Hours later, Peter jolted awake, and it took him a moment to remember where he was. Then the day before came flooding back to him.

The infirmary. That's right.

He shifted, pushing himself up and pushing the hunger pangs away. He hadn't had anything in a couple of hours, and he was starving.

The movement caused his Dad to jolt awake, and Peter realized only then that he had fallen asleep in a similar position to how Peter had discovered him the night before, with his head on Peter's bed. Papa was awake already in the bed next to his, just watching.

"Oh my God." Tony whispered. "It was real. It wasn't a dream."

"Nope." Peter said. "Not a dream, Dad."

Tony reached out as if to touch him, but seemed to think better of it, and let his arm fall back down. Peter reached out and took his hand, squeezing it.

"We have a lot more to talk about." Steve said gently. "I have a lot more questions, Pete."

"I know." Peter said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We have time though. I swear, I'm not going anywhere. Not again." His stomach grumbled loudly.

"Bruce said he was bringing us food." Tony told him. "Before we talk about something more serious, I do have something for you. I went back to my lab this morning. I've been working on some gadgets for those with super senses in our midst. Papa handles it fine most of the time, but Bucky struggles too. I've got these ear plugs -" He handed over what seemed to just be silicone earbuds, "And these contact lenses. They are adjustable, sort of like how Friday can adjust the lights in the room. You can verbally instruct the items to set the brightness or the noise level. And when you're feeling up to it, we can sit down and talk about your problem with being overwhelmed by touch. I want to build you a suit - your current one is glorified pajamas, and I'm not sure how you even survived, all things considered. You can help me with the suit, and tell me what you need. And if you get overwhelmed by clothing, which I sort of guessed you might, we can work on figuring out a better material. I know Shuri has been working on some things in Wakanda, I can reach out to her to help." Tony stopped for a breath, and Peter realized that that was where he got his rambling tendencies from.

"That would be great, Dad." Peter smiled. "I'm doing better today, I can already tell. Yesterday was hard with the fight, and all the blood I donated, and the emotions that were running amok. I normally handle physical stimuli better than I was yesterday." Peter took the earbuds and the contact lenses that Tony was giving him, and his Dad helped him to get them on and adjusted, and Peter had to admit -

"These are fantastic." He looked around, finding that he could see more now that he could focus on one thing instead of everything. "Thank you, Dad." He whispered.

"You're welcome, Petey." Tony patted the bed right beside Peter's leg, careful not to touch him.

Bruce came in at that moment with food - Papa's morning shake that he had been taking for years, three plates piled with chocolate chip pancakes and bacon - Peter's favorites - and another shake that looked different than Peter remembered Papa taking. Was Dad now taking a shake or something?

Bruce distributed the food, not commenting on the fact that Peter's bed had been moved to be only a foot from Steve. He finally spoke when he got to the second shake.

"Peter, I stayed up all night analyzing your blood sample and this is the shake I came up with that you need to take every day. This one is designed to help you gain weight - eventually, I can adjust it so that you maintain, but you desperately need weight, and fast. You're significantly underweight."

Peter didn't meet his dads eyes at that, not wanting to see whatever was going through their heads.

He took the shake with a grin though. "Thanks, Doc." He said. "You didn't have to stay up all night. Thanks." He took a sip, it tasted like chocolate. "It tastes good." he promised.

"Good." Bruce nodded, looking pleased with himself. "The others want to come see you, Steve."

Peter felt panic overwhelm him. He was barely able to handle his dads right now sometimes. He didn't think he was ready for the whole team, not yet.

"Easy, Pete." Steve said gently, hesitantly placing his hand on Peter's back. "You don't have to see them until you're ready." He promised. "Just breathe."

Peter took a couple deep, grounding, breaths in. "Yeah, alright."

"Can you tell them that Steve's still really tired, and they can see him later tonight? Steve can make at least an appearance at dinner so that they know he's alive." Tony suggested.

