Peter sits on the couch in the Avengers Tower penthouse. He's still wearing his Spider-Man suit, but the mask has been tossed on the side table by Tony, revealing his pale, sunken in face and large bags under his eyes. Peter's staring ahead at nothing in particular. He's shaking from the cold and the lack of pretty much anything that keeps a person going. Food, water, sleep; he hasn't had any of that in way too long. Stephen studies Peter from an arm chair, opposite the couch. May sits next to Peter, holding him tightly, but he can't really feel her. All he feels is Daphne's hands on his waist. All he sees is the image of her and Loki disappearing. If he wasn't so dehydrated, he would be crying right now, but there's no fuel in his body anymore. He wishes he could sleep. But he's too exhausted to actually find any rest.
"Peter," May tries as she pets his tousled hair. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be," he replies simply. His voice is coarse. Tony arrives with a glass of water but Peter doesn't take it. Instead, he looks away from his mentor.
"Kid, you gotta drink something." Peter shakes his head slightly. Tony groans in frustration and squats in front of his protégé. "I'm not letting you harm yourself like this. You either chug the glass or I'm putting you in a hospital bed." Peter's eyes dart to the glass.
"Not thirsty."
"Yes, you are." Tony shoves the glass in front of Peter's face. "Drink." Peter hesitantly takes the beverage and stares into the glass from the top, seeing his Spider-Man suit legs through it, distorted. He brings the water closer to his face and his lips gratefully let the moisture through. He only takes a small sip, though, before reaching out to hand the glass back to Tony. The billionaire refuses to take it, making Peter half drop his arm in his lap, barely holding on to the glass.
"Pete, that's not gonna cut it," May says with a frown as she gently rubs his back. "Could you at least down this one for me, please?"
"Don't want-"
"Then what do you want?" Tony pleads. Peter stares vacantly at Tony, unsure of what to answer.
"I think we all know what he wants," Stephen sighs. Tony raises an eyebrow and turns to the doctor.
"You're saying the kid's going through withdrawal?" The word makes Peter look up from the water. For the first time the adults see emotion on his face. Fear.
"No- no, I'm fine, it's not like that-"
"You're not fine. Stop lying to yourself," Stephen scolds. "Now drink the damn water, eat a damn apple and go to goddamn bed, Parker." Peter looks at the doctor like a deer in head lights.
"Stephen!" May exclaims weakly. She knows the sorcerer is right. Peter closes his eyes to shut out the conversation. He absentmindedly clutches the glass a little too hard and with a loud snap, it shatters, covering him and Tony in water and broken glass.
"Jesus, kid!" Peter's eyes flutter open and he sees the blood dripping out of his closed fist. He stares at his hand, not believing what he just did. A faint stutter escapes his mouth.
"I- I'm sorry, I-"
"Catch him," Stephen orders, making everyone's attention shift to the sorcerer. He waves his hand and suddenly all of Peter's muscles lose tension as he drops forward, off the couch, into Tony's arms.
...
"Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Daphne to just... Leave like this," Tony sighs out loud as he eyes Peter, who lays eerily still in his bed. The induced sleep left him completely immobile and Tony could swear he could feel the kid's distress at his lack of control of the current situation.
"If he truly is addicted, then yes, that was rather stupid." Stephen rolls his shoulders. "The idea is that you reduce the intake of drugs to make it easier. Stopping abruptly like this is hard on the body."
"I know how rehab works, Doc."
"Then you also know that he could relapse more easily once she comes back."
"You know Daphne. I'm sure that – right now – she's figuring out a way to help Peter." Tony crosses his arms and bites the inside of his cheek, still not looking away from his boy. Stephen cocks his head and nods.
"There's no guarantee there's a way out of this, though. If she can't fix this issue, you're going to have to keep them apart." Tony's face contorts at the mere idea of having to keep these kids separated after everything they've been through together. Everything they felt for each other. Or... Thought they felt for each other. Stephen sighs, before continuing. "Permanently."
...
Days pass and worry about what Daphne and Loki are up to out there grows with everyone. It took Peter until after New Year's to start feeling better. Tony and Stephen are still unsure if Peter's suffering from a broken heart or the addiction, though they both lean towards the second one, no matter how much Peter rejects the idea. Thankfully, Peter's finally functioning again, even if it's only slightly. On January 3rd, Peter walks into the penthouse, to find an unexpected yet still expected visitor.
"Ah, there you are." Loki smiles. It's uncharacteristic. Weird. The demi-god is surrounded by a majority of the Avengers. And Derek. Peter can't help himself. He scans the room for her. "She's not here, child." Loki cocks his head and takes a step towards the teen. "For your sake, might I add."
