Archive of Our Own

“Hey Peter, are you taking a extra lunch to school today?” May asked, flicking her long brown hair off of her bony shoulder. 

“Uh, no not today,” Peter said. “Ned said he’s bringing me a protein bar his moms trying to get him to eat though, so I should be good!” 

“You’re gonna starve bug,” She said, ruffling his hair as he hopped around, trying to cram his conver on without untying it. 

“I have a sandwich,” Peter said. “And a orange,” 

“Here, take a bagel with you too,” She said. “These are New York style I think? Some kind of spice blend,” 

“Aunt May,” Peter said, his shoe finally on. “I’m good, eat it yourself, you weigh half of what I do,” 

“The hospital has a cafeteria,” May said, adjusting her glasses and throwing her hair up. “And I have another hour before my shift starts,” 

“School has a cafeteria too,” Peter replied. 

“Go, you’re gonna be late,” May said, swatting his arm. 

“Okay. Oh, and hey, lock your car if you stop in the parking lot, there’s some wacko killing people right now,” Peter said. 

“Alright honey, have a good day,” May said, kissing his forehead. 

“Bye aunt may! Love you!” Peter yelled. 

“Larb you to!” 

-0- 

“Peter, you doing any…” Ned made a Spider-Man web shooting motion. Peter hushed him, putting his hands over Neds. 

“Be quiet,” Peter whispered. “People are looking!” 

“Who? Everyone avoids you,” Ned said. 

“Dude! Words hurt Ned,” Peter said. Ned chuckled, looking back down at his phone. “I feel harassed,”

“I’m sorry, would you like to report me to the hall monitor?” Ned said, pointing a pudgy finger at Flash, parading the students around with a literal whistle.

“Ew, what’s on his head?” Peter asked, wrinkling his nose at Flash’s hat. 

“I think it’s meant to look like some kind of rodent,” Ned said, snorting. 

“No rodent deserves that,” MJ said, appearing by his elbow, staining him. “Is it still moving?” 

“I… don’t know,” Peter said, intertwining his hand with MJs. “Oh ew I can smell it from here,” 

“You can?” MJ asked, raising her eyebrow. 

“I mean… I can… Imagine how it smells from here…” Peter said, shrugging. Ned facepalmed, sighing. 

“Right… okay…” She said, checking her phone with her free hand.

“Hey! What are you doing standing around?” Flash asked, storming over, whistle in hand. 

“Waiting… for my locker… it’s um… just waiting for them to get away…” Peter said, pointing to the group of people by his locker,  crowding him out. “It’s… right here…” 

“Do I look like I care? Get moving!” Flash yelled, standing up on his tiptoes to yell in Peter's face. Peter took a step back, sighing.

“You don’t look like much, all 1.71 inches of you,” MJ said, rolling her eyes, before looking up. “Oh, wait, wrong length,” 

Flash sputtered for a moment before storming off, leaving them to laugh uninterrupted. “Damn MJ,” Ned said. She didn’t laugh, but did smirk into her phone, leaning on Peter. 

“Flash’s right though, we need to get to class,” Peter said. 

“Ew, Flash and right should not be in the same sentence,” Ned said. “Heh, that’s what she said.”

“You need to stop that,” Peter said. “It doesn't even make sense,” 

“Heh, that’s what she said,” 

“No. It’s time to stop,” 

-0-

“Hey May,” Mays coworker Kitt said, pulling her hair up. “We just got that new MRI in, you wanna be our guinea pig?” She asked, pulling her bouncy brown hair, dyed purple at the tips up. 

“Sure, Maria still worried about it?” She asked. Maria was usually the one they’d grab for these kinds of things, but she found out she was four months pregnant a bit ago and had transferred up to the ICU to avoid the machines as much as she could. 

“Yeah, I tried telling her it was safe, but she’s good and set in her ways,” Kitt said, blowing her side bangs off her face.  

“Well can’t blame her, I’d go through hell and back to keep Pete safe, let alone up in the ICU,” 

“Not that the two are very different,” Kitt said, shaking her head, walking towards the stairs. “Speaking of, how’s he doing’? Still in school?” 

“Yeah, he’s doing alright,” May said. “I swear the kid could eat an elephant though. I even told his doctor, but they just told me he was a teen. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think it’s normal for a teen to be able to eat five frozen pizzas at one sitting,” May said. Kitt laughed, shaking her head. 

“Let me tell you, my brother growing up, he could eat at least two larges without stopping,” She said. “But five, damn he gonna be tall,” 

“He already is,” May said. “He’s already got a few inches on me, just in these last few years too,” 

“With the face that cutie has, you gonna have to keep that boy safe, half the schools gonna want to date him,” She said, punching the code into the new room. 

“You’d be surprised, he's the least popular kid at that school,” May said. “He has maybe one friend,” 

“That pretty little girl is still with him?” Kitt asked. “With the curly hair?” 

“Oh yeah, I still don’t understand,” May said, shaking her head. 

“Alright May, you know the drill, lay still, talk if you want, let me know if you panic,” She said, going behind the shield and waiting for May to lie down. She obliged, laying flat. “Alright, this’ll just be a sec,” 

-0-

“Do you have any after school plans?” MJ asked, sitting next to him while he ate a banana. He shrugged. 

“Not anymore. I was gonna watch a movie with Aunt May but she said they’re holding her up at the hospital. Something about a new MRI,” Peter said, shrugging. She nodded. “How ‘bout you?” 

“Trying to stay out of my dad's apartment as long as I can,” She said, shrugging. “Wanna hang at your house?” 

“Sure, May said she’ll be two or so hours, that work?” Peter asked. MJ nodded, following him to the subway stop.

“So, what exactly is going on with May?” MJ asked, having sat in silence for too long for even her comfort. Also she wanted to drown out the sounds from a few seats over. Peter just looked completely in denial that...that was happening. 

“She said that at the beginning of her shift they had her test a MRI but now they think it might be broken, so they’re testing it out some more,” Peter said. 

“Broken how? Did it explode on someone or something?” She asked, crossing her legs up in the seat and leaning on him, ignoring the old man complaining from across the aisle. 

“Nah it’s just reading wrong I think.” Peter said. “It keeps showing some kind of blob,” 

“Oof, some manufacturer done fucked up,” MJ said, coxing a laugh out of Peter. “Yeah, it works great, except for this giant important part that doesn't,” 

“Welcome to the American medical system.” Peter quipped. 

