Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had only been a couple of weeks since Peter had officially become an Avenger.

He was officially a fucking Avenger!!! 

Peter was still freaking out about that. Ned was worse though. He would go on rants for hours on how cool it was that his best friend was an Avenger. 

 Since the initiation he saw the team and spent time with them every day. 

May had gone on a much needed vacation to Europe, fully paid by the one and only Tony Stark, so Peter had been spending his days in Queens and his nights at the compound with all of the Avengers. 

The Avengers had sort of become a family to the boy. At first it felt like he was always intruding. On their traditions, on their space, in their home. But after a night of Mario Kart and Monopoly, Peter no longer felt like an intrusion. 

They would have game or movie nights once or twice a week, more if someone was having a bad day and just needed company. They had family dinners every Sunday night, and they had training days on Saturdays. 

His days were mostly routine. 

Wake up early in the morning. 

Drive himself to school. (It was more Karen driving the car since in Mr. Stark’s words, “I would be a fool to let the spider-kid drive himself to school.” So his mentor/father figure had installed way too many protocols and safety measures into the car. He had even made it bulletproof.)

Go through the school day like normal and have Decathlon team practice after school most days. 

He would then patrol until he was tired or until he got injured. 

Then he would make his way back to the compound and after spending some quality time with the Avengers, he would go to sleep and start it all again in the morning. 

He liked the routine. 

He liked having something to rely on every day. The structure lulled him into a sense of peace. 

Today however, was different. Today was the first Friday of the month. Today was graveyard day. 

11 Years Ago

“C’mon buddy we gotta go.” Uncle Ben’s voice cut through the haze that was six year old Peter Parker’s thought. It had been a couple weeks since the unfortunate plane crash that had claimed his parents. 

“I don’t wanna go.” Peter’s voice was high pitched and filled with emotion. Sadness. Grief. Loss. 

His Uncle stepped through the doorway he had been leaning against and walked over to Peter’s bed. He crouched down next to the boy who was sitting on the edge of the bed so that he was under his eye level. 

“Why not Pete?” 

The little boy sniffed as tears started to roll down his face. “I don’t want to see their graves. I want them!” His voice managed to become even higher pitched on the last word. 

Ben gave him a small but comforting smile. “I’m sorry bud. This is the best I can do.” 

Peter logically knew that he couldn’t see his parents again. They were gone. Dead. Six feet under. In some place better. With the angels. 

He gave a small nod and hopped off the bed. 

“I’m ready.” He sounded like he was trying to affirm to himself that he was indeed, ready. 

After that it became tradition for Peter to go to his parent’s graves on the first Friday of each month. 

3 years ago. 

Peter and his Aunt May stood in front of the three graves. The funeral had just ended but Peter couldn’t bring himself to leave. It had been his fault that Uncle Ben had died. If only he had stopped that robber when he had the chance. 

But Peter had been weak and another person with the Parker name had suffered because of it.

Because of Peter, there was another grave to visit on Friday’s like these. 

1.5 years ago

A clock tower. A fucking clock tower. 

Gwen had fallen and Peter couldn’t save her. Peter had let the glider hit the clock tower, and Gwen had died because of it. 

Gwen’s blood was on his hands. 

But so was Harry’s. 

He didn’t mean to kill the Goblin. But he wasn’t beating himself up about it. 

It hurt that he was never going to see his friend again, but Harry had died the second the Goblin had appeared. Peter’s had refused to give Harry his blood but Harry had still found a way to alter his DNA. Once that happened, there was no going back. So Peter hadn't killed his best friend, he had killed a monster. That was something that it took a while for him to come to terms with. 

Both of them had been buried in the same graveyard as the rest of his family. Just a few rows over. 

Two more graves for Peter to visit. 

OoOoOoOoOo

Ever since that first day, Peter held up the tradition.

May almost could never go. She had so many shifts at random times throughout the day that she couldn’t go with Peter. But Peter knew that she went when she could.  

