Before we grow old
Morgan felt better in three days and then was back to normal, being her happy, hyper self.
Peter took a bit longer.
By the sixth day, he was starting to feel better and he hadn’t thrown up in twenty four hours so Tony thought, hoped that they were out of the woods now.
He handed Peter a cup of grape juice and sat next to him on the couch, feeling his forehead with the back of his hand. “You feeling better?”
Peter leaned into him. “Kinda. Not like I’m gonna throw up if I drink this.”
Tony had such a hard time with him, the poor boy wasn’t able to keep anything down and would eat or drink something and throw up right after. It was difficult for everyone involved.
“Hopefully you start to feel better from here on out. I hate seeing you sick.” Tony admitted to him and ran his fingers through his curls again. “What do you say we get some proper clothes on you and go get some fresh air. You’ll feel better.”
Peter moaned against him, cuddling up closer. “Mm. Too cold out.”
“How about a bath then? Would you like that?” Tony wouldn’t mind sitting with Peter while he took a bath. He was finally able to stay awake for more than thirty minutes at a time without falling asleep.
Peter considered it and nodded. He was cold too so it would be perfect. He lifted his arms up so Tony stood up and lifted him onto his hip, heading upstairs towards the master bathroom.
It was just them at home. Morgan was at a friend's house, Harley was… somewhere and Pepper was still at work. Tony loved having one on one time with Peter, but after he felt back to normal, Tony had to make an effort to give his other kids some one on one time too.
Tony placed Peter on the cold tile floor then began filling up the bath, setting it to the right temperature. He tossed a few bath toys in and turned to face Peter. “Arms up.” Peter was wearing one of Tony’s shirts and it looked more like a dress on him but Tony loved that.
“I wanna put it back on after.”
“I’ll give you a clean one after.” He bent down to pull the full diaper off of him and tossed it into the garbage then noticed the red rashes around his inner thighs and Tony felt bad for him. Poor kid just couldn’t catch a break. “Does that hurt?”
“Yeah. It just burns.”
“Okay, baby.” Tony opened up the bathroom cabinet to try and find the oil that helped with this. He pulled out the relief oil and poured a generous amount into the tub.
Peter watched him. “What’s that?”
“It’ll help your sore bum.” He placed it on the counter and took a seat at the usual place he sat with Peter during bath times. He just wished Peter was feeling a bit better.
“I want it warmer.” Peter squatted in the tub, refusing to sit down just yet.
Tony turned it a bit warmer, not wanting to burn Peter’s sensitive skin. Once Peter was sitting, Tony shut the water off, only filling it up less than half way. “When you feel better, I’ll fill it to the top with bubbles and get you some new bath toys.”
Peter was excited about that. “Yay. Thanks.” He was relaxed to just sit there, raising a hand up to suck on his thumb and Tony knew he was ready to go back to sleep. Maybe a bath wasn’t that good of an idea right now.
His phone rang and it startled the both of them. “Hey.” It was Pepper, Tony put the phone on speaker.
“Hey. How’s Peter?”
“Good, he’s just in the bath right now. You’re on speaker.” Tony had a feeling she was going to tell him she had to work late. He hoped not.
“Oh, hi baby. How are you feeling?” Her voice immediately changed when talking to him and Tony fell in love with her just a little bit more.
Peter only nodded in response. “He nodded. He’s sucking his thumb and apparently doesn’t want to take it out.”
“That’s okay. I’ll be done work in about an hour but Harley took my car. Could you come and pick me up. We can stop for healthy food on the way home so I don’t have to cook.”
Tony was so relieved to hear that. “Yeah. Uh, I’ll get him out of the bath and dressed and we’ll leave in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon. I love you boys.”
Tony’s heart swelled. “We love you too. Bye.” Tony placed his phone on the bathroom counter and grabbed the body wash. “Sit up a bit.” He instructed, gently getting Peter cleaned and then out of the bath and wrapped in a towel.
“Look how dry this floor is, kid. Not one drop of water. Usually it’s a flood in here.” Peter didn’t laugh and instead he walked into the bedroom and crawled onto the bed, preparing to go to sleep.
“Don’t fall asleep.” Tony pulled the towel off of him that he was using as a blanket. “We gotta go in the car to pick mom up.”
Peter wanted his mom. He sat up but his stomach hurt a bit so he pulled his thumb out of his mouth. “I need to go poop.”
“Okay. You go. Thanks for telling me before we got in the car.”
“Yeah.” Peter walked into the bathroom and took a seat, staring straight ahead to concentrate. While he was busy doing that, Tony grabbed track pants with a matching sweater for him then texted Harley, asking where he was.
Tony walked into the bathroom. “Did you go?”
“No.”
He leaned against the counter, going on his phone to check a few messages then walked over to Peter, pulling up a stool to sit in front of him. “Does your stomach hurt?”
