Chapter 8
"How are you doing bud? Warm enough?" Mr. Stark asked Peter as he leaned into the passenger seat of the limousine the boy was sitting in. Peter, already dressed in sweats and a large hoodie, was wrapped in a large fluffy blanket, and his mentor had just added another blanket over his legs. If Peter had been feeling well enough, he'd have responded with snarky comment about if he was any warmer, he'd be on fire. Anyone watching would see that Tony was way over doing it. But because of the fever chills that had been attacking his body all morning, Peter actually felt quite toasty right now and was far from wanting to complain. So, he just nodded his head silently.
Mr. Stark hummed in approval, and then grabbed the seat belt to help him get it on. "Are we ready to go yet?" Happy's impatient voice sounded from the front seat. They were getting ready to head over to the Avengers Facility in Upstate, for the weekend. Despite how much Peter insisted that he would be fine by himself at the penthouse, his mentor had decided to bring the boy along. He helped Peter pack a duffle bag this morning, before packing for himself. After a lunch he refused to eat, Happy had arrived with the car, and the billionaire had proceeded to bundle him up so much one might have thought they were going to the arctic.
After the seatbelt was clicked in place, Mr. Stark adjusted his blankets to make sure that every inch of him was covered. Then he handed Peter a plastic bag, "If you feel like you're going to toss your cookies on the drive up, do it in this bag."
Peter just nodded his head, accepting the bag without bothering to mention how unlikely it would be for that to happen. Something he's never mentioned to his mentor before, was his fairly severe phobia of vomiting. He's been able to keep it at bay for the most part. But when he got word of any type of stomach virus going around, he'd start washing his hands so often that his skin would start bleeding. He wouldn't eat or touch anything that that would enter his mouth unless he washed his hands before. It was worse when he got sick or anytime his stomach began to feel crummy; he'd stop eating out of fear that it would cause him to vomit, and anytime he felt the telltale signs of nausea that lead to throwing up, he'd do everything he could possibly think up to will his stomach to keep its contents.
Which seemed to be going pretty well, since he'd not had a vomiting spell in almost 4 years. He had hoped that the spider bite would prevent any more sickness including stomach ailments. But the last couple of days had proved him wrong; at least whatever sickness he'd caught wasn't a stomach bug. Though he still had that icky feeling you get in your stomach when you're running a fever; so, Peter wasn't sure how well his stomach would take the drive.
Luckily, it was Happy driving them to the Compound and not Mr. Stark. The billionaire had a tendency to drive very fast and recklessly. Happy sometimes would drive a little fast, but usually dove modestly when Peter was in the car. He wondered if Mr. Stark had instructed the other man to drive even slower than normal, because the drive seemed even more tame then was usual for Happy.
Mr. Stark was on his phone most of the drive, making various calls, and taking them as well. Peter couldn't really keep up with what they were about with his fevered brain. The boy hadn't even realized that he'd fallen asleep until his mentor was shaking him awake, "Hey, kid… Pete, wake up!"
Peter glanced around the car, blinking sleepily. His head continued to pound furiously, but he didn't feel the car moving anymore. "Waz wrong?" he asked in a groggy voice.
"Nothing, we're here," Mr. Stark responded.
Upon closer examination of the surroundings outside the car, Peter could see the entrance of the Avengers Compound just a few yards away. If he hadn't been feeling so lousy right now, Peter would be bursting with excitement now. Sure, he'd been to the Compound before, but knowing that just tomorrow some of the other Avengers would be coming here also. He could actually meet them! This also brought a wave of dread, as he realized that they didn't have a plan to explain Peter's relationship with Mr. Stark. Worst yet was the idea that he may have to meet some of his childhood heroes when he was so sweaty, fevered, and wrecked. How embarrassing…
"Come on bud, let's get you inside," his mentor continued after he seemed to decide that Peter wasn't going to offer any response. He undid Peter's seatbelt for him before undoing his own, and getting out of his side of the vehicle.
Peter's mind began to shout at him, to stop acting like a helpless little kid and start moving. Sick or not he was perfectly capable of taking off his own seatbelt, though it was already too late for that. But if he didn't start moving his own body, he wouldn't put it past the man to carry him into the Compound. Mortified by the very thought, the teen heaved himself out of the passenger door, probably moving too fast since it brought on a wave of dizziness. Peter grabbed hold of the car door to stop himself from falling over. This turned out to be unnecessary as he also felt Mr. Starks sturdy hands grab his shoulder and forearm to steady him as well. "Woah there," the man's voice spoke with anxiety; making Peter feel all the more guilty for worrying his mentor. "Easy… you alright? Need me to carry you inside?"
Even though his mind screamed at him to say, "NOOOOOO! I'm not a little kid!" he manages to give a slight shake of his head without making his headache worse and mumbling, "M-ok, jus stood up too fast."
