Hey there! This is my first story in this universe. After reading thousands of Irondad stories, I decided to come up with my own.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

Disclaimer: no, I don't own Marvel.

Peter Parker opens his eyes and smiles. The sun is shining through the broken window and strokes his face with a promise of a beautiful day. For a second, he forgets it's January and his home has been an abandoned warehouse for the last couple of months. He forgets how cold he was when he returned from patrolling last night and he needed four blankets to fall asleep on his makeshift bed made from cardboard and an old mattress. His teeth just couldn't stop chattering.

But it's morning again, a beautiful morning with blue sky and sunshine. He doesn't even have to get dressed because he slept with nearly all of his clothes on. He just needs to grab his backpack and go to school where it's warm and where he can meet his friends again. Ned and MJ are the only family he has now. And even though he misses his parents, his uncle and aunt, he knows he should be grateful for his friends. And no, he never feels jealous because they have all the basic things he lacks: parents, home and a warm bed.

Okay, maybe sometimes he does feel jealous. He wishes his parents were still alive or he wishes he could still live with Aunt May. And she would wake him up every morning instead of his phone. She would make him breakfast and when he leaves for school, she would say: 'Take care, Peter!' Now no one makes him breakfast and no one looks out for him.

But it's fine. Because he can take care of himself, thank you very much and it's a beautiful morning, so there's really no need to complain. He's Spiderman after all, a superhero, of course he can take care of himself. Even if it's January and he lives in a deserted building. Plus, he has a lot to do. He has school, then work and at nights patrolling. He's way too busy to feel sorry for himself.

Peter grabs his backpack and swings down from the second-floor window of the warehouse. As usual, he lands on the ground behind the building to avoid attention and then reaches into his backpack to pull out a sandwich that he can eat on his way to school. Benefits of working at a grocery store. Before the store closes for the night, the manager gives Peter food that they couldn't sell next day. Like this ham and cheese sandwich. And the tuna sandwich that will be perfect for lunch.

As he walks down the street to the subway, a car suddenly brakes next to him and the sound of screeching tires practically freezes him. A car horn. A yell. Peter doesn't dare to look. If somebody has just been hit, he doesn't want to see. He knows he should check if he could help, he's a superhero after all and this is the right thing to do anyway but he just stands there on the sidewalk with eyes squeezed shut, half-eaten sandwich falling from his hand.

"Mr. Peter Parker, come into the principal's office, please."

"I'm so sorry, Peter, there has been an accident. It's your aunt."

"I'm sorry, son, she's gone. She died on impact; there was nothing we could do."

"Peter, is there someone who could pick you up? A relative maybe? Is there anyone?"

"Peter, my mom says you can stay with us for now."

Those few weeks were like a blur for Peter. He doesn't really remember what happened after he had got the news on her aunt. On the hit and run that happened while she was going to work. There was a social worker, and then Ned's parents were kind enough to let him stay with them for a few weeks. Until they find him a foster family, that is.

And when those first few horrible days passed, Peter understood he might have lost more than his aunt and his old home. Of course he couldn't stay at Ned's forever, even though that would have been the most convenient way to settle things. And it wasn't really likely that they would find him a foster family in Queens, so that he could stay at his school and with his friends. No, they would take him away, maybe out of the city and he would have to start everything anew. New family, new place to live, new school, new friends. And he didn't want that. He didn't want to let go of the very last pieces of his old life. He didn't want more changes. He couldn't turn back time and go back to his old life when he had lived happily with Aunt May, he knew that but he wasn't ready to leave literally everything behind. He just couldn't do that.

He had to stay as close to his old life as possible. He had to keep what he could: his friends, his school, Queens. If only he could have stayed on his own here! He was already 15 and May always said he was much more mature than kids at his age. He could take care of himself. He did all the time when May had to stay late at work. It couldn't be that hard. But he couldn't do it legally. Which sucked. So he came up with a story. He was thinking about it at many sleepless nights in Ned's room and he worked out every tiny detail.

Aunt May has a cousin, Mary. No, Carol. No, Julia. Yes, her name is Julia. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three kids. Two sons, one daughter. They didn't meet that often, but May and Julia talked over the phone sometimes. Julia was there at Uncle Ben's funeral, too.

Peter wanted to call her when May died but he was in shock (true) and totally forgot about Julia. And then he remembered but he didn't have her number. May did. Then Peter found it in May's notes. So he called her and told her the news. Julia was absolutely devastated. Of course she would take Peter in. Yes, he would have to share a room with her eldest son, Jake but it's okay. Yes, Peter can stay at his school, no problem.

