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Tony had been looking forward to spring break for weeks. Not only was Peter going to be staying at the Tower while May was away on a trip, Harley would be coming up to stay too. They would have all the time in the world to work in the lab together- well maybe not all the time in the world, but nowadays that's what a week felt like.
Morgan was also out of preschool for spring break, but she and Pepper had plans of their own... Or at least, they did.
"Hey, Tony?" Pepper says, entering the lab.
"What's up?"
"I know you and the boys had plans for spring break, but I have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow and I'd have to leave right now to make it. I'm going to be gone for five or six days, so you're going to have to include Morgan in your plans."
"I thought that wasn't till next weekend?"
"It was, but at the last minute it got rescheduled. I already talked to Morgan and she said it'd be ok. Are you going to be able to manage three kids by yourself?"
"Yeah, I got it. I just hope Peter and Harley are ok with Morgan tagging along."
"I'm sure they will be. Speaking of them, they should be arriving soon. May's bringing Peter and Happy's bringing Harley, then May and Happy have their flight to catch."
Thirty minutes later, Peter and Harley arrived.
"Hey, Mister Stark!"
"Hey, Tony."
Peter and Harley both greet Tony as they exit the elevator. They'd only just gotten there, but they already seemed giddy.
"Before we get started with anything, I wanted to give you a heads up that Morgan's gonna be joining us- Pepper just left for a last-minute meeting and she won't be back till around Thursday."
"That's ok," Peter says. "We can hang out with her right now and then work in the lab tonight-"
"Peter! Harley!" Morgan shouts when she sees them.
She runs over to hug Peter. "Hey, Morgan!"
Next she hugs Harley. She squeals as Harley lifts her up into his arms. "Hey, squirt. You've gotten a lot taller since I last saw you."
"Yep! And I'm in preschool now!"
"So I've been told," he chuckles at her enthusiasm. "Now, what do you guys think about playing some video games?"
"Ok!" Peter and Morgan both agree.
"Good 'cause I brought my N64, a couple games, and four controllers. You wanna join us, Tony?"
"Hmm... You've got Mario Kart?"
"Yep."
"Then why are we still standing here?"
After a few rounds of Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and the minigame tournaments on Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2, they finally call it quits and eat dinner.
Not long after dinner, Tony tells Peter and Harley to head down to the lab and get started while he puts Morgan to bed.
While they're waiting for Tony, Peter and Harley catch up with each other, until they're interrupted by Tony's arrival.
"Hey, guys? Neither of you two are feeling sick at all, right?"
"No, why?" They both answer simultaneously.
"Well, I went to get Morgan ready for bed and she told me she didn't feel good. Then I took her temperature and she's got a fever. Then I took her down to medbay just to make sure everything was ok, and turns out she's got the flu. And apparently she's been feeling sick all day."
"Oh no..." Harley groans.
"Yeah..." Tony agrees. "I figure Pete's probably safe with his super immune system, but if either of you two do get sick, we'll have to adjust our plans. But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that..."
The next morning, Tony tried to be vigilant about making sure nobody else got sick.
"Hey, Pete?" Tony knocks on Peter's door. "You're not sick, are you?"
"Nope," Peter calls sleepily. "But it was my first day officially on break and I would've liked to sleep in a little..."
"Oh. Well, you can go back to sleep if you want."
"Nah, I'm too awake now."
"Ok, I'm gonna go check on Harley."
"Hey, Harley?" Tony knocks. "Harley?"
Tony hears him groans, so he cracks open the door.
"I already know what you're gonna ask and the answer is a reluctant 'yes'..." Harley pulls the covers up over his head. "Now let me die in peace."
"So is that a 'yes' as in 'yes' you're sick?"
"What do you think- I feel like wrap and I'm sweating, but I feel cold..."
"I dunno, you could be doing an impression of Peter hiding an injury too long until it gets infected."
"I can hear you!" Peter shouts from down the hall.
That gets a laugh out of Harley.
