Chapter 21: Making Conversation
It's the first year anniversary for this story! Yay! And also shame, because I wanted to get this chapter up on the 8th . . . It ended up being much harder to write than expected. But I've rewritten it and polished it up many times, so hopefully it's worthy of being the anniversary chapter!
Also, the hint of a NovaSpidey relationship has garnered way more notice than the obvious Peter/MJ flirtations and the not so obvious Peter/Ava hanging out and bonding thing. Honestly, I'm not seeing Peter and Ava being a thing in this particular story. But aside from that I won't confirm any suspicions just yet. I will only note that any romance will be very downplayed and will take a long time to begin. I want to make it clear that this will not become M rated.
AvidWriter14: I am not currently on AO3, but I've heard that this site has been giving trouble recently, so maybe I'll make a backup there soon? I'll mention it in an author's note when I do.
Pink Lemonade: It actually means a lot to me that you like the science! I've tried my hand at original sci-fi, but the sci part is usually what I'm lacking. And yes, this has grown so much it's crazy! Looking back, you've been reviewing since Chapter 4, so thank you for sticking with this! I would love to resolve what you're asking for, but those are two of the biggest conflicts, so it's going to take some time. They will be addressed incrementally though.
Peter stalked down the street, plastic bag in hand, headed to the park to meet his teammates. His insufferable teammates who brought him nothing but humiliation. He had almost appreciated them the other day when they took the time to listen to his worries. But now he was reminded of why he liked to work alone.
Oh, who was he kidding? They had all grown on him. But that didn't mean he had to enjoy every single moment with them. Particularly this meeting.
Sam had called him about half an hour ago, telling him to meet the team at a quiet bench in the park after school, and to please bring his sweater. That meant this was serious.
Sam never called.
He also never asked politely for things.
And now he had done both at once.
This was going to be bad. Peter just knew it. He eyed the bag suspiciously again. He should have known better than to accept anything from Sam.
Okay, maybe Sam couldn't be entirely blamed for giving Peter the sweater since he had tried to take it back. But his desperation was one of the reasons why Peter had even considered keeping it.
One of the reasons.
Peter almost cringed as he recalled yesterday. It had all seemed normal at the time. It wasn't until he woke up this morning that he realized how odd he had been thinking and acting. Well, he hadn't been acting extremely strange, but he couldn't quite call it normal, even for him.
He entered the picnic area of the park, looking for a table full of superhero weirdos masquerading as annoying teens, dreading what he was going to find out. He could just imagine that this was all a prank Sam had played on him, and the rest of the team had found out and insisted Sam confess. He really wished they hadn't dragged him out here just for that. He'd had to spend all morning practicing using his spinnerets just so he could stop webbing all over the place, and it had taken a lot of convincing to get May to believe that he already had it under control. If he were honest with himself, he really didn't want to be in public again yet. But he also would prefer hearing them out by himself. Then he could decide if this was too embarrassing to tell May.
Peter entered the quiet park that was much too close to a cemetery to gain many visitors. It was one of the team's favorite places to meet up in a semi-public space. It was easy to spot the team since they were the pretty much only ones here today. The only other people were an old couple meandering slowly on the other side of the park, and they seemed to be leaving. Peter squinted at the team under the sun. All of them looked uncomfortable. Sam looked a little guilty, but so did . . . Danny? Danny never looked guilty because he never did anything wrong! What was going on?
"Um, hey," Peter greeted when he was near enough. "So who's going to explain this?" He threw the bag unceremoniously onto the table.
Sam raised an unconvincing eyebrow. "Explain what? It's just a sweater." He winced. "Hey! Who kicked me?"
Ava shrugged, crossing her arms.
"Well," Peter said, folding his own arms over his chest. "There better be an explanation, because—because there has to be." He squeezed in on the same bench as Ava and Luke. "Normal sweaters don't smell like that."
"So you did notice," Sam said, leaning down to rub his shin. "You didn't say anything yesterday."
"I didn't quite notice the effects yesterday," Peter admitted in a mumble.
"What were the effects?" Luke asked, raising his hands when Peter turned to him. "Don't look at me, Pete. I had nothing to do with it. They just filled me in about this a few hours ago."
"They?" Peter asked, eyebrow raised. "Exactly how many of you were involved? What did you even do?"
Sam raised a somewhat reluctant hand. "It was all me. You see . . ." He proceeded to explain yet another 'ingenious' and 'helpful' plot of his. By the end of it, Peter's head was on the table as he had given up all hope regarding his dignity. Sam was just about to wrap up when Danny cleared his throat.
"The formula was not entirely Sam's own," Danny said ashamedly.
Peter lifted his head enough to look at him. "What do you mean?"
"I grew suspicious of his true purpose when I looked over the list of ingredients he gave me. I have tried to be considerate of your enhanced senses since we met, and Dr. Connors helped me learn about the arachnid olfactory process. I had considered the idea of personalizing some incense for you before, and I could tell that Sam's list included a few good ideas, but it was not quite perfect, so I . . . tried to perfect it."
Peter stared at Danny. Knowing that Sam was involved was no big deal. He pretty much expected it at this point. But Danny was usually never involved in pranks. Except, this wasn't a prank. Danny had meant for his participation to be helpful, and so did Sam. It just got out of hand thanks to an unfortunate series of events.
And now Peter wasn't feeling quite as angry as he had been just a few moments ago. That wasn't all bad, aside from how it left him only with his embarrassment.
"Wait, so you tweaked the recipe?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I may not be chemically minded like Peter, but I do know a few things about incense."
"Huh . . ." Sam looked thoughtful. "I guess that explains why it worked. It did work like it was supposed to, right?" He looked to Peter.
"I don't know. What was it supposed to do based on the changes you made, Danny?"
"It should have had only a mild soothing effect," Danny explained. "Lowering heartrate, reducing stress, and clearing the mind. What did you feel?"
Peter took a breath, just barely refraining from letting his head drop to the tabletop again. "Well, my mind definitely wasn't all that clear because I was practically obsessing over the smell. It just smelled so . . . good." He felt his cheeks burn bright red and he finally allowed his head to drop in order to hide his blush.
"That doesn't sound too bad," Luke offered. "Anyone can like a good scent."
"Yeah, but this wasn't just liking it. I kept breathing it in because it made me feel so calm and . . . I don't know how to explain it, but I wasn't in my right mind yesterday. A lot of what I did was because of the scent. It was the main reason why I wanted to keep the sweater. It was definitely the only reason that I purred. And—and—" Peter frowned. "My senses were off. Like, all of them. Sights and sounds weren't bothering me as much as usual. I don't think even my spider sense was working right. I fell off my bed without catching myself, and I couldn't even dodge the pillow Ava threw at us."
"You couldn't?" Ava asked, sounding concerned. "I thought you let it hit you on purpose."
Peter shook his head, his cheek softly scraping against the old wood of the picnic table. "No, I mean, my spider sense doesn't go wild for little things like pillows, but it usually warns me. I didn't feel it yesterday. Not a single tingle." This was seeming worse and worse the more he thought about it.
"Why didn't you tell us yesterday?" Luke demanded.
"I—I honestly didn't notice how weird it was until this morning." Peter bit his lip. "It took an entire night away from the sweater for me to feel right again. I was—I was tempted to sleep with the sweater. I probably would've never taken it off if May hadn't reminded me to change into my pajamas." That wasn't quite true. Phoebe had been the one to remind him, which he was super grateful for now, but he couldn't say that.
