TW: mentions of mental health issues, mentions of death, mentions of trauma.

I opened my eyes slowly, a loud groan leaving my lips as my neck was stiff and I couldn't seem to move my legs. I opened my eyes fully and my eyebrows furrowed as I wasn't in my bed. I looked down and sighed as I was lying next to Peter's body on the sofa, our legs side by side and my feet by his chest as the boy still slept soundly. I smiled slightly, figuring that we must have fallen asleep talking. At least he wasn't shivering anymore. Not that I was overly surprised, I was guessing that Peter's superhuman abilities had the potential to make his withdrawals slightly less painful than the normal person's, and maybe even make them last less time too. That was what I was hoping for, anyway. I groaned and tried not to wake Peter up as I removed my legs from under Peter's blanket and stood up, stretching out as much as I could. I looked at my phone and my eyes widened. It was nine-thirty am. Making me late for work.

"Shit!" I hissed as I scrambled to get dressed, not having time to change my underwear as I quickly threw on jeans and a t-shirt. I rushed back into the living room and yanked my sneakers on before running into the kitchen. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water before grabbing a few tablets of aspirin, figuring that Peter's withdrawals still wouldn't be that kind to him once he woke up. I dumped the stuff on the coffee table next to where he was sleeping before rushing out of the apartment.

Peter's P.O.V

Pain swept through Peter's body and head, making groans radiate from his chapped lips as he slowly started to wake up. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked harshly as the morning sun shone through Y/N's living room windows, the light almost blinding him. He looked around, his eyebrows furrowed as he couldn't see Y/N.

"Y/N?" he croaked, a sigh leaving his lips as he didn't get a response. He looked back down and he couldn't help but smile as there was an aspirin pill and a glass of water on the coffee table. Peter chuckled and shook his head at Y/N's kindness as he gently made himself sit up. He popped the pill into his mouth and washed it down with the water before checking his phone. His smile widened, a text from Y/N being present on the screen:

Y/N: Morning, sorry I had to dash, I was late for work :( hopefully the aspirin will help you feel a little less shit. Also, there's a surprise for you in the fridge. See you at 5 :).

Peter's eyebrows furrowed as he wondered what the surprise could be. He stood up and winced slightly, his body still too weak for most movement to not hurt. He headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Immediately, he spotted the Tupperware container with a post-in note on top of it. He took the container and read the message, tears pricking his eyes at the words:

Hey, sweetie. Y/N came to me and asked me to make that soup that I used to make when you got sick. I know that it won't stop the pain, but hopefully it'll help at least a bit. Love, May x.

Tears pricked Peter's eyes at the note. After all, his Aunt May was someone else that he had barely seen in the last five years. When everything had started to go downhill, he had utterly convinced himself that he was a burden on the loving woman, and so he had moved out at the first chance that he got and hadn't been back since. Now, he wanted nothing more than to go down the hall and see her, but he knew that seeing him like this would kill her, and so he had promised himself that he'd wait until he was healthy again. Suddenly, Peter got an idea. Just because he couldn't meet up with her yet didn't mean he couldn't see her. He nodded to himself, half forgetting about the container of soup as he placed his hand against the kitchen counter to see if he would still stick to things. To his surprise, his hand stuck, making his lips curl into a smile.

"Still got it." He chuckled and nodded before heading back into the living room and grabbing his trash-bag. He dug out his tattered Spider-Man suit, staring at the material that held so many painful memories. He sighed and put it down as it wasn't what he was looking for on this occasion. He dug further into his bag, his fingers eventually falling against the cool metal of his web shooters. He pulled the contraptions out and sighed slightly as they were caked with dust. Peter wasn't even sure if they had any web fluid in them, or if they'd even still work at all, he hadn't used them in half a decade after all. He slapped them onto his wrists, hope filling his head as the old contraptions whirred back into life against his skin. He raised his hand and fired a shot at the wall. His lips curled up more, a breathless laugh leaving his lips as a piece of web flew to the wall and stuck to it. He nodded to himself and pulled a t-shirt, sweatpants and some shoes on before going to Y/N's window.

