It's been hours.
Hours!
It's currently the middle of the night on Sunday, November 23rd.
More accurately, it's two in the morning and close to three.
May was super tired so Tony made sure that he would call for her if anything were to happen and ushered her to bed.
Pepper had tried to basically do the same to Tony once May was gone but he wasn't having it.
It's a miracle how Nat does her magic with the other kids. Probably because they are scared from her threatening gaze.
Well actually no, just Ned and Flash are but Mj probably realized that everyone is right. They need to be taken care of especially because they've been gone for awhile.
It's a miracle they got Tony to eat but to be fair, the food was brought to him along with coffee because they know how Tony rolls. In all honestly, he only ever gotten up to use the bathroom or to pace the hall.
Tony is currently on his Stark Pad, tinkering around with some ideas. He snaps his head forward as he hears the medbay door opening to see Dr. Helen Cho with a clipboard.
"How is he?" Tony is quick to ask, rushing to his feet and putting the iPad down.
"The surgery has been a success and he hasn't fallen into a hibernation coma which means he's still awake. He's a bit...traumatized I would say though from not only the kidnapping but because he was still able to feel and hear what was going on around him. You are aware of his PTSD, right?" Helen makes sure.
"Yes I'm aware, Banner diagnosed him before he left with Thor" Tony nods.
"Ok so just be aware of that then because this has definitely triggered it I would assume. He is allowed for visitors but I have to go over what you need to do to help him" Helen claims.
"Which is?" Tony wonders.
"He hasn't eaten enough to fill his metabolism with the small portions he's been getting. It hasn't even been enough to satisfy humans which is why Mj, Ned and Flash are also a bit malnourished. Just like them but more carefully, you need to be easy with the food. Nothing to upset his stomach and not too much to make him sick. He also still has a concussion which makes his senses dialed up more but it should be away soon due to rapid healing kicking in. As much as we want him to sleep right now, we can't let that happen until his body isn't cold and his mind isn't trying to go into hibernation. We have pills to keep him awake but it shouldn't be long until he can actually sleep without causing anything to happen. His injuries are still healing but it shouldn't take too long with his healing factor kicking right back in. He did have some broken ribs which we fixed right up but be careful he doesn't stress them out like everything else, they're healing. We took the implant off his neck and that will cause some soreness along with shocks he's been getting on his neck possibly from a shock collar. He's going to be in pain but right now, he's on meds. Here's the papers with all the information and you are allowed to go in to keep him company. I advise let everyone get a nights rest before seeing him. We don't want to crowd him right now and he seemed to wanted to stick to you. I'll still be around the tower so come get me if anything happens" Cho explains.
"Thank you" Tony thanks, grabbing the papers and rushing into the room.
Once Tony gets into the room, he sees Peter laying on a bed, staring solely at the wall. Tony slowly approaches him to not scare him and takes a seat at the chair besides the kid.
"...hey underoos. How you feeling?" Tony asks gently.
Peter turns to look at Tony and Tony can tell he's trying so hard to not cry making Tony's heart break.
"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes, voice cracking.
"No kid, you didn't do anything wrong" Tony is quick to correct and gently pulling Peter into a hug as he silently lets the tears fall.
"I wasn't strong enough. I-I cou-" Peter stammers.
"It wasn't your fault, none of this was your fault. You did your best" Tony interrupts.
"It's not your fault either" Peter assures back.
Tony can't help but think that Peter is wrong. It is his fault so he doesn't say anything and just lightly rubs the kids back hoping to calm him down.
"I'm tired" Peter mumbles after a few minutes.
"I know kid but you can't fall asleep yet. I'm sure Cho had told you all about it" Tony reminds.
"Yea..." Peter sighs.
"Do you mind telling me why you are this cold? Your friends weren't too cold or is it just from not being able to thermoregulate?" Tony asks but already knows it's more than just that.
"I..." Peter trails off, not knowing what to say.