"Whoa," Danny said. "I am so sorry, Peter. I had no idea it would affect you this way."
"It's fine," Peter tried to assure him. "I had no idea either."
"But I should have known better than to do this to you. You were completely unaware, so you had no reason to even be mindful of anything out of the ordinary. I should have warned you the moment I knew that Sam intended it for you."
"And . . ." Sam rubbed his neck. "Maybe I shouldn't have tried this on the downlow in the first place. I sort of thought that it was only like a perfume, so what harm could it do? But if it stops your spider sense . . ." He shrugged. "Hopefully the scent washes out of the sweater. If not, I'll burn it. You already get hurt enough when your senses are working fine."
Peter looked at them both, at the remorse in their eyes, and the last bit of his annoyance drained away. Harry sometimes told him he was too forgiving, but how could he not forgive them after this? "All right, I understand. Neither of you meant any harm. But you're both going to have to promise not to make that stuff ever again. And Danny, you're going to have to destroy the recipe and any leftovers you may have and—"
"Wait," Ava interrupted. "Is that such a good idea to destroy the recipe? I'm not saying we'll use it again, but what if a villain does? If Danny and Sam were able to make this from a bit of casual research, then imagine what someone like Doc Ock or Goblin could do. Having the recipe can help Dr. Connors make an antidote or something."
"Do we have to tell Doc Connors?" Peter pouted. "He's going to want to test the effects and I don't want to go through that again."
"It's either that, or we might have to deal with a purr happy Spidey again someday," Luke pointed out.
Peter groaned at the mental image of himself in his suit, purring against a bemused Goblin.
"He wasn't all that purry," Sam said with a roll of his eyes. "It took like half an hour of my corny apologies before he started. He was a little clingier than usual though."
Peter blushed again. "I know. I hugged May after you all left and the contact just felt . . . good, not embarrassing at all. Then I purred again with her and it felt so weird." He rubbed his chest at the memory. "And . . . I almost squeezed her too tight even though I'm usually really careful about that." He glared at the bag again. "That stuff really messed up my senses."
"Ah, I was wondering why you were fighting me a little harder than normal," Sam said casually.
Eyes widening, Peter let out a small gasp. "I'm sorry! I didn't even notice that! Did I hurt you?"
Sam hesitated, which was already a bad sign. "No, not really."
"I did, didn't I?"
"You're going to guilt-trip if I tell you."
"I'm already guilt-tripping!"
"Fine, it's just a bit of bruising. No biggie." Sam pulled back one sleeve to briefly reveal dark-blue marks on his forearm. They were vaguely finger-shaped, probably from when Peter had tried to stop him unzipping the sweater. Peter stared at them until Sam brought the sleeve back down. "It's not your fault, Pete. We've established that it was the sweater."
"Yeah, but—I hurt you and I didn't know." Running his hands through his hair, Peter tried not to sound as terrified as he felt. "This whole thing just went from being a bad day to being a—a dangerous day. That stuff made me completely incapable of protecting myself and others. I don't want that. I never want that."
Danny leaned over the table to put a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We will make sure it never happens again."
Peter could only nod. It was quite scary to think he could cause harm just from a lack of awareness. He had sort of expected that to be true from the handful of times he accidentally crushed metal doorknobs or broke thick wood, but he'd never found himself in a situation like that before. He had never been so absentminded around people.
It made him wonder if his theory about the Savage Lands poison was true. If losing his senses could make him nice but dangerous, it seemed all too likely that anything more could send him over the edge into monster territory.
Luke cleared his throat in the ensuing silence. "Okay, I know this isn't quite as serious," he began. "But you said you purred with your aunt too afterwards, right?"
"Um, yeah."
"And that was the first time ever with her?"
"Yeah."
A strange look passed over Luke's face. "So it took a crazy calming concoction to get you to purr? I know Sam sort of mentioned this yesterday, but if you've had the ability to purr for as long as you've been hissing, and you haven't been purring, then . . . that's kind of sad, don't you think?"
Peter blinked. He could, potentially, refute that statement. Phoebe had confirmed that he had purred with her before. But the fact still stood that he hadn't purred with anyone else. What was it about Phoebe that was more comforting than his friends, than his own aunt? Well . . . when he put it that way, he was definitely more relaxed regarding his spidery quirks around Phoebe, and since this was a spider quirk . . .
Maybe he really was more comfortable around Phoebe than anyone else right now in that aspect.
"Luke may be right," Ava said after a short bout of his thoughtful silence. "I consider myself a pretty uptight person, but at least I still chuff when I'm happy enough. Or when you guys aren't so annoying. Sam was telling me yesterday that we ought to—"
"Oh, that's right!" Sam interrupted excitedly. "I had that idea where you all try to make him purr too! Like a competition where I'm in the lead!"
"Whoa, whoa, wait a second! That's an awful idea!" Peter brought his hands up in a stop gesture, tensing just a little too much. A thwawp and a wince later, Danny's face was covered in webbing. The silk was much more solid now so it didn't drip down his face. It just clung there over his eyes. "Sorry!"
Maybe he didn't have as much control as he had promised May this morning.
Danny pulled the silk away. "Do not apologize. Accidents happen." He glanced around. "Did anyone see?"
The rest of the team looked around too, but they were the only ones in this area of the park.
"Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to meet in public yet," Luke said, voicing Peter's thoughts. "Wanna go back to Pete's place?"
"And start the competition!" Sam added.
"No! No competition!" Peter insisted, keeping his hands down this time.
"I kind of agree with Sam for this one," Luke admitted. "If you don't want him trying to drug you again, we should prove that you can be happy without chemical help."
"Ava, tell them no!" Peter pleaded. But Ava bit her lip in an attempt to hide her smirk.
"I don't know, you did reveal my own little secret yesterday."
Peter's eyes narrowed. "Are you taking revenge on me already?"
"I have a reputation to uphold, and you need to relax about these things like I've been telling you. Repeatedly." She gave him a weird look then. It was really focused. Was that supposed to be one of those meaningful looks that tipped him off to some hidden meaning? Oh, maybe she was subtly referring to their many little talks.
Peter gave himself an imaginary pat on the back for figuring it out.
He still didn't agree though.
"So it's settled then," Sam confirmed. "We're doing this."
"No we're not!"
"You're outvoted, Pete! Let's see. It took a little less than an hour for me to get you to purr, so the others should get an hour too to be fair. Whoever can't make Pete purr has to buy all our snacks during our next patrol."
"Ooh, you weren't kidding with the competition part," Ava noted.
"What if we all get him to purr?" Luke asked.
"Then Pete has to pay."
Peter frowned. "That's not fair! You should have to pay since this was your idea in the first place!"
"Fine. If none of them get you to purr, then you pay. That's your incentive so you don't just stop yourself from purring the whole day. If everyone else succeeds, then I'll pay."
Peter glared daggers at him. "You're evil, Sam. All of you are evil for going through with this."
"Relax," Danny said. "Regardless of their spoken intents, we will be doing this for your benefit. You confided your fears to us just a few days ago. Now let us raise your spirits."
Danny might have had a good point, not that Peter would ever admit it. "All right, fine. I'll go through with this."
With the grins the team gave him, Peter was already regretting his agreement.
