Chapter 65: Catching a Break I

"Sorry for not visiting sooner, you wouldn't believe how hard it was to find you! Had to agree to work for a secret organization to find out, you know? Still have to thank Fury for that." Peter said, sitting down on the warm grass under him.

A moment of silence passed, Peter awkwardly sitting there before remembering the flowers in his hands.

"Oh! I uh, got you these!" Peter placed the flowers down in front of the gravestone, a small chuckle escaping him. "Kinda cost me half my savings but it's worth it. Didn't know what kind you liked so I just got you lilies. Figured you'd like them for some reason."

The part about his savings wasn't a joke, you know? Might have to ask Jonah for a raise.

Once he fully processed that thought, he chuckled dryly.

As if Jonah would ever do that.

Peter sighed at the silence, opening up his backpack and pulling out some cleaning supplies.

He had been waiting for this moment for months, thinking about what he'd say or do once he was there.

So why was it that now that he's there, he didn't know what to say?

Wiping down the headstone with the wet cloth, Peter smiled as he saw the small bits of dirt disappear.

It looked like someone had been cleaning it recently, guess she had people who cared.

Thinking about that made him both happy and sad at the same time, Peter guessed it made sense.

"Sorry I-I don't really know what to talk about right now… Normally I only have to do this with my uncle and… you know." He trailed off, continuing to clean the stone.

Doing… this was easier with Ben. It took some time to not start crying on the spot, but he got there.

With Ben, he could talk about his day and tell him about May and his friends because Peter knew he'd care if he was there with him.

That's what Ben did, he cared.

But… right now? This? This was different.

No matter how much Peter wanted to say he did, he didn't know Mizuku.

Putting the supplies back into his backpack, Peter sighed before running a hand through his hair.

A big part of him had hoped this would be easier, as if he'd just figure out what to say on the spot or something.

"I… I'm sorry, I was hoping I'd come here knowing what to say, but I guess not." He muttered, not getting a response.

Guess he should've expected that.

"You know, I've been working to try and get over it, had my teacher and aunt help me out on that. I was supposed to start counseling a few weeks ago but a bunch of scheduling issues came up."

A dry chuckle escaped him, Peter swallowed for a moment.

"Who would've thought a hero school had so many kids needing counseling? I'm probably gonna have my first session in 3 weeks, and I'm fine with that. Other people probably need the help more."

People like her.

He fell silent again, looking away for a second.

At that moment, Peter's eyes widened as he remembered something.

"Oh! I should tell you about how I got into UA! You only saw me as a vigilante, but I'm helping out people legally!" Peter said with a small laugh, only being met with silence.

He sat there for another moment, listening to the wind blow past him.

"And uh, I also won the sports festival yesterday! I'm… not sure if you'd care about stuff like that but… I don't know, maybe you didn't."

There was so much he didn't know about her, yet here he was. Maybe it was insulting to her since they were strangers.

"I'm sorry," Peter muttered, wiping at his eyes. "You probably would've rathered someone you knew showing up, right? Someone who actually knew what to talk about. People like your friends or something."

Again, all he got was silence.

Maybe he shouldn't even be there. But it wasn't like he could ask Mizuku that, huh?

But still, there he was.

Sitting alone, talking to the gravestone of someone who he barely met a few minutes before their death.

A death he saw as his fault.

And yet, being there… brought him a small bit of comfort.

It didn't bring him peace, he was still both angry and sad about that night. But being there?

Actually knowing where she was? Actually paying his respects to her? It was… it was nice.

It didn't fix how he felt, but it helped.

"I'm just… I'm sorry. I hope that you know I tried. I couldn't save you, but I tried. Maybe you didn't want to be saved, but I…"

Peter paused, wiping a few tears from his eyes as he looked down at the grass.

"Everyone deserves someone being there for them. Someone to tell you it'd be okay. I-I tried being that someone for you, but I wasn't. I'm… I hope you know that I'm sorry."

If he was expecting a response, he didn't get one.

And just like that, it felt as if a dam broke inside him.

Suddenly, the boy bowed his head and began to cry. Peter took hold of all those pent-up feelings about Mizuku's death and let them flow out of him.

Right then, all the guilt, sadness, anger and frustration, that he had about that night just began to come out in waves.

For months he's wanted to tell her he was sorry. For months he thought it may bring some peace to him.

Being there helped him, but it didn't fix it.

He'd need time for that.

He'd need to grieve.

Peter continued crying in front of the gravestone, ignoring how a few of his tears fell onto the lilies he had bought.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" Peter muttered between quiet sobs, the cemetery staying silent as he cried.

