Air I Breathe

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Thursday, December 26 - Friday, December 27

MJ returns on Thursday, and then again on Friday. Peter wants to question why she doesn't want to spend some of the break at home, but he's nervous to go there. Truth be told, he's afraid that if he asks, she'll leave, and with Tony in Baltimore while Pepper handles things in the office a few floors below, he's nervous to be by himself.

Not that he's truly been by himself.

Bruce comes by a least three times a day to see how he handles short spurts of time off of the oxygen, and Steve and Natasha check-in on him in person in the mornings and evenings to make sure he's eating. And May's stopped by between business trips to make sure Peter's taking his meds and actually resting. The check-ins seem orchestrated, though, like there's a kind of rotation that's been scheduled via an Excel spreadsheet, and he doesn't put it past Tony to have put that into motion. Tony's been checking-in via text and FaceTime every four hours or so, right around the times he should be doing breathing treatments, and it's that fact alone that's convinced him that Tony's the one behind the elaborate check-in schedule. Peter knows he wants to be here, but he understands why he can't.

So MJ and Peter have been setting up camp in the living room, eating popcorn and going through a list of Disney movies that Peter's never seen. On Thursday, they finished The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under, and Oliver and Company. Now that it's Friday, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is on, soon to be followed by The Aristocats. Depending on how Peter feels, of course. He doesn't want to admit it, but trying to stay awake while MJ was over late on Thursday is catching up to him; if he wasn't so damn exhausted, he'd probably have the energy to be angry about it, but instead he's blinking to stay awake, his eyelids closed more than they're open.

He lays on his side, cheek against a couch pillow as MJ sits comfortable on the attached lounge of the sectional, adjusts his oxygen tubing so that he doesn't end up with a mark on his face. He's actively trying to ignore the fact that his lungs feel worse today and failing. It's the weaning off of the oxygen, he figures, which he's happy about, but it hasn't been the clear-cut victory he was hoping for. "Might fall asleep on you," Peter comments with a yawn.

He can see MJ fighting a frown as she pauses the movie. "I can go if you're not feeling well."

"No!" he's quick to say. "No, I-I want you to stay, I just didn't think you'd want to watch me nap. You know, in case you had better things to do. It's Christmas break."

"This is my better things to do, Peter."

He smiles sleepily and looks over at her. "You sure about that?" It comes out breathy.

"More than sure. We can watch something else, you know."

"No, I like it, but I think it's putting me to sleep. Keep me awake?"

"Keep you awake, huh?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No," he replies, cheeks going red as he laughs. "I mean, like...talk to me or something. Have a conversation?"

She puts the movie back on and lowers the volume. "We could make a summer bucket list."

"I hate summer."

"Excuse me, you what?!" MJ asks, head snapping to face Peter. "First of all, hate is a strong word. Second, summer in New York is the best thing ever. It means no school, not getting up at the crack ass of dawn. It means sun and free public pools and reading in the park. How can you not love summer?!"