Chapter 4
Peter wakes up slowly. He can’t hear much, which is a pleasant change. When Peter told Tony about his enhanced senses, the man had done everything he could think of to make Peter comfortable. He added special protocols to his suit and when Peter started staying over at the tower, Tony had made the guest room soundproof for him. This guest bedroom has basically turned into Peter’s room. He has clothes in the dresser, a pair of his shoes by the door, left from last time when he went home in his suit, and a desk Tony put in for Peter to do his homework on. He opens his eyes and sees that it is already quite bright outside. The peacefulness he feels doesn’t last long. Now he's anxious, his stomach tensing and his thoughts racing. He knows that Tony texted May to tell her he was staying here and she probably told John, but that doesn't quell his worries. What if John is mad that he didn’t come home? What if he didn’t want Peter to stay this late in the morning? Will he start yelling as soon as Peter walks in? What if he’s mad that Peter didn’t tell him directly? Or if he didn’t know until late? Before Peter’s anxiety can build anymore FRIDAY interrupts his thoughts, “Good morning Peter, it is 10am on this Sunday morning. Tony is in the kitchen if you were wondering of his whereabouts.” When Peter hears the time, if possible, his anxiety worsens and he can’t stop thinking about the ‘what ifs’.
Peter quickly rips the blankets off of himself and jumps out of bed. He grabs his shoes, carrying them out into the hall. He quickly walks the familiar route to the kitchen where he sees Tony sitting on a stool at the island. Tony scrolls on a tablet and drinks what Peter knows is coffee. He slows his pace and walks up, trying to appear casual when he feels like he’s going to explode. He stands opposite the man and watches Tony’s gaze raise to meet his own. “Hey Pete,” Tony greets with a familiar smile on his face.
“Hey,” Peter responds, trying to smile as genuinely as he can. If Tony notices the smile is fake, he doesn’t show it. “I should probably be heading back now.”
“What? Already? You just woke up and we didn’t even get to work on the suit yet,” Tony says as he stands to refill his coffee cup.
“Yeah, I have to do some stuff with May today,” Peter lies. He knows it sounds lame, but he's too nervous to think of a better excuse. He just hopes Tony doesn’t know that May works today.
“Okay. Do you want a ride back? I can text Happy?”
“That’s okay Mr. Stark, I don’t mind making my own way back.”
“No, don’t worry about it Peter. Let Happy drive you, I’m sure he won’t mind,” Tony responds, pulling out his phone from the back pocket of his pants.
“Okay,” Peter says, but he truly wishes he didn’t agree. Driving takes longer than running with all the traffic there is - thanks New York - and he doesn’t want to waste any time, but he also doesn’t want to upset Tony by arguing about a ride, or worse, make him suspicious. He feels his muscles tense when he thinks about how slow the drive is going to be; the later he is, the angrier John will be.
“Great, do you have anything else you need to grab?” Peter shakes his head so Tony continues, “Okay then, head down to the garage, Happy’s down there. See you soon, okay?”
“Yeah. Bye Tony!” Peter calls as he makes his way over to the elevator, moving as fast as he can without seeming like he’s in a rush.
He meets Happy in the garage and climbs into the back seat of the car, pulling the door shut behind him. “Hey Happy,” Peter greets while putting his seatbelt on.
“Hi,” Happy says as he pulls out and starts the drive back to his apartment. Happy isn’t the most talkative, which is more than fine with Peter right now because he couldn’t hold a conversation if he tried. He just stares out the window and bounces his leg. He wishes they could go faster because his stomach tenses more the longer they drive and his thoughts won’t stop racing with all of the ways John will react when he gets back.
They finally reach his apartment and Peter says a quick goodbye to Happy. He doesn't even wait for a response before he closes his door and jogs to the entrance and up the stairs. When he reaches his door, he hesitates, just long enough to take a deep breath in, and unlocks the door with his key and turns the knob.
As soon as Peter steps inside he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He steps quietly as he shuts the door and takes off his shoes. Walking further into the apartment Peter doesn’t hear much, but a second later he can hear John yelling. Peter rushes to where he hears his voice coming from and ends up at John and May’s bedroom. The door is open but Peter can barely understand what John is saying over the sound of his pounding heart. He strains his ears to listen, pushing himself against the wall beside the door so he won’t be seen. He can now make out what John is saying and tries to piece together what he's upset about. “What is wrong with you? Are you trying to give me a fucking migraine? Why the fuck were you smashing all the plates together when you were putting them away?” John’s booming voice yells. Ah. So he’s mad about how May was putting the dishes away, one of the more common things John gets upset over.
“It was an accident. I wasn’t tryi-” May tries to respond before she’s cut off, Peter can hear the tears in her voice.
“My ass it was an accident. That was not an accident May. Don’t you lie to me now. Why can’t you just apologize? Huh? Is it really that hard?” Peter steps away from his spot against the wall and goes to walk past the door frame. He wants to go to his room to get away from John. He feels awful doing nothing for May, but he has learned that standing up to him does more harm than good.
Peter can’t do anything against him and his rage, he’s helpless. Peter is not anything other than a scared teenager right now, all the bravery and confidence he has in his suit is lost the moment he takes it off. He can’t fight John, or stand up for May right now, he’s just a scared kid. He tries to move past the door quickly and escape, but with his mind so frazzled his spider sense doesn’t warn him of the creak in the floor, as it normally does. He steps right on it and freezes. John turns around and faces Peter, his face is red and there is more fury in his eyes than Peter has ever seen. He's caught, and now he will suffer.
“Peter. Why the fuck did you leave last night? I opened your bedroom door and found you gone. No text or anything. Then I find out from May that you won’t be back until this morning?” John’s anger and aggression is now directed completely on him. Peter backs up until he is flush against the wall opposite the door when John starts stepping towards him. His voice is now a maniacal scream, “Why the fuck did you leave, Peter. You really thought that you could just go and there would be no consequences? Did you think we wouldn’t notice you were gone? You have no right to leave this house without my permission,” As he yells he keeps walking closer and closer until he is standing inches away from Peter, screaming into his face. “What the fuck is wrong with you Peter? Answer me. What. The. Fuck. Is. Wrong. With. You?” At this point, May steps forward from behind John and tries to get him to back away from Peter. She puts one hand on his arm, which is raised, pointing at Peter’s face, and the other on his back, trying to steer him away. “Come on John. I’m sure he’s sorry,” May says in a quiet voice. Peter thinks that maybe John will listen to May, but then his rage turns on her. “What the fuck are you doing? Don’t you fucking push me May. Don’t you fucking push me. Get your fucking hands off me. I said GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!” Peter has been scared by John’s rage countless times before, but he has never been as scared as he is now. This is the angriest he has ever seen John. Peter is frozen against the wall, helplessly watching John walk towards May while she stumbles backwards, quietly begging, “Please John, Please,” over and over again. Peter is sure that John is going to hit her, but he can’t move. He so desperately wants to help May, but it's like all of his muscles have locked in place. He is so scared, a little for himself, but mostly for May, but he can’t move. No matter how hard he tries, he can only watch John advance on May, until her back is against the wall and John is towering over her. John continues to scream, “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU PUSH ME?” John finishes yelling and pauses, breathing hard and glaring at May, almost as if daring her to speak back to him. Peter holds his breath, waiting for John to raise his hand and hit her, but the blow that Peter expects never comes. John turns around when she’s silent. He walks down the hall, still fuming, and doesn’t even glance at Peter when he passes him. Peter and May hear John open the front door before he slams it behind him. Even though Peter knows he’s gone, he’s still frozen in place.