Warm water swept across Peters face, brushing his hair back, and traveling over his cheeks, and down to his neck.
Someone was humming quietly, interrupted only by soft words, and Peter turned his head towards the sound, as his arm was lifted by a gentle hand.
"This will make you feel better. Nice and clean, all ready for the trip back home, that's exciting huh?"
It was a woman's voice, one that he'd heard before, and when his eyes opened, he recognised her as the nurse that taught Cap about his physical therapy. He couldn't remember her name, though she seemed nice. She smiled when she saw his eyes open, and dragged the warm wash cloth down the length of Peters arms, ending at his hand to massage his fingers with the damp fabric.
"There are those baby browns. Hey, Peter, it's nice to see you awake again. That extubation took a lot out of you."
Peter didn't understand all that she was saying, but she had a nice smile, and it felt good, the way she rubbed the cloth into his skin. So, he silently watched her, as she placed his arm down and squeezed the cloth out in a bowl beside the bed, before running it over his bare chest. He shivered slightly, and made a noise in the back of his throat, frowning when he realized he could.
He hadn't been able to talk for…however long he'd been in the hospital for, and he concentrated as he tried again.
"…hmmmm…I…" It came out as a garbled mumble, although he'd been trying to ask where May was, or Mr Stark. The nurse smiled and nodded patiently.
"It's okay, take your time." She moved the cloth over his chest, as he concentrated on how to formulate the words he wanted. His eyebrows furrowed, and he tried his best, but what came out of his mouth wasn't a question at all.
"Hmmm…I'm…done…fi…ghting now." The nurse looked up, hands still moving as she did her work.
"Wow, how about that for your first words. That's pretty good little man. I'm almost finished here, and then we'll get you ready for the big transfer. You're going back home to a medical facility at Stark tower. I'll be coming too, and Dr Adams, so you don't have to worry about a thing. We'll be taking care of you till you're back on your feet. I think everyone's excited to be going home, and Mr Stark will be pleased to hear you talking. He's been waiting a while."
Peter watched her work, the cloth continuing to slide over his skin, making him feel fresher and more human than he had been previously, but he frowned because that wasn't what he had meant to say.
She didn't seem to notice his frustration, and simply kept chatting away until she'd finished, and placed his gown and blankets back in place. She excused herself to fetch Dr Adams and Tony, who would be, according to her, simply ecstatic that he was speaking.
Peter didn't see how it was that great; he was used to talking a mile a minute, and now it took significant effort to get a few words out, and they hadn't even been the right ones!
But, it seemed she was right; Tony had a big smile on when he entered, and Dr Adams was looking excitedly at Peters alerts eyes.
"Hey, Peter! Finally awake for good now? April, told me you were talking, do you want to try it again?" April, that was the lady's name.
Peters gaze flickered to Tony, who was trying to stay quiet in the back, while Dr Adams took the lead.
The teenager took a deep breath, because talking took concentration, and he wanted to be sure he said the right thing this time. He furrowed his brow, and huffed in irritation as he tried to get the words out.
"Hmm…I'm do-done fight…ing now." That wasn't what he meant.
Dr Adams nodded sadly. "That's right. You're all done for now."
Tony, however, looked pale, because he recognised the words. Peter met his eyes, and he knew they were the same ones that the teenager had uttered to him on the tarmac, when he'd first seen how bad his injuries had been.
Peter could see how hurt Tony looked, but that hadn't been what Peter meant, and he grunted as he kicked the end of his bed in annoyance at his own clumsy tongue.
Tony leant towards the doctor, whispering to him, as if he'd forgotten that Peter had super hearing. "Didn't he just say that same thing to April? Why can't he say anything else?"
Dr Adams placed a comforting hand on Tony's arm, shushing the man before he could leap to any conclusions.
"He might just be a little stuck, give him a moment." He turned back to Peter, with an easy smile.
"Can you tell me your name?"
Yes. Maybe? Peter knew what it was, but he wasn't sure if it would be what came out of his mouth when he spoke. His gaze bounced between Tony's worried eyes, and the doctors relaxed ones.
It all felt ridiculous, like he was a child, being asked to say his own name like it was a hurdle he just needed to overcome. It shouldn't be hard to say your own name, but that's where he was.
Peter sighed, and tried to relax and just let the word fall from his mouth, like it had a million times. But the word didn't feel easy, it didn't feel like just two syllables; it felt like peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth that your tongue just can't quite get to.
"Hmmm…" He hummed a little to get his mouth moving, and then pushed the word from his thoughts to his tongue and out between his teeth.
"Pe…ter." A smile broke free, and the two men beside him smiled, as Dr Adams patted his shoulder encouragingly.
"There we go! Who's this?" He pointed to Stark, who no longer shared the same complexion of Peters sheets, and Peter found it easier to loose the name from his lips.
"Tony."
The billionaire came over to the bed and dropped a hand on his head, brushing Peters hair back as he visibly relaxed. "I am so glad to hear you talking again. I never thought I'd miss a child's incessant rambling but…here we are."
Of course, he wasn't all the way there yet, it was still hard to find the words he wanted, but it got better and better the more he tried. Now that he was back to, almost, normal, and the government was settled down, it was time to head home.
Tony felt as if a band had finally been untied from around his chest; he could finally take in a full breath, and stop worrying, because Peter was okay. He was still weak, and needed a little help to get his coordination back, but he was present, he was talking, and it felt like they really had him back, for the first time.
He'd waited so long, it was practically agony to sit beside the kid's bed and watch him open his eyes but see nothing, and then wake up but not be there, that he felt as if he were walking on air. Peter was really okay. Which meant Tony could fix everything.
