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marvelous-writer · 2 years

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Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

Summary: In which Peter and Morgan get lost when they decide to go for a walk on a hiking trail near the cabin.

Whumptober Day 5: Alt. #7: Protective and Alt. #14: Emergency Blanket

@whumptober @whumptober-archive

Rating: G

Word Count: 14,092

Genre: whump, hurt/comfort, angst

Link to read on AO3

Rain lightly falls outside, gently hitting the windows of the Stark cabin as Peter sits on the couch in the living room, watching a movie with Morgan.

Morgan, who is currently sitting on the couch upside down, her feet dangling in the air. “Petey, I’m booorrreed.” She whines.

“Hi, booorreeddd. Nice to meet you.” Peter says with a smirk.

Morgan looks up at him with a small glare, causing Peter to chuckle.

“What do you want to do?” He asks her.

“I dunno,” she says with a shrug as she sits up on her knees. “Can we go outside?” She asks hopefully.

Peter twists his neck to look out the window to check the weather before looking back at her. “It’s raining.” He reminds her.

“We can wear our raincoats?”

Peter lets out a sigh, considering it. It is a bit boring and they’ve been inside all day now. The fresh, crisp fall air might be good for both of them. He could bring his camera and new lens Tony bought him for his birthday and test it out with some nature photos.

“Pleeeaasseee?” Morgan says.

The corners of his mouth turn up into a smile as he sighs again, looking over at her. “Go grab your raincoat.”

“Yay!” Morgan happily cheers as she climbs off the couch and runs over to the door leading to the mud room to grab her coat.

Peter stands up and grabs the remote from the coffee table, shutting the tv off. He pulls his phone out from his pocket to check the time, seeing that it’s two-thirty now and Tony and Pepper will be back from the city around four. They had to go to a SI fundraiser event this afternoon, leaving Peter to babysit Morgan for the day. And it’s been a very nice day so far. Peter managed to make her a batch of unburnt pancakes for a late brunch, they played some hide-and-seek inside, Peter tried to get Morgan to do a puzzle with him but she got bored after a few minutes, which Peter can understand why. Getting a five year old to sit still is nearly impossible.

Morgan runs back in, now wearing her yellow raincoat with ducks on it, as well as her shiny little red rain boots. “Ready!”

“Good job. Let me just grab my camera from my room and then we can go.”

“Okay!”

Peter smiles as he heads over to the staircase and starts walking up. When he reaches the top, he heads down the hallway to his room and walks in, eyeing his camera on his desk. He picks it up and double checks the lens on it to make sure he has his new one on, which is a Tamron 150-500mm lens. Perfect for some detailed photos of nature and any wildlife they may encounter.

Camera in hand, Peter heads out of his room and back downstairs, finding Morgan standing at the front door, practically dancing from foot to foot in excitement. Since he doesn’t have a proper raincoat, Peter grabs Tony’s maroon one from the coat rack and pulls it on over his t-shirt as he slips into his sneakers by the door.

“You ready to go?” He asks her with a smile.

“Yup!”

“Okay, then lets go go go.” Peter says as he opens the front door, pausing. “Friday, we’re just headed out on a walk. We’ll be back before three.”

“Keep in mind that a thunderstorm is due to roll in around four, Peter. Enjoy your walk.”

“I will, thanks Friday!” Peter says before he closes the door, making sure it’s locked behind them.

He has the house key in his jeans pocket and if ever he lost it, Friday can unlock the door for them.

“Can we go on the trail?” Morgan asks as they walk down the front porch steps.

“What trail?” Peter asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks down at her.

“The hiking trail in the backyard, silly!” Morgan says with a giggle. “Daddy and I sometimes go walking on it.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that,” Peter says. “Well… I guess we can. Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

“Yup! Follow me!” Morgan says with a smile as she starts to walk in the direction of the woods surrounding the cabin.

Peter hesitates for a second, feeling a little nervous about walking around in the woods. But she did say Tony has gone with her before. Peter shoves his nerves down and follows behind her. If they ever did get lost, he could just call Tony if need be.

…

They’ve been walking for at least thirty minutes now, stopping here and there as Peter snaps a few pictures of the fall leaves, interestingly shaped trees, a small creek they found, as well as a few birds. Peter doesn’t know if they’re any good but he’ll have to see when he edits them later.

The hiking path they’ve been walking on has a few signs for directions every mile or so but come to think of it, Peter hasn’t seen any in a while.

“Ooh look, Petey! I found another one!” Morgan exclaims as he picks up a fallen leaf that’s a mixture of green, yellow and red.

“Oh, wow. That’s a cool one!” Peter tells her with a smile.

They started this little game of finding leaves that are half changed colors, one part is solid green while the other half is yellow or red. Morgan started to get a little bored as they’ve been walking and it was the only thing Peter could come up with when he saw one land on his sneaker. It’s difficult to find a specific colored leaf out of the hundreds—if not thousands— scattered around them on the ground, but that’s what makes it a (hopefully) fun challenge. Morgan seems to be enjoying it though, so that’s all that matters.

Peter snaps a photo of her holding the leaf with a big smile on her face, seeing the gap between her teeth, where she lost one of her big teeth, just yesterday morning at breakfast.

They continue walking for a few more minutes and Peter pulls his phone out to check the time, seeing that it’s now three-forty. Tony and Pepper should be on their way home now.

“Hey, Morgan, why don’t we start heading back home? Your parents will be back soon and I was thinking we could make some pasta for dinner?” Peter suggests as he looks down at Morgan next to him, who’s busy looking for more leaves.

She looks up at him with a small pout. “Already?”

“Yeah, sorry but we can go for another walk tomorrow if you want.” He offers as he turns around. “Let’s head back.”

Morgan lets out a sigh, her shoulders dropping. “Okay.”

Peter feels a little guilty for making her disappointed. “And maybe for dessert… we can try to whip up a batch of your mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies?”

That seems to do the trick because Morgan’s head snaps up at him and her brown eyes are wide with excitement. “With extra chocolate chips?”

“Of course,” Peter says with a smile. “If we hurry, we might be able to get home before your parents do.”

Morgan’s brows pull together in a confused frown. “Why do you call them that?” She questions as they start walking.

Peter frowns as he looks back down at her. “What do you mean?”

“Mommy and Daddy. You call them my parents,” She says, tilting her head to the side. “They’re your mommy and daddy too.”

Peter feels something tighten in his chest at that as he stops walking, gently grabbing Morgan’s hand. “Morgan,” he starts as he kneels down in front of her, not really sure how to explain biology to a five year old. “I’m—“

“You’re my brother , so that makes my mommy and daddy your mommy and daddy. So just say ‘ mommy and daddy, ’ Petey. You’re so silly.” She says with a smile.

Peter just looks at her for a moment, feeling a warmth blossom in his chest. He just laughs and shakes his head, standing up. “I guess I am, huh?”

Morgan smiles as she hums in agreement as they continue walking once again.

Peter smiles to himself as he watches her get further ahead of him, continuing her search for the special leaves. He’s not biologically Tony’s kid, even though people tell him they’re both more alike than anything, but hearing Morgan say that she thinks he actually is… is really touching and sad at the same time.

He wishes more than anything that he was Tony’s son. As much as Peter loves and misses his own parents… he never really knew them. They’re just distant memories and he’s not even sure if some of those memories are real or not because all he’s seen are photos of his five year old self with them.

They both passed away so many years ago, Peter doesn’t remember them, which hurts. May and Ben have always been like parents to him and he wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world.

But after all these years of knowing Tony and forming their relationship from mentor to father-figure… Peter wishes it was real , that he had something cemented in connection to Tony to make it true.

Peter will never admit it out loud… but he does sometimes feel like he’s intruding in Tony’s life. He’s technically not even Tony’s ‘family.’ Peter wishes more than anything in the world that he was… but he’s not.

That’s why after coming back from the blip and seeing Morgan… Peter was jealous of her. Jealous that she was Tony’s biological daughter. She’s able to spend more time with him than anything and just have him around her whenever she wants. Of course, Peter spends a lot of time with Tony and he loves and cherishes every minute of the man’s time… but it��s not the same. And he feels terrible to think that, especially with how much Tony does for him. After all this time, Peter isn’t as jealous of Morgan anymore because he’s gotten to know her so well, but the feeling is still there from time to time.

