Archive of Our Own

It was supposed to be a chilled Friday night, just the two of them, catching up on some much needed down time by going to the movies and grabbing a burger on the way home to eat whilst picking apart the finer details of the storyline. To be fair ninty percent of the night had been just that.

They were just perched on a stoop chatting after wolfing down their food when Peter's sharp hearing picked up the first police sirens wailing. He became distracted and lost track of what he was saying mid sentence but didn't make a move to go. He'd promised him it was a crime fighting free night. The police were good. They could handle it. They could definitely handle it.

Peter picked up where he had left off, continuing their debate over how scientifically possible it was for a car to have made the jump like it did in the movie, when the screaming started. He paused mid sentence and abruptly stood up, staring at the direction it had come from.

"Peter?"

A loud explosion sounded that not even he could miss. Peter looked down, a sorrowful look painted across his face.

"Go Peter. They need you!"

"I'm so sorry Ned! I'll make it up to you!"

Peter turned and ran down the street into an alley. Climbing to his feet, Ned followed after him, reaching the entrance just as Spider-Man shot out and swung over his head.

Another loud explosion sounded and he began to jog in the same direction, wanting to see what Peter was up against. A buzz of excitement rushed through him. He was best friends with a superhero! He couldn't wait to see him kick some bad guy ass!

The chaotic scene was only a few blocks away and Peter was already in full fight mode as he arrived. Ned moved up as close as he could before being shoved back by an officer screaming at people to get back and go home to safety. Too many people ignored the danger and wanted to watch just like him though, after all, it wasn't every day you got to see your local superhero battle a supervillain. Yeah this was a supervillain, no doubt about it. The guy was huge and wearing a freaking rhinoceros costume!

"This is so cool," he whispered excitedly.

He watched as Peter used a lamp post to swing himself around and slam both feet into the rhino, knocking him to his back. A chorus of 'Go Spidey!' arose from the onlookers and Ned could feel his chest swell with pride at just watching his friend. Rhino climbed to his feet.

"You are but annoying small insect, that needs to be squished into small smudge," he said in a thick Russian accent.

Spider-Man threw his arms up in a dramatic show of exasperation. "I'm an arachnid, not an insect! Why do you guys struggle with that concept?!"

"I do not care what you are bug! Your time here is at end."

Spider-Man tilted his head and stretched his arms out, cracking his knuckles.

"Let's see what you've got beefcake."

Rhino bent down low and aimed towards Spider-Man. He dug in his feet and let out a roar as he charged. He built speed up quickly and Spider-Man was forced to leap high and over his head to avoid the horn swinging for him. Rhino smashed into a lamp post sending it crashing to the floor. He turned, completely unphased by just hitting the post with his head and he charged at Spider-Man again. Once again Spidey leapt high but this time attempted to web him to halt his momentum. Rhino tore through the webs as if they were mere tissue paper and smashed into the side of a building sending concrete flying.

The police began pushing the curious public further back again trying to avoid anyone being hurt by the debris flung their way. Ned was jostled about but managed to avoid a few flailing arms to get a better space nearer the front to watch the action. Peter had now webbed Rhino and slid under him before flipping onto his back and attempting to pull him to the floor. Rhino tried desperately to grab him, but his bulky arms didn't allow him much reach and so Spidey easily dodged his grip. Realising he needed to change tactics, Rhino quickly ran backwards, smashing Spider-Man into the building behind him.

Ned winced at the yell from Pete as the wind was knocked out of him. He was grateful Rhino was unable to build up more momentum or Peter would have been crushed completely.

Rhino moved forward and Spider-Man slid off him onto the floor, coughing as the air returned to his lungs. Not giving the hero a chance to recover, Rhino bent down low and once again charged at Peter.

"Jump!" shouted Ned.

