When Peter tried to peel his eyes open, lights blinded him. He scrunched up his face and then tried to open his eyes more slowly. Gathering his strength, he slowly pushed himself into a sit. There was a bunch of stuff sticking in his arm. Slowly, Peter recalled what had happened previously as he looked around the room. The walls were a clean white. Though, this place didn't seem foreign to Peter.
Peter shuffled in his thin hospital gown as he looked around more. His eye caught a mug. It was resting on a small table to the side of a comfortable looking chair in the corner. It had the Stark Industries logo on it. And then, panic began to set in when he realized where he was. 'Karen called Mr Stark?! Crap crap crap-' but his thoughts were interrupted as Tony Stark walked in. Peter's blood turned cold as he froze, staring up at the man. He made his way to the chair, sitting down and proceeding to take a long sip of his coffee before setting it back down on the table.
"Why didn't you tell me you had been shot?" His eyes locked with Peter's, making him nervous.
"I-I had it under control," Peter said weakly.
"Did you now?" Tony raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Doesn't seem like it." He took another sip of his coffee.
"I'm sorry Mr Stark, I was going to do something, I swear! I just didn't have time and-" Peter started explaining quickly, but he was cut off by Tony.
"I don't want your excuses, I just want to make sure that you tell me next time you're in danger. Why hasn't Karen been automatically calling me when you're in danger?"
"I... hacked her..." he mumbled. Tony just sighed, muttering and shaking his head. Peter hadn't hacked Karen too much, though. If he only got hurt a little, Karen would advise him to call Tony, but if Peter said no she would stop. Or so he thought. Apparently she had called Tony when he passed out. Perhaps Peter had guilt tripped her into not saying anything.
"Kid, you can't override the safety protocols. If you get shot, I need to know!" Tony told him.
"I-I'm sorry," Peter mistook his worried tone for anger and he looked down, his face burning in shame and embarrassment.
"Wait, kid-," Tony started to reassure him that he wasn't mad, but someone walked in.
"Is the kid staying for dinner?" Natasha freaking Romanoff asked, glancing towards Peter but directed her question at Tony. Tony just looked to Peter, as if to ask him if he wanted to stay.
"O-Oh that's okay, I wouldn't want to bother you guys," Peter replied, his eyes wide as he looked at one of his idols. Internally, he was freaking out. 'This must be the compound!' He thought wildly.
"C'mon kid, it's no big deal. I'll just call your aunt real quick, and-" Tony started but Peter cut him off.
"Oh, that's okay! Really Mr Stark, I'll just head home, but thanks for the invite!" Peter tried to keep a smile but his emotions were so jumbled and mixed up that it looked somewhat like a pained smile.
"No, no, I insist. We still have more to talk about, and I'd like for you to meet the rest of the Avengers." Tony insisted. "FRIDAY, tell May that Peter's staying for dinner," he said before Peter could stop him.
"Yes, sir," FRIDAY replied
"Thanks, FRI," Tony sat up from the white chair. Natasha just nodded slightly and turned our the door.
"Holy crap," Peter breathed, "that was Natasha Romanoff." Tony just chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, it was. Now, you should be good to go, we removed the bullet, so it might hurt to walk, but at least you don't get an infection now. Your super healing thing should take care of it." Tony said, walking over and gently removing all the stuff Peter was hooked up to. 'Crap, he took the bullet out? I don't have any money to repay him!' He thought with a panicked look. "Oh, almost forgot," Tony said suddenly, standing up straighter and turning out of the room. Peter could hear as Tony walked a few steps before stopping, and then coming back in. He rolled in a wheelchair, and Peter stared at it dumbfounded.
"Oh, I don't need a wheelchair, but thank you Mr Sta-"
"Tony. And I'm not risking you making it worse! You didn't even tell me you got shot, you really want me to trust you to not injure yourself?" Tony cut him off.
"It wasn't that big of a deal, I had it under control!" Peter insisted once again. Tony just rolled his eyes.
"Get dressed, it's almost dinner time," Tony said, turning out the door.
