Chapter Text
There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window. He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be forever barred.
Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie
Morgan’s favourite place in the whole city is a donut store. Not just because it makes the most amazing donuts ever, but because of the name of the store.
Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop.
She knows it doesn’t really have anything to do with the character, and there’s no Tinkerbell to be seen, but Daddy still pretends they’re going to Neverland anyway on their weekly Saturday visit, doing a silly impression of Captain Hook that makes Morgan laugh.
The lady with pretty hair who works behind the counter is called Michelle. She doesn’t seem to like Daddy all that much, but Morgan thinks it’s all a game because they both do funny smiles when the other isn’t looking. And she always picks out the best donuts with extra sprinkles and hands it to Morgan with a smile.
A boy called Ned is there a lot too. He’s a big fan of the Avengers and sometimes has Lego that he lets Morgan play with. Daddy always calls him Ted even though he knows it’s not his name, but Ned doesn’t seem to mind. He talks to Daddy about science stuff that Morgan doesn’t really understand, but it means she gets to play with the Lego longer.
The thing is, Morgan can’t really remember when she and Daddy started visiting the donut store.
She just remembers being there one snowy day before Christmas, a bright pink frosty donut in her hand, Daddy sipping on his coffee that Mommy says he still drinks too much of, and Michelle and Ned, before she knew their names, looking over some big glossy books that had pictures of people in dark red jumpers on the front.
Another boy had been there too. He looked sad, really sad, and very tired, like he could fall asleep at any moment.
Morgan knows it’s not polite to stare, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself from looking at him. There was something…a feeling, like she had seen him before somewhere.
The boy had looked at her only once, his brown eyes growing wide as though he was scared, turning shiny like he was about to cry, and then he’d stood up and hurried out of the door into the snow.
“Daddy," she had said immediately, tugging on his sleeve. “Do you know that boy?"
“What boy?" Daddy had asked, looking around.
“The one who was sitting over there. He looked really sad."
“Must be having a tough time if a donut shop doesn’t bring a smile to his face."
“I think I’ve seen him before."
Daddy looked at her curiously. “Oh, yeah? Where?"
“I…I don’t remember."
Uncle Happy has a girlfriend.
Morgan’s heard Daddy teasing him a lot, asking when everyone can meet her. Mommy and Uncle Rhodey want to meet her too, but Uncle Happy always goes pink in the face and gets his words all twisty.
“Come on, Hap," Daddy says, shiny red arm wrapped around Uncle Happy’s back. “What’s the worst that can happen?"
“You could say things, Tony," Uncle Happy says grumpily as he opens the door to Peter Pan’s. “Too many things."
Morgan skips ahead into the store, already grinning as she spots Michelle behind the counter who gives a slow wave at them all.
“Hey, sweaty guy," she says to Uncle Happy. Daddy laughs and Uncle Happy groans as he says hello back.
A woman comes out of the little corridor where the bathroom is. Her hair is brown, the glasses on her face are round and her smile is big when she notices them.
“May!" Uncle Happy says in surprise. “What are you doing here?"
The lady - May - throws her hands up in the air. “I don’t know! I’ve never been here before but I guess I couldn’t ignore my sudden donut craving." She walks over and gives Uncle Happy a kiss, then looks at Daddy. “Guess it’s about time we finally met, huh?"
“Yeah. Only…" Daddy shakes his head with a funny smile. “It’s weird, I feel like I know you. Do I know you?"
May frowns, looking at Uncle Happy with uncertainty. “I don’t…think so. I mean, I think I’d remember that. Remember you.”
“Please don’t tell me you slept with my girlfriend," Uncle Happy says, and Daddy gives him a funny look.
“Daddy only sleeps in a bed with Mommy and sometimes me when I get sick," Morgan says, making May laugh and Daddy nod in agreement.
“You’re absolutely right, Morguna."
“Can I get anybody anything?" Michelle calls from behind the counter. Morgan thinks she looks a bit confused. “Most people come in here to buy donuts so…"
Morgan moves closer to the counter and crawls up onto a stool. “Can I have a chocolate one, please?"
