I promise I’ll be here to keep you safe and sound

A strangled scream fills the air, casing Happy’s eyes to snap open as he shoots up in bed, his heart hammering away in his chest. He sits there for a moment, unsure if it had been a dream, until he hears it again.

It’s Peter.

Happy wastes no time in getting out of bed, mindful of not waking May up, who is sound asleep beside him. He forgoes his slippers and bathrobe as he rushes out of his and May’s bedroom and down the hallway to Peter’s room as the kid lets out another horrible, strangled scream.

Caught Red & Blue Handed

@whumptober @whumptober-archive

“Peter, you’re thirty-eight minutes past curfew.” Karen reminds him.

“I know, Karen. Thanks for reminding me again." Peter says with no real heat behind it as he shoots another web off to the closest building.

Tonight’s patrol had gotten a tiny bit out of hand. He started around eight tonight and it had gone very smoothly, helping an older lady across the street, stopping a few purse snatchers here and there, and even helping a little girl get her pet lizard down from a tree. How it got up there, he has no clue. Everything has been going so great tonight… up until the Tracksuit Mafia decided to start wreaking havoc—and that havoc, being robbing a block of expensive stores on 5th avenue.

Summary: What should have been a fun day ends in tragedy when a car’s breaks go out and nearly hits Morgan, only for Peter to jump in and save her before it’s too late.

He just doesn’t make it out in time to save himself.

Christmas Trees, Webs and Bows

Summary:

“Looks like our little friend is awake,” An unfamiliar voice says before he’s aware of a hand on his chin, forcing his limp head up. “Did the little spider have a good nap?”

Peter forces his heavy eyes open, only to squeeze them shut with another groan as pain shoots from behind his eyes, all the way up to his head. He jerks back and dislodges the foreign hand from his face before trying to move away, only to find that he can’t.

He can’t move.

Why can’t he move?

Panic flows through Peter at the sudden realization as he opens his eyes halfway, squinting as he manages to look down at himself, only to discover that he’s tightly wrapped in a string of bright multi-colored Christmas lights tied to... a Christmas tree.

Why is he tied to a Christmas tree?

OR

Peter bites off a little more than he can chew and winds up getting kidnapped by the Tracksuit Mafia, only for a certain someone with a bow and arrow to come to his rescue.

i’ll chase away your nightmares and keep you safe

Tony looks at him with a worried frown as he hands him a plate with a sandwich and a side of chips. He reaches a hand up and brushes a few stray curls off of Peter’s aching forehead. “You don’t look too good, Pete,” he says.

“I don’t feel that great,” Peter admits, not having the energy to pretend that he is.

“How’s your head feeling?”

“Hurts,” Peter mumbles miserably.

“Hmm,” Tony hums, as he braces his hand against Peter’s forehead.

Peter lets his eyes slip shut as he leans into his cool hand, bringing only a small amount of relief to his pounding head. He almost wants to cry when Tony takes his hand away.

“You do feel a little warm. I wouldn’t have had you slaving away out there in the sun if I’d known you didn’t feel good, Pete.”

“It wasn’t this bad earlier. I think I’m just tired or my brain is fried,”

OR

Peter experiences a bad migraine while he’s staying up at the cabin and Tony helps him through it.

Peter squints against the harsh sunlight as he wipes sweat off his forehead, trying to ignore the pain pounding away in his head. 

“Hand me that wrench, will you?” Tony asks from his position kneeling on the grass in front of the pressure washer that had broken down as they started to power wash the house.

if you’re happy and you know it... break a rib?

Febuwhump Day 16: Broken Bones

Peter doesn’t know how he got roped into spending the weekend at Happy’s for what May calls it—a ‘guy’s weekend.’

With Happy and May being newly engaged for less than a month now, this ‘guy’s weekend’ is a little overdue apparently, according to her. Tony has been on board with it from the moment May told him about it during one of their many weekly phone call chat sessions.

