Peter wasn’t even out as Spiderman when it happened.
Lately, Peter has been patrolling more often than usual, trying to make up for the lost time from when he was dealing with Mysterio and his identity reveal. Even after all of these months, he still wasn’t used to people knowing his name and face, and the amount of tourists that stopped him for photos and autographs were often overwhelming.
Patrolling was a little difficult with the cold weather and winter conditions, but Peter was able to manage. A heater had been installed to the inside of the suit, which makes the cold barely recognizable. Despite this, May still worried about Peter whenever he went out as Spiderman, especially while it was snowing. So, if only for her peace of mind, he stayed at the apartment tonight.
He had been in the kitchen, making a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. He took a sip much too early and burnt the tip of his tongue. May looked over from the couch after he physically winced and put the mug down.
“I remember specifically telling you to wait before trying the hot chocolate” she said it in a patronizing tone but the smile on her face gave away her affection.
Peter opened his mouth to offer a snarky response before May received a text from her phone. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She quickly switched the channel and suddenly he hearing his name on the news. This is not uncommon anymore, and usually he tried to ignore the press as much as he possibly could. This time however, his sixth sense immediately went off and he knew there was something wrong.
The television was on the local news station, and showed a man in a nice suit being held at gunpoint by a ski masked figure. The shooter signaled the camera man to continue recording, and dread immediately filled Peter’s veins. The shooter was in the middle of speaking, and while Peter missed the first part of the speech, he had all of the information he needed to hear. It was clear that the message was directed to him.
“-you have twenty minutes to get here or I’ll shoot this man in the head.”
He was already rushing to put on his suit when May called his name last minute. Peter hesitantly turned back to her, expecting her to ask him to stay in the apartment.
May’s eyes were filled with concern but she nodded anyway, silently granting her permission. “Be careful out there.”
Peter nodded back, and those were the only words that were exchange between the two of them. He learned a long time ago not to make any promises when it came to Spiderman.
The news reporter and shooter had been standing in the middle of Times Square, which was about a half hour away from Queens on a good day. Peter was quick to grab his mask before leaving from the window.
He had somehow managed to get there with five minutes to spare, but he decided to stay hidden and fully digest the situation before making his entrance. The news reporter, to his credit, showed no sign of fear as a gun was being roughly pressed against his temple. The man seemed simply annoyed with the situation, rolling his eyes as the villain continued to monologue to the camera.
Police were surrounding the crime scene, all with guns directed towards the criminal. Peter was certain that they wouldn't risk actually shooting with an innocent man in the line of fire, especially on live television.
Most people had dispersed from Times Square, valuing their own lives, but there were still a handful of bystanders watching from afar, some even with their phones out, recording the event.
Peter couldn’t think of any way to efficiently approach the situationn, so he decided to simply wing it.
He shot a web and swung himself so his feet landed a couple feet away from the shooter. The news reporter did a double take when he saw Spiderman, looking shocked that he showed up at all. Peter found that to be a little offensive.
The shooter however, seems absolutely ecstatic to see that Peter had arrived, and he could tell from even behind the ski mask that he was smiling wide.
“Ah, Peter Parker, nice of you to finally join us.” Villains liked to do that nowadays, use his real name as if they were proving something. Peter let out a sign and threw his hands up in surrender, first attempting the civil approach.
“I’m here, just like you asked. Now let the man go and we can talk.”
The shooter actually laughed at that, and fair, Peter wasn’t exactly expecting that to work either.
“Nah, here’s what’s actually going to happen.”
Suddenly, a new group of figures were walking to the middle of the crime scene, all with masks on their faces and guns pressing against other innocent hostages, and Peter felt his heart speed up tenfold. He looked around to see where the gang had been hiding, but couldn’t come to any obvious conclusions.
“First, you’re going to take off that mask.”
Peter was about to refuse until one of the cops spoke up, standing forward in a way that gave an aura of authority, despite the situation. “Put your weapons down and no one will get hurt.”
Some of the gunmen aimed their fire at the new voice, but everyone was at a standstill, both the police and bandits unwilling to fire the first shot.
The man who he assumed to be the leader didn’t respond to the officer, instead he faced Peter once more and spoke louder so his voice carried through Times Square. “Show your face or we will shoot.” The news reporter’s stoic face finally slipped away, and fear gathered in his eyes.
