Always Be My Baby

Adjusting back into their old routine was proving to be more difficult than Tony originally thought. 

Maybe it was the fact that in the next few days, they were going to have to start breaking a lot of habits with Peter and Tony was dreading that, and maybe Peter sensed it too. 

Tony didn’t know. 

All he knew was that he wasn’t looking forward to it and he wanted to skip it altogether and allow Peter to decide for himself when he was ready to stop the habits. Tony would push for that but he knew it wasn’t what Pepper wanted. 

And so they were trying to get back into their old routines. 

Tony kept Peter home from school for a week just to help get him back to the same time zone which was difficult even though the poor boy's sleep schedule was already all over the place. 

Tony still wasn’t ready for him to go back the following week and he knew Peter wasn’t either but it was time. 

That’s why he jumped on the request to give a lecture to a grade twelve class. That way, he could be in the same building as Peter. And also hopefully get some alone time after. 

So Tony was going to Peter’s school today to do a presentation with the grade twelves. He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to it but now that it was the day of the lecture he was giving, he was a bit excited. 

He used to give lectures to Harleys class when Harley was in grade twelve and he probably will to Peter’s class and Morgan’s but the school called him up about a week ago asking him if he could give another lecture. He said yes. Of course he wouldn’t mind teaching some students who were actually interested in physics. 

Peter was smart. Incredibly smart. But there was no way in hell he would sit through a lecture given by him, or anyone for that matter. 

Peter walked into the bedroom while Tony was getting on a shirt. “You’re still not done your milk?” He observed. He gave Peter half a bottle for a reason. 

He didn’t answer so Tony walked into the bathroom and grabbed gel to fix his hair but Peter followed him then moved to sit on his foot, wrapping his arms and legs around Tony’s one leg. “Carry me like this.” 

Tony was used to multitasking while getting ready, he did have three children after all, so he easily got ready while Peter hung off his leg. Once he was done, he leaned down and lifted Peter onto his hip. “Woah. Peter.” He cringed at the squishy material against his hip. “You’ve got more pee in that thing than probably water in your body.” 

Peter didn’t respond and continued to drink his milk so Tony walked into the bedroom and laid him on the bed, taking off the pull-up and grabbing wipes. Before he could get started, Harley walked in. 

Tony was surprised to see him awake. “Good morning. It’s early. Why are you up?” 

“I’m hanging out with my friend.” Harley said, a bit hesitant. Tony eyed him but then looked down at Peter as to not make it a big deal. 

“Oh. Is this friend a girl?” He asked, trying to be nonchalant about it while he was wiping Peter. 

He could see Harley shrug at the corner of his eye. “Yeah. Her name is Emily. She’s a year younger than me at MIT. We’ve been talking for a few days.” 

Usually Peter would tease him about hanging out with a girl but he was too busy drinking his milk and waiting for his dad to finish up so he could go play. 

Tony nodded and grabbed the garbage. “I hope you guys have fun. What’re you gonna do together?” He curiously asked, wanting to know just to know. He didn’t even know Harley was talking to any girls at the moment. God, he did not want to go through the dating phase with Peter. Or Morgan god. He was not ready for that. He knew he didn’t bring up Harley this way but he wanted to bring up Peter and Morgan to wait and save themselves for marriage. Tony didn’t think he could stand the fact of his little ones sleeping with someone… nope, he wasn’t thinking about that. 

“We’re gonna go on a hike up to the waterfall near the ravine then we’ll probably grab lunch or something.” 

Tony wanted to pester him for more information but he knew Harley would back away so he acted as if he wasn’t freaking out on the inside. “That sounds like fun. Just text me before you’re coming back, yeah.” 

“I will. Have fun with the lecture. Don’t put anyone to sleep.” 

“Ha ha. You’re so funny.” Tony fondly rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom to throw the garbage out then he walked back into the bedroom and closed Peter’s knees. “You can close your legs now. Let’s go into your room to get dressed for the day.” 

Reluctantly, Peter got up and followed his dad into his bedroom where he collapsed onto the floor, the now empty bottle still tucked in his mouth. 

“Do you wanna wear jeans or track pants today?” Tony sat on the floor and patted Peter’s butt. “Hey. We can’t be late today. I have a lecture at your school.” Technically the lecture wasn’t until 10am but Tony wanted to be somewhat early. 

“Track pants.” Peter scooted closer to his dad and put his feet on either of his knees. “No. The gray ones. And I wanna wear… blue underwear.” 

Tony opened up his underwear drawer. “Okay well you don’t have plain blue underwear. Do you want white with blue dinosaurs or blue with green stripes?” 

“Neither!” 

Of course this would be their first fight of the morning. 

“I’m heading off to work, boys. Have fun at school, Peter, and good luck with your lecture, Tony.” Pepper popped her head in to say and Tony wanted to beg her to take over but he just smiled and waved bye to her. 

Once she was gone, Tony held up both options. “Okay. Which ones?” 

Peter tried to kick them and when Tony moved his legs out of the way, Peter tried to put his feet behind his head. “Peter. We have to leave soon. We don’t have time for this. Underwear is underwear.” 

“No!” 

“Okay.” Tony picked the dinosaur one and then grabbed socks and a shirt from his drawer. “I’m picking your outfit today if you’re going to be like this.” He grabbed Peter’s legs to stop him from trying to put his feet behind his head. “Stop it. I’m going to go wake Morgan up and you’re going to get dressed by yourself.” 

“No. Nooooo. I can’t.” Peter screamed when Tony stood up. “I don’t know how to get dressed by myself!” 

Tony placed the clothes in front of him. “Yes you do. I taught you how.” With that, he left with little hope that Peter would actually get dressed on his own. 

He woke Morgan up and while he was brushing her knotted hair in the bathroom, Peter came running in with his legs through one hole of his underwear and tears streaming down his face. If he weren’t so upset, Tony would have laughed at his failed attempt to get dressed. It was concerning, but Tony knew Peter knew how to get dressed by himself, Peter just believed he couldn’t because Steve was still unconsciously telling him that. 

“I can’t do it!” Peter cried and lifted his arms up for Tony. 

“Pete. Just go try again. I’ll be there once I’m done here.” 

Peter threw himself onto the floor and sobbed so Tony leaned down to pull the underwear off of him and pick him up, holding Peter on his hip with one hand and brushing Morgan’s hair with the other. Fatherhood was no joke. Tony’s never been tested to his limits like this before. 

