Crimson

12

And I'm breaking out
Escaping now
Feeling my faith erode

Hysteria ~ Muse

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3 months later

Peter flew over the skyline of New York, whooping as he swung. He landed on the rooftop of a high skyscraper with a chuckle and skidded to a stop, plopping down and swinging his legs over the impossibly high ledge. Opposite him, even taller skyscrapers climbed to the stars, harsh, bright daggers of hope reaching to the open sky.

Tugging up his red mask, he stared at his reflection in the mirrored windows opposite. He looked older, maturer, wiser. He'd faced the trauma of his past and, as painful as it was, he had learned to move on. He still loved his parents and his aunt and uncle with his whole heart, but he'd been able to let go. To stop looking into the past, stop trying to be a son, and focus on becoming an intern, a friend, a teammate, and a brother. He felt his soul lighten as the scar on his back tingled with electricity. It was a brand, yes, but it could heal as well as define.

A rustle from behind caused him to spin around to come face to face with the devil. Red body armour, red horns and red billy clubs, Matt Murdock stood across from him, grinning widely. "Mr Daredevil, sir!" Peter mock saluted, accepting Matt's offered hand to pull himself up to standing. The older replied with a dry chuckle. "Mr Spider-Man, sir." He returned, before pushing the horned mask off of his face to show his twinkling eyes. It was a sign of comfort, of contentment, of a deep level of trust in Peter forged in only a few short months. The two began to chat easily, about law school, about Foggy, Mr Stark, helping out the Avengers. It was easy, as if they'd been friends forever.

Matt had become a lot more trusting over the past months. He'd accepted his father's death, allowed himself to grieve instead of feel guilty, and move on. He'd told Foggy his secret identity, and although his friend at first disapproved, he was just happy to help Matt out. Matt had become friendly with the Avengers, occasionally helping them out on ground level missions and once a week going over to the compound for shwarma. But most of all, he'd let Peter and Wade in, let them close. They were his brothers, if not by blood then by a deeper bond. And he would do anything for them.

A huffing sound alerted the two to Wade's presence. The door to the roof of the building slammed open and Wade staggered over, comically out of breath. "How come you two get to just swing and parkour up here and I have to take the damn stairs?" He snarked. Peter and Matt chuckled, already laughing in Wade's presence. "Well, you've held us up long enough." Matt joked. "We have justice to serve!" The three set off down into the heart of the city, stalking out crime and helping those in need. As a team, they were three times as effective and it was three times less lonely, beating criminals in the middle of the night.

Wade felt the hole that had started to consume his soul since the death of his mother, the darkness that had spread when he first took a human life, begin to fill itself in, little by little. Family didn't always have to be forged by blood, it could be found and made with just as much unconditional affection as blood relatives. Peter, Matt and Wade had found their families. As they say, blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.

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