Caught In A Web

Epilogue

Healing takes time. Physical healing, yes, but mental healing even more so.

Peter spent a month at the Compound after he was allowed up and about. It took Tony several days to convince him that he was allowed out of the room. Several more to get him to talk to other people. After a week and a half, Peter was able to walk around normally, usually holding his chin up, and in two weeks he was working on the prosthetic arm again.

In the lab, they barely ever talked. It was an unspoken mutual agreement, and they knew each other well enough to know what to pass over when. Bucky didn't question it when Tony asked him to stop by, when he saw the work that they were doing. This was the only time when Peter seemed back to how he was.

After a few more tests, Peter presented the arm to him.

"Mr. Bucky, here. You've helped so much, and it's my fault they took your arm. Please try it?"

"It's not your fault, Pete. But of course I'll try the arm."

Bucky offered his bare left shoulder and allowed the boy to hook up the prosthesis. 

"This could sting. I'm sorry. Nerve connections."

Peter pressed a button and Bucky trained his face not to react to the pain. He looked at the arm, and flexed his fingers. Placed his hand down on the table. And felt.

He felt the cold.

He felt the texture and the temperature and everything.

"It works. Peter, Tony, it works perfectly. You two are amazing."

Tony ruffled Peter's curls.

"See kid, I told you it would work. You are a genius."

Peter smiled and looked up at Tony's face, then Bucky's.

"I can still help people. I- I'm not broken! Mr. Stark, I'm not broken!"

"Of course you aren't, Pete! You're strong and smart and amazing. You deserve the world, and a treat. What do you want?"

Peter glanced down, thinking. His answer was hesitant.

"Could I see Ned? Could he come?"

"I'll see what I can arrange."

-

It hurt Tony to see Peter think he was broken. He never told the boy about his wound, the gunshot, because it wouldn't help him recover. And that's what Tony wanted to see most, Peter recovering. Getting better, learning how to be happy again.

Peter still wouldn't wear short-sleeved shirts or collared shirts. He wouldn't stand up for himself or ask for anything. But he was starting to let himself enjoy things again. He was almost always listening to music, it seemed to calm him down. Tony played music in the lab when they were working to fill the silence, and the rest of the time the kid had one or both earbuds in. 

Some days Peter would still jump out of bed before remembering where he was, or regress back into other old habits. But Tony was still supportive, always there, never leaving him alone.

Peter hated being alone.

And that's why, when Tony found out that he wanted to see Ned, he instead arranged for Ned, MJ, and Aunt May to come over. Because Peter wanted family, and those three were the ones he cared about the most.

-

Aunt May didn't know what to expect when she got the call. Maybe Happy again, since he had called a few times, or Pepper. But not Tony Stark himself. He had been missing for almost half a year, and he suddenly wanted her to come over? But he said it was important, and that he was sending a car, so she sat at the window and waited.

Ned couldn't believe that it was really Tony Stark calling him. He didn't even know how he had gotten his number. But it was, and he was sending a car, so he sat on his doorstep and waited.

MJ honestly could not have cared less who was calling, but when she heard that it had something to do with Peter, she agreed to wait for the car.

It was one car, and it drove them all upstate. They made polite, confused conversation on the way to wherever it was that they were going, and were greeted by Tony himself when they arrived.

"Hello, welcome, I apologize for calling on such short notice but it really was important. Please, step inside, I have a surprise for you all."

He held the door open for them, and inside they went. Ned was nerding out, because look at it all! This was clearly a secret Avengers base! MJ was looking around and hiding her intrigue behind a mask of disinterest. And Aunt May was already crying, because Tony was alive, and if he was alive then maybe, just maybe...

They sat on couches in a lounge area, and Tony asked them to wait there as he closed the door and left the room. He was gone for a couple minutes, and when the door opened again, he was leading someone by the hand.

Peter.

He looked at the three of them and tears began streaming down his face even as he smiled. He hugged Tony, murmuring "thank you" into his chest before running over to Aunt May and wrapping her in a hug of her own. After letting them have their moment for a few seconds, Ned joined, then MJ. They were all crying by now, and his friends were speechless, and Aunt May was just happy to see him there, alive.

When they finally parted, she sat him down next to her.

"What happened, Peter? I- You've been gone for months."

"Bad people happened. I'm so sorry, Aunt May. And Ned, and MJ, I missed all three of you so much, every single day. They got Mr. Stark too, it's not his fault, he's been helping me get better. Please don't be mad."

"Oh, no, honey, of course we aren't mad. We're glad you're back safe to us. You don't need to apologize."

Peter smiled again through his tears. He was safe here, with the four people that made up his family. He finally felt like he was home.

- - -

The End

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