He told Morgan to go downstairs and get started on her breakfast that Tony had ready for her, all she had to do was pour the milk, so he could finish getting Peter ready. 

But Peter was making it incredibly difficult for him. “Do you not want to go to school? Is that it?” 

Peter rubbed his eyes. “I do!” 

After Peter absolutely freaked out on his first day back and refused to go, they took a well deserved week off. Now Peter was ready to go back, well, as ready as he’ll ever be. 

He didn’t sleep very well last night. He had a hard time falling asleep and then was up for four hours straight from around midnight until 3:30am and then was up for the day at 5am. So yeah, he didn’t get the best sleep although he had a lecture and Pepper was at work. School was Tony’s only option. 

He knew Peter would be fine once he got there and was able to be with his friends. 

He fought Peter into getting dressed and carried him downstairs when he refused to walk but he walked in on Morgan trying to clean the spilt milk out with the dog. “Morgan! What are you doing to Aiser?” 

She jumped back. “I accidentally spilt the milk, daddy. He’s helping me clean it up.” 

Tony placed Peter on the couch but he screamed at being put down and if Tony weren’t so overwhelmed, he wouldn’t have done what he did next. He turned to Peter. “Enough with the crying!” He yelled. “I need some space, Peter. I can’t hold you all the time!” 

Peter stopped crying from the shock of being yelled at but then he bursted out sobbing at being yelled at. 

Tony ran a hand through his hair. He messed up. 

He picked Peter up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, baby. That was rude of me. Daddy’s just really overwhelmed right now.” 

Peter wasn’t making coherent words as he rubbed his eyes and shook his head back and forth, trying to calm down. Tony held him against his side uncomfortably as he grabbed a whole roll of paper towels to clean up the milk. Aiser was going to have to lick himself clean because Tony didn’t have time for giving him a bath. 

“Daddy! I’m slipping!” 

Tony hoisted him up higher. “Can you go get your shoes on now? We have to leave soon.” He hadn’t checked the time but he was sure it was already past 8am. 

“No.” 

“Daddy, I put the rest of the cereal I didn’t want away in the fridge.” Morgan explained to him, standing right where Tony was trying to clean up. 

“No, just dump it in the sink, Morgan. That’s disgusting, no one’s gonna eat that.” He hoisted up Peter higher but it was getting harder to hold him since Peter was making no effort to hold on. 

He watched Morgan stand on her tippy toes to take the bowl out of the fridge and accidentally dropped it onto the floor. Both kids turned to look at him for a reaction. Okay. He was done. He honestly didn’t even care anymore. 

He’s already wiped a butt, cleaned up spilt milk, and dealt with two tantrums and it was only 8am. Yep. Today was going to be one of those days. 

“Just… leave it. Let’s go to school.” If he was lucky, he’d get an hour break from his kids after his lecture. 

Tony sat Peter on the stairs to get his shoes on but Peter absolutely refused and threw himself back so Tony didn’t bother. He didn’t even care if he wore shoes or not. 

He carried Peter to the car like a football and got him in his car seat then went back into the house to get Morgan’s art project that was due yesterday and they just finished it last night. It was big and took both hands to carry so Tony opened up the trunk and carefully set it on top of the other junk that was in there. 

Peter was miserable. He sat in his seat with his arms crossed over his chest and a pour on his face. 

Morgan finished tying her shoes once they arrived at the front of her school. Peter rubbed his eyes harder, whimpering tiredly. He wanted milk. 

“Good morning, Morgan.” One of the teachers greeted her in the kiss and ride lane. Tony forced a smile at her. She was one of Peter’s old teachers and she was super understanding and kind. He just was too exhausted to really be happy to see her. 

He got out of the van to walk around and grab Morgan’s art project out of the back. “Morg, come and get this.” 

“Look at my art project.” Morgan tried to show her old teacher. “Daddy helped me make it yesterday. Petey helped too then he got in trouble for being bad.” 

“Oh. Is that so.” The teacher waved at Peter in the van but he looked grumpy. 

“He didn’t sleep very well last night.” Tony explained to the teacher and pressed a kiss to Morgan’s head. “Good luck with that, Morg. I’ll see you after school. Moms picking you up.” 

Tony got back into the van and looked back at Peter. “Hey. What do you want?” 

He could tell Peter was miserable. He didn’t know what would help. “I want milk.” 

Tony nodded. He didn’t have a bottle in here for him. “Okay. I can get you some at McDonald’s. But I don’t have a bottle. Do you still want it?” 

Peter kicked his legs out. “No!” 

“Okay.” Tony drove out of the school parking lot and headed to McDonald’s anyways. It was in the direction of the high school so Tony pulled into the drive-thru, surprised at him being the third one in the line. 

He ordered a coffee for himself and pulled the van into a parking space, putting it in park and taking off his seatbelt to hand the milk back to Peter. “Here. I don’t have it in a bottle but-” 

“Then I don’t want it.” 

Tony placed it in the cup holder and sighed. He took two giant sips of his coffee and drove the rest of the way to Peter’s school and parked the van. Peter looked outside to see that they arrived already. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to school but he was just really tired and didn’t feel like he was in the best mood. 

He uncrossed his arms when Tony opened up the back door but instead of unbuckling him like he thought he was going to, he opened up the cartoon of milk. 

“Just take a sip.” 

Peter looked at it. It wasn’t in a bottle so he despised it. “It’s yuckie.” 

“Peter. It’s the exact same milk you had last night and this morning and every other time.” Tony poked the carton at Peter’s lips so reluctantly, Peter took a tiny sip, tasted it then opened his mouth for more. 

“Wanna take this inside with you? You aren’t bringing it to class but you can finish it on the walk to the office.” 

Peter took that deal. He sipped on it as he walked with his dad into his school, hand in hand. He was going to miss him but he knew he was going to be on the third floor giving a lecture so he suddenly felt a bit better. 

They walked into the office so Tony could sign him in late. Again. They were late every day this week. 

“Good morning, Mr. Stark. Thank you so much for agreeing to give a lecture to our grade twelve physics students. They are really looking forward to it.” The woman at the front desk greeted him. 

“It’s my pleasure.” He looked down at Peter to see if he was done with his milk and he wasn’t. 

“How are you today, Peter?” 

Peter took a sip of his milk. “Good. My dad yelled at me this morning for not listening.” 

