𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 — 𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧

☕

        PETER WAS HAVING a really good week, which, sadly, was a rare occurrence in his life. Of course, there were good days in his weeks or good moments, but never fully good weeks to fill his life. When he was younger, there were bullies like Flash Thompson to face and ridicule during P.E. and with Spider-Man came the inevitable fact that he couldn't save everyone and he potentially could place himself in very harmful positions.

         He didn't really care about harming himself if it meant saving others from the same pain – he could take it better than them and he healed faster than the normal human, so it was fine – but others in his life didn't seem to agree with that. He understood that too, of course, but that didn't always mean he liked it.

         And with school in general came tests and homework and forgetting projects, which he often did in his more sleep-deprived state he constantly lived in, so there was stress all around and no really good weeks in sight. Still, he remained chipper through it all because that's who he was even though there were many bad days and bad weeks and bad moments to fill his life.

         This week, though, was different. Much different. He got to spend the weekend at Stark Tower with Tony (he finally stopped calling him Mr. Stark, which the man was over joyous about) working on his webbing and coding of his suit. He got to meditate with Doctor Strange (he still didn't call him Stephen – the man was pissed, but it wasn't as bad as Tony was) and that was great because he really needed it. And the other Avengers were there which was cool and caused Ned to freak even though that had been his life for years.

         And then, on Monday, he went by the coffee shop with Harry after classes because Bren was there and he got to see his own Brendon working. He didn't really say anything but he still enjoyed it. The boy looked cute when he worked, so what?

         Everything was just coming up Peter, which was great for him because he really needed it. And now he got to have class with Brendon. Spanish, while he didn't love it, always made him happy because that meant sitting beside Brendon and, yeah, most of the time he fell asleep so it wasn't like he could really enjoy his time with the boy, but still. At least he knew that Brendon was there and that, to wake him up, Brendon shook his shoulders. That was touching – touching!

         The best part was that he was well-rested and that meant he was staying awake for the whole class to enjoy his limited time with the boy. It did, he admitted, sound a little creepy when he phrased it this way, but he wasn't always around Brendon. Mostly just Spanish and lunches on Thursday. And the occasional stop at the coffee shop – as Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

         Those were some of his favorite times with Brendon, he would admit only to himself. It was just the two of them and Brendon was talking and being himself. Smiling with a twinkle in his eyes with no one around but Peter to notice. There was no one else to drag his attention away; it just stayed on him – Peter; Spider-Man.

         Peter was sure that the world could be falling apart behind him and he wouldn't even notice, too focused on the wonder in front of him. But that's just what Brendon could do to him.

         He got to the lecture hall earlier than his usual five minutes' late appearance, with coffee in his hand and bag slung around his other shoulder. Sitting down where he always sat, he waited for Brendon's arrival. It didn't take long for the messy-haired boy to stumble in, sitting down beside Peter and offering him a smile.

         "I see this whole earliness is becoming a trend," Brendon joked and he had to fight himself to keep from smiling too widely.

         Peter just shrugged, trying to remain cool. "Trying to get into some good habits, heard they're in this season."

         Brendon chuckled, a mirthful look in his eyes that brought Peter's heart to a stop for a moment. After recovering though, he was mostly fine. Mostly. "You should tell that Cindy – she really needs to hear it."

         "Oh?" Peter prompted him to keep talking, never wanting him to stop.

         "Yeah," Brendon nodded, "God, her sleep schedule is the worst. I don't know how she can even function, everything just stops working in me if I don't get at least five-and-a-half hours. She's a disaster."

         Peter had to hum in agreement to Brendon even though he did the exact same thing and his friends wondered the same thing. Ned was a mother hen to him, always forcing him to take a nap if he even yawned when they were supposed to be hanging out. He claimed that he never really cared but Peter wasn't sure if he really believed his friend.

         And then Harry – well, Harry always gave him concerned looks when he saw the very apparent bags under his eyes and made some suggestive comments about how sleep affects your everyday life. But he never did anything further than that. Peter suspected because he had his own insomnia.

         "Well, I guess she sleeps a lot on the weekends – practically the whole day. Forget about trying to plan anything with her on Saturday or Sunday," Brendon advised him, even though Peter had no plans to.

         It wasn't that he didn't like Cindy – she was nice and had a nice bite in her voice. It made him think of MJ sometimes, and then made him miss MJ. But she was going to a good art school and that was all Peter could ever want for her, so it was alright.

         "What about your sleep schedule?" Peter found himself asking, and then trying to explain himself when he realized that it was such a weird question and he definitely didn't want Brendon to think he was weird (even though he kinda was), "I mean, you usually get closing shifts at the coffee shop, right?"

         Brendon nodded, seemingly oblivious to the weirdness of the question. "Yeah, I guess. But I still get about six or so hours even on those nights. Unless I got homework I really need to do, but I don't stay up too late most nights."

         God, Peter wished that was him. But he wouldn't give up being the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man for anything – not even for the sweet blissfulness of sleep no matter how much he wanted it.

         Before their conversation could continue, their professor walked in and started class. Peter found himself having difficulty paying attention since he wasn't used to it in this class, instead finding his focus on the boy beside him who seemed to be soaking up the words that the professor spoke.

         He found himself zoning out and only focusing on the tapping of Brendon beside him and sneaking glances at him from his peripheral, still trying to maintain an illusion of focusing on the professor even though he was missing every word that she was saying. And then:

         "– Parker, Winchester –"

         Wait, what?

         His attention snapped back to the professor at the front who was looking at a list and saying the names on it in pairs. He frowned to himself and then looked to Brendon, hoping that the boy knew what was going on.

         "Your project is due in two weeks. Have a nice day everyone," their professor ended with before walking out of the lecture hall.

         In his confused state, he didn't see Brendon turn to him with a smile until he said, "Hey there, partner."

         Peter blinked, looking at him. "Sorry, what?" he asked sheepishly.

         Brendon looked up him before raising an eyebrow. "You weren't paying attention at all during class, where you?" the Parker boy had to shake his head, causing Brendon to chuckle, "Oh dios mios, whatever. We have a project over a Spanish-speaking country. I'll text you more about it later and we can find a time to meet up. How does that sound?"

         "Uh, good," Peter said, "And, uh, sorry. I just couldn't help but zone off. I'm not really, you know, used to paying attention in here."

         He was blushing as he explained himself but Brendon just waved him off. "It's fine. I should've known that you wouldn't – you never do. Shit, that sounds rude. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just stating a fact."

         Peter found the rambling cute, not even affected by the accidental jab that Brendon made. "I understand – don't worry."

         Brendon seemed to relax from that and then he stood up. "Well, I'll see you later, Peter."

         "See ya," Peter echoed, standing up himself and following Brendon out of the lecture hall before diverging paths with him.

         He couldn't fight the smile on his face at the fact that a project together meant spending more time with him – probably one-on-one. He won't even need Spider-Man to do that. While that meant talking and probably making a fool out of himself plenty more times, it also meant being able to get to know Brendon more and be closer with him which was more important.

         And maybe – maybe – Spanish class wasn't really that bad after all.