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It is a fact, not said, yet known by all that know him, that Peter Parker hates field trips.

They always end in disaster. Every. Time. The last field trip he went on was for Washington D.C. and a bomb blew up in an elevator. This one isn't going to be any better, Peter's absolutely positive about it. Never mind the fact that parents and guardians are allowed to come with them and May finally took some time off of her busy schedule to go with him; or the fact that they can drive themselves, it's going to be awful.

Peter's grumpy silent pouting in the passenger seat of their Sonata probably isn't helping anything but for the life of him, he doesn't want to go. He would have much rather stayed put in his nice warm bed this morning sleeping until noon or beyond than on a school issued trip.

It's Monday for crying out loud! No one cares about anything on Monday except the fact that it's Monday.

Peter can think of more than a dozen places he rather be right now and despite when he'd texted Mr. Stark in effort to get away from the field trip on Saturday, Tony had laughed and responded with, "Yeah, not happening sucker."

Peter hates being underground.

A deep rooted fear of it had spiked after the building collapse almost two months ago and Peter doesn't want to go visit a stupid mine that extracts stupid gravel and stupid sand and stupid-Pete. Argh.

May's still glancing at him from the rearview mirror her face stitched in concern. She would understand it better why he doesn't want to come if he just told her about the building collapse. Peter spent that night at Ned's afterwards on the floor his surrogate brother panicking as Peter tried to conceal his many broken bones and rattled insides. The fight with the Vulture hadn't been a picnic and the nightmares that plagued him afterwards haven't helped at all.

He's kept to himself about it, mostly, only offering half answers when May asks and ignoring them with Tony does. The billionaire had made more of an effort to reach out to him after the whole fiasco and May had insisted that he meet Peter weekly for training after she slapped the billionaire.

He doesn't want to go into the mine.

Yes, they're learning about their state this year and the school thought it would be a great idea to travel to the nearest mine and receive a hands on tour but Peter really, really, really doesn't want to. He feels bad, though, for his moodiness and general aura of stormy rain clouds but he just can't muster even enough fake energy to dampen it.

He's exhausted. Mentally, physically and any other way someone can be exhausted.

Peter lets out another sigh of grumpiness and all around moody and May gives a slight shake of her head, "It's just for a few hours, Peter."

It's the first spoken words since May gave up on conversations near forty minutes ago. It's a hour and a half drive from Queens and half an hour from any populated city or anything populated at all.

Yes. It's only a few hours.

A few, painful, neverending, slow hours.

No biggie.

Yes. Yes it is. He's going to write a ten page paper for the principle on why field trips are stupid and a waste of energy when they get home. May was excited when he told her about it and insisted they go despite Peter's protests and slightly begs for no.

His aunt and uncle had wanted to world travel a lot and after Peter was dumped on them ungraciously by his parents they hadn't didn't really have the opportunity to. May was excited to see it and said slapped him over the head with the permission slip when he argued saying that it would be a good opportunity to get away from the city and Spider-Man. His aunt had taken the news better than he expected and after some tears, yelling and Peter apologizing over three dozen times she reluctantly agreed to let him continue. There's more rules, now, though, like he has to be trained for real on how to defend himself, he can't hide injuries (he's really bad at that one) and a curfew. It doesn't bother him too much, he's just glad she let him continue. He needs Spider-Man.

"That's a long time." Peter drones, his voice heaving the whopping amount of excitement that he currently feels for the trip. May sighs and flips on the blinker pulling to a halt on a right turn lane. Maybe he can convince her to take him out driving again. His sixteenth birthday is in a few months and he really needs to work on getting his hours in of driving so he can take the test.

Not that he'd be able to drive, anyway, since May takes there only car to work and back but it would be nice to officially have one and know how to drive in case something happens again. Peter presses his lips together and leans against the door more in his frustration.

Do they have to go on the trip. What was the other option? Writing an essay about rocks? He can do that. He'd love to do that.

May keeps driving.

"I know you don't want to do this, Pete, but it could be fun." May says and Peter resists the urge to roll his eyes. What's fun about being in a mine?

"I don't really think so." Peter mutters under his breath but May still hears it anyway and raises an eyebrow at him slightly. She returns her gaze to the road as the grouping of parents and students gets larger and larger.

