Peter's Team
The alarms were beeping.... again. Peter turned over in the bed and looked over at a sleeping Tony. He really wanted Tony to wake up and fix it, he'd rather it be Tony than a random nighttime nurse. It was only his pump for his G Tube going off, it wasn't that important, especially to be waking him up when he was actually having a good sleep.
"Tony," Peter only had so long until the room was invaded, "Tony!" Peter practically shouted.
Peter felt successful when Tony started to stir and sat up, "huh? Oh, don't worry buddy I got it."
Peter watched with a careful eye as Tony refilled the bag that was his energy source. Then finally the beeping stopped, yeah but there was no way in hell he was getting back to sleep.
"Close your eyes spider baby."
"I'm not a baby," Peter reached for the remote that controlled the bed and moved it so he was half sitting up, half laying down. Peter really wished he could lay on his stomach, he always slept better that way. Now he couldn't, the best he could settle with was on his sides. "I'm also not tired," Peter spoke through a yawn.
"Uh-huh sure, it's three in the morning. Just close your eyes, try?"
"I'm not tired!" Peter threw his arms into the air.
He really wasn't, he supposed it made sense. He was sleeping all the time, especially since he saw Claire. He was just sleeping and sleeping, that was it. He even slept through a visit where Sam and Bucky brought a bunch of avengers dolls just for shits and giggles. They left them at the end of his bed, where there had finally been a clear space.
"Do you ever get tired, Tony?"
"Yeah, not all the time. I get tired and then you know what I do? I go to sleep Pete."
"No Tony, I mean- I just," Peter was hesitant.
Tony turned the light up a little, "Just mean what Roo?"
Peter sighed, "just tired, tired of doing? I'm just so tired."
Tony got up and sat on the edge of Peter's bed, he put his hand to Peter's cheek and wiped away a stray tear. When had he started crying?
"I know, I can imagine how exhausting it is. Let's stay up and we can do whatever it is that Spiders do in the early morning."
"No, you can go to sleep, I'll be okay."
"Nope can't do that."
"And why not?"
"Because," Tony looked at Peter with a sly look and whispered, "we're a team."
Peter batted his eyelashes a little, letting a few more tears fall.
"It's always been you and me, remember we won a war that saved the world?"
"Yeah," Peter's voice was watery. May used to say that.
Tony got into his usual spot on the bed, pulling back the blankets so he could get under them. "Then let's win another."
Peter leaned into Tony, content with just staring off into the distance for now. Tony went to run his fingers through Peter's hair but stopped himself, he lowered his hand and rubbed Peter's arm up and down instead.
▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎
Ned was cramed in a bus with the entire decathlon team. If they win their competition this weekend it gives them a spot at nationals. Ned was sitting alone, Peter was usually his bus partner. Mj was scrunched up in the seat across from him, probably drawing his features as he sits and thinks.
"So now that I'm officially on the team, when we win nationals I say we throw it in Peter's face." Flash was on his knees turned around in his seat, looking down at Ned.
"Yeah, real mature Eugene," Mj spoke for Ned without looking up.
"Well we don't need him, can't you see that. I mean he's obviously not 'that' sick. His homework gets turned in every week."
This is where Ned snaps, but he keeps his cool because he can't throw a punch here, "Yeah, because I'm the one turning it in. I'm the one 'doing' his homework."
Flash smirks, "I fucking knew he was your boyfriend, you're confirming it already."
"Dude what is your issue?" Mj asked.
"My issue? My issue is that Parker gets babied and he's not even here!"
Flash didn't know why he was mean all the time, he just had this temper that had to be released. He couldn't be like this at home. His mother would beat him with a belt if she caught him talking like this.
He also just didn't believe that Peter was sick, and with cancer? There was no fucking way. First he lies about his internship. Next he was lying about knowing Spider-man. Then he lies about Tony Stark practically being his dad. And now this? Yeah there was no way, he just wants sympathy. He was probably slacking off at home, eating a supreme pizza with a movie on the TV. He just didn't buy this crap.
"Whatever," Ned grumbled, he was done with this conversation. He hated Flash. He hated Flash. He hated Flash so much.
"That's what I fucking thought," Flash gave a smug look and then sat back down in his seat.
▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎
Today Peter was getting a bone marrow aspiration, to check his blood count in the marrow. He was not excited in the slightest. One could even say he was scared shitless. There really was no reason for him to feel this way right? He's been getting poked for what feels like years at this point. Nope. He's definitely scared for this.
He just wishes he could get a procedure done that would knock him out, he gets all the ones where he stays awake. Of course he's going to get drugged up with benzos and anti-anxiety meds, but the being awake still is terrifying.
Morgan was too traumatized to even be brought up to the med-bay at this point. Her therapist suggested that they give her some time and maybe facetime her brother to see if that helps. She had been extremely cautious of Peter ever since walking in on him having a seizure. One day she was sitting with Peter on the bed, they were just coloring together. Peter had gotten nauseous so fast he couldn't even do anything before it happened, he threw up all over himself and his own drawing. Morgan had screamed bloody murder and a bunch of nurses had ran in to help clean up Peter and comfort Morgan. The last time she was in there Peter woke up from sleeping because he was in pain. He was due for some medication and the pain had pushed through at an extreme. He couldn't even pretend that he was okay in front of his sister, he just cried and mumbled things like, "help me," "I'm dying mom, please," and "make it stop." That was the last time she saw him in person. They were reduced to just pictures of Peter and phone calls, not even facetime yet.