Pete looked up and quickly sprung to his feet to again leap over the charging villain. He was a fraction too slow though and Rhino managed to snag his ankle in the air and swing him around hard before letting him go. Spider-Man flew across the street and straight through a café window, shattering the glass and smashing tables and the counter as he hit the brick work on the opposite side.

Ned's chest tightened and gasps of horror swept through the gawking crowd.

"Come on Peter, get up, get up," he quietly pleaded under his breath.

A tense minute later and Spider-Man appeared coughing and wheezing as he hopped back through the broken window and onto the street, clutching his ribs. He paused a moment to roll his mask up over his mouth and to spit a glob of blood to the sidewalk. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he pulled his mask back into place and prepared himself to fight again.
Rhino chuckled scornfully.

"You not look so good Spider!"

"Thanks for the concern butch! I'm just warming up though."

"Ha! Excellent! It would be sad to kill you too quickly."

Rhino dipped his head and began his charge once more. Knowing he needed to change things up, Spider-Man ran and skidded down low before planting his hands firmly on the ground and pushing his feet straight up into Rhino's chin. Rhino's head snapped back and the momentum caused his whole body to swing off course and fall heavily onto a fire hydrant.

"Yes!" shouted Ned throwing fist into the air.

Not pausing for a breath, Spidey quickly webbed some of the concrete debris lying around and swung them up and over to smash down onto Rhino as he tried to scrabble to all fours. He hit the floor hard and lay still.

A chorus of cheers sounded throughout the crowd and the officer in charge walked over to Spider-Man wanting to talk. Peter began reloading a new cartridge into his almost empty web shooter, knowing full well it was going to take a lot to hold this beast down. Ned watched on, pleased to see Spider-Man save the day again. The crowd started to slowly trickle away now the show was over, but Ned hung back hoping to catch his friends eye and let him know he was going. Peter glanced up towards him and winked letting him know he knew he was there. Ned was just giving him a thumbs up when he saw Peter's posture stiffen. A beat later Rhino began to climb to his feet.

"You think that is enough to stop Rhino!"

Spider-Man shrugged. "Well, yeah sure, I was hoping it was."

Rhino roared in anger, causing the few groups of people who hadn't left yet to stumble back. He pointed a finger at the crowd.

"You cheer for the Spider! How will you cheer when you are dead!"

Rhino grabbed a large slab of concrete and threw it at the onlookers. Some screamed, some crouched in a vain attempt at protecting themselves whilst others just stayed rooted in fear, their eyes wide.

Ned froze. He heard Peter scream out a no. His breath caught in his throat and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, waiting for the slab to hit and then… nothing. Prising his eyes slowly open, Ned was faced with the back of Spidey's filthy red mask. He was close enough that the sharp tang of metal and sweat filled his nose, the distinct smell of a hard battle. He watched muscles flex as the concrete was thrown to the side, away from anyone else.

"You ok Ned?" Peter whispered quietly.
.
"Yeah… yeah! Thanks Peter," he stuttered out.

Pete turned to him, the eyes of his mask narrowing. "Go home Ned. It's not safe."

Ned nodded silently.
Peter spun and released a web, swinging back in to engage Rhino again. Ned jogged away but not home. He couldn't leave, not without knowing Pete was ok but he would stay out of sight and danger. The crowd had gone, even the police had scarpered. He didn't want to divide Peter's concentration between protecting him and fighting Rhino.

"That was not cool," Spider-Man said coldly.

Rhino let out a roar of laughter. "But it was fun!"

Rhino swung for Spider-Man who back flipped onto a wall before springing onto Rhino. He locked his legs around the villains neck and rained punches down onto his unprotected face. Rhino reached up and grabbed the hero, slamming him onto the ground before pummelling him so hard, the surface around him cracked.

Ned winced at every cry torn from Peter's throat and he thought he might vomit as Rhino pulled Pete out from the smashed road and flung him like a ragdoll. Spidey bounced and rolled across the floor until he hit a wall where he stayed unmoving. Ned fought the urge to run to him and chewed his lip in worry.

