The prize to pay for the lost souls

7

His room looked exactly like it did ten years ago, complete with science medals and decathlon pocals, superhero and band posters, a cork board covered in notes for his different attempt on his web fluid, shelves upon shelves decorated with lego projects raging from small buildings to the death star he and Ned finished in his sophomore year of high school.
Morgan almost started climbing on the huge man to reach the lego sets, so he simply liftet her up and placed her on his shoulders so she could point at every one of them an retell the stories behind both the creation itself and everything that might have happened while it was built. Her memory was like a machine, never missing anything and forgetting was a word lost to her brilliant mind. Peter sometimes wondered if she was human at all, or just some twisted, perfected version of Vision. Peter just sat on his bed, looking around, taking in the memories flowing through his brain. It still smelled somewhat the same, save for the dust softening the intensity. He let the sounds of Morgan's eager chatter and James' soft humming linger in the back of his head as the memory load overtook him.

The pride he felt when he could place a new pocal on the shelf over his desk. The sharp sound of the pencil on his notebook as he worked out a new formula. The amount of hours spent on the floor with Ned building. Him and his two best friends sprawled out across the room doing homework. His first time doing anything sexual - with the Human Torch of all people - when he got a little too curious and he offered assistance. All the arguments with May when he tried sneaking in the window at ungodly hours, just to find his Aunt waiting in the doorway.

It was nice being back there sometimes, remembering the simpler times. Knowing the window was always open for him if life got a little too rough, and he needed a break from being an adult. May never questioned him if he came shuffling into the kitchen in the morning, without beeing there the night before. And with Happy living there, he didn't need an excuse to escape May's breakfast either, and could leave the apartment with a smile on his face, full belly and new hope for the day.

Peter came tumbling back to reality when morgan bolted through the door, disappearing into the hall, yelling for her mom. He could hear the front door click, and Peppers soft voice greeting her daughter. He turned his head from where he was sitting on the bed, observing James as he wandered around the room, taking in all Peter's history before he was snapped away and sent to live another life. He stopped by the book case, skimming through the different science books decorating it.

"You never read anything just for fun?" He grabbed Dr. Banner's book on gamma radiation, that he got for christmas when he was fourteen, and flipped shrough the pages quickly before closing it, sending dust flying around him. He waved his hand in front of his face, crunching up his nose.

"I did read that one for fun actually. Bruce was so shocked when we first met and I started babbling about hiw work. I was so starstruck." He chuckled a little at the memory, and James hummed, seemingly in deep thought, before he put the book back and made his way over to Peter in to quick strides and stared down at him. The young brunet found it just a little intimidating, even if he knew James wasn't going to hurt him.

"You're such a nerd." He grinned, and held out a hand for Peter to take, and hoisted him up to his feet. He placed both flesh and metal hand on the young man's waist and pressed him against his own body. Peter had to tip his head back to look at his partners face, a little curious as to what was going on, but didn't question it, trusting both the man and his spider sense blindly at the moment. "But you're my nerd." The metal hand came up to cup Peter's jaw, cold and hard, yet so unbelievably tender, it made the arachnid's heart skip a beat and his breath quickened. He felt the damp wind from James' lungs brush his lips, with the faint smell of coffee and pancakes lingering under his nose. He licked his lips, parted his mouth just slightly, and closed his eyes.

The assassin's lips felt like ice cream, soft and sweet, and he let his brain go offline as he dived into the sensation, letting his hands drift along the brawny chest, snaking up his neck and resting one arm around the overly broad shoulder and the other hand playing with the soft, silk like hair, stiffling a soft moan as a sturdy hand roamed his back, making the invisible space between them even smaller.

"Oh my god!"

Peter shrieked, and found himself stuck in the ceiling in about 0.2 seconds, James quickly snapped his head to the intrution, placing himself in between the door and the spooked spider clinging to the roof above him.

May and Pepper stood awestruck in the hallway, bewildered, eyes flickering between the former assassin and his soulmate. Peter could hear all their heartbeats racing, and tried to piece together what caused the commotion. May knew about the soulmate thing, and both of them has in fact seen people kiss before.

"What was that?!" Peter let himself soundlessly down from the ceiling, looking over to James, quirking an eyebrow, asking without the need for words, if he knew what they meant, but he just shrugged his shoulders, just as clueless as himself. May didn't need alot of time to catch up, and her arms suddenly waved around vigorously, while stuttering someting about bright colors and magic.

"Oh that. It's the aura thing. It happenes with some soulmates, apparently. You haven't experienced it with Happy?" May looked defeated, and let her arms fall back down to her sides, while Pepper simply made an 'o' shape with her mouth. The wide eyes were still very present, and made Peter a little too uncomfortable. He scratched his head, and looked down at the floor, finding his shoes very interesting, trying to turn his brain back online.

"This is normal for you? And you just got to know each other a few days ago? Have you tried researching this?" May's breathing staggered, and she started waving her hands around again. Totally not buying the whole 'this is not dangerous'-scenario. But who can blame her really, with everything she had to worry about the last decade. Pepper placed a calming hand on her shoulder, calming her immediately. She whispered some words about sitting down and googling it, checking any possibility before panicking, and then she winked at the men in the teenage room, and shuffled May in front of her back into the living room.