that old familiar body ache
Before the bite, when Peter got sick, he got sick.
There were so many times that May or Ben would have to take time off from work in order to look after him because he was so ill he couldn't look after himself. Once, when he was 11 he got so ill he dropped the toaster on his face (don't ask, he still doesn't know how it happened.)
Since the bite, it's like Peter was immune to illnesses. He could stay up half the night in the cold streets of Queens and go to school the next day with no repercussion at all; he would get injured on patrol and never end up with an infection from his injuries.
He felt invincible.
Until right now.
Waking up in a cold sweat was nothing new to Peter, the nightmares he grew up with meant that this was a common occurrence, but the accompanying headache was crippling. At first Peter thought he was having another sensory overload, but then he opened eyes to see his sight felt no different to normal. He sighed, pulling himself to sit up, realising that he'd somehow got a headache. He'd have to ask Tony for some of those killer pain meds he'd been forced to have when he got to the tower with his side split open that one time.
Luckily for Peter, he was going to the Tower today anyway, it was his Saturday Lab day - a thing Tony had started that happened on the one Saturday a month that May had to work. It was probably done as a safety thing, neither adult liking Peter being alone for so long, but he really didn't mind, he loved his time with Tony and treasured it like anything.
He got dressed slowly, trying not to jostle his head too much, to prevent the throbbing sensation he got each time it moved. He grabbed his things and checked his phone to see if he'd had any messages. One from May, wishing him a good day with a 'larb you', and one from Mr Stark.
Hey Kid
Got pulled into an emergency meeting by Pep this morning so I'm sending Happy to get you.
When you get here go straight to the lab, I'll meet you there.
He smiled at the text, pulling his hood up, knowing Happy would be outside waiting for him now, as it was the time Mr Stark would usually come and get him. He left the flat locking the door before rushing down the stairs, forgetting he wasn't feeling great in his excitement he had a brief roll of nausea hit him as he reached the ground floor, dizzy from the rush.
Peter put his arms out to steady himself, swallowing the bile that rose in his throat. Walking slowly to the black-tinted window car slightly up the street, he wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly frozen from the outside weather.
Goddamn thermoregulation...
"Hi Happy." Peter huffed sliding into the car.
"Hey kid."
Peter leant against the window, his head too heavy to prop itself up as he watched the city pass by while they drove through the New York traffic, Happy using all of his normal cut-through routes to avoid the worst of it. The coolness of the glass sent a shiver down Peters spine, making him pull his hoodie tighter around himself.
Noticing this move in the rearview mirror, Happy turned the heating up in the back hoping to alleviate some of the cold from the kid. He was already concerned as they'd gone 10 minutes of the journey already and the kid hadn't said a word, which was very unlike him. Happy was always subjected to the kids rambling on their trips to the tower, he wouldn't admit it to anyone but he actually really enjoyed them. He found the kid held an intellect well above his age and was always amused when he had him and Tony in the car having a debate on god knows what. It wouldn't be wrong to assume that the man had a soft spot for the kid, so to see him acting so out of character was concerning to say the least.
When they arrived at the Tower, Peter left the car with a quiet thanks before going inside. He fumbles his badge out of his jean pocket, nearly dropping it on the floor twice. The headache had progressed and somehow spread throughout his whole body, making every movement achey and sluggish.
The elevator ride up to Tony's lab was hell, the pressure in his head increased and the sensation of moving without moving brought the nausea back a tenfold. Peter imagined this is what vertigo felt like. He stumbled out of the elevator and into the corridor, he paused there for a moment, trying to recenter himself before stepping into the lab. Once he could see straight again he made a slow walk to the lab, trying to act as casual as possible to not get caught out by Mr Stark.
He entered the room and put on his normal smile, trying not to cringe at the way his head pulsed when he did.
"Hey Mr Stark, how was your meeting?" Peter asked, tone light.
"It was a meeting kid, of course it wasn't good." Tony laughed.
"Right. What was it about?"
"Nothing new, just the board of directors grilling us on the usual profits and stuff. I'm very grateful for you though Petey Pie, Pepper said I could leave to come here and be with you rather than stay for another two hours or so!"
Tony grinned and with all his might Peter tried to copy, but instead of a smile he gave Tony a sort of grimace instead. Frowning, Tony stepped towards the boy.
"Peter, are you okay?"
"I-"
Peter gagged, the unsettled feeling in his stomach making itself known.
"Pete?"
"I- I'm gonna be sick!"