As Peter was left frustrated, he looked beside him to find his clothing in a neat pile on a small table beside the hospital bed. He changed quickly, wincing from his wound as he slipped into his jeans. Once he was changed, he looked at the wheelchair and sighed. 'I don't need it,' He thought, shifting himself so he was on the side of the bed, dangling his legs of the edge. he gingerly placed stepped his foot down, balancing on his good leg. As he gripped onto the side table and the wheelchair for support, he delicately placed the other foot on the ground. 'This isn't too bad,' he thought, gaining confidence.
But when he tried to walk, he collapsed. He laid on the floor on his side, sucking in his breath as he endured the pain shooting through his leg. Slowly, he pushed himself up with his arms, looking up at the wheelchair with a sigh.
"FRIDAY, are there any crutches nearby?" Peter asked hopefully.
"No, sir," FRIDAY said, making Peter let out a small groan.
"Thanks anyways, FRIDAY," he said.
Eventually, he managed to get in the wheelchair. He huffed as he sat, shuffling to get comfortable. 'My leg isn't even that bad, this is so embarrassing! The freaking Avengers are going to think I'm weak!' He thought. 'Wait, do they know about me being Spider-Man?' He hoped not, but then again, Natasha Romanoff had asked if he was staying for dinner.
"Mr Parker, boss would like me to notify him when you are ready," FRIDAY spoke, making Peter perk up in alarm.
"O-Oh, right," he said, "I can manage to get down myself, but thanks."
And so, he pushed the wheels forward and managed to get through the door, bumping into the frame of it. He managed to get to the elevator and leaned forward in his seat, but couldn't find any buttons. However, the doors swept open anyways.
"FRIDAY where are the buttons?" Peter asked in confusion as he wheeled himself into the empty elevator. There wasn't a panel of buttons inside the elevator either, which left for a confused Peter.
"There is no need for buttons, I operate the elevators," FRIDAY replied, and Peter felt the elevator begin to ascend upwards.
"Woah," is all Peter said as he perked up in amazement. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. He froze as he heard clattering and people chatting with each other. 'If I sit very still, maybe they won't notice me?' But the Black Widow looked over immediately. She didn't say anything, just blinked as she looked at him. Eventually, a few of the others looked over. Some had to do a double take.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here?" The Captain America asked with a confused gentleness. Peter's face flushed red as everyone's eyes trained on him. The clattering and smalltalk all stopped as they silently looked over, waiting for an answer.
"O-Oh, I..." Peter struggled for a response. He grasped the wheelchair's armrests in an attempt to stop his shakiness. He felt lightheaded as he blinked, staring back at them.
"He's staying with us for dinner," Natasha said as she took a bite of pasta. Most of the Avengers looked between Peter and Natasha in confusion.
"Okay," Steve Rogers said as he stood, "let's make some room for him then." The Avengers then shuffled their seats to make room for him at the end of the table. But Peter was still frozen in his place. Steve glanced at Natasha in confusion. He was probably confused as to who Peter was, but he trusted Natasha so he was welcoming when Natasha mentioned he was staying for dinner.
"What happened?" Steve broke the silence. "You're in a wheelchair."
"O-Oh, I um... I got shot," Peter replied nervously. Steve's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Tony Stark walked into the room. His hands were in his pockets as he casually strolled in. He noticed the silence and followed the gazes towards Peter.
"Oh, hey kid." He said, giving a friendly smile. But the smile dropped shortly into a frown. "Wait, I thought I told FRIDAY to alert me-."
"O-Oh hi Mr Stark! I-I should really get going, but thanks!" He backed into the elevator door, desperate for it to open. But it didn't, and al Peter could do was drop his gaze onto his fumbling hands. He was making a fool out of himself in front of the Avengers.
"Hey," Tony said gently as he walked over. "Come on, Pete." He crouched down and looked up at Peter in the wheelchair. Peter's eyes darted from Tony and the Avengers, and then back at Tony again. He took a shaky breath and gave a short nod. Tony stood back up and walked over to the table. Peter hesitantly wheeled himself forward.
"This is Peter, but you might better know him as Spider-Man," Tony said. Everyone's eyes widened, with Natasha as an exception. She had probably figured it out.
"He's just a kid!" Steve exclaimed in surprise, (a/n: surprise not anger, we stan cinnamon roll Steve) making Bucky Barnes snort in amusement.
