Peter's hands shook at his sides while his heart raced against his rib cage. His mind was pounding with every passing second. Everything in his body was telling him to run the other direction. Leave. Never come back. Just fucking run.

Fight or flight.

That's always his option. No matter what, he's always in a fight or flight situation and being Spider-Man, he always chooses to fight and he usually wins. It usually pays off but this is different. There wasn't some bad or some villain. It was him and Ajax. In a building. A very large, dark, hollowed out building.

A warehouse.

The last place he wanted to be was in a warehouse. It's the place his nightmares take place and rightfully so. What was he supposed to do? Ajax was letting him in and he'd sound ridiculous if he suddenly suggested they head back. He knew she'd back out and not show him again. He needed to suck it up. But every bone in his body was begging him to go home, almost like a magnet pulling him back all while everything around him spun and his breath became shallow.

"You good, Spider-Boy?" Ajax quipped as she leads the way into a large floor room.

Peter took a sharp breath. "Y-yeah...good." His voice shook with the words and he shook his hands at his side, as if that were going to help ease any bit of his anxiety.

Peter kicks himself mentally as he tries to breathe right, his eyes darting in every direction. He needs to focus. But, when he's panicking, the last thing that happens is focusing. He's gotten good at handling his heightened senses but he's mid-panic attack and everything is out of control. He can hear cars from miles away, smell sawdust from when the building was originally being used, he can even sense Ajax's nerves radiating from her and there's nothing he can do. He just taps his fingers and thinks of every possible escape route. Remembers every way they turned in the building and looked for different exits, making sure he could get out safely and with her.

This was such a bad idea.

"Hey, seriously, you okay?" Ajax asks once they're standing dead center, her turning to face him only to be met with him a few feet behind her and his face paler than usual.

"Uh," Peter looks to her and tries to speak. "Y-y-yeah, it, uh, uh," Peter's breathing worsens and Ajax closes the distance between them. "It, uh, I-I can't breathe." Peter says in a shallow breath.

"Yeah, are...are you having a panic attack?" Ajax's brows furrow as she recognizes the expression all too well.

"Uh," Peter shakes his head. "Y-yeah, uh, t-they, I..."

"Okay." Ajax nods and takes a deep breath, pushing her own anxiety out of mind. "I'm gonna get it to stop but you gotta do what I say otherwise we're both gonna start panicking and that won't be good." Peter nods in response.

Ajax sticks out her hand and tells Peter to stick his out as well. His brows knit together but with weak muscles, he does as told and Ajax, hesitantly, grabs his hand. She wraps her hand around his, tighter than a normal handshake and Peter grips her hand as hard as he can which wasn't hard given the panic flowing through him. Ajax closes her eyes for a few seconds with a deep breath.

"Okay, how's my hand feel? And not that I'm holding your hand, I mean, are my hands calloused, soft, smooth. How smooth? How rough? Can you feel the blood flowing under my skin? How about if my hands are sweaty or clammy? Focus on that one thing." Ajax stares at him and his eyes are locked on their hands.

He doesn't understand why she's doing it or how it's supposed to help him. Her biggest thing is not touching and yet that's somehow supposed to solve his panic attack. But, Peter does as he's told and starts talking about how her hand feels against his.

"Uh, it-it's rough." Peter's voice shakes. "L-like you work a lot but, uh, y-your an artist so, uh, not surprised." Peter's heartbeat starts just slowing down with his words. "Really sweaty," Peter shakes his head. "L-like you-you're nervous. Uh, and-y-yeah, yeah, I can feel the blood. It-it's fast, like you're scared."

"Okay, what else?" Ajax bites her lip and watches him.

"Uh," Peter's brows furrow and his heart rate picks up again.

"Hey." Ajax puts her other hand on his shoulder. "Don't think, just say what's there."

