Spider-Son & Iron Dad one shots

afraid

   ⚠️⚠️I feel like I should put a trigger warning because there is a panic attack in this chapter ⚠️⚠️

It was a normal evening. Peter came over to the compound to work with Tony in the lab. A normal occurrence, really. Then the lights went out.

"Mr. Stark? Why aren't there any lights?" Peter asks nervously.

Tony puts his tools down and used his Stark Phone as a flashlight. "I don't know. Peter, can you hide under the desk? I don't want you getting hurt if it's an attack."

Peter goes under the desk, scoffing. "You do know I'm Spider-Man, right? I can defend myself if I need to." 

Tony sighs. "Peter, just listen, okay?"

"Okay."

Peter looks around under the desk, suddenly feeling anxious. He's hated tight spaces after Homecoming. 

"Kid, I'm going to go check it out. Stay here." Tony says, leaving the lab.

"O-okay." Peter says. It comes out as a whisper. Peter hugs his knees, his panic progressively getting worse. He talks to himself. "It's okay, you're fine, it's okay." He mutters, over and over again.

He starts shaking. He can feel the dusty concrete in the back of his throat. "No, please not now. I'm-f-fine!" He whimpers.

Peter starts sobbing as memories and flashbacks attack his head. "No, g-go a-away!"

"..help" he whispers, shaking uncontrollably.

He feels weak, like he can't move. 'I can't move, I can't move, I can't-' Peter thinks.

He lets out a strangled noise and covers his mouth. He's supposed to be quiet in case it's an attack. Tony walks in as Peter starts sobbing silently, covering his mouth so no sound is made.

"Okay kid, it's a false alarm." Tony says. The lights come back on but Peter doesn't pay attention. All he can think is 'panic, panic, panic.'

"Kid? You can come out from under the desk now." Tony says. Peter can't hear him, and continues to sob. Peter scratches his face, trying to get rid of a mask that isn't there. 'I need to breathe, I need to breathe.'

Peter let's out a strangled scream, and Tony runs over to him. "Peter!"

Peter shakes under the table and Tony pulls him out quickly, pulling him into a hug. Peter starts sobbing into Tony's shirt.

"Help...h-e-help... I-I- can-can't br-bre-breathe.." Peter stutters out. He gasps for air.

"Peter, relax, it's okay, you're in the compound. Everything is fine, you can breathe."

Peter tries to calm down his breathing with the advice, but fails. 

"Hey, it's okay Peter. Can you hear my heartbeat?" Tony asks. Peter nods, still crying. "Okay, good. Focus on that, okay?"

Peter nods again, listening to the heartbeat. It has a steady rhythm. Something Peter can count on to be even. He quickly calms down, to Tony's relief.

Peter continues hugging him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I-I don't know what happened, I j-just panicked."

Tony nods. "It's okay, kid. Do you have any idea why you panicked?"

"I-I think so. I really hate small spaces, b-because of what happened w-when I-I caught t-t-the Vulture." Peter explains.

Tony sighs. "Okay, I shouldn't have made you get under the desk, then. I'm sorry, Peter."

Peter shrugs. "It's o-okay, Mr. Stark. You didn't know."

Tony smiles sadly at Peter. "You know, i'm afraid of stuff too." Tony replies simply.

Peter looks up in shock. "Really? But... you're IronMan."

Tony sighs. "Just because I'm IronMan doesn't mean I'm not afraid of things, Peter."

Peter is quiet, until he whispers. "What are you afraid of, Mr. Stark?"

"I-" Tony takes a deep breath. "I'm afraid of betrayal." He says.

"I think that's normal to be afraid of, Mr. Stark." Peter says softly.

Tony just sighs. "Well, that's my biggest fear." He says.

Peter nods. "It's sad."

"Why?"

"Because that's a fear that happens often."

"Yeah," Tony says. "I know."

Peter pulls away and they  sit in a comfortable silence until Peter leaves the lab. He  feels a lot more confident, leaving the lab. Because he learned a valuable lesson that day.

Even superheroes are afraid.

A/N: okay that was a short chapter but I wanted to write something so yeah this is what you're getting lol