They rode on relative silence most of the way, only interrupted by MJ convincing him to not give the homeless man his only winter coat, and him stopping her from selling a photo of her foot, grabbing her by her shoulders and pulling her off at the right stop. 

“What? Eighty dollars is eighty dollars,” She said, shrugging. Peter shook her head, tugging her up his street. “Oh come on, how am I ever gonna find him again?” 

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer.” Peter said. “Come on, we can watch Star Wars!” 

“We can watch anything but Star Wars,” MJ said, rolling her eyes. Peter pouted at her, but nodded, handing over the remote while grabbing food from the kitchen. “Hey- you have watched other things on this account, right? Cuz its all Mays shows and Star Wars,” 

“I won’t apologize for being consistent,” Peter said, tossing her a bag of chips, which she accepted willingly. “So you up for the entire series?” 

“Great,” 

-0-

“Kitt, what are you so upset about? I thought we were just talking about the MRI, why do you need to run it again?” May asked, tilting her head. “Is something wrong?” 

“We just need some confirmation. I already asked for a consult from all of the doctors in the building,” Kitt said, narrowing her eyes. 

“A consult for what?” May asked. 

“You know the drill,” Kitt said with a sigh, closing the door behind her. She opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced by the machine beeping. Rolling her eyes, she laid down on the cold slab, sighing as the loud banging started. 

“Is this really necessary?” She asked. Kitt glared at her, not unmuting her mic, aside to hush her. “Right, keeping quiet,”

It was a matter of minutes before they escorted her out and into a back room. Kitt keeping a hand on her back the entire time. “The doctor will be in in a moment,” 

“I’m not a patient Kitt, and which Doctor is gonna see me? Because if it’s Howington I’m leaving.” she said. “Can you not just tell me about what you found?”

“Just a minute,” Kitt said, closing the door behind her, effectively trapping her in the discussion room. May looked around, eyes skimming the pamphlets on various insurances and medicines. She was trying to figure out if the fact that they were on the oncology floor actually meant anything or if it was just for convenience’s sake that she was there, when the doctor came in.

“Oh, Larry, thank goodness,” She said. “I thought they were gonna send Howington in for a second,” She flipped her hair off her bare shoulder as he sat down, pushing his glasses into his spongy hair. 

“May, we are going to ask you to come in for a biopsy on the fifth okay?” He said. “We will be taking samples from the pancreas, liver, and possibly the stomach,”

“I’m not a hysterical patient, Lar, you can be straight with me, I won’t flip,” She said, reaching a hand up to adjust her glasses, keeping them from slipping. “What is it?” 

“Well we can’t be sure, you know that a… radical diagnosis will require more testing,” He said, resting a hand on her wrist, halfway across the table. “However, we did see a concerning mass, in the area of your pancreas and stomach,” 

“So what are we looking at here? Cancer?” She asked. “My Gran and mom both had it,” 

“If… there is a family history, that would be our most likely guess,” He said. “I don’t want to alarm you, but in the case that this does turn out cancerous, and frankly I am unsure if there is any possibility that it is malignant at this stage, then we may need to have some very tough conversations. Have you been experiencing any lower back pain?” 

“Well… yeah for a few years. I-, I fell on a flight of stairs a few years back, I always assumed that something got jarred. I talked to a chiropractor but they didn’t have any information for me, and adjustments didn’t help. I hardly register it at this point,” She said. “Could… I have had it for that long?” 

“It is very, very possible. Now if you want to wait the two days for the biopsy we can have one scheduled, or we could have one done upstairs right now,” 

“Lets get it over with, Pete’s got the fifth off of school, I was gonna go shopping with him,” She said. “Hey Lar, if this thing is serious, and I’m not getting better…” 

“Would you like some pamphlets on Child Protective Services?” He asked sadly, his accent not nearly as comforting now as it had been to her in the past. 

“No… No I have someone in mind,” 

“Alright, well if you get a no, you know me and Sarah would be happy to keep him as long as needed,” He offered. 

“Thank you, but I’m pretty sure about this one,”

-0-

“No- Steve, I am telling you, punch it with your full strength, the wall won’t break! Oh well you seem fine hitting your husband- yes I know how that sounds, you really want me to take it back, I don’t think Bucky- hold on, someone on the other line,” Tony said, speaking rapid fire as per usual. “Pepper, babe, do you think you can get Steve to trust the walls again, I’m tired of him being scared of them,” 

“The things I do for you,” Pepper said, walking into the room. “You know, this is below my pay grade,” 

“Well I’m paying you, everything is below your pay grade. Oh shit, this is the kids aunt, I gotta take this,” He said. Pepper gave him a kiss on the cheek before stepping out. “Y’ello,” 

“Tony?” May asked. 

“The one and only. What’s going on, the spiderbaby get himself in trouble? Want me to scare him straight? Because I actually have this idea…” 

“No, Peters being perfect,” May said, sniffing slightly. He could just make out a suspicious beeping behind her. “He’s home with MJ,”

“That sounds like a hospital in the background,” He said. “Everything okay on your end?” He asked, pouring himself a drink. 

“Well… that’s kinda what I wanted to call you about,” She said. 

“Uh oh, whatcha do?” He asked, although he had cleared everything off his to-do list already, alighting to interns and such. Not his interns, he made a point of not having anyone work below him directly, but some young scientists who wanted to make it big. 

“Um… well it’s sorta a long story, and I found out by accident,” May said. “But… ny doctors, and friends, are pretty sure… they think I might have pancreatic adenocarcinoma,” she said. “Pancreas cancer. Stage IV,”

“Fuck,” Tony whispered. “Are you okay, do you need someone to come get you?” 

“No no, I’m fine, I… I’ll walk home but-” 

“Nonsense, Happys already on his way,” Tony said. “Have you told the kid yet?”

“No…” she said. “I… shit I didn’t even think about how to do that yet. The point is… Peter’s a special kid… in more ways than one… I really don’t trust the system with him… I know it’s a lot to ask but-” 

“I already have a room set aside for him, he just needs to pick the wall color,” Tony said. “I’ve got a direct route underground so he can still get to that school he loves so much, and quite literally all the food he could eat. Or at least… money for all the food he could eat,” He said. 