Firstly, it was bringing them all home, to Stark Tower. He'd already sorted out the whole thing, organising his staff to deck out the whole place with everything the team might need. They each had their own rooms, and the medical wing was fully stocked, and Peter had a space set up right next to his room, to do his physical therapy in. It was all going to be perfect.
Happy met them all at the jet, as they wheeled Peters bed onboard and set everything up for the trip, but the teenager wasn't so happy about it. Tony was doing up his belts for him, pulling straps across his legs, hips, and chest, to make sure he didn't move around too much during the flight, but Peter didn't like the feeling of being held down.
Tony took the spot next to him, as everyone got settled in their seats, but Peter was letting out small grunts as he pulled at the straps and tried to curl onto his side in the bed.
"Hey, its okay. Settle down, Pete." The billionaire put a hand on the kids arm, only to feel Peter start to shake as soon as the plane started. He let out a small whimper, at the engines rumble, and kicked restlessly when the plane started to move. Tony frowned, concerned. He had no idea why Peter would be scared.
Happy came over with a blank face, trying to act as if he didn't care, even as he took a seat next to the kid's bed, and put a hand on his chest to get his attention. "Hey, you're fine, kid. It's just like the ride over here, remember?"
Peter seemed to latch on to him, gaze locking on to his, as he nodded. "Take a deep breath."
The teenager followed his lead, noisy gasps falling from his mouth as he squirmed. He was gearing towards panic, and the other occupants of the plane noticed.
Tony looked at Happy, silently asking for an explanation. Happy obliged, voice low. "He got nervous about the turbulence on the trip over. He'd never been on a plane before and he didn't handle it so well."
But the plane was already moving, and the engines were so loud that Peter was having trouble blocking it out. He could feel the rumble of the entire plane, shaking into his bones and mixing up his insides. It felt awful. It was harder to focus his senses and not to feel overwhelmed by everything, since the whole brain injury thing.
He moaned in discomfort, catching the attention of the other occupants of the plane, one of whom being Sam, who came over with his iPod in hand.
"Hey, what's going on?"
Happy and Tony looked to him as he walked over, while Peters hands clawed their way to Tony's arm, fingers burying themselves in his jacket. "Too loud. I don't…I don't like it."
Sam frowned, glancing down at the iPod in his hands, before closing the distance between them and offering the headphones to the teenager.
"It's probably not your style, but it might help."
Peter didn't want to let go of Tony, but nodded gratefully as Sam carefully put the headphones in place, turning the volume up, until Pete's shoulders came down from their hunch.
He was still shaking, and flinched every time the plane jolted even a little bit, but the music helped, and Sam stayed to keep his hand resting on the kid's leg. The Avengers hadn't known Peter long, they had probably only interacted with him for about five minutes each, during that disastrous airport fight, but they couldn't help but feel protective over the kid.
Tony had told them all about him, while he'd been in the coma, and they knew he was a nerd, very talkative, and just a genuinely good kid. So, when Peter let out a terrified cry at a sudden bounce of turbulence, Cap couldn't stay in his seat. Peter may have stolen his shield, but Steve couldn't ignore him when he was so scared.
He came over to the slowly growing group of people surrounding the teenager, and took a seat close beside Sam. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so as not to embarrass Peter, as he leant over a little, to place a hand on the kid's ankle.
Peters eyes were squeezed shut against the vibrations of the plane, but they fluttered open at Steve's touch, and he found the first avengers unwavering gaze. Peter smiled just a little, relaxing minutely at the sight of four adults, three of whom were Avengers, sitting beside him to make him feel better.
It was a long flight back to New York, and the other heroes slowly gravitated towards Peters bed. Cap and Sam were at the end, quietly talking, Happy was asleep at Peters side, and Tony was trying to pretend he wasn't holding Peters hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it every time Peter squeezed it when the plane shook.
Natasha, and Clint subtly switched seats to the ones closer to the growing group, and began playing cards with Bucky and Scott. Vision and Wanda watched and refereed while Rhodey sat near Tony and read a paper silently.
Amongst the quiet talking, laughter, and the music coming through Sam's borrowed headphones, Peter could barely hear the plane engine anymore. He looked around the luxurious space, amazed that he got to be in the same plane as the Avengers, let alone be taken care of by them.
He wished he had his phone, so that he could video it all, but he settled for savouring the moment.
About halfway through the flight, Peter was looking out through the window, blinking tiredly at the passing clouds, when almost silent feet, padded across the cabin towards him. He turned, not expecting to see black widow approaching with a blanket.
She gestured towards Tony, where he'd fallen asleep still holding Peters hand, as she draped the blanket over a dozing Sam. She shared a look with Cap, who nodded and stood, taking her previous seat next to Bucky, so that she could sit at Peters feet.
Her voice was quiet. "You're new to the team, but it is a team. Don't think that just because we're going home, that we won't help you."
He didn't know how she knew, but he had worried about that. The avengers barely knew him, why would they keep helping him? He thought that Tony may just drop him off home and be done with him, but Natasha was soothing all those worries in one sentence. Peter didn't know what to say, but he tried anyway. "Thanks."
She nodded, looking down at Sam as he fell against her shoulder in his sleep. She looked bored, which Peter was learning was just her usual expression, as she put her feet up on the end of Peters bed, shifting them enough that they pressed Peters. He smiled knowing it was her way of comforting him, when there was less noise to distract him from the engine rumble.
"You should try to sleep, there's still a few hours till we touch down."
He did as he was told, feeling safe with all of his heroes surrounding him.