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Chapter Seventeen

Tony was hurrying along the hall, eager to see Peter. He stopped when he got to the room, hearing something unfamiliar, but oh so welcome. It was laughter, and it sounded a hell of a lot like Peter's laugh. He had stopped thinking it was possible. He'd not heard him laugh in forever.

He eased open the door and was amazed to see Peter doubled up laughing, tears rolling down his face. Harrison was laughing, too.

He just stood there and stared for a moment, feeling so good. It was like walking into a dream.

Peter looked up, wiping his face. "Oh. Hey."

Amazed and happy, Tony smiled. "Okay, kids, I've got to ask, what's the joke."

Peter's lips twitched up. "We were just talking."

"About?"

Peter looked down, a blush touching his cheeks.

"Peeing and pooping," Harrison said shamelessly.

"Oh." Tony was surprised, but he also felt a little stupid. He still didn't know how Peter was handling that aspect of his life now. The kid never mentioned it. The curious part of him wanted to know, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask.

Luckily, Harrison answered for him. "I'm still on the bag, but Peter used the potty today on his own."

Peter's blush deepened. "Seriously, Harri, we're talking about this?"

Harrison shrugged. "Why not? It's a big deal, and you didn't have to do it with your mom watching like I did. You're lucky. I can't wait until I can do it alone." He looked a little wistful.

Peter brightened. "Just a few more days, and you'll be able to. That bag will be off for the last time."

"Yep." The boy grinned.

Tony grabbed a seat, absorbing the good feeling in the room. It was great after so much pain. Peter looked good—happy. He'd not seen him like this in so long. There was still something in his eyes, a shadow, but he was doing better, and that was more than enough for him now.

"Hey! Mr. Stark! Look what I got!" Harrison was waving a piece of paper in front of him. "Spider-Man was here!"

Tony was puzzled and gave Peter a look, who shook his head and explained. "Yeah, while Harrison was out getting tests done, Spider-Man dropped by. He was looking for you, but when I told him about Harrison, he wanted to meet him. He couldn't stay though as he heard about something going on that he needed to deal with—"

"He's so busy," Harrison inserted. "Heroes are always busy."

"But he wrote a note for Harrison," Peter went on.

Harrison waved it again. "He said I sound awesome and way braver than him. He says he's sorry he didn't stop to say hey when I saw him, but he remembers me. He had to keep going because the bad guy was getting away. He said—" He got really excited. He was practically vibrating. "He said I should get spider web wheels for my chair and that you could probably help me with that." Harrison leveled a pleading look on Tony. "Do you think you can?"

"Panels for the spokes," Peter explained.

Tony had to absorb it for a moment. Peter did this for the kid, and it'd obviously had a huge effect on him. The kid was thrilled. It was just the kind of thing Peter would have done once, and it was like seeing a little of the old Peter shining through.

"I can absolutely help with that, Harrison. I'll speak to your mom and get some measurements for your chair."

"You think you can do something for the motor, too?" Harrison asked eagerly. "Like make it go faster?"

Peter gave his head an imperceptible shake.

"You know, kid, I'd love to do that, but I think it might make things a little dangerous. I'm not good at moderation."

"That's for damn sure," Peter said with a smirk.

"And I think you'd end up with something that would plow through the store, leaving devastation in its wake."

Harrison laughed. "Yeah, maybe, but wheels would be cool. Can you make them blue and red like Spider-Man's suit with white webs?"

"What about some flames, too?" Peter suggested.

Harrison considered. "No. I think Spider-Man wheels would be cool enough without fire." He shivered a little. "I am going to have the coolest chair in the world."

"You will. I promise."

The nurse came into the room. "Harrison, it's time for your pre-op scan."

Harrison pushed back his blankets and managed to get himself to the side of the bed. He seemed to have so much more movement than Peter. Tony hadn't seen him do any of that stuff. He wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't or just didn't want to.

She got Harrison into the chair and wheeled him to the door, pausing to look over her shoulder. "I'll be right back with your meds, Peter, and you've got Mr. Johnson coming in in half an hour."

Peter looked a little wary. "Can I skip it today? Tony's just got here."

Tony didn't know who Mr. Johnson was, but he assumed it wasn't too important. If it was, Peter or May would have said something. He'd come in early to spend some extra time with Peter. It wasn't a big deal to hang around while he did whatever he needed. Maybe he could go get coffee and shoot off a few emails.

The nurse frowned. "You can, but do you think it's a good idea?"

Peter sighed, slumping back into the pillow. "No."

She smiled. "I'll bring your meds right back."

The nurse wheeled Harrison out of the room. Once the door closed, Tony turned to Peter. "A letter from Spider-Man, huh?"