“Oh thank God,” She said. 

“And don’t think for a second you are shelling out for any of those treatments May, I know they try to rob you dry as soon as you can’t work, but you're covered, alright?” He said. It was really a testament to how wrung out May was that she didn’t even try to argue. 

“Thank you Tony,” She said. 

“Get home to Peter alright,” Tony said. “And from being on the other side, make sure he knows. The worst thing is never getting to say goodbye,” 

“I will,” She said. “Thank you.” 

“Of course. Buh bye,” He waited for her to hand up, before setting the phone down. He took a moment to stare at the wall, feeling momentarily like crying, before beating the emotion back down to go in search of Pepper.

“What did you do?” She asked as soon as she saw him. 

“So Peter's moving in in like, a week,” He said. She just blinked at him. “May, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, IV, I’m putting her in the best hospice I can find, kids staying here,” 

To Peppers credit, she didn’t miss a beat, setting down her stack of files and picking up her cup. “Do you want to do a press event before she passes, get it out of the way for him so he’s not dealing with her death at the same time? Also, ask him about the room color, we need that sorted before we get any furniture in there,” 

“I love you,” 

-0-

“Hey Spidey, how’s things?” Tony asked, adjusting the phone to hold it with his shoulder. Peter made a noncommittal sound, “You talk with your aunt recently?” 

“Uh…  not really? I mean, she’s here. Why? Please don’t hit on her, it’s really weird Mr. Stark,” Peter said. 

“Shit- No reason, you think you can hand the phone off to her?” He asked. There was a rustling before May came on. 

“Hi Tony, you’re on speaker,” She said. 

“No I’m not, that’s not what speakerphone sounds like,” He replied. May sighed. 

“Well you might as well be because Peter can hear everything it seems, Peter, go… I dunno, wherever you sneak out to,” 

Tony could hear vague denials from Peter before a door closed loudly, probably unintentionally, and she came back on. “He’s gone.” 

“You haven’t told him yet?” He asked. 

“I was going to at the end of the week,” May replied. “Hey- is it weird to put paprika in arrabiata?” 

“May you don’t have that many weeks left,” Tony said bluntly. She sighed on the other end, and he could hear the stove turn off. 

“I know it’s just… he’s already been broken so many times, he finally seems happy again, I’m worried he’s not gonna bounce back from this,” 

“I am to, but it’s not like if you just don’t tell him he’s never gonna find out,” Tony said. He heard another voice vaguely on the other end. 

“Hi Mr. Stark, this is Peter, I stole the phone, what can’t I find out?” He asked. “And where’s May going?” 

“I will beat you with this spoon boy!” May threatened. Tony laughed at the sounds of them wrestling for the phone. “Tony I’ll call you back!” 

“Bye Mr. Stark!” 

-0-

“Hello, is this BAYADA hospice?” Tony asked. “Great, I have a young woman looking into your services- I’m sorry can you hold?” Tony said, not waiting for an answer before switching the line. “Yep?” 

“I broke my nephew,” May said. 

“Uh oh, talk to me,” He said. “You told him, right?” 

“I had to, he found the panflits,” She said. “I don’t know where he is, he ran off to his room, and now he’s missing,” 

“Alright, don’t worry too much,” Tony said, sighing. “I’ll give him a minute then I’m going to get in a suit and go look for him,”

“You’re too kind Tony,” She said. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Tony said. “But speaking of, I was on the phone with BAYADA, they think they’ll have room for you there,” Tony said. “It’s great, home-y, upstate, amazing reviews. Pete’s gonna be able to come see you just about every day if you sign off for it,” Tony said. “Everything’s completely covered, but if it makes you feel better they said they’d do it for free as a favor, so don’t go thinking this is charity,” 

“You’re an amazing man, Tony Stark,” May said. 

“Glad to hear the ‘Tony’s great club’ has its first member,” TOny quipped. From across the table Pepper gestured to him to hand over the phone. “Alright, I’m calling that hospice back and making arrangements unless there’s somewhere else you want, here’s my fiancé, she’s great. Lot like you,” He said, handing off the phone. 

While he listened to Pepper apologize for him and the lady at the hospice drone on, he climbed into the suit, blasting through the hole in the ceiling. Or what he originally thought was the hole. There was a hole now at least, and went in search of the wayward spider.

It took even less time then he’d expected to find the spiderchild, apparently Tony had already memorized his favorite places to hide/sulk, usually some dirty rooftop crawling with filth and needles. This time was no different. He found the kid perched on the side of the building, so his face was dangling with his arms down to the street and his knees were tucked up against his chest. He still had his mask on, although this part of queens was so empty, and they were high enough up that it really wasn’t necessary. 

“Hey kid,” Tony said, hovering in front of Peter, somewhat unsteadily. “I’m not good at these things, but I have a shit ton of distractions at my place, and Pepper makes the best hot chocolate you’ve never had if you wanna follow me,” 

“M’kay Mr. Stark,” Peter said. Tony sighed, nodding. At least his emotions were predictable. For now. “Where are we right now?” 

“Somewhere in queens,” Tony said. “I think that’s a rat on your foot, but I’m not finding out, so if you wanna get a move on…” 

“Right,” Peter said, standing up and shaking out his shoulders, taking the hand Tony extended to him, getting pulled up in the air. 

“Now I know you’re used to gravity defying insaneness during your patrols that make me go grey early, but you might want to hold on,” Tony said. Peter obediently tightened his grip, although with him being able to stick to whatever he wanted it really wasn’t necessary. “Got a good grip kid,’ 

“Sorry,” Peter said, loosening his hand, making Tony instinctively grip him harder. 

“Jeez, didn’t tell you to stop,” Tony said. “Remind me to ask Pep about etiquette training for you later,” 

“Sure,” Peter said numbly, the words mostly lost in the wind as they zoomed away, only minutes away from his building at their speed, and before long the distraught teen had been gently tossed on his sofa while he stepped out of the suit. 

“Hey Pep, I brought you a spider!” Tony yelled, walking over to grab his phone, shooting May a quick text as to her nephew whereabouts. “And I promised him hot chocolate, so I hope you didn’t drink it all!” 