Dread sinks in Peter's stomach and rests there.

After about two minutes, May pulls the car into a parking space and grabs her purse looking over at Peter with a wide smile, "You ready?"

"No." Peter says in response before turning to the handle and ripping it open. Peter steps into the chill air and wraps his jacket around himself before slamming the door shut with his foot. May walks around the car and zips up her heavy jacket before smiling at him again and starts to walk forward.

Peter follows after her, dragging his feet in attempt to walk slower.

After maybe a minute of enduring this, May twists, leans back, grabs his elbow and pulls him forward beside her keeping a firm grip on his elbow. Peter doesn't resist, her enthusiasm being the only thing really pushing him forward.

As Peter walks closer he sees that Michelle is standing next to Ned looking slightly bored and Ned's Mom is fussing over both of them. From the ten-twenty foot distance between them he can't hear what their saying very well but Mrs. Leeds leans forward and licks her thumb wiping something away from Michelle's face. This is, apparently, too much motherly affection for Michelle as seconds later she leans to the side looking disgusted and Ned slaps a hand over his mouth struggling to contain laughter.

May gives a fond smile looking at the two of them before pulling Peter in their direction. As they take a few more steps forward Peter's enhanced hearing picks up Mrs. Leed's rant or explanation.

"You have something on your face, sweetheart. Do you honestly expect me to let you go walking out in public like that?"

Michelle raises her hands in frustration her braided hair swept away from her face showing the emotion across it plainly, "We're going to be in a mine." She contradicts. "It's dark, like, all the time." True. Ugh…

Peter doesn't want to be here.

Michelle's parents were out of town for the next week so Ned offered to let her carpool with his family. She'd agreed, reluctantly and it appears that she's regretting it. May pulls them towards the non-happy friends (save Ned who looks like he might spontaneously combust from his struggle to withhold laughs) and finally releases Peter's arm.

"Oh! Good morning, Mrs. Parker." Mrs. Leeds says turning her attention away from Michelle to his aunt and giving a beaming smile. Why is everyone so happy to be here! He can't stop the bubbles of anxiety that are building in his stomach every time he thinks about taking a step inside the mine.

It's going to be torture. It will collapse and he'll be stuck under something again unable to breathe, but he won't get out because it's a mountain instead of a building. He can't even sleep on his back looking at the ceiling before the ridiculous fear grabs his common sense and runs.

It's not that he thinks that the field trip will be stupid.

It would actually probably be pretty cool.

Fear, however is a power hungry demon that no matter what Peter seems to throw at it today it's only feeding more.

Oh, cats, no...please.

Maybe he can convince May to let him stay outside. But she took time off of work to go to this and he really should not let her waste it. They aren't rolling in cash and they need the money so her taking time off is not something to be used lightly.

Something pokes at his upper arm and Peter drags himself out of his stressed thoughts to present day and whips his head towards Michelle who withdraws her hand with a concerned look. It's strange, seeing her with her hair pulled back. She typically only left it down for as long as he knew her but after they (Ned, himself and Michelle) started hanging out more, her long curls started getting tucked away from her eyes.

She's watching him with the "I can see into your soul" look again that makes him admittedly uncomfortable no matter how many times he's been under it. How she can study people then understand almost everything about them in one glance will never cease to amaze him.

"Breathe, Pete." She instructs and makes the motion with her chest and hands.

Peter inhales the air he didn't know he wasn't intaking and exhales slowly. As pathetic as it is, he really wishes that Mr. Stark had said yes to pulling him out or gone with him. May is awesome, but she's really more like a older sister to him than a mother. He was closer to his uncle and after his death it's been hard trying to figure out how to work with her.

Now that the thoughts popped up, yes, he really wishes Tony was here. It's dumb and fairly childish because Tony is a billionaire, Avenger, and runs a company with his wife so he doesn't exactly have time to drop everything he's doing for a insucifacant teenagner as himself. Tony cares more about Spider-Man than him, anyway.

Michelle nudges him again and he snaps out of his thoughts, "What?"

She points forward towards where the principle, Mortia is talking and listing out rules that he hadn't been paying attention to. Had he really been thinking for that long. Ned is silent beside him and staring at the principal with almost eerie focus.

