Hi everyone,
This chapter is the grand finale, which is why it is a whopping 3800 words! I am currently planning to write bonus chapter(s). Someone has asked if there would be a sequel. Currently, there is not a sequel planned. HOWEVER, there MAY be a book coming out with Peter as a side character.
On another note, I'd like to thank my readers!!!! Your comments either make me laugh, give me inspiration, or make me feel creeped out (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). Thank you all for giving me a chance and reading this book :))
For other people considering to write a book, DO IT! RIGHT NOW!
Some quick tips:
- Personally, I like books that have correct grammar and spelling. It makes for a cleaner look and an easier way to understand.
- Start somewhere, and go off from there! This book was first planned to be 20 chapters. We saw how that worked out... You can plan as much as you want, but when you start writing, more ideas will come to you, and you will likely change trajectory, and that's okay!
- Finally, don't stop writing! If you write a couple of chapters, and the book doesn't blow up, that's okay! That's normal! Keep at it, and don't give up!
That's it for now, guys.
I hope you enjoy the chapter, one last time :')
See you around,
Breeze
The next morning, after breakfast, Ned and MJ came to visit me. MJ had her backpack slung over one shoulder as she and Ned followed me to the elevator.
They hadn't told me they were coming. In fact, I had been in my room, wasting away time by playing with my phone, downloading different apps, deleting the ones I didn't like, and keeping the ones that I liked when Friday told me that MJ and Ned were in the lobby.
"You didn't tell me you were coming." I clicked the button on the elevator that would stop at the floor with my room.
Ned smiled at me. "It was a surprise."
"Are you surprised?" MJ asked, smirking at me.
"Uh, maybe?" I said, unsure with her eyes on mine. I had never really noticed how pretty her eyes were. There was this caramel hue to its dark brown that sucked you in. After she quirked her eyebrow, I jolted, breaking our gaze, and added, "Yeah. I think so. Surprise is something we feel when something unexpected happens. I didn't expect you guys to come to visit me here so I should feel surprised as I had no prior knowledge to your arrival because you didn't tell-"
A smile broke out on MJ's face. "We got it, Peter."
"Right." I nodded and lead them out of the elevator and to my room, and her gaze landed on my bed. Ned already had been in my room, so he wasted no time throwing himself onto my bed, lying down and sighing in content. The mattress was incredibly comfortable, no lie there.
I rubbed the nape of my neck as I felt the familiar heat rise on my cheeks, seeing MJ study my Iron-man themed bedsheets. I explained, "Mr. Stark chose those for me."
"I like them."
My eyes widened. "Really, you do? I mean, yeah. I like them as well. They're pretty cool." I shrugged as I leaned back to what I thought was the wall. Apparently, I was farther than I thought I was, so I nearly tumbled to the floor. Luckily, my fall was broken by my hand grabbing the desk right next to me.
MJ frowned at my clumsiness, and I smiled back shyly.
What was happening to me?
"Nice view," she noted, looking out of my window.
Ned jumped up from the bed and walked over to her. "I know, right? You could stare out of the window for hours on end, doing absolutely nothing but look down at the city in awe. This is amazing. You're so lucky, Peter."
"He didn't get this because he was lucky, Ned. He got this because he deserved it," MJ corrected, looking back at me.
"True that." Ned nodded in agreement. "He's such a courageous person."
I rose an eyebrow at the two. "Thanks, but are we done complimenting Peter for today?"
"I think we can get another round in." Ned opened his mouth to continue, but I walked forward and placed my hand over his mouth to get him to be quiet.
I shook my head. "Oh no, we're not. Let's do something else."
"Hmmmmhm?" Ned tried to say. I lifted my hand and let him speak. "Like what?"
I shrugged, thinking back to the tower's amenities. "I don't know. We can watch a movie, eat some food, go up to the roof, play some video games. Whatever you guys want to do."
"I call video games!" Ned yelled unnecessarily loud. I should have known he would have picked video games.
I looked over to MJ, checking if she was okay with that. She shrugged. "Sure. I'll have fun claiming victory over you two."
"Oh, we'll see about that!" Ned narrowed his eyes at her.
Before it could get too out of hand, I joked, "Okay okay. Let's go upstairs before you guys throw hands. That's were the Playstation is at."
"Playstation?" Ned looked disappointed at me. "Xbox all the way, Peter."
I scoffed. "No way, Playstation is so much better."
MJ rolled her eyes at our theatrics. "Guys, come on. Let's go. I've got to leave in an hour."
"Alright. You guys go ahead," Ned said, shoving his thumb towards my bathroom attached to my room. "I gotta go."
"Have fun," I told him as he shut the bathroom door, and then looked over to MJ. "Ready?"
She gestured with her hand. "Lead the way."
MJ and I exited my room and made our way down the hall, getting closer to the elevator that would bring us to the commons floor, where the Playstation and TV were at.