Danny followed Peter into his house, feeling somewhat guilty. He had picked the shortest straw, and so he was the first in the 'competition'. He felt bad. Even without reading Peter's Chi energy, Danny could tell he wasn't happy with the deal. But Peter's Chi had been a mess for a while now. If Ava hadn't pushed him to confess about his fears, Danny would have probably started probing regardless of how he usually tried to respect his teammates' privacy.
The revelation of what had been troubling Peter had truly been a surprise. Because while Danny understood that, deep down, they were all just teenagers, he supposed he hadn't quite accepted that on some level. Sometimes, Peter seemed every much the hero he tried to be.
But then there were times like this, when he slouched and watched the ground and generally looked like he had a complete lack of confidence.
"Hey, Aunt May! I'm back!"
"That was fast." The sound of footsteps could be heard, and May came to greet them with her hands full of flour. "Oh, hello, Danny!"
"Hello, Ms. Parker."
"I've told you, you all can call me Aunt May." She smiled briefly before looking at her nephew. "You didn't web anywhere out there, did you?"
Peter cringed at her wording. "Do we have to call it that? Web isn't even a verb."
"I'm not sure what else to call it. I'm just worried about you."
Glancing at Danny, Peter replied honestly, "Maybe a little?"
"What? Where? Did anyone see?"
"No, we were all alone."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. We would have called Shield for a mind wipe otherwise," Peter replied only somewhat sarcastically.
"Did you clean up all the evidence?"
This time, Danny glanced at Peter, sensing the flare of wounded Chi emanating from him. As similar as this conversation sounded to May's interrogations regarding winter clothes in cold weather, it wasn't anywhere near as simple. At least not for Peter.
"Yeah, of course we did. There's not a trace of it anywhere."
"Good. You boys go do your thing, then. I'll be baking some bread. Come down later if you want some!"
"Sure May, thanks." Peter gave her a quick smile before continuing his way up the stairs and to his room.
Danny followed close behind, wondering what to make of the exchange he had just seen. Why did Peter feel so hurt from his aunt's concern? It felt like more than simple teenage-driven annoyance. But then what could it be? Sometimes it was a little frustrating to be able to read Chi without necessarily being able to tell where exactly the emotions were stemming from. It was also distracting. Danny nearly crashed into Peter when he stopped short at his bedroom door..
"What's wrong?"
"Um . . ." Peter turned around, eyes somewhat wide. "I might have made a mess earlier and I didn't clean it up because I wasn't expecting company today. Give me just a few minutes to pick up?"
Danny raised an eyebrow. "You were practicing using your silk, correct?"
"Maybe."
"Then it is not necessarily a mess. There is no need to be ashamed of your practice."
Peter took a breath. "Okay, all right. But it is still kind of a mess, so let me know what needs to be taken down so you can be comfortable." He opened the door and they went in.
It turned out that Peter wasn't lying.
Although Danny had been expecting to see some silk around, he hadn't been expecting the entire room to be covered in the stuff. Strands stretched all across the room at various angles. Some were bunched or weaved together. Some were singly spaced and so thin that they were nearly invisible. But they all had an ethereal quality to them. This silk was definitely different than Peter's synthetic formula. It was clearer, letting light pass through, and sometimes catching the light and shining bright white. Danny stepped carefully over the threshold, gasping slightly when the giant web finally came into sight. It hung horizontally near the ceiling above the bed.
Off to the side, Peter was frowning worriedly. "It's creepy, isn't it? I'm sorry, I can—I'll clean it up now."
"Not at all. Peter, this is beautiful! You did all this while we were at school?"
"Yeah, my silk finally solidified enough to really do this, and I got sort of carried away . . . Are you sure it's not creepy?"
"I would not lie about this. It looks like you were right when you said the spider bite gave you the gift of web-making."
Peter looked it all over. A minute later, he sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good, because I think it looks great, and I was afraid that was just me."
"It should not matter what I think. This is art, aesthetics. You are allowed to like what you like."
"Is it really okay though if I probably wouldn't feel quite the same way without the spider bite? I mean, I've always been a nerd so I did think that some nature stuff like webs were cool. But . . ." He shrugged.
"Of course it is okay. I am particularly fond of tea because of all the time I spent at Kun'Lun, but I did not enjoy it as much when I was younger. Our likes and dislikes are allowed to change over time." Danny studied him. "You asked Ava the same question."
Peter sighed again, more wearily this time. "Yeah, and she told me the same sort of things."
Danny nodded. "Good. Never be afraid of changes, Peter. We are at the time in our lives when we discover who we are and who we are meant to be. You should only have to worry about being true to yourself."
"That's why I'm so worried though! Who I was before the spider bite is different from who I am now. Which version of myself am I supposed to be true to?"
"We can plan for the future and remember the past, but we can only live in the present. Any changes you feel are proof of progress towards your goal, whatever or whomever that may be."
Peter had that somewhat bemused look on his face that people often got after Danny gave advice. "Huh, thanks, Mr. Fortune Cookie. I'm going to have to think about that."
"Meditation will help. Would you like to meditate together?"
"I thought you had to try to make me purr."
Danny shook his head. "I am here to make up for yesterday, so I will help you in any way I can."
A genuine smile stretched Peter's lips. "I appreciate that. I really don't blame you though. Yesterday was a huge mess and I think your little aroma therapy worked to some extent. Knowing that spinnerets were growing in my wrists without me even realizing it for a while . . . It's crazy, and I was feeling like I was slipping into shock or something. But then I started to feel more . . . mellow about it. I'm not saying that I'm happy I was unknowingly drugged, but I was probably all too capable of having a breakdown. I am currently feeling all too capable of having a breakdown, although it's less now." He looked at Danny. "Does any of that make any sense?"
"I believe so, but I really do promise not to let that happen again. From now on I will help you in safer and more respectful ways."
"Great, now I just have to get Sam to promise that too." Peter chuckled. "All right, Master Iron Fist, give me another lesson in meditation."
Peter called them lessons, but Danny knew that he had understood the concept the first time it had been explained to him. Most people did, although Peter was exceptionally capable of sitting still for extended periods of time. Danny sometimes wondered if that was another gift from his spider side. Spiders were supposed to be able to wait silently on their webs for hours. But Peter was still prone to being fidgety when something was bothering him.
Like right now.
Danny kept his eyes closed, remaining cross-legged on the floor and ignoring the sound of movement nearby. Peter had admitted there were a lot of things on his mind. Danny wouldn't, couldn't rush him to peace. So he did the only thing he could do: continue the meditation.
"Breath in, pulling in the vitality from the air," he instructed calmly and slowly. "Breath out, releasing any negative energy. Breath, and feel how the vitality flows out from your lungs, out into every part of you. Feel the energy reach your head, charging your thoughts and inner eye. Open your inner eye, seeing yourself anew. Feel the energy travel down your arms, into each and every finger. Press your thumb into each finger, feeling every movement that goes into this seemingly simple—"
"I can't do it," Peter said abruptly. "I can't."
Danny opened his eyes, surprised to see Peter looking quite troubled. He had abandoned the proper cross-legged form in favor of hugging knees up to his chest. "Are you all right?"
Peter looked at him. "I'm sorry, I'm fine. I just don't want to meditate anymore. Wanna do something else instead?"
"Be honest. Hiding from fear only lets it grow."
"It's not fear."
"Then what is it?"