"Stevie," Bucky told the man, "You wanted to save the world when you were just a kid too." Captain America's face flushed at that.
"Buck!" He exclaimed defensively, putting his red face in his hands. Some of the Avengers snickered at that.
"Anyways," Tony rolled his eyes playfully, "Peter, meet the Avengers. I, uh, I think you know their names." Peter nodded, his eyes sparkling with a nervous excitement.
And so, Peter and the Avengers had dinner. He found himself comfortable around them, despite their fame, and enjoyed every second of time spent with them. For a while, he forgot about the pain in his leg. He just enjoyed himself. Thanks to his super-healing and medicine, his leg was already better. However, as the minutes passed, he grew more and more nervous. He knew what he had to come home to. Hopefully, May would be in a good mood from her date. For a while, he grew deep in thought, thinking of explanations if his leg wasn't better by the time he had to go home. He was pulled back into reality as his phone buzzed. Everyone around him was laughing and enjoying themselves, which made Peter smile softly. He never really had a family like this, it had just been Uncle Ben and Aunt May for as long as he could remember. Well, until Uncle Ben passed away. He looked down at his phone as everyone continued chatting with each other, and his stomach dropped as he read the text.
'Hey sweetie, come home soon! :)' The text read. For a moment, Peter just stared down at it nervously. Slowly, he typed out a reply.
'Okay, I will. We're almost finished with dinner,' he sent the text and turned off his phone, slipping it back into his pocket.
For the rest of the night, his stomach was filled with dread. When everyone finished their plates, they stood. Peter, still confined to his wheelchair, pulled out from the spot he was in.
"It was great meeting you guys," Peter commented, smiling truthfully.
"It was good meeting you too kid," Bucky replied, looking down at the boy with a softness in his eyes. Peter reminded Bucky of Steve when they were young. The rest of the Avengers gave their farewells until it was time for Peter to go home. They trickled back into their rooms or wherever until Tony, Peter, and Natasha we're left.
"Goodbye маленький паук," the former Russian spy nodded to him. (Translation; 'маленький паук' means 'little spider' in Russian. However, I'm using Google Translate so don't take my word for it!)
"Goodbye, Miss Romanoff!" Peter waved as she left, though he didn't know what else she said meant.
And then there were two.
"So, you want to see if you can walk now? Bruce told me you should be good soon, but he didn't really clarify," Tony said.
"Uh, yeah," Peter replied hesitantly. He had fallen earlier and he didn't really want to embarrass himself in front of Tony Stark, but he didn't really have a choice if he were to leave right now. He planted his good foot on the ground, sliding to the edge of the wheelchair as he did so. Then, he hovered the other foot over the ground and lowered it slowly.
Surprisingly, it didn't hurt that much. He pushed himself up and stood, gaining confidence. He winced a bit, but he could tell it was much better.
"Your healing factor should be working again, now that we got the bullet out," Tony said as Peter tested his weight on his feet. Peter's gaze snapped up to Tony, and worry clouded his eyes.
"Wait, I don't have any money sir, I-I— What can I-" Peter started rambling, but Tony cut him off.
"Why would you have to pay for it?" Tony laughed, "that's ridiculous."
"Well, I mean-" Peter started again, frantically gripping his hands, but Tony cut him off again.
"Kid. Don't worry about it, seriously. Anyways, I'll send you off now. Happy should be waiting for you, I already texted your aunt. See ya kiddo," Tony gave him a pat on the back before putting his hands back in his pockets and walking casually out the room. Peter stood there for a second before the elevator doors opened and he turned around. He shuffled into the elevator and gripped his fidgeting hands, trying to get them to stop. He zipped up his jacket and pulled out his cracked phone, staring at the messages from May again. The elevator doors slid open again, and he got off, the pain in his leg finally subsiding.
He didn't know what he was going to return home to, but all he could do was pray that the date between May and the other random dude went well.
author's note;
I'm so sorry this took a long time to update, I was really busy and then went somewhere for spring break and couldn't write and bleh. but it's here now! I hope you enjoyed the story, id really appreciate if you vote and comment if you did! 💕💕