Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

The Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel, from the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M, released in 1964

Jet lag absolutely sucked, as Peter was reminded once he had returned from London. His body was still following the six hours ahead time difference. He'd hoped that his powers also involved quickly changing his body clock or remaining unaffected, but unfortunately he wasn't blessed with that kind of ability. The first thing- okay not the first thing, it was about twelve am when they got back, so he tried to sleep- was that he went to see May.

She'd been settling into the Apartment fairly well, despite the large change it had been to move. May had her own AI, specifically designed to help care for her, and make sure that she didn't harm herself by forgetting to turn off an oven or getting assistance from Tony, Peter, or the emergency services, depending on who was needed. May had been extremely cautious and hesitant over having an AI, being extremely old fashioned in her ways, so Peter and Tony had teamed up to guilt-trip her.

Peter had been a little underhanded and had simply said it would help reassure him. While he felt underlying guilt, it helped reassure, because he trusted Tony's AI's with his life, and that hadn't changed, even with Ultron. May's AI, which Tony, Sparrow and himself had coded as a collective effort.

His name was NATHAN, an acronym (evidently Tony loved acronyms) that stood for 'Notice Anomalies, Track Health And Notify', or NATE for short. His accent was a Bostonian one, a nice contrast when compared to the British accent of JARVIS, FRIDAY's Irish accent, and JOCASTA's Long Island accent.

Peter swung to the Apartment, the monotonous action distracting him somewhat from the fact that his Aunt was dead, a fact he didn't want to focus on. Getting changed on a roof, far away from any cameras- as he was reassured by Karen, he quickly snuck down into a nearby alley, cracking his knuckles ever so slightly. Sparrow followed behind him dutifully, her hair swept into a neat bun, and wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, looking for all intents and purposes like a normal teen.

Since Sparrow had been mostly relegated to the Tower whilst they were in London, Peter had offered to take her with him to see his Aunt. By now, Sparrow had proven her trust time and time again, so Peter felt comfortable introducing them. Walking into the bricked Apartment, the place not feeling like home to him anymore after so long at staying at the Tower.

"Greetins' Peter, 'Roe. How are y'all this evening?"

Because Peter had fallen asleep at something like 9 AM or 10 AM, mainly due to exhaustion which had won the battle against jet lag- he hadn't actually woken up until 3 PM. Hence, the evening comment, even if it was a little on the early side to be evening.

The informal way of speaking amused Peter a little bit, especially compared to the other's formal tones, but NATE definitely had his own unique, just like Tony's other AI's. Peter looked around for the camera just as Sparrow was, so they could direct the AI as close as face to face as they could. NATE helpfully flashed his camera, drawing their attention to it ever so slightly.

"What did you call me?"

Sparrow asked, curiously looking around the Apartment. Something told Peter that if NATE could shrug, he would have because the AI definitely had a cheeky streak to him. It was left up in the air if he learned that off of Tony or himself, but they had planned for a largely carefree AI, rather then one who was constantly brindled with the day to day tasks that JOCASTA, FRIDAY, and JARVIS had.

They walked further into the Apartment, the door slowly drifting shut as Peter turned on the kettle, waiting for it to boil. May was nowhere to be seen, so Peter was assuming that she was perhaps sleeping. Sure enough, upon focusing his hearing, the steady heartbeat of May could be heard.

"'Roe. It was written on the list of potential nicknames written by Tony that was stored in his servers. Do you have another name you would prefer I address you by?"

She shook her head, looking around the Apartment with a look of curiosity. It must be her first time in an Apartment outside of HYDRA after all- no wonder she was curious. Sometimes it was easy to forget how sheltered- for the lack of a better word- her life was.

Peter got out two mugs from where he knew they were stored, and just as the kettle flicked off the catch, he moved over to the fridge, looked at its emptiness and retrieved the nearly expired milk. He'd make a shopping run at some point because it was the least he could do.

"No, I like it."

They lapsed into silence as he made the two of them a coffee, before taking his and experimentally poking his pinky in it to test the heat. Their kettle could be finicky sometimes where it wouldn't boil and the last thing he wanted was to drink cold coffee. Seeing as May had a lack of cordial or tea or soft drinks and Peter wasn't about to drink milk, coffee was the next best thing, along with a lot of sugar to go with it.

"I'm afraid May is just sleeping right now. Judging by her sleep patterns, I estimate that she will awake in no more than two hours."

Peter turned to face Sparrow, taking a sip of his drink as she sat ramrod straight in the sofa. She always made them look so uncomfortable.

"Could you compile a list of necessary groceries? We'll-"

He turned to look at Sparrow, just to double-check that he was correct in assuming that she would follow him. She nodded, fiddling with her fringe as Peter resumed his sentence as if he had never stopped at all.

"-go and get them."

"Will do Pete."

The AI would probably have that task done within a few milliseconds, but it gave them time to finish their drinks. Peter scrolled down his Starkphone, looking at some of his messages. He replied to one from Ned, asking him if he'd got the newest Lego kit, which no, he hadn't. Legos weren't just for little kids, big kids could construct things out of them too. He'd get it eventually, just not right now.