Peter shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "He wanted to meet him, and that's obviously not going to happen, so I figured a letter would work."

"Sounds like it definitely worked. You did good," Tony said, earning a smile from Peter. A few seconds passed before Tony put a voice to the question in his mind. "What's with the meds? You in pain?"

Peter ducked his head, toying with the hem of his shirt. "No, nothing like that."

Tony could see that he was hiding something, and he wanted to know what. Nothing good ever came from Peter hiding things. He watched Peter as he seemed to chew over his thoughts, emotions flitting across his face. Tony stayed quiet, letting him work through. Pushing him wouldn't help.

Peter took a deep breath, glancing up at Tony and then back to his hands. "They've got me on this medication to help me, I don't know, feel better?"

At first, Tony was confused, but after a second, the words clicked into place, and he knew what Peter meant. They'd put him on antidepressants. It wasn't what Tony had wanted, but this wasn't about him, and they obviously worked. He was doing better. Tony could admit when he was wrong, and this time he had been. He felt like an asshole for making Peter admit it, rather than letting him have his privacy.

"That's good." Tony nodded.

Peter's eyebrows shot up. "It is?"

"Well, it seems to be helping."

"Yeah, it is. It's not perfect, and it still gets bad, but I had a hard time last night but didn't have a meltdown. I think that's partly because of the pills." Peter paused, chewing his lip before going on. "And I'm talking to someone now. This therapist. They're helping me with these … tools, I guess. I know you probably don't like it, I mean you kicked the shrink out, but I figured I should try." He kept his gaze on his hands, licking his lips. "It was too hard before."

Tony reached out, brushing Peter's hair back. "What I did with the shrink was wrong. He was there to help you. I was just worried about what they'd see and do to you. I was obviously wrong. Whatever they're doing now is helping you, and that's all I wanted to do. Yeah, I wish I could have helped you myself, but whatever it takes is what matters. Hell"—he laughed—"I tried therapy myself once. It didn't go that well."

Peter chanced a look at him. "What happened?"

"Well, I kinda recruited Bruce to be my therapist, and I guess I wasn't as interesting as I thought I was. He fell asleep on me."

A laugh burst out of Peter. "Wow. Poor Doctor Banner. You know he's not that kind of doctor, right?"

"That's what he said." Tony laughed. "Yours sounds much better."

"He is. It's not some magic wand, though I wish it was, but talking it out, not being seen as a freak for the things I'm thinking and feeling, helps."

Tony dropped his hand onto Peter's shoulder. "You can talk to me and May about it. We'll always listen." He realized after the words left his mouth that he was being selfish, wanting to be the one to help Peter.

"I can, but I don't want to. Not because I don't trust you. I do, totally, but because I'm already taking enough from you both. I don't want to add all my extra issues."

Tony squeezed his shoulder. "Your issues are our issues. You don't have to talk to us if you don't want to, but don't hold back for our sakes. We can handle whatever it is you say. We might not know the answers like your therapist, but we'll listen."

Peter gave him a small smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Tony. I appreciate it. And…" He glanced back down at his hands and then shyly back at Tony. "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole since my accident."

The kid had been anything but an asshole, at least in Tony's opinion. He was handling things better than most people could. Even if he had been the world's biggest asshole, it wouldn't have mattered. Tony would still have been there for him.

"You were never an asshole. Sure, you were going through something tough, and you weren't yourself." And you still aren't, he didn't say. "The only thing that bothered me and May was that we couldn't take the pain in your place. We would have if we could, in a heartbeat. Nothing you said or did bothered us for any other reason than that because it was hurting you."

"Thanks, D—Uh … Tony. I appreciate it."

Tony heard the hesitation and wondered if the aborted word was the one that he wished it was. He had Peter in his life, and that was amazing, and he'd never ask, but to hear Peter call him dad would be everything.

Maybe one day.

"That's great," Paul said. "Just another minute."

Peter's arms burned, but he pushed himself harder. He was using the arm bike, sweaty and tired. He wanted to end strong, though, so he pushed through the pain.

"Don't push too hard, Peter."

Peter ignored him. The faster he went, the stronger he got. Plus, it was a good distraction. It hadn't been a great day, he was feeling low, and he needed to be busy. As strange as it was, he missed his conversations with Harrison. He had gone for surgery the day before and hadn't been brought back to their room, though his stuff was still there. Peter hoped he would be back soon. It was nice to have someone to talk to about things. Harrison had a way of looking at the world that helped Peter see things in a different light.

"Okay, five, four, three, two, one. That's it."

Peter stopped, wiping his brow on his shirt with a shaky hand.

