Peter was used to helping people from rapists and locking them away. It was part of the normal life of the vigilante Spider-Man. Tracking down human trafficking rings and child prostitution rings was standard as a Defender, especially in Peter's leading role. Don't get him wrong, Peter still hated it. He hated that people like that existed. He hated that there were kids hurt like that. He hated that every time, it would remind him of Skip doing the same to him for years when he was little and had just lost his parents, moving in with his overwhelmed Aunt May and Uncle Ben.

Peter tried to keep his breathing even, his heart pounding in his chest as he stared at Skip, his former abuser, walking across the crowded party. He never thought he'd see him again. Peter's heart raced and raced and raced as he saw Skip walk around. He had hoped he would never have to see his abuser again, but here he was, trying to get to Peter. He felt the panic rising in him, his mind flashing back to all the abuse he had suffered at Skip's hands. His mind was racing, his breath coming in sharply. It was like the hot breath was brushing over Peter's neck, hands on his back, his hips, his shoulders, ...

He tried to move away discreetly, but Skip had already locked eyes with him and started making his way over. He maneuvered himself around the people, stepping closer with every too-fast breath that came out of Peter. The man had this pleasant smile on that made shivers run down Peter's back. His mind felt clouded, heavy, foggy, as if a dark cloud, or rather a fog, was making out all thoughts but the one: Skip was here. 26 months and 18 days after he was imprisoned by someone else for the same crime, Skip was back. Here. At Peter's safe place. In Peter's home. In the midst of Peter's family. Peter could feel his hands shaking as he looked around, hoping for anyone to help him, but he didn't see anyone he knew. He wanted Mr Stark, or Miss Potts, or May, he wanted his sisters Nebula and Morgan to be okay, he wanted to hide under the blanket in his room, with a locked door, never to be seen again. He wanted to feel safe again. He wanted to protect.

Skip came closer, almost there, and Peter felt the world move around him. Was the floor really this unsteady? Why was everyone moving so fast? Where has all the air gone?

"Hey there, Einstein!", Skip said, his voice low and menacing. Or at least it sounded menacing to Peter. Dangerous. His Spider-Sense was ringing, screaming for him to move. "Long time no see! How about we go somewhere?" Skip moved closer. Peter wanted to scream, to run, to punch Skip, to do something, but the hand moving towards his arm, gripping it in a bruising grasp, made his mind go black, his Spider-Sense shouting into his mind, knocking the air out of him, his body shook violently, nausea shooting from his stomach up, his body ignoring all orders. "We have some catching up to do!" Peter felt rather than saw Skip move him towards the door, felt the pain in his arm, felt himself being dragged towards the outside...

But then he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Bucky and Sam standing behind him. Bucky immediately stepped between him and Skip as Sam steadied him and softly, gently pulled him away. Peter would probably not have noticed if Sam beat him away, the relief flooding him with the knowledge that he was getting away from Skip, the man's hands that carried into Peter's worst nightmares suddenly away from him.

"Hey, kid", Sam murmured, looking at him with deep concern, his eyes flickering over to where Skip was standing, held by Bucky. "You okay?"

Peter nodded frantically, as he tried to force a smile. It must have come out a grimace. "Y-yeah, I-I-I'm fin-ne. J-just didn't ex-expect to s-see h-h-h-him-m here."

Sam must have seen the fear in his eyes because he put a hand on his back and steered him towards the nearest exit. Peter hardly noticed were he walked or who was around him, he just leaned close to Sam as he guided him out, relishing in the safety of his teammate and uncle.

"Let's go for a walk, yeah?" he said, leading Peter out towards the cool night air.

Bucky put a hand on the small of Peter's back, guiding him away from the crowd. Peter's mind was scrambled, his breath taking too long to return to him. "You don't have to be okay; you know. It's okay to be scared or upset."

Peter swallowed hard. "I know. I just... I don't want him to hurt anyone else."

Bucky stopped in his tracks, his eyes searching Peter's before sharing a quick look with his boyfriend. "Hurt someone else? Hurt how?"