"You got it." Bruce agreed, and he made his exit.

"You guys can have dinner with the team." Peter protested. "Just because I'm not sure that I'm ready doesn't mean that you have to isolate yourselves."

"Peter, you seem to think that you're being an inconvenience to us." Tony said softly.

"When the truth is, we would trade any interaction we ever had with the other members of the team for even a minute with you." Steve finished.

Peter nodded jerkily. "I'm sure you guys have some other questions. Today, I need to go-" he felt both of them flinch at his words and stopped. "Well, I wanted to go to my apartment and get my things, but I can wait."

"We can come with you." Tony suggested. "I'm sure you'll need some help collecting it all."

Peter snorted. "I'm sure I won't." He laughed. "But yeah, you can come with."

"Okay, we'll do that. I really want to know what's been going on the past two years." Tony admitted. "We know some of what you've done as Spiderman since we were keeping tabs on him, but what about besides that?"

Peter shrugged, uncomfortable. "Not much. You'll see my apartment, I mostly only slept there. I had a gig waitressing. The pay was under the table, made enough for some food each month and my rent. I haven't been in school or contacted anyone since I left. I've mostly been by myself." he shifted, picking at his sheets.

"God, it breaks my heart to think of my baby by himself for two years." Steve admitted.

"It was my own fault." Peter tried to laugh it off, but by the looks on their faces, he didn't really succeed.

"No." Steve said. "We played a role too, Pete. You were right - we hadn't been around much the last couple of months that you were home. That wasn't fair to you. I can see now how that contributed to the spiral that we found ourselves in. You were 14. Did you make some stupid decisions? Yes. But you're a kid, Pete. You still are, so you definitely were then."

Peter didn't fully believe him, but he found himself nodded, feeling relief that, even if he had trouble not blaming himself, at least his Papa didn't blame him. And Dad had been nodding along too.

"Okay," Was all Peter was able to say in response. They spent the morning moving slowly, and not wanting to burst the bubble they were in. Bruce came by and declared that Steve was ready to leave.

"Come on," Tony said, guiding Peter through the hallways after having Friday check that nobody was around. "Let's get your stuff out of your apartment and then we can put that part of this behind us."

At the car, Steve paused. "Do we need a trailer or anything?" He asked Peter, eyebrow raised.

Peter had to laugh. "No, I'm not bringing any furniture or anything back." He snorted.

Peter didn't miss the look that Tony and Steve exchanged, but he ignored it in favor of directing them to his apartment - soon to be old apartment.

It was cold inside, as the heat didn't work, and Peter immediately broke out into a shiver. He made a face, but led his dads into it.

"Peter… this is your apartment?" Steve asked. He and Tony were looking around while Peter headed over to the corner where he kept everything. He felt both come up behind him to see what he was gathering.

Peter was packing the few pairs of clothing that he had into the backpack. He shook out the blankets that were laid out on the old, beat up mattress that Peter had found outside of a dumpster a couple weeks into living on his own. "The mattress stays." he said, trying to make light of it. Tony reached over to the bed while Steve reached for Peter's makeshift nightstand - a couple of cereal boxes taped together.

"You kept this hoodie with you?" Tony asked, shocked.

"Yeah." Peter felt offended that they would even ask that. "I barely had time to think after I made my decision. That sweatshirt and that picture -" He motioned to the picture that Papa was holding - "Are the only things I took the time to grab. I would never - and probably will never - get rid of either. They got me through some serious stuff." Peter took the hoodie from his hands and pulled it on, and it helped to keep out some of the cold.

While Peter packed up the couple of other odds and ends in the apartment, Steve went and checked the kitchen. Peter could have told him that there was nothing there, but decided to let him ascertain that for himself.

"Peter - do you have any food?" Steve called from the cabinets. "Also, your refrigerator doesn't work."