“Sure." Michelle selects the largest one from the container and tucks it into a napkin for her.
“Thank you," Morgan says politely and takes a huge bite out of it.
“So, how did you two meet?" Daddy is asking behind her. “Happy here has been very secretive."
May laughs. It’s a pretty laugh. “It’s the funniest thing. We met…" she pauses and Morgan swivels round on her chair to look. “It…it sounds crazy but we met through Spider-Man."
“Daddy knows Spider-Man!" Morgan shouts excitedly. “Don’t you, Daddy?"
“In a distant, singular work-related moment here and there kind of way, yeah." He looks at Uncle Happy. “So how did he introduce you two?"
May wrinkles her nose. “I can’t really remember."
Uncle Happy scratches his head. “Yeah, me neither."
“Something to do with FEAST, right?" May says. “I mean, it must be."
“Gotta be. He’s like the official mascot."
Morgan turns back to take another bite of her donut, but stops as she sees what looks like the sad boy hurrying away from the window. She notices Michelle is looking at the window too, and wonders if she saw the same thing.
Something goes smack and makes Morgan jump, almost spilling her hot chocolate as she looks for the source of the sound.
“You okay, kid?" Daddy asks as the sad boy picks up the big book he had dropped on the floor. When he looks up, his eyes are wide and shiny, like he’s been surprised by something.
"W-what?"
Daddy points to the book. “I know they say you gotta hit the books hard but…"
“Oh!" The boy laughs a little, but it doesn’t sound right. “Yeah. M’just tired, I guess."
Something shuffles behind Morgan and she looks back to see Michelle sliding a pink donut with sprinkles across the counter towards her, eyes glued onto the boy as she does so. Morgan smiles and quickly takes a bite before Daddy sees.
“Rest is important. Knowing when to stop is a strength, not a weakness, you know."
The boy smiles, a very small smile, as he puts his book into his bag. “Yeah, I know." He heads up to the register. “Uh, hey, can I get a black coffee to go, please?"
“Sure," Michelle says and grabs one of the nearby pots of coffee with the black handle.
Daddy looks back and forth between them, then at Morgan. He winks at her before making a kissy face. Morgan sticks her tongue out before giggling, watching the boy stare at Michelle while she pours the coffee into a takeout cup for him.
“Here you go, Peter Parker," she says, sliding the cup across the counter.
“Oh, you, uh, remembered," the boy replies, sounding very surprised.
“Well, you’re the only person who ever came in here and introduced themselves by their full name, so," Michelle shrugs. “Anything else?"
The boy, whose name Morgan now knows is Peter, like Peter Pan, pulls a crumpled dollar bill from his pocket and accidentally drops it past Michelle’s hand. Daddy snorts quietly into his coffee and shakes his head.
“I could cut you off, you know," Michelle tells him and Daddy gives a serious nod.
Morgan takes a big sip of her hot chocolate and watches Peter leave without waiting for his change.
Peter is there again and again. Not every time they visit; sometimes weeks go by without any sign of him, long enough for all the snow to start melting and for Daddy to buy Mommy a giant teddy for Valentine’s Day, but sometimes Morgan thinks she sees him walking past the window. Morgan watches him stare at Michelle and Ned when they aren’t looking, and wants to ask why he doesn’t talk to them instead.
Sometimes he stares at her Daddy with that same sadness, but he’s always gone before she can get Daddy to look at him.
He never stays for very long, and Morgan always feels a funny kind of ache in her stomach when he leaves.
“How many donuts did your dad say you could have, squirt?"
“Three."
Uncle Happy looks down at her, pulling what Mommy calls his ‘suspicious’ face. Morgan grins up at him as wide as she can.
“Ah, screw it, your dad’s given me hell over the years," he eventually says, pulling out his wallet. “Time for a little payback, huh?"
