IronDad/SpiderSon One-shots

For science

Third Person POV:
Trigger warning: Description of sickness
Word Count: 1,557
Spooktober 2022 Day Eleven: Poison

Peter was one of the smartest people that Tony had ever met. It didn't matter that he was just a little over seventeen. He had the brains of a genius. The kid went to a smart people school, which probably benefited, but he was bored in his classes because he already knew the information. The kid was intensely smart in biology and chemistry. For Christ sakes, he made his own web fluid. And he had been doing it since he was fourteen. Fourteen! Plus, he knew the kid had done some studies into gamma radiation just because he could. Sometimes, the kid was too smart for his own good.

Key word. Sometimes. Because this time was not one of those times.

It was never a great start to things when Peter walked into the lab, holding his stomach. "Tony," he gasped. Tony's eyes shot up from his working and immediately he was on his feet. "I think I fucked up."

"What the hell did you do, Peter," he said, starting to rush towards him. This wasn't the first time Peter has had an incident like this since he moved in with Tony. Why did he move in with Tony? Well... to put it bluntly, May had died. It happened months ago. It was a really rough time there for a long while, but Peter pushed through and overcame it. There were still really hard days and days that he missed her dearly, but recently, it had been getting easier. The therapist Tony had him seeing was doing a wonderful job helping Peter work through his grief.

Shaking his head, Peter practically fell down into the chair. "You aren't going to like it."

Tony had reached him now. He crouched down in front of the kid, watching him cough roughly. Peter was right, he wouldn't like whatever had happened, but he would still help Peter. "I don't care. Tell me while I take you down to medbay." He grabbed Peter under his arm, helping him up. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., make sure we have a doctor ready to examine Peter when we get down there." He adjusted a little and started walking, letting Peter put most of his weight onto Tony.

Peter's entire insides felt like they were on fire. Tears welled into his eyes. "No, no. You're going to be really mad." He groaned as Tony paused, pushing the elevator button open. "Like, madder than you've ever been. So mad that you're probably going to yell really loud and kick me out and-"

"Woah, woah woah. I'd never kick you out, Peter." Tony's grip strengthened a little on Peter, trying to ground him. Whatever Peter did, he was absolutely terrified to tell Tony. That meant that Tony, no matter how bad it was, couldn't have a bad reaction. He would have to contain it until Peter was better. He could do that. Right? "I won't get mad right now, I promise. I might give you a strong lecture later, but I won't be mad." When Peter still didn't respond, he sighed. "We need to know what's wrong with you, kid. The doctors need to know how to help you, which they can only do if you tell me what you did."

What Peter said next was not something that Tony could have prepared for. Nothing close to it.

"I drank bleach."

Tony didn't say anything. His entire mind was put to a halt. He was ready for the kid to say he drank alcohol and got alcohol poisoning. He was ready for the kid to say he ate six to many slices of pizza and felt like he was going to explode. Hell, he was even ready for the kid to say he got hurt on patrol and didn't tell Tony. That was one they had been working on, which is why Tony thought it was more probable. But no. His kid fucking drank bleach. "You did what?"

Tears were falling down Peter's face at a decent rate now. He couldn't deny the tears, even if he tried. He was in so much pain. It felt like his entire intestinal tract was deciding to reorganize. It felt like he was getting stabbed in the stomach repeatedly. It felt like a pain he had never experienced before. "I knew you'd be mad," he groaned out painfully. He bit his lip because he was seconds away from screaming out in agony. It hurt so bad.

The elevator door opened and Tony dragged Peter into it. He couldn't comment on it. He couldn't say anything. He was afraid of lashing out at the kid. Obviously, the kid had his reason to do it. It wasn't what Tony's first thought was, right? It couldn't have been. There had to be a reason. Tony couldn't handle it if his kid just drank bleach for fun. No way.

As the elevator started to go down, Peter couldn't help it. He let out an aggressive grunt as he leaned back against the elevator wall. He let go of Tony and grabbed the elevator railing, gripping as hard as he could. The groan of the metal could be heard throughout the entire elevator. Tony looked worriedly at Peter. His stomach dropped when he saw how much pain was on his face. It physically hurt Tony to see. He could feel his heart shattering in his chest.

Suddenly, Peter wasn't gripping onto the railing. He was on the floor, vomiting. Tony dropped down, trying to rub a comforting hand on Peter's back while steering clear of the vomit. That's when Tony noticed it. Blood. Blood in his vomit. Peter must have noticed at the same time, because Tony and Peter made eye contact at the same time. There was fear on both of their faces.

The elevator bell rang and the doors opened. Tony didn't hesitate hauling Peter off of the ground and rushing him towards the doors of medbay. There was no time to panic or question. He needed to act and to act now. There was a doctor scrolling on his phone, clearly waiting for Tony and Peter to come in per F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s orders. When Tony bursted in, he jumped. He immediately put his phone away and rushed up to Tony. "What happened to him," he asked as he gripped Peter's other side, helping carry him towards the emergency medical room.

"He drank bleach," Tony said breathlessly, turning into the room. The two of them set Peter onto the bed, and Tony already knew what was coming. One look from the doctor and one nurse's call button later was all it took. It would be easier to just leave the room right now, but he wouldn't leave. Not until he was asked to leave. Not until he knew that Peter was in good hands.

Nurses started flying into the room and, by the looks of it, just in time. Peter lost consciousness. His head was lulled to the side and his body was limp. The image was stored away in his mind to reappear in nightmares from time to time. Wonderful.

"Mr. Stark. We're going to have to ask you to leave." Tony wasn't sure who said it, but it was said. His time of watching was over.

With no attempt to fight, he left the room quietly. He sighed, trying to figure out what just happened. He found himself plopping down into the waiting room chair to think over it while he waited.

[This timeskip was brought to you by the following: Dr. Strange's magical ring™]

Hours later, Tony was still trying to figure out what the hell happened. The only difference was the time of day and his location. Rather than the waiting room, he was now at Peter's bedside. The kid hadn't woken up since he conked out earlier. Probably for the better. Even with all the pain medicine he was on, he was still going to be in for one hell of a time.

The doctor said he was lucky. If Peter had been brought down any later, well, things might not have looked as good for Peter. That was the casual way of saying "you're lucky you got here when you did because if you hadn't, well, death would have occurred." Sometimes Tony wished that doctors would just look him in the face and tell him that rather than call him plain lucky. Luck would wind up fucking him over in the end if he kept pressed it.

It was the middle of the night when Peter woke up. He was dazed and confused. It took him a couple of minutes to fully understand exactly what was going on and where he was. When he did, everything seemed to click. He quickly started explaining to Tony.

"I know it was dumb, I know, but it was for science. It was a test to see how human I was. I mean, no one's ever given bleach to a spider before, but I'm sure they don't have as intense reactions as people do. I just wanted to see if I would have that bad of a reaction. Apparently, I did."

Tony was utterly silent for an entire minute. He looked at Peter with an angry look on his face. "You mean to tell me you drank bleach, without consulting me, for science?"

The silence spoke volumes.

That's it for this chapter! Remember to drink some water, eat something, take medicine (if you have to), and rest today. You did a good job and I am proud of you :)
Till next time
- Storm