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“Join me and together, we’ll build my LEGO Death Star.” Ned says with a smile before his face drops, getting a good look at Peter’s face.
“Whoa! What’s wrong dude?” He exclaims, placing both hands on each side of Peter’s face.
While it was almost winter break Peter was absolutely sweltering. On his run to school he hadn't noticed but the warmer halls of Midtown were another story.
Leeching the cold from his hands, Peter relaxes into the other omega's embrace before answering. “I’m not sure dude, It's probably just a cold.”
“Sorry baby but your face is like sheet white." Ned continues to rub his cheeks in an attempt to soothe him.
Its so few and far between for Peter to get sick ever since the spider bite. At first they believed the bite was a cure-all, saving him from ever having to deal with runny noses and body aches.
But after the first few months it became very clear that the bite did nothing in that area, it only changed his heat cycle from every three months to twice a year.
Ned coos very softly in sympathy for the ill omega. While they cannot be the most overt in the closeness of their relationship, newly presented omegas are often seen comforting each other so no one should bother them.
"Do you wanna go home now Petey?"
Peter sighs. "No I'm okay, really. And it's the last day before winter break."
Ned doesn't fight back, he simply watches on in concern as Peter finally takes a step back, steeling himself, before walking to homeroom.
Something's really wrong.
Ned has been trying to subtly monitor Peter throughout the day. At first it wasn't too bad. He nodded off once in English Lit, and stopped taking notes by Physics class but Ned was obviously going to cover for him. It wasn't until they had to go to Engineering after lunch did the alarm bells start ringing.
First of all, Peter was moving through the halls like he was swimming in molasses. With stiff arms and a stilted gait, the usual walk to class took almost twice as long.
Once they got to class Peter plopped all his weight into his seat before immediately staring off into space. They weren't learning anything new so Ned let him rest, only rubbing a soothing pattern on his thigh.
By the time they were allowed to work on their projects Peter had tucked his head between his arms on their desk. Luckily, their teacher for this class was much nicer than the rest so Ned just grabbed their project to finish up while Peter slept.
When the bell rung, Peter didn't move.
With the other kids in the middle of their conversations, grabbing their belongings, and pushing in their chairs, there was more than enough noise to wake him, yet he did not stir.
"Peter?" Ned gently shook his shoulder.
"Ha! You can't stop Penis from embarrassing himself," Flash slams his palm on the desk,"Poor pathetic, little, baby omega can't even stay awake a full school day," The alpha mocks in a disingenuous coo before bursting out in laughter.
Ned can't hold back his snarl but he cannot focus on Flash right now. "Peter, dude, wake up." Ned shakes harder as attempts to keep his heart from dropping.
"Peter, Peter, c'mon baby wake up we really need to go." Ned keeps shaking him until he finally groans.
"…May?"
Okay Ned is fully panicking now. A Chirrup erupts from deep within chest as he manhandles Peter's arm up. He grabs his bag for him, finally responding back to Peter. "It's okay baby—I mean something is definitely very, very wrong—but its okay, c'mon."
Thankfully the halls clear out much faster on Friday so Ned is able to hustle him to the front door. He's carrying almost all of Peter's weight but once they get to the subway, it'll be okay.
Happy isn't here to pick up Peter for the rest of this week as the Avengers, and more importantly Tony, are away on 'secret Avengers business' for the next week.
It a strenuous shuffle down the street and all Ned can focus on is the ice-cold chill that has taken over the heat radiating from Peter. His eyes are open but unseeing, and his arms have taken to staying in position unless Ned manually moves them.
By the time they make it to the subway Ned is a ball of nerves and everyone they pass can smell it. This works in their favor as the sight—and smell—of a young, distressed omega holding up another unresponsive young omega gets them a seat right away.
It clear that the other passengers want to help but every attempt to get close is blocked off by the growl Ned can't help but emit.
Peter's never done anything like this and Ned definitely has never heard of someone just shutting down in the middle of the day. He suspects it has something to do with Peter's more spidery side, but he can't look into it yet. Until they are alone and Ned can lovingly suffocate him in a nest, his only focus is staring intensely at the omega.
It's not until they get to Peter's house that Ned remembers that May is also there.
Readjusting his grip on Peter's arm, he pushes through the house on a mission to the bedroom. If he can just put him down really quick, he can grab May so they can figure it out together.
He bursts out of the room, looking left and right, until he reaches the kitchen finally seeing the note.