"Now, how 'bout we move this party out to the couch, so I can keep an eye on both you and Morgan?"
"Fine, but I'm staying in my pajamas."
After Tony's got both Harley and Morgan in the living room, he goes to Peter's room.
"So you heard about Harley?"
"Yeah."
"You think you're up for helping me manage the plagued persons we have in our living room?"
"Sure. You should probably talk to Pepper, though, so when we all inevitably end up confined to the couch she already had a few days' notice," Peter jokes, although part of him is worried that they'll all end up sick. He's mostly worried about Tony getting sick, especially with his compromised immune system.
"Yeah, I'll give a call and tell her we've got it under control."
Throughout the day Peter and Tony take turns caring for Harley and Morgan. Tony mostly just checks their temperatures, gives them medicine, and reassures them it isn't the end of the world despite how many times they say it to themselves.
Peter, on the other hand, does some cooking and makes them tea, tries to cheer them up, makes sure they're comfortable, plays some video games with them, and even reads to Morgan.
Then after a long day, he still finds time to head down to the lab with Tony to work on some minor for the suit.
It's no wonder that by the next morning, Peter's starting to feel really run down.
"Hey, kid, are you diseased yet?"
"No," Peter replies despite being unusually tired. He couldn't be sick, right? "Are you sick?"
"Nope, but Harley and Morgan's temperatures both went up. They're already out in the living room. I have some emails I need to reply to. You think you could manage the patients for about an hour?"
"Sure."
While Tony's gone, Peter checks in with Harley and Morgan, before making them some tea.
"Here, you guys go."
"You look tired..." Harley comments as he accepts the mug. "Y'know, spring break is supposed to be a break from having to do stuff. You shouldn't have to spend your whole break looking after us."
"You shouldn't have to spend your whole break being sick," Peter counters. "Besides, with my immune system I should be fine, just like Tony said. I'm not gonna get sick."
"Sure..." Harley says, sarcastically.
"Just drink your tea."
"Can we watch a movie?" Morgan interrupts.
"What movie?"
"The Fox and the Hound?"
"No!" Peter and Harley both say.
"Why not? You guys never let me watch it," Morgan pouts.
"Because it's sad," Harley explains.
"That's ok. I won't cry."
"I will," Peter admits.
"What about Barnyard? That one's funny," Morgan offers.
When Harley sees Peter tense up he handles the situation. "Um, Morgan, remember that conversation we had about that movie?"
"No?" She says, furrowing her brows.
"It's ok, Harley. You guys can watch it, and I'll come in for Act II. I'll be in my room till then," Peter says walking out.
Once he's gone, Morgan whispers to Harley, "Why can't we watch Barnyard with Peter? It's only a little sad."
"You remember the name of Otis's dad who isn't really his dad, but adopts him?"
"Ben? Oh..."
"Yeah, but we can still watch it, and Peter can come in later."
"Ok."
Tony's email answering takes a little longer than expected, but when he finally comes out to the living room, he's happy to see Morgan and Harley still ok.
"Where's Peter?"
"Oh yeah, he went to his room about an hour and a half ago."
Tony nods, and starts down the hall for Peter's room.
"Hey, kiddo-" Tony says entering the room. He freezes when he sees Peter curled up on his bed. "Are you ok?"
"What? Yeah, yeah-" Peter quickly responds, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "I'm fine- What- What time is it? Is it dinner time? Is it still Friday..." Peter drags a hand over his face and shakes his head before finally landing on a relevant question. "Did Harley or Morgan need something?"
"You're sick?" Tony asks, ignoring the string of delirious questions.
Peter sighs and flops back down on the bed defeatedly. "Yeah... I think I might be sick... I'm sorry, Mister Stark..." He lets his eyes close, and Tony walks over and places his hand on Peter's forehead.
"You don't have to be sorry, buddy. Just, uh, hang tight here for a second, ok? I'll be back in a minute."
Tony exits the room calmly, but as soon as the door is shut, he rushes into the kitchen and begins to panic.
"FRIDAY, call Pepper."
