"You ready, dude?"

Peter nodded but stayed quiet, one hand stroking Tessa's head where she stood beside him. Ned didn't look convinced as he closed the car door and waved a thank you to Happy. Tony wanted to drop them off himself but Peter hadn't wanted to draw any extra attention. It was going to be hard enough as it was.

"You'll do great! You have me and Tess, and MJ said she'd meet us here to walk us to class. She's pretty excited to see you so- oh, there she is!"

Peter felt his bad hand shake as it held Tessa's leash and the staffy silently pressed closer to his side, forehead urging his fingers to pat her. MJ walked towards them, smiling as she got closer.

"I hate to say this but I think I actually missed you, Parker." Her tone was teasing but Peter couldn't even lift his head to look at her, his shoulders hunched up around his ears. He'd been so excited to go to school but standing there, trying to go back to his old life, it all just reminded him of how different things were.

What if he messed up his words or forgot where he was? What if he got mad and hurt somebody? Tessa whined and Ned leaned close to Peters' ear, voice low. "You okay? It's just MJ."

Peter knew it was stupid, he'd talked to MJ on skype a few times. It wasn't like she didn't know he had trouble with words but at that moment, in front of her, he couldn't say anything at all.

He shook his head, eyes on the ground as he pressed his lips tightly together. He didn't want to get his words wrong in front of her, he didn't want to see that look of pity and worry in her eyes. Going to school was a bad idea.

"I c-can't do th-this." His words were quiet and small, only loud enough for Ned to hear and he quickly pulled his phone from his pocket. "I want to g-go h-home."

Tessa whined and jumped up, gently taking Peters shaking hand in her mouth and pulling him down so that she could climb into his lap. He sat on the concrete, phone dropping to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes as she licked his cheek.

"What's wrong?" Ned's voice came closer as he knelt and Peter pressed his face to Tessa's neck, hiding.

"I'm g-gonna get my w-words wrong. Everyone's gonna l-look at m-me. I thought it w-would be like it was before b-but it's not and I can't-"

"Okay, you don't have to. We can call Happy to come back if you want but...Peter, you can do this. You don't have to talk to anybody. MJ and I will keep everyone away from you if you want. Come on, dude. You've worked so hard to get here."

"Peter no offence," MJ's voice drew closer as she knelt with the two boys. "But I don't care about your stutter or if you zone out and I don't care if you're a little weird because you were a little weird before anyway. I don't know what it's like to have to deal with a brain injury but I know that I missed you and if I have to go to one more decathlon practice with Flash on our team I'm going to personally hold you responsible for what I do to him."

Her voice softened and she offered a hand to Peter, patiently waiting for him to take it. "Come inside. You don't have to do it by yourself."

Peter looked up from his dog, eyebrows drawing together as he spoke. "Did you j-just call a disabled person weird? That's so mean."

He laughed teasingly and MJ nudged his shoulder before grabbing his hand and helping him up from the ground.

"And hey, Tessa's so cute they probably won't even notice you."

Peter tugged the staffy along as they walked into school. "Now, you're just b-bullying me. Tessa, bite MJ."

As it turned out, MJ was actually right. They had physics first and while the class stared for a moment, all attention quickly slipped to Tessa. Thankfully all of Peters teachers had been informed about her and Mrs Hudson quickly shushed the coos and demands to pat.

"Listen up! Tessa is a service dog, that means she's working and you are not to distract her. She's here for Peter, not you. Don't touch her. Now, everyone turn to page twelve, we have a lot to cover."

There were a few grumbles and while Tessa was still stared at, for the most part, everyone went back to their books.

The teacher walked to Peters desk, voice lowered so that the other students could concentrate on their work. "It's good to have you back, Peter. You can start on page seven if you like and I'll walk you through our previous lessons to catch you up."

Peter offered her a smile and pulled his book from his bag. "Thanks. I don't n-need to catch up though I've been...um...Ned?"

Ned turned to him from his seat beside his best friend, offering the help he needed without a second thought. "Starts with S."

