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Chapter 22- Nightmares

The Avengers returned back home. New York looked like a disaster, but with the help of SHIELD, Wakanda and some friends of the Guardians, New York had slowly began to look like it used to... with minor upgrades.

Wakanda had already rebuilt itself, T'Challa continued to share Wakanda's great inventions with the world.

The Guardians returned to space, promising they'll visit every once in a while.

Thor stayed at the Avengers Tower, before returning to his people of Asgard, together with Loki, finding Peter Starkson, aka The Boy of Spiders to be a worthy friend. 

The world had come to terms with what had happened. People had returned to their normal lives, Earth returning to its normal rhythm.

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Peter felt like was dying. Falling...Ashes surrounding him. He felt like the universe was tearing from within him, claws ripping him open. In front of him was his Dad. His eyes red with tears, dirt on his face, blood flowing from the stab wound Thanos delivered. The killing blow. 

In front of him, was Tony Stark, the strongest man Peter knew,  the man that saved the world, screaming in pain, holding his stomach in agony. 

And Peter felt as the universe died with the two of them...

"I DON'T WANT TO GO....I don't want to GO....PLEASE...." He begged and he begged... but his pleas were mere whispers, nobody would care to hear....

And his eyes opened suddenly taking in the dark room around him, gasping for air, his shirt soaked.

He was sweating, breathing heavily, his heart pumping fast. Without thinking, he threw his comforter against the opposite wall. This is not Titan... this is not Titan... His brain was sprinting, he grabbed his hair in frustration, laying back down, hugging his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth.

"NO...no...no...."

The door to his bedroom flung open and Tony ran in, hugging the boy. 

"Calm down, Pete. Calm down, you're safe." Peter clung to him, clutching Tony's shirt tightly in his hand, a lifeline, now sobbing.

"I don't...I don't want to...go..." Peter mumbled, "you can't leave, Dad, you can't leave."

"You're not going anywhere, Pete I'm not going anywhere as well. You're safe." Tony said, massaging Peter's back.

"The world died. I-I...felt it." Peter whispered, his grip on Tony's shirt tightening, his head hidden in Tony's chest, "you died," Peter gulped loudly, his next words like a fist to his face, "I saw you die."

"I'm not leaving you, Peter." Tony said, with every breath Peter's heart slowing down. Silence arose, their heartbeats the only sound. 

"Hot chocolate?" Tony asked after a while, when he felt as Peter's body relaxed. The boy nodded his head, before he left his bedroom after Tony. It was four in the morning but Tony didn't care. If it meant comforting his son, he would sprint through hell if it meant helping Peter. 

Peter rested his face in his hands. He didn't say anything, and Tony knew it was better to not initiate any conversation for now. The smell of chocolate made Peter raise his head and look towards Tony. The man sensing the teen's look, turned around and smiled warmly, a smile he only reserved for Peter.

"Movie?" Tony asked. The boy smiled in return.

"I'd like that."

Five minutes later, father and son were watching Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. Tony knew it wasn't the best idea to watch a space movie, as he felt Peter tense at the sight of planets and spaceships, but the boy protested when Tony mentioned changing the film. Peter snuggled into him, his head resting on Tony's lap, facing the screen, and the man didn't even realize when his hand automatically went towards his son's hair, playing with the messy curls.

And with every minute, Peter's eyes became heavier, his breath evened and he drifted into sleep. And Tony didn't dare move a muscle, scared to wake the poor boy up again.

"Dad? What if he he returns?" Peter's quiet voice struck the silence. The "he" was pretty clear and it made Tony gulp as the memories flooded his brain yet again. He felt like his heart was tightening inside him, and he had to close his eyes and take in a deep breath before he could reply convincingly.

"He won't."

"But what if?" Peter pressed on.

"Then we will kick his ass again before he even dares mention these damn stones." Tony said. And he meant every single word in that sentence. Thanos would not dare touch Peter...He would not dare anyone else get killed...No one...And definitely not his Peter. Not Spider-Man.

Peter sat up, a huge grin spread on his face.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I larb you."

"What? You sound like JARVIS when he malfunctioned." Tony looked at him puzzled. "You can't salad someone."

"You really don't get it?"

"Yeah okay, I larb you too."

(A/N:) Yeah... long, long, long, LOOONG, too long wait. I get it. Sorry. So sorry. It's a busy time these last weeks before summer, and it's kind of hard to sit down and write as much as before. I actually finished this chapter in Spanish class, because, really? A day without writing? Sucks.

I know it's short, but I hope you liked it! Anyways, I love to hear from you!