to his chest, then forms a heart with his hands, then turns and. Points at Tony through the glass.

I love you.

They’ve taken everything, even Peter’s ability to speak for himself. It’s all too possible that Tony would never hear the kid’s voice again. He’d never hear Peter say those words.

“I love you too, kiddo,” Tony says. The tears flow freely now.

When Peter smiles, it’s both happy and sad, and as his face falls slack again, his eyelids start to slip downwards.

“Hey, hey, hey, Pete,” Tony interjects. “None of that. Eyes open, kiddo. Focus on me. Focus on staying awake.”

Peter mumbles something that Tony has no chance of making out, but he blinks his eyes open anyway. For a moment, the effort makes him go cross-eyed, but he manages to steady himself.

“Good job, kid,” Tony says. His own tears blur his vision. “I’m so proud.”

Tony knows the symptoms of hypothermia, so he knows this isn’t right.

Something is very, very wrong with Peter.

When their captors come back and pull Peter from the box, he’s still and limp, but alive.

If he’s being truly honest with himself, Peter shouldn’t be alive anymore. He should have died in the box. Tony has no idea how he’s still alive, especially since the shivering has already stopped. His body should have shut down during that last session.

Peter sits up against the column, his whole body swaying. At first Tony thinks it’s just the drowsiness that comes with dying.

Then, “Mis’r Stark. ‘M dizzy.” Peter slips to the side, catching himself on one elbow before his arm gives out and he drops all the way onto the floor. He stays there on his side, eyes focusing on one thing for a while before he has to blink, then shifting to stare at something else. Everything about him is slow and heavy.

“It’s okay, Pete. It’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay.”

“Feels wrong, Mis’r Stark.”

“I know, kiddo, I know.”

“No,” Peter insists. “Different. Wrong. Hurts.”

“What’s wrong, Peter? What hurts?”

Peter frowns. “Leg. Keeps cramping.”

Okay, that’s strange, but maybe a result of the cold and the shivering. Peter’s physiology is still mostly a mystery to him.

“Okay, kiddo. You—”

He’s cut off by Peter groaning. He writhes on the floor, twisting and arching his back before curling back into a fetal position. His leg drags through some of the broken glass that remains there, but Peter doesn’t even seem to notice.

“What is it? Peter? What’s wrong?”

“M’ back. Like—like someone’s stabbing me. Mis’r Stark… hurts.”

“It’s okay, Pete. It’s gonna be okay.” He can’t keep saying that. Those words are losing their meaning. They don’t mean anything anymore because no matter how many times he says it, Peter is dying, a cruel, slow, painful death, right in front of him, and he can’t do anything. Nothing is okay.

“Make it stop!” Peter cries. “Please!”

Tony tries not to sob. That’s not what the kid needs, but… but…

He can’t handle this. It’s killing him, tearing him apart to watch this. “I’m so sorry, Peter. I—”

Tony tugs on the cuffs with every ounce of strength he has left, but nothing he tries gets him closer to where Peter lays sobbing. “I’m sorry, kid,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

Peter cries in the otherwise quiet basement for a while before the sounds are suddenly cut off. He makes a choking noise and Tony’s attention snaps towards him, not ready to watch whatever horror is about to unfold, but willing to, since the kid has to go through it.

Peter throws up, still laying on his side, unable move anything else. When he finishes, he curls in on himself even harder, groaning and breathing too fast to bring in any real air.

“Slow down, Pete,” Tony says. “You gotta breathe.”

Peter stares at him blankly as he hyperventilates and shudders. His lips have turned blue.

“Breathe, Peter,” Tony says, a little more forcefully this time. “Slow down. You need to breathe.”

He speaks slow comforting words until Peter’s breathing evens out just slightly. It’s not perfect, but Peter can speak again, so he knows the kid is at least getting some oxygen now. Still, the blue tint to his lips don’t fade, and fear crawls up Tony’s throat.

“’M okay,” Peter murmurs, sounding like he’s partially trying to convince himself. “I—” He blinks, hard, and an alert wave of horror washes over the kid’s expression. “Mis’r Stark?”

He sounds panicked. The hyperventilating is starting to return.

“It’s alright, Pete. It’s okay. I’m right here. What’s wrong, bud? Tell me what’s going on.”

“Can—can’t see,” Peter chokes out. “I can’t see. Evr’ything’s blurry, Mis’r Stark. I can’t see—I can’t see you.”

What’s happening to his kid?

“I’m right here, Pete. I promise you. I’m right here. You can still hear me, right?” Peter nods. “Alright, bud. Use that superhearing of yours. I’m right here.”

“Blurry,” Peter mumbles. He watches as the kid squeezes his eyes closed for a moment before opening them and blinking rapidly. He watches as the kid sees nothing and is left stifling a sob.

He knows what Peter’s senses mean to him. Sometimes, they're the source of debilitating sensory overload, but they’re also a constant that Peter’s become used to having. He used to have terrible eyesight, before the bite. Wore lenses as thick as coke bottles—he’d shown them to Tony one day and they’d both had a good laugh.

He knows how heavily Peter has started relying on his new senses. They’re with him, day in, day out. Losing them, even one of them, it’s taking away another piece of Peter’s freedom. At this point, he’s got just about nothing left.

How long until he can no longer speak? Until he can no longer will himself to move or to breathe? How long until his eyes slip closed and there’s nothing left of the kid at all?

Tony talks and talks, because if Peter can’t see, he won’t dare let a single moment be filled with silence. He doesn’t want Peter to let go. He’s not ready to say goodbye. He can’t do it. So, he’ll give Peter one last thing to cling to, something to anchor him until the end.

If he can’t hold his kid as he dies, he’s gonna at least give him something.

It scares the shit out of both of them when Peter’s body suddenly seizes. Peter sobs, weak and terrified. Tony can only stare. It’s the first time he’s gone silent in what feels like hours. He can’t help it.

He feels so damn lost.

Tony hates not knowing what’s going on in front of him. Before, this was something he couldn’t fix—which hurt enough already—but now he can’t even understand what’s happening to the kid. Blue lips, blue fingernails, shallow breathing, the pain—he doesn’t know what any of it means.

He can’t plan. He can’t even try and accept Peter’s death. It’s some sick nightmare he can’t wake up from.

It’s not long before Peter’s goes completely silent, any weak laughter or comments on Tony’s anecdotes long gone. He’s stopped responding to Tony, just lying there, his whole body convulsing every few minutes. Tony doesn’t know what any of it means, but he’s staring at a shell of Peter now.

The men come back and they’re going to put Peter in again. He’s going to die in that box this time, Tony knows it. He can’t let that happen. He can’t. If Peter dies, a piece of Tony goes with him. He won’t recover. If Peter dies, he’s taking Tony’s heart with him.

“You want fame, right? Money? Tech? Glory? I can get that for you. Anything you want, I’ll do it. Please, just spare him. Let him go. Let the kid live.”

Davis stalks across the room to Peter, kneeling down beside the kid.

“Thomas,” he says, “come look at his.” Peter convulses again. “This isn’t hypothermia.”

Thomas joins Davis next to Peter. He eyes the puddle of sick next to the kid and pokes a finger into a space of his back, where Peter had complained about the night before, and Peter groans in pain. “Hmm,” Thomas says with a frown. “Looks a lot like antifreeze poisoning. Saw it in my niece once. When it gets cold, spiders do produce a sort of antifreeze to lower the temperature at which their body freezes. Guess our little spider does that too.”

“Huh. Who knew.”

“Did you know that, Stark?” Thomas asks him. “It’s fascinating, really. In trying to keep warm, to save itself from dying, it poisoned itself.”

“Looks like we won’t even need another freezer round,” Davis says. “We can just settle in and wait.”