"Okay, I'm calling it a day. You need to rest."

He wheeled Peter back from the bike, but Peter grabbed the rims and stopped him. "Hang on. I wanted to ask you something. Tony is making me these braces, he says they're done, so I wanted to know when I'd be able to use them. He said it depends on you."

The way Tony had explained it to him, it sounded like Paul was being an asshole about them, which Peter couldn't see. The guy hadn't been the chattiest, but he was nice enough. He encouraged Peter, which was something he needed.

"I've spoken to Mr. Stark, yes, and he showed me what he's capable of. He brought his friend to demonstrate."

"You saw Colonel Rhodes?" Peter asked, eyebrows going up. "So you know they work."

"I know they work for Colonel Rhodes," the man said carefully, "but your injuries are different. There are no guarantees you will be able to use them the same way."

Frustration boiled up in Peter, and he set his jaw, his chin lifting slightly in defiance. "But there's no guarantee I won't?"

"No."

"Then why haven't I been able to try them yet?"

Paul sighed. "I don't want you to become over-eager and hurt yourself or be upset if they fail."

Peter shook his head. "If I get hurt, I'll heal. It's not like I can break my back again, well, I guess I can, but it won't make a difference. Being eager is better than never trying." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll ask Tony to bring them in so we can try."

"Peter, I think you should—"

Peter nodded curtly. "Great. Thanks for your help."

Peter wheeled himself out of the gym. It was the first time he'd done it before. He'd always been taken there and back, but he needed to do it. The elevator was thankfully empty when he reached it, and he wrangled himself inside, pushing the button to take him down.

When the doors to the elevator opened, Peter wheeled passed the nurses station and to his room. The door was shut, and there wasn't a button to open it. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he started pushing it open and fighting his way in. When he was partway into the room, he froze, the door bouncing off the wheelchair. Ned was there, sitting on the bed.

Shock flashed over Ned's face, but then a huge smile took its place. Hopping up, he ran to Peter, grabbing his shoulders in a tight grip.

"Peter! Damn, I've been looking everywhere for you—well, nearly everywhere. I checked the coffee shop and cafeteria. This place is huge. And they wouldn't tell me where to find you at the front desk. I had to pretend I was coming to see May, and then they sent me up here, but they said you were in physical therapy, so I was just about to go looking but—" He sucked in a breath, still beaming. "I found you!"

Ned looked beyond happy to have found him. He was still the same old Ned he'd always been, accepting and open. He didn't hide his emotions. It was like he'd seen Peter in the chair, processed it, and moved on. It was that simple. If only it could be that easy for Peter.

Peter didn't know how to start. It was good seeing Ned but challenging at the same time. He'd not seen him since the accident, and though Ned was taking it in stride, he still felt awkward.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Peter asked, his eyebrows lifting.

Ned laughed, making his eyes crinkle. "Yeah, I guess, but I was going nuts. May would only tell me that you were okay and not ready for visitors. I thought you'd still be stuck in a hospital bed. I needed to see you. Man, you look way better than I expected."

Peter felt strangely amused. He was in a wheelchair, coated in sweat from the physical therapy, but he looked better than Ned had expected. Guilt twisted like a knife in his stomach as he realized that he'd been a pretty crappy friend. If the situation had been reversed, he'd have been freaking out about not being able to see Ned or know what happened.

"So, how are you doing?" Ned asked.

Peter didn't know how much May had told him, so he was a little hesitant as he asked, "You know about my legs, right?"

Ned looked sad and nodded. "Yeah, she said it was your back, but I figure that's only going to take a while, right? Mr. Stark will have you on your feet in no time."

Frustration washed over him. "My spine is broken, Ned."

Ned shrugged. "Yeah, but you'll get braces like War Machine, right?"

Peter was still kinda unsure, but Ned's enthusiasm was infectious. "Yeah, I talked to the physical therapist about it today. I'm going to ask Tony to bring them by tomorrow so I can try them out."

"Really? Damn, I chose the wrong day to come in. I could have seen you walking tomorrow."

"If they work, you'll see me walking plenty."

"Yeah, I will. So, are you supposed to stay in your room, or can you, like, go out?"

Peter shrugged. "I usually am, yeah, but it's not like there's a rule. Why?"

"I got my allowance today, so I was thinking we could go get something in the cafeteria. My cousin was in this place when he had his appendix out, and they make the best milkshakes. You want?"

Peter realized he did. He wanted to be out of his room. He wanted to be with Ned. He didn't care that people are going to see him in the chair because none of those people mattered. May and Tony saw him in the chair, and they were fine. Ned, who was his best friend, was taking it in stride. If the people he loved didn't care, strangers didn't matter.

