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"Ready?" Tony asked with a smirk, leaning back into the sofa. The Avengers were sat around the coffee table in the common room for monthly game night. Nat was folded in a chair to his left, Bruce on the sofa to his right. Bucky and Steve were on the love sat opposite him with Clint between Steve and Nat on another chair. Wanda and Vision were out on date night after the previous game night (the group had played Uno, friendships were tested and cards were still being found around the common room) had dissolved into chaos, and the pair had decided to forgo future events. Sam unfortunately had a family gathering so couldn't make it and Thor was off-world.
"What's the game?" Steve asked brows furrowed in confusion at the green and purple box on the table, the lid covered in a film of dust. Tony grinned. Steve shifted in his seat, glancing over at Bruce who just shrugged. "This isn't going to be like last month, is it?" Steve sounded hopeful, silent pleading gaze on Tony, who just laughed and then to Bruce, hoping he would have some answers.
"No point looking at me Steve, I don't know what insanity he has planned." Bruce shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "The only thing I know is that Tony suggested we drink for more chaos."
"We can play a bit before we decide to add alcohol. It's going to be great." Tony grinned again. He couldn't wait for this, he hadn't played for nearly 15 years and he knew it was going to be fun.
"If this is a trivia game, that's not fair Tony," Clint spoke up, crossing his legs and spinning one of his drumsticks through his fingers. "How are we going to have any hope against you and Banner or Nat?"
"It's not a trivia game. It's actually better if you have no clue at all." Tony defended.
"Absolute Balderdash?" Nat asked, a single brow raised as she read the name on the box. "It sounds ridiculous."
"Not ridiculous, absolute balderdash." Clint waggled his eyebrows at Nat and laughed. "Seriously though, what is this?"
"It was Jarvis's favourite game, we used to play it when I was a kid. Minus the alcohol then. I played it a bit in college with Rhodey and Happy and I think I've played it with Pep too."
"This was your AI's favourite game?" Steve asked, now thoroughly confused.
"JARVIS the AI was based on Jarvis the person. He was our family's butler, he practically raised me." Tony said, his grin faltering as he remembered the man and his AI and the loss of them both.
"Rules?" Bucky asked, glaring at the box as if it had somehow kicked Steve, breaking Tony out of his thoughts. "Looks Hulk-themed."
"This was around long before Brucie had the radiation. It'll be good fun." Tony assured. "Rules as follows: Fri is going to randomly pick who goes first and then everyone is going to pick a marker. I claim red before anyone steals it." He picked the little red cone out of the box and placed it on the start mark of the board. The board was long and thin, with squares labelled with each letter of the alphabet beginning with START and ending with FINISH.
"The first person will roll the dice, 1 - 5 is the category and a 6 you get to pick which one you want. Then pick a card from the box and read out the question. Everyone writes down the question and then an answer they think it could be, you can answer seriously or as wacky as you like, then pass that slip of paper to the Dasher who holds the card then shuffles all the guesses." Tony explained, handing out a small pile of index cards (excess cards that he had bought for Peter) and a pen. "Your answers should still sound plausible though as you're trying to trick others into picking your answer as the correct one."
"What are the categories?" Steve asked, interrupting Tony.
"Words, People, Initials, Movies and Dates." Tony clarified. "So if you roll a 4, the question will be what is the film 'blank' about? A 2 would be, What is 'blank' known for, for people, etc."
"You're sure we don't need to know the answers for this game?" Bruce asked.
"Very. It's best when you have no idea, makes for fun answers. Besides a lot of the actual answers are ridiculous too. The last of the rules is; that the Dasher will then read out each of the guesses and then everyone can guess which one they think is the answer. Points are given to who bluffs the most people with their answer and if you choose the right answer. You move your piece forward as many spaces as points you get each round.." Tony finished explaining. "Any questions?"
"So it's whoever can bluff the most people?" Clint asked, Tony just nodded and gestured to the board game.
"That is what I just said."
"But we can make up the most ridiculous answers too?" Clint clarified, starting to smile.
"Yes Bird Brain. The more believable they are the better. A strategy Jarvis used to use was the silliest answer so we would laugh and give away that it isn't our answer." Tony reminisced. He felt a pang of loss in his chest, remembering Jarvis and playing this game with the household staff, particularly when Howard was in one of his mean drunk moods.
"If it's a game of bluffing don't Nat and I have an advantage?" Bucky asked.
"I guess, it's more if the answer is the real one or fake that is the bluff rather than the person with the best poker face." Tony shrugged. "Far better than trying to play actual poker with Romanov and Frosty."
"Ok, at least it should be fun. Can we start?" Bucky asked, a little hesitant. Tony let a smirk spread across his face and nodded.
"FRIDAY, would you do us the pleasure?" Tony asked.
"Yes, Boss, the first person to be the Dasher is Bruce." Her cool voice came over the speakers. Each Avenger leaned to grab their piece. Nat picked the black, Bruce the green, Bucky the blue, Clint the yellow and Steve the white piece.
"I'm surprised you haven't made custom game board pieces for all of us," Clint said. "Yellow is so not my colour."
