Work Text:
Peter took a deep breath of the salty air around him and listened to the soft splashing of the waves washing up on the shore.
“You doing okay, ‘roo?”
Peter turned his gaze from the water he was watching to Tony who was approaching the cabana Peter had set himself up in for the moment. Summer vacation had finally arrived and Tony had surprised both May and Peter with a trip to Hawaii. Tony had gotten a great laugh out of finding a pair of red and blue with black spiderweb accents board shorts that Peter was currently wearing.
Michelle had been invited but was unable to make it for the first couple days of the trip due to family coming. Ned was going to be busy with a computer coding camp that was extremely hard to get into. The great thing was that both Michelle’s family was leaving the same day Ned’s camp was ending. Seeing the events lining up, it was agreed upon by all the parental figures that both Michelle and Ned would fly out to Hawaii together to join Peter for the second half of the trip.
“I’m doing great, Mr. Stark,” Peter beamed as he relaxed further into his beach chair. It was the second day of the trip and Peter had spent the first day letting his body adjust to the new sights, smells, and sounds. It had been extremely tough for the first hour or so, leading Tony to send Peter to go lay down in his room for a bit to acclimate. “Those suppressors Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner are doing wonders.”
The suppressors that Peter were talking about were a collab between the two doctors in hopes of helping the team members that struggled with sensory issues. After the recount from Karen’s records about Peter’s immobilization from the fireworks, they had set to work on a pill that would temporarily lower the sensitivity of the enhanced hero’s senses.
“How would you rate them on a scale of one to ten, one being you feel like you are on a super heavy dosage of pain pills and ten being they are not helping at all?” Bruce called over from the chair he was laid out on in the shade of the palm trees.
“Hmmm, I would say a crisp three,” Peter answered as he lazily blinked his eyes as he started falling back to sleep.
Bruce nodded and wrote something down in the tiny notebook he had brought with him. Tony just shook his head and sighed, reaching forward to ruffle Peter’s curls. “If you feel something wrong or if they are wearing off and things are getting too much again, let me know, okay?”
“Okay, Mr. Stark,” Peter yawned, smacking his lips together.
Tony’s ruffles became a fraction harder in good-natured annoyance. “I swear, one of these days, I’m going to get you to call me by my name.”
“If you say so, Mr. Stark,” Peter smirked, patting Tony’s hand away with a smile.
“Whatever, ‘roo,” Tony rolled his eyes with a huff, waving at the boy. “I’m going to go help your sister beat the super toddlers at sand castle building, in case you need me.”
“Watch out for Mr. Barnes, he’s not below throwing water at the bottom where you can’t see,” Peter warned as he raised his arms to pillow his head.
“You snitch!” Bucky exclaimed a few dozen feet away where he and Steve were starting their sand castle.
“Noted,” Tony chuckled and patted Peter one more time on the arm before making his way to Morgan who was mixing some sand into a bucket with water.
Peter laughed softly to himself as his entire body relaxed into the reclined chair. Five years ago, he would never have imagined himself on the private island of Tony Stark in Hawaii with a large portion of the avenger’s team. Then again, he also didn’t think he would be bit by a radioactive spider and join the ranks of superheroes but fate was a funny, fickle thing.
Sighing in bliss, Peter closed his eyes against the light of the beautiful day and let himself listen to the waves of the ocean and the heckling between Tony and the super soldiers. Soft rustling of pages turning were behind him as Bruce leafed through a medical journal magazine he had bought that morning. Pepper, Laura, and Natasha with were giggling over a set of fruity drinks as they tanned in a different cabana while Sam and Rhodey compared funny military stories. Happy and May were walking near the water’s edge, May squealing in joy as the water lapped at her feet. Clint was snoring on the beach where he had been buried earlier by his kids and Morgan and didn’t bother getting out. Cooper was keeping an eye on Nate as the child played at the water’s edge while Lila and Kate were skipping a ball across the waves at each other. Wanda had opted to go on a trip with Vision to explore some more European countries.
“Yo, Pete!”
Peter hummed an answer as he opened his eyes to see Harley trotting over. Tony had invited the teenager to the trip and both he and Peter had been so excited since they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Harley was dressed in a pair of gray boardshort and a white unbuttoned short-sleeved shirt, a plain pair of sandals held in his hands as he crossed the beach. “You need something?”
“Yeah, I need you to get off your butt and come on an adventure with me,” Harley grinned, propping his fists on his hips.
“Harl, it’s a vacation,” Peter groaned. “Let me relax.”
“You relaxed all day yesterday. Do you know how boring that was?”
“I was literally going through a full body reset to get my senses used to Hawaii. That was not relaxing.”
“Semantics,” Harley waved a hand. He stepped forward and grabbed one of Peter’s feet to start pulling him off the chair. Peter didn’t even try to fight as he was pulled off, fell to the ground and then dragged across the sand with his arms dragging above his head. His thin light blue muscle shirt bunched up at his chest as he was pulled. “Jesus hell, you are heavier than you look.”
“It’s from the spider bite,” Peter deadpanned as he continued to not fight being pulled across the beach. “Made me pure muscle.”
