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Peter awoke on the ground behind the stage. The Avengers were holding a press conference and he was meant to be out there with them. He did not remember how he got there, all he knew was that he was laying on the ground shaking, unable to think straight. He had failed. He knew he messed up in this mission, everyone would be angry with him. He couldn’t handle seeing the disappointment on all of their faces, especially on the face of Tony Stark. He had always looked up to him and the thought of letting him down was too much to bear.
Peter's head rested on his arm. He probably set it there knowing he was going to pass out. He can tell when he is going to lose control over his body, so he normally finds himself set up in a position to prevent any injury.
Peter looked out at his hand and tried to wiggle his fingers. That is when he noticed how badly he was shaking. He couldn't breathe. He tried to take in what was going on around him. He could feel the tears and snot and drool all over his face. He could feel his chest hurting and his heart pounding. Then the thoughts picked up.
The thoughts that his team was mad at him, disappointed in him. If he walked out there now the crowd would probably boo him off the stage. He had let so many people down and it was too much. He didn’t know if he could go on living. As his mind continued to race, he started shaking more and more. His breathing got more erratic as he lost control. His muscles started to spasm. Just then, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.
He tried to sit up, to get away from the threat next to him. In his panic he could not tell who was there. All he could think was that they meant him harm. Though his arms didn't work, he could push himself away with his legs. The figure shushed him and continued squeezing his shoulder in attempts to calm him down.
When Peter got this bad it was hard for him to understand what anyone was saying. He knew this person was talking to him, though every word sounded like a different language. None of it made sense. The person pet his arm and continued whispering to him.
At this point Peter had figured out the person was not a threat. He allowed for the comforting to continue, though with the sound of the audience and the avengers on stage he was still too overwhelmed. He tried to see who was crouched in front of him, tried to understand what he was saying.
He managed to make out a few words; he heard stand, walk, and help. He probably was trying to get him to move. Peter nodded along and tried to get his feet under him. The person grabbed his arm even tighter and moved him to the hall behind the stage. He immediately felt a little better. It was brighter and quieter, allowing him to see clearer while not overwhelming his ears.
At this point he could see that the man who was helping him was none other than Tony Stark. “Well shit” Peter thought to himself. Peter started to hyperventilate once more. He knew what was coming. Tony probably brought him back here to yell at him while not disturbing the other avengers and alerting the press to his anger.
Peter continued to spiral until he felt his back hit a wall. Tony had leaned him up against it, probably for the best as his legs were giving out. He tried to get his breath back under control. He had been in this situation before. Adults in his past had always waited until he was calm to unleash their fury on him. He knew it would only take longer the more he panicked; and why should he delay the inevitable?
“Keep breathing. That's it, just breathe. I know you know how to breathe properly. Relax your shoulders and use your stomach. That's it, you're doing great, kid. Deep breaths. I’ve got you, it's all going to be okay.” He zoned in and out as Tony’s words of comfort drifted into his ears.
He calmed down enough to finally see Tony’s face. He could not see even the slightest bit of anger there, though the concern was immeasurable.
Seeing this made Peter's stomach drop. He could handle anger, he had all his life. He had no clue what to do with concern. Tony continued to talk him down from his panic. He encouraged him to relax his shoulders, to breathe through his abdomen.
Tony continued to examine the boy. There was no sign of any physical damage, so this was likely a mental thing. He could handle that. He grabbed Peters hand to examine it. The boy wasn't breathing again. His hand was completely purple from lack of oxygen.
Peter felt Tony grab his hand and heard a gasp from the man. He looked down to see what had caused this and noticed the lack of blood flow in his hand. He brought his other hand up to feel it and noticed it was freezing. This caused him to begin to panic again. His legs gave out as his vision dimmed. Luckily Tony was quick and grabbed under his arm to keep him from falling on the floor.
Tony continued to coach the kid through his breathing as he started massaging the blood back into the arm. Slowly the color began to return and he noticed Peter looking back down at it. “Look at that. The oxygen is doing its job. Just continue to breathe so that it can. You are doing alright kid, I've got you. Do you think you can talk?”
Peter shook his head and tried to look back up at Tony. Tony started to release his arm and move away from the boy. Peter panicked at the loss of the man. He worried that Tony was abandoning him, leaving him to finish dealing with this on his own.
“It's okay kid, I'm going to grab you a chair. Is that okay?”
Peter once again shook his head, both from not wanting Tony to leave as well as not wanting to be a burden.
Tony could see that Peter would not be able to continue standing though and continued to move to the door. “I am not offering now, I am telling you. I am getting a chair from the stage for you and that is final.”
The mention of the stage made Peter start to zone out again as Tony disappeared through the door. Tony suddenly reappeared with a chair and set it down next to Peter. The chair must have been right next to the door as he was hardly gone for a second. Tony grabbed both of Peters hands as he led him to sit in the chair.
Tony examined the kid as he stood over him. “So, is this because of the press conference or is there more to it?”
Peter nodded at that, still unable to speak. Tony understood what Peter was nodding at.
“I thought so. This seemed a little more than some stage fright. Do you want to talk about it or do you just want me to be here with you? Or after the conference we can talk, whatever you are comfortable with. You don't even have to talk if you don't want to, I just want you to know that I am here for you.”
Peter nodded again. He tried to speak, though it came out as a small whisper. “I can talk after the conference, if that's okay.”
Tony looked at the boy. “Of course it's okay. Whatever you need just let me know. I want to help you. Is there anything I can do now?
Peter shook his head. He wasn't used to people caring about him, especially when he got upset like this. It made him uncomfortable. He was used to being scolded or even yelled at or humiliated while in this state. He looked up at Tony, tears still in his eyes and face swollen from crying and having passed out not too long ago. “Thank you Mr. Stark.” he whispered.
Tony looked down at the boy and gave him a caring look. “Can I give you a hug? You can say no if you aren't comfortable.”
Peter thought about it for a second then gave a small nod. He did not like to show his need for physical touch, though he knew a hug would be just the thing to ground him. He didn’t hug back as his arms were still shaky, plus he felt it would be weird; after all, they weren’t at that point yet.
The hug lasted a bit longer than Peter expected. Tony hugged him tight and all Peter could think about was the tears he was leaving behind on Tonys tux. As Tony started to release him, he seemed to read Peters mind. “Don’t you worry about those tears. It's all just water. Besides, guess what I've got!” At that, Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. He presented it to Peter in a formal fashion, trying to get at least a grin out of the boy.
Peter grabbed it thankfully and started to dry his face.
“I would offer you my handkerchief;” stated Stark,”though with how much I sweat on stage I might need to hang onto this. I do need to head back out there for a few, do you think you will be okay here by yourself?” He asked. Peter nodded once more. It would probably do him some good to be alone out here. Plus he would be able to cry as much as he needed without anyone watching and judging.
With that, Tony gave a few more encouraging words to the boy and one final hug as he departed. “Don’t worry, I will be back in about fifteen minutes. Stay here.” and with that, Tony was gone.
Peter grinned to himself a little as the tears picked back up again. Even though he may have screwed up, even though he was an emotional mess, Tony still cared about him. It was comforting to know that someone on this mess of a planet gave two shits about him.