"Uh, cold. Your-your hand is really cold, kind of like you have bad circulation." Peter says, starting to ramble. "Maybe you put lotion on earlier though because your hand is soft, too. Soft and rough. Small. Really small." Peter coughs up a laugh. "H-how do you even grip things? Your hands are so small." Peter's eyes widen as he seems to be examining AJax's hand.

"Yeah," ajax's cheeks turn red as she starts to become hyper-aware of what she's doing. 

It was weird. It really was. Ajax hated touching out of fear that something horrible would happen but she learned from her own experiences and from Tony's, that being able to focus on a single sense, can calm a panic attack within minutes. The last thing she wanted to do was witness Peter suffer, even if that meant approaching territory that fucking terrified her like no other. But then again, Peter felt so safe, almost comforting. His touch wasn't anxiety-inducing, it was calming.  

"Uh, how about the hand on your shoulder?" Ajax asks, refocusing.

"Uh, y-yeah. Can't feel it much over my hoodie but-" Peter looks to her as his heart rate starts to fall back into a normal rhythm and he seems to be gaining grasp on reality again. "It's really small."

Ajax huffs, smiling. "Yes. We established I have really small hands." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "Getting better, yeah?"

"Yeah..." Peter's smile falls as he raises a brow but tightens his hand around hers when she goes to pull away; he's not ready to let go. "How'd-how'd you know that would work?"

"Oh, uh, well," Ajax stumbles for words, staring at their hands. "Not my story to tell."

It wasn't. Yeah, she's had her fair share of panic attacks, especially after her father's death but Tony was the main reason she knew anything about them. Peter looked up to Tony but Ajax wasn't going to tell Peter Tony's business, no matter how much Tony pissed her off. It wasn't her story to tell. Maybe one day but not today.  

"You...you threw out your not touching thing for...for me...though?"

"Yeah," Ajax shrugs. "When someone does something out of their comfort zone in order to make someone else calm down, it tends to help. I don't like being touched which is why we're here in the first place so me taking your hand gives you enough shock value to think 'fuck I gotta do what she's saying.' and start focusing. It's a thing. And it's really easy to sit and focus when someone actually points out, hey how's this one specific thing feel and go all Stephen King with the description. Describe your soundings. Makes you focus and calms your system."

"You have a lot of experience with this." Peter's voice is soft and almost contains touches of grief.

"Kind of." Ajax shrugs. "What about you? Anyone can have panic attacks but that just...I don't know, didn't peg you to randomly start having one."

"Uh, y-yeah, uh, I uh, kind of got crushed by a building last year." Peter looks down, embarrassment now taking over the flow of his blood.

"You what?" Ajax nearly yells, taken aback.

"Yeah...uh, I kind of avoid warehouses now...ya know...if I can." Peter bits his lip.

"You got crushed by a fucking building and okay, first you lived and second, why didn't you just say something? I could have shown you somewhere else. Fuck's sake, I would have just told Tony to shut his trap and that I told you. Could have brought you back to the tower."

"You-you would have done that?"

"I mean," Ajax winces. "You would keep bugging me if I didn't show you so if I couldn't figure something else out, yeah. This is just where I go. Tony's got some shit set up and he'll keep people away from here. But, really, could have worked something out. But, back to the point. You got crushed by a building?"

"Yeah..." Peter swallows sharply and looks to the ground. "Uh, it was when Vulture was out and he used the wings to knock the pillars down and the building collapsed on me."

Ajax just stares at Peter with his words, his eyes showing broken pieces of him. She knows all about him. Sure, she didn't know Peter was Spider-Man but Tony talks about him all the time. He even let her help with a few parts of the suit. He let her help to keep her out of trouble but let her help nonetheless. So, Ajax knew about Peter's powers. His super strength, heightened senses, his ability to stick to walls, reflexes, all of it. But, actually standing in front of him, her hand in his, with him explaining that a building crushed him and it's lead to him having a panic attack, that's putting it into reality.

