Spiderman oneshots

42- The Merchant of Death VI

TW: in this chapter and probably in some future chapters as well, there will be mentions of sexual and physical abuse. There won't be any too graphic descriptions, though. 

Stay safe <3

---

Peter's life hadn't always been rough. The first six years of his life had been amazing, actually, even if Peter didn't remember much of them. He remembered hanging onto his mother's and father's hand as they crossed the street and how they'd always have to console him while watching The Lion King when Simba's father died because Peter always got upset. He remembered how he'd pushed a stone up his nose once and they had to go to the doctor. Peter had been hysterical, but after being smothered with love and reassurances by his parents, he had calmed down. He remembered how they'd often go visit his uncle Ben and aunt May. Sometimes he even stayed with them for a few days. He'd always be excited at first, but after a day or two of staying with them he'd burst out crying because he missed his mommy and daddy.

One time, when he was six and staying over at his aunt and uncle again, his parents never came back. That's the moment he got unlucky, and never got lucky again. He cried and cried because he wanted his mommy and daddy, but they were gone. He was no longer staying over, he was now living with his aunt and uncle. It took some months for Peter to understand that. Ben and May were understanding and loving though, and slowly, very, very slowly, they became more than just his uncle and aunt, even if he still called them that. They were his new parents.

But tragedy struck again.

Ben died at the hands of a drug addict with a gun when Peter was just 13 years old. May and Peter's little family wasn't the same after that. Bills were piling up without Ben's income and May was exhausted from having to work so much. They had to sell the TV and they had spend some cold months in a freezing apartment, their heaters broken and too expensive to fix. Food was scarce and they couldn't afford new clothes. A bit of luck struck again, though: May managed to get a higher paying job, and things got better.

Then, Peter got bitten by a spider, and for 5 months, Peter thought of it as a curse. He apparently had powers, but those powers came with a cost. His metabolism was fast. Too fast. May's paycheck couldn't afford to keep up with Peter's hungry stomach, and so Peter stayed hungry. It was painful, it was agonizing, really, but he didn't really have a choice. May was completely unaware of Peter's enhancements and even if she knew, she simply wouldn't be able to feed him enough. Peter had considered telling her, he was sure she wouldn't be angry, but she'd just feel guilty, and Peter didn't want to bother her. May was always so loving; she deserved better.

Then, after those 5 months, Peter walked in on a woman getting mugged, and so he used his powers to stop the mugger.

The woman had been so grateful, stuttering a thousand 'thank you's, that suddenly, Peter didn't think his powers were a curse anymore. So he had bought some red and blue fabric - the colors in honor to Ben, who had loved those two colors - and made a suit. He drew a spider on it too, since a spider bit him. He had made darkened lenses for his sensitive eyes and webshooters (he was sticking with the spider theme, he had decided) quick after, too.

The first night he went out, he had gotten 6 'thank you's, and Peter had been ecstatic. He kept getting more and more 'thank you's every night he went out. For a short two months, life had been going good. He was helping people as his alter ego, who was getting quite famous, May had been working a little less and they had less money trouble. 

That era didn't last long.

Peter had known May was sad after Ben died, but he hadn't suspected much of it. Until, on a saturday morning, 14 year old Peter found May dead in their little apartment, a gun resting in her fingers and a dime sized hole in her forehead that was oozing blood. Peter had tried to stop the bleeding, but the only thing he had gotten from that was nightmares of his red, red hands. May had been a little more than just sad, Peter had realized with a sunken, splintered heart.

Peter knew what it was like to be loved, despite his past, and he knew that Steven 'Skip' Westcott didn't love him; that he didn't actually want what was best for Peter, even if the older man told Peter that he did what he did because he loved Peter. Skip had been his second foster father already. The first one had been an alcohol addict named David Claus. David had showed his 'love' in a different way than Skip, but Peter had quickly reported it to his social worker, recognizing it as abuse. His social worker had been horrified by David's actions and the bruises on Peter's face. Then, he got send to Skip. Skip didn't hit him. Skip had different urges.

Peter didn't know if he found the physical or the sexual abuse worse.

He had called his social worker about Skip too eventually, but he didn't stick around long enough for her to send him to yet another foster family. He didn't want to move through abusing foster families until he was eighteen; he was getting enough of gaining trauma every few years. So Peter had put on his suit and left that cursed apartment, trying desperately to forget the feeling of Skip's hands on his body. That night, Peter had slept in an abandoned warehouse, cold and alone.

The nightmare he had gotten that night made him realize he found the sexual abuse worse.

-

The Avengers weren't as kind and caring as most people thought they were, but at least they didn't hit or touch him. Steve, their leader, was a cold man, Peter had learned the first time they met. Steve hadn't cared if Peter wanted to join their team or not, Steve hadn't cared that Peter didn't want them to know his name. Steve hadn't cared that Peter was a child running from foster care either. Maybe the man had never fully unthawed after getting out of the ice, or maybe the effects from the wars he had endured never fully left. Maybe it didn't have an explanation. 

Natasha Romanoff was also an icy person, but that hadn't been a surprise. Clint Barton was closed off and sarcastic. Thor was never present. Bruce Banner was missing.

Peter didn't mind all that much. They had given him a new suit and were kind of training him while fighting enemies. (They really just threw comments at him about how he should do better.) He was grateful, really. The Avengers were cold and wary of him, but at least they weren't abusive.

Peter knew deep down that they were a bit toxic. That if they weren't, they would have offered him a room at the tower, knowing that Peter was running from CPS and therefore most likely living on the streets. If he was being honest with himself: he had hoped they would when Steve told him he was going to be an Avenger. He had hoped that his life on the streets would be done and that he could go back to school again. But that hadn't happened. Steve hadn't offered him a room at the tower and hadn't cared about his education. But hey, at least he had Ironman now, who had seemed genuinely guilty after beating him up and, somehow, seemed to care about him a little bit. That didn't change much, though.

When he woke up from his gruesome nightmares, it was still alone on a cold, rocky floor.

---

Little bit of Peter's backstory for ya, bc I totally forgot about that lol. I was too excited to just get to the irondad part lmaoo