Helen was positive that the iron chelators were working, given that Peter only had the one seizure and his headaches had been dissipating.
Peter was hoping to go home before Thanksgiving, he wanted to go to Clint's house and just hang out with the kids and be a normal teenager. He also really wanted to see his friends again, he missed them like crazy.
If he gets to go home, then it'll be no time before he gets back to school. He's always enjoyed school and not because his friends are there, althought it helps. What? He's a nerd. Not to mention Tony will probably let him go back to the workshop again. He loves fiddling with Tony's old projects and improving them, also creating new things was interesting.
If he gets back to all that stuff, then he could finally be Spider-man again. Speaking of Spider-man, Tony had run the idea of sending out Sam in a Spider-man suit just so the public would know he was alive. Peter liked the idea, he suggested that they send Sam to a hospital to make some Thanksgiving crafts to the kids there. He obviously sent him to the hospital that Peter did the one group support session at. Peter wanted to go back, he liked making friends with those guys, they could relate to his situation better than anyone. Sam had also gone to various hospitals around New York City. Tony decided that Peter could watch the baby monitor footage and actually talk to the people through a microphone. That way the people that knew Spidey's voice already wouldn't be majorly confused. Peter had a blast doing it, so did Sam.
Peter knew he was losing hair, it was getting thinner and thinner. He just didn't know where the hair was going, considering he never left his bed except when he went to the bathroom or watched the avengers in the gym. He had a sneaky feeling that Tony and Pepper were up to it. They probably thought that he didn't know, taking the hair and throwing it away without his knowledge. Scared he was going to freak and lash out. He thought that too.
After he got his diagnosis he pondered about the hairloss. He knew it was inevitable. He even took to downloading snapchat and using a filter to see what he would look like without his hair. Ugly he thought. It didn't hurt then when he was thinking about it, but he thought when the time came he would be crying and upset. Apparently that wasn't the case. He supposed it hit him after the group support session, many kids were bald. Even Claire was bald at one point, he could tell because her hair was short, in the middle of buzz cut Eminem and season 2 Eleven from Stranger things. It was an awkward stage of hair growth. Seeing all those people it just hit him, he wasn't alone. If they could get through it, so could he.
He wondered if he should bring it up to his parents, just bite the bullet. Actually.
"Hey, Tony," Peter waited until Tony put his full attention on him, "We should shave my head after the surgery."
Tony schooled his expression. He didn't know if he should dive in to comfort or play it cool. He settled with the latter.
"Okay, you want mom there too?"
"Uhm- yeah, that'd be nice."
"Should we get a cake and celebrate it?"
Peter laughed, a deep gut laugh. "Yeah, we should. And we can invite the avengers and Happy." Peter knew he was stretching it but he added, "maybe my friends too?"
Tony pretended to be in deep thought, hand on his chin and all, "hmmm- I think we can manage that."
Peter smiled in response.
Peter wasn't up for shaving his head after the procedure, but the next morning Peter, Tony and Pepper were all squeezed into the med-bay's restroom. Peter was sat in a chair, facing the mirror. Tony stood next to him, razor in hand.
"Do you want to do it yourself? Or do you want me to do it?"
"I thought you said we were a team?" Peter gave him a 'look', "we can all do the first strip?"
"Yeah okay, sounds good to me." Tony turned the razor on and put it at the front of Peter's forehead, Peter cautiously put his hand on Tonys. After Peter, Pepper placed her hand on top, making a Peter hand sandwich.
"Alright, on three. One," Peter took a breathe in. "Two," Peter let go of his breath and closed his eyes. "Three," altogether they pushed the razor down towards the back of Peter's head.
Peter felt the coolness on his head from the bald spot being finally exposed. His eyes were still scrunched shut tight. He was afraid, afraid of what? He didn't know.
"Hey," Pepper squeezed his shoulder, "It's okay to be afraid, but be afraid and do it anyways. Alright?"
Peter nodded at that, he could do it. He opened his eyes and just looked straight ahead, tilting his head forward to look at it more.
"We won't know if your head is misshapen until we shave it all off," Tony recieved a slap on the arm for saying that. But it was worth it when Peter smiled with his teeth.
Tony silently shaved the rest of Peter's hair off, the curls falling to the ground while sometimes tickling his arm on their descend. When Tony was done he looked for any reaction out of Peter. Just waiting.
Peter brought his hand up and touched his head, "guess it's not misshapen." Peter took a heavy breath in and released it shakily. A couple tears fell onto his lap. Oops. He swore he wasn't upset a second ago.
Tony licked his lips and then made a split second decision.
"What? Tony- no!" Peter looked on in pure shock as Tony shaved a strip down his own head.
"I'm just checking to see if my head is misshapen also. I got a feeling it's funky, I've hit my head too many times."
Peter continue to cry as Tony shaved his entire head as well. Pepper held him as his body shook with sobs. Tony copied Peter's previous movements and touched his head aswell.
"Any lumps Roo?"
Peter blinked his eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears and looked at Tony's head, "nope."
"Then good, we're rocking and rolling now!"
Pepper wiped Peter face to rid the waterworks, "my handsome boy."
"I don't deserve you guys, I love you both."
"And we love you," Pepper poked Peter's nose, just to annoy him.
"I think- I think I'm gonna be okay. Especially with dad as my twin," Peter hopped out of his chair and walked up to the toilet, "privacy?" Peter said over his shoulder.
"Yeah- yeah privacy and all that." Tony walked out with a ginormous smile plastered on his face and fresh tears in his eyes. Dad. That felt better than okay.