A/N: I appreciate every single one of you. Thank you so much for leaving votes, advice, and heartwarming compliments that encourage me to continue writing not only this story but in general. I'm so glad i started this story, so thankful for how far it's come already, and so excited to see where it goes. Keep reading:)
                                                  -the author<3

  Tony took a step back. "What about him?" He asked, that familiar sensation of unease running over his skin as if he'd passed through a spiderweb.

  "Tony," Steve sighed. "We've been talking, all of us."

  "Well, certainly not all of us," Tony snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wasn't invited to this meeting about my own son, remember?"

  Natasha winced. "Tony, if you would just listen.."

  Tony's eyes softened as they landed on the red headed assassin. She looked like she was in the midst of a battle against some gruesome disease-her skin was pale and still slightly raw, eyes and cheeks sunken into her weary face. She looked incredibly frail, as if just by breathing on her a bit too heavily, she'd break, shatter. Once she met Tony's eyes, Nat offered him a tiny smile if only to reassure him. Of what? He wasn't sure.

  "We've been talking about Peter...and we think that it would be best if he took a break from Spider-Man for a while. It's just that he keeps hurting himself and others and he is a little young to be navigating crime-," Steve said.

  Tony, of course, immediately disagreed. "What?" He hissed, a shadow darkening his face. "What did you just say about my son?"

Clint was quick to intervene. "We just think that maybe with everything that's happened, Peter is being a bit too reckless to play superhero," he tried to explain. "I mean, he bit Nat!"

"Because he was infected!" Tony cried in defense. He glared at Natasha accusingly before turning on his heel. He didn't need this, not now. He'd just gotten Peter back and now they were trying to take him away again? What kind of team were they? Not the kind he wanted to be a part of, that was for sure.

  "Tony, wait!"

  Tony paused, glancing over his shoulder to see Natasha struggling out of her bed. He cocked an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

  Natasha was panting by the time she'd stumbled over to the billionaire. "I want to talk to you and Peter. You're right, you need to be a part of this decision too, and so does Peter."

  Tony frowned. "What are you saying?"

  The assassin had a certain glint in her blue eyes when she spoke in a soft voice. "I'm saying we can give Peter a chance. I know he won't want to stop, but you know Steve-he won't just give up on this. He'll try and control him, at least until he starts acting the way he wants him too."

  Tony's eyes found Steve's when she said this, and he could feel resentment biting at his skin. He wouldn't let this man rip his family apart, not again. He looked back down at Natasha, who was now holding onto him to stay upright.

  "What's the plan?"

  "To get him out of here."

  Steve was glaring at Tony; he could feel his hard eyes burning holes in his back.

  "Will you come?" Tony asked in a quiet voice.

  Natasha glanced back. "You know i can't. I have to stay and protect Peter from here."

  Tony nodded. Deep down he knew the spy couldn't come with. This was a job, after all, not some vacation. "I'll be out of here in the next hour. Tell them i went to cool off or something," he said before turning and promptly leaving the room, all the while fear clenching his stomach with the thought that his enemies were watching his go.

  Nat tumbled to the floor as soon as Tony left, her legs giving out beneath her frail body. Clint rushed forward and helped her up.

  "Where's he going?" He asked, leading the redhead back to the bed. Natasha gratefully sunk into the pillows.

  "To cool off," she said with a shrug. "He's just upset about it right now, and probably doesn't know how to tell Peter."

  Steve noticeably reacted, his lips pursing together in a deep frown and his body stance changing to one ready to take action. Nat keep her eyes trained on him.

  "Steve..."

  "I'll be right back," Steve grunted. "I'm just going to check on him."

  "No," Nat said. "Steve, don't. Don't get further involved."

  Steve whirled on her. "And how do i know that he's not planning to run just like he always does?! He probably just wants to avoid the situation instead of dealing with it! Peter needs to be controlled, and if Tony won't do it, i will." And the Captain strode from the medbay, his heavy steps threatening everyone in his wake.

  "Shit," Natasha grimaced. This had just gotten a lot more complicated.