"Who's to say I haven't? This game is special, so the pieces stay the same." Tony said. "Oh and don't worry old man, you can play. Ages 10 to 110." He winked at Steve who just sighed deeply at his friend's antics. Nat chuckled as Bucky snorted.
"Not this again," Steve grumbled and sent a thankful smile at Bruce when he spoke, directing the conversation to the actual game.
"Ok, um," Bruce cleared his throat and leaned forward to pick up his card, making sure to cover the back of the card and the dice. "That's a 3, so initials. What do the initials S. P. S. C. stand for?" Everyone ducked their head to the index cards, some covering the card and pen as they all scribbled down their answers. Bruce turned the card over to write down the actual answer. Everyone passed their cards to him a few minutes later. "So now I shuffle and read them out?"
"Yep. Easy as that, just try not to give away the answer you wrote down. Everyone else try not to give your answers away either." Tony added. Then motioned for Bruce to read out the answers he had now shuffled.
"Ok, SPSC stands for A) South Pennsylvanian Services Club. B) South Princeton Shuttlecock Club. C) Strategy Policy and Security Committee. D) Slovakian Public Services Commission. E) Seventy Plus Ski Club. F) Scottish Pool Safety Committee." Bruce listed out.
"How are we supposed to pick the right one?" Clint huffed.
"That's the point of the game," Nat pointed out. "I think A." Said Nat, with Clint agreeing.
"I think C." Said Steve, Bucky and Tony agreeing.
"3 Points to Nat, 2 for fooling the others and 1 for getting the point right. Clint also gets a point for the right answer. 2 points to Bucky," Bruce said. "Who's keeping track of the scores?"
"I am Dr Banner," FRIDAY answered before Tony could.
"What was the answer then?" Tony asked.
"E, Seventy Plus Ski Club." Bruce said with a smile as a couple of people groaned and Clint whispered 'That can't be real'. Nat and Bucky moved their pieces forward 3 and 2 spaces respectively, Clint moved his piece one space. "Ok, who's next?"
"We move around the group to the left. So me!" Tony said, snatching the dice and rolling a 5, then picking up a card. "What happened on July 31st 1971?" Tony read out the card. There were some hushed hums and the sound of Bruce tapping the pen on his lips before a quiet 'aha' and he scribbled his answer down, the rest of the group not far behind with their answers. They once again, wrote down their answers on their index cards with their name and passed them to Tony who shuffled.
He tried to plaster his best PR apathy face, withholding his snort of laughter and trying not to give away anything. Then in his best dramatic TV presenter voice, he read the group's answers out, "Is it; A) A small platoon was wiped out in Vietnam. B) Vice Secretary Anoo was assassinated. C) US Astronauts took their moon buggy on its first drive on the moon. D) The Martian Queen visited Oklahoma." A couple of people laughed at that, mostly Tony (having failed to keep his PR face in place completely) and Clint though Steve just looked confused. "E) Captain Fluffy of Fluffington the Cat won the Grumpy Cat championship. Or F) A Man broke the world record for longest fart."
A few laughs and questions accusing some people of writing certain answers, namely accusing Clint of his fart-related answer, which he vehemently denied. Tony clapped his hands, bringing the group to order. Bucky just stared at the cards, deep in thought, Steve still looked confused but Tony thought that was fairly normal on game night. "Pick what you think is the correct answer."
"Option C." Said Bruce, Nat agreeing with him with a hum.
"It's got to be A." declared Steve who Clint reluctantly agreed with and then after a quick 'wait no' he changed his mind to option B.
"D." Said Bucky, which was met with several shouts of 'You can't be serious' and 'That one is clearly made up'. Bucky straightened his shoulders and defended his choice, "I wouldn't expect anything less, the government and SHIELD would definitely hide that from public knowledge. It could have happened." He shrugged.
"2 points to Bruce and Nat for guessing the correct answer. 1 point to Nat and 1 point to Bucky from Barton for guessing your answer." Tony announced the results. "Really Steve you wrote Grumpy Cat championship?"
"Hey, I was on ice then so how am I supposed to know? Besides, Clint put the world record for longest fart." Steve exclaimed in defence.
"Are we just skipping the fact that Bruce put Martian Queen visits Oklahoma?" Clint tried to deflect. Bruce just shrugged. "Or that Barnes picked that as the actual answer?"
"You said we could put silly answers." Bruce shrugged. "Besides I got a point for it."
"She didn't visit in '71, she did in '62 though," Nat announced and then promptly rolled her dice.
"See I told you they would have hidden that!" Bucky exclaimed, "How was I to know the date was wrong?"
"I didn't think it had actually happened," Bruce said, eyes wide in shock. Clint just shrugged with Tony rolling his eyes. Natasha broke the spell by reading out the next question as she had rolled a 1.
"What is a Funambulator?" Any protests at Natasha's info drop was quickly shushed as everyone stared at her, Tony's music playing quietly through the speakers.
"That isn't a real word!" Tony exclaimed, "You've changed it to an actual made-up answer because you want to win!"
