(A/N: I do not own Spiderman. That right belongs to Sony. Apologies, this is a bit of a filler chapter but I tried to include as much as I could).
The only noise that could be heard throughout the room was the loud and ongoing beeping noise that came from the heart monitor. Peter had just been standing at the end of the bed, frozen, still holding onto his aunt as she just lay in the bed, her body completely limp. The teenage brunette just continued to look at his aunt who had just passed just moments ago. He couldn't find the strength to move, speak, shout or even think even a simple thought as he allowed his mind at this point to turn to mush. All that he could do was blink every now and then with his mouth agape as his brain attempted to repair his ability to think properly.
Several minutes went by as the long, unending beep just rang through the entire room. It had been so long, Peter was finding it more and more difficult to process what life had been like before that noise ever entered his ear, before his aunt…before his aunt…
As quickly and as efficiently as he could (Which under the circumstances was not very), he quickly pushed these thoughts out of his mind, knowing they would only lead to bad actions. However, he knew deep down they would return, stronger than ever. He…he just wanted to be with his rational self as much as he could. As long as he could before he actually could actually start the process of truly grieving.
More time went by as the beeping refused to stop. If Peter had been able to think properly, he would have been grateful for his enhanced hearing. Otherwise, there would have been a good chance his eardrums would have popped at this point. Even with all the time that's passed, Peter was still not able to recover as he just stood there, still holding his aunt and looking practically petrified at the events that had happened mere minutes ago.
Eventually, a nurse knocked on the door. No doubt the noise the heart monitor was emitting made its way out to the hospital hall as it had been running for at least ten minutes. They must have thought that enough time had passed until they couldn't allow the noise to go on any further, especially since it was beginning to cause distress for other patients. When Peter failed to open the door the third time the door knocked, the nurse opened the door anyway, determined to stop the noise.
"Mr. Parker….Mr. Parker!" The nurse said as she saw Peter just sat there looking shellshocked. This had not been her first time having to deal with something like this…and it unfortunately likely wouldn't be her last.
She quickly walked over and unplugged the heart monitor, stopping the noise from bursting its way out into the Hall any more than it should've. Instantly turning around after the noise stopped, the nurse then grabbed Peter's arm and attempted to pull him out of the room. She could see the young man slightly flinching…though she couldn't really tell if it was from her touch or from the noise stopping, as if he had been getting used to it.
"Mr. Parker, I'm really sorry but you need to leave the room. I know it's hard, I really do but we have to follow procedure for…this sort of thing. Alright?" The nurse said, trying to pull the young man away as he just stared at his aunt but it had proven to be more difficult than it seemed. He seemed to be stronger than he looked, the nurse thought as she raised an eyebrow at his ability to resist her pull.
From Peter's point of view, he could start to see the color that had previously been in his aunt's face slowly leave as her skin started to become more and more pale. This made his heart flutter as he began to shake. He could feel his rationality leave as he started to regain his ability to think properly (Which he wished he would be without for just a little longer as that meant he would start to have to come to terms with what had just occurred some time before).
Finally, after so long, Peter visually snapped out of what seemed to be a heavy trance as he twitched and again blinked. He took in a deep breath as if he hadn't been breathing in so long and he gave a shaky breath as he just attempted to breathe in and out, giving a slight cough every now and then as he did so. After a few more moments, he looked up at the nurse who just looked down at him sympathetically as she still held onto his arm.
"Mr. Parker…I…I'm so sorry for your loss" The nurse just said, her eyes beginning to tear up as she shook her head, almost in disbelief. It was a rarity that she saw stuff like this with people as young as him.
Peter had wanted to do something similar to what the nurse had been doing, shaking her head and tearing up, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. For whatever reason, he couldn't make his eyes water anymore. He knew he was sad but he just couldn't work up the strength to do or say anything, not even cry.