That was all of the convincing Peter needed.
He took off the mask and stood taller as the camera man directed his attention on him. Peter has always hated being on camera and he felt the urge to tilt his face away from the shot. Instead, he ignored the temptation and maintained eye contact with the leader.
“Did you come alone?”
“I did, just as you said.” Peter hadn’t heard the entire spiel that was given earlier, but he assumed the request was mentioned. He just hoped that Tony had listened to it and kept his distance. The man was retired from his Iron Man days but he had a feeling Tony would have shown up a long time ago if it weren’t for the multiple lives that was on the line.
“Why are you doing this?” Peter’s voice surprisingly didn’t waver despite the unease that was stirring in his gut.
His question was blatantly ignored however. “Take off the rest of the suit and come with us. Then no one will get hurt.”
Peter was taken aback by the command, and despite the severity of the situation, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Dude, it’s the middle of December.”
“You will regret not being compliant.” These were the first words of the night that were fueled with anger, but Peter stood his ground nevertheless.
“No.”
“Take it off.”
“At least offer me dinner first.” Peter knew he was testing his limits with the Spiderman persona, but he needed to keep the gang as distracted as possible. Stall for time until he thought of a decent plan. Unfortunately, his words only seemed to make the leader more angry.
Instead of responding, the man nodded his head at one of the criminals beside him who was holding a middle aged lady. Then, he lowered the gun from the poor woman’s head and shot her thigh without hesitation. The gunshot immediately stirred chaos from both from the police and growing audience. Some people ran off while others idiotically stepped closer, trying to see what was going on.
The woman let out a scream of agony before biting her lip. The shooter abruptly let go of her and she fell to the ground with a loud thud. Peter felt his heart drop with her.
Some of the policemen attempted to approach the women, but the leader quickly put a stop to that. “Anyone come near us and another person gets shot, this time in the head.”
When no one took another step forward, he turned his attention back to Peter. “You have five seconds.”
Peter stood paralyzed, trying to think of a way to control the situation. He quickly realized there was no way of escaping this, at least not without getting one of the other hostages hurt. So he pressed the Spider emblem on his chest and let the suit fall to the ground.
Without the inner heater, he was freezing in the cold weather. He focused on the situation at hand and ignored the shivers that consumed his body as best as he could.
Peter also tried to ignore the camera that was now zooming in on him frame that was in nothing but his boxers. He reminded himself that people have seen more skin at a beach, and that there were much bigger issues to pay mind to, but it did nothing to stop the deep blush that grew on his cheeks. If anyone asked, he would blame it on the cold.
“Let the hostages go.” He tried to stand tall and keep some of his dignity alive, until he heard one of the bystanders whisper from afar.
“Oh my god, Spiderman is chiseled.”
Sometimes, Peter really hated his super hearing.
The bandit who was originally holding the woman walked toward the abandoned suit, and it hurt Peter’s soul to see him pick it up and crumble it in his hands. Still, Peter didn’t move, not wanting to risk anything else happening.
“Come with us and we will.”
Peter glanced over at the people being held at gunpoint. Some were crying, while others kept their eyes closed, looking as if they were praying. One kid in particular met eye contact with him, and the unadulterated fear in her eyes had Peter nodding his head in cooperation.
He watched as the bandit beside him pulled out a vial with some unknown substance in it, and while Peter’s sixth sense begged him to move away, he didn’t defend himself as it was inserted to his neck.
He began to feel the effects of the drug immediately as his body started to heat up, despite being completely undressed in winter weather. His thoughts became muddy as he felt hands all over his body. He heard screams all around him but he couldn’t quite distinguish what they were saying.
Peter hoped he was making the right call. He hoped that everyone would get out of this alive and unharmed, and that the gang would keep their word.
His eyelids became extremely heavy and he found it difficult to keep his head up. His muscles shut down and he became boneless in the criminal’s arms.
He hoped that the police would be able to handle it.
~ ~ ~
The police did not handle it.
Peter woke up confused and disoriented. He felt like he could sleep for days if he wanted to, but he forced his eyes open anyway, only to be met with the sight of a completely empty cell with grey, cement walls.