"Done already little bug? How pathetic."

Spider-Man groaned and coughed as he rolled to his hands and knees. Ned felt relief wash over him whilst panic simultaneously built. This was not going well.

"Get up! I'm not finished with you Spider!"

Spider-Man manged to get his feet under him and push himself up only for his knees to give out and send him sprawling once more.

"Get up! Get up, before I tire of you!"

Spidey pushed himself up on his elbows.

"Faster!"

He dragged his knees up and paused on all fours, trying to gather himself and calm his trembling limbs.

"Faster I said! Faster!"

Ned could hear him huffing as he used the wall to help pull himself to his feet once more.

"Too late. I tire of waiting."

Rhino bent down and began to run towards a woman hidden, huddled against a building, filming the action from her phone. She was pinned in by a burnt out police car on one side and fallen debris from the building Rhino had previously hit earlier. Tears streamed down her face as she held her hands up and pleaded with him to stop.

"Wait, no!" Peter bellowed and using all his remaining strength he ran.

Web after web hit Rhino and yet did nothing to slow him down. He couldn't pull the woman to him without throwing her into the lumps of building and jagged metal around her. His only hope was to reach her first.

Ned's fingernails pierced his palms. He watched helplessly as Peter reached the woman and threw her over the car a split second before Rhino ran into him. The woman sprung up the other side of the vehicle, bruised but alive. She continued to scream hysterically as she raced away.

Tears pricked at Ned's eyes. Spider-Man stood pinned with Rhinos horn through his right shoulder, blood splattering them both. With a shaking hand, Spidey gripped the horn hard and raised his left arm to shoot webbing directly into Rhinos eyes. Rhino screamed and yanked himself backwards, wrenching himself free from Spider-Man. Peter didn't go down. He ran forward and sprung onto a car using it as a springboard to flip a kick into Rhino's face.

Ned could hear the bone crack as his nose exploded under Peter's heel. A different and yet familiar noise also grabbed his attention. He looked up and in the distance could see the red and gold gleam of Iron Man racing towards them.

Another howl from Rhino pulled his attention back to the fight. He now had his left arm webbed to his side whilst Peter threw another punch at his face and began to unload an enormous amount of webbing onto his right arm. Rhino hit rubble and stumbled. Peter quickly took the opportunity to jump and kick Rhino to the floor. He sprung onto his chest and began to punch him repeatedly, trying in vain to knock the monster out.

Iron Man hit the ground nearby, gauntlet up and ready.

"Spidey move!"

Spider-Man flipped out of the way without a moment of hesitation, trusting his mentor completely. Iron Man shot out a small rocket from his forearm which expanded into a thin wire. It bolted itself into the ground pinning the Rhino down into place.

Cautiously, Iron Man moved forward and looked down at the thoroughly beaten Rhino. "Well I'm not sure my addition was necessary. Guy looks like he wouldn't be getting up again any time soon anyway."

Peter limped up next to Tony, clutching his shoulder. "I had to be sure this time. Didn't want him getting up again."

Looking over his shoulder he shouted to Ned. "You might as well come out now."

Ned sheepishly walked forward. The face plate on Iron Man's armour raised, revealing Tony's unamused face.

"Well hi there Ted, thank you for joining us instead of running in terror like a sane person."

Ned smiled awkwardly and scratched his head. "Uh, thanks?"

The conversation was interrupted by Peter hissing in pain as he reached up and pulled his mask off. Tony immediately rushed forward, hands hovering in front of Peter but not quite touching.

"Ok Underoos, fess up. What's the damage?"

Peter sighed and shook his head, beads of sweat flicking from his curls. "Nothing big, I'm fine."

Tony let out a harsh buzzer noise. "Wrong answer kiddo. Care to try again?"

Ned frowned. "Peter, you were literally impaled on his horn!"

Tonys face went white and his eyes shot from Ned to Peter. "Impaled! Show me now!"