Peter lets out a sigh, feeling the sadness washing over him, even as he tries to shove it down. It’s almost as if the weather senses his gloominess because the next second, Peter feels a few heavy raindrops hit the top of his head, as well as one landing on the tip of his nose. He squints and looks up at the trees, being able to see the dark grey clouds forming above them.

That definitely doesn’t look good.

He looks back to Morgan ahead of him and quickens his pace a little. “Hey, M, we can look for more leaves another time, okay? It’s going to start raining pretty heavy and we don’t want to get soaked.”

“We have our raincoats.”

“I know but it’s going to get really cold and that’s not going to be good. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Peter glances around them, seeing that the woods are now starting to grow dark from the dark clouds.

“Let’s go.” He tells her as they continue walking, making sure to stay close to her as it grows darker.

…

Rain pelts against the windshield as Happy turns into the driveway after a long drive back from the city, getting stuck in traffic and dealing with the weather.

“This rain just came out of nowhere.” Pepper says as she looks out the window in the back.

“I know. I didn’t see anything in the weather report for more rain in the evening.” Happy says, leaning closer to the steering wheel to look up at the dark sky above. “It looks like we might get a bad thunderstorm too.”

“I’ll make sure Gerald is secured in his shed when we pull in.” Tony says.

They drive down the long driveway and Tony excepts to see lights on inside the house when they drive up to it, only to see that the lights are all out and the cabin is dark.

“Did we lose power?” Happy asks, noticing as well.

“No… the generator would have kicked on. Peter would have called or texted if we did.” Tony says as he takes his seatbelt off, a nervous feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

“Maybe he fell asleep watching a movie with Morgan?” Pepper suggests in a hopeful tone.

When the car rolls to a stop by the garage, Tony grabs the umbrella at his feet and helps Pepper out of the car, helping her avoid getting drenched by the pelting rain as they rush up the front porch steps, with Happy following closely behind. Tony reaches into his pocket and takes out his keys, unlocking the front door before stepping in.

The house is completely dark and silent.

“Welcome home, sir.” Friday greets from the speakers above.

“Friday, where are Peter and Morgan?” Tony asks.

“They went out for a walk.”

Tony frowns, that nervous feeling in his stomach growing. “When?”

“Two hours ago.”

Tony snaps his head around to look at Pepper, their eyes meeting and he sees the worry in her’s.

“Two hours ago? They’re out there right now?” Happy asks in a panicked voice as he grabs his raincoat from the coatrack and hastily pulls it on over his suit jacket. “I’m going out to look for them.”

“I am too.” Tony says before looking at Pepper. “Stay here in case they come back.”

“Good idea. Make sure you grab some flashlights on your way out.” She tells him as she leans up to kiss him. “Be safe, please. Both of you”

“We will. Love you.” He says, kissing her cheek as he heads over to the mud room and grabs two flashlights and his own raincoat, throwing it on over his expensive suit jacket.

He rips off his tie and carelessly tosses it on the coat rack before exchanging his dress shoes for sneakers once he’s back at the front door.

“Ready?” He asks Happy as he opens the front door, holding one of the flashlights out for him.

“Ready.” Happy says, taking the flashlight.

…

This is all his fault. They shouldn’t have walked so far. He should have just come up with something for them to do around the house instead of come out here for a walk.

He tried pulling up a map as well as texting and calling Tony but there’s no cell service all the way out here.

They’re lost.

Peter’s grip on Morgan’s hand tightens ever so slightly, just to make sure she’s still next to him as they navigate through the rain pelting against them in the darkness. Peter squints against the darkness as he holds his phone out, using his flashlight as a way to see.

He’s been desperately looking for the hiking trail signs for over an hour now but he hasn’t even been able to find one. So that means that they somehow managed to get off the trail. With all of the leaves on the ground, it’s hard to tell where the trail started and ended, not to mention whoever is in charge of the upkeep of this trail hasn’t done a good job because they should really have more signs around here.

“Petey! Are we almost home?” Morgan yells against the rain and the wind.

Peter squints as he stops, pointing his phone flashlight around them in hopes to find a sign or any clue as to where they are. But there’s nothing. Only trees… and darkness.

The last thing he wants is for Morgan to be scared, so he lies.

“We should be home soon!” He yells back to her, pointing the flashlight closer to her.

He can see the fear written on her face.

This is all because of him.

“I’m cold and wet!” She tells him, pouting.

“I know, I’m so sorry, M. Here,” he says as he bends down and scoops her up into his arms, opening his rain jacket as far as it can as he presses her face into his neck, hoping that his hood will protect her face from being soaked. “I got you.” He tells her, cupping the back of her little hood-covered head with his hand.

Peter reaches up and pulls his hood down more as a strong gust of wind blows past them, almost blowing it off his head. He squints as he holds his phone out again, continuing ahead. Peter hopes that he’s not going further away from home by walking, but it’s either that or they’re stranded out here in this weather. And with how wet and cold they both are, especially Morgan, he has to get them home and fast.

Peter continues ahead, stepping over fallen branches and being mindful of the rocks he sees with his flashlight. He’s squinting so much it’s hard to see anything and his phone’s flashlight isn’t that bright.

That’s how he misses the thick tree root sticking up out of the ground.

Peter feels his spider sense tickle at the back of his neck but it’s not fast enough to warn him as he feels his right foot slide under something. Morgan lets out a surprised scream as they fall. Peter acts quickly enough so he lands on his side instead of crushing Morgan underneath him, but when he lands on the ground, he feels something snap in his ankle, causing Peter to cry out from the immediate pain it brings.

“Petey are you okay?” Morgan asks in a panicked voice as he lays there, breathing through all of the pain radiating through his entire leg.

“Yeah, yeah! All good! Sorry, I tripped on something,” He tells her over the rain, feeling it hitting against his face as he lays on the cold, wet ground. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” Peter says as he forces himself to sit up with a groan, his eyes scanning around the darkness for his phone. He spots his phone flashlight on the ground about seven feet away from them. He can’t get up to grab it himself because his foot is still stuck. “Do you think you can grab my phone for me? Do you see it on the ground right there?” He asks her.

“Okay.” Morgan says as he hears her stand up, seeing her small figure as she bends over and picks it up, bringing it back over to him.

“Thanks.” Peter says as he takes his phone from her hands and wipes the now cracked screen before he turns, shielding his leg from her, shining the flashlight towards his leg and pulling his jeans pant leg up.

The sight that he’s met with has his blood running cold.

He can see that his ankle bone is definitely not in the position it should be in, seeing a round, protruding spot right above his ankle. Peter has to tear his eyes away as nausea bubbles up in his stomach.

This is bad.

This is very, very bad .

How is he going to get them home now on a broken leg?

“Petey?” Morgan asks in a fearful voice, taking Peter out of his thoughts as he turns around and looks at her, shining the flashlight near her. “Are you okay?” She asks with wide, fear-filled eyes.

He knows he’s far from okay and the last thing in the world he wants is for her to be scared, more scared than she is now… so he lies.

“Yup. Silly me, just tripping on everything,” He tells her, forcing a smile on his face. “Let’s keep going, okay? Let’s hope I won’t be so clumsy, right?”

Morgan manages a small smile at that and Peter can see the uncertainty on her face. She might be five but she’s smart for her age.

Peter uses his flashlight to look around himself for a branch to splint his leg with. He leans over and picks up a thick one and breaks it in half. He shrugs off his raincoat and grabs the sleeve to his long sleeve t-shirt and rips it off, ripping it down the middle to make it longer. He then brings the two sticks together on both sides of his inured ankle and gently presses them there and wraps the shredded t-shirt sleeve around, making a temporary splint.

It’s the best he can do at the moment until he can get help.

Now comes the hard part, getting back up.

Once his raincoat is back on, Peter picks himself up from the ground with a groan, being mindful of his leg as he does, biting down hard on his lip to stop himself from crying out when he feels something sickeningly shift in his ankle. He knows he shouldn’t try walking on it but he doesn’t have a choice.

“Alright,” Peter says, a little breathless as he holds his hand out for Morgan to take. “Let’s go.”

He feels her cold, little hand in his and he gently squeezes it, hoping to reassure her as he takes a step, wincing at the pain he’s met with but he pushes through it, taking another step.

…

“Peter! Morgan!” Tony calls over the rain and wind as they walk through the dark woods.

