Disclaimer: I do not own Spider-Man. The character and all relative media belong to Marvel Comics respectively.
Gyro.
That was the thought Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man, was thinking as he was swinging from building to building through a cold, December night after hours from patrol with surprisingly no bad guys to pummel. The web-slinger knew he faced colder nights than this, facing thugs with only his leotard and excitement for battle as protection against the chilling air. Being as this is not the case, Peter exhaled as he shot out a webline from his current direction to an apartment building.
"Oh man, what I give for a gyro right now." Peter slightly grumbled at his misfortune of a night as he slightly shivered against the cold air. To make things worse, his stomach began growling, wanting food. The superhero sighed. "You know what, maybe I do need a gyro. It's been the third time I saw the same homeless guy in that same alley sleeping on that same mattress without getting robbed. Or maybe it's because only idiots like me would actually go out in this weather." The arachnoid said before realizing he was talking to no one in particular and mentally face-palmed himself.
"And I really need to stop talking to myself." He added as he began swinging towards Spiro's deli on 2nd Avenue. As Spider-Man was swinging, he couldn't help but think of Mary Jane, his ex-lover. Peter missed her; he missed her deep, red, flowing hair, he missed her stunning smile that would match with her bright blue eyes, and he missed her calling him 'Tiger.' But most importantly, Peter missed being with Mary Jane, hearing her laugh when he would tell a joke or talk about him humiliating another villain in an embarrassing fashion, or waking up every morning with her right next to him in his bed. It was almost like they were married. And yet somehow, Peter screwed up his relationship with that goddess of a woman.
Man, I can never catch a break Peter thought bitterly to himself before lighting the mood with a little smile. "I swear sometimes my life feels like it's being written by some crappy comic book writer whose probably bald. I mean really! I had a good thing with MJ, and magically I screwed that up too. I mean I know I made some mistakes but come on, does life really hate me that much? Maybe it's payback when I webbed Flash's shoes together in gym class." Peter drawled before chuckling at the memory. As Peter thought about his former bully-turned-friend, he thought about Harry, Gwen, Liz, Felicia, Betty and many other he valued in his life.
Suddenly, Peter felt guilt. Guilt of not saving Gwen in time from the Green Goblin, guilt that Harry knew of his Goblin heritage and succumbed to the aftermath, guilt for not saving Betty's brother or her husband Ned Leeds, from the Hobgoblin fiasco. The web-slinger swallowed to prevent a choked sob from escaping his throat. Now is not the time to blame yourself Parker, think of happy thoughts; Puppies, kittens, Electro being forced to play those dunking games at carnivals.
At that thought, Peter gave a weary chuckle; he always found himself to easily be distracted from the pain of failure. Perhaps that was one of his greatest gifts, to constantly never give up no matter what he's been through. Villains such as Green Goblin or Venom would push him on the brink of insanity as they would try to crack the superhero from all his failures. But they could only push him so far, as Spider-Man would never cross the line or fall down into a path of self-destruction. The arachnid superhero would always find a way to overcome any villain, no matter how dangerous, and proceed to beat the ever-living snot out of them.
As the web-slinger thought about his accomplishments, he couldn't help but feel pride in himself for never giving up and for remembering Uncle Ben's greatest words of wisdom; with great power there most come great responsibility. Those words would always remind Peter of himself as the great hero he is, of his selfless courage to the people of New York, how he always fights the good fight. As Peter thought about his heroics, he couldn't help but babble.
"I know I made my mistakes, but I always try to do the right thing. I mean I managed to great things because of what Uncle Ben taught me, and he inspired me to be the great man I am now. It's like what I always say; if life gives you a curveball, you just need to find a way to get back up. Speaking of curveballs, I'm pretty sure the Yankees threw cheap shots. I could have thrown better! But then again I have radioactive spider-powers." Spider-Man paused before sighing at his rambling. "And I'm talking to myself again." The web-slinger adds as he sees Spiro's Deli in the distance.
Finally! Peter thanked God as he swung down in front of the door. He gently pushes it, a bell ringing as a result. The arachnid hero peeks his head inside to see no other customer inside. "Huh, slow day." He states before widening the door as he enters through the deli. On the opposite side of the counter sat a young man who looked obviously bored with no customers and seemed like closing shop early. The man's frown quickly turned into a smile at seeing the costumed hero.
"What can I get you Spidey?" The man asked, happy that his first customer of the night is the famed arachnid hero.
"Oh hey Spiro, can I get a gyro to go? Very hungry." Spider-Man requested as the young man gave a nod and quickly began making the food. During a few moments of silence, Spider-Man spoke up again. "So…um, business a little slow today?" He asked carefully to the owner.
Spiro gave a nod. "Yeah, it's because of the weather. I doubt anyone wants a gyro in this temperature. I hear it's dropping to twenty by midnight." He responded as he readied a pita wrap for the lamb.
Spider-Man gave a chuckle. "Well lucky for you, I happen to be hungry. Hours of patrol without those punchable morons lends to an empty stomach." He remarked as Spiro laughed.
"Oh right, I forgot heroes don't wear much. You must have been freezing." Spiro added as he scraped off cooked lamb pieces on the wrap.
Spidey rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, swinging around New York in my superhero undies tend to give you the sniffles." The web-head replied back earning quiet chuckling from Spiro. After placing lettuce, tomatoes, and Greek tzatziki sauce on the wrap as well, Spiro placed foil around the food and walked towards the web-slinger.
"All right, one gyro on the go." Spiro called out as he handed the food to Spider-Man.
"Thanks, how much do I owe you?" Spider-Man asked as he began taking out his wallet.
Spiro gestured his hand for the hero to stop. "It's on the house. A free gyro is the least I can do to repay someone who saved my life from the Vulture last week." The young Greek explained with gratitude.
"Are you sure? You didn't have a customer all night." Spider-Man reasoned, not wanting to sound selfish.
Spiro nodded his head. "I'm sure. You know, the Bugle calls you a bad guy, but you're not. I don't know how being superhero is like, I do know that I'm glad to have you as New York's hero. You saved my life, you're my hero Spider-Man. You're the peoples' hero. You give all of New York hope. Giving a free gyro is the least I can do for someone as amazing as you are." The cook responded as Peter's eyes widened under his mask.
After all his years being the costumed vigilante, Peter's reputation was always smeared of being a criminal by the media. To a villain's perspective, they saw Peter as a babbling idiot who never took anything seriously. However, Peter never took into consideration what his fellow New Yorkers thought of him. Peter felt honored at what Spiro said that he was beloved by the average citizen, that New Yorkers everywhere believed in him where the media did not.
Peter swallowed, mainly because if he didn't, he could swear he would start crying at the man's nice words. Stop it tears, I don't want to cry as bad when I watched Toy Story 3! Peter mentally scolded himself before clearing his throat. "Wow... pretty, great words. I never knew you where the philosophical type Spiro." Spider-Man said.
Spiro gave a small smile. "Well, I am Greek..." He responded before both men laughed at the cook's very corny joke.
"Funny." Spider-Man remarked as his chuckling subsided along with Spiro's.
"Yeah, well compared to you, I need to learn a lot more to be funny." Spiro remarked as he placed the gyro in the web-slinger's hand. "Now come on, take the gyro. You earned it. And after you're done, go back kicking the bad guys' butts."
Peter smiled. "Thanks Spiro, take care." Spider-Man called as he walked out of the deli before looking back to see the cook wave back to him. Immediately exiting the store, the arachnoid shot a webline to another building and swung away. After swinging for several blocks, the web-slinger decided to eat on the roof a bank, just several blocks away from his apartment. As Peter pulled up the mouth portion of his mask, his stomach rumbled, ready to eat the cooked food in front of him. As Peter looked down at his food, he thought of Spiro's words that he was the peoples' hero and that he inspires hope to all of New York. Peter was glad that the common man thought of him this way and it was all because of Uncle Ben's saying; With great power, there must come great responsibility. Peter smiled knowing that his night had just gotten better.
"Maybe it's best to forget you're failures, and enjoy life's rewards." Peter said to himself with a smile and began to eat the gyro in front of him until…
BOOM!
The bank underneath him suffered an explosion as five robbers armed with automatic weapons began running out of the establishment with sacks of money on their backs. "Come on, we need to scram before the cops show!" One of the robbers yelled as they ran from the scene.
Peter groaned. "Why now? Come on, I was just ready to eat this!" Peter yelled to no one in particular before sighing. "God, you really must like me because I don't get your humor at all." Peter mumbled and looked at the gyro in his hands. Taking a monster of a bite, Peter swallowed hastily before recovering his face with his mask, taking off to stop the robbers as he dropped the food in the hands of the homeless person, who just woke up from sleeping on his mattress.
Thirty minutes later, the officers arrived on the scene as they saw the five robbers all grunting in an attempt to break free from a giant spider web. Officer Cobb grinned. "Well, I think we all know who to thank." The policeman said as his partner, Officer Barnes walked toward him with a business card in his hand.
"Courtesy of your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." Barnes read from the card before flipping it over to read what was on the back. "P.S. these idiots owe me a gyro." Barnes also read before both officers succumbed to laughter. Wherever Spider-Man is, most of New York are safe to say that they are proud to have him as their hero.