Peter's Nightmare-A Superfamily Oneshot

Peter-Age 7

Rain was mercilessly pounding against the earth and soaking everything. The moon seemed to have fled from the sky and shadows were all around. The screaming wind carried the cries of blood-thirty beasts through out the barren landscape, sending all the little creatures scurrying for a place to hide.

Peter tightly hugged his knees to his chest as violent shivers overtook his body. His teeth chattered at the feel of his cold, soaked clothes sticking to his body. He desperately needed a blanket or a hot bath to melt the cold seeping into his bones, but the canopy of leaves above him would have to do; at least it was shielding him from the worst of the rain. A siren-like growl sounded in the distance and tears poured from his eyes as he silently prayed for the monsters to go away.

His prayers weren't heard, sadly. The deafening howls grew closer and closer. Peter bit down on his lip, trying to keep himself from screaming and holding back his sobs. He huddled deeper into the bush as heavy footsteps shook the ground. His heartbeat pounded against his ribcage as he caught sight of the grotesque monsters through the branches of the bush.

They were more or less walking shadows, their black skin rotting and peeling off their bodies. Their teeth resembled huge needles, rows and rows of them filling up their enormous jaws. The claws hung off their hands and dragged along the ground, leaving gashes in the dirt behind them. Their eyes were amber, dirty amber filled with hatred and anger, creatures from hell itself. Peter silently counted the monsters to himself; five of them prowling the clearing, all looking for him. He was even more terrified now.

He didn't dare to breathe as one came particularly close to his hiding spot. His body froze as it stood directly in front of spot, searching. The sound of his heart grew louder and faster to the point where he was sure the monster could hear it. Thankfully, it didn't and it moved on. The monsters congregated in the center of the clearing, hissing and growling at each other. The tallest one, their leader, flicked his head towards the path where they came and they scurried back that way. Peter let out his breath in a deep sigh of relief.

A monster shot back into the clearing and his body tensed yet again. Its eyes panned the area and quickly crawled around for its prey. It growled to itself, obviously dissatisfied and ran off the join the pack. Peter counted to one hundred before he slowly, carefully climbed out the bush. He hugged himself; trying to warm himself as he took a step in the opposite direction of where the monsters ran, hopefully back towards New York City. Shivers set in again and he felt a twig snap beneath his foot.

Seconds later, he was scampering through the dense woods with the pack right on his tail.

Peter didn't dare to look back and kept running. His tiny legs leaped over fallen trees and rocks as the monster simply tore through them with their massive claws. He gulped oxygen into his lungs as he urged himself to keeping going, telling himself that he would be home soon. Better yet, Iron Man and Captain America would come in and kill all these monsters and they would go back to Stark Towers and make hot chocolate. If bloodthirsty monsters weren't chasing Peter, he would've smiled at the thought.

He rounded a sharp bend in the path and counted down from ten, waiting for his dad's over-dramatic entrance as Iron Man. But he didn't show up. He counted down again, excepting Captain America to slice through one of them with his shield. He was a no show, too. Peter counted down a few more times before he realized they weren't going to come, they weren't going to be there.

As he felt fresh tears well up, the ground rushed up to him and mud soaked through his already-wet clothes. He rolled onto his back and noticed his stinging, bleeding knees. The tallest monster stood above him, licking his lips at the scent. There was nothing Peter could do but cry as it raised its claws and…


Peter screamed and jolted up, breathing hard. His clothes were damp, not with rain but with cold sweat, and his heart was pounding. Rain slammed into his window and the wind howled outside. He grasped his security blanket and spider plushie and continued to cry. He wanted his dads, but they were all the down the hall. Peter didn't want to risk being attacked by the monsters again, but he desperately needed them to hold him and tell him everything was okay. He gulped and slowly climbed out of bed, making his way to his bedroom door with his blanket and spider plushie still in hand.

He peeked outside his door into the darkened hallway. No sign of the monsters, yet at least. He cautiously stepped into the hall and tiptoed towards his dads' room, tightening holding his blanket around his shoulders. As soon as their bedroom door was within ten feet of him, he ran into the room and shut the quickly but quietly, not wanting to attract the monsters are wake up his dads.

He walked to Tony's side of the bed and stood in front of him thinking his daddy senses would detect him and he would wake up. But Tony's eyes remained closed and he wasn't waking up anytime soon. Peter took a step closer and gently shook his dad, his heart still beating faster then it usually did. It had no effect either.

"Mo-" Peter stopped himself, remembering how Tony had told him to stop calling him 'mommy' many times. "Daddy?" His tiny voice whispered.

Tony continued to snore lightly, shifting in his sleep a little. Peter clutched his spider plushie and blanket tighter as the sound of rain grew louder. Tears began to fall from his eyes and he sobbed, feeling as vulnerable and helpless as he was in his dream.

"Daddy?" His voice came out in a chocked sob.

Tony opened his eyes and came face-to-face with Peter. His cheeks were stained with tears and he held onto his spider plushie as if his life depended on it. Even hidden under the blanket draped over his shoulders, he could see his son trembling. Tony sat up and pulled his son onto the bed with him, stealing a quick glance at the clock on his nightstand, 2:57 AM.

"What's wrong, Pete?" He asked gently and stroked Peter's soft hair.

