Archive of Our Own ^beta

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“Mr. Stark, I think someone’s following us.” Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he looked around, trying to figure out why the hairs on his arm were standing up. Over the past few months, he had really started to get a handle on his elevated senses and hone in on what exactly the hairs on his arm meant each time. He suppressed a small shiver as he locked in on the car that was now directly behind them. The two of them had gone for a well-deserved dinner after a long day of working on a new prototype comm unit since the team seemed to go through them like they were candy. Tony never failed to be amazed by the sheer amount of food that Peter could put down for a meal. Peter was able to put down a tomahawk steak, three sides of mashed potatoes, and two helpings of green beans. They planned to pull something up on Netflix to watch once they got back to the Tower. May had okay-ed Peter to spend the weekend as long as all of his homework was done before he came back on Sunday evening.

“Okay. It’s okay.” Tony’s eyes darted around, his fingers drumming nervously on the steering wheel as he looked around at their options. “Oh shit.” A huge truck with a reinforced front came flying out of the alley nearby, swerving to block their path. He barely had a second to react before he slammed on the brakes, the front of his car so close to the truck, they were almost kissing. He swore under his breath as he jerked the car into reverse, but another truck was barreling towards them. “Shit!” He screamed in frustration as he looked around. People dressed from head to toe in black combat gear started jumping out of the trucks holding automatic weapons. They had advanced technology for entry level goons, so Tony knew that these weren’t some run of the mill carjackers. These were the type of goons that were prepared for who they were kidnapping.

“Try anything and you both die.” A hauntingly familiar voice floated out of a bullhorn. Tony felt a chill run down his spine when he placed the voice to an old nemesis of his, Justin Hammer. Last he knew, Justin had still been in a prison behind a glass wall and several floors worth of concrete. How in the hell did he manage to get out? “I know that you have your prodigy intern in the car with you and I have a half-dozen lasers pointed at his brain. If you want him to live, you will both step out, lay down on the ground, and put your hands behind your back.” Tony glanced over at Peter and nodded that they should listen. He pressed the emergency button on his watch, knowing that would alert the remaining Avengers that he was in distress before he slid out of the car. There was a gun pressed to his temple and Tony could see there was one pressed to Peter’s head. He could see that Peter’s eyes were wide and he was scared, but he was obeying for now. No matter how fast that Peter moved, he couldn’t outrun a bullet from a gun pressed to his head and considering they had called Peter his prodigy, they didn’t know his true identity as Spider-Man. Peter would have picked up on that too and would not want to expose himself.

The goons had Peter and Tony handcuffed, blindfolded, and up inside one of the trucks before Tony could process what was happening. His phone, watch, and sunglasses were thrown back into the car and Peter’s joined them a second later. Tony silently lamented the loss of all of his tracking equipment. The Avengers were smart and would track them down. It just would take them longer to find them without the use of tracking equipment. It felt like they had been driving for hours before they reached their unknown destination. They were jerked out of the truck and lead down a flight of stairs, the door banging closed behind them. Peter let out a strangled shout when he lost his footing, but he was manhandled back to his feet. Tony wanted to reach out and comfort him, but his hands were tied so tightly behind his back that he could feel his wrists rubbing raw already. He knew that Peter’s were probably doing the same and felt bad. What type of mentor was he, if he couldn’t keep Peter safe from kidnappings from his enemies? What type of Avenger was he, if he couldn't keep one person safe?

“Blindfolds can come off now.” A low, rumbly voice came from one of the goons once Peter and Tony were roughly pushed to a sitting position on the floor and Tony felt a cuff being wrapped around his leg and then the blindfold was yanked from around his head. He squinted and blinked as he adjusted to the lighting around them, looking to make sure that Peter was here with him. Peter was seated directly across from him. They looked like they were in a freight car or basement of some kind, with a staircase on one side that lead up to a heavy metal door. There were two swinging lights above, casting sinister looking shadows behind Justin and the goons that towered over them. Tony’s hands were cut free as he glanced down at the cuff that was wrapped tightly against his leg. He could see that the chain attached was secured to the wall in a way that he knew meant they weren’t going to snap easily, if at all.

“These are laced with vibranium.” Justin sneered as he pulled on the cuff around Peter’s leg, double checking it. He leaned in closer to Peter’s face, “I paid a lot of money for them.” His voice oozed out like poison, making Peter flinch back. Peter might be strong, but there was no way he was going to break vibranium with his bare hands. His eyes instantly looked over to Mr. Stark, who was looking back with wide eyes. Mr. Stark was trying to disguise the fear in his own eyes, but it was hard when he was also filled with terror. “Let me tell you what’s about to happen.”

“You’re going to get your ass kicked.” Tony interrupted, his voice low and full of hate. Justin just barked out a laugh. “You kidnapped an Avenger and you will die for it.” The Avengers were the good guys but messing with one of their own was signing Justin’s death certificate. Tony himself was fuming at the fact that they had taken Peter and caused him to be so scared.

“Trust me, I will be far far away. I’ll just be checking in on this little camera here in the corner!” He pointed gleefully up to the corner. “I’m not going to make some dramatic speech but just get right to the point. You’re both going to die here. My favorite part is that I won’t have to even touch you to make you suffer like you deserve. Stark, I’m going to inject you with this super nutrient that was being developed to help soldiers, but I stole it for, well, my own purposes. It will keep you boosted for about three weeks, maybe a little more. Your little prodigy will get nothing. You’ll watch him starve to death, then you’ll starve to death!” Justin clapped his hands together and tucked them under his chin with the same sick grin on his face. One of the goons moved forward and stabbed Tony in the arm with a needle. Tony tried to jerk his arm away, but the iron clad grip of the goon held him and didn’t let him budge until the syringe was emptied into his arm. Tony felt a weird, tingly warmth spread through him and knew that Justin wasn’t joking about the nutrients.

“That isn’t, you can’t, that doesn’t exist!” Tony didn’t know where to begin and trailed off. Justin didn’t even know that Peter wouldn’t last long three weeks without food and water. Peter’s metabolism stayed so cranked up that he would probably have eaten another meal after they watched the movie. Peter was always snacking in between meals but never had to worry about spoiling his appetite because he was constantly on the edge of being hungry. According to Bruce’s calculations about Peter’s metabolism they had done months ago, Peter would start to starve in the matter of days, not weeks, and it was going to be brutal. Peter tried not to whimper or show just how terrified he was, but it was almost impossible when you were told that you were about to be left to be starved to death.

“I am definitely not joking.” Justin smirked as he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Just remember that once the boy starts to deteriorate, that this is your fault. Remember that you did this. You are responsible for his suffering.” And with a final, haunting laugh, Justin and the goons with him started up the stairs. The door clanged shut behind them with a final sounding bang and they could hear the lock sliding shut before there was no noise. Tony tried not to think that it might be the sound of them being sealed in here forever. Steve and the rest of the team were smart and wouldn’t leave them here for long. Hell, Natasha and Clint were spies and knew how to track down anyone. They were experts at finding someone who didn’t want to be found. They would find them, but hopefully within the next few hours before Peter started to get really hungry.

“Are you, um, okay?” Tony asked after a few minutes of quiet. Peter’s eyes were filled with tears, they were tied up in some basement, and absolutely none of this was okay, but Tony didn’t even know where to start or what question to ask. Peter snorted at the question but gave Tony a shaky smile and a small shrug.

“I, I’m scared.” Peter dropped his head, shameful of the tears that were welling up in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly. He wanted to be brave but right now he felt like a small child that had the boogey monster coming after him. Starving to death sounded horrendous and it wouldn’t be fast. It was going to be slow and painful.

“It’s okay to be scared, Peter.” Tony was fast to reassure Peter. He didn’t want him to be ashamed of being scared. It was completely valid to be scared. “I’m scared too.” Peter cocked his head as he looked up. “Yup, superheroes get scared too.” Tony gave Peter the best smile that he could drum up. “We’re going to be okay.”

“Am I going to starve to death?” Peter asked after another minute of silence. He couldn’t imagine a worse way to die. Tony’s wanted nothing more than to comfort Peter. He tested the limits of the chains and found that he could actually sit next to Peter. He sat down next to Peter and Peter instantly leaned onto his shoulder, appreciating the comfort. The back of his mind realized that this might be a bad thing as Justin meant for them to be able to have contact and for him to be able to hold Peter at the end.