It took him a minute to register the intense feeling of coldness that raked his body. He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing nothing but boxer shorts.
And just like that, all the events from Times Square had rushed back to him, and he was up on his feet in seconds.
He clearly stood up too quickly, because moments later the room began to spin and black spots took over his vision. He was pushed back to the floor by metal chains that he hadn't noticed until now, securely attached to his arms and legs.
“Woah kid, relax for a minute.”
He opened his eyes again, not realizing he’s closed them to begin with, and took a double take when he saw who had spoken.
The news reporter from before stared back at him, looking relatively unharmed and more importantly, not dead, but for some reason he was still here.
Peter felt like he was going to throw up.
“What are you doing here?”
The reporter shrugged his shoulders. “The hell if I know.”
He didn’t seem to be in the mood to converse, but Peter was desperate for answers. So, he tried once more.
“Do you know what happened to everyone else?”
The reporter let out a sigh before responding, “to my knowledge, everyone is okay. It was just you and me that were taken.
Despite the situation, Peter felt himself give his own sigh of relief. These aren’t the most ideal circumstances to be in, and he hates that he dragged this poor man into this mess, but at least some people were saved in the process.
“How long have I been out?”
“Only a few hours or so, the one guy said that you were supposed to be down for at least twenty four hours, but I don’t think it’s been that long.
Peter nodded in a sign of acknowledgement and began to reevaluate his surroundings. If the bandits thought that he was going to be out for a full day, then that hopefully meant that they won’t check in on them until that time comes.
He could easily break out of the chains in seconds, so those weren’t going to cause an issue. If he were alone he would have climbed up to the ceiling and break into the vent, Hawkeye style. He could have the reporter hold onto him as he climbed up, but that risks the man falling and breaking his neck in the process. Plus, he wasn’t sure if the two of them would even be able to fit together or where it would lead them.
He could also break the locks and fight his way out combat style, but he has no idea where they are located and he highly doubts that the reporter had counted his steps when they were being transported. Plus, it’s almost impossible to fight when there are guns added to the equation.
For now, the only logical option was to wait and see what the villains wanted from him. The thought didn’t comfort him in the slightest.
Turns out, Peter didn’t have to wait for very long. Not only ten minutes later, and the door was being slammed open as multiple guards walked into the room. Much to his surprise, they were no longer wearing ski masks to cover their faces. He could easily distinguish which one of them was the leader simply from the way he held himself, arrogant yet poised at the same time, as if they were at a business meeting.
“Peter Parker, you’re up sooner than we expected.”
Judging by how quickly they had came to the cell, Peter assumed there was a camera installed somewhere hidden. He looked around and found it in seconds. A small, grey dot cam was hanging in the corner of the room. The color of the camera blended into the cell perfectly, and he wouldn’t have noticed if he weren’t actively looking for it.
“What do you want from me?” He turned back to the leader, trying to get as much information out of him as possible. Fortunately, the leader went straight to the point.
“Simple, I want Tony Stark’s number.
Peter’s mind blanked for a second, and he couldn’t help but scoff.
All of this trouble for a phone number.
After a beat of silence, he attempted to lie. “You think I know Tony Stark’s number?”
That clearly wasn’t the right thing to say, because one of the men abruptly walked over and kicked Peter square in the face. He did not pull back in the slightest and blood spilled down as the boot made direct contact with his nose.
“We’re not playing this game Parker, we want Tony Stark’s number and we want it now.”
Peter quickly weighed his options, maybe if he called Tony then he would be able to track down the cell phone and find their location
So, with that logic, he gave it to them. Peter was thankful that Tony had forced him to memorize both his and Happy’s numbers all of those years ago before the Blip.
The leader wasted no time as he pulled out a burner phone and dialed the number. Peter bit the inside of his cheek, hoping once again that he was making the right decision in being cooperative
The phone must have been set to speaker, because Tony’s voice was quick to fill the room after three rings.
“Who are you and how do you have my number?”
The leader let out a laugh of delight. There was an insane glint in his eye that made Peter stiffen with anticipation.
“Tony Stark, I have something that belongs to you.”
There was a pause on Tony’s end. Then he spoke once more, words fuming together in rage.
“What did you do with Spiderman?”