“Uh huh," Morgan agrees, though she’s not really sure what that means. She climbs up onto the nearest stool. “Hi Michelle!"
Michelle looks up from a book she’s drawing in and waves her pencil. “Hey, Morgan, sweaty guy."
Uncle Happy grumbles under his breath. "You know my name already, kid, can you at least use it?"
"It’s not as fun," Michelle says, giving Morgan a smile. "Donuts?"
“Three please."
“Let me guess, one chocolate and two strawberry sprinkle?"
Morgan nods and Michelle turns to Uncle Happy. “Extra shot in the cappuccino today?"
“Yeah, and a blueberry donut too, please."
Michelle is halfway through fixing their order when the door bursts open and Ned rushes inside.
“Dude, dude, Spider-Man just took down some crazy guy in a - it was like a - big, metal rhino suit or something - “
Morgan nearly topples off the stool in her hurry to rush towards the shop window.
“No, no, not out there," Ned pulls out his phone, “it’s all over YouTube, here."
Morgan follows him back over to the counter where Happy helps her back onto her stool, the three of them and Michelle leaning close to look at the screen. It’s really shaky but Morgan’s breath still disappears from her chest as Spider-Man leaps and swings through the air, almost being hit by what look like little rockets.
“So cool," Ned says. “Look, look, he wraps him up in a sec and - yeah!"
The shiny grey rhino suit crashes into the ground, all covered in webs. There’s lots of cheering and screaming and flashing lights from police cars. Morgan grins, feeling a big rush of happy warmth as Spider-Man holds up his fingers in a peace sign before swinging away.
"How much you wanna bet Jameson goes live in five minutes saying Spider-Man staged the whole thing?" Michelle asks.
Morgan frowns. "I don’t like him. He says mean things."
"Guy’s a jackass," Uncle Happy says. He looks at Morgan. "Don’t repeat that word."
"It’s okay. Mommy says he’s an asshole."
Ned bursts out laughing while Uncle Happy groans, reaching quickly for his cappuccino when Michelle slides it across the counter to him, along with the first of Morgan’s donuts. She eats it carefully, licking the sugar off the edges first while Ned and Michelle talk to Happy about a trip they took last year to London where Spider-Man fought Mysterio, the guy with the goldfish bowl on his head that she’s seen on posters.
Michelle, noticing the stickiness of Morgan’s fingers, grabs some napkins and places them on the counter. As she leans back, she rubs a spot on her forehead, brushing her hair away. Morgan thinks she can see a little scar there.
Morgan keeps having weird dreams. Sometimes they feel so real that it takes her a long time in the mornings to shake off the feeling that they actually happened.
She dreams about being in an apartment with May and Uncle Happy, and there’s someone else there but she can’t see their face.
She dreams about being in the park with Ned and Michelle, who has the name MJ, and running after someone through the trees.
She dreams of someone other than Mommy and Daddy reading her a bedtime story and eating breakfast with her in the mornings.
Sometimes Spider-Man is there, calling her name. Sometimes he sounds so frightened that Morgan wakes up with tears on her face and shouting for Mommy.
“Dreams are funny things, honey," Daddy says on their way to the donut store. “They’re pretty scary, but they’re not real."
“You had ones that were real. About bad things happening, and that mean alien man that hurt you."
Daddy’s face is unhappy as he looks at her. “How do you know about that?"
“I heard you and Mommy talking about it."
Daddy pokes her gently in the ribs. “What have I told you about sneaking around, huh."
“I also heard you talk about Spider-Man." Morgan reaches out and takes hold of his metal hand. “You have dreams about him too."
Daddy links their fingers together, the red of his shining prettily in the sunlight coming in through the car window. “Yeah, sometimes."
Morgan feels a funny sensation in her stomach, the same kind of ache that happens when she sees Peter leave the donut store.
“You could try calling him. You used to see him a lot, like all those stories you told me.”
When Daddy answers, his voice is sad in a way that makes Morgan feel like crying.
“I tried, honey. Plenty of times. He never answers."