Tony never knew what was going to come out of Peter’s mouth. He had no filter. “Okay, Pete.” Tony pulled him against his side, silently telling him to shut up but Peter wouldn’t get the silent que. “If you’d listen to me, I wouldn’t have to yell.” 

Peter took another tiny sip of his milk. “Okay.” 

The receptionist was looking at Peter with fondness. Tony noticed how a lot of the women in the office looked at Peter that way, maybe they knew his history and were extra soft on him. Or he was simply that cute. Tony knew he had a cute kid. “Mr. Stark, the class you’re expected to give a lecture in, is on the third floor, class 324. Perhaps Peter can show you there.” 

Peter burped, not even phased. “I’m not allowed on the third floor. It’s only for the big kids.” 

“It’s fine, Pete. I’ll find my way.” He combed his hair back with his fingers. “Are you done that?” 

Peter shook his head, chewing on the carton. Maybe Tony shouldn’t have let him bring it into the school. “Let’s go. You can finish it on the way to class.” He led him out of the office and let Peter lead the way to his class since he didn’t actually know where it was. 

Once outside of it, Tony knocked and waited for someone to open it. 

It was a student. “Oh. Hi Peter.” The boy stepped out of the class and looked at the milk carton in his hands. “Hey. Once I had a milk carton like that from McDonald’s. Is that where you got it from?” 

Peter nodded and the boy looked excited as ever at the news. Tony loved seeing innocent childhood excitement. 

“Good morning, Peter. How about you come join us. We’re just getting started on a lesson.” His teacher greeted him, stepping aside to let Peter walk in but Tony stopped him. 

“I’ll take that.” He went to grab the carton but Peter shook his head. “Pete, it’s empty. Give it.” 

Peter let go of it and wiped his mouth, giving Tony a quick hug goodbye and walking into class to join his friends at the back. Tony watched him while he spoke to his teacher briefly. “He didn’t sleep very well last night and was up at 5am so he may be a bit cranky.” 

The teacher nodded in understanding. “I remember those days. I have three kids of my own. All girls. Easier than boys, some may argue.” 

Tony didn’t know who was arguing that. He had two boys and a girl and although Morgan hasn’t reached her teenage years yet, he heard girls were harder than boys at that age. Although Peter is by far his most difficult child and they just started the teenage years. If Tony could handle him, he could handle anything. 

“Yeah, he definitely gives me a run for my money.” He chuckled, looking past the teacher and seeing Peter talking with another kid. He was happy to see Peter talking with friends. 

“Oh. While I have you, I wanted to ask you about Peter’s biting.” 

Tony was taken back. Biting? At school? Why didn’t he hear anything about that? “Oh. Yeah, I didn’t hear anything about that happening at school. Is he biting his classmates?” 

The teacher, whose name Tony couldn’t remember, crossed his arms. “Once or twice. I have two biters in the class actually. The other one is going through a divorce at home so he acts out in school. I try to separate Peter and the other child.” 

Tony didn’t know why he didn’t know anything about this. He wanted to bring that concern up to the office because he needed to know if his child was biting other kids at school. “Peter bites his sister at home. I wasn’t aware it was happening at school.” 

“It’s only happened once or twice like I said, it hasn’t happened in awhile.” 

Tony nodded. “Okay. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. If it happens again, I’d like to know.” 

“Of course.” 

He thanked him and left Peter to go upstairs and give his lecture. The students were quiet and calm and Tony felt at peace. He could actually talk without anyone interrupting him and demanding something from him. 

He really liked this age. 

Although he loved the craziness of Peter’s and Morgan’s age. He just really wanted to go get a coffee and go home for at least an hour afterwards before the end of the school day. He wanted some peace and quiet. 

Peter’s class on the other hand was extremely crazy. 

A kid dumped his pencil case out on the floor so another student tripped and fell on their butt. “Haha!” 

Peter turned to the sound of the laughing and saw someone on the ground so he stood up to see what happened. “Are you okay?” He asked one of the loud, annoying boys in the class. 

“Yes!” The boy stood up, holding onto his back. “I’m telling on you!” He marched to the front of the classroom and tapped on his teacher's shoulder. “Mr. Marco. Mr. Marco! Brayden just boobie trapped me and I could have died! Or a pencil could have went up my butt!” 

Peter cringed at the thought of that happening. He leaned against his teacher's desk, chewing on a pencil and watching what was happening. 

“Boys. Clean up that mess and focus on your readings. This is supposed to be reading hour. Do I have to set the timer so we all sit in silence for five minutes?” He threatened the class which immediately had them settling down and going back to their readings. He turned to Peter. “Can I help you, Peter? And stop chewing on that pencil.” 

Peter took it out of his mouth and walked back over to his desk. He didn’t feel like doing school work and so he wasn’t going to. It wasn’t like his teacher could actually force him to do school work. He sat in his chair and turned to the students behind him to see what they were doing. 

“Wanna be part of our bet?” 

That caught Peter’s attention. “What’s the bet?” 

“We’re betting who can hold their breath the longest. Zack is a professional swimmer but I doubt he can hold his breath for longer than a minute.” 

Peter scrunched his nose up. “A minute? That doesn’t even seem possible.” He could hold his breath underwater for only about fifteen seconds and he was proud of that. Last summer it was only ten seconds. 

“Let’s find out.” Brad pulled his phone out and put the timer on. “You joining us?” 

“No. I’m not good at holding my breath. I can only hold it for like fifteen seconds.” Peter explained but he kinda wanted to join in on the fun. 

Brat pulled his chair closer to him. “That’s okay. Mark can only last ten seconds so you already beat him. Three two one, go!” 

Peter burst out laughing at the seven second mark which made Mark and another student whose name Peter couldn’t remember start laughing with him. The two of them counted down the last seconds of the minute but their teacher walked over to them and grabbed the phone. 

“You’ll get your phone back at the end of class.” He pulled Peter’s chair back to his desk, tucking him in. “Peter, your desk is this way. Finish your readings. Noah, I still need your homework from yesterday on my desk by the end of class or I’m going to have to start counting it as late marks.” 

Noah groaned and pulled aggressively at his hair. “You can’t expect me to finish all of this homework in one class.” 

Their teacher kneeled in front of their desks. “No, that’s why I gave you since Monday to work on it.” 

“That’s… that’s still not enough time!” Noah insisted then turned to look at Peter, grabbing the pencil from his hands. 

“Hey! That’s mine.” 

