Author's Note: First fic for this fandom, so please be gentle :) This was inspired by A Tool (To Save Yourself) by josywbu on AO3, because I loved the concept of Tony making a stuffed toy with all these features to help Peter out when he has nightmares. So I decided I wanted to put my own spin on it. What I intended it to be was an IronDad story with a touch of Stony, but there ended up being more Stony than I had planned. But Peter is the catalyst for everything that happens, even if he's not in the chapter.

Tony Stark was awakened from his sleep by FRIDAY's voice.

"Boss, Nightmare Protocols have been activated."

Tony felt Steve stir beside him in their bed. Despite having spent seven decades asleep while in the ice, Steve's soldier's training still made him somewhat of a light sleeper. Tony propped himself up.

"What's the situation, Fri?"

"Peter's heart & respiratory rates are elevated & he has been tossing in his sleep. He has also been calling for you."

"On my way." Tony would sometimes wait for a brief time to see if Peter could calm himself down, depending on how serious the situation was, but if he was calling out for Tony, then there was no question that Tony would go to him.

"Tell FRIDAY to let me know how he is, and if you need me." Steve said as Tony got up, sounding more awake than anyone should at this hour.

"You'll be the first to know," Tony said as he left.

Peter was staying the weekend at the Avengers Compound, and not for the first time. It allowed him to hone his skills as Spider-man by training with the Avengers, as well as spend time with his mentor Tony. Tony certainly hadn't planned on letting the Spider-kid get so close when he first recruited Peter, but despite Tony's initial efforts to try and keep the kid at arm's length, they became drawn to each other. Tony promised himself he would be there for the kid in the way his own father never was.

Unfortunately, the superhero lifestyle was prone to some traumatic experiences, which Peter was not immune to. This could sometimes lead to nightmares, so Tony had long ago programmed the Nightmare Protocol into FRIDAY to alert him when Peter was having one.

Peter's room at the Compound was not too far down the hall from the room Tony shared with Steve. Tony's opened the door to Peter's room and quietly walked inside. The room was dark, but Tony could see a little thanks to the low ambient lighting coming from the hallway, and he could tell that Peter was distressed. At the moment Peter was still, but he had a pained expression on his face, even in sleep.

"Mr Stark…Tony…we won…please no…not again." Peter was starting to whimper. It wasn't the first time Tony had found Peter like this, but it never failed to make Tony's heart clench.

Tony sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed Peter's shoulder. "Pete, hey kid, wake up, it's just a dream." Peter was still in the throes of whatever torment his mind had conjured up. Tony resorted to gently shaking Peter's shoulder. "C'mon, kid, whatever it is, it's not real, I promise." He shook Peter's shoulder again and the kid's eyes opened. He took a second to realize where he was, and his gaze fell on Tony.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter said hopefully.

"Hey, kiddo."

"This, this is real, right? You're really here?"

"I should think so, or else we've got a whole different set of problems. You want to tell me what that was about, Spiderling?"

Tony wasn't sure if Peter would be willing to open up to him, as Peter was sometimes afraid of causing worry and seeming like a burden. Peter stared at him and at first Tony thought this would be one of those times where he would try to brush it off as nothing, until Peter surged forward and wrapped his arms around Tony. Tony returned the hug and felt Peter start to cry against him. Tony started to brush his fingers through the kid's hair, as that often helped him calm down.

"Shhh, it's okay, kid, it's okay." It took a few minutes, with Tony continuing to murmur reassurances, but eventually Peter stopped crying and pulled away slightly.

"Mr. Stark, it felt so real!", Peter said as he started to ramble, "We were all battling Thanos, only wasn't on Titan, it was here at the Compound, but the Compound was destroyed. You used the Infinity Stones yourself to beat him, but it was too much power and it-it killed you, Mr. Stark. I watched you-the arc reactor in your suit went out and I-I watched you die in front of me and I couldn't stop it," Then Peter got very quiet. "Just like Uncle Ben."

"Oh, Peter," Tony said sympathetically as he held his Spider-kid closer. It had taken the combined effort of nearly every hero they knew, and even a few that they didn't, fighting on multiple fronts in order to defeat Thanos and stop him before he was able to use the Infinity Stones to wipe out half the universe. Tony couldn't even fathom what the world would have been like had they failed. "I'm right here, kid. I'm not going anywhere." Tony continued to reassure Peter, not letting go until he felt Peter start to pull away.

"Feeling better, Underoos?" Peter nodded and went to lay back down. Tony started to get up, but Peter grabbed his hand and asked "Stay?"

Tony knew that for Peter to admit to needing his presence that the kid must still be pretty shook up.

"Sure thing, kid. Move over." Peter shifted over to the other side of the bed to make room for Tony. He laid down and Peter latched himself to Tony's side. Tony brought his arms around his kid and drew him close.

"FRIDAY, let Steve know that Peter's alright, and that I'll be staying with him for tonight."

"Right away, Boss."