"But what if I say something stupid?" Peter lifted his arm out of the way as Tony pulled his seatbelt across his chest for him, his cast making it too difficult to do on his own.

"You won't."

The belt clicked and Tony shut Peters door before moved to the other side of the car, slipping into the driver's seat.

"What if they don't want to be friends with a teenager? They could make fun of me."

Tony smiled, trying not to laugh as he pulled the car away from the curb. "The Avengers aren't going to bully you, Peter. You'll do great."

Peters' eyes turned to the window, watching the buildings race past as they made their way to the compound. He'd fought with the Avengers before, of course, but he'd never met them as anyone but Spider-Man and he was nervous.

His hand came up to squeeze the seat belt where it crossed over his chest, voice small in the quiet car.

"What if they don't like me?"

Tony's hand left the steering wheel to ruffle Peters hair, drifting back to scratch soothingly at the back of the teenager's neck. He'd seen May do it to calm the kid and he was glad to see Peters' shoulders relax at his touch. "How could they not like you?

"I don't know." He slumped against the window, the dimming glow of the sun lighting up his curls and washing his face in gold.

Tony shook his head. "You're letting your anxiety get the better of you. Tell it to mind its own business."

Peter laughed at that, the sound bubbling from him in surprise. "What?"

Tony smiled, loving that sound as he waved a hand. "I'm serious. Whenever your anxiety gets too loud and won't shut up, tell it to go away. It's talking shit so tell it off."

He looked at Peter, waiting and Peter snickered. "Fine. Anxiety, leave me alone."

Tony wiggled his eyebrows. "Insult it."

Peter shook his head, feeling silly. "Are you serious? You're messing with me, right?"

Tony was adamant, his smile softening his words. "No way. It's what I do with my anxiety. You can't let it bully you, Peter. Make it your bitch."

Peter tried his best, words rippled with laughter. "Anxiety, you're stupid and I'm the boss of you. How's that?"

"Meaner."

Peter puffed his chest out and furrowed his brows pointing a finger as if he were telling someone off. "Anxiety, shut your bubblegum-dumb-dumb looking ass the fuck up."

Tony laughed, slapping his hand against the steering wheel. "There you go!"

Peter giggled, feeling far better than he had since before the entire Thanos debacle. "Thanks, Mr Stark."

It was a nice moment, the quiet car feeling like a safe little bubble away from all of Peter's troubles, if only for a moment. But bubbles pop and Peter jumped in fright, his spidey senses warning him a moment before the car behind them hit against their bumper.

"Goddammit. Are you serious?" Tony turned in his seat to glare at the other driver through the back window but Peter was frozen.

It was just a little jolt of the car, the muffled 'thock' of one car bumping into another but it was like a switch had gone off in Peters mind.

His heart was racing from the mini-collision and his brain suddenly registered the orange glow of the sunset in front of him, transporting him somewhere else.

The Soul Stone.

:::::::::::::::::::::

Tony pulled out his phone with one hand, his other on the door handle, about to talk to the driver of the car that just hit them. But a mumble stopped him, small and afraid, falling from Peters' mouth.

"Not again."

Tony let go of the handle, turning to the teenager as he stared out the windshield. "Kid? You okay? It was just a little bump, you're alright."

Peter didn't look at him. In fact, it didn't look like he knew Tony was there at all. His eyes were wide and blank, the orange glow of the sunset making them look more golden than brown. He whispered again, this time with a whimper to follow.

"We beat him. He's dead. It's supposed to be over."

Tony shoved his phone back into his pocket, car troubles forgotten as he reached for the young hero beside him. "It is over. Peter, what's wrong?"

The kid's eyes were wide in fright, eyes filling with tears that slowly began to drip down his cheeks, bottom lip trembling. Tony's heart filled with dread as Peter hiccuped.

"I don't want to be here again. I don't want to be alone."

Panic crawled its way into Tony's chest and gripped his lungs tight. "You're not alone! I'm right here! Peter, look at me."

His voice didn't seem to make any impact and although Peter was beginning to shake, he didn't react to the beeping horns of cars waiting for them to move or the voice of the rear-ender at Tony's window.

"Sir. Do you want to exchange insurance infor-oh, my god. You're Tony Stark."

Tony waved a hand, yelling out the window as he hastily steered the car onto the side of the road. "No need! Just drive on! The crash is on me!"

Cars manoeuvred around them until Tony had parked, away from the oncoming traffic, muttering reassurances to Peter the whole way. "Okay, you're okay. We're okay."

Tears dripped off Peters chin to splatter over his cast where it sat in his lap and Tony quickly turned off the car before pulling out his phone again. "I'm gonna get help, alright?"

He barely looked down at his phone as his fingers flew over the screen finding the number he needed.

Peters breaths were beginning to sound like wheezes and Tony was grateful when his call was picked up.

"Tony, where a-"

He interrupted, trying not to add his own panic to the mix of things. "Bruce, somethings wrong with Peter and I don't know what to do!"

Peter's crying picked up in speed and volume at Tony's loud, panicked voice and he quickly smoothed his voice out. "I'm sorry, Pete. Everything's okay. We're nice and calm."

