I tell you he's a private man

[shutterbugged]

WHO: Peter Parker and YOU!
WHERE: Wherever!
WHEN: End of September + October
WHAT: Catch-all for Spidey this month!
WARNINGS: Not especially graphic description of injuries/blood/hospitalization. More TBA if necessary, none anticipated.

[THE PARKER FAMILY]
September 26th; a rooftop neighboring De Chima's main hospital.

It's very late Sunday night--more accurately, quite early Monday morning--when a group text goes out to the phones of Normie Osborn and May Parker:

Please tell me you're both all right. I really need to know that right now.


[JACOB TAYLOR]
Late September; the Parker-Osborn apartment.

Since Normie and May got him back to the apartment, Peter's been hiding--from the press, from the network, from his entire social circle. It took him a day and a half to even leave his bedroom (blinds drawn) except to make trips to the fridge and the bathroom; even now that he's mostly healed, he's only ventured out as far as the living room couch, swaddled in a blanket and morosely staring at the far wall, ignoring the book opened face-down on his chest. Eventually he's going to have to talk to someone besides his family and the household AI, but he's hoping to put it off as long as possible.

Comments

[notyourfathersosborn]

We're fine, Pete. How are you feeling? Are YOU all right?

[shutterbugged]

...I could use some pants.

[notyourfathersosborn]

I put together a change of clothes in a bag for you for when you get discharged. I'll bring it by tomorrow if you want.

[shutterbugged]

Discharged. Right. How do I explain this.

[notyourfathersosborn]

.....What did you do?

[shutterbugged]

I may have staged a not-so-great escape to the roof next door.

[notyourfathersosborn]

Explain.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[After a couple days, Peter won't be able to put it off any longer. Jacob Taylor is outside the apartment with a box of donuts (Peter likes donuts, right?) under his arm, knocking and calling out.]

Peter? It's Jacob. I just want to check how you're doing.

[He took too damn long to reach out to Kasumi after things went bad with her. He's not going to make the same mistake now that Peter's been beaten down and unmasked as Spider-Man (and wow, Jacob did not see that coming) live on the Network.]

[shutterbugged]

[ Peter cringes into the couch cushions when he hears who's come to call, but after a long moment he shoves himself upright and hauls himself to the door. The face that greets Jacob when he pulls it open halfway looks... surprisingly good for someone who got publicly beaten to a pulp just days ago. There's a butterfly bandage at his temple, right at the hairline, but the dark shadows under his eyes are from stress and fatigue, not head trauma.

He is perhaps either younger or more world-weary than Jacob has ever seen him, and his eyes flicker between the other man's face and the box in his hands with some confusion. ]

Jacob. Hey.

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Hey Peter.

[Jacob hesitates for a moment, awkward, uncertain. He wasn't expecting Peter to have healed this quickly, but then he hadn't expected him to be a bug-themed superhero either.

He holds out the box of sugary snacks like a peace offering.]

I thought you might want to talk. How are you doing.

[shutterbugged]

[ He takes the box automatically, staring down at it for a moment before looking back at Jacob. ]

I didn't know we were still on sharing-donuts terms, after the other day. I... thank you.

[ He bites his lip, then pushes the door open so Jacob can pass. ]

Would you like to come in?

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

Yeah. Sure.

[He steps inside, careful not to bump Peter with his broad body as he passes by. He doesn't know how unsteady the guy might be- Jacob is still surprised that he's out of the hospital.]

We're definitely still on sharing-donuts terms, you know. Just so that's on the record.

[Jacob is way past the point where he might have had a problem with someone's secret identity. Especially if that identity is as the guy who helped Jacob save a literal busload of civilians in Philadelphia.]

[shutterbugged]

[ Peter and Normie's apartment looks... about what one would expect out of the two of the together, namely: more hygienic than the stereotypical double-bachelor pad, but a lot more cluttered with the detritus of their mutual tinkering. Peter waves towards the couch with a somewhat sheepish look. ]

Uh, feel free to move things around--actually, no. Don't touch the thing with the yellow buttons. Everything else, feel free to move around. Would you like something to drink? Coffee?

[ As he heads towards the kitchen, a voice chirps from a speaker tucked in a corner: ] "We're out of everything except decaf, Peter."

[darkpants_warmfeeling]

[Jacob is about to accept the offer of coffee when the voice makes him startle him a little. But only a little- he spent long enough at the Future Foundation to get used to the local AI, and quickly puts two and two together.]

Hold on. Is that- Hallie?

peter's hospital room

[lunaraneae]

[After the nursing staff had very efficiently barred her from getting into Peter's room the usual way, Cindy decided to... get creative. Scaling the hospital's outer walls is easy. Trying to be sneaky... a little harder, but still doable. Eventually, she pulls herself through Peter's window and not so gently slams down a fruit basket.]

I got you pineapple. Which means I'm allowed to yell at you.

[shutterbugged]

[ Peter's arguably conscious at this point, but even though he runs through painkillers quickly, that doesn't mean they don't knock him for a loop while they work. He looks over at the sound of the window opening but still starts at the smack of cheap wicker against particle board. ]

You shouldn't be here right now.

[lunaraneae]

[Cindy falters a little when she sees how rough Peter looks, but then steels herself. Accelerated healing! Spiders are always fine! Think of the fruit basket.]

I'm not happy about it either! But I think we'd both prefer to be somewhere else right now.

[shutterbugged]

No, I mean--

[ Slowly and carefully, like he doesn't understand and why he has to spell out the obvious but is doing so anyway. Or maybe like he's high on painkillers and the spelling out is for his own muzzy benefit. ]

My secret identity's been blown. You shouldn't be here. S'not safe.

[lunaraneae]

[The fact that Peter is still worried about her when he's basically in traction is infuriating. And endearing. Mostly infuriating.]

What, we can't say we know each other from back home? I could pull the angry ex-girlfriend act.

Text

[excessivehubris]

[ It had been a whirlwind, in the wake of the devastation caused by Stark. Every time Charles had settled down to contact Peter, he'd been called away.

Perhaps it was for the best? Giving Peter time to rest and recover, and eventually the initial fallout began to settle. Though it was still late-ish when Charles finally sent his text. ]

Peter? I hope I'm not intruding but I wanted to check and see how you were doing?

text

[shutterbugged]

How exactly do you expect me to be doing?

[ A pause, and then: ]

Sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I'm just tired right now. [ Amongst other things. ]

text

[excessivehubris]

It's alright, Peter. I agree. It was a fairly inane question.

[ It had been and he could own that. ]

I had meant to check on you sooner than this but things have been a little chaotic.

[shutterbugged]

I'm not sure I would have been up to answering, anyway. Still not sure what to say now. "It could have been worse"? If it had happened before Norman Osborn got ported out...

[excessivehubris]

[ For a long moment, there is a pause because Charles is trying to think of something positive, comforting to offer and he's coming up blank. For as much as he'd lost in all this, he understood Peter had lost even more. ]

I'm going to be leaving StarkTech.

[shutterbugged]

I can't say I blame you.

This is the second time I'm looking for new work in a year. Beginning to think I should reconsider my career choices.