The rain slid down Peter's back, like cold pricks of pain barraging his senses. He kicked his feet slightly as they dangled off of the edge of the roof, gazing out into the city below. It wasn't a quiet day by any means, but compared to the usual hustle and bustle of Queens, it was a welcome calmness.
From the moment Peter had woken up today he had known it was going to hurt. Not like actual physical pain, but rather a dull ache inside of his chest, clutching at his heart. It wasn't like anything happened, he had gone to work at the Bugle as per usual, and his co-workers had been fine. Despite that, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, horribly wrong, and he wouldn't be able to fix it. Peter had tried to cheer himself up, grabbing a slice of pizza on his way home from work, taking photos of the various views around but nothing changed. The world kept moving and Peter felt stuck. Typical Parker luck.
This past year had been hard. As it turns out, when there's no proof of your existence, it makes it difficult to get a job, money, the likes. But Peter had gotten through it, just like he always did, because he had to. Queen's needed its friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. And no one else was gonna do that job for him. Not anymore anyways. Not since Tony-. Besides, it wasn't like Peter Parker disliked being Spider-Man. He loved it. He loved the feeling of flying through the air, and helping others, and keeping people safe. But sometimes, sometimes he would see a family, standing or walking close together, happy. And it would hurt, just a little bit, because he wanted that. Peter wanted to laugh alongside Ned while they talked about Star Wars. Peter wanted to joke around with Aunt May while they ate together. Peter wanted to tune out the world around him while working on something with Tony. But he couldn't. And he never would be able to again. Today felt like a bad day. And it sucked because he knew that it shouldn't.
By now, the sun was starting to set over the cityscape, painting the city in vibrant orange hues. Peter raised his camera to his face, ignoring the wind and rain as it tussled his hair. He smiled gently as he snapped a photo to capture the moment. If he wanted to get in a decent amount of time for patrol, it was better he leave now rather than later. He swung his legs over from the edge of the roof and stood up, stretching his arms above him. He lazily picked up his bag, walking towards the roof exit. Peter threw a quick glance to the sunset once more.
"Happy Birthday to me."