Chapter 8
Upon entering Metro, Stephen had to scrub up and perform a craniotomy on a sixteen-year-old girl and then a burr hole procedure on a bike currier from mid-town who was the victim of a hit-and-run. He was allowed a brief thirty-minute cat nap in the doctor’s lounge before being called up to look at the MRI scans of a stroke patient. This was all followed up with a mountain of paperwork, dotting I’s and crossing T’s before Stephen was finally free to step out into the grey morning of October thirty-first.
When the taxi driver asked him for an address, he nearly gave him Tony’s.
Home; bed. Stephen collapsed onto the luxe comforter without even removing his clothes. His body knew this routine all too well and dropped the doctor into a deep, healing sleep…
Stephen woke with a dry mouth and his head in a fog. It was now a little after three and long shadows were stretching across his spartan penthouse. He went and made a cappuccino before opening his phone to meet the barrage of text messages he was sure Tony had sent.
But there was nothing; just the time and one of the generic wallpapers that came with his phone.
So, he called Tony. And the call went right to voicemail.
“What the…?” Stephen muttered to himself as he dialed the number again.
“Hello, this is the voice mail box of Tony Stark,” of course, Pepper had been conscripted into making Tony’s mailbox message, “please, at the beep-”
Stephen did not wait for the beep, instead he began texting Tony.
Hey! We still on for tonight?
Nothing
Sorry I had to run out, but I’m rested and ready to go
*jack-o-lantern emoji*
Nothing.
Stephen could not believe the level of panic he was feeling. His hands were shaking, palms felt damp. His heart was racing…though, that might have been the caffeine…
Is he mad at me? No! That’s crazy! But he said he would text you…why didn’t he text you? You’re going to miss out on Peter’s costume!
In desperation, Stephen decided to call Pepper.
“Dr. Strangelove,” she greeted; cool, calm and collected, “I’m guessing Tony is still unreachable?”
“Yeah; is everything okay?”
“Just work B.S.,” Pepper chuckled, “you know how it goes.”
“Unfortunately…”
“Yeah, he had to head into the office for a last-minute meeting. Which means yours truly is now stuck in the caregiver pick-up at Mid-Town…”
“Lucky you,” Stephen laughed, now feeling more at ease knowing if boyfriend wasn’t totally ghosting him. “So, uh, am I still welcome to come over tonight?”
“Yeah, of course,” said Pepper, “though, think you could help us out a bit? This afternoon’s been crazy, Tony’s stressed to the - Oh! Peter!”
Stephen could hear the Little happily chirruping as the car door opened.
“Pebbah!”
“Peter; what did you do?”
“What’s wrong?” Stephen asked.
“He wore his costume today and – what is that? What did you get – is that ice cream? Honey, you’re a mess! Ugh!” Pepper groaned, “I have no idea what he did, but Peter’s practically ruined his costume.”
“Oh no,” Stephen tried not to laugh, “I’m sorry. Well, what do you need me to help you with?”
“I was supposed to be in charge of dinner tonight,” there was some muffled noises and Stephen heard Pepper’s distant voice ask Peter to get into his car seat, “Sorry!” She blurted the moment she was back, “Um, would you be able to get pizza or something for dinner?”
“I can do pizza,” said Stephen, “text me an order and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Thanks Stephen!”
“Stee-ben?” Peter’s voice asked hopefully.
“Yes, Stee-ben,” Pepper sighed right before the phone clicked off.
Stephen decided the next best thing to do was shower and tidy up his goatee. While in the bathroom, his phone pinged with Pepper’s order. He was mildly disappointed she had not selected one of the niche pizzerias he frequented with white truffle oil drizzles and fresh shavings of mizithra cheese. It was a big national chain…and Pepper sent coupons.
But he had promised to be helpful, and helpful he would be.
Jack-o-lanterns lined the steps leading to Tony’s front door. The windows were filled with garlands of bats. Stephen was relieved to find the front door (also complete with a wreath of festooning black and orange and purple fathers) was open and he clumsily pushed his way in with the stack of pizza boxes.
“Pizza time!” His voice echoed through the foyer. Peter’s beloved Bluey was playing on the T.V. in the living room. “Hello? Anyone home?”
“Stee-ben!” He heard Peter from upstairs. “Pebbah! Stee-ben!”
“Yes, yes! I hear him too!”
Stephen knew that the moment Peter saw him, the Little was going to run at him full speed, arms open. As quick as he could, he set out the pizza boxes on the kitchen island so that he could be ready for the attack-hug.
“Pebbah ‘n’es Stee-ben! ‘N Dah-dee go tick-n-teet!”
“Oh my goodness!” Pepper declared with a subtle sort of sarcasm, “It’s only been twenty-four hours since we saw him last!”
Stephen could not help but chuckle. Yet, simultaneously, he resonated with Peter’s excitement. It had only been twenty-four hours since he last saw the Little, but Stephen could not wait to see Peter’s sweet face and hold him in his arms.
Peter came toddling into the kitchen dressed in a black romper patterned with ghosts. Across the chest it read ‘Peek-A-BOO!’
“Stee-ben!” The Little shrieked as he put out his arms, “Stee-ben!” Peter ran with all the speed and coordination he could manage and completely slammed himself into the doctor.
Just like the night they first met.
“Hey Peter!” Stephen laughed as he wrapped his arms around him, “Oh, I missed you too!”
Peter made a happy gurgle and babbled a few nonsense words into Stephen’s ear.
“You are a life saver,” Pepper sounded genuinely relieved as she entered the kitchen.
“Well, I am a doctor,” Stephen deadpanned.
“Very cute…”
“Stee-ben pizzah?” Peter asked as he pulled away, his head slightly cocked like a curious puppy.
“Yeah, I brought pizza for everyone…including the spider-boy. But,” Stephen dramatically looked Peter up and down, “you don’t look much like a spider…”
This made Peter giggle.
“The spider costume in upstairs drying,” Pepper said, “I’ve hit it with every fabric cleaner in the house, lit a candle, said a prayer…”
“Pizzah?” Peter slowly began to pull away from Stephen. “Pizzah, me?” He then went over to the box of cheesy bread and lifted the top.
“Yes, that’s for you,” Pepper said, “want me to make your plate?”
“He only eats the cheesy bread?” Stephen asked.
“With some peas and carrots and apple sauce. You know,” Pepper shrugged, “a well-balanced meal.”
“Definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen him eat.”
“Could you get him all set up in his highchair while I make his plate?” Pepper asked before looking to Peter, “Can you be a good boy and let Stephen put you in your highchair?”
“Yes!” Peter began to toddle to the table, “’N Pebbah! Mick M’ouse!”
“Yes, and I’ll put milk in your Mick Mouse cup,” Pepper laughed. “And how you, Strangelove, what are you drinking?”
Stephen felt foolish asking for a glass of wine with his slice of his Big Kahuna Chicken ‘n Pig pizza, but…
“What goes well with the Big Kahuna Chicken ‘n Pig?”
“Tony usually opens a bottle of the Fiano Arezzo. I know he put a bottle in the chiller last night.”
“A glass of Fiano Arezzo it is.”
Changing diapers was not the only Little chore Stephen had learned. The doctor had grown quite adept at getting Peter in and out of both his car seat and highchair. To be fair though, the only skill involved was patience. Peter was good at getting himself into his chairs…it was with the restraints where more dexterous hands were needed.
“Go,” Peter muttered to himself Stephen slipped his arm into the first restraint, “a-gah-bah! Go! Stee-ben ‘es good!”
“Yes, very good,” Stephen congratulated, “now, let’s do your left arm…perfect!”
“Puf-fect!”
“Then we get around the chest and…,” Stephen flashed Peter a quick smile before he tickled his belly.
“Stee-ben!” Peter roared with laughter, “No! Stee-ben!”
“I thought you liked being tickled,” Stephen too was laughing as he pulled his hands away. “All right, enough play,” he finished getting Peter secure, “time for dinner.”
“Yes, it is,” Pepper came over with Peter’s plate, sippy cup and a bib. “I got him from here; go grab yourself a slice. I left a glass of the Fiano on the counter for you!”
“Thanks Pepper.”
A few bites into the meal, Peter began to notice that someone was missing from the table.
“’N Dah-dee c’ome?” He looked to Pepper, his eyes round with worry.
“He’ll be home soon,” Pepper smiled, “I promise.”
“Dah-dee?” Not satisfied with Pepper’s answer, Peter decided to question Stephen.
“What Pepper said,” Stephen said with a small laugh, “give him time, he’ll be here.”
Not ten minutes later, a harried Tony burst in through the front door.
“Yeah, I got it! I’m home now so……did you hear me? You know my rule: no work calls in the house. It’s Halloween and I’m taking my kid out. We’ll hash it out later…..it’s not up for debate. Bye!”
“Dah-dee!” Peter shrieked. “Dah-dee, Dah-deeee!”
“Hey little man!” Tony greeted in a bright voice. Peter’s happy cries were like an injection of sunshine right into the bedraggled man. “Did you order us some pizza?”
“No,” Peter pointed to Stephen, “’es Stee-ben!”
Stephen waved.
“Guilty as charged.”
“Well, hey,” Tony made a nervous laugh, “looks like you made it back.”
“Yes he did,” Pepper patted Stephen’s shoulder, “Dr. Strangelove here called to see how he could help, so I turned a neurosurgeon into a pizza delivery boy!”
“Pizz-ah,” Peter held up one of his cheese sticks.
“Go on and grab a plate,” Pepper continued, “there’s more than enough.”
Poor, work-weary Tony did as he was told, shuffling into the kitchen to pile a plate with pizza and pour a sizeable glass of wine. He then sat himself down beside Peter and put a kiss on his baby’s cheek.
“Sorry I couldn’t pick you up today, little duck; did you have a good day at school?”
“Dah-dee, ‘n Ned ‘n M’iss Rav-mov ‘n ice’creem!”
“Ice cream; really?” Tony laughed.
“Ice cream is the reason his costume is hanging on a make-shift clothesline in his bedroom, trying to get dry in time to wear out tonight,” said Pepper.
“Uh oh,” Tony’s said with mock worry as he turned back to Peter, “were you a messy boy at school today?”
“Yeah!”
“You’re making a big mess right now!” Tony laughed, pulling up the bottom of Peter’s bib to wipe away some of the applesauce dribbling down his chin.
“Dah-dee,” Peter cooed adoringly.
“I love you too, little duck.”
As doctor, Stephen was naturally curious about most things. And since his first encounter with Tony he had ached to know the reason behind Peter’s adoption. There were the very obvious things; Peter was the quintessence of adorable with his big, brown eyes, curly hair and little button nose. And his laugh! So airy and infectious. Oh, and his funny waddle when he tried to run…the way he said ‘Stee-ben’…
Yeah, there were a lot of reasons why someone would want to adopt Peter. But were those reasons enough? Littles were so much work, so much time. Stephen knew that Tony, like himself, was a man who built his personality around his career. He was the industry leader in city engineering, his name synonymous with some of the largest building projects in New York for the last ten years.
“Dah-dee ‘n-tick-n-teet?”
“Not until you finish dinner,” Tony said sternly.
“’Kay!” Peter took a large bite out of his last slice of cheesy bread and giggled.
“You’re such a goof…”
Stephen had to admit to himself that Tony looked his most handsome when interacting with Peter. There was a natural light in his eyes and a warmth in his smile that made Stephen’s heart flutter.
And to think you almost passed up on all this…
Peter had a minor meltdown when Pepper did not immediately let him put on his spider costume.
“Peppah!” He whined, collapsing on the play rug in his nursery.
“It’s almost dry!” Pepper assured him. “Just hang on…”
“Dah-dee,” Peter fell onto his back, “spy-dur.”
“Daddy can’t make it dry faster,” Tony laughed as he took a knee beside his boy.
Peter responded with an annoyed grunt.
“He really likes that costume, huh?” Stephen, who had been lingering in the doorway of the nursery asked. Peter was now rolling away from Tony in an adorable act of defiance.
“He’s just being more fussy than normal because he’s wet,” Tony patted Peter’s bottom.
“No!” Peter kicked his legs, “Spy-dur!”
“Pe-ter,” Tony sighed, “it’s not that serious, I promise…” His voice was playful, but Stephen was acutely aware of the slump in Tony’s shoulders and the dark circles under his eyes. He was tired; his day had already been so long.
But Stephen had gotten rest. Maybe…?
“Hey Peter,” Stephen crossed the room, “what are you doing, rolly-polly?” He kneeled down beside Tony and began reaching for the boy, “Come on, come here…I know you don’t want to wear your spider costume with a yucky, wet diaper.”
Slowly, Peter began to roll onto his back toward Stephen; bottom lip pouted.
“No…”
“So, let’s get up,” Stephen reached out and guided Peter into a sitting position, “and get you clean, okay?”
Both men waited as Peter began to play with some of the long fibers of his shag play rug, recognizing the Little’s need to engage in tactile stimulation to calm his mind.
“’Kay…” he finally mumbled.
“I got him,” Stephen said the moment Tony moved.
“No, I-”
“It’s okay,” Stephen smiled, “I got him.”
Peter was a perfect doll; allowing Stephen to lift him onto the changing table and lay him down.
“You want your Nuk?” Stephen was already reaching under the changing table to pull one out. “Here we go; much better right? And let’s get your mobile on…”
As he worked, Stephen could feel the weight of Tony’s astonished gaze on his back. The once fussy Peter was now calmly nursing his pacifier as Stephen undid the snaps of the romper and pulled the wet out from under him.
“Do you, uh, want me to help?” Tony finally asked. “Or…?”
“I think we’re good; right Peter?” Stephen lightly tickled Peter’s bare belly, causing the boy to make a happy gurgle.
“Stee-ben…”
“Okay…,” but Tony was still slowly approaching the changing table. Stephen did not let it bother him though; Tony seemed to be trapped in a strange daze of puzzlement and awe.
“There we go!” Stephen cheered once he laid down the tapes of Peter’s new clean diaper, “See? That wasn’t so bad…” Just as Stephen sat him up, Pepper came waltzing in from the bathroom.
“Tah-dah!” She declared triumphantly, “It’s clean! And dry!”
“And so is Peter!” Tony said with a chuckle.
“Spy-dur!” Peter began to clap his hands. “Pebbah spy-dur! Tank-oo!”
“You’re so welcome,” Pepper gushed. “Are you ready to put it back on?”
“Yeah!”
Peter first had to be changed into a pair of jeans (complete with an elastic waist). Over that was a black sweatshirt, then followed by the item of the hour: the spider costume.
Really, it was just a sort of blue, Muppet-like circle that slipped over Peter’s head. The boy would have looked like a moldy cheeseburger if it were not for the four arms, two on each side, that were attached under the proper arm holes. With a bit of string from Peter’s wrist, all six arms could move in unison.
Which prompted Stephen to ask:
“Why only six arms? Don’t all spiders have eight-?”
“Don’t,” Tony shook his head, “don’t be that guy.”
The anatomically inaccurate number of spider legs though did not seem to bother Peter. Once fully dressed, he began to ask for his candy bucket and shoes.
“’Es candee! Gonna go tick-n-teet!”
Peter’s candy bucket just had to be extra. His name was written across the front, with silhouettes of bats and pumpkins punctuating the orange plastic. But the real show-stopper was that the bucket lit up with LED lights from the inside, effectively making it a lantern.
“’Es me,” Peter said very seriously as he pointed out his name on the bucket to Stephen. “See?”
“Yes, I do see. That is the finest candy bucket I have ever seen!”
“Well, I think…,” Tony paused to look around the brownstone as he slipped on a leather jacket, “I think we might be ready to hit the streets.”
“Not before I get a few pictures,” Pepper nearly squealed as she readied her phone.
“C’heese!” A toothy grin was already stretching across Peter’s face.
“Yes! Let’s get a few of our little spider-boy here,” Pepper took a few snapshots before waving Tony in. “And now we need a few with Daddy…”
“Dah-dee,” Peter cooed as Tony joined his side.
“Last but not least,” Pepper looked to Stephen.
“You want me to take a picture of you guys?”
“No,” Pepper sighed, “get in there, you big dummy!”
“Oh…,” slowly, Stephen joined an equally nervous Tony’s side, “okay.”
“Stee-ben!” Peter chirped.
“One, two three,” Pepper held up her phone, “and….Happy Halloween!”
“Happy Halloween,” the two men repeated back.
“Hah-pee Hallah’ween!” Peter laughed.