PETER PARKER
Present

"His name is Shadow?" Happy mused, lips curling into a grin, "What kind of stupid name is that?"

Quentin wrapped his muscular arm around my waist and pulled me into his side as we stood before Happy, discussing everything that's been going on.

"That isn't the point." I clutched onto Quentin and leaned into his embrace for comfort, "We need to figure out if he's alive- and if he is then we need to figure out what we're going to do about it."

Happy's eyes glanced at Quentin holding me and paused, pursing his lips. I blushed and went to pull away but he held me in place.

"So," Happy trailed off, "When and how did that happen?" He pestered, snorting at my uncomfortable expression.

Prick.

"Why do you keep getting off track?" I whined, "We need to figure this out." Quentin just laughed and ruffled my hair, both of them ignoring me.

"As soon as we met I was completely whipped." He confessed while I struggled to push him away out of embarrassment but I couldn't escape his grasp. I didn't really want him to let go anyway.

"I see." Happy replied, looking completely unbothered, "I'm happy for you guys. I just wish you would've told me sooner, Peter."

I had told him the night I left to go find MJ while panicking. Right after I shot my webs at him to keep him against the wall while I ran out like a scared little kid. Which, I kind of was. But we hadn't had a chance to talk about it since I left immediately after.

"I didn't think it was important." I mumbled and sniffed Quentin's shirt discreetly. He smelled like pine trees and it was so alluring I wanted to scream.

Why does he have to be so perfect?

Quentin scoffed, "I'm not important?" He teased me and flicked his fingers against my forehead, causing me to groan.

"Can we please get back on track?" I begged, finally succeeding in pushing him away from me while I pouted.

"But it's so cute seeing you all flustered." He moved toward me, wanting a kiss but I flicked his forehead back and he grunted, glaring at me jokingly, "Pft, fine. Be like that."

A guard then bursted through the door with a stern expression on his face, "You have a visitor, Mr Parker."

I gasped and subconsciously grabbed Quentin's arm, "Shadow?" I asked with wide eyes.

"He claimed to go by your "guy in the chair", Sir."

My expression faltered, "Ned? Why is Ned here?"

Quentin brushed my hair out of my eyes, gaining my attention, "Who's Ned?" He questioned me.

"My best friend." I answered in a small voice and turned back to the guard, "Did he say why he's here?"

I hadn't spoken to Ned in a while, the last time was when I... also... used my webs to hold him against the wall while I left...

I guess I have a habit of doing that.

"He was talking about some message, looking beat up, too. Covered in blood and gashes."

My nails dig into Quentin's skin and he placed his other hand on the small of my back reassuringly, "It's ok." He murmured into my ear, "We'll take care of it." I swallowed down the lump in my throat and followed the guard down to see Ned.

When we got to the entrance, he was standing there looking absolutely awful. His clothes were torn and he had a huge gash on his forehead and his lips were all busted up and his eyes looked swollen, probably from crying and-

"Calm down, baby." Quentin whispered for only me to hear and I shivered at his deep baritone voice, "He's safe now."

Yeah. For now. Just like the rest of us because of me.

When Ned saw me his eyes flooded with relief, "Peter!" He cried and ran toward me. The guards all yelled and reached out to stop him but Happy ordered them to stop.

"What happened?" I said in a hushed voice as I pulled him into a tight hug, blood and tears staining my clothes but I couldn't care less.

"Shadow." He whimpered, "I was with Aunt May, she was scared because she hadn't heard from you in so long. We were at your house talking and h-he just showed up!"

"May?" I said with hopeful eyes, "Is she here too?"

Ned's eyes filled with more tears, "He got her." He whispered.

I let out a sound so sad, so heartbreaking that caused everyone in the room to look at me. Even all of the thirty guards that were supposed to be watching outside in care Shadow decided to show up.

I dropped to my knees and Quentin reached out to grab me but I collapsed onto the floor, sobs escaping my lips, "I-Is s-she d-d-dead?" I cried, "Please t-tell me s-she's alive."

Quentin rushed to sit on the floor next to me and held me in his arms but I barely noticed, so focused on getting Ned's answer that everything else was a blur to me.

"She was when he left." He clarified and rubbed the tears out of his eyes, "I don't know what he plans to do with her. He's either using her to get you to go see him... or he's going to kill her just to break you down."

Quentin's fingers combed my hair away from my now sweaty forehead while I buried my face into his neck, soaking his neck with tear droplets. He lifted me up so that I was sitting in his lap as I tightened my legs around his waist. Ned gave us a weird look.

I can't believe I did this. I always blamed myself for everything and got told by the people I was close to that I was being too hard on myself. But this was undoubtably my fault. I should've sacrificed myself for everyone else. Now May is paying the consequences of my own stupidity. She could be dead right now!

