Sunflower (or, a Solangelo Spider-Man AU)

Wildest Dreams (quite literally)

When Will got back to his room, he didn't even have time to remove his suit before collapsing on his bed. He had a few moments of consciousness before his eyes fluttered shut and he fell into a deep sleep.

Of course, he had weird dreams.

Ever since he had become Spider-Man, ominous or flashback-like dreams had plagued him as he slept. Tonight, he found himself in the body of his fourteen year old self, walking along a path in the woods behind his dad.

Will's throat closed up at the sight of him. He hadn't seen him since...well, since the funeral. The funeral that was WILL'S FAULT. Will tried to blink back tears as his dad turned to him to speak.

Will knew what he would say. "Getting tired already?" His dad asked, a mocking grin on his face.

Will swallowed the lump in his throat and responded to him, cringing at how high his voice was. "Nuh-uh," he answered. "I'm just getting started."

His dad laughed. "Yeah, right." He pointed at a tree maybe a few hundred feet from them, up the trail. "Race you there?"

Will grinned, despite how much he wanted to cry right now. "You're on." He said, and took off.

He dashed up the trail behind his dad, gaining on him. Will was almost about to pass his dad when his foot caught on a tree root and he fell on his face.

Will looked up, wiping the dirt from his eyes, and he noticed...a spider, crawling along the ground. Usually he wouldn't really take note of a bug, but this spider was weird. It was bright yellow with orange flecks, had eyes that were almost glowing, and seemed slightly bigger than the average spider. Overall, it didn't really seem like it belonged there.

"Weird..." he whispered, and without thinking, reached out to touch it.

Obviously that was a stupid idea, and as soon as his fingers grazed the spider, it bit down on his hand. Will shrieked and yanked his hand away, and the spider skittered into the underbrush.

His dad whirled around from where he was standing on the hill, as he hadn't noticed Will falling in the first place. "Will?" He called. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Well, that wasn't very realistic, Will thought. He hadn't BEEN Will when this took place. Still, it was kind of nice to hear his new name come out of his dad's mouth. He'd never really gotten the chance to find out about him, because of, well...

Will snapped out of it. "I'm okay," he yelled. "Just tripped and got bitten by this dumb spider. It was my fault."

His dad jogged back down the hill and helped him up. He examined the bite on his finger. "Does it hurt?" He asked, sounding concerned.

Will tried not to break down at the feeling of his dad's warm, calloused hand gripping his own. Even in a dream, it still made Will miss him more than anything. "It's fine," he responded shakily. "Just sort of stings."

His dad dug a bandage from his pocket and wrapped it around Will's finger. "Well, there aren't any venomous spiders in the woods around here. So you just need to keep that band-aid on for a few days, and you'll be good as new." He patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

Will smiled up at his dad. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, kid." He responded. Then...his dad's face changed, his mouth curling into a cruel smile, and he spoke, his voice now sounding lower, and raspy. "No problem at all." He placed his hand on Will's other shoulder and shoved him down the hill.

Will tried to scream, but no sound came out. As he fell back, he never hit the ground. Instead, he fell into darkness. Through the darkness, his memories filtered in front of his vision. Some of his best...and some of his worst.

He saw himself learning about his powers, and his learning to use them. He saw when his best friend, Cecil, gave him his first pair of web shooters. He saw himself saving dozens of people, defeating villains, saving the city.

Then he saw the people he couldn't save. Innocent pedestrians, some of his schoolmates...and his dad.

"It's just a memory," he whispered to himself. "It already happened. It's okay, it's okay..."

He saw the life leaving his dad's eyes as he died in Will's arms.

"Just a memory. It's okay."

He saw his dad's funeral. Saw his mom trying to wipe tears from her eyes, turning to him, trying to reassure him that it would all be okay.

Instinctively, Will reached out to his mom, trying to comfort her. When his hand reached her, the image rippled. Will frowned, trying to reach her again, and the entire image shattered. Everything turned to black, to a void, and he fell, and fell, and...

He sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Sunlight filtered through his windows. It must not have been time for school yet, because his mom hadn't come in to wake him up or open his door yet. That was probably a good thing, considering Will's current outfit. His mom didn't know who he was yet, and he wasn't exactly ready to tell her.

He rolled off of his bed, wincing at the throbbing pain in his ribs. He really needed to stop sleeping with his binder on. To be fair, he also really needed to stop getting in fights in the middle of the night that exhausted him so much that he didn't even have time to take his binder off before he passed out when he got home.

Will stripped off his Spider-Suit and pulled on a worn pair of cargo shorts, a faded white graphic tee, and a green short-sleeved flannel. He shoved his suit deep in his drawer and left his room, walking into the small apartment.

His mom was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and scrolling on her phone. She looked up at Will, smiling softly. "Morning, honey," she said. "You sleep well?"

Will smiled back at his mom, feeling a pang of guilt at how little she knew about his secret life. He truly wanted to respond with "no, actually, I had to wake up in the middle of the night to fight a stupid tentacle person and save a hot guy because I'm Spider-Man!!" But he couldn't tell her. She would worry, and especially after what happened with his dad...

Will cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah," he lied, grabbing a protein bar from the cabinet. "I slept great."

His mom looked up at him suspiciously. "Will..." she said. "Did you really? You don't look like you slept very well."

"Is that your way of telling me I look bad?" Will shot back, squinting at his reflection in the oven door. "Okay, okay. I didn't sleep GREAT. But I'm okay." He leaned down to grab his lunch from the bottom shelf of the fridge and flinched at the sharp pain in his ribs. "Ow!"

"Will-" his mom repeated.

"Aaaand I've gotta get to school!" Will shouted, cutting her off. "I'll see you tonight. Love you, Mom!"

His mom gave him an exasperated look as he gave her a half-hug and ran out the door. He appreciated her concern, of course, but he didn't need his mom to start questioning him on his personal life. If he let one thing slip, his whole fabricated story would come crashing down, and he didn't need that right now. Neither of them needed that right now.

So once again, Will pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and kept running.