Bruce brought Tony back to the phone in his hand, voice kind and focussed. "What happened?"

Tony tried to keep his voice slow and controlled but he was freaking out and he didn't know how much longer he could hold back a panic attack. "We were driving and everything was fine but we got into a little fender bender and Peter started freaking out. He's just sitting there, shaking and crying and I don't even think he knows I'm here."

Peter whimpered again, words continuing to tumble from his mouth and Tony felt like crying himself.

"Come find me, Mr Stark, please. I want to go home."

Tony squeezed the phone in his hand, words threatening to break as he said them. "I'm right here, Pete."

Bruce's voice was back at his ear and Tony focussed on it. "Is he saying anything? Does it kind of seem like he thinks he's somewhere else?"

Tony nodded, eyes stuck on the tears dripping from Peters' chin. "Yeah. What do I do?"

Bruce sighed, sounding much calmer than Tony felt. Thank god someone knew what to do. "Okay, it sounds like he's having a flashback. Don't touch him without his permission, just keep talking to him. Call his name, let him know he's safe and help ground him in the here and now."

Tony took a breath to centre himself and worked to keep his voice smooth and slow. "Peter, you're safe. You're sitting with me in the car. We were driving to the compound and another car bumped into us. Everything's fine so, we're just going to wait until you feel better. Peter? You hearing me?"

Peter sniffled his head nodding just a little and Tony felt hope loosen the claw of panic around his chest. "Good. That's good, buddy."

Bruce spoke up again. "Try getting him to focus on what's around him. Try to involve him in his surroundings so, take him for a little walk or get him to move around. Even chewing gum or drinking water can help."

Tony put the phone on speaker and sat it in the centre console before opening his car door. "I'm going to get out and go to your side. Peter, I'm not leaving. I'll be right back."

The boy's shoulders heaved, words strained and pleading. "Don't leave me here."

Tony clenched his teeth and got out, racing over to Peters side and carefully opening the door, not wanting to scare him.

He knelt on the grass outside Peters door, offering a hand. "Peter, do you want to come for a little walk with me? Take my hand."

But Peters' eyes didn't move from the orange glow of the sunset, his terrified eyes stuck as he shivered. "I can't. I can't find you."

Tony clenched a hand into a fist, squeezing until his knuckles turned white because it wasn't fair. Peter was a hero, he'd saved the world and this was his reward?

One breath in, one breath out. Tony reached out his hand again. "Peter, can I touch you? I'll help you find me."

Peter nodded, crying hiccups making his chest jump with each inhale. Tony moved slowly, reaching out a hand to Peters' face to turn his eyes to him. He smiled, catching Peters gaze with his own.

"There you are, Pete. You see me?"

Peter's wide eyes were clearing a little as he nodded, looking surprised to see his mentor at his side. He still looked scared, cheeks flushed pink beneath the tear tracks, but there was a spark of recognition in his eyes and he held out his shaky hands for Tony to take. The tips of his fingers were cold as Tony took them gently in his warm ones.

"Good job! Let's get out of the car and go for a little walk, okay?" He tugged on Peters' hands, pulling him to his feet and out of the car. His eyes were stuck on Tony now, feet shuffling forward over the grass, slow and clumsy as if he were just waking up from a nap.

Tony's smile and familiar eyes calmed Peters breaths while the warm, rough hands holding Peters helped pull him back down to earth.

"You can really smell the grass out here, huh? See the grass, Pete?"

Peter kept his slow feet moving along as Tony pulled his across the grass and Peter looked down at it, the green blades soft beneath his sneakers. He looked back up to the mechanic in front of him and suddenly as if he'd finally landed, he was back in the present. He could feel the lumpy ground beneath him and the cool breeze as it ruffled his hair. He blinked and stopped walking, looking around as if it were the first time he was seeing everything.

Tony watched him, hope brightening his voice. "Pete? You back with me, buddy?"

Peter nodded and Tony let go of one of his hands, reaching up to the kids face slow enough that if he didn't want to be touched he could pull away. When he didn't, Tony gently wiped his face.

"You okay?"

Peter didn't answer the question, instead choosing to ask his own as he curled into himself, shoulders bunching up to his ears. "What happened? I was back in…"

Tony waited a moment, hoping Peter would tell him where the flashback took him but he didn't finish his sentence, just shivered and squeezed Tony's hand where it still held his.

"Bruce said it might have been a flashback. Do you want to talk about it?"

Peter quickly shook his head and clumsily wiped his face with the fingers of his casted hand, voice sullen. "I didn't like it."

Tony sighed, exhausted. "Yeah, me neither."

The kid was looking so sad and worn out, he couldn't help but ask. "You want a hug?"

Peter immediately nodded, looking up at Tony through his eyelashes, the full force of his puppy eyes melting Tony in an instant. "Come here."

Peter pressed himself to his hero's chest, Tony hugging him tight and rubbing his hands over the boys back. "I got you, Spider-Baby."

(Let me know what you think? This is my fav chapter)