#negativefouriq

Suddenly, there are warm arms around him, cradling him, holding him together, and a familiar voice murmurs, "Hey, hey, I got you, it's okay, you're safe, kiddo, I'm here."

"Mr. Stark...I-I'm sorry," Peter chokes, hating himself for being so weak but unable to stop himself from crumbling in his mentor's arms. "I'm sorry, I-"

A sob leaves his lips, stopping him from saying more. Tony just rocks him gently and murmurs assurances, until finally, finally, Peter feels calm. He breathes in the scent of motor oil and expensive cologne and coffee, the scent of Tony Stark. Somehow, it relaxes him, grounds him, and soon enough he's pulling away with flushed cheeks.

"Sorry," Peter mumbles, avoiding Tony's eyes. He hears him sigh, and then he wraps an arm around him. He leans into his mentor's side, welcoming the comfort.

"No need to apologize, kid," Tony assures him. "Now, you wanna tell me what that was about? Because I'm pretty sure you haven't told me anything about having nightmare- actually, I didn't even know you went through something that could give you nightmares, especially ones about being crushed."

There's a barely there tremble in his voice, and Peter thinks, Does he really care about me that much?

"It's nothing," he says, refusing to meet Tony's eyes. He knows him well enough by now to imagine the quirked eyebrow he's giving him right now.

"It's not nothing if it's giving you nightmares, kid."

He lets his eyes shut as he murmurs, "Don' wanna be weak."

He hears a sigh, and then Tony shifts, moving him so he's lying down again. "Alright, kiddo. You're practically asleep right now - how come you're so tired, anyways? - so I'll leave it for now. But we will be talking about this later."

He sounds so worried and caring that Peter cracks open an eye and gives him a sleepy smile. "Thanks, Mis'er Stark."

Tony's face softens, and a little bit of tension leaves his shoulders. "No problem, kiddo."

                                                      ****************

The next day, Peter avoids all mention of the nightmare. 

"Kid," Tony finally says. "You can't keep avoiding this."

Peter shrugs. "I can try." When Tony opens his mouth, he rushes to add, "Look, Mr. Stark, it's nothing, really, I just- it was a one time thing. It won't happen again."

I don't want you to think I'm weak, is what he doesn't say.

Tony looks doubtful, but he nods slowly. "Sure, kid. But if it happens again, me and you are definitely going to talk."

                                                     ****************

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" Peter says cheerfully, swinging into the battle. "Why are there robot zombies attacking Manhattan?"        

Tony flies past him, his repulsors whirring. "Hey, kid. We're not too sure where these came from or why, so be careful."

"Got it," he says, then hesitates. "Um- the robots- not, you know, people, right?"

"Nope."

Peter lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's- yeah, that's good."

"Sure is, buddy.  You're on civilian duty- go!"

"Why am I always on civilian duty?" Peter complains, already webbing his way toward a building. "Karen, anyone in there?"

"There are five heat signatures on the second floor," his AI replies.

"Thanks, Karen! Can you scan other buildings while I help them?"

"Of course."

"You're awesome," he says, crawling through the window. It turns out it's a bunch teenage boys. One gapes at him.

"You're- you're Spider Man!" the boy says, brown eyes wide.

"So what, dude? We're going to die!" Another boy looks at him, black hair hanging in front of his eyes. "Can you get us out of here?"

Peter fakes a Boston accent as he says, "Yeah, man! C'mere."

They immediately rush towards him, and he shoots a web out the window into the alley below, creating a sort of hammock. "Alright, I'm gonna lower you guys down into that, and you'll be able to jump onto the ground from it. Cool?"

"Cool," Brown eyes says.

"So cool," agrees a girl with wine coloured hair. It looks good on her, he thinks, before he gets them all out.

And that's how it goes for a while- he helps civilians, webs up a few zombies, and is feeling pretty good about himself when his spider sense makes him shove a man out of the way of a falling block of- well, he thinks it's part of the roof, he's not sure. Peter strains to keep it off the ground, stopping it from crushing him and the other people around him. "Go!" he says to the remaining bystanders. They immediately flee, which makes him realize his problem- he can't get out without crushing himself.

Before he can start to fully panic, he hears the familiar sound of repulsors. "Underoos!"

Peter looks up and meets Tony's eyes, trying for a smile even as panic makes his legs shake. "Oh, hey, Mr. Stark. I kinda have a problem here?"

"Yeah, no shit," Tony scoffs. "That thing looks heavy, how the hell are you lifting it up?"

Being a dumbass, Peter says, "I mean, I've lifted more than 10 tons before."

He freezes the second the words leave his mouth, but Tony doesn't seem to hear them. A few moments later, Peter's straightening his back, bones popping. 

"Is that blood?"

Peter looks down at his side, where blood is seeping through his suit. "Huh. I didn't notice that."

"FRIDAY, scan him," Tony orders. They both wait for a moment, him pressing a hand to the wound. "Alright. It's non-lethal, so you can still help civilians, but you need to get checked up later."

"I mean, I've had worse," he says, shrugging. Tony blinks slowly.

