Home for Christmas

POV Peter

The fog looked more real than before, and he questions for a moment if this Beck maybe really had superpowers and didn't just work with illusions. Thunders roared through the sky and lightnings split open the earth. 

Here goes nothing, he thought. 

"Beck? Long time no see." he yelled through the cries of despair. People were still running around, and he could see MJ and Ned looking up at him worryingly and confused.

The lightning stopped for a second, and Peter swore that for a moment he could see a little red light flicker. Peter smirked, he got him by the neck. Swinging to one of the nearest trees, he settled on one of the thicker branches. 

"Spider-Man? Is that really you? Heard you died while snapping, or am I not up-to-date?" His Voice seemed as fake as ever, and this Time Peter could hear the real intention behind them. "Good that you're here! I traveled through the Multiverse-"

Peter rolled his eyes, smirk slowly fading. Anger boiled through his veins, making him see red. "Oh, did you, now?" His Hands began to sweat thinking about the trouble he had to go through because of the ignorance of this man. Beck didn't just destroy his life, because of him people were in danger, injured even. Just to get some fame, get revenge on Tony and did whatever it took, no matter what cost. Peter had trusted Beck, felt like they understood each other, shared intimate thoughts and felt like he was seen again, just for Beck to shatter every last bit of his hope, breaking his trust and trying to kill Peter. Beck didn't kill Peter directly, but revealing his identity to the rest of the world, ruining not just his Life but that of his friends, killed him slowly. Because of this Man, Aunt May had to die. He knew that in fact it wasn't really true, it was Peter's fault all alone, but without Beck, things could have gone different. 

Tears of anger gather in his eyes. "You took everything from me." His Hands trembled, biting his lips. "And now I'm going to show you, what happens, if someone breaks my trust." With an angry yell, he throws himself up in the air, high enough so that he was above the mist. Beck seemed too confused of what's about to happen and didn't react immediately to the Spider.

Better for me, Peter thought.

Closing his eyes, the masked boy concentrates, before he falls into the swarm of drones. They surround him, so he starts webbing them together, one to another, till they are in a big web, all bundled up. The illusions start to disappear, begins to flicker, and the lava vanishes. It seemed, that most of the Tech Beck had used was still the same, older because he didn't have Stark Tech, but still affective.

Confusion is written on Becks face. "How did you know-" he starts, but Peter grabs him by the cloak. Surprisingly, Peter can touch him, which means that not everything from Mysterios is fake here. The brows of the Villain furrow. "I waited for this moment for years, and I'm not going to let you ruin it, you annoying Bug! You died once, so we can try that again." A sudden burst of green energy explodes in Mysterios hands, that hurls Peter through the air. He gets smacked on one of the many oak trees, that surrounded the block. Peter groans in pain. 

"Fuck." he murmurs to himself, before he balances his weight to stand up straight again. "You're going to regret that, fish bulb." Peter says through gritted tears before he shoots a web at one of the higher branches, dodging a green beam, that was directed at him. Mysterio lets out an annoyed huff, before shooting the next green light at him. It grazes his cheek and blood shot out of the wound. Peter hisses painfully, wiping the stream of red liquid away. He gulps, his heartbeat is racing. The boy felt nervous, but the anger that was running through his veins, made it easier to focus on his task. He shoots a web at Mysterios leg, and pulls on it with his super strength. A surprised, pained yelp escapes the lips of the man, when he lands on the concrete. Peter doesn't give him much time to recover, punching the man straight in the face. Beck falls back to the floor, holding up a hand. 

"Why are you doing this? You don't even know me!" Mysterio yells frustrated. Anger flashes in the eyes of the man before him. 

Peter crouches down, grabbing a fistful of Becks brown hair. "I'm just really sick of your tricks. Not quite the Fan of liars, I must admit."

Blood runs down from Becks Nose, and his Eyebrows are furrowed into a thick line. "I don't think we have met before in this Universe, Spiderling. But from your reaction, it seems like you already know me."  A small smirk starts to make its way to the surface and Peter wishes to do nothing more than punch his smile out of his face, so he does. His fist lands on his cheekbone this Time, a nasty purple bruise forming soon.

"You think this is funny?" Peter's says, voice full of acid.

A laugh bubbles up Mysterios throat. "Oh yes, my dear, this makes everything just so much more entertaining, believe me."

