Look 'bad luck' up in the dictionary. Go on. We'll wait. See there? That picture of an awkward college student tripping over his own feet? That's Peter Parker. He's majoring in chemical engineering, and by some stroke of (you guessed it) bad luck, t...
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Do you know those times when you're staying at someone else's place and you kind of just watch TV despite not really wanting to? Well...maybe you'd settle for the TV before smartphones existed.
Peter didn't really want to scroll through his phone right now. He was sad, and any slight thing could tip him into a downward emotional spiral. Well...another one.
It was pretty late so there was nothing on but The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
"There's one guy on the Avengers that sometimes gets overlooked. He's still great, but it's hard to compete with those other guys," greeted Jimmy Fallon. "So here now to shed light on his own strengths and abilities to the tune of Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' is Hawkeye."
The camera cut to Hawkeye, sitting at a piano that was sprinkled with rose petals. Atop these beautiful petals was his trusty bow. The musical genius can't quite be captured in plain text, unfortunately. It's on YouTube. Watch it. You won't be disappointed.
Anyway, continuing on.
As the Arching Avenger started singing, Peter's eyes narrowed and his upper lip rose slightly. Was there nothing the great Clint Barton couldn't do?
The floor shook slightly as Ben Grimm, the Thing, trod into the room. "Hey Pete."
"Ben. Thanks for letting me stay with you... Honest, I won't be here long."
Peter was wrapped in several towels as he sat on a bean bag in the middle of the room. Ben strolled over to the gigantic mattress in the corner of the room and planted his wide, rocky butt onto it.
"Cut that out, will ya? Yer always welcome 'ere, pal." His attention was then drawn to Peter's drenched form. "You, uh...go fer a swim or somethin'?"
"Fell into the Hudson. Saved people from a chick dressed like a rabbit though."
Ben snorted in disbelief. "Ya know, it's times like these that remind me that I'm not that weird."
Peter wasn't sure if he was saying that White Rabbit was weird, of if he was weird. "Glad I could put it into perspective for you."
A comfortable quiet lingered over them. The kind of quiet that can only be shared by two weirdos on a planet that felt like it was conspiring against them. They really weren't so different, him and Ben...neither of them ever seemed to catch a break. Well, the whole 'turned into a literal living Stonehenge' was a few beats down from Peter's already potent bad luck, but that was beside the point.
"Pete...I'm sorry about yer pal. Doctor Connors," Ben finally spoke again.
Suddenly, Hawkeye singing about how he kicks ass in Mario Kart wasn't enough to distract him. Peter glanced down. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I'm gonna go to the kitchen. You need anything?"