I was lost to my thoughts when MJ began talking, "Peter. I wanted to talk to you."
I felt a slight bump in my anxiety. "About what?"
"You know, the kidnapping."
She probably had some questions regarding what happened. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"When you were kidnapped, from one day to another," she paused, shaking her head. "I don't know. It kind of maybe stuff real for me, you know? To be more appreciative of what you have because things can change at a whim."
Things did change quite quickly. I had more than enough evidence of that. A couple of weeks ago, I was bleeding on the ground, wounds sustained by my own aunt. But now, May was trying to become a better person and a better aunt. Not only that, I had a whole new family that I love and would do everything for, and the person I could thank for all of this was Tony Stark.
I also had made a new friend- MJ. She had amazing art skills and was a person who looked for the best in people and when she let someone in, she cared for them and would protect them with anything she had. I thought back to the night where she patched me up, back to when she agreed to look into those bixons, back to her joining me during detention to make me feel better. I admired her strength and 'badassery', if that's even a word. Glancing at her from the side of my eyes, I couldn't help but think how happy and glad I was that she was in my life.
As soon as we stepped into the elevator, MJ turned to me. I was surprised to see she was blushing, though I wasn't sure if the elevator lights were playing a trick on my eyes. Her eyes met mine hesitantly.
"I don't know what will happen in the future, and that is exactly why I need to tell you this. Peter." She took a deep breath. "I like you."
My eyes widened. Oh crap, I totally didn't expect this. Right now, I was definitely surprised. I thought this only happened in dreams.
A small giddy smile was on my face as I looked at her. "MJ, I like you, too. I never said anything because I didn't know if you also had the same feelings for me, and I didn't want to ruin our-"
"Just shut up and kiss me, doofus."
I reached forward, cupping the side of her face with my hand lightly. Closing my eyes and leaning forward, I murmured, "Can I?"
In response, I felt a pair of lips meet mine. It was a shy kiss, inexperienced and hesitant, but it was ours. We withdrew slowly, both taking a deep breath.
I opened my eyes and found her staring into mine, a wide smile on her face.
"Well, that wasn't bad at all," MJ murmured, her fingers tracing her lips.
I couldn't help but let my own grin take over my face. "No, it wasn-"
"I'm telling Tony!" A voice shouted, and our heads snapped to the left, where Clint was standing, staring at us with a wide-open mouth through the open elevator doors.
"Clint, don't you dare!" I yelled after him, but he turned on his heel and sped away already. I took a step forward, about to chase him and tackle him to the ground, but a hand wrapped around my wrist, stopping me.
MJ said matter-of-factly, "There's an easier way to stop him."
I had no idea what she was hinting at. "Which is?"
"Threaten him. Hey Friday?" MJ looked up to the ceiling. I liked the way she was thinking...
Friday immediately responded to her name, "Yes, Ms. Jones?"
"MJ is just fine. Could you tell Hawkeye that-" She looked over at me. "What would scare him?"
My eyes widened as an idea came to me. "Friday, could you tell Hawkeye for me that if he tells Tony about this, I will make sure the next mission he is on, he will be using hot pink-colored arrows?"
"Of course, Peter," Friday said as I and MJ laughed at my 'threat'.
"Is that what he really is scared of?"
I shrugged, a small smile on my lips. "I guess we'll have to see."
I told MJ she could take a seat on the couch while I grabbed some popcorn, snacks, and drinks, and brought them back. By then, Ned was sitting next to MJ on the couch. Grabbing three controllers, we made ourselves comfortable and started playing. MJ and I snuck looks at each other, both of us wearing a permanent blush on our cheeks. I was very surprised that Ned hadn't called us out on it, but I didn't dwell on it too much. My mind was only focused on one thing, replaying the memory over and over again. Even both of them beating me in the game didn't take that smile off my face.
As soon as MJ and Ned had to go home, I sprinted to Tony's lab, not even bothering to double-check with Friday if that's his location.
I stopped at the floor where there were two separate labs. One for Tony, and one for Bruce. I stepped out of the elevator. Before I could enter the lab, Tony opened the door and closed it behind him.
"Hey, Pete," he greeted me, seeming somewhat confused about why I was on the floor where the labs were, "Did your friends go home already?" He didn't seem to know about me and MJ kissing, otherwise, he would ask me questions about it. Maybe Clint was scared of me actually changing the color of his arrows.
"Yeah, they did. But guess what?!" I gushed, not even worried about keeping myself composed.
He looked down at me, surprised at my excitement. "What?"
"MJ and I kissed!"
His eyes widened. "What? When? Where?"
"An hour ago, in the elevator! It was so amazing!"
"In the elevator?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "How steamy."
"Oh god, stop." I groaned out, feeling myself blushing again.
