Spider-Son & Iron Dad two shots

When They Sleep

a/n: HAPPY ENDGAME/INFINITY WAR WEEK ANNIVERSARY✨✨✨  also hello this is an obligatory note to say that i have never been stabbed, never been to a decathlon meet, never been ko'd by a multidimensional finger snap, etc etc etc but i tried my best to write these anyways <3

⚠stab wounds, nightmares, light medical talk⚠

"All people are children when they sleep.

there's no war in them then.

They open their hands and breathe

in that quiet rhythm heaven has given them.

They pucker their lips like small children

and open their hands halfway,

soldiers and statesmen, servants and masters.

The stars stand guard

and a haze veils the sky,

a few hours when no one will do anybody harm.

If only we could speak to one another then

when our hearts are half-open flowers.

Words like golden bees

would drift in.

-- God, teach me the language of sleep."

"'When They Sleep" by Rolf Jacobsen

1. academic decathlon

"Peter's gonna be over the moon you came," May said quietly, leaning over to him in her chair. "This is such a nice surprise."

Tony smiled. He sat in the back of the large room with her, dressed nicely in a suit and tie and wearing shades to hide his appearance. He hadn't been recognized yet, probably because everyone on the stage and off the stage was focused entirely on the match.

The first round went quick. Questions went rapid fire, the woman speaking barely getting through the questions without a student buzzing in. A small group of students from each team sat at tables with their schools name written in large letters on the tablecloth. Peter's team— Midtown Tech, all wore yellow suit jackets with the logo imprinted on one side of the chest.

"I'm more than happy to come any time," Tony whispered back. "You'll have to give me the dates though. I only knew about the one today because he accidentally slipped it while at the lab last week."

May made a noise of amusement. "I'll send you the schedule."

"Good."

Second round— The announcer stepped off the podium while schools switched around their teammates. In stepped Michelle Jones, and three other students Tony didn't recognize. They all took a seat and looked expectantly at the announcer.

They began quizzing on literature. (Tony thought at least. Once again the questions were impossible to get through before a buzzer rang.) In-depth questions about the specifics of characters and books that Tony didn't care to research in the slightest.

Michelle got her team six points in a row— Wildly impressive. She was a firecracker.

Ding! "Omniscient point of view."

Ding! "John Keats."

Ding! "A crocodile."

Ding! "Oberon and Titania."

Ding! "Medical immunity."

Ding! "The Junior Spies; 1984."

Tony leaned back over to May. "This is the one Peter's got a crush on, right?"