"It is a word, Boss." FRIDAY corrected, causing Tony to splutter for a moment before huffing and everyone wrote down their answers. The cards were passed to Nat and shuffled before she read out the answers. "A) A treat Ferris wheel for dogs. B) A tightrope walker. C) Someone who enjoys walking. D) Someone who works in a joke shop. E) The ring on a can. F) A machine that clears leaves off railway tracks."
"There is no way that hiking is fun so that's not right," Tony grumbled, just loud enough to be heard by Steve and Bucky with their super hearing. "OK, I'm picking B because carnivals are fun."
"I'm with Tony, B." Clint agreed, when Tony looked at him he shrugged.
"D, the joke shop one," Steve said, Bucky nodded next to him. Nat looked over at Bruce.
"Um, I guess F." Bruce finally settled on after a moment.
"The answer is B, a Funambulator is a tightrope walker," Nat announced, Tony whopped in excitement. "If you hadn't picked that one Clint I would never have let you forget it," Nat said seriously.
"I wasn't going to get it wrong! Do you really have so little faith in me?" Clint gasped in mock shock. "Carnie life is my blood, I would never have forgiven myself if I got it wrong," Clint said solemnly, nodding his head.
"Points tallied. Next round." FRIDAY announced.
"Ooo, my turn!" Clint grinned, snatching the dice and rolling. "That's a 4, What is the movie Red Snow about?" He read from the card, making sure the back of the card was covered. When everyone dropped their heads to their index cards he flipped it over and wrote down the answer.
"The answers are in. Who's going to win? Let's find out!" Clint made a mini drum roll with his drumsticks on the coffee table. "Is it: A) A horror film about a snowman hunting people in the woods of Alaska. B) A snowboarding instructor at a ski resort is framed for murder. C) A man tries to sell 'organic' snow cones to the rich. D) Documentary about Penguins v Leopard Seals. E) Frosty the Snowman snaps and goes on a snowman murder spree. F) A war film about the 1812 French invasion of Russia."
"There's a lot of murder in those answers," Steve stated, sounding a little worried.
"Red snow could be blood." Tony pointed out, "Like yellow snow isn't food dye." Bucky's nose wrinkled slightly.
"Guess?" Clint prompted, twirling a drumstick in his fingers.
"D, penguins," Bucky stated. Bruce agreed.
"A," Tony stated, getting an approval nod from Clint.
"F." Nat and Steve said in unison. "That is an actual historic event." Steve offered as explanation.
"Yes, but leopard seals are the top predators of penguins," Bruce stated. Everyone looked to Clint for the answer.
"It was actually B, a snowboarding instructor framed for murder. 2 points to Nat, 2 to Bucky and 1 to Steve," Clint announced, smirking as Tony threw his hands in the air.
"That would be an awesome film! Why is that not a thing? Rogers, how could you?" Tony exclaimed, placing a hand on his heart in mock pain.
"I didn't think anyone would pick it." Steve shrugged.
"I think I need to pay to get that made. FRIDAY?" Tony resolved.
"Already put in the reminders, you can see how you feel about it in a couple of days," FRIDAY replied.
The game continued for a few more rounds as the evening progressed. Laughter and calling out silly answers and exclamations of mock betrayal from Tony and Clint, the more dramatic of the group, as they fell further behind everyone else Nat and Bucky firmly in the lead.
"How is Barnes doing so well?" Tony exclaimed, "No offence but your brain is scrambled."
"I don't know, why do you keep making such ridiculous answers?" Bucky fired back.
"ouch, burn, you need some ice there Stark?" Clint laughed. Tony opened his mouth to retort back when FRIDAY cut the music and interrupted them.
"Boss, Protocol Itsy Bitsy Rescue activated," FRIDAY spoke loudly over the laughter and half-hearted jabs at each other. Tony immediately hushed them all, flicking up a screen and trying to find Peter, panic trying to claw it's way into his mind. "I have requested he stay put until you or a drone arrives to bring him in."
"Show me where Fri, how bad?" Tony demanded, fully focused on pulling up the tracking information in Peter's suit. His heartbeat getting faster, eyes wide in panic as he frantically searched for Peter's tracker.
"Stark what's going on?" Steve commanded, slipping straight into the Captain.
"FRIDAY how bad?" Tony repeated, ignoring Steve's question as he continued pinpointing the location. Nat wordlessly pulled up a screen to help.
"Kid is hurt." Nat cut out, silencing any more questions from the group with a sharp glare.
"The location ping is fuzzy, I believe part of the connection has been severed. He continues to insist it is just a scratch and he's fine." FRIDAY said, Tony swore her voice sounded worried. "He has been stabbed in his calf along with several shallow cuts that have cut the suit. He is trying to head home." FRIDAY confirmed, relaying as much as she could to Tony. The coordinates stopped and flashed on the screen, Tony immediately ran for the balcony where FRIDAY already had a suit waiting for him. "Flight path confirmed."
The Avengers, minus Nat who was still on the system, ran out to the baloney after Tony but he had already launched off towards Queens before they could continue to ask any questions. Tony just heard Nat call for Bruce to get the med bay ready as the last of the plates closed around him.