He and Happy have been walking for at least thirty minutes now, desperately searching the darkness for them, taking turns calling out for them in hopes they’re within earshot. But so far… they haven’t heard anyone yelling back to them.

“How can they be out here in this?” Happy yells over the roaring wind.

Tony stops as he looks around them, squinting against the rain that rips past them. Dread has been pooling and building up in his stomach since he first learned that Peter and Morgan were missing from the house.

“Tony… I think we should call the police. They can get a search and rescue team out here and they can cover more ground than we ever could.” Happy says from beside him.

Tony’s stomach twists with worry and guilt.

“I think you’re right.” Tony agrees, already pulling his phone out.

“I’ll call the police, you call the team. We can use all the help we can get to find them.” Happy says as he pulls out his phone.

“You have any bars?” He asks, grateful to see that he has two, just enough to hopefully make a call.

“Just two.”

“Same.” Tony says as he swipes through his contacts, finding Steve’s.

He puts his phone to his ear, hearing the call going through until it picks up.

“Hey, Tony-“

“Peter and Morgan are missing,” Tony interrupts him. “H-He was with Morgan today while we went to the city and when we got back they were gone. Happy and I have been out here looking for them but we can’t find them.”

“Okay, Tony. Slow down. I’m sure they’re fine, she’s with Peter remember. Just take deep breath,” Steve tells him in a calm voice. “I’m going to get the team together and we’ll meet up with you guys. Have you called the police?”

“Happy’s on the phone with them now.”

“Good. We’ll take the Quinjet to get there faster and that way we have supplies on hand. We should be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Steve, if anything happens to them…” Tony starts, his throat closing up at the thought.

“Nothing is going to happen to them, Tony. They’re strong and Morgan is with Peter. You and I both know he would do anything to protect her.”

Tony nods. He knows that and he’s seen Peter in action when it comes to protecting Morgan, from a car to her falling off her bicycle this past summer when she wanted to take her training wheels off. Peter was right there to catch her before she hit the ground. “I know.”

“You two stay safe. We’ll be there soon and we’ll track your phone so we know where to find you.”

Tony nods. “Got it… thanks, Steve.” He says before hanging up.

Tony looks over at Happy, who’s still on the phone with the police, hearing him giving them a description of both Peter and Morgan. Tony turns away and closes his eyes, feeling his chest tighten with sadness and worry, praying that they’ll find the two of them safe and soon.

…

At some point, Peter picked Morgan back up again when the wind and rain picked up, even worse again to shield her as best as he can from it. But it’s only adding more weight to his ankle, making every step more painful than the next.

To make matters worse, he realized a few minutes ago that when he fell, he must have dropped his camera because it’s no longer hanging around his neck.

Peter’s gritted teeth started chattering sometime ago as he limps against the harsh rain and wind. He squints as he holds his phone up, navigating around trees, but the worst thing happens.

Without a warning, his phone screen blacks out, followed by the flashlight shutting off, submerging them in darkness.

“Nonononono!” Peter mumbles as he tries to turn his phone back on, only to get a flashing red battery on the screen, indicating a dead battery.

Prolonged use of the flashlight must have drained all of the battery.

Morgan lets out a small gasp when she notices. “Petey where’s the light?” She asks in a scared voice.

“My phone died.” he tells her.

“W-What do we do now?” She asks, her voice shaking.

Peter hesitates for a long moment. For the first time in his life, he truly doesn’t know what to do.

He’s absolutely terrified.

“It’s going to be okay,” he lies. “W-We’re going to be okay.” He stutters out through chattering teeth, feeling another shiver race through him again.

He can’t see her face in the darkness, but he knows Morgan must look just as scared as he probably does right now.

“But now i-it’s r-really dark.” Morgan says.

“I know. I’m so sorry but I’m right here with you, okay. I’ve got you, M.” He tells her, holding her closer to his chest, feeling her wrap her arms and legs tighter around him.

As pathetic as he is, he’s nineteen and terrified of the dark, all thanks to quite a few traumatizing events that have happened to him so far in his career as Spider-Man that have given him quite a case of PTSD.

But this is no time for him to panic.

He needs to be strong for Morgan and get them home and soon because he can feel Morgan shivering away. He started shivering quite some time ago but he doesn’t know anymore if its from how freezing it is out here along with being wet, or the amount of pain he’s in. Maybe a mixture of both.

But he has no idea how he’s going to get them home now when he can’t see anything but the occasional lightning strike above them.

A loud rumble of thunder sounds over them, casing Morgan to let out a scared shriek, burying her head deeper against Pete’s neck.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, M.” He reassures, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

“T-That’s j-just U-Uncle Thor, r-right?” She asks.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Peter says as he starts to walk again, wincing with every step as pain radiates through his leg.

“I-Is he here to s-save us?” She asks hopefully.

Peter closes his eyes for a brief moment.

I wish he was. He thinks to himself, almost wanting to cry at the question.

“I…I don’t know.” He says, not knowing what else to say.

Peter continues to limp along, his sneakers digging through all of the fallen leaves, probably from years and years before, along with freshly fallen ones. He can feel how soaked his feet are through both his shoes and socks, making him feel impossibly colder, his paper thin rain jacket doing nothing to protect him against the cold and rain anymore at this point. Unfortunately, it seems the same for Morgan as well, which is why he’s carrying her and he knows she isn’t able to walk as far and quick as he can, although she probably could with his ankle being in the condition it’s in now.

Peter’s spider sense faintly goes off at the back of his head and he unconsciously sidesteps, feeling his shoulder bump into a tree, feeling the bark scrape against his arm through his thin jacket. But when he steps to the side and puts his foot down, he accidentally puts too much weight on it and suddenly feels something slide in it before he feels another snap, just not as bad as the first time but bad enough to send tears to his eyes.

Peter falls to his knee, further twisting his ankle as he cries out in pain, collapsing to the ground, feeling cold, wet leaves against his cheek. He can feel his splint come undone from his ankle.

“Petey! Petey are you alright?” Morgan exclaims in a panicked tone, still in his arms, half-lying on the ground as well.

Peter opens and closes his mouth for a few seconds, trying to come up with some stupid excuse to tell her so she doesn’t get even more scared than he’s making her.

But he can’t.

The only thing that comes out of his mouth is a choked sob.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut as he lays there, feeling both raindrops and tears sliding down his face as he cries.

“Oh, Petey,” Morgan says and he feels her shift next to him before he feels her snuggling closer to his chest, wrapping an arm over his side underneath his jacket in a hug. “D-Don’t cry. Daddy will find us.” She tells him.

“I-I k-know,” He manages to get out through both chattering teeth and sobs. “H-He will.”

He has to.

They’re both relying on it.

…

The team finds them exactly twenty-five minutes after Tony hung up the phone with Steve, as promised. The team managed to find a clearing in the woods a little ways away and landed the Quinjet before walking the rest of the distance to him and Happy.

“Any sign of them?” Steve asks as he walks up to Tony and Happy, wearing a raincoat, followed by Clint, Sam, Bucky, and Bruce.

“Nothing.” Tony says, shaking his head.

“All Friday could tell us us that they went north into the woods when they left at two-thirty this afternoon.” Happy supplies.

Steve looks around them in the darkness, even with all of their flashlights before he sighs, looking back at Tony. “They can be anywhere out here. Let’s just hope they managed to find shelter to get out of this storm. Have you heard from the police yet?”

“They sent out a search and rescue team. They should be here soon. I gave them my number to call me when they get here.” Happy tells him.

“Good. For now, let’s start combing the area around here. Sam and Clint brought thermal imaging scanner so they’ll be able to see any body heat signatures.”

Tony has one back at the house down in the lab in the basement and he never even thought to bring it in his panicked state, which was very stupid and careless of him.

“Does Peter have any wilderness survival training?” Clint asks.

Tony sighs, shaking his head. “I don’t think so. I know his uncle taught him a few things when they went camping.”

“Well Peter’s a smart kid. He’d be able to figure out how to make a shelter if he needs to.” Clint tells him.

Tony nods. “I hope so.”

Peter whipped up his web formula in a high school chemistry lab with a few chemicals. If he can do that, Tony knows he’d be able to make some kind of a shelter for him and Morgan.

“Alright, let’s spread out into pairs and look for them. We all have comms, keep us updated and if one of us gets lost, we’ll be able to find each other.” Steve says as he hands a com to both Tony and Happy.

