The next day Peter woke up feeling anxious. It was Sunday so the feeling wasn't from school. He tried ignoring it, but it was persistent throughout the day.
But when lunch time rolled around, he forgot about the off feeling nagging at him because of someone.
As Peter stepped into the kitchen he saw Tony by the counter, talking to Nat and Rhodey. "Tony!" He yelled and the taller man turned.
"Hey kid," Tony replied while receiving a hug from Peter. Tony was never fond of hugging but he's always enjoyed the ones Peter gave him. After they broke apart Tony asked, "how have you been doing while I was gone?"
Peter knew what he was referring to (his panic attacks, nightmares, and sensory overloads). Peter's had a few nightmares and maybe a small panic attack while Tony was gone, but it was nothing worth mentioning, "great! Patrolling was good, I got to use my upgraded web shooters. I blew out a circuit on my left one though I should probably fix that."
"How about we go fix them right now," Tony said. "Meet me in the lab with them and you can catch me up on what I missed."
"Ok sweet," Peter left the kitchen to get his web shooters. Tony finished the last few bites of his sandwich and left his plate on the counter, making Natasha roll eyes.
Tony was beat to the lab by Peter and was greeted with the sight of Peter standing on the ceiling.
"What are you doing up there?" Tony startled him.
Peter's head turned and he quickly detached from the ceiling, landing smoothly on the floor. "Oh uhmm it's fun," he had a dumb smile on his face.
Tony had a small smile Peter couldn't see and shook his head, "alright let's see those shooters."
They worked on them for about 30 minutes and Peter told Tony basically every single detail of what happened when he was gone. Tony didn't mind it though, he missed the kid.
But soon the two were interrupted when Steve came through the elevator. "Tony," he said, making both the boy's heads turn. Tony knew the look on his face. Something was wrong.
"Peter go find Vision and ask where my wrench is," Tony told Peter. He knew Steve didn't want Peter around when told him the trouble, and honestly Tony didn't want Peter around to hear it either. He wanted to keep him far away as possible from any problems.
"But there's a wrench right-" Peter was cut off.
"It's not the right one."
Peter looked between Steve and Tony, then made his way to the elevator. It was probably just Avengers top secret stuff.
Vision said he put the wrench in Tony's bedroom so Peter grabbed it from there. He began to get an uneasy feeling again, like this morning. But there was nothing around him or happening outside that was dangerous. He just tried to ignore it again as he stepped back in the elevator.
Sure as a loyal friend and fellow superhero, he shouldn't eavesdrop on potentially confidential conversations. But his teenage curiosity got the best of him. While riding down, he zoned his hearing in on the two men in the lab.
"You told me not to worry about it Steve! You said it was handled!" Tony was clearly furious.
"No one has ever escaped before. How was I supposed to know that they were going to," Steve defended. Peter flinched when he heard a shove. He thought it was most likely Tony shoving Steve.
"Maybe you should've thought about how putting Toomes and Louis in the same prison is a horrible decision."
The elevator doors opened and Peter dropped the wrench. That sentence made Peter's stomach drop. They escaped. The two people he hated most in the world. The people who've caused him so much pain.
Tony cursed at himself in his mind as him and Steve turned to see the shocked boy. There was a good minute of silence before Peter started towards Tony.
He couldn't help it, Peter got a sudden burst of rage. How could they have escaped just like that? What if they hurt other people like they did to Peter? What if they hurt Peter again? Peter was angry and the tears that welled in his eyes showed that.
He shoved Tony with force. Tony stumbled back but caught himself. His shove was powerful though due to his super strength. Ironman could be able to handle his strength in a fight, but not Tony.
Never in his right mind would Peter ever even think to shove the Mr. Stark, but Peter wasn't in his right mind. He was scared to death and angry.
Tears fell from the teens face as he began towards Tony again. "YOU TOLD ME THEY WERE LOCKED AWAY! FORVER! YOU SAID THEY'D NEVER GET OUT!" Peter yelled. Before he could shove Tony again or do something else he would regret later, Steve came up behind Peter and grabbed a hold of him.
One of Steve's arms was firmly holding Peter back. It was unyielding across his chest while his other arm wrapped around so he securely pinned the boy's arms to his sides. Steve pulled him back and they landed on the floor, now sitting down upright on the ground.
Peter was sobbing and yelling. His voice cracking and giving out with each cry. He was thrashing under Steve's hold, wanting to get out badly. He kicked his legs harshly and furiously tried to wiggle out of his grip.
"Let go!" He grunted, clearly frustrated. Peter was no doubt extremely strong, but Steve was still the stronger one compared to him.
"Calm down," Steve said to him, trying to now get a hold of Peter's flailing legs with his own leg. Peter either didn't listen or didn't care about what Steve said because he was still sobbing and screaming.
Finally Steve was able to get his leg down on top of Peter's and pinned them to the ground. Now most of Peter's movements were restricted, but he still aggressively jerked his body and cried out.
Tony was in a trance after he was shoved. So many thoughts were racing through his mind. So many emotions. But he was soon snapped out when he heard Steve yelling, "Peter breathe! Tony! Tony!"
Tony wiped his eyes and saw the trap Steve held Peter in. Peter was still thrashing around but he was wheezing and sobbing. Tony knelt down next to them, trying to think of what to do.
"Should I let him go?" Steve asked, afraid he was hurting him.
"No, no don't do that," Tony answered. Peter still wasn't calm at all and who knows what he would do if Steve let him go. Steve nodded and kept his tight hold.
Peter's eyes were bloodshot and were like waterfalls. Tears were constantly flowing out and his cries were loud. Tony was trying not to freak out because Peter was barely breathing. It was labored sobbing and wheezing and coughs.
"Pete you've got to calm down kid," Tony moved his hand up gently to the side of Peter's head. Tony himself was trying his hardest not to cry, seeing him like this was horrible.
"I can't-I can't breathe dad, I-I dad I can't breathe," Peter breathlessly said. His eyes searching Tony's face.
"I know, I know. You need to follow my breathing ok? Remember when you did that before?" Tony was still trying to calm him down, keeping his hand on the side of Peter's head.
"I-it's hard to," Peter interrupted himself with a horrible sob, "it's hard t-to breathe."
"Just follow me," Tony instructed. Peter was slowly settling down in Steve's hold. He was now trying to focus on breathing rather then escaping the grip.
Peter stopped struggling and Steve could feel the hard cries Peter had against his chest. Now that Peter was settled down, Tony had his full attention. Peter still wasn't breathing right and he couldn't seem to gain any air.
His lungs felt like they were burning. He clenched his eyelids shut, making a few tears slip out. He needed to breathe.
"Pete you're safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Tony told him. Peter opened his eyes back up. They looked frantically around Tony's facial features.
"You promised dad," Peter's voice was a broken whisper now. "You promised," he repeated.
That just about snapped Tony in half. He began to silently cry, trying to blink away the burn in his eyes. "I know, I'm going to fix it," Tony replied softly. "I just need you to breathe buddy."
Peter was finally able to slow his breathing and match it with Tony's. Steve removed his hold on the boy, but Peter stayed with his back slumped against him.
Peter felt really bad about pushing Tony now. "I'm sorry," he said while continuing to cry although it was quieter now.
Tony wiped the tears off his cheeks, "don't be it's ok." He pulled Peter into a hug and looked up at Steve with 'thank you' eyes. Steve stayed sitting on the floor with them, a comforting hand still on Peter's back. He returned Tony's eyes with a sad smile.