Peter had just sat down to eat when his phone rang. It's not like he wasn't used to it by now, but it was still a little disappointing. He pulled up his phone, a little surprised to see it was Rio
"Rio? Everything okay?"
"I can't find Miles- he isn't answering his phone. I don't even know if he came home from school"
That was a little odd, it was almost 7 now. If it was Spider-Man related, it should be keeping Peter too right? Peter didn't feel anything off with his spider sense though. The disappointment was gone and Peter worked on calming Rio down
"Ok, it's okay. Wherever Miles is, he's fine-"
"What if he's hurt? It's been hours, he always calls me back"
"Hey," Peter kept his voice calm, trying to ease some of the anxiety out of her voice "I have a system set up to alert the other if one of us gets hurt. It's been quiet all day"
Peter put her on speaker to double-check the system. No notifications and the system was offline as neither of them were in their suits. He'd "forget" to mention that to Rio, she was stressed enough.
"I know I'm being irrational, I know that, but I get so worried. It's just been so long and he usually tells me when he's headed out on patrol or something..."
"Everything going to be okay. Miles told you about the spider sense right?"
Rio took a deep breath '"Yeah, a little"
"I can sense when he's in danger, that's been quiet all day too. I'll go find him and get him to call you"
"I'll go too"
"Uhh..." Peter searched for the right words to voice the problem he saw. Most civilians wouldn't be able to reach the places Peter and Miles frequented.
"He's on something tall isn't he?"
"Probably. I always am at least. Don't worry, know all his favorite places.
Rio sighed again "You don't mind looking for him?"
"Not at all" Peter was up and headed to his suit "Are you okay?"
"Uh yeah, I'm calming down a little I think. Thank you, Peter"
"I'll find him, I promise"
----
Peter swung around, visiting every spot he knew Miles liked to pause at. He hit the ones close to his apartment, making his way to Harlem before he stopped. He double-checked the suit system.
"...and you call yourself a scientist" Peter muttered
Miles wasn't in the suit. Peter should be checking places civilian Miles would go. Not Spider-Man Miles.
Peter swung by the bodega and stepped inside
"Hey Teo, how's the night going?" Peter spotted the cat on the counter "Hey Spider-Man"
"You here to take him for a swing?" Teo asked, smiling as Peter pet the cat's ears
"Nah, that's the other Spider-Man's thing. I just stopped by to say hi. Gotta check up on all my proteges"
Teo laughed "He's got both of you wrapped around his little paws"
"Have a great night guys," Peter called as he left. Miles wasn't here so he would need to keep looking
Peter swung by other places Miles frequented. The park, game shop, and coffee shop all turned up nothing and was earning Peter a lot of attention. If Rio hadn't been so panicked, Peter would search on foot out of costume, but swinging was much faster.
Peter swung out of sight of the growing crowd, landing on one of the taller apartment buildings, trying to think.
"What kept me from calling that wasn't Spider-Man related?" Peter thought back, trying to remember if he'd ever done something similar. MJ had always been the one worrying after him, maybe he should call her.
It suddenly hit- Ben. He would visit Ben's grave and always ended up staying longer than expected. He'd even done it recently when visiting May, It was possible Miles was visiting Jeff. It was easy to lose track of time when visiting a grave.
Peter swung towards the cemetery, checking his phone again. Rio hadn't called so Miles was still MIA and the suit system still showed that he was offline. The trip would take a few minutes so Peter thought through different things to say if Miles wanted the company and/or conversation. If he wanted space, Peter would leave him alone.
The cemetery seemed empty. Peter walked around markers until he ended up at Jeff's headstone. Flowers surrounded the grave, but they looked like the usual flowers from the police department. Yuri had set up regular arrangements that were now carried on by other cops Jeff had worked with. Nothing was new/out of place. It was unlikely Miles had been here tonight.
Peter sighed, looking around again, "Where else would he go?
Peter stared at Jeff's grave, trying to think
Beloved husband and father
Jeff was taken from his family far too soon. Li's attempt to avenge his family caused so many others to lose theirs. Miles and Rio were one of many families Li had taken people from. Peter tried not to think about City Hall too much, it always led him down 'what ifs' and 'should have's
City Hall... Miles wasn't at City Hall was he? He avoided it on foot and always swung past it faster than usual. Peter was about the same, he hadn't been to City Hall since Jeff's speech nearly a year ago. Peter was out of ideas though, so he started making his way there, not entirely thrilled with the idea of Miles walking around the area alone.
As he got closer, Peter felt the now familiar nudge from his spider sense letting him know Miles was nearby. He probably should have used it to track Miles down, but Peter was still getting used to that part of his sense. 8 years was a long habit to break.
Peter landed on one of the surrounding buildings overlooking the stage where Jeff and Osborne had been that day. There weren't a lot of people, so Peter spotted Miles pretty quickly, walking around the area. Peter wanted to swing down right away, but couldn't. He wouldn't be able to speak to Miles freely as Spider-Man and the suit drew a crowd. If Miles wanted space, the worst thing to do would be to draw attention to him. Miles needed Peter Parker, not Spider-Man.
