Peter jolted upright with a scream, his thin body trembling.

"Fri-Friday?" He squeaked.

"How may I help you Peter." The 's smooth feminine voice answered. "Shall I turn on the lights?"

Peter nodded frantically, choking out a "yes please" as he pulled the duvet tighter around his boney shoulders.

The room gradually grew brighter - due to Peters enhanced senses Friday kept the brightness level at fifty percent. Even with the room completely visible, and Friday's calming presence, the young arachnid still felt tense. His spider sense tingling at the base of his neck, warning him of some unforeseen danger.

Another tremor wracked his body and he shivered despite the warm blankets surrounding him. He felt sick. On shaky legs he carried himself to the bathroom, wings tucked tightly against his body. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the harsh lighting; his head spun and his vision blurred. It took all his effort not to pass out or lose his dinner. The granite countertop cracked under his grip.

A drop of blood fell into the sink. Peter looked at himself in the mirror. His face pale and gaunt - but that was normal. What wasn't normal was the blood dripping from his left nostril. Hastily, he wiped his nose on his sleeve, leaving a smear of red on the soft grey fabric.

"It was just a nightmare. It was just a nightmare. It's not here. It was only a nightmare." He repeated that over and over like a mantra. "I'm safe. It's dead."

When his dad and the team rescued him they destroyed the Hydra base. Blew it to smithereens until only ash and ruble remained. Nothing could've survived that. Unless it had escaped back into its own dimension.

They'd fought; he remembered, not long before the avengers came. But he was very weak at the time and only managed to get a few hits in. The creature only had one eye because of him. The claw marks on his chest and stomach ached at the memory.

A fresh wave of terror washed over him as unwanted memories pushed to the forefront of his mind. Being cut open and prodded by faceless doctors, being starved and beaten by cruel Hydra agents. Being forced to interact with that thing.

Peter pushed himself away from the mirror and ran out of his room. His spider sense going quiet the farther away he got. His body moved on autopilot and he ended up in his dad's room.

Quietly, he moved closer to the king sized bed and crawled in between his biological and adoptive father. He snuggled in between the two heroes, his naturally thin body fitting perfectly.

Even in his sleep, Tony's one wing unfolded to cover Peter. The weight was incredibly comforting to the thirteen year old. Steve murmured something in his sleep and rolled over so he was closer to his husband and son. Their warmth and steady breathing helped lull peter back to sleep.

"Come on kiddo, eat up." Tony pushed the plate closer to his son. "You're metabolism is seven times faster than the average humans. You can't afford to skip any meals." He smiled at his son's adorable sleep mussed hair. The curls sprawled out like a halo. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm your father. Biologically… meaning you have to listen to me."

"M'sorry." Peter mumbled, lifting lifting his head off the counter. The plate in front of him was filled with scrambled eggs with cheese, which looked and smelled heavenly.

Any other time, he would've had the entire plate clean by now - along with just about everything else in the kitchen. He was perpetually hungry.

But not this morning; or the two days prior.

"Morning you two." Steve came out of the elevator covered in sweat from his early morning jog. He greeted his husband with a kiss, pulling the smaller man against him in a one armed hug. "Morning Peter." He ruffled the boy's curls, his smile grew when peter leaned into the affectionate touch.

"Hi pops." He made a face. "Now go shower. You smell really bad."

Steve laughed. "Okay. Sorry 'bout the smell."

"You should be sorry." Tony sipped at his coffee. "My eyes are even watering." He wiped his eyes on a napkin, over exaggerating his actions in hopes of making his son laugh.

"Okay, okay. I get it Mr. drama queen."

"That is where you're wrong dear husband of mine. I am the drama king."

"Of course," the blond bowed, smirking. "I'm gonna go shower. Don't set the kitchen on fire again."

Tony huffed, "That was one time." He turned back to his son - who still hadn't touched his plate. He attempted casual conversation. "How're your online classes going? I know you're a genius, but MIT can be tough. I'm here to help if you need me."

He did his best to conceal how proud he was. Peter was only thirteen, yet he'd already been accepted into one of the most prestigious schools in the world. The school wanted him so badly that they accommodated Tony's request for all online classes. Having wings and spider powers would be difficult to hide. And the media didn't need to know that Tony Stark had a son.

"I know dad. But I think I'm okay for now. Maybe next semester when we do more with biochemistry."

"Whatever you need kiddo. Now I was thinking we- Underoos? Peter?"

His spider sense flared, causing him to yelp and grab the back of his neck. The hair on his arms and even his feathers stood on end. Something was wrong and he could feel it.

"What do you sense?" Tony jumped from his seat and immediately wrapped his arms around Peter. His wings also extending to wrap around the boy. "Talk to me bud… what's wrong?"

"There's some-something watching us." He managed to stuttered.

The mechanic's hazel eyes scanned the large room. Looking for anything that might be out of place. But he didn't see anything. "Friday, scan the tower."

Not even thirty seconds later Friday spoke. "Everything in the tower is working properly. No machines are malfunctioning and there are no intruders. All of your employees are at their proper stations and Mr. Hogan is monitoring the lobby. Nothing is out of place Boss."

"See." He assured. Gently, he brushed his fingers through Peter's hair knowing just how much he loved it. "There's nothing here. The team and I would never let anything happen to you."

"But Hydra-"

"They're not here." He ground out through clenched teeth. His grip on peter tightening. "We killed them… I made sure of it. They can't get to you anymore."

Just the name alone sent white hot rage surging through his system. They were the people who had stolen and nearly killed his baby. Peter wasn't even five at the time. And why? Because they wanted revenge and a new weapon - a weapon that was much more powerful than Captain America and the winter soldier.

"It-it's not them… not exactly." The arachnid hugged Tony tighter, his fingers digging into the fabric of his dad's AC/DC shirt. He pressed his head into the crook of Tony's neck. "Something they… something they set f-free. It-it followed me here."

He pulled away when Peter jumped back suddenly, his gaze firmly locked on the wall behind them. There was nothing there as far as Tony was concerned; just light grey walls and a few pictures frames.

Peter stood stock still, his brown eyes traveled along the wall, and stopped at the hallway leading back to the bedrooms. As if in a trance, unblinking, Peter moved forward.

The genius, billionaire and philanthropist was at a loss. He'd never seen peter act like this. Even after he'd been rescued and that was a year ago. The kid was strong willed, stubborn and had very good self control. Right now though… he resembled a lifeless robot. Memories of Loki using mind control to manipulate Selvig and Clint came to mind.

"Peter?" He reached out and grabbed the teen's boney elbow just as Steve's and his bedroom door swung open.

Steve stepped out, a towel across his shoulder and wet hair. He looked from his husband to his son concernedly. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Peter rubbed at his eyes - like someone would after sleeping deeply. "Oh hi pops. You done with your shower already?"

Steve looked to Tony, confusion written clearly across his face. Tony shook out his wings and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He ran a flat palm down the back of Peter's wings, gently smoothing the feathers back into place. "Pete's just tired. Right bud?" Peter nodded and leaned into his dad's side in response. "Why don't you go lay down in the living room, pops and I will be right there."

Once Peter was laying down Tony allowed his anxiety to show. He grabbed his husband's hand and squeezed. "I don't know what… he looked like he was in a trance. His spider sense went crazy for a few minutes then nothing."

"Hm. That's really odd." Steve peered around the corner and was relieved to see Peter sleeping soundly. "We'll have to keep an eye on him."

"Do you think it's his insomnia? Or the nightmares?"

"I'm not sure." The super soldier squared his shoulders, determination in his voice. "But we need to figure it out."