Chapter Text
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Two months in Gotham and Peter Parker had figured out that the city ran on three things: routine, silence, and not looking too closely at anyone else’s problems.
That was fine. He was very good at not being looked at.
The apartment he’d found was technically an apartment. The listing had said studio, which turned out to mean one narrow room with a sink that rattled if you turned it too fast and a radiator that knocked like it was trying to escape the wall. The building was older than most of the laws meant to protect it, all brick and bad wiring and hallways that smelled like mildew and burnt coffee.
But it was cheap. And it was his.
The landlord—Mr. Heney, or Hanky? something like that—had looked at Peter for a long moment before handing over the key. He hadn’t asked for ID. Just a name, written down in pen, and a promise that Peter wouldn’t cause trouble. As an afterthought, he’d mentioned there might be work available in the building. Cleaning, errands, taking trash out to the alley behind the place that everyone pretended wasn’t dangerous.
Peter had nodded too fast. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”
The name had been the hardest part.
Peter Parker didn’t exist anymore. Not here. Not anywhere. So he’d sat in the Gotham Public Library, surrounded by cracked tables and flickering lights, and picked a new one like it was a science problem with no correct answer. Something common. Something forgettable. Something that wouldn’t get him noticed if it ended up in the wrong hands.
It still felt weird when people said it out loud.
School came next, because it always did. Gotham public schools didn’t push too hard when a new kid showed up mid-year with half-complete records and a story about “moving around a lot.” The administration looked tired. Not suspicious—just worn down, like they didn’t have the energy to question one more thing in a city full of them.
Peter took classes he’d already taken, pretended calculus was harder than it was, and learned very quickly that being too smart here wasn’t impressive. It was dangerous. Gotham kids watched everything. They noticed patterns. They didn’t like standouts.
So he kept his head down. Sat near the windows. Learned when to talk and when to stay quiet.
He missed his friends in ways that snuck up on him. He’d hear someone laugh in the hallway and his brain would do this awful, hopeful thing—Ned?—before reality kicked in. MJ was worse. He saw her everywhere. In the girls who leaned against lockers like they were daring the world to blink first. In the way some people looked at him like they were already halfway gone.
Gotham was heavier than New York. Not louder—quieter. Like the city was constantly bracing for something bad and had been for a very long time. Police sirens didn’t mean help here. They meant problems. Or warnings. Or nothing at all.
Still, Peter found small things that made it bearable.
The library let him stay until closing,The librarian was a nice women..reminded him of Aunt May or Natasha... The diner on the corner didn’t ask questions if he ordered cheap. The city looked almost normal early in the morning, when the fog hugged the buildings and everything felt unfinished instead of broken.
Some nights, lying on a mattress that smelled faintly of bleach and old dust, Peter let himself imagine this was temporary. That he’d figure out how to go back. That someone, somewhere, would remember him.
Other nights, he focused on what was right in front of him. School. Rent. The job downstairs. The fact that he was still here.
Peter Parker was gone.
But the kid he used to be—the one who tried, even when it hurt—was still hanging on.
And in Gotham, that counted for something.
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The ringing of his Alarm woke him up, It was.. Well shit, Peter dropped his phone somewhere (homemade from parts he got during dumpster diving). Scuffling out of bed he picks it up off the floor checking the date.
January 15th, 2026.. He has work in two hours. Enough time to shower and charge heating pads incase the temperature drops. He plugs his phone onto the charger grabbing a towel he thrifted luckily somehow from Goodwill. Turning on the shower waiting for it to warm up he glances at himself in the mirror. Messy Brown hair at the end black roots had grown them out. His eyebags had eyebags pointing out his obvious exhaustion. He'd gotten paler as well. Propping his elbows against the counter rubbing his face softly with one hand, his free hand reaching for his tooth brush. He gets his usual routine done.
❶Brush teeth
❷shower
❸get dressed
❹feed the stray cat that hangs out by his window
❺Eat Three granola bars
(not enough he knows but his job gives him free food)
❻ Head to work and deal with customers
:♡.•♬✧⁽⁽ଘ( ˊᵕˋ )ଓ⁾⁾*+:•*∴:♡.•♬✧⁽⁽ଘ( ˊᵕˋ )ଓ⁾⁾*+:•*∴·˚ ༘₊· ͟͟͞͞꒰➳
While Peter is taking orders of a customer he feels someone just.. Staring at him. Not in a 'I want to kill you' way he would know, he has experience in that department. More so of "You're a puzzle I want to figure out even if I go insane." Type of way, Peter just shrugs it off, he doesn't have the energy to deal with it. He just prays it's not a karen. He's sick of them. After a bit when he's about to clock off the presence who was staring at him walks up behind him, the footsteps sound familiar to him in a way..
"Hey, You're um.. Ben, Ben Park's right? I'm Tim, we share a few classes. " Holding at his Hand to Peter, "Nice to meet you well officially-"
"Yeah that's me, Ben.. So uh why were you staring at me? Really creepy. " Peter shakes Tim hand with a teasing grin as he questions the other guy.
"I wasn't trying to be creepy dude, I was just-I well-" Tim starts before getting cutoff by Peter, "I know I was being a jerk. So uh, what did you need because I'm about to clock off-"
"I knew that.. " Tim huffs shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, "I wondered if you wanted to have lunch with us tomorrow.. Of you're not skipping school for work again.. Oh us as in ya know-"
"Your siblings, and Ex now friend? Yeah I.. Guess it's cool." Peter tells Tim while finishing up bussing the last table he was supposed to do.
𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡? 𝑃𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘. Peter evilly laughs to himself mentally.
"Cool, Cool.. See you tomorrow, Ben. " Tim says waving good bye with a grin walking out of the shop.
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Space fillinggggggggg
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩ ➳
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┊ ┊ ☪⋆ 𖥸
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✯
Sitting on a Roof eating a nice bean beef five layer cheese burrito.
(His boss said he could have it since the order was canceled,peter doesn't believe that though.)
while staring at the sky, Peter finds himself in need of doing something. To distract himself from everything, yet he wants to be spider man. But it's too soon. Batman is smart if he starts now and Tim mentions Peter he knows he'll possibly be fucked because they would dig deeper into his files and find out they were made recently he doesn't want that. So he grabs a small composition notebook and starts sketching, designing, inventing. The pages quickly being filled with things from his old universe like the stark reactor. Eventually the stray cat he's been feeding joins him on his lap peacefully purring.
"Hey.. You okay there?" A man in Red asks Peter, making Peter realize he's been spaced out.
"I-i.. " Pete opens his mouth then shuts it, "I.. "
"Listen kid," *Red hood signs like an old man who just watched his sports team loose.* "It's not safe to be here alone at night."
Peter highly offend at being called kid quips back, "Well old man I'm perfectly safe as you can see. Unless you left your reading glasses at home GRANDPA."
"Hey listen here, Pequeño mocoso. I'm trying to keep you safe and alive-" *meeting the kids eyes and shutting up for a moment before continuing more cautiously.* "Do.. Do you have a safe place to live, and a guardian possibly?"
"I'm fine." *he scowls,* "I'll leave now. Bye old man." *stepping off the ledge scaring the crap out of Jason as he watches Peter walk away deeper into the alley. Reaching out to stop him but refraining from it. Peter tuning out whatever he's talking to orcale about.*