This weekend would be a chance for Peter and Happy to get to know each other better—not that they actually need to. Peter already knows all he has to about Happy and Happy knows all he has to about him. They get along just fine and Peter likes Happy—he’s a good guy and Peter couldn’t be happier for him and May. They’re absolutely smitten with each other and Happy goes out of his way to let May know how much he loves her.

It’s nice to see May with someone that truly cares about her… but it’s just hard. Peter never thought he’d see a day where May was with someone other than Ben. He remembers growing up with them, seeing how much they loved each other so much through the little things like them sparing a soft, loving glance at each other, how they use to hold hands on walks in the park, or how Ben always woke up extra early to get May her favorite bagels halfway across the city every Sunday morning.

Peter had been taken back when Happy first proposed to May, but he’d dealt with it by shoving his grief down because the last thing he’d ever want to do is ruin May’s happiness. He knows she’ll always love Ben but she’s been able to move on from that part of her life after years of healing and grieving. May doesn’t deserve to spend the rest of her life alone. She deserves to live a life with someone that loves her unconditionally and that someone is Happy.

That’s why Peter doesn’t understand why this weekend even has to happen but Happy agreed to it easily when May proposed the idea of it, much to Peter’s surprise. And what’s even more surprising… Happy planned out the entire weekend. He has a checklist and everything too.

They’re already into the second day of their ‘guy’s weekend’ and so far… it’s actually been pretty nice. They spent the day at the new outer space exhibit at the museum and got pizza for lunch at that new pizzeria a few blocks away. Peter even found out that Happy is a little bit of a Star Wars fan while they were in the Imax theater during the video presentation of all the planets and stars.

It’s been a good day.

Until now.

It’s close to nine-thirty in the evening and Peter’s finishing up scrubbing his hair dry with a towel after a shower. He hangs the towel over his bare shoulders as he grabs his sweatpants from the vanity counter and puts them on, only for his feet to slide out from under him as he unknowingly walks over a puddle of water on the tiled floor.

Peter falls backwards and he reaches out to catch himself, only to meet air since the sink is too far away for him to grab onto. He knows he’s screwed. When his back collides against the porcelain toilet behind him, an audible, loud crack fills the air as a blinding pain explodes in his back and on his right side. Peter cries out from the pain as he hits the bathroom floor, somehow managing to smack the side of his head on the thankfully closed toilet lid on his way down.

He lets out a groan as he lays on the cold bathroom floor for a few long, pain-filled moments, tightly squeezing his eyes shut against the pain radiating from his head and entire side.

So much for a spider-sense, Peter thinks.

Through ringing ears, Peter can hear the thud hurried footsteps coming from down the hall. “Peter? Are you okay in there?” Happy’s worried voice comes from outside the door.

For a brief second, he almost considers lying about his current dilemma with how embarrassing the whole thing is but he feels something shift painfully in his side—which is definitely not normal.

“Um… n-not really?” Peter answers weakly.

“What happened?” Happy asks. “Did you fall in the shower?”

“N-No…but I kind of slipped,” Peter says as he blinks open his eyes, only to be met with an alarming amount of dizziness. He has to close them again before it gets him sick. It reminds him of that one time he and Ned went on the Hulk Tower Of Smashing roller coaster at Coney Island and he couldn’t see straight for almost twenty minutes once they got off.

“Are you hurt?” Happy asks.

Peter’s head gives off a particularly sharp throb as if he needs a reminder. “A-A little,” he says through gritted teeth.

He hears the door handle jiggle. “Shit—the doors locked,” Happy mumbles from outside. “Uh—okay. I’m gonna get the door open, you just stay where you are.”

Peter frowns at that but before he can question him, the door is suddenly forcefully shoved in with a loud squeak from the hinges protesting against the movement.

Happy steps in, clad in his pajamas, his face falling at the sight of him. “Oh shit,” he breathes out as he rushes over and kneels at Peter’s side. “What happened?”