However, a conversation about Legos quickly turned into a veiled discussion about Spider-Man. Like Legos, Ned hadn't grown out of his love for, and he quoted 'Queen's Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.' That wasn't a title he'd gone by in a long time. Once Ned had taken longer than a few seconds to reply, he pocketed his phone, finished his drink, and turned to Sparrow, who was looking idly at the wall.

He stood up and offered his hand for Sparrow's mug, which she did pass him after hesitating and freezing for a moment, and he washed them, dried them, and put them away. He shrugged his jacket on, before heading outside, the list emailed to his phone, and Sparrow following behind like a loyal dog. Shrugging that off, they made their way to the nearby supermarket, the route memorised as a result of habit.

"I'm sorry about your Aunt."

Peter took a minute to try and figure out which Aunt she was referring to. The one out of the hospital, jobless, and suffering from every type of amnesia under the sun, or the one that he'd just been at the funeral for? Thinking logically, he would guess he was referring to Peggy. Sparrow looked away for a moment, no doubt finding the pavements of Queens more simple to look at then it was to talk to him.

He wasn't particularly upset about that, because well, she'd had nobody to talk to before, and he didn't blame her for being uncomfortable to talk to him. Anyone else and perhaps he'd have been hurt, but with Sparrow, she just needed that extra bit of time. You had to let her come to you.

"I've not had much experience with grief."

Her eyes flashed something dark, as her hands tensed ever so lightly before they relaxed a little. Sparrow sighed as they crossed the road, invisible to the people of Queens, unlike their alter-egos. That was a perk of having a secret identity, there was no press to swamp them or harass them or stalk them.

Sure, one day it would come out that Peter was associated with Tony, but as of now, his identity hadn't been confirmed. They'd gotten a few hazy shots,but since Peter always wore a cap and glasses- a look modelled after Tony's own, there had been none of his face. Of course, with those blurred images, came rumours. Consisting mainly of 'Tony's Illegitimate Son' as a result of his conquests during his playboy days.

"Mainly I caused it. But.. I can imagine what it is like, although perhaps not to as accurate of a representation. But when I imagine losing Season- Bucky- it is like there is a gaping hole that cannot be filled. I imagine grief is like that, and it is something I wouldn't wish upon my enemy. So you have my condolences, even if they may mean little."

"It means a lot."

He replied, sincerity oozing in his tone as they took another turn, ending up at the Walmart. They pushed open the door, before methodically going through it aisle by aisle. The first thing on the list was tomatoes, along with numerous other vegetables. There wasn't much else for him to say, and they lapsed back into a companionable silence as Peter pushed the trolley around.

"What's your favourite food?"

Sparrow blinked, once, twice, and a third time, before she focused on him, her eyes meeting Peter's without a shred of the blankness that had occupied them when she had first joined them.

Damnit! I'm such an idiot! How is she supposed to have a favourite food when she hardly eats as it is?

Sparrow hummed, taking a breath as she moved silently over to the shelf, and retrieved three bell peppers, in the colour of ruby red, amber yellow, and lime green. Placing them down gently, she looked up again as Peter pushed the trolley once again, moving towards the bottom of the aisle now.

They turned around at the end, before moving past a selection of flowers- which was such a random place to have them- and looked at the pasta section, before moving on after picking up some spaghetti and some garlic bread. Tony had banned non-fresh pasta and garlic bread because he could easily make it himself.

Well, the ban wasn't just on non-fresh pasta.. mainly all Italian food. It hurt Tony's soul or something like that. Peter thought that Sparrow was just going to ignore his stupid question, but he was surprised when her English accent rang out, albeit quietly.

"This is one of those questions asked to get to know someone, right? But to humour your question, I have developed a fondness for Italian food- perhaps as a result of Tony."

Peter smirked, checking his list and continuing through the aisle. While it was tempting to annoy Tony by hiding packaged pasta and pizza all over his workshop, it tended to come back and bite Peter in the ass later. And with all his projects, he needed as much time as he could get in the workshop.

"Yeah, he has that kind of effect on people."

She hummed as she trailed behind him, onto the next aisle that had raw meat. It said that May needed chicken breast, along with lamb chops, pork sausage, and beef mince. Since Peter was going to be at May's for a while, he was going to make tea for her, so he also picked up some pork mince. Along with picking up some sage, and burger buns, he was going to have a simple enough meal.

"I think it's a good thing. He is not pushy, does not force me to do things, but he still has an impact. I appreciate it."

Her eyes shied away from his, the beginnings of a question forming in them. Sparrow was not one to ask a question unless it was immediately pressing, or if someone prompted her first. So that was what Peter did, as they looped once again and patrolled down the next aisle, which was frozen goods.

Onion rings, fries, peas, frozen fish and crispy chicken things were what they needed to pick up this time. Sparrow covered the right side, while Peter covered the left, and once they reunited at the trolley, he prompted her question.

"Do you want to ask me anything?"

"If you had the power to heal someone but to the expense of someone else, what would you do?"

His eyes widened, before turning his head. Was this a question of her memories disguised as something else? A philosophical question? Morality? It was a tough question, with an equally tough answer. With great power came great responsibility, and if he inserted May and Tony into that equation, there was a simple answer.