“Dense motherfu—”
“Harley Keener, you better not finish that word while little ears are present!” Tony warned as he narrowed his eyes at Harley. Said boy grimaced in apology but didn’t stop pulling Peter. “What are you doing to Peter and why is he going along with it?”
“I’m taking him on an adventure,” Harley smirked, stopping for a moment in front of Tony who was looking at the teenager with a face of growing paternal concern.
“Still doesn’t explain why he is going along with it.”
“I’m too relaxed to fight against him right now,” Peter yawned, the warm sand on his back feeling nice. “I’m hoping if I pretend to play dead long enough, he’ll get bored and leave me behind.”
“Hmm…this is probably a side effect from the medication,” Bruce hummed to himself and made a mental note for later.
“Who said I wouldn’t drag your corpse around for some fun?” Harley smirked down at Peter who just groaned but didn’t fight.
“Can I go on the adventure, too?” Morgan asked with bright eyes.
“Sorry Mo, but this is for the big kids,” Harley answered with an apologetic tone to which Morgan pouted.
“Yeaaaahhh, that immediately makes me suspicious,” Tony said with a flat look. “Do I need to send you two with adult supervision?”
“Tooooonnnnnyyyyy,” Harley drew out his groan and dropped Peter’s feet back onto the sand with the rest of his body. “We are in the prime of our childhood life! You can’t expect us to not go on a possibly illegal but most likely not adventure without paternal supervision!”
“…yeah, I totally can,” Tony deadpanned.
“Aww, just let ‘em go,” Bucky grinned as he flipped a bucket over to make another tower for his and Steve’s castle. “I’m sure you did plenty of things as a teenager that you don’t want them doing.”
“I can attest to that – he did!” Rhodey called over with a laugh.
Tony sighed as he realized he had lost. Dragging a hand down his face – and then immediately spitting as he got sand in his mouth – Tony let his shoulders droop in defeat to which Harley cheered. “Fine, but you have to be careful and keep your trackers on the entire time.”
“We have trackers on?” Harley blinked in surprise.
“Peter does, at least,” Tony said as he looked at the boy still laying out on the ground. “Pete, you going to get up?”
“I’m still playing dead,” Peter whispered conspiratorially.
Harley hummed, looking down at Peter with a devious look on his face. In a fast movement, Harley dropped down with an elbow aimed at Peter’s sternum but the teenage superhero moved in a flash before he even realized to a crouched position on top of his would-be attacker. “You look plenty alive to me,” Harley laughed from underneath Peter.
Peter rolled his eyes with a groan at the play against him. He looked at Morgan who had been watching the entire time. “Mo, do me a favor and fill Harl’s sneakers with sand.”
“Hey!” Harley frowned.
“Okay, Petey,” Morgan giggled.
“Hey!” Harley gasped in offence.
“Alright, you win,” Peter grumbled and jumped off of Harley, holding a hand out to help him up. “Where are we going?”
“Don’t forget to put some sunscreen on!” May called over as she noticed Peter give in to Harley’s demand.
Harley just smirked and held a finger up to his lips with a flick of his eyes at Tony. Peter just gave a full body groan at the thought that it was going to be something that he wasn’t going to enjoy.
“Alright, teenagers!” Harley yelled into the air to call for Kate, Lila and Cooper. “Assemble! We have a mission!”
“This is a terrible idea,” Peter deadpanned as he followed Harley into the dormant volcano.
“Lighten up, spider,” Harley laughed as he ventured farther. He had read about this tourist spot in a brochure but it had recently been shut down for inspections. Harley had gotten the bright idea to ignore the signs telling them that it was closed and marched right in. “We’re teenagers – we’re known for making terrible ideas.”
“He’s got you there,” Kate giggled as she toed a volcanic rock next to her.
“Mr. Stark is going to be pissed when he finds out where we are,” Peter fretted.
“He’s not going to,” Lila hummed as she skipped ahead.
“What makes you say that?” Peter asked. “Mr. Stark said himself that I have a tracker on me.”
“Which I already removed,” Lila rolled her eyes with a smirk. She pointed down at the bottom of Peter’s swim shorts and that’s when he noticed the small hole where the tracker apparently used to be hidden. “You’re welcome.”
Peter shot her a flat look and crossed his arms. Cooper laughed and bumped shoulders with Peter. “Sorry about her, auntie Nat has been showing her to be sneak around like spy since she was like four.”
“Is to mess with your dad?”
“Got it in one,” Cooper laughed again with a wink.
“Woah, I’ve never been in a volcano before,” Kate marveled as they travelled further in.
“If anyone one of us say they have before, I am calling bullshit,” Harley snickered.
“Alright, we’ve seen it. Let’s go,” Peter urged, fidgeting in his spot and grimacing as a shiver ran up his back. He looked around at the dark volcanic rock all around them and then up at the ceiling.
“Chillax dude, we just got here,” Harley said, spinning around with his arms out at the sides. “What’s your deal?”
“I don’t know,” Peter answered and scratched at the side of his neck with another shiver. “I just feel like something is wrong and we should not be here.”
“Is it your Peter-tingle?” Kate asked with sudden seriousness.
“It’s called my spidey-sense,” Peter stressed the words. “We are not calling it a Peter-tingle.”
“I don’t know, Peter-tingle sounds better,” Harley teased. He stepped over to a large rock in the room and pushed it with his foot.