"I'll be back Monday :) Larb you. -Aunt May"
Cursing, Ned races back to the room with his bag. "Okay new plan, build your nest then figure out what's wrong."
Peter's bed is not the biggest but it has held them throughout the night for years and very recently held their makeshift nest.
As relatively new omegas, their nests have been nothing if not a tangle of items. There have been times when Ned will turn over right onto the sharpest LEGO known to man, or they will get in together to do their homework, just to lose their pencils immediately.
However, Ned is driven by nothing but overbearing instincts today. Grabbing the nearest blanket he begins to cushion in Peter. Tucking in his freezing cold limbs seem to be the biggest priority. He folds in blanket, sweater, his beanie, May's sheets, and any other heavily scented item he could get his hands on.
He does his best not to jostle the omega too much as he makes a space for himself. Grabbing his laptop, Ned climbs in, partially resting onto Peter.
"Okay Spider-man, as your guy-in-the-chair," Ned kisses his cheek," and your omega, lets figure this out."
Ned slams the laptop closed, not happier than before, but he has at least something to go off of.
Nestling into expanse of Peter's neck, he explains. "Okay, apparently you should still be able to hear me, so I figure you should know this too. According to what Google has to offer on spiders, you seem to be going through some weird sort of hibernation.
It says that it last three to five months BUT you are only part spider so lets hope its much faster, and at least you aren't dead! Okay well, that wasn't really helpful but I mean I was truly terrified, "Ned nervously chuckles", I mean, real horror material.
But I got you Petey-pie. My cute, spidery omega." Ned Chirrups, peppering kisses up and down Peter's neck before he gets up.
"For your listening pleasure," Ned announces before hitting play on his laptop, starting A New Hope. Settling back into Peter, the omega can't do anything but hope for the best.
"mm…morning Petey." Ned mumbles as he stretches out on top of Peter. It was relatively quiet all night so Ned had thoroughly exhausted himself talking to keep Peter company. He kept a running commentary through the movies they have watched hundreds of times before telling him all the spider knowledge hes learned, then finally letting his mind, and mouth, wander.
Although today was a new struggle. Not only was did Peter's DNA mean hibernation, it also meant super-fast metabolism. Giving him a feather light kiss on his forehead, Ned finally ventures out of the nest.
They have known each other since they were pups so navigating through the kitchen was no problem. He moves from refrigerator to cabinet, grabbing only the quickest snack for himself since he still hasn't yet figured out how to feed Peter. He doesn't want to choke him on accident trying to feed him in this condition. But before he lets himself become a whimpering mess of distress, he redirects to the bathroom.
Now fully armed with a spray bottle, comb, wipes, and lotion, Ned makes his way back to their nest.
"Mkay Petey, since you can't shower I'm bringing the shower to you". Ned beams.
He knows it probably not all that important in the grand scheme of things. I mean one day without a shower can't really hurt but Ned's instincts are on the fritz.
His best friend, his omega is stuck in some weird pseudo-hibernation, he can't eat, can't talk, and all Ned has to go on is a Frankenstein of spider knowledge he's obtained from the internet. So he doing the best he can.
Blasting music from his phone somewhere in the nest, Ned starts from the top. Covering his relaxed face, the omega sprays his hair making it easier to comb through the curls. It won't be perfect but its much better than letting his hair continue to tangle. He works with slow, gentle hands making sure not to snag on his hair in any direction.
Taking care of him in this way is methodical enough to calm Ned and let him really focus in on Peter. There's no point to getting worked up, he just needs to do what he can. He's Petey's Guy in the Chair for a reason.
He moves on to the harder part, undressing and wiping him down. This is one of the few times hes seen all parts of his mate but he can't focus on that. He pulls back the many blankets, maneuvering Peter's limbs in all directions before he gets to cleaning. He tries to be as efficient as possible, for Peter's privacy, and so he can bundle him back up in warmth.
"Almost done baby, just some lotion," Ned mutters as he rubs it in. He starts from the bottom this time, efficient in that he can start to wrap Peter back up. Limb by limb, he thoroughly massages in the cream with a secondary focus on getting his blood circulating. Near the top Ned allows Peter to keep his neck and head out.
With all the blankets he doesn't bother with clothes but he makes sure to leave a blanket between them. He takes his shirt off, and lies back down, allowing the music to play out.
"…"
"..n.."
"..ned?"
He isn't sure when he fell asleep but that definitely woke him up. The sun is shinning significantly less through the window so it has to be around evening, and Peter is awake.