“Peter didn’t even hand his homework in!” 

“Not true! I did yesterday.” Peter stood up and grabbed his pencil back from Noah, resisting the urge to smack his head. “Mine.” He sat back down but Noah grabbed his fingers and bit down onto them. “Ahhhhhh!” 

“Noah. Get up! That’s it, you’re going down to the office!” Their teacher grabbed Noah by the arm and pulled him to the front of the class, sitting him on the floor by himself. 

Peter looked at his finger and at the bite marks. “I’m bleeding!” 

Their teacher walked over to him to take a look but he saw that there was no blood, just a purple and blue bite mark. “You’re not bleeding, Peter. How about you get started on your work before the end of class.” 

Because Peter was extra, he refused to do his work and focused on his injured finger. “I need ice.” 

“You can go down to the office after class to get some.” The teacher was clearly overwhelmed with everything and the class was way too loud for liking. He tried to quiet them down but Peter stood up and wobbled. 

“I don’t feel so good.” 

“Peter, your finger is fine. Sit down and do your work.” 

Peter felt a tightness in his chest before he was vomiting all over the front of his shirt and the floor in front of him. He hated throwing up. It scared him and the fact he was at school and his parents weren’t here, he started crying. “I want my dad.” He cried out, too afraid to move. 

“Ewww.” The kids around him jumped back and stood off to the side. “It smells like hot dogs.” Peter heard someone say but he didn’t know who and didn’t care to know. He just wanted his dad. 

.

.

.

Tony finished his lecture and was engaging in conversation with the students, answering their questions and enjoying the mature discussion that he didn’t really get to have with anyone besides Pepper and occasionally Harley. It was a nice change. 

He was in the middle of answering one of the students' questions when the receptionist popped her head through the door. “I’m so sorry to interrupt but, Mr. Stark, Peter threw up in class. Would you be able to come get him?” 

Tony was already on his feet and grabbing his coat. He knew something was off with Peter today. He was vomiting in class now. Why didn’t Tony just follow his gut and keep him home? 

He opened the door of the classroom and it was such a different environment than the grade twelve class. Yeah, because Peter was standing there with vomit down his shirt but also because there was a kid crying at the front of the class on the floor, one kid was standing on the desk like the floor was lava, okay, maybe because Peter’s vomit was on the floor but still. 

Peter reached for him once he saw him walk in. “Oh, Peter.” 

Tony walked over to him, standing just in front of his vomit. He cringed and grabbed Peter by the arm, lifting him over the puddle and then used Peter’s shirt to wipe the vomit off his chin. “Daddy.” Peter whimpered. 

“Let’s get you home.” He grabbed Peter’s backpack and swung it over his shoulder but Peter was reaching up for him, wanting to be picked up. 

“Peter’s dad.” Someone was tapping on his back so he turned to the kid. “Did Peter have hot dogs for breakfast?” 

“What?” 

“His vomit smells like hot dogs.” 

Tony cringed. Kids were disgusting. He turned to Peter and pulled his vomit soaked shirt off, rolling it into a ball and grabbing Peter’s jacket then lifting him up. “Mm. Cold.” 

“I’m not carrying you with vomit all over your shirt.” He said then walked to the front of the class to leave, stepping aside for the janitor to wheel in a mop bucket. “I’m sorry for this.” Tony felt the need to apologize and hoisted Peter up higher.  

“Mr. Stark, I just want to bring it to your attention that one of the students bit Peter on the finger. It didn’t break skin but he did bite him.” 

Tony sighed. Of course it was another thing added onto this. He tried to see Peter’s hand but Peter pulled it away and moaned. “Who bit him?” 

“I can’t tell you that due to confidentiality reasons.” 

Peter pointed at the child sitting at the front of the class crying. “Noah did.” He said. 

That explained it. Tony nodded and shifted Peter. “Okay.” He looked at the teacher but he needed to get Peter home. “Thank you for telling me. I can follow up later but I need to get him home.” 

He walked out of the class and managed to get Peter to put his coat on on the way down to the office. The receptionist who came to get him looked sad. “Could you sign him out please. I hope you feel better soon, Peter.” 

Tony shifted Peter onto his other hip and went to sign him out but his phone started ringing so Tony struggled to grab his phone out of his pocket with Peter in one arm along with his backpack and coat in the other. “Hello?” 

“Hi Mr. Stark, I’m calling on behalf of Morgan. She threw up in class about fifteen minutes ago. Could you please come and pick her up?” 

Tony sighed. Of course. What else? 

“Uh, yeah. Yes. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up the phone and signed Peter out quickly. “His sister threw up in class today too. So it looks like I’ve got two sick kids now.” 

He got looks of pity and they wished him all the best as he walked out of the office and walked across the parking lot. Before they even got to the car, Peter was gagging so Tony quickly leaned him forward and allowed him to vomit all over the concrete, followed by a loud sob. 

Tony felt so bad for him. He just wanted to get him home. “I know. I know. Let’s get you home and into bed. It’s okay, baby.” 

He opened up the back door, tossing everything in and sitting Peter in his car seat, buckling him up and hoping he didn’t throw up on the way to Morgan’s school. 

On the way there, he called Pepper. “Hey. So Peter threw up during class.” 

“Oh no. Is he okay?” 

Tony looked in the rearview mirror. Peter was sucking on his thumb and looking outside. “For now. I also got a call from Morgan’s school. She’s throwing up too. So I’m going to pick her up now but can you come home to help out?” 

“Yeah, I’ll leave right now, Tony. See you in thirty minutes.” 

“Thank you.” He hung up and pulled up to Morgan’s school but he didn’t want to take Peter out to bring him in but he also really didn’t want to leave him alone in the car so he got the poor boy out and carried him inside, walking into the office. 

Morgan was dressed in a totally different outfit from this morning. “Hey, princess. You aren’t feeling well?” 

She rushed to his side. “My tummy feels weird. And my head hurts.” 

He nodded and signed her out then took the bags handed to him. “I know. Your brother threw up too. Let’s go home and you guys can go to sleep.” 

Morgan grabbed onto his hand as they walked out. “I want to sleep on the couch. Not in my bed.” 

Tony would make it comfortable for them. “Of course. Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you soup?” 

Morgan only rubbed her eyes and didn’t respond so he got Peter buckled in his car seat first and then walked around the other side to get Morgan buckled in. She always did it by herself so this just proved how sick she was. 