“‘S water on the floor… slipped,” Peter answers as he blinks up at the man’s blurry figure, grateful to be at least half-dressed with sweatpants on to spare him of any further embarrassment.

“Where are you hurt?” Happy asks, brows pulled together in concern as his eyes scan over him for any obvious signs of injury.

“My side… I think something’s loose.” Peter mumbles.

Happy’s eyes widen in alarm. “You think something’s loose?”

“Mhmm,” Peter hums in response as he tightly squeezes his eyes shut as another wave of pain washes over him.

He feels Happy’s fingertips run along his side, only to let out a sharp hiss in pain when he hits a particularly sensitive spot along his ribs.

“Sorry,” Happy apologizes, wincing in sympathy as he takes his hand away, brows still pulled together as he looks at Peter worriedly. “I think you might’ve broken a rib or two.” He says as he reaches up and gently pressed his thumb against the side of Peter’s head. “Looks like you banged your head pretty good too.”

“Yeah,” Peter says as he cracks an eye open. “Your toilet’s evil.”

Happy glances at the white porcelain before looking back at him with a raised brow. “You mean you hit your head on the toilet?”

Peter hums in response, afraid that his head will throb more if he nods.

“Well, shit. Now we’ve gotta add a possible concussion to the list,” Happy says with a frown. “How many fingers am I holding up?” He asks as he holds up a few fingers.

Peter looks up at his hand, blinking his eyes a few times to clear his blurry vision but it doesn’t help much. “Uhhh… three? N-No no… four?”

“Yeah, you definitely have a concussion. I’m only holding up one.” Happy tells him as he drops his hand. “Do you think you can stand up? We have to get you sitting up so I can have a better look at you.”

“Think so.”

Happy carefully slides an arm underneath Peter’s back and helps him slowly sit up, pausing a few times when Peter lets out a pained groan. Peter has to squeeze his eyes shut when he’s sitting propped up against the vanity, feeling like the world is swirling around him with how dizzy he feels.

Happy is rummaging through one of the drawers beside him before he kneels in front of Peter again. “Alright, open your eyes for me, Pete.” He says as he gently holds a hand to the back of Peter’s head.

Peter manages to crack his eyes open, only for a bright light to be shined in his eyes. He groans from the sharp pain that shoots up from his eyes to his head.

“Sorry, Pete,” Happy apologizes with a wince in sympathy. “Well…” he says as he clicks the skinny flashlight off, breathing out a sigh. “It looks like you have a minor concussion—I’m no doctor but I’ve had plenty of experience with Tony back in the day. And with your healing, you should be as good as new tomorrow but… I think we should postpone the rest of the activities for the weekend.”

Peter closes his eyes and carefully leans his head against the vanity behind him. He knows Happy’s been looking forward to checking off whatever else was on his list with him. “‘M sorry.” He mumbles guiltily.

“No—hey, Pete this isn’t your fault. You just slipped. It happens to everyone.”

“Yeah, but I ruined your whole weekend. I know you had a lot planned and everything.”

“Kid, look at me,” Happy says in an gentle tone Peter’s only heard him use with Morgan. Peter opens his eyes and meets Happy’s concerned ones. “This isn’t my weekend, it's ours. And you didn’t ruin anything. We can still have a guy’s weekend by sitting on the couch, watching whatever movies you want, even if it includes Star Wars.” He says with a small smile.

Peter manages a weak smile at that. “Even both seasons of the Mandalorian?” He asks.

Happy sighs and rolls his eyes goodnaturedly. “Of course,” he says. “But I don’t want you blaming yourself for this, okay?”

Peter hesitates for a moment, only to receive a raised brow from Happy. “Okay.” He agrees.

“Good. So how about we get you off the floor, get some pain meds in you, and get you into bed?” Happy suggests.

“Sounds good,” Peter says with a small smile.

…

Once Peter is settled into the guest bedroom bed with an ice pack on his injured side, Happy hands him his pain meds (thankfully his own that Happy keeps here) and washes them down with a bottle of water.

