A Superhero's Day Off
I have been living with Tony Stark for almost a year now. It was definitely the craziest year of my entire life which was saying something when you have been bitten by a radioactive spider. The adoption process was scary and long but in the end was the best thing ever. When Aunt May died I thought I would too. It felt like I was and at her funeral, I wanted to climb in the ground with her and let the dirt cover me until my pain went away.
But I didn't, I just clutched Mr. Stark's arm and wiped the tears from my face. Then when everyone else had left I collapsed into his arms and buried my face in his neck. I felt five instead of fifteen but I couldn't help it and he didn't seem to care that I ruined a suit that was probably worth more than May and I's whole apartment had been.
It wasn't until the next morning when I zombied my way to the kitchen in the tower to find out he had taken temporary custody. Then, only six months later I was calling him Dad and my name became Peter Benjamin Parker-Stark.
I still could hardly believe it every time I saw my name. I also can barely believe how comfortable I am with Tony now and how normal he is. Well, not normal Dad is never normal but not what the media made him out to be. Every night we sit on the couch and watch Doctor Who as we eat his surprisingly good dinner. It seems like every time I turn around I am learning something about him that I never knew.
Now I will say Dad is not an overly affectionate person. I think this worries Steve because he is always trying to give me hugs and stuff. Which of course I appreciate but the thing is when It is just Dad and I he is much more loving. He rubs my hair and more often than not I fall asleep against his side after a shamefully small amount of Doctor Who. What can I say being Spider-man really takes it out of me!
Those moments are great but some of my favorite times with Tony happened in the place where both of us feel most comfortable. His lab. When I first got settled in the tower the lab took my breath away every time I saw it. It was a nerd's paradise! Not only all the Iron Man suits but also all the cool side projects Tony is working on at any given time.
Sometimes, we spend hours down there. Just after Aunt May died I was not really ready to talk about it so Dad would give me something to tinker with and we would work in silence, both just enjoying the comfort of another's presence. Then when I would get tired I would set my project on the coffee table and lay down on the couch in the lab. Very soon I discovered watching Tony work was like a lullaby to me. I guess just knowing that he was there and nothing bad could happen to me was enough.
Currently, I was tucked into the couch in the living room. I felt as if my body temperature as about what Steve's was when he was frozen in the ice. Shivers racked up my body violently and I couldn't help but let out a pathetic moan of agony. I found out after the Spider bite I was not immune to sickness but in fact, it was about 100 times worse than it ever had been. When I get sick my healing factor kicks into overdrive but pretty much nothing except give me a fever that would kill a normal human and make me feel like crap.
Dad was at a business meeting and wouldn't be back until around six. I closed my eyes to try and quell my rising nausea. I don't know how long I floated along is a sea of vertigo and pain but pretty soon I felt someone shaking my shoulder.
Faintly I heard, "Peter? Hey Bud. Wake up."
The shaking caused a sudden jump of nausea and I let out another groan of distress. I tried in vain to pull away from whomever or whatever was disturbing me.
"Peter open your eyes for me kid." The annoying voice persisted again.
Maybe if I just look at them they will go away and leave me to suffer in peace. I cracked my eyes open just a little and a blurry image of my dad came into view. I squinted my eyes even further in confusion.
"Dad? What are you doing here? Did you get out of your meeting early?"
"Yeah, Bud. FRIDAY notified me that you needed help. How long have you been here?"
Like his image, his words started to blur together. I furrowed my eyebrows more in confusion. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my forehead as my eyes started to close again. I heard him muttering as if through a wall.
"Damn. Pete? Bud? Hey, stay awake for me. Shit! FRIDAY what are his vitals?"
Another pestering voice accompanied the other, "His temperature is 104.3. He appears to have an elevated pulse and blood pressure. Along with a low O2 level."
I felt the had on my forehead move to brush my sweaty hair back and brought a brief sense of relief. I leaned into the cool touch despite the fact I felt like I was in an ice box.
"Dad?" I questioned. "I don't feel good."
"Shhh, I know. It's ok Pete. I am going to make it better. Ok? FRIDAY call Bruce and tell him to get up here immediately it is urgent."
The room was suddenly shrouded in silence and Dad got up from where he was kneeling next to me and moved away. I felt the loss of his presence. Just as I started to make a noise of discontent he was back and pressing a cool washcloth to my burning forehead. The relief was immediate and I was incredibly grateful. I felt his other hand rubbing my aching chest as I realized my breath was coming out in pants.
Moments later I heard the distant ding of the elevator opening and heard, "Tony? What is so urgent? Don't tell me you have another impending explosion in the lab." I recognized the voice as Bruce.