"...Everyone needs to be careful, though, because this is an older mine. There aren't any ledges for you to fall off of but please follow your guide. You're all going to have helmets equipped with a flashlight," Mortia lifts up the bright white plastic helmet with the LED light attached the front. "Guardians, stick with your child at all times and make sure that everyone is in pairs of two. Please come get a helmet before you enter and your guides will be waiting. Thank you."

The crowd moves forward swiftly and the gnawing panic turns into a pulsing ache as they move forward to grab the helmet. It's all a dream, he'll wake up soon. No, this is very much real and a nightmare in the making. Oh, gosh, please make it stop.

The time passes far to quickly and Peter suddenly has a helmet on his head (though he doesn't remember putting it on), May gripping his hand and he's handing his phone to a person outside of the mine whose explaining about a ban on photos since they've had accidents from the flashes.

His hands are shaking, his pulse beating rapidly and everything sounds like it's underwater.

All he can hear is the supports grinding and the whir of the Vulture's wings as they spin before the cement collapses and pain explodes across his back-

Then May's laughing at something the guide said and the mine is all around him. The rest of his group, ten other people consisting of Flash, (yay), laugh as well and Peter whips his head back to look at the entrance and light but there's nothing there but black. His stomach quenches and everything is suddenly very real, his fingers tighten over May's.

Don't release me, don't release me, don't release me. He chants silently in his head and May squeezes his still shaking hand back and gives him a reassuring look.

"-As you can tell the cave walls are still wet from an underwater source that stopped following about six months ago-" The guide says, a chirpy female with purple hair and enthusiasm that doesn't quite seem human.

"Look at that." May says and points towards a stalagmite sparkling in the light of their headgear. Peter's chest tightens more for some reason and he's pretty sure that if he squeeze's May's hand any tighter he's going to break her palm.

"Yeah, it's nice." Peter says, his voice quiet.

Michelle nudges his shoulder and points towards their left, "Those rocks look like a breaking death ray."

"Really?" Ned perks and pops up behind Peter's shoulder as Peter and Ned whirl their heads towards where Michelle is pointing. Sure enough, the stalactites hanging from the ceiling are twisted in an angle and almost look to be spinning. Cracks are extending through the ray and up towards the ceiling and look slightly shaky.

Peter snickers slightly, "That's a tiny death ray."

"What were you expecting, sir, a Death Star?" Michelle asks and Ned shrugs.

"I wouldn't have argued."

Peter laughs and is about to make a snarky comeback before his spider sense gives a blaring throb at the back of his head. Peter's voice dies as panic overtakes him and he swivels his head towards the spot it's coming from: the rock death ray with the cracks extending over Michelle.

"Look out!" Peter cries in warning before releasing his aunt's hand and diving forward grabbing Ned and Michelle by their shoulders and tugging them all down to the ground. As the three of them topple forward the death ray rock explodes outwards, giving into some sort of pressure quickly followed by another chain and the ceiling starts to collapse.

People scream and May calls his name in the rally of panicked voices.

Peter's eyes widen in horror as he turns his gaze back towards the ceiling then back at May and meets her eyes for a moment before the boulders cover the opening between them. One smashes against Peter's leg and his eyes widen in the agony but from his twisted position he hears larger rocks tumble beyond their little opening. The air around them is filling up with dust and Peter starts to cough quickly followed by Michelle and Ned.

Panic is overcoming everything because this is just like the building but worse because it's not just him it's Michelle and Ned.

The grinding finally stops and the dust settles in the air.

Michelle inhales sharply and her breath drags him to the present reality and away from his screaming thoughts.

"Are you guys okay?" Peter asks after a moment and Ned is sucking in air. Peter can't see him but he sounds panicked. Peter's leg is pulsing with pain from the break and the weight but he can't stop it.

What just happened?

This sort of stuff happens in movies.

Not real life.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay." Ned says after a second. "I think."

"Seconded." Michelle says after a moment. Peter can't see her because all of their helmet's lights are dead. It's dark, cold, and they are going to die here. They left their phones at the front entrance, only the guide has an emergency walkie-talkie and she, and the rest of their group are on the other side of the rocks. It's just the three of them.

Peter's leg pulses with pain again, reminding him that he momentarily forgot about it in his panic.

I know.

"Peter?" Ned's voice asks. Peter can feel a draft coming in front of them and ignores Ned's voice as he focuses on it. Good, if there's a draft there's a way out and air. They aren't going to suffocate.

