Chapter 2
Peter stirred. Why did everything hurt? And why couldn't he move his arm or leg?
"Petey?" a familiar voice asked softly. "Petey, can you hear me?"
"Wade?" Peter mumbled. "What hap..." Then he remembered.
Flash knew he was gay.
Peter's eyes flew open and he began shaking and panicking. Wade grabbed his good arm gently and soothed, "Shh, Petey, you're safe, shh."
They were in a hospital room. Peter had a cast on his left arm and one on his right leg from ankle to halfway up his thigh. There was no way he'd be able to patrol like this!
"You okay, sweetheart?" Wade asked softly.
"Yes," Peter lied. Judging by Wade's even more concerned expression, he saw through it. "How did I get here?"
"I found you on the bottom of the stairs, unconscious," Wade explained, his voice cracking slightly. "You looked... broken." He scowled. "I'm gonna kill Flash," he hissed.
"No, please don't do anything, I'm fine!" Peter squeaked; Flash would hurt him more if Wade attacked him.
Wade realized Peter was panicking and took his hand. "All right. I won't hurt him." He changed the subject. "I called your aunt, your friends, and Mr. Stark."
"You have Mr. Stark on your phone?" Peter asked in surprise.
"I used your phone," Wade said dryly. "He and someone named Mr. Silver are on their way. Mrs. Parker seemed mad about something, you'll probably know when you get home."
"You didn't tell Mr. Stark and Mr. Silver that Flash pushed me down the stairs, did you?" Peter squawked. They didn't care much about the rules anymore; they would probably do worse than Wade could ever do.
"Yeah, I did; why?" Wade questioned.
Peter groaned. "I promised Mr. Stark I wouldn't tell, but-"
There was a knock on the door, and Wade quickly let go of Peter's hand. "Come in," Wade called, as Peter tried to hide his disappointment.
The door burst open and a frantic Tony entered, his eyes going even wider when he saw Peter on the hospital bed. "Peter, are you okay?" he yelped, darting over.
"I'm fine, Mr. Stark," Peter lied again. Tony frowned, obviously not believing him. "Please don't kill Flash," he pleaded. Or torture him!
"We won't attack the child, little spider," said Loki as he entered, wearing his Lockton Silver glamour. The last two words were spoken in Russian. "You must be Mr. Wade Wilson," he addressed Wade.
"Yes, sir," Wade said politely, casting Peter a worried look. He allowed Tony to take the chair, and Tony began quietly fussing over Peter.
"We would like to have a word with Peter," Loki said gently. "Alone, please."
Wade nodded, gave Peter another anxious glance, and left the room. Loki shut the door behind him.
"Cameras," Tony muttered. Loki nodded and leaned against the door, keeping his Lockton Silver glamour.
"Mr. Stark, you can't heal me," Peter said quickly before Tony could touch him. "Not yet, at least."
"Why not?" Tony demanded.
"Because most mortals do not heal that quickly, pet," Loki reminded him. "Why 'not yet,' littlespider?"
"Mr. Stark has come up with some... really advanced technology in the past few months after coming back from Asgard, Mr. Friggason," Peter said carefully. "He could probably make-"
"-something that speeds up the healing process?" Tony finished, his eyes lit up. "Well I guess-"
Loki interrupted with a laugh. "Before you start blathering about technology, we should plan when this will happen."
"Tomorrow," Tony said firmly. He gave Peter a sharp glare, indicating that he wouldn't hear any arguments.
Peter didn't have any; he wanted to be out patrolling as soon as possible. "Yes, Mr. Stark," he agreed. "You'll have to talk Aunt May into it, though."
There was another knock on the door, this time sounding more frantic. "Peter? Peter, are you-"
"I'm fine, Aunt May," Peter said with a sigh.
Loki glanced at Tony, who nodded, and he opened the door. May looked startled.
"Hello," Loki said smoothly. "You must be Mr. Parker's aunt. My name is Lockton Silver. I am Mr. Stark's lawyer."
"Slash fi- boyfriend," Tony interjected. Loki gave him a slightly amused look.
May pursed her lips. "Pleased to meet you," she said tightly. "Mr. Stark, if you don't mind, I'd like to take my nephew home."
"Oh, no, that's fine," Tony agreed. "I'd like him to come to Avengers Tower, tomorrow, though, just some desk work," he promised.
"Please, Aunt May?" Peter pleaded when May hesitated.
"As long as you have all your homework done," she sighed, looking faintly annoyed. "The nurse will be here in a minute with the wheelchair."
Wade poked his head in. "Can I say goodbye to Petey, Mrs. Parker?" he asked suavely. Peter blushed faintly at his tone.
May relaxed, laughing. "Of course. You have such polite friends, Peter."
I wish he was more than a friend, Peter thought.
Wade walked over and squeezed Peter's good hand. "See you later, Petey."
"Bye," Peter blushed.
---------
Peter was just getting into bed, having struggled to get his pajamas on, when Despacito blared from his phone. He snatched it off the bedside table and answered it. "Hey, Ned."
"Hey, you okay?" Ned asked worriedly.
For a moment, Peter considered lying, but Ned was probably the only one who would call his crap. "No," he whispered.
"Oh, jeez, Peter, what's wrong?"
"Flash knows I'm gay," Peter whispered.
"Oh no," Ned groaned. "That's going to suck. I'm sorry I can't do anything about it, bro."
"It's fine," Peter sighed. "I know you can't do anything about Flash." He didn't tell Ned that Tony and Loki were probably already dealing with it. "You might be able to come over tomorrow after school. I have to do the Stark Internship, but I'll probably be home by eight. We can build your Death Star."
"I'd love to," Ned said brightly. "Can we invite MJ, too?"
"That works," Peter agreed. "See you tomorrow."
"Bye!"
---------
The next morning, Peter hobbled into the kitchen to find Aunt May scowling. "What's wrong, May?" he asked, awkwardly getting out a bowl.
"Flash Thompson called," May said coolly. Peter froze. "He seems to think you're... gay."
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Peter said carefully, heart pounding.
"He overheard you telling Ned and MJ."
Peter swallowed.
"You're not going to the Avengers Tower today," May said icily. "As far as I'm concerned, you're not going ever. Stark and his boyfriend are a bad influence on you."
"Mr. Stark is a kind man!" Peter protested. "And Mr. Silver-"
"They're f****ts!" May snapped, and Peter flinched. "I won't have my nephew dating guys! So either date girls -- like MJ, she's nice -- or get out."
"MJ is lesbian," Peter said quietly. "And being gay is not a choice." He set down the bowl. "I guess I'm leaving, then."
He managed to make it back to his bedroom before bursting into tears.
He grabbed his cell phone, hand shaking as he pressed the speed dial.
"M-M-Mr. S-Stark?"