Peter frowned, taking a moment to think before trying again. "Oh, um St-studying at home. Neds been sending me h-his notes."

Mrs Hudson raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Good work. Chapter twelve then, Mr Parker."

He turned his page and set to work, a small smile on his face. Sure, some things were different now. He had to ask Ned to help remember a word every now and then and he had pills to take with his lunch but by the end of his first class he'd done the same work as everyone else and Tessa was half asleep on his feet. Maybe school wasn't so bad.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Peter blinked, hand brushing over Tessa's head beside him. She was so soft and warm. What was he doing?

He was in the hallway at school and it was mostly empty so it must have been class time but Peter had no idea what he was doing there.

Wasn't he just in class with Ned and MJ? Why weren't they with him? Why was he in an empty hallway and not in class?

Peter looked down at his hands, his bad one shaking again like it always did when he got frustrated or scared or angry and he was almost all three because he didn't even know how long he'd been standing there. Had he had another seizure or had he just forgotten what he was doing?

He usually had Mr Stark or Steve or someone to tell him what the hell was going on but he was alone and he thought he might cry if he couldn't remember what to do.

:::::::

Flash groaned as he paused in the hallway, seeing his rival a few meters away with his head down. Stupid Penis Parker would probably nark on him for ditching class if he saw him. Maybe he should turn back and go the other way. Or he could...shit was Parker okay?

He was just...standing there in the hall looking lost. The dog, Tina or whatever was whining and nudging his side but Peter didn't seem to notice. Was he hyperventilating?

Flash frowned and stepped forward a little, trying to decide what to do. Peter hadn't noticed him yet so he could leave except he hadn't gotten to pick on the nerd for months and it would be so easy.

But shit Peter actually looked really scared and Flash was sure the dork was about to cry and...goddammit, he was gonna help him.

"Hey, Penis. You okay?" Peter looked up at his voice, eyes wide as he stuttered.

"Flash. I-I don't know what…"

He looked so lost and one of his hands was shaking as his dog licked at it. Flash narrowed his eyes. "Did you have one of your mind blank things?"

Everyone in class had been told about what happened to Parker and what to do if anything went wrong.

Peter nodded, sniffing as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. Flash rolled his eyes, annoyed at himself for getting involved. He should have just walked away. He didn't want to deal with this crap but he couldn't just leave Peter there in the hallway.

Flash took the other boys wrist, pulling it to stretch out the arm before Peter pulled back, voice shaky. "D-don't mess with m-me right now Flash I don't-"

Yep. Totally should have walked away. Flash tried to keep his voice calm and soft like they'd been told to do in class. "Calm down. Stop. Look at your watch. What time is it?"

Peter blinked, confused at the question and looked at his watch on the wrist that Flash was holding. "Quarter past ten."

Flash let go of the pale wrist, sounding almost bored. "Okay, now look at your schedule."

Peter blinked, frowning in confusion. Flash gestured to the other boy's jeans. "It's in your pocket."

Flash waited for him to get it out, feeling a weird warm feeling in his chest. Is that what it felt like to be kind to people? He didn't know if he liked it.

Peter got the schedule out and frowned at it. "Um.."

Man, the kid was out of it. Flash watched his face carefully, tone uncharacteristically gentle. "Do you know what day it is?"

Peter bit his lip, eyes roaming over the sheet of paper as he searched his muddled mind. After a moment he shook his head and Flash sighed quietly, pointing.

"It's Wednesday. So, if it's 12:15 on a Wednesday what class do you have?"

Peter looked calmer, his hands steady and eyes clear. "Chemistry."

Flash nodded and took Peters arm, waiting until the boy had taken hold of Tessa's leash again before pulling him down the hall to their class. And great, now he was actually going to class. "Right. Good job, Penis. Let's go."

Peter looked down at Flash's hand on his arm, eyebrows furrowing as he followed along, Tessa trotting beside him. "W-why are you helping me?"