"Umm…" Peter picked up his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. He had one other bag with some stuff in it, but that was it. "No food. I was going to get some last night after I worked, but then the battle and everything. And there's like… some milk and a slice of pizza in the freezer. The fridge part doesn't keep anything cold, but even though the freezer doesn't work as well as a normal freezer, I can use it as a fridge."

Steve opened the freezer door to determine that yes, there was milk and a slice of pizza.

"No wonder you've lost so much weight." Tony breathed. "Have you lived here the whole time?"

"Yeah, I have." Peter was confused when they glanced between each other. "What?"

"God, Pete." Steve breathed out. "I know you stayed away because of what you heard… but you left, you did this… to protect us?"

"Well, yeah." Peter said as he ducked into the bathroom to grab a couple things - he wasn't worried about most of it, but there were a couple of things he wanted to grab. He finished shoving them into his bag and came back out his dads. They were looking at him with such sorrow on their face that it broke Peter's heart. "Listen, I'm fine." He insisted. He shivered again, even in the sweatshirt, which didn't help his case.

"You're still cold?" Steve asked, reaching out and putting his hand to Peter's forehead. "Are you sick?"

"Well, there's nothing to him to keep him warm." Tony pointed out, but he looked equally worried.

Peter just shrugged. "Well, I don't thermoregulate anymore, so when it's cold out, so am I."

"Peter… has your building ever had heat?" Steve asked.

"Nope." Peter picked his bags back up. "Let's get out of here." He begged. He was ready to stop dwelling on his living arrangements.

"What did you do in the winter time?" Tony asked him.

"Freeze," Peter said jokingly as he led them out of the building, and he flashed them a grin that didn't meet his eyes.

"Peter -"

"Papa, I'm alive." Peter insisted. "Dwelling on it won't change it. It won't make it better. I spent a lot of time patrolling because moving kept me warm. I spent days in the library, reading, hoping to stay somewhat on top of the information I was supposed to be learning at school. I had blankets for the winter. And did it suck? Yes. But it's over. And I'm so ready to come home. On really cold days, I would fantasize about coming home from patrol to the compound, freezing, and you both squishing me between you on the couch, with hot chocolate and Nonna's lasagna and a Star Wars marathon. That's how I got through it. And I know I get overstimulated by touch, but you don't have to treat me like I'm going to break if you touch me. I need the touch, I crave it. I have barely been touched by anyone deliberately in two years. And if it's too much, if I get overstimulated, I'll tell you. But stop treating me like I'm fragile, and stop being afraid of me." Peter felt tears in his eyes that he tried to blink away, but he didn't succeed.

"Oh, bambino," his Dad's voice was soft and his touch was gentle as he pulled Peter into his arms. "We aren't afraid of you, baby."

Peter felt warmth behind him as his Papa wrapped his arms around both of them. "We're afraid of losing you." he said gently. "We've just got you back. And our hearts are breaking at just the knowledge of a fraction of the stuff that you've gone through without us, because no parent ever wants to know that their child has struggled as much as you have."

"It's going to be an adjustment for all of us, Petey," Dad said to him. "Please be patient with us. And keep doing exactly that, if we aren't giving you what you need, tell us. We haven't been avoiding touching you because we haven't wanted to."

"I know." Peter mumbled into his shoulder. "Sorry I got upset."

"It's okay, son." Papa whispered in his ear. "We are all figuring this out, and that includes you."

They finally pulled away and Peter whined. "I was finally warm." He complained, teasing a little.

"Come on, Spiderling," Tony said, putting his arm around Peter's shoulder and pulling him closer. "Lets get you into the car and get you warmed up."

They did, and Steve sat in the back with Peter while Tony drove. Now that Peter had told them how much he needed touch, they didn't want to leave him without it. Peter was feeling warm and content by the time they got home. His dads led him back to his old room, and Peter wasn't sure what to expect, but his room literally the way that he left it wasn't it. His books were even still on his desk. His bed looked like it had been slept in since that night, but otherwise…

"You just left my room?" Peter asked. "Exactly as is?"

