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Chapter Forty-Two

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The first thing that registered in his awareness was that his tongue felt weighted and glued to the roof of his mouth. There was the distinct taste of lead and rust that danced on his taste buds which caused his stomach to want to revolt with bile.

That was when the pain finally made itself known. It shot through his body with every intake of his breath. With each expansion of his lungs, it was as though a lick of fire was scorching his insides. His head pounded in a way that matched the beat of his heart. He had never felt this weak since before he had gotten bit by that spider… and even then, he felt more alive than he does now… and Peter was left wondering why? What had happened for him to end up in a state such as this? What had he done to deserve this outcome? Wasn't he good? Noble? Fair? Did he do something wrong to deserve this? If that were the case, he was more sorry than he could ever hope to atone for.

A groan of misery escaped him as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. Why couldn't the pain just stop?

That was when the memories bombarded him all at once. Flashes shot through his mind's eye as he aubily gasped. Captain Stacy… The Big Man - or rather, the Green Goblin… The bombs… The trap… Peter falling to his death…

His eyes snapped open wide and his body jolted in an upright position despite the agony and protest his body screamed at him with. Everything hurt, but none of that compared to the shere panic that shot through his body as he tried to grab hold of his bearings.

Where was he?

Where the hell was the Green Goblin?!

Why hadn't the man killed him, yet? Was the Goblin really that sick in the head that he wanted to slowly torture Peter until there was nothing left to him? Where there would be nothing left for the Goblin to take from him and instead had to gift Peter with the sweet release of death?

Hands immediately settled on his arms and Peter's instincts reacted. He pushed at the hands, swinging his fists blindly as he tried to see through his swollen, black eyes.

"Whoa!" A familiar voice interjected after Peter missed swinging in his general direction. "Take it easy, Kid! Breathe. It's only me and your Aunt May."

It was then that Peter realized that he was hyperventilating. Visions of the Green Goblin's feral and bloody grin marred his mind… His gravelly voice and maniacal laughter sent chills painfully down his spine. But this voice, familiar and warm, somehow managed to break through his delusions, confirming to him without the words that the Green Goblin wasn't really here.

He turned his head, and through the slivers in his swollen eyes, he saw that it was true.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter breathed, panting. His voice sounded so broken and small even to his own ears. If he were in the right state of mind, he would actually care how weak this portrayed him out to be. But in reality, all he really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and let out a desperate sob.

"Oh, Petey," His Aunt May responded from his left, her voice thick with tears as she hesitantly approached. May looked rough. With the dark circles under her eyes and lines of worry that marred her forehead while she gazed insistently at his face as she studied him. When it seemed to be clear to her that he was done trying to attack them, she carefully hugged his head against her chest and gingerly stroked her fingers through his unruly hair, which was still slightly matted with traces of his dried blood. There was no way they would've been able to get it all out until he had the chance to heal a bit and take a shower. He turned his face into her chest in order to hide the tears that wouldn't stop leaking from his eyes. There was a feeling of being safe and protected while in May's arms. Harm was but a distant memory while in May Parker's embrace.

He felt a light hand from his right lay down gently on his shoulder. He could tell just by the broadness of the touch who it belonged to. Mr. Stark was trying to comfort him? "You're alright, Kid. You're safe. That maniac, he- well, it doesn't matter. I caught you."

Peter could tell that he was trying to sugar-coat it, afraid that if he mentioned what happened last night that Peter would snap into a state of panic. And though that may be true, Peter knew that if he wasn't informed on the details of what had happened after he passed out, his imagination would cause him to panic in a worse way than if he knew the truth.

Fear of the unknown made the image of the Green Goblin that much more terrifying in his eyes.

"Tell me," Peter demanded as he turned away from Aunt May, trying his best to look at Mr. Stark through his swollen eyes, his tone bridging no argument from the older man. "And don't leave out any details. I need to know what happened."

Mr. Stark hesitated, he stared at Peter for a moment with his brow knotted and the slightest frown downturning his lips. Then his eyes shifted up to May - an uncertain and questioning expression shifted in his gaze as they implored her to tell him what to do. For some reason, this irritated Peter to no end, and he was glad for it, clung to the feeling. Because it served to break through the wall of fear and uncertainty that surrounded him - which was claustrophobic and all-consuming.

"You might as well just tell me now," Peter said, interjecting himself in the middle of their silent exchange as he tried to reign in his budding annoyance at their attempt to try and cut him out of the decision-making process. He was nearly seventeen, for fucks sake, not a child. And he has faced more than most adults have in their lifetimes. He felt that alone meant that he should be treated as an adult and with respect. When they still didn't say anything, Peter sighed. "Or I will find out on my own and it will leave me thinking the worst."