The leader grinned from ear to ear. “I can assure you, our buddy Peter is alive and mostly well. Here, you can even talk to him if you’d like.” The phone was shoved into Peter’s face.
“Hey Mr. Stark.” He tried not to let his voice waver as he spoke.
“Pete, kiddo, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” The difference in tone was almost laughable, but Peter felt his heart constrict at the pure love and concern that shone through his few words.
“I’m okay, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” And it was true, the main issue he had to worry about was the mild hypothermia, but that wouldn’t kill him (most likely).
“I’m going to get you out of there as soon as possible, okay? Just hang in there and don’t do anything stupid.”
Peter let out a wet laugh, and the phone was snatched away from him before he could properly respond.
“I need you to do something for us Stark.”
“Lay a finger on him and you’ll get nothing from me.” The protectiveness from Tony made Peter almost smile.
“Your stubbornness will do nothing to save the boy.”
There was a moment of hesitation from the phone before Tony begrudgingly complied.
“What do you want?”
The leader smirked with pride and Peter wanted to punch him in the face. He refrained from doing so.
“Word on the street says you’ve played around with time travel. I want the machine at our disposal, and you have twenty four hours to hand it to us.
Out of all of the things that Peter had expected to come out of the leader’s mouth, that was certainly not one of them.
“Hey dumbass, I destroyed that machine months ago, I can’t just build a new one in the span of a day.”
“Well you better come up with something quick, unless you want a bullet through Peter’s skull.”
“I will destroy you.”
The leader laughed again, not seeming at all intimidated by the threat from Iron Man. “I don’t think you’re in a position to make threats… you have twenty four hours.” He hung up before Tony could respond.
“Well now that that’s settled, I actually need something from you as well.” The feeling of dread immediately took over Peter as the man bent down so the two of them were at eye level. He took the palm of his hand and caressed Peter’s cheek, making sure to slow down at the edge of his jaw. It took all of Peter’s willpower not to flinch away.
“Do you realize how many people would kill to have powers like yours?” You call yourself the neighborhood protector by why do you stop there? You have the ability to save the world yet you focus on petty theft crimes and walking old ladies across the street- it’s honestly pathetic. And we’re supposed to praise you?”
“I don’t do this for praise.” He barely finished the sentence before he was slapped by the same hand that was petting him, and his cheek burned red at the contact. He looked forward once more only to be spat in the face.
“Liar.”
“If I did this for attention, my identity would have been revealed a long time ago.”
“We can go back and fix that, you know.”
Now Peter was just confused.
“What?”
“We could go back and change anything. Think of all the fucked up stuff that has happened in this world, the Holocaust, 9/11, there are an abundance of horrible events, Peter. We can be heroes.” The genuinity in his voice made Peter almost pity the man.
“Going back in time could just make history worse... seriously, haven’t you seen any sci-fi movies.”
“Those are all fiction, it worked the first time with Tony Stark, who says it wouldn't work again.” While he has a point, Peter still wasn’t convinced.
“With great power, comes great responsibility.” He said the statement like it was second nature, and the reminder of his uncle’s words almost made him consider the ridiculous plan, just for a moment. If he could go back in time and save Ben from getting shot, then he would still be here today.
But Peter also knew that Ben wouldn’t want him to do that. He would want Peter to have made peace with his passing. So, he stuck his ground.
“You’re a superhero Peter, why don’t you want to do good in this world.”
Peter actually laughed at that. “Do good? You kidnapped two men and held multiple people at gunpoint on live television.”
The leader looked back at the news reporter, as if he had forgotten he was there to begin with. He had been completely silent during the whole exchange, and Peter almost forgot about him as well.
“Once we get our hands on the time machine, we’ll change that so it never happened.” He stood from his kneeling position and slowly walked towards the reporter.
“It’s not going to be that easy.” Peter practically yelled the words, trying to bring the leader’s attention back to him. It didn’t work, and he continued as if he didn’t hear him.
“We can also change this.” He pulled out a handgun and shot the reporter right through the head.
Peter let out a scream, as if he were the one who had been shot. Blood splattered the wall and made a gruesome image that would never leave Peter’s thoughts.
He didn’t even know the man’s name.
