Sniffles and Snuggleforts (Spidermom)
“Hey, Peter?” Natasha’s knuckles rapped against the door. “Any requests for dinner?”
Natasha had been on a solo mission and Peter wasn’t technically part of the Avengers so neither of them had responded to the newest alien chaos in Times Square. It also meant that they were the only ones in the tower.
“I think I’m good today.” Peter responded through the closed door.
Natasha immediately picked up on the slight hoarseness of his voice. She also remembered that Peter had the appetite of a beast; he wouldn’t turn down a meal. “What’s up Peter?”
“Nothing, just had a big lunch.” There was a suppressed cough on the other side of the door.
Natasha sighed, surely loud enough for Peter’s enhanced hearing to pick up on. She hadn’t actually known ‘Peter Parker’ for very long, but her instincts told her that he was a good kid, and she was inclined to believe them. She twisted the doorknob. “I’m coming in.”
She heard frantic shuffling and walked through the doorway just in time to see Peter chuck a blue blanket into the closet. There was still a large variety of blankets scattered haphazardly on the bed and floor.
He stood with one hand behind his back and one on his stomach. “I’m really full. I’ll just get to all the homework I have to do and -“ Peter’s excuses were cut off by a bout of hacking.
“Did you have a fort set up?” Natasha asked, surveying the room and ignoring Peter’s pathetic lying attempt.
“No.” Peter’s blush hinted otherwise though. Natasha resolved to teach the kid how to lie after he was better because this was just sad. She did feel a bit warm and fuzzy with the confirmation that he was so innocent though.
She took in the scene for another moment. She wasn’t great with children: her childhood wasn’t exactly typical. She also didn’t see herself as the nurturing type. Peter was in high school - he could handle himself. She could just go watch some TV and get something to eat.
Inexplicably, she couldn’t do that. It was possible she was more motherly than she let on. “I’ll help you rebuild it - we can make it better.”
“You don’t have to. I don’t want to get you sick. I’m not a child, and really, I’m used to taking care of it on my own.”
Natasha’s heart lurched with empathy for the fake smile Peter had on his face, coupling with the red nose and ashen skin for a truly miserable expression.
“You think I can’t make a better pillow fort? Is that a challenge?” With a smirk, Natasha stalked out of the room only to return minutes later with a large stack of Tony’s fancy blankets.
“Wait, those are Mr. Stark’s-“ Peter’s protests were cut off by a large cashmere blanket being chucked directly at his face. He still seemed a bit apprehensive, the blankets were all made of exotic, expensive materials, but Natasha knew he would relax once the fun started.
“Use a web to stick this one there on the ceiling.” Nat pointed at the spots she couldn’t immediately reach and gave directions to Peter. “These ones can drape over this part to separate sections.”
“I think this one looks like a good door, can I go hang it over by the entrance Ms. Widow?”
“That’s a great idea! You don’t have to ask by the way, and don’t call me Ms. Widow - it’s Nat.”
Peter nodded happily and went back to work. In half an hour, the room was completely decked out with blankets. Most of them came from Tony’s stash which meant they were both stylish and luxurious. On the inside, Peter and Thor’s cartoon themed blankets insulated the fort. The thickest wool ones from Bruce’s room made up the carpet. They saved the thickest ones to curl up with inside the fort.
“What do you want to watch?” Nat crawled in after Peter with the TV remote.
“You’re staying?” The teenager sounded surprised.
“Of course. This is the best blanket fort ever!”
“That’s because of your ideas.”
“Nope, none of them would’ve worked without your powers. Apparently spiders can spin pretty cool webs when they work together huh?”
Peter’s eyes widened a bit and then he smiled. The moment was cut short by his stomach rumbling.
“Not hungry...” Natasha muttered and Peter blushed. “How about you man the fort and watch some TV while I go grab dinner?”
“You don’t have to-“
“-Nonsense. I’m hungry too. Trust me, I won’t do anything I don’t want to do.”
She had just been planning on ordering in pizza or Chinese, but an old recipe for mushroom soup that she ate when she got sick came to mind. Although it took a bit longer, the kitchen smelled amazing by the time she was done.
Natasha proudly carried the soups back to the fort and made herself comfortable next to Peter. She didn’t recognize the show, but it was funny so she was content.
In less than two hours, they were both knocked out, tired from the mission and being sick.
Natasha immediately became alert when sounds came from the hallway. Peter was still dead asleep as she strained to listen. She never let her guard fully down, especially since a child was sick next to her. It didn’t matter that her home, Stark Tower, was the most well protected spot in the world or that the “child” could bench press a semi-truck.
She relaxed when she heard Stark’s voice. “Where did all my blankets go?” He sounded irritated. “They don’t usually take them all when they do laundry - I’ll have to reprogram the-“
Steve chuckled from behind the door. “Stark, calm down. You can borrow one of mine, which are actually yours by the way, for the night.”
“Your blankets suck. I refuse to claim them and resent that accusation. The thread count is like two. When I told you to pick out blankets, I didn’t mean to get the cheapest ones Walmart had. I’m pretty sure those were made of hay bales or-“
“- I get it. Why do you need them anyway? Doesn’t your bed have a comforter?”
“It’s for Peter. He didn’t look too well before we left. I think he might be sick. He’s stubborn about this stuff. I worry about him.”
Natasha couldn’t see it, but she could picture the sly grin on Steve’s face perfectly. She glanced down at Peter, who was starting to stir: his enhanced hearing amplified the voices in the hall. The door opening finally brought him to conscious.
“What the hell?”
Steve’s loud footsteps stomped from where he was standing, actively searching for a threat. He doubled over with laughter when he saw the cause of Tony‘s outburst.
“Sorry Mr. Stark. I thought it would be okay to use your blankets.” Peter’s voice, on top of being thick with sleep, was scratchy and strained. It sounded awful enough to make Nat wince.
There was some noise at the entrance of the fort. “No Peter it’s fine. You can always use my things. I just - jeez how many compartments does this thing have? Where are you?”
“This way.” Natasha spoke up for Peter.
“You’re in here too? Anyone else want to make themselves known? HYDRA agents could get tips about building secret bases from you guys.” Tony grumbled something about ‘old man’ knees that everyone knew didn’t apply, especially with the cushioned flooring of the fort, but eventually made it to the ‘TV den’. “Wow, you guys have quite the set up.” Tony looked around impressed . “So how are you feeling kid?”
Peter opened his mouth, but Natasha spine first. “Don’t lie to us.”
“Like garbage actually. Natasha’s soup made my throat feel much better though. I just need some sleep and the spider powers will take care of it.”
“Natasha cooked for you?!”
“And she helped me make the blanket fort.”
“Once, I ate an alien plant and had a stomachache and a headache for like two days. She threw a single Advil at me and called me a ‘dumbass’ before disappearing the entire time I was sick.”
Peter snorted and Natasha just shrugged. “It was your fault.”
Tony continued to tell stories of Natasha being callous toward everyone’s injuries and sicknesses, except Bruce, until Peter’s eyelids became heavy and his head started to droop.
“Where are you going?” He whispered as Natasha gently moved Peter’s head off of her lap and onto Tony’s.
“Bruce has some tea for sore throats. I’m going to put some in a thermos for when he wakes up.”
“When did you become so motherly?” Tony said fondly.
“Don’t expect anything from me. Spiders stick together - you’ve got your own thing going on.”
Tony grinned at Natasha’s empty threat, seeing the blush she was trying to hide. He ran his fingers through Peter’s hair fondly. “Thanks for taking care of him.”
“Anytime.”