Sometimes Ned and MJ tagged along with him to pay their respects. They hadn’t been as close to Gwen and Harry as Peter had been, but they had still been friends. Ned’s dad was buried in the same graveyard and MJ grandma, who she had been really close to was also there.

None of the Avengers were aware of this little habit. He wasn’t sure how much they knew about all of the people he had lost. Mr. Stark knew about his parents and Ben, but he didn’t know if he knew about Gwen and Harry.  

He hadn’t lived with the Avengers on the last first Friday, but he did now. 

As the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, Peter instantly went to his car where he met Ned and MJ. They were coming with him today. 

Peter and MJ got into the front seats while Ned sat in the middle seat in the back. They normally don't speak that much on these days. At least to each other. 

Peter let Karen drive but he put his hands on the wheel so it wouldn’t look weird to anyone passing. Karen parked the car at the familiar flower shop. He had been going to this flower shop for over a decade. 

The lady behind the counter greeted the, now familiar to her, teenagers. 

“Your normal orders?” Her voice was soft and sweet. She knew what they were getting flowers for without asking. She was just like that. She never pried into who they had lost and the three of them were very thankful for that. 

“Yes please.” 

“Yes ma’am.”

“Please.” 

The lady handed them their bouquets of flowers. 

MJ and Ned had the basic grieving assortment, as Peter called it, which was Poppies for memorial and chrysanthemums for happiness. 

Peter on the other hand, had what most would seem as a random assortment. 

Sunflowers and Lilies for his parents. Loyalty and devotion.

African Violets for Ben. Spiritual wisdom. 

Pink tulips for Gwen. True love.

And black irises for Harry. Honor. 

Ben had always picked out the flowers for his parents. One year Peter had asked what they meant and Ben got him a book on flower symbolism. After he lost a person, he would read the book until he found a flower that suited them. 

Peter used the card Mr. Stark had given him and paid for everyone. They then got back in the car and made their way to the graveyard. They were still silent. 

OoOoOoO

They had gotten to the graveyard and branched out to their different spots across the graveyard. Peter was currently standing in front of his parents’ and his uncle’s graves. 

“Hey guys. Here I am again. Like that stupid song. Here I am again on my own. Going down the only road I’ve ever known .” Peter sang softly to himself so no one else could really hear it. “Since I last talked to you guys I moved in with the Avengers and officially became one of them. I hope you guys are proud of me. I’ve tried to become someone that you would be proud of. Minus the whole killing the Goblin thing, I think I've done pretty well. Don’t worry about May though, she’s just taking a vacation. I’m not sure what’s going to happen when she gets back though. I don’t want to leave her.” 

Peter didn’t know what else to say so he just leaned down and set the flowers under their graves. He held onto the other two bunches and made his way over to his friends' graves. Ned and MJ were already there waiting. 

The story that everyone had been told was that Harry and Gwen had been casualties in a fight between the Green Goblin and Spider-man. Only Peter, Ned, and MJ, knew the truth about what happened. Because they had been good friends and died together, their families had buried them next to each other. 

Peter reiterated what he had said to his family and then set the flowers down. Ned and MJ said their pieces but Peter struggled to stay focused on what they were saying. These days were always tough for him. They brought up so many emotions. And Peter struggled to work through them like a normal person. 

After they finished, the group wordlessly walked back to Peter’s car. Peter dropped them off at their homes’ and then made his way back to the compound. Normally, Peter would go on patrol at this point, but he didn’t have it in him right now. So he told Karen to take him back to the compound and put on his sad music playlist.

He let the music flow into his brain and occupy the space that was being taken up by thoughts that he would rather not think. The drive was a little over an hour, but Peter was thankful for the time to just have some peace before the chaos of the compound and his goofy ah somewhat family. 

