Happy wasn't there.
Okay. No big deal. He could walk home. It wasn't the first time, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. Except it was the middle of winter and he was not properly dressed to make the walk back home. He could always call Stephen, but he didn't want to bother him about something as trivial as a walk in the cold. The man had more important things to worry about.
So he set off towards the subway. That was only a five minute walk, and the ride itself would be another five but at least he would be out of the elements. From the subway to the tower would be ten minutes. Fifteen at most.
Peter jumps into the train just before the door closes and vigorously rubs his hands together and breathes on them. Shit. He was already shivering. He didn't think it was that cold outside.
The teen jumps out at his stop, zips his sweater all the way up, and throws his hood on after putting his earphones in. Hopefully the music would distract him from the cold. It did for a little while, until about halfway to the tower when he began to shiver so violently, it hurt. Just a little farther, he thought. Then he could curl up on the couch with a heavy blanket and maybe even Levi, and ask Dad to make him some hot chocolate.
Oh good. He wasn't shivering anymore.
Some part of his brain screamed at him saying no, this was very bad. That he needed to find help. Well...the tower was in view so he would have help soon enough.
Peter stumbles inside and toward the private elevator, makes a few attempts to press the button for the family floor, and then tilts his head back against the wall when the correct button lights up. His vision swam now that he was standing still, and he had to lift one if his arms up just to be sure he was still wearing clothes because he was so cold. As soon as the elevator doors open, he staggers out and slowly makes his way to the kitchen where he finds Tony sitting at the table with coffee and a Starkpad. His father looks up upon his arrival and the smile he had quickly turns into one of horror when Peter decided to get friendly with the floor.
"Peter!" Tony scrambles out of his seat and drops to his knees, and Peter nuzzles his face into the engineer's hand when he touches it. "You're ice cold! FRIDAY, tell Stephen to get here right the fuck now!"
Peter wasn't really aware of what happened after that, but he did feel himself being carried at one point, and then he was against something warm and it was heaven. He used whatever strength he had left to press himself against the heat as he felt himself being cocooned. His senses gradually came back after what seemed like forever and the first thing he smelt was tea leaves and incense. He knew that scent belonged to somebody but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet. The first thing he heard was yelling and it sounded both angry and worried and that upset him so he returned his focus to the smell.
Tea leaves and incense. Tea leaves and incense...
Stephen.
Peter slowly opens his eyes to find himself pressed against the sorcerer's bare chest and his nose buried in his collarbone. Okay. He solved that mystery, but it wasn't Stephen who was yelling. In fact, the man was silent as he rubbed soothing circles onto the teen's bare back where Levi was gently resting. So the cloak was the cocoon.
That only left the obvious answer that Tony must be the one yelling. It took a couple more seconds of focus for his sense of hearing to come back and Peter cringes at the sudden onslaught of noise.
"There was no text Happy! I checked his phone! Next time you sit outside the gates if you can't wait in your usual spot! I never want to see my kid take a nose dive to the floor like that again!" Tony mumbles incoherently when, Peter assumes, he hangs up the phone. "How's he doing Mama Bear?"
"He's coming back. He could probably handle something warm to drink now."
"Hot chocolate for the baby. I'll be right back."
Even if Peter could speak, he wouldn't try to deny being called a baby. He probably looked like one curled up against Stephen, and it felt too nice for him to care. Although when he did manage to croak out some semblance of a word it was, "Mum." How British of him.
Stephen's chest vibrates with his chuckles. "Feeling better Spiderling?"
"Hnn." Because really, that's how he felt and that's all he could muster.
A collection of relieved sighs reaches Peter's ears and he attempts to lift his impossibly heavy head to see who else was them. The sorcerer pushes his head back down to his collarbone and Peter miraculously doesn't fight him. The warm swathe Stephen had him trapped in was too nice anyway.
"I wouldn't do that."
Peter would recognize that Russian lilt anywhere. Natasha was talking to someone. Someone who apparently didn't take her warning seriously because Stephen's magic crackles around them before pushing away whoever got too close. That someone curses when they hit the floor and others in the room laugh at their misfortune.
Rhodey was the next to speak. "That's not Mom Mode Barton. Strange is in full-on Mama Bear Mode. Only Tones is getting close."
Peter felt Stephen's grumble before he heard it. "Please stop talking about me like I'm not here."
"Man, I was just worried about the kid. You didn't need to throw me across the room!"
The Avengers ignore him and go back to their separate activities, and Peter soon feels himself being extracted from his cocoon to which he whines pathetically. He was comfortable!
"I know Underoos...but I brought hot chocolate. Drink this then you can snuggle with Mama Bear all you want."
Peter wasn't about to argue with that, so he accepts the mug of chocolate and slowly drinks the contents with Levi still wrapped around his shoulders. He ignores the concerned glances from their teammates because he was beginning to suspect that he passed out in front of them, and that was embarrassing. Not including the cuddle fest he had with Stephen, but that was something they were used to seeing.
"What happened?" Peter asks quietly and vaguely registers the sorcerer putting his shirt back on.
Tony and Stephen look at each other and the billionaire sighs. "You shaved about ten years of my life."
"We think your spider DNA keeps you from thermoregulating." The sorcerer finally answers.
Tony snorts. "Yeah. So let's not have a repeat of today. If Happy isn't there, you call someone alright?"
Peter nods numbly. "Yeah. Okay."
He places his empty mug on the coffee table, his body pleasantly warm and fuzzy, and then practically falls back over onto Stephen and nuzzles his shoulder. Levi wiggles away and floats behind the couch as Tony replaces the cloak with a heavy blanket and then briefly moves the pair's feet to sit on the couch. He moves their feet back onto his lap, places his own on the coffee table, and then glances around at the full living room.
"Why do I bother giving you guys your own floors if you keep taking over mine?"
Steve smiles but doesn't look up from his notepad. "I'm just up here for that snuggle burrito over there."
"I'll pretend you're drawing fluffy kittens if you give me a copy of that."
"Deal."
Soft snores draw the attention of every single person in the room and Tony had to cover his mouth to hide the fond smile that broke to the surface. The snores not only came from Peter, but also from Stephen whose cheek was resting on top of the teen's head. Brown curls were all that anyone could see since the blanket was pulled up to Peter's nose and the rest of his face was hidden in the sorcerer's neck.
"Strange officially has his cub." Nat whispers affectionately.
Everyone, including Tony, chokes on their laughter.