#webbedaunt

All the more reason to hurry home, quickly. He was slightly regretting not bringing his suit. At least that thing was insulated, and swinging would be faster than walking. 

He was so focused on staying warm that he nearly ran a woman over. Usually Peter was better about his surroundings, he had to be; great power came a need for great spatial awareness. This time it was like she came out of nowhere, and Peter ended up shoulder checking her so hard that she nearly fell to the pavement. He caught her, steadying her apologetically;

“I am so sorry, I just, uh, not looking where I was going I guess, are you okay miss?” 

Ow, god, everything hurt. He'd been pushing too hard for ... a while now, admittedly. Refusing to admit it. Between work, and study, and patrol, he'd barely had time to sleep or eat (not to mention how tight money was. Superhero metabolism didn't mix well with being poor as hell.) So he would collapse into bed exhausted every night, not giving himself a real chance to heal or recover before he was crawling out to do it all over again.

That was the only way he could explain the idiocy he had just committed. Blood was pouring down his side, soaking into his suit; his head ached and pounded as he swung one-handed, running on autopilot, his only thought to get to safety. His ribs ached, his jaw, his other arm - not as bad as the train, but the getaway van had still hit him hard. And, after all that... the fuckers had gotten away.

But the fact was, he didn’t. He grew up in a narrow little two story in Forest Hills. His Aunt May was a small, sad eyed woman with grey in her hair but a hug for those who needed it. His Aunt had just gotten her nursing degree and was working night shifts in the hospital. His Aunt was the best Gardner in Queens, loved baking shows and hated cop procedurals because they reminded her of Ben. 

This wasn’t his May. This wasn’t his Queens. He wanted to go HOME. 

Still, he didn’t want to be rude, especially when this May had so graciously opened her home to him after he’d gotten stuck. So he smiled instead of sobbing and brought his plate to the sink, nudging May with his hip. 

“Is there anything I can do to help May? I’ve been told I’m good at doing dishes.”

Crap. He thought he’d been quieter getting back in- enough that the later hour might mean that she’d be asleep and less likely to find him like this. “It’s not as bad as it looks!” he said, quickly, and perhaps a bit more loudly than he needed to even as he tried to wipe the blood from his face- most of it from his disjointed, clearly broken nose. Though even as he turned to face his aunt, the teenaged hero couldn’t help a small  gasp as the sudden movement jostled the poorly-stitched cut on his back.

“I know it wasn’t for the greatest of reasons, but I’m- I’m glad I got a chance to meet you guys, too,” he said with a crooked smile. “Your Peter’s lucky to have you.”

“Just me and you,” Peter mumbled, very nearly asleep. It’d been a long first day back at school- somehow even crazier and more overwhelming than he’d been dreading over the entire summer (and he was very good at worrying). But after all of that and after his usual (ish) patrol, he’d come home to his favorite takeout and one of his favorite movies all set up and ready to go. Sure it’d been rough when she’d first found out, but these days Peter couldn’t imagine a world where he could be Spider-Man without her help.

    SHIELD   IS   ATTACHED   TO   HIS   BACK   WHEN   HE   IS   SURE   THEY’RE   SAFE.   blue   eyes   scan   the   surrounding   anyway,   staying   on   high   alert   even   though   they   were   out   of   the   line   by   now.   he   looks   back   at   her   only   when   she   speaks.   overhears   the   part   about   him   being   stupid.   IT   DOESN’T   MATTER.   not   when   he   needs   to   make   sure   that   she   is   the   one   who   is   okay.   “   are   you   hurt   ?   “   steve   touches   her   arm   as   if   it   would   help   him   to   detect   any   form   of   injury.   he   would   die   from   a   bullet,   just   like   she   would.   and   yet   her   well-being   mattered   more   than   his   own.

+ @webbedaunt​ asked:  ❝ You have to learn to swallow that pride and accept that you’re only human. ❞