Flash rolled his eyes, the warm fuzzy feeling gone and replaced once again by a deep annoyance for his classmate. "You have a brain injury, Parker. I'm not a monster, okay?"

What an idiot. His voice dipped low in a grumble, mood settling into decidedly grumpy.
"Don't tell anyone about this."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Peter, you want my sandwich? I got PB and J again."

The teenager lifted his own sandwich in offering. "Sure, you want my BLT? I'll take the B out and give it to Ned."

MJ smiled as they swapped sandwiches, Peter handing the bacon to Ned who smiled. "I like this arrangement, I really do, but I can't believe you don't like peanut butter."

MJ wrinkled her nose as the boy ate his bacon before turning her eyes to her own sandwich. "I don't like it sticking to my mouth. I'm not about eating glue, okay? Shut up and eat your innocent farm animal."

Ned laughed and shoved the rest of said innocent farm animal in his mouth. "I will!"

Peter laughed as he watched the two of them bicker but something had been bothering him and he had to ask. "Hey, guys? H-how much does everybody know a-about my TBI...thing?"

Ned frowned, thinking. "Um, well everyone heard about it. You know how stuff gets around. And then last week when we heard you were coming back they held an assembly for everyone in our year and they told us about TBI's and support dogs."

Peter groaned, sinking a little in his chair. "God, that's embarrassing."

MJ pulled the crusts off her sandwich as she shrugged, eyes focussed on the slice of tomato that was trying to slip from the bread. "I guess but we also have a new drill that might come in handy."

Ned nodded emphatically, only just remembering. "Oh, yeah! If you ever have a seizure everyone has to pull their tables and stuff away from you and then everyone but me and the teacher has to leave the room."

Peter had not been expecting that. "Wow, that's actually kind of nice to know."

MJ pulled the last of the crust off her bread, finally satisfied she could eat it. "Yeah, we had drills for it and everything and Mr Holland gave detentions to anyone that made jokes about it."

Peter felt a little bit better. One of his biggest worries was having a seizure in class and having people stare or take videos. It was nice to know that he'd be safe and that his friends would be able to take care of him.

"I guess that explains why Flash h-helped me before."

"What? He helped you? When?"

"I was in the hallway and-" Peter was about to explain the weird interaction he'd had with his bully but his voice was quickly drowned out by whispers and chatters throughout the cafeteria.

Everyone in the room had suddenly started talking at the same time, and Peter quickly followed suit and turned towards the door.

He didn't know what he'd been expecting but it certainly wasn't Tony Stark standing by the door looking embarrassed. He was searching through the sea of kids, sunglasses obscuring his eyes from view.

Peter stood, his mentor immediately finding him and marching over. Why was he there? Was something wrong?

"Is everything okay? Did my monitor go off?" Peter started fiddling with his watch, set with a tracker and monitor in case anything happened but Tony quickly pulled his hand away from it.

"No its fine I just...sorry, I shouldn't have come." He shook his head and turned to go, only stopping when Peter took his arm.

"No, Mr Stark it's fine. Really, I don't mind."

Something was clearly wrong and Tony pulled his sunglasses off, fiddling with them as he tried to explain.

"I was just…" But he couldn't find the words and for once Peter was the one offering help.

"Worried?"

Tony smiled a little, eyes unable to meet Peters while talking about something as scary as feelings. "I'm used to you being right there if I want to check on you and I forgot you were at school. So, when I couldn't find you I panicked a little and I had Happy drive me here but...it was stupid. I'm a grown man and you're a grown...boy. I'm gonna go."

Peter smiled, forgetting all about the room of onlookers as he wrapped his arms around his hero's waist. "I missed you too."

:::::::::::::::::::::::

Three weeks later Peter pulled on his spider suit, wiggling into the legs and shimmying it up his waist.

"Bye, Tessa. I'll be back later, okay? You can have the night off." He bent to kiss her head, earning a lick across his face for his trouble.

"I love you too."

He tapped his chest, adjusting his suit to his body before perching on the windowsill and pulling on his mask.