"Come on, let's…let's get you out. No doubt your friends will want to see you" The nurse said as gently as she could, finally able to pull him up as he let up on his resistance. It wasn't the time for thinking this but she couldn't help but notice that for what seemed to be such a scrawny young man, he felt as if he was extremely well built. His muscles felt as if she were almost running her hand across steel pipes.
The nurse was able to walk him towards the door, pulling him gently but firmly away from his aunt. Peter's feet moved with the nurse but his eyes didn't leave the body of the elderly lady that had seemed so full of life just a few hours ago. He was pulled out of the door and into the halls, the nurse intending to lead him back to the waiting room where he could be properly consoled over his recent loss. He couldn't be alone for much longer, not in his state. It would be tantamount to killing him, at least mentally (Though physically was a distinct possibility as well), if she allowed such.
No further words were said between them as nothing else could really be said. The nurse just tried to keep herself from crying any more than she already had been…although that was becoming easier said than done the more she held onto this boy who was clearly in pain but wasn't ready to admit it yet. They just stayed quiet as they moved down the halls, carefully moving past and around other doctors and nurses as they couldn't help but give a look at them, particularly in sympathy to the boy who still had a stunned look upon his face. They dealt in physical health, not mental health…however they knew they didn't need a diagnosis to know that this young man was about to undergo serious trauma that no doubt needed professional attention.
*Hospital Waiting Room*
The mood in the waiting room always had a morbid sense to it as there was always a hint of uncertainty to it as the occupants waited to hear what the state of their loved ones were. However, in this case, it seemed uncertainty was preferable to the mood within the room now as it had since a few minutes ago been only occupied by a couple of very emotional young adults…
Gwen Stacy was in the corner of the room, curled up in a chair and burying her face deep into the shoulder of Eddie Brock as she was crying, letting out tears almost equivalent to what a garden hose would let out. Eddie just had a sad look on his face as his eyes were tight shut but still letting out a few tears of his own as he held her tight in his arms and laid his chin on top of her head.
Liz and Felicia just had looks of concern on their face as they also had small tears coming from their faces, the concern over worrying for their mutual boyfriend and tears over the news of the death of May Parker.
Liz Allan met May a number of times, including the time she went over to Peter's house on New Year's Eve so she could confess her desire to be with him and kiss him at midnight. That had been one of her favorite memories of her, especially since she all but pulled her into the house after she had discovered who had been at the door and what their reasoning for being at her house was. They had talked for a good portion of the time she had been there. She had to let out a small, sobbing chuckle as she remembered when May had brought out a photo album of her Petey's baby pictures and his protest of May showing it to her. However, she used her girlfriend privileges to yank it out of his hand as he tried to take it away.
Felicia on the other couldn't really say she had the pleasure of knowing the woman as much as Liz had. One of the only times she had met him was in the hospital those months ago when she rescued Peter when he had nearly cut himself to death. She remembered the hug she had gotten from the woman whose husband had been…taken from her by her father. She always had a tingling of guilt within her when she finally figured out why Peter had been so mad at her father that night and she always felt that…in some way she somewhat redeemed her family for the mistakes her father made over a year ago. However, after hearing what she had just heard from the doctor…she honestly didn't really know if redemption was a thing she could achieve for either herself or her father. All she could do now was be there for the boy…no, man she loved every day for the rest of her life, if he would allow it.
Both of the girls sitting next to each other hadn't really said much to each other since Dr. Bromwell had given them the devastating news. Gwen hadn't really said much either. She had just been burying her head in Eddie's shoulder and letting out sobs every once in a while as the older man just held her tightly with a face that was filled with both sadness and guilt. They were just sitting there in shock. They realized that Peter's Aunt May wasn't exactly a spring chicken but with what she had survived before and how much of a strong woman she was, this was not how they imagined she would part from this world. She deserved much better than this.
Finally after so long, Felicia spoke up after letting out a big sigh.
"This isn't going to be easy, you know…comforting him" Felicia said, looking towards Liz who just let out a sigh of her own as she nodded.