If he could heal May, but harm Tony in the process, he wouldn't. May was healthy- well, she was alive- and he was grateful for that. But for her to be fully healed, something she was already growing used to, at the risk of permanently maiming Tony, who had been nothing but caring and loving towards Peter, there was no question about that. And if it came to May and a random civilian, his answer would be the same.

"Someone very close to me, my Uncle Ben, told me that with great power, came great responsibility, and I didn't understand it at first. But now I do. I wouldn't want them to harm someone else at the expense of someone I loved because they would already be committed to their current state, whereas something would be directly inflicted upon a person because of my choices. I've had that happen once before, and I would not want it to happen again if I could avoid it. I could have avoided it the first time but I didn't because I was selfish and naive. I think I have learned since then."

"He sounds like a wise man. A good man. I'm sorry about his passing. He sounds like someone to aspire to."

"He was. He and May took me in after my parents died."

Sparrow didn't pry as they turned into the next aisle, throwing a few more things in the trolley as they moved. The conversation had taken a sombre note, and they lapsed into somewhat of a sad conversation. Peter had no idea what Sparrow was going to do as a result of his answer, and in all honesty, he wished he could have predicted it. He would have stopped her.

Peter was casually melding mince into burger patties, laying them neatly on the chopping board in neat little rows. Behind the chopping board, a fair distance away as to not contaminate the food, was a mountain of apple peel on tissue, the skins of several onions, and the docked tails of sage and rosemary.

The smell of paprika littered the air as the red hues of it could be seen clearly skirting the edge of the bowl, and the entire side was covered in a mixture of paprika and thyme dust. Burgers weredifficult to mould with when you had super strength, because one tight squeeze and the meat would be squirting up. Sparrow was in the bathroom, having excused herself to go for a toilet break, just after she'd chopped up enough potatoes to put Harley's potato gun into potato heaven.

Peter made a note to ask Tony when he could see Harley again, but with him being busy in Uni, following after Tony's steps and going into MIT, it was difficult to get to New York sometimes. Of course, it was closer then Tennessee at least. Tony was going to join them for tea, and had left Stark Tower roughly twenty minutes ago.

"Peter you need to go see May now!"

The AI had never snapped at Peter before, and in the short time he had been installed, he had been unflappable, but also comedic. Tony joked that he got the wrong halves of their jokes- as in, Peter's and Tony's and that NATE's jokes were fifteen times worse then their own, already not good, jokes. Realising it was urgent, he dumped the latest burger unceremoniously in the bowl, and practically ran into May's room, not bothering to knock or even announce his entrance. What he saw wasn't what he was expecting.

He was expecting maybe an angered May, a stressed May, or hell, even a convulsing May who had taken too much of her of them were particularly pleasant sounding, but what he found wasn't any better. May was asleep. Sounds good in retrospect, right? She was fine. No, it was Sparrow who wasn't looking good. Her whole face had gone an ashy pale, and she was slumped on the floor, leaning against the back of the bedside cabinet.

Her eyes were half lidded, bloated to all hell, and her breathing was slow and laboured. It didn't look very good, and his field medic training that was required to be on the Avengers kicked in. First, he checked her pulse, which despite her ill looking demeanour and unresponsive state, was steady.

He dashed through to his room and grabbed his 'Peter Patch Up' kit, which he used to patch himself up when he was out Spider-Manning, before fleeing back through. He opened it, before looking at the list of things in there. Step One, Peter. Call for help.

"Tony is on his way in the suit. He will be ten minutes, and has sent the car back for Dr Helen Cho, who will be on scene in thirty minutes, according to a rough estimation of current traffic patterns and traffic lights. FRIDAY is doing her best to minimise the time. I am currently monitoring Roe's heart rate, along with blood sugar levels, brain activity, and blood pressure. Her heart rate is currently stable, at 89bpm. Her blood sugar levels are extremely low, and she is risking hypoglycaemia. Her blood pressure is low, and her brain activity is spiking higher then anticipated. The recommended course of action is to set her up with field IV of D5W. This will raise her blood sugar levels, and hopefully level them out as she burns through it."

That was simple enough. Tony had insisted that he had a bag of D5W in his first aid kit, after a particularly nasty combination of being sick and unable to eat, whilst also becoming hypoglycaemic. His healing had been compromised by the latest villain of that week, and he basically became susceptible to every bug under the sun until it sorted itself out.

Anyway. Having had much experience with Ivs and the like, he expertly inserted it into Sparrow after having a brief moment of struggling to find a vein. Peter was sort of hoping that she wouldn't wake up, whilst also hoping she would because while her being conscious would be helpful to him and treating her, he had the instinctive feeling that if she woke up with random things in her, she was going to have a PTSD attack. Although he by far, was not one to judge.

Author's Note

Thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! They inspire me to continue on, knowing that people are actually reading this random story of mine.

Anyway, I need to sleep because it's really late where I live.

QOTW: Who do you think changed the most over the course of the MCU? I realise this might be a stupid question, but I believe Tony did, as many, many people have pointed out.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing!

~A sleep-deprived Bookworm.