"Fri, get me there," Tony ordered. Peter had been stabbed, he was bleeding and injured and still trying to say he was fine. The kid, his kid, was going to bleed out on a roof in Queens before he could get there. Or he was going to pass out mid-swing and plummet to the ground from the skies? Tony's breathing started to become more erratic as his mind spiralled.
"Ms Romanov has managed to get Peter to wait for you," FRIDAY called. "Ms Romanov is linked to Karen and walking him through keeping pressure on his calf and staying still. Dr Banner is currently setting up the med bay with Mr Barton."
"Kid, I'm coming," Tony called, his heart rate spiking. He couldn't hear the sounds of the city below only the sound of roaring in his ears and his own rapid heartbeat. He quickly scanned every building ahead, trying to spot a hint of red on the suit, or even a bit of blue, anything to signify where Peter was. His eyes and HUD caught a glimpse of Peter as he got closer, the sound of the armour's thrusters deafening and the thunk of metal on concrete as he landed on the roof, FRIDAY releasing him from the armour. "Kid? Peter, answer me!" Tony called out over the roof.
"Over here." A weak voice called from next to one of the building's air vents. Tony ran over, trying to silence his thoughts of how badly Peter might be hurt.
"Mr Stark, I'm fine. It's only a few scratches." Peter's voice cut through the noise of his panic. The kid tried to stand up, prove he wasn't that badly hurt/
"A stab wound is not a scratch!" Tony snapped. "You stay put." Peter slumped back down, tipping his head back on the cold metal vent. "You stay put until I can see how bad it is," Tony said a bit more gently.
"I'm down. I think Auntie Nat would hunt me down if I did try to leave." Peter muttered.
"Her and Barnes. Myself too." Tony hummed, gently moving Peter's hand away from the wound on his leg to see how bad the damage was.
"I'm sorry Mr Stark." Peter croaked out after a moment. His suit was in tatters, rips covered his back and sides with a long one across the front of the suit. No wonder the tracker had been fuzzy. One of the eyes was missing along with one of the suit's gloves. Tony could see tears starting to well in the kid's eyes. "I'm sorry."
"It's ok kid," Tony said softly, returning Peter's hand to his leg. "Hold it firmly. Fri, bring the suit over."
"I didn't want to interrupt you're evening. I'm sorry." Peter started to cry, his hands tightly clasped around his calf. "I didn't mean to make you angry, I'm sorry, I thought I could handle it. I was ok then the building was screaming and -" He stammered out.
"It's ok Pete, I'm here." Tony hushed Peter. "I'm not mad, just worried about you kid." After his quick assessment for other serious injuries he hugged Peter, wrapping his arms around the boys shoulders with a hand on the back of his head. "I'm here now."
Peter collapsed into Tony, sobs barely held back, racked his body, his shoulders shaking. Tony felt like his heart was breaking, he closed his eyes and held Peter tighter, letting the kid cry.
"We need to get you to Bruce," Tony said after Peter's sobs started to die back, he ignored how damp his t-shirt was as Peter sniffed and pulled back from his side. Tony sat back on his heels, looking down at the stab wound to double-check it. He quickly tore off a strip of fabric from his shirt. He gently lifted Peter's hand to see the wound had already stopped bleeding and was slowly starting to heal, then tied the piece of fabric around the wound. "It's healing kid, but we are going back to the Tower so Brucie can check you over."
"No, it's ok. I'm fine. It's healing, I don't need to bother Bruce," Peter started to protest but Tony silenced them with a look.
"No room for arguments."
Peter nodded, and with Tony's help, wobbled to a stand. He leant heavily on the vent shaft he'd been sat against, Tony only leaving his side when Peter nodded he could stand. Tony stepped backwards into the suit, the metal quickly enclosing him, before he stepped forward to pick Peter up.
Tony's heart broke a bit more at the lack of resistance Peter gave at being carried. The kid hated to be carried, preferring to stick to his shoulders or via a web from his ankle. They'd played around with the suit before, mostly testing new suits but Peter had always refused to be carried, saying how much it mucked with his senses and he wasn't a damsel in distress. Tony scooped Peter up into his arms, as gently as possible.
"FRIDAY, tell Banner we are on route, eta 2 minutes. The stab wound is starting to heal and the bleeding has stopped but I want a full check over. The suit is in tatters so I wouldn't be surprised if he's got lots of shallow cuts that have either healed completely or nearly." Tony relayed.
"Yes Boss, flight plan locked. Ms Romanov has a stretcher bed already set up by the balcony. The Captain has lots of questions, neither Ms Romanov or Dr Banner are answering any." FRIDAY responded, her voice sounding matter of fact, not cold or warm just blunt. "Mr Barnes is currently looking through the data from Karen of the incident."
"Hey kid, talk to me. I need you to stay awake." Tony called, Peter just grumbled in reply.
"But 'm tired," Peter mumbled.
"Not an option until after Brucie has check you out. Tell me what happened." Tony insisted.