OoOoOoO

Peter was quiet at dinner that night. Something everyone at the table had seemed to pick up on. Tonight the people present at dinner consisted of Tony, Pepper, Nat, Steve, Clint, Bruce, Sam, and Bucky. Wanda and Vision were out on a date or they would have been there. 

Everyone had tried to ask him questions or just involve him in a conversation, but he would only answer in one word sentences or just nod and shake his head. 

To say the least, they were all worried. Peter was like a son to Tony and Pepper and like a nephew to the rest of them. So to see the usually energetic and talkative teenager like this, it made them all freak out. 

Eventually it was Nat who brought it up. 

Peter felt someone kick his leg under the table and looked up from his plate where he had just been pushing around his food, to see Nat looking at him questioningly. 

He just stared back. 

“What’s wrong little spider?” Little spider had been her nickname for him since the day they had met. 

Peter knew he wouldn’t be able to avoid the question. He also knew he couldn’t lie to her. 

He barely registered that the rest of the table had fallen quiet. Waiting to see what he had to say. 

Peter took a breath before addressing the Russian spy. 

Every first Friday of the month I go visit the graveyard in Queens where my family’s at. I give them flowers and talk to them. It was just harder than normal today. I don’t know why.” He gave a small shrug at the end as he looked up at Nat. 

She was looking at him with a soft expression on her face. 

“How many people have you lost?” The question came from Clint. He was sitting next to Nat. 

He looked over to him. The archer too, had a soft expression on his face and his eyes held a look of pity. 

“My mom, dad, and uncle.” Peter didn’t add Gwen and Harry. He didn’t want to go into that if none of them knew about them. 

There were now looks of pity coming from everyone at the table. Pepper who was sitting next to him wrapped her arm around him and gave him a small hug. 

He let a single tear roll down his face and then pulled away from the woman who was now like a mom to him. Next to May of course. And Nat was after Pepper. 

Wow, he had a lot of maternal figures in his life. 

The table was silent for a few moments but then the conversation started back up again. This time Peter joined. 

Chapter Text

Peter walked into the communal living room that FRIDAY had informed him that all the Avengers were in to see the heroes all on the couch debating something. 

“It had to be for a friend.” Mr. Stark looked set in his point of whatever he was arguing about. 

“A girl friend Stark.” Clint stressed the word ‘girl’ like it was the most important thing in the world. 

“No way! I would’ve known if he was in a relationship!” 

Just then, Nat turned her head so that she could see Peter. Peter swore that she had a sixth sense of her own.

“Hey Little Spider.” 

 Everyone turned to look at him as he walked closer to the couch.

“Oh thank god. Settle a bet for us would you?” Mr. Stark looked at Peter with a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

Peter sat down next to Nat as he addressed his mentor. “Uhm, sure?” He framed it as a question. 

“So a couple years ago you, well we are assuming it was you, webbed ‘I love you’ onto that bridge.” 

Peter froze. 

“Who was it for?” Everyone had stopped talking to each other and was listening to whatever Peter’s answer was going to be. 

“No one.” The harshness and sharp edge of his voice surprised everyone. Even himself.

But Peter didn’t want to talk about it. 

He had told a grand total of eight people those three little words. 

His parents. 

May and Ben. 

Ned, Harry, and MJ. 

And Gwen. 

Five of them were dead. 

So Peter was scared of love. He was terrified that the second he told someone that he loved them, they would die in dramatic fashion. And more likely than not, it would be his fault. He was petrified of even feeling emotions that were close to love. 

He had avoided telling any of the Avengers that he loved them. Even if he did, which he did, he would probably never tell them. In order to save them, he had to. 

Apparently him telling people he loved them was the same as signing a death certificate. 

So Peter couldn’t help it if his voice carried a certain edge to it. 

Tony however, didn’t seem to notice. 

“C’mon was it for a special lady?” The billionaire waged his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. 

“Tony.” The man in question froze for a second. Peter never called him by his name before. It was always ‘Mr. Stark this’ and ‘Mr. Stark that’.

