Bruised But Not Broken - Irondad/spiderson

Peters Awake

PETER POV

Pain comes first.

Cold pain, sharp and wrong, flooding through my body. A distant hum drills into my ears until it becomes unbearable. Every sense goes haywire at once. Everything burns.

A pen clicks somewhere down the hall.

Each click slams into my skull like a jackhammer.

I do not open my eyes. I know the light will make me throw up. I try to move my arm and nothing happens. My body feels heavy, pinned, unresponsive. A low groan slips out of me instead.

Where am I
What happened

The beeping beside me speeds up. Louder. Faster. My chest tightens and suddenly I cannot breathe.

I need help.
I need help.

My thoughts scatter, scrambling for answers. The last thing I remember is Stark Industries. The bathroom. The mirror.

I try to speak. My throat is raw and dry, my voice nothing but a broken croak. Panic surges hard and fast, crawling up my spine. I force myself to breathe slowly, shallow inhales that hurt anyway.

Footsteps approach. Voices murmur. Something brushes my shoulder.

"Peter, can you hear me?"

I try to answer. Only a pained sound comes out.

More footsteps rush in.

"He's in here," a rough voice says.

Then another voice cuts through everything.

"Peter, baby. It's May."

My chest stutters.

"You're okay. You're safe," she says, her voice shaking even as she tries to steady me.

Hearing her grounds me enough to slow my breathing. My limbs are still on fire. I cannot move. I cannot open my eyes.

I try again.

"L lights," I whisper.

"Turn the lights off," the man says immediately.

The room plunges into darkness.

Relief crashes over me so hard I almost sob.

I open my eyes slowly. Shapes form. Aunt May is right in front of me, her face tight with fear. Two more figures stand behind her, a man and a woman.

"Water," I gasp.

The woman, a doctor, supports me gently and brings a straw to my lips. Cool water slides down my throat, easing the burning just a little. My body still aches everywhere, deep and constant.

"It's okay, Petey," May whispers, brushing my hair back. "You're safe now."

Safe.

"Your classmate has been taken away," she continues softly. "He won't touch you ever again."

"What happened?" I ask. My voice sounds far away, wrong.

"Shhh," she hums, running her fingers through my hair. "You don't need to worry about that right now."

"I want to go home," I say, my voice breaking.

A tear slips down my cheek.

"It's okay, baby," she says, her voice cracking. "You were hurt very badly. The doctors had to operate, but you've been healing incredibly fast."

Of course I have.

"They don't understand how you survived," she continues quietly. "You were bleeding on the floor for hours, Peter."

My chest tightens painfully.

"I almost lost you," she whispers.

All we have is each other.

She takes a breath, steadying herself.

"Mr. Stark has offered to let you recover under his care. I have a room down the hall so I won't be far away."

"No," I say instantly, panic flaring. "May, don't go. Please."

"It's okay," she says quickly. "I'm not leaving you."

A deep voice speaks from the back of the room.

"You can stay as long as you need, kid."

My heart skips.

"This happened on my watch," the voice continues. "You're under my care now."

"Mr. Stark?" I ask weakly.

"I'm here," he says.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he adds. "But you're safe here. I promise we're taking care of you."

I nod, too tired to argue.

Flashes of memory push at the edges of my mind. Footsteps. A shadow. Pain exploding through my ribs. A fist coming down again and again.

Most of it is gone, swallowed by darkness.

Wait.

Was that really Tony Stark?

My chest tightens sharply. My heart starts pounding too fast. Black spots creep into my vision.

I am his responsibility now.

A burden.

Flash was right.

I missed the test. I ruined everything.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "Mr. Stark."

My vision collapses inward, swallowed by black as the memory of the beating crashes back over me.

His fist just kept going.