[Osborn Plot] Sleep sound, shut out the noise you hear.

[daretodo]

There is no concept of time. Seconds, minutes, hours -- all meaningless. (Am I dead?) I'm aware only of pain, white and hot, searing mercilessly through every inch of my body. (Make it stop.) At first the sounds are indistinct -- snippets of hushed conversations, the shuffle of footsteps across the floor, the quiet, unsteady sobs of someone crying. Through the pain, infinite stretches on. (Please, make it stop.) The sounds become sharper -- the scrape of a chair, the catch in a woman's voice, my name on someone's lips. (Shouldn't hurt so much, why does it hurt so much? My God, make it stop.)

The black of the void turns to red. (I'm waking up -- not dead, then. Why?) There's a hand on my own, the pressure, however slight, almost too much to bear. (Don't want to wake up. Let go, let go, let go.) I try to speak, but find I can't. My voice dies in my throat. (Can I die, too?) I can't open my eyes, can't move at all -- I'm bound, constricted. (Listen to yourself.) I need to move. (You need to live, you lucky fool.) Reality comes back to me in dribs and drabs, memories sliding into place like the pieces of a puzzle -- a fall, a fight, a fire. (No, don't want to remember. Don't make me remember. Hurts too much, hurts too much.) My pulse takes a sudden jump, leftover panic pumping adrenaline through my veins, and soon -- at least, I think it's soon, because I still can't tell, there's still no time -- there's more than pain. There's control. (You promised, Peter. You promised her.) With a shallow, shuddering breath that burns my lungs, my eyes flutter open, and I take in my dim, fuzzy surroundings without comprehension. (That's it, push through the pain.)

"Wh--?" It's not speech in the strictest sense, little more than an exhale. (Try again.) Hours, minutes, seconds later. "Where...?"

Comments

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

This time, there was no denying that Mary Jane laughed, though there wasn't anything particularly amused about it. She ought to have expected as much from him, she knew, but tempting as it was to listen to him and try, her own needs didn't matter half as much as his at a time like this. Not being able to touch him like she wanted to was something that was going to take a hell of a lot of getting used to, but it wouldn't have been worth the risk to do otherwise.

"You have four broken ribs," she pointed out quietly, her voice remarkably steady, all things considered, "two broken fingers and a broken leg, a shoulder you dislocated..." There was more, of course, but she didn't doubt he knew that, and she wouldn't have felt right just listing off all his various injuries. "I could hurt you. No, I would hurt you, and then they probably wouldn't let me keep staying here. They'd kick me out, and then what would you do with yourself?"

As far as attempts at levity went, this one failed miserably, but it was something, at least, especially given that she hadn't yet managed to fully stop crying. With months of this ahead of them, though, it would do her no good to let it upset her in front of him.

[daretodo]

"Um, I kinda hate to be the one to point this out, but..." I whisper, trying to keep my voice as steady as hers, and fortunately I have plenty of experience in the art of sounding collected under pressure. This isn't exactly the same, of course, but this much pain, I'd argue, qualifies as a type of pressure, if nothing else.

"I already am hurt. S'gonna take a lot more than a beautiful girl lying next to me to make things worse." I hesitate a beat, then add, "Might make for an improvement, actually."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"It would be very, very easy for me to make it worse, Peter," Mary Jane said quietly, frowning. He was right in that it wouldn't likely have done much damage, but the thought of her doing anything that might exacerbate the pain he was already in made her stomach turn a little. Her free hand settling loosely over his wrist, fingers still intertwined with his, she sighed. "If I moved the wrong way, or say I accidentally hit just the wrong spot... We're just going to have to get used to this."

[daretodo]

"Mary Jane," I sigh, looking at her plaintively with wide eyes, "we've both just gone through absolute hell. And... Yeah, it hurts. I hurt, 'cause of that -- admittedly abridged -- list of injuries you just spouted off like a regular med student, right after you gave me an estimated departure from this place of never."

I swallow again, stalling for time as I try to stop my head from spinning long enough to get out the rest of what I want to say before I pass out again.

"Honestly," I continue after a second, quieter than before, "the only thing that could possibly make this worse is having to get used to this. I just... Please. My mental state's about as messed up as the rest of me, MJ, and unlike a few broken bones, that's something I don't need an army of bored doctors to fix. Just you."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

Mary Jane held his gaze for a long moment, visibly tentative despite already knowing what her answer was going to be. Regardless of all her worries about somehow hurting him, she couldn't deny him when he put it like that, not when she felt the same way. She may have come out of all of this virtually uninjured, but inside, she was a wreck and was getting worse at hiding it. Being beside him for a little while, no matter how careful she had to be, was bound to do her good, too.

"Well, you've got me," she murmured, biting her lower lip as she stood, sitting instead on the edge of the bed. She still wasn't quite sure how she could go about doing this without causing any more damage, but it seemed worth it to try. "Just - we've got to be careful, alright? And if anything feels worse at all, you need to tell me right away." That said, she began easing down at his side, eyes on him all the while to make sure she didn't do anything wrong. "I'm right here."