Peter knows a therapist would say it's not surprising that he came up with a story about a fake aunt. This is his way to cope, to compensate his loss. And he has created such a vivid, detailed story about Aunt Julia that sometimes he pretends it's real. He still has an aunt. There's still someone asking him about his day and school. Someone who cooks dinner for him. Someone who cares about him. Peter knows it's all fake but yeah. Sometimes it's just easier to pretend than to face the harsh reality. It makes life hurt a bit less.

It still amazes Peter that his story actually worked. Neither the social worker, nor the principal minded that they never met Julia in person. Peter had plenty of excuses why Julia could never come but sent emails instead. Yes, Peter would gladly take the documents to her to sign.

On one hand, Peter was really happy that it worked and he didn't have to go to a foster family and he could stay in the city with his friends. On the other hand, it made him sick how rotten the system was that something like this could happen. That the social worker and the principal were so happy to find a quick solution that they didn't bother to look further. They never took a second look at the forged documents that Peter made at a school computer. They believed everything Peter told them because it was easier then asking questions.

The only person who did ask questions was Ned. Yeah, Ned asked like a zillion questions as he always does. Bless him. The only person who actually cares about Peter. Who really wants to know if he's doing okay. It's been the hardest to lie to him. But what is Peter supposed to do?

If Ned knew the truth what could he do? Nothing, right? He wouldn't call the authorities, no, he'd never do that to Peter but he would just worry himself sick. No, Peter can't do that to him. He can't drag Ned into the mess his life has become.

So Peter moved out from Ned's room and found his new home in the warehouse. Which is honestly not that bad. May never had too much money anyway and Peter has never needed too much stuff, so he's been good, he's been used to not having much. He got that job at the store, so he has some money. Okay, when winter started, it has become somewhat more challenging to stay in a building with practically no intact door or window and absolutely no heating, but it's just a few more weeks until spring, right?

Maybe it would be even easier, if the bite hadn't happened. Oh, yeah, the bite.

He doesn't really know how that happened. He just felt that strange sting, he thought it was a mosquito, but no, it was more painful. On instinct, he slapped the back of his neck where he felt the prickle and when a little creature fell on the floor, he took a closer look. It was an ugly spider, a kind he had never seen before. With strange coloring. Must have been something exotic accidently shipped in from a tropical country. But he didn't have time to dwell on it, and the sting didn't hurt that much anyway, so he quickly moved on.

That night he had a fever. And it didn't break for three days. He was lying on his mattress in the warehouse in a delirious state. It was awful. Painful. His whole body ached. He was ready to come clean, to go into foster care even if that meant leaving New York and his friends, he didn't really care. Just somebody, please, help him! Make the pain stop! He wanted to text Ned, he wanted to call 911 but he was way too weak to even grab his phone.

He thought he would die. Alone in an abandoned warehouse. Rats would eat up his dead body before he could be found.

And at the end of the second horrible day, he accepted his fate. It was okay. He dies and he can meet his parents, his uncle and aunt again. He can have a family again. This is what he has always wanted, right? It's gonna be okay. He's gonna be so happy. Maybe he should try to sleep and when he wakes up, he'll be with them. Yeah, that's a good idea.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Morning came and broke his fever. But when he opened his eyes and didn't feel pain anymore, he wasn't relieved. He felt disappointed that he was still here. In this dirty warehouse and not with his family. He just curled into a ball and cried. He never felt lonelier in his life. Happiness and peaceful release were so close to him and they slipped away yet again. Just how many more heartbreaks can someone take?

Sometime later, he decided to try and find something good in the turn of events. Maybe it was not his time yet. Maybe he still has a purpose here on Earth. And when he realized how that little bite changed him, he knew this was it. He has found his purpose. He has become Spiderman.

Peter realizes the sounds around him have changed. Just regular sounds of traffic on a Tuesday morning. No more screaming. No ambulance coming. He slowly opens his eyes and takes a look around. There are cars and people in hurry everywhere. Everything is absolutely normal. No one has been hit. No one has died.

There's something moving around his legs. It's a cat. It completely ignores Peter and goes for his dropped sandwich instead. It eats the ham and the cheese and pays no attention to the bread. Where has it come from? Right. It might be a stray cat that has crossed the road causing the alarm earlier.

Peter crouches down to scratch the cat's ear, but it focuses solely on the remains of Peter's breakfast. He gives the feline a sad smile. Not the first time he's ignored. But it's just a cat, he shouldn't take it personal. He's on his way to school and he's going to meet his friends, so there's no point being sour, right?

It's a beautiful day and everything is fine.

It has to be.