Work Text:
“Hold on Mr. Stark let me grab–”
BONK
“Did you just… run into a wall…?” Mr Stark asks him while looking like he's on the verge of laughter.
Apparently, Peter's spider-sense didn't count running into walls as a real threat, even though running into them and getting a nosebleed was a very real possibility.
Now he’s standing here, nursing a blood nose, while Mr. Stark laughs his ass off at his expense.
“Haha very funny,” he deadpans at Mr. Stark who is still currently laughing so hard Peter doesn’t think he's breathing.
Ok maybe it is just a little bit funny.
It starts as a giggle then evolves into full blown laughter as they both stand there, cherishing the moment before it slips away to time.
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Mr. Stark isn't laughing anymore. Now it's only Peter. Instead of laughing, Mr. Stark looks horrified, and Peter thinks that's a bit of an overreaction considering he's not yet coughing up blood… but whatever.
In hindsight, the situation itself probably isn't really funny, but it's the irony of it all. Peter has a nosebleed again, similar to the one he got just yesterday, except the circumstances weren't at all alike. Well, technically they were both his own fault, but in his defense, what else was he supposed to do? Let Mr. Stark get punched by a definitely enhanced, armed individual with a personal grudge against him? No thanks. Albeit undercover, he was still Spider-man and enhanced, so the chances of him faring better against the intruder than Mr. Stark without a suit were a hell of a lot higher.
“Peter!”
When Peter saw the intruder jump through the window and start charging for Mr. Stark, he immediately put himself in front of him to defend him. In all honesty, it really wasn't the most well formulated plan because now he has to decide whether to out himself as Spider-man or to take the beating and wait for security. It doesn't really sound like a hard decision, but the trespasser is angered, heavily armed, and seemingly willing to kill whilst Peter has his fists, jammed webshooters, and an absolute no kill rule extending to excessive harm. Mr. Stark has also been searching for the identity of a certain spider themed vigilante, Peter isn't really enthused for him to find out, hence, his conundrum.
Peter didn't really know what would happen after he put himself in the war path of the raging trespasser but he certainly didn't think it would involve the intruders ire immediately being directed at him instead. ‘Short attention span much?’ He wasn't given any time to prepare before his nose was punched, a sickening crunch ringing out through the room, and he was forced to fall backwards, grinding his teeth to muffle a scream. Before Peter could properly orient himself again, his ankle was grabbed and he was thrown across the room into the wall, which he was sure now had a Peter-shaped imprint. ‘At least it wasn't out the window’, he said to himself but once again wasn't given much time to dwell on that before searing white pain bloomed in his chest, leaving him gasping for air. He had been jumped on. Not cool!
If he reveals himself as Spider-man to defend himself, he runs the risk of angering Mr. Stark and being kicked out of the workshop, but continuing the facade could lead to his death in the meantime while security makes their way over. If they ever do, assuming they haven't already been taken down.
Peter looks at Mr. Stark to see how he's faring through all of this and if the criminal has moved his sights back onto him in Peter's brief moment of respite but the intruder seems to also be having a break. Mr. Stark, on the other hand does not look to have any sort of relief that the onslaught of attacks has stopped and instead has the horrified look on his face. A stream of blood trickles into his mouth from his nose and he's hit by the similarity to yesterday when he got a blood nose, it's almost funny. Actually, it is funny, so he laughs. He’s pretty sure the impromptu beating has led to at least one fractured rib from being jumped on and a mild (still questioning) concussion from being thrown, in addition to the blood nose from being punched in the face (he is very much ignoring the possibility that it could be broken because maybe if he hopes enough then it'll come true). Every inch of his body aches with pain but he continues laughing at Mr. Stark nonetheless, even when every breath makes his chest feel like it’s on fire, and contorting his facial muscles into a smile makes him feel like ripping his whole face off. He keeps laughing because even taking another hundred beatings sounds better than Mr. Stark continuing to look at him with that damn expression.
Mr. Stark might stop caring for Peter after what he's about to do. Might stop caring for him when he realises he's been deceived by none other than his intern.
Hopefully that horrified expression turns into anger, because then at least Peter wouldn't have to feel guilty about worrying him for no reason. Anything is better than the pained expression Mr. Stark wears.
When Peter finally drags his eyes away from the expression on Mr. Stark’s face and to the person who decided it’d be a good idea to burst through a Stark Industries window with little subtlety, he sees no regret at all.
Peter throws himself at the intruder, ignoring the ringing in his ears, the sudden onset of nausea, the throbbing in his ribs.
He’ll do anything to protect his loved ones, even if he's sure they'll hate him for it.