"Okay, so tell me again how you ended up with a random kid in your guest bedroom?" Rhodey asked as he and Tony stopped outside Peter's door.

"Shhh!" Tony hissed, gesturing to the closed door. "Enhanced hearing."

Rhodey made a face. "Enhanced hearing? What the hell-where did you get this kid?!"

Tony shrugged and pushed open the door. "Just go with it. Be cool."

Peter groaned from the sudden burst of light that entered his room.

  "Sorry kid," Tony whispered, quickly closing the door behind Rhodey. "But i brought you a visitor anyway, so get up."

Rhodey craned his neck to see behind his best friend, catching a glimpse of the frail boy in the red and blue themed room. Now that he noticed it, those colors, that white, almost string-like design, reminded him of something..of someone.

Peter huffed, not moving. "I don't want any visitors," he whined.

Tony rolled his eyes before ripping the covers off the teen, causing Peter to yelp as if he'd been tased.

"Well, i don't want to put up with your teenage angst, but here we are. Peter meet Rhodey, Rhodey, this is Peter," Tony said.

Rhodey stared at the teenager sitting on the bed. He looked so familiar, that brown hair, those eyes, his tiny frame, and his voice. Oh, he could recognize that annoying tweety-bird voice anywhere..

"Holy shit," Rhodey breathed, everything clicking into place. "You adopted Spider-boy."

"Spider-man," both Peter and Tony corrected automatically before Tony started to explain.

"Okay, slow down, i didn't adopt him. His aunt died, so i just kinda took him in," Tony said hastily, avoiding Peter's lost gaze.

"And you just forgot to tell me!?" Rhodey exclaimed.

"Well," Peter spoke up. "It's not like we've had a funeral or anything yet. So how would you know?"

"Jesus Christ kid, i wouldn't have even been invited!"

Tony raised his hands. "Rhodey, take a chill pill. May wanted me to take him in. I was in the will. This wasn't some drunken decision."

Rhodey glared at Tony, causing the latter to wither under his gaze.

"Well, good luck introducing him to the rest of the gang, Tony," Rhodey said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm talking to General Ross about getting the rogues cleared today. They're coming home."

The spiders bedroom fell silent, Rhodey in a state of distaste, Peter still half-asleep, and Tony drowning in his own panicked thoughts.

Oh god, the billionaire thought, taking a seat on the edge of Peter's bed. I'm gonna have to see Steve Rodgers. I'm gonna have to live with Steve Rodgers.

"Mr. Stark, are you okay?" Peter's voice broke through Tony's anxiety. The genius nodded wearily before standing again.

"I could be asking you the same thing, twerp. You're going back to school after the funeral this weekend, no buts. I'll be back in a few. I got some shit to take care of," Tony said, pulling himself together with the sole thought that the kid had it worse. Someone always had it worse.

Rhodey nodded to Peter before leading Tony out of the bedroom.

Once the door was closed, did Tony finally let himself fall apart. All the memories came flooding back, the blood, the cold, the look on Steve's face before he thrust his shield into his arc reactor-

Rhodey watched his best friend crumble, pulling the man into his chest.

"You're here, Tony. New York City, Avengers Tower, outside Peter's bedroom. You're not, you're not in Siberia. Okay? Look at me, Tones," Rhodey whispered reassuringly, helping his friend to breathe again.

  Tony felt like he was sucking in air through a straw. He panted, struggling to catch his breath as he clawed at his chest, trying to desperately to pull the shield from the arc reactor but he wasn't strong enough. He couldn't get it out.

  "Mr. Stark!"

  Getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutgetout.

  "Mr. Stark, you gotta breathe. Cmon, listen to my breathing."

  Getoutgetoutgetoutgetout.
 
  "That's it. In, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three. In, one, two.."

  Getoutgetoutgetout.

  "Mr. Stark, can you hear me?"

  Tony gasped dramatically, pulling at his hair and clothes to ground himself. Though he could now see both Rhodey and Peter standing in front of him, he just couldn't shake the snow off his skin.

  "You good now, Tones?" Rhodey asked, concern wafting off him.

  Tony glanced away, afraid of Peter seeing him like this. His aunt just died, he chided himself, and you're having panic attacks over things that happened months ago.

  "I-I think so. Yeah, I'm good," Tony sighed, licking his chapped lips. He shakily got to his feet. He didn't remember sitting.

  "Mr. Stark..." Peter's voice was so tiny, almost scared. "What was that?"

  Tony and Rhodey exchanged a look.

  "Why did you keep saying, 'get out?'" Peter continued to wonder aloud. "What happened in Siberia?"

  Rhodey awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, i should probably get to that meeting," he muttered. "You know how Pepper gets when you're late."

  Tony ignored him as he walked away, keeping his hard brown eyes trained on the floor.

  "Peter," he started. "Peter, something happened in Siberia that hurt me. Badly. And sometimes, things trigger those scary memories and i get..skittish. Like a cat does sometimes, you know?" Tony tried to explain.

  Peter nodded slowly before shaking his head. "But what happened that was so bad it makes it hard for you to breathe?"

  Tony gulped. How was he supposed to explain to this kid that the reason he couldn't sleep at night was because his own childhood hero haunted his dreams?

  "I almost died, Pete."

  "Is dying really that scary?"

  "It is when you don't see it coming at the hands of a man you trusted."

  Peter opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, closing his mouth. He glanced at the floor before making eye contact with the billionaire.

  "Are...are you okay now?" The young superhero asked, all of his own problems seemingly forgotten.

  Tony gave the kid a small smile and looped an arm around his shoulder. "I'm fit as a fiddle, my friend. And it seems you're doing good too. First time out of bed in a while, eh?"

  Peter chuckled, a tiny blush coming to his pale cheeks. "I wouldn't have moved if i knew you weren't actually dying."

  Tony gasped in false offense. "Wow," He said sarcastically. "And to think that i was about to ask you if you wanted to go out on patrol. Tsk."

  Peters eyes lit up. "Really?!" He gushed. "I can go on patrol?"

  Tony cocked an eyebrow at the boy. "Not anymore, you can't. You said you should've left me to die."

  "But i didn't!"

  "Doesn't matter! No spidey for the spider."

  "That's not fair!"

  "Uh, yes it is. I'm the boss and i make the rules. My rules are that you don't get to be spidey until you're nice to your old man."

  Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm sooo sorry," the teen said, sarcasm dripping from his words. He cracked a smile the genius hadn't seen in ages. "So, can i go on patrol now?"

  Tony nodded. "Yep, as long as you don't tell Pepper about what you saw, okay?"

  Peter nodded. "Okay, Mr. Stark."

  Tony smiled fondly after the kid as he bounded back to his bedroom, a renewed skip in his step.

  It won't last, the man thought, reaching a hand under his shirt and touching his fingertips to the cool metal of his mechanical heart.

  It never does.