Too Tired
Almost three weeks had passed since d-day, okay maybe he was exaggerating. He stared at the ceiling recounting that day and nope he wasn’t exaggerating. He blew out a breath and sat up in his bed, officially it was day 16 without taking his pills. With the dose he usually got he would take it on the first of every month and it would be strong enough to last the whole month, and maybe it was in his mind but he felt a little off. His phone buzzing pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Peter! We’re here, where are you at?” Ned half shouted.
“Here?” Peter asked groggily.
“-et me. Peter?” MJ asked unimpressed, “yes or no. Do you remember that you were supposed to go out today?”
Peter wracked his blurry brain, then his eyes widened as he grabbed for the cleanest pair of pants he had, “O-of course I-”
“So we didn’t just wake you up at one in the afternoon?”
“One in the-” he checked his phone screen, “...maybe. I’m sorry but hey with the bus I’ll be there in like thirty minutes top!”
“Thanks MJ, Hey Pete no pressure. There’s a bakery next door to the prom store so MJ and I are gonna grab a bite while we wait.”
Peter smiled, “I’m heading out okay? See you soon.” He threw on a red hoodie and tousled his hair glancing at himself in the mirror, he had dark circles under his eyes and looked a little paler than normal. “ Great , it’ll have to do.”
♧♤♧♤
“That's the same jacket in a different color.” MJ complained.
“Well, yes. But look at the trim on this one, it’s a little cleaner.” Ned countered, “Peter come on I think this one has the best trim, am I right?”
Peter was looking at the same two jackets with a blank look. “Peter!” His head snapped up and he looked at the two who were glancing at each other worried.
“S-sorry. Guess my head’s just not in the game today.”
“Hey loser, if you aren’t feeling good you could’ve stayed home.” MJ stated grabbing the jackets from him, “Winter formal slash prom isn’t for another week, we have time to shop for this stuff.” She grabbed one of the jackets from his hand, “Besides this one with...this tie would be best for you. Classy but simple.”
“Thanks.” Peter took the clothes with a tired smile.
“I can’t believe Liz actually asked you to go with her.” Ned commented while checking himself out in the mirror.
Peter smirked then sat on a bench, “Pretty sure she just wanted to go with another omega so Flash wouldn’t harass her. Plus it’s lady’s choice so...”
“Oh yeah, forgot to tell you I asked Gwen,” MJ picked at the tie acting bored, “she said yes.”
“Congrats!” “That’s so cool!” Peter and Ned said together.
“Yeah whatever.” she waved it off with a small blush on her cheeks.
“She’s like the coolest beta in the school!” Ned added, “I mean other than my date. Kendra is just the most considerate beta I’d ever met. Question, is it too early to start picking out baby names?”
“Yes.” “Oh my god!” Peter shook his head, dropping it into his hands. He pushed his palms against his eyelids to try to clear his head a little sparks dancing in his vision.
“-ake him home.” He heard Ned’s say with concern.
“Peter?” he heard a familiar voice from far away then a large hand dropped on his shoulder.
He looked up blinking blearily, “D-dr. Strange?”
Ned gasped beside him and Strange gave him a tight smile, Oh right, not many people know what the wizard looks like in real life. This is why we have superhero names. The doctor raised his hand to press against Peter’s forehead, “You’re awful warm little one.”
Peter just sighed leaning hard against Dr. Strange’s hand welcoming the cool palm. This felt nice, he could feel the waves of comfort the alpha was sending him, he doubted he even meant to do so. He felt Strange’s breath by his ear, “I take it you haven’t taken your pills?”
Peter shook his head, “N-not for a few weeks now.” even though his eyes were closed he could feel how close Strange got and could hear the murmurs of his friends.
“What were the results of the check up?” he was talking so quietly to him, it felt almost like he was whispering in his ear. He shivered and felt strange’s other hand go on the juncture between his neck and shoulder, cool hands now on his forehead and neck he felt a little more clear. Huh, alpha’s hands are usually a lot hotter, he must be using some cooling magic. “ Peter. ”
He peeled his eyes open which took a lot of effort, why am I so tired? “Yeah?”
“The check up.” Dr. Strange said, sounding more clipped, “What did they say?”
“Check up?”
“With the doctor.”
“Oh,” Peter tried shaking his head, “I didn’t go to one.” He was met with silence but felt the hands on him tighten slightly.
