Irondad & Spiderson

Sensory Overload*

It had been a rough day. Peter Stark had woken up to the smell of burnt toast, the sound of arguing, and a blinding light shining through his windows. All of this combined to give him a minor migraine. But the young arachnid could tell it was only going to get worse as the day went on.

He quickly got dressed considering he was going to be late if he didn't hurry and rushed out the door with a goodbye to his family. When he missed the subway, Peter activated his web shooters and swung through New York City before landing three blocks away from Midtown High. It was only as he walked to his locker that he realized he had forgotten to eat breakfast. The day just kept on getting better. Note the sarcastic tone.

He had a pop quiz in English (the only subject that didn't come naturally to him) and Flash shoved him into a locker after stealing his lunch money. So now Peter had missed two meals and broken a rib (which he was not aware of). His migraine continued to grow until it felt like Mjolnir was repeatedly ramming into his head. Peter had conveniently left his noise-cancelling headphones and light blocking contacts (both made with the help of Tony) at the tower and Ned was absent. This was a problem because Ned always carried a pair of the contacts and headphones with him since he was a good friend. Plus Peter was super forgetful. 

But he was gone and so was Peter's last hope for avoiding a sensory overload.

He considered calling his dad (Tony Stark) but decided against it because we all know that would be a disaster. When the lunch bell rang and every student in the school ran to the cafeteria, Peter tried not to cry out in pain. He instead ran to the bathroom and slid against the tiled walls, relishing in the cool feeling against his bare arms.

He hadn't realized it but tears had begun to fall down his face and his heart rate had increased. He could hear every student talking and eating. He could smell every item of food in the cafeteria, mixing together to form a gods-awful smell. Every touch began to feel like knives against his skin and he couldn't stop it. He began to hyperventilate.

"Your heart rate has increased drastically. Calling Mr. Stark." Karen's soft voice rang out through the dirty bathroom at a frequency only Peter could hear. He had forgotten about the AI located in a watch that he always wore, a birthday present from his dad.

"No, Kare-" Peter tried to stop his AI from calling his dad but the call was already connected.

"Hey Pete. What's up you usually don't call? Are you ok? Where are you? Never mind I'm on my way. Sit tight buddy. Jarvis, give me the details". The familiar sound of iron man's thrusters came through the speaker as Tony suited up to save his son from any possible danger.

"Mr. Peter has an elevated blood pressure and heart rate as well as difficulty breathing. My diagnosis: sensory overload." The British AI's voice sounded through Tony's suit and Peter's watch.

"Pete, you hanging in there?"

Bang!

A car engine backfired in the parking lot, the sound echoing throughout the school and pushing Peter over the edge, causing him to scream in pain.

It was a full on sensory overload.

Every sound was amplified. Every smell was amplified. Every taste and sight and light and feeling was amplified and Peter couldn't take it anymore. He began to cry which only caused more tears as it felt like knives dragging down his fave. He tried to take off his clothes in an effort to stop the painful feeling but once again caused pain as the fabric rubbed against his body. His loud sobs echoed in his ears excruciatingly and he could taste everything he had eaten in the past week. The smell of over 2,000 students and their food (not to mention the awful smell of the bathrooms and chemistry labs) mixed together.

Peter threw up in the toilet. He cried even harder at the awful taste and smell and feeling. He couldn't stop and any action he made in an effort to stop the suffering only worsened the overload. He could hear the thrusters from over a mile away and whimpered in pain at the deafening sound. Peter didn't have any more time to think about his gods-awful predicament as he threw up yet again.

"Hey, Pete. I'm here. You're alright. I'm not gonna touch you. I brought supplies" Tony whispered. His words were still loud to peter but Tony couldn't even hear himself. The billionaire wanted nothing more than to comfort his kid but refrained from any contact. He didn't want to make the overload worse.

He instead held out his hand with the headphones, sunglasses, and a pill. Peter glanced up with pain clear in his eyes. The expression quickly changed to gratitude as he noticed his father's outstretched palm. He nodded to show his gratitude in lieu of thanks as he grabbed the items and put them on. He instantly began to feel better as he swallowed the pill with a bottle of water from Tony. Surprisingly, the pill had no taste (perfect for the sensory overload considering the amplified taste was often forgotten).

Tony must have put something in the pill to make Peter sleepy because his head soon began to sway slightly. His father gently picked up the tired boy and sent a message to Happy, asking the head of security to sign the kid out of school and bring the car around front. Two minutes later, Peter was asleep in his father's embrace in the back of an Audi.

"Goodnight son" Tony whispered, placing a kiss on his son's forehead.

And despite the overload and the drowsiness, Peter responded "goodnight dad"

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Thank you to everyone reading. I have 5 other drafts so I'm hoping to get them all uploaded this weekend before midterms. Thanks again!