Pain Will Always Come Back to Haunt You

The Pain is Supposed to be Temporary

"Hey, May!" Peter calls into the apartment as he shuts and locks the door behind him.

"How was studying?" May calls back. Peter walks into the living room and sets his backpack down next to the couch, falling onto the cushion next to his aunt. She has her legs tucked underneath her and a book on her lap.

"As exciting as studying can be." Peter shrugs and leans on her. There are slight bags under May's eyes, probably due to the late night shifts she has been taking. She places a hand on his damp hair and kisses the top of his head.

"How's Ned doing? I haven't seen him in almost a week. He should come over for one of our movie nights."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. He's been good, too," Peter agrees. May pats his shoulder and hums happily to herself.

"I'm glad. You should get some sleep, you have a busy day tomorrow. Last day of school for the week and then there's your Stark Internship ." She emphasizes and bounces her eyebrows knowingly with a wide smile. Peter playfully roll his eyes and laughs. Ever since she found out about him being Spider-Man, she absolutely loves all their new inside jokes. Of course she was mad at first, which is something he definitely doesn't want to relive, but she has been incredibly supportive. He smiles, so grateful to have someone like May to be there with him.

"Only if you promise to get some sleep, too." He feels May nod with her head resting on his.

"You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can agree to those terms." May stretches her legs and lifts both of them off the couch. "Good night, baby. Love you."

"Night May, love you too." She squeezes Peter in a hug before heading to the back of their apartment to her room. Before heading to his room, Peter grabs a roll of paper towels and a glass of water. May's room is dark when he shuts the door to his own and gets to work. He keeps an emergency first aid kit under his bunk bed, which was mostly used when May didn't know about his Spider-Man activities. For the most part, she dresses all his injuries that won't heal overnight. Well, except for this instance, of course. Peter sits down on the carpet and places paper towels on the hardwood floor in front of him. Can't stain the wood, right? he reasons to himself. Ha...it's too late at night for this... Reluctantly, he takes out some antiseptic wipes, a couple pads of gauze, metal tweezers, and a few safety pins. It should be as simple as taking out a splinter, right? Right.

He looks at the peppering of shallow bumps underneath the skin of his palms and the raw blisters just above them. With a deep breath, he disinfects his hands. The stinging isn't bad, since pretty much all of the cuts and scrapes have already healed. Unfortunately, that's what'll make it more difficult to get the gravel out. He holds a safety pin in his right hand and stares at his left palm. Okay, no problem. The faster you get it done, Peter, the faster it's over. As his hand gets closer, it starts to shake. Focus. Just press the...pin underneath your skin. No problem. He notices he's been holding his breath and quickly pulls away when he feels the pressure on his shoulders. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. He reaches into his backpack to grab his still grimy mask and slip it on. When he does so, he makes sure his eyes are closed so Karen can't see the display before him.

"Hey, Karen?"

"Hello Peter," her sweet voice greets. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Can I just, well, can you promise me something? I need help with something, but I can't tell or show you what it is until you promise it stays between us. Okay?" Peter keeps his eyes shut to keep Karen from seeing his palms.

"Only if you keep your word about eating something before you sleep," Karen reminds. Oh yeah huh. Peter almost forgot.

"I promise, but this kinda takes priority."