"Hello? Tony?"
"Hey," Tony breathes out a shaky, but relieved breath.
"What's wrong?"
"You know how Morgan and Harley are sick and I told you I could handle it because I had Peter here to help me?"
"Yeah...?"
"Well, he's down too. He was so good at keeping everything under control- I felt like I could handle two sickies when he was helping, but now I'm alone with three sick kids. He was my only hope, Pepper- My only hope," Tony whines dramatically.
"You can always call Rhodey. I know he said he'd be leaving in a few days, but he might be able to help you get a handle on things."
When Tony comes back in to check on Peter, Peter asks, "So when is Rhodey coming?" Before Tony can even ask how he knows, Peter explains, "I heard you fake sobbing on the phone to Pepper."
Tony's face reddens at the acknowledgement. "Actually, I'll have you know that that technique can be very effective especially in parents- It elicits a parental instinct common with real whining of 'how do I make this stop immediately' while also invoking a playful sense of humor to lighten the mood," Tony explains, making it up as he goes.
"I'll have to remember that for next time," Peter laughs, but it's cut off by a small coughing fit.
"Yep. I guess that means it's official. You can now join the other patients. It'll be easier to keep an eye on all of you if you're all together anyways."
Peter groans. "Do I have to go out there... I kinda got cocky and told Harley that I wouldn't get sick at all and now..."
"Aw, c'mon, kid," Tony cajoles. "It'll be good for you to eat some humble pie for once."
When Peter comes out to the living room, he's almost shy about it. He hides behind Tony like a child hiding behind their mother.
"Class, we've got a new student joining us today," Tony jokes. "Come on out, kid."
Peter reluctantly steps out from behind Tony and rolls his eyes.
"I knew it," Harley says, shaking his head.
"Wait, so does that mean Peter's sick too?" Morgan asks.
"Yep. And I'm sure you guys will make him feel very welcomed, right?"
Harley and Morgan both smirk at each other before beginning to eagerly chant, "One of us, one of us..."
Despite how tired Peter feels, he can't help, but laugh. He gives in and takes a seat on the couch between Harley and Morgan.
Once they're all settled on the couch, Tony takes their temperatures.
"Ok, Harley's temperature is 101.4, Morgan's is 101.2, and Peter's is 100.9."
"I'm winning. My number's higher," Harley boasts.
"I thought Daddy said a high number is bad?"
"A high number is bad," Tony glares at Harley. "You don't want the highest number when it comes to temperatures."
"Oh..." Morgan says. "So that means you're losing, Harley, and Petey's actually winning!"
"Hooray..." Peter deadpans, causing Morgan to laugh.
"Alright, I'm gonna go get you guys some medicine and then I'll be back."
After Tony pours out Morgan's dose and Harley's dose, he curses, realizing he doesn't have any medicine that'll work on Peter.
As Tony dishes out the medicine, he apologizes to Peter. "Sorry, Pete, I forgot we don't have anything that'll work on you. I'm gonna try and call Bruce and Helen and see if one of them can come up with something for you."
"Ok."
That afternoon, they watch a movie and fall asleep. At dinnertime, Tony makes them all some chicken soup.
Not long after they decide to turn in for the night. They all go and sleep in their own beds, but Morgan wakes up not long after and goes to Peter's room.
"Petey?" She whispers as she shakes his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Peter groans.
"I don't feel good."
Without even opening his eyes he asks, "What's not feeling good?"
"My throat is all tickly-" Morgan explains, before coughing right in Peter's face.
Peter flinches, wipes his face, and sits up. "I'm sorry you don't feel good. Just make sure you remember to cover your coughs and sneezes, ok, kiddo?"
"Oh yeah. I'm sorry."
Peter sighs. "It's ok. Now let's go to the kitchen and I'll make you some tea and you can have a juice pop," he says, holding her hand and guiding her out.
After Peter gets Morgan all taken care of, he takes her back to her room. He sits in the rocking chair beside her bed and lets her climb up on to his lap.