Peter's jaw is tense, and he pulls on Becks hair once more, which lets the older man to groan in pain. "I'm going to fucking kill you."

"Oh, but Spider-Man, if you know me so well, you should be aware that I'm always a step ahead." An explosion rattled through the road and the ground beneath him gives in. Mysterio shots a green beam at him, hitting him hard in the chest. His grip on Mysterio loosened, and the ray throws him against a branch, and tore all his air out of his lungs. He coughs badly, trying to regain his strength, but he falls to the ground hard. He wheezes, standing up, holding his site. His skin is burned, and his suit is not much more than shreds where the green beam had hit him. He whimpers when he starts to walk forward into the fog. Beck had disappeared from his view, hiding in the mist. Spinning around, he walks through the fog, one hand on his side. 

"Ned? MJ?" he yells through the white clouds that surround him. Frustrated, he looks up. Mysterio was gone, and now he couldn't even find Ned and MJ. 

Peter shots a web atone of the still standing buildings, trying to pull himself in the air. He stops when pain rushes through his side. He hears a scream from the right, and Peter turns around fast. The Tree on his right side gives a loud crack, smoke roses up before it splits into a half, falling to the ground. He hears a panicked yell and when he looks down, he can see a brown haired woman almost getting hit by the tree branch. The masked hero jumps down, stretching out his hands, just in time to catch the big, heavy limb of the tree. A strangled noise escapes his lips when he lifts the tree, letting it fall to the ground beside him. 

"Sorry, Ma'am! Are you alright?" He asks, before scanning her for any injures. He halts in his movement when he looked up to her face. Her long brown hair is shorter than he remembers, they just reach to her shoulders now. The brown lifeless dull eyes are replaced with one pair that still has a sparkle, even now in the dark. His hands began to shake and tears gather in his eyes. For months, Peter had begged for some greater power, to bring his Aunt back to the living. He had dreamed about it, how he had the ability to rewind time and how he could hug May again, but he always woke up, realizing that it was just a dream. Sometimes he would go through all the possibilities that he had missed, where he had failed. He thought about the infinity stones, but in his Universe they were gone forever. Every time he woke up from a pleasant dream, where he and May had laughed, cocked together, the empty hollowed feeling swallowed Peter whole, and the image of her laying in the ashes alone, dying in his arms replayed in his mind over and over again. Peter had left her there, to die. His eyes meet hers, and he stumbles back a few steps. Biting his lip, he tries to grab onto something, but was meet with nothing. His eyes widen and never leaving her face. Peter saw her die, taking her last breath before she stared into nothingness. His breathing quickened, and he rubbed his face that was begun to tear stain under the mask. Peter knew it was a bad idea, he should have never called Ned, he should have stayed alone. Now the people he loved were in Danger again, and Peter could never forgive himself if something happened to May ever again.

"Peter?" Her voice was gentle and soft, just like he remembered. A chocking sob escaped his lips, and violently he shook his head. "Oh god, Peter." she says, stepping closer to the boy, but he tripped back. He could never get near her again. Peter would ruin her life once and for all. "Peter, please. It's okay." Her Voice trembles and breaks at the end. Tears fall down her face, and she stretches out a hand to him. "I'm here. Everything is going to be okay. Just take my Hand." 

Peter wanted to do nothing more than to reach for her, hug her and let her tell him that everything is going to be alright again, but he knew he couldn't risk it. He wasn't her Peter. She would be so disappointed that they didn't share the same memories. That he was different. Her Hands looked older, but still somewhat the same. She had more crinkles on her face and her brown hair slowly faded into gray. Shaking his head, he stumbles a few steps back, but May follows him, a sad smile on her lips. 

"Peter-" 

"Peter!" May was interrupted by a Voice behind him. MJ's Voice. He turns around, spotting MJ and Ned, that were running in his direction. 

"Are you out of your mind? I told you to be careful!" She wraps her arms around him, hiding her face in his neck the moment they are together. "God, I was so worried! You can't do that to me! When you disappeared into the fog, I thought I lost you, Idiot!" 

Slowly he returns the hug, rubbing her back gently. "I'm sorry," Peter whispers into her hair. 

"You better be!" She murmurs back. 

