I’ve been seeing that light in your eyes
The last few days at the cabin were much better than the first few days.
Peter put up a fight at every bedtime but begged for nap times the next day but besides for that, they didn’t have any problems and enjoyed their mini vacation together.
Before they had to get back to reality.
Getting back to school and work was going to be an adjustment, especially since they were going to have to book an appointment with Karen for Monday and hope she has advice for them on what to do with Peter’s random accidents and the whole thing with the forest and Steve.
Tony explained the second thing to her over the phone after Peter fell asleep the first night they got back but she wanted to talk to Peter before she got back to him about what the reasoning could be.
Tony was dreading that session with Karen since he knew it was going to be really hard on Peter.
But that wasn’t until two days.
Now, he just wanted to go to sleep.
So Tony turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around Peter. “Go lay on the bed for a bit. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Peter then ran into the bedroom and tossed the towel on the floor then climbed into his parents bed and grabbed one of Morgan’s books, looking through the pictures.
With a sigh at the mess, Tony wiped up the water on the floor and tossed a few towels over the bathroom steps to dry then picked up the dirty clothes and threw them in the hamper then walked out of the bathroom and grabbed the laundry basket of clean clothes. He was exhausted by the end of all that cleaning. “Do you want a long sleeve pyjama shirt tonight or short sleeves?”
“Long.”
Tony tossed the pyjama set onto the bed and walked back into the bathroom.
Peter bit the corner of the book and looked towards the bedroom door. He thought he heard someone knocking on the front door. He pointed towards it. “Someone’s at the door.”
“What?” Tony walked out and saw Peter pointing to the hallway.
“Someone’s at the front door?”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t think he heard any doorbell. He walked into the hallway and then he heard someone banging on the door and his heart sped up. “Stay here, Peter.” He pointed at him then shut the bedroom door and rushed down the hallway, hearing the banging become more aggressive from the other side. His heart was racing.
He hated people showing up at their house announced because at the back of his mind, he was always scared someone was coming to take Peter away from him.
But whoever was banging relentlessly at their front door obviously wanted them to open it. Tony walked downstairs and saw Pepper standing in front of it, her hand over her mouth. “Who is it?” She whispered.
Tony checked the security camera. He couldn’t really see but it looked like their nosy neighbour. He looked back at Pepper. “The woman from across the street.” He looked at Morgan and Harley who were standing down the hallway, watching.
Tony walked towards the door and unlocked it, opening it but placing his foot behind it for extra leverage just in case she was crazy and tried to get in.
As soon as he opened the door, she stepped back. “Get out! There’s a gas leak next door!”
Tony fully opened the door now. “What?”
“There’s a gas leak in the neighbour’s house. The fire department is on their way! You guys have to get out!” She gestured for them to get out and then Tony saw two fire trucks driving down their street and the Barton’s racing out of their house.
He looked towards Pepper. “Okay. Get the kids out. Get Aiser. I have to go get Peter!”
“Okay. Hurry! Morgan, come, Harley, get Aiser. Don’t worry about putting on any shoes!” Pepper grabbed Morgan’s hand and raced outside with her.
Tony raced upstairs and held his arms out for Peter. “Come come come.”
Peter reached out for him automatically, even though he had no idea what was going on. “What?”
Tony placed Peter on his hip and grabbed a random shirt from the ground since Peter was currently butt naked. “There’s a gas leak. We have to leave quickly.” Not only was it deadly to breathe in, but one tiny match could light their whole house on fire in a second.
Peter wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck. “Why?”
Tony didn’t answer him. He got downstairs and rushed out of the house, shutting the door and rushing outside. Peter whimpered and clung onto him. It was freezing outside and snowing. He wrapped the thin shirt around Peter for extra warmth for now and spotted Pepper and the rest of the family standing at the end of their driveway and walked over to them.
“Oh my god. There’s an actual gas leak.” Tony looked at the fire trucks driving onto their street and everyone running out of their houses.
“What do we do?” Asked Pepper. She always turned to Tony to make these kinds of difficult situations for their family.