“No!” Tony’s voice was almost a scream as he wrapped one arm around Peter’s leg. “Steve, Natasha, Clint, Rhodey, and all the others are going to be coming for us soon. I hit the panic button on my watch. Even though we don’t have any tracking equipment on us, they are experts!” Tony was adamant. Peter nodded, a few of the worry lines on his forehead relaxing a small amount. He trusts Mr. Stark implicitly. Tony notes that he looks instantly less worried and feels a pang in his heart. How in the world did he get so lucky to stumble across someone like Peter? The kid had the largest heart of gold and was genuinely one of the most amazing people that Tony had ever come across. “Why don’t you try to get some rest until they come for us? We were in the lab all day and you’ve been working hard.” Secretly, Tony knew that if Peter fell asleep all night, he wouldn’t be hungry until the morning and that would buy them a little more time.

“Will you also get some sleep?” Peter asked in a quiet voice. He didn’t want to leave Mr. Stark awake and alone. Tony gave a tiny laugh, of course the kid was worried about him too. Tony had just been given something that would keep him not feeling hungry or thirsty for weeks and Peter was worried about him.

“Yea buddy. I’ll get some sleep.” Tony relaxed as best he could against the wall and let his eyes close once he saw Peter’s shut. Adrenaline and fear do weird things to the body and Peter’s breaths evened out and his body relaxed fully into Tony’s after a few minutes. Tony fell asleep shortly after with the final thought of, where the hell are you guys?

******

Tony started awake with a grunt and a jerk. He hadn’t even realized he’d drifted off and was momentarily terrified, where was he and what was happening? Everything came back and hit him so hard, it felt like he had been smacked in the face. They were still chained up and no one had come for them yet. Since there was no windows, he had no idea how much time has passed.

“Mr. S’ark?” Peter’s voice was still full of sleep as he sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. “We’re still here?” He couldn’t disguise the disappointment in his voice as the metal walls came into full focus. He felt the beginning of hunger pains beginning in his stomach but he didn't want to worry Mr. Stark yet. There was nothing that he could do.

“I know, I know.” Tony knew the disappointment that Peter was feeling. “They’re still coming. It just is gonna take a few hours for them to track us down since they took our phones and watches.” He comforted Peter, squeezing his arm then rubbing it. Peter nodded as he thought that through. He loved the other Avengers and they were the best, so they would come and get them. He couldn't wait to see Steve breaking down the door, always in his full Captain America uniform and using the shield to knock them free. They wouldn’t let him starve to death. The two of them set in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before a noise startled them both. It was Peter’s stomach growling.

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“Do you think Steve will bring me a snack?” Peter gave a nervous laugh as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. He felt a small blush rising in his cheeks when his stomach let out another loud grumble. “Sorry.” He couldn’t help that he was already hungry but that didn’t mean he felt any less embarrassed.

“Don’t worry about it, Peter. I bet Steve will bring you a whole dinner, like a turkey and all of the fixings. You know the man cooks like it’s going out of style.” Tony patted Peter’s arm again. He could see the red flush burning to Peter’s ears at the increasing noises that signaled Peter was hungry. “You can’t help your body’s hungry. It’s okay.” He said comfortingly, patting down Peter’s unruly hair. He wished he had something, anything, to give Peter to eat. He wished he could rip the contents of the injection he had gotten out of his own body to give to Peter.

“Is that shot really working?” Peter turned so he could look at Tony’s face. That would be something really awesome to have on hand when they were going on missions. Peter and Steve both were known for tucking away high calorie protein bars in their pockets, but this would mean they wouldn’t need to worry about it, or something like this happening ever again.

“I’m not sure yet, I’m not hungry, but I eat like a normal person.” Tony lightly teased as he thought through what Peter had asked. He didn’t feel hungry, but he also wasn’t thirsty and assuming they had been asleep through the night, he would have woken up feeling thirsty. “How do you feel?”

“I’m, erm, pretty hungry.” Peter gave a sheepish grin as he tucked his head back down, hiding his face again. Normally, when he woke up, there was food waiting for him. He was definitely spoiled by his aunt, who made sure to have a plate of eggs and bacon waiting for him every morning. She might be able to burn water, but she could somehow always scramble eggs and microwave the bacon for him. She also would always make sure to press a small snack into his hand for his train ride as she hugged him goodbye every morning. Peter felt a pang in his heart. He sure hoped he got to go back to school in a few days, and man, he sure would never take a hug from Aunt May forgranted ever again. He missed the smell of her conditioner and her quirky cheek pinches and most of all, her laugh.

“It’s okay.” Tony reassured Peter again. “I’d give you food if I had it. I’m sorry kiddo.” He would sell his left arm to give Peter a snack right now. He hated knowing that the teenager was hungry and there wasn’t anything to do. “Maybe we should try to go back to sleep.” Peter just gave him a nod. It couldn’t hurt to try to sleep more until the rest of the Avengers showed up.

******

Tony was shocked that he had actually managed to drift off again, maybe it was something in the shot he had been given. He slowly flexed the fingers on the arm that was still tucked around Peter, trying to get some of the feeling back in it when he realized that Peter was not asleep and was in distress. “Peter?” Tony’s whole body pulsed in alarm as he laid the boy down, so his head was in his lap. Peter flinched and rolled on his side, his hands gripping his stomach so hard that Tony was sure there would be finger sized bruises underneath.

“Hurts.” Peter managed to get out as he let out a loud groan. Now that Tony was awake, he didn’t need to keep biting down on his lip and swallowing groans so that Mr. Stark could get rest. Peter could feel blood on his lip from where he had bitten through the skin. “My stomach is cramping. I’m just so hungry.” Peter couldn’t begin to describe what the cramps in his stomach felt like besides being kicked with a steel toe boot non-stop. It felt like someone had stabbed him and was turning the knife in there, around and around. He was about ready to take a bite out of his own arm to get the pain to stop. “It hurts.” Peter whimpered again as he pressed his face into Tony’s thigh, trying to find something to ground himself with, but unable to pull his hands away from his stomach.

“Oh shit, Peter.” Tony didn’t know what to do and his hands hovered over the teens. He wanted to hold one of Peter’s hand, but Peter would break the bones in his hand if he squeezed. He settled for one hair on Peter’s shoulder and the other on his head, trying to provide whatever comfort he could. Tears started to flow as Peter writhed on the ground as the cramps grew worse. His hands were starting to shake from the electrolyte balance in his body. Peter cried out as the pain grew and overcame his entire body. Tony was at a total loss at how to help comfort Peter other than keeping his mind occupied, so he began to tell him a story about his days in college. There wasn’t anything for him to do except hope for the others to get here soon, before it got too much worse. There was a sheen of sweat on Peter’s face and Tony felt his stomach drop when he noticed that Peter’s cheeks were already starting to hollow out and his cheekbones were more prominent than Tony had ever seen them before. Peter was a lean kid to start with, but he was all muscle without an ounce of fat to spare. They sat for hours while Peter whimpered, cried, and towards the end, let out a scream before his eyes fluttered closed and he lost consciousness. Peter’s body was crashing after the intense hours of pain he’d endured. Tony finally felt the tears falling from his eyes. He’d held it together until Peter couldn’t see but now the tears fell fast and hard from his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to take the pain away from him. He sat there and cried, feeling more helpless than he had in his entire life.

******
Peter woke with a scream as the muscles in his legs wrenched and clamped down hard. “Make it stop!” He screamed as he reached desperately for his legs. Tony leapt to his feet, thinking he could massage some of the cramping in Peter’s legs away. Peter screamed so loud when Tony’s hand made contact that Tony brought his hands back like he’d been burned. The lack of water and food was causing his muscles to act out, cramping from the lack of nutrients. “Mr. Stark.” Peter’s sounded like it was being put through a cheese grater. Peter screamed and screamed, unable to stop himself as the pain continued to get worse.

“What can I do?” Tony’s voice was desperate as he looked down at Peter. Peter was twisting on the floor, his body confused and in pain. He wasn’t sure what was even up and down right now. Peter had his eyes screwed shut and tears pouring from his eyes as he grasped at the floor, trying to find something to take away the pain. Tony didn’t think there could be much worse than being tortured yourself, but now that he was watching Peter suffer, he knew there was definitely one thing worse than being tortured.

“I, don’t, know.” Peter panted out, grunting and screaming in between each word. Tony felt like he had been watching for an eternity when Peter’s hands clamped down into fists and his arms spasmed. Peter sobbed as he looked at Tony. His eyes rolled back for a minute before Peter was able to re-focus on Tony’s face. Tony would take Peter’s spot in a second if he was but right now, all he could do was keep a running commentary of soothing words and telling Peter that he was there. He literally was watching Peter waste away before his eyes. Peter’s ribs were becoming more defined against the shirt that Peter had on and the muscle definition in Peter’s legs and arms were gone, leaving them smaller looking. Peter’s sobs came out choked as he thrashed on the floor. He was sure that burning to death must feel something similar to what he was feeling right now. He would never complain about his food choices again. He would never say he didn’t like something. He’d eat anything, even Aunt May’s famous walnut date loaf. He felt himself falling towards darkness again and he welcomed it, desperate to make the pain go away.