“Got something new for you to try," Michelle whispers, sliding a tall glass with a straw in it across the counter. “Just don’t tell Ned otherwise he’ll want one too."
Morgan giggles while Ned makes a loud gasping sound, then takes a quick sip through the straw. It’s full of chocolate and tastes so sweet that it makes her toes curl happily.
Daddy raises an eyebrow at her, his mouth doing the twitchy thing where he tries not to smile. “Is there a reason you want to fill my daughter up with sugar?" he says to Michelle.
Michelle shrugs. “I like to sketch people in crisis sometimes. Watching you try to peel her off the ceiling would be good inspiration.”
“Uh huh," Daddy says, reaching for his big mug of coffee, “and the unconscious guy in the corner doesn’t do it for you?"
Morgan looks over at Peter where he’s slumped against the wall, arms folded across his chest like he hadn’t even meant to fall asleep.
“Kinda impressed he hasn’t fallen off that stool," Daddy says. “How long has he been like that?"
“Not long after we opened," Michelle answers.
Ned tilts his head. “Is that a black eye?" he whispers loudly.
Morgan immediately pushes up on her stool to get a better look. Daddy quickly but gently pulls her back down by the back of her sweater, but she can still see it: a faint smudge by the corner of Peter’s right eye, like ink from a pen.
"He has those sometimes,'' Michelle says. ''Cuts too.''
“What’s the deal with this kid," Daddy says softly.
“We should - “ Michelle looks at Ned, then Daddy, “ we should wake him up, right? Make sure he’s okay?"
“I’ll do it." Morgan starts to climb down from her seat, but Daddy’s hand on her arm stops her.
“Better let me, honey."
“He’s not dangerous, Daddy."
“Maybe he’s in trouble," Ned suggests, getting up and following Daddy round the counter, still holding the glazed donut he’d been eating.
Daddy looks at him with confusion. “What’re you doing?"
“I don’t know." He looks at Michelle for a moment. "My lola says I’m kinda magic so I thought I’d just…back you up."
Michelle gives Ned a nod when he looks at her again, like she’s silently agreeing with him, but her face turns back into a concerned frown as Daddy moves closer. Morgan finds herself holding her breath as he reaches out with his metal hand and gently shakes Peter by the shoulder. Ned jumps back, arms held out in front of himself in a way that reminds Morgan of that wizard man who kept visiting Daddy in hospital, the one he pretends not to like.
Peter doesn’t move.
Daddy shakes him again, a little harder this time, and both Morgan and Ned yelp as Peter suddenly jerks awake with a little yell.
“What? I didn't - what - what is - “
“Easy there, kid," Daddy says calmly. “You’re alright."
Peter blinks at him, mouth hanging open, his forehead wrinkling in a frown. “Uh…Mister Stark?"
Something flashes in Morgan’s mind, too quick for her to grab hold of, but it leaves behind a strange feeling, like she’s heard Peter say those words before.
“You can just call me Tony. Everything good? You’ve been sleeping for a while."
Peter’s face changes, becoming so, so sad for a moment that Morgan feels that urge to cry again before he gives them all a small smile. “Sorry - sorry, I didn’t mean - long night, you know?"
“Uh huh…" Daddy says in that voice he uses when he doesn’t believe something. “You get that shiner during your long night?"
“Are you in trouble?" Ned blurts. “Is someone after you?"
“Ned," Michelle hisses, “you couldn’t be a little more subtle?"
She’s clutching her necklace, Morgan notices, squeezing it tightly as she looks at Peter who has gone very pale, making the bruise stand out even more on his face.
“What? No, no I’m not in trouble, I just - y’know, fell over on my way home, that’s all." He starts to move, walking carefully past Ned and Daddy. “Sorry I fell asleep, that was totally rude and…weird of me," he says to Michelle.
“Kid," Daddy says, “I’ve had enough black eyes in my life to know they never come from falling over. I know we barely know each other but - “
“No," Peter shakes his head. “No, we don’t, but it’s fine, I, uh, appreciate the concern but it’s - I, I gotta go, I’m sorry."