Papa looked at him like he was crazy. "Yes? We wouldn't mess with your things. We searched through enough to see if you'd left a note or something, but otherwise… we haven't touched anything."

Dad cleared his throat. "Well, besides the fact that we have both fallen asleep on your bed." He admitted.

"You slept in here?"

"On bad nights." Papa admitted.

Peter set down his stuff. "I uh… I'm probably going to need some new clothes." He muttered. "I don't think anything from two years ago will fit me. I know the clothes I left in don't."

"Yeah, you definitely need some new clothes." Dad agreed. "We can go whenever you are ready."

Peter nodded, still feeling a little overwhelmed by his surroundings. "I think I need to take a shower." He admitted. "It's been a while since I-" He cut himself off.

"Please tell me that your apartment had running water." Papa said faintly.

"Oh, it did." Peter said quickly.

"Did it have hot water?" Dad asked him.

Damn. "Not most of the time."

"Go take a shower, bambino." Dad kissed the side of his head - when had Peter gotten taller than his Dad?

"Go, baby," Steve said when Peter looked at him. "We will be around."

Peter nodded, and headed for the bathroom, hearing his bedroom door click and his dads' footsteps retreat down the hallway.

Peter spent way longer in the shower than he normally would have, reveling in the warmth and the feeling of being clean. His Papa had popped his head into the bedroom and informed Peter he was leaving some of his and Dad's clothes for him to go through and see if he found something that would fit until they went shopping.

Peter came out and found the clothing, but it was all too rough. He compromised, pulling on his freshly cleaned Spiderman suit and putting a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt over top. It helped to minimize his discomfort from the clothes, and Peter felt like a whole new person.

He made his way to the kitchen, following the smell that had to be his Papa cooking.

"I'm fine, Sam." he heard his Papa saying.

"Is Spidey fine? He never came back after he went with Bruce. Bruce told us that he was a match and was able to help you, but we haven't seen him since." That was Aunt Natasha.

"He is fine. Bruce was monitoring him last night."

Peter stepped into the doorway, and was met with a familiar scene that made his breath catch. Nat and Clint were sitting at the island. Papa was standing at the stovetop, cooking, with Sam assisting. They were the only ones in the kitchen. Papa glimpsed Peter out of the corner of his eye. Peter saw him try not to react, but Peter flashed him a thumbs up. I'm good.

Aunt Natasha was the first one to notice him, her hand flying to her mouth. Peter had never seen her look surprised before.

"Um… Hi." He said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

Natasha got up and made her way over to him, drawing Sam and Clint's attention to them.

"Peter?" She asked, shocked.

He nodded mutely, and she pulled him into a tight hug. "Oh my God, you're alive." She pulled back and looked him over, making assessments. "You're Spiderman." She realized. "Oh my God, you're fucking Spiderman."

"Nat, watch your language around my kid. Come on." Papa ribbed good naturedly.

"You know he hears worse from your husband," She shot back.

Sam bumped her out of the way, wanting his own turn to see Peter, and then it was Clint's turn.

"Good to see you're alive, kid." He grinned at him.

"Yeah, thanks." Peter said. He sat down at the empty seat next to Nat.

"You hungry?" Papa asked him.

"I'm always hungry." Peter told him. He tried to sound like he was joking, but Papa narrowed his eyes at him, realizing how much truth was hiding behind that statement.

"I was making grilled cheese and tomato soup." He said. "As much as you want. I can do this all day."

He served Peter the first two sandwiches, going through and making everyone food, and then circling back to Peter. Peter ended up eating a total of 12 sandwiches and three bowls of soup.

"You were hungry." Sam commented.

"I have a supermetabolism." Peter muttered, his face red. Papa shot Sam a look, and came and put his arm around Peter's shoulders.

