Don't Call

A/N: Hi guys! Here's a little Peter Parker sickfic for you. Basically Peter gets a pretty bad case of the flu and passes out, and Ned calls Tony to pick him up from school. Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own any of these characters. They belong to Marvel.)

"Peter?"

Peter Parker barely registered the far-off voice as Ned's. His head was spinning as he struggled to open his locker. A pair of fingers snapped in front of his face and he looked up to see Ned watching him, brow furrowed.

"Are you okay? You're getting kinda spacey, there, dude." It took Peter a moment to process what his friend just said. Spacey? He wasn't spacey…he was just tired, that's all.

"Yeah," he replied. "Jus' tired." His words came out slightly slurred, like each one took effort. Ned's eyes widened.

"Dude, are you on drugs?"

"What? No!" Peter cried. "'M just…worn out from last night's patrol." But this didn't seem to make Ned feel much better.

"You were on patrol last night? Peter, it was 15 below."

Peter just shrugged. "I've gotta show Mr. Stark I have what it takes." But as he grabbed his school books, he let out a barking cough that scraped the inside of his throat and left him clutching at his chest for air.

"You shouldn't be at school, man," Ned went on, offering Peter a bottle of water. "Go to the nurse or something. You have, like, the black plague."

Peter forced a small grin as he shook his head. "No can do. I've got a big science test fourth hour." Ned opened his mouth to protest, but Peter sighed and held up a hand. "Really, Ned, I'm fine. I can make it through one day."

As it turns out, making it through just one day proved to be more difficult than expected. Twice Peter nearly fell asleep in class, and he went through frequent spells if dizziness and nausea that left him gripping his pencil so hard his knuckled turned white. The minutes seemed like hours, and by the time fourth period rolled around, he was having trouble concentrating. There was no doubt in his mind he failed that test.

As Peter fumbled with his locker combination Ned watched with concern.

"Want me to get it?" he asked cautiously.

"No, I'm fine." Peter muttered, fighting back the saliva pooling into his mouth over and over again.

"'Kay." Ned bit his lip, not convinced. Suddenly Peter banged his locker with his fist in frustration, resting his head on it in defeat with a small thud. That didn't help. God, his head hurt. Why was everything so freaking loud?Spots blurred his vision as he stared down at the tile floor. Bile filled his mouth abruptly and the world lurched, the ground rushing up to meet him as he crumpled to the floor. Ned caught him at the last second and leaned him against the lockers.

"Peter? Peter! Are you alright?" The teenager groaned in response as waves of pain shot through his head. Ned's brain switched into panic mode. Peter was never this sick. He had to stop pushing himself. The whole Spiderman gig was getting in the way of school, his friends, his health—and just being a kid. The poor guy needed to rest.

"Where's your phone? I'm gonna call May."

"May's on…business trip." Peter said. His vision was going black. Ned reached into Peter's jacket pocket and pulled out his phone anyways.

"Passcode?"

"513..21…6."

Ned jabbed at the buttons, then opened Peter's contacts and started scrolling.

"Peter, stay awake! Who else can I call?" he asked.

"May's gone…" Peter replied heavily. "Maybe Mr. Stark..."

"Tony Stark?" Ned asked in awe. But Peter seemed to realize what he'd just said.

"Wait, no…not him, 'm not s'posed to bug him if 's not an emergency." He mumbled.

"This is an emergency." Ned replied.

"No, don't-" but it was too late. Ned pressed the "call" button and held the phone to his ear. Please pick up…please, please pick up…

Sure enough, on the fourth ring a voice Ned had only ever heard on the Channel 8 News answered.

"Peter? What's up?"

"Um, hi, my name is Ned Leeds. I'm a friend of Peter's and, uh-" Ned began, but Tony cut him off.

"What? Where's Peter? What happened?" the genius's voice had become suddenly urgent.

"Well, this morning he-"

"What's happening now?" Tony demanded. Ned could hear a car starting in the background.

"Oh, uh, he's really sick. I think he just passed out." Ned replied.

"Okay, stay with him. You're at school?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be there in 5." Tony said, then the receiver clicked off.

Four agonizing minutes later there was a screeching noise outside and Tony Stark burst through the doors, eyes widening as he broke into a jog at the sight of Ned crouching by Peter.

They teen was sprawled across the floor, deathly pale except for a hot flush in his cheeks. His lips blue and eyes closed, his face was screwed up in agony. Tony knelt beside Ned, who looked like a mix between star-struck and panicked.

"What happened?"

"He's been sick all morning, Mr. Stark, sir," Ned said. "I'm pretty sure he's got a fever or something, and I told him to go home but he wouldn't and then he just collapsed a few minutes ago." Tony nodded and pressed the back of his hand to Peter's forehead, his features hardening at the warmth radiating off it.

"He's burning up." Tony scooped Peter's fragile body in his arms. "I'll take him back to the med-bay. Thanks…Ned, was it?" Ned's eyes widened as he nodded. Tony gave a quick nod in return, then dashed back down the hall. Ned remained fixed in the spot, staring after him.

"…You're welcome."

Peter opened his eyes, blinking hard against the bright light flooding them. He felt so heavy…and like he'd been run over by a semi.

"Hey, look who's up." Peter jumped. Tony was seated in a chair beside the bed Peter was laying in. He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Is the Spiderboy hungry?" he raised a glass of orange juice in mock toast and drank, gesturing to an identical cup. Peter took it gratefully and sipped it, looking around the room as he did so. The bed was impossibly comfortable, and the walls were painted a bright blue. His jaw dropped as he took in a wall lined with the latest Stark Industry technology. It was like a dream come true. Was he dreaming?

He looked back at Tony to see him smirking. "You like it?"

"Yeah…" Peter said in awe. "But…where am I, exactly?"

"The Avengers Tower." Tony replied. At Peter's look of confusion he explained, "Brought you here after you passed out yesterday. Scared the living shit out of your friend."

Peter smiled. So Ned did call.

"Anyways, Bruce was able to diagnose you with a raging case of the flu, so you're staying here for a while until your aunt gets back."

"Here? As in…"

"Your bedroom." Tony finished for him. "I made it for when you come over." He looked at Peter expectantly.

"Oh-yeah. This is great, Mr. Stark, really." Peter said earnestly. Tony nodded and clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Great. Okay, I'm gonna go get a bite to eat, tell everyone you're okay, etc. F.R.I.D.A.Y. will be here if you need anything. She's got all of our numbers, so call, okay?"

Peter nodded.

"Alright, see you soon, kid." Tony ruffled Peter's hair and turned to leave. Just as he went to close the door Peter called out.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Tony smiled and the door slid closed.

Peter sighed and flopped his head back down on his pillow, closing his eyes. His head was still pounding, and his throat felt like it was housing the fires of hell, but somehow he felt just a little bit better as he drifted off to sleep.

Fin

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! It would be amazing if you could leave a review or Marvel fic prompt as well. Thanks! :D