"You don't have to tell me" Tony reassures.
"...they locked me up in a cold and really small room almost like a freezer. I-I felt like it was happening again an-and then my body wanted to shut down b-but I didn't let it" Peter explains referring back to the homecoming disaster.
"I'm sorry kid...I'm really sorry" Tony apologizes, wanting to murder these villains for what they did.
"Not your fault" Peter reminds.
"Scooch over. I can't really hug you like this, it's hurting my back" Tony informs Peter.
Peter complies and makes room for Tony and once Tony sat down, Peter leans on him.
"You're getting old" Peter chuckles lightly.
"Wonder why" Tony smirks making Peter laugh a little more.
"I missed you" Peter claims.
"I missed you too kiddo" Tony replies truthfully. "Now, what do you want to do to keep awake?"
"Coffee?" Peter suggests.
"Ha! No" Tony denies.
"Why? It'll help" Peter questions.
"Last time I gave you coffee you were jumping all over the place. You had more adrenaline than ever" Tony recalls.
"Ok but I won't do that this time. If you forgot, I'm injured and it hurts to move so I don't think I'll be climbing the walls" Peter bargains.
"Didn't Cho give you a pill to help not be tired?" Tony questions.
"Yeah but it doesn't really help when I've barely slept to begin with, not even counting the times I've passed out" Peter softly says.
"How about we watch a movie?" Tony suggests instead.
"Are you trying to put me to sleep?" Peter wonders.
"How about a game? I have my iPad right here" Tony hands Peter his iPad while also fixing Peters blankets to be more on him.
"What games do you got?" Peter asks, taking the iPad.
"Right now, none but you can download some" Tony allows.
"Cool, thanks" Peter thanks making Tony smile in return.
"Is Mj, Flash and Ned ok?" Peter asks once his round of Mario kart was over and Tony is playing with his hair.
"They're better than you. Still have some things to work on like the sleeping and eating but otherwise they're ok. They barely even got a scratch" Tony exclaims.
"I made sure they didn't hurt them. To be honest, it seemed like they didn't even want to deal with them. Only used them for leverage or something. They only ever wanted me to begin with" Peter scoffs.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tony wonders.
"...not now" Peter answers.
"And that's ok. Whenever you do, I'm here for you. Everyone is here for you. You don't even have to talk to me if you don't want or I can sign you up for therapy. Whatever floats your boat" Tony assures.
"Thanks but please don't sign me up for therapy" Peter pleads.
"I won't do anything that you don't want too" Tony reassures.
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"Tony! You said you'd wake me up!" May shouts as she storms into the medbay before seeing her nephew and rushing towards him. "Oh my god Peter! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine May. I'm just tired but that's not really an option right now" Peter tells her the truth besides feeling some pain.
"I'm sorry sweetie. What are you playing?" May wonders.
"Super smash bros. I didn't even know they had the game on the iPad until I searched it" Peter shrugs.
"That's because they don't but I'm Tony Stark so all the Stark iPads have games that no other kid can find available" Tony brags making Peter playfully roll his eyes. "I'll leave you too be. I'm going to go get food and bring some back."
And with that, Tony gets up from the bed and leaves the two Parkers be. He can hear May fuss over Peter once he leaves but keeps his way to the kitchen.
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"How's Peter?" Literally everyone asks once Tony walks out of the elevator.
"Woah, didn't Cho inform you all through Friday?" Tony questions.
"Yes but how is he?" Nat wonders.
"Tired...in some pain. Can't do much about the tiredness though. Almost fell asleep a few times but I kept him up. Got any food?" Tony points out to why he's there in the first place.
"Give him some coffee" Yelena ignores his question.
"Last time I did, he was climbing everything, talking at even more hyper speed, running around the place and just no. He's a crack head when he has coffee or too much sugar in general" Tony shuts the idea down.
"Here's food that Peter can eat" Pepper slides over a bowl of chicken soap and crackers.
