Spider-Man oneshots

webs.

When Peter becomes Spiderman, he gains much more than a few superheroing abilities. His DNA is now literally part spider, (might be a problem further down the line, but he's trying not to think of that right now) which has resulted in a few more physical and psychological changes than he expected.

For one thing, he has fangs. Retractable, thank goodness, but he wished he had a teething ring or something to dull the pain. Unfortunately, an unsupervised 14 Yr old buying baby stuff was very conspicuous. He also couldn't brush his teeth for about a week until he found peppermint free toothpaste and mouthwash - spiders are repelled by peppermint and he had only had to walk into the bathroom to start feeling nauseous. Citrus was also out, and maybe vinegar? He wasn't really able to test this sort of thing.

One of the other problems, was his instincts. Yes, avoiding gunshots and Flash chucking balls of paper at his head was useful, but he had to try really hard not to start salivating when flies flew into the room. And occasionally birds? He wondered just what sort of gigantic terrifying spiders Oscorp had been experimenting with.

And there was another thing. The internet called it 'nesting'. The instinct of an animal (spiders included, apparently) to build a nest (or any other kind of home) in a place where they feel safe and are surrounded by their family.

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He had been itching to put webs all over their apartment since he first got bitten. Most noticeably since Aunt May comforted him after Ben died. And not even the artifical webs. Because Peter had discovered that he could actually spin real webs, from slits in his wrists. They weren't optimum for swinging and a few of the other uses, so he kept his web shooters too, but he now had an incredible urge to spin webs everywhere. He held back, cause you know - secret identity and all that.

And this is why he was actually glad when May found out. After a long long long conversation about literally everything, one of the agreement they came to was this. He would be allowed to spin his webs into a home, but only in the dining room, which the never used, and could be locked off from visitors.

When May walked in the next day, her mouth fell open in shock. The room was covered in webs, stretching from corner to corner, hanging at all heights across the room. And in the centre, curled up and looking adorable as usual, was Peter. It was beautiful actually, the way the light from the ceiling lamp caught the gossamer threads, and she simply marveled at it for a few minutes. Then she left. She had researched spiders extensively that night, for obvious reasons. Spiders made their nests in places they felt safe, with their family. And that's all she needed to know.

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Tony had seen Peter's nest only twice. The first time, was a few weeks after the Vulture Incident, as they were calling it, and Peter was giving him a full run down of every change to his body. After an enlightening checkup with Dr Cho, in which they discovered he no longer had bones! (Instead he had a sort of exoskeleton near his skin. It was clear now that he'd never go to a public doctor again.), Peter took him to May's apartment to show him how he spun his webs. To say Tony was awestruck was an understatement. He watched the kid, like, excrete webs out of his wrists(!), and then spin it into hammocks. Peter could control the viscosity, the stickiness, the solidity, everything, just by thought.

The second time, was just after Aunt May died. Peter was moving into the tower full time, and they had gone back to the house to get Peter's stuff. Tony watched as the kid sadly packed up his things, tears in his eyes, and then a jolt went through him as he remembered the state of the dining room. How would they --? His thoughts were cut off as Peter pushed past him to the room. He proceeded to clamber over it, pulling at specific bits of web, gathering it in his arms. Soon after, the room was clean, no residue on the walls, no sign that once a spider had made his nest there. And Peter stood, with a ball of web in his arms, looking utterly lost.

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Peter had now met all of the Avengers. They all knew who he was, his powers etc. Some of the reveals were better than others - Tony had had FRIDAY frame the moment Clint screamed in fear as Peter dropped from the ceiling. But you see, he had never met them all, together. None of them had really. Since the Civil War, and the tension even after they made up, Peter, Clint and Scott having to stay out of the game for a bit, and Bruce and Thor being missing, they had never actually all been in the same room. So that was what this party was about. He'd talked to them all, and they agreed, and they all actually showed up.

Everyone loved Peter. It was a great bonding thing actually, as when Steve and Loki had come face to face, entirely unalike each other in every way, they had both smiled as Peter offered them some of Bucky's cookies. And so the competition for 'Best Aunt/Uncle' began. (Tony, having - through adoption papers - become his dad, just smirked in the corner. He had a feeling he already knew who it was. But neither he, nor the author, is telling.)

It was the end of the party, when they gave him their gift. They all stood together, and Tony stepped forward. He placed his arm on each of Peter's shoulders like knighting ceremony, and said,
"Congratulations, kid. You're an Avenger."
Peter's jaw dropped as he saw them all nodding, their faces filled with love and pride. He squealed with excitement, hugging each and every one of them. Then, he ran off to one of the many lounges.

A few minutes later they were wondering where he was.
"Hey, Tony. Do you know where Peter went?" Cap asked.
Tony thought for a moment, until a very odd expression came to his face. He looked in the direction Peter went.
"Hey FRI, is Peter, doing that?" He asked, earning weird looks from the rest of the room.
"Yes Mr Stark. He's finally decided."
They looked up in awe at the emotion in the AI's voice. Tony had a few tears in his eyes.
"You'll see tomorrow. I can't wait for you to see!" He said, smiling more broadly than any of them had ever seen him smile.

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The next morning, they awoke early and curious. Tony and Pepper led them to one of the lounges, and they gasped as they saw what was inside.

Webs.

Wall to wall, floor to ceiling, a maze of gossamer thin strands and thick ropes. Looking carefully, you could see a hammock in one place, gaps like doors in others. The light caught it and made it sparkle. It couldn't have been more beautiful. They were wrong.
"Stark? What is this?" Loki asked.
"Spiders have a thing they do, it's called nesting. They create a home out of webs, just like this. But they only do it when they feel safe, and when they're surrounded by... family." He whispered the last word, as the wave of recognition passed over them. As they looked at the child sleeping curled up in the center of the webs, the orphan, the superhero, the intern and the high-schooler, they were just... happy. This was the most beautiful thing. They were his family.

back to long chapters, *siGH*