“I’ll get the popcorn,” Smith grins.

“Come on!” Tony shouts. “Anything you want—just let me help him! Let me out so I can—Let me help him! Please. Anything you want. Hell, take my whole company, just let him live.”

He might as well not even be speaking. Complete and utter helplessness crashes into Tony in painful waves, and he can feel himself being dragged under.

Peter, suddenly not an unresponsive form on the floor, rolls to his side and empties what little is remaining in his stomach. Coughing and gagging, Peter sobs as every muscle in his body suddenly seizes.

Poison. Peter’s own body is poisoning him. And Tony can’t do anything but watch.

“Let me… Let me hold him, at least,” Tony begs. “I can’t do anything to save him, but he—he’s a kid. He doesn’t deserve to die alone. Just bring him to me.”

Thomas whirls on him with a smirk. “You expect us to just give what you took from us right back to you? You think you deserve that?”

“He’s just a kid! He didn’t do anything wrong and he doesn’t deserve to die alone. Please.”

“All experiments have to end some time,” Thomas said with a shrug. “You shouldn’t have gotten emotionally attached to the subject. It’s not good practice.”

“You know what’s not good practice?” Tony hisses. “Killing innocent kids.”

“When that spider bit Peter Parker, he ceased being an innocent kid. He became something not human, and he lost the rights of one. Peter Parker no longer exists, and you, Stark, were only pretending to know him.”

“He’s not your experiment! He’s a kid.”

Thomas shrugs again. “I suppose I should be a tad upset that you refuse to understand, but it makes it significantly more satisfying to see you so upset, I must admit.”

His stomach twists dangerously. Thomas grins and steps back away from Tony, eying him with a look of satisfaction, before turning and settling into a chair between Smith and Davis. They plan to quite literally watch Peter die.

“It’s okay, Pete,” Tony whispers to him.

It’s not okay it’s not okay it’s not okay

It will never be okay again

“I love you.” Peter doesn’t respond. He can’t. His kid simply whimpers as his whole body convulses again and again.

Tony watches as he goes still. Peter’s head rolls to the side, coming to face Tony. Somehow, his eyes are still open, blinking at Tony. He can see pain etched in every facet of the kid’s face, fear welling in his unfocused eyes.

Tony won’t look away from him. It’s the last thing he can offer Peter. He hopes it’s at least some form of comfort.

“I’m here,” Tony says softly. He doesn’t know if Peter can even see him or not. He still won’t look away. “I’m right here, Pete. It’s okay.”

It’s not. It never will be.

Peter’s eyes are slipping closed, and Tony knows it’ll be for the last time. Their captors are watching, but Tony doesn’t care. For now, it’s just him and Peter. Nothing else matters.

Later, he’ll deal with them. He’ll tear them apart, piece by piece.

For now...

“I love you, kid.”

Peter doesn’t move.

Then, there’s a whir, and the wall to Tony’s left explodes.

AO3 | Chapter 2 is now up!

#my writing #peter parker #tony stark #iron dad and spider son #whump #hypothermia

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elizabeth-234 · 5 years

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Chapter Seven

Someone to Care

Chapter Six

That morning she sent the text to Mr. Stark. At first worried it was too formal and as soon as it sent, worried it wasn’t formal enough. After a shower and getting her bag packed, she headed to the kitchen and noticed the leftovers for May were still on the counter. There had to be something else she could do and Peyton resolved to try and find another job.

Time flew and Peyton found she was extremely busy with school stuff and her patrols. She had no such luck finding a job with her schedule yet, but was continuing to look. And soon she was here at Stark Towers and it was everything she had ever dreamed of. Every surface of the lab gleamed and each shelf was stocked full of different types of metals and tech Peyton was sure went into making the famous Iron Man suits.

In a daze she started walking around the lab, unaware of Mr. Stark’s eyes following her. She ran her fingers across the tables, trying to take everything in. She stopped in front of the robot Mr. Stark had warned her of earlier and although she was fairly sure he was jesting, was still slightly weary.

It moved its arm up, making Peyton feel like it was looking at her and cocked it to the side. She knew she was being sized up and gave a little bow in order to pay respects. It gave a little humming noise and bumped her stomach. She reached forward and gave the little robot a rub on the top of the claw, to which it replied with an even more enthusiastic noise. Peyton giggled because it reminded her of Wall-E. Her enthusiasm was contagious it appeared because the robot spun around, narrowly missing Peyton with its arm.

“Hey Robo-arm, be careful of the kid. You don’t know your own strength.” Dum-E made an indignant noise and raised his arm again, which Peyton then fist bumped.

Laughing, she said, “Mr. Stark, This is honestly better than Disney world. I can’t believe I’m here.” She finally turned back around to look at Mr. Stark. He was leaning hip against the table; eyebrows pulled together causing creases to form.

“This is just, this is so cool.” She smiled softly and looked down to the floor.

“Well kiddo, what do you say we get started?”

And with that they dived right into testing. Firstly, she tried on the suit, which although could shrink to form to her body was too long in the sleeves and legs. Peyton was beyond embarrassed when Mr. Stark disappeared for a second and then came back with a small tin box. She must have had a strange look on her face because he laughed and told her it was an easy fix. He then proceeded to get on his knees and start to hem the pants of her suit. Peyton’s face lit up bright red and she stammered that he shouldn’t have to do that.

“Nonsense kid. We can’t have you tripping over all this material. Besides, it’s been a second and I need the practice.”

She had no response to that and stood there quietly, face still burning, while he worked. Peyton wondered where he ever learned to sew like that. Never in a million years had she thought that she would be standing here with Mr. Stark, needle between his lips, while he shortened her sleeve.

Ben had tried to teach her at one point and Peyton was decent at it. May and Ben hadn’t thought they were ever going to have children and so it wasn’t something they saved for. It was certainly a surprise when Peyton came to stay with them and money had been tight. Ben wanted her to learn so she could patch up some of her clothes; which still fit but were worn down. Peyton had never got the hang of it so that duty fell to Ben, his fingers being surprisingly nimble. This intimate act reminded her of all those times Uncle Ben spent hours trying to salvage her clothes when she was too rough on them.

Everything was just moving so fast. Not a week ago she would never have revealed her face to anyone, including Aunt May. But something in their first meeting had changed her mind. Peyton couldn’t quite put her finger on it but something about Mr. Stark just resonated with her and she decided to take a leap of faith. It was hard living with a secret this big and Peyton just needed someone to trust. Someone who could protect themselves from getting hurt. She was tired from hiding and then Mr. Stark had landed on that roof and she made up her mind.

After fixing the fit of her suit, they went to one of the gym rooms and tested her actual abilities. Peyton wanted to impress him so she went all out. The only difficult thing was that she had never had any formal training, so a lot of her moves weren’t as polished as they could have been. Basically she acted on instinct. Mr. Stark had been over the moon when she showed him how she could climb walls and stick to any material. Peyton had thought she heard him say that he knew he was right. Her web fluid was another point of interest.

“So, which of my competitors did you get that from kid?” He said, pointing to the web cartridge. Peyton wasn’t exactly sure what he was asking so she just continued to stare at the package.

“Come on now. You can tell me, I won’t judge you. Well, if you say Oscorp I can’t promise you no judgment. We all know their stuff is shit.” His self-important expression made Peyton start laughing.

“Oh. No, Mr. Stark I haven’t trusted Oscorp since... No, I made this myself.”

He stared at her intently for a second and she wondered if he was going to ask her about the hesitation, but then what Peyton would have called a proud smile came over his face.

Softly he said, “Of course you did kid. You’ll have to show me your formulas another time.”

She nodded eagerly. Mr. Stark wanted to look at her formulas! He had even looked proud when she had told him she made it herself. And that was that. After testing her various powers in a modular, Peyton was starving. Her stomach growled and Mr. Stark laughed.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat and I’ll take you home.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Stark. I can just take the subway back home.”