“Listen to me when I say drop this. Do not go looking into this.” Peter glared at the man and could feel the worried gazes of everyone else boring into him. But he just stared down his mentor. 

Without waiting for a response, Peter just stood up and walked out of the room. He would deal with the fallout later. 

OoOoOoO

Everyone just stared at the spot Peter had been occupying. None of them had ever heard him speak like that before. 

To say they were confused was the least of it. 

Tony stood up to go follow him but Nat blocked his path. 

“Let him go Tony.” Instead of listening to her he took a step to the side to try to get past her, but she moved with him. 

She just stared at him until he let out a sigh, took one last look towards the hallway that led to Peter’s room, and sat back down. 

He would just have to deal with it in the morning. 

Chapter Text

4:00AM

Peter didn’t know what to do. 

Today marked the two year anniversary since he had lost two of the closest people to him. Two years since he had lost the girl he had heavily contemplated a future with. Two years since he had lost his best friend. Someone who he had known since he was a child. 

Two years since he had killed the Goblin. 

Two years since that stupid fucking clocktower. 

As soon as midnight had been reached, Peter’s phone had started ringing and buzzing with calls and texts from Ned, MJ, and May. The one year mark had been literal hell on Peter. He didn’t leave his room or talk to anyone the whole day. But as soon as the next day came, he was completely normal. Back to his regular compartmentalized self.

Peter didn’t want to just sit in his room all day and wait for the day to end. Even though it was a weekday he had no intention of going into school. Whatever he did today he could just catch up on later. It wasn’t like school was hard for him. 

He had to do something though . He had to try to find a way to find closure. 

He had to at least try. He owed it to Harry. He owed it to Gwen. 

Peter got up and made his way to the kitchen. No one was in the kitchen, but he suspected that Nat, Mr. Stark, and Bucky were all awake. Bucky and Nat were most likely in the training room and Mr. Stark was probably in his lab. 

He quickly climbed onto one of the walls and then onto the ceiling so he would be able to reach one of the cabinets that no normal person would be able to reach without standing on the counter tops. 

He opened it and rummaged through the crowded cabinet until he found what he was looking for. 

Two bottles of vodka. 

Peter had never been a big drinker. He had one or two cups of cheap beer at parties but he had never really gotten drunk before. 

No time like the present. 

He hopped down from the ceiling and landed quietly on his feet. He unscrewed the top of one of the bottles and took a swig from it. 

Peter wasn’t really sure how hard liquor would work with his whacky metabolism, but he didn’t really care. 

If he got drunk then the day would go faster, and if he didn’t, he could just relish in the burn. 

He stepped into the elevator and closed his eyes so he could listen to the heartbeats of everyone. As he thought, everyone but three people were asleep. Two were in the gym and one was on the upper floors in Mr. Stark’s lab. 

“Take me to the whiteboard room Fri.” 

FRIDAY didn’t answer but the elevator started to move slowly. 

The whiteboard room was a very large room that used to be a very large storage room, but then one day the Avengers wanted to have a hangman competition, (Nat won) so Mr. Stark decked out the whole room, ground to ceiling with whiteboards. 

He got out of the elevator mumbling a ‘thanks’ to Fri and stood in front of one of the walls of whiteboards. He took another swig from the opened bottle and set the other two down on the table behind him. 

Peter grabbed a black marker off of the table and asked Fri to put on the ‘do not disturb’ protocol. He didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.  

He had work to do.

OoOoOoO

Tony was having a pretty good day. 

Pepper and Rhodey had both gotten the day off of work, which was very rare for both of them, and he had made some progress on a new suit for Peter. He had been trying to make a nanobot suit for Peter for months but had been struggling to get it to work. Today though, he had made a breakthrough. 

So Tony was having a good day. 

Tony checked the clock in his lab to see that it was 5:30 at night. Time for dinner. 

