Short summary: Peter has nightmares and Fri tells Tony.
Raindrops shattered at the window and sounded like small explosions in Peters ears. Though he couldn't understand where it came from. Everything was just so dark. He couldn't move.
A heavy pressure had settled on his whole body, leaving only his head free.
There was dust crawling down his throat, like a raging sandstorm on its was to dry his lungs.
His vision was all blurred up by the dust, leaving him only to see what was right in front of him. A puddle.
Peter tried looking down and saw a young, tiny boy, running to his fathers chest. The father catched him in his armed and spun the boy around while he laughed happily.
It was him. It was Peter before everything had been taken away from him. It was Peter, before he knew loss and pain and misery and loneliness.
Peter coughed up dust from his dry throat and looked away for a second. When he looked down in the puddle again he only saw himself. The reflection of a now older boy, red eyes, brown hair covered in god knows what, blood dripping from him mouth and meeting the drop in the reflection as it hits the dirty water.
"Peter?" A voice from far away called. It sounded like he was underwater and someone from upside called on him. "I'm here Peter, it's gonna be okay."
Suddenly, an arm pulled Peter down in the puddle which turned into a big lake. He's trapped and feel himself drifting down towards the bottom.
Peter is waving his arms in attempt to swim himself up gain air, but there's something stuck around him, something he can't pull away.
When Peter gives in and accepts the drifting through the cold water that gets darker by the second, he pulls in a breath and expect it to be his last breath that would fill his lungs with water.
But as he gasps in, the water immediately starts to wash off of him, and he squeezes the water out of his eyes trying to get a better sight.
He sees a bright light, and a silhouette of a man... Wait... Tony?
Tony hold Peter down on his shoulders to try and calm him as he was just shaking and looking as if he was trying to pull himself up from water.
As Peter calms down and looks at him in confusion, he sighs of relief.
"Fri told me you had a panic attack in your sleep, you feeling better bud?" Tony asked and pulled away the sweaty curls that had stocked itself on Peters eyelids.
Peter nodded as an answer instead of trying to speak. He was still hyperventilating and trying to catch his breath since he almost drowned. Wait.. Did he even drown? What was going on?..
Tony pulled his hands away from Peters shoulder and helped him up in a sitting position.
'Not yet.. He's not supposed to get them this early..' Tony thought to himself as he looked at the innocent boy that was once filled with innocence and happiness.
"Hey, kid." Tony said in a calming voice, looking Peter in the eyes to make him understand what he was saying better. "Match your breath with mine, listen to my heartbeat with your spidey thing.."
Peter understood and closed him eyes. He could hear a buss down the street. He heard a girl and a man laughing at a cafe only some blocks away. He wished he was there, he wished he could laugh like that. He could hear the neighbor cooking something... Maybe it was some kind of soup.. He couldn't really pick up what it was by hearing..
Then he finally found it.
"Thump... Thump... Thump..." The steady heartbeat of the man in front of him, though not as strong a heartbeat in his age should be. He listened to Tony taking his breath.
In and out. In and out.
Peter didn't really know how long it took. Could've been seconds, could've been hour. But he finally calmed his breathing and heartbeat down in order to steady himself.
"Better?" Tony asked when Peter started opening his eyes, now breathing normally.
"Yeah." Peter answered and looked up to the ceiling. He didn't want to face Mr Stark. He couldn't. He was so pathetic, he couldn't even handle a simple nightmare on his own. He was so dependent on Tony. He just wanted to prove that he was strong. But he wasn't. He could only pretend and act as if he was.
Like in the mornings, when he goes to the bathroom and use a concealer to cover the black spots under his eyes to hide how tired he was.
God, he was tired. He had suffered so much. Some days he just wanted to let go, just stop webbing in the air as he would fall to the ground. It would be so quick and then it would all be over.
Tony noticed the water that filled Peter eyes. He guessed Peter was too embarrassed to look him in the eyes after what had happened.
"Kid.. What is it? You're safe now, no one can hurt you." Tony forced Peter into a hug, laying his much longer arms around Peters shoulders and his hands may at Peters back.
Peter wanted to bad to be hugged and feel safe around Tony's arms. But he couldn't show it. He couldn't show him how weak he was.
They just sat there, Peter in Tony's arms as he patted Peters head, drawing his fingers through his dark brown curls.
Peter couldn't resist, only May gave him such affection.. But his father figure? Gosh, it was so nice to not feel so alone. Peter clenched his hands in Tony's shirt by his chest. Warm tears ran down his cheeks and landed peacefully on the sheets of Peters bed.
His head stuck tightly onto Tony's chest, as Tony tightened the arms around him, making him feel as safe as ever.
"I'm sorry..." Peter mumbled as he sobbed into Tony's chest. "Just c-can't take it anymore,"
"Take what, Peter? What's going on?" Tony whispered back and rested his head on the top of Peters head.
"The pain.. The drowning.. I can't breathe under there," Peter continued as if Tony would understand.
"The drowning? Where does it hurt, Peter? Where's the drowning coming from?" Tony asks in a little more serious way, sounding more worried by the second.
"The building, Mr Stark, it keeps on falling, it doesn't stop.." Peter breaking into more sobs. Tony had no idea what he was talking about. What building? Had a building fallen on him?
"It's okay, Spider-boy, there is no more falling buildings, it's just me and you. Here and now, okey?" Peter nodded in Tony's shirt, never felt so safe before.