Peter swung away, headed to one of his stashes nearby, and quickly got changed, taking the backpack with him as he climbed down the fire escape. Peter quickly made his way back to City Hall on foot. It took him a bit longer to find Miles this time but Miles was still there walking around between the buildings.
"Hey Pete," Miles called when Peter finally caught up with him "What are you doing here?"
"I got sent to find you," Peter said "Figured I owe you one after MJ sent you to find me a few weeks back."
Mile pulled out his phone "I didn't even notice mom called. I'll send her a text for now. I'll make sure to call her back later..."
Miles' voice was low and quiet. Peter knew what was going through his mind, but still asked
"What are you doing here?"
Miles shrugged, looking away "I've just been thinking about my dad a lot. I have a lot of trouble being near this place, but I wanted to finally face it, you know? I haven't been here since the attack"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Peter asked
To Peter's surprise, Miles nodded
"Yeah, I think so" Miles looked back to Peter "Do you mind coming with me?"
"Not at all, you can talk with me anytime"
Miles walked towards the stage, Peter following close behind. They stopped right in front
"This is where I was. I tried to warn my dad about the guy, I never would have guessed it was a bomb though," Miles said "I didn't realize at first that it was you at the funeral. May told me later that you'd been here too"
Peter nodded, stepping back and walking several feet back. He'd been late as usual but found MJ in the crowd with the other reporters.
"This is about where I was," Peter said. If Miles was facing that day, he wouldn't do it alone. "I got a warning about the bomb that way, then from the stage. After that, it was everywhere. I was so overwhelmed, the only thing I could do was get MJ to the ground. I didn't wake up until after"
Peter remembered feeling the intense warning from all sides, remembered looking through the huge crowd of people who needed Spider-Man. The split-second decision to push MJ down. He didn't remember anything after that. Not until he woke up in a hospital much later with May panicking and MJ arguing with a nurse on why they couldn't do a blood sample. MJ had been the one to let Peter know about Jeff.
Miles had followed him "We were pretty close, the bomb kind of dazed me so I wasn't able to get away on my own. Maybe we even got dragged away together."
"Maybe"
"My mom helped get me out of there, but left to go find my dad. I found her stuck under some metal from one of the buildings. That was really scary. We got her out and I kept going to try to find him. I was sure he was alive and trying to find us"
Peter nodded, just listening as Miles talked, his heart sinking at the thought of Miles desperately hoping to find his dad
"The demons were everywhere, just killing anyone who had survived. I couldn't do anything so I just hid. I saw a lot of people die. I don't remember faces, just the blood." Miles looked down "I know the demons caught me, I even tried fighting back. They should have killed me too, but they just left, I don't even know why. I got really lucky."
Peter closed his eyes for a moment. Miles was incredibly lucky. He pushed the familiar voice away 'Spider-Man should have been there'
"When I got to my dad, I knew... but I still tried to wake him up. I couldn't just leave him, but they made me leave. I don't remember who it was- my mom says it was probably the paramedics or firefighters taking survivors to the hospital."
"It's really hard leaving someone... even if there isn't anything you can do to help them," Peter said
"I know," Miles put his hands in his pockets "I just keep thinking about what I could have done differently. What if I had powers back then? Was there something I could have done to save him? Maybe I shouldn't have warned him about the bomb. He tackled the guy, but did that really change anything?"
"It did," Peter said thinking back to what Yuri had told him. Miles looked up at him "The other bombs killed people in a wide radius, but that one didn't. It exploded on the ground so a lot of the impact was taken by the ground. You and your mom were right at the front with him, but you both walked away. Your dad saved the two of you and dozens of others."
Miles looked at him skeptically
"Yuri went over the attack with me after they investigated... I know I didn't know your dad long, but I know he would be relieved you two survived. The night we worked together, he spent a lot of time talking about you"
"He did?"
"Yeah, he brought it up by mentioning you were a Spider-Man fan, which made me feel a bit better. Not all cops are thrilled with me, even if they work with Yuri and knew our deal. But he told me about how you like to build things too, told me about the time you took the toaster apart when you were a kid."
Miles smiled, "He never let that go... but he got me a robotics kit after that. Having something I was allowed to mess with was a big step for me"
Miles looked back to the stage, not saying anything, but Peter knew he was still thinking about the 'what ifs'
"I do the same thing you know... thinking about Ben. It's best to try to ignore the 'what ifs', trust me"
Miles paused for a moment "Do you think you could have saved him?"
Peter sighed, pushing the guilt and anxiety away "I know I could have"
Peter took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to think about that night. He was there to support Miles, not make everything about himself.
"What happened to Ben? May just told me he was murdered..." Miles' eyes went wide "Uh- if you're okay with sharing"
Peter hesitated, he wasn't against Miles knowing what had happened, but he didn't like thinking about it. Would this help Miles somehow?
