Mind Full of Roses // Peter Parker

2.7: Little Liar

They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. But all I can see is darkness. It clouds my head, adding pressure to the water that is surrounding my body. I'm drowning. But all I can do is sink. My body ignores my pleas of movement, of life, instead it lets me float down and down.

Water presses against my lips, begging to be let in. I've lost track of time of how long I've been under, but my chest has started to tighten from the lack of oxygen given to it. My mouth opens automatically and I try to stop myself from breathing in. I focus on the quiet bubbling sounds around me, trying to distract myself. But I'm only human and soon enough, the water comes flooding in.

•𑁍•

"Mr Stark, I think it's working."

My chest contorts and a burning sensation lines my throat as I cough up water. My eyes remain squeezed shut as I turn on my side, spitting out all of the remaining water in my mouth.

A slight pressure removed itself from my chest. I slowly open my eyes and look around cautiously. Kneeling in front of me with an extremely worried look on his face is Peter Parker. Even though I had my suspicions, the sight of him sat in the blue and red suit without a mask on still makes me double take. Behind him, however, stands an iron suit. Iron Man.

My hands fly to my face and I almost sigh in relief when I feel the familiar fabric of my mask hiding my identity. Even though Peter isn't hiding his, I still don't want him to know it's me yet.

I try to sit up but my arm buckled from underneath me and I lay back down. I bring my arm in front of me to check on it and find a large burn grazing just underneath my shoulder.

The past couple of hours flash through my mind. Going to a party, finding the criminals, getting hit by the electric gun, the red eyes and figuring out Peter is Spiderman.

"Don't move, you hit the water pretty hard." Peter says, kneeling to my side and helping me lean against a climbing frame.

We're in a kids playground by the massive lake that I fell into. Peter climbs onto one of the bars just above me, his feet swinging next to me. I turn my head up to look at him, finding him already staring at me in confusion.

Guilt racks through my body, making my throat go dry. I have to swallow to be able to talk. "I'm sorry." I whisper to Peter.

Pete climbs down and sits next to me. His face turns serious. "How do you know my name, Spec?" His voice is soft, almost forgiving, but not quite. "I need to know. Please."

My mind runs through all of the thing that I can say but I still wind up speechless. Though I can picture the words in my head, they don't seem to be wanted to be said. I look down at my hands and Peter sighs in defeat before climbing back up the frame.

Ironman watches all this with an eerie stillness. He stays floating just above the ground, the grass beneath him curling into a crisp from the hot fumes coming from his boots.

Suddenly his voice cuts through the tension. "Kid, tell me what happened. Slowly."

Peter nods and I lean back as I listen to the retelling of tonights adventures. All the while, Ironman hasn't moved an inch. I'm starting to think that he may have gone to sleep.

"-And then he just, like, swooped down like a monster." Peter finishes, wringing his mask out onto the floor next to me. I jump as a couple drops land on me and he moves it away. "How'd you find us? Did you put a tracker in my suit?"