"Already getting the girls, huh? You said her name is MJ? I'll have to run a background check on her, just to make sure she's safe."
"Daaaaaad," I complained, but I knew that wouldn't stop him.
He ruffled my hair and said, teasingly, "You can't stop me. And on another note, I'm glad you're here. I was just about to get you. I have a surprise for you."
"A surprise?"
"Yes, a surprise. Close your eyes."
My forehead creased. "What? Why?"
"It's a surprise, Peter."
I pouted at him, "Do I have to?"
He nodded. "Close your eyes. And no peeking!"
"Fine fine." I rolled my eyes and closed them. He grabbed my arm gently and led me into his lab, opening the door.
"Watch out. There's a step here," After another couple of steps, he said, "Okay. You can stop here, but keep your eyes closed!"
I paused and waited. I heard him scuffling around before there was silence.
"Okay, open your eyes!"
I blinked, the light first bothering me a little bit. Then, I looked up.
My hand covered my mouth as I gaped at what was in front of me.
A much upgraded, Spider-man suit, that had a modern design to it, with red covering the chest area, the middle part of the waist, the feet, calves, as well as the top of the arms. The rest was dark blue. Across the entire suit, there was a web-like design that reminded me of the one Ned got for me. In the middle was a small, black spider.
"Do you like it?" Tony asked me, trying to read my reaction.
"Like it? I love it!"
Tony's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "Wait till you hear all about the mechanisms and upgrades I put in this. You want to try it out?"
"Oh my god! Can I?" I looked over to him, nearly jumping up and down from excitement.
He laughed. "Of course, I made this for you, Pete." He grabbed the suit and handed it to me. "I'll, uh, turn around."
I quickly chucked off my clothes, dropped them off on a nearby chair, and tugged on the suit. Grabbing the mask, I pulled it down on my head. Then, I put on the web-shooters on my wrists. Everything fit perfectly. How did he know my measurements?
I glanced down at myself, making sure everything was good, and said, "Okay, you can look now."
He turned around, looked over me, and grinned. "Wow! That suit looks amazing on you! I am exceptional at designing suits. Maybe I should've gone into the clothing designer industry."
Even though I could imagine him as a clothing designer, he was more fit to be Iron-man. I laughed. "I think I like you better as Iron-man than a clothing designer."
"Hm, maybe," Tony said, obviously joking, and continued, "Hey, try your web-shooters."
I glanced around, and decided I would aim at a water bottle. Sending a web at the water bottle, I tugged it towards me, and it flew right into my hand.
"I built it off of your web formula, which was quite amazing that you came up with that by yourself. I've never heard of a kid making something like that."
I turned my wrists around, looking down at the web-shooters. "Thanks and the web-shooters work really well!" I couldn't believe he built this all for me. With this, I could fight crime so much better, and do a huge impact on the community. I could keep helping people! But- what about Fury? What was going to happen, now that they know who I am? "Mr. Dad?" I asked, looking up at him.
He heard the change of tone in my voice and sat down in one of the seats. "What's on your mind?"
I glanced down at the floor, wringing my hands. "What's going to happen with Fury and Spider-man?"
He waved his hand. "Don't worry about that. I'll make sure he understands the situation. Besides, he only wanted to know your identity. That was all to it."
I nodded. "Okay."
"Oh and Pete, just so you know, I agreed."
I frowned and looked up. "Agreed with what?"
"With the plan your aunt and you came up with. I have difficulties letting you go with her, but if that's what you want..."
I gave a quick nod."It is."
He leaned forward on his seat, making sure he held eye contact with me. "Promise me, if anything happens, even if it's minor, you'll tell me. You have a phone. I'm only one call away."
"Of course. I promise." I meant it.
His shoulders relaxed slightly. "Okay, good. You're welcome to stay here and visit your aunt whenever you'd like. The door will always be open for you, no matter what."
"Thank you," I felt a bit uncomfortable with talking about May and the mostly unspoken 'thing' of what happened between her and me. I shifted awkwardly on my feet.
"Peter," he said, standing up, "I know you probably don't want to talk about what happened, but...but... how bad was it?" I knew, without a doubt, what he was referencing.
I sharply inhaled. My gaze towards the floor frozen and unmoving. I felt his gaze rest on my face, trying to read my conflicting emotions.
I forced myself to whisper out, "Pretty bad." The only reason I could tell that he had heard me was because I could see his jaw harden and his hands clench out of the peripheral of my eyesight.
After a moment, he loosened his fists and walked closer to me. "I want you to know, Peter. No harm will ever fall upon you while I'm here."
I gave him a sad smile. "I know. I trust you. Do... do the others know?" I asked. Right now, I didn't want them to know yet. I wanted to tell them when I was ready, just like with the Spider-man reveal. I needed time to heal and recover. Once I was ready, I would tell them.
