A Slice Of Life, Death And Everything In-Between

I Guess Even Kings Get Scared, Huh?

A/N: I just want to say a quick thank you for all of the follows and support! I've finally managed to reach 1,700+ followers on here and it just honestly makes my day! 

I hope you all enjoy this little fluffy, angsty blurb and please don't hesitate to let me know what you think! Thank you again, ya'll are amazing! 😊

Also, if you can tell me where the title quote comes from, I will be incredibly happy 👀✨

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"Tony, what--?" Peter blinks awake, squinting up at his father-figure as the man hovers in the spiderling's bedroom doorway.

"Sorry, kiddo," The genius shifts on his feet, the yellow glow from the hall light casting half his face in a murky gray shadow. He reaches up, rubbing at his eyes and Peter frowns when he sees how badly his mentor's hands are shaking. "I-I didn't mean to wake you up, uh, you can go back to sleep now --"

"No, wait." Peter says, pulling his blanket off and shivering slightly in the cool night air. He reaches out toward Tony, sitting up fully in bed. "What's wrong, I mean, is-is everything okay?"

The spiderling feels awkward, almost completely out of his league, but he pushes on, swallowing when Tony pauses again, his father-figure's hands now clenched at his sides.

Standing up now, the teenager takes a step in the billionaire's direction, reaching out to rest his own hand against Tony's shoulder.

"Tony?"

"Just--" The older hero audibly swallows, glancing away from Peter's frowning face, studying the reflection of the hall light against his prosthetic arm. "I had a-a pretty bad dream, bubba and I just, just really need to see you. Nothing for you to worry about, though, everything's fine--"

"You don't let me lie to you." Peter interrupts, finally meeting Tony gaze through the slight darkness. His chest jumps when he sees the tears forming in the man's eyes. "You do, um, you do help me, though and I want to too. Help you, I mean."

"Thanks, bug." Tony's voice cracks and the genius sighs harshly, reaching up to brush away his now slowly falling tears.

Peter gently steers them both over to his bed, carefully grabbing his ruffled comforter and awkwardly draping it over Tony's shaking back. Without a word, the spiderling tucks the rest of the blanket around himself, scooting across the mattress and settling against his dad's chest, nuzzling under his chin.

He can feel more than hear the hitch in Tony's breath, swallowing down his own sob at the shaky kiss that gets pressed against his temple. Tony's arms, both human and prosthetic, wrap around the boy and Peter winds his own across his mentor's torso, squeezing back with gentle force.

He ignores the way Tony's chest jumps, listening instead to the steady thumping of the man's heartbeat under his cheek.

"Tony?" Peter whispers after a few minutes.

"Hmm?"

"Is this better?"

"Yeah, baby," Tony's voice is rough, and the kiss that he drops against Peter's cheek is scratchy but the boy leans into the soft touch anyways. "It's a lot better, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I love you, kid."

Peter nuzzles closer. "I love you, too."

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A/N: Thank you for reading! ❤️❤️❤️