Archive of Our Own ^beta

As the car finally pulled up to the Avengers Compound, Peter tried to push down his exhaustion and pull himself together. It had been one of the longest weeks he’d had in recent memory, and while he normally loved his lab days with Tony, he just wasn’t sure he had the energy to get through one. Even so, he was determined to try to get through it, because he didn’t want his mentor to think lab days weren’t important to him, and he was supposed to stay at the compound all weekend.

Peter thanked Happy as he slid out of the car, hauling his backpack onto his shoulder and shutting the door behind himself. He walked up the path to the door of the compound slowly. The weather was beautiful, but the teen was so exhausted that he didn’t even notice.

FRIDAY greeted him as he walked through the door, and he returned the greeting quietly, not really processing what the AI had said. As he entered the elevator, he glanced at the ceiling and asked, “Would you please take me to the common area, FRIDAY?”

“Of course, Peter.” The elevator began to move, and Peter sagged against the wall, his eyes slipping shut for a few moments. He was tempted to let his backpack drop to the floor, but he knew that having to pick it back up a few seconds later would make him regret it, so he didn’t. The bag was heavy with homework. His teachers had been especially hard on them this week, assigning far more work than usual.

The elevator reached the common area, coming to a stop smoothly, causing Peter to push away from the wall with a long sigh. He slowly wandered into the living room, debating if it was worth the effort to grab a snack before he went down to Tony’s lab.

Bruce glanced up from where he’d been reading a science journal on one of the living room couches. The teen didn’t seem to have noticed him, which gave Bruce plenty of time to study him. Peter was slouched over far more than usual, and the dark circles under his eyes were obvious even from Bruce’s seat halfway across the room.

“Good afternoon, Peter. How was your week?” Bruce asked, only partially trying to hide his concern. The teen’s eyes kept drifting shut as he looked over at the scientist. He looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet, and Bruce resisted the urge to suggest that he go take a nap instead of heading down to the lab.

“Busy, but it was alright.” Peter answered, trying and failing to stifle a yawn. “I should probably head down to the lab, I don’t want to keep Mr. Stark waiting.”

Bruce frowned slightly, though the exhausted teen didn’t notice. “I’m sure Tony wouldn’t mind if you take some time to eat or rest if you need to.”

Peter had decided that looking for a snack was really just too much effort when he was this tired, so he smiled at Bruce and brushed off the suggestion. “I know, but I really should be getting down there anyway. I’ll see you later, ok?”

Bruce reluctantly said goodbye, then waited until Peter had left the room before glancing up at the ceiling. “FRIDAY, can you tell Tony that Peter looks like he’s about to fall asleep standing up? He should probably send him to bed, Peter shouldn’t be working in the lab when he’s like this. The equipment is too dangerous.”

FRIDAY was silent for a few seconds, conveying his message to Tony, and then spoke again.

“Mr. Stark says he will send Peter to bed when he gets downstairs, and thanks you for telling him.”

Bruce thanked FRIDAY, then glanced back at the TV before he turned back to his science journal. The TV had been on the whole time just to give Bruce a little background noise, but Peter hadn’t even seemed to notice.

When the elevator opened and let Peter out into the lab, Tony looked up from his latest project. He could instantly see why Bruce had been so concerned. Peter looked like he could barely keep his eyes open, and there was no way he could safely work in that condition. Tony honestly doubted Peter would even be able to understand the latest project while he was this out of it, even if he wasn’t liable to cause an explosion or something.

“Hey kid.” Tony spoke quietly as the teen wandered over, letting his backpack slide to the ground. Peter didn’t respond, so Tony repeated himself a little louder, and the teen started slightly, then looked up at his mentor.

Peter blinked tiredly at Tony. The circles under his eyes were so dark they looked like bruises, and he looked slightly paler than usual. Tony didn’t bother hiding his concern.

“Bruce let me know you had a long week, Pete. Are you sure you don’t want to go get some rest?”

Peter shook his head slightly, glancing back at the parts spread across the table Tony had been working at.

“I’m fine. I want to help you.”

Tony sighed. “Underoos, if I let you work in here today, you’ll get hurt. I need you thinking clearly to let you work in here. I think it’s time for young spiders to go to their rooms and get a solid night of sleep. You’ll be here all weekend, so you’ll have plenty of time in here other days.”

Peter kind of wanted to protest, but he was also so tired. He didn’t have the energy to argue. He let himself slouch a little more, then let out a tiny noise of surprise as arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Tony pulled away a few moments later, and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder, steering him back towards the elevators. He scooped up the teen’s backpack on the way.

Peter leaned against the wall of the elevator again on the way up as Tony kept an eye on him, making sure he didn’t fall over. He was practically asleep on his feet by the time they reached the correct floor, and Tony grabbed his shoulder again so he could guide Peter into the bedroom.

Once they entered the room, Tony steered him over to the bathroom and left him there for a moment, grabbing the teen a pair of sweatpants and a random t-shirt to change into. He handed them to the teen, then shut the door to give Peter privacy to change. He left the teen’s backpack on the floor next to the desk.

Peter wandered out of the bathroom a few minutes later, looking even more exhausted, if that was possible. Tony guided him over to the bed, pulling back the covers. Peter climbed into the bed clumsily, barely awake. Tony pulled the blankets back up over Peter, then asked FRIDAY to dim the lights and close the shades on the windows so Peter could sleep. He reached down and ruffled the teen’s hair.

“I’ll see you at breakfast in the morning, ok, Underroos? Until then, sleep well.”

Tony turned to leave the room quietly, turning back for a moment when he heard Peter’s quiet voice.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony wasn’t quite sure what the teen was thanking him for, but he smiled at him anyway.

“Of course, Pete. No problem.” He slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind himself, and took a minute to organize his thoughts. They would need to talk about Peter’s sleep schedule at some point, but for now, the teen was resting. He pushed aside the rest of his concern for now, promising himself he’d revisit it in the morning, and headed back down to his lab.