Tony nods as he slips the comm in his ear, seeing Happy do the same.

“Let’s bring them home. Good luck everyone.” Steve says.

They split up, Clint going with Happy and Tony since they don’t have enough people to make it even.

“Peter! Morgan!” Tony calls out, already hearing the team starting to call for them as they grow further apart from each other.

Clint and Happy do the same, the three of them walking a little ways away from each other but close enough to still hear each other.

“Peter! Morgan! Can you hear me?” Happy calls out, cupping the hand that’s not holding his flashlight to his mouth, waiting a moment with a hopefully look on his face that he’ll hear a response.

But none come.

Happy’s face falls once again as he continues along. Tony knows how much this is bothering him, even though he won’t admit it. Happy has grown very attached to Peter after all these years of knowing him, especially now marrying May. Happy loves Peter and Morgan as much as he does and would go to great lengths to protect them.

“How did this happen again?” Clint asks, walking back to Tony.

“They went out for a walk earlier in the afternoon. They must have went on the old hiking trail and got lost. And with the storm rolling in, it probably made things even more difficult to find their way back.”

“Peter must have his phone on him. Maybe we could-“

“Already tried calling him. It went straight to voicemail so it must’ve died.” Tony says, shaking his head.

Clint lets out a disappointed sigh at that. “Then we keep looking for them. They couldn’t have gotten far, Tony.”

“I know. It’s just this weather and how much the temperature has dropped that scares the living hell out of me. Peter doesn’t do well when the temperatures drop like this. And not to mention the wildlife out here.”

Clint looks away, his brows pulling together, seeming to be just as concerned as he is, remaining silent as he walks with Tony.

Five minutes later into their desperate search, Happy receives a call that the search and rescue team arrived and has started to search for Peter and Morgan. While the team searches on the northern side of the woods, the search and rescue team will be searching on the western, just in case Peter and Morgan ventured further out that way.

It’s been thirty minutes now… and there’s still no sign of them. It’s almost as if Peter and Morgan vanished out of thin air.

“What if they’re not even here? What if someone was out here waiting for them and kidnapped them?” Happy asks.

Tony looks over at him, seeing the pure terror on his face. That was his first thought when they started the search. Tony prays that’s not the case.

“I don’t think so. It wouldn’t make any sense. No one even knows you live out here, Tony.” Clint says, gesturing his arms around the woods surrounding them.

“True.” Tony says with a nod.

He’s made it his personal mission to make sure any super-fans of his never find out about him moving his family upstate to the cabin. For all the world and internet knows, he and his family live at the Compound or in some lavish NYC penthouse.

“If someone did I think-“ Clint stops talking as he points his flashlight towards the ground. “I think I found something!” He calls out.

Tony and Happy quickly make their way over to the archer as he picks something off from the ground, only to turn around, revealing a black camera with an all-too familiar old, leather strap with the initials of B.P. on the right side.

It’s Peter’s uncle’s old camera strap.

“That’s Peter’s camera.” Tony says as Clint hands the camera to him.

Tony turns the camera over in his hands, inspecting it under Clint and Happy’s flashlights for any clues. But there aren’t any. The camera is soaking wet and is probably water damaged but it can easily be replaced. Peter and Morgan can’t be.

Tony looks up as he swings the camera over his shoulder. “They went this way. They can’t be far. Come on.” He says as he continues ahead, pulling his hood further down over his head as the rain starts to pick up again.

They all move their flashlights from left to right, desperately searching for any more clues. Finding Peter’s camera has given Tony hope that they’re going to find them and bring them home.

He just prays that they’re both safe and okay right now.

…

Peter and Morgan lay on the freezing, wet ground as time unconsciously slips by. He doesn’t know how long they’ve been here for, with Morgan huddled up close to him for warmth as the both of them shiver away, continuing to get drenched by the rain. He managed to move a little while ago so he’s shielding her from the rain with his arm draped over her as she’s tucked in the little protection she has in his raincoat. He’s shivering violently now, teeth chattering away to the point his jaw aches.

“P-Petey, you have to g-get up.” Morgan tells him, feeling her tiny body shivering against his.

“I-I c-cn’t, M-Morgan. I-I’m s-sorry,” Peter stutters out, struggling to talk at his point. “I-I’m s-so s-sorry.”

“B-But y-you have to. F-For M-Mommy and D-Daddy a-and Uncle Happy a-and Auntie M-May. P-Please.” She pleads, sounding like she’s crying.

She’s crying because of him.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut, feeling warm tears slip out through them, joining the droplets of freezing rain sliding down his face as rain continues to fall on them.

“I-I’m s-sorry M-Morgan… I… I j-just c-can’t g-get u-up.” He admits, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

His body is slowly giving up on him, he can feel it deep in his bones. He’s absolutely freezing and all of his limbs seem to have locked up on him, feeling how sore his muscles are as they continue to vibrate from his shivering. And all of the shivering is making his ankle even more painful from his muscles moving so rapidly.

He’s just… so tired.

They’re going to die out here and he knows it.

Tony, Pepper and Happy are probably freaking out about where they are back at the cabin. Where Morgan is, Tony and Pepper’s actual child.

May is going to be absolutely devastated when she hears about this.

This wouldn’t have happened if Peter had just said no to Morgan about going outside.

Peter closes his eyes, feeling droplets of rain harshly fall against his skin and slide down his face.

The rain continues above and a loud rumble of thunder sounds above before the woods settle into an eerie silence once again. Rain drops against the trees and the leaves, as well as Peter’s raincoat, making harsh spattering sounds when they make contact with the rubbery surface. Peter manages to turn his head into the hood and takes a deep breath, inhaling the familiar and calming scent of motor oil and cologne.

Tony.

Peter’s face pulls together, feeling his chest tighten. He’s never going to see Tony again. He’s never going to be able to hug him or tell him how sorry he is for getting him and Morgan lost.

He wants Tony.

Peter lets out a shaky breath as he weakly pulls Morgan impossibly closer to his chest and closes his eyes.

He dozes off after awhile, falling into a temporary darkness, escaping the cold and the pain. Peter doesn’t know what causes him to stir, weakly cracking open his eyes, only to meet the darkness of the woods surrounding them.

He can hear something echo in the distance… a voice?

Peter frowns and tries to listen over the rain.

He must be hallucinating now.

“-eter!” A voice echos in the distance. “-gan!”

He’s totally hallucinating. If he’s not… he hopes whoever that is will find them. He’s just so weak, he can’t even lift his head up from the ground.

“H-Hel-lp.” Peter stutters out in a whisper, brows pulled tightly together as he tries to make his voice louder.

He can feel Morgan shivering beside him.

She could get help.

She’s their only chance of being saved.

“M-Morg-gan…. M-Morg-gan?” He stutters, managing to gently shake her with his arm that’s resting over her.

But she doesn’t answer.

She doesn’t even stir.

Despite the state he’s in, a surge of panic flows through Peter when he realizes that she’s either asleep… or unconscious .

“M-Morgan?” He asks again but receives silence in response.

Peter lays there for a few long moments, his foggy brain trying to come up with a plan to get to the voice.

“—eter! -gan!” The voice calls again, sounding further away now.

No.

They don’t even know that they’re here.

They’re going to pass right by them and leave.

The thought manages to wake him up a little more, just enough to send a surge of adrenaline through him.

He’s not going to let Morgan die.

Peter grits his teeth as he tightens his arms around Morgan as he forces his body to move. He brings his good leg up and manages to kneel on the ground, taking a deep breath before he half-jumps to his feet, trying not to put too much weight on his injured ankle. Pain flows through his ankle, causing a choked gasp to escape his cold lips. He tightly squeezes his eyes shut for a moment before he opens them back up, squinting against the darkness.

“Peter! Morgan!” The voice echos in the distance again.

He has to move now or they’re going to leave without them because they don’t think they’re out here.

Peter grits his teeth harder together as he takes a step, feeling his legs shaking underneath him as pain shoots through his ankle, both of his legs threatening to crumble back to the ground. He wills them not to as he slowly continues to limp ahead.

Save Morgan. Get help. Save Morgan. Get help. He repeats to himself in his head.

His shoulders bump into tree branches and thin trees as he passes by but he forces himself to continue standing, tightly holding onto Morgan.

Save Morgan. Get help. Save Morgan. Get help.

