CHEMICALS

away from you

While Peter was sleeping, the Avengers went to talk.

Steve and Bucky had patched him up the best they could – with the help of Natasha's disapproving glance whenever they'd made a wrong move. The two of them were considered the only ones who had some medical experience, mostly from the army. Bruce being only God knows where and Natasha being too suspicious – as always –, the two ex-soldier remained the last hope of the boy.

Tony was, well, obviously Tony. He was flying around in a metal suit, fighting aliens, saving citizens, but he knew shit about how to help someone when they are half-dead. Literally.
Sure, he know how to stabilize a broken limb, or even do the Heimlich, but in this case, Tony was almost sad to see that Peter didn't require his excellent knowledge about those things. So he couldn't help.

After Steve, and even Natasha confirmed that Peter wouldn't bleed to death, the boy had woken up. He seemed conscious enough to joke about Deadpool – to Tony's horror – so, they knew they could leave him alone while sleeping.

So, here came the Talk. Tony knew it wasn't going to be a pleasure cruise. They even had gone to the conference room for this, so it was serious. Clint had magically showed up five minutes after the Spider lost consciousness, along with Natasha – who probably had been watching from the shadows –, so everyone was there. All of them were a little shocked, when they realized Spider-Man was a boy – well, he had been a boy, when they first met. But now?

Tony didn't tell them everything. Well, that's an understatement.
Tony didn't tell them anything. Basically.

He talked about how he met the boy, two month prior the Civil War – as they called their fight amongst themselves, like a joke –, how he figured out he was Spider-Man.

He told them that after Germany, they hadn't heard about or saw the Spider because the boy had things to take care of. A lie.

He just couldn't admit how much of a failure he was, how Peter rejected the SI, his help and him.
It still hurt.

Tony didn't wanted to out Peter's identity, he wasn't even willing to tell the boy's age, let alone his name. The Avengers were told to call him Spider if they wanted to address him. Only Bucky found it ridiculous, the others accepted pretty easily.

Natasha was the only one who seemed totally unfazed by the events. She didn't even want to deny that she knew something they didn't. She had a smug face on, but somehow she also seemed a little sad – but hey, it was almost her every-day-expression. No surprise.

But Tony couldn't not think about her knowing glance, whenever she looked at him. It was almost like Natasha felt sorry for him. It gave Tony the feeling that maybe the spy knew something even he didn't know. The thought was not comforting, to say the least.

*

Peter sat on the kitchen counter, didn't care about the disapproving glance Steve shot him. It was not like he was about to break the thing – he wasn't that heavy. He felt like, he should be offended, that Steve even thought that.

Though, Steve didn't think Peter's weight was going to be the issue. That he would break the kitchen counter. No. It was just the symbolism behind his action. That he didn't care. It pissed Steve off a little bit. But, considering that the boy was almost half-dead when he fell into their living room the night before, he felt like he could forgive him.

Tony and Peter had also talked. When the boy woke up in the afternoon and stumbled into the kitchen, saying he was about to die from hunger, Tony made it to his one and only mission to prepare Peter a five-star breakfast – or whatever he ate in the afternoon.