They need help.

He needs help.

His leg is starting to become unbearable and he can feel his insides on his calf grinding together in a way that isn't normal. "My leg i-is stuck." Peter says after a moment his voice shaking. Michelle curses softly as Ned inhales and he hears both of them shift. His spider sense is still thrumming at the back of his head and Peter clenches his fists.

Michelle's thin, rough, yet still somehow gentle fingers find his left knee and she traces it to the rock releasing a shaky breath.

"What do we do?" She asks, directing the question towards Ned. Ned's hand finds his leg again and this time, Peter does flinch from pain. It's starting to go numb with can't be a good sign.

"We have to get it off of him." Ned says and there hands leave his foot, "This is probably going to hurt, Peter. On three?" Ned asks.

"One," Michelle says in answer and Peter squeezes his eyes shut.

"Two."

They really should just leave him and come back for help.

"Three."

The rock shifts upwards only slightly, maybe have an inch but it's all Peter needs, with flexibility he's never truly appreciated until now, Peter tugs his leg away from under the rock and gives a shaky laugh of relief.

He rolls over into a sitting position and as he does his light flickers on dully. Michelle and Ned's dirty faces meet his with relief and they both echo him on laughter. The two of them collapse next to him his dull light the only thing taking the darkness away.

They sit there, in silence for hours.

After maybe four of silence all of them waiting for help and just appreciating their all alive, Peter's leg starts to pulse terribly. Of all the flipping days to not bring his Spider-suit. He was just so stressed about the whole thing this morning that he didn't think about it.

And now their dying.

Funny, how this morning's issues seem nigh insufficient to what's going on now.

Peter lets out a low hiss of pain and clenches his eyes shut wrapping his hands around his left knee tilting his head back. Michelle starts asking questions after he lets out a soft groan of pain, probably trying to distract him.

"Favorite color?"

"Blue." Ned answers.

"Red." Peter says after a moment.

"Rock?"

"The one on the left over there."

"That boulder isn't bad."

"Pen or pencil?"

"Pencil."

"Pencil."

"Color of shoe?"

"Is that really even a thing, M.J.? No one cares about what their shoes look like."

"I asked what you thought, Ned, not if you agreed with me."

"Grey." Peter interprets throwing out the first color he can think of.

Michelle is quiet for a moment before she asks her next question softly. "Do you think they're going to find us?"

Both Ned and Peter go silent.

There must be at least a dozen feet of rock between them and the group... and May. is she okay? His thoughts have drifted to her every few minutes of silence. It's probably been hours and he hasn't heard anything.

No. He doesn't think they will.

Tony might.

The voice is quiet and has been nagging at him since he had time to think about it. But Tony wouldn't come to something like this, besides they're beyond and hour from New York City.

Common sense says to wait here but Peter can still feel the draft of air. If they're going to get out, they might be able to find there way out by themselves.

They need to get help for the others, anyway.

He looks up at his classmates who in return stare at him. He's quiet for a moment before turning his head to scan the "room" like area they're in. There's nowhere for them to exit at save a hole big enough for a small box in the top left corner nearly twenty feet over their heads. If his leg was in working order, it would have been fine. It's broken though so the only thing they can do is wait and hope someone finds them.

Before their air supply runs short.

000o000

"Please tell me that's not the fifth piece today." Pepper says in exasperation as she strides into the kitchen bare feet tapping against the ground quietly. Tony pauses taking the leftover piece from the fridge and gives his wife a sheepish smile.

"Yeah...about that-"

"Tony."

"It's the sixth." Tony takes a bite of the piece and flashes her a smile that she sighs to before he turns back to the phone he was working on before hunger called. In his defense he's been fairly busy with projects the last few days and he's pretty sure he ate a muffin and maybe half a bagel during that period. Pepper walks up beside him and leans over his shoulder.

"What are you working on?"

"Meh, Peter kept complaining that his phone is cracking on patrols so I'm working on a phone that's Spider-Man durable." Tony answers absentmindedly and flips it to the back screen poking at it with a screw driver as he takes another bite of the pizza.

Pepper nods, "Do you think it's going to work?"