“Why- why did you do that.” Peter didn’t register that he was sobbing until he attempted to speak. The guardsmen appeared unbothered by what they had just witnessed, and it made Peter sick to his stomach.
“If you want to save his life, you’ll join us in traveling back in time, we can prevent all of this from happening ever again.”
Peter shook his head, unable to grasp what had just happened.
“You can save so many people Spiderman- we need a superhero like you.”
Peter was unable to respond. He was unable to breathe. They had just shot a man.
“You have twenty-four hours to make a decision.”
And with that, the leader and guardsmen had existed the cell, leaving Peter alone with a dead body.
~ ~ ~
Peter spent a full hour mourning for the man who was shot. He broke the chains off of his wrists and ankles as soon as the door was locked shut, and he crawled his way over to murder scene.
After fifteen minutes, he pulled the dead man close to his chest, rocking him back and forth like that would offer any comfort.
After thirty minutes, he noticed a wedding ring on his right hand, and Peter moved away to throw up in the corner of the cell.
After forty five minutes, he stood as far away from the dead man as possible, aggressively rubbing at the blood that had dried on his hands. He was unable to properly get it off.
After an hour, Peter decided that he hated himself.
He hated what he was about to do.
Slowly, he approached the dead body and kneeled down. This time, instead of focusing on the man, he felt the suit that he had been wearing and started to slowly take it off of him.
Peter made sure not to look at his face that was now unrecognizable from the bullet wound. He couldn’t ignore the blood that stained his white button up, so he decided to leave it on him.
Then, he took off his pants, and tried not to think about how wrong this all was.
Eventually, Peter had the pants, jacket, and shoes on his body. It took him a moment to get all of the buttons in place due to his shaking fingers, and he had to cinch the pants as tightly as possible with a belt due to Peter’s smaller frame, but other than that it had been relatively easy. Surprisingly, he and the man were the exact same shoe size.
He tried not to think about how he was wearing a dead man’s attire, that he stole right off his body.
Peter ignored the warmth that the extra layers offered him; he felt significantly less cold now that he had actual clothing on, but he didn’t think he deserved the luxury of enjoying it.
He didn’t look back as he began to climb the wall and break into the ceiling vent. He noticed that there was blood coating the inside of his fingernails, and he swallowed down vile.
Then, he was inside the vent, crawling to find an escape.
It was almost impossible to tell what rooms were vacant, but with his super hearing and sixth sense, he was able to get a general idea. He finally found a room that was completely empty, and he opened the vent to see a window directly across.
In any other scenario, Peter would have celebrated.
He quietly climbed down the wall and made his way to the unoccupied window. He unlocked and opened it, and jumped out with ease.
The air was warmer than it had previously been, and there was no snow on the ground. Definitely not in New York City then.
Peter was still processing his surroundings when he heard a voice from behind him. He spun around to see a few of the guards headed his direction.
He slammed the window shut and sprinted as fast as he could.
~ ~ ~
Peter’s not sure how long he’s been running, but by the time he had finally lost them, the sun was starting to go down.
He had to thank the spider bite for the successful escape. He would have lost energy hours ago if it wasn’t for the agility that naturally came with superpowers.
Peter guessed that he’s made a significant distance away from the cell, but he’s not sure where he lead himself to. He entered the first building he sees, which happens to be a Burger King. He keeps his head down as he dashes straight for the restroom.
When Peter gets there, the bathroom is thankfully vacant of customers, so he heads to the sink and takes a good look at himself in the mirror.
He looks completely wrecked, with dried blood covering the lower half of his face and sweat matting the hair to his forehead. The suit he’s wearing looks a little baggy on him, and it’s clear that he’s not wearing an undershirt with the suit jacket.
Peter turns on the faucet with shaky fingers and immediately gets to work on cleaning his face up. The sink is tinged pink by the time he has finished.
He looks back up at his reflection. While he definitely looks cleaner, that doesn’t mean that he necessarily looks good. His eyes are still bloodshot and the bags under them makes him look at least ten years older. He lets out a sigh and accepts his appearance.
Peter turns to leave the Burger King restroom when the door slams open and a little boy walks in. He stops in his tracks when he takes a good look at Peter, and his eyes light up in excitement.
