Stark Men Are Made of Iron

Of Spider Bites and Doctor Visits

Tony paced in the kitchen, waiting for the elevator or the over to go off first. He was waiting on a casserole for dinner, and for Peter to get home from Ned's house. An entire night of tossing and turning, and a long shower this morning, and Tony still couldn't relax.

I'll tell him tonight, Tony thought as he paced. I'll just be honest and explain the whole thing.

It sounded odd to be so upset about a date, but Peter was Tony's weakness, just as he had said before.

The oven went off, making Tony jump a little. He rushed to get the casserole out, a wave of heat stinging his face when he opened the oven door. Tony jerked his head away, blindly feeling for the dish with gloved hands.

"I'm home!" Peter yelled from the elevator.

"Perfect Timing," Tony yelled back. "Dinner just came out of the oven."

Peter kicked off his shoes, steadying himself with a hand on the door jam. He wobbled a little, but Tony wrote it off as his son being off balance fro trying to pry off his shoes.

"How was it, big man?"

Peter looked over at his dad, his face pale and slightly green. "What?"

"How was the sleep over?" Tony pulled his hands out of the oven mitts and wiping his hands on his jeans before strutting over to Peter and tilting the teen's face up. "Are you okay? You seem really woozy."

Peter nodded, his eyes fluttering a little. "Yeah... Yeah, I'm..."

Peter leaned over and puked, Tony catching his shoulders as he started to fall forward.

"Peter!"

The teen spat a few times, trying to get the foul taste out of his mouth. He heaved a few times, catching his breath, and then leaning back over and puking again. Tony pushed back Peter's curls and felt his forehead. "You're burning up!"

Tony called for Rhodey and Happy, who were watching the news in the living room. The two men raced over, helping Tony heave Peter down the hall and into his room, each one ignoring as Peter thrashed, screamed, and gagged.

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Rhodey switched out the towel on Peter's head for a new one. They'd tried everything from cold compresses to cold showers. Hell, Tony even ran out to get special Tylenol in a flavor that Peter liked, but nothing would take the fever down.

"How's he doing?" Happy asked as he slipped through the door. It was late - almost 4 in the morning - and he, Rhodey, Tony, and Pepper were taking turns sitting with Peter through the night.

"About the same. Fever is worse, and he keeps having these fits where he flails around and nearly takes my head off. He woke up once, but he just started screaming that everything was too bright until I turned off the lights and shut his blinds and then he settled back down."

"A migraine?" Happy perched on the edge of Peter's bed, pulling back the covers a little. Tony's worn out college shirt, which was Peter's go to pajama top, was drenched in sweat.

Rhodey shook his head. "I have no idea."

The two sat for a moment watching Peter as he thrashed a little, then settled back down.

"I just hope he feels better soon," Rhodey whispered as he ran a gentle hand through Peter's messy curls. "Tony's going out of his mind."

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"Then find a better one!" Tony slammed his hands on the table, his voice rising as he grew more and more frustrated. A whole team of super-fucking-heroes and not a good doctor recommendation between them.