a fan of the fic

“What’s up?” he asked while looking over Tony’s shoulder. There was a small hologram projecting from a tablet. It looked like an aircraft.

Tony opened his mouth to answer but before he could, Peter sneezed three times, followed by several sniffs. “Are you sick?” he asked.

“Not really,” Peter said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s just a cold.”

“You should be resting,” Tony replied as if Peter hadn’t said anything at all.

Peter’s eyes widened in mild surprise. “What are you talking about?” he questioned. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re sick,” Tony countered. “And sick people are supposed to rest.”

Peter rolled his eyes and shook his head. He was glad Tony cared enough to be concerned. Even if it was a little disproportionate to the situation. “I think I’ll be okay,” he promised. “What did you want to show me?”

“Nope. That can wait. You shouldn’t be up,” Tony replied without missing a beat. Afterward, he paused, one eyebrow raised. “Does May know you’re sick?”

“I’m barely sick and yes, she knows. She gave me a little packet of tissues this morning and everything.” He said, then sneezed again. That was followed by a grunt of frustration as he wiped his nose. It was starting to get sore.

In an instant, Tony hopped off the couch and closed the tablet. “That’s it,” he clipped. “You’re laying down. I’ll go grab you a pillow and a banket.” After watching Peter wipe his nose with toilet paper he shook his head. “And some actual tissues. I think I have some in the hall closet. Take off your shoes, get comfortable, I’ll be right back.”

“Mr. Stark, I don’t-” Peter began, but Tony was already out of sight. Rather than complete his thought, he sighed. Next he kicked his shoes off and sat down as instructed.

Tony returned moments later with half the linen closet in his arms. He dropped two pillows on the corner of the couch said, “Lay down.”

Unwilling to argue, Peter huffed and put his head on the pillows. He’d barely stretched out before Tony was spreading mutiple blankets over his body. “Are you tucking me in, right now?” he asked, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

“Maybe,” Tony quipped. “You got a problem with that, Kiddo?”

Peter laughed as he shook his head and snuggles into the covers. He would never admit it, but he was tired. Although it was easy enough to blame that on a long day at school.

“Okay,” Tony said as he smoothed out the outermost blanket.. “I’m going to grab you some water and cold medicine. Maybe some hot tea. Do you like tea? I’m getting you some tea,”

Amused, Peter asked, “You know this is all very unnecessary, right?”

Tony scoffed and gently knuckled Peter on the side of his head. “Just shut up and let me take care of you, you little punk.”

Before long, there was a plethora of cold supplies strewn across the coffee table. Peter sat up to swallow the tablets and sip at the tea. It was better than he expected. The copious amount of honey was nice, and the steam did wonders for his clogged sinuses.

“Can I see what you were working now?” he asked, once he set his empty mug side.

Tony glanced up from where he’d reengaged with the table and narrowed his eyes. “No. You’re resting,” he said with finality.

“I can rest and look at your schematics,” Peter huffed. “Those things aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Tony hummed and reached over to place his hand over Peter’s face.  “Close your eyes,” he said. “You need a nap.”

That lasted for all of two minutes, then Peter sat up. “This is boring,” he said, emphisized by a dramatic sigh.

“It’s supposed to be boring. You’re sick,” Tony replied without ever looking up form his work. “Go to sleep.”

“It’s just a cold, Mr. Stark,” laughed, then sniffed. “I don’t even have a fever.”

“That doesn’t make you any less sick,” Tony easily replied.

“Fine, whatever,” Peter grumbled. Although, he was fully smiling as he snuggled down into the blankets. Five minutes later, he yawned and decided the medicine must have started working because he could breathe through his nose again.

He sighed deeply and allowed his body to relax. Then just as he was right on the verge of sleep, he felt a hand brush through his bangs. “That’s better,” he heard Tony whispered just before a kiss was dropped onto his forehead. That was new, and it caused him to crack one eye open.

“Did you jus’ kiss me?” he sleepily mumbled.

Tony froze, clearly having not expected to get caught. Although he managed to recover quickly. “I sure did,” he confidently replied, then gave Peter’s head a gentle shove into the pillows. “Now deal with it. Go to sleep, Kid.”

Peter bowed his head. Tony placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. “You’re fine, Bud. This is on me. I should have said something a long time ago,” he said.

When he was sure Peter had relaxed, he began to explain. “With my friends,” he said, then paused and tilted his head. “With my family- Tony is my preferred name. I would really appreciate it if you could try to call me Tony.”

Peter nodded his head a bit at his lip. “I mean, I can totally work on that but-” he said hesitantly began. “But I’m probably going to mess up a lot. It’s just that my Aunt May- and my Uncle Ben when he was here- they taught me that it wasn’t good manners to call an adult by just their first name. They said that calling them mister or misses was a sign of respect and I just really want to show you that respect Mr. Uh- Tony.”

“Would it help if I told you that using my preferred name, is being respectful?” Tony suggested.

Peter nodded his head. “I know that. I do. And I want to. It’s just that it’s a habit that’s been drilled into my head since I was a little kid. And I know that’s not an excuse! But just wanted you to understand why I might mess up.”

“I appreciate you sharing that with me, Bud,” Tony said, smiling softly. “And while we’re on the subject, is there anything you would prefer I did or didn’t call you?”

“Do I have to tell you why?” Peter asked, looking up through his lashes.

“Of course not. We’re setting boundaries here, and boundaries don’t require an explanation. Not unless you decide you want to give one.”

“Well, there’s this one nickname,” Peter whispered. “You’ve never used it! But since you asked, I, uh- I don’t like to be called Einstein. Like, at all.”

Tony was a little confused but flourished his hand in acceptance all the same. “Done, deal, Kiddo” he quipped. “I can handle that. Anything else?”

Peter promptly shook his head.

“Great. You let me know if that changes, though. Alright, Kiddo?” Tony requested, hoping to keep the door open for future conversations.

To his relief, Peter agreed. “Perfect,” he said, hIs words accompanied by a genuine smile. “Ready to get back to those suit upgrades?”