Tony could feel Peter trembling against him. He handed the shirt to Pepper. “Can you put this over his head?”
She grabbed it and shook her head at the fact that it was snowing and freezing out and Peter was only in Tony’s shirt. “Um… we should go somewhere.”
Tony stepped out of the way for a firefighter to mark off the area. “What’s going on? Where’s the gas leak?”
He paused to turn to Tony, looking at Peter shaking in his arms. “We have to shut the main gas line off. Your house isn’t safe. You need to evacuate your family.”
Tony didn’t know how they were supposed to do that. They had no shoes on, no coats, nothing. Peter wasn’t even wearing clothes. He turned to Pepper who was smart enough to grab the keys off of the table. “We have to go.”
“Daddy.” Peter shook. He was frozen. He tried to lift his legs up to put them in the shirt but the shirt wasn’t all that warm.
“I know. Okay, let’s go.” He took the keys from Pepper and unlocked the van then looked over at the Barton’s who were running to their car, wearing no shoes or coats either. He opened up the back door for Morgan and Aiser to get in.
Geez. He didn’t know if they would ever catch a break. He just hoped Peter didn’t get sick on top of everything else. When he went to place Peter in the car seat, Peter whined. “Noo!”
“I have to. We have to go. It isn’t safe here anymore.” Tony pried Peter off of him. “I’ll blast the heat in the car. Let me.”
Peter arched his back once Tony sat him in the car seat. “Baby. I’ll hold you again once we stop. We just have to leave now so stop.” Tony pushed his stomach down and tossed Pepper the keys to get the car started quickly. “Arm through.” He grabbed Peter’s arm, making it quicker. He was freezing too. His hands were cold and so were his feet.
“Peteys not wearing any pants.” Morgan pointed out.
Tony nodded. “Because we were in such a rush. There’s probably some clothes lying around here somewhere.” The van was a disaster so he hoped so.
Peter flinched at the cold buckles. “It’s too cold.”
Tony attempted to cover him up with the shirt the best he could but it was all bundled up so he left it, got into the driver's seat and drove away.
He had no idea where they were going.
Or how long they would have to be away from their home for.
Pepper pulled out her phone. “My phones at twenty percent and I don’t have a charger.”
Tony felt around in his pockets. “I don’t even have my phone.”
“Me neither.” Peter piped up.
Tony chuckled. Peter never had his phone on him. “That’s no surprise.”
Pepper searched up hotels nearby. They had no clothes packed, Peter wasn’t even wearing clothes, so they would need to get those things before going anywhere.
“I’m hungry. Dad? Dad?” Peter tried to kick the driver's seat but he couldn’t reach it. “Daddy?”
“Yes? What?”
“I’m hungry. I want cheeseburger. And extra pickles.”
Tony checked the time. It was 8:34pm but they weren’t going to be going back home tonight. Maybe not tomorrow either, they’d have to see.
Tony looked over at Pepper. It was bedtime but he highly doubted they would be sleeping anytime soon. “Should we get a hotel first? Or fast food?”
“Fast food!” Both Peter and Morgan said at the same time.
“Fast food it is.” Tony started driving for the nearest McDonald’s he knew of while Pepper tried to find them a hotel.
She held up the phone to show Tony a picture of one of the rooms. “Do you like this place? We’ll need to get two rooms though since there’s only one bed in each room.”
“Don’t they have two beds in there?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“I want to all be in one room.”
Tony knew Harley liked his space and he respected that but he still wanted them all in the same room.
“No, please can I get my own room. Peter is going to be waking me up crying for a bottle every ten seconds.”
Tony tried not to laugh. That was true. Almost.
Peter turned back to give his older brother a dirty look. “Hey. That’s rude. You keep me up with your loud farts. You fart and it’s like a gas chamber.”
Everyone started laughing at Peter’s response. Tony always loved hearing his kids bicker like this. Even though it almost always led to fighting.
Tony pulled into the parking lot but then realized he didn’t have his wallet with him. “Oh. Dammit. I don’t have any money on me.”