[daretodo]

I've never been in this position before. Which isn't to say I was invulnerable back home -- far from it -- but I've never been the breakable one, contrary to the popular belief about Peter Parker, klutz extraordinaire. Aunt May used to treat me like I was made from spun glass, sure, but it was never actually warranted, much as she thought it was -- even after she learned the truth.

Now, though, Mary Jane has more of a point than I'd like to admit, and I hold my breath as she settles down next to me, exhaling only once she's stopped moving. She can't hurt me any more than Norman, of course, but I keep that to myself, instead just saying, "Hey."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"Hey," Mary Jane murmured, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. She was still beyond cautious, taking up about as little room on the side of his bed as she could, but she had to admit that she was glad she'd given in. No matter how much more it made her worry to be this close to him -- or how much it made her want to hold him to her and never let go, something that was definitely impossible, and would be for a damn long time -- the comfort it provided outweighed that by far.

Of course, being in bed, she was reminded of just how long it had been since she'd slept, or even laid down at all, the closest being the time she had spent unconscious in a web on the beach of the second island. The memory made any hint of a smile fade, though she hoped it wasn't particularly noticeable. It wasn't anything she wanted to talk about, not yet. "You're sure this is okay, right?"

[daretodo]

"Yes," I sigh, and it's exasperated for all that it's fond. I can't exactly wrap my arms around her like I'd like, but it's better than just holding her hand. She's more tangible this way -- a stronger tether to the here and now, and one I desperately need. Beyond the pain and the nausea, my head's a jumble of memories -- bits of shouted conversation, the roar of wind, the look on that woman's face right before she fell, Norman's maniacal grin... (Focus.)

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"So," Mary Jane said quietly, sniffling a little. Any other time, she would have been more than content just to lie there with him, but having not slept in so long and now being so relieved, she didn't trust herself not to drift off if they felt silent. Besides, it had been two days, and though he had physically been right there, she'd missed him. She just wished she could have been closer, or that she could think of something that wasn't the events of two days earlier. Most if not all of that wasn't anything she wanted to talk about now, as much as she knew they would probably need to sooner or later. "I'd ask how you're doing, but... I think I have a pretty good idea."

[daretodo]

"...when's the last time you slept?" I ask after a moment's hesitation, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head's more trouble than it's worth, and I'm confident that so much as a wince from me will send her back into that chair faster than Doctor Strange losing a hand of poker.

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

Mary Jane ought to have known the question was coming, really, but she was caught a little off-guard all the same, faltering as she tried to come up with a good response. He didn't need to know that she had spent two whole days sitting by his bed, waiting for some sign that he was going to make it through this. "Don't worry about me," she said with a shrug, dismissive but a little grateful all the same. "I'm fine."

She was not, in fact, anywhere close to fine, but she was relatively uninjured and didn't see any reason to sleep just yet, so it was true enough. Beside him now, she didn't want to be anywhere else, and sleeping in his bed would have just been asking for her to somehow hurt him.

[daretodo]

"Mary Jane..." I start, the warning clear in my voice for all that I'm still speaking barely above a whisper. I reach blindly for her hand, placing mine on top of hers. "You need to sleep."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"I need to be here with you, is what I need," she countered, her own voice not much louder than his. Her body may have required sleep, but what she needed was completely different, and she was a whole lot more inclined to follow those instincts now. Any other reasons she had for not wanting to go to sleep weren't anything she thought he needed to know about. "I can sleep later."

[daretodo]

"Didn't say you had to go anywhere," I point out, giving her hand a small squeeze. I've been under for two days, but it feels like I've already been awake for so much longer than just a few minutes, and it's already a struggle to keep my own eyes open, the pain I'm in still too draining. "Just that you should close your eyes."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

Biting her lip through a frown, Mary Jane sighed, hesitating just a moment before she shook her head. It was tempting -- so unbelievably tempting, more than she could have even told him -- but there was a big difference between lying beside him now while she was conscious and letting herself fall asleep there. "It's a small bed, Pete," she said, rueful but insistent. "I could move and hurt you and... I can't risk that."

[daretodo]

"And? Neither one of us is a sumo wrestler," I reply, wanting all the world to be able to just kiss her forehead, to hold her in my arms until she gets some rest. "I'm tougher than I look, and you're more tired than you're letting on. Stay. Sleep. For me."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"Not fair," she protested, meaning to make a face but only managing to look sullen in the process. It had to have been pretty damn clear that she would have done anything for him at this point, and sleeping, especially when she was so tired already, was an easy thing to give. "You'll be okay? You don't need me to get you anything?"

[daretodo]

"If I need anything, you'll be the first to know," I assure her, one corner of my mouth hinting upwards in something that, under better circumstances, might've passed for a smirk. "Get some rest."

[getemtiger.livejournal.com]

"Wake me up if I hurt you," Mary Jane replied, looking at him with wide eyes as she shifted very, very carefully, not wanting to even move the bed too much. "Or if I can do anything for you. I -" Cutting herself off, she yawned, suddenly relieved she'd agreed to this. "Would rather be here for you than sleep."

[daretodo]

She yawns, and I follow shortly after. "You are here," I mumble, closing my eyes, and it's not much longer until I'm asleep once again.