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Nightmares run rampant in Stark Tower. If it’s not Tony having dreams about Titan, it’s Peter. Tony can handle them, or at least he thinks that he can. Hiding your true feelings from people for years can do that to you. But Peter is a kid, a very emotional and highly expressive kid. When something isn’t right, he seeks comfort in an adult. When his nightmares are so bad, and he’s shaking, with weak legs and a pounding heart, he’ll stumble to find comfort down the hall. He’ll pass out in Tony’s bed, dead to the world, and only will he wake once his body is fully rested. Unable to experience the same childlike exhaustion, Tony’s racing mind will lead him to the shop once early morning comes. By then Peter is too far asleep to notice that he’s gone, and Tony knows the kid will wake up when he’s ready. This morning was no different, except the two typical residents of Stark Tower were unaware of their special guest. The elevator opens quietly and reveals Steve Rogers, who figured that it was finally time to make things right. Officially, and without anyone else around. The kitchen was empty and void of a fresh pot of brewed coffee, so Steve realized Tony must still be asleep. He walked around the corner and down the hall to see Tony’s bedroom door cracked open. There was a distinguishable figure occupying most of the space on the bed, but the person’s frame was far too small to be Tony. “Friday, where is Tony right now?” Steve asks quietly, stilling in the middle of the hallway and glancing up at the ceiling as he talks, as if Friday were to suddenly appear. “He’s in his workshop, currently working on a new prototype.” Friday answers immediately.With confirmation that Tony was certainly not fast asleep, Steve marches towards the bedroom. He briskly opens the door all the way, only to freeze in the entryway at what he saw. Sound asleep in Tony Stark’s bed was a teenage boy. He was sprawled out diagonally on the bed, tangled in the sheets, with a mess of brown hair splayed across his pillow. Despite his position indicating that he was a restless sleeper, he showed no signs of moving anytime soon. Steve’s determined face morphs into one of confusion, and he backs out of the room, rerouting his course to where Friday said Tony would be. Steve finds him fiddling with a piece of tech, too engrossed in his work to realize that the person standing in the door frame wasn’t just an overly-buff Peter morphed by his peripheral vision. “Stark.” Steve announces his presence, moving to enter the lab once Tony jumps. “What the hell, Rogers?” Tony’s voice is already accusing, and he loudly drops his project. “Tony,” Steve stops once he reaches the other side of Tony’s workbench. “Tell me why there’s a teenage boy in your bed.”Steve notes the confusion, anger, fear, and protectiveness that passes through Tony’s eyes in a matter of seconds. If you even blinked, you would have missed his shift in character before he returned to his cool and collected self. “Funded an orphanage.” Tony shrugs, sniffing and looking away from Steve. “Cut the bullshit, Tony, what are you thinking?”“Remember Spider-Man, Steve, Jesus what are you thinking?”They both still, engaging in a minute long staring contest. Tony challenges Steve to speak and Steve challenges Tony to fully explain. But Steve won’t, because he really didn’t know what he was thinking, and neither will Tony, because he isn’t ready to share what kind of agony he thinks he put Peter through in space. A voice breaks the tension, but it’s neither of theirs. “Da-uh, Mr. Rogers. Hi.” Peter goes from bleary eyed to alert in a millisecond, bouncing on his feet. “I-I’m Peter.” Steve decides that he’s got enough of an explanation for now, as if the kid’s choice name for Tony wasn’t more than telling. He smiles at Tony as he goes to shake Peter’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Peter.”