Chapter Text
Peter wasn’t lying when he told Matt he'd tell him the truth eventually. He really wasn’t. He just… needed a while. He still refused to even think about it. He had a future to focus on. He was doing well in school, excelling in the science and engineering courses he chose. Maybe , and this was a big maybe, he still had a chance at going to somewhere like MIT. Not because he wanted to see MJ or Ned anymore, but…
If he wanted them to remember, how would he do that?
So, he put off telling Matt the truth. Wade never asked about his past which made things easier. It had been a month or so since Matt had really asked about what happened, and Peter still had no idea of when he would come clean.
But why did it hurt? Not telling them. It made him feel…bad? Like he was lying to them. Wade was open about what happened with Francis and even Matt talked about what happened after Wade’s unmasking. They knew what he looked like. They knew his name.
They knew the bare minimum, and Peter wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or guilty.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Team Red sat in a circle (well, technically a triangle) on Matt’s floor with masks strewn next to them with takeout. It had become a tradition of sorts after the first time they did it. Every other Saturday after patrol, they would order Chinese food and just talk. Didn’t matter what they talked about, usually just whatever came to mind. But still, they all enjoyed it.
“Ok, so theoretically, who here has the best powers?” Wade asked as he swallowed his noodles, looking at the other two.
“When you think about it,” Matt started, putting down his chopsticks. “It’s probably Peter. His powers are like a combination of ours. Plus super strength, fast reflexes, and… Anything I’m leaving out, Peter?”
“Not that I can think of.” Peter said around a mouth full of dumplings, earning him a disappointed “chew with your mouth closed” from Matt and a thumbs up from Wade. Swallowing, he continued. “But because regeneration and super senses are your guys’ only thing, it's a lot stronger than mine. Like, I can hear footsteps from a different floor if I try hard enough, but Matt can hear heartbeats from a block away. And Wade, your bullet wounds heal in a matter of minutes. It took a few hours to heal when I got that cut on my cheek from the glass.”
“I mean, sure.” Wade said as he sat up a bit. “But what about the reflexes? That’s super handy in a fight.”
“Yeah. But- I mean, all of us have pretty good reflexes. Wade, I’ve seen you dodge bullets before- well, not that that really matters, anyways. And Matt, you caught that brick that got thrown through the window.”
For a moment, the room went quiet before Matt finally spoke up. “Peter, what brick?”
Peter froze. He fucked up. He really fucked up. “Oh- I uh- I’m sorry, I must have- must’ve mixed you up with someone else.” He chuckled.
“Peter.” Matt deadpanned. “You said you would tell us what happened. I don’t want to push, but you said you would tell us at least a month ago.”
Peter squirmed as both vigilantes stared at him. “I- it- it’s alright. I’ll tell you guys. Just- keep an open mind, alright?”
Wade gasped. “Peter, did you kill someone?” The man had no idea what was going on since he wasn’t there when Peter had the talk with Matt. But the simple joke brought back unsavory memories, memories of that day on the bridge. He couldn’t help but wince.
“Peter… we- well, Wade has no room to judge even if you did. We won’t interrupt or anything, just let us know if you need a break.” Matt said solemnly as he bent over to gently squeeze Peter’s arm. The young hero just gave a small smile before starting.
“You uh- you guys remember when I didn’t wanna give my name out cause I almost had my identity revealed? Well uh- I did. There was this guy, Mysterio. Long story short, he used a bunch of drones to try to kill me but it didn’t work and then he died. But before he did, he took a video and made it seem like I was the bad guy and then told everyone my name.”
“When was this?” Wade asked. The Mysterio vs Spider-Man thing still happened. The video still existed and a lot of people still hated Peter for it. But thanks to Strange’s spell, the part where Quentin revealed his name had been miraculously cut.
“November. But after he did that, life got screwed up. I couldn’t get into college cause everyone thought I was a murderer and by associatino my friends couldn’t either. So I went to Dr. Strange. I asked him for a spell that would make everyone forget but I botched it. It was supposed to make everyone forget that Peter Parker is Spider-Man but instead it- it pulled in people from other universes that
knew
I was Spider-Man.”
“Other universes?” Matt asked, eyes wide as Peter nodded.
“It- It’s complicated. The multiverse exists, but that’s not really important. So all these guys were being pulled in and most of them died in their universes so- I wanted to help them. I brought them back to my apartment and tried to help them but one of them-’ Peter took a shaky breath before continuing. “He killed my aunt. He killed her and destroyed the building and then the other guys got out too. There were other Spider-men though, and we sent all of them back. But in order to stop an infinite amount of people that know who I am from coming through into our universe, Strange had to make everyone forget who I am. I couldn’t go back to Queens, I couldn’t face my best friend and my girlfriend. I wanted them to remember but- they were better off without me. They weren't in danger anymore. They got into college and they were happy .” And great, now he was crying. It was his first time saying any of this out loud.
“Aw, Pete.” Wade mumbled as he looked at the kid. Peter just shook his head.
“No I- I’m alright. Sorry it’s just-” He started. But he stopped as Matt walked over to him and enveloped him in a hug. Then, the dam broke. There were tears pouring down his face and sobs erupting from his chest as he held Matt and mourned. For the first time since that day, He mourned May. He mourned MJ and Ned. He mourned his old life that he could never have back.
At some point, Wade joined the hug. As the sobs quieted and tears stopped flowing, Peter could feel his eyes getting heavy. When was the last time he had slept?
“It’s ok, Peter.” Matt mumbled, knowing Peter would be able to hear him. “Get some sleep. If you want, we can talk in the morning.”
Peter didn’t need to be told twice as he drifted off in his only friends’ arms.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Half an hour away in Queens, a portal opened, shining a bright orange around the rim. As the sun started coming up, a young man with unruly brunette hair stepped out, clad in a spandex suit hidden under a sweater and jeans.
It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and Peter knew there was a reason he was back.