As well as Rhodey and Pepper, all of the team was joining them for dinner tonight. It was rare that they got everyone together, especially on a Monday night, but everyone had been free so they were all going to be there. 

Tony made his way to the living area where everyone was bound to be and as the elevator doors opened, his lips quirked upwards at the domesticity of it all. 

Pepper and Nat both had glasses of red wine in their hands and were sitting on the couch talking to each other and laughing. 

Sam and Clint were engaged in a battle of Mario Kart.

Steve and Bucky were sitting next to each other on the couch with Steve’s arm around Bucky’s shoulders. They both had glasses of what Tony guessed was Asgardian ale in their hands. 

Bruce was also sitting on the very large couch but was scrolling through a Stark Pad. It wasn’t unusual for the Doctor to have to finish up his work or send a few last emails this late in the work day. 

He looked around and saw Rhodey in the kitchen pouring himself a drink and Tony made his way towards his friend. 

“Hey honey bear.” 

His friend looked up with a smile on his face. 

“Hey Tones.”

The two engaged in a conversation about random things and then made their ways back to where everyone else was and talked and caught up with everyone. 

Around 6:30 they decided that no one was going to cook and Tony decided to order some pizza. 

Everyone loved pizza. 

Only around seven when the pizzas arrived did Tony realize he hadn’t seen the kid yet. 

They were all sitting around the large dinner table eating the food when he spoke up. 

“Hey, has anyone seen Pete today?”

Everyone looked around to see if anyone knew where the Spiderling was at. 

No one spoke up.

Tony’s brows scrunched together in confusion. 

“Fri, where’s Peter at?”

Everyone looked up as they waited for the AI’s response. 

“Peter is in the whiteboard room.” That only made everyone more confused. \

“When did he get home?” This time it was Nat that asked. 

FRIDAY responded, “Peter has not left the Compound since Friday.”

To say the least, everyone was hella confused. 

Suddenly, Nat stood up and pointed to Pepper and Tony. “You two, come with me.” The red haired spy left no room for question as she turned around and walked out of the room. 

OoOoOoO

Peter was not in a good place.

 He had filled up a whole wall and a half with barely legible writing and formulas. Empty bottles and broken markers littered the table. He had made multiple trips to get more. 

He had found that if he drank enough alcohol had the same effect on his body, but it didn’t last long. He had already dranken the three original bottles of vodka and the four others he had gotten. He was currently nursing his second bottle of bourbon. 

FRIDAY had informed him that he had over a hundred missed calls and unread texts. May had sent and called the most. 

“Success rate Fri?” 

“Success rate is 77%.”

“FUCK.” It wasn’t good enough. Peter screamed in fury and threw the half full bottle of bourbon at the wall. It shattered and spilled all over the floor. 

Then the elevator doors opened.  

OoOoOoO

Neither Pepper, Tony, or Nat, knew what they would be walking into. FRIDAY had told them that he had been in there since four in the morning and had put the room on a do not disturb. 

They heard the unmistakable sound of glass breaking as if it was thrown into something. They all froze. 

Then the elevator doors opened.

OoOoOoO

“Peter?”

His name was spoken like a question. 

The boy in question spun around just to be met with the very concerned looks of three of his parental feelings. 

“What.” His voice was harsh and cold. Peter didn’t know if it was because of the alcohol or just because of what day it was. 

Instead of responding to the boy they all saw as a son, they all looked at different parts of the room. 

Tony was staring at the whiteboards in confusion. He could barely make sense of what was written down. It looked like some of it was in different languages. And not figuratively. He recognised some of it as Italian, Russian, German, and even some Latin. The equations themselves looked like they had something to do with biology and DNA. 

Pepper was staring at the bottles that littered the table. The scene was oh so familiar to all the times she found Tony after a rough night. 

Natasha was staring at Peter himself. He looked like a mess. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were slightly dilated. His hair was a mess most likely from running his hands through it multiple times. He had giant bags under his eyes. 

