Work Text:
Peter woke up to the sound of blaring sirens. It jolted him awake, his eyes widening, and a sudden pain in his head causing his world to swim around him. He groaned, setting his hands onto the smooth floor below him, and staggering to his feet. He collapsed against the wall, his legs shaking as they held him up.
His head ached, a constant throb thrumming through the base of his skull down to his neck. It was all he could focus on for a minute. Peter tried to ride out the wave of pain that hit him, pain that only got worse as another siren blared, as if it was right beside him. Raising his weak arms, he covered his ears, a whine escaping from his throat.
Everything was too much. It was too loud, it hurt too much, and Peter didn’t know how much longer he could hang on for.
“Mr. Parker. I advise immediate evacuation from the premises.” A voice rang out, pleasant and friendly. And Peter recognised it. Friday. Mr. Stark’s AI.
Wait. He was at the Tower. Someone had attacked, and…that’s where Peter’s memory got foggy. But the walls around him were familiar. He was still there. Just…not in a place he recognised. He needed to get out of here. He needed to find Mr. Stark.
“Friday…” Peter whispered, his words coming out more slurred than he intended. “Where’s Mr…Mr. Stark?”
“Mr. Stark is in the lobby, helping people evacuate.” Her voice made Peter cover his ears again, much too loud for his pounding head.
He stepped forward, nearly slipping on a pile of blood that was on the floor, and leaned on the wall for support. Lobby. He could get there. He just needed to find a stairwell.
His head throbbed with every step, but Peter pushed through, knowing that he might not have much time. Yet when he got to the end of the hallway, there was no stairwell. Only a storage closet.
What?
That’s when he realised he didn’t know what floor he was on. He had no clue where he was. He couldn’t get to the lobby like this.
“Friday?”
“How can I help, Mr. Parker?”
Peter swallowed, nausea swirling in his gut. “Could you lead me to the lobby? I’m…lost.” He was embarrassed, but he didn’t have time to dwell in it. Who knew what was going on? Was the building collapsing? Was there still an attack that Peter should help defeat? Either way, he needed to get off this floor.
“Of course. Turn 180 degrees, and turn left at the first hallway.”
“Left at the first hallway, got it.” He whispered, and carefully spun around, willing himself not to lose his lunch. He moved as quickly as he could, nearly stumbling over his feet as he did so. He passed the puddle of blood again. He wondered whose it was, and if they were okay. He hoped so.
He turned, and met another dead end.
“What? But I turned left!”
“Mr. Parker. You turned right. I advise going the other way.”
Peter shook his head, trying to get any sort of sense of direction, but left felt like right, and his head was killing him.
“Turn the other way, Mr. Parker. I will lead you.” Friday repeated, gentler this time. Peter decided to listen to her. At this point, she was probably a lot smarter than he was.
As she said, the stairwell was at the other end of the hallway, and Peter began descending it, every footfall making his head hurt even worse. He clung to the railing like a lifeline, the metal bending under his grip.
“Kid!”
Mr. Stark ran up to him from the lower stairs, relief on his face.
“Mr. Stark…what…what happened?” Peter mumbled out, falling into his arms as soon as the man was close to him. Mr. Stark caught him, leaning him into his shoulder.
“The aliens started a fire on the lower levels, we’re evacuating.”
“Head hurts.”
“I know, but you’re safe now, alright? I’m gonna get you out of here.”
“It’s too loud.”
Mr. Stark nodded, holding him tighter, and he lifted Peter into a bridal carry, the world spinning around Peter once again. “I know. Hold on for a little longer. It’ll be quiet soon.”
Peter nodded, relieved. Everything hurt, everything was loud and confusing, but he was safe now. He tried to focus on Mr. Stark’s heartbeat, knowing that it meant safety and security, and the constant thump followed Peter into unconsciousness.