Tony's gaze left me for a brief moment but his hands stayed as they were. I heard steps and soon my blurry vision made out the image of not only Bruce but Steve as well.
Both their eyes went wide in surprise as the saw me, "Jeeze! Tony why didn't you tell us it was about Pete!"
Dad's face drew up in irritation, "I'm sorry keeping you two up to date wasn't my biggest priority. Now, get over here and look at him. His fever is 104.3 and he is not very responsive."
My eyes tracked Steve and Bruce as they moved closer. My dad moved to stand next to the arm of the couch so Bruce could examine me.
"Pete? Hey, can you hear me?"
I gave a weak nob to acknowledge I had heard him. The movement sent another round of agonizing pain through my body and I let out another groan. Bruce's hands ghosted over my body and I turned my gaze to stare at Steve because he was still and easy to focus on.
"Where does it hurt Pete?" Bruce's question brought my gaze back to him.
"My head and my chest. All over. I'm so cold and I think I might throw up." The words tumbled out of my mouth and honestly I surprised I could even form them at all. My mouth felt dry and my nose was completely clogged. My Dad's hand still held the cool cloth to my forehead and his touch conveyed comfort.
Bruce started to speak again while nodding his head,"Ok, we need to get him to his bed. Steve, can you carry him?" Steve nodded and moved closer to me. "Tony you need to go down to the infirmary and get an IV. Then, find some ibuprofen. I don't want to give him the strong stuff unless he gets worse because we don't really know how it affects his spider genes."
Dad rubbed the side of my head affectionately and I sensed him quickly make his way to the elevator. Meanwhile, Steve came to the front of the couch and looked at me with sympathetic eyes.
"Hey, Bud. I am going to carry you to your room. Are you ready?"
I gave a weak nod and tensed as he knelt down a little and moved his arms to cradle under my knees and across my shoulders. Soon I was dead weight in his arms but he didn't seem strained. He was careful as he maneuvered through the living room and down the hall towards my bedroom. Somehow I managed not to make another pathetic sound despite the pain and overwhelming nausea wreaking havoc in my body. Before long he was setting me gently on my bed and pulling my Star Wars comforter up to cover me.
Bruce soon entered as well and passed another cool cloth to Steve. "Here put this back on his forehead. We have got to break his fever soon."
The cloth was once again pressed against my brow. Steve must have felt the heat radiating off of me because his eyebrows knitted in concern.
"FRIDAY what is his temperature?"
"104.8 Captain and appears to be rising still."
Steve once again met my eyes which I'm sure held evidence of all my misery and normally I wouldn't want him to see me like this but I was too sick to care right now.
"Jeez Kiddo, you got really sick, really fast. Why didn't you tell someone you were not feeling well?"
I would never admit it to anyone later but my eyes teared up a little. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to be a bother and Dad has been busy with work stuff. I didn't think it would get this bad. Honest. I'm sorry."
He gave me a sad smile and rubbed his hand across my chest like Dad had done. "It's ok kiddo all you need to worry about now is getting better."
I sensed my dad enter my room and heard him murmuring to Bruce. Soon he was giving me a sad smile much like Steve's.
"Hey Buddy, I've got some medicine do you think you can take it?"
Honestly, I doubted it but I was desperate for some pain relief so I gave a weak nod. Steve helped me sit up for just a second and dad offered me the two pills and a glass of water. As quick as I could I downed it and sagged back onto the bed. That small task seemed to take all of what little bit of energy I had. If only the criminals could see me now.
Once I was settled Steve moved to give Bruce access to my arm. The small pinch of the needle seemed minute compared to the inferno in my body. I was feeling drowsiness by the second and my eyes seemed to be closing on their own accord.
Faintly I heard Bruce's deep baritone, "Ok, his fever should break in about an hour and the IV will keep him hydrated. If the fever doesn't break in an hour call me back and I will give him the strong stuff. I'll let the rest of the team know what is going on. Keep us updated."
I guess he and Steve left because my dad pulled my desk chair over to the side of the bed and sat down. I turned my head just a little to be able to see him and he reached out to place a gentle hand over the cloth on my head. He used the washcloth to slick my sweat soaked hair back. Then his hand moved to rub my cheek. His touch was so comforting and I leaned into him almost instinctively.
"It's ok Pete. I'm right here and I am not going anywhere. Get some rest. Ok?"
Finally, I let my eyes close all the way and felt myself drift off into the painless abyss of sleep.
Notes: Wow! This turned out to be way longer than I thought it would be! I absolutely loved the Tony & Peter relationship established in Spiderman: Homecoming and wanted to contribute so lovely fluff. There will be a part two to this story but I can't give a definite time on when I will post it. Thanks for reading and remember to review!
