Sharp Edges / Peter Parker

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

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PETER WAS HAPPY. Although it was a little unintentional, he was happy to know he (sort of) had someone in his corner. He didn't know it at the time, but hearing Tillie defend Spider-Man and say those things, he really needed to hear them.

But I hope at least one person knows his real identity. I can't imagine going through all of that and having no one to talk to.

That was the sentence that nearly made him blurt it out to her. She had no idea how scarily accurate she was, with everything she said. He missed MJ and Ned. He missed Tony, and how he was the closest thing to a father figure.

And he missed May. He realized that even if she were still alive, she wouldn't know who he was. Just that thought alone was enough to bring tears to his eyes. But he'd take that, seeing her, over her being really gone.

It wasn't even the fact that he missed having people around who knew he was Spider-Man. He missed people in general. Things with Ned and MJ were moving a lot slower than he thought they would. Of course he couldn't be mad, it was perfectly understandable.

Peter was trying to build a friendship on top of the one they already had. He still had all of the memories. While the two of them, when it came to him, were starting over from scratch.

He wondered how that worked, though. They became friends because of him, so now, how did they 'remember' meeting? Did some new fake memory form, or do they not really remember and just think they've sort of always been friends? He wished he could ask them when they met. But considering they hardly know him, that would probably be weird.

But he remembers, from the first day he met Eve. When Ned was talking about building the Lego Death Star. In Peter's reality, they built it together. But he's pretty sure he remembers Ned saying he built it himself. So maybe the memories Ned and MJ have that once included him, are just the two of them now.

Speaking of Tillie, Peter hopes that she's a friend that'll be in his life for a while. Despite knowing each other for a short period of time, she was so easy to talk to. And there was the whole Spider-Man thing. The fact that she thought he was still a good guy, maybe someday he could tell her.

But then, like it always does whenever he thinks about revealing his identity to Ned, MJ, and now Tillie, dark thoughts fill his mind.

He remembers what happened. The danger that everyone was in. Even any time he used to climb into his bedroom from the outside window, he was a little terrified that someone would see him, it wouldn't be that hard to figure out May's name was on the lease, then she'd be a target too.

Mysterio was gone, but Peter knew better than to hope that he was the only bad guy out there. What if someone else came and wanted to hunt down and kill Spider-Man? Surely if they had the right technology and resources, it wouldn't be extremely hard to figure out who the boy behind the mask was. Mr. Stark did it.

If someone targeted him, and was able to figure out his real identity, it would be so easy to find out who his friends were too.

So he knew he couldn't risk telling anyone, at least not for a long time. But that didn't stop him from missing it, that comforting feeling of knowing that if something went wrong or he got hurt, he had a few people he could call.

Now who did he have? Happy forgot who he was, so anything Stark Industries related was definitely off limits unless he went as Spider-Man. But he didn't think that was an option because he was sure even people there would want to know who he was. Mr. Stark was gone, and wouldn't be able to defend him even if he were still around. So who knows what people thought.