“It’s my power, I’m naming it,” Peter scoffed.
“Wait, what is this tingle-sense?” Cooper asked in alarm as he and Lila seemed to be the only ones that didn’t know.
“It’s his sixth sense to know when something is about to happen,” Harley waved a flippant hand as he answered.
“Like what?” Cooper paled.
No one got to answer as Peter shivered in fear a second before there was a rumbling of the ground beneath them. Kate grabbed at the wall next to her to stay up but Lila lost her footing and fell down. Cooper jumped over his sister to protect her from falling rocks. Harley windmilled his arms as he tried to stay up on his two feet.
“What the hell was that?!” Cooper yelled as the rumbling petered away.
“Probably what my spider-sense has been warning me about this entire time,” Peter murmured as he looked around to make sure that everyone was okay. They were shaken up but no one was injured. “We need to leave now.”
“You heard the spider, let’s move!” Harley ordered with a wave of his arm towards the exit.
Everyone screamed as the ground shook beneath them again, Peter’s stomach sinking when there was a cracking above them. Straining himself to his full height and his arms raised as high as he could, it was all he could to save all five of them as the volcano’s ceiling fell right down. Grunting with exertion, Peter kept the volcanic rock from falling further but it felt different. Usually, he had no problem right at the beginning but he could already feel the strain coming onto him.
“Peter!” Harley exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and raising his arms in a futile attempt to take some of the weight. He hissed and drew his hands back. “That’s hot as hell!”
“Can you move?” Kate asked as she started taking stock of the entire situation. There was another shake of the earth, cracks running around the edges.
“Not with dropping the entire ceiling on all of us,” Peter asked with a grunt as locked his elbow into place. There was a warm feeling that was starting to run into his hands though there was a strong smell of burnt flesh.
“What are we going to do?” Lila whimpered as she clung to Cooper in fear. Cooper looked at the exit that was still standing and then at Peter where he was trapped making sure they all stayed alive.
Meeting his gaze, Peter shot Cooper a shaky smile and the oldest Barton knew immediately what Peter wasn’t saying. With a sharp nod, Cooper agreed with Peter’s silent demand even if he didn’t like it.
“You guys have to leave without me,” Peter told them.
“What?!” Harley screeched. His face went from fearful to pissed. “You cannot be serious right now!”
“I am and you will leave before this place crumbles all around us!” Peter argued. There was another rumble that shifted the ceiling above them, Peter crying out as it pushed farther down on him. It made his grip slip and he caught the ceiling again with a few inches lost. He did not understand why he was having such trouble holding us the volcanic ceiling when he’s held heavier for longer.
“Hell will freeze over first before I run away and abandon you!” Harley screamed at Peter.
“You guys have to go!” Peter yelled at Harley. The ceiling of the volcano was getting heavier but it was nothing that Peter couldn’t handle. Rising heat brushed against his skin, making the air thick and hard to breathe. His very DNA had been changed from the spider bite to make him hardier than most other people.
The other unenhanced teenagers?
Not so very much.
“Peter, we can’t leave you!” Harley tried to argue back.
“You can and you will!” Peter gritted his teeth as he adjusted his grip on the ceiling. It reminded him of the time he held the collapsing building and newspapers called him spider-atlas. The only good thing about this instance compared to the other was that he wasn’t injured.
“We have to go now!” Lila screamed, flinching at the growing heat in the room. Pure adulterated fear shone in her eyes when the cracks in the ground started to shine as magma started it escape.
“But what about Peter?!” Harley screamed back.
“We’ll get help!” Kate yelled as she kept an eye on the unstable exit. “But we can’t do that if we stay here arguing!”
“I can’t leave him behind!” Harley tried to stand his ground. Cooper came forward to pull Harley back but the mechanic ripped his arm out Cooper’s hold. “It was my idea to bring him here! I will take responsibility and stay here the entire time with Peter!”
Peter tried to say something but yelled out as the weight he was holding increased and there was a growing heat at his hands. Gritting his teeth, Peter picked up some leg and reared it back. “Sorry Harls,” Peter apologized before kicking his leg forward with just enough force to send a rock into Harley’s knee.
Harley grunted as he lost his stance, and Lila and Cooper used that chance to pull him through the opening. The boy screamed and fought, but Lila kept his wrist in a hold that her father taught her to keep Harley following with Cooper pushing. “Peter!” Harley yelled. “We’ll get help! Just stay alive!”
“I’ll meet you guys on the other side!” Peter yelled to his friends right as the entrance collapsed shut.
His arms started to shake with exertion as more weight was added on top. Peter groaned as the weight of the ceiling above him pushed him down to his knees, both them as well as his hands and feet screaming in pain from the growing heat all around him. In the corner of his eyes, he could see the ground shifting as magma pushed its way upwards to find its escape from the earth.
“I knew this was a terrible idea,” Peter grumbled to himself as volcanic rocks fell all around him.
“Where are the teenagers?!” Tony yelled as he ripped open door after door of the villa. They had gotten the alert about the volcano about twenty minutes earlier and the adults decided to all hop on the yacht to get off the island in case the villa was in the line of fire.
