No Lie

Nightmare Frenzy

Despite mentioning Thanos, there aren't Infinity War spoilers. However, I imagine everyone has seen it at this point.

Peter was right there, standing on a ledge above Thanos and about to attack. Tony could reach him before he jumped, he was sure. All he had to do was make sure Thanos wouldn't notice Peter or manage to hurt him.

Before he could think up anything even sort of resembling a plan, Peter jumped off the ledge and was snatched out of the air. Tony watched in horror as the kid was thrown across the rough terrain of Titan. Peter yelped as he slammed into the ground and Tony's heart plummeted. He put all his power into his thrusters and shot towards the limp form of Peter, but Thanos beat him there.

Reaching down and grabbing Peter's hair, Thanos lifted him off the ground.

Peter groaned, grabbing onto Thanos's wrist to prevent the pull on his hair from hurting more than necessary.

"Hey, lemme go!" Peter yelled, kicking his feet uselessly. "This isn't very fair!"

"You're really quite annoying," Thanos murmured.

Peter glared at him and rattled on about how just because he was small didn't mean Thanos could throw him around like a rag doll. For once, Tony wished the kid wouldn't keep talking.

"Unlike you, people like me and I would prefer not to have to tell Aunt May why I look like a crash dummy," Peter finished, still grimacing in pain.

Thanos looked slightly amused before he turned to Tony.

"Is this yours?" he asked, shaking Peter who cried out in pain at the tug on his hair.

"Don't you dare hurt him," Tony replied, trembling with fury. He raised a repulsor and pointed it at Thanos. "Put the kid down or I swear I'll kill you."

Thanos tilted his head.

"You care for him?" he taunted.

Tony bit his lip to prevent himself from saying something that would make the situation worse.

"Answer me or I'll crush his skull!" Thanos roared, shaking Peter above the ground. Peter's face scrunched up in pain and Tony panicked.

"Yes! Yes! I care for him!" Tony cried, stepping forward before stopping himself.

Thanos grinned maliciously.

"Disgusting," he said before pressing the purple power stone to Peter's head and activating it.

Peter and Tony both screamed as Peter's body turned purple and cracked before disappearing.

* * * * *

Tony woke up in a sweat with tears racing down his cheeks and heart beating rapidly. Sitting up quickly, he tried to catch his breath and remember where he was. At the sight of the open windows around his room, he was confused to discover it was only late afternoon in New York. Why had he been asleep? What was going on? A few seconds later, he recalled laying down to take a nap after FRIDAY insisted. Clearly, that was a bad idea and instead served as a reminder as to why he didn't sleep anymore.

"FRIDAY? Where's Peter?" Tony demanded, putting a hand on his chest to stop his racing heart. It didn't help.

"Peter is at Midtown School of Science and Technology."

That wasn't enough for Tony. He had to make sure the kid was alright.

"Take me there," he said, activating his suit and shooting out of the lab.

FRIDAY flew him to the school on autopilot while he attempted to stop trembling. He couldn't very well show up in public shaking from a nightmare, even if he wasn't going to be out long. Just long enough to make sure Peter was okay and not actually dead.

Peter was working on a worksheet when he heard whispers begin.

Some kid near the window swore they had just seen Iron Man outside. Other kids nearby had looked outside and gasped, whispering about seeing Tony Stark. As more as more kids moved towards the windows, Peter frowned and looked up as well. Neither Tony Stark nor Iron Man was visible.

"Psst, Penis?" Flash hissed, tossing a paper at his head.

Peter rolled his eyes and turned to look at Flash.

"What's Tony Stark doing here, huh?"

"I don't know, Flash," Peter replied, still not believing the whispers about Tony Stark.

Tony hadn't left his Tower alone since the battle with Thanos. After a pretty intense therapy session, he'd been diagnosed with PTSD and didn't go too well in public anymore. Peter understood completely which was why Ant-Man was sitting in his pencil bag, drawing with a broken piece of lead on a very small piece of paper.

"Probably cause you don't know him," Flash concluded triumphantly.

Peter just sighed and turned back in his seat, giving Scott a sharp look. The tiny man had been told he wasn't to do anything to Flash under any circumstance. If he did, he'd go back to jail and after reminding him multiple times of Cassie, Scott had agreed.

It was only a minute later when a clear knock sounded at the door. As everyone looked up and turned towards the door, Tony Stark walked in. He looked calm, but Peter could see the absolute terror in his eyes as he searched the classroom. Peter dropped his pencil and sat upright the second Mr. Stark's eyes landed on him. He let out a soft 'Peter' that only Peter and those closest to Mr. Stark could hear. As he stood abruptly, Peter didn't particularly care about jostling Scott on his desk.

"Mr. Stark?" he asked, "What's up?"

Mr. Stark glanced at the teacher then Peter before asking if he could see Peter for a moment, his voice only shaking slightly. The teacher nodded, dumbstruck, and Peter walked into the hall with Mr. Stark. As soon as the door was shut, Mr. Stark hugged Peter tightly.

"God, I had this dream," he muttered, squeezing Peter tighter as the remaining images flashed through his mind. "You—Thanos—he killed you, Peter."

Tony took in a sharp breath and barely held back tears.

"I'm alright, Mr. Stark," Peter said softly, squeezing Mr. Stark tight, but not tight enough to hurt him. "We won. It's okay."

"It was so real," Mr. Stark said, his voice breaking.

Peter hugged him tighter and closed his eyes tightly. He could hear Mr. Stark's breathing picking up again and grasped for something to talk about.

"I had a chemistry test today," he said quietly. Mr. Stark's breath hitched and Peter continued. "It wasn't that hard. I didn't need to study for it, but I did and I'm pretty sure I aced it. The math test, though, I'm not so sure about. I didn't study for that at all."

He continued on about his new English project and how Ned got accepted into NYU, but MJ was going to Howard in Washington DC. By the time he got to his new World History teacher, Mr. Stark had calmed down and released Peter.

"Thanks, kid." He sighed and Peter nodded solemnly.

"No problem," he murmured. Mr. Stark hugged him again then stepped back. "I can still come over after school, right?"

"I'd be upset if you didn't," Mr. Stark told him. Peter grinned. "Get on back to class, Underoos. I'll see you in an hour."

"Alright," Peter said waving goodbye as he walked back into his class.

As soon as he faced his peers, he stopped short and was met with one question: "You know Tony Stark?"

The rest of the class period consisted of questions and Peter answering them until Scott appeared beside him. After that, it varied between scolding Scott, apologising to the kids he'd scared, and explaining how he knew Ant-Man as well.