“Thanks, Happy,” Peter mumbles sleepily with a small, grateful smile.

“Anytime, kid. Just get some rest and call me if you need anything, okay?” Happy says with a small smile of his own as he turns around and starts to head over to the door.

“Hey, Happy?”

Happy pauses in the doorframe and looks back at him. “Hmm?”

“Um…” Peter trails off as he looks down at the blanket he’s fiddling with in his hands. For some reason, he doesn’t want to be alone right now. “Do you maybe want to get a head start on season one of the Mandalorian?”

The corners of Happy’s lips turn up into a small smile. “Do you want some popcorn?”

“Sure,” Peter says with a small smile.

When Happy comes back fifteen minutes later with two bowls of popcorn, he settles into a chair beside Peter’s bed and rests his feet on the edge of the mattress as the opening credits of the show begin.

They’re about twenty minutes into the first episode when Peter spares a glance Happy’s way, finding that the man’s eyes are glued to the tv as he munches away on his popcorn, intently watching the action unfolding on the screen. Peter grins to himself as he turns back to the tv.

“Man, whoever the writer is for this show is a genius.” Happy says around a mouthful of popcorn.

Spiders & Motocross Don’t Mix

(Alternate title: Too Much Braap, Makes Bones Go Snaap)

Up on the Rooftop, slip slip slip

It’s just a little after four on December 24th when the car’s tires hit the gravel driveway leading to the Stark’s cabin. The familiar crunching sound sends a wave of comfort through Peter as he leans forward, looking out through the windshield to see the cabin come into view.

“Home sweet home,” Happy says, giving Peter a small smile through the rear view mirror.

Peter smiles as he sits back in his seat. “Yeah.”

It’s been almost three weeks since he’s been to the cabin, having been busy cramming for finals at school—not to mention all the extra Spider-Manning he’s been doing with the recent uptick in crime around the city. The holidays always bring more shoplifters and robberies. He can’t even remember the last time he’s had a solid four hours of sleep.

But for now, Peter can finally just relax and enjoy quality time with family and friends.

As the car rolls to a stop in front of the garage a few feet from the house, Peter’s stomach tightens in excitement. He wants nothing more than to throw his door open and race inside, but he forces himself to calmly get out and help Happy retrieve their bags out of the trunk.

“Look who’s here!” a voice comes from behind.

Peter turns around when he hears the sound of the screen door creaking open, only to see Tony standing there on the front porch, smiling at them, wearing one of the most ridiculous Iron Man Christmas sweaters Peter’s ever seen. Carefully avoiding bumping into Happy, Peter all but runs up the stairs to him and throws himself at Tony.

“Merry Christmas,” Peter murmurs against his mentor’s chest as he feels strong arms wrap around him in a warm hug.

“Merry Christmas, kiddo.”

He feels Tony’s arms go slack around him, but Peter doesn’t let go as he presses himself further against his mentor and buries his nose into the man’s shoulder, earning an amused chuckle from Tony as his arms squeeze around him once again.

“Feeling extra cuddly today, are we?” Tony asks, his voice rumbling in his chest against Peter’s ear.

“Missed you,” Peter mumbles as something twists inside his chest.

“I’ve missed you too, bud. I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I last saw you, give or take all those FaceTime calls.”

Peter pulls back with a smile, managing to get a hold on himself. “I know.”

“I feel like you’ve grown a few inches,” Tony says with a teasing grin as he reaches a hand up to measure him, but Peter moves away with a laugh.

“Or maybe you just shrunk a few inches,” Peter shoots back.

“Gosh, I hope not,” Tony says as he throws an arm around Peter’s shoulders as they walk in the house. A warm burst of air hits them, sending chills through Peter at the sudden change in temperature.

“How’s May been?” Tony asks.

“Uh, pretty good—busy with work and stuff,” Peter answers as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it up on the rack by the door before following Tony, catching the scent of freshly baked cookies in the air.