“Woah, you’re Spiderman!” The kid couldn’t have been older than eleven, and though the last thing Peter wanted to deal with right now was a fan encounter, he threw a smile on his face and hoped that it looked genuine enough.
“Hey there.” Peter bent down so he was at eye level with the boy, “what’s your name?”
The kid actually squealed in delight.
“I’m Tyler- oh my god I can’t believe I’m meeting you right now, I dressed up as you for Halloween this year! You’re my favorite superhero.”
Peter didn’t think he would ever get used to that, having people call him their favorite. It always made his heart skip a beat and his cheeks grow warm. It made him feel like he was doing something right.
Suddenly, he thought again of the reporter who had died, and the wedding ring on his finger. People were going to grieve for the man, he could have had children that were Tyler’s age and Peter would never know. He had sat there and let the man get shot.
And just like that, the compliment didn’t feel as deserving anymore. Nevertheless, he responded as kindly as he could.
“Thanks Tyler, I didn’t even know they made costumes for me.”
Tyler looked at Peter as if he grew two heads, “Well duh, of course they do. Hey- if I use the restroom real quick will you stay here. I want you to meet my family.”
“Of course I will.”
Tyler squealed again before running to the urinal. He paused as he was undoing his pants and turned back to Peter with warning in his eyes.
“Don’t look.”
Peter let out a small laugh and turned around, giving Tyler the privacy he needed. When the kid had finished, he turned back to Peter and grabbed his hand, tugging him toward the exit.
“Hey, I saw your underwear on Twitter yesterday, did you know about that?”
Humiliation turned Peter’s cheeks bright red and he forced himself to respond respectfully, not wanting to ruin Tyler’s perception of Spiderman or be rude to the boy.
“Yeah, I didn’t realize it made it to Twitter though.”
“It was the number one Twitter moment!”
Of course it was.
He was about to question why an eleven year old had a Twitter account to begin with, but he thought better of it when Tyler had finally stopped dragging him. He was facing a table with a mother and daughter that looked around his age. Rather than them, the restaurant was practically empty other than a few workers who were on duty.
“Look mom, I found Spiderman in the bathroom! Will you take a picture of us?”
The mom and daughter both dropped their jaws in unison, and Peter offered them an awkward wave.
After an unnatural beat of silence, the mother was the first one to recover, and she stood up to shake his hand. “Mr. Parker, it is such a pleasure to meet you, my son and daughter are huge fans of yours.”
“Mom.” The girl’s cheeks were flushed pink, and she looked at Peter up and down before angrily turning her attention back to her mother. “Don’t say that in front of him.”
“Why not? I can’t think of anyone who would fit as a better role model- you’ve done fabulous work in New York, and you’re so young too, oh god bless your soul.” Now it was Peter’s turn to blush.
“Thank you so much, Ms… um.”
The mother let out a laugh, “you can call me Rebecca, and over here is Cecelia,” she pointed at the girl, who was attempting to subtly take a picture of Peter with her phone, though it didn’t really work since her flash was on, “would you like us to order you anything?”
Peter was about to say no, but his body got excited at the mention of food. His stomach growled loudly and Rebecca let out another laugh.
“I’ll take that as a yes! Do you have any preferences?”
“I’ll just have a Whopper please.”
Rebecca nodded her head as she left to walk back in line. Peter took a deep breath before focusing on the daughter.
“Hey, uh, may I borrow your phone for a minute? I promise I’ll be fast.”
She wordlessly handed him the cell phone, looking as if she were about to faint. Peter smiled at her in the hopes that it would calm her nerves.
“Thanks Cecelia.”
His smile didn’t seem to do much, and for some reason she looked even more flustered. Maybe he still had some blood on his face.
He took a few steps away from the table, not far enough where they couldn’t hear his conversation (he didn’t want the girl to think he was stealing her phone), but there was enough distance to give the illusion of privacy.
He quickly dialed Tony’s number and prayed that he would pick up his phone.
Tony answers after the second ring.
Unlike the first time, there was no snarky greeting on the other end of the line. Tony had kept quiet and Peter was the first to break the silence.
“Mr. Stark?”
“Peter?” There was a combination of hope and fear that had laced Tony’s voice, and Peter had to take a deep breath before continuing.
