Peter was in the lab with Tony, quietly trying out a new web formula while the man worked on a new project. Everything was going well, until the boy accidentally got the measurement wrong for one of the chemicals in the formula, causing the whole thing to overflow, getting all over the workbench he was at.
"What the hell was that?", he soon heard Tony say. He sounded… angry? Was Tony angry at him?
"I- I guess I misread the numbers, sorry. I'll clean it up", the boy answered anxiously.
"You misread the numbers? You don't get to misread anything when you're working with chemicals like that! Gosh, how stupid are you?", the man said, raising his voice, startling Peter.
"I know, I- I'm sorry", said the boy, lowering his head in shame. He reached for a nearby rag to clean his mess, but his shaky arm bumped into a nearby jar, and the boy watched the glass break as it hit the floor, spilling the contents he couldn't identify.
"Are you serious right now?", Peter recoiled at the man's tone.
"I'm so sorry, Tony", he said, trying to defuse the situation, but it only seemed to make it worse.
"It's Mr. Stark for you, have some fucking respect!", said the man, his face red with rage.
Peter couldn't even respond anymore, fists hitting his own head as he felt a meltdown coming, too overwhelmed with everything that was happening. Tony - no, Mr. Stark didn't seem to like his reaction to the situation.
"What, you're gonna throw another one of your tantrums now?", he spat the words at the boy, "Gosh, why did I even agree to work with a retard like you?"
And there was that word again. The word Peter had been called all the time by classmates and teachers at school, by strangers on the street, by cowards hiding behind the anonymity of the internet. He couldn't seem to ever escape that word, and he should've known it was only a matter of time before Mr. Stark saw him that way too. Now, he could hear not only his mentor, but everyone else he thought cared about him, calling him that.
"You killed my husband and now I'm stuck with you!", said May in disgust.
"You're the reason I get bullied at school too", said Ned in anger and regret, "I should've never helped you with the Vulture, you should've died under that collapsed building!"
"Why can't you shut up for once?", he could hear Happy's voice raising in anger, "No one cares what you have to say!"
And the voices kept going, surrounding Peter in regret and self-hatred. They were right, they were all right.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry", the boy cried as he felt suffocated and unable to move, just like when he was under that building. He could barely breathe, there wasn't enough air.
"Peter?", he could hear Mr. Stark's voice again.
No, no, no, no, please!, thought the boy.
"Peter, c'mon!", he could feel someone shaking his shoulders.
Please don't yell at me again, pleaded the teen in his head.
"Peter!", the voice sounded loud as thunder this time.
Please don't hurt me!, he thought in desperation. He seemed to have said that out loud, though, as he soon heard a response.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Pete, just open your eyes", said the voice softly this time, "C'mon buddy, open your eyes for me"
The boy woke up with a gasp, sitting up in his bed only to be met by gentle hands on his shoulders.
"Hey, shhh, it's okay buddy"
He looked at the source of the voice. Mr. Stark? Why was he being nice again? Wasn't he angry? The man seemed to have sensed his confusion, as he soon clarified.
"It was just a nightmare, bud, you're okay", the man said in a soft voice, gently rubbing his hands up and down on Peter's arms in a comforting manner, "Let's take some deep breaths, okay?"
Slowly growing more aware of his surroundings, Peter followed Mr. Stark's exaggerated breathing and soon felt his heart rate slowing down to a healthy rhythm again.
"Ton- I mean, Mr. Stark?", said the boy, still scared that the man would get angry at him again.
"Yeah, it's me, Underoos", he responded, not sounding angry at all, "Though I haven't heard you call me that in a while. Do you wanna talk about it?"
The boy shrugged his shoulders at that, feeling ashamed for being so shaken up about a dream. The man seemed to read his mind, though, as he assured the boy.
"It's okay, there's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have nightmares sometimes", he comforted the boy, "Talking about it might help"
Nodding, Peter took a deep breath and described his awful dream to his mentor, trying hard not to cry, though he failed.
"Oh, Pete", the man said, wiping away the boy's tears that insisted on falling and pulling him to his chest, "You're not that awful word, you know that. No one is. And we all love you the way you are, with all your quirks and mannerisms. We're here to support you whenever you need it, with zero judgment. Okay? You're an amazing kid - my kid -, and I love you so much. Nothing's gonna make me feel otherwise", he completed before planting a kiss on his kid's head.
"I love you too, Tony", was all Peter could say, voice cracking as he emphasized the man's name.
"Now, why don't you try to get some more sleep, hmm?", asked Tony as he ruffled Peter's hair.
"Will you lay with me?", the boy asked, looking at the man with his big, puppy dog eyes, "Please?"
"Of course I will, kid", the man smiled fondly, "I won't let anything hurt you, okay?"
They lay on the small bed, Peter's head resting on his mentor's chest, the man's calloused hand stroking his hair gently until both finally fell asleep, never letting go of each other.