TROUBLE! ━ TASM.

fourteen.

   A shredded gallbladder, one leaky kidney and a shit ton of blood. That's what Violet lost.

But it was better than her life, so when she was in a medically-induced coma for her body to heal from the trauma it had been through, as the doctors worded it, Violet's parents and Peter let out a heavy sigh, the worry and anxiety plaguing their bodies releasing with the puff of air. Rather plan on how to pay for medical costs than a plan and fund a funeral for a sixteen-year-old girl.

A week after Violet succumbed into her blood loss, she woke up, although her eyes didn't exactly want to open at first. The tears she had shed in her sleep had practically glued her eyelashes together when they dried, so it took a couple painful blinks to actually open them, and even then the light above her head was way too bright.

Dull pain throbbed in her side, very familiar to her from her bullet graze, and she grunted hoarsely as she tried to adjust to feel more comfortable. Her back was aching, and both of her legs and both of her arms were asleep, not even feeling connected to her body. When she regained some feeling, she raised her arm, slowly shaking off the pins and needles with the strength she had before finally wiping her eyes.

The feeling was orgasmic.

"Violet?" A voice croaked, and it took her a second to realize it was her mother. "Oh, my god. Violet, hey. Good morning, sleepy. Stop moving." A cold hand was placed on her skin, and she tried her best not to pull her arm away. Not that she could.

Violet's lips were dry, her mouth like sandpaper, and her eyes immediately scouted the room. On a counter in the corner was a stack of paper cups, a pitcher full of what she hoped was water next to it. Glancing desperately at it and then her mother, she fantasized what it would feel like to have hydration again.

Lilah followed her gaze before raising her eyebrows. "Oh, water! Right!" She turned and skittered to the counter, pouring the water in a cup before shoving a blue straw in it. When she got back to her daughter, she held out the straw to her lips, watching proudly as she sipped at it, as if she was taking her first steps again.

After her mouth and throat were successfully hydrated enough to get her vocal cords working again, the girl cleared her throat. "What happened? To me, I mean. I remember everything before it."

"Well, after the police brought you here, you went into surgery. They weren't sure if you'd make it, but you pulled through. They removed a kidney and your gallbladder, which is why your side hurts, but after a while in recovery you should be good."  Lilah replied.

A loving hand reached up to stroke her hair, unfamiliar and yet comforting. She leaned into it before clearing her throat. "How's Captain Stacy?"

"Concussed, but okay. And very grateful. I'm so proud of you," she murmured, "but also very disappointed. What were you thinking, Violet? Helping Spiderman?" Her mother's voice turned disapproving. "You're not like him. You're human."

Violet held back the urge to chuckle. "A stupid one, yeah. But, hey, we all lived. Can't complain or ground me for that, can you?" Her eyebrows raised and she cracked a smile when her mother's lips twitched. Suddenly, she remembered her boyfriend, and she sat up quickly, ignoring the pain. "Where's Peter? Is he around?"

Lilah scoffed. "Around? That boy has been by your side since he was told you were here. I had to call his aunt and uncle to come get him because he was starting to rot by your bedside."

Despite the words, her mother seemed fond of Peter, and Violet's chest bursted with adoration. "Can you call him? Get him back? I wanna see him."

"And you will, but you need more rest. You practically are falling asleep talking to me, Vi. Get some rest, he'll be here when you wake up." Lilah gently pushed on Violet's shoulder to get her to lay back down, pulling the sheet-like hospital blanket farther up her body.

Grumbling under her breath, she got comfortable, feeling her body already trying to lure her back to sleep. "Where's Sean?" She asked. It was the last question she could muster.

Her mother's lips pressed together, and she shook her head. "Gone again. It's just me and you, Violet. With more 'me' this time, I promise. I'm not leaving you behind again. It feels like you've grown up behind my back," she whispered, stroking her hair again.

"I love you, Mom." Violet wanted to say more, but she had made the mistake of blinking, and her eyes didn't want to open again. The warmth of her blanket and the feeling of her mother's loving touch were hypnotic, and easily sent her back into hibernation.

━━━━

When Violet woke up next, she felt way better. Her side still ached slightly, but she felt more rejuvenated than the first time she had, and now she had a reason to open her eyes.

Peter.

She practically jolted up, her eyes scanning the room before they landed on him. He was sitting sideways on a nearby chair, long legs dangling awkwardly over a leg of it as he leaned his head on the back of it. His eyes were closed, his lips parted slightly, and her lips pulled up at the corners in the threats of a smile. Reaching over to grab the paper cup she had drained a few hours ago, she tossed it at him, watching as it bounced off of his leg and landed on the ground with a soft, hollow noise.

Peter stirred before opening his eyes, rubbing at them before looking over at his girlfriend. "Violet!" He exclaimed, sitting up haphazardly and rushing to her side, grabbing her hand. After staring at her face for a second, he grinned at her. "Hey, Wonder Woman."

She smiled so wide that her cheeks ached, and she squeezed his hand. "Hey, Spiderman," she whispered back, barely getting the words out before he was kissing her like he hadn't seen her in years. It was emotional enough to take the breath out of her lungs, and she loved it.

When he pulled away, he held her face in his hands, stroking her cheek with a thumb as he just stared down at her, his eyes dazed. "I missed you so much," he started, leaning his head on top of hers as he pulled her into a makeshift hug, "and I don't know what I would have done if you had died. You really need to stop doing this to me." The last sentence came out as a joke, although it was hard not to hear the strain in his voice.

"I'm not going anywhere. I wouldn't leave you," she responded honestly, leaning back to press a kiss to his forehead before scooting over in her already-cramped bed. "Come on in. Forget about it all for a moment. It's over, anyway."

Without hesitation, he squeezed in beside her, his lanky body fitting into the small space next to her. His arm stretched out behind her head and she leaned into his side, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the moment.

After a moment, he spoke again. "I keep thinking about the 'what if's. What if I ended up dead? What if you or Captain Stacy or Gwen did? What if we didn't get the serum in time? What if, what if," he mumbled, as if it was a mantra he had to live by.

She reached up to hold the hand draped over her shoulder, kissing the fingers on it before glancing up at him. "Oh, well."

Peter looked down at her, raising a brow. "Oh, well?"

"Oh, well." She confirmed, shrugging. "It's over. None of that happened. Now we live in a world where the whole situation happened in the best-case scenario, and we should leave it at that."

The boy thought for a moment before chuckling, kissing her temple. "Since when did you become such an optimist? You've always been such a glass-half-empty person. Not that I didn't enjoy it, it balanced us out."

Violet snorted. "Ever since I lived and only lost two organs. Hey, are you saying we're not balanced anymore?"

"Nope." He chirped. "I'm just saying that now we're a whole glass full. It'll overflow soon!"

A genuine laugh escaped her throat, and she nudged his rib with her elbow before leaning back into him again, shutting her eyes. A comfortable silence fell over the room as happy memories danced behind her eyelids, a smile practically etched permanently on her lips.

"I love you, you know."

"No, really? I didn't know that. Thank you for enlightening me."

"Are you gonna say it back?"

"Well. now that you asked..."