Darkness surrounded him.  There was nothing but him in the empty abyss in which he was floating.  It was tranquil.  Frightening, but tranquil.

It felt like hours, just floating there in the abyss.  It was quiet boring, actually.

Then, nothing turned into everything in an instant.

A bright light filled the abyss and soon he felt the stability of the ground beneath his feet.  He fell to his knees and looked up as the light began to pool around one area.

Inside the small pool of light, there was a sight that made Peter want to sob.  His Dads were being held at gunpoint, betrayed looks on their faces.  The men holding them seemed to be two of the men that Peter had seen with the briefcase a few days before.

"Why didn't you do more?"  Steve asked, straining against the hold of the man behind him.

"You could have saved us," a voice behind Peter said, a familiar accent to it.  He had heard that voice many times before.  It had been haunting him for the past two years.

Peter turned around and saw Pietro walking slowly over to him, the too familiar bullet holes peppering his body.  He wore an emotionless expression on his face. 

"You could have saved us."  The woman from Sokovia - Lillian Taylor - stepped up from behind him, a blank look on her face as well. 

"Why should you be able to save them?"  They asked in unison, pointing to Steve and Tony.

"I'm sorry," Peter said quickly, tearing up.  "I tried.  I wanted to save you.  Don't hurt them!  Please!"

They shook their heads before Pietro gave a nod to the men holding his parents.

Peter squeezed his eyes shut as the sound of a gunshot rang through his head and the sounds of two thuds followed shortly after.

——————

"No!"

Peter sat quickly upright in his bed, ignoring the shooting pain in his arm.  He took heavy, ragged breaths as he looked around his room, taking in his surroundings.  It was okay.  He was still at home.

He ran a hand through his hair as he hung his legs over the side of his bed. Deep breaths, Pete.  Deep breaths.

He picked up his phone from off of his bedside table and turned it on, a slightly hopeful look on his face.  When he saw only his usual lock screen photo of his family and the time - 6am - he frowned and set it back down with a sigh.  Guess he was awake now.

He stumbled over to his closet and pulled out a sweater and a pair of jeans.  He also grabbed the full duffle bag that sat at the bottom.  Today was the day he left for the Reunion. But, he didn't have to leave until 7, when he was going to meet MJ and Ned for breakfast.

He changed and then walked out of his room, duffle bag in hand.

He walked down the hall and to the kitchen.  Inside, he saw Steve eating at the table.  Steve looked up at Peter as he walked in.

"Hey," Steve said quietly, setting down his fork.  "How you feeling?"

Peter held back a groan.  It had been three days since the Vulture incident, and it had led to a long conversation after the mission, consisting of Peter assuring them that he was fine, and Steve and Tony trying to get him to talk to them about feelings.  Ew.

"I'm alright," Peter replied, setting down the duffle bag outside.  He went into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread before putting it into the toaster.

"You look a little shaken.  Did something happen last night?"

Peter was about to reply with something along the lines of Pops, I'm not four.  Leave me alone, when his Dads voice filled the room.

"Is the egghead ready to go meet with other egg heads?"

Peter rolled his eyes a little, smiling softly.  "You know it, egghead."  He was glad to have a subject change and to have the conversation about something other than his mental health.  At least his Dad was acting normal. 

Tony smiled and kissed Peter's forehead before going over to Steve and kissing him.

"Ew, no P.D.A."  Peter laughed.  "I haven't gotten the chance to even eat yet."

Tony gave Peter a look and went over to the toaster, grabbing Peter's piece of toast out of it and taking a bite before giving it to Peter.

"Tony," Steve said slowly.  "Can we talk?"

Tony looked over at Steve and the two of them just  stared at each other for a moment.

"Yeah," Tony finally replied.  He went out of the room, causing Steve to follow after.

Peter sighed and took a bite out of his toast.  He loved his Pops and all, and he knew that he meant well, but he preferred how his Dad dealt with it.  Not treating him like a ticking time bomb.

He tapped his fingers on the table to the tune of the Star Wars theme as he ate his toast and waited for his Dads to finish talking.

Now that he was alone, his brain kept going back to the nightmare he had had that night, no matter what Peter did.  He became more and more anxious the more time that passed.

Finally, his dads walked back into the room. Steve was wearing a weary smile, which contrasted Tony's actual grin.

"So," Tony said as they both sat back at the table. "how'd you sleep last night?"

Peter cleared his throat. "Fine." He took a bite of his toast, ignoring the look that Steve and Tony quickly shared.

"Glad to hear it," Tony said eventually. "How are Ned and MJ doing? Are they excited for the reunion?"

Peter nodded, once again happy for the subject change. "Yeah, Ned seems kind of excited, MJ never seems excited, so..."

"Are you and MJ okay?" Tony asked, pouring himself cereal. "You seem a little upset when you bring her up."

"Yeah, well..." Peter finished his toast, looking down. "She got upset at me at the date because of something stupid I did."

"Oh?" Steve asked. "What did you do?"

Peter looked at the time. Close enough. He stood up and grabbed his duffle bag.

"Well, I should go, got to be on time for meeting them for breakfast, you know? Being early is better than being late. Tell Sasha her boxing gloves are on my bed."

He went over to his dads, hugged them and headed for the elevator.

"Love you, Pete. Have fun!" Tony called after him, obviously confused and slightly disappointed.

Peter pressed the button to the first floor and waved until the elevator doors shut. He sighed and leaned against the wall as it made its way down the tower, dropping his bag.

He didn't know what was worse. When his dads were in the room, or when they were out of it. He stared at the ceiling, wishing he was somewhere else instead.

As it reached the first floor, he grabbed his bag and walked out of the elevator and straight out the door, ignoring FRIDAY trying to ask him something.

It felt nice to be outside. The warm weather comforting him a little. He made his way across the street, the cafe not at all far from the tower.

When he reached the cafe, he almost immediately spotted Ned and MJ already there in a booth by the window. Ned noticed him and waved at him, while MJ glanced at him before picking up a book from off of the table and reading it.

Well, Peter thought as he entered the cafe. This should be fun.