Chapter Text
.
.
The room felt cold, bare. Lonley, now that aunt May was gone.
"I have no one."
She grit her teeth, telling the truth. They ripped away the only person she cared about.
Sarah.
Now she has no one, no place to run to, and probably a bounty above her head as a wanted criminal.
A beat of silence,
"You have me."
Words he'd wanted to hear from others for so long slip past his lips in hope to give atleast some comfort to the redhead sat on his left.
He knows what its like having no one. Being alone, being different. Going through that difference alone. But he also knew what it was like going through it with friends by his side. His lifeline.
He'd hate to see Jean lose herself even more then she already had. He'd be there for her. And in a way, she'd be there for him. An unspoken bond.
She smiled at him, really smiled. It was a nice moment. Happy. He hadn't had that in awhile.
...
The hairs on the back of Peters neck stuck up, a feeling of unease crawling up his neck. He frowned. His senses were on full alert, feeling the air stiffen and his eye zone into the darkness of the hallway infront of them.
His spidey sense lit up. Danger. Move. Now. Something is coming.
It was off, a sense of familiarity came with the danger, and he didn't know if his senses were going haywire again, or if someone he knew was really after him.
His arachnid hormone spike made time go agonizingly slow: hearing his slow breathes, the heartbeat next to him, the shuffle of the sheets, before a slow click buzzed through the noise.
He heard it before he could see it. Something traveling through the air. It was coming straight for Jean.
It couldnt have been more then half a second before his instincts kicked in.
He forced himself out of his own mind where he had been with Jean, his arms already reaching towards the teen pulling her close into a hug, using himself as a human shield in the process.
Everything was so slow. He couldn't bare it. He was slowly getting inbetween Jean and danger. Jeans eyes were widening ever so slightly. He could feel her body slowly tense up as she was snapped out of the trance, realizing she wasn't in his mind anymore.
He could see the shock slowly register onto her face as she was being pushed away from the bullet, realizing he himself has started to brace for impact aswell.
Could time really go any slower?
It was like he was waiting for a ticking bomb to count down to zero. He knew it was going to happen, just not knowing when was horrible enough.
Everything caught up to him before he could process it. The slice through the air and an agonizing pain beginning to bloom in his back. Time came back from its hault as he felt his senses begin to dull.
He felt like his body was on fire, Like he was stuck in sludge. This usually didn't happen. What was happening?
The danger he felt earlier was gone, good.
He focused on Jean, following her gaze of horror down towards her hand, red and dripping with blood. Too much blood.
Was he not fast enough?
Did he fail, again?
It took a moment before he realized what happened, making eye contact with Jean. He couldn't help but sigh in relief.
He grabbed onto her arms, in means of comfort or for stability, he counted it as both,
"Its okay." He was trying to reassure her. Or himself. Either worked.
He saw her trying to sputter something out, probably an apology. He was sick of those, and was reminded of himself. Before he could retort, the world suddenly tipped sideways.
"Peter!"
His back really hurt. It stung with unimaginable pain as he registered he'd fallen due to how weak his legs felt.
Maybe it was the glass scraping against his skin and suit. Or maybe it was the fact he was bleeding out on the floor now.
"Peter,"
He choked back on his blood trying to get words out. Try to explain that this isn't her fault, he didnt want Jean to feel bad, To see him like this.
He understood what he did was dumb, but he can't help the fact that a teenager was going to get shot infront of him.
Jean was grabbing onto his hands, for a feeling of comfort maybe, but he pushed back against it. Her safety was the most important thing to Peter right now.
"It's okay, it's okay," He breathed, which was more of a wheeze, "You gotta go. They're looking for you. You have to go."
He knew the pain of dying before. Having died once and on the verge of death again is honestly horrible luck.
Sadly enough having experience with death does not make it any easier. He didn't know if it was life giving him another chance, or if it was playing in his face. It still felt horrible, and thanks to his heightened senses he felt ever second of it.
His vision was growing hazy and dark, and suddenly the thought of taking a nap didn't seem so bad.
"Peter, hey! No no no, stay with me, look at me."
Right, he needed to calm down Jean. He tried to focus on her face, but he couldn't really see anything at all right now.
He felt the squeeze of her hand slowly fade as time passed, probably because his body was going to go into shock if he lost any more blood.
He should probably say something heroric or wise if he really was going to die here, but he couldnt really breathe well at the moment.
"It's okay."
It's okay. It was all he could say. It was okay, because Ned and MJ don't remember him, they don't have to mourn him. No one remembers him, and the reality was he had no one anymore. Nothing would happen if he died right now.
Is it bad that it's okay? That hes at peace with dying? Hes really got nothing to lose.
Apart of him wanted to fight it, but he was just so tired.
Another part felt bad for Jean, he had just told the teen he'd be her support, and now the person that said he'd have her back was bleeding out infront of her.
"It's okay,"
Was the last thing he could whisper before he felt the warmth engulf him. Or maybe it was just the warm blood that was pooling under him.
Maybe he'd see aunt May.
Mr. Stark.
Maybe they'd still remember him.
Everything went dark.