PLEASE PETER WITH PIERCINGS !!!
I DONE BEEN SUMMONED LADS!!! A lot of this is in keeping with my family’s tradition with piercings- we get them on birthdays! I’ve gotten another set every three years since I was nine, and it’s a really fun thing to anticipate!
• Peter Parker gets his first ear piercing on his tenth birthday.
• He’s wanted one since he was pretty young- after all, both May and Ben wore a set of studs in their ears, and he remembers his father having a pair, too.
• May had laughed fondly the first time he’d asked, shook her head, and told him when you’re older.
• It hadn’t been the answer he’d been hoping for, obviously, but he’s patient. He bides his time and, while he waits, looks at pictures of models in magazines with their emeralds and rubies and sapphires. Dangly earrings, hoop earrings, studs, whatever- he loves them all.
• May and Ben take him to get his first set after he’s pestered them for two years. They go to a reputable place in the mall, because come on, only the best for their kid.
• The woman manning the piercing gun gives them a surprised look when they sit this tiny little shrimp of a boy down and tell him to pick what he wants. May shoots her a warning glare- don’t take this away from him, it’s important- and she does her job like she’s supposed to.
• He chooses a pair of black studs and holds Ben’s hand. It’s done in a second- cha-gunk, and then the back slides on. He doesn’t even cry, and now he’s got a pair of shiny crystals in the lobes of his ears to be proud of.
• Look at him, Peter Parker, carrying on their tradition. Wow. Stunning.
• The ritual continues. At thirteen, he gets a little diamond put in his nose. It’s not technically legal to pierce a thirteen-year-old’s nose in New York, but somehow, May gets someone to do the job, and he looks good. He’s so proud of himself.
• Ben dies when he turns fourteen, and Peter spends hours rooting through his drawers to find every pair of earrings he’s ever owned. He slips them into his piercing holes carefully, with all the reverence of a priest, and looks at his own teary eyes in the mirror.
• May cries when she sees him. The resemblance is uncanny, and she knows it.
• Enter Tony Stark later that year, just when Peter and May have started to recover emotionally.
• It isn’t until after Homecoming that Tony notices the little gems in Peter’s ears and nose, and he doesn’t know exactly how to react when he sees them.
• “Yeah, those. Bit of teenage rebellion to balance out the do-gooding?”
• Peter doesn’t really know how to react. He shrugs, explains that his aunt and uncle took him to get them pierced for his birthday and that the studs in his earlobes- this time, a pair of glinting red rubies- were his uncles.
• Tony doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious that he’s a bit guilty for dredging up old wounds.
• Fast forward to Peter’s sixteenth birthday. He’s sitting in the tower with May, Pepper, Tony, and the rest of his friends, having just finished a huge slice of cake, when Tony clears his throat and pulls a small velvet box out of his pocket.
• “Happy birthday, Underoos.” No, he’s not crying, you’re crying.
• Peter rips into the box with enthusiasm and withdraws two pairs of earrings- a bejeweled set of Spider-Man masks and a tiny duo of shimmery arc reactors.
• Okay, maybe he’s crying a bit.
• May helps him pull his current pair out and gives him a mirror so that he can slide one of the little Spider-Man masks into his left ear and one of the arc reactors into his right.
• Ben’s sapphire stud stays in his nose.
• He looks in the mirror and smiles such a bright smile that nobody can look at him without tearing up.
p.s. tell me if ya’ll want a parkner edition of this because i am raring and ready to go.