|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 94• Cry Me Awake

With a gasp, Y/n's eyes shot open and it was as if she could breathe again. Her brain took its time to adjust to the setting she was in now instead of her mind. It felt like a dream but also so real at the same time. She tried to sit up but felt her hands – or rather her wrists – tied into one place. Y/n glanced down, her wrists were cuffed to the sides of the bed. She pulled on them but it was a poor attempt to get free.
When looking closely, you could see a little glow on them like the magic Strange used. He must have secured the handcuffs to ensure that she would be kept in place. Outside the room, Y/n could hear a faint voice that sounded like Peter's. He did not sound anything like his usual happy self. Was that because of her? Was he that angry with her? He was shouting at someone. Y/n couldn't figure out who, though, because there were no other voices. She was alone in the room and everyone else was outside. She overheard Peter shouting her name saying that it was about her. Her stomach twisted at that. She glanced down at the handcuffs again and realized they were there for a good reason. Was there any use in trying to get free from those restraints anyway? It started to dawn on her. She felt the sudden urge to start crying but no tears would come out.
The door swung open and Peter got inside. He looked a little angry. His cheeks and neck flushed red with anger and frustration. She also spotted the vein in his neck popping out of his skin. She had to swallow the lump in her throat when she saw him.

Peter's gaze landed on her, sitting up in her bed. As soon as he entered the room, he shut the door behind him. His heart clenched harshly in his chest, it actually hurt. "You're awake." Y/n only nodded her head slightly but didn't say anything. Peter made his way over to her and sat beside her on the bed instead of the chair that stood beside it. He was happy to see her awake but did wonder how she managed to get out of the coma by herself. That should not be possible. He melted a little when he looked at her. It was just like those mornings when they woke up together and she was still a little bit sleepy. Peter always finds it adorable. He couldn't forget about what happened – what Y/n did – but he couldn't be mad at her. Especially not when she looked like that.
He opened his mouth to speak again. He wanted to tell her how happy he was to look into her eyes again. How happy he was that nothing bad happened. That he wasn't angry with her. But was cut off when Tony swung open the door. He was arguing with Natasha and Bruce only but interrupted himself when he saw Y/n wide awake when she wasn't supposed to be. "Kid, did you-" Peter raised his hands in the air quickly. "I didn't wake her up. I swear." Tony glanced at his daughter. Y/n turned her face away to avoid any eye contact with her father – and everyone else as well. If she looked at them too long she feared that she might burst into tears. "I thought you said you wouldn't wake her up yet," Tony said to Bruce, who started to shake his head. "I didn't."
Peter looked at the handcuffs around her wrists that kept her in place. He hated them. She was not some dangerous villain like Thanos or the Green Goblin. He wanted to use his strength to take them off – since he did not have the key – but Strange's spell would keep him from breaking her free. "I need to talk to my daughter," Tony spoke sternly. Bruce and Natasha left without another word but Peter stayed put right by her side. "Kid, I meant alone," Tony added. Peter's eyes darted up at Y/n's face again. She did look at him a little bit but broke the contact only after a second. She was scared and embarrassed, it was clear that she did not want to talk to her dad, let alone by herself.

When Peter didn't respond and stayed put by his girlfriend's side, Tony rolled his eyes and focused back on Y/n. "Fine. I want to have a little chat with you, little miss. What were you thinking?" Tony said to her. Y/n briefly looked at him but was quick to turn her head away again. She couldn't look at him. All the guilt was coming back to her in a rush and hit her like a wave. "Hey, look at me, Y/n. Building a dangerous machine? Putting people in danger? Again? You could have gotten killed, Y/n, you do realize that, right? You could have killed everyone! You have no idea what you're doing. Didn't we discuss this? I thought you would not use your tech for things like this anymore. This- this... Kid, it's really distracting if you're here." Tony said to Peter. "I'm not leaving." Peter protested. Tony appeared a little taken aback by Peter's response. The boy had mostly followed Tony's orders without going against him. Peter stood up and got in front of Y/n, shielding her from her father. "I'll do anything you ask of me but I'm not leaving her side."
"I want to speak with her alone, Pete." Tony tried to reason with him. He tried to get closer only for Peter to stop him. He felt his heart beating his throat as he looked directly into Tony's eyes. "Peter, leave." The boy did not move an inch. "No." He stated, "I'm not leaving her side. You wanted to cuff her like she's some dangerous maniac, she's not. I'm not going to bribe her with thousands of questions, treating her like she's a bad person when she was only trying to do what she thought was right." Peter has always admired Tony – even saw him as a father figure – there was no denying that. Tony would have only made her feel worse than she probably already does. "She's not stupid. She knows what she did." Peter added.
"I know she's not. But we need to talk about what happened and what she was thinking. You can't disagree with me on that. I won't let this slide because she's my daughter and you shouldn't let it go either because she beat her eyelashes at you."