“Hey, it’s me, so I escaped the cell... I was wondering if you could come pick me up?”
“You escaped.” Tony sounded absolutely shocked, and Peter didn’t really blame him.
“Yeah, it actually wasn’t too difficult- it did require a lot of running though.”
Tony barked out a laugh that sounded very similar to a cry.
“Pete, you brilliant boy, oh my god Peter- okay, okay, I’m going to come get you, okay? Can you tell me where you are?”
There was a tenderness in his voice when Tony said Peter’s full name, and it physically took his breath away. He ignored his emotions and looked to Cecelia and Tyler, who were both intensely staring at him, not bothering to hide the fact that they were eavesdropping.
“Hey, do you know where we are?”
He got an immediate response. “Jupiter, Florida.”
“We’re in Burger King,” Tyler added.
Peter held the phone back to his ear, “I’m in Jupiter.”
There was a beat of silence, and Peter could practically see Tony pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Kid, now is not the time for jokes.”
Peter offered an embarrassed laugh, “Jupiter, Florida.”
“What the hell are you doing in Florida?”
Peter shrugged before realizing Tony couldn’t see him. “That’s where the criminals took me, I‘m not really sure why.”
Tony hummed in response, seeming distracted. “Okay, I just tracked your location, I’ll be there in two hours. Can you keep still until I get there?”
Peter wondered what ever happened to the guards that were hunting him. He didn’t know what he would do if they found him here. He could fight them but his chances of winning seemed awfully slim without his Spiderman suit. Despite his fears, he tried to reply confidently.
“Yeah, I can stay here.”
“Okay I’m on my way, don’t do anything stupid.”
“Yes sir.” Peter’s voice sounded hoarse in his ears, and Tony must have noticed too.
“Are you okay Pete?”
Peter wanted to say no, but he couldn’t admit that through the phone. “Yeah I’m okay.”
Tony hummed again, this time in consideration. “Do you want me to call May and tell her you’re safe.”
Peter could almost cry in relief. He was handling himself fine talking to Tony but he knew if he heard May’s voice he would break down on the spot. He didn’t want to worry her more than he already has, and he really doesn’t want to cry in front of the nice family buying him Burger King.
“That would be amazing, thanks Mr. Stark.”
“I’ve got you kiddo, I’ll see you soon, alright?”
Peter almost wanted to ask Tony to stay on the line until he got here, but Cecelia was probably expecting her phone back soon. So, he forced himself to hang up.
”See you in two.”
~ ~ ~
Tony has gotten there in an hour and thirty minutes.
The family had left an hour ago, and Peter made sure to show his gratitude for the combo meal that was bought for him. He took many photos with Tyler and signed Cecelia’s phone case before they had left the Burger King.
A few of the employees later noticed that Peter was there and during their break they asked for their own pictures. Other than that, it was mostly quiet during the wait for Tony to arrive.
Peter was staring at the stack of cardboard crowns, biting on his nail when he heard the door ring open.
He stood up on shaky feet right before Tony made eye contact with him from across the room, then he was rushing over and pulling him into a hug.
“Kid, you had us all worried sick.”
“I’m sorry.” Peter mummered the words into his shoulder, and Tony kissed his temple in response.
“It’s okay, you did the right thing back there- I’m proud of you.”
Peter had expected to cry when he saw Tony, but instead he simply felt numb, as if the events from the past day had been nothing but a dream. Tony pulled back to take a good look at him, and frowned when he saw the detached gaze on his face.
“Happy and May are on their way with the private jet, I took the Iron Man suit so I could get here sooner. They probably won’t be here for the next hour or so.”
Peter was going to verbally respond but he didn’t trust his voice not to crack, so he simply nodded.
“While I was flying here I saw a hotel that was nearby, how about I go buy us a room and we can relax there for a little bit.”
The idea of buying a hotel room for one hour was completely outlandish, but Peter had agreed anyway. One reason being because he knew Tony was going to buy the room whether or not Peter wanted him too, but the bigger reason being because laying on a bed sounded so nice, and while he may not deserve it, he wasn’t strong enough to decline.
So, Peter nodded, and not even fifteen minutes later he was sitting in the lobby couch while Tony made arrangements with the lady at the front desk.
