Chapter 3
Patrolling is Peter’s favourite thing in the entire world. He gets to help people, swing around New York, stop bad guys, and forget about everything for a while. Peter also enjoys talking to Karen - his suit’s AI. After using this suit that Tony made for him, he can’t believe he ever went out in anything else. He’s so grateful to Tony because without him, he’d still be out fighting in a sweatshirt and sweatpants; pajamas essentially, as Tony likes to remind him. Ever since the homecoming fiasco, him and Tony have gotten closer. Whenever the suit needs upgrades Tony always lets Peter help. Tony asks for his opinion on things he’s thought of and even asks Peter if he’s thought of anything to change or add - how cool is that! He goes over to the tower at least once a week to work in the lab and is always just as excited as the time before. He remembered the first time he went inside the lab, he couldn’t believe how big it was. There was everything you could ever wish for, or even imagine, inside. He could work on his web fluid, the coding for his suit, his web shooters, and anything else he could ever need. The new technology in his suit has helped him immensely in crime fighting. He has Karen to tell him when there’s anyone in need of help and so many web combinations that he doesn’t think he’ll ever learn them all, let alone use all of them. It has allowed for Peter to do his job better, he’s helping and saving more people than ever.
Tonight, he has not had many disturbances. He helped a couple of drunk men back to their apartment, stopped a guy from stealing a bike, and gave some tourists directions, pretty slow so far. He decides to climb an apartment building and sit on the top while waiting for someone else to help. He puts his hands on the brick, then his feet, and starts ascending. He climbs quickly and soon he’s at the top. He pulls himself over the ledge and glances down at the street below his feet, which are now dangling over the edge. It’s just past 1:00 in the morning but there is still quite a lot of movement below. There are taxis taking driving around, people walking on the sidewalks, and people heading to and from the subways. The city truly never does sleep. Peter sees that the rain from earlier leaves the pavement wet so it softly reflects the glow from the lights around, turning the street into a mixture of yellows, greens, and reds.
With nothing to do, Peter’s thoughts drift back to earlier in the night. Peter feels less numb then he did right after the fight with John, but in its place emerges other emotions. He’s not sure if he prefers them over the numbness. He knows that John was only upset because of how he acted. He knows he shouldn’t have been so rude to him, it’s unfair to John, he was only trying to talk to him. Maybe John was helping him, pointing out his mistake so he wouldn’t be disrespectful to anyone else. Maybe it wasn’t that bad and Peter is just over exaggerating, it’s not like John did anything other than yell at him, it could have been worse. Maybe Peter deserved to be yelled at because he was being rude. Maybe Peter was the one in the wrong, he was the one being bad.
Before Peter can fall any further into his thoughts, Karen speaks up, “Peter. You have an incoming call from Mr. Stark.”
“Accept it, Karen,” Peter responds. He sees Tony’s contact picture appear in the corner of his vision’s display as it accepts.
“Hey underoos, I see that you’re still out web-slinging even though it’s past your bedtime,” Tony says as his greeting.
“Okay, first of all it’s my curfew, not my bedtime. And I’m sorry, I lost track of time, I’ll head back now,” Peter feels dread seep into his bones at the thought of returning to his apartment where John will be, but tries not to let it show in his voice.
“Why don’t you swing on over here, you're closer to the tower than your apartment and I have a new web combination I want to install in your suit anyways,” Peter feels so relieved at Tony’s words that he releases a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few then,” Peter replies before telling Karen to hang up. He stands on the ledge on the roof and steps off, shooting out a web and catching himself before he hits the ground and swings to the tower.
Peter knocks on the window of the lab, where Tony almost always is, and laughs to himself when he sees Tony jump a little. Tony stands and walks over to open the window so he can get in. When his feet touch the ground he pulls the mask off his face and looks to Tony. “Jesus kid, were you trying to give me a heart attack? Please take the elevator next time, I don’t need you slipping and falling to your death trying to get in the tower,” Tony says, hand reaching to his chest.
“Okay, Mr. Stark,” Peter replies, knowing full well that he won’t listen.
“So, because it’s already so late how about you go to bed and then we can work in the morning, alright?”
“Okay,” Peter responds, a yawn following right after. Tony smiles and puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder, guiding him to the elevator. Tony talks about some of the specifics for the new web combo and Peter tries to follow along, but he can feel himself zoning out. His mind decided that now was a perfect time to replay some of the things John said to him earlier. He’s trying to focus on Tony’s words, but he can feel himself going numb again. He can hear John’s voice telling him about everything he’s done wrong. Peter thinks he hears Tony say something about making his webs have a longer range and retractability maybe? He can’t focus enough to tell. He rubs his eyes and realizes that they’re at the guest room door. Tony must mistake his distractedness for exhaustion because he tells Peter to go right to bed. “Goodnight Tony,” Peter says quietly.
“Goodnight kid, I’ll text May and let her know that you’re staying here, and tell FRIDAY if you need anything,” Tony responds and Peter nods before he opens the door and walks in, closing it behind him. He changes into some comfortable shorts and a t-shirt before crashing on the huge bed. Tony had bought some generic clothes for Peter after he had stayed over the first time and just slept in the clothes he came in. He really likes staying at the tower, it’s so nice; he feels like he can really relax when he’s here. Peter wraps the soft blankets around himself and closes his eyes.