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It was Friday night and Peter Parker was sound asleep on a couch at the Avengers Tower... again. That seemed to happen a lot. In fact, Tony was beginning to wonder why he had bothered to set a bedroom up for the kid in the first place because every time Peter came over for the weekend, he ended up falling asleep anywhere but the bed in his room. Instead, he always ended up asleep somewhere like on the couch in the corner of the lab or in his favorite chair in the common room. This time, however, it was the loveseat right in the middle of Tony's personal living space. They had been watching a movie when at some point Peter had begun to nod off. This was something Tony had become completely accustomed to at this point. So when he heard the soft snores and even breathing coming from the exhausted child beside him, he just sighed, tossed a blanket over Peter's sleeping form and decided to head down to the lab to finish up a project he had been working on before the kid had arrived earlier that day. However, before he left the room he stood watched Peter for a moment, a fond smile crossing his lips.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y? You know the drill. Let me know if he has another nightmare." He murmured just loud enough for the AI to register but not so loud as to disturb Peter's rest. "Of course boss" The AI replied in the same quiet tone Tony has addressed her in. With that confirmation, he stepped into the elevator and heading down to his workspace.
It was two am. when Tony got the alert. "Boss, Peter's heart and breathing rates are elevated indicating that he is more than likely experiencing a nightmare. He appears to be in acute distress." The AI informed him. "Shit," he said dropping everything before he was rushing to the elevator to get back to his kid.
Peter had had nightmares before. Tony had seen them first-hand numerous times at this point. The first time it happened, Peter had dozed off in the car with him as he was driving the kid back to his apartment in Queens. It had started as a quiet whimper that Tony had dismissed as the kid simply talking in his sleep or something of that nature. It wasn't until they had stopped at a red light and he had gotten a good look at the kid's scrunched up face and tense shoulders that he realized what was actually happening. At that point he had reached over and put his hand on Peter's shoulder trying to gently shake him awake, only succeeding in startling the boy out of his sleep leading to a string of ramblings and apologies. "Oh my Gosh, Mr. Stark, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep in your car. I-I should have been, like talking to you or-or something. That was really rude. I'm sorry..." The kid probably would have gone on for days like that if Tony hadn't cut him off right there.
"Kid, stop it. You have nothing to apologize for. But, we're gonna talk about this." He said eyeing the teenager in the passenger seat beside him who was now nervously wringing his hand together and avoiding eye contact. "How often do you have these nightmares? Is that why you've been so tired recently?"
Peter not really wanting to have this discussion right now -or ever- tried to just blow it off. "I mean, um, yeah, I have them, you know some-sometimes? It-It's really not a big deal."
Tony who was now stopped in front of Peter's building asked him quietly. "Does May know?" Peter just nodded briefly in the affirmative and Tony seemed satisfied with that so he didn't elaborate and Tony didn't ask him to. He just looked at Peter with something that Peter registered as maybe affection?, "You know, Kid, if you ever want to talk about 'em, the nightmares I mean, I'll listen. yeah?" Then all of the sudden feeling like he had almost stepped into something that seemed an awful lot like an emotional moment he quickly added with a wave of his hand "Now, you should probably go inside before your unusually attractive aunt starts to think I've kidnapped you or something."
It wasn't until Peter's Tuesday afternoon lab sessions turned into Tuesday and Thursday afternoon lab sessions that then eventually turned into spending entire weekends at the Tower, because man, Tony was becoming attached to this kid, that he had really gotten to see the extent of the nightmares the kid was suffering from.
Now, this nightmare was one of the bad ones. The kind that was really more of a night terror than a nightmare. The kind that left the boy yelling and flailing in his sleep. The kind that would cause him to wake in such a state that he wasn't really aware of his surroundings leaving him in more of a panic. The kind that left Tony with a feeling in his chest that made him want to protect Peter with ferocity.
As soon as Tony had reached the living space he saw the kid violently swinging his arms as he cried out loudly, completely throwing himself off of the couch with his left arm coming down with such force into the metal framed glass coffee table in front of him that it landed with a sickening crack. Tony rushed to his side, trying to calm him with verbal reassurances. He had learned the hard way that during the 'bad ones' it was best not to try and touch him until he was fully awake less he wanted to end up with an injury of his own. So he got as close as he safely could repeating the same words over and over "Hey, hey, hey... It's okay Pete, you're safe. You're at the tower... I've got you. You're safe. come on Bud, wake up...." until Peter did wake up. Usually, he woke up crying in panic. Tony could work with that, he was used to that, he knew how to fix that. This time, however, Peter work up crying in fear and pain and that was enough to almost break Tony's heart. Peter met his mentor's worried eyes with his watery ones for a moment before Tony swooped in an pulled Peter into a firm but gentle embrace. As much as he wanted to address the obviously broken arm first he needed to make sure Peter felt secure.