"I know…I've never known someone like Petey…who lost so much in his life" Liz said, shaking her head in disbelief as she recounted the tragedies that had occurred in Peter's.
Taking away from the fact that he didn't even get to know his grandparents but to lose his parents at such an early age only to then have some cat burglar murder his uncle and now lose his aunt to numerous health conditions and panic attacks. To suffer from devastating blow after devastating blow like that before reaching the age of 18….it almost seemed too much to bear. Peter always had been able to put on a happy face before…but the Latina girl wasn't sure how he would be able to cope with the fact that he was now a true orphan with no other family members ever left in the world.
After all, she was a teenage girl with both her parents who had all of her grandparents along with several uncles, aunts and cousins. What did she know about comforting grieving teenage boys? The most she had ever done was when she comforted Flash after he broke his leg at the championship football game at Midtown High and she had to comfort him about not getting a football scholarship. Remembering how she told Peter off as she was doing so when she had promised to teach him ice-skating just moments before didn't really make her feel a whole lot better for herself either.
As she was contemplating this, the doors to the Hospital halls opened and instantly, all of the people there for Peter turned towards the said boy. Everyone from Eddie (Whom Gwen had finally been able to detach herself from as she turned to look with the rest of the group) as he was being led out by a nurse. Desperately looking to the occupants of the waiting room for help, she loosened her grip on the young man whose face since then grew from that of shock to pure grief. His mouth trembled ever so slightly and he looked like he was about to break down at any given moment. However, despite all this, he somehow managed to keep his composure as he continued to shed no tears.
Getting the message the nurse had been trying to send out, Felicia and Liz stood up from their seats and all but ran to their respective boyfriends (Liz actually limped with her crutch but still went as fast as she could). They held him as the nurse finally let go, passing off Peter from herself towards the two very caring girls that were beginning to hold him tightly.
From what the nurse could see, it seemed that the two young ladies wouldn't be alone with him for too long as the blonde girl in the corner, who had been holding on tightly to the blonde young man, began to run up to him as well with the blonde young man slowly following her. She noticed the look of guilt on his face but she couldn't imagine what he could possibly feel guilty about. However, it wasn't her duty to delve into the personal matters of patients and their visitors. The Hospital worker just turned around and went back into the Hospital halls, ready to get on with the next part of the most excruciating duties of her job.
For the next few minutes, no words were said between the group. The three girls in the room just each held onto any part of Peter they could get their hands on. Eddie just stood to the side and watched the scene, figuring it better not to get in between them and Peter right now. All he could do was stand at the side and stare, seeing his little brother's face full of sorrow. The guilt that had already been in him intensified as he realized he had done this. If he hadn't let the symbiote take control of him again, none of this would have happened. It was because of him Peter was like this and was now set to bury the last of his remaining family members. He just stood at the side and allowed the younger boy to be buried in the three girls' affection.
At long last, the girls separated from him, figuring Peter needed some air. They figured themselves to be right as he then took some deep breaths as he seemed to be out of breath.
"Peter…there's…there's no words to describe how sorry I am" Gwen said, knowing Peter had been going through a very hard situation right now. Even when she had a similar experience to him from losing her mother, she knew she still had family and not just her dad either as she still had aunts, uncles and cousins. However, Peter had no one left that he could actually call true family as all of his blood relatives were now gone. She couldn't imagine the horrors of being in such a scenario.
Peter just shook his head and for the first time in several minutes, he opened his mouth.
"It's not your fault…it's not any of your fault" Peter said, trying very hard to put up a brave face as he smiled towards everyone.
Peter especially directed what he had just said towards Eddie as he could sense guilt just by the look of his face. This however did nothing to falter the said guilt that had been continuously building within the older man.
"I know you must be feeling so horrible, Petey and I'm so sorry for your loss. I also know there's not much I can say to make you feel better but I want you to know that I'm here for you…whenever you need me" Liz said, leaning in and giving Peter a few quick kisses to the cheek.