******

“Mis’r St’k?” Peter’s voice was slurred and raspy as he blinked hazily up at Mr. Stark. He’d passed out the night before after a second day of muscle cramps and screaming and Tony could literally physically see the changes happening to Peter’s body. They’d probably only been here five days and Peter was quickly heading towards death’s doorstep. His body was still twitching from the cramps as he struggled to focus on his beloved mentor’s face. The skin on his face was stretched tightly over his sunken cheekbones, it looked like it might rip open at any moment. His eyes were listless and dull, and Tony could tell that his body was fighting a losing battle. Tony couldn’t believe how fast Peter had deteriorated but Peter was wasting away before his very eyes.

“I’m here Peter.” Tony choked out after a minute, wrapping his arms a little tighter around the emaciated boy in front of him. “They’re coming for us. It’s going to be okay.” He knew his voice was desperate, but he didn’t care. Peter wasn’t going to last much longer at the rate he was fading, but he didn’t want Peter to know that. Tony felt the boy shivering underneath him. He was cold to the touch. Tony didn’t think he could be more scared but the fact that Peter was cold to the touch somehow made him more scared.

“Hurts.” Peter’s voice cracked as one single tear managed to find its way out. His lips were split open in half a dozen spots. As dehydrated as he was now, he hadn’t been able to cry since yesterday. Tony wasn’t sure what was worse, watching the boy’s face contort with no tears or the day before where he had sobbed and whimpered through the excruciating muscle spasms.

“I know. I know.” Tony felt the corners of his eyes prickle as tears slipped out. He reached up to brush them away as fast as he could. He didn’t want Peter to see him cry, “I just need you to stay with me for a little bit longer. Please.” He heard his voice crack on the last word. Peter gave him a half nod as his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side. “No.” Tony’s voice came out a whimper as he carefully cradled Peter’s head to him. Peter’s breaths came in uneven gasps as he fought to keep his failing body going. Tony could feel every rib underneath Peter’s shirt and his arms and legs were literally just bone with skin pulled over it.

“May.” Peter’s voice came after what felt like an eternity. His body was shaking slower now, more like frantic twitches in his arms and legs. Tony couldn’t imagine how much this must hurt. It was one of the worst ways to die in his mind. Peter had been coherent through the whole thing, and Tony wasn’t sure what was worse, not knowing what was happening or knowing that your body was starving to death.

“She’s waiting for you. I bet she’s with the others right now at the tower. She’ll probably cook you up something awful, probably super burned, like to a crisp. What do you think?” Peter’s lips turned up slightly at the thought, even if his eyes were still closed. His dark lashes resting against his pale white face, “I am sure she is completely frantic and can’t wait to give you a hug and a kiss on the cheek.” Tony knew that he was rambling, but he didn’t care. “She loves you so much and I know that she can’t wait to see you.” He could literally feel Peter’s heart slowing.

“Help.” Peter’s eyes shot open and darted around as all four of his limbs twitched and cramped, rivaling the excruciating pain in his belly from his stomach contorting, desperate for some type of nourishment. He threw his head back as the pain got worse. “Help me.” He pleaded with unevenly dilated pupils, struggling to focus his eyes on Tony’s face. “Ben, please.” Whatever was left of Tony’s heart completely shattered. He knew that it meant that Peter was no longer coherent. There was nothing Tony could do to take away the pain. There was nothing he could do to help. Fear flashed through Tony like an ice-cold shower. Peter was going to die if help didn’t get here soon. “Hurts.” He whimpers, his voice barely higher than a whisper as his eyes fluttered shut before Peter forced them open. His eyes remained half-closed as Peter fought to stay with him. Tony knew that Peter was putting everything he could into simply remaining here. Tony didn’t know what he would do if Peter wasn’t here with him anymore.

“I’m here.” Tony’s voice came out raspy. He didn’t know what else to say. “You’re so brave. I’ve got you.” He wanted to tell Peter he was going to be okay, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “I’m here.” He stroked Peter’s hair, trying desperately to provide any comfort that he could. “I don’t tell you this enough, but I’m so proud of you Pete.” Tony cupped his hand against Peter’s face, locking eyes with Peter. Peter gave him almost a full smile before his eyes rolled back and didn’t reopen. “No!” Tony yelled as he gave Peter a small shake, but Peter didn’t stir again. Tony froze for a minute before holding two fingers to Peter’s neck. His heart was barely fluttering. Tony couldn’t even make out the beats anymore, just a non-patterned throb in Peter’s neck. “Oh God!” Tony half-screamed. This was the end. “Rogers, Barton, Romanoff, anyone, please!” He rocked Peter against him. “Hang on. We’re going to fix you up. We’ll get you some food and what about a pizza, steak, anything! I’ll buy you whatever you want. I’ll fly us anywhere. Please Peter.” Tony was pleading, begging, desperation had fully set in. “Please just hold on.” Tony sobbed as he held the boy close to him. He didn’t even hear the door being blown off the hinges as Steve leapt down the staircase in one big jump, Clint, Bucky, Sam, and Natasha on his heels looking down at Peter with horrified expressions. “Oh my God, please, Peter needs help! Please, help him!”

“We got him.” In one quick blow, Steve had broken the chains that held Tony and Peter and had Peter scooped up into his arms. Tony blinked and Peter was out of his sight. Bucky had him in his arms a second later and they were all sprinting towards the Quinjet, leaving their prison behind.

Chapter Text

“Get me an intubation kit!”  Helen Cho shouted as they surrounded the emaciated teenager.  She sucked in a breath through her teeth as she took in how small he was. She had examined Peter a few weeks ago after a nasty fall while stopping a purse snatcher and he had looked like a totally different person.  The Peter from a few weeks ago had been filled out and full of muscle.  “We need to get him hooked up to fluids but on a starvation protocol!  If we push fluids too fast, we will kill him.”  She barked out as several nurses ran up to her with the equipment she would need while she took a quick listen to his heart and lungs.  “Let’s get him intubated, his lungs need a break.  We need to set up for dialysis and an EKG immediately.  He’s most likely in multiorgan failure.”  She snapped on a pair of gloves and grabbed the tube to intubate.  His heart rate was all over the place and his blood pressure was nearly non-existent. The tube slid down without any resistance, which made Dr. Cho only more worried as they hadn’t given Peter any sedative medication.  It was proving difficult to get any kind of IV started since he was so dehydrated, his veins in his arms were shriveled and unusable.

“I can’t find any veins in his arm!”  The nurse swatted at Peter’s elbow harder but still no veins emerged.  She had looked all over his arms and even into his neck, but with the advanced stage of dehydration that Peter was in, his veins had collapsed. 

“Damn it, go for the IO in his leg.  We don’t have time to wait.  Every second he goes without fluids means more chance of permanent damage.” One of the nurses nodded and prepared the drill.  It took three tries to get the access that they needed.  The nurse that held the drill let out a small shout of relief as she started hooking up the IV tubing.  Tony skidded around the corner, dropping to his knees as he took in the sight of Peter with a tube emerging from his mouth and the medical team drilling into his leg.  There were electrodes being hooked up to his bare chest, the shredded remains of his shirt tossed to his side.  His shirt being gone let Tony see just how prominent Peter’s ribs were sticking out.  He could see the total outline of his pelvic bone.  Tony wept loudly as Steve kept him from fully collapsing, whispering comforting words in his ear. Dr. Cho continued to give out instructions of how much saline to give Peter and what other medications to give him while the Avengers looked on in horror.  Peter was a skeleton with skin on top of him.  He had only been gone for five days, but his enhanced metabolism had hastened the process of eating him from the inside out.  There was no muscle or fat left anywhere.  The flight back to the Tower only took fifteen minutes.  The second that the wheels touched down; Peter was being rushed off to the medical bay.    

“Where is his aunt?”  Tony all but shouted when he realized he hadn’t even given May a thought as they all sprinted towards the waiting area of the medical bay.  He needed to see her, to let her know how sorry he was.  “Is, does she know? Is she here?” His voice rose in panic.  

“Yes, Tony, she knows, and she is in the tower with Pepper.  We told her after we got the distress signal but couldn’t find either of you.  She would have found out from the news otherwise, and that wasn’t fair to her.” Steve spoke in a soothing voice.  Tony nodded, that was right, May didn’t deserve to find out that her nephew was missing from some tabloid. 

“Baby.”  Pepper’s word came out as relieved sigh as she and May came into view, out of breath as if they had run instead of taking the elevator.  Tony reached out and latched onto Pepper like a lifeline as sobs tore from his throat, leaving wet marks on her shirt.  “You’re okay, baby.”  She shushed him as she rubbed a hand in small circles on his back.  She had been so scared that she wouldn’t get him back and here he was, in her arms.