"I beg your pardon, what the fuck do you mean you've had worse than actually getting shot by a robot alien?"

"I was joking, Mr. Stark." He was so not joking. "I'm Gen Z, remember?"

His mentor sighs, getting a look on his face, like Why me? It stings a little, but he shrugs it off.

"Remember, civilians!" Tony reminds him, before blasting off into the sky. He lets out a sigh, staring forlornly at a streetlight.

"Always civilians," Peter mutters, before getting back into action.

                                                    ****************

Once again, they're in the lab, tinkering. Peter's in the middle of a rant about midterms when a slight tremor shakes the ground. He freezes, images flashing tot he front of his mind as the shaking gets worse.

"Kid?" Tony doesn't seem to notice the shaking, if his concerned expression is anything to go by. "What-"

An especially bad rumble sends him into a panic, curling up into a ball as rubble falls around him. He isn't sure what's real and what isn't- all he knows is that he's afraid, so, so afraid. He clamps his eyes shut, not wanting to see the destruction around him.

"Help," Peter whimpers, nails biting into his skin. "Help, it- it's crushing me, I-I can't move, I can't breathe, please-"

"Kid!" 

Tony.

But- what's Tony doing here? He isn't supposed to be here, he- Peter must be hallucinating.

"Peter!" Suddenly, his chin is tipped up. Dimly, he's aware that tears are escaping his eyes, but he doesn't care, he's- there's a building on top of him, he's gonna die, he's gonna die in the wreckage, alone and hurt and scared. "Kid, I need you to open your eyes. Look at me, okay?"

He listens to Tony, relaxing a little when he meets warm brown eyes filled with concern. Tony offers him a smile that's slightly shaky as he says, "All right, breathe with me. C'mon, kid. Just breathe."

Tony presses Peter's head against his chest, holding him tight. He can hear his mentor's heart thudding, and he matches his breathing to it.

In...

Out...

In...

Out...

After who knows how long, reality comes crashing down onto him. Peter's in the lab, with Tony, and he just had a panic attack. Heat floods his cheeks as he hides his face in Tony's shirt. 

"You with me?" When Peter nods, he hears Tony sigh, and a second later a hand cards through his hair. He leans into the contact, craving comfort after what just happened. He's pretty sure he's never going to get over his embarrassment, but he can ignore it for now. "Alright, we need to have a serious talk about this, Pete."

"But-" he starts, but Tony cuts him off, pulling him away from his chest and meeting his eyes.

"No negotiating. This is serious, kiddo. Much more serious than I thought."

"But-" I'm fine, he wants to say. The words don't come out, and if he's being honest, he'd love to talk to someone about the increasing amount of nightmares he's been having, but he can't be weak. He's Spider Man. 

"Kid," Tony says, his eyes softening, and shit, he must've said that out loud for him to look so sad. "I'm never going to think you're weak. Ever. You're one of the strongest people I know. And besides, trauma? Nightmares? It doesn't make you weak, even if saying that makes me a hypocrite."

"What do you mean?"

Tony sighs, looking away for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Do you think I'm weak, Peter? Useless?"

"What? No!" Peter protests, offended he could even suggest that. "You're, like, the strongest and most amazing person I know!"

"Even if I told you I have nightmares?"

Momentarily speechless, he stares at Tony, shocked. "You...you have them too?" he whispers, finally.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep after New York. I kept-" Tony looks pained. "Well, it's not important. The thing is, I talked to someone, and it helped. A lot. I'm not saying you need to see a therapist or something, but talk to me. I'll understand better than anyone else."

Peter considers this for a moment, before dropping his gaze to the floor. "Toomes...he-I went to a warehouse. To, you know, confront him. I thought I'd beat him, but then he sent his wingsuit at me and I dodged it, but he wasn't aiming for me. He-he..."

His  voice falters, and he swallows as memories assault him. He takes a deep breath, before continuing. "He was aiming for the pillars."

Tony must see where this is going. His breath hitches, and he chokes out, "Kid..."

"It- the building collapsed on me. I-I had to lift it up myself, because no one was there, and-"

"And I took your suit away," Tony murmurs, eyes widening. "I took away your only source of protection, I-I nearly killed you, I-"

Tony's voice breaks a little, and wow, he hadn't even known Tony cared about him so much. He'd figured he liked Peter, sure, but didn't really care about him, but this? This is proving that completely wrong. "Mr. Stark, it wasn't your fault. I don't blame you."

He thinks he hears his mentor sniff when he whispers, "You should." 

"But I don't. And I never will."

"Thanks, kid. What triggered it?"

Peter shifts. "I think- I mean, I felt the ground shake, so I think there was an earthquake."

"FRIDAY?" Tony looks at the ceiling.

"There was a 2.5 degree earthquake that occurred roughly ten minutes ago," FRIDAY tells them.

"That explains it." Tony pulls him in for another hug. "You shouldn't have gone through so much,"

"Maybe," Peter says, voice slightly muffled by his shirt. "But I don't blame you for any of it."

Tony lets out a slightly watery laugh. "You're a good kid, you know that? One of the best."