Comfort of friends
Chapter Four
“Peter- “ Ned begins softly but MJ cuts him off. “We’ll walk you home,” Ze says.
Okay, Peter admits, going home would be good. Aunt May is working late tonight so he should be home alone, maybe Ned would stay and build Legos with him- No. Peter is Spiderman, he is fine, he doesn't need to play with toys to make himself feel better. He stands up and takes a breath. Everything is normal.
Peter takes a step forward.... Aaaand falls back into Ned.
“Wh- When you’re ready,” Ned stutters out, reaching out an arm to steady him. Peter holds on to him, ever so careful not to hold too tight.
Monster. You're going to hurt them.
They're going to leave you.
“You’re my Alfred” Peter suddenly needed him to know this. “Yeah. My Alfred”
MJ made a kind of choked noise and Peter turned to look at zem to see if ze needed help (Please, God, Thor, Whoever, Don’t make him do the heimlich. He hadn’t had to since fifth grade health class with Mrs.Turner and that didn’t go well at all,) and- Oh. Ze was laughing at him.
“Your guy in the chair.” Ned promised, smiling, and Peter grabbed his hand.
“The mastermind, ” He whispered.
MJ smacks zeir hands together, creating a clapping sound that has him tightening his grip on Ned’s hand then almost immediately loosening it.
Monster
“Sorry,” MJ has a flash of almost something in zeir eyes before resuming giving orders. “Ned, you’re taking him out the usual way,” Ze says, indicating the old side door at the end of the hall with a broken lock, “And I'll go and make an excuse to the office and grab our stuff,”.
The rest was kind of blurry. He needs to be more vigilant He needs to protect them He has to protect-
He vaguely recognizes being led out of the school by Ned, MJ catching up and he thinks there may have been a pigeon at some point? Pigeons are nice though. He had helped Mx.Juarez bring a pigeon with a broken wing to the vet a few days ago, and they had named the pigeon Churro.
The walk to his apartment seemed longer than normal. He was nodding along to Ned without really listening to him, MJ had a hold on his elbow, like he was going to walk into the street if ze wasn’t there to stop him.
“And then my sister told Mom that it was my fault she broke it,-”
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
He could hear Ned’s heartbeat, normal and calm, if a little worried. (All his fault)
A deafening Thumpthumpthumpthump marked his own heart racing and he could smell his own fear.
What would he tell May about where he was last night? He already causes her so much worry. And she was always so tired, working late.
He still had time before she would be home.
But what if Mr. Stark was waiting for him?
“Hey, Pete, we’re here.”
Ned jolted him out of his thoughts. Ned holding his sweaty, shaking hand, led him up the stairs to his apartment, and both his friends let go of him and patiently waited while Peter fumbled with his keys like a fucking idiot.
His breath hitched as he opened the door, and Ned and MJ shared a look as he listened for a heart beat and found the apartment empty.
Thanking whatever fucking deity that hadn’t already abandoned him, He walked in and just, stood there in the middle of the room.
MJ deposited all of their belongings by the door and Ned led him to the couch.
“Peter” Ned asked, quietly, “Do you think you can eat something?”
I shouldn’t, Peter thinks. May works so hard to get that food and since the spider bite he had been eating so much.
But instead, he nods.
MJ then goes to the kitchen while Ned just gets them a blanket and sits on the couch next to him, and puts Star Trek; The Next Generation on the TV.
A quarter of the way into the episode MJ comes back carrying three steaming Cup of Noodles’ with two forks and a spoon.
“Noodles and fork for me,” Ze says, placing a container with a fork in it on the coffee table. “Noodles and fork for you,” MJ hands Ned his food, who nods in thanks. “And then Noodles and spoon for the heathen” Ze gives the container with the spoon to Peter.
“Thanks,” He says softly, his throat feeling scratchy.
They watch a few more episodes, eating and talking, on the couch until it gets dark. Eventually, though, his friends have to leave.
“I’m fine guys, I promise, “ Peter begs, trying to convince them he’ll be okay. “It was just a bad day.”
“If you’re sure, “ Ned says reluctantly, and Peter promises MJ he’ll text them if anything happens.
They leave, and the moment the door shuts behind them Peter is exhausted.
He trudges upstairs to go to bed, yearning for the sweet, sweet oblivion of lying beneath his periodic table blankets (who was he kidding, he was so gonna have nightmares tonight).
The minute he opens his bedroom door, he freezes. There, in the middle of his bed, is the blue backpack he left at the tower last night, with a note attached.