Ben was sitting on the couch and reading a newspaper, enjoying his call day from the hospital, when he glanced at the clock in concern.
Right about now, Peter would've grabbed a couple of cookies out of the jar, and raced onto the couch to watch some Scooby Doo or Looney Tunes, but the nine year old was nowhere to be seen.
He waited another twenty minutes, just in case he was running late or the bus was late or something, and he was about to call the NYPD when the door creaked open.
Ben turned around, and couldn't even try and mask his shock when Peter came home littered with cuts and bruises, a nasty gash on his leg, soaking wet with mud and tears streaming down his face.
He immediately got up and went straight over to him, heart pounding as he gently cupped his cheek with his hand. Why did this have to happen to his boy, he wondered as he could feel him getting chocked up just by looking at him.
"What happened, Pete?" He asked quietly, trying to smooth out his fussed up hair, and that's when Peter erupted into sobs, breaking his heart.
"T-they were bullying Ned, a-and I told them to stop, s-so they started hitting me..."
"Is Ned okay?" Ben asked, wiping his nephew's eyes with his thumb, and when Peter nodded, he asked. "Do you know their names?"
"N-no."
"Okay, kiddo. Let's get you cleaned up." He said, scooping him into his arms, and for the first time, actually having trouble carrying him.
•••••••••••••••
A hour later, and Peter was on the couch with a bandage on his knee, bandaids on the small cuts and a ice pack on his head, changing out of his school clothes and now wearing his Iron Man pajamas, while Ben was kneeling on the ground to reach the DVD player, turning on A New Hope.
Once he got it turned on, he got on the couch with his nephew, who laid his head on the man's leg, eyes already drooping.
By the time Luke had met R2-D2, Peter was fast asleep.