Author's Note: Ahoy, mateys! Welcome back to A Pirate's Life for Us! We have arrived at CHAPTER 3! In this one, we see Peter getting a little seasick when the ship hits some rough waters, so Tony and Pepper try to help him! I hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Chapter 3

Prompts: Seasick/Rough Seas

When Peter woke up one morning, he immediately felt a slight rocking sensation in the ship. He didn't think much of it as he got up trying to be careful in not waking the other crew members up and went about his morning duties. He laid out the Captain's uniform and then proceeded to the galley to help Happy with breakfast for everyone. Once that was done and he delivered the food to the crew, he went outside and noticed that it was windy and cloudy, and the ship rocked back and forth. He looked out at sea and saw the waves bouncing up and down in the ocean, and he could see the white caps. Tony had taught him that that usually meant they crossed into rough seas.

"Looks like rough seas today," he said to himself. "I wonder if Captain Stark will want to keep going today."

"Of course, he will," a voice said from behind causing Peter to jump and to turn around only to see Rhodey. "Rough seas are nothing for the Avengers."

Peter couldn't help but chuckle and roll his eyes. "Of course, what was I thinking?" he said as Rhodey walked over to him.

"Well, don't worry, Shark Bait," Rhodey said crossing his arms and joining Peter in looking out over the choppy ocean. "These spots usually don't last long. You just need to be careful, though."

"Why's that?" Peter asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Rough seas for a land lubber like you…" Rhodey said smirking at Peter, "could lead to you getting a little seasick."

Peter scoffed and rolled his eyes again. "Don't worry about me," he said. "I'll be completely fine. I won't get seasick."

Rhodey could only chuckle and shake his head. "Okay, but don't say we didn't warn you," he said.

Not long after, Peter and Steve hoisted the anchor, and Peter helped to adjust the ship's sails with Natasha and Clint. Soon the ship was moving again, and of course, the ship began to bounce on the choppy water. Peter immediately found himself bouncing around…struggling to stand upright, and soon he felt a churning feeling in his stomach.

"Oh no…" he thought to himself.

"Hey, Shark Bait," another voice said from behind causing Peter to jump and turn around only to see that it was the Captain.

"Oh, C-Captain Stark," Peter said trying to stay upright with his mop.

"You…alright, laddie?" Tony asked scanning the boy standing in front of him. He couldn't help but notice that Peter was looking a little pale and a little unsteady. "You look like you're about to step into Davey Jones' locker."

"Oh…no," Peter said shaking his head, "no, I-I'm okay, sir. Just not used to this, I guess…the…rough seas…you know?"

"Well, worry not," Tony said with a smile, "we'll be out of this rough spot soon. You'll get used to it quick out here. Keep your feet wide apart to help you keep your balance."

Peter nodded and did as he was told immediately noticing a huge difference in his stomach. "Thank you, sir," he said with a smile on his face.

"You're welcome," Tony said with a nod. "If you're done swabbing the deck, Rogers needs you at the helm. He and I need to plot our course out of this rough spot."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Peter said quickly nodding. With that, he put his cleaning supplies back where they belonged and ran up to the helm, where Steve waited for him. "You…you need me to take over, Steve?"

"Sure do, Shark Bait," Steve replied with a small smile. "You ever steer a ship before?"

Peter could only shake his head in reply. His father and uncle promised to teach him in the next year, but…it never happened. They died before fulfilling that promise to him.

"Well, get your ass over here," Steve said. "I'm going to teach you."

The cabin boy smiled as he walked over while Steve stepped aside allowing him to grab hold of the wheel.

"Alright, you just need to keep her steady for a little while," Steve began as he walked behind Peter. He then placed his hands on Peter's guiding them to the proper position on the wheel. "Keep your hands steady. Remember that the ship will go where you want her too. So stay relaxed and alert. We don't want to run into anything."

