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Tony hadn't known that kids enhanced by radioactive spiders could get sick. The boy had never been sick before...not in the years before the snap anyway. Then he'd been gone. For five years. And now, on Peter's first visit to the lake-house, the kid was sick. Tony reached out, brushing Peter's sweaty hair back, resting a hand against his forehead. Hot. Too hot. Shaking his head, he rested his head on Peter's head. "Geez, kid. When you do a thing, you don't do it halfway, do you?" He asked, voice soft and fond.
Peter had been a little hesitant to visit Tony at first. After seeing the kid on the battlefield and throwing his arms around him, unable to bear the thought of letting him go but also knowing that they had to keep fighting, Tony hadn't wanted to let Peter out of his sight. And after Steve had snapped his fingers, giving his life to save the universe, Tony had led a shell shocked and shaky Peter off of the battlefield, the two of them going through a portal to the Sanctum along with the other Avengers. While Helen Cho tended the seriously wounded, Tony had led Peter up the stairs to a private room and sat him on the bed, still in his suit.
"I want it off." Those had been Peter's first words as his fingers had started scratching uselessly at the Iron Spider, and Tony had nodded.
"Alright, bud. Here." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he'd brought up Friday, ordering her to remove the suit since Peter was in no shape to do it himself. At the command, the nanites had retracted, leaving Peter in just his regular suit. It was torn, although Tony had no idea when that could have happened. The battle before they'd gone up on the alien spaceship? It had been five years! "Better?" He'd asked, and Peter had given a shaky nod. Unable to help himself, Tony had reached out, brushing his curls out of his face and resting his hand on the side of his face. "Deep breaths, Pete."
Peter had complied, and it had taken a few moments for him to speak again. "Was...was it really five years?"
"Yeah, kiddo."
"Is May…?"
"She disappeared too. So she should be back."
"Did...did anyone…" Peter glanced over at the door, swallowing hard, and Tony guessed the rest of his question.
"Nat's gone. There was...a sacrifice. To get the last of the stones. And she...she did it."
Peter's eyes had widened. "Black widow?"
Tony had nodded. "Yeah, bud." The pain had still been fresh for him, right alongside the wonder at seeing Peter alive again. "I missed you so much, Peter. So much." He'd blurted it out, shaking his head as tears had sprung to his eyes. "God, Pete...I can't believe I got you back." He's leaned forward again, pulling Peter into another hug, and Peter had tentatively wrapped his arms around him, head resting on his shoulder while Tony had pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "I never thought I'd get to see you again. I thought...I thought you were gone."
And then he'd just held him, breathing deeply, trying to memorize that smell and the feel of his kid in his arms, just like he'd done with Morgan.
After what felt like a long time, he'd pulled away, smiling softly at Peter. "I love you, kid. I love you so much." Peter's eyes had widened, but Tony had continued, the words so easy now that he'd said them so often to Morgan. "I never told you, and I'm so sorry. But I love you. You were like a son to me...like my first kid."
Peter had blushed a little, eyes dropping, but the tiny smile had given him away. "I uh...I love you too, Mr. Stark."
Tony had grinned, leaning down and kissing his forehead.
Later, when Peter had met Morgan, the girl had widened her eyes at him, looking over at her father. "Daddy...it's Spiderman!"
"I know," Tony had said with a smile.
"I thought...I thought you said a bad man killed my big brother."
Peter's eyes had gone wide, but Tony had just nodded. "He did. Because I thought he had. But...but we found a way to save him. And...and now the bad guy is gone for good."
Morgan had turned to Peter, approaching him almost cautiously. Dressed in sweatpants and an Iron Man t-shirt, Peter had stared down at her in the front room of the Sanctum, Pepper moving over to Tony's side to take his hand. This was all Tony had wanted...to watch his children meet. Peter had knelt down a little, giving her a soft smile, and Tony had watched something in Peter shift. He'd seen it the second Morgan had said 'big brother.'
When Morgan had reached him, Peter had smiled, opening his arms and, without hesitation, Morgan had stepped into them, wrapping her tiny arms around him. When she'd pulled away, she'd smiled up at him. "I'm Morgan. You're my big brother!"
Peter had blinked a few times, swallowing, then had nodded. "Yeah...yeah, I am. I'm Peter."
When Tony had asked the kid over to the lake-house, he'd known that Pepper had a special weekend with Morgan planned. Some 'Mommy/daughter' time, as she'd put it. And although Morgan had pouted a little that she wouldn't get to spend any time with her brother, Tony had sat her down, pulling her into his lap. "I haven't seen Peter in a really long time, and I wanted to spend some time with him. Next time he comes, you can stay and play with him, I promise."
