IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

sometimes it's hard to wake up

First Person POV: Peter's POV (not me typing something witty just to realize that when you start reading you'll realize that it is in first person POV not third person)
Word Count: 1826

I had been trying to wake up for what felt like ages. All I had to do was open my eyes; all I had to do was move my hand to show I was awake. I was trapped. I thought it was bad trying to open my eyes after getting shot. I thought it was bad when I had gotten drugged. I thought it was bad trying to wake up after I passed out from exhaustion. I thought it was bad trying to wake up after I accidentally fell off of the empire state building. But, all of those were nothing compared to this. I was able to wake myself up from those. I was able to open my eyes then.

I had no sense of time. I felt like I was fighting against everything and nothing at the same time. All the odds had to have been turned against me. I couldn't move. I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't do what I needed to do, which was just wake up. My mind could process everything. I could hear almost everything. But, I couldn't do anything about it. I thought I've felt useless before, but this was the most useless I have ever felt.

I thought I was going to be trapped like this forever. I knew I wasn't the only one that thought that, too. Dr. Banner, who was apparently himself again, was talking to the team about it one day. I had no idea where they were gathered. It wasn't in my room because their voices weren't clear, but I heard him telling them.

"I've done everything I could, but he isn't waking up. He is in a coma. His brain function seems to be just fine, but he just isn't able to pull himself out. I won't dare give up on him, but I need you all to be prepared that if we can't get him to wake up soon, he might not wake up at all. Ever."

That terrified me. I might be stuck like this forever. I didn't want to be, but there was that chance. And that chance terrified me more than anything else ever could. I didn't know what to do. I fought so hard to try and do something with myself. Anything with myself. Moving. Talking. Opening my eyes. But I couldn't. I was trapped inside my body. I couldn't call out for help. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything but exist.

Existing. It's so easy to do. What isn't easy to do is try to accept it and just let it happen. I couldn't just exist. I had to do more. I had to just wake up. And figuring out how to do that was harder than any villain I'd fought, any battle I'd been in, or any test I'd ever taken. It was the hardest thing I would ever have to do.

And I wasn't even sure I could do it.

[Time Skip brought to you by the following: The dust of all those snapped out of existence™️]

I couldn't tell you when it was or how long I had been asleep, but I could tell you one thing. I knew who was with me. And it was Mr. Stark. He had been crying, I could tell. His voice was rough and his breathing wasn't even. He held my hand as he talked to me. He talked because Dr. Banner said that there was a chance I could hear what they were saying. And he was right. I could hear what they were saying. Every word. When Steve was there, he'd talk to me about the news. That was, after he talked to me about the battle. He informed me that we had won. He told me how the guy we fought was taken to a high level security prison and would never see the light of day again. I was glad he told me. It helped settle some of the constant anxiety. After that, I got a lot of talk about sports, sometimes local crimes, and even what celebrities were on the news that day. Clint would talk to me about games he would play, or he'd talk to me about his family. He told me one time that he admired me like his own son, which was something that if I wasn't in a coma, I probably would have cried about it. Natasha usually talked about the gym or new skills, but one time she told me about a girl. She didn't tell me her name and she didn't tell me how she knew her. But she told me that this girl meant a lot to her and that she was like her, except she had blond hair and a Russian accent. The girl sounded amazing and I wished I could meet her. Dr. Banner didn't ever really talk to me, but when he did, he usually talked about medical stuff. He'd ask me questions as if I might respond. The other Avengers came and talked to me on occasion, but none of them came on such an occasion that I would know what they would and wouldn't normally talk about. They did talk to me about all sorts of things. Everyone did. But Mr. Stark, he came all the time. If I had a sense of time, I'd say he'd come at least once a day. And he'd come for a long time, too. He'd talk to me about everything. And I mean everything. He told me about his father. He told me about his love for Pepper. He told me about his mother. He told me about being kidnapped. He told me about some kid named Harley, who he wanted me to meet when I woke up. And he always said when, not if.