“We’re poor?!” Peter gasped.
“We’re not poor.” Pepper fondly shook her head and pulled up the scan on her phone. “Use this. But let’s get to a bank and take money out because my phone is going to die.”
They would be screwed if Pepper’s phone died. Well, all Tony would have to do would be to drive to the tower and get some money but it was an hour in the other direction now.
“It’s fine, we’ll go right after then we’ll go to a hotel.” Tony pulled up to the window to order which was crazy and confusing like it always was but once they got their food, everyone was happily eating which gave him a chance to drive to the bank.
“I’m gonna go in quickly.” Tony shoved the last bit of his fries in his mouth and put his sunglasses on. “You guys stay here.”
“Where are you going?” Peter looked out the window to see where they were. He had been talking to Morgan for the whole car ride and hadn’t been listening to the conversation with his parents.
“To the bank.”
“I wanna come.”
Tony took off his seatbelt and grabbed Pepper’s phone. “They don’t allow nudity in the bank. Bye. I’ll be back.” He shut the car door and left, feeling odd walking in barefoot but they needed to take money out.
Peter frowned. He pointed out the window while looking at Pepper. “He’ll be out soon. Finish your nuggets.”
He dipped it in the ketchup and took a bite. “Is he back now?”
She shook her head. Peter was so attached to Tony. It was a bit concerning but then again, he always had been. Even before he got kidnapped.
Once Tony got back and they drove to the hotel, Tony was opening up the back door and digging on the messy floor for anything Peter could wear so he wasn’t walking in there with nothing but an oversized shirt.
“What’re you looking for?” Peter asked, watching him dig around.
“Something for you to wear.” He found nothing so he sighed. “There’s nothing. It’s fine. We’ll get some stuff.” Peter moved his hands out of the way for his dad to unbuckle him, then Tony swung him onto his hip. “Let’s go get a room first and then we’ll go find something to wear for you.”
“Petey, there’s probably a swimming pool here.” Morgan jumped out of the car with Aiser.
“Do you have a leash?” Tony looked to Harley but he doubted it. They were in such a rush.
Harley got out of the van as well. “No. I didn’t even think to bring one.”
“It’s fine. Let’s just go get a room.” Tony pulled the shirt between Peter’s legs to cover him up when they walked into the lobby. “Can you stay with them and I’ll go get us a room?” He said to Pepper and placed Peter on his feet. “I’ll be right back.”
Peter watched his dad walk away then climbed onto the couch. “Can we go swimming after?”
“I’m not sure. We might not have time tonight.”
Peter frowned. “Please. Then we can go to bed after. Otherwise I won’t go to bed.”
“Aiser wants to go swimming too.” Morgan hugged their dog. “Please.”
Pepper would leave that up to Tony. Maybe she could buy all the things they needed for the night and tomorrow while Tony took the kids swimming. Now it was nearing 9pm but Peter and Morgan clearly weren’t tired.
She had the thought that they should have stayed at their cabin for a few extra nights, that way, they could avoid all of this.
Peter picked up one of the throw pillows and tossed it onto the floor.
“Hey. Pick it up.”
Peter giggled and started running away but he didn’t get very far because Tony caught him and lifted him up. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“Swimming.”
“I don’t think so.” He swung him into his hip and pulled the shirt down to cover him up then walked over to everyone. “Let’s go up. We’ve got two rooms. Harley you’ve got your own room.”
“Sweet.” Harley took one of the keys from Tony and checked the room numbers. “This one says room 806. Yours says 827.”
“Yeah, it was the closest I could get to a room together. So we’re not neighbours.” Tony chuckled. He knew Harley wouldn’t mind. He was independent.
Peter took their key and bit the side of it. “I wanna go swimming.”
“I was thinking, you take the kids swimming and I’m gonna go buy us some stuff for tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be back home tomorrow.” Pepper also wanted to have some time to herself so she was throwing her hyper kids onto her husband.
“But it’s almost nine. Actually it’s past nine. We should be getting them into bed.”