Peter stared at him for another few seconds before speaking. "It's . . . It's different now. Meditating, being mindful of everything . . . Everything now includes spinnerets and fangs and venom sacs for me and—I can feel them. I can feel them and—sure—I've been feeling at least two of them for a while now, but . . . I can feel them."
It finally occurred to Danny that this was the first time they meditated since Peter had gained all of those new features. It was true that meditating focused on self-awareness. Danny chided himself for not foreseeing this. "I am sorry, I did not realize that this might make you feel uncomfortable. But may I ask exactly what is bothering you about that? Are you sore anywhere?"
"No, it's not that. It's . . . A million people could be meditating in the world right now, and I'm the only one who's suddenly feeling my spinnerets twitching and the way my fangs kind of move with my breathing and—I can feel the venom sacs. I haven't felt them since last week."
Danny took that in. "Do not fear a different experience, Peter. No two people ever experience the same thing the same way."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Peter agreed sadly. "But I sort of wish there was someone out there who knew what this felt like. Someone else who thought this was normal." He paused, looking down at his knees. "Aunt May sometimes asks me if anything feels off, if Connors needs to check me out. I don't know how to answer all the time, but I don't want her to worry."
That explained a great deal. "Have you told her about this?"
Peter focused on him again. "Not—not really, no. She hardly believes me when I say I'm fine as it is. Imagine if she had any more reason to doubt me."
His Chi bubbled with pain again, mixed with regret this time. Danny was beginning to get an idea of the reasons now. "Have you told Ava?"
"A little. She kind of understands things like this."
"And now you're telling me."
"Yeah . . . What do you think about it?"
"It is really interesting to finally understand this side of you. I suspected it might be uncomfortable to gain these new features, but I had no idea that they could come with so much uncertainty."
Peter shrugged, a small, rueful smile on his face. "There aren't any Web MD articles on spinnerets. It turns out there's one on fangs though. It was written by Dr. McCoy and others from the X-Men which was pretty interesting. But my fangs are a little different than the norm, or whatever counts as the norm for fangs."
"So you have had to take the time to establish what is normal for you?"
"Pretty much, yeah. It's a lot harder than it sounds though." A frown pulled Peter's lips back down. He began to rub one of his wrists, his thumb carefully pressing in certain areas. It looked methodic.
Danny cocked his head. "What are you doing?"
Blinking, Peter glanced down at his hands. "Oh—that's—um—it's a way I figured out how to relax my—uh—spinnerets, so I don't use them by accident. They tense up a lot."
Danny smiled wryly. "Yes, I noticed that about you."
"You can tell that they're tense?"
"Not necessarily your spinnerets. You are often tense in some way. Induced by the stress of leadership, perhaps?"
Peter scoffed. "Leadership is just the icing on top of the stress cake that's made with alternating layers of teenage drama and superheroing, filled with spidery . . . jelly . . ." He blinked. "Okay, I kind of lost the metaphor there, but you get the point."
"I think the metaphor is very illustrative. You have a lot of weight on your shoulders." That gave Danny an idea. "Would you like a neck massage?"
Peter looked hesitant but tempted. "That sounds nice, but you're my guest."
"A guest who owes you for yesterday. Let me help you relax properly. I would offer acupuncture instead, but I suspect you may not be comfortable with that."
"Yeah, no, no needles."
"Then come. This will help ease you out of that hunch."
"I'm not hunching." Peter quickly corrected his posture, moving so his back was to Danny. "I'm just . . ."
"Trying not to stick your neck out, hm?"
"Exactly! I get into enough trouble already—ooh, that does feel good," Peter said when Danny started massaging his shoulders. "Are masseuse lessons part of monk training?"
"To some extent. The masters of Kun'Lun have collected many methods of holistic healing over the years. I studied many of them. The man who now calls himself Scorpion thought it was a waste of time, but I thought it was a good idea to learn to heal and not just to battle."
"Hm, well, I'd say you're right. Scorpion doesn't know what he's talking about 'cause your massage game is on point."
Danny smiled as he pressed into Peter's surprisingly stiff muscles. Spider-Man's fluid grace sometimes gave him the impression of being made of rubber, but that was obviously not the case. His muscles were nearly as hard as Luke's, and Danny had tried to massage through Luke's impenetrable skin several times. He rubbed hard and deep.
It was somewhat sad to know that his suspicions were right. Peter really was incredibly tense. But after a few minutes he began to loosen up.
And then the vibrations started. They weren't audible, but Danny could feel it under his fingertips.
Peter inhaled sharply. "Oh man, can you feel that?"
"Yes, would you like me to stop?"
"I kind of want to say keep going, but . . ." The purring increased, almost becoming audible. Peter lurched forward, rubbing at his chest. "Okay, no, let's stop right there."
Danny immediately pulled his hands away. "Is it uncomfortable?"
"It's . . . strange. I'm not used to it yet. I was kind of hoping I only did it while drugged, but that's obviously not the case. It isn't as loud as yesterday though." He continued to rub his chest for a few more seconds, then sighed. "It stopped now."
"I am sorry, I did not mean to make you purr."
"It's not your fault. I sort of suspected that there was a chance. You really are a good masseuse, so take it as a compliment? At least you didn't lose Sam's bet." Peter returned to leaning against the wall.
Danny wasn't sure if he should feel happy or guilty that he had gotten his friend to purr. Peter at least looked more relaxed now, even if he seemed sort of grumpy. "We still have some time. Would you like to continue meditating instead?"
"I don't know, that was even stranger."
"But you said you want to establish what is normal for you, that you will not hide from it any longer. That will require much mindfulness on your part. You can always do it in your own time, but I can help you now."
Peter considered him for a long moment. "Fine. I guess I did agree to that the other day."
They resumed their meditation positions.
Luke approached the front door of the Parker house. He didn't even need to knock before the door opened. Danny smiled at him.
"Hey," Luke greeted. "Did you get him to purr?"
"I did, by accident. I was trying not to embarrass him further."
"It shouldn't be embarrassing. It's no worse than someone having a funny laugh or something."
"Tell Peter that. He is trying to clean up his room. Get up there before he cleans too much. Good luck."
Raising his eyebrow at the odd statement, Luke complied. He trotted up the stairs and straight to Peter's room. Both his eyebrows shot up when he saw what Danny meant.
"Whoa . . ." Luke muttered as he gawked at the webbing. He hardly noticed when Peter froze at his entrance, a big ball of silk bundled in his arms.
"Oh—uh—hey Luke. You normally knock."
"Sorry, I figured you were expecting me. You did all this in one morning?"
"Yeah." Peter put the bundle down and climbed up the wall, pulling down some more silk strands. "And it's going to take all night to clean it all up."
"You don't have to. The web looks awesome! Can it hold my weight?"
Peter looked over at it scrutinizingly. "It should, I think. The silk has been feeling more like my synthetic stuff today, so I'm assuming it has similar strength."
"Cool." Luke reached up, grabbing one of the strands and testing his weight on it. It held, so he pulled himself up and reclined. "Ah, this is nice. I can see why you enjoy web hammocks now."
"Um, thanks."
Luke motioned him over. "Come on, stop cleaning up your hard work and chill out with me."
"Except May is going to kill me when she sees this. Besides, I used way too much. I need to—I mean, well—"
"Recycle?" Luke guessed. He looked over in time to see Peter turn away embarrassedly. "It's okay, Pete. Do what you need. We told you it's all good."
