Spider-Son & Iron Dad one shots

Peter Parker (and the quest to get a hug)

nobody:

y'all after I haven't uploaded in 3 weeks: *adds to a 'finished' folder*

Me:

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Sometimes it feels like Peter Parker is carrying the world on his shoulders.

It feels like, the whole world is stacked against him, and he's the only one who knows how to handle it. It isn't like any of his friends have spider powers, or if anyone really spends their time working day after day to take criminals out.

And there were so, so, many criminals. When the spider bit him, he had to realize quickly that Peter Parker did not have vacation days. There were no breaks.

There was just bad guy after bad guy. And soon he got used to the daily punches and kicks, the occasional stab wound, maybe. It hurt sometimes, but he'd live. He'd have to. There weren't any other heroes in New York that specifically look out for the everyday people.

For somebody who worked on protecting the smaller picture, it felt like a very big portrait all in all. But this was his reality, and he dealt with it to the extent he knew how.

Sometimes he'd suddenly remind himself of his age. Maybe when he's looking around and seeing other classmates stress over homework being due tomorrow and not having started on it. It confuses him at first, because it's a flash of what his "reality" was really like.

His number one issue is never homework being due the next day. He'll trick himself, sometimes, telling himself that it is, but really his very first worry is trying to make it home to May every night without leaving blood in her sight.

This life is very tired, and it often catches up with the kid.

It catches up with him on days where he got a short amount of sleep, and he's trudging through class to class trying to get through the day.

But he's more than physically tired.

It's something on some other level, because it also happens on days where he got home from patrol early, and he goes to sleep early, but he wakes up exhausted. He wakes up with his bones aching and his head hurting, and he really just wants a hug.

It was one of those days.

He didn't get his hug in the morning, because May had left for work early in order to earn a little more money for the week. Peter tried not to think about it too much and grabbed an apple for breakfast on his way out.

He didn't play music on his way to the subway. Sometimes there just wasn't any kind of song that would help the buzzing in his head. He carried on, instead listening to a little girl reading a book out loud to her mother on the other side of the subway. It makes him smile.

When he gets off the subway, he meets up with Ned.

"Hey!" Ned gives him a big grin.

Peter, as previously mentioned, is exhausted, so he doesn't even try faking a smile back. "Hey, man."

Ned notices, because he has a radar for that sort of thing, probably from knowing Peter for so long. "Bad patrol?" He asks simply.

Peter just nods.

He doesn't get a hug then, but Ned does squeeze his shoulder. It helps for a few seconds. He gives a grateful smile to Ned, who grins back. "I'll see you at lunch."

Peter nods. "Yep."

They do their handshake and then go separate ways.

When he walks into his next class, MJ spots him instantly and takes out her journal.