"I'd make grilled cheese sandwiches for you 24 hours a day if you wanted." He whispered. Peter grinned in response.

"Where's Dad?"

"The lab. No wonder he looked so determined." Nat laughed.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"He told us he was making Spiderman a proper suit - that he hadn't realized what you were wearing out there until yesterday and that Spiderman needs better equipment. He looked strangely determined for someone that we've only fought with a handful of times, that we didn't really know. But now that I know he's making you a suit…" She trailed off.

"He may not leave the lab until he's done." Clint finished for her.

"Can I go…" Peter trailed off.

"Go." Steve shooed him off. "Sam's helping me clean up. Go find Dad."

Peter looked at him, still uncertain, but Papa motioned again. "Go. It's okay, Pete."

Peter jumped down from the chair. "Thanks Papa." He practically sprinted down to the lab. He stood outside the glass door, and he could see his Dad bent over something on the table. The door opened automatically for him, and Peter was surprised to find there wasn't any music blaring.

Dad's head shot up at the sound of the door though, and he broke into a wide grin when he saw Peter.

"Can I help?" Peter asked, suddenly feeling small and unsure.

"Of course, bambino." Tony motioned him forward, and Peter came and sat next to him. "I already have some ideas of a suit for Spiderman, but I want your input to make sure that it does what you need."

"You're going to let me still be Spiderman?" Peter asked him.

Tony froze and looked up. "Would you listen if we told you you couldn't be Spiderman anymore?"

Peter shrugged. "I'm tired of arguing. I wouldn't like it, but I would respect it."

"And that's why we are going to let you still be Spiderman." Tony told him. "Because you've grown up a lot, Peter. I've seen that just in the few hours we've spent with you. What I expect is that you are communicating to us where you are going and when, and that you respect the boundaries we put in place to keep you safe, like curfew and distance. If you aren't able to do that, then we will have to reassess you being Spiderman. But I think you can and will, so unless you indicate otherwise…" He trailed off.

"Cool." Peter grinned. His Dad pulled him in and kissed his head.

"So what I was thinking so far - Shuri is sending me some material for your suit - I explained what your needs were, and she has something she thinks will work that's protective and shouldn't be overstimulating. So I'm working on the tech aspect. I'm incorporating the vision technology in your contacts into the eyes of the suit as well - the contacts and ear plugs will automatically shut off when you have your mask on. Your coms unit will have the same capabilities of the ear plugs. That will allow everything to flow together in one system instead of multiple different parts."

"Okay, cool." Peter said, looking at the specs as his Dad was talking.

"I've talked with Shuri, so right now what I'm working on is figuring out how to incorporate thermo technology with her material to make sure that you stay warm or cool, depending on the circumstances. If her material works, I have what I need to recreate it here, and she'll walk me through it. Once we figure this out, I'd like to make you a whole wardrobe of clothing, not just a suit, so that you are always comfortable with the material and the right temperature."

Peter's eyes welled unexpectedly with tears at this plan, that was meant for not only Peter's safety, but his comfort.

Tony glanced over at him as he was showing him some ideas on the tablet for how he wanted to try and do that, and noticed the tears.

"What's wrong? What did I say?"

"Nothing," Peter shook his head with a laugh. "It's just…" Peter was silent for a moment, and his Dad watched him, giving Peter his undivided attention. "You really love me."

Tony's breath caught in his throat. "I really really do, Pete." He said, turning to fully face him, and turning Peter too. He tilted Peter's head up so he was looking at him. "Did you doubt that? Before the night you left?"

"No." Peter shook his head, but Dad didn't look convinced. "I didn't - at least I don't think I did." He told him. "But I'd been awful to you both even before that night, and I was trying to push you away, I needed to, to protect you. And I guess I was so stressed, I just latched onto those words and…" he trailed off. "I didn't believe that before I left, but I did after." He finally admitted it, not able to meet his Dad's eyes, knowing that he was hurting him. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Dad pulled him into his arms. Peter tensed at the unexpected touch, and Dad went to pull away, but Peter shook his head. "I'm fine." He mumbled, relaxing when he felt his Dad's strong arms wrap around him again. It made him feel safe… it made him feel like he was home.