Peter shook his head.
“Okay. How about you try later. We have to go.”
“I need to go now.” He insisted and Tony never knew, Peter was always saying he needed to go just to avoid doing something. Such as going to the tower.
So Tony stood up to give him some privacy by going downstairs and filling up a bottle with grape juice and some Cheerios in a container for the car ride. When he walked back upstairs, Peter was unrolling the whole toilet paper roll. “Stop. What’re you doing?”
“Trying to wipe.”
Tony grabbed wet wipes instead and pulled three out. “Turn around.”
Peter immediately moved away. “Ow. That hurts.”
“Sorry, bud.”
“No. Stop.” Peter turned to face him. “All done.”
“I almost am.” Tony tried to wipe again but Peter wasn’t letting him. “Pete, it’ll be more sore later if I don’t. Would you rather do it?”
“No. No one. I want cream.”
Tony sighed and flushed the toilet. “I know. Lie on the bed. Do you think you’re gonna sleep in the van?” He asked only because he didn’t know if he should bother even bringing any snacks for him to munch on.
Peter placed his arms straight. “No. I don’t want to sleep.”
“Alright. That’s fine.” Tony grabbed more wipes and used this opportunity to wipe him clean, even though Peter tried to get away and let out a scream. “Sorry. I needed to. I’m all done now.”
“That hurt!” Peter looked betrayed so Tony grabbed the rash cream.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’ll put this on now. It’ll heal your rash.” He took the lid off and dipped his finger in, applying the cool cream onto him watching Peter’s face for his reaction to see if he was hurting him. He then moved to finish applying the cream.
When he closed the lid, Peter reached for it. “No. I need more.” He said, sticking his thumb in his mouth and lifting an arm above his head.
“I’ll put more on when we get home.” Tony wiped his finger on a clean wipe but Peter whined. “Okay. I’ll bring it with us and if you want more, I’ll put more on you.”
Peter was okay with that. He let his dad get a diaper onto him then managed to get his sweater on by himself and his track pants. “Look. I did it without any help.”
“Good job. That’s what I like to see, baby boy.” That was a huge accomplishment for Peter, especially being sick. He grabbed the cream along with a diaper and went downstairs with Peter. “Are you getting shoes on or am I carrying you out?” He already knew the answer and Peter looked up at him, knowing he knew the answer. “Private escort it is then.”
He lifted Peter up and shut the door behind them but he bumped into their nosy neighbours walking along the sidewalk at the worst timing possible.
“Good evening.”
Tony gave them a wave back. “Good evening.” He walked to the van and opened it up but they walked up the driveway to talk to him. Tony groaned into Peter’s ear and felt him lay his head on his shoulder.
“Is he still not feeling well?”
Tony hoisted Peter up higher. “He’s got the flu. Highly contagious.” He said in hopes they left them alone. “How do you know he’s sick though?”
“Oh.” The lady started, “Your wife told us. I was talking to her this morning before she and your oldest son left for work. I can't believe he’s all grown up. Don’t they grow up way too fast? Our youngest is pregnant already. Time is crazy.”
Tony hated talks about his kids growing up too fast because he was well aware of that fact. “Yeah. I wish time would slow down and keep them young forever. Especially this one.” He bounced him a bit then pulled the back of his sweater down to cover his diaper sticking out before placing him into his car seat.
The lady laughed way too hard. “Oh. I hear you. So how is everything else?”
Tony really didn’t appreciate the nosiness. He knew they followed Peter’s kidnapping story from the beginning and were invested in it, along with many others Tony knew of but hadn’t met. He knew they were good people and meant well but they were old and bored and loved looking out their windows for anything interesting.
Unfortunately for the Starks, they lived directly across the street from them.
Tony also would believe that they somehow followed them there but the old couple were already living there way before the Stark’s moved in.
He continued getting Peter buckled in. “Two of my kids are sick so we’ve just been cleaning up vomit and taking care of them for the past few days.” He did up the last buckle and poured some Cheerios into the car seat cup holder but Peter whined at that. “What? Okay, take this instead.” He handed Peter the container.
“Aw, it’s so hard watching them be sick.” The older lady cooed, pushing her husband who had yet to say a word to get a better view of Peter.
“It is. But we gotta get going. It was nice talking to you.” Tony tossed the rest of the stuff into the van.
“Enjoy every moment. One day you’ll wake up, and your kids will be having kids.” Tony didn’t appreciate that.
“Oh not for a long, long time.”
“It’ll go by in the blink of an eye.” She pestered on. Tony didn’t blame her, she didn’t know he got panic attacks over those thoughts. “One day you’ll pick him up and put him down and that’ll be the very last time.”
Tony looked at Peter and reached inside the car to brush the curls off his face just to touch him. “I’ll just have to be picking him up for years to come then. Alright, bye.” He shut the back door and got into the driver's seat, zipping down the window.
