Peter doesn't even feel himself getting shot. All he hears is an ear-piercing noise that keeps ringing in his sensitive ears. Then he can't breathe anymore. It feels as if something is clogging his airways but he can't really say what happened. The picture before his eyes starts swimming weirdly and black dots litter his view.
Only then comes the pain. It's hot and scorching and Peter has no idea what hurts or why it hurts.
He stares at the woman suddenly screaming at him and the man staring at him. There's a loud clank and suddenly there's a gun lying where the man was and the woman just keeps screaming and there's someone speaking directly in his ear, but Peter has no idea what is happening.
Should he say something? He opens his mouth, but there's something on his face and his breath is still not coming and then there is a gurgling sound and then... then nothing.
***
Tony has to admit, it was weird at first. Having the avengers around him. It's better now, but he still doesn't really trust them.
When they first came to the tower after the new accords, they talked a lot. They know they're all at fault for what happened and how unfortunate the events surrounding the accords were.
It was hard work, involving a lot of talking and Tony wasn't able to be alone in the room with any of them at first. Rhodey never left his side for that time, staying right next to him and helping him through quite the amount of panic attacks.
It's still hard and there are a few things that will probably not change anytime soon. He won't just stop being afraid of Wanda's powers. He won't just be able to let his guard down around Natasha. He won't just stop flinching every time Bucky moves to close. He won't just be able to trust Steve again.
But his therapist said he should try. And Tony tries, he really does. Admittedly his therapist also told him he has severe trust issues and that she's not sure if trying to mend the relationship with the avengers really is the best course of action. But Tony can't just shut them out, they once were his friends after all.
And Tony can hide his pain and nervousness around them pretty good so it's not like it's a problem for them.
He even lets them live in his tower and okay, that's a bit weird, but it's not like they're living in the same apartment. It's more like they're neighbors and if Tony doesn't want to see them, he just doesn't. It's as simple as that.
***
He was in the middle of a lab binge, when FRIDAY told him the avengers where asking if he would be interested in a dinner with them.
It was a good day and Tony was pretty sure he could take a break from working and eat something, so he said yes.
And sitting at the table now, joking about the time Steve broke every door after he newly got his super strength, it felt like a good idea. He was able to relax a bit and even though Rhodey couldn't make it, Tony didn't have the urge to panicky flee the room. It was progress.
