TW: panic attack

He was pacing back and forth now. Peter wondered around his room mindlessly as the other Avengers discussed in the living room. He could only hear snippets of the conversation.

At this point, he was hearing some music while playing with Lucky in his room to distract himself.

He knew he screwed up.

Peter didn't have much. He wasn't in the right body, he was held to insane standards by everyone around him, he can't even go to bed without the fear of waking up and not seeing his family. The general public didn't even know of his existence as Stark yet.

"Are you Spider-Man?"

Peter felt his heart get lodged in his throat. All he could do at the moment was run into his room and fall on the ground.

The one thing that was his, he'd lost it. Being Spider-Man was the only thing Peter had. It was the one moment where he didn't need to be scared of the world. He felt safe. He didn't have to worry about impressing anyone, no flashing camera, and high tech geniuses breathing down his beck. It was the one moment Peter truly felt free.

Peter was now thinking of the worst possible scenario. That he'd lose his family. The thought terrified him to his core. He began to shake. Peter was trying to breathe but he was struggling. It wasn't until the bark of Lucky broke him from his trance.

He looked up to see Wanda standing by the doorway, Lucky playing by her legs.

"Hey kid, is it okay if I come in?" Wanda asked him sweetly before Peter nodded. She made her way inside and sat at his side. Wanda noticed his tear-stained face and she softly dried them with her sleeve.

"How are you holding up?" At this point, Lucky was laying in Wanda's lap as Peter softly pet the dog. Wanda had a comforting hand around him.

"Not great." he said breathlessly.

"I'm scared. What's going to happen to me?"

Wanda looked at her feet as she collected her thoughts before she spoke up. "Nothing. Nothing is going to happen."

"I felt the same when we were fighting Ultron. I was scared. I didn't want to lose my only family," she took a small breath. "But I did. I lost him. But it wasn't in vain. He died protecting our new family." She softly took Peter's hand.

"But it all worked out. Look at us now, we're Avengers. Never in a million years would I have ever thought I'd be a superhero. It was never part of the plan. The plan for me was to protect my brother. Nothing else mattered. But now, I protect hundreds of other people, my new family, I do everything I can to make sure Pietro didn't die for nothing."

"When I lost Pietro, a part of me died that day. Almost as if, all the anger I felt towards the world, died that night. He was my everything, he was the only person I had left. But now, I have you guys. You guys are my family. "

"Yes, I miss Pietro. I miss him every day. But I'm going to honor his death. He died for the Avengers, and I will now do everything in my power to protect them. I'm not letting him die in vain."

She paused for a moment.

"We've all lost something here. As sad as it sounds, it brings us together. We all have different pasts but in the end, we all do this to protect the people we love. And that's each other. That's you. So, things will work out in the end. You'll be ok Peter."

He simply let out a soft chuckle and hugged Wanda. She gave in and held the young boy close. Lucky eventually jumped off Wanda's lap and began licking Peter's face all over.

The two of them erupted into laughter as Peter's face was being attacked by Clint's dog. And for a few minutes, if only for a few moments, all his worries disappeared.

It wasn't until his door was opened and Clint cleared his throat, gaining their attention.

"Hey, I see you stole my dog."

They all softly laughed as Wanda got up with Lucky in her arms and made her way over to Clint.

"Well technically, he's the Avengers' dog. So we didn't steal anything."

Clint gave a soft laugh before speaking again.

"You know you're wrong Maximoff. Also, Peter, Tony and Stephen are asking for you in the living room."

Peter gave a soft nod and began to make his way out the door, giving a warm smile as his way to say 'thank you' to Wanda.

The room was quiet. Tony was sipping a cup of coffee as he leaned over the kitchen island, while Stephen was brewing himself some tea. Suddenly all of Peter's anxiety came back.

"So, when were you going to tell us, kid?"

He suddenly forgot how to form words. His throat slowly began to dry up. He desperately tried to remember what Wanda had told him, that he'll be okay.

"Anthony, don't. You're scaring him."

They both made their way over to Peter as they all sat down on the couch. The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Stephen spoke up.

"Peter, just know we aren't angry with you."

His attention was now on Stephen, as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Just answer us one thing." Tony spoke up.

Imagine you're climbing a mountain. You've been preparing for this climb for months. Training, gathering food, supplies. It's taken you weeks, and it's not an easy trip. It's taking longer than expected, food is running out, and you aren't sure if you have the stamina for it. But you're this far in. You've spent too much time on this, just to lose it all due to the trip being long. Not a chance.

"How long have you been Spider-Man?"

Peter has been walking on eggshells for the past two years to keep his secret. He's been climbing this mountain for two years. Two years now. He didn't expect it to go on this long. And now he slipped. He's lost his footing. And now it was all falling apart.

Hey on the bright side, he isn't dead.

"Two years.." Peter softly said.

If you were to ask him, Peter didn't know why we kept climbing. He didn't know what was at the top of the mountain. He didn't know how tall it was. He didn't know why he even started climbing it. He just woke up one day and realized he had no choice.

Strange just nodded in agreement before he got up to get more tea. Big contrast to Tony who just looked at Peter in shock.

"You're kidding right?" Tony asked.

Peter could see the fear in Tony's eyes and he felt instant regret. He slipped and now he's falling.

"You mean to tell me, my kid, my son, has been swinging around New York at night for the past two years?! And didn't think to tell me?!"

Peter heard the genuine worry in Tony's voice and the guilt that washed over him was horrible. He had never stopped and thought about that. As selfish as it was, Peter never thought about the impact on his family.

His family didn't know he was climbing, they didn't know when he'd be back.

He never considered how it could affect his parents if he got hurt on patrol. What would have happened if Deadpool did kill him? He never considered the stress this placed on them.

"I'm sorry."

Peter felt awful. He never meant for this to happen. It never crossed his mind how it affected other people. He's falling and he's falling fast.

If he ever got severely hurt on patrol, how would that affect everyone around him? It was finally hitting him that he had never thought this through.

"Don't. It's ok. Just, do patrols in the evening, not at night. And let me redesign your suit. We worry about you." Tony pulled him into a tight hug and just held him.

Peter heard soft sniffles. His shoulder started getting damp.

"Please don't scare me."

Tony didn't mean to break down. He didn't mean to cry. But it was too much. All of it. There was a lot going on right now. The pills were helping but it was still overwhelming. He just needed a break, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Right now, just holding Peter, was enough. Just being able to hold his kid was all he needed at the moment.

He'd catch him. No matter how hard or fast he fell. He'd catch him.

The soft sound of Stephen brewing some tea was oddly calming. Knowing he had someone by his side was grounding. He had Stephen next to him and he had Peter.

He knew he'll get through it with them. Peter had already been so vulnerable with them, coming out to them, both as himself and Spider-Man. He wasn't going to let all that effort go to waste.

He'd help him reach the top.