It was Natasha who broke out of her stunned state first. 

“Peter, what’s going on?” 

He turned back to the whiteboard and started writing more things that the spy didn’t recognise. 

“Nothing, just go away.” 

No one believed him. 

Tony walked up to his side so he could look closer at the board.

“What’s all this for?”

“It’s for a serum.” 

He offered no explanation and moved to grab an unopened bottle of vodka but Tony caught his wrist. 

Peter’s eyes snapped to him in anger. 

“Let go of me.”

“Not gonna do that Petey. We are going to go to your room where you can get some sleep and then in the morning you are going to explain to all of us why you, for one, skipped school today. Two, are drinking. And three, what you're making a formula for.

Peter ripped his hand out of Tony’s grasp. “No.” He turned away from the man as he broke the seal, took a swig, and went back to writing on the board. 

Tony just stared at the back of Peter’s head. He had no idea what to do. What was going on with his kid?!

Natasha decided that she would try. 

She walked up behind him and slowly put a hand on his shoulder so as not to scare him.  

He turned around and looked her dead in the eye and what Natasha saw in his eyes, scared her. She saw anger and disappointment. But also sadness and grief. Pure sorrow and heartbreak. 

“What’s going on here Little Spider?”

He gave her a weak smile. “Nothing’s wrong Nat. Just having a rough day.”

“I wish I could believe that.”

His smile dropped and was replaced with a deep frown.

He looked up at the ceiling. 

“Success rate Fri?”

“Success rate is 99.87% Peter. Would you like for me to synthesize the formula?” 

A pause. 

“No need Fri. Compile all data into an encrypted folder only I can access.” 

“As you wish.” 

It was silent for a moment with everyone just standing where they were frozen before Peter made his way to the door. Only to be blocked by Pepper.

“Let me by Pepper. Please .” His voice sounded so broken on the last word that Pepper considered just letting him go. But she couldn’t. Not when he was like this. 

“What’s the formula for Pete?” 

He looked away from her. “Closure.” His voice was so soft. And so broken. 

Suddenly someone dropped from the vents behind Peter and he turned around just as he felt something enter his neck. He fell to the ground as the world went black. 

OoOoOoOoO

As soon as Peter had turned away from him Tony had sent off a text to Clint. He just hoped the vent rat would get here before Peter did something stupid. 

Tony didn’t know what to think. He had never seen Peter like this. He had never seen him isolate himself from everyone like this. He had also never seen the teenager drink. He wasn’t oblivious; he knew that Peter had gone to a party or two before and had probably drank at them. 

But he had never seen him like this. 

Peter looked so much like him at that moment that he froze. He barely registered what he was saying to Pepper. Or that he was now unconscious on the floor and that there was one more person in the room. 

Then there were a lot of people in the room. 

OoOoOoO

The door was thrown open and all the other Avengers walked into the room. 

Rhodey immediately went over to Pepper and then they both went over to Tony. After he had texted Clint they had started watching the security feed. So everyone had a somewhat good idea of what had happened. They just didn’t know why it had happened. 

Bucky and Steve picked up the unconscious Peter and took him out the door and to the medbay. 

Bruce was staring at all of the whiteboards in confusion. 

Sam went over to Nat with a confused look on his face. To which she just shook her head. She was as clueless as the rest of them. 

Everyone gradually left the room and went to the medbay to wait for Peter to wake up. 

And wait they did. 

OoOoOoO

The next morning. 

The first thing Peter learned when he woke up, was that he was in the medbay. It took him a moment to remember exactly why he was, but as soon as he did, a familiar weight settled in the bottom of his stomach.

He had succeeded. He made a cure for Harry. It was just two years too late.

He could’ve saved him. But instead he killed him. 

He was a monster.  

He had killed someone who had just needed help. 

He tried to get out of the bed but was held back by restraints. 