“Peter.” It was the only word that Tony could get out between sobs as Pepper rocked him back and forth.  May brought her hands up to her face as tears started leaking from her eyes.  Her heart dropped to the floor as she almost threw up as she saw the pain on his face.  Peter wasn’t alive.  He didn’t make it back alive.  Tony finally seemed to notice that May was in the room with him and then horror crossed his face as he took in her expression.  “No, no, he’s, he is not dead!” Tony stuttered out as he got to his feet to walk towards May.  “The doctors are working on him! I am so so sorry.” He reached his arms out like he wanted to touch her but hesitated, this was all his fault after all.  Peter was in there, fighting for his life, and it was his fault.  

“Oh thank God! No, don’t apologize.” She grabbed his shirt sleeves and developed Tony into a warm hug.  “You got him back to me, Tony.” She continued to hold Tony as they cried together.  May had been trying to hold her tears back for the past five days but now the floodgates had been opened and she couldn’t stop.  Pepper wiped away her tears as she took in the other Avengers standing around.  Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Thor, Steve, Sam, Rhodey, and Bruce were all scattered around the small waiting area with expressions of horror, anger, and sadness.  They had seen first-hand Tony cradling Peter’s broken body to him.  They had all seen them fighting to get Peter’s body to start responding.  They had all been in this waiting area more times than they cared to admit but never was it for something quite so serious.  Finally, both Tony and May started to quiet and were able to take seats in the waiting area.  Pepper wrapped blankets around both Tony and May before sitting in-between them.  They knew that they were in for a long fight.  Steve and Bucky brought back coffee for everyone, handing them out to their recipients.  Most took with grateful half-smiles before descending back into their thoughts.  Another doctor had stepped into the room and looked over Tony, knowing that it was futile to get him to leave while waiting for Peter.  They had taken blood and asked him what felt like a million questions but left him alone after a while, giving him a clean bill of health pending the test results. It had been almost six hours before Dr. Cho emerged from behind the doors to address the group.  They all got to their feet as May reached for Pepper’s hand.  

“He’s alive.”  Dr. Cho started with, knowing that the group needed to hear that more than anything.  She watched as the worst of the tension in the room seemed to melt away.  “That doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods.  As you guys all know, Peter’s got an extremely high metabolism.  During the five days he was gone, he wasn’t given any nourishment and his body turned to eating the fat and muscle he had stored instead.  Normal people would look like this after forty to forty-five days of starvation.  We have him on what is known as a starvation protocol.  It’s quite involved.  One part a slow IV drip to let his body get re-acquainted to hydration.  We have inserted a tube through his nose to his stomach so that we can start giving him nutrients in a few hours.  We also started him on dialysis because his kidneys were failing and will slowly be giving him extra nutrients like potassium and sodium so his body can catch up.  We’re monitoring his other organs. We expect that he will recover faster than a normal starved person but it’s going to be a long road.  The worst part is that this is going to be a waiting game.”  Dr. Cho delivered her last sentence and the room sat in stunned silence, not even knowing where to begin or what to think about everything that the doctor had said.  

“Can I, we, see him?”  May was the first to recover her voice.  She had been working as a nurse for the last fifteen years of her life, so she knew exactly what type of battle that Peter was in for.  She knew that there were risks of permanent damage and Peter was not done fighting for his life.  She just wanted to see him with her own two eyes.  She needed to see him.   

“Yes, but only a few at a time, and please make sure not to rile him up when he wakes up.  We’ve given him something to keep him calm, but this is an extremely traumatizing time for him and his body is fragile.” Dr. Cho nodded her head as she gave her precautionary speech.  She knew keeping the Avengers away from a fallen teammate was like trying to stop gravity from pulling a falling apple to the ground, so she just made sure to remind them to be quiet.  They were not just a team, but a family.  Most of them didn't have anyone else to call family so they leaned on each other.  When Peter had come in, young and eager, they had taken him under their wings and made sure to train him in every way that they could.  

“You’re coming with me.” May turned to Tony and grabbed his hand.  Tony looked scared and almost ready to argue before she fixed her gaze on him and Tony just nodded meekly.  Dr. Cho gave a small smile as she led the two out of the waiting area.  They walked down a hall to the second door on the left.   Tony nearly hit his knees again when he laid eyes on Peter.  “Oh Peter, my baby!” May exclaimed as she walked over to the bed and carefully picked up one of Peter’s frail hands.  She rubbed her finger over it, wincing as she felt every ridge between the knuckles.  There were tubes everywhere.  His head was wrapped in white gauze to hold the electrodes that were monitoring his brain on tightly, while there was a tube from his mouth and nose.  He was in a gown and covered but she could tell just how threadbare he was.  Several tubes emerged from the top of his gown and May knew they had given him a PICC line due to the dehydration.  It made giving medications easier.  She fussed over a non-existent wrinkle in the blanket, unsure of what to say.  

“I’m so sorry, May.”  Tony apologized as a tear ran down his cheek.  He was still standing several feet away from Peter.  He couldn't bring himself to come closer.  Every time he closed his eyes, all he could picture was Peter writhing on the ground, screaming in pain, crying for food, and for the pain to stop.  “I couldn’t, I should have-“ His voice wavered and drifted off as he waved his hand towards the bed.  The teenager he cared for more than just about anyone was in that bed because of him. 

“Stop right now Tony.”  May spoke firmly.  She got up and yanked Tony towards the bed.  “This was not something you could have predicted.  Unless you chose to not feed him or you kidnapped him, you need to be here for him.  He adores you.  He loves you.  Do not apologize again.”  She put one hand onto Tony’s face, forcing him to make eye contact with her.  A fierceness burned in her eyes and Tony gave her a sharp nod that he understood before he took a seat on the other side of the bed, holding onto Peter’s other hand.  They talked about whimsical, random topics to Peter, unsure of what he could or couldn’t hear.  

“Just came to check in on him.” Dr. Cho kept her voice low as she slipped in to check on Peter.  She had a soft spot for the kid.  He was always rambling away about something, even when he was being stitched up, and him being this quiet and still broke her heart.  “We hope he’ll wake up at some point tomorrow, but we will just need to be patient.  I’m going to start slowly introducing food into the tube overnight, but just a small amount at a time.  If I go too fast, it could make things much worse.”  

“How?”  Tony couldn’t help but ask.  He knew that May was a nurse and well versed in these types of things but how could Peter eating hurt him?  It had been the lack of food that had gotten him sick in the first place. 

“It’s called refeeding syndrome.  It triggers a massive productive of minerals in the body and can cause everything from cardiac arrest to seizures, to well, I’m sure you get the picture.  It is crucial that we go slow.”  Tony felt sick to his stomach.  Not only had Peter almost died in his arms, but he could still die if they didn’t take all the right steps.  “I’ll be here.  We will continue to monitor him and follow him through to the end.”  She soothed Tony the best she could.  They sat there through the night, drifting off to sleep.  Pepper and Steve snuck in and threw blankets on top of them before pausing to look at Peter.  It physically hurt them to see Peter look like that.  His cheeks were so sunken in and it looked like one gust of wind might blow him into tomorrow.  They were ready to get their vibrant, bouncy Peter back.  

****** 

“His finger twitched!”  Tony exclaimed, jumping to his feet and leaning in closer to Peter, laying a hand on his forehead.  It had now been almost a full day since they had been rescued and Peter continued to sleep away.  Everyone knew that sleep was healing but it didn’t mean that they weren’t missing those innocent, chocolate brown eyes. “Are you with us, Peter?”  He rubbed his knuckles gently against Peter’s cheek.  It was slight but there seemed to be a little bit of fill to the cheeks that wasn’t there before.  They had been slowly upping the rate of fluids that Peter was getting.  It was a careful balance between giving him enough but not too much.  

“You’re safe and home, baby.” May coached as she looked at Peter’s hopefully.  She was beyond desperate to see those eyes.  If she could see those eyes, she would see the fight in them, and then she would know he was going to be okay.  It took several agonizingly long minutes, but Peter managed to squeeze his eyes tighter together before he cracked them open.  They were hazy and full of confusion, but they were open.  “Hi honey!”  She had to quiet down her squeal of happiness.  “Don’t try to talk.  You have a tube in your throat that is helping you breathe.”  Peter squinted his eyes in confusion and glanced his eyes down to see the tube before looking back up at May with wide, terrified eyes.  “No, no, don’t be scared.  It’s okay! You’re okay.  It just, it’s letting your body rest so you can recover.  Steve and the rest of them found you and got you and Tony back here.  Tony’s right here.” She pointed over Peter’s face so he could see.  He rolled his eyes and then locked onto Tony's, relief and tears spreading through him.  They really were safe and home.  