“Oh you think I’m the one drinking it all?” She asked. “We should have plenty I’ve hidden from you,” With that she sat down a safe distance away from Peter, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey Peter, you wanna come into the kitchen?” To her credit, she sounded kind, but not at all cautious or coddling, something he knew from experience Peter did not appreciate when he was upset. 

“Sure,” He said, shrugging and following her out. Tony let out a deep sigh, before fixing a smile back on his face and following him out. 

-0-

“So we’re gonna sell the apartment?” Peter asked abruptly over dinner. May had retrieved him some hours later after Tony and Pepper had done their best to give him time to process. She’d skipped in favor of staring out the window and worrying about him, and he needed to eat constantly. 

“Probably. You know your mentor has been just amazing, offering me that place at the hospice, and he’s gonna do up a great room for you at his house, as long as you wouldn’t rather stay with any of my colleges. You know how much they love you,” She said, taking a bite of the burger they’d ordered in. Turns out spaghetti burns really fast. 

“You’re gonna move into a hospice?” Peter asked, giving her the most heartbreaking look she’d seen from him so far from across the sofa. She scooted across, wrapping an arm around him, only taking aback for a moment realising how much larger he was then her. 

“It’s not fair to make people without training try and take care of me when I get sicker,” May said. “You know that's what your grandma did and it just ended in resentment and everyone being relieved when her breath stopped,”

“I could get trained!” Peter said. She sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I know you want to Pete, but it's not good for you, you and I both know that. And this apartment just can’t handle big machines like the ones there gonna have,” She said. 

“What er,” He cleared his throat, sniffing. “What um… what time… I mean when do they think we’re… moving?” He asked, biting his lip. 

“Well,” She said, dipping a fry in the restaurant's special sauce. She still didn’t know how to replicate it. “They said what I have is very very aggressive and far along, so most likely in the next week or two I’m gonna start going down hill, I really don’t want you hanging around for any of that,” 

“A week?” Peter asked, blinking up at her. 

“I know, I don’t want this either bud, but really, for such a shitty situation, this is the best it could possibly go,” She said. “I don’t even want to think about what would have happened to us if you didn’t know Tony, he’s been such a blessing,” 

“Yeah,” Peter said, shrugging. “He’s great,”

“And Pepper, I was just talking with her the other day, and oh my goodness, she really does have a lot to say about Tony, but aside from that, she’s the best there is when it comes to logistics,” May said, rubbing his arm. “You’re gonna be in good hands,” 

“I don’t want you to die,” Peter sniffed. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, I just want us to go back to how it was a year ago,”

“I know you do,” She said, kissing his forehead. “But when you’re feeling sad or angry or don’t think it’s fair, just think about the fact that I’m gonna be wherever Ben is right now,” She said, stubbornly blinking her eyes. “And we’re gonna be sitting up there with your grandparents and your parents, and all of those goldfish we tried to hard to keep alive,” 

“I thought you didn’t like Grandma very much,” Peter said, tilting his head. 

“Well what's paradise without a micromanaging mother in law?” She asked. “Like that time we all went to Canada,” 

“That was insane,” Peter giggled.

“You’re gonna be alright Peter,” She said. “I mean, not for months or years, at least not feel like it, and it isn’t gonna feel fair, because it’s not, I know that. You may very well be completely pissed at me for leaving you like this,” She said. “I just don’t want you to squish it all down the way you have been with Ben. Be angry, be sad, don’t deny it, okay?” 

Peter didn’t respond, other than burying his head in her shoulder, hiding his tear stained face from her view as the TV droned on in the background, telling her to invest today. “I’m gonna miss you,” 

“I’ll be waiting,” She said. “Just don’t you think about coming on up to early or anything,” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Peter muttered. 

“Larb you,” she said, getting no response. “Hey, larb you bug,” 

“I larb you do,” Peter said. “Hey before you get… sicker… do you think… Can we go to the movies again? I know we usually wait until the end of the month but…” 

“Of course we can go,” She said. “Let's look at what's showing right now,” 

-0-

“I’m on my way, does he know?” Tony asked. May sniffed on the other end. 

“Yes, he’s already packing,” May said. “I really wasn’t going to move for another week or two, but I just couldn’t stop throwing up this morning, and with his hearing, I swear it’s better than anyone I’ve met… I don’t want him dealing with this,” May said. 

“I understand May, no ones judging you here,” Tony said. “And this way the staff will get to know the real you. Who knows, maybe your nursing spirits or whatever voodoo will connect,” He said. 

“Heh, maybe,” May said. “I just… I don’t know, I always thought of myself as the woman who’d be stronger, you know? I always thought I’d… find some way to push through until the very end…” She cut herself off. “Everything just feels wrong,”

“Everything is wrong,” Tony said. “And don’t go on about all that shit, you know you are the strongest woman in New York no question,” He said. “Listen, I’m getting close, make sure Petes ready for me,”

“I will,” May said. “Tony, you really have been just a blessing-” 

“Oh noooo you’re breaking up,” Tony said. “Eerreroooo bye!”

Not five minutes Tony was helping Peter decide if he wanted to bring his old pillows or get new ones- you can guess which side Tony was rooting for -when Peter turned to stare at him, his face completely blank. 

“Something wrong Pete?” Tony asked. “You look pale, here sit on the bed, I don’t want you falling on something here,” 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “When Mays gone, where am I gonna stay?” 

“What are you talking about? You’re gonna stay with us,” Tony said. “What did you think, I came to help you pack the boxes just to chuck you on the street? Or throw you blindly in the system?” Tony asked.

“Well I know I’m staying with you for a minute but-” 

“Alright, maybe I haven’t been perfectly clear, you- Peter Parker- are going to be legally adopted by me and Pepper as soon as May decides to sign over care, alright? There isn’t anything after that. That’s gonna make you heir to SI too, got it?” Tony said, jostling his shoulder. 

“Like… permanently?” Peter asked. 

“Yes. Forever and ever, and then if I decide to let me and Pepper die, which I won’t, you inherit everything. Until then Imma just throw money at you, okay? No more dumpster diving for computers or two sizes down for your converse, capish?” 

“Oh,” Peter said. 

“Come on, you wanna bring these… wires or whatever, or we tossing?” Tony asked, picking up a black mass. Peter gestured to the trash bag and Tony chucked it in. They got through a few more things, Tony expressing his horror at Peter using a bunk bed for storage, when May knocked on the doorframe. 