"Same for me, Pete. I'm with you to the end. You know that" Felicia said, nodding along and following Liz's lead as she gave Peter a few kisses of her own, even planting the final one on top of his lips, knowing she owed it to him even if this relationship they had going on ended up not working out (Though she wasn't counting on it ending any time soon).
Peter just continued to put on his fake smile. As a matter of fact, he actually amplified it as he just gave a small chuckle as well as a blush. This stung the hearts of everyone in his presence as they knew exactly what he really had wanted to do.
"Thank you…thank you both and thank you Gwen, Eddie for coming. I…I really do appreciate it…I'm glad to have you all in my life" Peter said, still giving a smile and letting out a few sobs that he tried to pass off as chuckles. From the looks of all their faces though, he wasn't fooling anyone.
Felicia leaned forward and touched his shoulder, sensing a shiver at the contact. He had obviously been very tense over the past several minutes.
"Maybe…maybe you should come with me and Liz tonight…we can all spend the night at my place" Felicia simply said, not wanting Peter to be alone right now.
At this announcement, everyone gave her surprised looks, even Peter who looked at her with widened eyes as she felt his body temperature rise significantly.
"Not that way, get your mind out of the gutter. I'm saying we should just spend some time with him so he's not alone the whole night" Felicia said, annoyed although the small (And hormonal) part of her that hadn't been trying to comfort her boyfriend was a bit disappointed at the fact that they were acting like this. Of course, she was more than willing to wait but still, it didn't mean she had been thrilled at the prospect. She also couldn't help but give a slight glare towards Gwen as she noticed her give a light sigh of what appeared to be relief.
Liz thought about that idea as the flush in her cheeks slowly disappeared and she had to admit: It did have merit. Felicia's penthouse along with her bed had room for the three of them. Even if they weren't really prepared to cross the path into more…advanced aspects of a relationship (As she herself, as she had been embarrassed to admit, had little experience in that area). They couldn't leave Peter alone, especially when he seemed ready to burst with depression. Personal experience told her that when her boyfriend got depressed, he turned to rather…drastic hobbies.
"I think that's a good idea" Liz said, nodding ever so slightly at the older woman's suggestion. "Maybe it would be best to just…maybe have a night where we can just talk and be together. No movies, phones or any other screens, maybe just play a few board games or something and maybe talk about…what's on our minds"
Liz had tried her best not to imply the elephant in the room although she knew her attempt had been in vain at the look on Peter's face. Speaking of whom, he didn't seem particularly convinced at the idea, even with the insistent looks from both Liz and Felicia.
"I….I don't really know if that's a good idea right now. I…I need to think about stuff, you know…the…the arrangements" Peter said, shaking his head in denial of the suggestion to the dismay and concern of everyone in the room as they had known he was obviously lying. He was wanting to be alone so he would be allowed to destructive thoughts about himself.
"Yeah, that's not happening, Pete. If you think any of us here are going to let you walk out of those doors alone then you're quite possibly the dumbest smart guy that I've ever met in my life" Felicia said, her voice growing just a tiny bit dangerous as her eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed. While she didn't want to speak to him this way, she knew it was necessary to get him to do what she felt he needed to do, which was to not isolate himself. The last time he did that, she was bandaging up multiple slits on his wrist.
"Yeah, we don't want you to be alone, Peter. As a matter of fact, you can't be alone right now. You're going to come with us to Felicia's penthouse. I can let my parents know I'm spending the night at Glory's tonight. She'll cover for me" Liz said, confident in her friend. She would usually call Sally but they still weren't speaking. She still carried hope that she would see reason and that acting like some spoiled brat wasn't going to get her through life but it was taking longer than she had originally hoped.
"I can call you guys a cab" Eddie said, getting out his cell phone and dialing a local cab company he knew, willing to do anything he could right now to make up for his actions over the past month in any way.