"I lost him," he says tiredly, voice trembling. His body feels heavy, and his legs gave out under his weight. "I lost him, MJ." His vision gets blurry, and he can hear MJ calling his name, trying to hold him upright. "I lost him, again," he repeats like a mantra, till his eyes close fully and his consciousness drifts into the darkness.

The next time Peter is aware of his surroundings, all he can feel is pain. He cries out loud, trying to get away from the stone-cold grip that kept him in place. His side is aching, burning almost, when he feels something wet pressed against the wound, and he screams. Everything hurts and he just wants it to stop. He is sweating, and he feels the cold metal table under his skin. It burns into his skin, and he wails when his arms won't budge. The brown-haired boy tries to open his eyes, but is blinded by the harsh white lights. Voices try to speak to him, but he doesn't understand what they want. The Boy just shakes his head, hoping that the loud noises stop soon. His breathing is getting heavier, and he feels like he is floating again. Peter gasps in pain when he feels needles poking into his side and a hot, flaring pain spreads through his entire Body. He slips into the darkness once again.

Peter woke up in an environment he'd never been before. The Features and the smell seemed familiar, but he knew he never once visited this place. He was confused and disoriented, and his side was still aching, but it didn't burn anymore. The last thing Peter remembered vividly was May's Face, and it scared Peter.

The boy tries to sit up, but stops when a ray of pain shoots up his spine, so he lets himself sink back into the mattress. A sigh escapes his lips and his gaze wanders around the room. It was a plain white room with just his bed standing in the middle of the room, and right next to it were 4 wooden chairs. Three were empty, but one was occupied. His breath gets caught in his throat. Before him was no other than his mentor. Tony Stark that had sacrificed himself for humanity. The Man doesn't notice him being awake, too busy to sleep, and the Boy gave out a wet chuckle. Always overworking.  Nervously, the boy sits up, this time slower, so that his wounds don't scream at him. The blankets shuffle and for a second Peter thinks Tony will wake up, but the Man just sighs, trying to find a more comfortable position in the wooden chair. 

Peter doesn't know what to feel right now. It seems so surreal, that Mr. Stark was sitting right in front of him, alive and breathing. Peter thought that he would never be able to see the man again. Of course, Peter and Tony didn't really meet that often, but the relationship they had was important to Peter. Tony taught him a lot about the superhero life, and sometimes he spent a day with him in the lab, tinkering together on his suit. Tony and him were getting closer, but then he dusted and Tony died. And now Peter was sitting in front of his not so dead tutor, that though he was his son and he had to explain, that well, he was just Peter. Tears stung in his eyes, but he wiped them away. Gulping down the anxiety he felt bubbling up, he mustered the man. Tony looked exactly the same as he remembered him. He had less gray hair as the last time he saw him, and his beard was fuller. The Man was wearing a dark blue hoodie and joggers. Overall, he looked really exhausted. Dark bags were under his eyes and he looked like the man had been crying a lot. Which, Peter guesses, were understandable. 

"Mr Stark?" he said after mustering up the courage to speak.

The Man didn't respond, snoring like nothing had happened, so he tried again. 

"Mr. Stark?" This time a groan escapes the lips of the older man, and soon after his eyes flutter open.

POV Tony

Tony doesn't register what was happening, one moment, Peter is fighting against this weird man with a fish bulb and the next he is falling to the floor, injured. Tony wants to run to his son, hold him and check if he is breathing, but he can't move. He blinks, and somehow he isn't on the streets of New York City. He is in a car, Pepper right beside him. She holds his hand, and while every warmth is knocked out of him, his hands are warm, because Pepper is touching him. She tries to talk to him, he can see her lips moving, but he doesn't understand what she is saying, so he just turns his head and stares out of the window. 

Was Peter alive? Where was he? What happened to him? 

They leave the car, and he understands now that they're on the way to the hospital. Well it's the Med-bay really, but Doctor Cho can help Peter better anyway. They don't let Tony see him, because they are going to stitch his son back together, but Tony can wait, because he waited for this moment for so long, and it's so worth it when he steps inside the small room, where Peter is staying after the surgery. 

His breath was getting heavier with every step he took, feeling like he was walking through thick sand that tried to keep him in place. His eyes got watery at the sight of the brown-haired boy in front of him. 

He was really here. In the same room. Alive. Injured, of course, because when wasn't his son not injured? But yes, he was alive.

