Peter folded yet another chair and put it in a rack with the others. It had been a long evening, but it was worth it. He had often helped May at the community center she worked at, but ever since being "blipped" back into existence, he found himself there even more often. It had been hard at first, but he eventually got back out there as Spider-Man after a month or so, and it was good to be back out there. However, coming back also seemed to bring a renewed focus on the civilian side of his life; how he could be making an impact just as himself. He could still remember how obsessed he was over becoming an Avenger. Looking back, while he didn't regret his association with them, he was happy going back to being a friendly neighborhood hero. He certainly didn't have any desire to go to space for a good while, that was for certain.
May had organized a big Thanksgiving meal for those in the community in need, particularly those who'd been displaced by the Blip. Several hundred had turned out for it, which was both good and bad: good, because it meant they were providing for a need, but bad because there was such a huge need in the first place. As he continued to fold and stack tables and chairs, Peter reflected on the true impact of what he did, both as Spider-Man and as Peter. On nights like this, he almost wondered how big of an impact he was really having. Sure, he'd played a small role tonight in feeding many families who desperately needed it, and that was a great thing. However, this had done nothing to improve these people's situations in the long term. His aunt and the others who worked at the center had been working overtime in order to provide for what other needs they could, but there just seemed to be too much demand and not enough supply.
As he finished a full rack of chairs, Peter glanced over and saw a boy sitting along the wall near the other side of the building. Right about then, May walked up to him,
"You did really good tonight," May said, a warm, appreciative smile on her face. "I appreciate all your help."
"Thanks," Peter said, before gesturing with a nod of his head towards the kid. "Who is that? I think I've seen him here a few times recently."
May turned to look in the direction Peter had gestured at. "Oh, that's Colton," she replied, looking back at him. "He's Grace's son."
"She just started working here, right?" Peter questioned.
"Yep," May confirmed. "She hasn't said as much, but I think she did it as much for him as for herself. She says he struggles to socialize in school, and she thought having him here, just hanging out with other kids, would be good for him."
"Did he or any of his family get blipped?" he asked.
"All of them, just like us," May answered.
Peter nodded. That was one way he and May were lucky: neither one of them had really missed any time together as a result of both being a victim of Thanos's insane plan to cleanse the universe and save it from overpopulation. It meant their living situation wasn't the most stable for a while, but the they eventually weathered the storm and got an apartment. It was small, but it suited their needs just fine.
"Well, I've got to finish up some stuff before we leave, so I'll probably still be a little bit," May said.
"Oh, okay," Peter said, shaken from his line of thought. "I'll wrap up here." May nodded, and turned to head to the kitchen to finish some of the clean up. Peter went back to gathering the seats, eventually putting away the remaining chairs and tables. It had taken quite some time to complete this task mostly by himself, since most people couldn't volunteer much due to needing to take care of their own in the wake of a world changing event. He didn't really mind though; it was a simple, almost meditative task that allowed him to just focus on something. Things hadn't been easy since Tony...since he lost him. Pepper had told him that the man had been motivated to basically discover time travel, and with it the means to get everybody back, because of him. Because Tony had lost HIM. He knows this should've made him feel better, but it only made him feel guilty. If he hadn't been so persistent, maybe he and Tony would never have really gotten close, and then...
Peter shook his head, momentarily resetting his train of thought. Anytime his mind went down that line of thinking, he would gradually feel worse and worse, and he was really getting tired of it. He knew everyone needed to grieve in their own way, but he was getting more and more ready to move on. Peter knew he couldn't just force it, but he hoped it would get easier soon.
He looked up to see Colton still sitting in the same spot against the wall. He was a little closer now, and he could see the boy holding a notepad in his lap, but he looked like he hadn't been writing in it. Figuring there would be no harm in going over and introducing himself, Peter walked over to the boy, kneeling down in front of him.
"Hey," he said meekly, keeping his voice soft and light. "I'm Peter."
The boy looked up at him for a moment, saying nothing before returning his eyes to his paper.
"Did you draw something?" Peter asked, guessing that asking about something the kid was into or had done might help him perk up a bit. It seemed to work a little, as the boy simply nodded.
"Can I see it?" Peter asked. "You don't have to, but I'd like it if you did."
The boy hesitated for a moment before lifting the notepad and rotating it, revealing none other than a drawing of Spider-Man. Peter smiled at the irony of the situation.
"That's really good," Peter said brightly. "I can't even draw a stick figure right."
The boy seemed to chuckle at his joke. Good, maybe he was getting somewhere after all.