"Did I miss something?" Ned asked Happy who hadn't said a word the entire time.

My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to see the look on his face. He had the biggest crush ever on Aunt May. She liked him too, but she saw it as more of a fling while he was hopelessly in love with her.

And when I saw how broken he was, I broke even more.

I'd never seen Happy anything other than bland, irritated and occasionally snarky. But he looked like the most miserable man possible. It wasn't like the way I was upset with quivering lips and uneven breaths. He was the kind of sorrowful where you had no words, no feelings, no nothing. His face was stone cold and his eyes had this look in them like the world had just ended, and for him, it probably had. He looked like the kind of broken where there wasn't any tears to be shed because it isn't worth it anymore. Because you're so hopeless that you can't even feel anything. Because the planets stopped orbiting the sun and the sun is no longer shining. Because you're utterly heartbroken.

And all of that just killed me even more.

"Quentin." I whimpered and he looked at me with so much pity that was almost overwhelming, "Quentin." My voice broke pathetically.

He pressed a soothing kiss against my forehead, "It's okay, Peter." He stroked my wet cheek, "It's okay. You can cry." And cry I did. I held onto him and cried so much that it hurt. My ears were ringing and all I could feel was complete guilt.

"I'm going to take him upstairs to calm down." He told everyone in the room who was staring at me with sympathy. No one dared to respond as he scooped me up and I held onto him for dear life. My legs wrapped around his waist, arms around his neck and face smushed into it. He carried me into the elevator with his hands on the back of my thighs to hold me in place as he muttered encouraging words of compassion to me but I couldn't listen.

When we got to my room he sat me down on the bed, going to pull away but I cried harder and refused to let go.

"Peter, I want you to take another shower. I know they calm you down because you told me, remember?" I whimpered again and shook my head, needing his comfort against me.

"N-No." I blubbered, "G-Go to s-sleep with m-me." I demanded.

He sighed and kissed the top of my head, "Okay, but let's get you changed first." I nodded and after a few moments he convinced me to let go for just a few seconds so that he could get my clothes.

"Take your shirt off." He instructed, holding a new one out for me. I pulled it off and let him put the new one on me, gently pushing my arms into each hole and brushing my hair out of my face again, "And these." He pointed at my pants. I tugged them off mindlessly and tried to finally steady my breathing as he pulled the comfortable sweatpants over my legs.

"Stand up." He breathed out and pulled them over my bottom when I did. I immediately pulled him into a hug again and he chuckled sadly, "Let's go to bed."

Quentin didn't bother changing his own clothes, probably not wanting to let me go again. He reached over to shut the lights off and placed me onto the bed delicately. He pulled the covers over me and slid into the space right next to me as our chests pushed against each other again, legs tangling together and my face finally starting to dry.

"If she's dead then I'll never forgive myself." I mumbled after a few minutes of silence, "I can't- I won't. She was the one who took care of me when my parents were gone and my Uncle Ben died. I've been enough trouble as it is with this whole superhero thing and now if she dies because of me then I'm dying too."

"Shh," He cooed and pressed our foreheads together, "Don't fret about it when we don't even know what happened yet. If Shadow wants you then I doubt he'd kill your Aunt May, he probably wants to use her to get you to go to him. Tomorrow we can figure everything out. I'll keep you safe." He promised me.

"I don't care about me." I mumbled and leaned in to kiss him on the lips, "If it comes down to it then swear that you'll save everyone else before me."

"Peter." He said sternly, "We don't trade lives, we're going to save everyone."

"Promise me, Quentin." I demanded, my eyes burning but there weren't any tears left to come out, "You have to promise me that you'll save everyone else if it comes down to it. May, Ned, MJ, Happy, you. I want them all safe."

"You know I can't do that." He spoke in a soft voice and I felt him rub little shapes against my back.

"Promise me." I demanded, "You owe it to me."

He paused and I felt him exhale out of his nose, "Okay." He mumbled in a pained voice, "I promise."

"Thank you." I murmured, cupping his cheeks and kissing him harder than I ever had before. He nodded against me.

"Go to sleep, you need some rest." He instructed, nudging my face back into the crook of his neck.

I calmed down fully after a while. But the pain didn't stop once. It never even faltered as I relaxed into Quentin's arms and let the rhythm of his steady heartbeat lull me to sleep.

"I love you." I whispered quietly, not knowing whether he was awake or not.

"I love you too, Peter."

A/N
THIS IS SO SAD I'M SORRY. I CAN'T BREATHE OH MY G O D.

And on an unrelated note my instagram is @ kadenbryantt because a lot of people have asked.

P.S. I'm sorry if you cried. I want to too.