“I think they are still exploring!” Clint yelled back as he jumped down the stair case into a crouch at the bottom from where he was searching the second level. Both fathers were freaking out as they were missing their five teenagers. “Where does Peter’s tracker say they are?!”
“It says they should be in the house still!”
“Where exactly?!”
“They are…” Tony trailed off as he had Friday direct him towards Peter on his glasses. Following the arrow, Tony ripped off the door to the linen closest. The tracker pinged on his glasses and with gritted teeth, Tony ripped away some towels to reveal Peter’s tracker nestled in the middle of one. “They got rid of the tracker.”
“That was probably one of my kids,” Clint harshly sighed and face palmed. “I swear I’m gonna—"
“Dad!”
Clint and Tony didn’t waste a moment as they rushed out the door of the villa and almost rammed into the railing of the deck to see the missing teenagers sprinting out of the forest lining the beach. Tony took to running down the deck’s steps while Clint just jumped right over the edge and rolled to break his fall, immediately rising to his feet to rush towards the teenagers.
Clint and his kids met half way, Lila and Cooper running right into their father’s arms as he checked them over. Kate was pulling a protesting Harley who for some reason kept looking back at the now active volcano. “Kate!” Clint called as he started pushing his kids towards the dock where the yacht there were evacuating to was. “Let’s go!”
“Wait…” Tony trailed off as he counted the teenagers. One for Kate and two for Harley. Lila and Cooper were three and four…but there was no number five. “Where’s Peter?” Tony demanded when he came up short on his count of the teenagers.
Harley, with his wild eyes and sooty face, looked at Tony and bit his lip which was all Tony needed for his answer.
“No,” Tony whispered. His clenched fists trembled at his side and his heart thundered in his chest. “Tell me that Peter is not currently in an active volcano.”
“It’s my fault,” Harley started to cry, wiping at his face where the tear tracks cleaned the soot off. “I should have listened to him. He was holding the ceiling up so that we could all escape.”
Steve and Bucky came up then. “Everyone is cleared,” Steve told Tony as he took stock of the teenagers. “Wait, where is Peter?”
“We need to go save him!” Harley pressed. Kate looked back at Harley, going to say something but stopped when Clint wrapped an arm around her shoulder and directing her towards the yacht.
“Clint—” Kate started to say.
“Go with your sister and brother,” Clint ordered. “Make sure they get on that boat and stay. I’m counting on you.”
“But—”
“No arguing, Hawkeye,” Clint interrupted and pushed Kate towards Lila and Cooper. “Go. We will catch up.”
Kate hesitated a moment longer before turning on her heel and urging her adopted siblings forward towards the yacht. Lila gave resistance to the order but between Kate and Cooper, they got her off the beach and running towards the yacht where their mother was waiting with opening arms.
“What do we do now?” Harley asked, angling his body towards the volcano. “I can show you where we were and where the entrance was. If we hurry, we can be there in—"
“Bucky, take Harley.” Tony didn’t look at the teenager as he gave the order so he didn’t see the betrayed look on the budding mechanic’s face. “Clint, I need you to make sure he doesn’t try jumping the boat to get back.”
“What?!” Harley screeched, yelling in protest as Bucky easily picked up the teenager and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Harley started pounding his fists on Bucky’s back but the super soldier barely felt the unenhanced teenagers blows. “Put me down! I need to help!”
Bucky and Clint turned away from the two leaders of the Avengers with a salute, rushing down the beach with the screaming boy. Tony didn’t watch them go as he watched the lava start to peek over the top of the volcano and trail down the sides. Steve looked down at Tony’s legs, seeing how they shook in fear.
With a gulp, Steve clapped Tony on the shoulder. “Tone, we have to get on the boat.”
“No way,” Tony shook his head and tried to step towards the volcano. “Peter needs me.”
Steve tightened his grip on his friend’s shoulder with just enough force to keep him in the place. “Tony, we both know that there is no helping right now.”
“Get your hand off me, grandpa,” Tony growled, pulling harder.
Both of them stumbled where the ground shook again, the volcano’s flow of lava quickening as more pushed its way to the surface. Steve hated to his core but he knew that there was no helping Peter right now without killing themselves. Above him, the sky filled with angry clouds filled the sky and he gulped.
“Tony, we have to go!” Steve yelled at Tony. There was no time for pleasantries anymore and Steve needed to get it through Tony’s head that they couldn’t stay.
“No!” Tony screamed back, pulling against the super soldier with all his might but not breaking free. “My kid’s still in there! I need to save him!”
“And kill yourself in the process!”
“I can’t let him die!”
“And you’ll leave Morgan without a brother and a father?!”
That’s the sentence that finally got through to Tony. He finally stopped pulling against Steve as strongly and it broke Steve’s heart to see the acceptance go through Tony. With a dry sob, Tony angled himself towards the yacht with Steve following. He could see Pepper watching from the second floor of the boat with Morgan bouncing in her arms and tears in her eyes.
Jumping onto the boat, Steve gave the order, “get us farther in the water!”
“What about Peter?!” Harley screamed. He was being held down by his shoulders into a chair by Bucky, screaming and pushing uselessly against the super soldier’s grip.
“We’ll go for him after it’s safe, I promise,” Steve told the boy.