At the risk of feeling self-indulgent, Peter pressed the Spider-Man thing further: "Why did you draw him? Is he one of your favorite superheroes?"
The boy nodded once more, but he still looked a little sad.
"Well, if he's your favorite, why are you sad to talk about him?" Peter asked. The boy hesitated, as if contemplating whether he should even respond at all, before finally answering.
"I wish I could do what he does."
Peter was a little taken aback by this answer. He felt he shouldn't have been so surprised at the thought that little kids would love the thought of having the powers or technology of their favorite heroes. It was just so weird that some kid wanted to be...him, basically.
"What do you mean?" Peter asked. "Like, you want his powers?"
"Yeah," Colton replied, "that way I can help people, like he does."
Peter smiled for a moment, glad that he had in some way inspired someone, though not necessarily how he thought.
"Why do you think you need powers to be a hero?" he asked.
"Super heroes are the ones that save the day," Colton replied, "and that's what I want to do."
"Yeah, they do," Peter said. His brain was trying its best to think of a good and proper response to the boy's thoughts, but he wasn't sure what the right words were. He wanted to convey so badly that you don't have to be a superhero to make a difference, but he was nervous about saying the wrong thing and messing it all up. Finally, he thought of something remotely good (maybe), so he rolled with it.
"What if I told you that Spider-Man isn't a hero because he has powers?" he asked.
"That's impossible," the boy replied dismissively.
"Maybe not as much as you might think," Peter said. "Don't villains have powers to?"
Colton looked up for a moment, like he was thinking. "Yeah," he finally replied.
"Well, why aren't they heroes?" Peter questioned.
"Because they're bad," the boy replied, as if it were obvious.
"Sort of," Peter corrected. "Heroes are heroes and villains are villains because of the choices they make with what they can do, not because of those things themselves."
The boy looked down at his notebook for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah, but I still don't have any powers."
"Maybe not something like super strength or speed, but it doesn't take those things to be a hero," Peter said.
"It doesn't?" the boy asked.
"Nope," Peter replied. "Actually, there are a lot of ways you can be a hero!"
"Like what?" the boy asked, his curiosity now peaked.
"Well, did you know that, in addition to fighting super villains, Spider-Man also gives people directions and helps old ladies cross the street?" Peter asked. "He didn't even need to use his powers for those, but he did them because they were the right things to do."
"So, doing the right thing makes me a superhero?" Colton asked enthusiastically.
"Yes, but you can't do it just so you can feel like a hero," Peter clarified. "You should do it because it's right and because it will help someone else. It's not always easy to do the right thing."
"What do you mean?" Colton asked.
"Well, how old are you?" Peter asked.
"10," the boy answered.
"Does your mom ask you to do anything around the house? Any chores or anything?"
The boy's face dropped as he answered. "Yeah, she asks me to clean my room."
"Well, that can be a way for you to be a super hero to her!" Peter said. "Your mom works a lot, she cooks your food, she washes your clothes, so just cleaning your room actually helps her out a lot."
"I...I guess I never thought of it that way," Colton replied.
"See, being a superhero isn't always some big thing; a lot of the time, it's little things," Peter said. "You just have to be looking for the ways you can help people, and do it."
"What are you boys talking about?" a voice suddenly said from his side. Peter turned to see Colton's mom, Grace, standing a few feet from him.
"Oh, Colton was just showing me his drawing of Spider-Man," Peter said, not particularly wanting to draw much attention to the discussion they had. "He's very good."
"See, I told you people like your drawing!" the boy's mom said as she turned to him. "Come on Colt, let's go home."
The boy put his notebook in his backpack and through it over his shoulders as he stood up.
"Thank you for keeping him entertained for a bit," Grace said.
"Yeah it's no problem," Peter replied. "Have a good night," he added as he waived to the boy and his mother as they walked out. About that time, May walked out.
"Sorry I took so long," she said apologetically. "Ready?"
"Ready," Peter affirmed as he lead his aunt out the door.
About a month later, it was already time for the community center's Christmas Eve event. For as big as just the Thanksgiving meal had been, this was a much larger deal: there would be not only a meal, but also gifts for the kids and care packages for the adults, plus music and games. As such, May made a much stronger push for recruiting volunteers, and Peter had even asked around a little bit at school if anyone would be interested. Only Ned had given him a definitive yes, which had unfortunately turned into a no when he had messaged Peter earlier that day saying he got sick the night before, but that he would be there in spirit.
Unfortunately, being there in spirit doesn't help much with set up, tear down, or anything in between.