"I dunno, I keep tossing it across the room as a test but so far it hasn't ended well." Tony explains and gestures towards the broken phones lying dead next to one of the far walls. He doesn't look at Pepper's expression but he imagines the eyebrow raise.

She opens her mouth to make what Tony is sure a sarcastic comment before the door to the kitchen bursts open and Happy stumbles in panting. Pepper jumps slightly as Tony looks up abruptly and Happy takes in a few more gasping breaths before looking up at both of them.

"School...collapse...Peter...called."

Tony's eyebrows shoot upwards and unease settles in his stomach.

"What?"

Tony drops the rest of the pizza piece on the counter looking at Happy expectantly. Their school collapsed? What happened?

Happy takes a few more breaths in before his wild and panicked eyes meet Tony's own. "The school issued a trip to a mine today but they led them to an unsecure area and it collapsed. Fifteen are still missing and over twenty are severely injured. Peter and May were there."

"Oh gosh." Pepper inhales sharply her hands flying over her mouth. "Tony-"

Tony shakes his head back and forth.

Not his kid, not his kid, oh, man, please not his kid.

Tony turns to Pepper, "I'm going after them."

"I'll meet you there." Pepper says in response before leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the lips and turning to Happy, "Start the car, now."

Tony turns away from the kitchen, "Friday, Mark-whatever number I'm on, deploy now."

"Right away, Boss."

It doesn't help, that even though she's an AI, Friday sounds slightly panicked too.

000o000

"I'm going to climb the wall." Peter says after a moment and Michelle and feel the blood drain from her face.

A: Peter isn't athletic.

B: He can't climb

And to finish it off C: his leg is broken.

There's no way he's climbing that wall. "Peter!" She hisses in protest as he starts to shift. She grabs his shoulder to pull him back and he looks back at her, "You can't climb the wall! If you fall you could die, okay? Just stay here, your leg is injured." She tries with desperation to keep her voice from shaking but fails.

They've been trapped in this dark cave for hours with no one answering their calls for help in the beginning and no sounds of movement. All they've done is sat here, in the dark with Peter moaning occasionally and her dumb distract-Peter-from-pain questions. Michelle wants to go home, curl in a blanket with ice cream and her cat next to her parents and have a good cry.

Peter's light doesn't illuminate his face or their area very well and since her's and Ned's were crushed by rocks it's all they have. Peter bites his lip and his face flashes with concern, frustration and destimeriantion.

Idiot! He can't climb it!

Peter struggles forward for a moment shaking her hand off and looks back at her, "It'll be okay, M.J."

Ha! Not this time Mister! Typically when he uses her self given nickname he can get her to agree with him. She and him know this and it drives her crazy.

Peter drags himself forward, hissing as his mangled leg hits the ground before pressing his fingers against the wall. Yeah, okay, genius, that's not going to do anythi-Okay...what?

...uh?

Peter drags himself upwards with his fingers and right let letting his left one dangle as dead weight. Her eyes widen before the realization strikes her like a slap. She's such an idiot.

Peter is Spider-Man.

The signs have been there for almost what, eight-ten months now since Spider-Man first showed up on the news? Ned, clearly knows because from what she can see he's just watching Peter carefully instead of with the dazed aw that she's sporting. Admittedly, though it's stupid and they haven't been friends for nearly as long, she's a little hurt he didn't tell her.

Peter's fingers are scrambling for grip as he scales the wall getting higher and higher.

Five feet, ten, twelve.

Peter's foot slips and his whole lower body smacks against the cliff edge and M.J.'s whole body tense and she latches for her brother's hand, clutching it unbreakable in her panic. Ned just returns the death squeeze.

Peter's fingers press against the edge of the wall and she can hear him gasping for breath in pain or panic before he slowly pushes himself up again. He took off his shoes. Why did she not notice? The chill air is slowly starting to sink through her heavy jacket and sweater from the length of time they've been here. They're going to freeze long before they run out of air or starve.

Peter pushes up again.

Thirteen feet.

Fourteen feet.

Another slip, Michelle bites her lip heavily to withhold her cry of panic.

Please don't die you idiot.

Fifteen feet.

Sixteen feet.

Seventeen feet.

Peter stretches his hand forward and grasps the edge of the ledge and drags himself towards it pulling himself up with both hands and pushing his right sock against the wall. Peter's body is wracked with shivers that Michelle hadn't noticed until now.

