Work Text:
He’s alone.
He’s been alone for four years now.
Four years might not seem like much, but going from seventeen to twenty-two changes everything. Your whole worldview changes. School and homework aren’t important anymore.
There’s no such thing as summer break. Or really any breaks. Especially when you’re trying to survive on your own.
Christmas just means double pay or sitting alone at home watching movies.
And in this economy? Might as well take the double pay.
Everything was brighter when Peter was a kid. Colors meant something. Days meant something. Now everything is just dull and grey, and he can’t help but wonder if every day is exactly the same.
Wake up.
Work.
Patrol.
Sleep.
Repeat.
And sure, he has Spider-Man. That’s important. People would be devastated to lose Spider-Man. So yeah, that kept him going for four years.
Because if he was relying on Peter Parker?
Well. It’s not like anyone was gonna miss him.
But when he really gets to thinking about it, does Spider-Man even make that much of a difference?
How much of Spider-Man is helping versus hurting?
Sure, he stops villains, but at what cost? How many things does he destroy? How many people get hurt along the way?
In this industry, you’re taught to call it collateral damage and move on. And if Peter wasn’t Spider-Man, that’s exactly what he would be.
Collateral damage.
Another news report people would only read the headline of. Maybe they’d think it was sad for a moment. Maybe they’d think the world was a rough place. Then they’d go on with their day.
They’d mourn Spider-Man.
No one was going to mourn Peter Parker.
So being Spider-Man worked for four years. Biding his time between working and patrolling. Trying to exhaust himself just enough that when his head finally hit the pillow, he’d find sleep instead of the reverberation of his own thoughts.
But it’s been four years. And Peter is tired.
MJ moved on.
Ned is popular.
Happy is well.
And Spider-Man isn’t the only superhero. He won’t ever be the last.
For four years, Peter had needed Spider-Man to need him.
He thinks New York will be okay.
So when he takes that step off the ledge, there’s no panic. No second thoughts. No instinctive reach for a web.
For the first time in four years, Peter Parker doesn’t have anywhere he needs to be.
The only thing he feels is relief.