"At least this quirk is harmless enough," Peter admitted quietly. He rolled up a short strand and tentatively popped it into his mouth.
Luke sat up a little. He had been so distracted by the comfy web that he had forgotten about certain recent events. He really didn't want to officially bring it up, but keeping these sorts of things quiet was what made Peter uncomfortable about this in the first place. "You're still upset about biting Kraven?"
"Of course I am! I could have—he could have died!"
"There was a very tiny chance he could have died," Luke conceded. "Doc Connors told us that your venom could take hours to—you know . . ."
"I know. But if I hadn't remembered, if I hadn't said anything—"
"Then Shield would have figured it out. They're good doctors who've seen stranger things. I'm sure they would have identified it as a spider bite."
Peter's eyes were downcast. It was still a little strange to see them green instead of blue, but Luke was almost used to it. "And then they would have thought he was bitten by a giant spider, which I was almost turned into."
"Wolverine said that the poison turned you into a spider-human beast, not a giant spider," Luke corrected, realizing too late how not-comforting that was. But somehow it seemed to make Peter feel better.
"That's true, but whatever I was . . . You guys should never have to see it. I freaked Wolverine out and he's one of the most battle-hardened heroes I know."
Internally, Luke conceded that was a fair point, but that didn't mean he thought the rest of that statement was right. "You handled the Goblin-ized versions of me and the rest of the team. I'm sure we can handle a ferocious version of you."
"I hope so. Better yet, I hope it never happens again. I don't want to bite people." Peter looked Luke in the eye. "But . . . I can't say I really regret biting Kraven. Is that a bad sign?"
"Not at all. Remember when we talked about this the day Electro attacked the school? I told you that it'd be fine. And maybe it's not as . . . mundane as I expected, but—"
"Mundane? You thought biting people and injecting them with venom would be mundane?" Peter interrupted incredulously.
"Well, not exactly . . . I guess I didn't really think about the consequences. I honestly didn't think that anything coming out of you could be fatal."
A small, confused smile formed on Peter's face. "Is that a compliment?"
"Hey, it's just a simple fact that you're Mr. Goody Two Shoes who helps little old ladies cross the street. I'm sure no one in the entire world would guess you have some badass venom now. Except Jameson, maybe." Luke made a face.
"Jameson would have a field day if he knew all of this." And just like that, Peter's smile disappeared as if it had never been there. Luke shook his head.
"Who cares about what he'd say? He's already busy lying about you. And no one would believe it anyway. Because if you were as much of a menace as he claimed, then you wouldn't care about Kraven at all. You wouldn't care about us. And yet here you are, moping on your wall, worrying about everyone you know."
Peter looked down at himself as if just noticing that he had slowly transitioned into a brooding position with his arms crossed. He rolled his eyes, crawling along the wall to recline on the web near Luke. It jostled from the extra weight, but held. "I'm not moping, but you've got a point there. And . . . I've sort of been meaning to thank you for telling me that it could be okay to have and sometimes use my venom. It gave me a lot to think about. It helped me think it was okay to think about. I may not be entirely proud or entirely regretful or entirely sure of anything regarding my venom, but it's nice to know you're willing to talk about it."
"Why wouldn't I be? We're friends and teammates. Not to mention you helped me find my parents. I owe you so much more than a bit of conversation."
"You don't owe me anything. And you saved me the other day, so that counts as repayment or whatever anyway."
Luke sighed. "It took entirely too long to get you out of there. You pretty much handled it all by yourself. That's the first time you've ever sort of stopped your own kidnapping by the way."
"Huh, I guess so. I'm . . . not sure how to feel about that, considering what it took."
"Well, this one was a little different, wasn't it? Kraven wasn't just taking your blood like Doc Ock. He was trying to poison you, and—don't take this the wrong way, but you seem kind of afraid of that."
"I am," Peter confessed more easily than usual. "Luke, I'm not kidding when I say that I never want to be turned into a monster again. Especially not with you guys near. Kraven—He threatened to turn me loose on you, and I couldn't let that happen."
Luke listened silently. Ava had mentioned something about that after she read the mission report, but it was a lot harder to hear it directly from Pete, particularly with the haunted way he said it.
"I'll never hurt the team," Peter continued, voice now laden with a solemn cadence. "Never. I've lost too many people. I won't lose you too."
That was something Luke could understand wholeheartedly. Without his parents, the team was the closest thing he had to a family. Even with his parents back now, Luke wouldn't give up the team for the world. "We'll be here for you, Pete. We may not live the safest lives, but we'll never leave you because of your spider stuff or for any other reason."
Peter stared at him as if looking for any hint of falsehood. Luke felt bad that Peter found it so hard to believe. He wondered if Peter's doubt was caused from that time the rest of the team had been Goblinized. Luke didn't remember what horrible things he might have said then, but it had definitely taken some time to regain Peter's full trust after that. Maybe they had made fun of his spider side. That would explain why he had waited so long to tell them. Luke hoped they weren't acting anything like those awful versions of themselves.
Seemingly content with what he saw, Peter smiled much wider than before. "Thanks. I—It—" His eyes widened as a low rumbling noise filled the air. Luke cocked his head.
"Is that your purring?"
Peter nodded, blushing pink. "If this is going to be a thing now, I'm going to die of embarrassment."
Luke had to fight back a laugh. The look on Pete's face was funny, but the circumstance was a little more serious than that. "Aw, but it's so nice to know you care about us this much. And that's the same response I would have given you months ago. Maybe not a year ago, but we've been close knit for a while now."
"I know, it's not like I don't trust you guys." Peter started to rub his chest as the purring subsided. "Are you, like, offended that I haven't purred around you before? I swear it's nothing personal. It's just that life isn't easy and school isn't exactly relaxing and neither are missions and—"
"I'm not offended," Luke cut off his rambling. "None of us are. I mean, I was worried that maybe you were depressed or something, but I don't really know if we can really gauge your emotions from purring. I kind of assumed the happy thing because of cats, but you're not a cat at all. Are you happy right now, or . . .?"
Peter shrugged. "A little happy? A little relieved? Um—I don't know. I don't think I purr when I'm just happy. So far it's happened when . . ." A look of revelation passed over his face. "Oh, I get it, I purr when I feel safe with family. Or very close friends," he added hastily.
"Makes sense. That's what Sam said last night."
"He did? Hm, well, yeah, I guess he's right." Peter looked surprised before his face turned troubled. "Do you think I might purr with Harry and MJ?"
Luke tilted his head in a so-so gesture. He tried not to be mean about Harry, but Harry certainly wasn't kind in regards to their superhero personas. It was hard to believe that he and Peter could still be close friends. "Maybe, but . . . you didn't start purring until after you told us how you feel about your spider stuff. Harry and MJ don't even know you're Spider-Man."
"Yeah, you're right. It's kind of nerve wracking to be around MJ anyway what with the play and everything. And Harry . . . Hopefully he'll still be willing to speak to me next week."
"At least now you'll have a chance to actually talk about Spider-Man now that you've 'met him'." Luke smirked.
"You guys are going to have a field day with that, aren't you?"
"Oh, you know it."
Peter chuckled. "You're lucky I like you like family, or else I'd have to take more extreme measures than pranking you back."
"As if your pranks aren't extreme."
