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“God, Parker, you’re being ridiculous,” Peter whispered to himself.
He stood staring at the closed door for another minute, contemplating whether or not he should open it. He glanced back down the dark hallway to where the door to his room was open, moonlight from the window within spilling into the hallway.
“Quit being a baby, just go back to your own room and sleep,” he muttered to himself, turning and taking a few steps back towards his bedroom.
Halfway down the hall he froze, overcome once again with anxiety.
He closed his eyes and pressed his face into his hands, trying to block out the images. The sound of the Vulture’s wings as it swooped down round him, the sound of the concrete crumbling down on top of him, the pain as it all collapsed on top of him, burying him alive beneath the rubble. He remembered the way his lungs burned, trying to expand as he tried to breathe, unable to because of the weight upon his back. He remembered the way he scrambles against the weight, trying unsuccessfully to even move. He remembered the panic he felt when he realized he was stuck, that he was alone and no one was there to help him or save him. He remembered how small the space was, and he remembered feeling as though it were closing in even more tightly around him as the panic set in—
With a deep, gasping breath he turned back towards the other room. He raised a hand just above the doorknob and froze again.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose.
“If you’re gonna do it, Parker, just do it,” he muttered, grabbing the doorknob and turning, pushing the door open gently and quietly.
Immediately upon entering he felt the anxiety begin to flee his body at the sound of the light snoring and steady breathing from the other man in the bed. He gently shut the door behind him and took a couple steps forward so he was hovering at the foot of the large bed.
He felt absolutely ridiculous, coming to Mr. Stark like this for comfort after a nightmare. As a kid, sure, after a nightmare he’d run into May and Ben’s room and climb into bed with them so he could sleep better. But that was back when he was like... six years old. He’s fifteen for crying out loud! He should be able to handle himself after having a nightmare.
But when he thought about his dream, about the overwhelming feeling of being alone, the knowledge that he was on his own and no one would save him, that moment of panic when he realized he could very well die beneath all that rubble—
He continued to hover at the end of the bed, looking at Mr. Stark sleeping with uncertainty. It would be so embarrassing to wake Mr. Stark up over something as simple as a little nightmare. Especially considering how little sleep the man already got as it was, he’d feel incredibly guilty waking him up for this. For something Peter should be able to handle.
Though he really didn’t want to go back to sleep alone....
Making a quick decision in his head, he simply laid down on the ground at the foot of the bed. He curled up tightly in a ball, and tried to quell the anxiousness he felt in his body by listening to Mr. Stark sleep. He could feel the tension slowly leave his body as he listened to Tony’s steady breathing. If he concentrated hard enough, his super hearing ears could just barely make out the sound of Tony’s slow and even heartbeat in the stilled silence of the room. He’d just close his eyes, just for a second....
...
“Peter?”
He didn’t give any reaction except to wrap his arms tighter around himself and burrowing further into the rough, carpet beneath him.
His eyes flew wide open, however, when he felt a rough hand rub gently against his shoulder and back, shaking him slightly to wake him up.
“Peter, why are you on the floor? I gave you a bed for a reason, kid.”
“Mr. Stark!” He said, sitting up quickly, hands flailing about. Tony held out a hand to steady him as he tried to orient himself.
“I’m so sorry, I’m— I just— I can explain, really, I was—“
“Calm down, kid, I’m not mad,” Tony said, his face concerned, “I’m just confused.”
Peter looked into Tony’s concerned eyes for a moment before looking back at the ground, his cheeks burning in shame.
“I had a nightmare,” Peter said softly, “about that— that stuff, you know, with the Vulture, and I just—“
“You didn’t want to be alone.”
“Yeah,” Peter finished lamely, “that.”
He heard Tony sigh from where he was knelt in front of him. He picked at a spot of carpet on the floor, too embarrassed to look up at Tony.
“You could’ve just woken me up, you know.”
“I know you don’t sleep much,” Peter said quickly, trying to explain his reasoning. “I didn’t want to wake you for something dumb like a stupid nightmare I should be able to handle on my own.”
“Peter,” Tony sighed. Peter still refused to look up at him.
“Hey, look at me.” He felt a gentle hand come up under his chin and lift his head until he was looking Tony in the eye.
“I don’t care about sleeping,” Tony said softly, “I’ve certainly gotten by for a long time on less. I care more about you, okay? Whenever there’s something wrong, no matter what it is or how dumb it feels, if you think you need me, come get me. Got it?”
Peter felt his cheeks warm slightly in in embarrassment, but he felt the rest of his body go warm with the concern and affection he saw in Tony’s eyes. He nodded.
“Good,” Tony said, removing his hand and standing up. He held out a hand to help Peter stand.
“Do you want to go back to your room or stay here?”
“Oh,” Peter said in surprise, again suddenly feeling unsure. “Uh... I don’t—“
“Peter,” Tony said, lifting a hand to rest on Peters shoulder and give it a squeeze. “Do you want to stay here, yes or no?”
“Yes,” Peter whispered.
“Okay,” Tony smile, using his hand to push Peter back towards the bed. “But no more sleeping on the floor, okay? I’m a billionaire, I can’t have it get out that I let kids sleep on the floor.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to—“
“It’s a big bed, kid,” Tony assured him, pushing him down to sit on the bed. “We could both sleep here and probably never even notice the other person. Besides, I’m not going to sleep, I’m just going to sit on the bed and do some work.”
“Oh,” Peter said, suddenly feeling the shame come back. “I’m sorry I woke you. I can just go back—“
“You didn’t wake me Peter, it’s fine,” Tony said with a strained smile. “I haven’t slept through the night in a long time. I would’ve gotten up whether you were there or not.”
“Okay,” Peter said, pulling the covers up and sliding under. “Are you sure you—“
“Peter,” Tony said, giving him a stern but fond look.
“Okay. Right. Sorry.”
Peter laid down beneath the blankets and snuggled up to the pillow beneath his head. He laid facing Tony, and watched as Tony pulled the blankets back up and fixed the pillow so it was propped against the headboard. His senses picked up a slight movement of the mattress as Tony sat down. He watched Tony pull up a holo-screen that cast a light blue light throughout the room. With the light from the holo-screen, the darkness of the room felt less oppressing, and he felt his body relax the last little bit as he closed his eyes to try and sleep.
He still felt a little paranoid about going back to sleep, however. He opened his eyes and watched Tony type in something to the screen for a minute before he closed them again. Gently, little by little, he scooted forward until he was close enough to Tony’s side that he could sense his presence and hear him breathing.
He felt Tony stop and look down at him, but he didn’t say anything and eventually returned to his work.
Peter kept his eyes closed and eventually felt himself start to drift in and out of wakefulness, lulled by the comforting presence of the man beside him. He felt Tony shift next to him.
“T’anks, Tony,” Peter mumbled.
He felt Tony stop and turn to look at him again. A hand, gentle as possible, brushed the hair back from his forehead before running through his curls a couple time.
“Go to sleep, kiddo,” Tony whispered, “I’ll be right here.”
A corner of Peter’s mouth quirked up slightly as he leaned into the touch. His senses could pick up Tony’s heartbeat quite easier than before, now that he was right next to the man.
Eventually he couldn’t ignore the sweet pull of sleep any longer, and he slowly drifted off to the sounds of even breathing, and the steady thump-thumping of Tony’s heart.