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Scarlet laid asleep in his bunk, his dreams anything but peaceful as he grimaced, tossing in turning as he mumbled under his breath.
“No… no no… stop… please, stop…” came the quiet distressed whimpers.
Tears could be seen in the corner of the young heroes eyes, his maskless face contorted into an expression of pure agony as a shrill scream erupted from his throat. He shot up, biting his tongue to stop the terrified noises that would’ve otherwise escaped.
In a second, all the other spider powered heroes were out of bed, symbiote heroes already in costume and ready to fight.
Scarlet curled into himself, mentally scolding himself for waking everyone up. Roughly wiping the tears from his eyes, Scarlet hid in the corner of his top bunk, hoping and praying they wouldn’t notice that it had been him who’d screamed.
The other spider powered heroes were looking around frantically, trying to find anything that could’ve caused any kind of panic, though they found none, and soon, all eyes turned to the offenders top bunk.
Scarlet shrunk in on himself, he knew they knew it was him, he knew he could brush it off, and he knew they were going to ask questions. He hadn’t realized he was hyperventilating until a hand touched his back, his body stiffening instantly and his breath catching in his throat.
“Scarlet?” Asked the voice of Spider-Man.
It took him a moment to register the question, but he began to breath again as the hand wrapped around his shoulders, Spider-Man leaning over him to get a good look at his face, though he just turned away.
“Are you okay?” It was a quiet question, and Scarlet knew he owed them answers of some kind.
He shook his head, dropping it to his knees and peering over at Spider-Man through his eye lashes.
“Was it a nightmare?” Spider-Man hugged him closer.
Scarlet nodded softly, feeling a stray tear slide down his face. “Ock.” He whispered.
Spider-Man pulled Scarlet into his side, Scarlet uncurling from the tight ball he’d been in only a few moments ago, melting into Spider-Man’s side. Spider-Man began to rub gentle circles into Scarlet’s side, smiling when Scarlet rested his head against the older’s shoulder.
“I love you.” Was mumbled into Scarlet’s hair.
“Love you too.” Came Scarlet’s muffled reply, snuggling further into his older brother figure.
Spider-Man made a motion with his free hand before wrapping it around Scarlet, and Scarlet figured Spider-Man had dismissed the other Web Warriors.
Scarlet rarely accepted hugs, but right now he decided he’d stay with his brother as long as possible. Even if it meant convincing him to skip class.