Chapter 5: Silent Night
BOOM! The final chapter everyone! Let's wrap this story up.
Peter settled against the shack to watch the ensuing fight, careful of the skewed wood to avoid adding splinters to his list of acquired injuries throughout the night.
He could already see Fury's vein bulging in his forehead because Peter was going to give him another stress ulcer as soon as he got back and reported this. But it wasn't his fault this time, he had an accomplice.
Speaking of said accomplice, Sam was an absolute powerhouse, harnessing all that wondrous cosmic energy into a Nova-sized battering ram that knocked into the Chitauri squadron so hard it sent them scattering like an explosion of toys from a rambunctious kid. He was more of a blur than a person and Peter could barely even see the glint of his helmet when he stopped long enough for the naked eye to catch up. The Chitauri tried to shoot him, and if Peter hadn't spent the last hour getting beaten and held captive by them, he might've felt sorry for the suckers. Sam was too fast to hit, and even when it looked like one of them might get lucky, he deflected it with a beam of his own and destroyed any hopes that alien had at getting a promotion.
Snow was near the top of Peter's list of things-he-tolerated-but-was-rapidly-growing-a-dislike-of, but even so, the glow of the Nova Force illuminating it made drifting flurries actually look pretty, and wonder swelled in his chest. The same kind of child-like wonderment he got as a kid during Christmas when the lights were up, and everything smelled like Christmas cookies and pine-needles. The forest didn't smell like cookies, and the stench of melting weapons didn't exactly have the same nostalgia that pine-candles did, but Peter would take it.
The fight moved away from the shack and he had no intention of following it into the forest. He was more than content to stay propped against his wall and watch the light show from a distance. Sam's witty one-liners (Peter was proud to say he's been cultivating Sam's quip-game like fine wine and his boy was getting better with each witticism and snark) were muffled by the squabbling orders of the Chitauri as they were coerced back into their spaceship. It took a few minutes for it to get airborne, but Sam filled the time by blasting off its outer weapons and screwing with their communications system so it couldn't call an SOS. The whine of the engine could be heard from Peter's position, and the crunching of trees as it blasted off was deafening. The take-off sent a ripple of snow and loose branches across the clearing, and Peter wiped snow from his face in time to watch Sam go after it, chasing the spacecraft into the clouds where they both disappeared.
It was quiet in their absence.
Maybe a little too quiet.
Without the sounds of a battle to fill the silence, Peter was becoming all too aware of the groan of the crippled shack and the howling of the wind as it tore through the trees. It was child-like to be afraid of the dark, but it was something every person had an innate fear of, and the shadows looked so much darker without Sam's light to brighten the empty spaces. He waited patiently, pretending he wasn't scared and that it was totally fine leaving him alone, until a blue light appeared in the sky and flew down like the most attractive falling star Peter's ever seen.
Sam touched down barely 10 feet away, but Peter wasn't going to wait for him to make the entire walk back and pulled himself to his feet with a heaving breath. Sam opened his arms, as if to embrace him, and Peter all-but collapsed on top of him, sighing "Ahhhhhhhh," as he was enveloped by the warm tingling Nova Force.
Sam patted his back sardonically, rolling his eyes with a smile so wry it could give Ben a run for his money, "You're the cookie monster of warmth, you know that right?"
"I accepted that part of myself a long time ago and if you really love me, you'll accept it too."
Sam snorted, but nestled his head against Peter's cheek and propped his chin on his shoulder, gently running his hands up and down Peter's sides; a calming-technique he discovered during one of Peter's night-terror episodes. It had the desired effects and Peter melted against him with a soft sigh, despite not being particularly ruffled anymore.
And Peter did feel better. Still cold, but that was quickly thawing thanks to Sam's sunshine powers. His mind still needed to process this entire night and he fell into a lovely cycle of repressing the stress and pain until he could safely freak out under his most comfortable blanket. He didn't know about Sam, though. This entire thing had been a lot more personal for him. Peter perked his head, leaning it into Sam's until he was poked by one of the pointed ends of the star.
