All Too Much

Chapter 4

Peter sat on the bed in the med bay with Tony sitting in a chair beside him. The child had his arms folded around his knees which were brought up to his chest.They were waiting for Bruce to come down. They assumed he was finishing up his dinner as Tony had told Friday it was low urgency. The pair sat in silence for a while, neither wanting to say anything to upset the other. Peter had a million thoughts running through his head and couldn't seem to hold onto one for more than a second. Most of them were about how stupid he was for letting this happen or how pathetic he was for doing this to himself in the first place. The loudest thoughts were the ones telling him that the avengers wouldn't want him anymore once they found out what he did. They would think he was too weak, too broken, not nearly good enough. At least that's how he thought of himself. Peter's thoughts were interrupted by Bruce entering the room.

"Ok Tony I'm here what's wrong" the scientist said in an aggravated tone before looking over and seeing Peter sitting on the bed, eyes still glistening with tears. His expression turned from that of annoyed to confused and sympathetic in an instant. "Hey kid what's going on?" his voice was far from what it was a moment ago. It was now much more concerned and gentle. Peter didn't answer but instead looked past Banner to his mentor, silently begging not to have to do this. Tony gave him a knowing look in return but wouldn't budge.

"It's ok Pete, show him." Peter felt a tear escape as he listened to Tony's words. He hesitated for a moment, trying to calm his emotions. The thought of running out of the room crossed his mind but he knew that would only make things worse. With a shaking hand, the boy slowly lifted his sleeve to reveal dozens of lines and splotches of dried blood. Peter looked away from his arm. He didn't want to see it at that moment. He already felt like he was going to need to add to it very soon and seeing it made the urge grow exponentially. He tried to hide his emotions as best he could. He wouldn't look at either of the men in the room. , no matter how much he wanted Tony to comfort him even just with his eyes.

"Is it ok if I take a closer look?" Peter barely heard the question but nodded anyway, allowing Bruce to take his arm and closely inspect the damage, his knees still held to his chest. He didn't really care what happened at this point, he just wanted it to be over with so he let the doctor do what he needed. Peter zoned out through most of it. That is until Tony put his hand on his child's shoulder, pulling him out of a trance like state. The kid hadn't even realized his mentor had got out of his chair.

"You still there kid" Tony asked in classic Tony fashion. He was trying to make this as normal as possible for his kid. The last thing he needed was everyone around him to be frantic and make things worse. Peter nodded. He didn't feel like talking. He looked up at his heroes and saw the concern in their eyes, especially Tony who seemed as though he could start crying at any moment. He couldn't take it. He needed to get out of there.

"Can I go to bed now?" Peter's tone scared both men. It wasn't the kid they knew. There was no laughter in his voice, no excitement, no emotion at all. He didn't wait very long for an answer before getting off the hospital like bed and heading for the door.

"Peter," the kid stopped but didn't turn around at Tonys words. "Come get me if you need me. Please." It was less of a suggestion and more of a plea. Tony didn't know what to do but he knew he couldn't let the kid feel like he was alone any longer. Peter walked out the door without giving a response. He went straight to his room, closing and locking the door before throwing himself onto his bed, finally letting all the tears go.