“Wait!" Morgan calls, wanting him to stay, wanting to know what’s wrong and why he looks so sad, but Peter only glances at her one more time before he rushes out of the door.
“That went well," Michelle sighs while Ned flops onto the counter with a loud groan, donut still in his hand.
Later that night, Morgan asks for Peter Pan as her bedtime story.
“Again?" Daddy plucks the book from the top shelf of her bookcase and hands it to her. “Pretty sure you know this thing totally off by heart now, Morguna."
Morgan doesn’t answer, flipping through the pages with less care than she would normally show until she finds the page she’s looking for and points to a particular line. “Look."
Daddy sits beside her on the bed and lifts the book a little higher, squinting at it through his glasses. “But where do you live now?" he reads out loud. “With the lost boys."
“That’s Peter."
Daddy chuckles. “I know that’s Peter Pan - “
“No," Morgan pokes him in the side. “Not Peter Pan. Peter Pan is Peter Pan. I mean Peter."
“Donut store Peter?" Daddy laughs again. “Does that actually make me Captain Hook then?" He curls one of his metal fingers into a hook shape and drags it across the ticklish spot on Morgan’s neck.
“No," she wriggles away. “I think he’s lost. Like a Lost Boy."
“Okay, and the donut store is Neverland where all the Lost Boys go?"
Morgan shrugs as Daddy sets the book back down on the bed. She knows it doesn’t really make sense and she definitely can’t think of a better way to explain it that Daddy will understand. Mommy says he’s too smart to see what’s right in front of his nose sometimes, and Morgan thinks this is what she means.
Peter might not be living in Neverland or a real Lost Boy, but Morgan knows, as surely as she knows all the names of the planets and the words to Welcome to the Jungle, that he’s not where he’s meant to be.
This Saturday is different than usual. Instead of going to the donut store, they’re at FEAST headquarters where May works. There’s lots of people working hard and running around, Uncle Happy is being bossy, Mommy and May are talking about something to do with donations, Daddy is doing something with a few volunteers on their phones, and Morgan has a big stack of envelopes and leaflets in front of her to sort.
She’s sorted exactly twenty when Spider-Man walks in. Excitement jumps in her chest as a big cheer fills the room.
“Spidey!" someone shouts. “It’s been ages, man!"
“Yeah!" another person agrees.
Spider-Man waves. “Sorry! It’s a big neighborhood out there, you know."
He makes his way along, giving lots of high fives, until he’s right in front of Morgan’s table. He doesn’t notice her because he’s looking at Daddy, one hand still in the air, the eyes of his suit going really wide.
“Uh…"
“Well, if it isn’t the hardest guy in the world to get hold of," Daddy says. He doesn’t seem annoyed, but the sound of his voice makes Morgan squirm.
“What can I say, I’m a busy guy," Spider-Man shrugs. His voice doesn’t sound too happy either. “Got places to be, people to look after."
“Uh huh. Enough spare time to make a new suit though, I see. Tech wasn’t working for you anymore?"
“New year, new me!" Spider-Man says, backing away. “So, anyway, I, uh, came down here to see if there was anything I could help with but, y’know, looks like you’ve got everything covered so I’ll just - "
Morgan leans across the table, knocking over the stack of unsorted leaflets, and grabs his hand. He immediately looks down at her, eyes becoming even bigger.
“Uh, h-hey, hi, little girl, nice to meet you."
All the things she’s ever wanted to say to him suddenly vanish from Morgan’s mind. That strange feeling from before is back again, but this time it’s so much stronger, like her dreams right after she wakes up from them.
Before she can say anything, May is rushing over and Spider-Man is gently pulling his hand away.
“Oh, I’m so glad you made it!" May says with a big smile. “It’s been so long, but talk about perfect tim - “
She hisses suddenly, holding her hand against her lower back. Spider-Man reaches for her, but quickly pulls away when Uncle Happy wraps an arm around May’s shoulders as she takes a deep breath before laughing.
