~Broken Family~

I Can Be Your Backpack While You Run

A/N: This is all made up. I have no idea about anything about metal implants, since all the internet will tell me about is joint replacements for old people.
But the whole story is made up anyway so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

if someone gets the reference for the title I will cry tears of joy

***

"At this rate, I'll be more radioactive than Gwen," Harley grumbled under his delirium of pain as they x-rayed his leg, trying his best not to writhe in pain.

It was a good while before the doctor and his assistant came back with the results.

"The metal supporting your leg has been displaced," the doctor explained.

"I didn't even know I still had metal in me," Harley mumbled under his breath, staring at his foot stretched out on the examination table. Tony elbowed him.

"Ha-ha, yes. Very funny." Dr. Greg gave him a genuine smile. "Somehow, your leg has managed to move it around. Right now, it's poking out right about.... there." He pointed to a small, sharply defined bump where the swelling and inflammation seemed to surround.

"How did this happen?" Tony asked.

"We weren't expecting it to need replacing so soon," he admitted. "Those sorts of metal implants are supposed to last several decades, if they even need replaced at all. I haven't seen one this displaced in a long, long time. I'm guessing that all that baseball and not taking it easy long enough for the metal to set in after the initial surgery was the problem."

"How can we fix it?" wondered Harley, though he already knew the answer.

"Unfortunately, we need to replace it, and the only way to do that is surgery. We don't want it to get infected, so we need to do it as soon as possible."

Harley groaned. "I'm done with surgery! How many have I had just for this leg, six?"

"Harley," Tony started gently. "You can't go walking around with metal sticking out of your leg."

"I know," he grumbled, shifting in discomfort.

"I know you're sick of this." Tony gave his shoulders a squeeze. "You're so brave, Motorcycle."

"Right when school's about to start again. It's just like last year."

"I know, buddy."

***

Harley was subjected to a wheelchair.

He hated it. It reminded him all too much of last year, when he'd been stuck in one while he'd learned his world had been taken away, the two most important people in his life sucked into the vacuum where everyone else seemed to go. He was all antsy inside---he wanted to get up from the stupid chair and do something. He needed to grab his old alarm clock, rip it open, and tinker with it.

But as soon as they shoved him through the doorway of the hospital room, Tony set him right down on the bed and handed him a Stark tablet. A nurse came in to do some things to his leg and run some tests to make sure he would be okay for surgery the next morning.

He tried to suck it up, to not appear weak. He tried to be strong like Peter. But the pain in his leg laced its way up to nausea in his stomach and somehow gave him a little headache. It was times like this that he actually wished Tony and Pepper had gone with amputation, not having to be subjected to dragging around a half-working limb all the time.

And Pepper was out of state on a business trip right now, unable to come home just yet. Tony had called her and told her what had happened, so she had cancelled her meeting down by the old Stark Tower and was driving up as fast as she could.

***

Gwen came later that night, planning to stay with Tony until the morning.

The pain was making it harder and harder to think, but she kept his spirits up. The few hours they had together before Tony declared lights out were spent chatting and watching Peter's favorite Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back.

"Are we ever going to get to hang out when one of us isn't in quarantine?" he joked as Tony came back with Pepper and dinner from Panera Bread for himself and Gwen. Harley wasn't allowed to eat this late at night.

"We'll have to," Gwen stated firmly. She was sitting behind him in the hospital bed, halfway done French-braiding his hair. Her strong fingers weaved it gently, hardly tugging at his scalp like his mom's fingers used to.

He felt a strange emotion welling in his throat as she braided, all the memories of his mom trying to tame his unruly hair flashing through his mind. He sniffed, rubbing at his eye.

"Bedrest sucks," he complained, trying not to lean far back onto Gwen's lap where his head rested.

"What about me?" Gwen pretended to be offended. "I don't suck, do I?"

"No." Harley chuckled lightly, twisting his head to give her a smile. "You're awesome, Gwen." She put her free hand to the side of his head and forced it back to an angle where she could resume the braiding.

"I know." Gwen put the comb between her teeth and finished the last one. "Okay. I'm done. What d'ya think?" She took a picture with her phone and handed it to him.

"I love it, but don't go posting this on social media."

"I won't, Augustus Waters," she teased, giving his shoulder a knock.

"But I'm not..." He rubbed his nose in confusion. "...I don't have one leg."

They both seemed kind of scared to show any sort of romantic affection after he'd had to have been dragged out of the dance studio when Gwen kissed him earlier that day. He hoped it wouldn't stay like that forever.

"Hey, buddy," Pepper had called as she entered with Tony. She was still dressed in her heels and work clothes, which told Harley she really had dropped everything in the middle of a meeting to race here. She kissed the top of his head and gave Gwen a hug. "You're looking strong, buddy. Can I get you anything?"

"Food?" Harley suggested hopefully. Pepper sighed.

"It's twelve thirty. You know you can't eat after midnight."

Harley groaned. "Just a piece of bread?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because you'll throw up everywhere. You know this."

He groaned again. "Okay. I know. Thanks, Pepper."

Harley glanced at the tablet propped up at the end of the bed, which was now playing the part where Luke was running around with Yoda clinging to his back for dear life.