“Where are you guys headed off too?” The older man asked, speaking for the first time during their conversation.
“To pick up his mother and sister then picking up dinner.” Tony waved bye to them and took a breath once he was out of the driveway. Damn. That was difficult. He looked in the rearview at Peter. He couldn’t talk about Peter growing up. He still lost seven whole years of his life and he couldn’t lose anymore.
He focused back on the road. “Those neighbours are so nosy, aren’t they?”
“Yeah.” Peter agreed and moved the buckle on his car seat over a bit. “They talk too much.”
Tony agreed with that. He pulled up to a red light and his phoned buzzed so Tony reached over, seeing that Harley texted him back.
Harley: Hey, I’m hanging out with a few friends. I’ll be home after 9ish
Tony groaned. He hated when Harley was so basic with his information like that.
Tony: Where are you? Who’s there? And I want you home by 9 on the dot.
He kept his phone on his lap as he continued driving, waiting for a response back but surprisingly Harley called him.
“Hello?”
“Dad. I'm out with my friends like what the hell.”
“I thought you were at work with your mother.”
He heard people talking on the other end and then a door shut and it was quiet. Tony assumed Harley went inside or into another room.
“I was but I got bored and so I took the car and went to my friend's house. We’re just hanging out in his backyard with a campfire.”
Tony turned onto the highway and merged. “Okay. A text would have been nice.”
“Okay. I'm sorry.”
Tony was silent for a few moments, he looked in the rearview mirror and saw Peter drinking his juice and looking right back at him. “How long do you think you’ll be out till then?”
“I don’t know, dad.”
“I don’t know isn’t good enough, Harley. I need an estimate time.” Tony switched lanes and sped up.
“But why? I'm just hanging out.”
Tony resisted the urge to yell. “Harley. I need a time or I’m giving you a curfew.”
“Fine. Fine. Uhh… I’ll be home by ten. No earlier.”
“Alright. Ten it is. No later.” Tony stayed on the phone to see what Harley would say.
“Urg. Fine.”
“I just need to know where you are, Harley. You’ll understand when you’re a parent.” He wanted Harley to be a kid, well, young adult. He wanted him to make mistakes and learn from them but Tony knew what it was like to lose a child, he couldn’t do it again.
“I know. See you at ten.” Harley hung up the phone so Tony tossed it in the cup holder and got off the Highway.
“Dad, why don’t Harley tell you where he is?”
“Uh, cause that’s what twenty year olds do.”
Peter nodded.
“Promise me you won’t do that to me.” Tony didn’t think he could take it if Peter was like that, always going off with friends and not telling Tony where he is.
“No! I go where I want.” Peter grinned at him and Tony knew he was going to have a troublemaker on his hands. Hell, he already did.
Although he just prayed to god that Peter got his rebellious phase and testing phase out of his system at a young age so he didn’t do it when he’s older with drugs and alcohol and underage sex.
Tony would just about die if Peter did any of those things. At any age for that matter.
He’d much rather have Peter draw on walls and paint the floors than any of that stuff.
“I don’t think so. You better not.” He narrowed his eyes at him in the mirror, making sure Peter saw but he was too young to have that conversation now.
Peter responded with a yawn. “Yeahhhh.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Tony finished the drive and pulled into the tower underground that only a handful of people had access to. He parked the van, looking at all his other cars that he used to collect and take turns using them but now he drove a van filled with car seats, bottles and Cheerios on the floor of it. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Peter waited for Tony to open up the back door then burped. “I need to go pee.”
“Wow. Did that burp squeeze all the liquid out of you.” He got him unbuckled and swung him onto his hip. “Let’s go in moms office. Can you hold it?”
“I can’t.”
“Well, Pete. You gotta give me more of a warning than that if you want to make it to a toilet.” He grabbed the cream and the grape juice then carried him into the elevator, pressing the button for Peppers floor.
He hadn’t seen her all day basically. Just in the morning for a few minutes.
Peter wrapped his arms around his neck. “I don’t need to go anymore.”
That didn’t surprise Tony. “Okay. Great.” He sarcastically said and walked out, greeting the lady at the front desk and heading straight for Pepper’s office.
“Oh. Hi baby. Come here.” Pepper completely ignored Tony and held her arms out for Peter so Tony placed him on his feet and stretched his arm out. “Hello. Did you have a good day with your dad?”
Peter leaned against her and nodded.
“Did he just wake up?”
“No. Well, maybe like an hour ago. He’s doing well. His temp is down.” Tony explained and collapsed onto the couch with a yawn. He was going non stop today. Between working, getting house chores done and changing diapers and dealing with a cranky, sick child, he was tired.
