Tony turned the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh, no. Please tell me you didn’t...”
“Didn’t what?” Peter asked as he smacked his lips in refreshment and placed the cup back on the counter.
“Please, Peter. Tell me. You didn’t use my cup, did you?”
“Your cup?” Peter looked confused. “Pepper did her whole ‘you need to hydrate thing’ and sent me down to the kitchen? She said she’d leave a glass of juice on the counter for me and that I had to drink it or else she’d shut down my wi-fi.”
Hope welled up inside of Tony. Pepper was a stickler for not sharing, especially during cold and flu season. Maybe she’d taken care of it? Maybe the gods were smiling down on them? Maybe it would be okay and—”
“Oh! Peter! You beat me here!” Pepper smiled as she glided past them both and grabbed a clean glass from the dish rack by the sink. “Give me a second and I’ll pour you some juice.” She stepped over to the fridge and pulled it open. “Would you like apple or cranberry?”
Horrified by what lay before them, Tony dropped his face into his hands and groaned. “Oh, no.”
Peter had always been especially sensitive to Tony’s emotional swings and so his eyes widened in panic, “What did you do, Tony?” Peter paused and looked down at his hands, then cried out louder, “What did I do!?”
Pepper straightened at the upset, holding both juice options in hand. “Who did what? Did I miss something?”
Tony sighed loud, “Oh, you missed something, alright. Little Miss has just been put to bed after puking up her breakfast and all of the juice she’d been drinking out of that—” Tony pointed to the offending piece of glassware, “cup.”
Shoulders slumped, “And so you have determined my fate, then.” Peter declared resignedly. “I am going to die.”
“That’s it.” Pepper pointed at Peter accusingly, “You’ve been online for way too long. Hydrated or not, you’re done for the rest of the weekend, mister.”
He could see that she meant business. “But Pepper,” Peter whined. “These could actually be my last hours! You would deprive me of my last opportunity to be among my people?! My kin?!”
Pepper snort-laughed at his ridiculousness, “Oh, hush. You’re going to be fine. You, however,” she turned and pointed to her husband. “Please explain why there was what I am assuming Peter assumed to be a full glass of juice?” She turned to see Peter’s affirmative nod, “Okay then—a full glass of juice in the cup that you, Tony,” she turned back to him, “use almost exclusively, sitting there for anyone to grab when it had been used by a sick Morgan?”
Tony sat himself down at the counter, “First off, Mo had begged to use that glass, and you both know how she gets when she pulls the big’ ol brown eyes thing out at you...”
“True.” Pepper stated, as they both nodded in agreement.
“And she’d only just had me pour a second glass for her—”
Pepper cut him off with a glare.
“I know! It was too much juice! But the eyes, Pep! She used the eyes!”
Pepper huffed and narrowed her eyes in judgement. “Fine. Continue.”
“Um,” Tony gulped nervously, “Well, uh, I’d just poured the second glass when she announced that her tummy hurt, and then she got that look that she gets right before she, well...” Tony used his hands to pantomime the remainder of his retelling. “So, yeah... I got her to the bathroom in enough time to save us a mess, thank goodness, and I had hoped that with Peter holed up in his room all morning that maybe we could prevent this from spreading before sending him back to May tomorrow, but now...” Tony stopped talking as he contemplated for a moment then announced, “You know, Pep. As I think about it, I’m feeling like this is kind of your fault, if I’m being honest.”
Pepper crooked a brow, “Oh, really?”
Tony gulped loud, realizing he’d made a potentially fatal error. “I- I mean- what I meant to say was I am so sorry that I didn’t take care of the glass before leaving the kitchen. It was thoughtless. Can you please forgive me?”
Pepper glared and crossed her arms. “I’ll consider it. Now, we may as prepare for the inevitable. If its okay with you, Peter,” she turned her attention back to Peter, “I’ll give May a quick call. Maybe plan for a twenty-four hour quarantine and watch to see if you actually catch this?”
Tony snorted, “Knowing his luck...” he mumbled under his breath before remembering the kid’s spider-hearing. “I mean—!” Tony couldn’t backtrack now. It was too late.
Peter simply resigned himself to his fate, then stared Tony dead in the eye. “We’re doomed.”
“Hey!” Pepper snapped her fingers, catching Peter’s attention, “No one is doomed!”
Peter sighed and nodded in agreement, “I know, Pepper. I’m just being silly,” he offered with soft smile as Pepper squeezed his shoulder in support then turned to put the juices back in the fridge.
Then Peter caught Tony’s eye. His demeanour darkened and the affirmative nod shifted to a slow headshake, ‘no.’ With a look of both terror and defeat in Peter’s eyes, he slowly mouthed the words he’d uttered again, “We’re doomed.”
/-/-/
“Good morning, Daddy!” Tony startled awake as Morgan pounced onto his chest, then rolled over to snuggle up beside him on his side of the bed. “I’m feeling waaaaay better this morning! Can I—”
Morgan’s request was cut off by the sound of Peter’s bedroom door slamming against the wall as it opened and him rushing down the hall.
“Shit.”
Pepper immediately reached over her husband to drag her over, then hugged Morgan close and looked to Tony, “Go!”
Tony jumped out of the bed and followed the sound of the bathroom door slamming shut and Peter retching into the toilet. “Peter?” Tony knocked tentatively on the doorframe. “Are you okay?”
His question was answered with another heave.
“Okay, silly question.” Tony muttered to himself. “I’ll just hang out here, bud. You tell me when I can come in, alright?”
Peter didn’t answer, just finished up the job of relocating his insides to the outside of his body and prayed for death.
Tony listened closely, waiting before finally taking his cue from the silence and then the toilet flushing. “Pete, buddy? Can I come in now?”
Peter stayed quiet.
“Alright then, I’ll take that as a yes?” Tony opened the door slowly, making certain that Peter wasn’t so close to it that he’d get hit with it. “Hey, Pete.” He spoke softly to the boy crouched on the floor in front of the toilet, head resting on the seat. “How are you feeling?”
Peter lifted his head cautiously, then glared. “ungh.”
Tony’s knees cracked as he squatted beside him. “Okay then, not so great.”
Peter dropped his head back down. “Nope. Doomed.”
Tony rubbed his back. “Not doomed, buddy. I promise.”
“Just you wait...” Peter drew in a steadying breath. “It’s coming for you next...” His stomach gurgled. “Pestilence, thy name is—”
“Morgan!” Pepper called out to her daughter as she ran down the hall towards them. “Get back here!”
“But Mommy! I have to ask Daddy something!”
Tony tried to shield Peter as he looked back at her. “This isn’t a really good time, Mo. Petey’s sick.”
“Oh.” Morgan’s excitement mellowed. “Icky. That’s not fun... but Daddy, I wanted to ask...”
Oh no, Tony cringed. He was trying to be strong, but she was doing the eye thing!
“Can I please have some juice?”