“So I’ve heard. I’m happy she’s able to take some time off to relax,” Tony says over his shoulder as he heads towards the kitchen.

“Yeah, I know,” Peter says as he stops walking, expecting to her the sound of thundering little footsteps from upstairs and seeing Morgan running down the stairs to greet him... but the house is oddly silent. Unsettlingly so.

“Where’s Morgan?” he questions.

“In her room.” Tony grabs a pair of oven mitts from a drawer and opens the oven, taking out a batch of what looks to be sugar cookies. “We... have a bit of a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Peter asks, brows pulling together.

Tony takes off the oven mitts and puts them on the counter with a sigh. “Some kid at Morgan’s school told her Santa isn’t real.”

“Oh, man,” Peter says, feeling his stomach drop, knowing all too well how that felt.

He was around Morgan’s age when a bully at school told him Santa wasn’t real as well. But May and Ben didn’t sit him down and tell him the truth; instead, they went out of their way to help him believe that Santa Claus was real by leaving chewed up carrots outside their house from the reindeer and an empty plate of cookies, as well as a hand-written letter from Santa himself.

When Peter was older, he found out that May and Ben had done all of that for him, to allow him to just be a kid and enjoy the magic of Christmas, especially after losing his parents at such a young age.

And Morgan loves Santa Claus just as much as Peter had. She’s been talking about Christmas for weeks now, even having Peter help her write a letter to him, asking for either a cat or dog that needs a home for Christmas, and telling Santa to give the elves a nice long vacation after the holidays, and give the reindeer extra carrots. Santa is everything to Morgan, and she must be absolutely devastated right now.

“Yeah,” Tony says with another sigh. “Pepper’s tried everything to help her feel better... but... she’s taking it pretty hard.”

“Poor, Morgan,” Peter says sympathetically, wishing there was something he could do to help.

That’s when it hits him.

The corners of Peter’s lips turn into a grin as he looks at Tony. “I have an idea.”

...

Once it’s dark outside and Morgan is tucked in bed, Peter quietly goes outside of the cabin, followed by Happy.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? There’s a lot of fresh snow up there from last night,” Happy points out as he looks up at the roof.

“It’ll be fine. I’m super sticky, remember?” Peter tells him with a grin as he walks over to the side of the house and grips the wood siding.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ladder at least? Just to be safe?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Peter insists as he starts scaling the side of the house, concentrating hard on keeping his hands sticking to the slippery surface.

“Be careful!” Happy whispers sharply from below.

Peter rolls his eyes goodnaturedly as he continues climbing until he reaches the roof. He swings his leg over and hoists himself up with a grunt before getting first to his knees, then his feet. Carefully, he makes his way over to the window he knows belongs to Morgan’s room and peaks inside. Tony and Pepper are both sitting on the little girl’s quilted snowflake bedspread, reading a bedtime story, while Morgan dressed in pajamas, sits between them.

A smile spreads across Peter’s face as he pulls out the small strip of jingle bells he’s found inside earlier and gives them a little shake.

Morgan’s head pops up at the sound as she looks over at the window. Peter quickly ducks down so she doesn’t see him and ruin his whole mission.

“What was that?” Peter hears Morgan ask, thanks to his enhanced hearing.

“I don’t know. It almost sounded like... Santa?” he hears Tony reply in a dramatic tone as Pepper gasps in surprise.

Peter grins as he stands up straight, stomping his feet for added effect as he gives the bells another shake.

“I think he’s here!” Pepper says excitedly.

Peter peaks in the room and sees the big smile plastered on Morgan’s face. The sight sends a burst of warmth through his chest.

He stomps again and jumps slightly, but when his feet come back down to the roof, they’re met with an icy patch under the snow. His spider sense only has a brief second to warm him before Peter finds himself sliding backwards as his legs give out from underneath him.

Peter’s hands scramble to attach his fingers to the roof to stick on, or get a hold of something to save himself, but he’s sliding too fast and everything is all icy.