“No arguing. It’s dark out and I’m hungry as well.”

Not wanting to ruin comfortable mood of the afternoon, she stayed silent. That was how she found herself sitting across from him at an Indian restaurant, in disguise. Although, she didn’t really see how he was incognito because he was wearing a Stark Industries baseball cap and his signature glasses. She was surprised he wasn’t sporting an Iron Man t-shirt too.

To her relief it wasn’t awkward, Mr. Stark asked if she had a preference to the food and she, overwhelmed by the choices, said no. He ordered and soon there were plates of piping hot masala, naan, and a mixture of other dishes between them. Normally, it was hard for her to talk to someone she didn’t really know. There was just something in her brain that, when confronted with a new person, froze up. That’s one of the reasons Peyton had a hard go of making friends, for the longest time it had just been her before Ned came around.

But this was completely different than most interactions Peyton had, especially with an adult. The media portrayed Tony Stark as an entitled and self-centered man, but in reality Mr. Stark was completely different. Not domineering the whole conversation, they both talked about things they enjoyed and were interested in. Mr. Stark was surprisingly funny and had her laughing with his impressions of Happy, his bodyguard, chauffeur, head of security, guy. He asked her insightful questions about herself and she found herself answering honestly and openly. The only time the conversation became strained was when she told Mr. Stark about school.

His eyes went completely blank as he ran his hand through his hair. She thought she heard him whisper an expletive beneath his breath.

“I didn’t really think you were a kid. Damn, how old are you Peyton?” It was the first time he had ever said her name and the way he spoke it made her never want to hear it again. For some reason she felt ashamed of her age and didn’t want to answer, tearing off another piece of naan she whispered, “15.”

And all at once she realized what was happening. Mr. Stark had thought she was a lot older. Of course he would never have asked a child to help him fight the Avengers. She wasn’t even a real superhero. She’d let Ben die and once again had ruined everything. Any second now she would wake up from this dream to find herself lying in her bed, her original suit stashed under her floorboard, engulfed by the dark apartment, and alone.

She peeked up at him through her lashes and found that he wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were trained on the next table. She feared what he was thinking, feared what he had to say next.

“Look kid, I’m no good at this but even I have to draw the line sometimes. I can’t knowingly allow you to help.” She looked up in silent resignation, accepting, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“You’re just a kid. I can’t. It’s not fair to you. You’re just so young.”

And something in his hallowed expression made Peyton mad.

“No.” she said. “You, you can’t just say no. I want to help Mr. Stark. I need to help. This doesn’t just affect you and me. This could hurt lots of people and if I can do something to help. I will. I have to Mr. Stark.” She could feel her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Mr. Stark had to let her help. Selfishly, it was not just because she wanted to help people. Peyton had finally found someone that seemed like they understood. Ever since getting her powers, ever since Ben, she had been trying to find a purpose. Trying to find a way to figure out why she, of all the people on the planet, had contracted these powers. Sure, she loved saving people. It made her feel good and it gave her a sense of accomplishment and eased some guilt. But, she wanted to do more. She wanted to be all that she could be.

Not to mention that having her abilities was so isolating. Peyton had made the decision early on not to tell anyone what happened and now she reaped the consequences.

She had dreams about what could happen to May if someone had found out who she was. It had become one of her biggest fears. That she wouldn’t be able to save someone she loved, already feeling like she failed once. And now she had finally chosen to tell someone and he didn’t want her all because of her stupid age. It wasn’t fair and she wasn’t going to let Mr. Stark leave her. Not like all the other people in her life. Not when she finally decided to open up again.

Finally she broke the silence. “Please, Mr. Stark. I need to do this. I want to help you.”

She looked down and squeezed her crossed fingers until they turned white. They sat in silence once more but Peyton felt like she had said enough.

Finally he looked at her, his brown eyes searching her determined ones. “Okay, kid. Here’s what’s going to happen. You can come but it’s simply going to be a decorative position. You won’t fight but we can use you. It will put them on edge because they don’t know you. But I won’t have you getting hurt.” By the time he was done she was smiling widely.

“I won’t let you down Mr. Stark. Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet, kid. God, this is so not responsible. But when has anyone ever accused me of such an atrocity?”

Thanks to everyone!

Chapter Eight

#spiderman #ironman #female peter parker #peter is female #peyton parker #irondad #irondad fanfiction #spiderman fanfiction #MCU fanfiction #eliza writes #someone to care

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vertrue · 6 years

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hey yo what’s up im pk and i wrote harry once before in my devianart days so buckle up KIDS its going to be a wild fuckin’ ride. * i’ll be basing him mainly off 616 because no offense to the be-u-tie dane dehaan,,,, i think james franco was more canon and tbh those movies came out 200 years ago & the most i know about it now is all the james franco blogs i stalked to jog my memory and get to this point. cool? cool. lets crack this wide open ----

* im going to keep this vague so i don’t step over other people’s canon because harry & the osborns/oscorp haven’t been mentioned or utilized by the mcu.

[ HERMAN TØMMERAAS, HE/HIM, 24 ] HAROLD OSBORN has been spotted in gotham city! the VILLAIN is publicly known as THE GREEN GOBLIN, and have often been described as DEBONAIR, but also DESTRUCTIVE. they have also been affiliated with NO ONE, and said to mainly operate in NEW YORK CITY. will they help find answers, or add to the chaos? [ pk, she/her, 19, est ]

* quick warning this intro deals with some heavy stuff ( marvel & dark? wow ) so yeah,, things like depression, mental illness, verbal abuse, neglect, drug use, death, and violence.

firstly. bruce wayne who? that mug couldn’t lie. ( * that panel covers it all i could end the intro here if i wanted ).

* will smith meme * this is my SON harold theopolis osborn - runner up for worst hair in the marvel universe. beat only by his own father.

he was born to norman and emily osborn. listen without getting too deep,, his mother died sometime after childbirth due to complications ( it’s marvel no one is really dead butt ) which left him with n*rman. that tool.

surprise. norman didn’t win dad of the year. first he’s too busy with business,,, then finding elaborate ways to kill a spider,, just hold your son plz.

his dad ran oscorp ( stark employees don’t interact plz & ty ) so they had that $$$$$$$. sort of cybernetic engineering/military research & sketch stuff like experimental science because norman eventually creates the goblin formula ( a rip off version of the super soldier serum ) via oscorp but thats later !!!

harry’s kind of a HUGE suck up to his douche dad. he’s constantly chasing after approval which wake up call, har, you’re never going to get it. * ( “ that creep is my father, all right! if i'm lucky, i'll become half of what he is. so just keep your mouth shut about stuff you don't understand! “ ) thanks james franco. long story short norm left him hanging a lot. * EXHIBIT A harry’s delusions of his father often leave him at odds with people ( especially after the gwen incident )

tired of being second to work -- harry switches around the chemicals his father is working with and it explodes in his father’s face ( the goblin formula is made ) & his father becomes the villain known as the green goblin.

listen if it wasn’t complicated enough - there’s a lot of amnesia nonsense in here. somewhere down the line GG discovers spider man's identity,,,, but it doesn’t matter because cue another fight and now norman’s got amnesia. identity crisis solved. he forgets everything. green goblin’s gone for a hot minute.

somewhere in this period harry starts using drugs due to stress/// it is said beforehand that he had pills for everything * sleeping, staying up, to relax, yadda yadda. but he turns to actual hardcore drugs to cope with everything in his life which eventually leads to an overdose/bad reaction. he’s hospitalized until he’s in the clear.

norman’s getting wacky because there’s chemicals left in his brain and the green gobllin persona eventually makes a brief return. though he becomes sidelined when dealing with his son’s health issues.

eventually oscorp starts doing poorly & harry turns to pills again ( hits him hard due to also dealing with depression /// norman tries to cover this up by not allowing him to be moved to a hospital and instead has a doctor come to the house ),

norman essentially starts to lose his mind,,, remembers everything,,, can’t take it anymore. dons the green goblin costume once more and kidnaps gwen stacy :(((( y’all know how this ends. snap crackle pop y’all. that dumbass throws her off a bridge and ya...

to end that chapter and introduce gg 2,, norman essentially ends up impaling himself on his own glider & harry finds him. removes the green goblin costume from his father’s body to preserve his identity & bribes the coroner to not find any traces of the goblin formula in his blood. ( you know that bitvh ain’t dead tho )

harold then, like EVERYONE in NYC, blames spider-man. (for his father’s death),,, and so my small stupid son becomes the second green goblin.