Peter scowled at Ned and slowly prised his hand away from his shoulder. A gush of blood was released which splattered loudly on the floor.

"Nothing big. Shit kid, why do you always do this!"

"It's fine," Peter protested his words slurred. "Super healing will sort it."

He'd barely finished his sentence when his eyes rolled back into his head and his body went limp. Tony grabbed him before his face could hit the floor and lowered him down gently.

"Pete? Peter? You still with me? Friday ETA on Bruce?"

A voice sounded through Tony's helmet. "Two minutes."

Ned could feel his breath quicken as panic began to bubble up again. "Ohgodohgodohgodohgod!"

"Cool it Ted or you're going to pass out too."

"Is he going to die?!"

Tony shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "Because I won't allow him to."

Tony grabbed Ned's sleeve and yanked him down next to him. "I need you to put pressure here to help stop the bleeding," he commanded, pointing to Peter's gushing shoulder. "I'm going to run a scan and check to make sure Mr Fine here doesn't have any other hidden injuries we need to be concerned about."

Ned nodded his head vigorously and tentatively placed his hands over the gaping wound.

"Harder Ted or he's going to bleed out," Tony said pushing him down.

Ned could feel the wet warmth of the blood, seeping through his fingers. The muscles pulsated and squelched with every small movement. He could taste bile rising into his throat which he quickly swallowed down again. He tore his eyes from his hands and up to Peter's face. His features were slack and his skin pale. The bright red splash of blood marring it only made it seem paler still. His busted, swollen lips were slightly parted and he could hear his breath coming in quick short pants. The skin across his nose had split wide open and the first telltale signs of a pair of black eyes were appearing with mottled purple skin and puffiness. On his forehead was a large deep bruise that crept up into his hairline. His brown curls had dried stiff with blood.

"Dammit kid."

Tony's gentle cursing tore Ned from his inspection and he looked up at Tony waiting for him to say more. The noise of a plane prevented him from speaking though as the quinjet appeared above them. It lowered gently to the ground and a door opened revealing Dr Bruce Banner.

"Bruce! Get a stretcher now!"

Bruce nodded and disappeared for a second before appearing again with a stretcher that seemed to hover. He rushed to their side dragging it with him, grimacing at the sight of Peter.

"What's happened Tony?"

"Friday will send you the information. It's a long list."

Bruce winced but didn't reply. He bent down next to Peter, throwing a gentle, reassuring smile towards Ned, before fishing a small torch from his pocket and prising Peter's eyes open.

"Mydriasis of the left eye. We need to get him to Cho ASAP."

Tony pushed Ned back as they prepared to transfer Peter onto the stretcher.

"What's that? What's going on with Peter's eye?"

"Just get on the plane Ted," Tony ordered, halting any further questions.

"Ok Tony, on three."

The pair counted and then lifted Peter as gently as possible. A wail of pain ripped itself from Peter's throat as the lift stirred him awake. He began to fight against the hands holding him.

"Peter! It's me, Tony! Stop! We're helping you!"

Peter stilled and he forced his eyes open. "Mr Stark?" he slurred, looking around disoriented.

Tony brushed his fingers through Peter's hair. "Hey kiddo, I'm here."

Peter's face contorted. "Hurts."

"I know. Bruce and Helen are going to fix you up."

Tony looked at Bruce and nodded and they quickly rushed Peter onto the ship. Ned stumbled his way in behind them, too freaked out to even be delighted at being on the Avengers plane.

"Ok Nat, we're good to go," Bruce shouted as he locked the stretcher in place.

Natasha nodded and began to fly the quinjet back to the compound.

Tony grabbed Neds shoulder and guided him to a seat. "Just sit there and zip it whilst we work."

Ned nodded staring at Peter who was writhing on the stretcher, teeth gritted and his hands balled into tight fists. Peter cried out as Bruce pushed padding into his shoulder to help stem the bleeding. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes leaving trails down his cheeks.