"I-I had a scary dream." Peter replied and clutched the blanket around him tighter. "Th-There were monsters and it was dark and I was alone…"

"Shh…shh…" Tony gently hugged him, still stroking his hair. "It's over, you're not there anymore, you're okay. Shh…" He cooed.

"B-But you guys weren't there…the monsters were going to eat me…" Peter continued to cry.

"Shh…" Tony pressed a finger against Peter's trembling lips. "We don't want to wake up Stevie, too. Come on, we'll get some warm milk and we'll talk in the living room. Does that sound good?" He gestured to his husband on the other side of Peter, still in a deep sleep.

Peter nodded and Tony climbed out of bed, yawning. His son followed and immediately grabbed his hand and held it much like the way a mountain climber holds their rope. The pair walked down the darkened hallway towards the kitchen, Peter still trembling but not as badly as before. He sat on the couch and adjusted the blanket around his shoulders to increase protection against the non-existent monsters. The speed of his heartbeat lowered significantly as his dad turned on the lights, scaring away the monsters even more. It was dim, but it still reassured the kid greatly.

"What happened in your dream, kiddo?" Tony took a seat beside his son and handed him a mug full of warm milk.

Peter downed the whole mug in a matter of seconds and set it on the coffee table in front of them. "I was in the woods and monsters were chasing me. I was hiding and they found me and chased me. I-I was really scared and I wanted you and daddy to save me…" The tears started all over again. "…you never came…and I thought I was gonna get eaten…"

"Peter," Tony said gently. "Daddy and I will ALWAYS come for you, no matter what. Did the monsters eat you?"

Peter shook his head. "N-No…"

"Do you want to know why?"

The scared spider-kid nodded.

"Because when the monsters were chasing you, Iron Man was actually following them the whole time. Right before it was about to eat you, he blasted a hole right through them and Captain America pulled you out of your dream and back into your room." Tony improvised the story, secretly congratulating himself on his parenting skills.

"But I didn't see you…" Peter said in a tiny voice. "And you weren't my room when I woke up."

"As soon we knew you were safe we immediately went back to bed because we were VERY tired. Just because you didn't see us, doesn't mean we weren't with you." Tony put his arms around Peter and embraced his son's tiny body. "Stevie and I will ALWAYS be with you, even if you don't see us or know we're there. You're the most important thing in our lives and we love you very much." He gently kissed the crown of his head.

"You're always with me?" Peter confirmed, his eyes closing.

"Always have and always will be, every step of the way." He replied and lay down on the couch, still holding Peter.

Peter yawned and rested his head against Tony's chest, his Ark Reactor casting a dim blue glow across his face. His vice-like grip on the blanket and plushie loosened as JARVIS turned off the lights. The dark didn't scare him now that he was safe in his dad's arms. Tony gently rubbed Peter's back as his own eyes began to close. He yawned and laid his head on the couch's armrest, sleep overtaking him in a matter of seconds.


Steve shielded his eyes as obnoxiously bright sunlight flooding the room. He rolled over, his back to the window, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up and stretched. He glanced at Tony's side of the bed, but his husband wasn't there. The covers were thrown off and the spot held no human warmth. Steve raised an eyebrow; where was Tony? He couldn't hear AC/DC blasting from downstairs, so that ruled out the possibility of him going to work on something in the middle of the night. There wasn't a note on his nightstand, so he couldn't have gone out anywhere.

Steve climbed out of bed and headed into Peter's room; maybe the boy had a nightmare and begged Tony to sleep with him again. He poked his head in the room and to his surprise, Tony wasn't there and neither was Peter. His security blanket and spider plushie were missing as well. The captain's curiosity skyrocketed taking a little bit of fear with it; both his husband AND son were missing.

He jogged down the stairs to the kitchen and noticed an empty mug on the coffee table. His heart relaxed at the sight of Tony and Peter asleep on the couch, Peter gently resting his head against Tony's chest. His security blanket was draped over him and part of Tony's body and his spider plushie was in hand. Steve smiled at the adorable scene before him as Tony stirred, careful not to wake Peter.

"What happened?" Steve whispered as walked over to where the pair was resting.

"Nightmare, he was really shaken and I didn't want to wake you so we talked about it in here with warm milk. We got cozy and I didn't feel like carrying him back to his room so we just slept here." Tony quietly responded, gently stroking Peter's hair.

The kid's eyes opened as he yawned, his head still against Tony's chest. Steve smiled at Peter and his eyes lit up at the sight of him. Peter jumped off Tony's chest, earning a grunt from the inventor, and trapped his other dad in a tight hug.

"Thank you! Thank you for pulling me out of my dream! You saved my life!" He cried.

Steve raised an eyebrow; what was he talking about? Just go with it he saw Tony mouth out of the corner of his eye.

"You're welcome Spidey, that's what Captain America does best!" He replied. "Do you want some pancakes? My treat!"

"Yeah!" Peter responded immediately. "I'll get the pan!" He dashed towards the cabinets and began rummaging through them.

"What did you tell him exactly?" Steve whispered to Tony, still laying on the couch.

"That we saved him from the monsters in his dream and you pulled him out. And also how we'll be there for him even if he doesn't we're there." Tony answered.

Steve glanced at Peter, still digging through the cabinets like a squirrel trying to find its nuts. "We will be there, no matter what."