Chapter Text
A month. That’s how long Peter and Tony had worked on a puzzle showing an aerial shot of New York City. But that was a month ago. The last piece had been lost somewhere in the house and they hadn’t been able to find it. They destroyed the house, looking in every nook and cranny to try and find it. Nothing. They came up empty handed every time.
So the unfinished puzzle sat on the dining room table as a kind of teasing taunt. After the fourth day of looking, they decided to give it a rest. It was bound to come up, right? But that didn’t mean Peter didn’t catch Tony staring down at the puzzle with his little concerned thinking face and running through the many places that it could be. He’d shake his head once he realized he was being watched and smile at Peter as if he wasn’t slowly losing his mind.
When Peter returned home to his and May’s house after being at Tony’s for a while, he was not surprised to find her, mouth open and snoring on the couch. He gave her a blanket and made sure that she was comfortable before taking himself to bed. He had a huge project due that he had to put the finishing touches on. The boy’s organization and planning had benefited him well, seeing as he was able to finish the project in just enough time. That was another thing that bothered him about the entire missing puzzle piece debacle. If he was so organized, how did he lose something so important? Especially something from a new box. He pretended that it didn't bother him about the piece and that they would find it eventually, but seeing that puzzle made him feel uneasy. He always had everything together, why couldn’t he figure out a stupid puzzle?
He knew it was stupid, and therefore, he never told Tony. Who gets this worked up about a puzzle? He had world-saving to do. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes for bed. Nothing could be solved if he was sleep deprived.
The next morning he was bombarded by the realization that he was late. And not just late as in a couple of minutes, but late. He scrambled to his feet and ran to grab a tee shirt and jeans. There was no time for a shower even though he knew he didn’t smell the best. He rushed around the tiny apartment like a mad-man before finally grabbing his backpack. He almost left his project. May had left for her shift earlier. No wonder he was left in peace without the smell of burnt toast or the loud clanging of pots accompanied by off-pitched singing. On the subway ride, his leg shook with anxiety and worry. He was going to be tardy and he’d never hear the end of it from May.
He was the first one off the subway, running as fast as his enhanced spider-human legs could carry him. He had to protect this diorama at all costs. He weaved and bobbed through large groups of people before finally making it to his air-conditioned school. He was relieved that he’d worn a tee-shirt instead of his typical sweater that would have been fine if he was walking to school normally.
“Mr. Parker. You’re late.” Droned the secretary in the front office. He was still catching his breath. “This isn’t like you, Peter. Let’s try not to make it a habit, hm?” She handed him his tardy slip.
“It won’t be, Ms. Warren.” He left before she could lecture him any more. In his classroom, he sat in his seat just as another student was giving their presentation. Ned looked at him with confusion. As mentioned, he was never late.
“...and that’s why I think we’re all insignificant and meaningless.” There was an awkward clap that followed the dreary girl as she returned to her seat.
“Um, thank you. Delia. Okay! Moving on. Since Mr. Parker has decided to grace us with his presence, he can come present.” Peter was not nervous and did not see this as a slight. In fact, he had expected it. His diagram was on the layers of Neptune. He had spent weeks painting and molding, researching and going the extra mile because he liked to be proud of his work.
“For my project, I decided to explore the different layers of a planet that doesn’t get enough recognition: Neptune. As we know, all planets have the basic layers, but not all of them are created equally. This top layer is called the upper atmosphere and consists of the cloud tops.” He opened the sphere to reveal the next compartment. “This one is just the basic atmosphere and is made of helium, hydrogen, and methane gas.” He continued his project, becoming prouder and prouder of himself as he showed them off. When he was done, they applauded as Mr. Sanders complimented him. He went to take a seat.
Ned gave him a celebratory punch before facing forward. In the section marked ‘Core’ there seemed to be something in there. What was that? He hadn’t decided to put anything in the middle of any of the partitions because he thought it would be too clunky. He reached in and pulled it out. The puzzle piece. He almost screamed in the middle of class at the sight of it. It must have gotten mixed up when he worked on the project at the penthouse. It had been right in front of him this whole time.
When school was over, he bolted to Happy’s car. He was so excited he almost forgot to annoy the gruff man. As he rushed up the front stairs and into the elevator, he was greeted by FRIDAY. “Peter, your heart rate seems to be extremely high. Is something the matter?”
“Nope! Everything is just how it should be!” As he made it to the lab, Tony gave him a concerned onceover. He held up the puzzle piece to which Tony smiled and shouted questions of excitement. They embraced before heading to the dining room to finish what had been started.
Sometimes the things you lose aren't really that far at all.