"Knife gang trafficking girls. They were banging pipes, I couldn't focus and kept getting cut until I was facing the last one and I tried to flip away as the building alarm went off, and he caught me in the leg before running. I managed to get a web on him, I think it was a tracking one but I don't remember." Peter managed to get out. Lots of pausing and stumbling over his words as he tried to focus and stay awake. "I think I lost some blood." Peter managed to get out, his hands covering his ears and eyes tightly closed.
"Describe the men for me kid," Tony asked and when he got now reply from Peter he looked down to see his body was relaxed, the kid having passed out.
Tony's panic, that had been settling, spiked. They were just about to land at the tower, so close to home. What if Peter had been swinging home when he passed out? What if he had been stabbed during the beginning of the fight? Tony's thoughts began to spiral as he landed on the balcony, he didn't bother taking the suit off as he ran into the tower.
"What happened?" Nat demanded.
"Kid passed out on the flight over. Bleeding has stopped but he's covered in cuts." Tony said, his voice barely holding it together.
"Who?" Bucky's cold voice demanded. "Not much in the data."
"A gang trafficking girls. He thinks he got a tracker on them. He needs to see Bruce." Tony insisted as Nat started wheeling Peter to the waiting elevator. Just as Tony turned around in the elevator he spotted Bucky staring at a holo-screen. FRIDAY whizzed them up a floor to the med bay where Bruce was waiting with Clint.
"Everyone out," Bruce ordered. Nat immediately left, Clint on her heels. Tony didn't budge, holding onto Peter's hands tightly. "You too Tony."
"Kid hates needles, I can't leave him here in pain." Tony's voice wavered. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to be here when he wakes up," Tony said, his voice steadier in determination. Bruce paused and then nodded.
"Get the suit off. I need to see all injuries clearly." Bruce ordered, Tony falling into step. They lifted Peter into a sitting position, trying to carefully but quickly take the suit off and leaving it in a pile on the floor. Peter's torso was covered in thin red lines, some already fading, and black and blue bruises starting to form over the pale skin. Tony sucked in a breath and squeezed Peter's hand tighter.
Tony helped keep Peter leaned forward while Bruce checked the cuts on the teenager's back, then lowered him back down. Tony tried helping Bruce where he could as he looked Peter over and cleaned up the rest of the wounds, looking away as Bruce started on the stab wound. The big red gash looked deep, Peter flinched awake as Bruce cleaned it out and started sewing it up, the started shivering.
"Keep him still Tony," Bruce said firmly.
"Blankets." Tony croaked out to FRIDAY as he held Peter as still as he could. "Blankets and his pjs." He said a bit louder.
"Ms Romanov is already on route back with them. She picked the warmest ones she could find and your MIT hoodie as well as two blankets from the lounge." FRIDAY announced, her voice tense. Tony just nodded, not letting go of Peter's hand as another wave of shivers ran through Peter.
"Cold," Peter whispered.
"I know kid, Auntie Nat is on the way. Try to stay still for Bruce ok?" Tony spoke softly. "Once he's got your leg sorted he's going to give you an IV with some pain meds." Peter nodded slightly and fell back into unconsciousness. "Bruce?" Tony called.
Bruce looked up from his stitching, nearly finished. "He's ok, just the shock and adrenaline wearing off with the pain."
Tony nodded, whishing he'd been wearing a jumper he could take off to cover the kid until Natasha arrived. Tony's thoughts wouldn't stop spiralling. Why had the kid not called for backup? Why was he apologising? Tony shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Peter was going to be ok. He wasn't bleeding anymore, he had an IV drip in and Bruce had finished the stitches and was bandaging the kid's leg up. Tony turned at the sound of the med bay doors opening.
Natasha walked in, two big fluffy blankets over her shoulder and a folded pile of clothes in her hands. She looked over at Bruce.
"He's stable, probably going to be out from the shock and exhaustion for a little while longer," Bruce said, returning to cleaning up the med bay. "He'll need to eat something when he wakes and get him warm, we don't want to deal with hypothermia as well." Nat walked forward, holding out the clothes for Tony and laying the blankets down on the foot of the bed.
"Blankets for now, the cold will help wake him up a bit." Nat said when Tony moved to lean Peter forward. She picked up the blankets and laid them over the teenager. "Warm enough for no hypothermia risk, but cold enough he'll wake up a bit quicker." Tony just stared at her.
"He's going to be ok Tony. He's a strong kid." Nat assured Tony, moving to place a hand on his shoulder, then looked over to Peter. "Isn't that right, маленький паук?" *baby spider*
"I should have been there," Tony whispered. "If I had known, he wouldn't be injured. If I had made the suit better he wouldn't be hurt so badly."
"Stop." Natasha's voice was firm. "You did everything you could, Peter knew to call and he thought he had it handled. The men aren't going to get away with it. James and Steve are already out hunting, though I think Steve's job is mostly not to let James kill the men." She chuckled. "Your kid has the Avengers worried and looking out for him, he just forgets that." Tony opened his mouth to protest Peter being his kid, instead he sighed and nodded. Tony tucked the fluffy blankets over Peter and Tony resumed sitting on the stool at his bedside and holding his hand.