Peter looked away, tears flowing into his eyes. "He ... He ..."

Sam's eyes filled with horror before he nodded in understanding. "We won't let him. You know that, right?"

Peter looked at them, feeling gratitude for their support. Though his mind was filled with the fear and horror of Skip. "Yeah, I know. Thanks, guys."

They stood there in silence for a moment, watching as Skip moved through the party, pulled away by Happy and the security team, Peter wondering how they got here. But Peter felt safer with Bucky and Sam by his side. At least somewhat. Though nothing was as safe with Skip still out there. And Peter could not help the horror of him being out of prison, free to hurt anyone. How? Peter was sure he heard the trail had started! He had pulled the monster off of the little girl himself, calling in someone to take over the rest of his patrol while he took care of Violet, the little child Skip attacked, and waited to explain everything to the parents. Peter's baby monitor footage had been given to the police as proof. How was he walking free?

As they walked out of the party, Bucky put his arm around Peter's shoulders. "Let's go home, kid. You could use some rest."

Peter nodded, feeling the exhaustion wash over him. He was glad to have Bucky and Sam to rely on when things got tough. They were more than just his friends or mentors; they were his family. And they helped him.

"H-how did you know ...?" Peter tried to swallow to start again, but Sam beat him to it.

"SAD had been going off for over ten minutes with us trying to detect the problem. We have had the security alerted all over the Compound the moment it went off, and the entire team has spread around on every edge trying to find the problem. Good work on that program, it is immaculate!"

"Yeah!", Bucky added. "Took FRIDAY almost nine and a half minutes longer to file a danger report, and both AI working together managed to pinpoint place and surge of danger coming from that man within seconds and sending us all there. See? Natasha, Clint, Bruce? The entire team is here."

Peter looked around towards each person Bucky pointed out. Natasha and Clint were both almost casually positioned at an exit, nodding and smiling at Peter's look, concern in their eyes. Bruce was more obviously positioned, far away from people, using SAD's control progress point to check on the situation. A hint of green crossed his eyes, Vision and Rhodey close to him, both ready to intervene, if necessary, either to contain the threat SAD detected, or to contain the Hulk. Steve was close to were Skip and Peter had just stood, quickly talking into the Avengers' emergency comm system.

They left through the exit quickly, past Natasha, Peter feeling her hand squeeze his in a quick move, as the night's fresh air plastered Peter's sweaty face, the stars shining softly over the Compound.

Peter gulped down lungfuls of air, feeling his heart rate gradually slow down as he walked along with Bucky.

"I need to tell someone", he said finally, swiping a hand across his sweaty forehead. "About Skip."

Bucky looked down at him, his blue eyes warm with concern. "We're here for you, Peter. Whatever you need."

When he finished, he felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally. They had managed to walk once around the Compound from the party area towards the private vantage point of the Avengers' living quarters, and walked inside. Peter had been blind from the tears so Sam and Bucky led him towards the entrance, and now they were standing in front of the elevator leading to the private rooms, waiting.

Sam put a hand on his shoulder, his voice gentle. "We'll take care of it, Pete. You don't have to worry."

Bucky gave Peter a quick side-hug before the elevator doors opened to bring them upstairs, squeezing his arm. "I'm sorry this happened to you, kiddo!"

Peter felt protected, something he'd never felt before after seeing Skip, even when May and Ben had been there. He felt like he had a family, even without his parents or Uncle Ben. He felt safe. He felt loved. And he felt like there was nothing that could ever truly harm him. And that was something he thought he'd never have again.

As the elevator doors opened, Peter was quickly engulfed in the safety of Mr Stark's and Miss Pott's and May's arms, joined soon by Rhodey after he finished taking care downstairs, hearing the loving reassurances, and the protective outcries, of his family. He felt the safety of Mr Stark as he assured Peter that "nobody will ever hurt my son again!", the soft arms of Morgan as she wondered why her brother was so sad, sitting on Peter's lab, the awkward tries to portray care as Nebula brought Peter a lemonade...

And he knew not to ever fear again.