He heard Aunt May release a heavy breath from behind him. "Peter-"

"No," He managed to get out through clenched teeth. He was trying so hard to hide the extent of his pain from them. And despite how much force he tried to put into the one word, it still cracked with the sound of his tears. He swallowed and tried again. "I need to know."

There was a tense moment of silence that followed this statement and Peter reflected on it before his eyes widened the furthest they could with them being so bruised. Fear gripped his chest as he shot a look back at Aunt May and then back to Mr. Stark. "Did… Did I accidentally kill someone? When I dropped the Mega Screen?"

He watched as Mr. Stark's eyes widened significantly when Peter voiced his biggest fear. "No! God, no. Peter, you managed to save everyone from the bombs."

"You're a real hero," Aunt May whispered behind him, there was a stroke of pride in her voice… but there was also regret. She hated that it was him having to do the saving.

It took a moment for their words to register in his mind. And when they did, he released a breath that came out in a shaky staccato. He had saved everyone that had been in Times Square last night… Despite all of the odds - with Captain Stacy not being able to vacate the premises, the twelve (thirteen) bombs, and the Green Goblin attacking him at every turn - he had managed to accomplish what truly mattered.

"Everyone?" Peter whispered in a soft voice, needing it confirmed to him just one more time. "I was able to hold the Mega Screen in time for them to get away?"

Mr. Stark nodded and Peter finally allowed himself to fall back onto the mattress and pillow. Relief flooded through him as he pictured the sea of faceless people in the crowd of Times Square - each and every one of them safe.

Aunt May's fingers went up to his forehead, stroking away his dirty hair away from his bruised forehead. There was a distinct headache that he felt brewing from all of the areas that the Goblin had hit him. Was the headache always there and he was only just feeling the affects now that his body was more relaxed? He could physically feel the adrenaline leaving his body now that he thought about it, leaving him feeling drained and fatigued even though he just woke up.

"What else happened?" Peter asked, needing to know.

It only took a bit more coaxing on Peter's part to get Mr. Stark to tell him the story. The Green Goblin had dropped him just as Peter fell unconscious and Mr. Stark had surged forward in his suit in order to save him from falling to his death. When he was caught, the Green Goblin was nowhere in sight - having used Peter as a diversion in order to escape.

"I should've done more," Mr. Stark confided, self-loathing laced within his tone, "I don't know what I was thinking… I should have put a tracker on him but when I saw you falling, I sort of panicked. I-"

"Mr. Stark…" Peter interrupted, hating that he was shouldering the burden of this himself on his own shoulders. "Stop. This is not your fault. If anything, it was mine. I underestimated him. I wasn't strong enough to defeat him. I-"

"Both of you stop," Aunt May cut him off with a stern look in his direction. "All that you can expect from yourselves is the best that you can offer in that moment. Don't beat yourselves up for how things happened to turn out-"

"I don't have to beat myself up about it. The Green Goblin did that plenty enough for me," Peter grumbled. Aunt May shot him another severe look.

"You did what you set out to do, Peter. You saved everyone that was there. Which was the reason why you put on that mask in the first place. Or did you lie to me about Ben's speech about responsibility?"

Aunt May bringing up Uncle Ben was certainly sobering to the bitterness that he felt currently swarming inside of him. He had to take a moment to close his eyes and breathe deeply against a fresh wave of tears that threatened him. When he opened them again, he found the courage to look at May.

"No… I'm sorry, Aunt May."

Her expression softened as she once again stroked her hand through his hair, only this time, her touch against a bump at the top of his head caused him to flinch back with a hiss of pain. She shot him a look of concern. "You're still in a lot of pain, aren't you?"

"Wha- No, I-"

"Don't you dare lie to me, young man." Aunt May said, her voice stern but her eyes told a different story… they were wary with concern.

Peter couldn't bear to look at them. He hung his head as he looked down at the comforter that was wrapped around his body. "Y-Yes."

He heard Aunt May sigh. "I've got some medication left over from my surgery last year. I'll go get that for you."

The thought of receiving relief in the form of prescription drugs was greatly appealing, no matter how illegal it actually was for Peter to partake in medication that wasn't his own. But what else was there to do? They all knew that Peter couldn't very well be taken to the hospital. They would know that something distinctly not normal was going on within his body immediately. Besides… with his healing ability, he was certain that the drugs wouldn't have as lasting of an effect that it would on a normal person.

With all of these reasonings in mind, Peter found himself nodding, and Aunt May took her leave. To his right, he heard a thump and looked over to see that Mr. Stark had heavily dropped himself in a chair next to his bed. He had a distinctly irritated expression on his face… but when he caught Peter looking with a questioning tilt of his brow, he sighed.

