It was his little secret. No one knew. Not Harry, not MJ, not even his Aunt May.
It wasn't the fact that he was Spiderman. It was something more... Intimate.
Not even doctors knew, SHIELD or otherwise.
Only one person ever knew, and they were dead.
The very person who gave him his secret.
It wasn't hard to hide. It was small. And makeup was easy to get ahold of.
It had been a mistake. A terrible mistake. One of his first outings as a hero.
He had been bitter, searching for a blond haired man with a star shaped tattoo on his wrist. A man who he could only call him as a killer.
He had heard rumors of some unscrupulous individuals, that would gather in certain warehouses.
He had figured, if it could help him find his Uncle's killer, he would check it out.
He hadn't been ready for the amount of individuals, nor the sick minded individuals.
On bad nights, he swore he could hear them laughing.
On worse nights... He could almost smell burning flesh and chemicals.
He did his best to hide it from his teammates, especially since he had moved into the academy. A mark on his left hip, crudely burnt on with chemicals. A terrifying and thin spider with long spindly legs.
It was no bigger than an avacado pit.
And it never seemed to leave his mind. Even under make up and clothes, it felt like a wound that would never heal.
"Peter? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine Danny," Peter squeaked. Of course someone would walk into the communal bathroom just as he stepped out of the shower. It was at times like this Peter missed his old bathroom back with his Aunt May. The communal showers sucked. Especially when one had an embarrassing scar, only just hidden by a hastily attached towel.
This happened far more than he cared to admit.
If not for his shame, he would tell them.
But he couldn't bring himself to stop hiding it.
It wasn't that he thought they would pity him, but he was a leader. He had been doing all he could to give them hope. He never broke down for long. He kept going.
He never knew they knew...
Danny discovered it first. He had shared a room with him, and despite Peter's best effort, Danny could wake up earlier than the spider. Peter had kicked his blanket off sometime in the night, or had fallen asleep without it after patrol, but he had no blanket and his shirt had rid up slightly showing pale pink skin. Scar tissue. He hadn't meant to stare, but the perfectly symmetrical scar had him slightly worried for his comrade.
Gently, he had touched the scar, feeling that, while not terribly fresh, was still rather new to sensitive skin, if Peter's unconscious reaction was anything to go by.
He had been more surprised by the fact that he had gotten a scar that could last.
He didn't say anything, he merely waited for Peter to say something. But he never said anything.
Luke had been next.
Weight lifting on the Helicarrier. Peter had been alone when Luke walked in. An extra sweaty shirt he had been trading for a clean shirt when Luke saw it the first time.
He didn't think much of it, thinking it was some dirt or grime or something.
It was the second time he had a near panic attack when he realized it was a scar. Thank god Danny had shown up before he could blurt out the questions on the tip of his tongue. A small scar from days before the team no doubt.
Luke had wanted answers. Danny was able to fortune cookie his way into having Luke drop it.
Ava had been next. Her eyes were keen and she was not so kind to those who kept secrets from her.
It took no time to draw it out from Luke. Even less time to get a glimpse of the hastily covered scar in school where no one seemed to notice.
It took both Danny and Luke to restrain her so she wouldn't demand answers from their team leader. Granted, Peter had been very confused as to why Ava was being grabbed by both of them but decided it was better for his mental health if he didn't know.
All seemed fine, until one fateful day...
"I'm telling you Web head, Rocky Road is the best ice cream around," Sam stated with a mighteir than thou tone. Peter rolled his eyes.
"Whatever Buckethead. Strawberry can't be beat," Peter responded. Both were enjoying a cold come on a hot day. Sam with his Rocky Road and Peter with his strawberry.
Both were happy despite their snarking.
"And another thing about Rocky Road, it doesn't drip like your strawberry."
"Wha- ah man!" Peter whined noticing that his ice cream had in fact dripped onto his shirt. Sam laughed until slowly but surely, insects were attracted to the sweet smell.
"Aw man! Dude, you're attracting bugs."
"It's not me," he said swatting at the insects, "It's the ice cream on my shirt!"
"Well get the ice cream off!"
"Can't really do that Sam! You used all out napkins earlier."
"Well -Take your shirt off!"
"What?! No! I am not taking my shirt off."
"Dude! You're attracting insects and its gross."
"Stop grabbing at my shirt!"
"Stop being such a baby!"
Both boys dropped their ice cream in favor of dealing with the ice cream covered shirt. Sam trying to remove it and Peter trying to keep it on and get away from Sam.
"Stay away-ack!" Peter cried out as he was tackled by Sam, tripping on his own feet and falling to the ground. He groaned and felt the bottom of his shirt being lifted followed by Sam freezing.
"Peter. What is this?" He asked, his fingers ghosting over the spider shaped scar. Peter flinched slightly when it was touched.
"What? That? It's a scar." He commented, using the distraction to push Sam off. He stood up quickly as Sam recovered.
"Oh no. You are not walking away with that."
"It's a scar Sammy."
"It looks like a spider. There is no way that's natural.
"It is in our line of work. Let it go Sam," Peter grumbled walking away. Sam didn't. Instead, he jumped on Peter's back, wrapping his arms around Peter's neck. Peter stumbled but kept upright. He turned his head to glare back at Sam.
"I'm not letting this go Peter."
Peter refrained from cringing. Sam never called him Peter unless it was serious.
"You can't tell anyone."
"Okay...?"
"It was one of my first outings. I wasn't quite good yet," he said recalling the night, "I was reckless and went into a warehouse-"
"Why were you going into a warehouse?"
"I thought I could find Uncle Ben's killer," he hissed out in a slightly pained tone.
"Oh," Sam responded weakly. Anyone who knew the person behind Spider-Man's mask, knew of his uncle and the shooter.
"Yeah. Anyway, there were some real sick minded individuals who decided to have fun with yours truly," he continued in a distant tone. It was as if he wasn't in the memory at all. Just stating facts.
"But you recover from burns. I've seen it," Sam blurted out. Peter's stride slowed slightly before picking up again.
"Fire and chemicals are two different things."
Sam didn't say anything more, now looking at Peter a little differently. But not much if their food fight later that week was anything to go by.
Yes, yet another one of my challenges. This one well suited for a one shot or string of one shots.
Spiderman
Peter had it rough when he was starting out as a hero. Some scars don't heal, especially if you don't tell anyone.
Rule 1. Peter got injured in a way that left a physical or mental scar.
Rule 2. Peter actively hides or attempts to ignore said incident.
Rule 3. Someone, anyone really, finds out and attempts to comfort or be there for the Spider.