In the far distance, he can see thin strands of light through all of the plants and trees.

Flashlights.

“H-Help!” Peter manages to call out, hearing his voice echo in the darkness.

But the flashlights are still going in the opposite direction of them.

“H-Help!” Peter screams, desperately trying to keep his voice from breaking at the end.

The flashlights pause in the distance. Hope surges through Peter as he forces his body to move, fighting against the exhaustion, cold, and pain.

They heard him.

…

“Peter! Morgan!” Tony yells out, cupping his hand up to his mouth.

Still no answer.

Tony drops his hand with a sigh, his chest clenching as the pit in his stomach grows, fearing the worst.

What if they never find Peter and Morgan?

He’s tried so hard to stay positive these past few hours of desperately searching for his two precious kids, especially after finding Peter’s camera… but it’s not looking good at this point.

If they are out here… they’ve been exposed to the elements for far too long, especially Peter with the fact that he can’t thermoregulate that well due to the more spider-like traits he’s developed since getting his powers.

“Tony… I hate to say this but… maybe we should turn back and regroup.” Clint says as he walks back towards Tony after they distanced themselves a little to search.

Tony stops, letting out a sigh, watching the stream of fog blow into the air under the yellow glow of his flashlight. He turns to Happy, as his friend walks over, his shoulders dropped down. “Any updates from the search and rescue team?”

Happy shakes his head. “They haven’t found anything.”

Tony just stares at him for a few seconds before he closes his eyes. He feels a hand go on his shoulder, lightly squeezing. He opens his eyes, finding Clint looking at him with a mixture of sadness and understanding.

“Tony…I’m a dad, you know that… and… there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my kids. What you’re going through right now… I couldn’t even imagine how you’re feeling. I’m going to leave it up to you what we do. We can head back now or we can stay out here and keep looking for them. Hell, I’ll stay out here all night and all week until we find them. Whatever you want us to do, we have your back.” Clint tells him.

“Yeah.” Happy agrees from beside him.

Tony lets out another sigh as he considers their options. He wants to keep searching, just in case… but they couldn’t have come to this far. There’s just no way they could have wandered this far off this trail. But there is a chance that they did and he couldn’t just leave with the thought of that possibility lingering at the back of his mind.

Tony open his mouth, only for him to hear something in the distance. His head snaps in the direction he heard whatever it was come from.

“Did you hear that?” He asks.

“Hear what?” Happy questions.

They stand there in silence for a few long moments as the rain continues to fall around them. The silence feels suffocating.

“H-Help!” A voice calls out in the distance.

“I hear it!” Clint says.

Tony wastes no time as he runs ahead of them, hearing Clint and Happy following closely behind him as hope surges through him. Nothing is going to stop him as he pushes past bushes and tree branches in his path.

“H-Help!” The voice calls out again, breaking off at the end.

He’d recognize that voice anywhere.

It’s Peter.

“Peter!” Tony calls out as he runs, willing his legs to go faster as he navigates through the harsh terrain.

It feels like forever as they run, continuing to call out but the voice has gone silent.

“Peter!” Tony call out again as he pants, cupping his hand to his mouth as they all stop running, taking a breath.

They’re met with silence for a few moments until they hear something snap in the distance. Tony whips his head to the direction it came from, pointing his flashlight up…but nothing’s there. He squints as he moves his flashlight around, only to freeze when he spots something moving in the distance.

The sight is honestly terrifying, with them being in these dark and spooky woods at night.

It could just be a deer or something… but it’s too small.

“Guys, look.” Tony says as he takes a few steps forward, moving closer as Happy and Clint walk on both sides of him.

As they get closer, Tony can see a familiar little bright, yellow raincoat with ducks on it. Tony moves his flashlight up, only to see Peter’s ghostly face, carrying Morgan in front of him.

“Oh my God,” Tony exhales as relief flows though him at a dizzying speed as he runs to his babies. “Peter! Morgan!”

As he rushes up to them, he can see just how bad condition Peter is in. He can’t tell about Morgan yet since Peter is holding her.

“T-Tony,” Peter stutters out, trying to reach him, only for his legs to give out underneath him.

Tony slides to his knees, ignoring the spark of pain it brings, catching Peter just in time before he hits the ground. “Take it easy, Pete. We’ve got you,” he tells him, wrapping an arm around the teen’s violently, shivering back in a tight hug, feeling Morgan’s shivering body underneath him. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Clint and Happy race up to them and both get to their knees, Happy kneeling next to Tony while Clint is on Peter’s other side, shining a light down on the teen’s ghostly pale, scratched up, dirty face.

He looks like he’s been through absolute hell.

“Oh God…” Happy breathes out with a broken expression on his face as he takes in the sight of Peter, clutching onto Morgan for dear life.

“W-We w-went out f-for a-a w-walk,” Peter explains, stuttering out every word. “T-The t-trail… c-couldn’t… c-couldn’t f-find t-the signs.”

Tony nods in understanding as he rips his rain jacket off, as well as his suit jacket and wraps it around Peter’s and Morgan’s quivering form, gently rubbing up and down his arms to give him warmth. The hiking path signs have needed to be redone for a long time, ever since they moved up to the cabin. That’s the first thing he’s going to get on when all of this is over.

Clint also takes his jacket off and reaches forward and takes Morgan from Peter’s arms, only to find that the five year old is passed out. But the most alarming thing is how pale her usual rosy face is, as well as her lips. He wraps her up in his coat and holds her close to his chest.

The archer reaches a free hand up and presses on the comm in his ear. “Cap, come in. We found them. They need immediate medical attention tell Bruce we’re looking at mild to severe hypothermia symptoms. I’ll send you our coordinates.” He says.

“I’ll let the search and rescue team know that we found them— thank God.” Happy says as he pulls his phone out and stands up, stepping away to make the call.

Peter lets out a shaky breath as he closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against Tony’s shoulder. “M-Morgan… i-is she o-okay?” He asks as he cracks his heavy eyes open and looks at her in Clint’s arms.

Tony looks over at her, feeling his chest tighten at the sight of her. Clint meets his eyes and Tony can see right through them.

Morgan is in bad shape.

He turns back to Peter and offers him a forced smile in hopes to reassure him. “She’s going to be just fine, Pete. You just rest for now, okay?”

Peter weakly hums at the back of his throat as he closes his eyes and Tony swears he feels him get a little heavier in his arms.

“No sleeping, Pete. You gotta try to keep your eyes open for me.” Tony says as he gently shakes him.

Peter’s brows pull together as he struggles to open his eyes again, looking up at him through half-lidded, bloodshot eyes.

Over the next few minutes, they do their best to keep Peter and Morgan warm. While Clint is holding Morgan, both Happy and Tony try to warm Peter more. Happy took his own jacket off and wrapped it around Peter on-top of Tony’s for added warmth.

“Here. His legs must be freezing,” Happy says as he slips out of his suit jacket and starts to wrap it around Peter’s legs, maneuvering his legs better, only for Peter to let out a pained, choked gasp. “What? What’s wrong?” Happy asks worriedly as he freezes.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut as he lets out an agonized groan, rolling his head into Tony’s chest.

“Peter, what hurts?” Happy asks.

“M-My l-le-eg…” Peter stutters out through clenched, chattering teeth.

Happy frowns as he shines his flashlight down to Peter’s legs, lifting the bottom of his jeans and pulls them up, only to reveal a gruesome sight. Peter’s right ankle is very swollen and clearly broken, to the point that a bone is sticking out in a place it definitely shouldn’t be.

Tony and Happy’s eyes meet and Tony can see the worry in his, probably matching his own. Tony looks back down at Peter, who’s face is twisted in pain as he continues shivering away.

“You’re going to be okay, Pete. Help is on the way.” Tony tells him, continuing to rub up and down Peter’s arms to help warm him up.

“ETA one minute.” Steve’s voice comes through the comms not even a few minutes later before they all hear the sound of the Quinjet overhead.

The jet lands in a clearing a little ways away from them, the ramp rolling out as the door slides open and Steve is already running down before it’s fully on the ground, heading towards them in a hoodie and sweatpants.

Steve crouches down next to Tony and looks at Peter before looking over at Clint, who is holding a still unconscious Morgan as the archer stands up and starts to quickly head towards the jet.

“I’m going to get her on board.” Clint calls over his shoulder.

