Chapter I

All he could think about was fish.

Why fish?

He didn't know. Maybe it was the fact that he was right next to the ocean, right next to the beach, but couldn't even get into the water. All he could do was to stare out of his window forlornly,

Why did that remind him of fish?

His mind was all over the place.

In the distance, he could see the children playing in the sand- Cooper, Lila, and Cassie. They were laughing at something that Thor had said. In the distance, he could see Natasha on a beach chair, no doubt smirking at the scene before her.

"Hey, kid?" A voice interrupted his absent minded observations. He spun to see Tony leaning against the door frame nonchalantly. He was holding a tray with two cups of juice and what looked like… cookies? Seeing Peter stare at the plate, Tony sighed.

"I tried, okay. I looked up a recipe online and I had FRIDAY help me. I even asked Pepper for help. It was fine until she left to go take care of something..." His voice trailed off as he realized that Peter had stopped listening to him and was instead staring at the scene beyond his window.

"Look, kid. I'm sorry that I… that this place… that we're so close to the beach. This was the only house that I knew that the government didn't know about, and…"

"I get it, Mr. Stark. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it is. I should have never taken you to Germany. If I hadn't, that wouldn't have happened." Tony gestured wildly towards Peter's legs. Peter's paralyzed legs.

Right. Germany. He hadn't thought about Germany in a while. Whenever he did, it was a compilation of lights, sounds, and pain. So much pain. Peter shook his head, as if to shake out the thought of Germany.

"Really, Mr. Stark. I… I don't blame you. And you know, being like this isn't that bad. There are even action movies about people like me, right? Like… like… Avatar?"

Tony smirked and set down the plate on Peter's bedside table. He was decked out in an uncharacteristically bright Hawaiian shirt. The children had begged him to. He was a sucker for children. What has this world become?

"The cookies are probably trash, but the juice is from a carton, so it must be good. Unless Clint's being an idiot again and switched it out for something." The duo looked down at their glass, looked up at each other, and -just as a perfectly synchronized father and son should- chugged the entire glass.

"I think it's safe to say that this is real juice," Peter said, wiping his mouth with his wrist. Tony chuckled in response. Then they fell into an awkward silence.

"Mr. Stark, if it makes you feel better, I will blame you. But I really don't. Believe me, I wanted to. I wanted to blame somebody. But I couldn't. Of course, if you hadn't brought me to Germany, I wouldn't have gotten hurt. But now that it happened, I don't want to brood over it. And I have been. Brooding over it, I mean. This makes it impossible to be Spiderman." Tony cursed under his breath. He had obviously forgotten about Spiderman. Sensing that Tony was again mentally punching himself, he pushed forward.

"But I want to just continue living. If I have to be this way, fine. But I want to be able to figure out a way to live how I normally did with your help." Peter looked up tentatively at the last phrase. As much as Tony's help was needed, he was in no means obligated to help him. Tony looked back at him. Slowly, he began to smile.

"Kid, you're talking to one of the richest men in the world. You can be damn sure that I'm going to help you."

Author's Note: I am by no means an expert/doctor/a paralyzed person. I will be doing some research to make it as realistic as possible, but if I make a mistake, feel free to correct me! Also, feel free to tell me how I'm doing in general. This is my first fanfiction after all.