He sighed. He had two sick kids. He couldn’t remember the last time he had two kids sick at the same time but he was not looking forward to the next few days. 

He pulled up to their house at the exact same time Pepper did from the other side of the street. He was so thankful to see her and get to have some extra help now. 

“Both my babies are sick.” She cooed, getting out of her car and opening up Peter’s door before Tony could even get out of the car. “Hi Morgan. Did you throw up at school?” She nodded. 

“Me too.” Peter added and reached for her. 

“I want to give them both a shower first to wash all the germs off.” He explained while he unbuckled Peter and lifted him out, feeling a small wet spot between his legs. He sighed. “And I’m putting him in a diaper straight away because he just peed a bit.” 

Pepper rubbed Peter’s back. “I’ll wash his car seat later.” She helped Morgan get out and carried all the bags inside so Tony didn’t have to. “Are you giving them a shower at the same time?” 

Tony hoisted Peter up higher. “No. I’ll take Peter and you take Morgan?” 

“Okay. Come, Morgan.” 

“I want to be carried too.” She whined, weakly lifting her arms up for Tony so he leaned down and lifted her up as well, carrying both of them up the stairs and placing Morgan in her bathroom for Pepper to help out while he got Peter. 

He could feel Peter’s body heat radiating off of him. He knew he had the chills so he felt bad about having to give him a shower now. When he placed Peter on his feet, Peter whimpered. 

“I know. But you need to have a quick shower to get all the germs off.” It broke Tony’s heart to listen to Peter’s weak cries as he undressed him and washed him under the warm shower spray. 

He made it quick though. 

And once he was done, he wrapped Peter in a towel and carried him into the bedroom, grabbing a diaper, cream, pyjamas and his blanket then going downstairs with him. 

Pepper was already down there with Morgan lying on the couch, lazily watching some cartoon on the tv. “So, we’re out of medicine.” 

Tony mentally cursed. “No.” He opened the cabinet and looked inside for kids flu medicine but there was none. They hadn’t needed it in a while. “Who’s going to the store?” He was really asking who was going to be stuck at home with two sick kids while the other went to go get medicine. 

“You go. I can stay here with them.” She rubbed Peter’s back through the towel. “Is he wearing a diaper?” 

“No. I’ll put it on him now and go.” He walked into the living room and laid Peter down on the couch that Morgan wasn’t on then opened up his towel, applied rash cream then got a diaper strapped onto him. “Do you want pyjamas on? Or just like this?” 

Peter didn’t respond and stuck his thumb into his mouth so Tony took that as his response. 

He covered him with a blanket but Peter kicked it off of him. “Okay. No Blankie then. Just sleep, baby. Do you want anything?” 

At that question, Peter turned to him. “Milk.” 

Maybe Tony shouldn’t have offered. “I’m afraid milk will upset your tummy. Would you like water in your bottle?” He got a small nod in return so Tony stood up and grabbed a bottle but Pepper stopped him. 

“Tony. I got it. You go get the medicine. I’ll be fine with them.” 

He wanted to say that he could stay with them instead but the truth was that he felt like he needed even thirty minutes to himself to run to the store and grab a few things if he wanted to be functional to deal with two cranky, sick children. 

“Yeah. Alright. I’ll be quick. Do we need anything else?” 

Once Tony left, Pepper filled up the bottle with water and walked over to the couch, finding Peter sitting up and pointing towards the hallway. “Daddy?” 

“Oh, honey. He went to go get medicine. He’ll be back soon.” She took a seat next to him, feeling the back of his hot forehead with her hand. “Oh, sweetie. You’re not feeling well. Here. Drink some water.” 

Peter took it but he didn’t drink anything. He pointed towards the hallway again. 

“I know. He’ll be home soon. Can you lie down for me? Try and rest your eyes.” 

He wanted his dad but he fought the urge to cry out for him and just laid down, drinking his water. 

Pepper stayed there the whole time, hoping for her sake that Peter stayed calm and didn’t start freaking out and wanting his dad while he wasn’t home. Unfortunately for her, Peter sat up and threw up into his lap, followed by crying. He looked down at himself then reached up for her and she felt helpless. 

It wasn’t that Peter was heavy, he was actually very light, but she couldn’t be picking him up so easily like his father does, carrying him with one arm and multitasking with the other. Plus he was covered in vomit and Pepper didn’t want to touch that if she didn’t have to. 

“I know it’s scary. Let’s go get you cleaned up then. Come on.” She took his hand and led him into the hallway bathroom and cringed having to touch the vomit to untape the sides of the diaper. 

“Daddy!” Peter sobbed, rubbing his eyes. 

Pepper wasn’t worried about the mess right now even though it was disgusting but she was used to being covered in bodily fluids, she’s been a mother for twenty years now. Wow. That was a crazy thought. And she’s known Tony for almost twenty five years. Wow. 

She grabbed the bathroom towel to wet it and wipe as much of the vomit off of Peter that she could and while she was doing that, he thought it would be the perfect time to pee all over the front of her shirt. “Oh. Peter. Don’t do that.” 

She stood up fully and moved him back onto the toilet, lifting him onto it. “No!” 

“Yes. Sit here until I can get this cleaned up.” 

Peter sobbed harder. “No.” 

“I know you’re not feeling well but you need to pee in the toilet still. Not on me.” She tossed the vomit covered diaper in the trash and wiped up the floor but she had to go and disinfect it. She would wait until Tony got back so she didn’t have to leave Peter. She pulled up the stool and sat in front of Peter, holding onto his hands. “Peter. Look at me. You need to calm down and breathe. You’re getting yourself too worked up.” 

He shook his head. “Want daddy.” 

“Okay. He’ll be back soon. Do you need to use the toilet before I take you off?” 

Peter looked down to see. “Yeah.” 

“Okay. Let’s wait.” 

When Tony got back, he walked past the hallway bathroom and sighed. “Oh, buddy.” Peter was sitting on the toilet with a pale face and red rosy cheeks. He immediately reached his arms out for him when he saw his dad. “Okay. I’m coming.” Once Tony placed the stuff down, he went to grab Peter but hesitated. “Is he pooping?” 

“No. He threw up all over himself and while I was cleaning him up, he peed on me.” Now that Tony was here, she stood up to get the bathroom cleaned up and then herself. 