The eyes flickered to life, settings and suit readings lighting up in his vision as a familiar voice greeted him.

"Hello, Peter. I am pleased to hear that Dr Banner has cleared you for duty."

The teenager sighed and hugged his arms around himself. "Me too. I really missed this."

Karen's voice was warm and happy. "As did I."

Peter was excited but there was worry and fear too, mixing together in his belly to make him just a scooch nauseous. Not a good idea with a mask on while swinging.

He let go of his web and landed on the roof of a building overlooking the city, crouching on the edge as he watched people walk around below.

"Karen, let's ease into this. Let me know if any old ladies or little kids need help."

It was bright out, the Saturday afternoon sun bringing people out to enjoy the weather. "My scanner didn't detect any old ladies that need help but there is a disturbance on a nearby playground.

"What kind of disturbance?" Peter ran across the rooftops until he arrived at a small play area where children were swinging on bars and going down slides. The only disturbance Peter could see was one kid who seemed to be refusing to play, his dad trying to encourage him but getting nowhere with it.

The boy cried, clinging to his dad's leg as he wailed. "I can't do it! I'm too scared! I don't want to fall again."

It wasn't exactly a super-hero level situation but Peter really was anxious about his first day back on the job. He still got seizures occasionally and while the suit had new sensors and capabilities to protect him during one, he was still worried.

He felt out of practice and being away from Tessa and Tony didn't make it easier. Helping a kid on the playground seemed like a good place to start.

He fired a web and swung down, landing on the climbing frame a few meters from the little boy and his dad.

"Hey there."

The kid's eyes found him and immediately grew, tears forgotten as his mouth fell open at the sight of the hero.

Peter climbed down and approached the two, the dad of the kid smiling as his boy bounced towards the young Avenger, hand outstretched to touch the suit.

"Hi, Spider-Man." His face was lit up in awe and Peter crouched for him, smiling beneath the mask.

"Hi. What's your name?"

The kid wiped a hand over his cheek, drying it as he sniffled. "Charlie."

"Nice to meet you, Charlie. You know, I could hear you talking to your dad before. Is there a reason you're too scared to play?"

Charlie became suddenly shy, nodding as he curled back to his dad's side. Peter looked at the father as he answered. "He has epilepsy. He usually loves this park but he had a bad seizure here last week and he fell. I just can't get him to get back on."

Peter nodded and tilted his head as he whispered. "Hey, Charlie. You wanna know a secret?"

The boy nodded, bright eyes shining as Peter presented the inside of his wrist, thumb swiping over the suit. Blue letters glowed from the fabric, showing his medic alert information.

'TBI Seizure risk' it was there in case anything happened and civilian medics got to him before Tony's did.

Peter's whispered words were conspiratorial as if they were precious things only for Charlie. "I have seizures too."

Charlie gasped and held out his own wrist where his medic alert bracelet hung, metal shining brightly on his dark skin. "We're the same!"

Peter nodded and offered his hand, palm up and open. "I know seizures can be really scary but do you think you could be brave and come play with me?"

Charlie nodded and took Peters hand before reaching back for his dads, tugging them both to the playground. "Yes! I can be brave!"

Peter feigned a sigh of relief and pointed to the monkey bars. "Phew. Thank goodness. I wanted to try those bars but I don't think I can do them by myself. You wanna show me how it's done?"

Charlie sped off towards them, babbling on excitedly about how he was going to help Spider-Man be brave too but Peter was focussed on his Dad.

His eyes were shining with unshed tears and he offered a hand to the hero. "Thank you. You don't know what that means to him. And me."

Peter took his hand and shook it, nodding. "You're welcome."

Peters' stomach settled and he found he was no longer scared of being Spider-Man at all. Karen's voice was warm and happy in his ear. "Welcome back, Spider-Man."

(The end! I hope you guys liked reading this as much as I liked writing it! Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed! It'll probably take me a little while to get into new fics but I will at some point anyway thank youu!)