They'd all been in shock, unable to get their body's senses to work right.

She's shivering too and she can see Ned shaking beside her.

They're going to freeze.

Peter turns back towards them, his light shining towards their faces. Michelle raises her hand to cover the light. "I don't s-s-ee anything, my light's t-to d-dim." Peter says clenching his jaw to stop the rattling.

Whose brilliant idea was this, anyway!?

She's going to slap them.

"I-I'm going to s-see if I can get up c-closer." Peter says and Michelle's stomach pit sinks digs a few more feet down. Peter shifts his grip, so he's only hanging on by his leg and reaches a hands out and presses them against the roof of the cave and Michelle has a second to see as Peter's head flips up that it's dripping wet before Peter tumbles backwards with a cry.

He tumbles back in almost what feels like slow motion and her eyes widen before Peter hits the floor of the cave on his feet in a roll and lets out an agonized scream gripping his leg and curling in himself.

Michelle dives across the room ignoring the scrapes and bruises covering her body as she grabs Peter's shoulder. "Parker! Peter!"

Peter's body goes lax and Ned flips him onto his back and he turns to look at Michelle his eyes wide. "He's unconscious."

Michelle lets out a low curse.

Peter's face is lax yet he still looks in pain. Michelle's eyes widen further and she shares a look with Ned as the light flickering from Peter's helmet blinks once, twice, before it dies, leaving them in the dark

000o000

The first thing Tony notices is the vast amount of police cars on the outside of the mine.

The second is the group of dirty, shivering people standing and crying as a few officers talk to them.

The third? May Parker is screaming her nephew's name and being held back from running back into the mine by at least three separate people.

Tony hovers the Iron Man suit for a moment staring at the mine and May his heart sinking.

Peter.

Peter isn't there.

Peter's still in the mine.

Peter might be-

Tony cuts off the thought. "Friday, scan for lifeforms."

"Already on it, Boss." Friday answers and she's quiet for a moment before a layout of the mine system pops up along with fourteen blinking dots.

Tony bites his lip. "Can you identify Peter?"

"I'm trying, Boss, but the rock is interfering with the scanners."

"Fantastic." Tony mutters darkly before lowering the thrusters and landing in front the struggling May with a low, thunk. Tony moves forward and lowers the face plate as he takes a step in front of her. "May?"

"Tony!" May cries and manages to break free of the police's grip and rushes towards him speaking to fast for him to really comprehend. Apparently, though, he's Tony now. "The mine collapsed and Peter grabbed Ned and Michelle, they were on the other side of us and they can't dig through the rocks because it's supporting what's left of the ceiling. They're trying to find another way in but oh, gosh, Tony they might not have air and their going to suffocate and-" Tony grabs her shoulder.

"When?"

"Over five hours ago."

"Mr. Stark?" A police officer that Tony sweeps his gaze over the nametag before returning his attention to the man. Officer Hatc. "You really don't have to do this-"

"There are fourteen people in that mine who are still alive and need assistance. I don't like people telling me what to do." Tony says and waves his hands in a shooing manner before turning back to May.

"Pepper's on her way, what part of the mine?"

Tony flies into the mine a few minutes later destination in mind trying to pull everybody out before it's too late.

Dots blink in and out for hours.

He finds a group of five buried under a larger pieces of rock with a shaken tour guide and a traumatized mother and three high schoolers.

Peter is alive.

Peter is alive.

Peter is alive.

Tony assures himself this, repeating it over and over in his head and aloud for hours.

Then a day.

Five more found.

Day and a half.

May's going insane. Pepper's taken charge of the searches and sent everyone who she could home before sending the rest to the hospital. All that remains is Mrs. Leeds, May, Michelle's parents who came off from work and a handful of others waiting for the recovery of Flash Thompson, Peter Parker, Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds.

The dots are still blinking lowly.

There's three grouped together and one off on it's own.

He's not sure who's where but he just want's to find Peter, hug him then wrap him in bubble wrap and never let him out of his eyesight again. He can homeschool him, right? He's never really taught anyone before but he's sure he can do it.

Peter is alive.

Mantra, mantra, mantra…

Two days, twelve hours and twenty seven minutes pass before he finds Flash. The boy is shaking and sobs when he sees the light from the Iron Man suit before Tony leads him outside.

