IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

Hickory Dickory Dock

Third Person POV:
Word Count: 2,569
Spooktober 2022 Day Two: Time

Hickory Dickory Dock.
The mouse went up the clock.
The clock struck one.
The mouse went down.
Hickory Dickory Dock.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

"That's what life has been feeling like lately," Peter said. His hands were messing with some playdough, like they usually did in these sessions. According to Dr. Huxley, it helped keep his mind from thinking about what he was going to say. It prevented him from trying to filter out his thoughts and overthink what he wanted to say.

Dr. Huxley was silent for a few moments, waiting for Peter to further explain. It was a common tactic he used with Peter. He'd learned that Peter's thoughts were broken. Rather than forcing them together for him, he would wait for Peter to put them together himself. It not only helped Peter in the long run, but it helped Peter be a lot more open.

Peter sighed, pausing his hands for a moment. He looked up at Dr. Huxley, who was giving Peter a patient look. "Life just feels like that stupid nursery time. The same things keep happening, but just different animals. First, it was the mouse. Next, it was the snake. The squirrel, cat, and monkey. Now, the elephant is trying to climb up the clock, and we all know how that goes."

Even though Dr. Huxley tried to be discrete about it, Peter always saw him taking notes. When he didn't see it, he heard it. He always talked as he took notes. So, as soon as he heard the graphite hit the paper, he knew Dr. Huxley's voice was following. "What exactly is feeling repetitive in your life? Is it your daily routine or just the events that come your way?"

Sighing, Peter readjusted himself. "Everything. Everything is so repetitive." He started aggressively ripping the playdough apart and squishing it back together. "My daily routine has been the same for so long. Wake up. Have breakfast. Go to school. Patrol. Come home. Have dinner. Do homework. Sleep." He doesn't care about the playdough getting underneath his nails or the fact that his hands are going to be sore from how tightly he was clenching the playdough. "Even Spider-Man is getting repetitive. Every day I go out there and do the same thing. The only difference between this week and last week is the amount of crime there is."

Hickory Dickory Dock.
The snake went up the clock.
The clock struck two.
The snake went down.
Hickory Dickory Dock.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

Dr. Huxley took a few notes. "I remember you once saying how you liked routine. How is this repetitiveness different from routine?"

That made Peter stop for a second. He remembers that session. It felt like years ago now. It had been years ago, really. For Dr. Huxley, at least. For Peter, it had merely been just a few months. Still, he remembered admitting to Dr. Huxley how he had to have a routine. Life just felt better with a routine. How was this different?

Sensing Peter's hesitation, Dr. Huxley nodded towards the notebook and pen on the coffee table separating Peter and Dr. Huxley. "Why don't we make a list? What is making life feel repetitive and not routine? What is the same as it was back when you had a routine? What's different now that you don't?" Still, Peter hesitated. "Let's start with ten, and if you feel like you need to add more, we can move on from there. Sound good?"

Peter nodded. He grabbed the playdough container and put it away. He then grabbed the notebook and pen off of the table, starting to make his list.

In his scratchy handwriting, he made a list. On the left side of the paper, he wrote down what was the same. On the right side of the paper, he wrote down what was different.