Tony felt bad for him. Peter didn’t do well with being sick. Well, no one did but Morgan just slept away her sickness, only waking up to eat and drink or use the bathroom. Same with Harley. Peter had it so much harder every time and it broke Tony’s heart. He walked into the living room with his baby in his arms and rocked him side to side to calm him down. “He didn’t sleep yet, right?” 

“Oh. No. Not yet.” Pepper answered. “You got extra diapers?” She looked at the three boxes in the hallway, thinking it was a little extra but Tony was extra. Maybe that’s where Peter got it from, no, it was definitely where he got it from. 

“Yes.” 

“We still have two boxes upstairs.” 

Tony shrugged and walked into the kitchen. “We can never have too much.” He grabbed the syringe out and waited for Pepper to read the instructions on the thick pink flu medication. 

“Okay so… one of these every six hours. For twenty to ninety pounds.” She opened it and got the right dosage out. “This is always the hard part. Do you want to or do you want me to?” 

Peter absolutely despised taking medicine. Tony dreaded it every time Peter got sick. “I’ll do it.” He poked the syringe at Peter’s lips, cooing. “C’mon, baby. Open. You need to take it to feel better.” 

Once Peter realized what was happening, he turned his head away, moving it every time Tony tried to give it to him. 

“Peter. If you want to feel better, you have to take it.” He managed to get it into Peter’s mouth but he spit it out and screamed. “This isn’t working.” He grabbed the offered washcloth to wipe it off his chin and turned back to Pepper. “Should we just pour it into his bottle with juice or something?” 

“I don’t want to give it to him like that.” She thought about it but they could be doing this all day. “Just hold his arms down. I’ll give it to him quickly so he can sleep.” 

Tony sighed. He felt bad doing it this way but it had to be done. So he turned Peter so his back was pressed up against his chest then he held his arms down and felt his heart breaking while Pepper administered the medication. 

“Okay. Okay. All done, baby. You’ll feel better soon.” He walked over to the couch and grabbed the bottle for him to drink and wash the taste out of his mouth. “There we go.” 

He got a diaper secured onto him and sat down, sighing. This was going to be a hard few days. 

Peter was fighting sleep. Tony didn’t know why he was but he was. They had some random cartoon playing on the tv in front of them that Peter had his eyes glued on while he chewed on the silicone bottles nipple, refusing to let his eyes close shut. 

So Tony placed a hand over them, shushing him. “Time to sleep, baby. Close your eyes.” 

.

.

.

Tony didn’t even realize he fell asleep until he woke up to the phone ringing. 

He sat up and reached for Pepper's phone on the table, not even realizing who it was when he pressed answer. “Hello?” 

“Oh. Hi Tony. Where’s Pepper?” 

It was Alice. “Um… I’m not sure. Uh.” He looked back at Peter, realizing he had fallen asleep on his thigh. Peter was comfortable though. He stood up to go find her. 

“Did I wake you up? You sound tired.” 

“No. Actually yeah, the kids are sick so, I just fell asleep with Peter on the couch.” He walked into the kitchen to make himself a coffee so he wouldn’t fall asleep again. 

“Aww, all of them?” 

“No, uh. Peter threw up at school today and so did Morgan.” He explained then walked back over to the couch to sit down. “Pete has a hard time when he’s sick but he’s passed out right now. Hopefully he stays that way.” He could see that his diaper was full so he wondered how long they had been asleep for. Usually he’d charge it but he didn’t want to risk waking him up so he left it. 

“Oh no, Tony. I wish we could come to help out. Where’s Pepper?” 

Tony honestly had no idea. In fact, he needed to see what time it was. They didn’t eat any lunch yet. “I don’t know, Alice. Uh…” He assumed she went upstairs to do laundry or something. “I’d text her but I have her phone,” He heard her walking down so he turned to her. “Oh. Here she is, Pep, your mom’s on the phone.” 

“Oh. Thanks.” She placed wipes, rash cream and a stack of diapers on the table then took the phone from him. “Hi mom.” 

“I heard Peter and Morgan aren’t feeling good.” 

She walked out of the living room so she wouldn’t wake them up with her conversation. “Both of them got hit with the flu today. Supposedly Peter was super cranky this morning so that explains why.” 

“Aw, I was saying to Tony that I wish I could be there to help.” Alice admitted but Pepper didn’t think her help would matter because Peter will now cling onto either her or Tony until he feels better. 

“It’s okay, mom. Morgan will just sleep all day and Peter… well, we’ll see.” She walked back into the living room and sent her a picture of Peter sleeping on the couch with his thumb in his mouth and the other holding onto his bottle with his legs spread open. Only Morgan’s face was visible and the rest of her was buried under blankets. “I just sent you a picture of what things look like here.” 

She heard her mom coo on the other end as she looked at the picture. “I hope they feel better soon. I wanted to speak with them but that will have to wait.” 

Peter started to wake up so Pepper had to quickly say her goodbyes and walked into the living room, watching as Peter sat up and then threw up all over himself again. “Okay. Okay. It’s okay, Peter. Tony. Tony. Peter threw up again.” 

Peter tried to start crying but he gagged and then was vomiting one more time, adding to the puddle on his lap. 

Tony raced over to him and cringed at the liquid puddle all over him. “Okay. Let’s go get you cleaned up.” He couldn’t even care about being covered in the bodily fluids now so he lifted Peter onto his hip and walked into the hallway bathroom but when he tried to put Peter down and Peter whined, Tony realized this wasn’t the best place to clean him up and so he took him upstairs. 

Peter was sobbing. He had a fear of throwing up and the way it made him feel. 

Now he was throwing up uncontrollably. 

Tony did his best to comfort him but it was still scary and he was still worked up. “Shh shh. It’s okay. Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

Peter watched Tony bring him into the bathroom but he didn’t want to shower so he cried harder. “No. No.” 

“I know you don’t feel well. After you’re all cleaned up, you’ll feel a lot better.” Tony hoped so. He placed Peter on his feet in the bathroom and grabbed a face cloth to wipe the vomit off his chest and legs but when he went to take off his pull-up, he almost gagged. “Oh, Pete.” 

Tony stood up to wash his hands, thinking about how he was going to clean him up. This was absolutely disgusting. 

“Morgan’s still sleeping and I’ve got the couch and floor all cleaned up.” Pepper looked at her miserable son and her heart broke for him. Nothing was worse than seeing your kids sick and in pain. 

Tony turned around to face her. “He just had diarrhea.” 