* SIGH *

where i’m starting ;

with a migraine

i wouldn't say he’s full blown goblin yet. but definitely prepping and modifying his father’s work. & starting an obsession w/ spider man //// sorry. just following the super villain handbook.

it’s definitely in the works. and happening. ripperino. he’s just really bitter :/ he’s an “orphan” * i use that term loosely here

* marvel wiki says he refused to go to gwen stacy’s funeral - sounds petty. but in his defense he was probably dealing with burying his dad and the shift in power @ oscorp. also petty. ( don’t get me wrong though he LOVED gwen !!!!!! & he’s just as heartbroken as any of them ,, he just makes a lot of excuses for his dad

in charge of oscorp until his dad drags his ass out of the grave. !! lazarus pit not far !! so i’d say he’s in gotham on business. stomping on other people’s territory.

norman’s not even dead you fools he’s sipping fine wine in europe.

#once upon a time i had a lot of feelings about this loser #now i've come to realize those feelings never went away i just blocked them out #abuse tw #violence tw #drug tw #death tw #depression tw #listen im just trying to cover all my bases #this is just 100 bullet points of me being sALTy #where better to have a villainous breakdown than gotham city herself ???#gchq:intro #i just need to bite the bullet and get d*scord on my phone so i can stop being a little bitch #🥂 —❝ 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 & 𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 → ( 𝕤𝕖𝕝𝕗 )

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prophetandprincess · 6 years

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Teaser

Hey everyone,

I know I have not been updating regularly, but between getting a full-time job and trying to get my second draft of my novel done, there hasn’t been a lot of time. However, I have finished the first draft of the sequel to Tin Man and since a lot of you have stuck around this long, I figured you deserved a sneak peak.

So here is the first update of A Spider Sat Down Beside Her. It is not proof read or anything, but I wanted you guys to get a look at it.

Summary: Alexandra Jade Harper has returned to New York City for her senior year of college as a Biochemistry major. After a summer away from the city, she is ready to put the events of last fall behind her, steer clear of super-soldiers, anything with the word super in front of its title really, and out of back alleys. That lasts about three days. Soon Alex is pulled back into the world of superheroes and this time the stakes are a lot higher than her own life. Alex has to balance school, an internship, and an extra credit assignments for an exacting professor. Oh and maybe saving New York City from being an evil scientist’s experiment. All this while she receives phone calls from a man she just can’t forget, not that she wants to.

“When is your interview?” Monica LeBlanc asked as she rolled over onto her stomach and watched Alexandra hold up two different tops over and over trying to decide which one to wear. It had been a while since Alex worried about her appearance and what people thought about her. She would say last fall, but she really didn’t have time to think as she was constantly worried about being kidnapped or killed. The last time was probably when she was a seven and a flower girl in her aunt’s wedding. Even then, the outfit had been chosen for her.

“Three, so I have to leave,” Alex looked over her shoulder to her alarm clock, “now.”

“Then put the red one on like I told you to do an hour ago and get the hell out of here,” Monica jumped up and grabbed the navy blue blouse out of Alex’s hands. “Also, add some lipstick.”

“It is an interview, not a date.” Alex said as she feverishly undid the buttons and tugged the shirt on. “I’m supposed to look professional. Lipstick is not needed.”

“Sweetheart, lipstick is always needed,” Monica handed her a deep red, a few shades darker than the blouse. “So, go, kick ass, and win or lose, we are going out for drinks tonight.”

“It’s easy for you to be so calm, you already have your paid internship lined up,” Alex checked her hair again in the mirror as she applied the lipstick. Even though it was the end of August, and therefore unbearably hot in the city, she had decided to wear her hair down to hide her earrings. While she didn’t think they wouldn’t hire her because she had piercings going up both of her ears, she didn’t want to take that chance.

“What can I say, I’m just that good,” Monica flipped her curls with a smile.

“I want to be like you when I grow up,” Alex clasped her hands in front of her and fluttered her eyelashes.

“Growing up is so over rated,” Monica said with a laugh as she grabbed her apartment keys from where she had thrown them on Alex’s dresser when she came in. “Seriously though, don’t sweat it. If Oscorp took me, Stark Industries would be stupid not to take you. And if they don’t take you, which won’t happen, I could put good word for you with Oscorp. I mean, I’m sure they could use a biochemist if they wanted a chemical engineer.”

“Thanks, Monica,” Alex said as she grabbed her purse. “But here is hoping that we will just be working for rival companies instead of you groveling to get me a job.”

“Good vibes girl, good vibes,” Monica said with a smile as she walked over and gave Alex a hug. “Just knock on my door when you get back. I’ll have shots waiting.”

“You are a true friend,” Alex laughed as she locked the apartment door behind the two of them.

“Damn straight. I’m going to take the stairs, get that cardio in,” Monica said with a wave as she headed down the hall. Monica lived two floors down and usually they spent most of their time in her apartment since she had cable and a better television.

“Like you need it,” Alex laughed as she hit the down button for the elevator.

“See you on the other side,” Monica said before disappearing into the stairwell.

Alex took a few deep breaths as she waited for the elevator, attempting to calm herself down. Since the year before she and become a lot more anxious and jumpy about everything, especially when by herself. The smallest sounds could make her jump out of her skin and send her heart rate through the roof. Then again, when an evil organization kidnaps you and threatens to kill you over an alien artifact, which you stupidly put on and said bracelet then tries to take over your brain, it tends to make you a little less trustworthy of people. Of everything really. Still, Alex had made it through that with just some bruises and cuts to show for it.

Well, that and the nightmares and broken heart, but that was a different matter entirely.

The nightmares had been more of a problem the year before, before she left the city for the summer. Sam Wilson, who quickly became a good friend when he wasn’t being Falcon, had tried to talk her through it. However, since she hadn’t told him everything, it only helped so much. Time outside of the city had helped more than Alex would have thought, especially considering she had to deal with her parent’s worried glances. However, since she had gotten back, the nightmares had returned.

Alex hadn’t meant to leave the city at all, but her apartment lease had not been renewed, which probably had something to do with the bullet hole, broken door, and dead body that had happened in the building within the span of a week. None of them were her fault exactly, but they were connected to her, so management decided it was time for her to move on. It had left Alex scrambling to find a place to live on top of dealing with a bunch of stress and finals.

Fortunately, a person in Monica’s building moved out and she pulled some strings with her father to get Alex the studio apartment. The previous owner had lived there for over sixty years and hadn’t let Monica’s father update the apartment, so it wasn’t too hard to convince him to give Alex the same rent controlled rate. It was nice to know the person who owns the building, especially in New York City. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of campus from her old place, which made working at Malone’s restaurant, her previous place of employment, impossible. Basically, Alex needed to get this paid internship or she was going to have to find a job quickly if she didn’t want to be homeless.