However, Eddie knew it would take much more than a simple phone call to make up for what happened tonight and his part in it as well as treating him like he was a bag of dog shit for almost a year when he was supposed to be an older brother. Peter may have been an orphan now but he was going to make sure that he was not without family. He walked out of the hospital waiting room and towards the outside, waiting for the cab as he talked to the taxi dispatch for a nearby cab to take them to Felicia's place.
"I really don't think that-" Peter tried to protest, not really thinking this was the best course of action. However, neither of them were hearing it.
"Petey, please shut up" Liz said, trying to sound as comforting as she could but also demanding, not wanting to deal with her stubborn boyfriend right now.
"This is going to happen whether you want it to happen or not. You're not spending a night alone at…your house" Felicia said, desperately trying not to mention the elephant in the room.
Peter wanted to retort but a third voice spoke up before he could even speak.
"I agree, Peter. You shouldn't spend tonight alone…you don't deserve to be alone. You deserve to be with people that love you and care about you" Gwen said, speaking up, her voice squeaking as she let out a sob at the end. "Will you please just go with them…if nothing else, for me at least just so I know that you're being looked after?"
Gwen stared at her best friend (And the person she had loved for so long) with pleading eyes. She really hadn't wanted Peter to be alone right now, especially with what he must have been feeling right now. She made the mistake of not checking in with him when he was clearly hurting over the summer simply because a manipulative drug addict wouldn't let her. She was determined not to make that mistake again. While she would have loved to be the one that had been looking over Peter, she knew he would be in good hands with these two…and besides, her dad would probably freak out if she wasn't home by a certain time. Oh, how she wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to him on this….
Peter stared at Gwen for a few moments before looking towards Liz and Felicia who just stared at him intently. He didn't really know how to respond. It's not that he didn't really want to go with the both of them, he just knew they were going to force him to talk about this when he ever so clearly didn't want to. He already had to do this so many times before when he had to talk to both his aunt and his uncle about how he missed his parents even though all he knew of them were just vague memories. He also had to go through this with Gwen and Harry both when Uncle Ben died. He really didn't want to have to do this a third time, especially since May was the only actual family he had left.
Despite all this, he knew he wasn't going to get out of this. He knew if he had tried to, he would have to feel the wrath of three angry girls down his throat and quite honestly, he didn't really need that on his plate right now, especially with all he already went through tonight. He was done arguing, he was done fighting, he was just…done…with everything right now. All he really wanted to do was crawl into his bedroom closet at home while also pressing the picture he had gotten for his aunt of him, Ben and her for Christmas last year close to his chest. However, that didn't look like that was happening…not tonight anyway.
After several moments, Peter just up and nodded, agreeing to this to the delight of the three girls as they just smiled. With as much effort as he could, Peter did the same as he put on the smallest of smiles, knowing damn well that there was no inch of happiness within his entire body right now. Even so, he was still putting on his brave face. He needed to be strong…because there was no one left in his family that could be strong for him. From here on out, he knew that he was on his own.
After a few more moments, Eddie came back in and motioned for Peter, Liz and Felicia to come outside. It seemed there had been a cab nearby…though Peter had guessed there would be cabs stationed near hospitals as people often needed rides home from hospitals after visiting a family member or being released from the hospital's care…though it was clear the latter was not the reason for this cab today.
Small goodbyes were exchanged as Eddie gave Peter a big hug and Gwen gave her friend a kiss on the cheek (Liz and Felicia tried not to look annoyed). Before he even knew it, Peter was in the back of a cab with both of his girlfriends as they were finally leaving the hospital. No words were spoken between the three as the taxi traveled towards Felicia's penthouse except for the radio that sent out police alerts that the new Green Goblin and Venom had been taken care of. The long night had finally been over as he saw the clock inside the cab turn to 1AM, just around a half hour to 45 minutes after he heard his aunt take her last breath.