Suddenly, there’s nothing underneath him as he plummets through the air, the snowy ground quickly rushing up to meet him.

The last thought he has is the faint hope that the snow will break his fall, before he slams into the ground.

...

A dull, throbbing pain breaks through the darkness, along with a panicked voice somewhere in the background as consciousness slowly creeps back to Peter.

“Peter! C’mon, kid—wake up! Shit!”

Peter groans, slowly blinking his heavy eyes open, seeing a blurry figure above him.

“H’ppy?”

“Yeah. Right here, Pete,”

Peter blinks a few times before his vision clears, allowing him to see the worry written all over the man’s features as he looks down at Peter with wide eyes.

“Shit, I knew this wasn’t a good idea! May’s gonna kill me,” Happy hisses. “Are you okay? Does anything feel broken?”

As if he needs a reminder, Peter’s whole body seems to throb painfully. “Ugh, everything,” he groans.

“Shit. Uh—okay. Let’s try to get you up and into the house, alright?”

Happy begins to carefully help him to his feet but stops when Peter suddenly lets out a sharp hiss in pain and squeezes his eyes shut.

“What’s wrong?” Happy asks worriedly.

“M-My back,” Peter grits out, forcing himself to breathe through the pain radiating across his back.

“Does anything feel broken?” Happy asks, even paler now.

Cautiously, Peter moves his limbs around a bit to check. As stiff and achy as he is from his fall, there’s no sharp pain that would indicate a break. “I don’t think so? It’s just really sore,” he admits.

Happy blows out a relieved breath. “Alright. We can work with that.”

When Peter is finally on his feet, hunched over with Happy’s arm wrapped around his middle, they shuffle back towards the front of the house, Happy supporting most of Peter’s weight.

“Well, I think the plan worked,” Peter groans. “Should’ve seen her face when she heard the bells.”

“Yeah? Well that’s good at least, but I still say you should have used a ladder,” Happy grumbles as he carefully drapes one of Peter’s arms over his shoulders.

“Mmh, next time,” Peter says.

“Oh, no. There’s not gonna be a next time. You’re barred from going up on that roof ever again.”

As they approach the front porch, the door suddenly swings open and Tony steps out with a smile, only for it to fall when he sees them.

“What happened?” he demands as he rushes down the stairs.

“I feel off the roof,” Peter tells him simply.

Tony’s eyes widen and his mouth opens for a few seconds before he closes this eyes, shaking his head. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea. We should have just gone with my plan of dressing Happy up in a Santa suit and having Morgan come down around midnight to catch him putting presents under the tree.”

Happy throws a glare his way, but Tony ignores it as he drapes Peter’s other arm over his shoulders. The three of them carefully make their way up the stairs and into the house, not letting go of Peter until he’s sitting on the couch.

“I’m gonna grab a heating pad and some menthol ice,” Happy says before he disappears upstairs.

“I’ll grab you your super kid pain meds,” Tony says as he heads into the kitchen, leaving Peter on the couch.

Despite the pain he’s in, Peter doesn’t regret going up on the roof. Was it stupid and dangerous? Sure. But the look on Morgan’s face made it all worth it. Peter would do anything to keep that smile on her face for as long as he can.

...

When the next morning comes, Peter’s in even more pain than the night before. He had no other choice than to fall asleep on the couch because stairs were too much of a challenge, embarrassingly enough. Happy ended up sleeping on the love seat after ordering Tony to go on up to bed, getting up to help Peter whenever he needed something.

It’s close to seven-thirty when Peter wakes to the sound of eager footsteps racing down the stairs, seeing Morgan dragging Tony and Pepper by their hands. He slowly pushes himself up with a wince, trying to ignore his protesting back as he sits up against the back of the couch.

“Petey! Petey!” Morgan exclaims as she drops her parents hands and runs over to him, practically vibrating with excitement. “I heard Santa last night!”