Tony sweeps back into mine the panic a low throb like his heartbeat.

The light from the arc reactor in the suit is brighter than normal and Tony stands outside the cave wall the other blinking lights behind it. They can't pull the rock away without causing a cave in on the other side. So far exits on the other area haven't been found yet.

Tony rests the armor hand against the rock before resting his head there.

Peter is behind the wall.

Peter is less than twenty feet from him and he can't reach him.

Two days, fifteen hours and thirteen minutes.

The lights are still blinking dully and Tony watches them idly before one of the lights blinks out of existence.

Panic exhales through him.

Peter.

That might be Peter.

His kid.

This isn't fair! Why does it have to happen to him!?

Panic engulfing any reasoning, Tony fires a repulsor ray at the wall and the rock blasts to pieces. Tony quickly follows by another and another before he can hear panicked voices and screaming for help.

He doesn't hear Peter.

The dead light mocks him.

Tony destroys it faster and faster before the arc reactor light breaks through the wall of rock revealing a dirty female, Michelle, and Ned. Peter's not there. Peter where are you!?

"Mr. Stark!" Ned cries in relief and Michelle's eyes are wide but desperate.

"Peter's injured! You have to help us! Please!"

"Is he alive!?" Tony asks in response and Michelle scrambles from his sight. She's quiet for a few agonizing seconds.

"He has a heartbeat and he's breathing!"

"Friday?" Tony asks.

"I'm sorry Boss, the rock is affecting the scanners, the ceiling's integrity is low. You have maybe five minutes before you and the teens are buried alive. Your blasting damaged any stability."

Tony lets out a soft curse.

"Alright, out, out, all of you." Tony says and blasts another piece of the rock for them to squeeze through. Ned comes through first falling to his knees gasping for air before Michelle follows dragging Peter behind her.

Relief crashes through him like a wave on the sea-shore as Tony sees the injured and scraped teen. Ceiling first, then injuries. "Both of you, get up, we have maybe five minutes before the rest of this comes down. I already pulled everyone else out." Tony gather's Peter's form into his arms his eyes lingering on the mangled leg before he turns to Ned and Michelle. "...Pick a leg."

Four minutes later after Michelle and Ned have properly screamed their lungs out the four of them land outside and Tony turns his head to look back as the rest of the mine goes out with a puff of smoke.

Close.

That was very close.

Tony turns back to the parents and police standing around him in silence before the Leeds rush towards their son and wrap him in a hug crying with relief. Tony walks forward towards the ambulance waiting and lets a doctor take his kid from his arms.

The nearest hospital is more than an hour away so they've set up shop here. Tony stands there as May rushes past him to her nephew in tears and Pepper moves forward and grabs his hand. "He'll be okay, Tony." She murmurs softly.

Will he?

A little more than twenty minutes later May's sent off to go grab something and Tony moves towards the cot Peter's laying on. He looks so still. So...dead.

He doesn't like it.

But he's alive.

Tony leans forward the suit releasing him as he falls to his knees Pepper standing behind him and gathers Peter's freezing body into his arms tears, though he'd never admit it, slipping from his eyes. The doctors aren't here anyway and he's not afraid to cry in front of Pepper. He doesn't like it but she's his wife, she won't judge him.

Tony holds Peter's broken body in a gentle death grip.

I'm sorry I couldn't get to you faster. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Peter's arms slowly wrap around him in return and Tony tenses but doesn't release him to see if he's awake. Everything is okay. Peter's fine, he's awake. It'll be fine. Breathe, Stark.

Peter's head leans against his shoulder in exhaustion and his dirty brown hair tickles Tony's neck. Peter lifts his head slightly "Is this a hug, Mr. Stark?" He whispers. His voice is hoarse and oddly quiet. Tony lets out a laugh of relief hugging his son tighter.

"Yeah, kid, this is a hug."

Author's Note: Yeah, I have no idea where this spawned from. Um...sorry, I'm running a little short on time right now so I didn't have time to fully grammar/spell check it.

I know that this felt a little rushed, so I'm just going to throw this out here: Is anyone interested in me doing a full length story similar to this, (May would die though) because I did have something planned but I wasn't sure if I wanted to write it.

But anyway, yeah, thank you for reading!