“But what it’s too late?!” Harley wailed, finally stopping his fight to scream into the air. Lila and Kate covered their ears as they both cried, Cooper hugging Nate tightly to him while Laura hurried over to try and soothe Harley. In the corner, Natasha and Clint were talking hurried whispers, their eyes shooting over to the kids every so often. Sam was walking Bruce through some breathing exercises on the far side of the boat to prevent a Hulk appearance. Up in the control room, Rhodey was putting the yacht into drive to pull away from the pier. Even though he couldn’t see them, Steve could hear May demanding to know where Peter was and Happy trying to stop his girlfriend from jumping ship.
Steve turned his back to everyone and made his way back to Tony who stayed at the back of the boat. He could see how Tony’s gaze was fixed onto the volcano.
“As soon as it’s safe, we will go and look until we find him,” Steve vowed as he and Tony stared at the lava flowing down the side of the volcano.
Tony didn’t answer verbally but he nodded, Steve watching the white knuckled grip on the yacht’s railing.
The door slammed shut behind Tony as he trudge his way to the closest seat – that being the love seat next to Pepper.
“Any news?” Pepper whispered to her husband when he came back into the villa. They had been lucky that their home had been spared and had returned to it earlier in the evening. So far, there had been no mortalities and minimal injuries thanks to the swift and effective evacuations of the population.
Tony rubbed a hand down his face harshly, an aggravated harsh sigh escaping his mouth. Pepper’s face fell at the action, her eyes darting to the almost catatonic May in the corner of the room. Happy was handing her a mug of coffee just so that she would have something to ease her mind just a fraction.
“I think it’s time to expand the search closer to the volcano,” Natasha said as she looked at the map of the island. “It has been enough time for an initial crust to have solidified and I’m sure we can send some suits into the danger zone.”
“I’ll send all of my suits if I have to,” Tony nodded.
“This is my fault,” Harley muttered into his hands from where he sat hunched over at the kitchen table. Kate sat next to him with a hand rubbing his back. “Peter is dead and it is all my fault.”
“Hey, Peter is not dead,” Bucky scolded. “Until we get definite proof, there is way we can think of him as have already kicked the bucket.”
“He was stuck in the volcano holding up a ceiling to let us escape,” Harley hissed with tears lining his eyes as he glared up at Bucky. “There’s no way he could have survived in lava, no matter what the spider did to him.”
“We have to believe in Peter,” Pepper said in a calming manner to Harley. “He’s a hardy guy.”
“My baby,” May sobbed again and ducked her head down. “Oh, my baby boy.”
“We’ll find him May,” Happy said to her as he rubbed her shoulder. “The kid knows that you would kill him for dying.”
May gave a teary smile, sniffling the entire time as she tried wiping her face up.
“We should probably go before it gets too late,” Clint whispered to Steve. “It’s been two days. Even if he isn’t injured, that’s a very long time for someone of his metabolism to go without food.”
Steve nodded, him and Tony having talked about that particular detail last night when they were searching the nearby woods. The search group last night had all been sent with specially made granola bars in case they found Peter. “Alright, Avengers, here’s the mission: find Peter,” Steve declared with a fist hitting the table the same moment the door opened behind him.
“Hey, did you guys know there is a great smoothie place down the street?” Peter beamed as he took a sip of his pink-purple drink. The door closed behind with a click, no one making a move. “Umm…guys? What’s going on?”
There Peter stood, alive and whole. His shirt was gone to reveal a bruised and dirtied torso, the fabric ripped apart and wrapped around the bottoms of his feet. His swim shorts that used to be red and blue were now just a dirty gray and were shredded at the bottom. Peter’s hair was wild with dirt, soot, and sweat that also decorated his scratched face. His knees were an angry red with blisters and his hands shook from where they held the smoothie from the same looking injuries.
But he was alive and had come back to them.
Silence echoed in the room only to be broken by the shattering of the coffee mug that had been in May’s hands. Peter flinched at the noise but was more worried about May. Depositing the cup on a nearby table, Peter rushed over to lead May from the shattered remains on the ground. “May, watch your feet. We don’t want them cut up.”
“Peter?” May whispered quietly, her trembling hands coming up to grasp at Peter’s soot covered face. A thumb wiped at his cheek to brush away the darkness to stain her skin.
“Hey Aunt May,” Peter grinned and tilted his head to the side. “Is something going on?”
May broke down in tears again, but this time in relief. She brought Peter in close and peppered his face with kisses, whispers of ‘thank you’s filling the air. Tony dropped into a nearby seat, his hands covering his face as he felt relief for the first time in two days since he found out Peter was still in the volcano.
“Well, I guess that’s the end of the mission,” Bucky whispered to Steve.
Steve gave a shuddering sigh as he flopped into a chair. “Thank god,” Steve whispered.
“You jerk!” Harley exploded. He came over and grabbed Peter by the shoulders to shake him. “How dare you make us leave you behind?!”
“Harley!” Tony scolded, ready to jump if Harley’s misplaced anger got too large.
“It was the best course of action,” Peter shrugged, wincing and looking down at the angry skin of his hands. “We’re all alive and that’s what matters at the end of the day. Besides, I told you guys that I would see you on the other side, didn't I? I don't I could have been clearer that I was going to get out one way or another.”
