Chapter 1: Musings

A/N: This is my first time writing fanfiction so we will see how it goes. I am not entirely sure of the direction I want to take with this story. If no one seems interested I probably won't even continue it. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you see any spelling mistakes, I used Grammarly but sometimes things slip through.

Peter was sitting atop one of the buildings in Queens eating a sandwich from Delmar's. He had just finished helping a group of kids that got their ball stuck in a tree and he was debating whether or not to call Happy and give his weekly report. If he was being honest with himself he was feeling a little bitter. He thought turning down the spot on the Avengers was the right choice. Now though, after a month of petty crimes, helping cats out of trees, and stopping bicycle thieves he was itching for something more. He wanted to really make a difference, he loves helping the little guy but he wanted to do more. Mr. Stark had said he would be in touch, but after a month of nothing from him or Happy, Peter was getting the feeling that Mr. Stark didn't really care about him and had no intention of contacting him.

Just as Peter was finishing his sandwich and his musings he heard a scream coming from an alley across the street. 'Finally something interesting,' Peter thought as he made his way toward the alley. As Peter made his way to the entrance of the ally, he saw three men looming over a woman on the ground. Peter webbed up the first guy and was starting toward the second one before the men realized he was there. "It's that weird spider guy," one of the men yelled. He had dark brown hair and a hood that covered most of his face. "Come on don't be a wuss there are four of us and only one of him," the other man with reddish hair said.

"Come on, are you guys gonna talk all night or… wait did you say four of you there's only.." Before Peter was able to finish his sentence his spidey sense was screaming for him to move. He wasn't able to get out of the way fast enough though and he felt a searing pain in his stomach. Grimacing Peter webbed the knife out of the fourth guy's hand. He tried to ignore the pain and said, "You know it's not polite to sneak up on people like that, a little warning would be appreciated." Peter webbed up the guy that had the knife and turned back toward the other two, only to find them running away toward the other end of the ally. Thinking better of going after them with his wound Peter turned to the woman and helped her up.

"Thank you for saving me. I hate to think what would have happened if you hadn't been here."

"No problem miss. Are you going to be ok from here?"

"I will be fine, thanks again."

Peter wanted to get home and deal with the knife wound as soon as possible, he made sure the men were secure and wrote his signature note to the police. Peter started swinging toward his apartment that he shared with Aunt May. Thankfully May was going to be at work all night so he didn't have to worry about her walking in on him. After what felt like forever Peter climbed through his bedroom window. By the time he made it to his room he was starting to feel dizzy and his suit was covered in blood. Heading toward the bathroom he gingerly peeled off his suit and pressed a wet cloth toward the cut. Peter could only hope nothing vital was damaged and his healing factor would be able to quickly heal the stab wound. He briefly thought of calling Happy or Mr. Stark, but he was afraid his suit would get retaken, and if he was honest he didn't think they would care if he was hurt or not.

Pulling out his phone Peter sent a quick text to Ned. 'You don't by any chance know how to stitch a wound do you?'

A second later Ned replied, 'PETER why do you need to know that? What did you do?'

'Relax Ned, I got nicked by a knife when I was on patrol. I'm fine. I just need to figure out how to stitch this up. Do you think I could use floss?'

'RELAX? How am I supposed to relax when my best friend is trying to get himself killed. And I really don't think it is just a nick if you have to have stitches! And no I don't think you should use floss. Why don't you call Mr. Stark?'

'Calling Mr. Stark is NOT an option Ned, he wouldn't care anyway. Look I need to take care of this. I will see you at school tomorrow.'

'You can't just end our conversation. What are You going to do?'

'Peter?'

'Not cool man you better text me when you are finished'

Peter grimaced as he pressed a cloth over his cut. He heads towards May's room to rummage through her sewing supplies. He finds a needle and some thread. 'Well, it's better than nothing' he thinks as he returns to the bathroom. Using some rubbing alcohol Peter sterilizes the needle and sews himself up as best he can. By the time he is finished, he is utterly exhausted and doesn't move for a while. Forcing himself to his feet he cleans everything up, shoots Ned a text that he is ok, and collapses onto his bed.

Tony was in his lab working on designs for his suit when Rhodey came in. "Tones you have been down here tinkering for hours. Why don't you come upstairs and get something to eat."

"I have almost figured this out. I'll eat later," Tony said as he waved his friend off. Rhodey, used to his friend's stubbornness pulls the tools out of Tony's hands and starts to push him toward the door. "What the heck Rhodey, I was almost finished."

"Tony you and I both know after you finished what you were doing you would start on something else. Now you missed lunch it's past 8 o'clock you are going to eat something."

"Fine but I am coming back down here after I eat," Tony said as he pouted at his friend. As they made their way toward the kitchen Tony realized how hungry he was, and he eagerly started reheating some leftovers. Rhodey smirked at him and Tony just rolled his eyes going back to his food preparation. "So have you talked to that spider kid recently?" Rhodey asked as Tony began to eat his food. Tony froze and looked over toward his friend. Rhodey just looked at him waiting for an answer. Regaining his composer Tony replied, "Not that is is any of your concern, but no I haven't spoken to him, but I am sure he is doing fine helping old ladies and whatever else he does."

"Are you really just going to leave him unsupervised? Tony, he is just a kid, what if he gets seriously hurt, or gets in over his head?"

"I know he is just a kid ok I just," Tony pauses and rubs his hand down his face, "He gives weekly reports to Happy and I check up on him every so often to make sure he is ok. Besides he said he was going to look after the little guy, how much trouble could the kid get into?" Tony knows of course, that when it comes to Peter the kid has a knack for getting himself into trouble.

"You know what I think? I think you are worried about him. Why don't you just talk to him, be an actual mentor to the kid?"

Tony was getting increasingly irritated. "The kid is better off without me in his life! I don't know the first thing about being a mentor. I would screw it up. The kid has enough troubles he doesn't need me."

Rhodey could tell that Tony was starting to get worked up over the conversation. "You know Tones, you are too hard on yourself. I know you would be a great mentor to the kid. I know you care about him whether you want to admit it or not. Just think about it ok?" Rhodey patted Tony on the shoulder and went off toward his room. Tony was lost in thought his meal forgotten. He was fond of the kid. He didn't know him that well, but he listened to the messages he left for Happy, and he enjoyed what little time he had spent with the kid. Tony wanted to get to know Peter better but he meant what he said to Happy, he wasn't a good influence. He was also worried he would put him in danger by being around him. It seemed like those closest to him always got hurt. Shaking his head Tony went back to eating his food. 'The kid is fine,' he told himself, 'Nothing to worry about.'