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Peter, MJ, and Ned step outside and the vigilante groans when they find that it's pouring rain. He had to walk home today and in the pelting rain wasn't exactly his idea of fun.
"I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind giving you a ride home." Ned says.
Peter shakes his head. "It's fine."
"Aren't you supposed to call someone when it's cold out and Happy isn't here?" MJ asks. "Pretty sure you don't want to turn into a spider popsicle again."
"It's just rain. Snow is a completely different story." Peter says with a roll of his eyes.
MJ shrugs. "It was nice knowing you loser. I'll be sure to play a jack-in-the-box at your funeral."
Peter and Ned laugh as the girl walks away once she pulls up her good, and the two boys go their separate ways after doing their handshake. The vigilante had barely turned the corner from his school before he was already soaked through his clothes. He imagined that he must have looked like a drowned rat, and he was beginning to wonder if maybe he should have called someone.
That was until he heard a pitiful mewl and he went searching for the source of the noise in a nearby alley. If it had been anyone else, the sound would have been drowned out by the downpour, but since it was Peter and he had enhanced senses, he was able to hear it easily enough. He was also already soaked so he figured spending a few minutes looking for the poor creature wouldn't make a difference. Peter moves aside a few boxes and grins when he finally reveals a grey tabby kitten shivering between the brick wall of a building and a box he had yet to move.
"Hey buddy. You look how I'm starting to feel." Peter slowly reaches out and smiles when the kitten doesn't dart away or swipe at him, and gently picks it up. "No tags. There's no shelter on the way home either. Normally I'd go out of my way..." The teen shrugs and unzips his hoodie to bundle the kitten within before zipping it back up. "Sorry, it's not dry, but at least you aren't getting pelted anymore."
The tabby mews quietly in response, and Peter continues his walk to the subway, and then eventually the tower. He would probably have to hide the cat from his parents as they would probably make him get rid of it, but it was also possible they would let it stay until the rain let up. Unless Stephen opened a portal to an animal shelter. That was always a possibility.
Tony might drop kick it out of the towers front door like in the cartoons. Although the image was funny, he wouldn't let it happen. Peter would rather go back out into the rain and walk to the nearest shelter. Stephen would raise hell if he tried though. When it came to Peter, he was a parent first, if the teen tried to walk back out in the rain already soaked, he would be a parent and a doctor.
Which was surprisingly worse than Mama Bear.
Peter sighs with relief when he finally makes it to the tower and he steps into the lobby with an apology to the receptionist for the watery mess he makes as he walks to the private elevator. He rides the elevator up to the family floor, thanks whatever god was watching over him that his parents were nowhere to be seen, and darts into his room. He quietly closes the door behind him and unzips his hoodie when he walks into his connecting bathroom and gently sets the kitten on the counter by the sink. It had taken to the subway (and the actual walk) very well, which made things a lot easier for Peter. He'd hate to think how the trip would have gone if the tabby fought the entire way.
"Okay. So far so good...but you gotta stay quiet if you want to stay." The kittens meows and Peter shushes it. "None of that! Let's get you dried off. Stay."
Peter points at the cat as if it will help the creature understand, and slowly backs out of the room to change into some dry clothes. He throws his wet clothes into the tub (he didn't want to ruin the carpet and get yelled at by Tony), and grabs a towel hanging on the rack before carefully drying the kitten. He remembers a hair dryer stored under the sink, pulls it out after tossing the towel to the side (exposing a scraggly looking, and somewhat happier kitten) and turns it on to the lowest setting. He tests pointing it at the tabby and almost laughs out loud when the kitten actually starts to purr at the welcome heat.
"Not much bothers you does it?" The cat stretches out to enjoy the warm air and dry more of its body and Peter jumps when someone knocks on his bedroom door. "Just a second!"
"Pete! Did you walk home?!" Tony's muffled voice filters through.
"Uh...yeah? I'm fine!" Peter sneezes and he curses when his bedroom door opens. Of course his body would tell his father otherwise.
"That sneeze tells me differently. Are you drying your--" Tony stops when he rounds the corner and his attention immediately focuses on the now dry kitten.
Peter sheepishly turns off the hair dryer and puts it away. "There wasn't a shelter on the way home. I would have gone out of my way, but the rain was coming down really hard and I was already soaked--"
The teen is interrupted by Tony resting his forehead against his and he almost crosses his eyes at the sudden close-up. "Jesus kid...you're already running a fever."
"I'm fine!"
"I can get Mama Bear in here and you can tell him that."
Peter grumbles. "No thanks. He just looks at me and knows."
Tony moves back away. "Exactly. Now you and the fuzzball get into bed and warm up."
