Spider-Son & Iron Dad one shots

snake

Peter sits on top of his apartments rooftop. The phone rings and he waits for an answer. 

"Kid? What's up?" Tony answers.

"Nothing, Mr. Stark. I just wanted to hang out, I guess? I'm kinda sad right now." He says softly.

"Yeah, sure. Do you want me to come over to you, or do you want to swing by here?" He asks calmly.

"Can you come over here? My hands are shaking, I don't know if I can swing."

"Of course, I'll be right there."

Click

Peter wraps his shaking hands around his knees. Something felt off. He didn't know what was wrong, but it felt like a snake had wrapped around his chest and squeezed. He couldn't breathe very well, but he forced through the tightness in his chest.

He's never felt like this before. Why was he upset? His day had been great, after all. He and Michelle were lab partners because Ned was absent in science, and they talked. Ned and Peter came up with a whole bunch of ideas for web designs and suit designs, but yet, his hands still shake.

Tears fall down his face and he can't move. His hands feel too warm. He takes off his sweater, leaving him in his plaid shirt. He shivers but his still too hot. He doesn't know what's wrong with him.

He hears the Iron Man suit land behind him but he can't turn to look at it. He's frozen and overheated and cold and his hands are shaking-

"Peter? What's wrong?"

Peter licks his dry lips and tries to speak, but his throat feels like it's covered in chalk. He opens his mouth and closes it and makes a motion signaling he can't speak. Tony understands. He always does.

"Why don't we go inside, where it's warm? We'll get you some water and we can chat." Tony suggests. Peter simply nods and walks with him down the stairs to the inside of the building.

Peter guzzles maybe 5 glasses of water, trying to clear the chalkiness of his throat and dryness of his lips. When he can finally think clearly, the snake releases it's grasp on Peter's chest. He takes a deep breath. And another.

Peter huffs confusingly. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He says.

Tony smiles unsurely. "It's fine. What happened?"

"I'm not sure," He says. "It was like I couldn't move. I was cold and hot at the same time- which isn't even scientifically possible-"

"Try to tell me in an un-scientific way." Tony says.

Peter stutters. "O-Oh, well, then it was like... a snake? It like, squeezed around my chest and I couldn't really breathe that well. My brain was kinda foggy when I called you. I think I was worried, and my natural instincts just took over," He explains.

Tony nods. "Have you had this problem before? Does it happen often?"

He shakes his head. "Not really, Mr. Stark."

"Well," Tony says. "I think you have anxiety. It's really common now, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh." He says softly. "Do you have anxiety?"

It's silent for a second.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Mr. Stark, I shouldn't have  asked that, I wasn't respecting your boundaries-"

"It's fine, kid. Yes, I have anxiety. It's pretty bad. I have a therapist for it, too."

Peter's eyes light up. "Really?"-Tony nods.-"How would you describe your anxiety?"

Tony thinks for a minute. 

"Like my hands are being squeezed to hard, I suppose. It's just a lot of pressure." He says.

Peter makes a mental note not to touch him when he's having an anxiety attack.

They spend the next hour bonding over the new thing they have in common, and Peter feels a lot better about his (maybe) new diagnosis. Tony even offered to set him up with a Doctor to get an actual checkup, and if it gets worse, his own personal therapist.

But Peter doesn't care about all that. He just cares about one thing Tony said in particular while they were talking.

"If you're ever going through an anxiety attack, please call someone. Call May, call Ned, call Michelle if you need too, but if all else fails, I'm always going to be here for you. Never forget that, and never go through an anxiety attack alone. It sucks."