ⒾⓇⓄⓃⒹⒶⒹ/ⓈⓅⒾⒹⒺⓇⓈⓄⓃ & ⓈⓊⓅⒺⓇⒻⒶⓜⒾⓁⒺⓎ ⓄⓃⒺ ⓈⒽⓄⓉⓈ

Chapter 193: Midnight Drive

Peter tossed and turned in his bed, for the life of him he couldn't sleep, not without being plagued by nightmares of watching May, MJ, and Ned die. Over and over, it was like watching a movie at the theater, nothing he did would change the ending. He groaned in frustration, not knowing what to do for the next ten hours before having to get up, go to school, come home, patrol, repeat. It was stomach twisting anxiousness he desperately wanted to get rid of, but nothing he tried would help.

It was a cycle that refused to end, Peter quietly sighed to himself, deciding to get out of bed and head out to his kitchen to grab a glass of water to help calm his nerves. He took his phone with him, thinking about scrolling through Reddit. He mindlessly found his way to his contacts, and the next thing he knew he was on the phone with Tony. Who he realized picked up immediately, he seemed awake and alert.

They began to talk, "What's up kiddo? You never call this late." Tony said, Peter could hear him fiddling around with something on the other end.

Peter ran his fingers through his hair, "I.. I know, sorry Mr. Stark. I don't know why I called, I'm sorry if I'm bothering you." He could hear Tony softly chuckle on the other line.

"You're not a bother kid, I'll always answer when you call." That felt like a cup of warm hot chocolate, Peter was content to know that Tony would always be there for him.

"Co.. Could you come pick me up and take a drive? I already did my rounds of patrol and I don't want to wake May since she just got home a couple hours ago." Peter explained, nervousness lacing his tone.

"I'm already heading to the car, I'll be outside in ten. Meet me down there okay?" Peter said okay and quietly got ready to meet Tony downstairs. He couldn't stop thinking of his nightmares, they consumed him, so much so he felt like he couldn't breathe. He didn't talk about them with anyone, he didn't tell anyone about the panic attacks either.

He told himself it was better to suffer in silence, rather than plague everyone around with his burdens. It didn't matter, if he pretended like he was okay no one would notice. Wrong, as everyone, including May, Tony, Ned, and MJ. They were worried about the young teen, afraid he was burning himself out, repeating the same notion of needing to be a kid, over and over again. There were times he forgot to eat, sleep, study even.

Tony began driving around the block, having no idea where they were headed. But he let the minutes go by, watching in the corner of his eye, seeing Peter looking out the window as the wind blew through his curls. After a little bit of silence, he asked the all knowing question, Peter knew he'd ask eventually. "So, what's turning the gears inside your mind, Pete?" Peter sighed, what wasn't on his mind?

"I don't know, things are just so..." He trailed.

"Overwhelming?" Tony suggested. He felt the same as Peter, part of why he was diagnosed with PTSD. All the anxiety, fear, depression, those were things kids today should never have to deal with. He wished Peter could live with a stress free life. But no matter how many times he told the kid to just slow down, Peter kept saying it was his responsibility. Tony respected that Peter was always so willing to help, but eventually he was going to burn himself out.

It's happened to Tony himself, he worked himself to the bone, so much so he hid away from everyone. The only person who helped him get out of it was Peter, and Pepper of course. Now he needed to help his kid, Tony kept driving to an area where the city cleared and stars peaked out in the sky. He put the car in park, and then turned to Peter, "I know how you feel kiddo. You're starting to burn out, you're giving yourself too much to handle."

Peter nodded his head, "I thought I was fine. But everything's spiraled, and I didn't want to burden anyone."

"Pete, how many times do I gotta tell you that nothing you do or say is a burden?" Peter looked at Tony and mumbled an apology.

Tony sighed, "Don't apologize, you just need to talk to someone, if not me, May, or your friends. Why don't we try therapy?"

"Does it help?"

"It sure does, Rhodey has been making me go for a couple years now."

"Okay, but doesn't it cost a ton of money?"

Tony shook his head, "Nope, you're not worrying about the price. I'm not asking to help, I'm telling you that I'm helping. If you continue down the path you're on now, the worse it's going to get."

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, talking about their anxieties and worries, and then Tony drove him back to his apartment. The next day, Tony looked up youth therapists and did full background checks on them. Soon Peter was able to see a therapist and conversed about everything. Of course excluding his Spider-Manning days. He was thankful that Tony insisted on therapy, he hoped it would continue to help.

(I apologize for this being so short. I promise to give you guys some fluff soon lol.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The End of Chapter 193