"Friday call Cho."

A hologram appeared of a woman in a doctors coat. "Tony. What have we got?"

"Friday is sending over the scan right now."

Helen turned to a screen beside her and swiped through a list before turning back to them.

"Bruce that ankle…"

Bruce huffed out a sigh. "I was worried about that."

Tony frowned. "What? Don't leave me in the dark here!"

Looking up into Tony's eyes, Bruce looked almost apologetic. "Peter's leg is fractured just above the ankle. His tibia isn't aligned properly and its started to heal already."

"Shit."

Peter's eyes shot open. "No, please Bruce! Not again!" he pleaded desperately. He turned to Tony, eyes wide and wet with tears. "Don't let him it do it Mr Stark!"

Tony rubbed his eyes as guilt washed through him. "Bruce can't we try him with Cap's stuff?"

"You know we can't Tony. It's not regulated to him. For all we know it could kill him."

Tony punched the wall of the plane and let out a shout of rage. "Then why haven't we sorted him anything yet? What's taking so god damn long?"

Cho interrupted his rant. "Is this really a discussion for now Stark? Parker doesn't have it. We're working on it. Right now it isn't a factor so we need to concentrate on the task at hand."

Tony glanced down at Peter's face. A thin layer of sweat covered his skin as he gently shook from pain and exhaustion. He carded his hands through Peter's messy hair trying to give him a small bit of comfort.

"I'm so sorry Pete."

Ned watched the scene before him in confusion. He didn't understand Peter's fear. "What's happening?"

Bruce turned to look at his frightened face. "Peter needs you, come here."

Ned walked towards Bruce's beckoning hand.

"I need you to put pressure on this again, just like you did before and then I need you to focus on Peter. Reassure him. Try to keep him calm."

Ned frowned. "Okay…?"

Tony sighed sadly. "Peter doesn't have painkillers. He doesn't have anaesthetic. We're trying to sort him some but right now he just burns through everything we've got. What he does have is rapid healing that right at this moment is fixing his leg into the wrong position. We need to reset it now."

Ned blanched. "Oh god."

Bruce guided his hands onto Peter's shoulder again and pressed them down hard. Peter bit his lip hard enough to bleed, trying to stifle a scream so as not to upset his friend. Ned grimaced, sad that even in his current state, Peter was putting him first.

"You don't need to protect me Peter. I'm your best friend. Let me put you first for a change."

Peter looked up with tired, frightened eyes. "I don't want to do this Ned."

"I know."

"Ready Tony?"

Ned looked down to see Tony holding Peter's leg down whilst Bruce hovered over the break. A scan was infront of him showing the twisted bone so he could watch it being manipulated back into the correct position.

Peter tensed up and screwed his eyes closed in anticipation. His hands gripped the side of the stretcher to avoid grabbing onto Ned and hurting him.

Tony braced himself. "Go."

Bruce quickly grabbed Peter's leg and began to pull down and rotate it. Peter screamed until his throat was hoarse. Ned was almost bucked from his position by Peter jolting but he pushed him down as hard as he could. He heard a crunch and Bruce let out the breath he had been holding.

"Done."

Peter slumped back to the stretcher lifelessly. Bruce came up behind Ned and gently clasped his shoulder before moving him aside and taking over again.

"He's ok. He's just passed out which is probably the kinder thing to have happened right now."

Ned nodded and stumbled backwards to his seat. He looked at the indentations left in the stretcher from Peters grip. Feeling nauseated, he bent in two and put his head into his hands.

"Hey Ned, we're here," a voice gently said.

He looked up to see Natasha Romanoff knelt in front of him, a hand on his knee. A quick glance around made him realise the plane was empty.

"Where's Peter?" he asked, fear knotting his gut.

"He's inside, they're working on him. You spaced out for a while."

Ned wasn't sure what to say. He was feeling quite detached from his body as if this was all some weird, messed up dream.