So, when Mr. Stark talked, I heard every single word.

"Hey, kid," was the first thing he said. He took five breaths after that. Three were too shallow while the other two were deeper, but not deep enough. They were all shaky. I didn't know how he was getting enough oxygen to be alive right now.

"I need you to listen really closely to me right now," was the next thing he said. I wanted to inform him I was listening, but I couldn't. I listened to his breathing again. He took four deep breaths, and then another five shallow breaths. They were still shaky, but at least he was getting more oxygen.

"Peter, you need to wake up." That was it. That's what he said. His breathing became uneven and I am almost sure he started crying. A sob that escaped his mouth confirmed that. Mr. Stark was crying. Over me. I wasn't sure whether to feel honored or crushed. I wanted to tell him not to cry, and that I was fine, but he wouldn't listen to me. One, because I couldn't even wake up, let alone talk. Two, because the man is too stubborn.

"I know you are strong enough to wake up. I know you can do it. You have to do it. Your Aunt May would want you to do it. And I know. I know you might want to just give up and go be with her and your parents and Uncle Ben, but there are people here that need you, Peter." His words threw me off. Yes, Aunt May was dead. And I missed her so much. I missed my parents too, and God, I missed Uncle Ben. I missed them all so much, but did he really think I would give up and just so I could be with them. Of all the time I was stuck inside myself, being trapped by this coma, I'm surprised the thought didn't cross my mind. What if I did give up? Would I be with them again? Would it be worth trying to be with them again?

I let myself think about it while Mr. Stark sat silent. I had been fighting against myself this whole time, trying to get myself to wake up. I had been giving it my all. Maybe that is why I wasn't waking up. Maybe I wasn't meant to wake up. Maybe I was supposed to move onto whatever comes next. Was it heaven? Hell? Was it another life? Would I be a ghost? Would I get to see Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and my parents again? I don't know, but maybe that is why I couldn't wake up. Maybe it was because I wasn't meant to wake up at all. Maybe it was because I was meant to stop fighting.

Before I could get any further with my thoughts, I heard Mr. Stark say something. It was barely above a whisper, but it echoed through my whole entire body when he said them. It was seven words. Three of them were said twice. One was just a nickname. But those words held so much power in them. More power than any villain. More power than any thought. More power than any star or stone. More power than anything in this entire universe.

"I need you, kid. I need you."

Mr. Stark needed me. He needed Peter Parker. He needed the sixteen year old kid that was Spider-Man. He needed the kid that stole Captain America's shield all those years ago. He needed the kid that wouldn't listen to him when he was told to stand down against the Vulture. He needed the kid that gave him a near heart attack every time he got into trouble. He needed his lab partner. His intern. He needed his kid. He needed me.

All of a sudden, whatever I had been fighting against had been gone. Whatever was holding me back was gone. Mr. Stark probably had no idea what his words did, but for me, they broke down walls I had been fighting against for however long. I felt so alive, suddenly. I felt like I could leap out of the bed in an instant. I felt like I could get right up and run a marathon. I felt like I could take over the whole damn world.

But I didn't do any of those things. Instead, I focused everything I had on squeezing his hand. Just to show him I was here. Just to ease his mind. Despite feeling the most in control I have since falling into this coma, it was really hard. It was hard to get my muscles to respond to me. To get them to move. But I did. Very, very slowly. I got my fingers to move slightly. I got them to muster all of the strength I had and wrap my fingers around Mr. Stark's hand. I knew it wasn't very strong, but it was enough. I knew that because I heard Mr. Stark gasp and I felt his chair shift, squeezing my hand back with a sudden urgency.

"Kid," he breathed out. "Pete, can you hear me? Are you awake?"

And then I opened my eyes.

That's it for this chapter! Remember to drink some water, eat something, take medicine (if you have to), and rest today. You did a good job and I am proud of you :)
Till next time
- Storm