"I'll go sort out some food, Bruce can you show me where his Nutri-drink powder is?." Nat said as she and Bruce left the med bay. Tony let them leave without a word, turning to look at Peter. A bruise was forming around his left eye, the one that was missing it's lens. Tony reached up and gently brushed a piece of hair off Peter's forehead.
"I should have been there," Tony whispered softly. "I'll make you a better suit. One that can't be cut like that, with a better tracker too." He took in a steadying breath and closing his eyes for a few minutes, letting the silence of the med bay push away his worries. "Kid, stop proving that I have a heart. I don't want to be a silver fox this early." Tony chuckled.
"You're already going grey." A hoarse whisper snapped his attention to Peter, who squeezed his hand.
"I am not that old!" Tony chided, a soft smile tugging at his lips.
"Hurts," Peter mumbled as he shifted, gripping onto Tony's hand a bit tighter.
"That's what happens when you get stabbed." Tony deadpanned.
"It was just a scratch, I was fine." Peter tried to play it off. Tony levelled him with a look, a serious look.
"You were stabbed!" Tony exclaimed, gesturing to his bandaged and elevated leg.
"Tis but a mere flesh wound." Peter grimaced in pain as he tried to move off the bed. "I'm cold."
"Uh no, not a scratch. You were lucky it didn't go deep to your bone." Bruce said as he entered the med lab, Natasha just behind him with a sandwich and a glass of his bright pink powder drink. "Eat and drink this then Tony can help you get dressed. Doctors orders." Bruce said firmly.
"You have that here too?" Peter asked, eyes locked on the bright pink drink. Tony looked at Peter in disbelief.
"You got a concussion as well? Of course we have it here, Brucie and I made it for you and the old men. It would be stupid to not have it here where we made it. Why would you think we didn't?" Tony asked.
"Well I thought you'd made it as a 'in case of emergency' thing and when I can't eat enormous amounts of food like at school or on missions." Peter shrugged, and winced slightly as he did.
"You use it as often as you need to kid. It's there to help your metabolism by giving you a boost of calories, nutrients and vitamins that you need. You should be using more of it than the fossils so Aunt Hottie doesn't have to worry so much about feeding you." Tony clarified.
"You said it wasn't to help May!" Peter called Tony out.
"Would you have taken it if I had? You won't let me help you and May with anything, so I will find ways of still helping. Now you need to eat." Tony pointed out.
"Peter eat and then rest for the evening. The smaller cuts are pretty much healed but you're leg is going to take longer as I had to put a couple stitches in," Bruce ordered. Peter nodded and took the sandwich from Nat.
"Can I have my hand back or do you need my help in the lab that badly?" Peter quipped as he took a large bite of the sandwich.
"I have heart problems Pete, you're staying in my site and within arms reach for the rest of the evening." Tony declared, taking the glass from Nat and refusing to drop Peter's hand. He didn't say just how much Peter had scared him, how much he panicked at the possibility of losing the kid.
"James and Cap got them, маленький паук." Nat said. "They aren't going to get anyone else, most of the gang was still webbed up in the building and James tracked down the guy who stabbed you. He may have a dislocated shoulder and broken nose now but that's what he gets for stabbing you." Nat smirked at Peter staring at her, Tony just nodded his head in agreement.
"How is the guy still breathing?" Tony asked casually.
"Cap decided to intervene," Nat said, her tone just giving away that she disapproved of the outcome. Tony snorted and swapped Peter's now empty plate with the glass. "I've already let May know he's staying with us."
"I'm fine to go home!" Peter tried to argue, but quickly stopped at the glare from all 3 adults in the room. "Ok fine, I'll stay here. If I have to stay, I'm not staying down here though. It's too cold."
"He could join game night? It's not too late yet and I can check his wounds before bed." Bruce suggested, wringing his hands.
"Yes, kid can be on my team!" Tony exclaimed.
"We don't have teams," Bruce stated.
"I think it's only fair, he's my intern and I'm loosing to the super assassins." Tony pointed at Nat.
"Peter isn't going to help you win." Nat scoffed.
"What game?" Peter asked, finishing the last of his drink.
"Balderdash!" Tony grinned.
"Boss, everyone is back and in the common room. They are asking if the game is continuing or if you want to call it for the night." FRIDAY announced.
"What do you say, kid? Want to join Avengers game night?" Tony asked with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows for effect. His heart swelled as he saw Peter's eyes go wide and he nodded frantically in excitement. Tony's smirk turned into a grin. "C'mon then kid, let's get you up there and comfy. Team IronSpider!"
Nat and Tony helped Peter slide off the bed and test the weight on his leg. Then Tony helped Peter get into his Iron Man pyjamas and Tony's old MIT hoodie the kid had claimed since Hero Day, Peter leant on Nat for support as Bruce folded up the blankets. Peter struggled to stay upright when he had to put his full bodyweight on his injured leg, but Nat didn't waver and tightened her hold on him until he found his balance again.
Once Peter was situated in his pjs, the group headed for the elevator. Nat and Tony on either side, Bruce carrying the blankets and the dirty dishes. As the doors opened, Peter was pulled out of their grasp before Peter could fully register what was happening.
