Spiderdad

50

"Adrian, I really need you to stay calm," Peter managed hoarsely.

Adrian peered into the alley Peter had called him too, "wh-why?" He asked anxiously, not being able to see much late at night, "what happened?"

"Just c-come-" he was cut off by a blood-coated cough rattling his lungs, "fuck- coughing, not good," he forced another breath of air into his lungs, wincing at the pain it caused him, "Listen, man, I need you to stay calm, because if you freak out, I'll freak out and we can't have that happen."

Adrian's eyes landed on Peter who had managed to prop himself up against a dumpster in the alley. Most of his suit was torn brutally, revealing cruel, bloody wounds on the exposed skin. He had multiple bullets embedded in his flesh: two on his left arm, three in his side, and one in his chest. Crimson fluids were leaking from his lips and a few feet away sat a pile of acidic bile and watery blood. Adrian almost vomited then fainted at the sight.

"Peter, what the hell happened?!" Adrian cried.

"I'll tell you later, but right now, I need you to get me to your house," Peter forced his voice to sound strong and even.

"No, you need to go to the hospital," Adrian protested.

Peter tried to shake his head only to find his neck immobile, "no, I promise I'm okay. Just take me to your house and don't let MJ find out."

Adrian was trembling with anxiety, but he didn't have much of a choice but to obey the older teen. He extended his hand which Peter attempted to reach for, only to inhale sharply in agony.

"Can you move at all?" Adrian cautiously questioned.

"Yes... just pretended like I'm drunk, okay?" Peter offered with a wheeze.

Adrian nodded slightly then managed to drag Peter upright. The spider kneeled over, yet Adrian was somehow able to keep them both standing, with Peter leaned all of his weight into the shaking boy.

Adrian could hardly keep a steady grip on Peter without sticking his hand in pus, blood, or a fresh wound. Every time he felt a warm, sticky substance against his fingers, he would gag and choke back vomit, making the hero mumble an apology.

Once inside his house, Adrian quickly glanced around before dragging Peter's hardly-conscious ass across the living room and into the bathroom. He quickly lowered Spiderman to the tile floor, trying to ignore the red blotches his eyes couldn't seem to escape. Following Peter's instructions, he gingerly assisted him in stripping off the upper half of the spider suit, then took out a first aid kit.

"I-i think you need stitches," Adrian stammered and he soaked a towel in cold water then knelt down in front of Peter.

Peter hissed in pain as he pressed the rag to a wide-open wound, "gotta sowing needle and some string?"

Adrian nodded, growing lightheaded as blood soaked the towel in his hand.

"I can do the stitched myself," Peter mumbled, his lips were turning a little blue.

Adrian looked up at his pale face and held back a gasp as his eyes started to close, "Peter, stay awake."

"I'm awake," Peter replied then coughed harshly, making his entire body shake and shudder.

"Wh-what happened?" The boy asked, trying not to listen to the hero's labored, hoarse breathing.

"You'll probably see it the news," Peter grumbled.

Eventually, Adrian had cleaned away most of the pus and blood on Peter's body. The next step came in patching him up. Then, they'd have to decide who would be removing the bullets. Either way, they had to work quickly. Maintaining consciousness was becoming a near-impossible task for Peter. He could feel his body trying desperately to heal itself, making his skin itch uncomfortably, to stop him from dying. But he was so incredibly exhausted, he just needed some sleep. Maybe an hour... or two... or two years... or two centuries. Natalia was five weeks old now, leaving Peter's life to be split completely into two worlds. In one, he worked restlessly to take care of MJ and Natalia and keep them both as comfortable as possible. In the other world, he took care of Queens as Spiderman. He had almost no time to sleep. But now that most of his life had been drained from his body, now seemed like the perfect time to rest.