The Arachnoids [A Starker Rock Band AU]

12: Friendship

Peter groans as he throws himself face-first onto his bed. His bed. He clutches the sheets tightly and presses his nose into the sweetly smelling cotton. He chuckles. May is experimenting with fabric softeners again, it seems. He usually dislikes the chemical scents, but now it makes him feel almost nostalgic in a way. Home.
After more than a month of sleeping in a van and cheap hotel rooms, his own bedroom seems almost too big and luxurious, even though he is well aware that he and his Aunt are not rich. He snorts. Not in the slightest.

Peter rolls onto his side and stares at the many posters glued to his wall. He huffs when he notices his The Avengers poster. It is inherently strange to stare into Tony's eyes like that. Of course, it is the same person, but they couldn't be further apart from each other. The man on the wall is absolutely nothing like the real Tony.
"Hi," Peter mumbles to the poster. "-it's good to be home, isn't it?" Obviously, he does not get an answer, and he sighs. It's quiet. He doesn't like it.
He grabs his phone and swipes past the lock screen. He quickly texts May to let her know he's arrived. He'd known she wouldn't be here, she has to work till 7 tonight. He's looking forward to seeing her again and he makes a mental note of ordering some takeout around 6 for the two of them.

When he's done texting her, he feels the silence creep up on him again. So, out of boredom (and maybe because he's a bit lonely), he opens The Arachnoids group chat.

[3.13 p.m.] Peter: I miss you :(
[3.13 p.m.] Ned: Bro
[3.13 p.m.] Ned: We literally saw you ten minutes ago
[3.14 p.m.] Ned: But same
[3.14 p.m.] MJ: Good riddance
[3.14 p.m.] Peter: Ouch
[3.14 p.m.] MJ: Jkjk, you know ily
[3.15 p.m.] Ned: Awwwh!!
[3.15 p.m.] MJ: Don't make me regret it
[3.15 p.m.] Peter: Never

[3.17 p.m.] MJ: Aight, gotta go. Seeing Harley tonight!
[3.18 p.m.] Peter: Have fun!!!!
[3.18 p.m.] Ned: Tell him we said hi
[3.19 p.m.] MJ: Will do <3

After that, the group chat goes quiet and Peter makes a displeased noise. He feels restless. Peter knows he's probably just tired. Exhausted even. He should take a nap. Eat. Throw his clothes into the washing machine and hope the bad stench will ever come out of them.
Of course, he does none of that and scrolls through TikTok instead. Peter feels a little guilty about it, but he reminds himself that it's been a while since he's been able to do this. He hasn't done nothing for so many days now. He needs this. Needs the dumb scrolling, needs-

[3.54 p.m.] Tony Stark: Hey kid, what are you up to?
[3.55 p.m.] Peter: Not much tbh. You?
[3.55 p.m.] Tony Stark: Do you wanna go for a walk in Central Park? I can't stand the quiet.
[3.55 p.m.] Peter: That sounds perfect omg, I need to get out too. Where? When?

-

Peter chews on his bottom lip as he waits for Tony. The man should arrive any moment now. Peter has to admit he's happy that Tony asked to see him. He likes to think they've grown relatively close these past weeks. Especially with the daily guitar and singing classes. Peter knows all too well he'll never be a good singer, but it's nice to get some guidance on how to lift his backing vocals to a new level.

"Space boy!"

Peter feels a smile creep onto his face as he recognizes the voice before he even consciously processed it. He turns around with a wide grin.
"Tony!"
"God, I'm so glad you're here. I couldn't stand being at home even a second longer ," Tony grunts, clearly frustrated even just thinking about it.
"Maybe you should live in a dormitory if you like people around you so much, huh?" Peter jokes. Tony huffs and shakes his head.
"You little-" Tony laughs. He looks at Peter and tuts dismissively. "Those days are far behind me, kid."
"You do realize you just called yourself old?"
"Fuck you."