I Think I've Broken Something

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/26978125.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: Gen
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Relationship: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Character: Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark
Additional Tags: Broken Bones, broken trust, Scared Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker,
Awesome May Parker (Spider-Man), May Parker is the best, Protective
May Parker (Spider-Man), Worried May Parker (Spider-Man),
Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Peter Parker Needs a Hug,
Precious Peter Parker, Peter Parker Whump, Injury, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Series: Part 12 of Whumptober 2020
Collections: Whumptober 2020
Stats: Published: 2020-10-12 Words: 1,179 Chapters: 1/1

I Think I've Broken Something

by Summerwolf

Summary

Whumptober day 12 - Broken Bones, Broken Trust.

---

He’d been happy, he’d been proud, he’d been spider man, and he’d felt like nothing could
bring him down.

Which was exactly when something did bring him down.

A misplaced web, a new formula, a long drop, a searing pain.

Notes

See the end of the work for notes

Peter had always loved being Spiderman. Sure, it had freaked him out for a little while, especially
when he’d first gotten his powers, but he’d always loved the way he could help people, he loved
the adrenaline he got from swinging between buildings, and the feeling of invincibility which filled
him when he zoomed around the city higher than he had ever imagined he’d be able to get on his
own. He knew he wasn’t invincible, knew that he could be killed just as easily as a normal person,
but when swinging around it was like the rest of the world just melted away and it was him, the
sky, and an infinite future.
Nothing had ever felt so amazing, and so fulfilling, and so perfect, as being Spiderman felt.

But then… one day… just two months ago, it had all gone wrong. So so wrong.

It hadn’t been a mission, or an enemy attack, or anything bad actually. It had just been Peter having
fun, enjoying his powers, celebrating what he had and just taking the chance to be a kid again.
Tony was there, the sky was clear, the city was quiet, all things considered it was a pretty perfect
day. Peter enjoyed his life most of the time, but he never really noticed it, however that had
definitely been one of those times where he was just enjoying his life, and thinking about how
much he was enjoying it. He’d been happy, and for the rest of his life, that’s what he would
remember started it.

He’d been happy, he’d been proud, he’d been spider man, and he’d felt like nothing could bring
him down.

Which was exactly when something did bring him down.

A misplaced web, a new formula, a long drop, a searing pain.

Peter couldn’t believe what had happened, he’d never fallen before, never even got close, but the
pain in his leg was unmistakable and the fact he was on the floor instead of three stories up really
said a lot. He was lucky to have only gained a broken leg, a bad landing from that height and
anything less than superhuman sturdiness and he would have died from that drop.

“Peter? Kid are you okay?” Tony asked, terror filling his eyes as he climbed out of his suit and
reached for Peter. He had seen him fall, had tried to catch him before he hit the ground, but he’d
been too far away after checking out a suspicious noise, and he hadn’t had the chance to reach him
before he hit the ground.

“I think I’ve broken something,” Peter winced, trying not to move his leg too much just in case the
searing pain from just moments earlier came back. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do any
Spidermanning anytime soon.”

“That’s alright, we can make sure to keep Queens safe while you are resting up.” Tony nodded,
reaching out to scoop Peter into his arms and fly him back to the med bay. Bruce put his leg in
plaster, told him to be careful for the next couple of weeks, and then sent him home.
End of story.

Except… not really.

He spent the entire time he had to rest desperately waiting for his leg to heal up, waiting for him to
be allowed out of plaster and allowed back to Spidermanning, he probably annoyed the hell out of
May the amount of times he asked her if he was healed yet, even though logically that he definitely
wasn’t healed yet, just like he hadn’t been ten minutes ago, or three days before that.

But then the day finally arrived, and Peter pulled his suit and climbed onto the roof… but then he
stopped. A sudden fear had gripped him tight, causing butterflies to dance in his stomach and ice to
freeze his blood.

He was too high up, he was going to fall again, the pain would be back.

He couldn’t do it.

He turned around, pulled his suit off, and headed into the living room, trying to forget what had
just happened. Trying to pretend that everything was fine.

“Oh hello Peter!” May smiled as she walked into the room, dropping her keys into the bowl by the
door and she hung her coat up. She was just back from work, and seemed surprised to see Peter. “I
expected you to be out Spidermanning now your cast is off.”

“Oh, yeah,” Peter muttered, realising that even thinking about it was enough to freeze him up just a
little bit. Hopefully not enough for May to notice. “I just thought I hadn’t seen you in a while,” he
shrugged, only feeling slightly bad for lying. He really did want to see more of May, and the
chance to avoid the height of Spidermanning was just an advantage. “I figured we could spend
some time together.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment,” May said slowly as she sat down next to Peter, “But
we’ve spent most of our time together over the last few weeks, you’re not here because you want to
spend time with me. What’s really going on huh?”
 Peter sighed. He should have known that May would see right through him, she did pretty much
raise him after all. “Would you believe me if I insisted it was nothing?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Peter sighed again, leaning backwards and pulling his previously injured leg up to his chest,
hugging it tightly. “I tried to go,” he said, his voice shaky and little more than a whisper, “I just- I
couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t?” May echoed back, lightly laying a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“I got scared, I just froze up,” he hiccupped, tears streaming down his face, “I- it was like I’ve lost
all the trust in myself, lost trust in my ability to catch myself.”

“That’s normal Peter,” May promised, pulling him into a tight hug, “the trick is to work through it
anyway, even though you are scared, because if you don’t the fear just gets worse, and Peter, I
know you love being Spiderman. Somethings are worth ignoring your fear for.”

“But what if I broke more than just my leg? What if I can’t get what I had before back?” Peter
asked, his voice shaking with panic. He wanted to be Spiderman, wanting to keep what he had
before, but also felt like he could never get there again, like his world would never be the same
again, like it was shattered beyond repair.

“Then you find a new normal, and you don’t stop until it’s a normal you want.” May talked like it
was the easiest thing possible, like it didn’t involve ripping the rug from under his own feet.

“Okay,” he whispered. He was terrified, but he also knew it was the only choice he really had. The
only one he wouldn’t regret for the rest of forever, and more importantly, the only one which
wouldn’t result in him feeling like he had failed. “I can do this.”

End Notes

Thanks for reading!!

I hope you enjoyed!!
Have an awesome week!!
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