Spider-Man One Shots

Peppermint tea

Summary: Natasha just wanted to help, that's all she wanted to do, but she didn't know peppermint doesn't mix well with spiders.

TW: a bit of self-harm.

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Did you know peppermint repels spiders because these arachnids smell and taste through the hair on their legs, and peppermint is too strong for them?

Peter didn't.

•××ו

It was a normal afternoon, Manhattan buzzed with activity, Spider-Man was out on patrol, Stark Tower was filled with bantering heroes.

Another normal thing was that Peter was tired, as he hadn't been sleeping as much as he should.

Natasha sighed as she stared out the window at Spider-Man's swinging form.

Two hours later, Peter came back. He entered through the living room's window and plopped down heavily into the couch, next to Natasha.

"Hey, маленький паук."

"Hi, мама паук."

Without turning to look at her, Peter laid down on the couch, resting his head on Nat's lap. He closed his eyes in contentment when she started caressing his hair fondly.

"Are you tired?" she asked, to what he nodded slightly. "You should go to sleep, then." This time, Peter shook his head.

"I-" he yawned- "have a test tomorrow. I need to study."

Peter stood up tiredly and slowly made his way to his room, a concerned gaze following him.

Natasha bit her lip. She didn't like the situation.

The assassin stood up and headed to the kitchen. She knew she wouldn't be able to convince Peter to sleep, so the best she could do was help him by making studying easier.

A few knocks made Peter stop looking uselessly at his book. His eyes fixated on the woman at the door of his room, one of her hands resting on said door and the other holding a steaming cup.

"Peppermint tea," she clarified at Peter's confused expression. "It's said to help concentrate."

Peter smiled at Natasha. He really loved her.

Laughter and heavy steps were suddenly heard through the hallway.

"Clint, Sam, I'm going to kill you!" It was definitely Wanda speaking, and she seemed to be chasing both men.

"Peter, protect me from the angry witch!"

Clint barged into his room while looking behind himself. For this, he didn't see Natasha and accidentally pushed her.

Her agility was enough to stop her from falling, but the cup had no such luck. It was sent flying a few steps from where the red head stood.

More precisely, the cup with peppermint tea was sent flying directly to Peter.

Peter's quick reflexes kicked in as he reached out his hand to grab the cup before it broke, but the contents of it were spilled on the cup's way down.

When the tea made contact with Peter's skin, his eyes went wide and a loud yelp escaped his lips.

"Peter!" Natasha exclaimed, just as Clint started saying sorry a thousand times over.

Peter was scratching his skin on the places the tea touched, a desperate look carved into his face.

"Please, take it off. Take it off. Just make it stop, please," he begged them.

Both spies looked at each other with identical astonished faces before jumping into action.

They approached the teen fast, but they didn't know what they could do to help. Peter had started crying and Natasha was about to go crazy. What was going on?

"Friday, call Tony. Say it's urgent," Natasha told the ceiling. The AI complied and, five seconds later, the billionaire's voice came through the speakers on the wall.

"What's happening?" he asked. He sounded relaxed, completely ignorant to the situation going on inside Peter's room.

"Something's happening, we don't know what," Clint spoke up. "Peter's crying, he says it's too much but we don't-" he was interrupted.

"What happened? Tell me exactly what happened," Tony demanded, a sharp edge on his voice.

"I brought him some peppermint tea but Clint accidentally spilled it over him and now he's crying- I don't understand!" Natasha was frantic, she didn't know what was going on and she couldn't help solve it either. She felt useless.

"What were you thinking, bringing him peppermint tea?" Stark's nervous voice said. There was noise in the background, as if he were hurrying somewhere.

"What-?" Natasha tried, but was cut off.

"Don't end the call. I'll be there in a minute."

"Everything will be alright, маленький паук, I promise," Natasha murmured softly, eyes filled with worry and hurt. She wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince Peter or herself.

The minute felt like an eternity for both spies as they helplessly watched the teen shake, cry and scratch his skin almost hopelessly, begging for it to stop.

It broke their hearts.

Tony careened into the room carrying a syringe with a clear liquid in it. Without ceremonies, he injected Peter with it, and the teen immediately calmed down. He stopped crying, but his breath was still shaky.

Tony turned around with closed eyes and tense shoulders.

"What were you thinking, giving a spider kid peppermint tea?"

"It was meant to help him focus, I don't understand." Natasha was gripping her hair. The situation was driving her insane.

"Peppermint's too strong for spiders," he said in exasperation. "Any contact with it will make their senses dial up and the odor and taste will hurt them." Tony glared at them. "You should research and be careful. Both of you." He sighed.

There were a few moments of silence.

"What was on the syringe?" Clint asked, still nervous.

"A serum strong enough to calm his senses during a sensory overload. Be thankful Bruce and I discovered this formula some weeks ago or I wouldn't have forgiven you."

Natasha looked down. The guilt she felt was eating her alive.

A quiet groan was heard from Peter. Natasha snapped her gaze to him.

"Are you alright? How do you feel? I'm so sorry," she said, giving him no time to answer.

Peter opened his eyes and focused on her. Slowly but surely, he stood up and approached her. He hugged her tightly.

"I'm fine," he said, and the guilt she felt started to lose weight.

Natasha sighed. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Yes, мама паук, and I love you too."