“Oh no.” She looked at Peter. “Okay. Would you like me to take over?” 

Tony debated on doing Rock Paper Scissors but that was unfair to Peter. He grabbed a towel and two packs of wipes. “No. It’s okay. I’ve got it.” He laid a towel on the floor then got to his knees, gently pulling Peter to lie down in front of him. 

“No. Don’ wan’ to.” 

“Baby. You’re not feeling well. C’mon. I’ll be quick.” Tony managed to get him to lie down then he pulled the front of the pull-up down and cringed. “Ugh. It’s all up his front.” 

Peter whimpered. 

“Call me if you need me.” Pepper let him know before leaving but she hoped Tony didn’t need her. She was glad Tony took one for the team to clean that all up. 

Peter kept letting his legs fall down and making it ten times more difficult for Tony. “Peter, can you keep your legs up? Just hold them there.” Peter moaned, sticking his thumb into his mouth and looked at his dad. “Pete.” 

“Hey, dad, I’m just wondering if- ew. What the hell.” Harley walked into the bathroom behind him, covering a hand over his nose so he wouldn’t smell it. “He’s actually so disgusting.” 

“He’s sick, Harley. Both of your siblings are.” Tony finished wiping him down thoroughly then turned to face Harley for a second. “What do you want?” 

“I was just gonna ask if you’re okay with my friend coming over.” 

“Not today. Pete and Morgan are throwing up. Peter’s got diarrhea on top of that. No, Harley.” 

Harley didn’t have to push it. “Then can I go sleep over at her house?” 

“Absolutely not. Grab the diaper rash cream from my bed.” 

He took it from Harley and dipped his finger in, taking out a generous amount to apply onto Peter’s sensitive and now red skin but Peter tried to straighten his legs so Tony held them up himself, trying to be quick. 

“Dad. I don’t want to be here with all this sickness. Can I go sleep over at her house?” 

“Are her parents home?” Tony asked, grabbing a diaper and securing it on Peter then standing up to wash his hands and take off his dirty shirt. He looked to Harley. “They aren’t, right?” 

Harley groaned. “C’mon. I’m twenty. Stop treating me like I’m Peter.” 

Tony lifted up Peter, laughing at what Harley implied. “You want me to treat you like Peter? Because there’s plenty of extra diapers in my room I can put on you.” 

“Stop that… that’s so weird, dad. Gross.” 

“Yeah. I’m not treating you like Peter. I’m treating you exactly how I would if you were twenty, oh wait. You are twenty.” He walked into the bedroom. “You’re not going over to her house. End of discussion.” 

“Seriously? Dad-” 

“Harley. I’m tired. I have a headache. I just cleaned up vomit and diarrhea and there’s most likely going to be more of that tonight. Stop it. I said no.” 

He watched Harley groan and walk out of his bedroom, no doubt going to ask his mom the same thing.

.

.

.

Peter was sleeping soundly on the couch, totally oblivious to the world around him but Tony was grateful for that. He was running a high fever and was crying non stop for about an hour and now he was finally getting the rest he deserved. 

Tony sat down next to his head and placed a hand on his chest, hoping Peter would sense him there and it would help him sleep for longer. 

He also hoped it helped calm his own nerves and focused on the rise and fall of his breathing chest. 

Peter felt someone tapping his chest and when he opened his eyes to sit up, he didn’t recognize where he was at first. He rubbed at his tired eyes and looked around. The place looked familiar but he couldn’t quite figure out where it was. 

The back door was open and it was blowing white, lace curtains around so Peter stood up to go look outside. The breeze felt good on his face. “Do you love me still?” 

“What?” Peter turned around to face the voice that was familiar but he hadn’t heard in a long time. He saw a man in a white T-shirt pass by a so Peter slowly walked towards him. 

The man turned to face him and started cutting up fruit. Peter’s heart dropped and he immediately started backing away. No no no nonononono. 

“I asked if you wanted any fruit?” Asked Steve, the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board made Peter flinch every time. 

“Oh. I-I-” 

“Bucky and I woke up early to pick strawberries from the garden.” He rinsed them in the tap water and Peter’s body was unwillingly moving to sit at the kitchen island. “I know you love to do that but you looked so peaceful sleeping. Plus I know you needed your rest. Especially after how emotional you were last night.” 

Peter squeezed his fist. “You’re not real.” He whispered under his breath as he watched Steve walk around the island with a bright blue bowl of strawberries. 

“You know you upset me.” 

“You’re not real.” He said a little louder and stood up, facing Steve. 

“And you know how much I hate it when you upset me, little bear.” 

“You’re not real!” Peter yelled, then screamed as loudly as he could and covered his hands over his ears, wishing he could be anywhere other than with his kidnapper. 

He stopped screaming when he heard the sound of the ocean and felt a warm breeze on his face. He opened his eyes and looked around. He knew this place. He was in Bali. But he never went to Bali with Steve. 

Peter turned and saw Tony swinging Morgan on the beach with Pepper and Harley standing there. He started walking towards them. They all looked so happy… but he wasn’t there, how could they be so happy without him? 

“Daddy! Daddy! I’m coming! Wait for me!” He started running, trying to catch up to them but they seemed to be getting further and further away. When he ran out of breath, he stopped running. “Daddy?! Hey! I’m over here! Hey!” 

It was as if the scene switched and suddenly Tony was standing right in front of him, just a few feet away but Peter still couldn’t touch him. “Dad?” 

“You broke me, Peter.” 

Peter knew he did. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He went to walk towards him but Tony spoke. 

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. Not this time.” 

Peter froze. “Dad. Daddy. I-I… it’s not my fault. I am sorry.” 

Tony turned to look out into the ocean, walking into it and soaking the bottom of his rolled up jeans. Peter turned to face him. “No. It’s my fault. I’ll forever blame myself for losing you. If only I was watching you that day… but you can’t change the past, right?” Tony locked eyes with him. “You’re gone. And I’m still here.” 

“Daddy. I’m sorry. But I’m right here.” He went to walk towards him but he kept getting further away. “Why can’t I get to you? You keep moving.” 

Tony started crying and it broke Peter to witness. “Oh, Peter. I just miss you so much. I want to be with you.” 

“Dad.” 

Tony looked back at him. “I’m sorry.” He said before closing his eyes and falling face first into the ocean. 

Peter screamed. “No! Daddy. Come back to me!” He raced towards him to try and pull him out but the more he dug in the sand, the higher the water got and then he felt like he was drowning. 