"Aye, Steve," Peter said nodding and keeping his eyes on the ocean in front of him. Only…that seemed to be a big mistake for him as the ocean waves pushing against the ship made the churning in his stomach worse.

"I'll relieve you when I come back," Steve said as he walked down the stairs to meet with Tony. "Try not to bring a spring upon 'er, alright?"

"Aye, Steve," Peter said nodding.

Soon, the cabin boy was left alone with the steering wheel. He was in complete control of the ship. This was supposed to be an amazing moment…supposed to be exciting knowing that the Captain and his navigator entrusted the ship to him for a little while, and all he could focus on was the churning in his gut. It was getting worse and worse. He could feel the sweat forming on his forehead and the shakiness in his knees. He tried to keep his feet far apart to keep his balance, but it was getting harder and harder to ignore. He couldn't help but look over to the banister that looked over the ocean, but he couldn't leave his post.

"Hey, boy," a voice said from behind. "Boy!"

Peter looked up and saw Rhodey looking at him with concern. "Uh…s-sorry, sir," he said. "Did you need something?"

"You alright?" Rhodey asked with a raised eyebrow scanning Peter as he stood at the helm. "You look a little squiffy there."

"I-I'm fine," Peter said trying to muster up a fake smile. "I'm…I'm just fine. I just—" Suddenly, he didn't feel so fine as he felt something coming up his throat. All it thankfully took was one look at Rhodey for the first mate to realize what was happening. The next thing Peter knew Rhodey gently pushed him away from the wheel and toward the banister. He quickly steadied himself and emptied the contents of his stomach into the rough ocean below.

"Worry not, lad," Rhodey said as he steadied the ship. "The fish will eat well tonight."

Peter couldn't help but chuckle as he leaned over still breathing heavily. However, it didn't last long as he threw up again. He was so focused on how sick he was that he barely noticed that two more people walked up to him and Rhodey.

"Rhodey, what's happened?" Tony asked curiously and with concern in his voice as he watched the cabin boy.

"The lad got a little seasick, Captain," Rhodey said as Steve resumed his position at the helm. "He was looking squiffy, so I took over for him."

"Argh…" Tony said to himself. He then wasted no time in walking over to Peter. "Peter, you alright there, laddie?"

Peter coughed before answering the Captain. "I-I'm alright, sir," Peter said with a small fake smile on his face. "I-I'm just—you know—chumming for the fish."

"Alright, alright," Tony said gently patting him on the back, "let's get you down to my quarters. Can't have you keeling over again."

"No, no, sir," Peter said dizzily, "I'm okay, really." He quickly threw up again.

"Yeah, I can see that," Tony said rubbing Peter's back. "Come on, Shark Bait, let's get you below deck." He then gently took Peter by his arms and guided him down the stairs. "Rhodey, take over here. Steve, stay on course. I'll be down in my office with the lad and Pepper."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Rhodey and Steve said in unison as they watched their Captain take their cabin boy inside.

"That boy has Captain Tony Stark wrapped around his finger," Steve mused with a smirk.

"He sure does," Rhodey replied with a chuckle, "but don't tell him that, matey. He'll throw us overboard."

"Come on, Shark Bait," Tony said as he guided Peter into his office. "We can sit here for a while."

Sure enough, Pepper was sitting at her husband's desk studying the ship's logs, and she looked up just in time to see him come in with the cabin boy. "Tony, what's going on?" she asked as she stood up. "Is Peter alright?"

"He's alright, darling," Tony replied as he guided Peter to sit in the chair. "Our little landlubber just got a little seasick. That's all."

"Oh my," Pepper said as she walked over and knelt down in front of him, "you poor thing."

"I'm okay, Ms. Pepper," Peter said as he rested his head in his hands, "just really dizzy."

"He also gave the fish quite a meal," Tony muttered as he rubbed Peter's shoulder.

Pepper couldn't help but roll her eyes before smiling at Peter. "Don't mind him," she said gently. "He may be Captain, but sometimes, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

Peter chuckled with a small smile on his face. "Good to know," he said.