“You two doing okay in there?” She asked, swinging around the frame. 

“Yea,” Peter said, spinning a broken globe in his hands, panicking when it stuck to his hands. “Eherm, yeah…”

“Good good, either of you hungry?” May asked. Tony and Peter shook their heads twice in sync, making her chuckle. “I know that reluctant nodd, I’m gonna get you two something,”

“Thanks,” Peter muttered, staring at her like a kicked puppy as she left. “Mr. Stark, what do I do when she dies? How do I keep it from hurting like Ben did?” 

Tony had barely opened his mouth when May was back, holding a plate of chips and salsa with shaky hands. 

-0-

“Hi Peter,” Pepper said as soon as they crossed the threshold. “Hi May, Peter, you wanna go get started on your room? I’ll have Tony meet you there in a minute,” She said, smiling kindly at Peter. Peter nodded, slinging his backpack over his other shoulder and following Friday's instructions in the hallway.

“I’ll knotice I didn’t get a hello,” Tony quipped, kissing Pepper's head, which she completely ignored, other than a condescending patt. 

“May, do you wanna talk in the other room?” Pepper sudjusted. “Tony, go Peter and don’t make me regret trusting you,”

“Yes, lets,” May said, following her. 

“Regret? I’m reporting this to HR, this is definitely harassment,” Tony said, but talked his way over to Peter's new room anyway. 

Pepper had been up to the decorating, and she’d done a pretty great job of it too. The room had been painted a dark navy, after much debate, with a large matching comforter spread across his new bed, positioned in the center of the far right. The room had been decorated in pretty dark or neutral colors, but still had a lot of things from his old room, including the giant star wars poster above his bed. 

If Peter had been feeling better he would have been completely in awe of the room, but as it was he just sat down glumly on the corner of the bed, messing with his hands. “The room looks great,” He said. 

“Yeah, I’ll spare you details on how long it took Pep to decide on nightstand construction, but it was way too long,” Tony said. “You know she’s thrilled you’re staying here. Sad, of course, but thrilled,” 

“Hm,” Peter said. “I guess that's good,” Peter stayed still for awhile, just staring at the wall without really comprehending anything before turning to Tony. “Mr. Stark, what should I do? I know she’s dying, and I know I should spend time with her, but whenever I do it just… I dunno. I wish it was like before,” 

“Honestly, I don’t know what you should do. I don’t really think there is any should about it,” Tony said. “But I do know that what you can do is spend as much time with her now as you can, even if it was harder than just staring at the wall, because you’re gonna blink and this times gonna be gone,” He said. 

“Yeah?” Peter said, still sounding unconvinced. 

“Peter, when Jarvis died I was so freaked out about the idea of losing him that I spent all the time I could avoiding anything that had to do with cancer. I just ignored the problem entirely. It wasn’t until his last few weeks that I spent any real time with him, and I’ve grown up to regret it,” Tony said. “May probably has one, two months at the most, so just try to be a better kid then I was. I promise it's not too hard,” 

“Okay,” Peter said. “Thanks Mr. Stark,” 

“No problem kid,” Tony said, giving him a one armed hug. “Now come one, Pepper wants you to see the bathroom.” 

“There's a bathroom?” 

-0-

“So May, I know Tonys talked to you about hospice care,” Pepper said. They were in her living room, each holding a cup of tea. “Have you decided on a place yet?” 

“I think Tony already signed me up somewhere,” May said. “I’m not sure where though,” 

“Knowing him it’s going to be the best,” Pepper said. “I’ll make sure the name gets put on file,” Pepper tucked her feet up, turning to look at her better. “Is there anything you want me to know, about Peter and all? I'm sure you’ll write it down somewhere, but any immediate information, I mean, you’re moving tomorrow, I completely understand if-”

“No no, I do have a few things,” May said, adjusting. “Uh, where to start,” She said laughing. “Peters… he’s a great kid, he tries really hard to make you happy. You should know that first of all. Anything you want him to do, just tell him it’d be a favor for you and he’ll jump to his feet. Watch him in school too, keep an eye on him. His classmates really don’t like him at all,bully him pretty bad in fact. I talked to there school but there's not much to do,” 

“I see,” Pepper said, nodding and gesturing for her to continue. 

“Well… He’s really smart. You wouldn’t believe it from his conversational skills, but he’s insanely intelligent. He can put together a computer from scraps he found in the back alley, but don’t ask him to hold a conversation. And he eats a lot, more than I think is normal, but the doctor says he’s just a teen, but he won’t tell you if he’s hungry, doesn't want to be a bother, so you need to tell him to eat every few hours, he’s passed out because of it before,” She said. “Oh, and don’t be too sweet with him. He had a lot of people acting like that after his parents and Ben, if you want him to do something or stop something be firm, cuz he listens when you talk firm,” 

“Alright, Friday are you taking notes?” pepper asked. 

“Yes Ma’am,” 

“Oh and, he has two little friends, MJ, his girlfriend, although she claims she doesn't like him. She’s amazing, fiery little thing, and Ned. be careful with Ned, I don’t know what happened to that boy, but heavens knows he isn’t normal,” May said. “Teeny tiny creeps are the worst. And if a kid calling himself ‘Flash’ tries to come over just call the cops, it's easier,” May said. “I don’t know what’s wrong with that boy but he keeps trying to get Peter in his car. Better yet, just tell him you don’t know Peter,” 

“Okay,” Pepper said, nodding sincerely. 