Before his head could go under the waves, he was in a bathtub. 

Peter wildly looked around, his heart beating heavily in his chest. “You know, when you said you wanted bath toys in your bath, I didn’t think you meant all of these.” 

Peter smiled up at Steve and giggled. “What? Those are my favourite. Plus Captain Turtle needs a bath too.” He happily took it from Steve’s hands and dunked his toy into the bath. 

“How much do you love me?” 

Peter grinned at him. “I hate you. I don’t love you.” 

Steve leaned down to kiss him. “Yeah. You never did love me.” 

“I never did. You just made me think I did.” 

Steve dipped his hands into the water to grab the hair rinsing cup. “Exactly. And that’s why you’ll never learn how to love. Lean back so I can wet your hair, little bear.” 

Peter dropped his toy into the water and turned to look up at Steve. “What did you just say?” 

“I said you’re broken. Because of me, of course.” 

“Y-yeah. And I’m getting better.” 

Steve chuckled. “Oh, baby bear, you’ll never get better.” He playfully tapped his nose. “Did I ever tell you how much I love you. You’re perfect, little bear.” 

Peter slowly nodded and leaned back to let Steve finish washing his hair but Steve pushed him under the water and as soon as his head went under, Peter sat up in bed. 

He gasped for air and ran his fingers through his hair and he was soaking wet, water droplets dripping down his face. The bedroom light turned on and he turned to Tony. “Hey, baby boy. Did you wet the bed again? That’s okay. Let’s get you changed.” 

Peter turned to Tony desperately. “Help me. Please. I… I need help. I-I I’m dying.” 

He watched Tony grab a new pull-up from the box and wipes, the smile never leaving his face. “Oh baby. You aren’t dying. You can’t die. I love you too much. Take off your wet pants.” 

Peter wiped his dripping hair out of his face. “My hair… Where's this water coming from?” He kicked the blankets off of him and stood up to try and see why he kept dripping water. 

“Because you wet the bed. Let me help you. I always do.” 

Peter looked down at himself. He was drenched. “But I didn’t wet the bed, dad. There’s a leak or something. Look!” He pointed to the ceiling but there was nothing there. 

“No, Petey. You wet the bed because you’re broken. Because Steve broke you. Now do you want a bottle or not?” He held two bottles in his hand and when Peter went to reach for one, Tony pulled them away and walked over to the dresser, his back facing Peter. “You killed your mom. She’s dead because of you. She was so tired because you kept her up all night with your crying. You cried so much as a baby.” 

Peter sat down on the bed, shaking his head. “No. You’re lying. This-this isn’t the story you told me. Moms alive. There never was a house fire! Stop lying! Stop lying to me! Dad! Dad! Help me! I need help!” 

Tony turned around to face him, he had tears streaming down his face. “I’m trying! I’m doing every fucking thing I can to help you but you’re still broken! How the hell am I supposed to fix you?!” 

Peter couldn’t help the sob that escaped his throat. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know. But… somethings wrong. I… I need help. I need you to help me.” He stood up on the bed, feeling like he was losing control. “Help me!” 

Tony walked out of the bedroom so Peter chased after him but he bumped into Steve. Peter couldn’t do this anymore. He fell to his knees and sobbed. “Oh, baby. I’m here. Daddy’s here. Just open your eyes and look at me.” 

Peter cried harder and tried to push Steve away. “Don’t touch me. Get away! I hate you!” 

Tony backed away from him and looked at Pepper. His heart was beating way too quickly and his vision was spotting in and out. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Peter said it. Peter said his worst fear. He couldn’t breathe. 

Pepper was immediately at Peter’s side. He was crying and rolling back and forth on the bed, clearly having a nightmare. “Peter. It’s mommy. Shh, just wake up. You’re dreaming, Peter. Wake up.” 

“Why’d you do it? Why’d you do it? I’m stuck. Help me.” Peter wasn’t making any sense so Pepper tried harder to wake him up. “Stay away from me, Steve. Go away! Please. Please. Please. Help me.” 

“He’s dreaming, Tony. He’s dreaming about Steve.” 

Tony nodded, still having a hard time breathing. He needed to calm down. His baby was having a nightmare. “I-I know. I just need to catch my breath.” 

Peter started crying harder and kept shaking his head back and forth so Pepper gently slammed his cheek, trying to get him to wake up but Peter kept mumbling some incoherent words in his sleep. Something that sounded like ‘broken’ and ‘help me’. 

Tony walked over and lifted Peter up, his head flopped onto Tony’s shoulder so Tony patted his back, a bit roughly. 

When Peter woke up, his eyes were wide and terrified. He looked around wildly, seeming to be looking for someone. “Hey hey. Shhh. You’re okay. You just had a bad dream. You’re okay.” 

Peter was still looking around. “No. Where is he? Where’d he go?” 

“Where's who, baby?” 

“Steve. He’s here. I saw him.” 

Tony tried to calm him down. Talk about nightmares, never mind a fever induced nightmare. “He’s not here. It’s just us. You’re okay. You’re okay.” 

Peter wiggled in Tony’s arms and pointed at Pepper. “There’s a leak upstairs. Hurry!” 

Tony looked at Pepper. That was quite the nightmare. He leaned his head on top of Peter’s and rocked him side to side. “Shh. There’s no leak. You’re okay.” 

Peter was still insisting though. “Yes. It needs to be fixed before we go to the beach.” 

Okay. Tony just nodded and walked back over to the couch and sat down. “I know. We will. You’re okay.” He turned Peter on his lap so he could look at him. “You’re okay. Look at me. Focus on my voice and my face. You just had a nightmare.” 

Peter just stared at him so Tony led his thumb to his mouth which Peter took to immediately and then his eyes were shutting once again. 

As he fell asleep in Tony’s arms, Tony looked over at Pepper, their shared silence speaking a thousand words. 

When their boy was sick, it was hard on everyone and now he had the flu and a fever dream, no, a fever nightmare. 

There was likely more to come but all Tony knew was that he was going to be glued to Peter’s side for the next little bit. Not that he wasn’t normally. 

He lifted his boy into his arms. “I’m gonna bring him up to bed, Pep, and hopefully he’ll sleep better in there.” 

He hoped so. 

His heart broke whenever his kids got sick and he couldn’t do anything but hold them through it. 

It was hard being a parent and having your heart live outside your body.