“They are so hyper, Tony.”
Tony agreed with that. “True. We need to get bathing suits first.” Tony moved Peter’s hand away from his eyes. “I can’t see if you cover my eyes, baby.”
“I’ll be your eyes.” Peter covered Tony’s eyes again so he sighed and grabbed Peter’s hands, holding them down. “Ahhh!”
“Shhh.”
Getting into their room was a huge relief. Tony placed Peter on his feet and watched him and Morgan run onto the beds to start jumping on them. It was probably his favourite thing about going to a hotel, watching his kids' excitement through their eyes.
“Alright. I’ll be back up in about ten minutes. I’m just gonna go get bathing suits.” Pepper grabbed cash off the counter and pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek then left.
“I have a headache.” Harley laid on the bed but Peter sat on his back. “Urg. Get off.”
“Pete, off.” Tony dragged him off. “You guys are too hyper, how about you just relax.” Peter stood on his hands and feet, sticking his butt up in the air and laughing about it. “Okay. Come here. Do you wanna explore the hotel room?”
Peter swung onto his dad’s arm. “I wanna see the bathroom.”
“Okay, let’s go in there then.”
“I wanna see it too.” Morgan followed them into the bathroom and gasped. “Wow! They even have a jacuzzi in here.”
Peter leaned heavily against his dad. “It’s a hot tub.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes!”
“Okay!” Tony put a stop to it. “It can be both, okay?”
The door opened and Tony was grateful that Pepper was there. The kids ran out and he followed after them. “Mommy! Did you get me a bathing suit?” Peter jumped onto the bed and dumped the bag out, searching for his. “Is this one mine?”
Tony chuckled. It was obvious whose was whose. He picked up Morgan’s full piece bathing suit. “No, this one is yours, bud.”
Peter tilted his head. “No, that’s my sister’s.” He grabbed it from Tony and handed it to Morgan then grabbed the one he was holding. It was a blue Speedo with orange and yellow fish on it. “Help me.”
“Go get changed in the bathroom, Morgan.” Tony ordered and once she ran in, Tony pulled the oversized shirt off of Peter. The whole situation was kinda funny. It was something they were going to laugh about in the far away future. “Put your legs down.”
Peter giggled and rolled onto his stomach to try and crawl away, making it a game for Tony. “Pete, don’t you wanna go swimming?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t you wanna go swimming?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you have to put your bathing suit on.” Tony grabbed his legs and dragged him off the bed to stand him in front of him. “Put your foot in. No, other foot.”
“This one?”
“Well, do you got any other feet?”
“No.” He laughed and it was music to Tony’s ears.
Sometimes he thought about what life would be like if they never got Peter back. It broke his heart to think about but sometimes he couldn’t help but think of it. He didn’t want to, but he did. And he hated that he did.
He got the swimsuit pulled up on his waist and looked at Peter’s face, leaning towards his face to rub their noses together. “I love you, baby.”
“I love me too.”
Tony playfully gasped. “Oh yeah? You little bugger. You don’t love daddy?”
Peter leaned against his knees. “I love you with all my heart.”
“Wow. That’s a lot of love. Guess what.”
“What?”
“I love you even more than that.”
“No. That’s not possible.”
Tony kissed his forehead and stood up. “Oh, but it is possible. And you’re living proof of that.”
Once Morgan finished getting ready, Tony put on his bathing suit and gathered them. “You aren’t coming, Harls?”
“No. I’m gonna chill here. My head hurts.”
“I’ll pick up some Advil.” Pepper was ready to go too so even though she wasn’t going swimming with them, they all left together.
“I wanna hold your hand.” Peter grabbed his mom's hand as they walked into the elevator then pulled down the front of his bathing suit. “Look. It’s white inside and blue outside.”
Tony chuckled. His kids said the most random things. “Pete, pull up your bathing suit.”
“Okay.”
Once they got down to the lobby, Pepper leaned down to kiss Peter. “I’m gonna go now. Do you guys want anything specific?”
