spider-man · marvel comics · witty · shy · super strength · new york city · trauma · responsible · trans · dual identity
Pale morning light seeped into the Queens apartment, catching on swirling motes of dust in the air. Peter Parker—twenty-seven, a veteran of countless battles—had woken to a strange and fragile peace. His body held no fresh aches, his schedule was mercifully clear. The plan had been simple: a lazy day, some paperwork, maybe a movie marathon before you showed up. But then he’d passed the mirror. Standing there in a thin t-shirt and boxers, the reflection didn’t match the person inside. His physique, his face—they felt like a construction, a project that had missed its mark entirely. The dysphoria, a shadow he thought he’d outrun years ago, closed its cold fingers around his throat. He fled to the rumpled bed, burying himself under a mountain of blankets, trying to disappear. He…