The trio manage to make it into the Compound without further incident. Except for the time he'd come by after his Homecoming dance, he'd only been down in Mr. Starks lab while visiting. So when the billionaire told FRIDAY to take them to the third floor, he felt a burst of excitement severely dampened by the overall feeling of crumminess coursing through his body. He was actually going to see the floor that had housed all the Avengers, maybe he'd see some of their personal belongings! Peter recalled once seeing on eBay some eyeliner that had supposedly belonged to Black Widow, people were bidding over a thousand dollars for it, even though there was no actual proof that it belonged to her. Now, he could potentially find a hairbrush with some of her hair actually inside of it, that could prove it belonged to her.
Not that he would ever dare to chance it. The Black Widow was one of the Avengers he knew was coming back tomorrow. The last thing he needed was to get murdered for trying to take some of her stuff. "FRIDAY, is Rhodey at the Compound?" Mr. Stark asked when the elevator doors opened to the third floor. They stepped out of the elevator, and Peter was surprised to see that the floor looked like another penthouse, though much bigger than Mr. Starks place, which made sense since it once housed all the Avengers.
"Mr. Rhodes is currently out on an assignment, and will not return until Thursday," FRIDAY responded.
Mr. Stark let out a sigh of relief at the A.I.'s response, which initially confused Peter, until he remembered how the man had told Miss Potts that Mr. Rhodes didn't know about him being Spiderman. He supposed that it was one less person he needed to explain Peter to. Which brought the boy back to his own anxiety about how they didn't have any cover story prepared yet. "Mr. Stark?" the teen said as he followed the billionaire down a long hallway. "H-How are we going to stop the… the others from… you know… finding out I'm spiderman?"
A soft sigh fell from the man's lips, and he stopped mid step to turn and look at the teenager. "Listen kid, I don't want you to worry about that, okay." He waited for Peter to give a nod of his head before continuing. "I'll come up with something; and for now, I want you to just focus on getting better."
"Y-Yes sir," the boy responded with a nod of his head.
The two of them continued down the hall, until Mr. Stark finally stopped in front of a door and opened it up. Peter could not help but gasp as he followed the billionaire into the room. The room itself was about 3 times the size of his own room at May's apartment, and twice as big as the room Tony gave him at the penthouse. Unlike that room, which had obviously been a spare bedroom when Peter unexpectedly came to live with the man, his room at the Compound had obviously been made up just for him. The bed was covered in a Star Wars comforter, there was a stocked bookshelf, a gaming shelf, and a closet filled with clothes that looked his size. There was even a balcony above the room which looked to house a small laboratory.
"All right Underroos, you look about ready to pass out. So, let's get you into bed," Mr. Stark announced, giving his shoulder a push towards the bed.
Peter hadn't realized how lightheaded he was suddenly feeling. The excitement of seeing such a magnificent room, seemed to be too much for his sickened body. So, he gratefully followed the man's orders to take his shoes off and lie down. Mr. Stark pulled back the bed's covers while Peter undid his laces. Before he realized it, Peter was burrowed under three blankets on a magnificently soft bed. He felt Tony brush a hand across his forehead; probably to check the fever that still raged on in his body. "You think you'll be all right in here for a while?" Mr. Stark asked him.
In all honesty, Peter wasn't quite sure about that. This room felt way more like his room than the one at the penthouse, but whenever he got sick; even while living with his aunt. He'd usually spend his day on the couch. The bedroom always felt too secluded while ill. He was more prone to feeling lonely while sick so it was just better to hang out on the couch. But not wanting to seem like a clingy little kid, Peter just nodded his head.
"Great," the billionaire gave him a strained smile. His stress levels were obviously starting to pick up and was trying to hide it from the boy. All the more reason to keep to himself and try to make taking care of him as easy as possible. "All right. I'll come back to check on you in a little bit. Let FRIDAY know if you need anything."
"You don't need to come back to check on me," Peter called out as the man started leaving the room. "I'll be fine, and like you said. I can just have FRIDAY to get you if I need anything."
"All right. If, you're sure." At Peter's insistent nod, Mr. Stark gave him another smile and left the room with a, "Feel better kid."
Barely thirty minutes went by before Peter had emerged from his room, to ask if it was okay for him to lay on the couch in the living room. Tony had reluctantly agreed, only because it wasn't looking like his plan was going to work. The billionaire had been hoping to keep the kid tucked away in the bedroom while the others were here, he could create an illusion of being here alone when they showed up tomorrow. It's not like any of them would think of going into a room that had previously been unoccupied, and Peter hasn't been coughing or sneezing. So, he didn't see any reason to announce the boy's presence which would lead to awkward questions. If the kid just stayed in the bedroom, he could discreetly check on him throughout the day, and they would be none the wiser.