Pepper kissed his cheek and pulled him onto her lap. “You smell so good. I just have to finish up and then we can go get dinner. Can you give me fifteen minutes?” She looked at Tony when she said that.
“Yep. Come here, bud.” Reluctantly, Peter left his mom’s side and sat on his dad's lap, resting his head against his chest with a loud sigh.
Tony just held him there, patting his back and bouncing his left leg up and down, knowing Peter liked that. He scrolled through his phone, not really having anything to do on there but wanting to pass the time by because he got bored sitting and waiting for people plus he was hungry.
So he decided to annoy Peter.
He poked his side and caused Peter to flinch then pulled the back of his sweater up and tickled his lower back.
“Mm!”
“What? Ticklish?”
“Mm? Mmm mm.” Peter whined behind his thumb so Tony pulled it out of his mouth. “Hey. Don’t.”
“I don’t understand what mmm means. Use your words if you want to talk to me.”
Peter slid off his lap. “I don’t wanna talk to you.”
“Na uh.” Tony pulled him back onto his lap and pressed kisses all over his face. “You stay with me.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Me too. We’ll get food soon.” He stood up, hoisting Peter into his arms to go look outside. “See that building there? That’s the street your sister is on at her friends house.”
Peter didn’t care. He liked having his dad all to himself today.
“Alright. Finally I’m done.” Pepper stood up and lifted up Peter’s sweater, seeing the protection sticking out like she assumed he had on. “Go sit him on the toilet before we go.”
Tony turned to her. “What’s the point? He’s already wearing it.”
She gave him a look that told him not to argue with her but Tony liked to call all the shots when it came to Peter.
“Because he’s not as sick as he was and now he’s just being lazy.” She patted Peter’s back. “Did you bring underwear, Tony?”
“No.”
“Then he can sit on the toilet and go pee before we go.” She left no room for debate and walked towards the bathroom, opening the door and waiting for Tony to bring him over.
Only Peter started crying. “None of that, Peter. Come with me.” She pulled him into the bathroom once Tony placed him on his feet and walked in front of the toilet, tugging down his track pants. “All done. You don’t need to cry.”
Tony hated this. Peter was crying and looking at him for help.
“This is full.” Pepper pulled it off and tossed it in the garbage. “Tell me you brought another one.”
“One. It’s in the van though so I’ll put it on him when we get down there.”
“Tony.” Pepper warned and that was all it took for Tony to leave.
Peter screamed once he saw Tony was gone so Pepper pushed him onto the toilet. “All done.”
“Okay.” He forced out, looking towards the door. “Dad.”
“He’ll come back. Don’t you like peeing in the toilet instead of your pants, baby?”
Peter nodded. He preferred it but he liked being close to his dad so he would do whatever he had to do.
“Good. I’m glad. Because pretty soon you’re gonna have to get used to that. There will be no more wearing diapers at night. Or pull-ups.” Pepper didn’t know how they were going to do that. She was always doing research and looking up ways to stop bed wetting but she didn’t think any of them would work and she was not limiting liquids before bed or waking Peter up to use the bathroom. That wasn’t happening.
Peter frowned. “No. I still will. Just not during the day cause I’m only wearing it cause I’m still sick.”
Pepper leaned against the counter. “Would you like to wear underwear for the rest of the day?” She asked, already knowing the answer.
To her complete and utter surprise though, Peter nodded. “Yeah. I want to.”
“Oh. Seriously?”
He eyed her. Maybe she didn’t want him to. “Yeah…”
“Okay. That’s amazing, Peter. I’ll have to go get you some because I don’t have any for you.” She pulled out her phone, texting someone but Peter didn’t know who. He finished going pee and stood up, holding his sweater up just as Tony walked in.
“Alright. I got it. Did you go pee?”
Peter nodded, looking at the rash cream in his dad’s hands.
“He told me he wants to wear underwear, Tony, so I’m gonna run across the street to get some.”
Tony frowned and turned to look at Peter. “Seriously? You want to?”
Peter shrugged. He saw how confused his dad looked and almost angry so he didn’t want to upset him. He pointed at the cream. “I need more.”
“Okay… so you all of the sudden want to wear underwear?” Tony asked, confused and concerned that Pepper said something to him.
Peter shook his head. “I don’t wanna no more.” He didn’t want to upset his dad. He pointed at the diaper in Tony’s hand. “Mm.”
“So you don’t want to?” Everyone was confused at this point.
Tony sighed and grabbed Peter’s arm to pull him over to the couches outside. “He doesn’t want to, Pep. He’s still sick. Stop forcing him.” He pushed him towards the couch. “Lie down, kid.”
“Ow. Don’t push me.”
“Sorry, baby.” Tony honestly didn’t mean to. He sat down by Peter’s feet and opened the diaper up, sliding it under him then dipping his finger in the cream. “Are you tired? Do you think you can stay awake long enough to get food?” He wanted to go to a restaurant but he didn’t know if Peter wanted that.