Alex exited the elevator and flagged down a taxi, telling them to head to Stark Tower. She pushed all her financial worries to the side and focused on the interview. When she had first got the information about the internship, she wanted to burn it. The last thing she wanted was to get tangled up with superheroes again. However, when she was at home on the farm over the summer, she gave it some serious thought. It was a once in the life time opportunity with two of the best scientists in the world. The least she could do was apply and see if she got the interview.

“So, what do ya think about that Spider-Man fellow?” the cabbie asked after swearing colorfully in Italian when he was cut off.

“Who?” Alex asked as she watched the New York streets slide by, and Alex was once again reminded how much she loved the city. Being in the Midwest over the summer, working with her father on the farm, gave her time to get her head on straight and a wicked tan, but it hadn’t taken away her adoration for the New York streets.

“That vigilante that wearing spandex and swings from buildings. Apparently he stopped some chemical attack or something last year. Mostly he takes down little thugs and bank robbers. I my day, the mob would take care of that, keep their neighborhoods safe,” the cabbie continued even though Alex wasn’t really listening. She had become good at that. The end of the fall semester and most of the spring semester were a blur to Alex. She went through the motions, but she wasn’t getting sleep and she had problems remembering things. The slowed down pace of the farm, the hard work, the physical exertion helped everything, except the nightmares and the heartache. Nothing seemed to help those but time.

“I think he is probably going to get himself killed,” Alex said truthfully as her phone dinged in her bag. She pulled it out to see it was a text from her brother, Jake. She opened it to a picture of a goat, tongue sticking out, yellow teeth in full view, wishing her good luck. Underneath it Jake had added Me and Billy Bob wanted to wish you the best of luck on your interview. Not that you need it. Call me when it’s done.

Alex smiled and turned her phone on silent before throwing it back into her purse. Jake had been texting her at least once a day since she returned to the city. He felt responsible for what happened the year before because he didn’t come up from Miami to make sure she was alright. A friend of his had told him about the trouble with her ex-boyfriend Markus, but Alex talked him out of coming to the city. Alex hadn’t told her family about the superheroes or Hydra, but she had broken down and told them about the multiple attempted assaults. They had been supportive, but to say they weren’t happy when she came back to the city was the understatement of the century.

The taxi pulled up to the curb and after paying the taxi fare, Alex looked up at Stark Tower and took a deep breath. What was that saying? If you can’t beat them, join them? She was coming for an interview, she was not going to get involved with any superhero nonsense. Alex straightened her spine and pushed open the large glass door that lead to the lobby. She tried not to look like a tourist, looking up and around at everything, as she cross the lobby to the front desk.

She felt like she was going to throw up.

“Welcome to Stark Industries, how can I help you?” The receptionist asked with a bright smile.

“Alexandra Harper, I have an interview with Doctor Banner at three,” Alex said a little faster than she had intended. She mentally told herself to take a deep breath. Push came to shove, she could always get a waitressing job or three to make ends meet. This wasn’t life or death.

“I see you here in the schedule. I will let him know that you’re here. Please fill out these forms while you wait. There are some seats over by the windows,” The receptionist smiled as she pushed a clipboard across the desk.

Alex smiled back, not mentioning that the whole lobby was made of windows, and walked over toward a small sitting area. The forms were nondisclosure agreements, basic personal information, and all those other forms you need to fill out before a job interview. Some of them were filled with so much legal jargon that she just signed them without deciphering them. She hoped she hadn’t signed away her first born child or any internal organs.

“Miss Harper?” Alex jumped and turned to see a woman standing beside her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you. If you’re ready, I can take you up to meet Doctor Banner now.”

“Oh, should I give this paperwork to you?” Alex quickly got to her feet and extended the clipboard. The woman took it was a little smile. She was tall, with brown hair pulled back into a bun and blue eyes. She gave off an air of authority without even trying.

“I can take it. I’m Maria Hill,” she offered her hand.

“Alex, which I am sure you already know,” Alex said quickly. “It’s nice to meet you.” Alex almost added, in person. The fall before, Steve had called on an agent Hill to take care of a few things for him, like grabbing clothes for Alex and setting up a safe house for her. Alex guessed this was the same person, but there was no way to be sure. She also didn’t know if everything last fall was all hush hush or not since it was not really a planned operation, so Alex didn’t say anything.

“Likewise, if you’ll follow me,” Maria Hill started across the lobby without waiting, her heels taping satisfyingly on the floor. Alex’s first impression was that Maria Hill was not a woman that she wanted to cross, but she also kind of wanted to be her. Alex didn’t think she would ever be that put together. She was in heels as well, but they didn’t seem to have the same authoritative ring that Maria’s did as she followed her across the lobby.

“So what do you do here?” Alex asked as they waited for the elevator, too nervous to stay quiet. Being quiet never had been Alex’s strong suit.

“I am a bit of jack of all trades,” Maria smiled as they walk into the elevator. “I keep an eye on things for Mr. Stark in areas of security and intelligence, and brief the Avengers on new threats when they pop up, but I go wherever I am needed.”

“Oh, no offense, but you seem a bit important to be taking me to an interview. Should I be worried?” Alex was only slightly joking. Why would someone that worked personally with the Avengers be a messenger girl?

“Actually, I asked to meet you,” Hill explained with a small smile, not at all embarrassed. “I wanted to see who the girl was who got Steve in such a state last fall. Loved your apartment by the way, and the clothes. Steve was a bit vague about why you needed to be in a safe house though and still hasn’t told me much. I figured if I got eyes on you I might be better able to assess the situation.”

“Oh,” She didn’t know what else to say so she just stared at the elevator door. So Steve had been vague about last fall. How vague? Obviously they wouldn’t know about James, or James Buchanan Barnes, or the Winter Soldier, however you wanted to refer to him, but what about Hydra and the bracelet? There had been agents at the school and watching her apartment, so Hill had to know about Hydra. Why hadn’t Steve told her anything about Alex’s part in everything? Why hadn’t given Alex a heads up? He had learned to use a cell phone since he defrosted.

“You aren’t what I expected, if you were wondering,” Maria said as the elevator continued to climb.

“What were you expecting?” Alex asked as the doors slid open.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t you,” Maria said it with a smile, but Alex wasn’t exactly sure how to take the comment. “Good luck on the interview. If you’re hired, I’ll take you through orientation and get all your background checks and things. Maybe even a polygraph test, depending on what your clearance level they are going to want to give you.”

“Thank you,” Alex’s tone made the statement sound like a question.

“It is this second office here on the right,” Maria knocked lightly on the glass door. “Dr. Banner, you’re interview is here.”

Alex hadn’t seen much Dr. Banner when he wasn’t very large, very green, and very angry. While she knew that wasn’t going to be who was interviewing her, for some reason that was who she expected to see in the office. Apparently, when he was less green and less angry, Dr, Banner was only about an inch taller than she was, with curly brown hair and a sweet, though nervous, smile.

“Bruce Banner, it’s a pleasure you meet you,” he extended his hand after he slid his glasses off with the other hand.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Alex smiled in return as she took his hand. Seeing that he was a bit nervous calmed Alex’s nerves. He motioned for her to take a seat on the other side of his desk before he resumed sitting in his chair. The office was mostly glass, a whole wall of windows and another wall of glass that looked into a small lab. However, Alex could see Banner’s personal touches, wooden shelves filled with items from his travels and a lovely Persian rug under the desk. It made the office feel a bit more comfortable. There was also a startling number of plants, making the whole room smell fantastic.

“I have had time to look over your resume and it is impressive, though I have to admit that you are younger than most of the people who applied for this position. We usually have master or PhD level applicants,” Dr. Banner slid his glasses back on as he looked at the folder in front of him. “A 3.75 GPA, valedictorian of her high school class, impressive undergraduate research last year for a junior, even co-authored a few papers with your professors.”