"We used to have a doctor on staff for the Avengers Team. But when Ultron threatened her life…" He cut himself off with a shake of his head. "I just never thought to replace her. I should have. Then, I could've taken you to a licensed doctor that would have been safe and trustworthy with your secret."

The amount of care in Mr. Stark's self-deprecating words caused Peter's throat to tighten measurably, which really wasn't helping matters regarding his breathing difficulties at the moment. He was quiet, waiting for the choking sensation to pass before he turned and looked at his mentor. "Mr. Stark… you don't always have to shoulder the burden of taking care of me. Yes, it's nice when it happens, but I was Spider-Man long before you discovered me… Even if you hadn't ever found me, I would still be out there, taking these risks… only without you there to help me pick up the pieces." Peter released a heavy sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, that I'm just grateful that you're here at all."

Mr. Stark stared at him for a weighted amount of time. Slowly, Peter watched as a single, dark brow raised itself up on his forehead. "So? You're not disappointed that I'm not a certain redhead playing nurse for you right now?"

He could feel the rush of heat that spread up from his neck to his cheeks. There was one good thing about the smattering of bruises all over his body… they covered up the tell-tale flush. Especially since the picture that Mr. Stark painted was very appealing to Peter - he could picture it so vividly in his mind.

He would open his eyes and see Mary Jane there - sitting by his bedside, holding his hand gingerly within her own. And he would smile as soon as he saw her face, not just because it was a beautiful face to look at - no one could deny that - but because her being there with him would show just how much she cared.

But… she wasn't here. And that was Peter's fault… because she had no clue that he was Spider-Man.

"She showed up to the dance, by the way," Peter blurted out, his eyes fixated on the comforter that covered his lap.

There was a gasp coming from his open doorway and Peter whipped his head toward the noise - realizing a second too late how stupid that decision was based off of the stinging pain the action caused in his neck. But it was worth it to see the beaming grin on Aunt May's face. "She did? Mary Jane?"

Peter had been about to nod but he didn't trust the action to not hurt, so he replied instead. "Yeah, she had Harry buy her a ticket, apparently," He paused and almost bit his bottom lip, but stopped when he realized that it was still split from the Goblin's attack. "And uh, I dropped her off at the airport."

"Oh, how romantic!"

"And… before she left, she kissed me."

Aunt May squealed in delight before she ran up to him to pepper light kisses on his forehead.

"It's about time, isn't is?" Mr. Stark muttered with a chuckled as he watched May's assault on Peter.

"Oh yes," May agreed as she pulled back with a wide grin, "Way overdue. I've had to watch the two of them dance around each other for months."

"I've had to hear about it for months."

"Okay, enough of that," Peter interjected as the two laughed at his expense. Then he turned to May and held his hand out, "Drugs, please?"

She rolled her eyes at him mockingly as she handed over two pills and the glass of water that she had in hand.

"Never took you for a drug-pusher, May," Mr. Stark remarked, with a sarcastic lilt in his tone.

"When my baby boy is in pain, you betcha I am," Aunt May said, completely unashamed.

This caused Mr. Stark to laugh and Peter tipped the glass back as he swallowed the pills that Aunt May gave him. He was enjoying listening to their banter. When he handed the glass back to May, Mr. Stark turned his attention back to Peter.

"Speaking of Mary Jane Watson-"

Peter released a long groan and let his head fall back against the pillow, interrupting what he assumed to be a long line of questioning that he wasn't really in the right frame of mind to answer at the moment. He had been back and forth, endlessly dissecting his interactions with Mary Jane before he had his fight with the Goblin. Now, with his head essentially scrambled, he had no hope of knowing which way was up and which way was down regarding one Mary Jane Watson.

First, he needed the drugs, sleep and his healing ability to do their work before he had any hope of having this conversation.

"Oh? We're playing that game, are we?" Mr. Stark mused as he sat back lazily in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, leveling a look at Peter.

Peter sighed. "No offense, Mr. Stark, but I don't think that I'm in the right mindset to have this conversation."

Mr. Stark shrugged. "That's fair." Then he gave a dramatic sigh and slumped in his seat. Peter was unbothered by this as he settled his head further into the pillow, closing his eyes in the hopes of falling asleep once again. But Mr. Stark continued speaking… "Then, I suppose that you wouldn't want to know that Mary Jane called while you were unconscious…"

With a snap, Peter's eyes shot open.

"Wait, what?!"

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A/N: Next chapter is going to get really spicy, so hold on to your seats, ladies and gents! I had planned on posting them both together in one long chapter but I felt that the vibe of this last one was a bit different than the next one. Also, I felt that you guys deserved something for being so patient with me. 3

Please leave a comment/review.

Thanks for reading!

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