Peter flinched at the coldness but got used to it a few seconds later. “Yeah.”
“Yeah you’re tired or yeah to the other thing?”
Peter enjoyed the relief from his burning behind. “Umm… um, yeah to the other thing.”
Pepper got her stuff ready in the meantime then stood by Tony, waiting for him to finish. “How long has he had that rash, Tony?”
Tony honestly couldn’t remember. “Maybe four days. I told you how bad it was last night.”
“Sorry. I wasn’t listening.” She winced at her poor baby’s skin. “I’ll put some of the natural stuff on it tonight.”
That sounded good to Tony. “This will have to do for now.” He secured the diaper tightly onto him and handed him his pants. “Alright. You’re all ready to go. I’m gonna wash my hands, you get those on.”
While Tony was in the bathroom, his phone rang and he was surprised and delighted to see that Harley was calling him. “Hey.”
“Hi, dad. So I’m actually gonna come home now. Just letting you know.”
“Oh. Okay. We’re all going out for dinner at a restaurant. I’ll send you the address. Meet us there, we’re just going to pick Morgan up first.”
He could hear Harley driving on the other end. “I’ll pick her up. Just let me know the address.”
Tony walked out of the bathroom, happy to see Peter dressed and ready to go. “Come, barefoot boy. Let’s go fill your belly with food.” He bent down to lift Peter up and kissed his cheek while he was at it. “What are you feeling like?”
“Milk.”
“Milk? You need to eat actual food.”
“No, but-but when I was a baby, I only drank my milk and didn’t need to eat anything else.”
Tony couldn’t resist his cuteness so he pressed a kiss to his cheek again. “Oh yeah. That’s cause you had no teeth.”
Pepper objected to that. “Oh. He had teeth. I can tell you that.”
Peter shyly hid his face into his father’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his neck.
“Sorry, how could I forget that stage.” Tony rubbed Peppers back. “So, Harley is going to pick up Morgan and meet us there.”
They got down to the van and Tony opened up the back door and sat Peter down, getting him buckled in and driving to the restaurant. It wasn’t too far but it was a bit out of the city, so it was quiet.
They arrived before Harley and Morgan so the three of them walked in and took a seat and the minute they sat down, Peter looked at the waitress. “Can I have milk please? In a big cup.”
“Sure, sweetie. Can I get you guys anything else?”
“We’re gonna wait. Our other two kids will be here soon.”
“Of course. Take your time.”
Peter sighed. “Is she bringing me my milk?”
“Yeah but I don’t have your bottle.”
Peter looked at him as if the world was crashing down around him. “No. It’s in the car. Go get it, dad.”
“Not right now. I need you to eat some food first.”
“Peter, can you tell us when you need to go pee so daddy can take you?” Pepper reached across the table to hold onto his hand to be sure he heard her request.
“No. I already went.”
“I know, but that was about thirty minutes ago. You’ll need to go again soon.” She insisted but Peter shook his head.
“No, mom. I already went in the car.” He told her then looked at his dad for his reaction. He saw Tony chuckle so he smiled.
His mom didn’t look happy though. “Oh Peter. That’s not good.”
Tony didn’t want to talk about this. “He’s not feeling 100% yet, Pep. And we’ll be home soon then he can shower and go to bed.”
Pepper hummed. “I might want to just put towels under him tonight to let him sleep freely to help the rash heal.”
“No. That’s way too risky plus he sleeps pressed up against me. I’m not getting peed on all night.” Tony looked up and saw Harley walking in with Morgan. “Hey guys. Come join us.”
“No. We were gonna get our own table.” Harley sarcastically said and Tony flicked him once he was close enough. “Only kidding.” He sat down with his mom and reached over to ruffle Peter’s messy curls. “You look better. How are you?”
Peter grinned. “I’m good. Guess what?”
“What?”
“I have a rash on my butt and pee pee.”
“Ew. Why are you telling me that like it’s good news?” Harley cringed but he wasn’t surprised.
With a shrug, Peter sat up on his knees and looked over at his sister. “Where were you all day?”
“At Madison’s house. Her mom just had a baby. It’s a boy!”
Pepper gasped. “Oh. That’s so amazing, did you see him, Morg? I’ll have to send her mother a gift basket.”
Tony watched the way Pepper’s eyes lit up. He knew if it were up to her, she would have another baby but Tony couldn’t handle anymore diapers and bottles and crying and sleepless nights. He felt bad but he just couldn’t do it again.
“Yeah. He’s cute. But he cried the whole time. It was annoying.”
Tony stayed silent. He could sense Pepper looking at him so he braved a glance up at her, seeing the look she was giving him and then he looked away and felt Pepper kick him under the table so he looked back at her and raised his eyebrows only for her to look away and look at Peter.
