SHIELD'S Spider

Chapter 5: Home

The light was blinding. And white. Peter groaned and closed his eyes.

"HE'S AWAKE!"

He winced at the noise.

"Sorry." Two feminine faces appeared in his face, one pale and one olive.

"Hey." His voice croaked with little use. "What... What happened?"

"You got exploded." Evie kept a straight face at her weird wording.

Peter felt a wave of panic was over him as he glanced down at his body, glad that it was all in one piece. "So... Hi."

"Never do that again." MJ wrapped her arms around his neck, gentle but firm. "If you do then I will personally murder you."

"Right." He sighed, flopping back on the bed. "I'm hungry."

"Of course you are."

Evie glanced at MJ. "Do we... tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

MJ handed him a bowl of apple slices and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So basically when you were gallavanting through sciency stuff, Tony and Steve found where the real cells were, and freed some prisoners." She hesitated. "They're here now."

"Ok." Peter went back to eating his apple slices.

"There's more."

He stopped, glaring at the two of them. Can't a guy eat his apple slices in peace?

MJ fiddled with the sheets nervously. "We think... that they might be of some... relation to you."

The bowl lowered slightly as Peter's eyes widened. "What?"

"Like, we don't know for sure, but you can meet them tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!?" He slapped the bow on the bed. "You tell me that I might know these people and you expect me to wait till tomorrow!?"

"Eat your apple slices, dork. You need to recover first."

Peter pouted but obliged, nibbling on his apple, unsatisfied.

Though he didn't let it show, he was rather worried. What if they didn't like him? What if they thought he wasn't good enough, what if they weren't actually related? The worries floated around his head all day and into the night, becoming the last thoughts he had before he drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

          

"I've forgotten how beautiful the world was," she said, leaning on her husband's arm as they watched the morning below them. Her aurburn hair fell in gentle curls around her shoulders, lines with streaks of grey.

Her husband smiled down at her. "It feels so weird to be free." His chocolate eyes smiled as he pulled her into a hug.

"Eleven years. It's been eleven years."

"Do you think he still remembers us?

The woman shrugged. "I hope so."

They lapsed into silence, enjoying the quiet freedom they had now gained.

                

Peter inhaled deeply, trying to quell the anxiety growing in him. Tony placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"You have nothing to worry about kid."

Peter nodded. He pulled at his shirt. "Do I look too casual? Should I have changed into something more formal?"

Tony readjusted the simple blue jacket over the white t-shirt, smiling at the science pun printed on the front. "Ah, the element of surprise. They'll love it."