"That'd be great."

Ned glanced at the chair wheels and then back at Peter. He pointed at the handles. "You want me to push you? I think I can get you going pretty fast once we hit the halls."

Peter laughed. "Sure. Why not."

Ned dumped his school bag on Peter's lap, perfectly naturally, and grabbed the handles of the chair. "Let's do this."

They rushed along the halls, skidding around corners. One time, Peter was almost tipped out, and Ned apologized, but Peter was laughing too hard to care. It felt so good to be doing something fun. Being with Ned was like being with Harrison. It was so good. He wished he'd come in sooner.

When they got to the cafeteria, they each got a milkshake and then headed to a table. Ned wheeled Peter up to it, and then he sat beside him.

"So, what's the hospital like?" Ned asked.

Peter shrugged. "Like you'd expect. Boring mostly. I've got a kid sharing my room, who's pretty great. His name is Harrison, and he's in a chair like me, but he's really cool about it. He's made me feel kinda—better, I guess."

Ned nodded. "Cool, and Mr. Stark is here a lot?"

Peter grinned, taking a slurp of his shake. He could see the excited look on Ned's face. He still fanboyed over Tony. It was kinda nice to see. It felt normal.

"He is. He's been amazing. So's May. I was pretty crappy to them for a while, but they stuck around."

Ned rolled his eyes. "Of course, they did, dumbass. They're family. I'd have been here, too, if I'd been allowed."

"Yeah, that's on me. I should have called you."

Ned waved him off. "No, dude. You had a lot going on. I get that. I'm just glad I found you. It's totally worth the reaming I'm going to get for skipping school."

"I'm glad you did."

"Me too. It's so good to see you. Like, really."

"How is school?" Peter asked, playing with his straw.

Ned shrugged as he took a drink. "Same as usual, really. Flash is being an asshole, but something did happen. It was crazy. He was mouthing off about how the team was better off without you."

"Yeah, did everyone agree?"

"No, man, it was MJ. She got him pretty good for it, sucker punch right across the mouth. He had a fat lip for a few days, which was pretty awesome. Hold on." He rooted in his pocket, pulling out his phone. He fiddled with it for a moment and then held it up, showing a picture of Flash with a puffy lip and bruised chin. He wasn't looking at the camera. It was obviously taken without him realizing it.

Peter laughed. "That's awesome. Did she get in trouble?"

"Nope. There were ten witnesses that said he tripped over his shoelaces. You know he never learned to tie them right."

They were both laughing, and it felt good. It felt like he was flying. Harrison had been good for him and lifting out of his funks, but he was nothing compared to Ned. He connected with Ned in a way that he didn't with others. They just understood each other. Laughing with him over milkshakes felt natural, and for a moment, he could pretend things were like before, like before everything began to crumble and change.

This wasn't much different than the lunches they spent at school laughing while MJ interjected snarky remarks and called them dorks. He felt like himself again. It was something he hadn't known if he'd ever get back.

"So," Ned lowered his voice. "What happened? May said you fell, but you're … you know. How did it happen?"

Peter felt a stab of pain at the reminder. "Not here."

Ned nodded. "No. Of course not." Apparently not able to wait, he picked up their milkshakes, handed them to Peter, and wheeled him out.

Peter was amused by his eagerness and only a little worried about telling Ned what happened.

When they get back to the room, Harrison was still missing. Peter didn't want Ned to see him transferring to the chair, which he'd only done once without help, so he gestured him into the chair and rolled up across.

"Well?" Ned asked, leaning in a little.

"There's something going on with my powers, my body was screwing up. I guess it's still screwing up, but it's kinda a moot point now with the chair and everything. My body is making these crazy T cells, like attack dogs, that are destroying the Spider-Man ones and making me weak."

"Whoa, dude, that's insane."

"Yeah, Tony says I will be back to a regular human sooner or later. He had Doctor Banner working on it, trying to find a fix. I don't think I could have taken that fall without being seriously hurt anyway, not even as fully Spider-Man, but I wasn't healing, so I had no chance. The fall—I just slipped, couldn't hang on to the wall." He shrugged. "I fell."

"Man, that sucks."

"Yeah. It does, but it's kinda small potatoes now anyway. Spider-Man is pretty useless in a wheelchair."

Ned nodded a few times, looking solemn.

Peter held out his milkshake, and Ned took it, taking a big slurp. "So, Star Wars?"

Peter laughed again. Ned was being Ned, and it felt good.

He missed this.

So… Some Ned time! We both love Ned and wanted to bring him into the story sooner, but we felt Peter needed to be in the right headspace first. We're finally there.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx