Chapter 10
Peter’s head was resting on Tony’s shoulder as they rode the elevator up while his arm was wrapped around his son keeping him close. Peter was quiet, eerily quiet. Tony hates that he’s going through so much right now and he seems so depressed and despondent which gave him a pit in his stomach. It was reminding him of how bad he was before he went into treatment and was praying he wasn’t headed down that path again.
“Headache getting bad again?” he asked softly and he felt him nod his head against his shoulder. Tony pressed a kiss on the top of his head and sighed.
When they got off the elevator to the penthouse and walked into the living room, neither of them expected the sight before them. Happy apparently had fallen asleep sitting up on the couch with his legs resting on the coffee table while Morgan was playing with… Ned on the floor.
Tony was a little frustrated because he told Ned to go home and he knew he was the last person Peter would want to see right now. He kept his arm tight around Peter as they came into view and Morgan saw them first.
“Petey!” she screamed so loud that it woke up Happy. She got up and ran over to her big brother who scooped her up and hugged her tight. “Mommy said you got an ouchy, does it hurt?” she asked staring at the bandage on his forehead. “I wanted to come see you but Mommy said you’d be coming home soon so I had to wait.”
He noticed Peter trying to smile for his little sister but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m ok, it’s just a little bump on the head. I’ll be fine so don’t worry, ok Mo?” Peter said while he put her down which made Tony worry even more. He only held her for a half a minute and usually he’d hold her for a long time so he knew he wasn’t ok.
“What? No hello for Daddy? I see how it is,” Tony said to Morgan faking a pout.
“Duh, I was just about to say hi, Daddy! You can be so silly sometimes,” she said rolling her eyes as she hugged Tony’s leg and he smoothed her hair down.
Tony looked over to Peter with a smirk. “See what you’re teaching her? She just said ‘duh’ to me!” and he playfully shook his head in disbelief.
Peter seemed to stiffen up because he saw Ned walking over to them. His kid really didn’t need this confrontation so he was going to have to intervene and be the bad guy even though he really liked the kid. Ned stopped in front of them wearing a tiara and a pink boa that he probably forgot he had on.
“Ned, what are you doing here? I thought I said to get a ride home from Happy,” Tony said getting straight the point.
Happy yawned, got off the couch and stretched. “I tried Boss but he insisted on staying until he saw Peter was okay for himself. He could be really stubborn,” he said as he gave Ned a scowl. “So, I told him if he’s staying then he had to entertain Morgan while I take a nap.”
“I like Ned, he’s fun to play with!” Morgan said.
“Well, it sure looks like you two were having fun, but now he has to go home so say your goodbyes, ok?” Tony knew he was being short but he didn’t want to upset Peter any more than he already was with him being here.
Finally, Ned spoke up with his cheeks tinged slightly pink as he took the tiara and boa off. He looked uneasy after Tony said that but Ned kept looking at Peter. “Um, I know you probably don’t want to see me right now but I just had to make sure you were ok. You scared me.”
Tony noticed Peter couldn’t look him in the eye and just shrugged. He could tell he was on the verge of tears so he spoke up for him but there wasn’t much he could say in front of Morgan. “Peter’s hanging in there, Ned. As you can see, he’s walking and talking. I don’t mean to be rude but he needs to rest. Happy, can you take him home now?” he asked being dismissive.
Happy gave Tony a concerned look knowing there was more to the story but figured he would fill him in later. “Sure thing. Ready Freddy?”
Poor Ned started getting tears in his eyes and nodded. “Yea. Can you call me later Peter?” he asked.
Peter was still looking so uncomfortable but he spoke up for the first time to him. “Not today, ok? Maybe tomorrow,” he told him which Ned looked hurt by the answer.
“Can I go for a ride to take him home, Daddy? Please?” Morgan asked which shocked Tony. He wasn’t expecting her to ask that, especially with Peter just getting home but he assumed maybe she thought Peter was going for the ride too.
Tony bent down to get on Morgan’s level. “Not this time, honey. I want you stay here and keep Peter company while I make you guys lunch. Think you can do that?” He would have let her go if the circumstances were different but he knew Ned was about to cry and needed some space. He saw Morgan deflate a little but then after getting her assignment in keeping Peter company she perked up again.
“Ok, I can do that!” she said looking proud of herself and grabbed Peter’s hand to hold.
“Ok, let’s get going then,” Happy said to Ned and he just nodded still staring at Peter.
Tony really did feel bad for rushing him out of the house but he did tell him to go home hours ago. His son was his main concern right now. He couldn’t let him leave without thanking him again though since he’s the one that told him everything last night.
“Morgan, why don’t you two go to Peter’s room while I make lunch. He’s got a boo boo on his head so he can’t look at his phone, tv or computer screens all day so it’s your mission to keep him entertained. Got it little Miss? Say your goodbyes.”
“Yep yep yep! I can do that! Bye Ned! Thank you for playing with me. I had fun! Bye Uncle Happy.” She said waving to them and then looked up at Peter, “Do you want to color for a little while or play goldfish?” she asked.
He saw Peter give him a silent thank you as she dragged him away from the group toward the hall and Peter didn’t even turn around to say goodbye to Ned so he knew he made the right decision on having him leave. Peter has a ton of feelings he needs to sort through and having him here was not helping.
Tony turned to Ned and put a hand on his shoulder again when his kids were out of sight. “Sorry to kick you out like this but he’s going through a lot right now. Thanks again for talking to me last night. You’re a good friend to him and I don’t want you to worry because he won’t stop being friends with you, ok? Just give him some time,” he said trying to reassure him.
Tony was right and as soon as he finished that sentence, he saw tears streaming down the poor kid’s face and started sniffling. “I know but it just sucks. I need to talk to him but I’ll wait until he’s ready.”
“Thanks for understanding,” Tony said as turned to Happy and nodded. Happy knew that was his cue to take him home now.
“Ok, kid. Let’s go.” Happy said and started walking to the elevators with Ned walking behind him.
As soon as they left, he walked down the hall to Peter’s room and opened the door. They were both sitting on the bed petting the cats that were purring like crazy. It really was a good idea to get two of them. He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed. “Sorry, Pete. I had no idea he was going to be here.”
Peter shrugged and he heard some sniffles and his heart was breaking all over again. “I know it’s not your fault. Ned can be stubborn like Happy said but thank you for making him leave. I just can’t be around him right now.”
“Why?” asked Morgan and he realized he can’t talk to Peter with her here.
“Hey, on second thought, why don’t you help me cook some lunch and then you can keep Peter company after. Can you go in the kitchen and grab your little apron?”
“No, it’s ok. She can stay. I want her here,” Peter said and Tony knew he only said that because with Morgan here he won’t be able to talk and that’s exactly what he wanted.
“I’ll stay Daddy. We’re playing with Bert and Ernie!” she said not knowing the power struggle that was going on between father and son.
“Ok, suit yourself. What do you want for lunch kids?” he asked.
Peter just shrugged again and Morgan said mac and cheese. He knew getting Peter to eat was going to be hard but he also knew he had a headache and as soon as he ate, he could take his meds and then nap.
“Pete? You good with that?”
“Um, actually, can I just have some chicken noodle soup please?” he asked and if Peter was asking for something in particular instead of saying no to everything, he wasn’t about to deny him it!
“Yea, of course! So one mac and cheese and one bowl of soup coming right up,” he said rubbing his hands together and then turned to leave them.
While Tony was in the kitchen making lunch for the kids, he heard the elevator ding which he assumed was his wife. “Hey honey, I’m in the kitchen,” he shouted.
A half minute later she walked in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He looked over at her and she looked exhausted. She’s been up all night too, along with him trying to get everything squared away with the legal shit and police. She leaned against the counter watching Tony stir the pasta for the mac and cheese. “So, how did he take it? How is he?” she asked and he knew she meant how Peter took the news that they knew everything since Tony said he was going to tell him as soon as he woke up.
Tony shook his head a bit. “Pep, it was awful. I walked in on him having a severe anxiety attack with Ned in the room!” After that he told her the whole story up until now and how of course Peter was blaming himself.
“He what? How on earth can he blame himself for this?” she asked dumbfounded.
Tony put up a hand, “I know, believe me I know. He feels he ruined their lives now even though I told him over and over again this is on all of them, but you know how he gets. He’s in a really bad place again honey. I’m scared,” he admitted and he felt his throat tightening up just thinking about it. “How’d it go at the station?” he asked her. He felt guilty for leaving her there at the police station but she insisted on him getting back to Peter.
She sighed and messaged her temples meaning she had a headache and she went straight for the ibuprofen that was on the counter. “We finally got almost everything done. The police want Peter down at the station as soon as possible to give his statement though. I’ve been working with the lawyers to see if I can get him out of it. Maybe since he’s a minor he won’t have to. He’s been traumatized enough, poor kid. I don’t want him to have to recount the entire thing over again in front of strangers.”
Tony didn’t even think of the possibility of having to bring Peter down to the station and his wife was right. Peter’s been through enough so he was hoping the police had everything they needed so he wouldn’t have to. “God, I hope not. That’s the last thing he needs right now. I haven’t seen him this depressed in a long time.” Which reminded him to check his pill bottle to see if he stopped taking his antidepressants.
“I’ll be right back, I’m going to go say hello to the kids. I’m sure he’s done talking about it for now so I’ll won’t mention anything heavy. Especially in front of Morgan,” she said and she left to go see the kids after she gave him a quick kiss.
“Can go tell them that lunch will be ready in five minutes?” he asked over his shoulder.
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Pepper was exhausted to say the least. She didn’t get any sleep at all since she had to take a late flight from New Jersey back home to New York and then spend the rest of the night talking to police and her lawyers. When Tony called her last night to tell her what had happened, she was in disbelief. Tony always said Peter couldn’t catch a break and now she’s seeing it for herself and felt so bad for him. It was always one thing after another and trouble really did follow the poor kid around.
As she walked down the hall, slower than usual, she was trying to calm herself down and not show how upset she was about the entire situation. She was just hoping to keep her cool when she laid eyes on Peter because she didn’t want to start crying in front of him. She stopped in front of his room and the door was open so she peaked in. The kids were on the bed playing with the cats and she was studying Peter to see how he was and he seemed ok. Most likely putting on a brave face for Morgan. That’s all she wanted to do was wrap him in a tight hug and not let go.
She stepped in the room and walked over to the bed and stopped in front of Peter, smiled at him and he said a quiet hi. He looked up at her with those big brown eyes full of sorrow and dread and it was killing her. She pushed his bangs away from his face to see the bandage on his forehead which looked the same from when she saw him last night and kissed the top of his head. Then she did the same to Morgan.
“How are you feeling sweetheart?” she asked him knowing they couldn’t say much in front of his sister.
Peter shrugged and it seemed like he was trying to blink away tears. “I’m ok. Just a headache and I’m tired but Dad said as soon as I eat lunch I can take my meds and then take a nap.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling a little better. You got a pretty good size egg on your head,” she said trying to lighten the mood a bit.
“Petey doesn’t have an egg on his head Mommy!” she said laughing.
That made Pepper chuckle and even got a slight smile from Peter. “No sweetie, that’s just an expression. It means a lump. He’s got a lump on his head under those stitches,” she tried to explain. She regretted pointing it out because now Peter’s smile faded and seemed really self-conscious about it and kept his head down petting Ernie. She knew she had to change the subject quickly. “Well, come on, kids, lunch is ready. You both need to wash up since you’ve been playing with the cats,” she said so she grabbed Morgan’s hand and helped her off the bed. She noticed Peter wasn’t moving. “You too, Peter. Go wash your hands and we’ll meet you in the kitchen, ok?”
Peter nodded and gave what looked to be a really fake smile. “Ok, I’ll be right there,” he told her.
She held Morgan’s hand as she walked her out of the room to go wash her hands in the bathroom. She was hoping he wasn’t lying and he was going to meet them there and not have any problems.
When she got to the kitchen, Tony was just putting out the bowl of soup and mac and cheese on the table. “Hey munchkin, where’s your brother?” he asked but more to Pepper.
“He’s coming, Daddy. He’s washing his hands,” she said as she took a seat and didn’t hesitate to dig right in.
Tony also put down a plate of sandwiches. “These are for us,” he said to Pepper. “I knew you’d be hungry too.” Which she was, she was starving.
“What a god send, thanks hon! I’m so hungry! I haven’t had a bite to eat since last night!” And she grabbed her sandwich and started eating too along with her husband who also didn’t have anything to eat.
~~~~~~~~~~xXx~~~~~~~~~~
As Tony was chowing down on his sandwich, it dawned on him that Peter hasn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday which was only two pieces of toast. He had just found out that he’s been skipping lunch every day so he didn’t eat lunch yesterday and he skipped dinner saying he’d be eating tons of pizza and snacks at the party which he highly doubted he had. And no breakfast this morning and now it’s lunch again. The kid had to be starving.
Tony was getting worried that Peter wasn’t going to join them and he really wasn’t in the mood to fight him on this, not after realizing he hasn’t eaten. “Friday, where’s ---” Tony was about to ask but saw Peter come into the kitchen dragging his feet and he couldn’t help smile that he came on his own.
“I’m right here,” Peter sort of snapped as he took a seat.
“Good, cause your soup is getting cold.”
He watched as Peter sighed, grabbed his spoon and started playing with the noodles in the bowl. He knows from experience that he plays with his food when he doesn’t want to eat. He wasn’t going to say anything just yet and give him a chance to see if he starts eating on his own.
“Wow, Morgan, you’re almost done already? You want some more?” he asked her when he heard her scrapping the bowl. She nodded so he got up to go grab more out of the pan on the stove. Morgan started eating again right away like she didn’t eat in her life and was wondering if she had breakfast or if Happy forgot. “Did you have breakfast this morning?” he asked her.
“Not really. Happy sort of forgot and I said I was hungry so I had a bowl of cereal with Ned. He likes Fruit Loops too!” she said.
“Ok, so it sounds like you had breakfast then. That’s good.” He looked over at Peter and he seemed more glum after hearing Ned’s name. “Pete, eat,” he said with a warning voice. Peter gave him a pleading look but he gave him a raised eyebrow back so he knew how serious he was. A raised eyebrow in this family meant business.
He watched a teary-eyed Peter struggle as he finally took some spoonful’s of soup. He was worried because he seemed like he was right back at the beginning when he had trouble eating but he’s been doing so good lately it was hard seeing him like this again. He was glad the doctor was coming over tomorrow for a session because he really needed it, especially with him cutting again.
They all sat there eating and thankfully Morgan filled the silence with her usual nonstop talking about what she did at school this week. He was more than happy to hear about something positive for a change and listen to his daughter ramble but it made him miss how Peter used to be. He missed his kid even though he was sitting right across from the kitchen table from him.
He heard Peter put the spoon down and he saw that he only ate half a bowl. Then he sat with his arms crossed over his body so he knew if he asked him to eat more he’d fight back. He was glad he at least ate a little bit but wished it was more. Since Peter’s been through the ringer, he was going to give him this one pass but he’s going to make sure he eats a full meal at dinner time tonight – no exceptions.
Tony couldn’t help but sigh though. “Ok, if you’re done go hop in bed and I’ll be there in a minute to give you your meds. How’s your headache? Did eating a little something help at all?”
Peter shrugged again, which annoys the hell out of him when he doesn’t get an answer so he kept staring at him until he did. “My head hurts but I’m dealing with it. It’s not as bad as it was before.”
“Well, we don’t want you in any sort of pain. Hopefully by the time you wake up from your nap it will be gone,” Pepper said as she was finishing her second sandwich and he just realized how quiet Pepper’s been, too.
Peter gave them a nod and grabbed his bowl to put in the sink and then he walked out of the kitchen. Tony gave Pepper a sad look and she knew what it meant. They both wished they could take his pain away from him.
Morgan wiped her face with a napkin and got up off the chair. “Hey, where do you think you’re going little Miss?” Tony asked.
“Petey’s room. We didn’t get a chance to play yet.”
“Well honey, Peter’s head is hurting him because of his boo boo, remember? He’s going to take some medication that makes him sleepy so he could rest. You can play with him later, ok? How about you go pick a movie and I’ll be in after I finish my lunch,” Pepper said trying to keep her out of his room.