"Come on."

Natasha took his elbow and gentle guided him out of the plane and into the compound. He barely registered where he was and instead just watched his feet take one step after another. They entered a small room and he was sat onto a soft leather sofa.

"Wait here."

Natasha disappeared and returned a moment later with a couple of towels, soap and bowl of water.

"You've got some blood on you. I thought you might want to wash up."

Ned stared at his palms. They were stained a deep red from Peter's blood. Splodges of it travel up his arms. He leaned over the small side table and dunked his hands into the warm water. It quickly changed colour. Grabbing the bar of soap he scrubbed at his hands and arms, washing every inch of him clean. Natasha passed him one of the towels which he wordlessly took and dried himself off with. When he was done he looked to see the bright white had been stained pink.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Miss Romanoff! I ruined your towel."

Natasha smiled. "It's Tony's towel and forget about it. Towels don't last long around here anyway."

She picked everything up again and left the room for a few minutes, returning this time with a cup of water.

"Here."

Ned took it but didn't attempt to drink.

"You hungry?"

Ned shook his head. "Peter and I, we got burgers before…"

"Ok. I've got to go. I need to make sure the retrieval team picked Rhino up OK. Someone will be in to check on you later. Do you need me to call anyone?"

Ned shook his head again. Natasha stood and left him to his thoughts.

It was a few hours later when Tony Stark entered the room. He collapsed on the sofa next to Ned in an exhausted heap.

"How you holding up there?"

Ned ignored the question. "Is Peter…? Will he be…?" he asked, not sure how to end his questions.

"Peter will live to fight another day, though not for a couple of weeks at least. Give him a couple of days and he'll be giving me grief over that though."

Ned felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. "I thought he was going to die," he admitted quietly.

Tony stretched and yawned. "Don't get me wrong it was a little dicey but Peter bounces back well. This isn't his first swing through here and it most certainly won't be his last. He'll be limping around these halls and driving me nuts in a couple of days."

Turning to look at Tony, Ned tentatively asked a question he wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer to. "Does Peter get hurt a lot?"

Tony leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. "To this extent, no not frequently though he has been pretty banged up and knocking on heavens door a few times. Honestly I'm not entirely sure how my hearts still going for the amount of scares he's given me. On a day to day basis though, well it's generally smooth sailing, Peter is good at what he does and he trains hard with us to be better but our job, his job, it's not without it's risks. I've lost count of how many stab wounds I've stitched up on him or bullets we've dug out. It's a wonder he's still as sharp as he is for all the concussions he's received.'

Tony glanced over at Ned's pale face. "You've got to understand, Peter knows everytime he puts that suit on he might not come home. He still does it though because that kid has the biggest heart I've ever known. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if someone was hurt because he wasn't there when he could have been. We've all tried to stop him but it's not going to happen so instead we support him. I give him a multibillion suit to protect him, Nat, Steve and Clint train him up and Bruce and Cho patch him up when he does get knocked down."

Tony pointed a finger and prodded Ned in the arm. "And you are his guy in the chair. You support him in ways we never could."

"I'm thinking I've not being doing quite such a good job of that."

Tony tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell why?"

"Today. Until today it's almost felt like we were playing a game. It didn't feel real. I've seen Peter hurt before but…" Ned trailed off.

"Not like this."

Ned nodded. "Yeah not like this. Now all I can think about is when he's come to school with a black eye, or stitches or a limp he thinks he's hiding and really isn't. I guess I felt like that was the worst of it but it wasn't. What about all the injuries I didn't see. The days off school sick. What about when he comes in after the weekend still bruised and tired and that's when he's had time to heal! How bad was he initially?! And there I was just brushing it off as he's fine but he wasn't fine was he?"