Worry pools in Tony’s gut as he watches him go with her and Steve must notice.

“Tony,” he says, casing Tony to look at him, meeting his concerned blue eyes. “You go ahead with her. I’ll take Peter.” He offers.

Tony wants to argue, he really does but he knows he couldn’t carry Peter right now, not after all of these terrifying hours of being out here looking for them, adrenaline coursing through his veins. It’s been an emotional roller coaster of a night and he can’t even begin to imagine what Peter and Morgan have been through.

Tony just shakes his head in a silent agreement. Steve reaches over and carefully starts to snake his arms under Peter’s back and knees, causing a groan to come from Peter, who’s barely conscious anymore at this point.

“Careful of his right leg,” Tony tells him, his hands hovering out to help. “I think it’s broken.”

Steve nods, his brows pulling together with worry as he looks down at Peter in his arms as they start to quickly head over to the jet with Happy following closely behind.

They head up the ramp and once they’re on board, they quickly walk to the back where they keep the medical supplies and stretcher. Morgan is already lying on one, wrapped up in a shock blanket as Bruce looks her over, his silver rimmed glasses perched on his nose, his face set in concentration. He looks up as they walk over and Steve carefully puts Peter down on the stretcher next to Morgan.

Peter’s head rolls to the side as he cracks his eyes open, seeing Morgan across from him. “M-Morgan…” he slurs out through chattering teeth.

“It’s okay, Pete. She’s alright,” Steve reassures him as he takes out a folded shock blanket from the shelf in between the two stretchers and shakes it out before putting it on Peter and tucking him in for warmth.

Peter squeezes his eyes shut and Tony sees him violently tremble, probably from an intense chill that must sweep over him. Tony steps over to the stretcher and stands on the other side of Peter, reaching down and smoothes back a strand of his soaking wet hair from his face.

“M’ s-so c-cold,” Peter stutters out miserably.

“I’ll grab them more blankets.” Happy says as he immediately starts to head towards the storage bin where they keep extra blankets on board.

He comes back and rushes over, handing Clint a blanket for Morgan and hands Tony one for Peter. Tony shakes it out and throws it over Peter, tucking him in as Steve tucks in his other side. Peter’s head rolls to the side as he continues so shiver with his eyes squeezed shut.

Tony glances up over at Morgan, brows tightly pulled together with worry pulling at him. She looks so tiny and frail from here, laying on that stretcher.

“I’ll sit with him.” Steve tells him in a knowing voice, taking him out of his thoughts.

Tony looks down at him, then at Peter before he nods.

“Thanks, Steve,” He says as he passes by him and goes over to Morgan, reaching down to smooth hair wet hair back from her face, like he did with Peter, as his stomach tightens with nerves and concern. “How is she, Bruce?” He asks, looking up at his friend as he finishes setting Morgan up with an IV.

Bruce lets out a sigh as he takes his glasses off. “She has symptoms of very mild hypothermia. She’s dehydrated and a little scratched up, but she’s going to be just fine. But if they were out there for any longer…” He trails off and Tony doesn’t need him to finish to already know what he means.

Peter and Morgan would have died in the next few hours if they hadn’t found them.

“I’m going to get us out of here and back to the Compound. We should be there in thirty minutes tops.” Clint says as he walks away, headed to the front of the jet.

They feel the ship lifting in the air only a few moments later.

Bruce turns around and steps over to Peter’s bedside, already staring to examine him. When Tony walks over and looks down at him, he feels a spike of fear shoot through him when he notices how paler Peter got within a mere few moments since he walked away. But the thing that scares Tony to his core… is the blue tinge to Peter’s lips.

“Bruce—“ Tony says.

“Yup,” Bruce says, noting as well as he puts his classes back on and immediately gets to work. “Steve, I need you to grab more blankets. Grab the heating blankets from the supply closet. Happy, can you grab some water bottles from the fridge? And Tony, I need you to help me get him out of these wet clothes.”

Both Steve and Happy go off to grab the necessary items as Tony helps Bruce in carefully lifting Peter, slipping off his wet raincoat and thin t-shirt that’s sticking to him.

Peter is far too pale, almost as white as the sheets he’s laying on.

“Careful of his right leg. It looks like it’s broken.” Tony tells him before Bruce moves Peter’s legs.

Bruce nods as he carefully rolls up Peter’s right pant leg and starts inspecting his ankle.

“He’s needs an x-ray but I’d say this is definitely broken. I don’t want to jump the gun here but my guess is that he might even need surgery if the bones aren’t set properly. And with his rapid healing, we need to try setting it soon and get all of this swelling down.”

Tony’s face pulls together in a sympathetic wince as he looks down at Peter, now shirtless, shivering under the blankets.

“Can we at least give him something for the pain?” Tony asks, looking back at Bruce.

“Of course.” Bruce says, his tone softening as he shoots Tony a knowing look.

Steve and Happy both come rushing back with the requested items in hand, Steve already going ahead and plugging the heating blanket in the outlet by Peter’s stretcher. As they wait for it to warm up, they take the blankets off of Peter and drape it over him, before layering him up with the blankets once again.

Tony takes the other heating blanket from him and does the same for Morgan, making sure she’s all tucked in and warm. She thankfully already looks better than before, seeing some of the color returning to her face. He leans down and kisses her forehead before he goes back to Peter’s side.

He finds Bruce setting up an IV for Peter, his face set in concentration as he administers what Tony recognizes to be pain medication into the IV line, along with other things to help.

But Peter seems be getting worse with every minute that passes by.

…

Pain flows through Peter as he lays on the stretcher, unable to even breathe properly with how badly his body is shaking from the ice cold chills racing up and down through him. Everything becomes a blur but he remembers Tony, Happy and Clint being there, and getting on the Quinjet with Steve standing over him, reassuring him that everything is okay.

But why doesn’t it feel okay?

Peter manages to crack his eyes open, squinting angst the bright lights surrounding him on the jet. He can hear voices around him but he can’t understand what they’re saying.

What’s going on?

Peter lets out a groan as he closes his eyes again when he feels his injured ankle being moved, causing another sharp spike of pain to radiate from it.

“Sorry, Pete.” He recognizes Bruce’s voice from somewhere around him.

Peter rolls his head to the side, letting out another groan when his ankle is moved again.

“—the meds kick in?”

“-healing wrong.”

His face twists in pain as he groans again, the sound getting lost in his throat as he weakly tries to pull his injured leg away, only to feel a hand on his knee, stopping him from moving.

“Steve, try to hold him. I don’t want him hurting himself.” Bruce says.

He feels large, warm hands on his arms, causing a shiver run through him from the change in temperature. He opens his eyes as far as they will allow, only to find Steve leaning over above him, looking over his shoulder before he looks down at him.

“Try to stay still for Bruce, Peter. He’s trying to help you.” Steve tells him in a soft voice.

“I-It h-hurts.” Peter manages to get out through chattering teeth.

“I know it does. I’m sorry. Your pain meds should be kicking in anytime now.”

Peter lets out a shaky breath through his nose as he squeezes his eyes shut when he feels something in his ankle shift, causing a gasp to escape from his lips as he lifts his head, ignoring the horrible dizziness he’s met with. Steve gently pushes him back to the stretcher.

“You’re okay, Peter. You’re okay.” Steve tells him.

Peter grits his teeth so hard against the immense pain, it’s a miracle they don’t break. He knows he’s safe with Steve and Bruce… but he’s terrified. He feels tears spring to his eyes as he cracks them open.

He wants Tony.

“T-Tony… p-please—“ Peter tries to get out, only for a sob to escape from him, closing his eyes again and a few warm tears slide down his cheeks.

“Tony,” Steve says, hearing a shifting from somewhere nearby. “He’s right here, Pete.”

Peter opens his eyes again, just as Tony appears from out of nowhere above him with a small, reassuring smile.

“I’m right here, kiddo. You’re okay—I’ve got you.” Tony tells him.

“M-Make i-it s-stop, p-please,” Peter stutters out with a sob. “I-It h-hurts.”

Tony’s face pulls together in sympathy. “I know it does. I’m so sorry, kiddo but Bruce needs to set your ankle before it heals wrong. He’s almost done though, alright? Just try to hang on for a little longer, okay? Bruce,” he says, turning to look at him at the foot of the stretcher. “Why haven’t those pain meds kicked in yet?”

