I'll Be There For You

Chapter 25

Peter stirred, feeling warmth next to him. He pushed himself closer to the warm source. Peter yawned, and slowly opened his eyes. He was met with a bright light, and rapidly closed his eyes with a groan. "Friday, dim the lights to 30%." Peter heard.

Peter saw the lights dim through his eyelids, and opened his eyes once again. He looked next to him, and saw Tony. "Oh, hey." Peter mumbled.

"Hi," Tony smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

Peter yawned again, and nodded. "Good." The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Friday kept bumping the lights up, so Peter could adjust. Once the lights were completely on, Tony spiked a conversation. "So, Peter, I have to talk to you about something."

Peter could sense Tony's nervousness, which made him nervous. "Yeah?"

Peter sat up, and faced Tony. He felt as good as new, so it didn't hurt when he moved.

"So, you know how Stane took you?"

"Yeah, where is he by the way? Jail?" Peter wondered.

"He's, uh, in jail. But, you know how Aunt May was there?" Tony gulped, dreading the upcoming moments.

"Yeah? Is she in jail too?" Peter became more worried, and wondered where this conversation was going.

"Well, no." Tony gulped again. "She- she got killed."

Color drained from Peter's face. He hated what May did, but she was still his Aunt. Plus, he didn't wish death upon anyone. "She, she what?" Peter was in shock, trying to comprehend what Tony just said.

"She got killed." Tony closed his eyes. Please don't ask how. Please don't ask how. Please don't ask how.

A few tears slipped from Peter's eyes, but no one noticed, as Tony's eyes were closed and Peter was in shock. "Uh, wha- how?"

Tony let out a deep breath. "She wanted you to die." Tony choked out, tears slipping down his face.

"What happened? Did the blast kill her?" Peter had a feeling he knew what happened, but he didn't want to believe it.

"I, I hit her." Tony brought his hands to his face, shoulders shaking.

It hurt Peter to see his mentor, and father, in pain. He fell silent, and just stared at Tony.

Tony waited for Peter to talk. Seconds turned into minutes. Tony finally brought himself to look up. He made eye contact with Peter. "I'm sorry."

Peter took a deep breath. His anger was growing, but he tried like hell to control it. "Can, I, you... my aunt?" Peter mumbled.

Peter thought about his options. He could lash out, which would probably happen. He could stay calm, which is hard. He could get some space and cool off. That's a good idea. "Can, can you leave me alone for a little?"

Tony nodded, and got out of the room. What did I do? What did I do? WHATDIDIDO!? Tony began panicking. I hurt him. He's gone. What did I do?

Tony didn't notice how rapid his breathing was, and how weak he felt. He used the wall to walk through the hallway. After a few steps, he collapsed on the floor, only hearing his thoughts. Why did I do that? He didn't deserve that, why did I do that? He felt as if he was being suffocated. Tears streamed down his face.

Steve heard a bang, and sprinted to the hall. He saw Tony, curled upon himself. Steve didn't hesitate for a moment, and ran to Tony.

Steve sat down next to him, and instinctively wrapped himself around him. "Follow my breathing." Steve exaggerated his breaths.

Tony was confused, he couldn't hear anything but himself. He felt someone hug him, but his vision was blurry. "Wha-what's happening?" Tony croaked out.

"Shh, shh. Breathe." Tony faintly heard this, but it sounded as if he was under water. Steve whispered into Tony's ear, telling him sweet nothings.

Steve tried his hardest to calm Tony down, but nothing seemed to work. He let go of Tony, and moved in front of him. He placed his hands on Tony's shoulders, and made sure Tony could see him. "Tony, breathe. It's okay, everything's okay."

Tony saw a blurry person in front of him. He noticed a blue shirt, and blonde hair. Tony relaxed a tiny bit, recognizing the person as Steve. "S-Steve?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Follow my breathing, okay?" Tony could hear better, and his breathing slowed.

Steve moved again, sitting next to Tony again. He put his hand on Tony's shoulder. Steve had a good amount of experience with panic attacks. After he got out of the ice, he couldn't touch anything cold. If he did, he would have a panic attack. He had them often, considering he lives in New York. He knew that feeling someone next to you can really help.

After a few minutes, Tony's breathing calmed down. They stayed silent for a while. Their backs were against the wall, with Steve's arm around Tony.

Tony felt comfortable in the embrace. Steve made him feel safe, invincible even.

"Thank you." Tony mumbled out.

"Of course. I'm always here." Steve felt Tony become less tense.

"Peter told me to leave." Tony said, barely above a whisper.

"He just needs some space, he'll talk to you soon." Steve replied. Tony nodded, and let his eyes closed. He was tired.

Tony soon fell asleep. Steve sat there, staring at the wall. After 5 minutes, he stood up and picked Tony up off the ground.

He brought him to the elevator, and told Friday to bring them to Tony's floor. Once the doors opened, he walked carefully to Tony's room.

He laid Tony down, and pulled the covers over him. He turned towards the door, but Tony grabbed his wrist. "Mm, no, stay." Tony muttered.

Steve looked at the door, then at Tony. He contemplated for a moment.  Hesitantly, he laid down next to Tony, leaving some space in between them. That space was soon closed by Tony. Tony pushed himself in Steve's embrace, and Steve flushed red.

Steve soon fell asleep after a few minutes. The two of them would be lying if they said they weren't comfortable.

A/N a little stony action. :)