IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

Heartbeat

Third Person POV:
Word Count: 2,137
Spooktober Day Two: Heartbeat

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It's all Peter can focus on. It's the only sound that fills his ears. It's the only thing that matters.

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"You almost ready to go," May asked Peter, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Peter, who was staring at Tony's chest, turned to May with a blank expression. "Hm," he asked, not hearing what May had said.

May looked at her nephew with a sad look on her face. The boy had dark circles underneath his puffy, red eyes. The little he slept in the past few days hadn't been enough for him. "I asked if you were ready to go," she asked gently, making sure to keep her emotions at bay.

Peter was so spacy, he had to pause to understand what she said. He turned back to Tony, looking at him then turning back to May. "Do you think..." he started, but trailed off.

Already anticipating, May nodded. "Of course you can stay," she said. She was a little disappointed, hoping that Peter was going to come home tonight. He'd been staying at the hospital right beside Tony for the past week he'd been here.

The place May had wasn't great, having to find somewhere else when she was snapped back. It was good enough until she could find something better, but it was better than nothing. It was a studio and had a bed, a couch and a kitchen, which was more than she was anticipating. She would take the couch and give Peter the bed whenever he came back, but she didn't think that'd be anytime soon.

May wasn't stupid. She knew that the boy was struggling, despite his constant reassurance that he wasn't fine. She didn't exactly know what happened to him. For her, she was at her apartment, cooking a late breakfast to cure her nasty hangover when she snapped. When she came back, she was standing in an apartment that was no longer her home. She was still processing that it had been five years that she missed, but she really was okay.

Peter was not. She could tell. She hadn't asked him what happened leading up to the day. She knew that he had a field trip that day. She knew that he, somehow, ended up in space with Tony (she could thank Pepper for that information). That was it. She didn't know what happened. She didn't know anything. All she knew is that when she looked at her nephew, all she saw was a shell.

May stood up, kissing Peter on the head. "Let me know if you need anything, alright? I'm just a half an hour away," she reassured him. She paused to look at him for a few seconds before letting the hand she placed on his shoulder fall off.

Peter was spaced out again, just listening.

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Peter had been to hell and back. Most kids his age wouldn't experience the immense amount of trauma he's endured in the past year in their entire lifetime. It was crazy to think about how much he had been through just within a year—though it was technically six, if he was counting the time within the stone. From fifteen to sixteen, he'd fought the Vulture and his entire crew, he'd been shot, stabbed, beaten, and tortured by criminals almost every night. Then, he fought an alien and went to space to fight another. Thanks to his super senses, he felt every shred of his DNA being ripped to shreds as he snapped away and every single one as he came back alone and scared.