“Don’t worry, it’s just - just an injury I got a while ago, it flares up sometimes."
“Oh," Spider-Man says quietly. Morgan sees his hands curl into fists.
Uncle Happy gives her a gentle squeeze. “I keep telling you to take it easy.”
May gives him a kiss, then turns to Spider-Man again. “Anyway, we were thinking of putting a new promo on social media, if you’re up for it? Nothing fancy, just a big cheerful encouragement to come and help out."
Spider-Man nods. “Yeah. Yeah, sure, I can do that."
“Don’t forget to smile for the camera," Daddy teases, which makes Uncle Happy roll his eyes.
Spider-Man gives a thumbs up. “Uh, where do you want me Ma - uh, ma’am?"
Morgan rests her head against her hand as she watches May lead him across the room, pointing to some big posters on the wall. She doesn’t notice the tears on her face until Daddy sits next to her and brushes some away with his thumb.
“What’s wrong, baby?"
Morgan immediately crawls into his lap and hides her face in his shirt, closing her eyes as she feels his hands stroke her hair and rub her back. It’s the safest place, her favourite place that always makes her feel better, but right now, it doesn’t do anything to stop the big, painful soreness in her chest.
“Thought you’d be happy to see your favourite hero," Daddy says softly, kissing her just above the ear.
Morgan holds onto him even tighter. “Me too."
“Kooorrrpiiisshhhhh kooorrrpiiiissshhhh."
Ned laughs so hard that his eyes start to fill up with tears. “What is that?"
“That’s what Darth Vader sounds like!"
Ned laughs even harder, head tipping backwards. Morgan giggles too, wiggling the little Darth Vader lego figure across the counter.
“Dude. I’ll never unhear that."
“Maybe that can be your icebreaker at MIT when you introduce yourself to people," Michelle says as she wipes the counter down, dodging the battle scene Morgan has spent the last ten minutes building with Ned while Daddy sits nearby, stuck on a phone call that has him rolling his eyes a lot.
“My Daddy went to MIT," Morgan tells them as she readjusts Darth Vader’s little red lightsaber. “He and Uncle Rhodey have matching sweatshirts."
“That’s totally gonna be me and you," Ned says to Michelle. “We’re gonna look so cool."
Michelle doesn’t look so sure, but smiles before glancing over to the door. It’s the tenth time she’s done it since Morgan arrived.
“Are you looking for Peter?"
Michelle opens her mouth, closes it, and sighs. “I haven’t seen him since we tried talking to him, that’s all."
"Still think we scared him away?" Ned asks, passing Morgan a spaceship.
“You mean when he woke up to us all staring at him and asking him questions?" Michelle replies, putting the cloth down and picking up mini Yoda, turning him round and round in her hands. "Yeah, I think we scared him away."
“You said we should wake him up!"
“I didn’t mean he should wake up with you and Tony Stark interrogating him!"
Daddy holds the phone away from his ear. “Hey, I don’t remember you offering any other suggestions for solving the mystery, Nancy Drew."
Morgan slips off her stool as they carry on talking, or arguing, something in between, the person on Daddy’s phone shouting because they’re being ignored, and heads to the back of the store where the customer bathroom is. Just as she pushes the door open, a sound makes her freeze.
It’s a voice, a familiar one.
“Oh, come on, not again…this stuff takes forever to come out…"
Quickly looking back to make sure that Daddy and the others aren’t watching, Morgan follows the voice, tiptoeing along the little corridor to the door at the end that’s slightly ajar. With butterflies racing in her stomach, she slowly slips through the gap and finds herself in an alley full of empty boxes and dumpsters that smell gross.
Crouched beside the nearest one, rubbing a dark spot on the Spider-Man suit and saying lots of bad words, is Peter.
That strange feeling comes rushing back again, making the butterflies move even faster, and Morgan realises something.
