Sticks and Stones

22

Over the next few weeks, everyone monitored Peters eating and sleeping habits closely, and made sure Ned was making him eat at lunch.

Though he was looking fine on the outside, on the inside, he was falling apart. He had multiple nightmares every night, and when he woke up, he couldn't fall back asleep.

He'd been using makeup to hide the dark circles under his eyes, and he'd been too afraid to ask for help.

Meanwhile, at school, Flash was making his life even more of a living hell, and Peter just let it happen.

"Peter, I know you've been eating and all, but have you talked to your dads yet about all these nightmares you're having?" Ned asked. "You're doing a good job of hiding it and all, but I know when my best friend is exhausted."

"I'm fine, Ned, don't worry about me."

He sighed, but moved on. "How's the tracking down HYDRA agents going?"

"I took a small break until I'm not having a nervous breakdown every five minutes."

"What about that guy you met? Have you been talking with him?"

"Yeah. He's pretty cool..."

Ned suddenly came to a realization. "Do you have a crush?"

"No!" Peter blushed. "No! Yeah... I think I'm bi."

"Cool. But isn't he, like, thirty?"

"That's why we're just friends, Ned."

"Maybe one day, though." He shrugged.

Peter sighed hopelessly. "Maybe one day..."

"Hey, even if you don't get him, you'll find someone else."

"Sure."

—

Peter was on patrol when he ran into Wade- literally. "Oh, hey, Wade." He greeted.

"Ooh, costume, huh, Pete?"

"Yeah."

"Your ass looks great in it."

"Did you just flirt with me?"

"Maybe a little. I wanna do patrol with you."

"My dads wouldn't approve, you know."

"Fuck them, I'm way cooler."

"I mean, first of all- I'm not going to do that. Second, Natasha is way cooler than all of you."

"Wow, okay, ladies man, much? Anyways, how does your patrol work? What do you do?" Wade asked, grabbing his arms and looking at the web-shooters, then grabbing his face and looking at the mask. "Neat."

Peter rolled his eyes. "Patrol works by going around my assigned part of the city and stopping bad guys."

"Sounds gay. I'm in."

"No, Wade, you are not in. If my dads knew we were associated in any way, shape, or form, they'd beat my ass."

"And I'd beat them."

"You'd beat Captain America and Iron Man? Yeah, right. Go do whatever 'mercenary' thing it is you do. I have work."

And with that, Peter swung away.

—

"So." Steve said as soon as Peter walked in.

"Oh, no."

"No, you're not in trouble, I just wanted to talk to you about whether or not you've been sleeping. Ned called me."

He hesitated. "No..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I... I keep having these... nightmares. Sometimes it's night terrors, too, but mostly just nightmares, and they wake me up, and I'm too scared to go back to sleep. It's stupid."

"It's not stupid. You've been through a lot of stuff, I'm surprised this is the first time you're having nightmares like this. Is it?"

"I had a lot when I was little, too, but it disappeared for a while, and now that I'm Spider-Man, and- and the Vulture..." Peter swallowed past the lump in his throat. "Forget it, it's fine."

"Peter, it's okay. Lots of people have nightmares. I do, so does your other dad. Natasha and Clint do. So does Bruce, and I know Wanda does."

"Really?"

'So I'm not weak?' He wanted to ask, but held his tongue.

"Yeah. But it's important to remember that they're not real, and they can't hurt you."

'Not real. Can't hurt me.' "I never thought of it like that." Peter said.

"Well, now you have. Now go to bed, it's late."

"'Night, dad."

"Goodnight, Peter."