Hey, Little Spider || Peter Parker One-Shots

I Just Wanted To Be Like You

Tony P.O.V.

"I'm sorry." Peter whispered.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony snapped. Deep down, he felt slightly guilty for how he was treating the kid - he's only a 15 year old boy! But the rest of him was filled with anger. Anger at Peter for almost dying, anger at the mysterious villain who blew up the ferry, and anger at himself for caring about the boy standing in front of him. The boy who somehow managed to break down his walls through short meetings and post-patrol voicemails.

"I understand," Peter looked away, then said bitterly, "I just wanted to be like you."

Tony was momentarily shocked. Why would a boy like Peter - full of energy, enthusiasm, and innocence - want to be someone like him? Someone broken, lost, and rude to almost everybody? Someone who had been eaten alive by anxiety and PTSD, then put up such a strong facade of indifference that anyone who he met believed that this was the real Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist?

Peter was just a child, yet he was more than twice the man Tony could ever hope to be. He was caring, compassionate, loyal, energetic, and incredibly smart. He should never, ever want to be anything like Tony Stark.

"And I wanted you to be better."

Peter P.O.V.

"I just wanted to be like you." Peter exclaimed, looking away.

Ever since he'd first seen him, Peter had looked up to Tony Stark. Not just Iron Man, but the human being behind the mask. He'd watched him on TV, and thought, I want to be just like him one day. He'd seen Tony as beyond genius, a successful businessman, and someone who cared enough about the lives of innocent people that he'd built a suit of armor to protect them. Ever since Peter had become Spider-Man, he'd only admired the man more.

Now, he knew how hard it was to get into a fight and walk it off the next day. He knew the exhilaration of putting on his suit and soaring into the night, and the thrill of a skirmish won against a tough criminal. But that wasn't all.

Both he and Tony had been in a circumstance where they could have helped people, and both of them had done nothing about it. Then, something awful had happened to each of them - for Tony it was Afganistan, but for Peter it was the death of his Uncle Ben.

After that, both he and Tony had realized that it was better for everyone if they put their gifts to good use. Tony had built his armor, and Peter had built his web shooters and assembled his suit.

Peter had seen himself in Tony, and that gave him hope. If Tony could get past all of the horrible things in his past and still want to help people, then Peter could, too.

"And I wanted you to be better."

Peter's hope crumpled like a wilting flower.

I wanted you to be better. Better than what? Better than Tony Stark, better than Iron Man? Or better than where Peter was now?

It didn't matter. Either way, Peter wasn't enough. He'd never be enough.

He didn't even fight that hard when Tony took the suit. He only wished he'd gotten to say goodbye to Karen.

***

It didn't take Aunt May too long to figure out that something wasn't right. And when Peter told her he'd screwed up, she didn't berate him for it. She just hugged him, and told him it was okay. He'd be okay.

He didn't know what he'd do without Aunt May.

***

Peter was trapped, he was stuck and he couldn't get out. He was going to die alone here, under the rubble, Ned couldn't save him, Tony couldn't find him, May didn't know he was here, he was trapped he was trapped he was trapped.

"Please!" Peter screamed until his throat burned, "I'm down here, I'm down here, I'm stuck! I can't move! I'm stuck, I can't move, I can't ..."

He was sobbing, his entire body was stuck under the concrete roof on top of him. He was stuck and it hurt, everything hurt so much -

He was going to die. He couldn't do it. He wasn't enough.

Peter let his head drop, catching a glimpse of his reflection in a puddle. His mask was half submerged in the shallow water, making it seem like he was wearing it on only half of his face.

For the first time, Peter saw himself as Spider-Man.

If you're nothing without the suit, then you shouldn't have it.

Once again, Peter compared himself to Tony Stark.

Tony and Iron Man weren't two different people. Iron Man was only a suit of armor. Tony was what made Iron Man, well, Iron Man.

The same could be said of Peter. Spider-Man wasn't only a suit. Spider-Man was Peter. Peter was Spider-Man. You couldn't have one without the other.

Tony hadn't meant 'You're not good enough' when he'd told Peter to be better. He'd meant 'You are already good enough. You already do enough. But you could be better. You could do more.' He just hadn't known how to say it. Typical Tony.

"Come on, Peter."

Peter was Spider-Man. Spider-Man was Peter. He was enough, but he could be more.

"Come on, Spider-Man."

The rock shifted.

"Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man!"

He could almost see them; Ned, Aunt May, and Uncle Ben. His dead parents. MJ. And Tony. The people who cared about him.

He thought of the students, teachers, and faculty of his school. He thought of the thousands of innocent people who lived and breathed in New York City. He thought of the Avengers, who didn't know about the impending danger. The people who needed him.

He was enough. He was Spider-Man.

The rubble was thrown to the side. Peter grabbed his mask, and looked up to see Vulture sitting on top of a billboard.

Spider-Man yanked the mask over his head, and began to run.

A/N: Whew! 1009 words! By the way, this was my first fan fiction, so I'm sorry it sucks. If you see any editing errors or don't like something about the writing, don't hesitate to comment! I larb constructive criticism ;)

Anyway, thank you for clicking on my story! I don't know when I'll have time to work on this, so updates might be slow/irregular. Basically, I'll try to write whenever I can, and update when I finish a story. Sorry :P

Have a wonderful day!