"You okay?" he asked, rubbing Sam's own back, fingers running over the golden plates that mirrored the front, and quietly searched for tender areas or broken ribs, "All healed up?"
"Mostly," Sam said, grimacing as Peter's finger probed a bruise on his upper back, "Still a few aches and pains here and there, but I'm good enough to fly us out of this shit show," and he gave the clouds and snow a filthy look to emphasize his distaste before separating from Peter. They still held onto each other, mostly so Peter could stay in the Nova Force, but there was enough distance to be comfortably face-to-face. Sam's eyebrows turned up and his fingers glided across Peter's jaw and cheekbones, "How about you? Does anything still hurt?"
Peter shrugged but his smile was carefree, "Aches and pains, but better than I've been all night. That helmet of yours has some freaky-deaky healing powers, I'm almost jealous." He poked the helmet, right in the middle of the star and Sam smirked, hands falling on his waist.
"Speaking of, how did it feel to be a Nova for a whopping 5 minutes?"
"Hey, I was a whopping 10 minutes minimum, thank you very much. And it was..." Peter hesitated, expression turning thoughtful. "It was kind of exhilarating, actually. Do you feel like that all the time? So tingly?"
Sam snorted and poked Peter's forehead, "Say's the guy with the literal spider-sense."
"That's different. Mine's an 'oh-no-something-bad-is-going-to-happen-duck-for-cover' tingly, but yours was...something else. An 'I-have-the-power-to-melt-an-entire-city' kind of tingly."
Sam snickered at the comparison, and if he weren't so tired, he might've puffed his chest a little. Peter's seen and done so much it was hard to impress him anymore, so this was an occasion to be savored. "Yeah, it does feel like that. Every time I put the helmet on, actually."
Peter went oddly silent, his expression becoming unreadable. The HUD of his helmet told him he was physically okay, but unfortunately, it couldn't give him a glimpse inside Peter's head. As much as Sam wanted to ask him what was wrong, he knew that when Peter withdrew into his thoughts, it was best to wait for him to come out when he was ready. So, he held Peter's hands and waited as the gears in his boyfriend's head spun and jerked.
But as the minutes slaved on, Sam was actually starting to worry that something was seriously wrong, until finally Peter's mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened again as he quietly asked, "How do you..." his sentence tapered and he looked away, as if building the courage, "How do you control all of that? There was so much of it and it was...it was really overwhelming. I could feel the power of an entire star in my hand and it," his face turned embarrassed and he looked down, mumbling "It kind of freaked me out."
Of everything Sam was expecting it hadn't been that. He was surprised Peter was freaked out at all. The man could throw cars over his shoulder; he's fought more mad scientists and wacked-out villains than a stray dog had fleas. He's gone head-to-head with beings like Venom and Goblin, and even elders of the universe, and hadn't flinched. It was strange to think he'd been overwhelmed by the helmet.
Sam opened his mouth to say as much, but it struck him how vulnerable Peter looked. How open he was being. He normally hid so carefully behind a wall of jokes and deflections; it was rare to see him as an open book.
Instead, Sam smiled softly.
"Same way you learned to control your powers," he said, "A whole lot of trial and error and crashing into things."
It was the correct response. Peter's vulnerability eased and he cracked a smile, rolling his eyes. He rapped his knuckles against Sam's helmet playfully, good humor returning. "Well, I bet I looked hot in that Nova costume. If you ever decide space life isn't for you, I'm gonna run off with the helmet and become a space model," he tilted his head suddenly struck with a thought, "Does outer space even have those?"
"Yes, space has models," Sam said, "Or at least something like it."
"Oh...well, I bet I'd be the hottest of them all."
"Why do that when you already got them beat in the hot-headed department?"
"Hardy-har, Alexander got jokes," Peter teased, and stepped so close that Sam was forced to look up at him. Curse those few extra inches. His smile turned filthy, "Guess I've been rubbing off on you, like how I-"
Sam held up a finger, "If you make that joke I'm leaving you here."
Peter's mouth clicked shut.