“Peter. You needed to go to one at least a few days after stopping your pills. You’re body is trying to adjust you need-”
“What?” Peter turned accidentally brushing his lips on Strange’s ear, instead of pushing him away he felt Strange pull him slightly closer, his omega preened, “to go to a doctor that might misdiagnose me?” he chuckled, “my body won’t react the same as other omegas anyway or have you forgotten?”
Strange went rigid for a moment, “You’re right.” He pulled back and Peter bit back at a whimper at the loss of contact. “Then you’re coming with me to a doctor who can diagnose you correctly.”
“Wha-?” He was pulled to stand and swayed for a moment before feeling Strange put an arm around his waist keeping him steady.
“Woah there buddy you can’t just-”
“It’s okay MJ.” Peter turned to smile at her, “ this is Stephen my uh-friend?”
Ned patted her shoulder consoling, “It’s okay MJ, they know each other. Do you want me to call May?”
Peter shook his head slightly regretting it immediately “May is at a conference in Manhattan, she won’t be back till Wednesday anyway.” His head throbbed and he closed his eyes again, little sparks danced around and he felt his legs go out. Strange adjusted his grip picking him up in a bridal carry and Peter would probably feel embarrassed about it later but couldn’t help but rest his nose near Strange’s neck searching for the scent he knew Strange hid. He could hear more voices, maybe a discussion but couldn’t focus on it. He felt weak, his body was achy but he didn’t think this was a heat.
“The good thing about teleporting is saving us from this three hour drive.” Stephen said as he saw the flash of gold.
“Jarvis, please tell Dr. Cho that we need her to come to the tower immediately.” Peter blinked the darkness away and looking around the room, this infirmary was much larger. Strange set him down on the bed and went to the sink grabbing some towels.
“Are we in the compound?”
“Yes. Other than the technology here, we have the brightest minds closest to us.”
Peter felt a pang of jealousy, except for me. It would’ve taken me hours to get here. He tried to sit up but felt the room tilt a bit, “Woah Peter!” Strange grabbed his collar saving him from a plunge off the bed.
“What the hell happened?” Peter tried to sober up as much he could, he knew that voice.
“Tony.” He whispered.
The alpha was in front of him in a second putting his large hands on both sides of his face, tilting from side to side, “I’ll repeat, Strange what happened? Was there another fight? Did you-”
“None of that Tony.” Strange shook his head, “I ran into him at the mall and he doesn’t appear to be in the best shape.”
Peter turned his face into Tony’s wrist inhaling the scent that seemed to have gotten...stronger? More clear? He couldn’t tell, but he couldn’t get enough, “was shoppin’ for a suit.”
“A suit?”
“-ey, what were you doing there doctor?” Peter peeped one eye open looking at the man.
“Drink this first.” he held out a cup of, tea? Peter sniffed it then leaned away from it further into Tony’s hold. Tony shifted so Peter’s face was near his stomach and kept an arm around him to steady him.
“That smells nasty.” Peter complained, keeping his forehead against Tony’s abs, and wow, he really does have nice abs. He could feel the strong build through the alphas t-shirt.
“Yes, but it will help clear you up.” He felt a hand on his chin turning him away from Tony and glanced up at Strange to see an unreadable expression, “Now drink.” Tony’s hand joined on the back on Peter’s neck for assistance and with both hands on him he opened his mouth to accept the liquid.
After a few gulps his face scrunched up, “Ugh, I’m gonna be sick.” he tried to lean away from Tony who kept an iron grip on him keeping close but all he did was dry heave. Tony petted his head a few times in a comforting motion.
“When is the last time you ate?” Strange cut in.
“Ate?” Peter paused for a moment thinking about school yesterday, he’d forgotten his lunch at home and didn’t have his money, Ned and MJ had to work on a project at lunch so he sat alone. Then he was so tired and out of it he must’ve fallen asleep when he got home.
“This silence is not a good thing Pete.” Tony pulled him back a little, keeping his hands on his shoulders as he knelt down eyelevel, “You skipping meals Pete?”
“N-not on purpose.” Peter tried to pull back feeling but Tony wouldn’t budge.
“Your metabolism is higher than even an alpha adult, you skipping one meal will have you feeling less than great, but skipping multiple meals.” Dr Strange stood beside Tony shining a flashlight in his eyes, “that can be damaging.”
