A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for falling off the face of the Earth for, like, seven months. 2020 has been... well, it's been 2020. I don't really want to get into anything right now but here's another chapter. I told y'all I wouldn't abandon this piece. Consider it an early holiday present. I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review!
The next few hours were a blur to Peter.
He vaguely remembers getting out of the shower and throwing on whatever clothes Tony had left out for him. He then hobbled out into the hallway on his crutches where he ran straight into Tony himself. Said man had been alerted by Friday that Peter was finished with his shower and proceeded to lead him to the kitchen. Clint helped him get comfortable at the table while Natasha made him a plate of food.
Rhodey and Steve had indeed cooked all the food in Tony's kitchen. They had made a spread of breakfast foods, grilled sandwiches, hot dogs, salad, and chicken quesadillas. Natasha had grabbed him some eggs, bacon, hash browns, and a few biscuits along with a tall glass of orange juice.
Peter stared at the plate.
He didn't think he would be able to keep anything down.
Tony reached over and grabbed a biscuit, splitting it open and spreading butter on it.
"Small bites." Tony instructs, handing the biscuit to Peter.
Peter slowly accepted the food and hesitantly bit into it.
After that, Peter doesn't remember a whole lot. After eating what Tony had deemed an acceptable amount of food, Tony ushered Peter back up to his bedroom where he was tucked into bed. Tony sat with has back pressed again the headboard, pillows tucked up against his lower back, and ran his fingers through Peter's still damp hair which lulled him to sleep.
Peter slept fitfully – waking periodically to find various people in his room. Sometimes it was just Tony, hand still in his hair, either staring at a dimly lit tablet or whispering into his phone. Sometime Bruce was in his room, checking his vitals and talking with Tony.
One time Peter woke up to Pepper's smooth hand stroking his cheek. Peter glanced to the other side of his bed and noticed Tony wasn't in his room anymore. Looking back, Pepper had a soft smile on her face.
"Hey sweetheart." Pepper whispered.
Peter continued to stare at Pepper who merely sighed. She leaned up and kissed Peter's forehead.
"Get some rest, hon."
That was all the invitation Peter needed as he closed his eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness.
"We need to operate on Peter's knee today." Bruce said to Tony over coffee the next morning.
Tony didn't comment, instead concentrating on stirring an ungodly amount of sugar into his coffee. He was going to need the sugar rush coupled with the caffeine if he was going to keep up with Morgan, a grieving spider-kid, the Leeds family, Happy, and funeral coordinators.
"What all do you need to do?" Tony asked, turning around and leaning the small of his back against the counter.
"Well, we need to put Peter under while we operate. It shouldn't take more than hour. We're going to cut away the extra bone growth and make sure there's no damage to any of the ligaments or nerves around the bones. Afterwards we'll patch him up and give him a brace. He'll need to stay on bedrest for at least a day but given the circumstances… I don't guess he'll really fight it…" Bruce trailed off, looking sheepish.
Tony raised an eyebrow, coffee mug hovering at his mouth before he slowly gulped down the scalding liquid.
"When do you want to do it?" Tony asked.
"As soon as possible. We really shouldn't postpone it any longer than we can help. I don't want to even think about the damage that growth has already done to Peter's knee." Bruce said, standing up from the island.
"Alright," Tony sighed, setting his mug into the sink, "Let me go talk to the kid before somebody brings him food."
Bruce nodded, "Okay, I'll go ahead and set up a room in the medbay."
Tony followed Bruce to the elevator, riding it up to the penthouse level and leaving Bruce behind. The living room was strewn with the aftermath of what was a late arrival from a cross-country plane ride. Morgan and Pepper's suitcases were set out near the couch, one open and picked through. Tony knew that was Morgan's doing as she wouldn't sleep without her favorite blanket which Pepper most likely tossed into one of the bags.
Tony went down the hall to Peter's bedroom, lightly knocking on the door to let the kid know he was coming in, and pushed open the door. Tony made his way through the darkened room to Peter's bed. As he neared the footboard, Tony paused. Peter was curled up on his left side, his hurt knee stuck out in a way that Tony thought was painful but was probably offering some form of relief in his sleep. Next to Peter, curled underneath his right arm, was Morgan.
Said girl was also fast asleep, face pressed into the crook of Peter's neck. Her faded pink Minnie Mouse blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.
Tony pulled his phone out and took a picture of the pair before quietly walking around Peter's bed and leaning over him from behind.
"Pete," Tony whispered, trying to wake up one kid but not the other.