"Don't worry, Sam's going to get the bulk of my revenge."
"Fair enough." Luke smiled, feeling like he understood why Peter purred a little better. It was rather nice to hear certain things spoken out loud, particularly affirmations about being unofficial family.
Ava ran up the stairs after Luke gave her a quick summary of his and Danny's successes. As much as she didn't want to upset Peter by using him for Sam's bet, she also didn't want to lose the bet either. Knowing that the guys had gotten him to purr, she couldn't let herself be the only one who couldn't. She was the one he trusted first, so he should feel comfortable enough to purr with her.
She burst into his room. For a second, she thought it was empty until the giant web caught her eye. Peter was sprawled out in the center of it. "Hey, Pete, nice web."
Peter shifted so he could see her. "Thanks. Everyone's talking about my web today."
"It's kind of hard to miss. Anyway, we've got an hour. Do you want to let Phoebe out? I'm sure she'd love to see this."
"Oh, she already has," Peter assured her as he got up. He climbed to the edge of the web, flipping down gracefully and approaching his closet. "Phoebe's the one who helped me do all this. It turns out that using spinnerets is actually easier than my web shooters, but I needed some guidance to do it right."
"Really?" Ava shut the door behind her before strolling in to inspect Peter's handiwork. There was silk everywhere now that she was looking. "Wow, you had a busy morning."
"While you were practicing quadratics, I was practicing this. Phoebe's been my teacher all day." Peter turned away from the closet with Phoebe on his arm. He laughed at something she said to him. "Yes, you've been a great teacher. Thanks for returning the favor."
Ava smirked. "That's sweet. Phoebe, is he passing your class?"
Peter listened for her reply. "Yes, I am. She says I'm a fast learner."
"Good. It would have been pretty embarrassing if Spider-Man failed his web-making class."
"Hey, I would have gotten it eventually. It definitely would have taken longer for me to learn without her though. Spider silk is still quite a big mystery in science."
"But you said it's easy."
Peter shrugged, moving back to the web and raising his arm to allow Phoebe to climb onto the web. "Yeah. The movements weren't that hard to learn, and some things only take, like, a thought. Believe it or not, I still have multiple silk types available. I just have to think about what I need. Or want it? I'm not 100% sure how it works, and it's slightly disturbing, but really easy, so I'm not exactly complaining."
Ava raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound disturbing. What sort of types can you make? I'm assuming taser webs aren't an option."
"Ha, no. No taser webs. But I can do thin strands and thick strands, and then sticky or non-sticky versions of the thin and thick ones."
"Huh, so not all of these are sticky?"
"Nope. The web isn't. That's why Luke was able to get out of it himself. The sticky ones really are sticky though. Some of the random lines around the room are sticky, so be careful." Peter's eyes narrowed and his head tilted. "What did you bring?"
"What?" Ava asked innocently.
"You're holding something behind your back. What did you—? Is that chirping?" His eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, crickets."
Rolling her eyes, Ava revealed the container in her hands. It was always hard to surprise people with enhanced senses. "I wanted to replace the ones I lost."
"Well, thanks." He looked up at the little spider in his web. "Phoebe says she's happy. She really enjoyed playing the 'bug game' with you."
Ava smiled brightly as she handed it over. It was good to know that her first night spider-sitting hadn't been a complete failure. "You're welcome."
The room was quiet for a moment. Awkwardly so. Peter cleared his throat. "So . . . are you really here to—um—make me purr, or . . .?"
"Isn't that what we've all been here for?"
"Danny actually wasn't, but he got me to purr anyway, so I'm not even sure if it matters at this point," Peter grumbled. Ava cocked her head.
"Does it bother y—"
"No, it doesn't really bother me," Peter answered quickly with a small smile. "You're not the first to ask me that."
"Are you sure? You don't sound too keen on this."
"I'm sure. I like hanging out with all of you. It's only the purring bit that's still weird. But Phoebe has been doing it for a little while now, so I'm trying to get used it."
That reminded Ava of her question. "So she purrs too? Have you ever purred with her?"
Peter sighed. "Yeah, not that I noticed. I assumed all the purring was coming from her, but now I know that's not true. She told me all the times I did it. We've established that it's not caused by happiness like you guys have been saying."
"Is it love then?"
"Not really. Well . . . kind of. It's more like family. I care about the team a lot. I care about Phoebe a lot, and she cares about me. Not quite love, but not not love. Please don't make this more mortifying than it already is." The blush that had started on Peter's cheeks was extending to his ears. Ava tried not to laugh.
"We don't have to talk about it, but I do expect you to purr with me then. If I chuff with you, you have to purr with me. Got it?"
"Okay . . .? So what are we going to—?"
"We'll do whatever Phoebe wants to do. We already know you purr with her."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "That's cheating."
"It's an unfair advantage that I'm more than willing to use. So what do you want to do, Phoebe?"
Phoebe began to clap two of her legs together, jiggling the web excitedly. Peter looked vaguely bemused. "I mean, we could do that, but Aunt May's downstairs."
"Actually," Ava interjected. "She just left for a walk when I came in. What's Phoebe asking for?"
"Oh, okay, she's—uh—asking to play the bug game again."
"Sure, we can do that," Ava replied quickly before noticing the trepidation on Peter's face. "Or not. It's up to you.
"Um . . ." Peter watched Phoebe use her own silk to lower herself to eye level with him. For once, Ava was glad that she couldn't hear Phoebe, because if she was anything like a human toddler then she was probably pleading incessantly. "Um . . . well, if Ava doesn't mind, then I guess it's fine."
Ava shrugged. "Like I said, I'm willing to do whatever you and Phoebe want to do."
Peter thought about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, let's do it." With the skill of experience, he opened up the jar in such a way that allowed only about nine crickets to escape rather than the entire supply. "Okay, there are three crickets for each of us. Whoever catches them first is the winner."
"Ooh, a race." Ava smirked as she brought her amulet out, activating it. She felt the power course through her veins. The jumping crickets quickly caught her eye. She crouched down. "Are you both ready?"
Phoebe came down to the floor using her silk strand. Peter knelt near her. "Ready."
Having the little webs around the room made the hunt more challenging this time. The crickets now had places to hide. Ava searched for them, careful not to take down Peter's hard work. When she found her first unsuspecting victim, she pounced quickly. "Got one!"
"Phoebe did too," Peter informed her.
"Then you've got to catch up, bug boy."
"Hey, this is my game with my rules, and I say no more calling me bug boy!"
"This is technically Phoebe's game, and no such rule was mentioned."
"Oh yeah? What if I call you kitty girl or something?"
"Then I'll be hunting more than crickets today." Ava bared her fangs in a smile.
"Okay, never mind. Bug boy will just work harder to catch his first cricket."
"Good." Ava continued to prowl proudly.
Subtly, she watched Peter try this out. She still remembered how worried he had sounded when he had thought his super hero skills really came from hunting instincts. Ava understood that he was probably feeling very apprehensive right now, even if it hadn't initially occurred to her. But she felt like Peter really ought to figure it out. It wouldn't do him any good to keep worrying about it if he never knew if it was true or not. He wouldn't be able to control what he didn't know he had (or not). That was one thing Ava had some real experience with, so she felt confident about it.