"Where-"
"You get to see her when you've taken this." Loki holds up a small vial. Peter's first thought is to rush to Loki and yank it out of his hands, but he shouldn't. He needs to stay collected. A wicked grin spreads on Loki's face when he sees the boy struggling with himself. "There's some things we learned when we were with Ravir." Loki pockets the potion again, trying not to chuckle at the quiet whine escaping Peter's lips.
"Please," Stephen says sarcastically. "Do tell us."
"Early Summer."
"What?" Tony crosses his arms and frowns.
"Ravir did not exactly tell us this, but she made it very clear." Loki nods at the pocket he just put the potion into. "One of these lasts about two months. She gave us three vials and consequently told us these would last Peter until Daphne is ready."
"So... June?" Derek asks quietly.
"Or May... Or early July." Tony adds. The billionaire cocks an eyebrow at Loki. "When will we know she's ready?"
"Daphne will know when she is. We won't."
"So, she could keep it from us?" Natasha asks confused.
"Not really." Loki clears his throat, obviously not happy with what he's going to say next. "Somm knows when she will be ready. He will come for her." His hands gesture gracefully as he speaks. "Daphne is not stupid. She will tell you. Ravir explained to her what it will feel like for her once she becomes ready. Based on that, I have no doubt she will be scared."
"What's it like then?" Sam crosses his arms and purses his lips.
"Daphne spent a lot of time with Ravir alone, in order to create the potion for Peter. I am not aware of everything they discussed. I only know what Daphne told me. She seemed troubled by it, but did not tell me."
"Why were you not there when they made the stuff?" Tony gestures vaguely at Loki's pocketed vial. Loki scoffs amused.
"Purity. That, and I personally have a dislike for potions."
"You left Daphne with a highly dubious and very deadly sorceress because you don't like potions?"
"As I said," Loki says with raised eyebrows. "Daphne is not stupid. Simple, maybe. But all of you are simple." Multiple Avengers scoff at the comment. "And someone needed to collect the ingredients for the potion as they were making it."
"Next time you lead with being an errand boy." Tony rolls his eyes, but something about it still doesn't feel right to him. Loki's still holding something back.
"Anything else we need to know before you leave?" Steve asks. Loki pushes his hand into his pocket and takes out the three vials. He walks to Peter and hands him one.
"What's in it?" Stephen asks suddenly; obviously distrusting of the contents. Loki eyes the Sorcerer Supreme.
"You honestly do not want to know."
"Well, now that you said that; spill." Tony sucks at his teeth. Loki's shoulders hang low as he sighs aggravated.
"You will not know most of these words."
"I will." Stephen cocks an eyebrow, urging Loki to keep talking.
Loki names a few ingredients, but the further he gets into the list the slower he talks, as if he's hoping he wouldn't have to say the last ingredient.
"It's a person specific potion, Loki. You're holding back."
"You will embarrass her more by making me say this than me, you know that, right?" Loki quips annoyed.
"I want to know every ingredient before I let Peter drink it." Loki glares at Stephen and swears silently when no one defends Daphne.
"It is not about what part of her is in it, it is how the potion was created."
"Wait, so like, Daphne's hair is in this or something?" Peter frowns. Loki scoffs once.
"Balneae," he says simply. Stephen pulls a face and Natasha nearly spits out her drink, making Loki chuckle. "Ah, so the spy knows Latin."
"Wha- what is-" Peter stutters.
"She bathed in it." Stephen presses his lips together. Peter stares at the vial in his hands. Slightly disgusted, yet intrigued. Tony nods once, suddenly understanding.
"So, that's why you weren't there when they were making it." Loki clears his throat and looks at his feet.
"I am a man with manners," is all he replies. Peter wants to say something before Stephen continues.
"All those ingredients should make the potion blue, though." The vial in Peter's hands is a deep shade of purple.
"Correct. The potion was blue, last I saw it. Ravir said it needed to be purple. No ingredients other than what Daphne has to offer could be added at that point." A short and uncomfortable silence falls as they all realize what this means. Peter looks at his hand that bled less than ten days ago because of the glass he shattered. Loki clears his throat. "Please don't ask about the scars on her palms."
"She went through all of that... For me?"
"She did." Loki nods and looks away awkwardly. "Wouldn't stop talking about you either."
"But..." Peter doesn't look up from the vial. "What if I take this..."
"Afraid you will not love her like you once did?" Loki places his hand on Peter's shoulder. "Trust me, you will not. This little drink gets rid of the addiction. You will feel different."
"What if I don't love her anymore at all?" Peter looks up into Loki's eyes and Loki can't help but feel bad for the child. If Peter's love was truly based on the addiction, then he will simply be numb after this. And he will break her heart.
"Daphne is aware of the possible outcomes." Loki sighs as Peter hesitantly takes the lid off the vial, mentally preparing himself to take the shot. The teen frowns at the smell. "At least you will not be sick anymore."