His plan was to just read two books, put her in bed, and return to his own room, but half way into the second book he realizes Morgan's asleep. Not wanting to wake her, and honestly, too exhausted to try and move her, he gives up and lets himself drift to sleep in the uncomfortable wooden chair.
"Oh, Harley, I found him. Yeah, he's in here." Peter hears a familiar voice call out.
Tony carefully lifts Morgan off Peter's lap and carries her out to the couch. Then he comes back in for Peter.
He rests his hand on Peter's sweaty forehead, and Peter hums.
"You're a lot warmer than yesterday, kiddo. Thanks for taking care of Morgan... I'm sorry she kept you up, though."
"...'s it morning already?"
"Yeah. It's 9:30." Tony runs his hand through Peter's sweaty curls. "How're you feeling?"
"Sore..."
"I'm sorry. Let's try getting you out to the living room, ok? Also, Rhodey is finally here to save the day, so he'll know what to do."
Tony helps Peter into the living room, but instead of trying to fit all three kids on one couch again, he drops Peter off in the recliner to give him more space.
"Ok, it's temperature time. Who wants to go first?"
"Wait!" Morgan shouts. "If we let you take our temperatures, can we have ice cream for breakfast? Please, please, please?"
Harley backs her up with hopeful 'puppy dog eyes'.
"Fine..." Tony sighs, giving in. His kids could be very persuasive. Or maybe he was just getting soft in his old age.
"Yes!" Harley and Morgan high-five each other.
"But only because you're all sick, so don't think you can try this any other day of the year," Tony adds. "Now, who's going first?"
"I will," Morgan volunteers.
As Tony takes each kid's temperature, he reads it off.
"Morgan, you're 101.2... Harley, you're 101.8... And Pete..." Tony frowns. "Pete, you're up to 103.5." Tony and Harley exchange worried glances.
"Woah..." Morgan gasps. "Petey, you're losing!"
"Well, we do have an unfair advantage, Morgan," Harley says, trying to keep Peter from feeling bad. "We've got medicine and Peter doesn't. Plus, there's no actual winners or losers, it was just a fun little game not meant to be taken seriously. Nobody actually wins until we all get rid of our fevers. And since you and I have the lowest temperatures, we gotta take care of Peter and make sure he gets better, ok?"
"Oh, ok!" Morgan gives a thumbs up.
Tony smiles at them and then says, "Well, I'll go get you guys some ice cream."
"Actually-" Peter starts, but pauses to clear his throat. "I, uh, I don't really want ice cream..."
"Oh. Is there something else I can get you? Soup or something?"
"No thanks... I'm not that hungry..."
Harley doesn't miss the concern that flashes across Tony's face.
"Ok... Well, then I'll be right back."
Tony makes his way out to the kitchen.
"So? What am I making for breakfast?" Rhodey asks, eagerly.
"Ice cream for Morgan and Harley."
"And Peter?"
"Peter says he's not hungry."
"Not even for ice cream?" Rhodey asks in disbelief.
"Not even for ice cream..." Tony repeats.
"Wow, he must be feeling really sick then."
"I'm sure he is, but I can't do anything about it until his meds are done. A part of me wishes he would at least complain like Morgan and Harley do, so then I'd know how he's feeling, but he's just so quiet when he's sick. I don't like it. I don't like feeling helpless while my kids are sick."
"I know," Rhodey says, placing a comforting hand on Tony's back. "Here's the ice cream. I'm just gonna tidy things up out here and then I'll be out."
Tony returns to the living room and serves the ice cream to Morgan and Harley. Satisfied at seeing them already digging in, he focuses his attention on Peter.
Peter's curled up in the arm chair with his head resting on his pillow, eyes closed. Tony brushes Peter's hair off his sweaty forehead. "You sure you don't want anything, bud?"
Peter nods. "I'm sure."
"I wish there was something I could do... If you need anything at all just let FRIDAY know, I'm gonna try to talk to Bruce and Helen and see if they've come up with anything yet. I'll be back in a little bit. After Rhodey's done cleaning up in the kitchen, he'll be in here to keep an eye on you guys, ok?"
