"You're sure he's okay?"

Strange nodded. He and Natasha were standing at the foot of Peter's bed, watching him sleep. The doctor had an arm casually around her waist, and Peter had his around his Ironman doll, which was tucked up against his chest. Despite the cold room – courtesy of the AC going on full – the boy's face was flushed.

"I've been keeping an eye on him all day. At first I thought he might be allergic to the kitten – even though we know he had a cat when he was younger – but it's presenting as a cold. Nothing more."

"You talked to Tony and Pepper?"

"Several times." He made a wry face, which made her smile. "They've been taking turns checking in with me every half an hour, or so, asking for an update."

"What have you told them?"

"He's sleeping. We woke him up long enough to give him some soup for lunch and then he went back to sleep and here he is."

"This won't keep him from joining them in Wakanda, will it?"

"No. We caught it in plenty of time and we're more than capable of keeping it from getting worse. He'll be fine in a few days, really, knowing the way he recovers."

"As long as you can keep him in bed."

"That won't be a problem," Strange told her, with a smirk. "Since he's staying here, I'm not just the casual observer checking in on him randomly. I'll be able to monitor his mobility – or lack of it. Besides, if he gives me any real pushback on it, I'll have you come over and join him."

"If you need me to, let me know."

"I will." He let her go, and tucked the blankets up around Peter, since the boy kept trying to throw them off in his sleep. "You can let the others know that he's fine."

"Can they come visit?"

"We'll see how he feels tomorrow. I already have a visit lined up for him, this evening."

"Where's the kitten?"

Stephen rolled his eyes.

"Wong and the cloak are watching it."

"The cloak?"

"Apparently. I don't know if it's just because it knows Peter likes the little creature and that makes it want to keep it safe, or if it actually likes the thing, but between the two of them, Peter might have trouble getting little Nutmeg back."

Which made her smile, again.

"Is that what he's going to call him?"

"Apparently. It's what Wong put on his tags. If found, return to the Avengers for a 1million dollar reward."

"He didn't put that."

"No. But he might as well, have."

"Do you need me to stay?"

"Only if you want to watch him sleep. Because that's all he's going to do today."

"What are you going to do?"

"Watch him sleep."

"You crazy wizards…"

He smiled and kissed her.

"Go home, Natasha. Tell the Avengers not to worry about Peter. I'm keeping an eye on him."

"Thank you, Stephen."

OOOOOOO

Gentle fingers brushing his cheek pulled him from his sleep, and he opened his eyes, blinking, owlishly. Then he decided that maybe he was still sleeping, because he was sure he was hallucinating – or at least dreaming.

"Hey, son… wake up a little, will you?"

Peter frowned, confused.

"Tony?"

Stark smiled, not even hurt that he hadn't called him dad. He could see the confusion in his sleepy expression, and knew he wasn't completely there, just then. Tony was the default, still. It would take a while for dad to come out as naturally.

"Yeah. We're here."

Peter looked over Tony's shoulder and saw Pepper standing behind him, looking worried and holding the kitten.

"You came home?"

"Only to check on you," he told him, settling on the edge of the boy's bed to give Pepper room to join them. "It's early morning, Wakandan time, so Stephen snuck us home for a little bit to visit."

"I'm okay."

"We know," Pepper told him, also touching his cheek. "But it makes us feel better, coming to see for ourselves."

"And we wanted to meet Nutmeg," Tony added, making Peter smile.

"He's adorable, sweetheart."

"Yeah," Peter told them, sitting up a little and noticing the Ironman doll, which he tucked behind his body and under the blankets, wondering if they'd noticed it and blushing a little. "But Nick says you can't trust a cat."

"Well, what does he know?" Tony replied, taking the kitten from Pepper and sticking his face against the fuzzy creature's belly. "How do you feel?"

"A little warm."

"Sick to your stomach? Headache? Any of that?"

"No. Just tired and hot."

"Stephen says it's just a cold, and if you do what he says he'll have you up and around in a few days. Nothing to be worried about, okay?"

"You guys aren't coming home, though, right?"

"No. Just checking on our boy. Making sure you don't feel abandoned."

Peter leaned into Pepper, who made a soft noise and hugged him, close. He knew he was probably too clingy for his age, but he had been without a mom and dad for so long, it was new, still, and besides, he didn't feel good. Luckily, the parent thing was new for them, too, and they were willing to indulge him, as Tony proved when he joined the group hug, tucking Nutmeg carefully into the space by Peter's hip.

"I miss you guys."

"We miss you, too."

They parted after a long moment, and Peter smiled; he felt better, already.

"I won't ask you about Wakanda, since I'll see it soon, for myself, but what's the best thing, so far?"

"The people," Pepper replied. "They're a mix of tradition and modern, and friendly."

"The tech," was Tony's instant reply. "We're going to go nuts when you get there."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, well, get yourself better, then," Tony told him, handing him his kitten and pressing his cheek against the boy's as he got to his feet. "Do what Stephen tells you, and call us if you need anything."

"Or I could ask him, since he'd be in the same room…"

And could produce it with a thought.

"Smartass."

Tony stepped back, and Pepper hugged him, too, before getting up.

"We saw your Vibranium mine…"

"Really? He knows it's not really a thing, right? The betting on the chess games…"

"Shuri wants an Avenger birthday party, so it might be a thing, after all," Tony said. "I could use some Vibranium," he added. "Maybe make myself a cool polymorph, or something. Why don't you bring a pick and a donkey when you come, and we'll see how much we can find?"

Peter smiled.

"I'll see if Clint minds putting it on the jet."

"Good." His expression softened. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." He was, now, anyway. "I love you guys. Thanks for coming."

"That's our job," Tony reminded him.

"And we love you, too," Pepper added. "Be good."

They walked out of his room, leaving him with a slight smile on his face, absently cuddling with Nutmeg. Strange walked into his room a few minutes later, watching him, intently as he moved over beside the bed and checked Peter's forehead.

"Well, you look better."

"I feel better." Peter assured him. "Thank you for bringing them."

"It was easier than trying to convince them that you were sleeping, peacefully," he said with an amused shrug. "I'm going to bring you some dinner, and then I want you to go back to sleep, alright? We'll see if we can get you better in record time."

"Okay. Thanks."

"You're welcome." He smiled, then, and ruffled the boy's hair, affectionately. "No lesson with Wong in the morning, but he said he'd stop in and see you."

Probably just wanted to see Nutmeg, but that was beside the point.