“Why I oughta—!”
“What we need to do,” Bruce cleared his throat and pulled Peter back from Harley’s hold, “is get Peter’s injuries patched up and food into his stomach. Don’t think I didn’t notice the wounds on your feet.”
Everyone looked down at his feet and paled at the small puddles of blood collecting underneath the scraps of what used to be Peter’s shirt wrapped around his feet. “Aww man,” Peter pouted. “I just got them to stop bleeding.”
“Oh my god,” May bemoaned at the sight of her nephew. The nurse part of her jumped into action and grabbed Peter by the elbow to lead him into the nearest bathroom. “Bruce, Tony, you’re with me. Steve, be a dear and make some of your famous pancakes, please.”
“Yes ma’am,” Steve saluted the woman and hurried into the kitchen.
“May, I’m fine,” Peter whined. That was the same moment his knees gave out underneath of him and Tony had to grab his other arm to keep him upright. “…ignore that one moment of weakness.”
“Yeah, ‘roo, not happening,” Tony deadpanned. He and May each took one arm of Peter’s and wrapped it around their shoulders to help Peter into the bathroom with Bruce disappearing to where they kept the fully stocked first-aid kit. Gingerly lowering Peter onto the closed toilet seat, he ruffled Peter’s dirty hair. “You just got done with an adventure in the forge of the gods. We are not believing you for a moment when you say that you are fine.”
“But I’m—” Peter was interrupted as his stomach gave a loud rumple and his cheeks grew red in embarrassment. “…okay, maybe I’m hungry.”
Tony threw his head back and laughed as May started unwrapping Peter’s feet. Leaning forward, he wrapped Peter in a one-armed hug. “Kid, I am so happy that you are still here.”
“I don’t understand why you would think otherwise,” Peter teased with a twinkle in his eyes. “I mean, it was just a volcano. That’s like nothing compared to—” Peter cut himself off as May and Tony shot him a sharp glare. “You know what…I should probably stop talking.”
“Peter Benjamin Parker,” May said in a tone that said Peter was in big trouble.
“Aw man,” Peter murmured as he slouched, knowing that he gave himself away.
Peter held his hand up in the air as he rocked in his hammock to stare at his bandaged covered palms.
“Something on your mind?” Michelle asked from where she was nestled up against his side in the same hammock.
Dropping his hand back onto his chest, Peter turned his face to press a kiss into Michelle’s hairline. “Just thinking,” he answered.
“Want to tell me about what?”
“Maybe…maybe not,” Peter teased, turning his eyes to the star filled sky above them. Farther on the beach were the rest of the teenagers including Ned as they roasted marshmallows around a fire. The adults weren’t too far away, spread out over a large deck as they kept an eye on all the teenagers. Tony and May in particular sat near the side that was closest to Peter and he could see them check that Peter was still there every five minutes or so. “Depends on how much you want to hear.”
“If it’s about this latest expedition of yours, I want to hear everything,” Michelle answered.
Michelle and Ned had arrived yesterday, the girl running to Peter in a frenzy after finding out what happened to her boyfriend the few days prior. She had stuck close to Peter the entire time since then, the two barely three feet apart at a time. Some people would find it suffocating to have three people hovering around at all times but Peter couldn’t blame them.
Bruce, May, and Tony had patched him up, Bruce shocked silent at how rapid the burns on Peter’s hands had healed. There were still quite bad burns on them but compared to how terrible they were before, it was a definite improvement – though Peter refused to tell anyone about how hurt he had actually been. Tony had begged and pleaded with Peter to tell them but he was tightlipped, not wanting to add more unnecessary worry in his opinion.
He didn’t want anyone to know how he punched his way through the volcanic rocks until he forced his way out with ripped open knuckles. Nor did he was anyone to know how the skin on his hands, feet, and knees had practically melted away with only bubbling blisters left behind. How he had to run on his blistered feet for miles to get away from the lava only to collapse when he deemed it was safe to writhe in pain.
How he laid there covered in soot and sweat for hours as he screamed himself hoarse, feeling his skin stitch itself back together to replace to the lost layers of itself. Nor how he ripped his shirt into strips to tie around his feet in some type of protection from the rough ground. They didn’t need to know how it took Peter so long to force himself back up and limp back to town – that had miraculously survived unscathed – and find the villa. There was a part of Peter that felt like should mention how a local shop keeper took pity on how rough he looked and gave him the smoothie for free, but that would open a can of worms he didn’t want to talk about.
They didn’t need to know any of that and Peter wasn’t going to tell anyone.
“Well…” Peter trailed off as he found his words. “I’m thinking about the volcano in general. It was something I never expected to have to worry about going through.”
“Peter, I’m sure you never expected to become part spider,” Michelle deadpanned.
“Hush, I’m baring my soul to you and you are teasing me,” Peter stuck his tongue out at Michelle.
“Sorry, sorry,” Michelle laughed as she stuck her tongue back out at her boyfriend. “I’ll be nice.”
Peter stared at her before letting a small settle on his face again. “I was just thinking about how weird it was that I was struggling with the ceiling at first. Also, how Harley tried to help at first – not that it would have helped much – and he had to stop immediately from how hot it was.”