Holy shit, Peter is awake.
Finally jolting up he looks to his right and Peter's beautiful, brown eyes are looking back at him.
"You're awake!" He shouts before tackling him back into the bed.
Ned can't stop the tears from streaming as his purring reverberates throughout the room. Rubbing his face directly onto his mate's scent gland, Ned can't help the relief from pouring out of him.
Peter's chest shakes pretty heavily as he laughs, weakly hugging Ned back. "I'm awake," he repeats, kissing him on the forehead.
Ned doesn't want Peter out of his sight for a second, so he orders so, so much food for them to eat instead of venturing back to the kitchen. He knows he'll have to get it later but that's a future problem. Right now he can't do anything but nervously hover.
Peter on the other hand, has entered investigation mode. After not being able to do anything but breathe for two days, he's itching. He's commandeered Ned's laptop and propped himself in the corner of their nest. It's clear Peter heard everything that Ned said to him but he needs more information before he draws a conclusion. Although, after having ample time to think about his past week he's pretty sure he knows.
His spider-man suit has been out of commission since a very rough encounter with the side of a bridge. Mr. Stark said a week break would be good for him but with the worst of winter approaching Peter couldn't leave the city to fend for itself. So he grabbed his original, heater-less, suit and went out each night. To make matters worse, he had been late both Thursday and Friday, causing him to leave home twice without a jacket. At the time it was slightly uncomfortable but Ned had given him his beanie and mittens.
Looking back this is like the stupidest thing Peter has ever done. He knows he struggles with thermoregulation, its like one of the very first things he learned. But he didn't factor in that it also meant he can't handle the cold.
And he still has to tell Ned. He's not sure if its mortification or remorse keeping him from telling Ned but he can't put it off any longer.
"…Ned I think I figured out what—," A loud knock interrupts his confession.
"One second Peter you need to eat." Ned leaves before he can respond. He figures he might as well follow so they can have this conversation in the living room.
"…I wasn't sure what you could eat but I figured pizza can't hurt. I just need to grab napkins so our nes—oh! Or we can eat in here, this is good too." Ned redirects obviously going with anything for Peter because of his instincts. Which only makes Peter feel worse for being so careless.
He has already been intentionally ignoring his memories of the last two days. Memories of biting distress on the train, stress nesting Peter into his sheets, nervous ramblings throughout the night, and that's not even counting today.
While part of him wants to cherish the memories of being caressed and held with so much care, he can't but feel like shit for making Ned go through all that.
He has done nothing but caused him so much stress and worry, just because he can't take care of himself—A loud chirrup sounds off right next to his ear.
"What's wrong Peter? Do you not want pizza?" ned asks in earnest, inches away from his face. It doesn't seem like Ned's aware of what hes doing which only makes it cuter.
Peter smiles before sobering. "I really messed up Ned." He doesn't respond verbally but its clear hes waiting for more information.
"I should have known, I did know. Well I didn't know that would happen but I knew I couldn't thermoregulate, you remember what summer was like, I was an absolute mess. I don't know what I was thinking but obviously that would also apply to extreme cold," Peter rambles on with shame.
He can't hold back the acrid shame that's rolling off him, which only amps Ned back up. He keens, pushing further into Peter's space, rubbing any part of Peter he can reach to soothe him. But before he's able to say anything Peter launches back into his spiel.
"See! Even now you're worrying about me when I'm trying to apologize about making you worry. And I should apologize for making you take care of me too, you were so, so kind and you treated me so well,"He can't help his blush," I just- I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking but I should have, I don't know," He ends sadly.
A hand firmly grasps his chin, turning him into a gentle kiss. It's nothing more than a slight touch before Ned is looking at him softly.
"I'm always going to worry about you Peter. It's my job to worry about you. Not because I'm your Guy in the Chair or because I happened to be there, but because I love you,"He can't hold back from rubbing Peter's mating gland anymore," you're my best friend, my mate, and yeah it was a bit scary since I didn't know what was happening but I'd do it over a thousand times."o
"…I still should have realized."
"Nobody's perfect all the time Peter, and I'll give it to you, you are pretty close," Ned jokes, wiping the stray tear. "It's not anyone's fault, but now we both know we just need to be a little more careful with strong weather. Now c'mon, you have to shove at least two of these boxes in you before we can get back to our nest."
"…I love you too Ned, but we definitely need to wash those sheets first."