She knows it's all real but it's different when you're face to face with it. When you're forced to face the reality of everything. It's different. A whole new perspective. Especially, when she's come to the realization that they're both just two broken teenagers trying to things out. Difference being, Peter is doing it correctly. 

"Okay, I'm turning into you!" Ajax yells, her voice bouncing off the vacant walls. "I have a million questions I wanna ask and I don't do that. So, we're gonna hop off that subject if you're okay?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, yeah, please." Peter smiles and his grip loosens on her hand.

The corner of Ajax's mouth is tugged up just enough to be considered smile before she continues. "Okay, what do you wanna see first? Fire, air, water?"

"Oh, uh, maybe not fire. I think we're good on that for right now." Peter chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "You already threw me into a wall so..."

"Right." Ajax nod. "Okay, wow."

"You're nervous, now." Peter says.

"Yeah...I don't, ya know? Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, and Vision are kind of the only people, ya know? And...if I'm being honest, I just...I don't wanna hurt you."

Ajax bites her lip, taking a few steps away from him before she holds her hand out, palm down and places her other hand underneath with her palm up. Water forming between her hands, her swirling it and forming it into a crystal blue sphere.

Peter's eyes widen as he watches her. Ajax's eyes never leave the water in her hands, her looking completely content and captivating. Peter knew by the way she controlled it that she loved it. She didn't see her powers as some curse like other people might or like she might seem. Her eyes hold love and joy for what she's doing. But, with that being said, Peter knows there's a reason why she's dark. Why she's rough around the edges and why she chooses fire rather than water. There's a reason, no matter how pleased she looks in that moment.

"Wanna see what's cooler than just a ball of water?" Ajax questions, a sly grin crossing her mouth.

"Of course." Peter nods with enthusiasm.

In a quick swirl motion, the ball turned to ice and then shattered.

"Can control air. Can control water. Ice." Ajax smiles wide.

"What else can you do?" Peter smirks in response.

"Got your web shooters ready?"

"Yeah?" Peter furrows his brows, tugging the sleeves of his hoodie up.

"Ever play tag? But, with your powers?"

"Uh...no?"

"We're gonna. Rules: Just one. Don't hurt me and I won't hurt you. So, yes, you can touch me and I won't kill you. You can use your webs, reflexes, sense, whatever you want. And I can do the same. I won't use fire to prevent injury and I won't throw shards of ice at you. Got it?"

"You're...you're serious?" Peter's jaw hangs a little.

"Hey, I don't have friends. And this is something Tony and my dad used to do with me. It helped me control a lot of it. So, you in or what? I promise, this place is solid. Tony wouldn't let us here if it wasn't."

"I-I don't know." Peter moves his stare to his shoes.

"C'mon, Spider-Boy. Afraid I'm gonna beat you?"

"What?" Peter's eyes bulge from his head as if the question were completely absurd. "No! No, it's just, what-"

Ajax cuts him off as she moves her arm behind her, getting a gust of wind to help her jump from the ground and move to Peter, almost hitting him. A giant smile plasters itself across her face as she tilts her head.

"What? You can fly?" Peter's brows knit together.

Ajax's head is tossed back in laughter. "What? No! I just get a gust of air and jump with it. I use for momentum. So, come on."

Peter's smiling and he wants to. Part of him thinks it's a bad idea but he knows that's just the anxiety that's lurking in the back of his head. If something goes wrong, the building could come down and it'd be so much worse than last time. It wouldn't be just him. It'd be Ajax and as far as he knows, she doesn't have the super strength like he does. If something falls, she's dead. How could he risk that?

"I just...I think it's a bad idea."

Ajax rolls her eyes and tosses her hand out, water spilling from her hand and getting Peter wet. "Oops."

"Come on!" Peter says.

"Seriously? I'm supposed to be the one with the stick up my ass. Come on, Spider-Boy."

"Aj-"

Ajax follows the same motion she did not a minute prior and he gets wet yet again before she starts off in the opposite direction.