"And if you want food, we got plenty of pancakes to go around" Steve invites him.
"Kid can't have pancakes?" Tony questions.
"Wasn't on the list" Rhodey claims.
"Thats a shitty list and those kids are eating them" Tony points at the three teens.
"His metabolism runs differently Tones. Speak to Cho, I don't know" Rhodey shrugs.
"When are we allowed to see Peter?" Ned asks.
"Uhh after you're done eating you could. Only the three of you guys can come. Cho said we can't crowd him so you all will be switching it up I guess and since the kiddies are going home soon, they can come first" Tony plans out grabbing the tray with his, Mays and Peters food. "See you guys later."
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"I'm so glad you're back home" May claims as she's hugging her nephew.
"I'm sorry" Peter apologizes.
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. I larb you" May assures.
"I larb you too Aunt May" Peter returns.
"Are you feeling hungry?" May wonders since Tony is getting food after all.
"Very" Peter responds with a small smile.
"Good, Tony should be back with your food soon" May nods.
"Yea...how's work and Tabitha?" Peter wonders, bringing up Mays work friend.
"I haven't been going" May sighs. "Tony talked with my boss but now that you're back, I'm going to have to go work again. I mean I did go when you were...but then I stopped cause it was getting dangerous. We didn't know what was going on and then Mj, Ned and Flash got taken so..."
"You should go back to work. I'm sure Tabitha misses her partner" Peter states.
"Oh yeah, I've gotten a bunch of calls from her. I'll go back once I know you're ok. Maybe the week after or so" May shrugs. "Oh and Mj's dad knows your secret."
"What?! How?!" Peter shouts.
"She got a note from Osborn and Delmar saw since Mj wasn't home at the time. It had a picture of you but he's keeping your secret safe" May assures.
"He's probably blabbering it to Murph" Peter jokes.
"Maybe" May chuckles.
"Knock! Knock! I brought food and drinks for all!" Tony greets as he walks into the room with the tray filled with food and drinks. "Your friends are coming down once they're done. Their parents will be here to pick them up soon."
"Thanks" Peter thanks as Tony hands him his bowl of soap, crackers and apple juice on the table next to him. May says the same as Tony hands her the plate of pancakes and a cup of tea. "How come I can't eat pancakes?"
"Cho's rules. It wasn't on the list" Tony explains. "Not sure why but Cho is coming to do a check up later so you can ask her."
"Ok I will" Peter nods.
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"Why can't I have pancakes? What else can I not have?" Peter asks Cho as she's doing his checkup.
"Because your metabolism can't handle it right now. Your food list is different from your friends because you've been gone longer and your metabolism got used to what they gave you. We have to slowly bring it back up but it shouldn't take massively too long. Pancakes are plain yes but your stomach can barely hold up as it is. Good news is that maybe we can try the pancakes next week" Cho explains.
"Do you think I'll be fine for school?" Peter wonders, remembering school is in fact in session.
"Well everyone is thinking about sending you back in the new year so-" Cho starts.
"The new year?!" Peter interrupts with wide eyes.
"Peter, you need time to heal and it's not going to be an easy process. It's almost December already and then there will be winter break so it'd just be easier to go in the new year. May and Tony will be having a discussion with Principal Morita once you ask them all the questions you have that I don't have. Mj, Ned and Flash will be also going back in the new year so you'll be going together" Cho cuts back in.
"Why would Mr. Stark have a talk with my principal?" Peter questions.
"That's for them to tell you but you can ask later. Once I'm done, your friends want to see you before they leave" Cho shrugs. "Now, were you ok with the soup, crackers and juice?"
"Yes, I'm feeling fine" Peter claims.
"Your body temperature still shows that you're cold so I'll have to keep an eye on that. For now, just don't go to sleep. If you are lucky, it'll be gone tomorrow and you'll be all warmed up" Cho hopes.
"Hope so cause I'm really tired" Peter yawns.