He must have zoned out, because next thing he knew Tony was sitting next to him, rubbing gently on his back.
He pulled his hand away and Peter bit down a noise of disapproval. Tony gave him a faux smile before holding up the keys to the hotel room.
“Good news, we’re on the first floor, which means only one flight of stairs.”
Tony stood up and offered his hand and Peter slowly took it, letting himself get pulled up and wrapped around strong arms.
Then, he was sitting at the edge of a soft bed, and Tony was handing him a new pair of clothes. Peter didn’t even remember how he got there.
“Here, I snatched this for you before I left New York, now you can wear something a little more comfortable... How about you go take a shower to get all of that grime of you, yeah?”
Peter blinked up at him, and it took him a moment to fully register the words coming out of Tony’s mouth. When he did, he wordlessly nodded before grabbing the clean clothes and heading to the bathroom.
The hot water felt amazing on his skin, and he watched as blood and sweat mixed down the drain of the shower. It took him a full half hour to clean himself off and another fifteen minutes to actually walk out.
Tony looked visibly relieved when he saw Peter with his hair still considerably wet and dripping down to his sweatshirt.
”I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to come out.”
“I had blood stuck in my nails.” Peter said it as if it were an explanation. He held out his hand so Tony could examine.
Tony seemed surprised that Peter had spoken up, but he hid his shock quickly. Peter himself wasn’t sure why he had said the words at all.
Tony took the extended hand with both of his own, looking at it with calculated eyes. “Well it looks like you got all of it. Was the blood yours?”
“No.”
Tony paused before speaking again, as if debating something. “Pete, I think you’re in a state of shock.”
Peter was going to argue, but he decided against it after considering the possibility.
“Oh.”
“How about you go to sleep and we can talk about everything once you’re feeling better.”
Peter didn’t respond, and Tony took that as an ‘okay’ to get ready for bed. On any other day, Peter would have felt beyond embarrassed when Tony physically tucked him into the white covers, but today, he appreciated the gesture and the security it symbolized.
Tony sat down and brushed the damp curls out of his face, “go to sleep kiddo, I’ll make sure everything is figured out.”
Peter must have been tired, because he was asleep five minutes after he had rested his head against the overly fluffy pillow. The feeling of Tony’s callused fingers, gently combing out the knots in his hair, pulled him to a dreamless slumber.
~ ~ ~
When Peter woke up, it was a full ten hours later.
While he initially expected to see Tony by his side, he was instead met with the sight of May, staring down at him with a combination of gratefulness and concern in her eyes.
Just as he had suspected earlier, he instantaneously started to sob when he locked eyes with May. Peter knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself together, but she was as understanding as ever.
May opened her arms wide, inviting him to seek the physical comfort he so desperately craved. “Oh baby, come here.”
Peter didn’t waste any time has he flung himself into her arms, burrowing his face to the crook of her neck. He wailed into her shirt, not bothering to hide the trauma and grief. He hadn’t realized that he had been bottling his emotions until just then.
When he was a child, he always felt safer when May was by his side, and he would always seek her presence for even the most minuscule of problems. Today was no different, even after all of these years.
“May, they killed a man.”
Because the two of them were so close, he could feel rather than hear when she drew a breath in. She thought about her words before speaking, keeping her voice in a soft level.
“I know... Tony hacked into the security systems and found the footage from the cell, he and Happy are out right now with the Police Department of Florida, tracking them all down. Now that we have of their faces, it's only a matter of time until they’re thrown in jail- half of them were already caught a few hours ago.”
Peter pulled away from May, not understanding the information she was giving him. “That doesn’t make sense, how did Mr. Stark know where they were keeping me?”
May let out a small smile at that, moving her hand to caress his wet cheeks. “Sweetheart, it’s Tony Stark.”
She had a good point.
Peter didn’t think he would ever forgive himself for allowing the man to lose his life the way he had. But May was looking at him as if he had hung the moon and stars himself, and Peter was overcome with the feeling of love. He thought of Tony and Happy, working as hard as they possibly could to get justice for not only the man who was killed, but Peter himself.
He would have many regrets about this day for years to come, but having people by his side made the future just a little less daunting.
With that thought, he once again closed the distance between him and May, allowing himself to mourn and accept the comfort she was offering.