"Here goes nothing." The boy nodded to himself. He opened the window and took a deep breath before climbing out, his hands and feet against the wall. He left the window completely, sighing in relief as his hands and feet remained stuck to the bricks and mortar. He took another deep breath before raising his hands and feet and starting to climb the wall. May lived across the hall from Y/N's apartment and slightly further down too, so he figured that he could use his webs to get around the building quicker. Peter fired a web at the wall before letting go, the web carrying him further down the wall and across the building. Peter landed with a 'oof', but couldn't help but let a smile adorn his lips once again as he was finally remembering what it felt like to be Spider-Man. How freeing it felt for him to fly anywhere that he wanted and to feel the wind blowing through his hair. It was exhilarating. Peter continued the action of firing his web and letting it carry him further along the wall, turning each corner as he flew through the air. Eventually, he landed on May's wall, his hands and feet sticking to the exposed brick. He crawled down the wall and looked in through the window, sighing in relief as he saw May walking about in the apartment, confirming that he had the right window and that he wasn't accidentally staring at some unknowing stranger. Tears pricked his eyes as he looked around the apartment to see that all of the displayed photos were still of him. May truly hadn't given up on him. He sighed and crawled further down the wall before standing upright against the window so he could see in properly. He watched as his aunt moved about, doing what Peter could only assume was cooking one of her meals. He sighed and a tear left his eye, as even something like eating May's often questionable cooking was a life that Peter missed more than anything. He couldn't wait for the day that he was finally well enough to see her again.

"I'm sorry, May." He whispered, letting another tear leave his eye before he crawled back up the wall and started to make his way back towards Y/N's apartment.

Y/N's P.O.V

I opened my apartment door and sighed as I shut it again, my eyes fluttering shut and my palms resting against the wood as I relished the feeling of finally being home. I had decided against telling Peter about the note, figuring that he had enough to deal with right now without me telling him that MJ's death may have been planned, let alone by people who were still active. And so, for now, that only had to be my problem.

"Peter, I'm home-." My eyes widened as suddenly, Peter appeared from my bedroom and shot a web at my legs, tying them together. His eyes widened as he saw me.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he rushed to me and caught me as I started to fall. I looked up at him with panicked eyes as he gently sat me on the floor.

"Sorry, I just heard the front door open, and you weren't meant to be back for another hour, so I thought that you were an intruder." He chuckled sheepishly as he started to pull the webs off of my legs.

"To be honest, I'm more shocked that you were even using that thing." I scoffed. He sighed and looked at me.

"Yeah. I, um, saw May's soup, and I just knew that I had to see her. But I'm not ready for her to see me, so I dug out my old web shooters, that somehow still work, and went to go see her without her seeing me." He admitted. My eyes widened.

"Tell me that you covered your face." I gulped.

"Y/N, it's fine, no one was outside, no one saw me." He reassured as he gently put his hand on my knee. I sighed and nodded, taking his hands as he pulled me back to my feet. I looked at him.

"I don't suppose that using your web shooters again inspired you?" I asked hopefully.

"They did, actually. Fuck, it felt amazing to have the wind whipping around me again, it felt amazing to know that I could go anywhere, I could do anything, I could save anyone. I...missed that feeling." He chuckled and shook his head. I smiled and bit my lip before pulling Peter down into a hug as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He returned it and nuzzled his face into my hair as his arms held me into his body by my waist.

"This is the Peter that I know and love. And I'm so glad that he's back." I choked and shook my head. Peter pulled away but still held me as he smiled at me, the boy leaning down and gently kissing my head before letting me go.

"So, what do you want for dinner? I'll cook, my treat." He nodded as he walked into the kitchen. I bit my lip and smiled, loving the feeling of finally getting my best friend and crush back as I followed him into the kitchen.