"Are the pills not working?" Cho wonders.
"Not really. I'm sure being sleep deprived beats pills" Peter shrugs. "I took one during breakfast."
"You can take another sometime at night" Cho assures. "You're healing process has kicked in so that's all good. You're injuries should be healing a little faster but because you aren't sleeping, it's still not at it's full potential."
Peter nods along as Cho continues to inform Peter and making sure everything is alright before leaving. Once she leaves, Flash, Mj and Ned walks in with a mug in Mjs hand.
"We brought hot chocolate" Mj announces as she hands it to Peter.
"Thank you" Peter thanks.
"Man this sucks. I don't want to leave yet" Ned whines.
"You can come back whenever your parents allow. Mr. Stark doesn't care if you randomly show up and I should know, I've had to do that a ton of times when patrolling got really bad" Peter chuckles.
"That shouldn't be a good thing" Flash remarks but all Peter does is shrug as he takes a sip out of his hot chocolate.
"I still don't get how you're cold. It's so hot in here" Ned complains.
"Spiders Ned, spiders" Peter smiles.
"Wait..are you telling me there are more spiders somewhere in the tower?!" Ned yells.
"Maybe" Peter slightly confirms.
"Friday?!" Ned asks in a hurry.
"No bugs, arachnids or other species are allowed in the tower unless they want to get zapped. It's the Pest Protocol" Friday exclaims.
"Wait so why aren't I zapped? Oh my god! Can we please do that as a prank on Mr. Stark?! I mean that's what he gets for having that protocol! I can just walk in the tower and Fri randomly zaps me and I go down, boom protocol strikes Mr. Stark right back!" Peter rambles.
"Once you are all healed up, I'll be glad too. Maybe that can even be your Christmas present to him" Friday suggests.
"You're the best Fri!" Peter tells her.
"I try to be" Fri replies and if she could she would be smiling.
"I didn't know AIs could have emotions? That's sick!" Flash chimes in.
"Well originally, Jarvis didn't have emotions but overtime it seemed like he did even though it wasn't in his program. Mr. Stark liked having Jarvis using emotions so he has some codes for Friday to show some but she goes against her codes to have more of her personality than Mr. Stark likes or just doesn't admit to like" Peter explains.
"Does your AI have emotions?" Flash wonders.
"Karen and yeah, she does" Peter nods.
"She gets just as worried as everyone else when Peter gets hurt on patrol and then tries to lay it off that he's fine" Mj outs her boyfriend.
"She gets worried about you guys too" Peter defends. "If I let her know that you guys are sick or not at school or something, she gets worried."
"I thought she hated me" Ned recalls the times where Karen would seem to get annoyed while her and Ned are trying to help Peter.
"No, she just gets competitive" Peter waves him off. "Which also reminds me, I have to say hi to her too."
"Does she even know that you've been gone?" Flash continues to ask questions.
"Most definitely. I would tell her if I can't go patrolling or the next day apologize to her but you know, it's been longer then that" Peter sheepishly replies.
"Miss. Jones, Mr. Leeds and Mr. Thompson, your rides are all here" Friday announces.
"Well I guess we'll see you later loser" Mj replies.
"Keep us updated man. I'll create a group chat" Ned claims.
"See you later Parker" Flash waves.
"Bye, stay safe! Oh and keep me updated too with like if you guys are ok or not or whatever. I'm going to be pretty bored if I can't sleep yet and even just staying here when I could, I'll still be bored" Peter exclaims.
"We will, bye" Mj promises and with that, the three teens leaves the room.
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"No! Don't go in there yet!" Tony shouts.
Peter perks his head up right as Tony is yelling and the medbay door being open. Nat and Yelena walk in with a trailing Tony making Peter smile at them.
"Hey! I'm Peter and nice too see you again мама паук" Peter greets.
"Nice to see you too младенец паук" Nat smiles back.
"I'm Yelena Belova. I was the one who went into your head that first time" Yelena reminds him.