“Pete, tell your dad to go get your bottle from the car so you can drink your milk when it comes.”
Tony eyed her. Was she serious? “It’s full of grape juice, Pepper.”
“I know. Go rinse it in the bathroom.”
Peter wasn’t going to let that go now. “Yeah. Go get it, dad. My milk will be here soon.”
Tony knew what Pepper was doing, making him do this because he wasn’t giving her a baby. He sighed but left to go do as he was told.
While he was gone, Peter sat up on his knees. “I want to go to the movies after.”
“Wow. You must be feeling better if you’re up for a movie.” Pepper was glad he was finally able to start feeling better. He had vomiting and having diarrhea multiple times a day for a week. And she got Tony to clean him up almost every single time. Maybe that was unfair of her but she knew he was used to it.
Peter tugged on the front of his diaper. “Yeah. Cause I don’t feel sick no more.”
Harley noticed what he was wearing. “Why are you wearing that now? We’re literally at a restaurant.”
“Oh. Your father decided he should.” Pepper told him. Peter acted differently with Tony. She noticed it before but today again too. And she didn’t realize it a lot because Peter was always with him.
Peter acted… more dependent when his dad was with him.
Pepper watched him when Tony got back. Peter cuddled up against Tony like a cat and it was actually adorable.
“Can you pour it in?” Asked Peter, pushing his glass of milk towards Tony but he wasn’t so sure. He wanted Peter to only have bottles at home or in the car. Not in public.
“After dinner I will. We have to eat first.”
“But I’m not even hungry. It’s like you’re forcing me to eat.” He plopped down on his butt and crossed his arms over his chest for good measure.
Peter was dramatic when he was sick but he was always dramatic for that matter so Tony was used to it. He poked his stomach. “Is that so?”
With another huff, Peter said, “Yes. I just want my milk. Pour it or I will.” He dared and sat up on his knees, turning to fully face Tony.
“No. Because you need to eat first. And if you aren’t going to pee in a toilet, I don’t have another diaper to put on you so you’re stuck in that one for a few hours.”
Peter didn’t care. He was used to it by now. “So?”
“Peter. I’m not pouring you a bottle right now.”
Peter grabbed his arm to bite it so Tony grabbed his arm to pull him away. “You do not bite me. That is rude, Peter.” The waitress came over at that moment so Tony ran his fingers through his hair and ordered his and Peter’s food then everyone else ordered their own food.
By the time the food arrived, Peter was half asleep on Tony.
Tony ordered him chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese and Tony took first spoonful of the soup to check the taste and temperature and it was perfect for Peter. “Here, it’ll make you feel better.”
Peter rubbed his eyes. “I only want milk.”
Tony looked at Pepper for help.
“Peter, you’re still not feeling well and so if you want to play outside then you need to eat what your body needs.” Pepper tried but Peter’s face was buried in Tony’s chest. “Want me to come sit with him instead?”
“Noo. I want to stay with my dad.” Peter whined, thankfully because Tony didn’t want to leave Peter.
He turned Peter around and held a spoonful up to his lips. He knew that once Peter tasted it then he would like it and want more and he was right. Peter slid off his dad’s lap and managed to finish the whole bowl of soup and all the grilled cheese besides for the crust.
Tony didn’t say anything about it, only looking at Pepper and having a silent conversation with their eyes about Peter.
Peter washed down his dinner with a bottle of milk. He laid down on the booth and drank half the bottle before falling asleep. Tony was grateful that Peter managed to eat a whole meal, that was definitely a first. And now he was sleeping so he didn’t have to worry about Peter crying or anything for the rest of their dinner.
By the time the bill came around, the long day was starting to catch up to Tony and he was ready to go home and pass out in his bed with Peter.
“Grab his bottle. It fell on the floor.” Tony dragged Peter’s legs towards him then lifted him up into his arms, letting his boy's head flop onto his shoulder. “Oh, he’s out out.” Usually when he moved Peter, Peter moaned and made sure it was Tony who was carrying him before going back to sleep.
Not this time.
Peter’s arms hung loosely at his sides instead of wrapped around Tony’s neck. Yeah, Peter was out for the count.
“Food coma.” Harley poked his brothers back just to see.
“Yeah.” With a chuckle, Tony opened up the van door and let Harley get in first then got Peter in. He hated how his head flopped forward but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. “This boy's poor neck.” Tony knew it didn’t actually hurt Peter, being young had its advantages.
He cringed the whole way home, knowing Peter wasn’t actually feeling it though.
The plus side of Peter already being asleep was that all Tony had to do was take off his clothes and put him in the bed then all he had to do was shower and join Peter. It was still early, it wasn’t even eight, but Tony’s been up with Peter all night so he needed sleep.
“I’m not gonna change him. I don’t wanna risk waking him up.” Tony said, placing the diaper back on the dresser.