"No. Do you want them to know?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Not right now. I need some time."
"I understand." There was a moment of silence where Tony saw how uneasy I was and decided to change the subject. "Hey, Peter. Do you want to go on a 30-minute test-run by yourself with the suit?"
"Oh my god. Can I?" A smile immediately overcame my face as thoughts about what happened were shoved to the side.
But he could answer, my stomach growled loudly, causing Tony chuckle. "How about after we get some food in you first?"
I smiled shyly. "Okay, sounds good."
Mr. Stark waited outside while I changed again, leaving the suit behind and putting on my hoodie and pants again. We made our way up to the commons room and found Natasha, Bruce, and Steve chatting in the kitchen. Steve was cooking lunch with Bruce's help.
"Oooo, what is that heavenly smell?" Tony asked, striding into the kitchen with me beside him.
"Lasagne. It's almost ready. Would you two like to set the table?" Steve asked us, and we grabbed the plates and cups. Tony told Friday to tell Clint and Thor to come to the commons floor. I asked Tony where Pepper was, and he said that she was in California due to a company meeting. He said she would be back tomorrow, though.
When everyone was by the table, Steve distributed the food to each plate. Clint, as always, had finished by the time everyone was only halfway through with theirs, shoving food in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days. Natasha was looking disappointed at Clint because of his lack of manners. Steve politely listened to Bruce and Tony's conversation about the element Radon-222 and human health, and Thor had a plate of dinosaur chicken nuggets beside his lasagna plate which he was equally enjoying as the lasagna. Where he got the chicken nuggets from, I had no idea.
Sitting at the table with them, I couldn't help but feel happy about they accepted me so quickly. MJ was right. Things can change faster than we may think. I couldn't believe that my life could turn around so fast. If I hadn't accepted the internship position, something as small as that, I would have never had this. I would still be where I had been a couple of weeks ago, going through life like it was a to-do list, rather than an opportunity to go make the most of it, for myself and for others.
I was so lucky to have them.
I thought about how Tony made me the Spider-man suit. He must have worked on it for hours. In fact, he hadn't known since last night that I was Spider-man.
"I have a question," I said, gaining Mr. Stark's attention, "When did you have time to work on my suit? You only figured out yesterday evening that I'm Spider-man."
"Oh you know, I took an all-nighter," he said as if he were talking about the weather.
That's when I looked closer, and I could see the bags under his eyes, and the way his eyes were red from having no sleep. "You can't go without sleep! That's terrible for your health!"
Bruce said, "You should see him on his days where he gets inspired by something. He goes days without sleep."
Tony rolled his eyes, giving Bruce a slight shove to keep him quiet. Then, he turned back to me. "I'm fine, Pete. Don't worry about me."
"You should take a nap, at least," I told him.
"I'm not tired. I don't need to take a-"
I cut him off. "Yeah, you do."
I heard him mutter some things about how he didn't need sleep and that he was used to this, but after a pointed look from me, he finally relented, "Fine. I'll take a nap after the movie."
"Movie?" What movie?
"Yes, it's movie time!" Clint leaped off his chair and clapped his hands. "We're watching Robin Hood!"
All around the table, the Avengers groaned.
"Not again."
"He always wants to watch Robin Hood."
"We've watched it a million times already."
"A million? We both know that's an underestimate."
"Alright alright." Clint rolled his eyes and looked over at me. "Let's let Peter choose. What do you want to watch? It has to be Disney, though."
"Me? Ummm... I don't know." I shrugged.
"Just pick the first one that comes into your mind," Steve advised me while the others looked at me, waiting for me to pick one.
"Okay... umm, how about Lilo and Stitch?" I'd never actually seen it, but I was well familiar with the quote that made me want to watch it in the first place: Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.
Tony smiled and ruffled my hair. "Good choice, kid."
We made our way to the couch, each person taking over a different area to cuddle. Natasha was under the blanket on the right couch, and right next to Natasha's feet, Clint sat on the floor for whatever reason. Nat kept poking him with her foot, a small evil smile on her face while he shot her glares. Steve sat in the middle of the couch, Thor and Bruce took over one of the edges of the couch, while Tony and I sat on the other edge close next to each other.
Tony told Friday to put up the movie, and the TV screen immediately flicked on and started playing the movie.
A couple of minutes later, Tony fell asleep, his head leaning on my shoulder. I snorted. And he said he wasn't tired. A couple of minutes later, I was starting to feel sleepy as well.
I heard someone whisper, "Friday, take a picture. We'll want to remember this."
That's the last thing I heard as I fell asleep, feeling as happy and safe as I have ever been.
12/20/2020 Update:
I just released the new book, Just My Luck! It's a bit different from this one, but still includes all of the Avengers, and, of course, Peter. If you're interested, feel free to check it out and tell me what you think!
Thanks!!
- Breeze