Peter's brows furrowed in his sleep, arm instinctively curling around Morgan to keep her close by. Tony's heart swelled with pride.
"Pete, wake up." Tony whispered, reaching out and brushing his curls out of his eyes.
Peter slowly opened his eyes, blinking the sleep out of them as he became more aware of his surroundings.
"I see you had a late-night visitor sleep with you." Tony murmured, gesturing at Morgan.
Peter glanced down at the little girl, smiling down at her despite the fact she was drooling onto his shoulder.
"She came in at some point asking if I was okay. I didn't really know what she knew so I just let her crawl in with me. I told her a few stories and I guess we fell asleep." Peter said.
Tony hummed as leaned over and helped Peter extract himself from the sleepy five-year-old. Once Morgan was properly tucked back into Peter's bed, Tony helped said boy hobble over to the bathroom, setting him up at the toilet before turning around to give him some privacy.
"Bruce is prepping the medbay. He said that we need to go ahead with the surgery on your knee. He doesn't feel comfortable waiting any longer because the bones could continue to grow abnormally and cause more problems." Tony said, explaining to Peter why he woke him up.
There was a flush and Tony hesitated before turning around to look at Peter. The teen was sitting on the lid of the toilet, face pale from standing up on his hurt knee.
"Okay." Peter whispered, withdrawn.
Tony sighed, crouching down to look up into Peter's face, ignoring his protesting knees as they popped.
"Hey," Tony said, placing his hand on Peter's cheek, forcing him to maintain eye contact. "I'm going to be there when you go to sleep and I'll be right there when you wake up."
Peter stared at Tony for a long time.
"Promise?' Peter whispered.
"Promise." Tony said.
Tony went to stand, ready to go look for Peter's crutches so he could get to the elevator without having to lean on Tony, when Peter suddenly opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry."
Tony paused, leaning back to sit on his butt to give his knees a rest.
"What about kiddo?' Tony asked.
There were so many things Peter could be apologizing for. The kid had a guilt complex that rivaled Tony's – and that was saying something!
"About making you promise." Peter said, looking down at his hands.
Tony's brows furrowed, "It's not a big deal Peter. I can always work on schematics while you're in surgery and while you're sleeping. It's not that hard of a promise to keep."
"Not for that promise." Peter said, shaking his head.
Tony was, admittedly, confused and it must have shown on his face because Peter looked at him and sighed.
"The promise I had you make in the back of the medical van. I'm sorry about that. It wasn't fair of me to ask you that."
Tony was shocked. "I didn't think you remembered that."
Peter shrugged and Tony sighed, leaning forward.
"Listen kid, don't beat yourself up about it. You were scared and in pain. I would have probably asked for somebody to promise me the same thing if I had been in your shoes… I'm just sorry that I couldn't keep that promise." Tony admitted.
Peter remained quiet and Tony finally got up off the floor, groaning the entire time. He slipped back into the bedroom and found Peter's crutches leaned against his nightstand. He brought them back to Peter who accepted them with only a mild look of disgust. As the pair made their way out of the room, Morgan shifted in her sleep, rolling over and opening her eyes.
"Daddy?" Morgan mumbled, voice garbled from sleep.
Tony hesitated in the doorway, unsure of what to do.
"I'll wait on the couch." Peter said, not looking back.
Tony sighed and made his way over to Morgan.
"Hey little miss, looks like you made it to the wrong bed last night." Tony said, sitting down on the bed next to his daughter.
"I came to check on Petey but then I felt sleepy." Morgan said, stretching her little arms up.
"Well, why don't you just stay in bed and sleep a little longer. Peter and I have to go see Uncle Bruce about his knee. We'll be back later tonight and then Peter will start feeling a lot better. Don't you want Peter feeling better?" Tony asked, tucking Morgan in.
"Yeah, I do. Petey looks really sad. I think he was crying last night but he said I make him feel better." Morgan yawned, closing her eyes again.
Tony felt his heart break, both at his daughter's innocence and at his surrogate son's pain. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Morgan's head before leaving the room, carefully pulling the door shut behind him.
Peter was curled up on the couch, face burrowed into a pillow, when Tony came into the living room. He briefly wondered how much Peter had overheard, but couldn't dwell on it too much because said teen was sitting up and reaching for his crutches.
"Ready?" Tony asked, leading the way to the elevator.
Friday opened the doors and Tony stepped aside to allow Peter to get in first.
"As I'll ever be." Peter sighed, leaning his head back against the elevator wall and closing his eyes.