“Yup, just like May said!” Tony internally rolled his eyes, he sounded like a nervous teenager on a first date.  He had been so anxious that Peter was not going to wake up that the words didn’t want to come out coherently.  “We’re here for you.  You’re safe, Pete.” He repeated again for Peter to hear.  It was important that Peter knew that they were safe.  Peter reached out a careful, shaking hand and laid it against his ribs before wincing at the fact he could feel every rib and his skin had a waxy feeling to it.  “Don’t worry, we’ll fatten you up.”  He knew that Peter was already self-conscious about his body.  “Start thinking about where you want to eat.  We’ll go anywhere in the world and eat whatever you want.  Maybe a steak in the real outback or sushi in Japan?”  The corners of Peter’s mouth upturned before his eyes fluttered closed and relaxed as he fell into a more peaceful sleep.  

“That was a good start.” May put her hands over her heart.  It felt more at ease than it had since she had been told that Peter had been kidnapped.  Her Peter was still in there. Peter was a fighter.  He would make it through this, she knew it. 

Chapter Text

It was three days after rescue, in the early morning before Peter was able to stay awake for more than a few minutes. He would slowly open his eyes, confused and scared, before he found Tony or May’s faces and relax. Tony and May stayed by his side. The rest of the Avengers cycled through, making sure that the other two were taking care of themselves while also keeping a close eye on Peter. Bucky was currently standing at the end of the bed, his eyes narrowed in concern as he looked at Peter, who was starting to look a little more like himself. They had taken Peter off dialysis earlier in the morning, when his urinalysis results had come back acceptable. Peter wiggled his bony index finger at Bucky as his heart rate came back into normal range. Bucky hoped that this stage passed quickly for Peter’s sake. He was an innocent child and he didn’t deserve to wake up every morning, terrified that he was back in the cell still starving to death.

“Hi Peter!” Dr. Cho was busy reading some of the printouts from the machine that was still hooked up to Peter’s head. She was really pleased that the electrical patterns were within normal rhythm and had shown no signs of disruptions. “I am comfortable with disconnecting Peter from the EEG.” She said as started unwrapping the gauze. Tony got up and helped her hold Peter’s head steady. Tony murmured quiet words to Peter as the electrodes started to come off. May stayed by Peter’s side, holding his hand like she had for the last three days. Dr. Cho removed the sticky electrodes as gently as she could but a few times, Peter grimaced at the tug on his scalp. “Sorry Peter.” She apologized, wishing there was a way to get them off painlessly, but they had to be attached firmly so that the results were accurate. After she was done, she threw the electrodes into the trash and pushed the machine back across the room. She brought over a bin with some warm soapy water and May took it from her. “I’d also like to start feeding Peter through the tube. It will just be a little bit of enriched milk, but I think with the rate Peter heals, this will be good for him.”

“Sounds like a great step forward.” May trusted that Dr. Cho wouldn’t do anything that would harm Peter. There was no book on boys bitten by radioactive spiders and their body systems. There was no right or wrong here. Peter’s face looked completely relaxed as May washed Peter’s hair and a quiet moan slipped out around the tube still down Peter’s throat while May continued to scrub the sticky adhesive off of his scalp. “Does that feel good baby?” She smiled fondly down at him as she massaged his scalp. She thought back to all the times she had done this for Peter after he had come to live with her and Ben. Peter brought her so much joy. She loved him more than anything in the world. “When do you think this can come out?” She gestured towards the tube still down Peter’s throat. She knew that Peter would want to know as much as the rest of them did.

“He’s starting to breathe around the tube and while I know we are all anxious to get Peter off all the tubes, we don’t want to stress his body. The fact he came off dialysis so quickly is a great sign though. Let’s aim for this afternoon to get him extubated.” Dr. Cho looked down at Peter, who was looking up at her with trust in his eyes. “Do you like that idea, Peter?” She knew that he could hear her, and he seemed to be cognitively aware of his surroundings, so she wanted to address him too. Peter gave her a tiny nod and a thumbs up, not wanting to jostle the tube in his throat too much.

“He just wants it out because he’s got nine million facts to tell us.” Clint joked as he slid the door to Peter’s room open and stepped inside. Peter grunted and rolled his eyes, his brain running wild with the dozen things he wished he could say back. Clint knew he’d pay for his sarcasm when the tube came out and he couldn’t wait. “It’s okay kid, I’ll just take my hearing aids out and you can babble all you want, and I’ll pretend to hear. It’s really no different than when my aids are in.” He winked as the kid’s lips turned up in a smile. He would deny it until the day he died but Peter had wiggled into his heart and he was so relieved to see the old Peter starting to return to him.

“That’s ice cold, birdbrain.” Tony snarked back at Clint, the sides of his face also turned up in a smile. The sign of Peter smiling was helping soothe some of the guilt that was chewing up his insides. Bucky just chuckled shook his head as he headed for the door. He would be back later in the evening after he got some sleep. He hoped the tube down Peter’s throat would be gone before he came back.

“Guess you don’t want any of the coffee I grabbed for you?” Clint handed a cup over to May, who took it gratefully, before dangling the second cup near Tony tantalizingly. Tony reached for it and Clint pulled it back, making a tisking noise. “Now you gotta ask for it.” Peter gave a bigger smile as he watched Tony’s face contort in exaggerated pretend disgust.

“Ugh, please?” Tony’s voice was similar to a toddler being forced to apologize. Clint just smirked before handing the drink over without further argument. Tony chugged a quarter of it before he even registered that it was not just the gross coffee from the machine down the hall but the good stuff. “This is good.” He stated, surprised, as he savored the next sip. He hadn’t been counting on good coffee, just planning to stomach it for the caffeine boost.

“You like that little shop down the street, so I got it for you.” Clint shrugged it off like it was not a big deal.

“I appreciate it, Clint.” Tony’s voice came out low but portrayed all of the emotion that he wanted it too, because it was a big deal to him. Clint was extremely observant, something that Tony lacked. He was extremely touched the archer had gone out of his way to get Tony’s favorite drink. Peter watched the exchange between the two as his eyes started to flutter closed, feeling safe and loved. He wanted to stay awake a little longer and maybe hear a story from Clint and his former assassin and spy days, but sleep called to him and he dozed off.

******

“Are you ready?” Dr. Cho looked at Peter as she deflated the balloon at the end of the endotracheal tube. Peter had slept for almost six hours and Dr. Cho felt confident that the rest had prepared Peter for this big step. There were two nurses standing close by. One holding an oxygen tube and the other holding a suction device. Peter gave her the one big blink that they had been using to signal for yes before she started pulling the tube out as quickly as she could. Peter gagged as his eyes watered as he lurched forward. He grasped at the bed sheets, accidentally ripping right through them as he tried not to panic. Tony and May were rubbing his back and Natasha was rubbing his ankles while gagged. One of the nurses held a bin underneath him in case he threw up, but Peter swallowed hard, determined not to throw up. “Deep breaths, Peter. Don’t try to talk yet.” Peter nodded frantically as he gulped down air. The nurse settled the oxygen mask over his face as Peter fought to get his breathing under control. Dr. Cho put her stethoscope eat tips in and listened to Peter’s back and chest.

“Good job, Pete.” Tony whispered into Peter’s ear as he continued to pat and rub Peter’s back. “I’m so proud of you. You did good.” He soothed as Peter’s gasps started to turn into smaller whimpers. It took a few more minutes, but his oxygen saturation was starting to normalize. The nurse put away the suction once she was sure they wouldn’t need it.

“This stays on, period.” Dr. Cho looked Peter dead in the eyes as she tapped the mask for emphasis. Peter was infamous for taking off his oxygen masks or not following medical directions. Peter ducked his head sheepishly as he nodded with a small blush rising to his cheeks. Peter was finally starting to fill out a little more. Everyone could still see his ribs, but the skin wasn’t stretched painfully over it anymore and his arms and legs were starting to fill out. “We’ll give you a few ice chips to help your throat. Just take it slow. Remember what we have been talking about with eating and how we have to ease back into it.” Peter nodded again, not quite ready to try out his voice. Dr. Cho headed out of the medical bay, feeling confident that she could grab a few hours of sleep with her patient stabilizing.

“Here you go, malen’kiy pauk.” Natasha held out the spoon with a small ice chip on it, carefully lifting up the oxygen mask before slipping the chip into Peter’s mouth. Peter closed around it and savored it. It helped the inside of his mouth not feel like the Sahara Desert. “Better?” Her voice was almost a coo as she smiled fondly at Peter. There were few people that pulled that look from her. Peter had joked when they met that they were both spiders, so they had to stick together, and the friendship had blossomed from there.

