Silence

Seven

Clint
I sat with Peter all night while Bruce ran a few tests. Natasha and Steve came and went, wanting to check on him and give me some things to do while I waited. "I think it's safe to say that he should be out for at least a few days to a week depending. He has a new fever and from the blood test I took, he has a few unrecognizable cells, but that could also be his mutated genes. I called Cho and she should be here soon and if there is a bigger issue, we'll fix that okay?" Bruce said and I nodded, my head full of worry for the kid. "I'm going to go in tomorrow and deal with his school, if anything at all happens, I want to know right away."

I woke up sitting in the same chair I had been since Peter went in. "Hey, I made breakfast." I looked to the side and found Steve standing in the doorway, holding a plate. I took it from him and looked at Peter. He's still sleeping, but he's still really pale. "What has Bruce said?" Steve sat next to me and put his hand on Peter's shoulder. "He said there was some unfamiliar cells in his body, but that they could just be from his mutation. He's not sure what sickness he has and called in Cho." Steve hissed and I felt his level of concern. Cho only gets called in during bad situations. "Nat said she's going with you to Peter's school, Sam and I will keep an eye on Peter. I'll call Nat if anything comes up. Might want to take that paperwork though, never know how things are." He advised and I nodded, my heart in my throat.

I stood with Natasha in the front office of Peter's school. "Mr. Barton." A man said when he came out of his office. Nat and I moved forward and he welcomed us into his office. "What can I help you with?" Nat leaned back in her chair and I could tell she's angry. "She and I are here to talk to you about one of your students, Peter Parker." The principal sat up straighter and he folded his hands in his lap. "Peter's a good kid, I can't imagine he did anything wrong." I shook my head and pulled out the paperwork for his adoption. "Oh he hasn't done anything wrong. In a few weeks, Peter will be legally in my custody." I showed him the paperwork and he looked it over. "Has something to his aunt?" I frowned and Nat put her hand on my knee. "There was an accident and she didn't make it. For a week, Peter has been living with me and a few other people, I've decided to adopt him and we're working out the process now. But yesterday, Peter came home and complained about an incident with all his teachers that I find unacceptable."

The principal looked confused and I leaned forward. "You see, Peter had told us that his aunt made you aware that he is clinically deaf and must wear his hearing aids while at school. Yesterday, his teachers made him take out his hearing aids and wouldn't listen to any explanation as to why he couldn't. He was accused of listening to music in class, which Peter cannot do as music hurts his ears. Now as a school, if you had known he is deaf, why wouldn't you let his teachers know?" The man behind the desk visibly gulped and Nat leaned forward. "That in itself is a violation of Peter's accommodations, which it clearly states he cannot take out his hearing aids while in school unless he does so himself or is asked to by someone given clearance. I guarantee that the teachers were not given clearance."

"I'm terribly sorry sir, I hadn't known that it was an issue. I'll make it known that he is hearing impaired and that he cannot be asked to take out his hearing aids." Nat smiled and I began to gather my paperwork. "May I ask why Peter is not here today?" The man asked and I frowned. "He hasn't been feeling well and was diagnosed with Pneumonia a few days ago, but it seems that something else is wrong. I'm not sure-" "Clint." I looked at Nat and all the color from her face had drained. "What? Did Steve say something happened?" Nat's eyes filled with tears and I immediately knew that Peter wasn't okay. "Peter was just found to have stage two liver and kidney cancer." I got up, apologized to the principal and dragged Nat from the office.

I sped home, not caring for anyone but Peter. I was out of the car before it was even turned off and I ran to the med bay. I slid into the doors and found Cho, Bruce and Steve surrounding my kid's bed. "Tell me he'll live." I breathed and Cho looked up. "We need to take the tumors out, maybe do transplants. But if we do it, he'll live and his healing will take care of it." Tears filled my eyes and I turned away, punching the doorframe. "Clint!" Steve pulled me from anything I could hit and held my arms to my sides. "He's okay. We caught the early signs, his body is keeping him alive. We just need to do the hard part. Cho already agreed to do it and her equipment is here." I nodded, tears rolling down my face. "I want Nat in here." Steve let me go and left in search for the red head. "Are you going to be calm enough to let me do this?" Cho asked and I nodded, sitting in the chair to Peter's immediate left. "He woke up, not too long ago. He kept signing before giving up and yelling out that it hurts. Cho had to sedate him, we didn't want him to freak out." I grabbed Peter's hand and pulled it to my mouth. "He's so young." I breathed out and Bruce nodded, his eyes sad. "I'm going to go debrief everyone and then get Tony in here."