Believer

7. Walls

"Stop looking at the wall and start looking out the window!"

Tony came storming down the hallway, determined to find out what was wrong with Peter. Before he could even turn the first corner, however, Natasha appeared out of nowhere and punched him. Literally, she punched him right in the face.

"You jerk, can't you just stay put for five minutes?" She hissed, and Tony noticed that while she looked beyond angry, he had to strain to hear her voice. "Well I'm sorry I'm not just going to sit around while-!" Another punch. Tony was starting to think he'd need reconstructive nose surgery.

"Shut up!" Nat hissed. "Don't you know what sensory overload is?" Tony paused, finally lowering his voice. "Uh, not really?" Nat rolled her eyes at his obliviousness while he held his nose protectively. "It's like a hangover. Only 10 times worse." Tony flinched back at that. He couldn't think of anything worse than a hangover.

Except being repeatedly punched in the face by Natasha.

Seeing that he'd mostly come to his senses, Nat lead Tony around the corner. What he saw froze him dead in his tracks. Peter was sitting against the wall, only remaining upright thanks to the solid object Nat had propped him up against. He was still curled as tightly as he could manage in such a position, head in his hands. Tony could see him shaking, see his shirt sticking to the sweat on his back, see the dried tears on his face.

"Peter..." Tony breathed. He barely made any sound, but Peter still flinched away from him. This was Tony's worst nightmare, he realized. Peter was in pain, so much pain, and any attempt at comforting him would only make it worse from what Natasha described. "We need to get him out of here, somewhere sound proof and dark." The assassin explained almost too quietly for Tony to hear. "He just needs to wait it out."

Tony clenched his fists at his sides. Wait it out? "Why the hell does he have to suffer like this?" Tony asked, anger in his voice masking the fear. Peter looked so small, so weak. Tony just wanted to see him smile and swing from the rooftops again. Even if he stuck to the ceiling and wouldn't come down like he had last year when they'd been working and a spider found its way inside. Anything but this.

"It's part of his powers, Tony. Heightened senses can become... overwhelming." Nat told him, stepping silently to Peter and crouching down. She ran a hand so lightly through his hair, Tony couldn't even see the curls shift. Still, it seemed to get a reaction from Peter, as he let out a defeated whine.

"I'm... fine..." Tony made out, and if it wouldn't have hurt Peter, Tony would've burst out laughing. Natasha smirked at him, leaning back on her haunches. "You're most definitely not fine, Peter." She cooed. Tony crept beside her and did his best to mimic her position; just far away enough not to overwhelm Peter, but close enough that Tony wouldn't go insane from worry.

Peter looked up at Natasha and Tony with tired eyes. She was right, he wasn't fine. Even at school, he hadn't had as bad an episode as this. He sighed and shut his eyes again, only able to open them for a few seconds at a time before the sights became too much for him. "I don't... know what to do..." he mumbled, his own voice grating on his skull.

Tony's heart broke, and he shared a look with Natasha. "It's ok, we'll look after you." Tony soothed. He motioned with his head and him and Natasha walked several feet away. "I think I have a room that will work." Tony explained, and Natasha's eyes lit up. "It was prepped for Bruce, in case he ever came back, so I think it'll work." Her expression dropped a little at Tony's revelation, before she nodded again. "Just for a few days should work. Bruce's never lasted for longer than a day." She explained, before looking down. "Then again, Bruce's were never this bad."

A moment of silence passed between them as they both looked forlornly down the hallway. "How are we going to get him there?" Tony asked, breaking the silence. "We'll have to carry him." Nat responded, crossing her arms. "We might need Caps help..."

"Obviously you've never tried lifting Peter." Tony scoffed. "The kid weighs twelve pounds soaking wet." He remembered when they'd been working on an android and Tony had lifted Peter to reach the head, as the bot was taller than both of them. Peter had protested at first, as he wasn't a child, but when Tony didn't put him down he reluctantly worked from atop Tony's shoulders. Tony wondered now if his weight should've worried him more than it did.

"Right, so you'll carry him." Natasha instructed. Tony bit his lip nervously. He did not want to hurt Peter, he didn't know if he could bear the burden. Tony then noticed Natasha's incredulous expression. "That's why I suggested Cap." She said blatantly, as if reading his mind. "According to Sam, he's had sensory overload before. You haven't. You might hurt Peter without realizing it." Tony bowed his head in defeat. "Stay with Peter." He instructed, walking back to the kitchen.

When he got there, unsurprisingly, the entire team of Avengers were axiously being as still and quiet as possible, even Doctor Strange had stayed put. Everyone looked up at Tony hopefully when he came in. "We're going to move Peter to a secluded room to... wait this out." Tony had to spit the words out as they bothered every fiber of his being. He looked to Cap. "Can you carry him? Nat said you have some experience with this kind of thing." Wanda looked at Cap in surprise. "You've had sensory overload?" She asked in horror, as her only experience with it had been terrifying. Cap nodded slightly. "Though never as bad as Peter's seems to be. I always just got a headache and had to lie on the couch for an hour." He stood slowly, and followed Tony into the hallway. The billionare was grateful that he could barely hear Cap's footfalls behind him.

"We're going to take you to a room to rest." Natasha explained to Peter softly. "Cap's going to have to carry you." Peter did his best to focus on her with an even expression. "I can... I can walk." He tried, but Natasha just shook her head at him. "How about you just say thank you?" She chided, running a hand lightly through his messy curls. He hadn't combed his hair that morning, so it fluffed out in curls around his head.

"Thank...s" Peter slurred shutting his eyes again. Natasha really just wanted to bundle him up in a hug, but she waited until she saw Tony and Cap turn the corner. "I'll go ahead and prep the room." Tony suggested. "I don't even know if there are sheets on the bed." The billionare hated leaving Peter, but he understood too many people would only make it worse.

Natasha nodded, looking at Cap. He was staring at Peter in horror, having to see what Tony and Nat did as well. The youngest, sweetest member of their team curled in on himself in pain. Natasha gave him a minute to come to terms with it, before he came forwards again. "Peter?" He whispered, sinking to his knees. Peter let out a groan of recognition, bracing himself.

Cap slid his arms around the teen, lifting him up. Peter squeezed his eyes shut at the movement and embraced Steve, curling up on his chest. He took deep breaths, and tried to focus on Cap's heartbeat, which was louder than anything else in the hallway.

"He's so light!" Cap whispered in surprise. Natasha nodded and led him down the hallway. She had some idea of where Bruce's room would be.

"Nat, I think we're going too fast!" Cap hissed, pausing and adjusting Peter in his arms. "Alright, we'll..." Suddenly, there was a loud crash from the hallway they'd just left, loud enough to hurt Nat's ears. Peter let out a scream, writhing and almost making Cap drop him, before he fell limply. "No, no, no!" Nat hissed, running to Peter's unconscious form in Cap's arms. She sighed, she had been trying to avoid this. "What the hell was that?" Cap growled. Suddenly, a voice echoed through the compound.

"Where's the itsy bitsy spider...?" Came an eery call. Steve and Natasha shared a look before they broke into a run down the hallway.

Well, someone's after Peter, but he can't exactly defend himself at the moment.

Dang I'm evil!!!

Oh well, maybe after this I'll let Peter have a nice summer. Play monopoly or something.

BUT UNTIL THEN

~Meow