“If you think so, I’m worried he might wake up because it’s uncomfortable.” Pepper thought out loud. Tony thought of that but he would change him then if he did wake up.
“He’ll be fine. I don’t think it even bugs him.” Tony was about to walk into the bathroom but Harley walked into his parents room. He looked at Peter still asleep and had a hopeful smile on his face. “Hey, bud. What’s up?”
Harley looked excited about something. “So since Peter’s sleeping, do you wanna go to the basement and watch that horror movie we’ve been meaning to watch since before Bali?”
All Tony wanted to do was sleep but the thought of Harley not asking him any other time because he’s been so busy with one on one time with his younger brother hurt Tony. He smiled and ruffled his hair. “I’d love to. Can you go make popcorn and I’m gonna shower then I’ll be downstairs in fifteen minutes.”
“Yes! Okay, see you then.”
He waited for Harley to walk out then shared a look with Pepper. “I hate to say this, but I forgot about giving one on one time to Harley. I always get so carried away with everything else.”
“I know, Tony. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” She followed him into the bathroom. “It’s hard because Peter and Morgan make it known when they want attention, Harley doesn’t.”
Tony agreed with that.
He got pyjamas on and leaned over Peter. He was still passed out. It was honestly the first time Tony’s seen him sleeping without a thumb or a silicone bottle nipple in his mouth. It looked almost… weird. To see him with nothing in his mouth.
He pressed a kiss to his forehead and then one to Pepper’s lips. “Are you coming downstairs?”
“No. I’m gonna stay up here and read my book. He seems to sense when he’s alone in his sleep.”
Tony hummed. Peter even had separation anxiety in his dreams.
He met Harley in the basement and shut the lights off to scare him. It didn’t work.
“Nice try. I’m immune to your scares.” Harley tossed a popcorn at his face and sat down. “Slender Man. I’ve been waiting so long to watch this. Mom hates horror movies.”
Tony laughed. “When your mom and I first started dating, I took her to this big empty field at night and set up a movie on this white sheet for us. She was so scared but refused to admit it. She didn’t tell me she hated horror movies until like a year later.”
Harley laughed, moving a bit closer to his dad so Tony swung an arm around him. “Sounds like something mom would do.”
Tony got more comfortable as the movie began.
He thought it was creepy but he wasn’t scared.
It was actually entertaining.
Tony enjoyed this one on one time with his oldest son but he couldn’t help but think of Peter upstairs, wondering how he’s doing. He felt bad for not being in the moment 100% with Harley.
About half way through the movie, he got a text from Pepper.
Pepper: Peter’s awake. He had diarrhea
Tony sighed and lowered his brightness to text back.
Tony: In the toilet?
Pepper: Nope
Tony: I’m coming
Tony sighed loudly and unwrapped his arm from around Harley. “I gotta pause this for a few minutes. Your brother had diarrhea and I gotta go change him then I’ll be right back.”
Harley saw where this was going. “If he’s awake, he won’t let you come back down.”
Tony knew that. “Don’t worry. I promise we’re finishing this movie tonight. Just the two of us.”
He made his way upstairs, grabbing two packages of wipes on the way up and walking into the bedroom, finding Peter lying on the bed on his stomach and chewing on his bottle. “What happened?”
Peter pushed himself up. “Uh oh.”
“Yeah, uh oh is right.” Tony walked over to him and pulled back the diaper, cringing. “Buddy. Why didn’t you go in the toilet? It’s right there.”
Peter shrugged.
“He was sleeping when it happened, Tony. I don’t know.” Pepper answered for him so Tony lifted him off the bed and walked into the bathroom, laying a towel on the floor.
“Come here. Lie down.”
Peter did as he was told. He rubbed at his tired eyes, trying to stop the brightness from hurting them. “Mm.”
“What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?” Tony hoped not. He wanted to go downstairs again with Harley and if Peter was in pain, he wouldn’t be able to go down.
Peter whimpered in return.
“How about I get you some grape juice, it’ll feel better on your tummy than milk.” Tony grabbed a handful of wipes out and easily cleaned him up.
“My tummy doesn’t hurt.”
“Oh. That’s good. Can you do me a favour and sit on the toilet next time your stomach hurts or you feel like you need to go poop?” Tony didn’t necessarily mind but he would much rather not have to do this anymore.
Peter didn’t respond so Tony grabbed the cream and applied it onto his red skin and put a clean diaper on him, standing up to wash his hands.
“Bring me back to bed.” Peter requested, holding his arms up for Tony so he did just that, placing him back onto the bed.
“Are you staying here still?” He asked Pepper. “I wanna,” He couldn’t say it. He simply pointed downstairs and Pepper knew what he meant.
“I’ll put him back to bed.”
Tony was grateful for that. He pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek and covered him with the blankets. “Close your eyes. It’s time to sleep.”
