Sleepless Nights
When the Spiders spent the night at Aunt May's, the sleeping arrangements we're always the same. Peter B. always took the couch while Gwen and Peni took the guest room upstairs. Ham and Noir would usually sleep in hammocks of their own makings in the shed, Spider-Lair, or whatever you wanted to call it.
Tonight was a particularly cold night, causing the basement to be very cold. Noir felt himself shivering as he stared up at the dark ceiling when suddenly, Ham- who was across the room- spoke.
"Noir, why don't you sleep when you're here?" The pig's voice was quiet.
"Hm?"
"You're always awake. Why?"
Noir let out a sigh as he rubbed his gloved hands together in a sad attempt to regain feeling in his freezing cold hands. He was sure Porker had to be freezing. "Just can't sleep, I suppose. 'S pretty normal for me. Don't worry about it."
Ham scoffed as the sound of his hooves hitting the ground echoed through the spacious room. He pattered over to Noir's hammock and hoisted himself up, plopping himself onto the detective's chest. He was shivering as well, Noir mused.
"You not sleepin, even in your own home, is not something I'm just gonna let slip by, pal."
"Why? It's not like it affects you." Noir shut his eyes, though it wasn't visible through his mask. "'S just me and my insomnia, 's all."
"Peter. You're my friend. Of course I'm gonna care. It affects you, so it affects me," Porker replied with a twitch of his ears. "You seem to have a really hard time understanding that we all care aboutcha, pal."
"Mm. Just another thing to add to my growing list of confusions." Noir kept his voice carefully monotone, so as to hide how much the thought actually bothered him.
"Wait, wait. You actually are confused about why we care?" Ham seemed baffled by this.
"Yes? I grew up in a cold, remourless world that has tried to kill me and everyone I loved at every turn," Noir replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh. Well, um, we care because you're like family to us. You're our friend, Noir. And friends and family care about each other."
A dry chuckle left Noir. "Family, huh? It's a nice family, I'll give you that. But I can't help but feel like I don't belong. Even with you fellas. I'm obsolete in comparison to all of you."
Porker frowned at that. "You're not obsolete. Sure, you may be a 30's hero, but what does that matter? If there's anyone you fit in with, it's gonna be us."
"Porker, I have to ask you what color things are. I have to ask about simple devices, like the microwave. How is that fitting in?" Peter asked, exasperated.
"You don't need to understand everything to fit in, Petey! We don't expect you to understand every item in this world. What makes you fit in is who you are. We're all Spider-Man in our own universes, pal. We get each other, even if we are all a little different."
As Ham continued on with his speech, Noir found it harder and harder to keep his eyes open, which wasn't something he was used to. By the time the pig actually finished speaking, he was confused by Noir's lack of response. It took him a moment to realize that the detective was asleep.
A small smile found its way onto Ham's face as he covered himself with part of Noir's trench coat as though it was a blanket.
"We love ya, Peter. I hope that you know that," Porker whispered before shutting his eyes and allowing himself to drift to sleep as well.