But if Peter didn't want to stay cooped up in the bedroom the whole time, he wasn't about to force it on him, Tony would need to come up with another plan. He knew that word had gotten past the media about him taking legal custody of a teenager; so, he doubted that the others aren't at least aware of the fact. But having to explain who Peter is and why he is different from any other kid without revealing that he's Spiderman, would be a lot easier if the kid wasn't around. Tony was almost certain that the moment Natasha heard the kids' voice she would link him to Spiderman.
Tony had pretty much decided at this point that Peter was going to be a distant relative of Pepper. Her background and family tree weren't as well known to the media as his. So, it shouldn't be too hard to fabricate a family for the kid and have them related to the woman. Second cousins once removed or something. Luckily Pepper was on board with the plan when he suggested it to her over the phone yesterday. With that, they could start a story about Pepper being the kids last remaining relative, and how they decided out of the goodness of their hearts to take the kid in. It was the perfect publicity stunt. He just wasn't ready for it to go public yet. He still needed a few details ironed out. But it was enough to feed the others when they are sure to ask about the so-called kid, he's taken in.
Tony spent the remainder of the evening airing out rooms and cupboards that hadn't been opened in months and going through the food cupboards to throw out expired food. After Vision went offline, Rhodey, being the only one left still living in the Compound, started spending less and less time on this floor. By now most of the place looked more something out of a ghost town. Peter laid around on the couch, sleeping and watching the Clone Wars TV show. The billionaire was happy to see that the kid's temperature was beginning to go down finally. The last time Tony checked; it was at a normal human's body temperature at 98.5.
Since the boy still felt warmer than normal, Tony figured that FRIDAY was correct in her assessment of Peter's normal body temperature being lower than normal. This meant that he was still running a fever but seemed to be on the mend. If only the kid would eat! No amount of probing, prodding, enticing, or even begging would get to kid to eat more than a few bites of his dinner. At least the kid was willing to drink tea; so, Tony had started pushing tea with anything he could get away with adding that would give the boy more calories. He would need to restock on the tea bags after this weekend, since there wasn't much left in the Compound. When Tony had first sought out the tea when they first arrived all he found was a small box of miscellaneous tea bags of various brands, herbs and flavors. Enough to get the kid through the weekend, but not enough to appease Caps morning tea fix.
Luckily Peter didn't have a preference, so Tony had been able to just grab the bags at random and the boy would drink it without complaint. After the dinner that Tony had failed once again to get the sick teenager to eat, he felt it was time to talk to the boy about his plan for tomorrow. Since he had let Peter spend the last few days on the couch, maybe he'd agree to staying in the room when the others showed up. He wasn't going to force the issue if the kid didn't want to. But he didn't hurt to ask.
"So, here's what I'm thinking for tomorrow," he started the conversation while handing the newest mug of tea to the boy. This one he added apple juice, lemons, and honey to it. Peter looked over at his mentor, brown eyes still a bit glassy from the fever. "I'm sure the others probably already know about me taking in a kid, going by the media circus currently happening. And we already talked about how if they meet you now, they could connect you with Spiderman from Germany."
Peter nodded his head slowly in agreement, eyes looking downcast in a look of defeat. "Don't give me that look," the man scolded lightly. "Remember, I'm a genius and I have a plan. I'm thinking of just telling the others that you stayed at the penthouse this weekend. You can stay in the bedroom; and I'll come in to check on you when they aren't paying attention. And FRIDAY can alert me by phone notification if you need anything. What do you think?"
The boy didn't answer right away, seeming to think it over. After a few moments he shrugged his shoulders and listlessly responded with, "I guess so."
"You don't have too," Tony said, not totally convinced by his response. The kid always had a tendency to think about nothing, but other people's needs and desires while neglecting his own. "I don't want you to feel like I'm putting you in jail or whatever. If you don't want to spend the entire time in your room, just let me know and we can come up with another plan." He could always say that Peter had laryngitis, give the kid an excuse not to talk to anyone and then no one would be able to recognize his voice.
"It's fine Mr. Stark," the teen replied with a weak smile. "I'd rather not have my first introduction with the others be while I'm all gross and sweaty."
The billionaire couldn't help but ruffle the kids' sweaty locks at the statement. "Technically you were all gross and sweaty when you met them in Germany. It was just all hidden under that spider suit." They both shared a chuckle, before Tony turned the Star Wars show back on for the boy and left the room so he could continue to get things ready for tomorrow.
Sorry, another short chapter. Having issues with writer's block. Next chapter we finally get to see the others make an appearance. I'm also going to start bringing this story to a close. I didn't have a whole lot of plans for this story, other than Peter meeting the other Avengers while he's sick. I'm also getting eager to start posting my other story, so I want to finish this one up.