Everything's Fine

III

Tony had to figure out what to do. He knew he had to tell Peter, as much as he didn't want to. Tony was just glad that F.R.I.D.A.Y. hadn't received the call, then this would be a completely different story. 'Alright Tony, breathe. All you gotta tell the kid is that his last living relative died. No big deal.' Tony was worried. He didn't want to admit it but he was.

Tony took a deep breath and decided on a plan. He'd tell Peter when the kid was going to head home, that was a good plan, right? Right. Tony wasn't exactly the best with dealing with emotions. He wasn't a touchy-feely kind of guy. Well, not on the outside. He acted cold and sarcastic, but deep down he loved the kid like a son. He just didn't want to admit it. But it was true.

Tony took a breath, composed himself and stepped back into the lab. 'Just act like nothing's wrong. That's all you've gotta do. You've been doing it your whole life, how hard should it be?'

It was very hard, much to Tony's dismay. He didn't want to tell the kid. Not ever. But he had to, and he knew he did.

"What time is it Tony?" Peter asked, not looking up from his work.

"Uh, it's around nine-thirty," Tony said.

"Oh, then I should probably get goin'. Bye Mr- Tony." Peter started to get up but was interrupted by Tony's silent swear.

"Kid, I have some.. not so great news." Tony sighed and looked up at Peter.

Peter tilted his head, mimicking a dog, in confusion.  He hadn't done anything wrong, right? Maybe he did. Maybe Mr. Stark was mad at him, or disappointed in him. Peter braced himself for the worse.

"How do I say this?" Tony mumbled.

"Say what? That you're mad at me?" Peter sighed, looking down.

"What? No! Kid why would I be mad at you?" Tony was surprised, why would he be mad at the kid? But that didn't matter now, he needed to tell the kid about his aunt.

"Look, we'll talk about that later. This is more important," Tony sighed.

"Oh," Was all that Peter said.

"Look, Aunt May got into a car crash." Tony looked at the kid for any kind of reaction. He wasn't sure how Peter would take the news. Immediately Peter jumped up from his work.

"Is she alright? Oh god, which hospital is she at, I've gotta go see her now, I shouldn't have left h-" Tony cut Peter off.

"Pete she's dead. This isn't your fault, not at all. You can't save everyone, hell, I can't even save everyone. So don't beat yourself up about this." Tony looked at Peter. Peter was frozen, looking at the ground. A single tear fell and then the boy erupted in sobs.

"N-n-no, sh-she didn't-t d-die." Peter collapsed onto the lab floor, on his knees, his hands covering his mouth as his body shook. Tony's heart broke as he saw the sight in front of him. So he walked over to the kid and wrapped his arms around him.

"Hey, shh, you're gonna be fine." Tony rubbed Peter's back as he sobbed, trying to calm the kid down.

"Th-this is-s m-my fa-fault," Peter whispered.

"No, this is not your fault. You were here, with me, and you had no idea this was going to happen. None." Tony looked Peter in the eyes as he spoke, still rubbing the kid's back. Peter went silent.

"But I should've been there," Peter whispered after a minute.

"You didn't know this was going to happen Peter. This isn't your fault." Tony spoke firmly. As much as he liked the kid, Peter needed to learn that not everything was his fault. After a while Peter cried himself to sleep, so Tony decided to carry the kid to his room. Well, the guest room that would now belong to Peter.

—————————

Peter was underneath a parking garage, helping an old lady from someone trying to mug her. But something was off. He recognized the man's voice. Suddenly the old lady disappeared from the garage. Peter looked around and saw who the man really was. The mechanical wings whirred and spread out to their full length. "I'm sorry Pete." And with that the ceiling fell onto him.

Peter couldn't breathe. He couldn't see much, either. He felt the dust all around him, sticking to his sweaty face. His arm was trapped underneath some of the rubble. Peter's anxiety started kicking in. "HELP ME!" He screamed as loud as he could. Nothing.

"PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP! I'M DOWN HERE!" Peter's desperate cry's echoed around him. "P-please, s-someone, help-p me." His screams had gone down to sobs. He couldn't move. He was stuck.

He was going to die down here.

—————————

Tony was in the lab working on his suit. It was nearly three-forty, yet he wasn't tired in the slightest. Humming along to his tunes, he didn't even know what was happening just up the hall.

"Sir, you told me to alert you if Peter's vitals were abnormal, correct?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. Interrupted.

"Yes, why? Are they abnormal?" Tony asked, putting down his work.

"Yes. His heart rate is 180 beats per minute, usually typical in a nightmare." Tony sprung up and ran into Peter's room.

Tony stopped at the doorway and looked at the sight in front of him. Peter was curled up in the fetal position, tears streaming down his face. He was calling out quietly. His face was drenched in sweat, and his hands were shaking.

The kid looked so small. The blankets that had been piled up on his bed has been thrown onto the floor, scattered about. Tony noticed that Peter was struggling for breath, as if he was being crushed by something.

Tony's heart broke for the second time that day.