State the obvious, I didn’t get my perfect fantasy
September 18th 5:08 AM
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Peter try’s — and fails — to rub the sleep from his eyes while heading downstairs carful to stay by the wall to lessen the creaks from the stairs.
He walks into the kitchen and pulls open the freezer, grabbing a pack of microwave pancakes. There almost out he’ll have to buy more, not just pancakes he needs to restock food in general. And paydays not till next week… Uggggggg. Guess it’s time for Spider-Man man to get another photo shoot.
He hears footsteps upstairs. Violet has started getting the kids up. She begins to make her way down the stairs. One loud creek rings out around the house, shortly followed my many tiny squeaks.
“Hey Vi”
“Hey Pete”
“You know where Mrs.Garcia Is?” Peter went to wake her up for work this morning, he found her side of the bed empty. Normally he would keep tabs on her but he left early to go out as Spider-Man.
“She went out last night” Violet says tiredness dripping off of her every word.
So she’s somewhere drunk out of her mind.
Lovely.
He hands her a pancake on a paper towel. She gives him a small smile.
“Thanks”Too tired to formulate a response, he nods. Violet doesn’t expect anything more, she just gets him.
The rest of the kids slowly start to trickle down the stairs.
Tom(13) and Jack(10) come down first, followed by Liam(11), Mia(12), Amelia(13), Evelyn(14), Harper(10), Levi(7), Toby(14) leading Charlie(4) and Andrew(14) carrying the twins James(2), Jessie(2).
Levi runs up to Peter
“Petey! Petey!” Peter quick shushes him, not wanting to wake Mr.Garcia. Levi continues in am overdramatized whisper.
“Petey, look at my shirt!” he lifts his arms ‘up to the sky!’ to show Peter his Spider-Man shirt. Peter got it for him on his 7th birthday it was $35 but the smile on his face was worth it. He kinda feels a little awkward knowing if Levi actually knew who Spider-Man was he would be extremely disappointed, but he can’t help but keep that child like wonder in his eyes for just a little longer.
“Wow! That’s super-super cool!”Peter wispers back, smile previlent in his voice. Levi giggles and takes a pancake. The rest of the children take a pancake and Peter grabs some baby food from the cabinet. There almost out of this too, he really needs to go shopping soon. He hands the food to Andrew as Jessie babbles semi formed words happily. James just leans into Andrews collarbone.
“Where’s Ella(6) and Elijah(11)?” Peter inquires
“Ella dosent want to go to school so Elijah said he would get her ready” he responds. Peter hums in acknowledgment. Ella ten
Even tho him and Violet are the oldest at 16 & 15 Andrew likes kids the most so he usually gets the twins up and takes them to daycare. But still, Peter can’t help but feel a pit form in his stomach every time Andrew walks in a different path the his siblings — not biologically but there the closest thing there ever gonna get — on the way to school. But he just can’t figure out another way to get them there without losing is scholarship because of absences.
Peter makes sure everyone got a pancake before taking the last one — god he’s so hungry — The pancake barely makes a dent in his cravings but it’s better than nothing. But he smiles at the face the kids are probably not starving like himself.
If Peters being honest he’s extremely grateful school has started again — I know weird right — but he doesn’t have to make lunches for the kids — as much as he loves them doing everything gets tiring — even tho they don’t have the money to pay for lunch Peter has sent many emails to the school as Mr. And Mrs.Garcia to get them recognized at a low income house hold. Not exactly true but it gets them free lunches.
He wishes Midtown had a program like that but everyone else at that school is rich so he guesses there was never a necessity for one. He also gets to see his friends everyday. Even tho it cuts back on his patrol hours and he has to deal with Flash it evens out in the end!
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September 18th 1:17 PM
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“Sup looser” MJ says not looking up from her book.
Peter sits down next to Ned and across from MJ. He places his arms on the lunch table and groans at the stabbing pain that makes itself known in his ribs.
“The fuck happened to you?”
Peters long since learned that he can’t just say he’s fine and have Mj and Ned believe him. There not stupid and there close enough to call him out on his bullshit. So he’s mastered to art of half truths.
“Just some bruises on my ribs. I sat down wrong” He resists the urge to wrap his arms around his waist double over in pain and just lay there on the cafeteria floor till his ribs heal or he dies. He bends over slightly and feels his rib pop in and out. Ok, so don’t do that.
“Did shield come after you again?”
SHIELD has been attacking Spider-Man for weeks trying to get him to come with them for some reason they refuse to explain to him. However SHIELD always keeps it out of the news so it’s a good way to lie about how he got his injuries. He’s gotten caught up in a lie more than once just because MJ actually fact checked his answers.
“Yea” Peter sighs and dramatic Ku lays his head on Ned’s shoulder.
“Really?!” Peter nods and Ned continues “When are they going to just leave you alone”
“I’ll let you know when they stop” He mumbles into Ned’s shirt.
“HA, GAY!” A loud, annoying, high pitched voice makes itself known behind them. They really had to get lunch with Flash again?
Peter slides his head off of Ned and lays his head down in the table instead.
“Ug, can flash just shut up for five seconds” MJ tolled her eyes still not looking up from her book. What was it this time? Vita and Virgin? Some love letter thing. Peter dosent really get why she likes it. He never took her as someone who’s into lovey dove-y stuff.
“Seriously!” Ned says at least he thinks so his eyelids are so heavy and all the chatter is so mound he can easily fade it into the background (thank you Matt!) he feels his mussels relax for a moment and something warm growers in his chest.
A bag of baby carrots is thrown at his face.
He frowns and glares at MJ, who throw the bag. But his anger is quickly forgotten when he remembres how hungry he is.
Opening the bag and chiming down a carrot he speaks “oh wow, carrots how thoughtful”
“I know” MJ looks at him with a smirk
“Couldn’t you have given me something good? You’re gonna kill me MJ you know I live on a only sugar diet” He needs much more calories than the average person and sugars a pretty simple source. But Peters joking of course if either of his friends tried to give or bring his something of value he would ratter die than take it. He’s burdened enough people in his life.
His friends don't want starved, abused, and traumatized Peter. They want funny, sarcastic, brave, kind of a little traumatized but he knows how to deal with it on his own, Super cool Spider-Man Peter.
And he knows how to be that.
So why let them see any more of him?
He doesn’t need to disappoint anyone else.
“Don’t blame me, blame Michelle Obama”
“UGGGGGGGGGGGGG”
“What?” MJ finally puts her book down. Peter fully sits up and eats another carrot.
“I have to go to work today” Ned looks up from his food and tilts his head.
“I thought you liked Mr.Delmar?”
“No I work for Mr.Delmar every day today I have to go work for J.J.” Neds mouth makes an o shape in understanding. MJ just shrugs.
“Just quit, boom, problem solved”
“Ohhhhh wooowwwwwww thank you soooooo muuuuucchhhhh” Peter roles his eyes, and just lays his head on Ned’s shoulder and relaxes into him.