Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You

Best Friends

Hey you wonderful people! Here comes a chapter wrapped in fluff! Everyone needs a break from angst every once in a while, but don't worry there will be plenty of that in the future too ;)

QUICK IMPORTANT NOTE: @nathvods on Instagram made fanart for this chapter!!! ITS SO GORGEOUS YOU MUST GO LOOK AT IT PLEASE. Plus it's a mini Easter egg hunt!!
https://www.instagram.com/nathvods/p/ByvIdBrF_q6/?igshid=scuum1tez0rb

---

I don't got this. Tingling. Swipe. Dodge. I don't got this. Tingling. Swipe. Dodge. I don't got this! Peter has lost track of the real robot, Buddie, so he's just trying to dodge any of the robots that come at him. Anytime he feels his Spidey Sense go off, he jumps out of the immediate area to avoid wherever Buddie is trying to attack from. One out of the many bots darts toward Peter, its blade extended towards him. He instinctively shoots a web at it, already planning to redirect its attack, but the web goes straight through it. Hologram. Dammit.

"Focus on your senses," Tony repeats for what feels like the millionth time. To his credit, he's staying surprisingly patient. He's right though, Peter knows he needs to pay more attention to his Spidey Sense than what he can see. Focus, Peter. The robots are whirring and speeding around him, some go through him too. He has to resist the urge to web any of them that try to attack him, but he feels like he's at a huge disadvantage. And he's not just thinking that because the odds are overwhelmingly against him. His peripheral vision catches one of the bots lunge at him with its blade and his instinct forces him to react with Rapid Fire Webs. None of which actually do anything. 'Cause guess what? That's right! It's a hologram.

"Peter-"

"I know, I know. Focus," Peter grumbles, but widens his stance. He scans the floor of bots and narrows his eyes. "Karen, can you detect-"

"Ah ah ah," Tony interjects, "we're training your senses, not Karen. No cheating." Peter gapes at him, even though Tony can't tell.

"But Mr. Stark-"

"Nope! No buts. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars." Peter groans, but doesn't try to use Karen again.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Karen regrettably apologizes.

"Yeah, me too." There will be time for pouting later, even if he really wants to do it right now. He just has to relax until his Spidey Sense kicks in, right? Easy as 3.14159! He relaxes his defensive posture slightly. A bot lunges towards him, but he waits. Not a single sense yells at him to do anything and the robot goes straight through him. Another bot does the same thing and he doesn't feel a tingling sensation or sense of impending doom. Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this! Ha! Take that! Mysterio's gonna be taken down in no time! The third bot to attack yields the same result. A fourth that rushes Peter with a sharpened blade. It has another thing coming if it thinks I'm gonna fall for- His Spidey Sense suddenly takes over the feeling in his arms. Uh oh. He yelps in surprise and tries to get out of the way, but his Spidey Sense didn't alert him quick enough. Since when are my senses late?! Buddie tackles him to the floor, effectively bruising every ounce of his pride. Once Peter hits the floor, all the holograms freeze before disappearing.

"Not too shabby for a first try." Tony walks up to Peter as Buddie gets off of him. He offers Peter his hand, which he begrudgingly takes, and hoists the teen to his feet.

"I got my ass kicked." Tony gives him a look that practically screams "watch your language."

"If you already knew how to do it, then we wouldn't be training in the first place. We didn't expect you to get it the first time around. That's why you're coming here after school everyday, right?" Peter nods, biting the inside of his cheek. "Don't be so hard on yourself, kid. We all had to train at some point. So, wanna go over it?"