He thrashed against them but he couldn’t break them. He started to freak out. His breathing was erratic and he couldn’t see straight. 

The door was thrown open and all of the avengers slowly flooded into the room. 

Peter didn’t even notice them as he was in the middle of a panic attack. 

Suddenly there were people around him. People rubbing soothing circles on his back and telling him to breathe. 

He listened to their voices and to their heartbeats and slowly he could breathe again. He looked around the room to see that Mr. Stark and Pepper were on the left side of his bed and Natasha was on his right. The rest of them were around the room. Some sitting. Some standing. Some leaning against walls. But they were all there. 

For him. 

Peter let out a shaky breath.

“Hey guys.” 

They all relaxed slightly and gave small smiles. 

“Wanna tell us what’s going on Pete?” Peter looked at his mentor expecting to see anger in his eyes but he just saw worry. 

Peter brought his hands up to his lap and started to pick at the blanket on the bed. Someone must have taken the restraints off during his panic attack. 

“Two years ago my life was a lot different. I had this really good friend. We had known each other since we were children. His name was Harry. Harry Osborn.” 

Peter sensed people around the room freeze. He had told them all about that unfortunate trip to Oscorp that had given him his spider powers. But he didn’t look up at any of them. 

“And I had a girlfriend.” Peter let out a wet chuckle as tears streamed down his face. Nat and Pepper both reached towards his hands as they each grabbed one. 

“Her name was Gwen.” No one missed the past tense. The mood of the room sombered even more. 

“We were all really good friends. But one day Harry comes to me asking to get into contact with Spider-man. He had a rare hereditary illness that was going to kill him and he believed that my, or Spider-man’s, blood would hold the cure. He didn’t know that I was Spider-man, but Gwen did.” 

He took a second before continuing.

“I refused. I told him I wouldn’t do it. He got really mad. I didn’t see him for a few days. Until I fought the Green Goblin. Harry had tried to create a serum that would fix his illness but instead he became the Green Goblin. He was the Goblin.” 

Peter’s voice was so small and broken that everyone had to strain to hear it. But they did. And it stunned all of them.

“He figured out I was Spider-man and he kidnapped Gwen. She died two years ago on this day.” 

Everyone froze. They didn’t think it could get any worse but he kept on talking. 

“It broke me. I loved her so much. And she died.”

Tony and Pepper held onto each other tightly. So did Bucky and Steve.  

“I found the Goblin and I realized that my friend was never coming back. His DNA had been altered and there was no easy way to fix that if there was a way at all. He was a monster.”

Natasha and Clint both paled. They knew where this was going. They hoped they were wrong, but it didn’t look like they were going to be.

“I killed him.” Peter was still avoiding everyone’s gaze but he held on tighter to Pepper and Natasha’s hands. 

“I thought that there was no way back, so I killed him.”

That made Tony look at him confused. 

“What do you mean ‘you thought there was no way back?’ If his DNA changed there wouldn’t be a way to change it back.”

Peter looked at him. Meeting his eyes. “The serum.”

Tony’s eyes widened. As did everyone else in the room. 

“The serum Harry made target the nucleotide bases that coded for the proteins that were making him sick. I just had to reverse that. It took me two years, but I did it. I could’ve saved him. But instead I killed him.”

Peter started sobbing. He fell into Natahsa’s arms. She embraced him and hugged him tightly. She wasn’t going to let him go.

“Look at me, Little Spider.” 

He did. 

“You did what you could with the information that you had. You can’t take back what you did, so there is no reason to try to fix the past. No one is going to look at you differently. We all love you and are very sorry that you had to go through all of that, but you are not alone. You have all of us and we are all here to help you. No matter what you need. Just don’t do this again. You scared all of us.”

He just nodded in response and stood out of the bed so he could give her a real hug. 

Suddenly he felt another pair of arms on his back and then another. Amd another. 

A group hug. 

He was safe. 

He was okay.