He waited for Peter’s eyes to shut and then he got up so Peter’s eyes snapped open. “Huh. Where you goin’?”
“Just into the shower.” He lied.
Peter huffed. “No. Go after I’m asleep.”
“Okay. Shh, close your eyes, baby.” Tony placed his hand over Peter’s eyes and gestured Pepper to take over but once she did, Peter pushed her hand away and sat up.
“Hey. That’s not you. I want you.”
“Baby. How did you even know?”
Peter huffed out. “Your hands are rough.”
That made sense. He sat back down and flipped Peter onto his stomach, getting Pepper to start patting his butt so Tony could leave. Thankfully Peter kept his eyes closed and had his thumb for comfort so Tony was in the clear.
He made it back downstairs in under fifteen minutes.
“Oh. Wow.” Harley looked surprised to see him. “That was quick. I’d thought you’d be longer.”
“What can I say, I’m an expert at diaper changes.” He shrugged, weirdly proud of that fact.
“Practice makes perfect.” Harley added with a chuckle.
Tony got to relax on the couch and finish the movie with his son. He had to admit that he honestly didn’t miss the steady weight on his lap during all family movie nights. He enjoyed the little bit of Peter free time but as soon as the credits started rolling, Tony missed his boy and wanted to go see him.
He stretched on the couch. “That was a good movie, the acting was kinda corny in the beginning though.”
“They got the hang of it about halfway through it.” Harley added with a laugh. “Are you heading up to bed now?”
“Yep. I’m exhausted and ready to sleep.” Tony got up with a groan. “Leave this mess. Just bring up the bowls.” He said, grabbing the cups.
“How do you even sleep with Peter? He’s like… a wild animal at nights.” Harley honestly didn’t know how his dad did it. He shared a bed with his brother a few months ago during a summer camping trip and Peter kicked him all night or slept pressed up right against him. That was when he didn’t need their dad to fall asleep. Things are different now.
Harley sighed. He missed getting to joke around with his brother when he actually acted his age. He was hilarious and now… he was sensitive and emotional.
Tony didn’t know the answer to Harley's question either. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just give him a bottle and pat him to sleep and he’s good.”
“Yeah…” Harley looked away sadly. “Do you think he’ll ever go back to how he was a few months ago?”
Tony sighed at the sad thought. “Eventually. Maybe. I couldn’t tell you. He’s just… going through a lot right now. He’s processing everything the only way he knows how. Just go easy on him. He doesn’t know any better.”
Harley didn’t know what else to say about it without getting angry so he let it go. “I know, dad.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better first born.” With a kiss to his forehead, Tony grabbed his phone and headed upstairs, shutting all the lights off on the way up and making sure everything was shut off and locked.
Tony walked into his bedroom and saw Peter jumping on the bed. He sighed. “He’s still awake.”
Pepper looked fed up with everything. “Yes. He won’t sleep. He’s not listening and he cracked my phone.”
“Peter.” Tony looked at him. “How did he break your phone?” Tony looked at it, seeing the scratch on the screen.
“He kicked it off the bed and it hit the corner of the bed frame.” Pepper plugged it in and opened the closet to change her pyjamas. “It’s cold tonight. He needs to actually wear clothes.” She tossed pyjamas at Tony.
“Okay. Peter, it’s time to sleep so you better start getting tired.” Tony grabbed his leg and flipped him onto his stomach, dragging him to the edge of the bed.
“No. No. Noooo! Let me go. I’m not tired.” Peter fought to try and get away so Tony gave a firm pat on his padded bum. “Owww!”
“That didn’t even hurt. Enough. Put your silliness away.” He warned and looked at Pepper. “Can you get him a bottle?”
Pepper hesitated though. “Tony. This will be his third one tonight. His diaper will leak.”
“I’ll change him so it won’t.” Tony just wanted him to sleep.
He got a pyjama top on Peter but he refused to wear the bottoms so Tony decided not to pick that fight with him. He could tell Peter was way too hyper to sleep so Tony put the tv on and it immediately had Peter going still and focusing on the screen in front of him.
That was good. As long as he stopped jumping around everywhere. “This third and final bottle. I’m worried he’ll get sick if he has anymore.”
Tony took it from her. “Thanks. Lie down next to me if you want your bottle.”
He didn’t have to tell him twice. Peter threw himself next to Tony, straightening his legs out and happily accepting the bottle into his mouth.
“I’m gonna try and get some sleep in the spare room since he’s not ready to sleep yet.” Pepper left but not before giving both her boys a kiss goodnight.
Tony laid there with Peter, his arm holding his boy close to him so their bodies were pressed together. He hoped Peter grew tired after the first episode but he was still moving around, kicking his legs and jerking his body.
Tony regretted letting him fall asleep at the restaurant.