“What are you saying?” Michelle frowned.
“Just that I didn’t feel the heat at first and I should have easily held up the ceiling without so much effort compared to other things I’ve had to hold for longer.”
“Hmmmm…interesting,” Michelle muttered. “Maybe that’s something to bring up.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” Peter shrugged. “At the end of the day, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m alive and not that injured compared to other instances.”
“Well, I for one, am glad you didn’t become a roasted spider,” Michelle giggled as she nuzzled her cheek against Peter’s neck.
“Count me in on that!” Tony yelled from the deck.
“Tony, don’t eavesdrop on them,” May scolded with a light but sharp smack to his shoulder.
“Don’t act like you weren’t listening to them with me,” Tony argued.
“Yeah, but I’m not going to announce it,” May said.
“The kid could tell that we could hear them the entire time,” Tony rolled his eyes.
“Oh my gooooood,” Peter groaned and dragged his free bandaged hand down his face.
“Now that he does know we are listening,” Tony cleared his throat and leaned over the edge of the railing to make eye contact with Peter. “Hearing what you said, I am thinking that perhaps the suppressors we gave you for your senses also suppressed other things. For example, your ability to feel pain and your strength.”
“I still feel pain and use my strength from crushing us though,” Peter countered.
“Yeah, so that means it doesn’t completely erase them,” Tony said. He nodded along with pursed lips. “Maybe we need the good doctors to adjust the medication then.”
“Hey, it helped me in the end,” Peter shrugged. “Like I said, I couldn’t feel the heat and pain to its full extent.”
“Enough that you didn’t stop yourself from getting fourth degree burns all over your hands and feet,” Bruce hummed as he wrote some notes down to share with Helen later.
“I mean, it’s not like I could have stopped even if I wanted to,” Peter huffed. “Either get crushed or burned to death. Both are terrible but I could control one.” May started sniffling again as she was reminded of the incident, Happy rubbing her shoulder in soothing. “You know what, I think I am done talking about this now.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Michelle agreed before lowering her voice. “But I think it would be good to talk to someone later about it, like Sam.”
“I already owe him a talk from the Electro fight,” Peter whispered back.
“Cool, then you can do both in one go,” Michelle hummed.
“Are you two making secret plans against us down there?” Tony teased from the deck.
“Yes,” Michelle deadpanned with a flat stare at Tony. “Now go away and stop trying to eavesdrop. I’m here, he’s not going to disappear.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” Tony waved a hand in defeat as he turned back to the other adults on the deck. “Give me a yell if you need something.”
Michelle rolled her eyes at Tony, sticking her tongue at his back. “So overbearing.”
“He just means well,” Peter defended his mentor. “Mr. Stark did have to go through two days thinking I was dead.”
“You know better than die,” Michelle sighed and used her free arm to flick Peter between the eyes. “May would bring you back just to kill you again.”
“That she would,” Peter nodded along. He used the arm that Michelle was laying on to wrap around her shoulders and start playing with her curls. His other bandage wrapped hand raised in the air to point at a cluster of stars. “Hey, what constellation is that?”
Michelle perked up and looked where her boyfriend was pointing. She had mentioned once to Peter that she had gotten into an astronomy phase when she was younger and learned a bunch of constellations and their legends. Sadly, with the light pollution of the city, she barely got to see her beloved stars. Seeing how many of them covered the sky, Peter thought it was a perfect time for her to tell him some stories.
In an excited tone, Michelle launched into the explanation of the constellation Peter pointed out, Crux, and its legend. Peter dropped his hand onto his chest and looked at the stars with Michelle, letting the warm breeze of the beach gently rock them in the hammock.
Peter winced as he flopped down on his bed.
Michelle had been dragged into a game of chicken with Ned against Kate and Cooper in the pool to which Peter took the chance to slip away. Steve seemed to have sensed that Peter needed some time to himself so he got Bucky to help distract Tony while Happy took May on a short walk. He did love having people around but he needed a moment to breathe. He wouldn’t say that his loved ones were suffocating him but he did need a small moment to himself.
Looking up at the ceiling of room, Peter vision of the beige ceiling shifted into the dark volcanic rock that he held up with burning hands. With a groan, Peter closed his eyes and rolled over to bury his face into the pillow. It was cool on his skin, reminding him that he wasn’t in the volcano any longer.
“You good, man?”
Peter heaved a sigh and lifted his face out of the pillow to stare at Harley who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a look of concern. “Never better, Harls.”
“If this is your best, I fear for your worst,” Harley sighed as he pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to the bed to sit on the edge. “I’m serious though. You good?”
“I will be,” Peter answered and dropped his face back into the pillow but turned his head to look at Harley. “You good?”
Harley shrugged and wrung his hands together. “I am, thanks to you and your self-sacrifice tendencies.”
“I do not,” Peter frowned.
“Look back at all of the times you’ve been injured and then try saying that sentence again,” Harley rolled his eyes.
“Not every time is because I was sacrificing myself.”
“But a large portion is,” Harley countered.
Peter opened his mouth and then closed it with a click. “Shut up,” Peter pouted.
Harley gave a soft chuckle and patted Peter on the leg. “I really just came to say thank you and apologize.”
“You did nothing wrong,” Peter said.