“Oh, one last thing,” May said, reaching in her purse. She pulled out her phone, tapping for a second before showing Pepper a photo. It was of an old shed, or the outside of one, the center being a small hollow made by tree vines and rocks and the back of the shed. “This is where his parents and Ben are buried. It’s where they’re gonna put me to. If he has a really, really hard day he hides right there,” She said, pointing. “If you think or know he’s there, don’t go get him until you don’t think he’s safe there. Leave him alone and almost always he’ll come back, but if he doesn't, show up with some fries and he’ll follow you out,” She said. “I’d imagen for the first few weeks he’s gonna spend a lot of time there, but it should be less after that,” 

“Thank you May,” Pepper said, blinking her slightly teary eyes. “I know this can’t be easy for you, getting ready to leave him behind,” 

“Can I say something horrible?” May asked. Pepper nodded, tilting her head. “At first I was so sad about leaving him here, but then I reached out to Tony and realised something. Once I’m gone, Peters never gonna have to worry about food again. He won’t have to work into the next day on his homework to get scholarship money, he won’t go without a winter coat,” She said. “I love him, so so so much, and I don’t want to hurt him, but he’s going to be safer when I’m gone,” 

“That's not horrible at all May,” Pepper said, putting a hand on her bony shoulder. “I don’t think so at least. You just want what's best for him,” 

“What's best for him is going to break his heart.” May stated. “He told me after Ben, He told me that he felt like Ben was trapped under water, screaming to him, and that he was completely useless,” She said. “And I told him that I promised the better place to be was underwater, then watching someone drown,” 

“You’ve been the very best parent I’ve meet May,” Pepper said. “I think my parents would have just given me a apple,” 

That got a laugh out of both of them, and they sat in silence for a moment. “I’ve made a decision, but if I tell it to you, please don’t tell Peter until I follow through,” May said. 

“I would never share something private,” Pepper said. 

“I decided I’m not going to waste away. I’m going to spend one day, maybe a week from now, with Peter. I’m gonna make it the perfect day, and we’re going to do all of our things together, and take a million pictures, and then I will take a day completely alone, and then I’m done,” May said. “I saw my parents wither away from cancer, and I never wanted to be that lady in the hospital bed with bed sores and blisters and smelly breath. It’s gonna be peaceful and perfect,” 

“You’re gonna kill yourself,” Pepper said. May smiled slightly. 

“Yes, I supposed I will,” she said. “It’s what's best for everyone, I promise,” 

“I think that's very brave,” Pepper said. “And you clearly know Peter best, if you think that's the best thing for him, I trust you,” 

“Thank you Pepper,” May said. 

“Anytime,” 

-0-

“Peter, get dressed, you're going out with May today,” Pepper said, walking straight into Peter's rooms and throwing open the curtains, startling him so he fell straight out of bed. “Oops. Get dressed.” 

“Wha' time is it?” Peter asked, sitting up and looking vaguely like a puppy. 

“Time for you to wake up, come on, let's move,” She said, opening his closet and grabbing jeans and a t- shirt he hadn’t touched yet. “Rise and shine,” 

“I thin’ you mean fall and complain,” Peter muttered, but did as he was told, tugging the science shirt on as she grabbed things from around the room, stuffing them in his backpack and handing it to him. 

“Lets go, you’re meeting May in fifteen minutes,” Pepper said. “You’re gonna meet at central park and then from there she has everything planned, okay? I have food for you downstairs,” 

“Mhm,” Peter said. He took long enough to get dressed that by the time he should already have been in the park he was just making his way downstairs, tugging his jacket on. Pepper just sighed and shoved a bagel in his hand, gesturing to the door. 

“Get going, Happy's waiting for you,” She said. He didn’t need any further instruction, and he was out the door like a shot, bouncing from one foot to the next while Happy slouched his way to the car. 

“Get in kid,” Happy said, opening the door reluctantly. Peter smiled, bouncing in. May had actually seemed better the last few days. Not healthier, but definitely calmer and more happy. He was looking forward to seeing her more than ever before, and he hardly remembered to thank Happy when they pulled up. 

“Aunt May!” He said, grinning widely at her as she pulled him into a hug. “You’ve lost weight, are you sure you're up to this?” 

“Peter, I was the one that told you to come today, of course I feel up to it,” May said. “Who knows how many more days like these we’ll have left, I want to make this one count,” 

“Oh… okay!” He said, forcing a smile. “Well where are we going then?” 

“I was thinking we could start at the river…”

-0-

“Tony, I need to talk to you,” Pepper said, not knocking as she walked into his office. Tony groaned, spinning around. 

“Uh oh, what’d I do?” He asked. She gave him a good natured smile, before sitting down. “Yikes, you look serious,”

“Mays going to die. Tomorrow,” Pepper said, folding her hands in front of her. “She decided and let me know. Peter doesn't know yet, and we’re not telling him.” She said, matter of factly. “I don’t know what she’s planning on doing but I promised her we would not be intervening.”

“Wh- you’re not gonna stop her?” Tony asked. “Pep we can’t let-” 

“Tony I hope by now you’d figured out the whole quality over quantity idea,” She said with a sigh, adjusting his blazer over a t- shirt. “It’s going to be very peaceful, she’s going to be in control, Peters going to get to say his goodbyes without all the trauma of waiting, this is really the best thing for everyone involved.” She said. 

“No no no, I can fix this-” Tony started, only to be cut off by Pepper, placing a very pointed kiss on his lips. 

“There’s nothing to fix Tony, she’s gonna be gone this time tomorrow,” She said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “She’s dying anyway. This is what she wants,” 

“Peters not ready,” Tony said. 

“No, but is he ever going to be?” she asked, moving her hand up to his face. “Tell you what, she said she wants tomorrow all to herself, before she… does it. Why don’t you spend the day with Peter. You could introduce him to the team. Or maybe he wants to see your lab?” She sighed, shaking her head. “Try to make it feel like home for him, as much as you can,” 

“We can’t replace May,” Tony said, shaking his head. 

“That's true, but a home doesn't need to be the same, does it?” She asked. “He needs a home right now, give him that and he’s going to end up fine, okay?” 

“Okay Pep,” He said. “Just to be clear I don’t like it. Not one bit,” 

“I know Tony,” She said, rolling her eyes. “Now scram, I have work calls to make, we should do a gala to introduce him.” 

“Ewww,” 

-0-

“Alright everyone, this is Peter, he’s uh, spider… thing… from Germany. And he moved in as of today because of interpersonal complications,” He said, gesturing to Peter, who looked somewhere caught between star struck and like he was on the verge of tears. So it could be worse. 

“No, no that can’t be spiderman,” Steve said. “He’s a kid,” 

“I told you he was young!” Bucky said. “Hi, I’m Bucky, he’s angry,” 

“I’m Steve,”

“Hello-” 

“Oh my gosh it’s a kid!” Clint said, walking in. “Who let a kid in here? Natasha? A child! Who trusted us around a child? We’re gonna break it,” 

“Spiderkid,” Tony yelled from across the room where he was on a phone call. 

“Spider Kid from the airport?” Natasha asked. 