"Fine!" Peter yells, using his webshooter to pull her back.

She lets out a scream, echoing through the halls before she turns and freezes the webs before hitting them. She smirks at Peter who's smile dropped before he shot a web from the ceiling and went after her.

So, the pair of them played a very loud, energetic, and exhausting game of tag. Peter used different web shooter combinations to grab Ajax and she used ice to trip him, wind to bring him towards her. The entire time consisted of laughing and the two getting along as if they had known each other for years. It was as if there was something indescribable in the air between them and neither were even aware of it. It might as well have been magic.

Peter should have been completely terrified. He had a panic attack half an hour prior but Ajax felt so fucking safe for him that he had to play along. He got to be a kid who was using his powers like a kid and Ajax encouraged it. The shit he went through the year before, the baggage he was carrying of Gwen's dad, the baggage of Uncle Ben, none of that mattered with her. None of it. Peter found himself able to play along and laugh, no nerves just fun. She was a fucking submarine, keeping him safe from whatever was lurking in the dark of the unknown.

And Ajax, she was simply over the moon. She saw Peter during this vulnerable moment and he put all his trust in her. So, the why hell shouldn't she do the same? She hates trusting people but she trusts him more than she trusts anyone. Ajax grabbing Peter's hand was just the intent to keep him calm but it did way more than that. It was as if his hand was a conduit. It connected her with him on a level that she didn't even believe in. But, her hand in his felt like a home she'd never been before.

"Okay, okay, okay." Peter says, heaving while laying on the ground, waving his arm surrendering. "You win, you win."

"Thank fuck." Ajax collapses next to him. "I didn't think Id be able to go much longer." Ajax huffs.

"If that's the case," Peter says quietly, lifting his arm and shooting a web at her feet.

"Fuck you." Ajax laughs.

"Hey, I have to do that presentation, I deserve this." Peter jokes, sitting up and moving to remove the webbing.

"Okay, but uh, if I remember correctly, you had the chance to like I don't know, figure out her Miss Bing's ticks."

"Yeahhhh," Peter says, cutting through the web. "Her shoes and hands, really?"

"Yep!" Ajax laughs, sitting up and pulling her legs in to sit crosslegged once Peter is done. "Always wears flats all week because she has to stay late prepping tests since she makes her own and she always messes with her fingers. She wants us to pass." Ajax explains.

"You're really smart." Peter gives Ajax a genuine soft smile.

"You're a fucking genius." Ajax grins.

"No," Peter goes bashful as he sticks his hand out and Ajax takes it with only mild hesitation as they stand up.

"Dude, you created a web formula that actually works, like really fucking well. And you had your own makeshift webshooters that work. You're a genius."

"How, uh, how much do you know?" Peter asks with a shrug as the pair make their way through the corridors to exit the building.

"Oh, well, uh, so I got into some trouble," Ajax coughs, her hands dug deep into her pockets, not looking at Peter. "And I...well, I kind of couldn't be at school or anywhere so I had to be at the tower and it was when Tony found out about you and I was, well, me and he needed me distracted. So, he told me about you, after he'd met with you and stuff and said he needed my help."

"Mr. Stark asked you for help?" Peter asks, his voice filled with amazement.

"Yeah," Ajax chuckles. "Don't get too excited. He asked because, as he said, you were young and I was young. What better way to think like a teenager with superpowers than to find a teenager with superpowers and ask for help? He could have done it on his own but it was quicker if he had me try and figure out some formulas you used, ya know? And then we spent the rest of the night covering DUM-E and U in webs." Ajax laughs with her last sentence.

"So, you...you do get along with him?" Peter's eyes are hopeful.

"Yeah, sometimes. It's just really complicated." Ajax admits.

"Well, I'm, ya know here if you wanna talk." Peter gives her a reassuring smile.

"Hey, at this rate you'll know my entire life by the end of next week."