It was a few minutes before either of them spoke. Peter speaking first in between his now slowing sobs. "My arm... it really hurts Tony." At those words, Tony pulled away and watched as Peter immediately began to cradle his injured arm against his chest with his healthy one.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y.? Can you alert Bruce of what happened and have him meet us in the Med Bay?" he asked quickly before responding to Peter. "It's gonna be alright Bud. Brucey's gonna meet us in the med bay and get you all patched up... and set you up with your super-kid drugs so you won't feel a thing... Is it just your arm that hurts? Anything else?" He asked helping the boy to his feet as he continued to hold his arm securely to his body.
Once on his feet, Peter looked at the floor as he answered the man's questions. "A-actually, I, uh, well, I kinda of... need to pee." He said the last part so quietly that is Tony hadn't been standing right in front of him he might have missed it.
"Okay, that's fine. Do you want to take care of that first or do you want to let Bruce have a look at that arm and then take care of it?"
Peter seemed to consider the question before sheepishly answering "I think, I want to do that first... I mean, if that's okay."
Tony was quick to reply "Of course it is. Whatever you need bud."
Then again, Peter had not considered the actual logistics of this decision. He got inside the bathroom before coming to the realization that there was no way for him to take care of his business and fully support his painfully broken arm so he turned around and came back out. Still not making eye contact with his extremely concerned mentor, "N-nevermind, let's just go see Dr. Banner"
Tony walked over, placing a finger gently on the boy's chin before lifting it slightly to get a good look at his tear-streaked face. " Are you sure? Do you... do you need some help?" Tony asked uncomfortably, trying not to think about what that might entail.
But the teenager was quick to cut him off in his thoughts with an embarrassed, "NO!! I mean, no, th-that's okay... I can, I'll just wait until maybe Dr. Banner can like, give me a sling or something? I'm sorry I... " Tony held up his hand to cut of the boys rambling before answering.
"Okay then, let's get down to the Med Bay. Yeah?" Taking him by the shoulder and guiding him into the elevator.
Once in the Med Bay, It was clear that Dr. Banner had already been there for a while. It seemed that some of the other Avengers has just gotten back from a mission and were having some minor injuries checked out. That actually made Peter feel a bit better because he hated the idea that Dr. Banner was losing sleep because of him. Even if he was looking forward to being pain-free because Oh my God, it hurt. Once in the room, Tony helped Peter up onto the table before laying a pillow on his lap for Peter to rest his arm on.
Dr. Banner entered the room almost immediately after. He took one look at the arm and cringed. "Ouch Peter... I can tell just by looking at that, that we are going to need to set it. So, let's just go ahead and get you hooked up on an IV with some of your Super-Kid drugs then we can X-Ray it and get it set and in a cast. You'll probably just sleep through the worst part of it. Sound good? "
Instead of answering Bruce, Peter gave Tony a pleading look. Who returned it with a slight smile and exaggerated eye-roll. Seeing the non-verbal communication going on between the two Bruce turned his attention to Tony. "Is there a... problem...?", he asked the man.
Tony looked at Peter once more as if to give him a chance to speak up for himself and then sort of chuckled a bit. If the kid was going to make him say it, he was going to make it good. "Oh, well, you see Underroos here needs to go potty," he said dramatically whispering the last two words for emphasis, pausing just long enough to allow Peter to interject a whiney 'Tonnnneyyy!' before continuing, "but was having some trouble because he couldn't let go of his arm and he definitely didn't want any help."
Bruce seemed to contemplate everything Tony had said before looking between the two of them. "I suppose we could do a low-dose injection of Super-Kid drugs in the muscle. Just enough to take the edge off and get that arm in a sling. Now, keep in mind with Peter's Metabolism that sort of injection is only going to last about 20 minutes once it kicks in but that should give you more than enough time to get Peter to the restroom and back here for an IV before it wears off completely." Both Peter and Tony nodded in confirmation and Bruce went ahead and drew up the dose, injecting it into Peter's good arm. "Okay, well, while you guys get everything situated here, I'm going to go check on your teammates and get the portable x-ray machine ready. Keep an eye on him, Tony, we've never given him a dose like this before... just, don't let him fall or anything." Tony just gave a curt "yep" as Bruce tossed him a sling for Peter and walked out the door.
Shortly after Bruce had injected the medication Peter started to feel himself getting a bit woozy. Not tired per se, just something akin to dizziness but without the spinning. It was something he had never felt before but he was definitely more relaxed and the pain in his arm had definitely gone down quite a bit. So he looked at Tony and said, "We need to hurry" Tony smiled at him and started to pull the sling over Peter's head helping the kid carefully secure the broken arm. Peter repeated the same words but this time with more urgency. "Tony, We need to hurry" before trying to get off the table. He would have landed flat on his face had Tony not grabbed him by the shoulder to steady him.
"Kid, slow down. Bruce said we have 20 minutes. We don't need to hurry." Peter looked at Tony like he had grown a second head before telling him that they did, in fact, need to hurry because he was going to pee. "Alright, alright, fine." Tony conceded. "Let's hurry then, but hows about we slow down just a bit. yeah? I don't need you breaking anything else tonight. Your hot aunt is probably already going to have my hide" However, Peter was already pulling the door open with his good arm and trying his hardest to scurry out of the room, swaying slightly despite Tony's hand firmly in place on his shoulder to help him stay balanced.
