tom holland: a book of blurbs

•{cheese puff//pt2}•

summary: (see previous chapter)

~~

Peter isn't usually one to stray from a schedule. Especially the one he'd set up after the mind-wipe of all of his loved ones.

The schedule he'd set up became a comfort to him, which soon also became his downfall. He began to realize that he would grow irritable whenever his days differed at all from their usual pattern.

His days were and are a pattern he can predict. And he just wasn't sure how ready he was to have every aspect of his life going back to being endlessly and inevitably unpredictable.

So, he did the one thing he knew would rip him out of the funk and help train his brain into accepting the unknown in his safe place. Completely change his entire at-home schedule.

The first thing he did when he woke up this morning? Instead of immediately heading to the gym, he showered. Then, after a nice and relaxing shower, he made himself breakfast instead of skipping it.

Or replacing it with a protein shake full of pre-workout chemicals.

Then, Peter spent his morning seated on the couch with the still unnamed cat purring on his lap. And watched a movie. The newest Star Wars film, to be exact.

Which, then- in turn- made him miss his best friend. Well, previous best friend. Before the mind-wipe. But, he was mistaken if he was going to allow himself to sit and sulk in the sadness of missing his old life.

No. These next days were set on reform. Designing a new Peter Parker. A healthier Peter Parker. So the world could have a braver, more focused Spider-Man.

He was doing this for them, really. Fixing himself for the good of the world. Well, with the help of that orange ball of fur he still has yet to name.

After forcing himself to get up off the couch and dressed for the day, he bundled up in a hand-knitted scarf that his Aunt May had made him last year, and headed out.

Of course, not until after he confirmed that his feline friend would be well fed and watered while he was gone.

The snow had begun to melt into the storm drains yesterday, but today there seemed to be a brand new layer of the freezing white powder blanketing the sidewalks and alleyways of Queens.

It must've snowed while he slept last night and he was too focused on his self care this morning to notice anything happening outside.

As Peter walked, careful to dodge patches of nearly invisible ice, he pulled his scarf up over his nose and mouth. His cheeks tingled with the warmth and he began feeling his nose once again like he hadn't been able to before.

Before he knew it he'd made it down a couple of blocks to a popular play park. He walked along the freshly painted wooden fence to the black iron gate and smiled.

Two little boys were chasing each other around. One pretending to shoot webs shouting that he was Spider-Man while the other had his arms outstretched downwards and behind him, flying around claiming he was Iron Man.

Peter couldn't help but chuckle a little and tear up a bit at the memories. The times when he and Tony had their own real disagreements but never really took them seriously. They'd always make up afterwards by bonding over the newest suit tech.

As if their argument hadn't ever happened.

It didn't take long, however, for the hero's 'Peter Tingle' to kick in. Yes, that's what it's now officially labeled as. And, yes, it's hyperactive now. Warning him about every sudden movement of any living thing around him.

He assumed it was because of all that time he spent taking a break from his Spider-Man duties. The moment he'd gone out for his first patrol mission after his break, his senses were astronomically strong. Have been ever since.

He blamed evolvement. It was the only explanation he had anyways. Nothing else made sense, really.

This time, his tingle decided to warn him of a young woman to his right being dragged down the sidewalk by an absolutely humongous dog. A mutt of some kind, he couldn't quite place the breed.

Definitely a shepherd of some sort though. Those are always easy to point out.

Peter didn't have long to ponder the canine ethnicity of the dog barreling towards him before it swerved past him in a dodge, which then caused the poor young woman it was dragging behind it to slam smack into Peter.

The two of them landed hard onto the concrete sidewalk below. However, Peter did his best to make sure the woman never hit the ground. He took the blunt of the hit.

The girl definitely looked just as horrified as if she'd been the one to purposely shove him for the ground. Stuttering and scrambling over her words, she pushed against his muscular chest to force herself to her feet.

The dog, however, had bounded off into the park with the kids and joined into their game of chase. Making Peter wonder if that dog knew those kids.

Once again, zero time to think any harder about the dog. Because the girl began brushing snow off the shoulders of Peter's thick, slate grey coat. Her face was beet red and not from the cold.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to shove you over like that. And then- land on you," She gulped, fussing worriedly on the snow now soaking into the fabric of her jeans. "I really didn't mean to. That damn dog just does whatever he pleases. Even if that means- dragging me along regardless."

"Animals don't really... work out the consequences do they?" Peter chuckled, offering a bit of humor to try and ease the girl's nerves. He noticed she tightly crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. "You'd better get a change of clothes. Cold and wet is a really bad mix."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was just coming back to pick up my sons so we could go back home but obviously... Ryder had different plans."

Peter felt sympathy for the young woman, and impulsively changed his day's scheduled plans drastically once again.

"How about you come to mine? Have a cup of hot chocolate or something while you warm up?"

"Really?" The young woman nervously blushed but nodded with a rather large smile. "That... sounds beautiful. As long as my boys can come too?"

"Uh, duh. As long as they don't mind cats. I've got one at home. I mean I can lock him up in the bedroom for a few hours but if your boys don't mind..."

"No, no definitely not. We've got a cat of our own at home and they love her. As... long as I can get the dog home. He doesn't mind cats either I'm just worried about yours because he's new."

"Totally understand. Can I... help you get everyone together? You really should- here," Peter pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around the girl. "Your lips are purple and you look like you're seizing while standing up. You need this more than I do."

"Um... I shouldn't have a problem getting home. My apartment is really just a few blocks down. On the corner down there."

Funny. That's where Peter's is too.