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It comes as no surprise to Jefferson and Rio that the spiders have nightmares. Anyone that tries to save people is going to have nightmares about the times they fail, the times they arrive too late or just aren’t enough. Jefferson has his own demons from years on the force, and Rio has been through more than a few incidences at the hospital that have left her with memories she’d rather not have. So when Miles starts having nightmares, they think they’re prepared to handle them.
Jefferson isn’t quite as prepared for the others, though, or their way of handling things.
He still remembers the shock he got one morning when he woke up and found Miles, Gwen, and Peni all curled up around each other in Miles’ bed. He stares at the group for a moment before Miles raises one hand and waves at him. Jefferson comes closer so he can talk without disturbing the others, who are clearly still asleep.
“Do we need to have the talk?” Jefferson asks.
Miles just grins at him. “Nah.” He keeps his voice low enough that Jefferson has to struggle to hear him, but Peni has her head buried right by his chest. “Gwen had a nightmare. I think Peni did, too, but she showed up after we already went to sleep.”
Jefferson can’t really get mad at them for that. “I’ll call when it’s time for breakfast.”
The smile Miles gives him is the best thing he’s seen in a while. “Thanks, Dad.”
(Turns out, Peni didn’t have a nightmare. She just wanted to check in on Gwen, and finding the two asleep, decided to just stay the night with them.)
/--------/
One night, Jefferson gets home from his shift to see Peter and Noir in his living room. They sit on opposite sides of the couch, the TV turned to some old cartoon (and Jefferson briefly wonders what Ham would think of that), and Miles is sprawled across both of them, head in Peter’s lap and feet in Noir’s. Noir leans his head back and makes a shushing motion. Jefferson nods and keeps his voice quiet.
“You can use the pull-out, you know.”
Noir grins (for once, he’s not wearing the mask. Then again, none of the spiders are wearing their costumes). “Yeah, but we weren’t planning on staying. Then B fell asleep, so I decided to stick around.”
“Miles have a nightmare?” Rio’s working the graveyard shift again. It would make sense for Miles to call on his fellow spiders if he needed some comfort.
“No. B did.”
Huh. That makes sense, too. “What about you? Did you have a nightmare, too?” he asks quietly.
Noir’s grin falters just a little. “Honestly, I used to have a lot of nightmares. Not so much, anymore.”
“What stopped them?”
“Peni. And Ham.” He shrugs. “We help each other out, you know?”
“Yeah, I know. I’m glad, too. You all deserve to have someone.”
For a long moment, Noir just stares at him, like he’s never had someone tell him he deserves something good. Finally, the grin morphs into an honest smile.
“Thanks. I – I appreciate that.”
/-----------/
Peter finds himself waking up just a few minutes before the portal opens. He has just enough time to sit up before Miles is pressed against him, fingers sticking as he clings to his nightshirt. Automatically, Peter wraps his arms around the small, shivering form. The whimpers are quiet, but the tears are obvious. Peter just pulls him in closer, letting him hold on as tight as he wants.
Nightmares suck, and they tend to fly under the radar of their bond. It’s really hard to tell when a nightmare is yours and when it belongs to one of the other spiders, and the younger ones are good at waking themselves up before the others notice.
Then this happens, usually.
“Wanna talk about it?” he asks quietly. Miles shakes his head, but his mind is so active right now he couldn’t hide the dream if he wanted to.
Down there in the tunnels in the collider so much debris and he’s trapped Parker is trapped Kingpin’s coming but not Parker not Parker brown eyes not blue and it’s Peter trapped in that rubble –
Peter winces, and Miles just tightens his grip. “Damn, kid. You surprise me at every turn.” He rubs his hands up and down Miles’ back, trying to find a way to reassure him. Finally, he just sighs. “I have them, too. It’s okay.”
“I know.” The voice is muffled, and Miles doesn’t let go, but it makes Peter smile anyway. At least he’s talking.
“You told your dad about them yet?”
A sniffle. “No. I don’t wanna worry him.”
Peter sighs. “Kid, we’re gonna worry about you no matter what.” Miles huffs out a laugh at his slip of we. Peter continues. “But I think he might worry about you less if he knew what was going through your head.”