"I'll spend every day of the rest of my life reminding you that I love you." His dad murmured. "You don't have to apologize for your fears or how you feel. I'm the parent. And you aren't responsible to protect us, Pete. Thats my job, and that's Papa's job. We are your parents."

"I can't just stand by and watch you or Papa get hurt." Peter protested.

"And I can't handle watching you die - or knowing you died to save me or your Papa. We've both lost you once, we can't handle it again."

"Okay." Peter promised. "I'll… I'll try. That's all I can promise right now."

"I'll take that." Tony agreed. He kept hold of Peter, and they spent the next couple hours working on the suit. And that's how Steve found them when he came down - with Peter's head leaning on Tony's shoulder while they worked together.

Tony looked up at the sound of the doors opening. "I was going to see if we were going clothes shopping, but it looks like you two are a bit busy." he teased them lightly.

Peter lifted his head. "No, I really need some stuff." He admitted. "If that's alright."

"Of course it's alright." Tony pecked the side of his head. "I guess you found some clothes that work for you? I didn't even ask."

"Er… yeah?" Peter glanced down and then pulled the collar of the shirt down slightly. "I'm wearing my suit underneath to buffer it. This material… isn't working too well."

"I washed your clothes while you were down here." Papa told him. "That way we can go out without your Spiderman suit. I did see that you had it on when you had lunch." he told them. "I assumed that the clothing you already have works for you."

"Yeah." Peter agreed. "Thanks, Papa." He stood up, stretching. "I'll go get ready." In his room, Peter pulled on a soft t-shirt (cotton) and the MIT hoodie. He pulled on some sweatpants (also cotton) with his seamless socks and breathable sneakers. His sneakers were falling apart, but he hadn't been able to save up the money for new ones yet. He shrugged. They would have to do.

"Are we ready?" Papa asked. He and Dad were dressed and ready to go.

"Yeah." Peter agreed. Once in the car, they started going the opposite direction of where Peter was used to going for clothes.

His Dad apparently had the same thought. "Babycakes, where are we going?" He asked.

Steve glanced in the rearview mirror at the two. "While you two were researching and working on Spiderman's clothing, Nat and I were working on Peter's." He wouldn't give them any more information, but Peter's jaw dropped when they pulled into the parking lot.

"I've been in here." He breathed. "I forgot about this place. I could never afford it when I was just being a vigilante, but their clothes are super soft. I would browse here once in a while."

"Yeah, apparently, they specifically sell clothes for those that need sensory friendly clothing. There's a couple of other shops throughout the city that do too, but this one was ranked the best."

Peter couldn't help it, he was beaming. "You did that research for me?" He asked.

"Of course I did, son." Steve threw his arm around Peter while they walked into the store.

Once inside, the workers were fantastic. They explained to the three that all of their clothing was made out of materials meant to be soothing for someone with sensory processing problems. Their clothing was soft and lightweight, though they did have a line of clothing that provided compression too for those that needed it. The clothing was seamless and tag-less. And it was wonderful. Peter found a lot of clothing, including underwear and socks, that didn't immediately make him want to tear it off his skin. They had some shoes, but nothing that worked for Peter. While Steve worked with Peter on picking clothes and trying things on, Tony wandered around, browsing. When the two were done with clothing, Tony directed them to a small section of the store that sold other household items.

"Okay, bambino, let's pick out some sheets and some blankets and towels." Tony instructed. Peter did, knowing by now that arguing with his dads about how much they were getting for him was pointless.

They finally checked out, with the owner allowing Peter to wear one of the outfits out of there, though he did keep his MIT hoodie on.