“I like to keep busy,” Alex said with a shrug, attempting not to blush. It was weird to have one of the most accomplished scientist in her field sit there and read off her accomplishments to her. It was also weird because she didn’t remember doing a lot of those things. Her spring semester was like Swiss cheese in terms of what she remembered. She threw herself into projects, not sleeping gave her a lot more time to work, but as soon as they were finished she forgot all about them. She should pull a few of those papers out and see what the hell they were about.

“You also have a few arrests on your record, though no charges were pressed. You always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Banner looked at her over his glasses and smirked. “Known to hang out with a number of criminal elements, though you seem to have been avoiding them for about a year. Last contact with the police was last year in regards to an attempted assault against you. You seem to have two different sides to you.”

“Don’t we all?” Alex tilted her head and rose an eyebrow.

Doctor Banner looked a little shocked at that, but then let out a small laugh. He slid off his glasses and leaned back in the chair. He studied her for a moment, the end of his glasses in his mouth, before throwing them on the table. Alex wondered how many pair he broke by doing that.

“To be completely honest, all this paper is kind of meaningless,” Banner flipped the folder closed and looked at her. “I want to know why you want to work here.”

“Who doesn’t want to work here?” Alex knew that it was a question he was going to ask, but her carefully constructed answer was lost somewhere in her grey matter. So she just said the first thing that came to her mind. Because that never ended badly for her.

“You’re a biochemist, it would make a lot more sense for you to go to a drug company, or Oscorp, so why Stark Industries. We are known more for clean energy and the Avengers, why apply here?” Banner refined his question, though there was still a small quirk of his lips.

“You’re a biochemist and you’re here.” Alex pointed out. “And a friend gave me the information actually. I thought a lot of the things you just said when he first mentioned it, but he told me about the medical division and he seemed to think I could do a lot of good here. Being on the ground floor of something, something that is headed by Bruce Banner and has the technology of Tony Stark, sounded exciting. Plus, it’s paid and is going to look great on my resume.” Alex had already said what she was thinking, might as well keep up the trend. Besides, she didn’t see why she should lie to Banner, he seemed to know a lot about her anyway. Maria Hill had probably already run all those background checks she mentioned.

“You’re honest, I’ll give you that,” Banner smiled. “Let me tell you a bit about what I want to do here. There is a lot going on in the world, and a lot of it isn’t great. I want to use this lab to do some of the good that isn’t going on out there. We’ll be working on vaccines, medical advancements that can make life easier, things that can save lives. No political pressure to not find the cures. Tony, and Ms. Potts, want this company to be known for more than the weapon production of the past and the Avengers. They want to move away from destruction and toward hope.”

“Yeah, the company doesn’t have a squeaky clean reputation,” Alex agreed, but she leaned forward. She was excited. Everything that Banner was talking about was exactly what she wanted to get into. What she wanted to do with her life. She didn’t want to work for a drug company, who was only interested in profits, she wanted to save lives. To do something more.

“And yet you’re still interested in working here?” Banner laughed a little.

“I don’t have a squeaky clean reputation either, as you know,” Alex smirked. “I think it could be a perfect match.”

“Let me show you around the labs,” Banner got to his feet. “See if you still feel that way after you get a look at the place.”

The real interview took place during the tour, Banner asking her questions about the equipment in the lab. Alex had to admit that there was some things she didn’t know how to use, or what they even were. However, she thought she did alright on the impromptu test. Banner would correct her when she got something wrong and seemed happy to answer her questions. They got into a rather animated conversation about transcription and RNA processing.

“So, do you have any other questions for me or about me? You’ve done really well at hiding your interest so far, but I’m sure you have questions about the Hulk. Almost everyone does, usually involving their personal safety.” Banner seemed nervous again when they got back to his office and resumed their seats.

Alex didn’t say anything right away, wanting to pick her next words carefully. Did she have concerns about the Hulk? Anyone without a death wish had concerns about the Hulk. She had seen the news reports about what he had done to New York during the battle, and Harlem before that. It wasn’t lost on her that they were currently standing in a tower made almost completely out of glass. If Banner decided to change, she would be in a world of trouble. Then again, it really didn’t matter where she was if he changed, she would be in a lot of trouble.

“You’ve seen my arrest record,” Alex said with a smile, deciding once again to be honest. “I can’t seem to stay away from trouble, no matter the type, but I’m also very good at keeping myself alive. I have no questions about my safety. I can take care of myself, no matter what the threat is.”

Banner looked at her for a moment, studying her, trying to figure her out. He slid his glasses off again and looked out the window. Alex played with the hem of her skirt, praying that she had said the right thing. She might not want anything to do with superheroes, or Hydra, or anything like that, but she wanted this job. Badly. Banner was one of the leaders in biochemistry and being able to learn from him was something that most people dreamed about.

“Well, I think that’s everything I need,” Doctor Banner said, getting to his feet abruptly.

“Oh,” Alex got to her feet as well and followed him toward the door. “You don’t have any other questions for me?”

“Just one, actually, but it’s a personal question,” Banner said as he held the door open for her.

“Alright,” Alex didn’t know what he could possibly want to know about her personal life. Besides, it seemed like he had a whole folder about her life anyway. He probably knew more about her than she knew about herself.

“How do you know Steve Rogers?” He asked as Alex passed by him. If Alex wasn’t used to shocks, she might have fallen right out of her heels.

“That seems to be the question of the day,” Alex sighed as she walked out into the hallway, trying to collect herself. Why hadn’t she thought that everyone was going to ask about the fall before? Sure, Banner hadn’t been involved, but he was an Avenger. Then again, she really hadn’t thought Steve would have mentioned her to the others. Yet, she seemed to be the gossip of the tower.

She didn’t think he wanted her to tell him that she met Steve in an alley while she was harboring his amnesiac best friend from the forties in her apartment. Or that Steve had a hell of a time keeping her alive and safe from Hydra while agents were looking for an alien artifact that could control minds. Or that she had put on that same bracelet and used it to control a dangerous Hydra members mind and wasn’t sure if it had any last effects oh her. He had also put her in a former S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, how did she explain that? Damn it, Steve. Couldn’t he give a girl the head up about all this?

“Steve came into the restaurant where I use to work, I recognized him, it’s kind of hard not to, and we got to talking. He found out my major and passed along the information for the internship. It’s not all that exciting,” Alex explained. She really did need to remember to tell Steve this lie so that their stories didn’t get crossed. Then she was going to have a long talk to him about gossiping about her to apparently everyone in the tower.

“He speaks very highly of you,” Dr. Banner explained as they waited. “He was very excited when he heard that you were coming in for an interview.”

“I hope you wouldn’t give me this position just because Mr. Rogers gave me the information. I would be honored to have an opportunity here, if you don’t think I’m qualified for the position, give it to someone else.” Alex didn’t think before she spoke again, which wasn’t unusual for her. She wanted the job more than anything, but she wasn’t going to take a pity position. Her pride would never let her do that. Sometimes she hated her pride.

“That’s not what I was saying, I didn’t mean to offend,” Dr. Banner said quickly as they walked into the elevator. “I was just interested in how you knew each other and wanted to let you know that he’s impressed by you.”

“What did he say?” Alex wasn’t bad a lying, but she didn’t like to make up a lie when she didn’t have all the information.

“Not much, just that you were one of the brightest and most inquisitive people he had ever met, which is why we all got so interested,” Dr. Banner said with a shrug. “And he really isn’t known for going out and meeting girls. We’ve all been bothering him about it since he said something. Some of us more than others. However, he hasn’t been around much lately, working on something with a friend of his.”