"I have to find something to feed him first. I'm hungry too!" Peter complains.
"If you can wait, I'll get Barnes up here to make you some soup and have FRIDAY order some cat stuff."
"Stuff?" The teen asks curiously.
"Stuff." Tony confirms and hoists the much happier kitten under one arm and leads his son by his shoulder to his bed with his other hand. "He's kind of cute. If you promise to take care of him, you can keep him."
Peter's head spun for two reasons. One, Tony's reaction to the cat was not at all what he was expecting, and two, he was starting to feel the other symptoms of a cold coming on. Even before the spider bite, whenever he got sick, it wasn't gradual. It came on fast. Now that Peter was a little more relaxed now that he made it home, the effects of walking through a storm was starting to hit him, and hit him hard. He was definitely feeling the fever, he felt sluggish, stuffed up, and his throat started to burn a bit. No doubt the start of a sore throat.
"...really?" Peter asks skeptically.
"Sure. Maybe we'll make him a lab cat when he's older." When Peter scrunches his nose, Tony winces at what he accidently implied. "Not as a test subject. Yeesh. Like an office pet."
Peter sighs with relief. "Oh. Okay. Sounds good then." He crawls into bed and Tony drops his furry burden onto the bed once the teen settles. The kitten happily curls up against Peter and purrs loudly when Tony affectionately scratches it's head.
"I have some work to do so Mom will probably be the one to bring in your soup and the cat stuff."
Peter nods. "Kay...thanks Dad."
"Stay in bed unless--"
"I know. I know."
Unless there's an emergency or if Tony or Stephen give him the okay. The engineer pats the teens head and leaves the bedroom and Peter turns on his tv, asking Karen to put on one of the Star Wars movies. Halfway through the movie, the teen turns his attention to the kitten curled against him and he props himself up to regard the small creature.
"I guess you need a name huh?" The tabby continues to snooze away and Peter smiles. "I could give you a Star wars name but then Dad would never stop griping and moaning." The teen gently scratches behind tiny ears. "Oh I know!" Peter says with a grin. "I'll go Disney instead. Tibbs! You kind of look like a Tibbs anyway."
"Is it sad that I know that comes from A Hundred and One Dalmations?" Stephen asks from Peter's open doorway and the boy laughs.
"Maybe a little? It also means I've succeeded in beating Disney stuff into your head."
"It will just be filed away with seemingly useless music trivia." Stephen drawls as he steps in with a bowl of soup in one hand and a couple bags of cat supplies in the other.
The soup was immediately handed to the teen once he sits up fully, and the bags were dropped onto Peter's desk. The sorcerer uses his magic to set up everything in the teen's room, with the explanation that it would probably be broken or made a mess of by the team if they set up the food and water bowls out in the kitchen, and then gently picks up the kitten who mews at being disturbed from his nap. Peter was pretty sure the tabby forgave Stephen though as soon as he was introduced to food and water because Tibbs practically inhaled the food. Once he finished with his meal, he kept himself entertained with his new ball and Stephen chuckles as he sits next to Peter. The occasional tinkle of Tibbs' ball and Peter's movie being the only things to fill the comfortable silence.
"I think Tibbs is a good idea for you." Stephen says after a couple of minutes.
Peter looks up from his soup. "What do you mean?"
"He might help with your sensory attacks."
"Huh...I never thought of that. I thought you liked when I came to you with those though."
Stephen smiles softly. "Maybe Tibbs can be an emergency anchor if me or Tony aren't here." He takes the empty bowl when Peter finishes his soup and sets it on the nightstand. "Have you gotten any sleep?"
Peter shakes his head. "Wasn't really tired. Just felt crappy."
"What about now?"
"A little now that I ate." The teen admits with a small yawn.
"Is Tibbs going to bother you?" Stephen asks as the tabby races across the floor to chase after his ball.
"Nah. Will he bother you?"
"Are you asking me to stay?"
"Only if the cat won't bother you."
"Move over Spiderling."
Stephen gets into the bed next to the teen and allows the boy to curl up, and turns his attention to the tv once they both get comfortable. Peter was always clingier than usual when he wasn't feeling well so either he or Tony would cuddle up with him until he fell asleep. If it was just a nap, they stayed and just watched tv, worked, or read a book. Stephen decided on tv once he changed the movie, and also kept an eye on the new kitten to make sure it didn't tear anything up or have any accidents. From what little Tony was able to tell him when his husband found him to let him know Peter had gotten sick, the kitten was calm and friendly so it would hopefully be easy to train it.
Stephen started by scruffing Tibbs with his magic and setting him in his litter box when he started to sniff around. He wouldn't let an accident happen on his watch, and especially not when Peter wasn't feeling well.