“I’m the one that dragged us to see the volcano even though it was closed,” Harley scoffed. “And I didn’t listen when you said that something was wrong. It is indeed my fault.”
“You didn’t make the volcano explode; thus, it is not your fault,” Peter said with a shrug and flipped himself over to lay on his back.
“Pete…”
“You aren’t going to win this one,” Peter grinned. “I’ve already decided it is not your fault but a freak accident.”
Harley huffed and rolled his eyes. “You’re a little shit, you know that?”
“I may have heard that once or twice before,” Peter said with a shit eating grin.
“They let me tell you for a fourth time, you are a little shit,” Harley laughed. Peter gave a hum with a mischievous look, Harley frowning in confusion at his friend and almost brother. “What is it?”
“Petey, I filled Harley’s shoes with sand like you said!” Morgan called from down the hall.
“Hey!” Harley sputtered. He looked from the doorway to Peter with an open mouth. “I thought you were joking about that!”
“Good job, Mo!” Peter laughed as he made direct eye contact with Harley. “Maybe you should feed all of his left socks to Gerald!”
“Okay, Petey!” Morgan agreed with a giggle.
“Morgan Stark, you better not feed all of my left socks to the overgrown rug!” Harley panicked as he bolted out of the room. “And why just the left?!”
“You know why!”
“But I don’t!” Harley exclaimed as he ran down the hall after the giggling girl, his voice growing softer the farther he got.
Peter sighed as he settled back into his bed and looked back up at the ceiling. Before he could be pulled back into the memory of the volcano, there was a knock at the door as another person came to find Peter.
“Yes, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked as he already knew who it was based on his mentor’s cologne.
“How’d you know it was me?” Tony grinned as he entered the room, pulled up a chair next to Peter’s bed and sat down on it with his feet coming up to rest on the edge of the mattress.
“I know your cologne,” Peter answered without taking his eyes off the ceiling. His hands twinged in pain as he remembered the volcano again. “It would be harder to not know it was you.”
“Hmm, interesting,” Tony nodded along. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew something and gently grabbed one of Peter’s wrists. Peter looked over as Tony fastened something around his wrist that looked a lot like a StarkWatch but sleeker. “Got you a present.”
“What is it?” Peter asked as Tony let his wrist go and brought it closer to inspect. His initial inspection of it being a StarkWatch was correct with a red and blue band holding it on.
“Your new tracker,” Tony answered easily and leaned back in his chair with his hands intertwined behind his head. “And I do not want this one coming off at all.”
“Mr. Stark,” Peter groaned and dropped the now adorned wrist on his chest.
“I don’t want any lip,” Tony interrupted. “May and I had a talk and we both understand that you are getting older and are going to want your privacy which is why it won’t be used as something to stalk you at all times. We also understand that you are only going to go into more dangerous situations with your ever-growing list of villains – honestly impressive how many you have already – and it gives both of us peace of mind to know where you are if something happens.”
“And when do I get to take it off?” Peter asked and he picked up his wrist again to look at the watch. He could see the button flushed against the side that every other version of the StarkWatch didn’t have.
“Never.”
“Excuse me?” Peter furrowed his brows and looked at Tony.
“You heard me,” Tony said with a look of self-satisfaction. “That fancy piece of technology on your wrist is going to stay with you for the rest of your life.”
“Oh c’mon,” Peter groaned again. “Mr. Stark…”
“No fighting this, ‘roo,” Tony smirked. “Remember my goal of getting you to see your 21st birthday? Well, this is just an extended goal of always having someone in your corner if you need it.”
Peter tumbled those words around in his head. As Peter continued his superhero career, he’s noticed the increasing level of insane villains and it would be nice to have back-up in case he ever got too far over his own head. “You know what – I get it.”
Tony raised an eyebrow. “I expected more of a fight.”
Peter shrugged. “Why fight what is a good thing?”
“Because you fight every other thing.”
“Maybe I’m growing up.”
“Then call me Tony.”
“Okay, Mr. Stark,” Peter smirked.
“You are such a little shit,” Tony narrowed his eyes at his protégé.
“Peter! We’re about to tell ghost stories around the fire!” Ned called from outside.
“Ah, looks like your alone time is over,” Tony laughed and pushed himself off the chair, clapping Peter on the shin.
“You know, you have to be alone for it to be alone time,” Peter deadpanned as he swung himself off the bed and standing up. He winced as he stood on his burned feet again, Tony catching the expression. Peter shook his head at Tony’s look of concern but he did take the offered arm to help guide him down the hall.
“Kid, I can’t tell you the last time I got alone time,” Tony laughed as he and Peter started walking slowly down the hall.
“Didn't I come interrupt a solo karaoke session of yours in the lab last Wednesday?”
“See, my alone time was no longer alone,” Tony pointed out. “Case in point.”
“Whatever you say, Mr. Stark,” Peter rolled his eyes with a huff.
Tony chuckled and brought his arm around Peter’s shoulders in a side hug as they continued their short walk. “Kid, I’m so glad your safe.”
“Me too, Mr. Stark,” Peter grinned and wrapped his own arm around Tony’s back to return the hug. Neither of them felt like leaving it so soon so they continued outside in the hug. “Me too.”