Hey, Little Spider || Peter Parker One-Shots

You Were Crushed By WHAT?!

A/N: This is after Civil War, but everyone's worked it out. Also, Peter's already met the Avengers.

***

Since homecoming, Tony had grown closer to Peter. He'd started inviting him over to work in the lab. Soon, the two had begun to forge quite a strong bond - almost like a father and son.

So, when Peter had sheepishly told Tony that May was going on a business trip and he needed somewhere to stay, Tony had immediately offered him a room at the tower.

Peter had thanked him about a million times, and Tony had pretended to brush it off while secretly hiding a smile.

He couldn't deny it; the kid had wormed his way into his heart. The funny thing was, Tony didn't mind at all.

***

It was on the second night that Tony learned about the nightmares. He was in the penthouse's kitchen at around 11 pm when an alert from FRIDAY made him look up from his StarkPad.

"Sir, Mr. Parker's heart rate has elevated. He appears to be flailing about. Would you like to go see what's happening?"

Tony stood up so fast, he almost knocked the chair over. "Yes, thank you FRIDAY" he replied as he dashed out of the kitchen.

***

When Tony arrived at Peter's room, he didn't bother with being quiet as he slammed the door open. However, he froze when he took in the scene in front of him.

Peter lay in the middle of the bed, eyes wide open, twitching violently. His sheets were bunched up by his feet, and he was mumbling incoherently.

Tony rushed to Peter's side, but when he grabbed the boy's hand, Peter shoved him away. In his terror, the young superhero couldn't control his own strength; he almost shoved Tony right off of the bed.

"Shhhh," Tony murmured, somehow maneuvering the shaking boy onto his lap and running his fingers through his sweaty curls, "Shhh. You're okay. You're okay."

Slowly, ever so slowly, Peter calmed down. His heartbeat returned to normal, and he stopped trying to push Tony away. Tears leaked from his eyes and onto his shirt.

Once he'd stopped shaking and crying, Tony had gently asked Peter what the nightmare had been about. The boy just mutely shook his head, and Tony hadn't pressed it. After all, he knew firsthand how terrifying nightmares could be.

***

They never talked about that night again. It was evident that Peter had a lot of practice dealing with nightmares, because he knew how to calm himself down. One time, Tony had rushed into the room only to see Peter sit bolt upright, pant heavily for a minute or so, then wipe his eyes and lie back down.

Tony only had to calm Peter down a few more times. Still, they never talked about the subject of the nightmares. After a while, Tony started thinking that he'd never know.

Turns out, all he needed was a clumsy Steve, a half-asleep Peter, and a precariously balanced drawer.

***

One early morning, Peter stumbled into the kitchen to find Steve awake and making breakfast.

"'Morning, Steve," Peter said through a yawn.

"'Morning Peter," Steve replied from in front of the fridge.

Peter made his way over to the pantry, where he retrieved some cereal. Turning to the open fridge door, he grabbed some milk. Once he'd poured the two into a bowl, he reached down to open the drawer containing silverware.