The little boy he had held when he was just a few minutes old, breathing the air from the outside world for the first time, crying from the sudden loss of warmth and comfort he had spent living in the last 9-month. Exposed to an unknown world, scary and big. The Boy hadn't stopped crying, until he was in the arms of his father, who soothingly rubbed his tiny head, talking to him face to face for the first time. The small bundle in his arms felt like the biggest achievement, the millionaire, ever made. God, Tony wished he could hold him forever, but it didn't take long till the small baby was growing into a toddler, laughing at him, while he was running away from his grasp. Running and smiling, and when he fell, he stood up crying, maybe walking a few steps back, but never stopping, always growing till his Toddler was a young Boy. 

A ruthless young boy, full of energy and kindness. Tony didn't know how he managed to raise such a sweet boy. Peter was strong-willed and always helped people around him, even if that meant that he got hurt in the process. He was grateful for his Boy every day, but he wished that Peter would start to care for his own well-being too. Of course, he was only 8 years old at the time, but over the years his now 13-year-old boy would jump in front of strangers to take the bullet for them. 13-year-old Peter was distant from Tony. Going through Puberty changed him, but even worse hit the death of his Uncle. Tony could feel his boy detach himself from his father. No more movie Nights, no more Star Wars Marathon, and no more late-night talks about what is keeping his son awake. It was just Tony, alone in front of the TV, the thought of a glass of wine corrupting his mind. He tried to keep moving, and it was then that Pepper was by his side, helping him, to get Peter back. Help Peter through this tough time. It wasn't easy at all, but he owed it to him and May. A year passes and he is 14 now. At first, Tony mourned his little boy. The sweet toothless grin, but he loved this Peter too. Pete would spend hours in the lab, tinkering around together. Realizing that Peter was not so normal now, and had powers, fighting criminals late at night on the streets. 

Peter and him fighting, Peter's first date with a girl, Peter and him having family dinners with May, meeting his first Girlfriend MJ, bringing him to the ball, taking his suit, finding him with a wrecked airplane, hugs, and tears, going to space together, then nothing until he sees him again, dying.

And now this, whatever this is, Tony is thankful. 

The Boy doesn't look like he last remembered him, no beard, no short trimmed hair. He was smaller, looking like he was a teenager again. The curly brown hair, was longer, covering his eyes and ears fully like he stopped cutting it a few months. He was wearing a dark brown shirt that looked way too big on him and PJ pants that fit loosely around his waist, that Ned had left the last time he stayed over. His eyes were still closed, but for Tony, it was enough just to sit here and hold his hand, just seeing him in flesh and blood made Tony want to sob.

Tony doesn't know when he had fallen asleep, but the next time he is opening his eyes, brown doe eyes meet his own. 

His spit gets caught in his throat, he is coughing like a mad man, seeing his son with open eyes before him, sitting in the bed. 

His brown-eyed were wandering around the room, unsure what to do in this situation, and Tony wanted to do nothing more than take him in his arms and never let go again, but he knew that would probably the wrong approach after Ned and MJ explained to him, that he was indeed Peter but not his Peter. 

"Peter." Tony simply says, not sure what else to say at the moment.

"Mr. Stark?" The Boy responds, and his voice is shaking. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark! You should know that I'm not your Peter and I get if you are mad at me, but please don't be mad at Ned and MJ I told them to give me some time, and I thought that maybe you would get upset seeing me, because-" The boy starts to ramble. 

"Peter." Tony interrupts Peter calmly. 

"Yes?" The boy seems nervous, almost on edge. 

Tony's eyebrow furrow. "Can I give you a hug?" 

Peter plays with his fingers and he seemed conflicted by the request, and he almost wants to take it back, but then Peter nods. Tony scotches closer to the bed, opening his arms and carefully letting Peter fall into his chest. At first, the brown-haired boy was tense in his arms, but after Tony started to rub his back, he leaned into the touch, returning the hug. Tony felt tears well up his eyes, trying to blink them away, he buried his face in the neck of his son. Tony felt something wet on his chest, which meant Peter was crying too. His shoulders began to shake and Peter started sobbing. Tony's heart broke at the sight. His sweet Boy didn't deserve to feel bad. 

"I missed you, Kid." He whispers more to himself than Peter, but the boy just sobs in his chest. "It's going to be alright."