Peter stayed knelt in place for several minutes, completely still. His eyes were trained on a cricket that was passing halfway across the room. Peter bit his lip, and Ava noticed that his fangs were a little longer than usual. Moving slowly, he crawled onto the wall, weaving with ease around the silk strands stuck there. When he was above the cricket, he lifted a hand up in preparation to jump down.
Thwawp.
"Aw man, not again," Peter grumbled. He grabbed the small wad of webbing, stuffing it in his mouth and swallowing. Ava continued to pretend like she wasn't watching. It was interesting to know that he was willing to eat his silk now that he could. She wondered if he was doing it because he felt comfortable enough about it, or if using so much silk really did take a toll on him and he needed to do it. Ava decided it didn't matter.
The cricket Peter had been eyeing moved after the sudden sound, but didn't go far. Peter adjusted his position and dropped down onto it, trapping it under both hands.
"I got one!" he exclaimed. He glanced back at Phoebe. "Thanks, I did do a pretty good job for my first try, didn't I?" A pause. "Or you could eat it. You're the growing spider here." Another pause and a groan. "Yes, I guess I'm sort of a growing spider too. Fine, I'll try it." He caught Ava's eye, smiling briefly. "I've—uh—got to set a good example, right?"
"Right," she agreed, returning the smile.
Ava went back to 'ignoring' him, watching out of the corner of her eye as Peter brought the cricket up to his mouth. When it was close enough, his fangs extended, grabbing the cricket and pulling it in. Peter made a small surprised noise and began to chew rapidly. A moment later he slowed, his eyes closing.
"Mm, Phoebe, you never told me that fresh ones taste better." He swallowed, licking his lips. "Yeah, maybe I should have tried it the first time I bought them for you."
Ava noticed she was openly staring now and turned away. Yes, that had been ever so slightly gross to watch, but she contributed that to the cricket. She could understand eating a bloody carcass, but live insects were small and squirmy. Not appetizing at all. To her, at least. Peter seemed to have a very different opinion.
Huh, would she look as happy as that with a fresh kill? She'd never had the chance to really catch anything, at least nothing that she would eat. She caught rats sometimes on patrol, but she would never eat something that lived in garbage.
"Um . . . Ava?"
She faced Peter again. He looked worried now. "What is it?"
"I—I know none of this is normal, but is it normal for people like us to enjoy strange food like that? Like, really enjoy it?"
"Sure, of course. I was just thinking of how nice a piece of raw veal would be about now," Ava replied honestly.
"Okay, okay." He licked his lips again. "I think I can smell them, and they smell good, but that might be because I'm getting hungry."
"Then eat. You can have the crickets I catch too. I tried the dead one for you, but I won't eat live ones." She snatched the one she'd been tracking before it could hop away. "Here."
"Thanks." Peter cocked his head. "Do you mind if I . . . um?" He pointed at his wrist.
"Go for it." Ava held the cricket up, ignoring how its legs wiggled. It was frustrating to dislike bugs this much when she could handle copious amounts of blood.
Aiming carefully, Peter moved his fingers similarly to how he did with his web shooters. A thwawp later and the cricket was pulled out of Ava's grip. Peter jerked his hand back and caught his prize.
"Ha! I still have awesome accuracy!"
Ava rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and your hunting skills aren't too shabby."
Peter looked at her. "That's . . . not as much of a revelation as I expected."
"You did already suspect the presence of said hunting skills."
"Fair point." He sighed. "Thanks for being here for this. It's nice to talk to someone who knows about these things."
"Well, once upon a time I was as confused as you. I've had the amulet for years though. Give yourself some time."
"I'm honestly kind of scared of what may change in time."
"Whatever happens, we'll be there for you."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
Silence for a beat. Ava frowned.
"Where's the purring?"
"I can't purr on command! At least, I don't think I can . . ."
"This seems like the perfect time for you to purr."
"I'm sorry, I don't feel like purring."
Ava huffed. She debated if asking Phoebe to help her out would work. It wouldn't be fair, although Sam would never know . . . But Ava would know, and she wanted to do this herself.
Peter began to chuckle, probably because of the frustrated look on Ava's face. She growled lowly at him. All he did was grin teasingly and eat his cricket. His fangs grabbed it again, but he seemed ready for that this time. He savored it.
Satisfied that Peter was having a good time, Ava searched for her last cricket so she could at least win this little hunting competition. She could hear one in the corner. Phoebe was already approaching that one though. Where were the other chirps coming from . . .?
Ava's ears perked up. Literally. It was something that happened often when her amulet was on and she heard something that peaked her interest.
"Peter, are you purring?"
"Ugh, yes."
Ava nodded once. "About time."
"At least I'm starting to get used to it," Peter replied dryly. "Phoebe, I appreciate the solidarity, but really you don't—oh, fine, whatever." Phoebe ran towards Peter at full speed, leaping onto his arm. Slightly higher pitched purring joined the mix as Peter cradled her there with his other hand. "Thanks," Peter said more fondly. "I like purring with you too."
Ava couldn't stop the wide smile that stretched her face and probably showed all her fangs. "Wow, you two really are adorable."
Peter looked up to glare at her, his purring fading away. "Nope, I've had enough compliments and heart-to-hearts today. You can go back to making fun of me now."
"Finally." Ava switched to a more conniving grin, but the effect was ruined as a chuff bubbled up from her throat. Peter's face lit up.
"Did you just chuff?"
"Hmph, fine, I won't make fun of your purring if you don't make fun of my chuff. Deal?"
"I don't know, now I kind of understand why you're all so intent on making me purr. It's nice to know you care."
"Do I need to remind you why tigers are generally considered deadly beasts?"
"Except for when you chuff."
Peter screamed and dove out of the way as Ava lunged at him.
Disappointed in himself, Peter watched a proud Ava leave his room. He'd had the advantage of his home turf, but after the short scuffle she had managed to pin him to the floor. Of course, he hadn't used much force since he didn't want to hurt her. But still. It was frustrating to know that she still had him beat when it came to proper combat. She'd used some fancy move to catch him off guard. It looked vaguely like Danny's style. Peter would have to ask him to teach it to him.
Oh well, at least he had learned that his new silk was just as easy to cut through as the synthetic stuff.
He looked up at his web. There was a tear in it now from when he tried to hide up there. He could just take it all down, but . . . it was rather comfortable and still mostly intact. Maybe he should fix it up. That was a skill too, right? A spider skill, sure, but one that might be helpful. Fixing a web intended as a trap would be way faster than making a whole new one.
Hm, it was somewhat unnerving how his current profession had similarities to spider life. But after talking to everyone today, that didn't bother him as much. Peter had to (begrudgingly) admit that maybe this was Sam's official first good idea.
He was distracted by giggling above his head. Phoebe was still where he'd placed her on the ceiling when the small fight had started. Speter lost.
"I didn't lose. I . . . let her win."
Phoebe dropped down and he caught her. Her legs hugged his hand. Speter more calm now. Phoebe joy.
Peter felt bad that Phoebe had probably been able to see past all the times he lied saying he was all right. She shouldn't have to deal with even a fraction of the angst he'd been feeling. Things were better now, though. The entire team knew, they understood, and they were okay with it all. Peter had been afraid that some of them may have had some qualms about his weirder quirks. But talking to them all individually today, they managed to convince him that they really truly didn't mind.
Well, he hadn't seen everyone yet. Sam was still due in a few minutes.
Peter wasn't sure if he should thank him or strangle him.