“I may need to up the dosage more than I usually do for him.” Bruce says before he steps away and the pain in Peter’s ankle decreases a little.

Peter lets out a shaky, relieved breath as he closes his eyes, feeling Tony start to card his fingers through his hair. He can hear shuffling next to him but he keeps his eyes shut to shield them from the lights.

He’s so tired .

“Alright. They should be kicking in anytime now. Peter, you’re going to get a little tired soon, okay?”

Peter manages to nod at that.

“I’m going to wait a minute and when they kick in I’m going to finish up setting this.” He hears Bruce say.

And sure enough, only a few moments pass before an odd wave of tiredness washes over him. Peter pulls his brows together as he opens his eyes, finding Tony still standing there, looking down at him.

“You okay? Tony asks.

“F-Feels w-weird.” Peter manages to slur out.

Another powerful wave of tiredness sweeps over him, threatening to pull him down as his vision blurs around the edges, making it hard for him to properly see Tony above him.

“It’s alright, kiddo. Just let the meds do their thing. Close your eyes and relax, okay? I’m going to be right here next to you when you wake up.”

“P-Promise?”

“I promise.” Tony tells him, continuing to card his fingers in his hair.

That reassures Peter a little as he feels himself growing more and more out of it, almost like he’s being weighed down. He blinks slowly through heavy lidded eyes as his everything starts to swirl around, losing focus of Tony’s face. His eyes slide shut against his will, too heavy to keep open any longer.

Peter falls into a painless darkness, aware of no more.

…

Tony stares down at the steaming cup of black coffee in his hands as he waits in the waiting room in the medbay. They arrived at the Compound almost twenty minutes ago and a team of doctors rushed out to meet them and brought Peter and Morgan inside, just as quickly as they arrived.

Morgan woke up as they were landing, while Peter… was out cold.

Tony’s chest tightens as the pit in his stomach grows, his anxiety gnawing away at him as the images of Morgan and Peter’s terrifyingly pale faces and Peter’s blue lips come to the forefront of his mind. He closes his eyes and swallows hard, rubbing a hand down his face.

He feels Clint’s hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing. “They’re going to be alright, Tony. Those two are strong, just like their Dad.”

Tony nods, letting his hand fall to his lap. He knows those they are, no doubt about it. “I just… I hate this, not being able to do anything to help them. How this even happened in the first place…” he trails off, shaking his head to himself.

“Tony, you couldn’t have known something like this would happen. This isn’t your fault.” Clint tells him.

Tony looks down at the tiled flooring, shining against the bright ceiling lights. He closes his eyes again. No matter how many times people say it’s not his fault, it still feels like it is.

Because it is.

He has safeguards in place for this kind of thing. Friday should have alerted him from the second Peter and Morgan stepped foot off the property and before the first hour when they didn’t return.

He messed up big time and now Peter and Morgan are paying the price for his slip up.

The sound of sudden footsteps coming from down the hallway elevator has Tony’s eyes flying open, only to see that it’s Happy, coming back from making a few phone calls to Pepper and May. A wave of guilt flows through him. He knows he should have been the one to call May but he’s not capable of doing anything right now.

“They’re on their way. Pepper called May while we were out looking for them a few hours ago and she drove up to the cabin. They should be here in a little bit,” Happy says as he sighs, sitting down in the empty seat beside Tony. “Have you heard anything?”

“Nothing yet.” Clint answers for Tony, which he’s grateful for.

Happy nods as he lets out a small sigh, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. They wait for a few long moments in tense silence until they hear the sounds of the double doors clicking open, casing the three of them to snap their heads up. Dr. Cho walks out, followed by Bruce, both having serious expressions on their faces.

Tony’s stomach churns with nerves as he jumps to his feet, his cup of coffee long forgotten on the floor where he put it down. “How are they?”

Dr. Cho and Bruce exchange a look with each other before she looks back at him. “Morgan is stable and awake, asking for you now. She has mild hypothermia symptoms. All she needs is some rest and fluids for now and she’ll be just fine. Peter on the other hand…” She trails off, letting out a sigh as she closes her eyes for a brief second before opening them again, looking at him. “He’s not doing so well. He has a severe case of hypothermia.”

Tony blinks in shock at her, trying to process what she just said. “Severe?”

“I’m afraid so. His temperature is 91 degrees since we last checked it five minutes ago. I’m very confident we’ll be able to correct it and take care of the hypothermia. But his ankle is a different story.” she says as he hands him a manila folder.

Tony opens it up and sees that they’re radiographic images of Peter’s foot. He frowns as he looks it over, seeing Dr. Cho made notes on it. He holds it up to the light and squints to see.

“His ankle is dislocated and there are quite a few bones that were fractured in the process. I’m sorry to say, he will need surgery for us to correct it.We’ve taken two rounds of X-rays within the short amount of time he’s been here. His healing is already rapidly trying to correct everything and I can already see the bones are healing wrong. If we don’t operate on his ankle now it won’t be stable enough for him to heal in a cast and he will most likely have mobility issues in his ankle… which means…”

“No more Spider-Man.” Tony finishes.

“Right.” Dr. Cho says.

“Now for the surgery, we have everything we need here to get him in the operation room now. All we have to do is prep him and we have his medication on stand by, so he’s not going to be in any pain.” Bruce speaks up.

Tony lets out a sigh as he puts the radiograph image back in the manila folder and hands it back to Dr. Cho, nodding at both her and Bruce. He really should be talking this over with May but he knows she would agree with him. She would never, ever want to jeopardize Peter’s health and well-being, so she would absolutely agree to the surgery. And it’s not Peter’s first, and definitely not his last with the profession he’s in, unfortunately. “Please do what you can for him. But before you head in with him, is he awake?”

“He’s in and out of it but you can see him before he goes in for surgery. We’ll bring him in in five minutes.” Dr. Cho says with a knowing look.

“Thank you,” He says as he glances at Happy next to him, who’s brows are pulled together in worry. He knows Happy cares about Peter just as much as he does, now being Peter’s official “step uncle” and all. “Do you want to come in with me to see him?”

“No, you go ahead. I’m going to go downstairs to let Pep and May in. I know May will want to see him right when he’s out.” He says.

Tony nods before following Dr. Cho and Bruce through the double doors the ICU, where they walk down a hallway until they stop at an open door and step inside. His heart clenches at the sight of Peter, laying in the bed, looking as pale as anything and so frail. The heated blanket is still on top of him, as well as a regular heating pad that’s resting on the back of his neck, wrapped around to the front of him. He thankfully doesn’t seem to be shivering that much anymore, not like he was back on the jet.

“We’ll be back in five to get him ready. Morgan’s in the room across the hall.” Bruce tells him.

“Okay.” Tony says quietly without taking his eyes away from Peter, his voice feeling lost in his throat.

Both Bruce and Cho step out, leaving Tony alone in the room with Peter. Tony steps forward and stands next to the bed since there’s no chairs and looks down at his kid as so many emotions rush through him all at once. He feels tears spring to his eyes as he reaches down and brushes a strand of now dry hair away from Peter’s face. Someone had clearly blowdried Peter’s hair for him because of how curly it is now. Peter stirs from the movement and cracks open his heavy eyes with a struggle.

“Hey, kiddo.” Tony says as he kneels down a little so he can see him.

“T’ny?” Peter asks, his voice raspy.

“Yeah, it’s me, Pete. How’re you feeling?”

Peter’s brows pull together as he swallows. “Tired…” he slurs out.

Tony reaches up and runs a hand through Peter’s curls. “Yeah, I know,” he softly says. “I don’t know if anyone told you but Dr. Cho is going to operate on your ankle so you can be up and terrorizing the streets of New York once again.”

Usually, the mention of surgery would have Peter a nervous wreck but now, he’s not even phased by it. “Mmh,” Peter hums at the back of his throat as his eyes get heavier again.

He’s clearly too sleepy to hold a conversation, which Tony completely understands. The poor kid has been through living hell today, he deserves to be able to get a lot of sleep and TLC after this.

“Is M’rgn okay?” Peter asks, surprising Tony a little.

“She’s just fine. Dr. Cho says she’s on the mend now, just like you. I’m going to sit with her in a little bit. When you wake up, I’ll be right here beside you with May.” Tony says, now hearing the sound of footsteps approaching the room.

“M’kay.” Peter slurs, closing his eyes.