“It’s uh… it’s spiderman,” Peter said, shuffling his feet. They all gave him a look. 

“Tony he’s like eight,” Steve said after collecting his thoughts. “Wait- have you been doing child experiments?” 

“Oh how little you think of me,” Tony said, turning off his phone. “Alright, this is Peter, he’s the spider guy I took to the airport, he already had his powers when I met him, I just gave him a better suit don’t worry, and he’s moving in because his aunt’s got stage… what was it?

“Uh… stave IV… panciotic… something,” Peter said. 

“Point is she’s dying fast and he’s got apparently the worst luck when it comes to blood relatives, and now he’s here. Enjoy,” He said. “And for the love of everything holy, please don’t do the whole… I captain america and this no right shtick again because I can’t handle it.” Tony said. “And the kids aunt said- and I agree -his powers make him pretty much invincible, so don’t worry about hurting him,” 

“Oh my gosh I tried to kill a kid,” Bucky said. “Like, a kid kid,” 

“How old is it?” Natasha asked, cocking her head to the side while Clint gave him a similar analytical look, only while stuffing an entire sandwich in his mouth in one go at the same time. 

“Uh… Mr. Stark, how old am I?” Peter asked. Tony sighed. 

“He’s 15.” 

“Right! I’m fifteen,” Peter said nodding. “And three weeks,” 

“Wait so that would have made his fourteen at the airport- Tony!” Sam said. “We. said. No. child. Soldiers.” 

“Yeah yeah, whatever, just show the kid around will yah? And try not to scare him off, I really don’t want to handle the paperwork if he accidentally kills one of you,” 

“As if, I want to get a sense of his strength, let's spar,” Natasha said. Clint nodded and they were gone with Peter in a flash. 

-0-

“Alright, I want to hit Clint as hard as you can,” Natasha said from the side of the rink, stopwatch in hand. 

“If I do that I’ll kill him!” Peter said. 

“Oh come on, he’s survived worse,” Natasha said. Peter was in the middle of explaining why this was a really bad idea, when Friday instructed him to go up to the living room immediately. 

“Fine, scram,” Natasha said. “I wanna beat up my husband,” 

“Okay,” Peter said, jumping onto the ceiling (less to knock over up there) and made his way out. 

“In case you were wondering,” Friday said pleasantly. “She is not using a metaphor, she genuinely enjoys causing physical pain to those she cares about,” 

“...great,” He said. He stopped in his room to change really fast, although they hadn’t done nearly enough that he felt like he needed a shower, and then scuttered his way to the living room, dropping down when he saw their grim faces. “Hi! Is… something wrong?” 

“We got a call from the hospice today Peter,” Pepper said. “They think there was a complication with Mays medication, she passed away around noon today,” 

“Wh- that's impossible I was just talking to her this morning,” Peter said. “Isn’t it supposed to be like… a slow decline or something? Why was it so fast?” 

“Well, cancer is very unpredictable, but there could have been extenuating factors, we need to wait for the hospital to do an autopsy to get a better idea,” Pepper said. Peter just blinked at her. 

“Peter?” Tony asked, standing up quickly and putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him, leading him back to the sofa to sit between the two of them. “Hey buddy, can you tell me what's going through your head right now?” 

“Can…” Peter cleared his throat, starting over. “Can I go check? Please? I trust you but… Can I go check for myself?” He asked, looking between them with heartbreaking sad eyes. Pepper nodded behind Peter's head. 

“Sure thing bud, do you want us to come?” Tony asked, concerned about letting the kid out loss right now. He could always get Clint to follow him, but he didn’t necessarily want to trust that man alone with the kid just yet. 

“Sure, you can if you want,” Peter said, shrugging. Tony nodded and they both stood up, throwing on there coats quickly and following him out into the hall. 

The car ride was fast and silent, even Happy seemed in a solemn mood (not that it was a stark contrast) although he was pushing 80 to get them there as fast as possible. Tony blamed his emotional constipation, Pepper said it was because he was a kind person. Either way they ended up at the hospice in ten minutes flat.

Pepper marched them in, going to the front desk and signaling to Tony to wait with Peter in the waiting area, which they did, sinking deep into the overstuffed sofas while Peter played with his hands. “Are you sure you want this Pete? No one will blame you if you turn around right now,” 

“Mr. Stark, I saw all my grandparents die, I was on the plane when my parents died, I was there when my uncle got shot… I need to know. If I know then it has to be real…”He said. “I just… I need to know…” 

“Alright,” Tony said, putting an arm around him and gripping his shoulder tightly as Pepper walked back in. “Are we good?” 

“We have as much time as we want with her,” Pepper said sadly. “You sure about this Peter? We can always go back if you want to, no one will make you stay,” 

“I’m sure,” Peter said. Tony nodded and they stood up, following the lady down a flight of stairs they hadn’t been down before, both him and Peter ignoring the mindless chatter of the doctor, trying to make light of the situation. Someone should re-train her, because Tony was pretty sure cracking jokes at the hospice's expense about the quality of care to a grieving 15 year old was a no no. 

He heard Peppers vaguely rude replies and before he knew it he was in the cold room, staring at rows and rows of white sheets. He kept his arm tight around Peter as he stared at them, the lady humming to herself as she pulled out a few different bodies, flipping the sheets back and then back on. 

“Here we go!” She said cheerily, smacking the metal plate the body was on. “Alrighty, y’all go on tak’n your time here ‘n everythin’, but we got CPS up there to talk to the kid ‘bout his living arrangements,” 

“There's nothing to talk about, we’ve signed all the papers already,” Pepper said. The lady snorted. 

“Yeah all for real about wanting to keep that weird li’ll thing? I mean to each their own, but if you ask me he should be-” 

“Well no one did ask you did they?” Pepper asked. “Thank goodness. Now we will be just fine in here if you would like to go chatter outside, or you can wait quietly,” 

“Lady this my work, I can do just as I damn well please,” She said. Peter didn’t get to see what Tony did, but they stepped in the hall to have words.

“I’m sorry about that Peter,” Pepper said. “Are you sure you want to do this today? We can always come back,” 

“No we can’t,” Peter said. “Really a body shouldn’t sit for longer than a week or two before being buried. And I won’t be any more ready then,” 

“Alright,” She said, gesturing to the table, wincing when the volume in the hall increased. Moments later Tony was back. 

