Never Again

Ch. 6

"Mr. Parker seems to be experiencing a nightmare," FRIDAY announced. I nearly dropped my tools then ran up the stairs. I raced into Peter's bedroom where he was tossing and turning in his bed. I knelt down by his bed and reached for his shoulder. As soon as I touched him, he snapped awake.

"Hey, hey, calm down," I said, sitting on his bed. "You're okay." Peter took a few shaky breaths and nodded. He didn't look up, staring down at his hands in his lap instead.

"How's Aunt May? Is she okay? I had this awful nightmare and it felt so real--" he stopped when he saw my face. His went from worry back to sorrow and I sighed.

"I'm sorry, kid," I replied quietly. "It really happened." Peter didn't start crying again which I was thankful for. He just nodded numbly. He wiped his face quickly and I pretended not to notice.

"C-Can we do something?" he asked. He hesitantly looked up at me and I nodded.

"Like what?" Peter shrugged.

"I don't know," he told me. "I just don't want to think about what happened." I knew that wasn't the right way to go about doing it, but I didn't want him to just sit around and mope all day.

"I'll order Chinese and we can watch a movie," I said. He nodded, so I stood up and walked towards his door. I turned back to see him furiously wipe at his face again. "Peter? It's okay to cry. It's actually the best thing you can do right now. I'll be here if you need me," I promised. Peter just nodded and folded his hands back in his lap.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark," he whispered. I pursed my lips and left the room, heading into the living room before telling FRIDAY to order our usual Chinese order.

* * *

By the time the food arrived, Peter had decided on a movie. It took him a while and I could tell his mind wasn't really on the movies he was looking at, but by the time I had paid the delivery guy and returned upstairs to Peter, he was putting a movie in the player.

I set the bags of food on the coffee table and went to find a few blankets. The tower wasn't exactly cold, but I figured wrapping up in blankets would help Peter feel better. The kid loved blankets.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked. I glanced over my shoulder as I walked towards my bedroom. Peter's voice had become a lot quieter and he didn't have as much character when he spoke. I knew May's death would really hurt him, but that didn't mean I liked how quiet and empty he had become even in the past few hours. "Can you get Jeremy?" His voice was even quieter if that was possible, but I still heard him.

"Of course, Pete," I replied. I grabbed the extra blankets from my room then stopped in Peter's room to grab Jeremy. I had only just found out about the stuffed koala. May had to drop it off one evening when Peter forgot it and that's when I found out Peter still slept with a stuffed animal. Apparently his mother had bought it for him when he was a baby and Peter refused to go a night without it. He was really embarrassed when I found out, but he had quickly turned it on me and asked if I'd had a favorite stuffed animal. I had to admit that I did and that I had even slept with it up until I graduated college. Everyone has comfort items and Peter's just happened to be a koala while mine had been the classic teddy bear.

I walked back into the living room and handed Jeremy to Peter who gratefully accepted him. I also draped a blanket over Peter's shoulders and set the rest on the floor. Peter hit play on the remote as I reached for the food. I handed a package to Peter who just held it, not bothering to open it and start eating. I decided to just let him be for a while and ate my food as the movie played.