That something was tracking down James, Alex was sure of it. Apparently, Steve was still playing the whole thing close to his chest, only having Sam as his confidant. Sam would stop by Malone’s restaurant when she was still working there to check up on her when he was in the city. He also kept her up to date on the search, mostly because Alex pestered him about it until he told her something. As always, at the thought of James, a dull ache started in her chest. A hole that was taking a long time to shrink.

Alex pushed that to the back of her mind and tried to think of something to say. But she couldn’t think of anything as the elevator descended to the lobby. Honestly, she had no idea how well she did in the interview. A lot of the questions she hadn’t prepared for, and for the ones she had, she didn’t answer them as she had planned. However, she had been honest, which she thought was very important. It could have gone a lot worse, but the abrupt ending to the interview made her nervous.

“Doctor Banner,” a computerized voice with a slight accent came into the elevator, making Alex jump.

“Yes, Jarvis?” Banner asked, shooting Alex an apologetic smile.

“Mr. Stark would like you to come to his lab when you are finished. There is something that he would like to discuss with you in regards to Veronica.”

“Tell him I will be up in a minute. Thank you, Jarvis,” Banner said.

Alex looked out of the corner of her eye at Dr. Banner, wondering who had just been speaking to him. Her mind was also bouncing around about the possible things that Tony Stark would want to talk to Doctor Banner about in regards to someone named Veronica. Some of them seemed to be farfetched, but then she remembered that Tony Stark flew around in a metal suit that shot lasers. Was anything really farfetched in this place? Was Veronica a person or a code name or what?

“I guess I should introduce you to Jarvis, since you kind of just met him, he is the A.I. system here at the tower,” Dr. Banner said with a smile. “Jarvis, this is Alexandra Harper, she was interviewing for an internship position.”

“I did see that on your calendar, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Harper.” the voice came back, almost sounding amused.

“Uh…Likewise, and Alex or A.J. is fine,” Alex didn’t know what else to say. She was talking to an A.I. system. What the hell was this, 2001 Space Odyssey? She really hoped that Jarvis was a lot nicer than Hal. That thought sent a small chill down her spine seeing as she was plummeting to the ground in a glass elevator currently.

The elevator reached the lobby and the doors opened. Alex knew that this was her last chance to say something to impress Doctor Banner. She really, really, wanted this internship. It wasn’t a need anymore, it was a want. She also wanted Doctor Banner to like her.

“I want to thank you so much for the opportunity to interview for the position. I know that I am probably younger than the person you are looking for and don’t have the credentials, but I would be so willing to learn. Everything that you told me about this position is what I want to do with my degree and career. I just…I wanted you to know that.” Alex stopped rambling before she said something embarrassing and held out her hand. “Thank you again.”

“It was great to meet you,” Dr. Banner said she he shook her hand.

So that was it. Alex walked out of the elevator and started across the lobby, her stomach in knots.

“Oh, Miss Harper,” Dr. Banner said as he put his hand in front of the door to stop it from closing.

“Yes, Doctor?” Alex hoped she hadn’t dropped something or had something on her skirt. Maybe he was going to tell her right then that he wasn’t interested.

“See you on Monday for orientation,” Dr. Banner said with a wide smiled before he let the doors closed in front of him.

#A Spider Sat Down Beside Her #fanfic #marvel

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not-close-to-straight · 7 years

Text

Better This Way (Chapter Ten)

ADDITIONAL CHAPTERS HERE

Enjoy :) *********************

Peter woke slowly, wanting to stay as long as he could right here, feeling content and warm, the arms around him familiar and comforting, the scent in his nose easy on his raw senses.

“Pete.” Harry's voice was still sleepy. “Hey.”

“Harry.” Peter stretched out along the Alphas body without even thinking about it, rolling his hips lightly, his body responding automatically to the Alpha beneath him.

Harry's body responded as well, nearly instantly, and Peter purred happily at the feeling, rubbing himself more firmly against Harry, shivering when a hand landed low on his hips.

But Harry didn't hold him tighter or encourage him to move or anything. Instead, Harry squeezed Peter's hips lightly, holding him still.

“Pete.” He said again, much more awake this time. “You’re killing me, honey.”

“Well then why did you stop---” Peter started to tease but then shame, sadness, wrong flooded him and he jerked away with a gasp. “Jesus, I'm sorry. Damn it. We already had this talk and--”

“Hey.” Harry ran his hands down Peter's back, trying to cover the shame from the omega with calm, settle, secure. “It's fine. We slept on each other all night. Even without being Alpha/Omega we would have woken up ready to go. It's not a big deal.” He chuckled and Peter relaxed again. “You feeling better?”

“Yeah. I am. Um. Thank you for all this. Um---”

“A night with a familiar Alpha can do a lot for this sort of thing.” Harry kissed his forehead before urging him off and to the side, careful not to let their hips touch. “I'm gonna take a quick rinse, and then you can shower, alright?”

“Thanks. Um Harry---” Peter pulled the sheets around him and looked up at his friend. “Sorry again about last night. And this morning. I probably should have just gone home last night and avoided this whole...thing.”

“It's fine.” Harry assured him. “Pete it's fine. No Alpha in the world would let an Omega go home when they have been drinking and are upset. I certainly wasn't going to let you go, alright? It's fine. Give me ten minutes to get cleaned up and then you can hop in, alright?”

Harry lay one last kiss on his forehead, then turned to go. The bathroom door closed, and once the shower started Peter fell back against the bed, curling into the warmth left by the Alpha.

This was the first morning in a month where he hadn't woken up crying.

It was… nice.

Harry was such a good Alpha. Familiar and nice and just so easy to be around.

Why couldn't Peter want an Alpha like Harry?

*******************

“So Pete, you ever thought about leaving New York?” Harry asked casually as he pulled up outside Peter's apartment building. “We've been moving all Oscorp operations out to California. Bought out a big tech company there and just decided to move. That's why I haven't been around, I'm only on the east coast once a month to check on things. Have you ever thought about moving out West?”

“Um, what?” Peter laughed. “Leave New York? Why would I--”

“Because there was a time before all this that all Peter Parker wanted to do was intern at Oscorp and build amazing tech that would change the world.” Harry wasn't looking at him, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, staring out the windshield.

“Before all this?” Peter repeated, and his heart sped up uncomfortably. “What do you mean?”

“I mean before whatever happened our senior year.” Harry's hands tightened around his steering wheel. “Before Spider-man.”

“Jesus.” Peter dropped his head into his hands. “Jesus fucking-- Harry it's not what you think, um---I'm not actually-- I mean, I'm definitely not--”

“Don't lie to me Pete.” Harry didn't sound upset, in fact he almost sounded relieved to be talking about it. “You are the worst liar in the world, and I've known you way too long for you to try and bullshit me.”

“Harry--” Peter felt like his throat was closing up and he started panicking, rubbing at his chest anxiously. “It's um-- I mean I'm not--”

“Hey, easy.” Harry turned in alarm when panic, fear, anxious started pouring from the omega. “Pete, breathe easy, come on.”

He rubbed Peter's back, patting lightly and talking calm nonsense until Peter was finally drawing full breaths and could sit up again.

“What was that all about?” Harry brushed a piece of hair from Peter's forehead. “Why does me knowing about your whole superhero thing send you into a panic attack?”

“I just-- you were never supposed to know. How do you know? How long have you--- damn it.” Peter dropped his head back to his knees. “Harry how the hell---”

“Senior year at my Christmas party.” Harry said quietly. “The day you saved all the people on the bridge. You were wearing your mask but you were still in civilian clothes.”

“So?”

“You were wearing my shirt.” Harry said with a little grin. “The one you kept after the first heat we’d shared. I just stared at the tv at my best friend saving everyone as Spider-Man… in my shirt.”

“You never said anything. And I lied to you all the time.” Peter said, distressed. “Harry, why don't you hate me for lying to you? I lied to you about everything all the time.”