And so she'd reluctantly agreed.
Peter had been acting strangely from the time he'd first arrived, face kind of flushed, being quieter than usual. Tony had chalked it up to nerves. Or just the strangeness of this new life, five years after he'd gone to battle with Tony on Titan, but it had only been days for Peter. So Tony had showed him around the place, showed Peter his bedroom and his lab and Gerald. And Peter had been having a good time. He'd gone to bed early that night, only for Tony to get a notification in the middle of the night that Peter's temperature was rising.
Tony had jumped out of bed, racing into the other room to find that Friday had been right. The boy lay curled up under his blankets, shivering despite the heat radiating from him. "Hey, bud," Tony murmured, shaking the boy's shoulder. Peter groaned, turning his head away, then groaning again as if that hurt. "Pete?"
"Ben?"
The question made Tony freeze, and he took a deep breath, then shook his head, fighting to keep his voice even. "No...no, it's Tony, kiddo." He murmured. "You're pretty hot. I'm going to get you some water, okay? And some medicine. How are you feeling?"
"Tony?"
"Yeah, bud. It's me. I'll be right back, okay?"
"Tony?" Peter asked again, and Tony gave in, sitting down on the bed and resting his hand on Peter's burning forehead.
"I'm right here, Pete."
The boy blinked at him, then reached up. "I...I keep dreaming that I'm...I'm falling apart. Tony, I don't...don't want to...sir, I don't want to go…"
Tony flinched hard, closing his eyes for a moment before taking Peter's hand. "It's just a dream, Underoos," He murmured, running his fingers through Peter's hair. "It's not real. You're safe."
"I...I died...Tony…" Tears spilled from the boy's eyes, and Tony reached down, pulling Peter into his arms and kissing his hair.
"I know. I know, buddy. But I got you back. You're safe now."
Peter lifted his arms, hiding his face in Tony's neck and sniffling. "I was scared. Tony...Mr. Stark...it hurt." He sobbed, and Tony rubbed his back, fingers brushing against his burning neck, tears filling his own eyes.
"I know. I'm so sorry. But you're safe. I've got you." He rocked them back and forth for a long time, until Peter's body slumped and his head drooped against Tony's shoulder. The comforting words slipped out then, just like they always did with Morgan. "There you go. Rest, baby. Just rest. You're going to feel better soon. I promise. I'm going to get you some medicine. Okay? Then I'm going to put you back to bed."
Tony started to stand, only to freeze as he straightened. Peter's head fell back, mouth parted, cheeks flushed, but his hands were still stuck to Tony's back. "Uh...kiddo?" He asked, shaking him a little. "Buddy? Can you, uh...can you let go? I need to get your medicine but I'll be right back."
No response.
"Pete? Wake up, buddy. Come on. We can go back to the hugging as soon as I get back, okay?"
Nothing.
Tony gave a long sigh and dropped his head back, then cupped a hand under Peter's neck, easing his head forward and resting it against his shoulder. "Fine." He muttered, patting his back. "I guess you're coming with me." Hoisting the boy up, he put the kid on his hip like he had Morgan a thousand times. Carrying Peter down the hall, he headed for the lab where he kept the kid's super-drugs, clearly labeled so no one else ever accidentally took them. Grabbing two from the bottle, he carried the lighter-than-he-should-be boy into the kitchen, carefully filling a glass with cold water, then carrying everything to the sofa.
Sitting down, Tony adjusted the boy until he could put the glass down. "Pete? C'mon, buddy, time to take some medicine."
Peter groaned, hiding his face in Tony's neck once more, and Tony chuckled a little, patting his back.
"You can go back to hugging me as soon as you take your medicine, I promise. But unless you want your brain to melt, you need to take your pills." He poked Peter a few times in the side, making him jump, then blink blearily up at him. "There you are. Here. Open your mouth."
Peter did, not questioning why Tony would suggest such a thing, then let Tony pour the water into his mouth, enough that he could swallow the pills, and then a little extra.
"There you go. That's going to make you feel better."
The kid hummed in agreement, dropping his head on Tony's shoulder once more and latching onto him again. "I missed you." He muttered. "I don't...don't remember but...but I missed you."
Tony closed his eyes, squeezing Peter tightly. "I missed you too, Pete. So much."
"I love you."
"Love you too, Underoos. Now let's get you back in bed, okay?"
Unsurprisingly, Peter was once more stuck firmly to Tony once they reached his bedroom, but that was fine with him. Laying down on Peter's bed, he rested his head on the pillow, pulling Peter close and closing his eyes. "Friday, get the lights."
"Yes sir."
"And Friday? If his fever gets any worse, call Helen?"
"Of course, sir."