|Towards the Endgame|

•Chapter 112• Stress

He felt his whole body slowly coming back to consciousness as it did every morning when he woke up. That feeling that your body is slowly starting up again as if all your batteries have been recharged. You curl your toes, move your legs, and shift a little as you turn to lie on one of your shoulders to get five more minutes. Peter didn't even remember what had happened before he was knocked out by Strange's magic. He felt as if he was waking up like it was any other morning. Only this time Y/n was nowhere near him and he wasn't in his bed. He was in the living room of Tony's house in the woods. When Peter glanced up and his eyes adjusted to the world around him, he finally realized it was Natasha sitting beside him. She wasn't looking down at him but he had felt her hand over his that rested on his chest – Peter often slept like that. But it was Natasha, not Y/n. "Did he say anything else?" She asked. "They're going to try their best. Banner said he- he and Strange they're- Nat, I don't know, I'm losing my mind." Peter started to push himself up and support his weight with his arms. Tony was pacing around, Natasha was sitting down but Peter saw some distress on her face, and on the couch was Pepper, who looked very pale. "What's happening?" Peter touched his head and rubbed his eyes. "Where's Y/n?" Natasha turned to the boy and gently pulled him back down with his head on one of her thighs. "It might be better if you stay like this for a little while, Pete." She told him before she looked back up at wherever Tony was walking to now. Peter frowned and rubbed his forehead with two fingers. "You know this is not going to help time go by any after." Natasha pointed out to him. "At least it stops me from going in there. Can't distract Strange or Banner right now. Can't do that..." Tony sounded a bit like a madman and Pepper still hadn't said a thing.

The longer he waited the more Peter could remember about what happened before and the fog in his brain was clearing up. The last thing he remembered was standing in front of Y/n and not wanting to leave her behind. Her heart rate was so slow. Lung collapsed. He wanted to stick by her side after bringing her home from Toomes' kidnapping. Strange knocked him out with magic to remove him from the room so they could work. But he didn't want to leave. Peter wanted to stay by her side, he promised he wouldn't leave her alone. The boy jumped from his spot and stood on both of his feet. All three adults in the room snapped their heads toward him. "Pete, relax." Natasha reached out for his hand but he backed away and pulled his hand up. "Y/n's still in the shed, isn't she? The garage, the shed, whatever. She's still there." Tony held up his hands to try and keep the boy calm even if he was scared to death himself and filled with worry. Anxiety pumping through his veins - and Peter's as well. They cared about the same girl. "Tony, let me go down there." It wasn't a question, it was an order, a demand. Tony didn't even say anything about it. Normally, he would tell Peter to watch his tone or attitude but not this time. He was too caught up in his own thoughts. "We need to let Banner and Strange do their work, Pete. Can't disturb them right now." Peter started shaking his head. "No, no, I'm going down there. I need to be there in case something happens." Pepper's eyes became more watery as she looked at them bicker. Peter tried to push past his mentor but Tony grabbed his shoulders to stop him. He wasn't stronger than Peter. Yet, the boy still held back and refused to use his strength against his mentor. "I do too, but he can't mess up. If this goes wrong-" Tony's words got stuck in his throat and his breath hitched. He really tried not to start crying.

"I want to see my girl. I have to be there in case something goes wrong, Mister Stark." Peter managed to choke out. Tony nodded calmly and rested his hands on Peter's arms in a comforting way. "They're locked up down there. No one's getting in except for me." Peter was afraid, they all were, that Toomes was going to swoop in again and hurt her while she was in her most vulnerable state. "I just want to be with her," Peter whispers. His tears stung behind his eyes. Every time he blinked he feared that it would all flow out of him, but it didn't happen. "I do too, kid. Can't let you go there." Tony's tone was soft but still stern enough to make sure Peter understood. He couldn't go in anyway. Tony locked it all up, he didn't know what he did to secure that lock. Peter walked past his mentor and went outside for some fresh air. He had a small peek at the shed but he didn't go in. In the movies, the main character usually goes out to have a smoke in a situation like this. Peter doesn't smoke. Would it make things better? It might. He felt the urge to do something. There had to be something he could do, right? Anything at all. Toomes was still out there. He could focus on that instead of going insane over Y/n. He started imagining how she must look right now. Cut open, cold, Bruce and Stephen Strange digging inside of her or stitching her together already. He had no idea. Peter could really go insane if he kept thinking about this too much. Horrifying images. He didn't need that right now. Focus on Toomes. He needed to find Toomes. How's he supposed to find Toomes if he can't focus, though? He could use someone to help him. Tony can't focus either, Natasha will most likely tell him to stop.