Sam laughed and the sound is music to his ears. He's caught off guard by Sam bending and scooping him up bridal-style in a wonderful reminder that when Sam had the helmet on, he was strong. Peter made a surprised sound that was in no way a squeak, no matter what Sam said, and then an "Oh?" as he looped his arms around Sam's neck, grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.
Sam balanced his weight as if he truly were a handful of tiny spiders, grinning radiantly in a way that made Peter's heart flutter. "Feeling up for the flight back home?"
Peter pretended to think about it, even though it was currently what he wanted most desperately in the world, "As long as you don't drop me."
"As long as you don't squirm like you did last time."
Peter snorted and relaxed into Sam's arms as physical proof that he'd behave, "I don't think that'll be a problem." He was so damn tired. If Sam rocked him like a little baby and sang a lullaby, he'd probably zonk out right there. Peter looked up at the canopy of trees, at the near invisible clouds above, and his lips pursed, "Hey, quick question Sparky, but why didn't you destroy the Chitauri ship? You let them escape. Aren't you worried they'll come back?"
"The Guardians were on their way when the Chitauri initially attacked. They should ping the spacecraft and hijack it on its way out of orbit. Rocket wanted to get information on their flight patterns and where their base of command is located, and he can't do that with a broken ship."
Peter blinked, "Oh."
Sam chuckled and adjusted his grip, pushing off the ground and hovering in the air, preparing to go. Before he could, Peter pressed a hand to Sam's chest, getting his attention. He had that expression again, like he was having a hard time finding the words he wanted to say.
"Thank you," he blurted, staring at one of the gold circles on Sam's chest, tracing it with a finger.
Sam blinked owlishly. "For what?"
"For...saving me," Peter mumbled, and his expression crumbled, "I wasn't much use today and you had to carry all the weight by yourself and fight off an entire army while I sat there like a frozen potato-"
"Hey," Sam interrupted, "For your information, I like frozen potatoes. And secondly, you can't blame yourself for something you can't control, Webhead. The cold is dangerous for you, you don't need to apologize for it."
Peter scowled, but it's aimed inward and Sam narrowed his eyes. "Nope. Nuh-uh. None of that."
"None of what?"
"None of that Parker guilt. This wasn't your fault, Pete, and I'm not blaming you for being cold-blooded. I was the one who crash-landed us here in the first place."
"You did that to save us."
"Yeah and look how that turned out."
"Yeah," Peter said, grabbing Sam's chin and turning his head so he looked around the forest, "Look how that turned out, Sam. We're alive, the Chitauri are gone, the Guardians are picking up the slack, and we're both healed up. You did that. You. If that doesn't make you my hero, then I don't know what does."
Sam quirked an eyebrow, and despite the situation, his lips tugged into a smile, "Your hero?"
Peter's face blanched, and then a blush bloomed across his cheeks that he lamely tried to hide behind one of his hands, "A hero. I said a hero."
"Nah, pretty sure you said, 'my hero'. Am I your hero, Peter? Do you loooooove me?"
Peter crossed his arms, face pinching into an adorable scowl that meant he thought Sam was bullying him and it made Sam laugh and kiss his nose.
"I do love you," Peter grumbled at his folded arms, "And I don't know, maybe you ARE my hero. What are you gonna do about it?"
"This," Sam kissed his forehead this time and any indignation Peter had immediately fizzled out. "Come on, Arachnerd, let's go home."
"Please."
They flew higher in the air and broke through the tree line. The snow was pretty as long as Peter didn't have to feel it, or stand in it, or experience it in any way, and Sam's glow made it all the more beautiful.
"You did look pretty hot in that Nova uniform," Sam admitted, and with a gleeful snicker he shot forward before Peter had the opportunity to respond.
And boom! The boys head back to SHIELD where they get checked out to make sure they don't have any sustaining injuries. The Guardian catch the ship heading out of Earth's orbit and Rocket gets all the information they need. One year later, Peter and Sam take their ski-trip and its great.
This was an absolute delight to write and I enjoyed doing it very much! Once again, this is for you Jas and Houston! Hope you guys liked the fic!