"Oh! You're Nats sister! It's finally nice to meet you! You know I never knew Nat had a sister but to be fair, I only met her at the airport barely and when she came back to the compound. How did you do that by the way? Do you have powers? But that wouldn't really make sense if you and Nat grew up together or...sorta. I don't really know" Peter rambles.
"I built a machine. Malfunctioned after Belova used it. A few days later it actually kind of...caught on fire but we were on leads so it was fine" Tony shrugs.
"That would be so cool if I had powers, instead I'm just another widow" Yelena claims. "Anyways, if you only met Natasha twice...how is she calling you baby spider? I mean Natasha doesn't really warm up to people."
"That's what that means?! I told you to not take the kid away from me!" Tony gasps.
"I didn't take him away from you. It's just a nickname" Nat defends.
"Overprotective dad" Yelena coughs.
"Oh no Mr. Stark isn't my dad, I'm an orphan living with my aunt" Peter smiles.
"I like this kid" Yelena hums.
"Ok enough, you two can leave now" Tony demands making the three others giggle.
"I want to get to know him better. Plus I'm sure he's bored and tired so we can try to keep him awake" Yelena protests.
"Go bother other people Tony. We got this" Nat pushes him out.
"Pete, you aren't even defending me!" Tony argues.
"I wanna get to know them better too, sorry" Peter apologizes.
Nat shuts the medbay door leaving a gaping Tony outside and Peter snickering.
"Your aunt seems cool" Yelena comments.
"Yeah she is" Peter agrees. "Oh my god! I forgot to ask why Mr. Stark is talking to my principal with May!"
"We can send them both down after our conversation?" Nat suggests.
"Yes, thank you" Peter thanks.
"Do you have any other bullies besides that Thompson kid cause he sure as hell won't be bullying you after this" Yelena chuckles.
"H-how do you know?" Peter asks astounded.
"She's also like a spy. Didn't go to Shield but like you said, grew up in the same base" Nat informs.
"Oh...I'm sorry about that" Peter apologizes.
"Stop ignoring the question" Yelena shuts down.
"I'm not!" Peter lies.
"Gotta work on your lying spidey" Nat smirks.
"Fine! It's his friend group, they're all bullies but I doubt they'll actually continue on with it. It was more Flash than them anyways" Peter explains.
"Think we gotta impose as a high schooler? Could be exciting to go to school" Yelena whistles.
"No no no no! You guys are not doing that!" Peter stops them from going further.
"For now" Nat claims.
"What about you guys? Anything you are down to share?" Peter wonders.
"Ugh, we'll go back to that topic later" Yelena amuses.
"Not much but I can share some gossip about the avengers" Nat shares.
"Please do!" Peter wishes.
"What? You are telling me everything now!" Yelena gasps.
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"Ok May, Tony, it's your turn with Peter. He wants to speak to you guys" Nat interrupts the conversation.
"Did he mention what this is about?" Tony asks confused.
"Maybe, maybe not. Now get down there before your kid drifts to bed" Yelena threatens.
"Ok, we're going" May nods her head.
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"Usually it's the adults who need a talk with the kid" Tony skeptically announces his and Mays presences once they enter the medbay.
"I just have a question" Peter claims.
"What is it?" May wonders as her and Tony sits down.
"Why are you both going to talk to Principal Morita?" Peter gets straight to the point.
"That's what this is about? Geez I thought it was something bad" Tony cracks a joke.
"We were going to tell you but since you already know, we mind as well get it over with. How do you feel about having Tony as a legal guardian? It's incase the school can't call me, then they call Tony or if...if something happens to me, then you come to the tower" May informs.
Peters eyes goes wide and his heart picks up speed.
"Wh-what are you trying to say M-May? Ar-are you ok?" Peter stammers.