It hurt, you know? Being there right now instead of her family or something.

It felt as if it'd be better if he didn't even come to her grave at all.

But he knew he needed to do this. To cry there and give himself more time.

Even if he knew how the grieving process worked, that didn't make him feel okay.

But maybe… maybe if he gave himself more time and let himself grieve a bit more…

He'd come back one day and he'd be okay. At least he hoped

Wherever she was, Peter hoped that Mizuku thought the same.

...

Today was supposed to be relaxing, you know? Just him resting after the sports festival and hanging out with Nejire later.

But then the whole thing with Fury happened, and then he went to Mizuku's grave which left him a bit emotionally tired.

And now had to go to work at the Musutafu branch of the good old Daily Bugle, his favorite news company from New York that's actively employing him.

Along with probably the only place in town that would let him be both the staff photographer and the website guy.

Them letting him have two jobs aside, it was nice that the office mainly spoke english given how a bunch of the people there were transfers from New York.

It was crazy, right? Peter didn't care how he was technically doing two jobs at the same place, he still got paid for both of them! One of them was barely above minimum wage, but still.

Even if he kinda only got hired as the website guy cause he was young and knew about computers, but still.

Oh, and it did help that Jonah was desperate for a new staff photographer since the last one faked pictures or something.

Peter didn't care about specifics, he just needed the job.

And although Jonah could get on his nerves sometimes, he still didn't mind working there.

Even if it was the best he could get right now.

It was kinda like a dysfunctional family that only kinda liked each other, you know?

There was Betty Brant, the nice receptionist who he was pretty sure was in the middle of college, was cool to be around, which was nice since he had to go by her every day to get to his desk.

Then there was Robbie Robertson! The news editor for the Bugle along with one of the nicest guys Peter's ever met. He was also one of the only ones who could calm Jonah down, which was a plus.

And who could forget Peter's boss, J. Jonah Jameson? Along with being the chief editor, Jonah owned the bugle and prided himself in giving people the facts when it came to news. Even if the guy could be a dick sometimes, it was obvious he was a good person.

And off-topic, also ran an incredibly successful podcast! Who would've thought?

Peter walked up the stairs of the building, tidying up the red tie on his white work shirt with his free hand. Much like how he did with his UA uniform, the sleeves were rolled up.

He couldn't do it before because, you know, he had to hide his secret identity and all.

Who knew how liberating it was to not have to live a double vigilante life?

Still can't believe Jonah let him keep his job after all of that. God knows that the guy hates vigilantes.

Maybe it was because the Musutafu branch of the Bugle needed all the employees it could get, but whatever.

Part of him wanted to think it was because Jonah liked having Peter around.

As he continued going up the stairs, Peter checked the messenger's bag he was carrying still had all its contents with one hand, inwardly sighing at seeing all the pictures were still there.

Jonah would've killed him if he came in with no pictures! Part of him wanted to think differently, but he knew better.

On his other hand was a large cup of coffee that he got on his way there, with probably way too much sugar and creamer, but he didn't care.

Because right now, he needed an extra boost.

Peter continued up more flights of stairs while taking a sip from his cup, savoring the taste on his tongue before finally reaching his destination.

The door to The Daily Bugle.

A small sigh escaped him as he bowed his head.

Please let this be a normal day.

Reaching out with his free hand, Peter pushed open the door to the loud and bustling office only to be met by…

A bunch of party poppers?

"Surprise!!" It felt as if the entire office said that at once, Peter looking around, seeing everyone looking lively and excited as he entered.

Wait, did he miss someone's birthday?

Last time he did that, he felt super bad.

As confetti rained down onto the floor, Peter felt a big arm being put around him, the boy looking up to see that Robbie was next to him.

He was so confused.

"Uh, hey? What's going on, by the way? Did I miss a birthday?" Peter asked, starting to feel a bit awkward as Betty walked up to him from the reception desk.

Robbie rolled his eyes and led him into the office, it felt as if everyone was celebrating! The question was, celebrating what ?

Wait, was it Jonah's birthday?

"Don't act all dumb, kid! Everyone saw you out there yesterday! You wouldn't believe how exciting it was to see one of our own winning the sports festival!" Robbie gave a hearty laugh, ruffling his hair as Betty elbowed him lightly.

"Yeah, Pete! We figured you had a long day yesterday and that the last thing you wanted to do was come into work, so we decided to throw a little office party!" The woman laughed, Peter found himself widening his eyes in understanding.

...

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