Comfortember Day Twenty-Two: Nightmares

Tony just went to find some branches that he and Peter could use to set up a fire next to a river. When he couldn't find anything useful he went back to the river where Peter was. He froze at the sight because he did not expect to come back and see his kid tied to a fucking tree and beat to a pulp.

"Kid, what the fuck-"

Tony didn't get the chance to walk toward him when an annoying voice interrupted him.

"Just a minute, Stark."

Steve fucking Rogers walked into view, coming out from behind the tree Peter was tied to. His knuckles were bloody. Tony started seeing red. It looked like Peter managed to get in a hit or two before Rogers somehow got the jump on him. Either Rogers got stronger while he was hiding or Peter didn't want to use his full strength against him.

Peter probably didn't think Rogers would go as far as he did. Neither did Tony. Tony thought Rogers had more standards than that.

It took all of Tony's willpower to keep calm. He had to. For Peter's sake and his own. Right now, out here in the woods, Tony had nothing on him. No suits, his watch that could turn into a repulsor, nothing. He didn't think he'd need them. He didn't think Steve Rogers would come looking for him.

"What do you want, Rogers?" Tony asked. Though he did have a pretty good idea.

"You know, I never really saw you as a kid person." Rogers walked over to Peter and patted the top of his head. Peter's response was a quiet moan.

"Don't fucking touch him," Tony growled. "You've done enough damage."

"I had to make sure he wouldn't get in the way, Stark. He's quite a fighter, you know? Something is telling me he was holding back, though."

Sometimes Tony wished Peter wasn't as kindhearted as he was.

"You did this just so you can fight me?" Tony said, keeping his voice calm. It was a struggle.

"I want to finish what happened in Siberia," was Rogers' cold response.

Tony was willing to fight him if he had to. But he didn't want to fight him without a suit or any other weapons. Rogers was a super soldier, his body was solid and wouldn't be the same as punching out other people.

"I don't want to fight you-"

"You're going to." Rogers' tightened his grip on Peter's head.

"I don't want to fight you here. Let me take the kid to the hospital-"

"I have no time for that."

Rogers lowered his hand and gripped Peter's throat. Tony's heart jumped.

"Okay," Tony said, quickly. He sighed and gestured for Rogers to let go of Peter. "Let's finish this."

Rogers finally stepped away from Peter. He was obviously on some kind of borrowed time because he wasted no time in rushing Tony seconds after Tony was done talking. Tony barely managed to grip onto Rogers' shoulders when the man tackled him to the ground.

While Rogers was on top of him the man tried slamming Tony's head into the ground a couple times but Tony jutted his knee into his stomach before any real damage was done. Tony forced Rogers on his back and, with no hesitation whatsoever and not caring about the after effects, he started slamming his fist into his face.

It might've been the adrenaline fueling him but when Tony's knuckles cracked against Rogers' hard skin, he didn't react as painfully as he would've in normal condition. He knew it was going to hurt like a bastard later. For now he tried to focus on incapacitating Rogers and ignoring his pain.

Rogers grabbed his oncoming fist and twisted it. Tony cried out in pain, actually feeling the effect this time. Rogers continued to bend some of his fingers back. Gritting his teeth, Tony punched Rogers' face again and scrambled off of him. He couldn't look at his hand. He could feel blood drip off his fingers.

"Shit…"

Rogers stood and rushed him again. Tony tried to grapple him the best he could with one hand but Rogers ultimately had the advantage. God fucking damn his super strength. Rogers punched Tony's face and while Tony was stunned from that, Rogers rammed his knee into Tony's stomach.

With the air knocked out of him, Tony got dizzy and he didn't even have time to catch his breath before Rogers grabbed him yet again and tossed him into the river. Tony struggled to get on his hands and knees to get his head up only for Rogers to kick his side and get him on his back.

Everything happened in a flash then. Rogers was on top of him, pinning him in the water. Both of Rogers' hands gripped Tony's throat. Tony tried using his good hand to force Rogers' hands away but to no avail. His vision started to blacken. All Tony could do was thrash underneath Rogers.

One of his fears was drowning. It was a horrible way to go. His head was full of pressure, his chest ached...He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't fucking breathe!

XXX

Peter had gone to collect some tree branches they could use for the fire he and Tony wanted to set up by the river side. He only managed to find a couple branches. He did not expect to find his mentor groaning and panting roughly in his sleep. His body was jerking strangely.

"Mister Stark?" Peter said, putting the branches down. He kneeled in front of Tony and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mister Stark-"

"No…!" Tony grunted, eyes still screwed shut. His body stopped jerking about but it was still shaking uncontrollably. "No, no no…"

Peter hadn't seen Tony like this before. He had seen the aftermath of nightmares but he was never in the same room as him when they happened. He never wanted to see something like this again.

"Mister Stark, wake up. It's me, Peter!"

Tony shot up abruptly, eyes wide and panicked and...Peter swore he saw tears, real tears, in his father figure's eyes. It hurt.

Peter tried reaching out again but Tony tried to crawl away from him.

"Don't fucking touch me!"

"Same side, Mister Stark! It's me!"

Peter tried to hold Tony still by his shoulders. Tony tried to push him away but Peter tightened his grip. He forced Tony to look at him.

"See? Just look...You're okay."

Tony stopped struggling and stared at Peter long and hard. Peter waited patiently. Recognition finally flashed in Tony's eyes and his body released all it's tension. He slumped forward and took deep breaths to calm him down.

Peter rubbed his back in an attempt to help him. He tried doing the things Tony did to him when he had nightmares.

"It's okay. Whatever happened is over now," Peter said, making sure to keep his voice soft. "You're safe here."

Tony nodded slowly. He kept his forehead resting on Peter's shoulder for a couple more seconds before he pulled back. The man looked so worn out, like he just went head-to-head with someone.

"Sorry, kid. You shouldn't have had to see that," Tony said, hoarsely. He rubbed his eyes. "Christ…"

Peter shook his head. "I don't mind, Mister Stark. I'm glad I managed to help you somehow."

Tony sighed and leaned against the tree. He held his wrist as if it was sore. Peter didn't remember seeing him hit or twist it. Peter sat next to him and waited. Tony leaned against Peter and Peter snuggled close to his side.

It was almost strange being the one to comfort Tony after a nightmare. It was always the other way around. But Peter would do anything for Tony. He owed it to him. Besides, he understood nightmares.

"I'll protect you," Peter said in an almost teasing way. "Promise."

Tony scoffed and barely managed a small smile. "Thanks, Underoos."

Author's Note: So, this one was kinda hard to write. Mostly because I suck at 'action' scenes but I didn't want the fight to be too long anyway. And I did try my best with it so that's what matters.

I wanna give a quick thank you again to Radiant Arabian Nights for the kind words recently.

That's all for now. I'll see ya'll in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading!

~Kurosaki