"Phoebe, Sam's coming soon, so I need you to go back into your Jungle Box for a bit. I'll take you out again when he leaves. Want to help me fix up my web then?"
Yup! Phoebe teach Speter more!
"Yup, you still get to be my teacher. Is fixing a web any different from making a new from scratch?"
A little. Needs more . . . Needs . . . um . . . She sent him an image of the process.
"It needs more planning and weaving? I can see that. Silk doesn't meld together like clay, so we need to weave it to make the broken strands long again, right?"
Yup! And looking. Careful looking.
"Looking? Looking for what?"
Weak silk. If more break, that not fun.
"Oh, that makes a lot of sense. You might need to remind me before we start later. I'm known to jump into a project without thinking."
Phoebe laughed. Okay. Phoebe good teacher.
"Yes you are, but don't go getting a big head now."
Big head? She felt her head with one of her front legs.
"It's an expression that means you think you're better than everyone else. Your head won't actually become bigger."
Oh, okay. Phoebe no big head.
"Good. And anyway, I already think you're great, so you don't need to worry about me forgetting that little fact."
Thanks!
Peter heard the front door open, followed by footsteps louder than May's. It seemed Sam had arrived. "Okay, let's get you in your Jungle Box. I'll try to get Sam out of here as fast as possible."
But Speter like Sam.
"I do, when he's not being super annoying. He really complicated my life way more than necessary this week, so . . . I'm a little upset at him."
Trap Sam in web? Phoebe suggested.
"That's—" Peter stopped himself from agreeing. Although he had in fact done that many times before, it didn't seem like the right lesson to be teaching Phoebe. "That's not going to teach him anything. I've already talked it over with him, so hopefully he understands now."
Okay. Speter good friend.
"I try."
With Phoebe hidden away, Peter opened his door just as Sam was approaching. Sam walked with a swagger that suggested he hadn't changed at all these past two days. Peter allowed himself to scowl a bit.
"So who lost?" Sam asked confidently.
"You didn't talk to them?"
"Nah, I've been playing video games the whole time. So did I win?"
"No, everyone got me to purr. Without the aid of your 'purrfume', might I add."
"Ooh, Purrfume, that's a great name for—Wait, I lost?!"
"Yup." Peter popped the 'p' for emphasis.
Sam looked a little shocked before he rolled his eyes. He pushed Peter aside and entered the bedroom, heedless of Peter's indignant "Hey!". Of course, Peter could have simply stood his ground if he really hadn't wanted to let Sam in. But he never did. He wondered if the team was accustomed to his usual refrain from force similar to how they were all used to Ava's (mostly) non-threatening growls.
Except for yesterday. Peter had bruised Sam in that brief fight. His eyes flicked down to look at Sam's arm. His sleeves were rolled up, but no bruising was visible. He must have flown here. The Nova helmet always did a good job of healing him up. Peter still felt awful about it though.
"Stop staring at my awesome and now unblemished muscles," Sam ordered. "I told you it was my own fault."
"But I—"
"No, no need to remind me how altruistic you are. Let me wallow in my loss in peace. Now I've got to pay for the team's snacks next time. Do you know how much Luke and Ava are gonna eat just to spite me? I'm gonna be broke!" Sam waved his arms for dramatic effect.
Peter scoffed. "Yeah, because that's the real issue today."
"Yeah! It totally—Why are there crickets hopping around your room?"
"Oh, um . . ." Peter realized that they had never caught last few crickets. He had thought Phoebe had caught them all—
No, Phoebe forgot. Sorry, Speter!
It's fine. Don't worry about it. You can catch them later.
"Um, Ava brought them over to make me feel better," Peter answered, which was mostly true for once.
"So you do eat them live."
"Not exactly . . ."
Sam cocked his head. "You use your venom?"
"I already told you, no! Bugs are too small! Plus I don't want to, and—honestly—I'm practically on empty anyway."
"Right, sorry. Can you feel the lack of venom?"
Peter looked away. "A little."
"Cool, I'm imagining you with a gas gauge now. So how do you not eat the crickets alive?"
The wording was slightly strange, but Peter appreciated how Sam avoided using the word 'kill'. They might be talking about insects, but it was still a strong word. "M—my fangs. They puncture it and—" he gulped. "That seems a lot worse now that I think about it. Sure, I asked Ava and she said it's okay, but it really really sounds terrible and—"
"Whoa, chill, Pete," Sam cut him off. "It sounds fine to me. I'd eat one live if you don't mind sharing. And people eat oysters they've just caught. And have you ever thought about how the new fresh hydroponic veggies can still be alive when you eat them if you leave them in water?"
Peter considered that, feeling his panic ebb away. "Can you really call plants alive when they're . . . well, plants? They don't even have brains."
Sam gasped as if he had been betrayed. "How dare you? You've met Groot and he doesn't have a brain!"
"Yes, I know Groot. He's at least sentient regardless of whether he has a brain or not. Although I'm pretty sure he still has more brains than you."
"Har har. Then how do you know that other plants aren't sentient too?"
"I—well—uh—Don't make me worry about plants too! What else am I supposed to eat if so many things may be alive and sentient?! What else will Danny eat?! He's already a vegetarian!"
Sam folded his arms and nodded. "Exactly, there you go! You know that you need to eat to survive, and so putting a tiny bug out of its misery in the name of nutrition is fine. Besides, impaling it with your fangs seems to be a quick and painless way to go."
Peter stared at him. "I . . . don't know if I want to talk about this anymore."
"Yeah, it's a very complicated issue. You think it's tough here on Earth? Try talking to aliens who think other alien species are delicacies. There're plenty who think humans are delicacies! I like to knock their teeth out. If they have teeth, that is. And you don't even want to know about the Baby Eaters." Sam shuddered.
Peter cast around for a change in topic. "Right, uh . . . You know, you're the first person who hasn't made a big deal about my web."
"Yeah, I saw it. I was trying to ignore your showing off. I bet I can still make one better once I learn how to use your web shooters. Speaking of which, now that you won't be needing them anymore—"
"Forget it. I'm still going to use them as my main source. You can fly anyway!"
"Fine." Sam sighed, surveying the room. "Oh well. I came here expecting to be the victor, and now I'm stuck with the future bill."
Deciding to be nice, Peter did not make fun of him. Phoebe was listening in, after all. "On the bright side, this turned out to be an okay day, so . . . thanks, I guess."
"Pfft, I didn't do it for you. This was all a ploy to get my sweater back. Plus I've still got the title of being the first to make you purr."
Peter couldn't refute that without talking about Phoebe or outright lying, so he allowed it. "Yeah, yeah, don't act like that means anything."
"Oh, but doesn't it?" Sam batted his eyelashes. Peter suddenly felt rather hot under the collar.
"W—what are you talking about? I do it for family, right? Luke said you thought so."
"Sure, that's what I said. Doesn't mean I lose my title." Sam clapped him on the back. "I'm gonna see if Fury raises my salary, aka allowance. Later, Web Head."
Peter watched him go, eyes narrowed shrewdly. Did Sam actually know why regular spiders purred? Peter didn't know, and frankly, he didn't want to care. Sam hadn't said it outright, so Peter wouldn't either. It wasn't even true for him anyway, so it didn't matter, right?
Right, that made sense.
He let Phoebe out when he heard the front door open again. "All right, let's get to that web repairing lesson, Professor Phoebe."