Peter is Spider-Man.
The boy who she keeps seeing in the donut store is Spider-Man.
Morgan isn’t surprised at all.
Somewhere, deep down, she already knows, and this is what makes her run towards him without a second thought.
“What the - “ Peter turns to face her, dropping his suit, and his hands come up to stop her, gently grabbing her right where her hoodie has slipped down on her arms. “Hey, whoa, uh, what’s going on?"
A firework goes off in Morgan’s head and suddenly, she sees him everywhere.
“You’re…"
Peter.
Peter.
Peter.
The feeling is so big, so happy and so sad at the same time, that Morgan immediately bursts into tears.
“Oh, please don’t cry, it’s okay, uh, why don’t we go find your dad and - “
Morgan throws her arms around his neck.
“I forgot you! You - you went away - you didn’t even say goodbye and I forgot you!"
She feels Peter go stiff for a second. “What?" He leans back to look at her. “What - how do you - “ His eyes drop to where his fingers are still wrapped around her arms. “Wow. That’s…cheesy," he croaks.
“I forgot you," Morgan repeats tearfully, not caring how or why she remembers, only that she does.
Peter wraps her up in the tightest hug. “Morgan," he whispers, all croaky, and she knows that he’s crying too.
“Why did you go?" she asks, rubbing her nose against his jumper. “Why didn’t you tell us?"
Peter leans back again to look at her, his face red and wet even as he smiles gently and brushes her hair from her face. “Because I wanted to keep you all safe."
“You have to tell everyone," Morgan cries. “You have to tell Daddy, tell Aunt May - everyone! Fix it, make it better."
Peter shakes his head, more tears falling. “I can’t. If I do, it means my enemies, all those bad guys me and your dad told you stories about, they’ll find them and hurt them and I can’t let that happen." He brushes her hair again. “I gotta keep you all safe."
“But - but you’re Spider-Man! You can protect us."
Peter laughs but it’s a horrible sound, too unhappy. “I wish I could."
Morgan feels more tears fall down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to be a Lost Boy.”
He pulls her in for another hug, squeezing her tight. “Oh man, I miss you so much."
Morgan clings onto him, wondering what he’ll do if she decides to never let go, but he’s suddenly pushing her away and yanking on the Spider-Man mask just as Daddy steps out into the alley.
“Morgan! Honey, you can’t just disappear like that, do you know - “ he stops as he looks at Peter. “Well, hey, Spider-Man, dumpster diving again?"
“Waste not, want not," Peter says, picking up his dirty suit. “Get it? Waste?"
Daddy squints at him but doesn’t laugh. Instead, he looks at Morgan and frowns, coming to stand right beside her. “Hey, what’s with the tears? What’s wrong?"
He’s looking at Peter again, face twisting into something kinda scary, the angry face that Morgan has only seen in old pictures and videos that sometimes appear on the news. Something inside her, a loud voice in her head yells that this isn’t going to be good, that if she doesn’t do something now, she’ll never see Peter again. Nobody else will remember him, and he’ll be on his own forever.
The skin on her bare arms tingles, right where Peter had grabbed her.
“Morgan?" Daddy says, clearly expecting her to tell him something.
Instead, she reaches out to take his hand. He curls his fingers around hers immediately, warm and rough, and the anger on his face turns into worry. She hopes he won’t be too mad about this.
Turning quickly, she grabs Peter’s wrist and pulls Daddy forward at the same moment, making him trip. Their hands smoosh together, Peter’s other hand coming up to catch Daddy on the chest to stop him from falling, and then there’s a silence that feels so long as Morgan holds her breath, waiting, wishing -
Daddy looks up, standing straight as he and Peter stare at each other, their breathing heavy.
Slowly, Daddy’s hands move to touch Peter’s shoulders. His eyes are shining, just like they did when he woke up for the first time in the hospital and looked at Morgan, and she feels the butterflies come to life again in her stomach as a tear, a really small one, falls down his scarred cheek.
“Kid?"