Tony puffed out a long breath and leaned back against the sofa. "No, no he wasn't. You've got to understand though that Peter's biggest problem is he doesn't want us to worry and so he hides all of this - even from me. It's why I had to build all the alerts into the suit because ninty percent of the time if Karen didn't tell me he needed help then I'd never know because he sure as hell wouldn't be telling me. In fact my heart stops the times he does because all I can think is he must be really bad if he's actually come to me. Peter doesn't get that we worry more because he doesn't talk to us. He's a self sacrificing idiot with a death wish sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess he is."

Tony clapped him hard on the back. "Well we'll just have to keep getting through that thick skull of his that we're here and its ok to be the one needing help for a change. Want to go see him Ned?"

Ned stiffened in shock. "You said my name right?"

Tony barked out a laugh and walked to the door. "Come on kid."

***

Peter lay still in a hospital bed. A fluids drip was in his arm, heart monitors on his chest and an oxygen mask on his face. Ned paused as he entered, unsure of where it was safe to go. Tony dragged a chair up beside his bed and beckoned him to sit. As soon as Ned was perched he left the room to give him a bit of privacy.

"Peter, this is not cool."

"Not like I asked for this."

The muffled voice had Ned jumping out of his skin. "You're awake?!"

Peter lazily opened his eyes and turned to look at his friend. "Can hardly sleep with all the noise you guys make."

"We only moved a chair?"

"Yeah, sorry dude. Senses go a bit haywire during recovery."

Ned leant forward. "Do you need me to whisper?"

"Nah, its ok," smiled Peter.

There was a moment of unfamilar awkward silence between them. Struggling to know what to say was never normally a problem for them. Peter was the first to break it.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For scaring you. I saw your face when Bruce asked you to help. I'm so sorry you had to be there for that."

Ned rolled his eyes. "Dude. You need to stop."

Peter frowned. "What?"

"You've got to stop worrying about us and keeping us at arms length. You just did this amazing thing and you got hurt whilst doing it. Let us be there for you! You did your part and then it's our turn. This whole secretive thing is crap! You're not helping anyone with that."

Peter looked away. "Been chatting with Mr Stark I see."

"Yes but he's not wrong. You do have to stop. What happens when you keep us in the dark one day and you die? Who are you going to protect then?"

"I guess I never really thought of it like that," Peter replied quietly.

A look of shame spread over Ned's face. "I owe you an apology too."

"What for?" Peter asked confused.

"I've not been taking the superhero stuff of yours seriously. I've been treating it like a game, and it's not. It just always seemed so cool, like something out of a comic book! Seeing what you went through today though, how badly you were hurt. That wasn't cool dude."

"It was ok Ned."

"There you go again!" laughed Ned.

Peter smiled. "No honestly the fighting bit was ok. The hurting afterwards not so much. I know what I'm getting myself into though Ned and yes whilst some days it totally sucks, other days it makes all the hard ones totally worth it."

"Ok that bit is cool."

Peter laughed which quickly changed into a cough and a painful groan as he clutched his broken ribs. The door swung open and Tony marched in.

"Ok teens, I think that's more than enough for you today Peter!"

"But Mr Stark…!"

"Ah ah ah!" Tony interrupted holding his hand up. "Enough from you underoos. You need sleep or your Aunt May is going to have my hide."

Right on cue Peter yawned.

"Ok Neddo, you can follow me. I'm sure you're dying to explore and the Avengers lounge area and kitchen has plenty of neat stuff."

Ned's eyes widened. "Best day ever!!"

***

Peter was back to school by the Monday and his guy in the chair was right by his side. He watched his friend far more carefully now. When he saw him limping up the stairs, he grabbed his bag off his shoulder and swung it over his. At lunch he could see Peter subtly grit his teeth as he balanced his lunch tray so Ned swooped in and grabbed it for him. Peter tried to protest but he quickly shushed him.

"My part in this remember."

That made Peter clamp his mouth shut.

Ned grinned and walked ahead. Best friends with a superhero, definitely the coolest thing ever.