"Hey, put me down!" Peter called out. "James put me down! I am not a damsel in distress!" Clint laughed as Peter struggled to pull himself out of Bucky's grip. "Shut it Peacock!" Peter snapped. His struggles were only half-hearted as he realised that it hurt to struggle too much and he trusted Bucky not to hurt him.
"Ooo the damsel has some bite." Clint laughed, and Steve smiled.
Bucky carried him over to a nest of pillows and blankets on the sofa and very gently nestled Peter in the nest and let Tony drape the blankets over Peter's shoulders before he scooted next to Peter. Tony and Bucky squished Peter in-between them, Tony wrapping an arm around Peter that he leant into.
"Stevie wouldn't let me," Bucky said to Peter, a hushed whisper that Steve snapped his gaze up to them.
"You wanted to rip his arm off! Of course, I stopped you." Steve argued.
"He stabbed маленький паук." Bucky stated simply.
"Thank you Mr James Snowflake, but he needs to be put on trial for all the girls he's hurt. Not just because he scratched me." Peter thanked him. "Thank you for the nest, its really warm and comfy." Peter smiled.
"cough *Stabbed* cough," Tony said.
"You're not supposed to say the words cough!" Peter said.
"Can we get back to the game now?" Clint asked. "Arguing over stabbed vs scratched isn't going to get game night done, I think we only have a couple more rounds. It's basically whether Nat or Barnes wins."
Tony watched Bucky silent get up, walk to the kitchen and come back with a box of Krave cereal and hand it to Peter. Peter wordlessly tipped out a handful for Bucky in return and settled to munching on the contents of the box. Tony chuckled and shook his head, when he looked up Peter was offering the box to him, he took a handful.
"It is Mr Barton's turn to be the Dasher," FRIDAY announced. Bruce rolled a 2 and picked up the next card.
"What is Ellis Miller known for?" He asked, everyone thought for a moment and then wrote down some answers and handed them to Bruce for him to shuffle.
"So how am I helping?" Peter whispered to Tony.
"You are going to help pick the correct answer." Tony grinned. "Everyone has written down a plausible answer and Clint has the correct one. He's going to read out all the options and we have to pick the correct ones." Peter looked a bit confused but nodded anyway.
"Is it; A) Created the first apple flavour sweets. B) Younger brother of Arthur Miller who inspired his play Death of a Salesman. C) He invented the stapler. D) Invented the Radioactive Golf Ball so it could be found with a Geiger counter and not be lost. E) The first person to read the news on Live TV. F) Is the man behind the secret KFC recipe." Clint read out each card.
"Are those my index cards?" Peter asked, breaking everyone out of their thoughts.
"Some of the extra ones I bought you for Decathlon practice," Tony answered quickly, Peter nodded.
"I think A," said Bruce.
"E" stated Steve and Bucky in unison.
"It's D," said Peter just as Tony opened his mouth. Tony sent him a quick 'are you sure?' to which Peter nodded.
"We are going with D." Tony agreed. Nat nodded as she pointed to Tony, agreeing with them.
"The correct answer is D," Clint said. "How did you know that Peter?" Clint asked incredulously. "Not even the scientist who specialised in radiation got that right!"
"Sometimes on Patrol I get bored so I look up old things. I think they were a thing about 1910 to 1930." Peter shrugged, throwing a handful of Krave in his mouth. Peter grinned when FRIDAY confirmed the dates were correct.
"I knew the kid would help!" Tony exclaimed, ruffling Peter's hair. "Good job kid."
"That's 1 point to Bucky. 2 points to Nat, plus 1 for getting the right answer and 1 point for Tony." Clint announced for FRIDAY, even though she already knew. Everyone who got points moved their counters forward. Nat was 1 point away from winning, Bucky close behind with 2 away. Bruce was in the middle of the board with Steve leaving Clint and Tony still in the bottom 3rd of the board. Tony only just beating Clint with Peter's help.
"1 more round then. Who's next?" Steve asked. "People have shuffled around."
"Dr Banner," FRIDAY stated.
"I rolled a 2. So another People category. What is Bertha Dlugi known for?" Bruce asked.
"You write down an answer, kid," Tony whispered, passing the paper and pen to Peter. Peter tried to worm his arms out of his blanket nest further without toppling the box of cereal or dislodging any blankets. Peter carefully took the paper and pen and hummed in thought before quickly scribbling something down. Tony passed the paper over to Bruce, making it the final answer to be added to the pile. They were shuffled and Bruce read them out.
"A) World Champion hot dog eater. B) Designing a nappy for a parakeet. C) World record holder for the highest scrabble score. D) The last employed conductor on a London Bus. E) The fastest speaker of the Hamlet soliloque. F) Oldest competitor of Cooper Hills Cheese-rolling race." Bruce read out the answers.
"Cheese-rolling race? That's not a real thing!" Clint called out.
"Yes, it is." Both Natasha and Bucky stated.
"I have to agree with the assassins, it's real." Bruce concurred.
"I'm picking A," Clint announced. Steve agreed.
"Option F." Bucky and Nat stated.
"What do you think Pete?" Tony asked. Peter hummed in thought.
"Cheese rolling." He grinned.