Peter was frantically moving from place to place, finally getting to the big project of the morning: decorating the tree. He had just set down the box and started hanging the ornaments when he heard May call to him from behind.
"Hey Peter?"
"Yeah?" he replied, choosing to remain on task until May's need called for a change.
"I think I managed to find another volunteer; maybe they can help you with the tree?" she said.
"Sure," Peter said, putting on an ornament before turned around. "I can use all the help I can..."
When he saw who was standing next to May, his heart rate suddenly sped up and his eyes grew wide in nervous surprise.
"M.J.?"
"You look surprised," she teased him.
"No no, I..." The truth was, he was surprised, since when he had asked her a week ago if she was interested, she just said she would think about it, but he wasn't about to let that on.
"I'm just teasing," she said, a huge smirk on her face.
"Right," Peter said, letting out a nervous laugh. M.J. had this nasty habit of constantly keeping him on his toes...one of the many reasons why he'd grown a huge crush on her in the last few months. He looked at May, who he hadn't told this little secret but was clearly picking up on it, if her knowing smile was any indication.
Great, this was shaping up to be some night.
"Anyway, yeah, I could definitely use some help," Peter said, trying really hard to get his brain out of the foggy state it got in anytime M.J. was around these days. She took the initiative, walking up to the box and picking up a couple of ornaments to hang. Peter turned to May one last time, who gave a teasing wink before walking away, and it took him everything to keep from rolling his eyes so hard they stuck in his head.
Thankfully, his aunt didn't get much more opportunity throughout the night to tease him about his ever growing crush, the evening's schedule and activities keeping her plenty busy. Even better, M.J. ended up hanging around him all night as they took on various tasks together, including handing out presents to a lot of the kids. He had to admit, while part of him suspected she had a warmer side, never had it been more obvious than the joy she exuded in handing out each gift. The smile on her face was constant, and it was pretty infectious as each kid enthusiastically thanked her.
Later, after they had finished cleaning up and were just chilling out on the bleachers, Peter spoke up.
"I thought you did really good tonight," he said. "You were especially great with the kids."
If he didn't know any better, Peter could've swore he saw M.J.'s cheeks flush a little at his words.
"Just, you know, doing what we needed to do I guess," she replied, but a small smile stayed on her lips even after the words.
"Excuse me?"
Peter turned to see Colton and his mom.
"Hey guys!" Peter greeted enthusiastically. In the month or so since their initial conversation, Peter had checked up on the boy when he could. He seemed to be doing better, and had even shared about a couple "superhero" things he had done.
"Sorry for interrupting," the boy's mother said, "but Colton had something he wanted to say." She then looked down to her son, as if to signal it was his turn to speak.
"Thank you for the gifts you gave us tonight," the boy replied.
"You're very welcome," Peter replied. The boy then took off down the bleachers, playing with his new toy. His mother, however, stayed behind. She was looking down, like she was pondering saying something more.
"Everything okay?" Peter asked.
The woman finally lifted her head, and Peter could see tears forming in her eyes.
"Colton's teachers have been telling me he's been helping out his classmates and doing a lot of nice things for them," she said, "and he's been cleaning his room and doing a lot around the house too, so I asked him what made him do all this. He said it was his conversation with you."
At this, Peter blushed a little. He was never one to like being in the spotlight, especially without his mask and suit on.
"Your son is a nice kid," Peter said, opting to try and redirect the attention of the conversation. "He had it in him already."
"Thank you for seeing that," the woman replied as she struggled to hold back the tears. "Not only is he doing all this, but he's happier than I've seen him in a very long time. You've made a real impact on him. Thanks for taking the time to talk to him."
"It's not a problem," Peter replied. "I'm just glad he's doing better." The woman nodded and turned to walk back down the bleachers. Peter looked down, smiling lightly to himself. He was just grateful to have played such a small part in the boy's turning around. He turned and looked at M.J, who had a huge smile on her face as she looked at him.
"What?" he asked, his cheeks already flushing a little.
"Looks like I'm not the only one good with kids," she replied.
"I just got lucky, really," Peter said.
"Uh huh," M.J. said skeptically, but her smile was still there. "Tell that to the woman who was shedding tears of joy when she talked to you."
Peter looked down sheepishly for a moment before looking back out again. Colton was smiling, sharing his toys with the other kids as they all played together.
Whatever role he did play, he was just glad to have done so.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Continuing to pray for you all; stay safe and healthy!
"If one of you says to them, 'go in peace, keep warm and well fed', but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" James 2:14-17