“You mean like when you lied about doing homework and then swung away and stopped that crane from destroying downtown? How am I supposed to be angry about that? Or when you skipped out on MJs play? And she was so pissed off but I'd been watching TV and Spider-man had grabbed a baby out of a burning building, then went back in to save a goddamn cat. Pete, how was I supposed to be mad about that?”

“Oh. Oh I never thought any one would ever see it like that. I always thought you guys would just be mad at me for keeping secrets.” Peter sighed wearily. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but I just thought-- well looking back I don't know what I thought, but I have to say it's amazing to talk to someone who knows everything. I'm sorry-- I'm sorry I never told you.”

“This is the kind of secret I understand Pete.” Harry assured him, then cleared his throat. “Now listen, I don't know what's going on with your Alpha, but just tell me one thing-- does he know you, or do you both keep your masks on all the time?”

“Dammit, you know that too.” Peter muttered. “Why did I think I was so great at keeping secrets?”

Harry grinned. “Not just a pretty face, Pete. I see a lot more than people give me credit for. And --” he shrugged. “Who else could handle an Omega as powerful as Spider-Man besides...Deadpool?”

“Yeah I guess.” Peter frowned. “But he's not really my Alpha, remember? He rejected me. We shared a heat and then---”

“Do you keep your masks on when you’re together?” Harry asked again and Peter nodded miserably. “Well then Pete, I'm just gonna-- just gonna go ahead and say something, alright? And you can take it any way you want, but listen to all of it, first, okay?”

“Um, sure.” Peter turned in his seat to see Harry better. “Go ahead.”

Harry took his sunglasses off and took a deep breath. “Pete, you don't have a full bond with this Alpha, and right now you guys aren't together at all, which means in time the bond will fade and eventually it will be like you never had feelings for him. I know maybe that hurts to hear right now, but we both know it's true. And Pete, if that happens, I want you to call me.”

“Harry--”

“Please let me finish.” Harry reached over and took his hand. “I know I'm not the Alpha you want right now, but I would be a good Alpha for you, Pete. I've known you for almost our whole lives, and we've been through alot together. School and family stuff and even first ruts and heats together. I've known about the hero thing for years and it's fine. Whatever powers you have, or that crazy strength. I mean, it's fine. I came to terms with it along time ago. Obviously I'm nothing like Deadpool, but I could still take care of you the way you need. And you and I have shared enough moments in bed to know that our bodies are very compatible. We always had fun together, in and out of bed, in and out of heats.”

He pressed a light kiss to Peter's fingers. “I could take you away from here. There's tall buildings in Cali too, if you still want to do that. Or not, you know? You could hang all this up and move away and I could give you anything you want. I'd be a good Alpha for you, and you're the Omega I've wanted for ever.”

“I left after high school, lost touch because I knew that our lives were going different directions. I knew asking you for a mating bond then wouldn't have worked, neither one of us were ready and god, Pete you had so much going on. I can't imagine what your life is like day to day even now, but I certainly can't imagine doing what you did at eighteen. But now-- maybe now things would work. We’re both older and have some experience and--

“Harry.” Peter whispered.

“You don't have to answer me right now, or even today at all.” Harry kissed his hand one more time before giving it back. “I'll be back in New York in about six weeks, we can talk then. Just think about it, Pete. Last night showed me that you and I work just as well now as we always have and-- and I'm willing to wait until your Omega heals from this bond. No rush, sweetheart.”

Harry sighed. “Just keep this in mind Pete-- Do you want an Alpha who can give you the life and chances you always used to dream about? Or one that keeps a mask on around you?”

Peter leaned to kiss Harry's cheek. “I'll think about it.” Harry nuzzled over his cheek and ear and into his hair, a comforting rumble in his chest and Peter purred in response, leaning in closer for a moment before Harry finally pulled away, leaving a barely there kiss on Peter's lips.

“Keep my number. Pete.” Harry smiled over at him. “No matter what you decide, let's keep in touch hm? I don't want to lose you again.”

Peter swallowed back the lump in his throat and nodded. “Talk to you soon, Harry.”

***************** *****************

Wade hated that Peter hadn't come home last night. He hated that he had sat on the roof outside the Omegas apartment and waited all damn night, just to confirm what he already knew-- Peter had gone to stay the night with that other Alpha.

Wade had felt it. Not much, of course, not after a month apart, not with their partial bond already starting to fade, but he had still felt a low buzz of pleasure, content, happy almost all night and he knew it had come from Peter.

It certainly hadn't been him that was happy.

And he didn't care. He didn't. Peter needed an Alpha, and since Wade had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't going to be Peter's Alpha, this was fine. He had told Peter to move on, so this was him moving on and Wade was fine. It was all fine. And Wade was happy that Peter had found---

Actually, fuck that, Wade was furious. Angrier than he could believe at seeing Peter with another Alpha. Pissed off because he had seen the smile on Peter's face as he and that fucking Alpha had walked down the street, and he knew Peter spent more time crying over him than he had ever spent smiling. Frustrated because after what had been just the shittiest month of his life, Peter was already shacking up with some curly haired whore-Alpha and---

Wade was growling, his fists clenched, eyes shading red as his Alpha tried to burst free and tear the other Alpha apart. He wanted to throw Peter over his shoulder like a goddamn Viking and carry him off somewhere with a bed--or just a wall, because if he was being honest, literally any surface would do-- and not let the omega go until they were both sated and exhausted and bit the fuck up because he needed several rounds of rough and fast and hard with a mating bond to top it all off and---

Wade jerked himself back to the present when the car door opened, and he couldn't stop himself from staring as Peter stepped out.

He was still wearing sunglasses, just like he'd been yesterday, so Wade still couldn't see all of his face but god dammit the omega was still the most beautiful thing in the world. Just perfect and pure and---

And just like that, Wade was all at once all too aware of himself, of his scars and violent streak and past and--

--and he backed away, forced his Alpha down and turned away from the apartment building, heading back to his own place.

He had been right. He was right. Peter was better off without him. It was better this way.

Wade ignored the ache in his chest, the wetness in his eyes, and left.

It was better this way.

******************** ******************** Peter sat on his bed, face in his hands, Harry's words ringing through his mind.

The Alpha was right.

Being Spider-Man had forced him to give up all those dreams of working in high end labs, of designing tech and winning awards for his genius. California meant he could finally go back to school and finish his bachelors as well as go after his masters and maybe a PhD. And that of course, was another benefit of being linked to the Osborns-- Harry had just an obscene amount of money that he would gladly spend on his omega. Peter would have whatever he wanted. Aunt May could have whatever she wanted for the rest of her life.

{you're the omega I've wanted forever}

Harry had always treated him like he was wonderful, and their times in bed together had always been...nice.

No, hadn't it been more than nice?

…. Alright maybe just nice.

But nice was fine. He could handle nice.

Peter looked over at his suit, at the mask lying on top of it.

Harry knew him with the mask on and off. Harry was an Alpha who would make sure Peter was never upset or anxious or distressed. Life with Harry would be nice. Easy. Comfortable. Harry wanted him. Probably loved him. Harry would never tell him that it was better if they weren't together.

There honestly wasn't a reason for Peter to tell him no. There wasn't a valid reason for Peter not to pick up his phone and call Harry right now.

The city had enough superheroes now that the Avengers were back in the Tower. Aunt May had moved north to live with her cousin last year. It wasn't like his job at the Daily Bugle was a career or anything.

There wasn't a reason to stay. There wasnt.

He should call Harry.

So why was Peter putting on his suit and heading out on patrol, looking for the other Alpha in his life?

The Alpha that didn't want him.

******************

#ncts fics #spideypool #peter parker #harry osborn #wade wilson #omega!peter #alpha! wade #omegaverse

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