Morgan gave her a pouty face because she knows she wants to be with Peter who hasn’t been spending any time with her lately. But she knows all that would soon change and everything will go back to normal since he doesn’t have to do all that homework anymore.
“Ok, I’ll go pick a movie,” she said and left the kitchen.
Tony took the last bite out of his second sandwich. He was hungrier than he thought and didn’t know how Peter could only have a few mouthfuls since he hasn’t eaten but he knew his was more mental than physical making him not eat.
He wiped his hands and then held onto Pepper’s who was sitting across from him. They both just stared at each other and knew they didn’t need to say anything because they were both thinking the same thing. Their kid was in trouble again.
Tony hated seeing how tired Pepper looked and knew he probably looked the same. “Hey, I just got this wacky idea, hon. After Peter falls asleep, why don’t we all go take a nap. We can have Morgan hop in our bed and we can start watching a movie in there and I know she’ll fall asleep, too. We both could use it.”
Pepper smiled. “Wow, it’s not often you voluntarily want to take a nap! But you’re right. Both of us didn’t get any sleep last night.” Pepper looked at her watch. “It’s only 1:30 so we can go lay down for a few hours. I know that medicine knocks Peter out for a while. I think that’s a good idea because we need to talk to Peter about everything and it would go better if we weren’t so sleep deprived.”
“Sounds like a plan then. I’ll clean up in here while you go grab Morgan to get settled in bed and start a movie. I’ll be in right after I give Pete his meds,” he told her and she nodded along.
He got up and started clearing the table and Pepper left the room to grab Morgan. He threw everything in the dishwasher and started it since it had dirty dishes in there already. He grabbed Peter’s meds on his way to Peter’s room (from his own bathroom which he still keeps them away from Peter) and went to his room.
Peter was sitting up against the headboard with quiet tears streaming down his face and it shattered his heart in a million pieces for the fifth time today. He hates seeing is son so distraught. He would do anything to take the pain away, physically and mentally.
“Hey kiddo,” Tony said sitting besides him on the bed, facing him. “Here’s the pills,” he said handing him two and a bottle of water he grabbed from the nightstand. “I’m sure they will make you feel better soon and hopefully it will be gone when you wake up.”
Tony knew he wasn’t crying because of his headache but crying because of everything else. He could tell that Peter didn’t want to talk about anything but he had to ask to make sure. After he swallowed the pills down, Tony took the water bottle back and put it on the nightstand. He leaned over to pull Peter into a hug which he let him. Actually, it seems like Peter just melted into him and he heard him cry so he started rubbing his back.
“Shhh…shhh…I know it all seems overwhelming right now and you’ve been through a lot but we’ll help you get through it, ok? You’re not alone,” he told him still rubbing his back but Peter remained quiet. Too quiet. “Did you feel like talking about anything right now?” and he felt him shake his head no. “That’s fine, honey. We’ll talk about it later. I just want you to get some rest, ok?”
They stayed that way for a long time with Tony holding Peter and rubbing his back while he quietly cried on his shoulder until he knew he was about to go to sleep on him. “Ok, kiddo. Time to lay down and go to sleep,” and when he pulled away it broke his heart even more seeing what a mess his kid was from crying and how sad he looked.
He was still quiet, eerily quiet and helped him lay down to get comfortable. Peter grabbed his hand and without saying it, he knew that he wanted him to stay until he fell asleep and he was more than willing. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep,” he said smiling down at him and started carding his hair because he knew how much he liked it and it made him fall asleep faster.
It didn’t take long for the meds to kick in and Peter was out cold. He fixed the blankets one more time and kissed his forehead before he turned the lights off and closed the door. “Friday, keep an eye on Pete and let me know if he needs me,” he said as soon as he was in the hall.
When he walked into his room, he saw Morgan was fast asleep cuddling up against his sleeping wife. He didn’t know how long he was in Peter’s room and felt bad because it was probably longer than he expected it to be. The movie was still playing and he turned it off before he hopped in bed himself. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep either even though he had so much on his mind.