"Careful, Pepper," Tony said with a raised eyebrow, "you don't want to turn my cabin boy against me."

Pepper chuckled and shook her hand running a hand through Peter's brown hair. "Let me get you some warm washcloths," she said before getting up and going into her and Tony's room to heat up water and gather washcloths.

Peter couldn't help but watch how Pepper walked into the bedroom without stumbling once. In fact, none of the pirates seemed bothered by the ship rocking back and forth, and he furrowed his eyebrows together as he looked up at the Captain. "Why is that I'm the only one getting seasick here?" Peter asked. "You all are walking around like we're sailing on a lake."

Tony chuckled as he sat down in a chair next to Peter. "Because, lad," he began, "when you're an old salt like us, you learn how to adjust to the sea…the beauty and the dangers. A landlubber like you needs time to get used to it."

Peter sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "I hope I can be as experienced as you guys," he said. "It's going to be dreadful if I get seasick every time we hit rough waters." The ship bounced back and forth causing Peter to groan feeling the dizziness return tenfold.

"Keep your head down, Shark Bait," Tony said moving closer to Peter, "and don't close your eyes. Focus on something on the floor and keep looking at it."

"Aye, aye, sir," Peter replied doing as the Captain instructed.

"Blimey…" Tony said with a smirk, "even when you're not feeling well, you still find a way to be respectful. I knew I made a good choice in keeping you around."

Peter chuckled as he kept his eyes on the floor. "You're the old salt here," he said. "I'm just the landlubber."

"Ahh…don't worry, Shark Bait," Tony said ruffling his brown curly hair, "you'll get used to it. Why, there may be a day you'll know the seas more than I do. For now…just let us take care of you."

Peter smiled feeling a warmth swell in his chest. It had been quite a while since someone cared for him, and he had almost forgotten what it felt like. "Aye, aye, Captain Stark," he said. Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice something. He saw the Captain's shiny black shoe…and the wooden peg leg on his left leg… He had noticed it when he first encountered the Captain weeks ago…and multiple times in past few weeks he had been with the crew, and he couldn't help but grow more and more curious about the peg leg. However, it was hard to ask when he was fighting seasickness.

"Alright," Pepper suddenly said as she came back into the office, "I have some fresh cloths and water, and I've prepared the bed for you, Peter. You can rest there until you're better and we're out of these rough waters."

"Wait, what?" Peter asked quickly shooting up only to put his head back down. "Uh…uh…that's real generous, Ms. Pepper, but I can't possibly do that. That's your bed. I can sleep in my hammock downstairs."

"We know, lad," Tony interjected, "but this bed will be more comfortable and more stable. It'll help keep the squiffy away, just until we get out of this rough spot, okay?"

"But you're the Captain, and I—"

"We know, thank you, but trust me, it's okay. It's just for a little while, alright?"

Peter wasn't sure what to make of this. This was definitely not something pirates usually did, especially for cabin boys. He should feel honored, but he couldn't help but feel that he was being more of a burden than keep…like he was imposing.

"Peter, please," Pepper gently urged jolting Peter out of his thoughts, "let us help you. You don't have to worry about fending for yourself anymore. We want to help you…to take care of you, please."

The cabin boy sighed. "Okay," he said after a moment. It was hard to say no after that as he once again felt that warm feeling swelling in his chest…the same feeling he got whenever his parents…or his aunt…or uncle took care of him. He wanted to feel that again even if it was brief.

With that said, Pepper and Tony gently guided him into their bedroom and into their bed. Peter couldn't help but smile as they tucked him in and as Pepper gently wetted his forehead with the warm cloth lulling him into a deep sleep as the dizzy feeling left him and as the smile never left his face.

Author's Note: Annnnnnnnd that's all for Chapter 3, boys and girls! It was a little bit shorter than the first two but that's okay! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'm still working on Chapter 4, but that should be done within the next few days! Don't forget to leave a review! Thanks, guys!