"Alright. Is there anything else you need, Pete?" Dad asked him as they loaded everything in the car. With Steve and Peter's superstrength, they had gotten all of it in one trip.

"Nope." Peter told him.

"Yes." Papa answered. "The kid needs shoes, Tony."

"My shoes are fine," Peter protested, knowing even as he did that he wasn't going to get anywhere.

Dad just raised an eyebrow at him. "Let's go."

They did eventually find some shoes that worked for Peter before they all collapsed back in the car, exhausted.

"Sorry I'm so difficult." Peter mumbled, but both his dads were shaking their heads before Peter had even finished his sentence.

"Pete, we want you to be comfortable - to have what you need. This clothing is a need, even if it's more complicated than clothes shopping used to be."

"Okay," was all Peter responded as Steve started driving them home. It wasn't long before Peter had fallen asleep on his Dad. Tony just held him as they drove, silently reveling in the fact that he finally had his kid back.

When they got back to the compound, Peter was still asleep, so Steve came around the car. "I've got him." He murmured, taking their sleeping child into his arms. It had been years since Steve had carried Peter to bed, but he was thrilled to do it. "God, he's so light." Steve muttered, exchanging a concerned glance with his husband, who was nodding in agreement.

"We'll sit down with Bruce, go over what he needs." Tony murmured. "We'll get him healthy again."

"Yeah," Steve murmured. In Pete's room, Tony quickly changed the sheets on the bed to a set that they had just bought, before they got Peter settled into it, tucking his new blankets around him.

In the kitchen, they were met by the team - almost everyone was there. Nat, Clint, Bruce, and Sam were there, and Rhodey had come up to check on things. Steve grinned at the sight of Bucky, leaning against the wall and taking in the conversation, which halted when the two entered the room.

"Peter came home?" Bucky asked immediately.

"Yeah, he did." Tony nodded.

"Where is he?"

"He's sleeping, Buck," Steve told him. "You'll get to see him later." he promised.

"How is he?" Clint asked.

"He - he's okay right now." Tony said, considering the question. "He's not gone into details, but he was trying to protect us," He motioned between himself and Steve, "From something. He said he took care of it. And he stayed away from a miscommunication." Tony swallowed hard, not able to meet anyone's eyes, including his husbands. It was his fault that their son had stayed away a whole extra year, living in that hell.

Steve reached out and squeezed Tony's hand in his, wanting to comfort his husband. "He's scared." Steve whispered. "He hides it really well most of the time. But I think he's convinced that he's hurt us too badly and we don't want him."

"Which is preposterous." Rhodey scoffed. "You love that kid more than life itself."

"I know," Steve agreed, giving Rhodey a tired smile. "It's going to take time to prove to him that we aren't going anywhere."

"What about physically?" Nat asked, leaning forward. "He looks sick."

Bruce joined in then. "He is very underweight. I've developed a supplement shake for him to take. He needs to drink that every morning, no exceptions. He can take it up to two times a day if he wants to. It's very high calorie to support his supermetabolism and it has all of the nutrients in it that he is deficient in - which is basically all of them."

Tony grimaced. "Yeah, we assumed that much."

"I could feel his ribs," Steve winced. "When I carried him inside, I could feel his ribs and his spine."

"Well, we went shopping," Sam told them. "Got all of Peter's old favorite stuff. We stocked the fridge and the freezer with quick meals that he can make whenever he needs to. Whatever else he needs, you say the word."

"Thank you." Tone said, not able to even articulate how grateful he was for the group in front of him, who loved their son. They had helped Tony and Steve search the city from top to bottom when Peter disappeared. "I'm-" Tony glanced at Steve. They hadn't discussed what he was going to say, but he felt the need to tell them. "I'm going to be taking a step back from missions right now." He told them.

"I am too." Steve admitted, and Tony squeezed his hand. "Our son is first priority. Until he's ready - one of us needs to be here at all times."