They made it down the first hall without incident but once they rounded the corner they hit a bit of a snag. Steve and Clint were standing in the hallway presumably waiting on whoever was on the other side of the door that was closed in front of them.
"Tony. Peter. What happened? Are you okay Peter?" Steve asked with genuine concern.
Not sure about Peter's current ability to make conversation, Tony answered for him. "Peter had a bit of a nightmare and decided to be all dramatic and break his arm on my coffee table."
Peter, not missing a beat added, "Noooo.... You decid'd to keep your table too cl'se to the couch..."
Steve and Clint looked both amused and concerned at the boys slurred speech. Glancing a look at Tony for an explanation, the man simply shrugged his shoulders, "Super-kid drugs" and that seemed to be enough for the other men to understand.
Before any more questions or pleasantries could be exchanged Peter was pulling hard against Tony's grip on his shoulder. "Com'on Tony. Le's go. I need to go. It's a 'mergency."
The last words Peter spoke made Steves brow furrow. "An Emergency? What kind of emergency? Tony, is there something you're not telling us?"
Peter again quick with his unfiltered words supplied an answer while pushing past the two men waiting in the hallway "It's a potty 'mergency. Come on Tony. Is-It's right there and, and I really need to go. We need to hurry."
At this point, all three men were holding back laughter at the utter absurdity of the teenager's choice in words. Tony was halfway wondering if his comment to Bruce earlier had set it up. He didn't have much time to contemplate it though because once they got within ten steps of the bathroom Peter had already hooked the thumb of his free hand into the side of the sweatpants he was wearing and was attempting to pull them down. He already had half of a butt cheek exposed before Tony quickly caught the back of his pants trying to pull them back into place and keep them there to save the kid some dignity since Steve and Clint could clearly see what was happening.
"Stop it, Kid. Kid. Stop. Just wait a minute!" Tony was hissing in the kid's ear as they kept moving but it seemed to be a lost cause because Peter continued to tug relentlessly at his pants.
Once they got to the bathroom door Tony had a decision to make. He could let go of the kid's shoulder or his pants to open the door because Peter was making no effort to open it himself, still fully concentrating on fighting his pants out of Tony's strong grip. He finally decided that letting go of the kid's pants was probably the safest option since he didn't want him to try to run ahead and then trip over his own feet in the process. From here, knew he needed to make one quick action of opening the door and getting the teenager inside the privacy of the bathroom. He also knew that he was going to have to abandon his original plan of getting Peter to the bathroom and making sure he was steady with the provided handrails before stepping out and waiting for him on the other side of the door.
So without further ado, Tony let go of the kids pants and half shoved him inside, kicking the door shut with his foot behind them, all in one quick motion. This happened to be just time for the kid to get his pants completely to his knees before then managing to yank himself out of Tony's grip. The quick action and unexpected lack of support lead him to drag one of his feet causing his entire body to pitch forward. Tony just managed to catch him by the back of his shirt before placing one hand on each of his shoulders steadying him as they quickly made their way across the room to the toilet,. Then before Tony had a chance to make a hasty exit or even move to the other side of the room, his kid who adamantly did not want any help just thirty minutes ago was peeing full force into the bowl with Tony still holding onto his shoulders.
This left the older man blushing, staring at the ceiling and deciding that if this was any indication, he never wanted to see drunk Peter because apparently all verbal filters, inhibitions, and modesty went out the window and in Tony's expert experience, that was not a good thing-especially for his innocent and oh so trusting Peter.
Tony's thought process was interrupted by Peter starting to move towards the sink to wash his hands. "Oh my God Tony. I had to go soooo bad. That w's close." Tony not wanting to acknowledge the past five minutes of his life decided it best not to reply, instead, grabbing the kid a paper towel and opening the door so they could exit.
Steve and Clint were still in the hallway and Tony was certain that his face was still bright red from the entire ordeal basically. Once they got close enough to the two, still clearly amused men, Tony held up a finger to them before giving them what could only be described as a death stare, "You will never speak of this again- especially to Peter, the kid is high as a kite right now. Not. One. Word. I swear to God I will beat your asses to the ground. Capisce?" Both Steve and Clint agreed but Tony was pretty sure that anytime Peter wasn't around he wasn't going to hear the end of it.
Once back to the exam room, Bruce was waiting for them with a smile on his face that indicated that he knew exactly what had taken place renewing the blush on Tony's cheeks. Once the doctor had successfully inserted the IV and sedated Peter with enough of his super-kid drugs that he was sound asleep and pain-free at last he looked up at Tony, "That was quite an adventure huh?"
Tony just looked him dead in the eye "Please tell me he isn't going to remember any of that in the morning."
Bruce just shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, Maybe not. He seemed pretty out of it though. So I'm guessing probably not."
Tony looked down at his sleeping kid trying not to cringe as Bruce set the bone. "God, I hope not." , he said as he carded his fingers through Peter's hair. "That, that was... " Tony never finished the sentence, instead, releasing a deep breath through his mouth.
Bruce had started preparing the casting material but glanced a look at his friends face. "You know you make a good dad right?"
And there was that blush on Tony's cheeks again...