"She didn't beat her eyelashes at me. She just managed to get out of a coma all by herself. She's confused, scared, tired, hungry, dehydrated. Do you really want to fight with her the first chance you get just because you're scared? I don't, because I love her." Peter replied. Of course, Tony loved his daughter as well. Pressuring her right now to answer thousands of questions and rub her nose into whatever she did wrong would not help her. Peter refused to. "I love her too," Tony said. "You do. I know you do. And you know that I'm right about this. Look at her."
Tony peeked over the boy's shoulder and he could hear his heart shatter. Seeing her like this- anyone's heart would break if they saw their kid like that. She wouldn't even look at them right now and she hadn't made a sound. Peter sighed a little. "Tony, listen." Peter started, "Just give her some time. Let her wake up first before you start your whole talk. You can have that later. Alright? I know we need to talk about these things, she knows that too, but we shouldn't press her right now. I won't do that, and I won't let you or anyone else either. And with all due respect, sir, I don't care who you are. I don't want it happening. Sir." Peter said. The man in front of Peter backed up and reached into his pocket from which he pulled a small key to Y/n's handcuffs. He admired Peter's words. That's the whole reason why Tony allowed them to be together. Peter cared for Y/n, and Y/n alone.
"I'll get her something to drink and eat. She stays here." Peter nodded and thanked him when he handed the key over.
As soon as Tony left, Peter untied her handcuffs. "You're not going to run, are you?" Y/n shook her head no but still didn't say anything. "Good, good," Peter mumbled to himself as he freed her wrists. He glanced up at her. "Can I sit with you?" Y/n nodded her head yes this time and scooted aside for him. Peter made good on his promise and didn't ask her thousands of questions. He sat beside her in silence. Without saying a word, after a few minutes, Y/n turned her body to scoot closer to him and in his arms. Peter kissed the top of her head and held her as he always would. To him, nothing changed. He loved every inch of her, every quirk, her as a whole. He loved her no matter what.

She didn't say anything, she only sat with him, snuggling into her boyfriend with a very small pout on her lips. Peter pulled the duvet over her a little further so she'd be nice and warm. He rested against the pillows and sighed before shutting his eyes. He would be more than happy to fall asleep like this if he had to.
"You're not going to ask me anything?" Y/n's voice sounded so quiet Peter barely heard it. He opened his eyes again and looked at her with a sweet glance. "No. And we don't have to talk if you don't want to, baby. We can just sit here for a while if you want that. I'll hold you forever if I have to." He sounded as if nothing had changed at all, as if nothing happened. Y/n glanced up at her boyfriend. What was she supposed to do? It wasn't awkward or anything like that, it just felt strange that Peter let this slide so easily. He wasn't going to press her like her father? Like at all? He would stay in silence if that's what she wanted?
"Am I a bad person?" Y/n asked. Peter sat up a little and started shaking his head no. "No, no, baby," Peter started, "You're not a bad person." She pouted at him a little longer. He hooked his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. "Hey, look at me. Listen. You are not a bad person. What you did does not define you as a person. Were you scared that I'd be mad at you?" He asked her. She mumbled a quiet yes. "I would love you even if you stabbed me a hundred times. I couldn't be mad at you." Peter promised her, "You were only trying to do well." He added. Peter meant every word. He cupped her cheek in his hand. "We do need to talk about that soon. But for now, what's important, is that you know how much I love you. And I'm not mad at you." He told her.

"Then why were you shouting?" She questioned. Y/n didn't want to bring it up at first. She wanted to forget it but Peter didn't seem mad. Then why was he shouting? "I heard you earlier outside the room. You sounded really angry."
"Well, yes, I was." Peter combed his fingers through her hair very gently. His heart fluttered at the sight of her like this. Not a care in the world. "But not at you, baby. Tony and Bruce were discussing some things about you. They're scared. And I understand why but I'm not." He continued. "No?"
"No, baby. Just because you made a little machine and almost ripped a hole in time and space? Okay, that came out horrible. But you know what I'm trying to say." His hand rubbed up and down her back soothingly. "We've been through so much together, baby. You're not some supervillain. You're the love of my life no matter what happens. Like I said, you could stab me a hundred – no a thousand times – and I would not look at you any differently."
"I'm not a villain." She mumbled quietly. "No, you're not. Never will be. Even after this. You've got to remember that, okay?" Peter said to her. Y/n nodded and snuggled a little deeper into his embrace. It didn't take long for small tears to form in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "That's okay, Y/n/n. Let it all out. I love you."