Beginning of the End | Laven

Spike

Allen couldn't really tell what was happening. Just when he thought the waves of pain had stopped he got hit with one that was worse than the first. He fell to his knees clutching his head in a grip so strong he could probably bend Steve's shield. He could slightly make out Spike's voice.

A sudden grip on his shoulders caused him to lash out. The pain subsided a bit and Allen's head cleared enough for him to understand where he was. Spike was standing a few feet away from him, hands up ready to defend himself.

"Spike," was all he could manage before he crumbled to the ground. Spike sprinted to his side and lifted him onto his feet. Allen was only partially conscious but he still tried to push Spike away.

"I can walk." He insisted as he stumbled.

"What's with the bruise?" Spike tried. Trying to keep me awake. I'm not gonna pass out Spike.

"Hope." Spike stopped half-carrying Allen and stared at his cheek.

"She must've been seething." Allen wanted to answer but he felt himself being drifted away. He managed to nod before he fell over, allowing darkness to cloud his consciousness.

------
He woke up to pain. Allen sat up from the lying position he was in and groaned clutching his head.

"We're almost at the Tower. I suppose you still feel like your head is splitting in two?" Allen leaned his head against the car window and bit his lip.

"It's more like random pulses of pai-ah!" The teen gasped as another wave of pain passed, much weaker than the first. Allen couldn't see Spike eyes cloud with concern as they pulled into the garage of the tower. Allen leaned against the seat of the car instead of the window so he wouldn't fall out when Spike opened he door.

Once he was out of the car he tumbled to the ground, feeling faint. He heard his guardian mutter several curse words as he lifted Allen onto his shoulder. The teen-who would normally protest at the act- stayed quiet. Spike didn't know what he'd do if something happened to his kid. He heard Tony's A.I say something but all he answered was, "Get me to the medical floor now." before Allen went completely limp on his shoulder. Spike ran to the elevator and set Allen down on his lap to look at him.

Allen was physically fine. His vitals were all perfect. Spike wanted to scream, his heart rammed against his chest. He started shaking. He didn't know what was wrong with Allen. The teen's pupils responded perfectly to light. There weren't any bumps on his temples. Spike cursed in frustration.

The elevator opened and three Avengers rushed in quickly doing health checks. Bruce was checking his head and Tony was doing body scans with JARVIS. Steve wrapped an arm around Spikes shoulders as he pulled him away. He noticed Thor looking on the situation with cloudy eyes instead of his usual brightness.

"Nothing is coming up on the scans." Tony murmured, looking at his tablet.

"He's fine there isn't an-wait. There's something on his neck. It's mechanical. Tony?" Bruce moved over and let Tony take over. Spike's heart stopped as Tony called Thor and Steve over giving them instructions to hold onto Allen's shoulders.

"Whatever this is, it's," he looked at his tablet and then looked back, holding back a grimace. "latched itself onto the outer layer of skin in his neck. I'm gonna have to pull it out. Spike. Spike!" He said once again, trying to get any type of reaction out of the reporter.

Spike merely nodded. "Do it. Anything, please. Just help him."

By the time Thor and Steve were each grabbing one of Allen's shoulders and Tony was ready, Bruce had gotten bandages and antiseptic wipes for the hole it was going to leave behind. Tony nodded at the two warriors and started counting down.

"3, 2, 1!"

"Aaah!" The reaction was immediate as Allen screamed and attempted to wrench his arms away from the Avengers. The teen struggled for a bit before finally succumbing to exhaustion, he fell limp onto Tony. Bruce immediately started cleaning the wound and bandaging while Spike walked out of the room shaking with relief. He texted Lavi. A quick message.

Allen is in Avengers tower medical.

The response was almost only anticipated for about a minute.

Lavi: I'm on my way.

Spike walked back in to see that they'd moved Allen onto one of the medical beds and were doing a couple tests on him, making sure he was completely fine. Spike practically collapsed on a nearby chair. Steve sat next to him and kept him company, saying nothing to make sure Spike stayed calm. They stayed in silence until two assassins came in, looking rushed and hurried. Steve pointed them over and Clint ran to the teen's side. Natasha murmured her thanks before going over as well.

Looking over at Steve, Spike couldn't help but wonder how he was feeling. He knew Steve was no stranger to loss and to sickness. The soldier had been ill-ridden and lost his family at such a young age. Thinking about it now, he knew why Allen got along so well with the Avengers. He had a knack to capture people's hearts.

Spike could still remember when he adopted Allen. It was incredibly vivid in his mind, not just when he signed the papers but even before he really knew that Allen was going to be his son. He remembered doing a news report on some families that had been victims to arson, and the one sole survivor was a little kid with brown hair. Spike could remember feeling wrong about covering the story and told his boss who merely grimaced at the thought of losing such a story. The reporter felt a need to visit the boy, he didn't know why but even then he felt like he needed to be protected. The small boy was incredibly timid and polite and when he Spike asked him if he wanted to be adopted the boy had looked shocked and tearfully muttered a question.

"Are you going to leave too?" That was the moment Spike decided he wouldn't let the boy live the life that an arsonist had left for him.

He remembered when he first noticed Allen's hair beginning to grow white. The doctors had said it was caused by the stress of all that he had been through. He remembered all the nights where the boy would wake up screaming and covered in sweat, crying for his now deceased family. He remembered looking at him in the uncomfortable chairs in a hospital room when the panic attacks had been too much for his small body. He remembered how Allen would hug him tightly after he was picked up from school. He remembered when Allen came home the first day of middle school sporting a split lip. Bullies.

Of course though, Spike remembered the good times as well. He remembered when Allen had first borrowed his camera and taken a beautiful shot of the neighborhood when he was only 12. He remembered when Allen first spoke of his two new friends and how they'd helped him with his bullies. He remembered the feeling of pride when Allen had came out to him, hands shaking and voice soft. He remembered everything.

And now here he was, waiting for his kid to wake up. Hoping there was nothing permanent or any lasting damage. He didn't realize he'd been crying until Steve was handing him a tissue.

"He has to be okay. Steve, I don't know what I'll do if he isn't." Spike felt the soldier put a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"He's okay! Allen's gonna be fine." Bruce called out and Spike just cried even more. The relief that flooded over him was welcome completely. He let himself cry, Lord knows he needed to. He stayed like that for 5, 10, 15 minutes before he finally got himself together. He took a seat next to the cot and looked at his kid. Allen's neck was bandaged and he looked paler than usual, but he was okay. And for that Spike was grateful.

The door of the room slammed open and Lavi stood there, looking barely put together and tired. He saw Spike's red eyes and Allen on the cot and must've thought the worst.

"He's okay. Bruce was going to explain what happened later when he woke up." The redhead nodded and made his way over to Allen. He sat next to him and grabbed his hand, looking at the white haired teen with a mix of emotions that Spike couldn't identify.

"Are you gu-"

"Dating?" Lavi interrupted blushing lightly. Spike nodded at him to go on.

"Yeah, we are. Technically we've only been dating for a couple hours." Spike laughed a bit before smiling widely.

"I'm glad it's you. I know you'll take care of him."

"I always have, ever since we met."