“Hi.” Peter cringed at the sound of his voice. It sounded like he had been smoking a hundred packs of cigarettes a day for the last seventy years. Tony and May just beamed down at him, thrilled at the progress that Peter was making. They each had one of Peter’s hand and he squeezed them. Tony squeezed back, while May lifted hers for a kiss. “What happened after I-?” He let the sentence drift off with a cringe, not even sure what the words were to describe what had happened when they’d been kidnapped.

“The Avengers saved the day, like normal.” Tony summarized. He did not want to overwhelm Peter with the details of what happened, or just how close of a call it was for Peter. Natasha and Clint had filled him in on what had happened and how they’d figured out it was Justin Hammer. They had used the livestream to track down Tony and Peter. They had been held in a buried freight car outside of the city. They had not gotten all of the henchmen yet, but they would find them, and Tony shivered at the thought of what would happen to them once they were alone with Black Widow and Hawkeye.

“Of course.” Peter gave a huge, cheesy grin. He might be considered an Avenger, but he looked up to and idolized the older members. When he had first started hanging out with the other Avengers, it had been like the best dream come true. “Are you okay?” His brow furrowed in concern as he looked Tony up and down, making sure he was in one piece. Last he remembered, Tony had been fine, but the end of their ordeal was really fuzzy, and he hoped that nothing had happened.

“Seriously kiddo? I’m fine.” Tony laughed at the audacity of the kid in the hospital bed in front of him. He’d been literally on death’s doorstep, two feet in the grave, when they’d been found, and he was worried about Tony? “We need to focus on fattening you up. Slowly, of course.” He couldn’t resist leaning in and pressing a kiss to Peter’s forehead. Tony wasn’t known for his gentle nature with everyone else, but Peter brought out something from deep inside him. He loved Peter more than all of the inventions he had ever created. The only person that he cared for like this was Pepper.

“Right.” Peter looked down and a frown overtook his face as he huffed out a breath. His ribs were sticking out and his belly was shriveled. He carefully raised his hand to touch the tube that came out of his nose. It was taped to the side of his face and threaded over his ear. It was hooked up to the IV pole next to him, giving him a few milliliters of the enriched milk at a time. “When can I get out of here?” He hated being in the medical bay. The smells made him nervous and uncomfortable and he wanted to be in his bed wearing his favorite hoodie, with his soft blankets piled high around him.

“We’ll see what Dr. Cho says.” May piped in as she tucked a stray piece of Peter’s hair back behind his ear. The sound of Peter’s voice was like an angel’s chorus to her ears. She had been petrified that she might never get to hear it again. Peter pursed his lips but didn’t argue with her. “We’ll get you back home soon.” She was beyond ready for Peter to be back in his bedroom, with music blaring as he tinkered away at whatever device he was building. She was never going to complain about four million Lego pieces being scattered across her living room with Ned and Peter in the center of the mess, making new creations that would be torn apart the next week. They would have some geeky movie on in the background, giving running commentary like they had not already watched it a dozen times. She would have the pizzas in the oven. It was one thing that she normally didn’t mess up making and Peter was a sucker for pizza.

“Thanks.” Peter sucked his lip as he relaxed against the pillows. May grabbed another blanket from the warmer and tucked it around Peter. Peter gave her a grateful look. He had been freezing from the time he woke up, a side effect of the weight loss. He yawned before groaning, getting tired this quickly was growing old. Tony always joked he was the inspiration for the Energizer bunny and he was ready to get back to that. May sat down next to him and watched as Peter floated back off to sleep again.

******

Peter woke up again later that evening, the panic rushing over him before he realized he could feel the warm liquid through the tube on his face that was heading to his stomach. He knew that meant he was safe. He tried to settle back down, but his stomach growled at him. Tony and May were both knocked out soundly beside him. Tony was snoring quietly while May made the little high-pitched whistle she always did when she was sleeping. Bruce was sitting next to Tony, glasses askew on his face and a book still open haphazardly on his lap. His breaths were slow and deep, but he didn’t snore like Tony, Steve, or Thor. Peter glanced around at his surroundings until his gaze landed on something near Bruce. It made his mouth water as he looked at it. It was a sandwich, barely touched. Peter could smell the ham and turkey on it from here. It looked amazing and Peter was hungry. A few bites couldn’t hurt. He was so hungry. Peter very carefully inched to the end of the bed, not wanting to wake anyone up. He couldn’t think of anything except for how good the sandwich smelled. He reached out and took the sandwich in his hands. He inhaled the scent of it before he took a bite. His taste bloods exploded in happiness as he chewed. Peter could taste the ham, turkey, swiss cheese, multi-grain bread, and vegetables that Bruce liked. Before he could stop himself, he took another bite, then another, and before he knew it, the entire sandwich was gone. He panted, out of breath from the frenzy of eating the sandwich. The hunger inside of him satisfied as Peter took a few breaths to calm himself back down. It only took a few minutes for Peter’s decision to come back to haunt him.

Peter stomach twisted and clenched down as he gagged before he was vomiting all over the blanket. Tony, May, and Bruce shot up at the sound of him vomiting, frantically trying to blink away sleep in their eyes as they reached out to help Peter. Peter felt tears burning in his eyes as he threw up again, more of the sandwich making an appearance as horror spread across the three adults faces as they realized what had happened. Bruce looked down where his sandwich had been and he already knew it, but it was gone.

“Peter, no.” May choked out as tears started spilling out of her eyes. “Baby.” Peter just moaned as he threw up again, more of the sandwich and bile hitting the existing pile with a splatter. Tony hit the button that would bring Dr. Cho to them as Bruce got a bin under Peter’s face for the fourth round of vomiting. May pulled away the soaked blanket and tossed it away from them, letting it land with a wet sound. “Baby, how much did you eat?” Peter just shook his head, tears flying as he vomited again. He didn’t know how he could be throwing up so much, the sandwich hadn’t been that big. He didn’t mean to make himself vomit. Peter mumbled apologies as he vomited again, throwing up more bile than anything else.

“What happened?” Dr. Cho was sprinting in. She took in the vomiting sight and Bruce’s guilty face and she knew instantly what had happened. “Oh no.” She felt her heart drop. This was about to get really bad. She raced over to a medical cart, grabbing several vials and needles before hurrying back towards Peter.

“It’s okay, Peter. You were hungry and there was food. It’s okay, buddy.” Tony rubbed his hand up and down on Peter’s arm. Peter whimpered as he gagged again, not bringing anything up this time. He made eye contact with Tony before his eyes started to dilate. Peter tried to squint and force the room back into view as a shudder went through his body.

“Mr. Stark”, The name slipped out of Peter’s mouth, full of fear. Peter blinked as he tried to center himself, terror running through his veins as he tried to squash the panic as his hands started to shake. His stomach twisted again before pain shot up his spine. The last thing he saw was four sets of hands reaching for him, their faces full of pain, before his eyes rolled up into his head as his whole body started seizing.

Chapter Text

“Oh my God, Peter!” May shrieked as she yanked her hands away from Peter like she had burned. She tried not to hyperventilate as she stepped away from the bed, watching every muscle in Peter’s body clench and release painfully and randomly as pained grunts spilled from his lips. His eyes were nothing but white slits as a bloody froth started falling from his mouth. His teeth were clenched tightly together so May didn’t know if the blood was from a bitten tongue or the inside of his cheek. Dr. Cho leapt into motion and got Peter turned onto his side into a recovery position, carefully keeping him there while not restraining him. Restraining a seizure patient could result in further injury so she kept her hands just tight enough to prevent Peter from falling on his back.

“Pete, Peter.” Tony choked out as he stood and watched in terror, his hands hovering over Peter’s face as it jerked up and down. He winced at the harshness of the motion, knowing that it had to be excruciatingly painful for Peter. He could see the tremors that coursed from head to toe. Peter let out a whimper as his eyes opened more and Tony’s heart dropped clear to the floor when realized that Peter was trying to focus on him. “Buddy, we’re here. I’m here. We’re going to help you.” Tony was certain that someone had injected ice directly into his heart as he took in the terror in Peter’s eyes as his body continued to seize. Peter’s mouth struggled to try to form words, but he couldn’t get anything together. “I know. I know.” Tony shushed Peter’s attempts as he touched his face hesitantly. Tony wasn’t even sure what he knew other than he knew that Peter was sorry that he ate the sandwich, he knew that Peter was confused, he knew that Peter was in a lot of pain, and he knew that Peter wanted this to stop. Bruce was breathing so rapidly next to Peter with his hands clenched. The guilt oozing out of him in waves. Tony would deal with him, once they got the seizure stopped. This wasn’t his fault either. The only one at fault for any of this was Justin Hammer.