Miles shakes his head. “He worries less knowing I don’t just bottle it up and hide it, ya know? He knows I go to you guys.” His grip is starting to relax, and the tears have finally stopped. Peter keeps rubbing his back, feeling that small body start to go limp against him.
“I’m glad you come to me.” The words slip out before he has a chance to think about it. The kid smiles.
Always, man.
/----------/
“You’re up awfully late.”
Jefferson doesn’t even flinch. “Yeah. I got tomorrow off, though, so it doesn’t matter.” He pats the couch beside him. Peter comes and hesitantly sits down, relaxing a little when he notices Miles curled up against Jefferson’s other side. “Just you tonight?”
“For now.” Peter admits. He’s still shaking a little – nightmares never stop sucking – but he can feel himself calming down. This place feels safe, and Jefferson and Miles are safe, and he finally relaxes. “As far as I know, they’re still asleep.”
Jefferson nods. “At least someone is having a nightmare-free night.”
Peter huffs a laugh. “That’s something, at least.” He tilts his head back, letting it rest on the back of the couch. On Jefferson’s other side, Miles stirs. Peter feels him reach out, questioning, and he sends back reassurance/safe/go back to sleep. Miles replies with a soft acceptance before drifting back off. Peter returns his attention to Jefferson. “You were having nightmares too?”
“Yeah, both of us.” the cop admits. “Came in here so I didn’t wake Rio up, found Miles trying to get back to sleep. We decided to just sit together.”
Peter nods. “I know what he dreams about. What about you?”
Jefferson nods his head towards Miles. “Him. What could happen to him in that suit. Sometimes I remember what happened in the collider, except in my dreams he doesn’t get up.” There’s a tightness in his voice that Peter can feel in his own throat.
“Yeah. Yeah, I have those, too.”
Jefferson nods. “I dream about the rest of you, too. Miles isn’t the only one in danger.” He pauses for a moment, letting Peter just absorb that implication. “Although I have to admit, the first time Gwen and Peni showed up here after a nightmare was rather surprising.”
Peter chuckles, the tightness finally starting to fade. He decides to ignore the first statement in favor of the second. It’s safer. “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen what Ham does during a nightmare. Or Noir.”
“Do I really want to know?”
“There’s a reason we wait until Noir is fully awake before we go help him – apparently living in a world with Nazis means sleeping with a gun.” He chuckles at Jefferson’s quiet sound of distress. “And apparently at one point and time Ham got so scared that he actually shot himself through the ceiling.”
“Oh my – “
“Yeah, we couldn’t stop laughing. Even he thought it was pretty funny once he calmed down.”
The two fall silent. Miles makes a small sound before shifting so his head is resting in his dad’s lap. One hand reaches out and catches Peter’s pant leg. Jefferson can’t help but chuckle.
“Well, you’re staying for the night.”
Peter just smiles. “I’m okay with that if you are.”
“If I wasn’t, I would have chased you off after you gave him the goober.”
“You have a lot of faith in us.” Peter says doubtfully. “I mean, a lot.”
“Yeah, well – you kept my kid alive through something that could have killed him. That earns you some credit in my book.” Jefferson looks up from Miles to Peter, taking in the exhaustion written into the other man’s face. “What do you dream about?”
Peter nods towards Miles. “Him. And the other spiderlings, but mostly him. When Kingpin showed up – I was going to take him on while Miles shut down the collider. What could have happened –“ he cuts himself off and looks away.
Jefferson frowns. “Staying here would have killed you.”
“Yep.” Peter is too tired to argue. “At least my death would have mattered.”
“Mm-hm. And it would have been another scar on his soul.”
“Yeah. I know that now.”
“As long as you know.” Jefferson leans back against the couch, one hand resting on Miles’ head. “I worry enough about you as it stands. You’re family, man.”
Peter just looks at him. “I am?”
“Family don’t end in blood, son.” Jefferson says pointedly. “Miles has adopted all of you. That means so have I and Rio. You got a home here, Peter. Always will.”
Slowly, Peter nods. “Thank you.”
(They fall asleep on the couch like that. When Jefferson wakes up, Peter is still out cold, but Gwen and Peni have curled up into the space between him and Jefferson, Miles has stretched out to lay over all of them, and Noir and Ham have taken over the chair.
He smiles and decides to let them sleep for a while longer.)