HOPELESS ☾Peter Parker - 1

TWENTY FIVE

Peter Parker was waiting in the living room of the Avenger's tower for Tony to return. He had no idea if Aspen would be with him or not, but he hoped to god that she would be. 

When she left, Tony decided that it would be best to let her cool off for a while before he went to persuade her to come back. Peter, of course, objected this, but in the end he knew that it was for the best. 

That would never stop him from worrying, though. He wasn't worried about her safety or anything, he knew she could take care of herself, but rather worried about her mental state. Tony explained to him everything he had found in the second file, and Peter began to understand the girls tearful reaction. 

Ever since that night that he witnessed one of her nightmares first hand, he hadn't been able to stop worrying about her mental state. The way she screamed in terror and the pain in her voice caused his heart to ache and he wanted nothing more than to hug her and love all of her pain away, but he knew that was unrealistic. 

First he would need to gain her full trust, then he could help mend her broken pieces. 

All Peter wanted to do was help Aspen find hope in a world that she thought was hopeless.

When Tony finally walked through the door, Peter looked past him in hopes of seeing the young Blue following behind, but was greatly disappointed when she wasn't present.

"She's in her room, kid." Tony simply said after seeing Peter physically become saddened. 

The boys entire being lit up at his mentor's words and he nodded quickly before walking (more like jogging) in the direction of the girls room. 

When he got to her open doorway he looked in to see her bag open on the bed. Peter began to smile brightly when he saw that she was placing Barry the succulent back on her bedside table. 

"I was afraid you had thrown him away." Peter said, alerting Aspen of his presence. 

She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and quickly tucked her flash drive  back into her bag  so that Peter wouldn't see it. The boy did notice, however, he was unable to make out what the object was, so he chose to ignore it. 

"Nah, I've actually grown quite fond of him." Aspen replied, turning and facing the boy.

There was a second of awkward silence, and the two just stood there staring at each other.

"I'm sorry," they both spoke at the same time.

"What are you even sorry for?" Aspen asked with a chuckle, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I-I'm not sure actually. It just felt like I needed to say it..."

Aspen smiled at the nervous boys words and grabbed his hand. "Well, I'm sorry for yelling at you. I wasn't thinking clearly and I kind of just freaked out and ran. It's pathetic really, but I guess that's what happens when Hydra turns your brain into pudding."

Peter could tell that she was trying to take the "Aspen Route" AKA the comical route. He knew that she was trying to hide her pain with jokes and humor, and he didn't want her to do that. He didn't want her to feel like she needed to hide her emotions from him. 

So, Peter took a risk. He grabbed her other hand and pulled her closer before wrapping his arms around her and bringing her into a tight hug. 

Aspen sank into him gratefully. She had hugged the boy a few times now, and each time a sense of comfort would spread throughout her being and she would fall into a state of bliss. 

She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck and squeezed him closer, if that was even possible. 

That hug was more than just a hug, it was everything.