Tick Tock Goes the Clock

Chapter 6

"Oh man."

A mountain of brown boxes towered before the two heros' eyes. After May's death, Peter had put most of their apartment's stuff into storage. All her stuff and furniture (save for his bed, desk, a bookshelf and dresser) were in there with a few other miscellaneous items that wouldn't fit in his apartment. It was probably a waste of money to rent out a storage locker, but he wasn't ready to part with her stuff. It was silly, he knew it, but this stuff was the last bit of her that he had left. So he'd stored it all away.

"Please tell me you have at least some idea where they are in this mess." Tony murmured.

"Uh... no..."

A long dragged out sigh escaped the man. "Alright then, let's get searching."

"Alrighty," Peter strided forwards. He picked up his first box. "Oh god." He almost dropped it.

"You alright there?"

Already feeling himself starting to sweat, Peter nodded and heaved the box over, dropping it on the ground. Breathing heavily, he leaned over, hands on knees to prop himself up. He wheezed and reached into his pocket for his inhaler.

Tony, meanwhile, was sifting through the boxes, keeping track of Peter out of the corner of his eye. A few minutes passed and he'd dug through a couple boxes. They were all decorations - ones Tony could faintly recall seeing in the Parker's residence all those years ago. He could still remember the first time he'd met the kid; he'd been so surprised and awkward. Not much had changed there, but he definitely seemed more grown-up as of late. Tony would catch him zoning out all the time with a haunted look in his eyes. It made Tony wonder if things would've turned out differently if he'd never tracked Peter down, never knocked on May Parker's door, and never pulled the kid into this life. But now that he was in it... was it better for Tony to stay involved, or distance himself? He didn't know. He'd decided to start distancing himself last year, but he'd been scared to go too far. He wanted to stay close enough to keep an eye on Peter, but not so close that he actively influenced his life.

Had that been the right call? Maybe if he'd been closer, he could've caught the onset of this stupid disease when it'd first started showing itself in Peter. Whatever. There was no point dwelling on it. The best thing Tony could do now was focus on saving the kid.

"Uh oh." The quiet muttering made Tony turn. Noticing the man looking at him, Peter quickly hid his hand behind his back. Tony squinted in suspicion and watched as a single drop of red dripped out of Peter's nose. The kid quickly wiped it away and Tony saw he already had a smear of red on his hand.

Tony sighed, gut twisting. "You've got a nosebleed again."

"Uh..." With shoulders sagging and head hanging low, Peter slumped against the wall. Slowly, he sank lower and lower until he was sitting on the ground. "Maybe."

"Friday," Stark muttered, too quiet for the kid to hear.

"Peter's blood pressure has dropped drastically. He needs to rest, Boss. I would also recommend he eat something with protein. May help give him more energy."

With a sigh, Stark plopped himself down beside the exhausted kid.

Before he could get out a word, Peter let out a long sigh - or was it a groan? Tony wasn't sure. "Remember when I could literally lift an elephant without breaking a sweat?"

"You could what now?"

"-And now I can't even lift a box that's gotta be less than, like, thirty pounds. Ugh I'm so pathetic." He threw his hands into the air before, slumping forwards, face falling into his palms.