“M’fine. I’ll just have-”
“Yeah no.” Tony cut him off, “Jarvis order something with a lot of carbs and fillers, how about that Italian place? Can you pick it up Stephen?”
Strange nodded, “I’ll be back little one.” he winked at the pair then disappeared.
Peter noticed his vision was clearing more, his headache had gone to a dull pain in the back of his head, and oh. Tony still had his hands on him, one was closer to his neck and he shivered.
“You cold?” Tony asked, reaching for a blanket.
Peter shook his head, “Tony…” Tony looked back at him, dark eyes reading his every movement, “I-I’m sorry about what I did.” to his horror he felt his eyes start to sting and ducked his head, “I don’t want you to not trust me, I-I want you to trust me a lot.”
One of Tony’s thumbs started to stroke along his neck as he tried to hold back his tears, “Ki-Peter. Trust goes both ways. You took out that tracker and overrode my systems, makes me think you don’t trust me.”
Peter’s head snapped up as he shook his head, “N-no! I trust you. I trust you more than anyone I know!”
Tony sighed searching his face, “You need to be safe.”
“I am safe-”
“No, you need- I need to be able to protect you.” his hands fell to Peter’s knee’s an innocent gesture but Peter couldn’t help the thrum of excitement. “I need you to be safe, and smart. If you have questions or need help, I need to know that you’ll go to me!” Tony’s voice rose a little as he ranted, “Because you- you are important to me. Do you understand?”
Peter sat blinking for a second, he was important to ironman? Maybe just as a superhero...a teammate...right? “I-”
“Food’s here.” Strange looked up as he exited the portal and his eyebrows shot up, “I’d say it can wait til later but it really can’t. You need to get your energy back up.”
♧♤♧♤
Both alphas were sitting on seats near his bed as he sat there waiting for Cho to explain his results.
“Well Peter. I’ll start off by saying thank you for trusting me with your secret. It helps me to better understand how your biology works and I can help you out more accurately. They were right about skipping meals. Because of your enhancement you burn through calories almost as quickly as a super soldier.” They all cringed at the mention, “Getting off your pills you have been experiencing more headaches and getting dizzy often yes?” Peter nodded, “this is a sign of withdrawal. It can last a few more weeks or until your heat actually hits, and your hormones are able to rebalance themselves the way they’ve been needing to this entire time.”
“Have you taken anything for the pain?” Strange asked.
Peter shook his head, “I’d just burn right through that too. I thought about the salve, but that's for external injuries right?”
Strange nodded, “I can cook up a more body friendly pain medicine in a few days.” he looked to Tony, “do you have anything left over from-”
“I do.” Tony hopped up and walked over to a cupboard searching through it for a few minutes, “Aha!” he pulled out a white bottle then went over to Dr. Cho. “would these help?”
She read the label for a moment then looked slightly appeased, “I would think so. They are strong doses so they may make you a bit drowsy but it will take care of your body and headaches.” She gave the bottle to Peter, “as it instructs, take only one every four to six hours, these are high doses so it should help you but you do not want to overdose. Do you understand?”
Peter nodded, “One pill every four to six hours.”
“Good.” Dr. Cho gathered her things, “I would recommend you rest, eat a lot of food, high in protein and fat, and get more carbs in you. You will start to feel more clear headed even if your body is achy, also when your heat hits I would recommend you get a partner for it.”
Both alphas jerked, “A partner?” Tony asked, “He-he doesn’t why does he need-”
Cho raised an eyebrow at the two, “This will be your first heat in almost five years correct?” Peter just nodded, digesting all the information. “It will be more intense than the usual heat. These kinds of heats need more than just someone to come in and clean and feed you. Alpha hormones will help to rebalance yours, even if they do not engage in knotting.”
“So you only need an alpha there more so for the hormones?” Strange inquired.
“Yes, obviously they may need to-” she cleared her throat, “to assist him in his release should he grow weaker. Keeping you clean, fed, and hydrated should be your alphas main goal here Mr. Parker.”
Peter just blinked at her for a moment, the farthest he’d gone a makeout session at a spin the bottle party almost two years ago. “I-okay.”
Tony chewed on his lip as he looked at the omega on the bed, “Well Cho,” he stood up, “I appreciate you coming here last minute. We’ll wrap things up and go over the details later.” Cho nodded, smiled at Peter then left.
“So Pete.” Tony turned to give him a genuine smile, want to take a tour?