Penny woke up early Saturday morning, tangled in her sheets and wondering what had woken her. It took a moment for her hearing to adjust, and her brain to snap out of it's haze, but once it did she was able to make out the shrill distinctive beeping that was coming from her phone. She groaned in response, the noise getting drowned out as she dug her face deeper into her pillow. She took a moment, breathing in the softness before forcing herself up right. She checked the pump on her arm to make sure it was still intact before silencing the abrasive ringing. Her blood sugar had tanked while she was asleep ( a whopping 64 with a bright red down arrow) meaning she had to get up and eat something before it got any lower. She could feel the nausea coming on now that she was more awake. “What time is it Friday?” She asked as she rested her head in her hands, trying to wait out the dizzy spell that suddenly hit her.
“It’s currently 5:07 in the morning. If I may Ms. Parker, you seem to be experiencing a sudden drop in blood sugar, would you like me to inform Boss?” Penny shook her head already making her way out of her room and towards the kitchen.
“No thanks Friday, I’ve got it.”
“Very well, but I am required to inform him if your levels have not stabilized within twenty minutes of the initial drop.” Penny only hummed in response, entering the vacant kitchen and heading straight for the cabinets that she knew held the bread, intending on making herself a quick peanut butter and jelly. She got all the ingredients laid out before her, but a wave of dizziness hit her, making her halt her actions and rest her head on the counter for a moment. She groaned, taking deep breaths to try and regulate herself enough to make some food, but she couldn’t lift her head, let alone arms, long enough to complete the task. She decided that standing was taking up way too much energy that she didn’t have, so she slowly slid down the cabinets until she was sitting on the floor.
“Friday?”
“Boss is already on his way Ms. Parker.” Penny closed her eyes for a second, letting her head fall forward a little, and the next thing she knew, a gentle hand was running through her bed head, a voice calling her name.
“Penny? Hey kiddo, you’re okay. It’s time to wake up and eat something honey.” Mr. Stark continued to run a hand through the young girl's hair, keeping a steady hand on her arm just in case she started to tilt. He took a glance down at his watch that was currently displaying the girls blood sugar, which was way too low for a normal person with type one diabetes, let alone an enhanced teenager. He quickly stood up and slathered some peanut butter on the piece of bread that was already laying out, folding it in half and presenting it to the girl. Anything below seventy was cause for alarm, so it was no wonder she was so out of it, sitting at fifty-nine and showing no signs of improvement. “Come on honey, you’ll feel a lot better once we get some food in you.” He shook her slightly, brushing the hair from her eyes and raising the bread to her mouth. She slowly took a bite, a shaking hand reaching up to grab the food.
“M-Mr. Stark?” She slurred a bit, but he was sure part of it was due to lack of sleep and not just the lack of sugar.
“Hey there Penny, you feeling better?” He watched as she took another bite, confident that her levels would rise with each calorie she took in. He waited until the sandwich was completely gone and he got some water into her before attempting to move her to the couch. He slowly lifted her by her under arms, making sure she was stable once they were back to full height, before guiding her to sit on the couch cousins. He took a seat beside her, handing her a soda to sip on to make sure her blood sugar remained on the mend. “You feeling better?” She didn’t look as pale and shaky as she did ten minutes ago, and another quick glance at his watch told him that her blood sugar was indeed stabilizing, but he liked to make sure.
“Yeah, sorry, that came out of nowhere.” He pulled her into his side, letting the young hero rest her head on his shoulder while he flicked on the TV, kicking his legs up onto the coffee table.
“Don’t be sorry honey, there’s nothing you can do about it.” He settled on a rerun of the office, putting the volume on low in hopes of luring the girl back to sleep.
“Still, thank you.” He Watched as her eyes drifted shut, pressing a quick kiss to her temple before nodding off himself.
“Of course kid.”
——