“Hold him like this.” Dr. Cho commanded Tony and waited for Tony to put his hands where hers were before reaching for the needle and medicine vial labeled Lorazepam on the small side table. She drew up the dose and injected it into Peter’s IV. “This medicine will burn a little going in, but it will help.” She talked loudly, hoping that Peter could hear her as she pushed the medication in. A tear fell from Peter’s eye as he locked eyes with Tony, his gaze never faltering, holding onto Tony's eyes like a lifeline. It felt like a lifetime had passed before the shaking started to slow down but the clock on the side of the wall said that it had been just over two minutes. When the clock hit three minutes and twenty-eight seconds, the last of the shakes left Peter and it was like every muscle in his body had vanished and he collapsed against the blankets. He was drenched in sweat as he panted, trying to get his body back under control.

“I-I’m s-sorry.” Peter stuttered out as he reached out for Tony. Tony all but climbed over the railing of the bed to embrace him. He didn’t care what anyone else thought about it. He had held Peter until he thought he was actually actively passing away in his arms and he needed the comfort as much as Peter did.

“Don’t apologize, buddy. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were hungry. It’s okay.” Tony stroked his hair, not minding that it was sweaty as May stepped forward and rubbed Peter’s back. Peter sunk into the gentle touches. He didn’t want Peter to feel bad for simply giving into a basic function. Peter was a child and he shouldn’t be expected to be an adult at all, but especially in a situation as complicated and hard as this one. “We’ll get you back on track.” Peter acknowledged Tony’s words with a weak nod as he sobbed into Tony’s chest, gasping for air, while the four adults in the room fought back their own tears. The machines Peter was hooked up to were still alerting that something was wrong with his vitals.

“Peter, I need you to take some deep breaths.” Dr. Cho coached Peter as she leaned over to listen to his heart and chest. Peter grunted a response but still took shallow breaths as his eyebrows furrowed. “Can you not get a deep breath?” Peter raised a shaky finger to his heart and tapped.

“T-to-too fa-fast.” His words still stuttering as he winced at the increasing tightness in his chest. “Help.” He pleaded with Tony as more tears fell. It was just one sandwich. On a normal day, he could eat ten sandwiches that size and still eat more. He had just been hungry. He had just wanted the hunger to go away.

“Okay, Peter, I’m putting this mask back on you.” Dr. Cho kept his voice low as she reached for the mask that had been discarded when Peter had eaten the sandwich. Peter gulped down the extra air as the edges of his vision started to go black. Desperate for something to ground him, he lifted his hand up to hold onto a handful of Tony’s shirt. Tony reached a hand up and covered Peter’s, pressing Peter’s hand into his chest so he could feel the exaggerated breaths that Tony was taking. Peter tried to mimic them but the pain in his chest was growing worse, making breathing harder and harder by the passing second. “Tony, I’m going to need you to get out of the bed for a minute.” Dr. Cho’s voice was calm, but Tony could tell there was an underlying panic, so he didn’t question her. He just carefully unfolded himself from the teenager, ignoring the tiny groan that came when he did. He kept Peter’s hand against his chest as he laid his head back. Nurses came bursting into the room, Tony hadn’t even noticed Dr. Cho calling them. Not far behind them was Steve. Tony only had a minute to process that confusion when a noise hit him that would haunt him in his dreams until the day he died. It was the sound that nightmares were made of. It was a high-pitched whine that turned every inch of Tony’s body to ice that signaled that Peter’s heart had stopped.

“No!” Bruce’s wailed as he took a few more steps away from the bed before bolting from the room. He had killed Peter because of his carelessness. Peter’s heart was not beating. He was dead. All because of his sandwich.

“Steve, I need you to start CPR!” Dr. Cho ordered. Steve felt numb but shook away the shock that had temporarily paralyzed him. He leapt across the room, covering it in three big strides as he climbed onto the bed and started pressing down on Peter’s chest. Tony realized in horror, that the reason she had called Steve is that she knew what was happening and with Peter’s advanced bone structure, she would need Steve’s strength. The other two nurses raced to grab the equipment they needed. “This is not your time, Peter.” Dr. Cho’s voice was full of emotion as one nurse had an ambu bag ready to deliver breaths and the other was shoving the drugs into Peter’s IV that Dr. Cho had rattled off to her.

“Please baby.” May’s knees buckled before giving out as she fell to her knees. She had seen this scene play out so many times as a nurse, but this was her baby nephew. The light of her life. The person who got her out of bed in the mornings and who never let her forget how much he loved her. She couldn’t bury him. She had buried Ben, her sister, and her brother-in-law, but she couldn’t bury Peter. She would never be ready for that day.

“No, bambino!” Tony’s voice was warbly as he continued to hold Peter’s hand to his chest as if feeling his own heartbeat would make Peter’s heart beat again. “You can’t leave us.” Tony was not a man to beg, but he found himself pleading with Peter, “Please, please, please.” He’d give up every penny he owned if it would bring Peter back to him. He’d give up being Iron Man if that was the price.

“Thirty!” Steve shouted, pausing while the nurse gave Peter two squeezes of the bag. The second that he stopped, the loud whine was back, and no one needed to be told that meant that Peter was still not with them. He started again immediately, tears in his own eyes as he glanced at Peter’s face. Peter had never looked more like a child than he did underneath Steve. His whole body was lax, rocking with the effort that Steve was putting into the compressions. He counted carefully and shouted, “Thirty!” as he finished his second round of compressions. He kept going, stopping just long enough each time for the nurse to give Peter the two breaths. His hands stuttered when he heard and felt a nasty popping noise come from underneath him as Peter’s ribs started to crack under the pressure. He whipped his eyes up to give Dr. Cho a frightened look, his hands hesitating.

“It’s okay, keep going.” Dr. Cho’s voice came out snappier than she meant. She could fix the broken ribs, but it wouldn’t matter if Peter’s heart didn’t start again. “Push the second round of epinephrine!” The nurse inserted it quickly. Steve had tears falling freely as he continued. Steve let the nurse at the head of the bed know he had hit thirty again and she inserted the two breaths. He prepared to begin another round when a different, sweet noise filled the room. Steve about fell off the bed in relief. He looked up to confirm what he knew, and where there was a flat line before, there were zig zag lines filling the screen that showed Peter’s heartbeat.

“Oh thank God!” May sobbed as she managed to climb to her feet. Tony sagged backwards, stumbling closer back to the bed. Peter’s heart was beating on its own. The beat that came from the monitor was steady.

“Normal sinus rhythm!” Dr. Cho announced after a minute. She used her penlight to examine Peter’s pupils, thrilled to see they were not uneven and were reactive to light. His pulse was a little on the high side, but she was okay with that. “Let’s raise the head of the bed a little bit.” The nurses got Peter situated with a pillow behind his head with the oxygen mask snuggly on his face. Dr. Cho had wrapped Peter’s ribs, a quick X-ray showing that three had cracked, but none had shifted. “I’ve given Peter thiamine, several vitamins, and we’ll continue with the IV solution. It’s going to be wait and see for a little while until his body re-stabilizes. He’s not back out of the woods yet. I guess I don’t have to say it, but no food in this room. This was absolutely not Bruce’s fault, but until Peter is back eating normally, I don’t want any more temptations. He won’t survive another episode like this.” Dr. Cho spoke, her words chilling, to the three other adults in the room. They all thanked her before she and the two nurses left again. Peter appeared so peaceful under the blankets. It was almost like he was just asleep after a long day of school and patrolling. Tony blinked several times as thoughts ran through his head at a million miles a second.

“I’m going to find Bruce.” Tony said as he gathered his thoughts. Steve and May nodded. As Tony left the room, he saw Steve wrap a blanket around May’s shoulders as they started to shake, her emotions overwhelming her. It didn’t take Tony long to find Bruce. He was crouched at the end of the hall, sobs tearing from his throat. “Hey.” Tony knelt down next to Bruce, wrapping a hand around the back of Bruce’s head.

“He, I, it, my sandwich.” Bruce’s words came out garbled between sobs as he dared to look up at Tony. His eyes were red and puffy. His cheeks were flushed and soaked with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You had no idea. It could have been any of us.” Tony tried to sooth Bruce. He couldn’t imagine how bad Bruce felt, but the reality was that it was not Bruce’s fault. “We had no way of knowing he’d be tempted to eat that sandwich. He’s back with us now.” Bruce covered his face again. Dr. Cho had informed him that Peter was going to be okay when she came out, but the guilt was eating him alive. He had planned to eat the sandwich when he got there, but he hadn’t been as hungry. He figured he would finish it later. “Tell me that you understand this wasn’t your fault.”

“I-It wasn’t my fault.” Bruce managed after a few minutes, sounding insincere. Tony made a mental note to make Bruce repeat those words until he truly believed them.