"Ok."
"Alright then, try to get some rest," Tony says, smoothing over Peter's hair one last time before leaving.
It's evening when Tony finally returns. He spent the better part of the afternoon watching Helen and Bruce try to create medicine for Peter, and yet they still don't have a solution.
Upon entering the living room, he's surprised to find all three kids awake and watching a movie... Although, Peter seems more like he's only staring in the direction of the screen without actually paying attention to the movie.
"Hey, Tones," Rhodey greets, from the armchair next to Peter.
"How're things going?"
"Good, all things considered." Rhodey stands and takes Tony into the kitchen for more privacy. "I've gotta go in about thirty minutes and I already made everyone dinner. You think you can handle everything from here?"
"Yeah. Did Peter eat?"
"Sort of. He ate half a bowl of soup and a juice pop before he said he couldn't eat anymore. He's also got a pretty bad cough. And like, all of them have coughs, but Peter's seems to be the worst. The poor kid... Every time he started to fall asleep, he'd wake himself up coughing. Fortunately, his fever hasn't gone up any more. Any luck with the meds?"
"Nope. They're still working on it."
Rhodey hums sympathetically. "Well, I hope it gets worked out soon. And I hope all the kids get better fast. And even though I'll be out of the country, you can still call me if there's an emergency or if you just need someone to talk you through things, ok?"
"Ok, thanks."
"Any time. Good luck," Rhodey says hugging Tony. "I'm just gonna say bye to everyone and then head out."
After Rhodey leaves, Tony pauses the movie they're still watching and gives Harley and Morgan their last dose of medicine for the night. Then he tells them all they should head to bed.
"Actually, can we sleep out here tonight? That way if anyone needs anything we're all right here to help each other," Harley suggests.
"Sure. And if you guys need me, ask FRIDAY to call me, ok?"
"Ok."
Tony walks over to Peter and his heart almost breaks at the sight. Peter's shivering despite his skin being so incredibly warm. His eyes are fever-glazed and exhausted. And just as Rhodey mentioned, he just can't seem to stop coughing.
"I'm so sorry you're sick. Is there anything I can get you?"
Peter shakes his head 'no' and coughs into his sleeve.
"Here," Tony says reaching into his pocket. "You can at least have some cough drops. Bruce gave me a couple to give to you guys. They mainly just coat the throat, so it should still work on you since it's not like actual medicine. But don't eat 'em all at once, ok? You still need to pace it out, alright?" Tony sets a small handful of cough drops on the side table next to the recliner.
"Thanks."
"I'll come check on you guys in a few hours."
"Ok," Harley says. He locks eyes with Tony for a moment and they both seem to be thinking the same thought: Keep an eye on Peter.
Harley nods to Tony as if making a promise, before Tony leaves.
By the time the movie's over, Peter's eaten all of the cough drops and fallen asleep. Content with seeing Peter finally resting and Morgan also asleep, Harley allows himself to rest, too.
Unfortunately, Peter's rest is short-lived. About an hour later, he wakes up unbearably hot. He tries to sit up and peel the blankets off himself, but it only results in a harsh coughing fit.
The fit draws on for about two minutes, before he finally catches his breath. Not wanting to wake Harley or Morgan, he decides he'd be better off in his own room.
Peter somehow manages to get his trembling legs beneath himself without collapsing. He stabilizes himself on the recliner and then staggers down the hall and off to his room, nearly falling only twice.
Once in his room, he lets himself cough until he can't anymore. At the end of the fit, he collapses on to his bed and closes his eyes, relishing the relief of the cool sheets on his burning skin.
Not even thirty seconds go by before he's quickly sitting up to cough again, his head throbbing with each one.
"Peter?" Tony knocks on the door, before opening it. "Hey, it's ok- It's ok," he reassures, rubbing Peter's back. He winces at the way the coughs rattle Peter's entire body. "Here," Tony says unscrewing the cap of a water bottle. "Carefully try to take a drink."