With that statement, Peter threw his hands up to his mouth in an attempt to contain his oncoming stomach contents, he wretched a few times before Tony gave him a bag that he proceeded to hurl his stomach contents into. With a soothing hand on his back, Tony managed to move the boy over to the sofa where he dropped his bag.
"You're okay Roos, take a deep breath."
"I'm so sorry Mr Stark. I didn't mean to."
"I know, you feeling okay now?"
"'m really cold." Peter shivered as he spoke.
Tony sighed, lifting the back of his hand to check the boy's temperature. After a slight flinch at the contact on his still pounding head, Peter relaxed to the touch on his forehead, leaning into it slightly.
"Jesus Kid, you're burning up!" Tony pulled his hand back, shaking it for emphasis.
"Oh."
"C'mon, I think it's time we head up to the penthouse."
"But, what about Lab Day?" Peter whined, having been looking forward to this all week.
"We can reschedule it for next weekend okay? Right now you need to rest."
Peter hummed noncommittally, he understood where Tony was coming from but he had so much planned for this weekend. Throughout the week he had made so many notes in his lab notebook of things he wanted to try, including an upgrade to his web shooter formula. He theorised that if he replaced one of the chemicals he'd be able to have the formula hold double the weight it currently could, but now he'd have to wait till next weekend - if not longer knowing Tony's schedule - to see if it would actually work.
"Fine."
"How about a movie?" Tony asked ushering the boy to the lift pressing the button for the penthouse.
"Yeah that would be nice." Peter sighed, shivering slightly.
"We'll get you bundled up on the couch and you can pick a film while I go get your super-pills from MedBay, alright Underoos?"
Peter hummed as he followed Tony into the lounge before plopping himself onto the end of the sofa. If he was feeling better he probably would've made some comment about how domestic Tony was being swaddling him in all the blankets.
"There ya go Spider-baby. I'll be right back okay? Get Fri to help you sort a movie." Tony said softly giving Peter's shoulder a squeeze before following the room.
The second Tony left, Peter felt so much worse. He hadn't realised how much of a mask he was putting on for Tony's sake until the man had left, his headache had gone but he felt like an icicle despite all the blankets and he was so tired. Ignoring this, he put on one of his comfort films and snuggled into the blankets, basking in Tony's scent and trying to soak up all the warmth he could.
"Finding Nemo? Really? I was expecting Star Wars." Tony joked.
But when he caught the sight of the kid, his face dropped. Tony had never seen the kid look so poorly in his life. He made the executive decision in that moment that the kid wasn't going out of his sight again until he was fully functioning.
"Kid, here's your tablets. They'll make you feel much better, okay?"
Peter mumbled a thank you before taking the pills and the water Tony had prepared before entering the room. After making sure the kid took the tablets, Tony turned and sat down on the other end of the sofa, pulling out his phone.
Hey May.
Keeping the kid overnight - hope that's okay.
Of course!
Everything okay?
Fine fine.
Just so much to do and so little time.
Did Tony feel bad lying to May? Absolutely. But he knew how important her work was to the both of them to make sure they had enough to put food on the table so he was content keeping the little white lie until a later date.
Peter on the other hand was out of it. He was both watching the movie and in and out of consciousness so it was no surprise that his brain wasn't fully functioning. Watching the film Peter was deep in though, thinking about how much he wished he could have someone in his life like Merlin, someone who would go to the ends of the earth for him. He had May he supposed, but May wasn't his dad, so maybe it didn't count. The closest thing Peter had to a dad nowadays was Tony.
Ha, Tony Stark was his dad. Nice.
Peter shivered again, suddenly cold under the blankets once more. His dad was in the room though right? Surely he could warm him up?
"Dad, can I have a hug?"
There was a brief moment where nothing happened. Tony sat floored by the words that came out of the kids mouth, heart beating a tad bit too fast for comfort.
"What was that Roos?"
"Can I have a hug?"
Tony swallowed, realising that the slip-up was brought on by the illness wracking Peter's body. Not that the kid actually saw him as a dad, that would be ridiculous. Tony ignored the way his heart pulled at the realisation that Peter didn't mean it and distracted himself by opening his arms for the kid to slide into.
Peter smiled, shuffling over the best he could with all the blankets swaddling him, letting out a content sigh and pressing his head against Tony's chest to get comfortable.
The two continued to watch the film in content silence, when it ended Friday queued Big Hero 6 due to Peter debating between the two films earlier. Neither boy nor mentor got to the end of the film before they were out like a light.
Turns out, even after the bite, when Peter got sick, he still got sick.