“Good.” Tony approved as he held his hand out to Bruce to help him to his feet. “Your shift isn’t up for a few more hours.” Bruce looked confused. “You need to go back in there and sit with him for a little bit.” Tony said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Bruce just followed, not able to argue. Bruce balked at the entrance to the room before stepping in, seeing Peter alive with his own eyes. “See? He’s here.” Tony wanted to say that Peter was okay, but that would be a lie. More tears fell as Bruce reached out to touch Peter. His skin had a warm tinge to it. Bruce sighed, reassured that Peter was back with them, before he sat down. Steve moved and leaned against the wall, not ready to leave the room. It only took about an hour before the other Avengers were slowly filing in, no one speaking a word, just needing the comfort of being with Peter and the others. They were all prepared to do whatever it took to get Peter back to his normal bubbly, energetic self.

******

“M-my ribs.” Peter moaned as he brought a hand to touch to his ribs. An elephant must have tap danced on him while he was sleeping. He blinked twice as the room came into focus around him and the memories of everything that had happened rushed back to him. “Oh no.” He swept the room until his eyes landed on Tony, who was peering back at him, looking anxious.

“You’re okay.” Tony felt like a broken record repeating the same words over and over. Peter had been sleeping for almost two full days. Dr. Cho had felt confident they’d turned around the re-feeding syndrome, but his body was sleeping to heal itself. “It’s okay.” Peter’s lower lip trembled, remembering the sandwich, the acidic vomit coming back up, and then his whole world had started to shake, and everything burned like someone was electrocuting every nerve in his body. “It was not your fault. You were hungry.” Tony stressed. Peter nodded slowly, his brain still not processing everything yet.

“I’m sorry about the ribs.” Steve’s voice was sorrowful from where he was sitting next to Bucky.

“W-what ha-ha-happened with m-my r-r-ri-ribs.” Peter frowned at the stutter in his voice. That had never happened to him before.

“I did CPR on you.” Steve gestured towards Peter’s chest, looking guilty. Peter’s mouth opened to form the word oh, but nothing came out. “You, um, you stopped breathing for a bit.” He mumbled quieter as Bucky slung an arm around him. Natasha gave his leg a squeeze with her hand from the other side of the couch. Rhodey was sitting on the second, longer couch that had been pulled in the room with Rhodey, Sam, and Clint. Wanda was perched on the arm of the couch closest to Clint. Bruce, Tony, and May were still in chairs right by the bed. Vision was standing in between the two couches. They all looked exhausted but the apprehension in their faces were melting away as they stared at Peter.

“I-I, i-it’s o-o-okay.” Peter stammered out. He gave a questioning glance to May, who was still right by his other side. She had bags under her eyes and Peter knew that meant she wasn’t sleeping well. Once this was over, he was going to save up some money and take her out to a nice restaurant. She looked like she had aged in the few days since he'd been taken. He hated having that effect on her.

“Dr. Cho said you might have some residual issues from the seizure. The stutter should go away soon.” May knew what Peter was asking about, even with all of the other issues he had going on. She was so happy to have those beautiful brown eyes open again. Peter processed that information. Seizures were bad and he hoped to never have one again. “Do you feel okay overall?”

“I-I think s-so.” Peter inventoried his body. His head and ribs were painful. His whole body felt sore, like he had a flu, but nothing that was unbearable. “W-when can I-I-I get o-out of here?” The room erupted with laughter, the tension from the past week chipping away as they continued to laugh. Peter laughing right along with the room full of his heroes.

*******
5 days later

The Avengers continued to keep their shifts with Peter. Eventually it was just one of them in the room at all times. Peter had been adamant that Tony and May left after a few days. Peter didn’t like to be left alone, but he trusted every one of the Avengers that sat with him. Clint kept him entertained with stories of his past life. Natasha read to him. Rhodey had stories from the military. Steve and Bucky often came in together and would make Peter roar with laughter at their embarrassing stories from when they were kids in a different time. Tony sometimes just climbed into bed with him and they would nap until the next shift arrived. May talked about her co-workers and funny patients she had treated. Vision talked about what was happening outside of the Tower. Wanda entertained Peter with her magic or with stories of her childhood. The only one who maintained a distance was Bruce. He had switched shifts with the others until they figured out what he was doing and forced him in one afternoon.

“H-hey!” Peter lit up from the bed as Bruce stumbled into the room, wringing his hands together. He hadn’t seen Bruce in five days, and he had asked about him a few times, but no one could provide a good answer to why Bruce was not coming in and Peter was starting to think that Bruce was mad at him.

“Hey Peter.” Bruce wouldn’t look at Peter in the eye as he took a seat in the chair near Peter’s bed.

“A-are you m-m-mad at m-me?” Peter asked after they had sat in silence for a few minutes. Bruce’s shoulders sagged as he continued staring at his hands folded on his lap.

“No, oh my gosh no, I’m not mad! I’m sorry, Peter.” Bruce started. “I didn’t even think about the repercussions of bringing in my sandwich. I would have never done it if I thought it would hurt you, but it did, and I’m just sorry about that.”

“I-it wa-wasn’t y-your fau-fault.” Peter said firmly and reached out for Bruce’s hand. Bruce was normally not one for physical contact, but he took Peter’s hand, savoring how soft the skin on Peter’s hand felt against his gruff hands. The skin was no longer stretched over his hands. It was still a little on the thin side, but not emaciated like before. “It-it’s okay.” Bruce finally brought his gaze up to meet Peter’s and found nothing but love and adoration in his eyes and Bruce could finally believe the words, it wasn’t my fault. They ended up turning the television onto Myth Busters and in no time, they were chatting away about the impossibilities of some of the myths on the episode. The time went quickly, and Peter’s stomach growled after a few episodes.

“C-could y-you m-make me a-a s-sand-sandwich?” Peter’s expression sparkled in glee as he watched Bruce’s expression change. “T-too soon?” He added, giggling, when Bruce’s jaw drop in shock at the joke.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” Bruce groaned as he smacked his face with his palm. “And yes, way too soon.” He grumbled as he got up to grab a lunch tray for Peter.

*******

2 weeks later

“Easy Peter, there’s no rush.” Tony was trying not to hover as Peter made his way from his room in the Tower to the dining room. Peter was insistent on walking by himself, without the wheelchair, but it made for slow going and Peter’s muscles were still weak. Peter had been discharged from the medical bay two days ago, but the exhaustion had kept him mostly bed bound. He would make it out to the living room and fall asleep during a movie, or once, in the middle of a story that Rhodey had been telling. Rhodey had gently teased him when he woke up but repeated the story after Peter had begged to hear it again.

“I-I do-don’t want t-to m-ma-make anyone w-w-wait.” Peter’s stutter had hung around for longer than Dr. Cho had liked but she was still confident that it would fall off as his brain continued to heal. Over the last two weeks, they’d gotten Peter back to almost his starting weight and he was able to keep down all of the food that he was given. The worst part had been taking out the tube in Peter’s nose this morning. Dr. Cho hadn’t wanted to send him out of the medical bay without it, in case the change was too much. Peter had gagged, cried, and desperately tried not to kick someone as it was pulled out. He had held his nose and wept for almost five minutes after it was out and all Tony and May could do was hold onto him and shush him, both willing to take the pain on in a second if they could.

“They’ll be fine.” May laughed at the ridiculousness of her nephew. He was always so worried about everyone else. The three rounded the corner and everyone sitting at the table stood up. The team had slaved over dinner for the last few hours. Normally they would rely on takeout for this many of them, but this was a special occasion and they wanted to go the extra mile.

“Hi.” Peter gave a shy wave to the room. He got to his seat and sank into it gratefully, his legs shaking from the effort of walking from his room to here. Rhodey and Sam had been doing physical therapy with him, even when Peter was still trapped in bed, but he was still a far cry from his normal strength. Everyone settled back into their own seats as they started getting the food dished out.

“Do you want ham or meatloaf?” Clint offered from his seat across from Peter. There were few dishes that the Avengers had not prepared. Steve and Bucky ate enough for six to seven people plus the rest of them had been training all day, so there was no such thing as making too much food.

“Can I have both, please?” Peter eyed both dishes, not able to make up his mind. They both sounded amazing. “Can I have some mashed potatoes too?” Dr. Cho had said no more restrictions on food, and this would be his first meal without the tube down his throat in almost a month. Clint paused, his face full of pure happiness, as he held the spoon for the mashed potatoes. The rest of the table quieted, tears glistening in more than a few eyes as they realized what had just happened. “What?” Peter looked down, wondering if something was on his shirt.

“You didn’t stutter!” May squealed, the first to regain her voice, as she reached over and enveloped Peter in a hug. She couldn’t feel his ribs underneath her embrace as she squeezed him gently. Peter felt a huge grin spreading over his face. Peace and joy permeated into every molecule in the room as they all started to eat. Peter gazed around. He had never felt luckier in his life, knowing that he had the Avengers and Aunt May on his side. He would never be alone, and they would always be by his side.