"I anticipated that." Rhodey told them, and the others didn't look surprised at that knowledge either.

"Of course you have to take care of Peter." Nat said quietly. "He's home, which we had started to worry wouldn't ever happen. And he needs his dads. Where's he been living, anyway?"

Steve let out a bitter laugh. "A ridiculous apartment in Queens. You guys should have seen the state of that place. I mean, he did a great job with it, except he didn't have anything. He had a mattress. He had milk and one slice of pizza in his freezer, which he was using as a fridge because neither worked properly. No heat, no AC. No hot water. Oh, and apparently since he became Spiderman, he doesn't thermoregulate. It's a fucking miracle the kid didn't freeze to death."

Steve never used the f-word, and everyone stared at him in shock. "That poor kid." Bucky shook his head, not knowing what else to say.

"He did choose to leave-" Sam was cringing even as he said it.

"Don't go there, birdman." Tony snapped. "He was 14. He made poor decisions and then he dealt with the consequences. I guarantee that he's had more natural consequences from his actions than any of us might ever know. Us beating him up for those decisions isn't going to help."

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "You're right." He admitted. "I'm sorry."

Tony waved him off, not responding verbally.

"It's been a very exhausting couple of days," Steve said diplomatically, pulling on Tony's hand. "Come on, babe."

Tony allowed himself to be pulled by Steve to their room, where they both changed quickly and collapsed in bed together, exhausted.

"We've got a long road ahead of us." Tony said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. But it's shorter than it was." Steve told him. "At least he's home."

"Yeah, you're right." Tony blinked back tears as he thought about everything they had learned about their son's experiences while he was gone. He turned to see that Steve was trying not to cry as well, and pulled him into his arms. And they fell asleep like that.

Hours later, Tony was woken up by Friday. "Boss, it appears that Peter is in considerable distress."

Tony jolted awake, disoriented as he processed the AI's words. Steve was sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed, and Tony quickly followed him out of his room and down the hall to their son's room.

They found him thrashing around in bed, his face covered in a sheen of sweat.

"Bambino," Tony sat on the edge of the bed next to Peter, "Wake up. It's only a dream."

"I'm sorry!" Peter cried out with a sob, still asleep. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry!"

"Petey," Steve sat on the other side of the bed, and tentatively reached over to shake Peter's shoulder. Neither were sure if touch would be helpful in the state that Peter was in right now.

"Papa! Dad!" Peter was still crying. "I'm sorry!"

"Peter," Tony said, louder and more forcefully, pushing Peter's curls away from his forehead. "Pete, wake up."

Peter shot upright with a gasp, looking around wildly, like he didn't know where he was.

"You're at the Avenger's Compound." Steve said soothingly. "We are in your bedroom. Dad and I are both here with you. You're safe, we're safe."

Peter was shaking and staring straight ahead. He didn't make any indication that he had heard Steve's words.

"Peter, baby." Tony reached over to their son and grasped his shoulder. That broke whatever trance Peter was in, as he turned to Tony and burst into tears, throwing himself into his Dad's arms.

Tony felt Steve wrap himself around them too, and they held their crying son for a while until he settled down and was able to start breathing normally.

"Peter, what was your nightmare about?" Steve asked gently.

"I love you both." Peter gasped out, surprising them. "I'm sorry I haven't said it since I came back. You two almost died and I didn't tell you that I love you."

"Oh, baby." Tony breathed. "You don't need to tell us that for us to know that. We know you love us. And we love you, so very much."

"We always have," Steve said gently, "And we always will."

AN: Okay, a couple things:

One: I took some liberties with Peter's sensitivity to stimuli - especially touch

Two: I have some other one-shots planned in this universe, including one where Peter gets injured and some other tentative ideas. If any of you have some suggestions or requests, please let me know! I can't guarantee I'll be able to follow through, but I will consider each request.

Three: Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed or followed or favorited this story!