“Sorry,” He whispered. While they had a hushed conversation, Peter took a step forward, folding back the cloth to the bodies shoulders, and stared. 

Everyone fell silent upon seeing Mays waxy face. Her long dark hair was curled and had been set into a half updo that she loved. There was makeup on her face already, her favorite red lipstick and winged eyeliner. The room smelled sweet and awful and like death, a very heavy and deep smell. It was like the entire room had shown a spotlight on her body. There wasn’t anything else to look at, or anywhere else to go, just them and the body. 

“She looks a lot different,” Peter said after almost ten minutes of silence. “Old people look the same when they die, and everyone else was all bloody so it was hard to tell… but she looks… so different,”

Tony and Pepper looked at each other, collectively deciding to keep their mouths shut while Peter staired. “She did her hair before she died… and her make up…” Peter looked back at them. “She knew. She’d always said if she- if she was going to die… she wanted to look put together. She knew that this was going to happen. That's why we spent off of yesterday together. And why she called me this morning,” He said. 

“She was terminal Peter… maybe-” Tony started. Pepper elbowed him hard. 

“No… she knew,” Peter said. After a long, long while of staring at it, he turned back. “Did she do it herself? She talked about that a lot, before her diagnosis… about not wanting to waste away and all,” he said. 

“Yes… she did Peter,” Pepper said. Peter just nodded. 

After another five minutes, he turned back, walking away. “I’m ready to go home now,” He said, somewhat numbly. 

“Are you sure bud?” Tony asked. When he got within range Pepper grabbed him, hugging him close to her side as they walked. 

“Yeah. I’ve seen her, I know she’s not there… and I know why…” Peter said. “I don’t need to be here anymore.” 

“Alright, well then we can go home.” Tony said.

-0-

“Where’s Peter?” Sam asked over dinner. 

“We let him go to his room to sleep, he hasn’t come out sense,” Tony said. “Kids upset, rightfully so, I didn’t think making him sit through team dinner was all that good of a idea,” 

“Friday?” Sam asked. 

“Peter Parker is not in his room, would you like footage of what he has been doing?” Friday asked. They all blinked. 

“Fuck. Yes! Yes I would very much like that!” Tony said, standing up. Friday projected footage of Peter swinging around at about ten times the speed. In three minutes they watched him save a cat, stop a robbery, beat up a would-be-rapist and water an old ladys plants before he just stopped. The last two hours of footage he stayed sitting on the roof of a building overlooking a grave yard. 

“Shit…” Tony said. 

“I would not recommend reaching out to him right now,” Friday said. “I will alert you if anything changes,” 

“He’s a kid, I can’t just leave him up there,” Tony said. “Besides it’s gonna rain,” 

“You can only do as you think is best,” Friday said. “...even if it is idiotic,” 

“There's the AI I know,” He said. 

“Wait Tony-” 

“I’m not leaving the kid up there Steve,” Tony said. “Mark 262 please,” 

“On it,” Friday said. Within a minute Tony was in the air, looking for Peter. He wasn’t hard to find, seated on top of the building swinging his feet. His mask was still on, although the streets were empty, and he didn’t even look up when Tony landed next to him. Without taking the suit off, Tony sat down next to Peter, keeping completely silent. 

It took Peter almost half an hour to speak, and when he did it became clear he had been crying. “Mr. Stark, I don’t know how to live without May. She was the person who kept me alive. I just feel like…” He paused, swallowing. “It’s like I’m sinking. Or sunk… deep in like… tar or something… and she was an air pocket and it wasn’t okay but I could live and now… It feels like I’m drowning without her,” 

Tony nodded, not saying anything -particularly hard on Tony- and gestured for him to continue. “You know… she wasn’t even… we went related… Ben was my dad's brother… and they’d been married for maybe… maybe a year when i moved in… but she was more my mom then my mom was,” He turned to look at Tony. “Is that horrible? That her dying is so much worse?” 

“I don’t know if it’s horrible, but I did the same thing,” Tony said. Peter looked up at that, the eyes to the spiderman mask wide. 

“You did? You had an aunt May?” He asked, his voice still sounding choked.

“Oh yeah. Two actually, although they were never married. Peggy and Jarvis. They are the ones who raised me, and when Jarvis died… I really never thought I would be happy again,” 

“So how did you fix it?” Peter asked. “How do you feel happy when… when they take it with them?”

“You know… I didn’t for a long time.” Tony said. “I preferred to numb my emotions instead of deal with them, but at some point I met Pep. That's when my life got… not good but bearable. Then I became an avenger, which helped… But I don’t think I was really really happy for a good while,” Tony said. “It happened for me, and it will for you… but a lot of it is knowing how to live with it. How to be alright with being sad,” 

“And how do you do that?” Peter asked, looking down at the graves again. “Because Mr. Stark, I really don’t think I know how to be sad either right now,” 

“Well honestly kid,” Tony said. “You find someone or several someones, who will be your family, and the rest falls into place somewhere along the way. And hey, you lucked out, your aunt pre-choose us for you,” 

“Really?” Peter asked. 

“Kid I think a stranger off the street could take one look at your face and adopt you, certainly any one of Mays coworkers who’ve known you, you know why she chose us instead?” He asked. “She said she knew they would get you through highschool, but us? The avengers? She said she knew you when’t escaping us if you tried.” He patted his back. “Or that's what she told me anyway,” 

“She killed herself Mr. Stark,” Peter said, looking down. “She killed herself and I want to be angry at her but I’m not. She even said goodbye,” He looked down and giggled a little humorlessly. “She really did plan the perfect death, didn’t she,” 

“It was May, if you were involved everything had to be perfect,” Tony said. Peter laughed a little, looking down. 

“I think I’m gonna stay up here for awhile Mr. Stark, you can go if you want,” Peter said. “I used to watch the skyline when the sun set with her, I’m gonna do that one last time,” 

“Alright Pete,” Tony said. “But as soon as it gets dark I want you inside, I’m ordering burgers,” He said. “Don’t tell Bruce but he can’t cook to save his live,” 

“Okay Mr. Stark,” Peter said. “And uh… Thank you,” 

“What for?” Tony asked, looking at the kid. 

“For… staying,” He said, shrugging. 

“For you kid? You’re gonna have to wrestle me away,”