"The answer is B, a nappy for a Parakeet," Bruce announced. "Bucky gets 3 points for cheese-rolling, though I'm deducting one for picking your own answer. Tony and Peter get 2 points for bluffing their answer. Bucky wins Balderdash." A couple of cheers filled the room, the loudest from Peter, Bucky just dropped his head with a smile.
"You're supposed to be on my side kid!" Ton argued.
"I am, but I'm also happy that James got to win game night for a change," Peter said. "Besides you weren't even close to winning. This game must be ancient."
"Jarvis used to play it with me and the house staff when I was a kid, then I played it in college. Though those rules included a lot more alcohol than when I was a kid and tonight." Tony smirked, Clint grabbed a handful of Krave from Peter's cereal box and threw a couple at Tony.
"You lost at your own game." Clint laughed.
"Yes, but I lose at most game nights. We all had fun even if Peter added a handful of new grey hairs to me." Tony conceded. Out the corner of his eye he saw Peter laugh, yawn and continue laughing. "I think we have all had an exciting evening. This concludes game night this month. Barton, your turn to pick the game next month."
"I'm with my kids next month, why not have Pete pick a game," Clint suggested. "I'm sure he'd love that."
"Really? Can I? Even after I ruined your game night with me getting scratched?" Peter asked, fiddling with a corner of a blanket.
"Stabbed. You were stabbed Peter!" Tony corrected.
"I'm happy with Peter picking," Steve said, the rest of the group agreeing. "You didn't ruin our night, it was just unexpected. Next time you've got a situation like that, just call us. No shame in asking for help and we know you're capable by yourself. But we are a team and a family, we always look out for each other. That includes you."
"You sound like our school PSAs," Peter groaned. "Ok, I promise to call for help next time. So I can pick whatever game I want?"
"Yes, so long as there's no weapons and no requirement of alcohol. Those are the only rules." Steve nodded.
"I have the perfect idea. A Kahoot quiz on each other." Peter grinned, then yawned again.
"Ok, before you lot keep him up bombarding him with questions, time for bed young'un." Tony declared. "Bruce, can you check the bandages?" Bruce nodded, clearing space on the coffee table to sit while Peter uncurled in his nest so Bruce could move his pyjama leg up to access the injury. After a few moments, poking and prodding the area and twisting Peter's leg around, Bruce nodded.
"Looks like it will be mostly healed up by the morning, the bandages are clean so we can leave those on. You will still have a scar though I'm afraid." Bruce told Peter.
"That's ok Dr Banner." Peter nodded. "Thank you for cleaning me up. Thank you to all of you." Peter gave a smile to all of them. "Ned is going to be so jealous I had game night with you guys."
"Maybe Ted can come to the next one, he can help you write your quiz," Tony suggested.
"Stop pretending you don't know his name. I think he will actually pass out from excitement when I tell him that he gets to help write a quiz about the Avengers for the Avengers to play." Peter grinned.
"He nearly did when he met me. Stop stalling, bed time." Tony encouraged, taking off the blankets over Peter's shoulders. "You going to be ok to walk or do you want to be carried?"
"I'm not a damsel in distress! How many times do I have to say it? I can walk." Peter protested. He stood on shaky legs, a spark of pain running up his leg as he put his full weight on it, nearly dropping to the floor. Tony ducked under his arm and lifted him. "I can walk, just with some help." He admitted. "Good night everyone!" He waved as the pair made it slowly to the waiting elevator.
"Promise me you will ask for help Pete," Tony whispered as the walked down the corridor to Peter's room. "None of us think less of you for asking. I know you have a bit of scary dog privilege with Barnes and Romanov, but that's not an excuse to be reckless. If even I am saying working with a team and asking for help is ok, then it must be."
"I know, I just wanted to show you I can do it too. That I can be as good as you are." Peter mumbled.
"I know you can. I would rather you be whole and well, than bleeding out on me. I know you can handle things by yourself, you just don't have to." Tony said, lowering Peter down onto his bed and sitting beside him. "My heart isn't going to be able to handle losing you." He barely whispered but Peter still caught it.
"I promise, Mr Stark. I will ask for help when I need it." Peter hugged Tony tight, Tony immediately returning the hug.
"School in the morning, I'll take you. No need to upset Happy when I can drive you. Brucie is going to check you over beforehand though, just in case." Tony said, breaking the hug and walking to the door. "No arguments. Go to sleep."
"Yes, Mr Stark," Peter grumbled light-heartedly, when he saw Tony looking at him, he stuck his tongue out at his mentor. Tony rolled his eyes and left the room. "Go to bed!." Tony heard Peter call after him as he walked down the hall, aiming for the lab. "We can work on the suit after school!" Peter called out louder when he could hear Tony was still heading for the lab.
Tony stopped and sighed, shaking his head in a smile. "Ok, Fine. Got to sleep, Pete!" Tony called back, changing course for his bed. Everything would be fine, he could work on the suit with Peter tomorrow, kid had a backup one anyway. Peter Parker was slowly proving that Tony did have a heart and Peter held the strings, Tony smiled as he realised he didn't mind that one bit.