You sat in your room and stared at the tv screen. You’d just stormed into Stark Tower after another crappy and boring day at school. Everyone had heard you come in and you almost felt bad for the attitude, but it wasn’t enough to snap you out of your mood. Every day for the past few months had felt like your life had been put on repeat. You went to school in the morning, dragged yourself from class to class, then came back home to the tower, trained, ate, and got ready to do it all again the next day. Who would’ve known living with the Avengers could be so… boring?
It all became too much and you started to silently cry into your pillow. It sucks feeling like your life is just passing you by. Shortly after, there was a soft knock at the door.
“Hey, you alright in there?” You immediately recognized the voice. It seemed fitting that he’d be the first to check up on you.
“Go away, Steve. I’m fine!”
“You don’t sound fine, kid. Look I’m- we’re all here for you if you need to talk about it.”
You stared at the closed door and took a few breaths. It wasn’t fair to take it out on him, but you really didn’t feel like talking. “I know… Thank you but- really I just want to be alone for now.”
He didn’t say anything else. Instead he respected your wishes and walked away. That was something you liked about him as a person. While most people assumed that he tried to fix everybody’s problems, he really just let you know that his help was there, should you ever need it.
A few minutes later there was another knock, but not at the door. You turned to see Peter waving through the window. Your fourth story window. “Open up!” you heard his muffled voice say through the glass.
You sighed and walked over to the window. “I said I wanted to be alone right now, Peter.”
“I know, I know just- uh, please?”
For whatever reason, you gave in and opened the window for him to enter through. He crawled in, onto the ceiling, then dropped down a few feet in front of you. “Hey,” he smiled.
“Heyy,” you sat down on the edge of your bed. “What’s up?”
“Mr. Stark told me you weren’t feeling good, and I heard you weren’t opening your door. I guess I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I hope that’s okay?” He crossed his arms tight against his chest, and you could tell he was nervous. It was cute how much he cared.
“Yeah,” you chuckled. “That’s okay.”
“So, what’s got you down? Is there anything I can help with?”
You sighed. “I don’t think so, Peter. Truth is, I guess I’m just really bored with life right now, y’know? I mean- we go to school and do the same thing every single day. Do you ever feel like that?”
He sat down beside you. “I guess so. That’s probably part of the reason I got so into science and tech- there’s always more to do, so it’s hard to be bored. Whenever I do get bored, most of the time I just swing around and see if there’s anyone I can help.”
“Sounds fun, but not really an option for me.”
He stood up and slowly turned around. “Well… what if it was?”
“What do you mean? No way I could learn how to use web shooters.”
“Just- stay here, I’ll be right back. Trust me!” He quickly crawled back out through the window, leaving you confused. He could’ve just gone out the door, you thought and laughed. You’d tried to use his web shooters before, and it just turned into one big sticky mess. Hopefully that wasn’t what he was getting…
A few minutes later, he was back at the window, except now, he was wearing his Spider-Man suit. You laughed softly when you saw him. “What are you doing ?”
“I know you can’t swing by yourself, but believe me, it’s the most freeing feeling in the world! And- obviously I can’t be seen swinging around the city as Peter,” he motioned to himself. “Hence the suit.”
“I’m still confused, what are you gonna do?”
Peter looked around the room a bit, then walked back to the window. “Just, uh- sit here.” He pointed at the window sill, then crawled out and waited for you. You stared at him skeptically. “Oh come on, trust me.”
“Fine.” You sat on the window sill and felt the fresh air outside. “Now what?”
“Do you trust me?”
“I’m already here, aren’t I?”
That was all he needed. He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulled you all the way out of the window, and shot a web at a nearby building. The two of you soared through the air and- it was a lot more scary than you thought. You started screaming and buried your face into his chest. “Peter! Peter- wait- oh my god!”
He laughed and kept swinging. “Come on, look up! I promise it’s not that bad!”
“Okay- okayokayokay.” You squeezed your eyes shut one more time before opening them. The view was incredible. You could see what seemed like an endless amount of buildings, and hundreds of cars beneath you. “Wow-” you exhaled a little breath out of shock.
“See? It’s fun isn’t it?”
“Fun is an understatement,” you laughed. “Woo hoo!!” Peter was right. This was the most freeing feeling ever. The wind in your face, and the split second at the top of each swing where you feel weightless… It was all so exhilarating.
After a few minutes of swinging, Peter took you to the top of a building for a quick break. “That was amazing! Is that what it’s like every time you go out?”
He smiled at your excitement. “Pretty much,” he shrugged. “So… are you feeling any better?”
“Are you kidding? I feel so much better. Thank you so much.”
“Of course, what are friends for, right?”
You smiled at him then looked back out over the city. “Can we do this more often?”
Peter sighed. “I can try, but I’m not sure how Mr. Stark would feel about it so we have to be careful. I wouldn’t wanna get you in trouble.” You liked that he was more worried about you than himself. If Tony wanted to, he could easily take Peter’s suit back.
“Deal…”
You’d started the day feeling terrible about doing the same thing over and over again, but you realized it wasn’t the repetition that you hated, it was not doing anything you genuinely enjoyed. Peter did the same things as you, but he found things that made him happy. All you had to do was follow suit and find more things that really brought you joy. Swinging through the streets of New York was definitely one of them, but you didn’t want to put that much pressure on Peter. Soon enough though, you’d find your own thing and be much more content.