“What? No way!” Peter says in a fake-shocked tone. He glances sideways at Tony, who smiles and winks at him in return.

“Yeah! When Mommy and Daddy were telling me my bedtime story, I heard him walking on the roof and we heard bells! I’m gonna tell Aiden he was wrong! Santa is real and I heard him!”

Peter smiles at her, warmth blossoming in his chest at how truly happy she is. His back pain seems to have completely disappeared for the moment as he takes all of this in. This must be how May and Ben felt when Peter was younger.

“Wait... did you sleep on the couch?” Morgan asks suddenly, brows pulled together as she looks at him, then over at Happy, who is only now starting to wake up, despite all the commotion.

“Uh... yeah?” Peter says uncertainly.

Morgan gasps excitedly. “Did you see Santa?”

Peter breathes out a sigh. “No. He must have come when I was asleep. I wish I had though.”

Morgan’s brows pull together again. “Why did you sleep on the couch?”

Peter opens his mouth, but Tony jumps in before he can say anything. “Well, Pete and Happy wanted to see Santa, so they decided to camp out here last night.”

“Yeah,” Happy chimes in. “But we fell asleep and missed him.”

Morgan’s brows are still drawn together as she looks between them, then down at the heating pad on the couch. Peter stills, feeling like all the air in the room has been sucked out. Morgan might be only five years old, but she’s frighteningly smart for her age. Of course she could piece everything together. It would break her heart if she sound out the truth, and Peter’s as well.

“What’s that for?” she questions, meeting Peter’s wide eyes.

“Uh... I... I, uhm...” Peter stumbles for words, his tired brain not being helpful at the moment.

“Well, it’s a little embarrassing, really,” Tony starts, letting out a sigh. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but he took a little tumble yesterday. Slipped on some ice when Happy picked him up from school.”

Peter shoots a small glare is way, feeling his cheeks heat up even though he knows the story isn’t true.

“Oh, yeah,” Happy says, a faint smile pulling at his mouth. “He just wiped out right there on the sidewalk. Didn’t know what hit him.”

Peter sends a glare his way as well, but Happy just smirks at him.

“Aww, Petey!” Morgan says, frown dropping into concern as she crawls up on the couch and wraps her arms around him in a gentle hug. “Do you feel better now?”

“Way better,” Peter lies, forcing a smile even as pain radiates in his lower back at the awkward position he’s in now.

Morgan pulls back, smiling as she looks over at Tony and Pepper. The two are now walking back over to the living room with a tray of mugs, which Peter hopes are full of coffee.

“Can we open presents now?” Morgan asks hopefully.

“Of course,” Tony agrees, earning an excited squeal from Morgan as she jumps off the couch, jostling Peter a little.

Peter smiles as he watches Morgan search through all the presents (which definitely weren’t there when he went to sleep last night, so Tony and Pepper must have snuck down at some point) until she finds one of hers. She plops down on the floor and starts ripping open the bright red and green wrapping.

Tony helps Pepper hand out all the mugs before he sits down beside Peter, handing him one. “Cream and extra sugar?”

Peter smiles as he wraps his hands around the warm mug. “Just how I like it.”

Tony rolls his eyes goodnaturedly, before taking a sip of his own mug. For several moments, they all sit there in the living room, watching Morgan open her presents with enthusiasm.

Peter is old enough now to know that Christmas isn’t about the gifts under the tree, but Morgan is only five. For Peter, this is what Christmas is about—being surrounded by family.

As if on cue, a knock comes at the front door.

“That must be May,” Pepper announces as she puts her mug down on the coffee table before standing up from the couch and heads to the door.

“Remember,” Tony whispers, eyeing the door a little nervously. “You slipped on ice yesterday when Happy picked you up. That’s the story we’re going with.” He glances between Peter and Happy.

Peter breathes out a sigh as he takes a sip of his coffee. He doesn’t like lying to May, but that story is better than telling her the truth that he fell off the roof last night while pretending to be Santa Claus.

He has to save what little dignity he has left.