"Oh my god I didn't mean it like that sweetie. I'm sorry I scared you. Nothing is happening that needs concern or anything like that. These are just precautions. You know how my shifts are at the hospital and if you need to be picked up at school when I can't be there, Tony will happily be there but in order for the school to give him a call, he needs to be put under as a secondary guardian" May quickly explains.
"It's fine if you say no, I won't get mad or anything" Tony assures.
"N-no I'd love that. I mean if it's fine with you and everything, I think it'll be great" Peter agrees.
"And it's fine with me too kiddo" Tony smiles.
"Our meeting with Principal Morita is Thursday. We'll also be with Mj, Ned and Flashs parents to discuss that you are all going back after the new year. I'm sure they'll send you all the work and maybe you guys can even do it together here" May suggests.
"The avengers already agreed to help you guys. They have their strong spots in certain areas" Tony adds. "Which is also another thing we need to speak to you about."
"Why? What about them?" Peter questions.
"Well...the rogues are here. The new accords are in process, actually they are almost done. They all want to meet you but I want you to keep some distance for now. Barnes went to Wakanda while they were on the run so his trigger words are out of his head but it's just precautions. I also would like if Rogers, Maximoff and Wilson aren't near you at the moment" Tony tells him.
"Ok...but in the future I would love to meet them officially. I don't know how that will work out when I finally get to leave this room though" Peter agrees.
"By the time you'll be able to leave, I may let you meet them. Still iffy on Barnes and Rogers mostly though so I'll think about it with them. I doubt Maximoff and Wilson will hurt you but it's to be on the safe side. Oh and Barton you can see, he wants to visit you" Tony assures.
"I have my sixth sense. If anything feels off, I can tell Friday to get you but I'm sure you are just overthinking it. Since I can't see them though, can you please tell them I said thank you for saving me and my friends?" Peter wonders.
"We'd love too" May nods.
"Thanks" Peter thanks. "Is that everybody who is here right now at the tower?"
"No, Vision, Clint and obviously Happy, Rhodey and Pepper are here. Happy is in the lobby right now though doing job things. Oh and Nat and Yelena but you've already seen them. It seems like they both have soft spots for you Mr. I'm getting assassins to have soft spots for me guy" Tony recalls.
"It's those puppy Bambi eyes" May snitches.
"Or it's because they're really nice" Peter counters.
"Sure kid, we'll go with that" Tony lies.
"Hey!" Peter protests making Tony and May laugh just as Peter yawns.
"Are you still cold?" May wonders with a worried face and tone.
"Not really. My temperature is getting back to regular. Dr. Cho said I may be able to sleep tomorrow" Peter exclaims.
"Well then four more people are dying to see you so I'm sure they can come by and help keep you awake" Tony chuckles.
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Happy and Pepper had just left the medbay and now Rhodey and Clint are walking in. They both sit down in the two chairs next to his bed and Peter can't help but smile again.
"Hey Rhodey! Hey Mr. Barton, I'm Peter!" Peter introduces.
"It's nice to meet you too Peter but call me Clint" Clint greets back.
"Nice to see you again Pete" Rhodey smiles.
"Hey...are you good at pranks?" Clint wonders with an evil smirk.
"Oh my god" Rhodey groans.
"Very, I pull a prank on Mr. Stark every other week I come here!" Peter informs.
"Then how would you like to be on my team for the prank wars once you're out of here?" Clint invites.
"Yes! I'd love to Mr- uhhh Clint!" Peter agrees.
"Pray for us all!" Rhodey rolls his eyes.
"Who else is on our team?" Peter wonders.
"It's me, Sam, Nat and Yelena and I created the teams. We have five while Tony's team has six but he does have people he hates on his team..." Clint trails off.
"Don't worry, I already have a plan to have him forgive everyone" Peter assures.
"Smart thinking. He's definitely going to argue about our team though. He'll fight to get Peter" Rhodey argues.
"Well Clint asked me first and I can't prank Mr. Stark if I'm on the same team as him" Peter protests.
"Fair enough" Rhodey shrugs.
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