Peter accepts the bottle with shaky hands.
"Better?"
"Yeah," Peter pants. "Thanks."
"I was worried when I didn't see you in the living room."
Tears well up in Peter's eyes. "I'm sorry..."
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I just- I don't want you to worry about me. I feel bad knowing that you're worrying over me because I'm sick. We were gonna have fun on break, but then we got sick, and- And I'm scared you're gonna get sick, and I'm even more scared that you're gonna get sick because of me. I don' want you to be sick, Mis'er Stark... I don'... I don' feel so good..." Peter slumps into Tony's side, but Tony's quick to catch him.
"Hey, hey- C'mon, Pete, stay with me, buddy." He manuevers Peter back upright and puts a hand to his forehead. He curses.
"Sorry..." Peter says regaining his composure. "Jus' kinda dizzy..."
"With all the coughing, hyperventilating, and that fever you're sporting, I'm not surprised. Now, we're gonna take a little trip down to medbay, ok?"
"I love field trips," Peter grins. Tony can't tell if it's an attempt at humor or if he's just delirious, but he's glad to see Peter not crying anymore. Still, he tries to hide his worry behind some light banter.
"Yep, just call me Miss Frizzle," he says, helping Peter up.
"If you're Miss Frizzle, c'n I be Liz?"
"Sure, kid, anything you want as long as you stay with me long enough to get you down to medbay."
With great effort, they're able to make it out of Peter's room, pausing every so often for Peter to catch his breath. But before they can get to the elevator, Peter's legs buckle and he begins to pull both of them down.
"Woah, hey-"
"I got you," Harley says, getting on the other side of Peter.
Tony sighs in relief. "Thanks, kid. I didn't know you were awake."
"I wasn't till I heard Pete coughing. Thankfully, Morgan's still sleeping. You want me to come down with you guys or you think you've got it from here?"
"As long as I can get him propped up against the elevator wall, we'll be fine. Bruce can help me from there."
"Ok, good luck, and feel better, Pete."
In the elevator, Peter asks, "Mis'er Stark?"
"Yeah, Pete?"
"Do you think you could make the Magic School Bus?"
"What?"
"Y'know how the bus is all magic and can do cool sh- stuff? Could you build that in your lab?"
"That would be pretty cool, huh?"
"Yesserooni, positooni."
Tony looks at Peter and smirks. "You can pronounce that, but you can't coherently pronounce my name? Also, what does that even mean?"
"It's from Pinky Dinky Doo... It used to come on when I 's a kid... I showed it to Morgan and she likes it."
Just then the elevator dings and the doors open.
"Hey, Bruce, wanna help me hide a body?" Tony smirks.
"What?!" The scientist exclaims. When he sees Peter hanging off of Tony's side, he realizes Tony was just messing with him. "Very funny," Bruce says, sarcastically. "But in all seriousness, what's going on?"
"The kid's burning up, and probably should've been on an IV a long time ago."
"Ok, I'll take care of him. Helen's almost done with his medicine, so it should only be a few more minutes."
Thankfully, it is only a few more minutes before Peter's got his medicine.
They get him on and IV to help with dehydration, and they get him his medicine, and finally, he's able to rest comfortably.
Peter's almost asleep when all of a sudden he speaks up.
"Mister Stark?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Tomorrow, if I'm feeling better... Can I have ice cream for breakfast?"
Tony laughs. "Yes. You can have ice cream for breakfast. And you know what? I think I'll have some too."
Peter smiles sleepily. "I can't wait."
"If you go to sleep, morning will come faster."
"That's a good plan. And then when I'm all better, we can start planning on how we're gonna make the Magic School Bus..." Peter mumbles, already fading out.
"Ah, so you actually remember that conversation, it wasn't just the fever talking?"
Peter mumbles something incoherently, before saying, "Thanks for stayin'."
Tony runs a hand through Peter's hair. "Anytime, kid. Anytime."