Pumpkin Donuts & Freak Accidents

Peter steps out on the front porch of the Stark’s cabin with a tray of five mugs full of freshly brewed coffee. He smiles to himself as he inhales the crisp autumn air, the faintest hint of a bonfire from somewhere in the distance, as well as the remaining pumpkin spice donuts they had after lunch. 

“Thanks, Pete,” Tony says with a warm, grateful smile as Peter puts the tray down on the wicker coffee table in the middle of everyone. 

“Sure,” Peter smiles back as he squeezes himself in between him and Happy, who is currently in a bit of a heated debate with Clint and Steve over last Sunday’s football game. 

The Big Boo-Boo Protocol

It’s a little after midnight and Peter is still awake, sitting up in bed watching Return of the Jedi on his SI tablet Tony gave him for his birthday a few months ago. But the movie isn’t doing its job in keeping Peter entertained. He usually loves watching anything Star Wars related—he’s just so bored. 

He’s been cooped up in the medbay on bed rest for almost a week now since his run-in with the Rhino, resulting in Peter getting pretty banged up (three broken and two fractured ribs, a broken arm, a fractured collar bone, bruised spleen, as well as a mild concussion to be exact). 

Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃🍁 🍂

One Fall Weekend

Summary: A field trip to the mountains goes horribly wrong, forcing Peter and Brad to put their differences aside in order to survive.

Whumptober Day Six: Lost

@whumptober2019

Link to read on Ao3:

Mr. Dell somehow managed to convince Midtown Tech to green light his outdoor nature hike idea. It probably took a lot of convincing on his part, as well as Mr. Harrington’s, who was also co-leading this field trip, saying that it would be good for everyone to get outdoors in nature and learn the history of America’s land.

When Peter came home from school with the permission slip for the trip, May was quick to call Tony and discuss it with him. And before he knew it, the slip was signed and there were a few large packages from Sierra Trading Post and L.L. Bean waiting outside of their apartment door the next day when Peter got home from school. He didn’t even need to check the shipping label to know who they were from.

If you ask him, May and Tony were being a little too enthusiastic about him going on this trip. It’s probably because they’ve been getting on him lately with taking it easy from patrolling and focus on being a teenager and spending some time with his friends.

It Came at Night

Summary: What’s supposed to be a normal weekend visit to the Compound turns into one of disaster when unexpected visitors show up. 

(Set after Spider-Man: Homecoming)

Whumptober Day Five: Gunpoint

@whumptober2019

Link to read on Ao3: 

It’s late into the evening when Peter’s eyes start drooping. It's his weekend to stay over at the Compound with Tony, and they’re already kicking it off by spending the night tinkering down in the lab.

But coming off of a whole week of school, homework and patrolling… Peter’s downright exhausted.

A yawn escapes his mouth at that moment and he furiously binks, finding that staying awake was beginning to be quite a challenge, one that he’s rapidly losing. The wiring in his hands blur out of focus as he slowly blinks, thoughts swirling around his drowsy brain. As a few minutes pass by, Peter’s eyes begin to slip closed, head dipping down to his chest.

“You dozing off on me, kiddo?”

Peter’s head shot up at the sound of his mentor’s voice and he rapidly blinks. “No no… ‘course not, M’str Stark.” He tiredly mumbles, reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes.

The man lets out an amused snort at his side. “That’s the third time I’ve seen you nod off in the past ten minutes. How about we call it a night and get some food in you before you go to bed?”

Peter looks at his suit that’s sprawled out on the table in front of them. They were doing some pretty hardcore upgrades to the suit’s hardware and it will probably take them the whole weekend to get through all of it. Losing out on lab time would only set them back, but making a mistake when he’s half-asleep won’t help them either.

Peter gives in with a small, disappointed sigh. “Okay.”

I’m halfway through planning out all of the Whumptober prompts and let me tell you guys... you’re all in for a bumpy, angsty, whumpy, fluffy-filled ride!!