'It's really not up to me if it'll help or not'
"Sorry man, I didn't mean to push"
Peter shook his head, "It was just a few weeks after I got my powers. Money was always a struggle, but May and Ben wanted me to focus on school so I wasn't allowed to get a job to help out. I found an ad for a wrestling competition, the prize money was $3,000. It was more money than I'd be able to get at a part-time job ayways so I figured I could win, and frequent the place after the competition. It'd be a few hours here or there and I'd slip the money to them somehow."
"You used your powers to win wrestling competitions?"
"Yep, I was a clueless teenager with no idea what to do with my powers. I told May and Ben that I was going to go to the library to study and went to the event. All I had to do was last 3 minutes, I didn't even need to win. I made sure to make it fun for the crowd, even let the champion get a few hits on me to make it exciting when I beat him- just after the three-minute mark. The crowd loved it"
"Let me guess, they never paid?" Miles asked
"You're smarter than I was. Backstage, the manager refuses to pay. Tells me they don't pay newcomers, even though the ad was for 'new competitors' to try their luck. I told him why I was there, I really needed the money for my family, but the guy tells me 'that sucks, but I don't know what you want me to do about it'- all while counting out hundreds from lost bets. No one bets on the newcomer."
Miles scoffed "Dirty scammer"
Peter took a second, he hated thinking about the next part. Miles waited patiently
"A man ran in, I'm not sure from where, but he had a gun and demanded the money. I could have stopped him, he wasn't going to shoot- my spider sense was quiet. He was shaky and way too focused on the money... but I let him rob the manager-"
"You what?"
"I didn't do a thing to stop him. The manager was angry, he saw me fight, he knew I could have done something, but I just told him 'that sucks, but I don't know what you want me to do about it'... I loved throwing that line right back at him" Peter looked down, the guilt coming back "I left and ran into the guy again in the alley outside too. I could have stopped him there, but I let him go again. He went down the alley, I don't think he knew it was a dead end. I went the other way and found Ben waiting for me"
"Oh no..."
"He asked me where I'd been, and I wouldn't tell him. Thinking back now, he definitely knew where I'd gone, the place wasn't even close to the library. I'm pretty sure he was the first one to figure it out. He probably even watched the fight and knew it was me under the mask. Maybe he told May and she knew the whole time" It was a bit of a ramble, Peter wished he knew how long May knew.
"We- it wasn't even an argument, he was just trying to be a parent and I was a stupid teenager. The robber came running towards us. Ben didn't know he had a gun or about the robbery. I think he just saw a distressed man and was trying to calm him down. I felt the spider sense, but I didn't know what it meant" Peter took a deep breath, "Next thing I know, Ben's shot and I'm trying to catch him... movies don't do it justice- there was so much blood. I called 911, and told them where I was. Ben was trying to talk to me though, so I dropped the phone and just tried to keep him talking"
Peter knew even in the moment, this was the wrong way to call, but never regretted it
"He gave part of what I'm sure was a speech about responsibility. After that, I couldn't get him to respond to me. As you said, I knew, but it didn't stop me from trying. All I could do was sit there and wait. I knew he was gone, but I couldn't leave him. I don't remember waiting long, but I found out later that it was hours. They didn't send anyone to respond to my call"
"Why? They're supposed to take every call seriously"
"I didn't give them much information, and it's New York... Maybe it was the way I phrased something, I don't even remember what I said" Even when he tried Peter couldn't remember that call. All his attention was on Ben. "Someone else called and reported seeing a body and a guy covered in blood in the alleyway. They didn't connect that call to the one I placed"
"No... did they try to arrest you?" Miles asked, eyes wide
Peter nodded "That alleyway was the first time I'd had guns pointed at me. I was too much in shock to understand what they were asking me to do. The spider sense was really distracting too. I suspect I was seconds away from getting shot"
"That's terrible...Did you run?"
Peter shook his head "It's hard leaving someone, even if there's nothing you can do to help them anymore. An officer saw through the situation and tried to calm everyone else down, probably breaking protocol just by approaching me. He took me away, and I know he was talking, but I don't know what he said. I remember a shock blanket but I don't remember who gave it to me. I don't remember the ride to the station either but the officer sat with me until May arrived."
Miles paused for a moment, before carefully speaking "My dad told me a similar story. He left out most of the details, but he used it as an example to think before acting."
"Really?" Had it been Jeff? Peter thought back, but could never make out faces through the fog
"Do you remember what the officer looked like?" Miles asked
"Even that night, I wouldn't have been able to tell you," Peter said
"Shock will do that to you... did they ever catch the guy who shot him?"
"Yeah, a few years later," Peter shrugged, "but as I'm sure you saw with Li, it didn't really change a lot"
"Yeah..." Miles looked around "Thanks for talking with me. I'm not sure what I wanted coming here, but thanks for telling me about Ben"
"Yeah" Peter felt rattled, but not nearly as bad as in the past. Miles' was much more recent "You doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine"
He wasn't fine, and Peter didn't call him on it.