A soft knock comes at the door and Tony turns, finding Bruce standing there with a knowing look, now wearing a pair of navy blue scrubs, with a few other nurses behind him in the hallway, ready to take Peter to the operating room.

Tony lets out a small, shaky breath as he looks back down at Peter, who’s now almost out like a light. “I’ll see you in just a little bit, Pete, alright?”

Peter weakly hums at the back of his throat and Tony isn’t sure if he even heard him or not.

He leans down and kisses Peter’s forehead. “Love you, kiddo.” He whispers to him before standing back as Bruce steps in and the nurses begin to unlock the wheels to the bed Peter’s on, slowly starting to wheel it int he hallway.

Tony frowns as worry pools in his gut. He always hates it when Peter needs to go in for a surgery of any kind.

“He’s going to be just fine, Tony. He’s in the best hands with Dr. Cho,” Bruce reassures him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I know.” Tony says with a nod before he looks at Bruce right in the eyes. “Just… take care of my kid, Bruce.”

Bruce nods. “You know I will, Tony.” He says before dropping his hand as he heads down the hallway, following closely behind Peter as they head through another set of double doors.

Tony stands there watching until the doors close, shielding Peter from his sight.

When he finally manages to move his legs, Tony lets out a sigh and runs a hand through his hair. The events from the whole night and the constant worrying and anxiety has him feeling absolutely drained of all energy but he can’t crash yet… not with Peter going into surgery and Morgan being sick in bed.

Tony takes a few steps across the hallway and finds Morgan’s room, a little surprised to see Clint sitting in the chair next to her bed, looking at something on his phone. Tony looks to the bed, only to see that Morgan is sound asleep with an electric blanket, on top of the blankets covering her.

“Hey,” Clint says in a quiet voice when he notices him. “I didn’t want her to be alone, so I asked Bruce if I could come in here while you were with Peter. How is he?”

“Thanks,” Tony says in a grateful voice, as he takes a seat in the other chair next to the archer as he lets out a sigh, shaking his head to himself. “He was just brought into surgery now for his ankle.”

Clint’s face falls slightly. “Poor kid. But he’ll be back on his feet in no time, Tony. This isn’t the first time he’s gone in for surgery. He’s in the best hands with Cho and Bruce.”

“Yeah, I know. I just…”

“You worry. Surgery is no joke, especially when it happens to our kids. It’s hard when something big like that happens. You just feel so helpless and with no control… no way to be there for them during that time.” Clint finishes with a knowing look in his eyes.

Tony nods. “Yeah.” He quietly says.

He remembers hearing about how Clint’s daughter, Lila broke her arm quite a few years ago, badly enough to the point she needed surgery. Clint wasn’t able to be there and ended up flying home to be with her but Tony remembers how much of a nervous wreck he was.

At the time, Tony wasn’t a Dad, so he didn’t know that level of anxiety, sadness, guilt, and emotional pain something like that is.

Now he does.

“How’s she been?” Tony asks after a few quiet moments, looking up at Morgan’s peaceful, sleeping and thank God, rosy pink face.

“A lot better. She was awake for a little bit when I got here before she fell back to sleep. She was asking for you and Peter. I told her you would be in to see her in a little bit.”

Tony lets out a relieved sigh at that. “That’s good.”

They settle into a peaceful silence, save for the soft beeping of the heart monitor Morgan is connected to. Tony leans back in his chair and looks at Morgan, letting it settle in just how truly lucky and blessed he is to have his two kids back after those terrifying hours of searching for them, fearing the worst.

If Morgan had wandered off alone… things probably would have ended very differently if it wasn’t for Peter being with her to protect her and get them home, while getting seriously hurt in the process. Peter honestly never ceases to amaze him and Tony truly owes him one.

Tony feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and when he pulls it out, he sees it’s a text from Happy letting him know that Pepper and May have arrived.

“Pep and May are here now.” Tony tells Clint.

“That’s good. I’m sure Pepper wants to see Morgan more than anything and May’s probably a nervous wreck. I’ll grab some coffee and a chamomile tea for May.” He says standing up.

“Thanks… for everything.” Tony says, nodding at him.

The corner of Clint’s mouth turns up in a small smile. “Don’t mention it.” He says with a nod before he heads out of the room, leaving Tony with a still peacefully sleeping Morgan.

…

Consciousness flows back to Peter in waves, hearing a nearby faint, beeping sound. The darkness surrounding him grows more and more distant as he wakes up a little bit more.

“-think he’s waking up.” A voice says from somewhere around him.

Peter feels his brows pull together in a frown as he tries to wiggle his fingers, feeling the weight of someone’s hand in his… but he can’t really move them. Why?

Everything feels oddly numb and fuzzy.

“Peter, baby can you hear us?” A new voice says and Peter instantly recognizes it’s May, able to feel the hand gently squeeze his.

Opening his eyes is quite the difficult task but when he manages to lift his heavy eyelids, Peter’s met with a blurry vision. He slowly blinks a few times to clear his eyes, now being able to see that he’s in a dimly lit room.

“There he is.” He hears Tony’s voice from next to him.

Peter rolls his heavy bowling ball of a head to the side, and through half-lidded eyes, he sees both Tony and May sitting at his bedside, both with relieved expressions on their faces.

“Hey, kiddo. How’re you feeling?” Tony asks, leaning forward in his seat as he reaches forward and brushes a stray curl away from Peter’s forehand.

“Mmh,” Peter unconsciously leans into the touch, feeling Tony’s warm fingers brush up against his skin. “Fuzzy…Th’nk my tongue’s brok’n.” He manages to slur out since his tongue isn’t cooperating with him with it feeling so numb and heavy.

Both May and Tony lightly laugh at that for some reason. He doesn’t think it’s funny, not when it’s his tongue at stake. He loves his tongue.

“It’s might feel a little numb because you’re on some pretty heavy pain meds right now, kiddo. So don’t worry, your tongue will be back to normal in no time,” Tony reassures him before his brows pull together in concern. “You just came out of surgery a little bit ago… do you remember why?”

Surgery… that does ring a bell.

Peter frowns as he tries to get his mush for a brain to cooperate with him. He remembers being somewhere, surrounded by cold, wet darkness… and Tony being there.

Tony must sense his lack of remembering things clearly. “You and Morgan were lost in the woods and you hurt your ankle. It’s on the mend now, so you have nothing to worry about, Pete. Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner took good care of you in there.”

“M-My ankle?” Peter questions as he turns his head and looks down to the foot of the bed, only to see that his right leg is encased in a thick red cast. Only… he can’t feel it when he goes to wiggle his toes. His eyes widen as he turns back to Tony. “It’s still there, right?” He slurs.

“Of course it is, Pete. It’s just numb from the meds.” Tony reassures him again.

May gently squeezes his hand again. “All perfectly normal.”

Peter lets out a relieved breath as he lets his head drop against the soft, fluffy pillow behind his head, letting his heavy eyes slip shut. It’s like resting his head on a cloud.

A nice, warm fluffy cloud.

He hears Tony chuckle from beside him. “Well that’s definitely the meds talking.”

Did he say that out loud?

Peter cracks open his eyes and sees Tony and May looking at him with a mixture of humored expressions on their faces.

“D’n’t be mean to me… m’ tired.” Peter tells them.

“Sorry, honey we won’t be. No more teasing right, Tony?” May asks.

“Of course,” Tony seriously says with a nod. “Why don’t you just rest your head back on your warm, fluffy cloud of a pillow and get some more sleep.” He says with a teasing grin, causing May to lightly elbow him.

Peter lets out a small groan at that as he lets his eyes close.

Tony’s never going to let that one go.

…

In the end, Morgan and Peter are able to go home within the next few days after staying in the medbay. Morgan runs out of the front doors when they’re heading out to the car, while Peter is forced to be wheeled in a wheelchair to the car. And when they’re back at home, he trades the wheelchair in for a pair of crutches, with strict orders from Dr. Cho and Bruce to not put any weight at all on his leg for the next week. And that means that Tony and Happy are on babysitting duty, switching off between him and Morgan. But it’s a fun week of recovery, watching movies and being able to spend some much-needed one on one time with Tony.

And when Peter’s leg is all healed up, he faces his fears and goes back out into the woods with Tony to help him put up direction signs and mini service boxes to prevent what happened to him and Morgan ever happening again to anyone else.

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