“Chocolate bar!” Both Peter and Morgan said at the same time.
“Yes, diapers, wipes, rash cream and a bottle. And milk.” Tony requested on behalf of Peter. It saved him from having to go out and get it himself later. Since they didn’t have time to bring anything, they were adding another bottle to their collection.
“Got it. Have fun, I’ll see you guys later.” Pepper waved bye. “Tony, no later than 10:00pm” She pointed a finger at him but Tony already knew that.
Now that Pepper was gone, Peter grabbed onto Tony’s hand. “I need to go poop.”
That was probably the worst possible time. “Uh, okay. We’re almost there.” He debated going back upstairs but it was too far since they were already at the pool. He scanned the key card and pushed open the door. “Come.”
“Dad, I wanna go swimming.”
“Not yet, Morg. Your brother needs to go poo first.” He pushed open the men’s change room and was grateful to only find a young dad in there with a young toddler. “Just sit here and wait, Morgan. Come, Peter. Tug down your bathing suit.”
Tony looked at the toilet and cringed. He hated public toilets so he lined it with toilet paper and lifted Peter onto it. “Okay. Go.”
Peter sat there and stared at him. “Are you going?” Peter nodded so Tony held open the door and waited.
“Morgan. Don’t touch that. Just wait on the bench.”
He looked at Peter. “Are you done?”
“No, I didn’t go yet.”
Tony waited patiently but he never knew with Peter, if he was just saying that or if he actually needed to go. Once he heard a few splashes in the toilet, he grabbed some toilet paper. “All done?”
Peter nodded and stood up. “Wipe.”
“I am.” Tony was already one step ahead of him and finished up the job quickly since he was an expert at butt wiping at this point in his life.
Once they were done, they went into the pool. Tony wasn’t really in the mood for swimming but if that’s what his kids wanted to do then he would because he wanted to spend time with them. He always wanted to spend time with them.
Peter doggy paddled over to the edge of the pool and grabbed on. “Daddy. Carry me over to Morgan.”
Tony could still touch the ground so he walked over to Peter and lifted him into his arms. “Morgan’s all the way on the other side of the pool, baby.”
“Swim me.”
So Tony spent the next hour swimming with Peter and Morgan. The pool area didn’t have any slides but they did have a kitty pool where the water was up to Peter and Morgan’s knees and warm. It also had a mini frog slide for them to play on but they preferred the pool toys.
Since they were the only ones left in the pool area, they had access to all the shovels and buckets there so Tony sat in the warm water and watched them.
Peter filled up a bucket of water and took a sip. “Hey. Don’t drink that. It’s full of chemicals and germs.”
“It’s yummy.”
“It’s disgusting.”
Peter crawled over to Tony and sat on his lap. “Can I make you a cake?”
“Yeah, can I have a chocolate cake?”
Peter nodded and got to baking. He slid off his dad’s lap and began filling the bucket full of water but Tony noticed the time on the clock. “Oh. Five more minutes and then we have to go up to our room.”
“No.”
“Do you want to go now?”
Peter shook his head. “No.”
“Then five more minutes.”
“Okay.”
Tony fondly shook his head. Peter was hilarious at times. He knew he was trying to test his limits, in a way, he was still getting to know Tony and Pepper. Peter spent seven years straight with a man who raised him a certain way and now Tony and Pepper had a different way of raising him so Peter tested them. Mainly Tony. And a lot.
After the five minutes were up, Tony stood up and picked up one of the buckets. “Alright guys, let’s go up.”
“Five more minutes.” Peter dumped another bucket of water on his head.
“No, I gave you five minutes. It’s time to go up. Morgan, put the buckets away. Come, Peter.”
“Nooo. One more minute.”
“Peter,”
“Nooo.”
“Hey. Hey. Do you want milk?”
Peter stopped whining.
“Mom got you a bottle. Do you want it?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Then we have to go up.”
Peter stood up. “Okay.”
Tony grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped one around Morgan and Peter then himself.
“I want to take off my bathing suit.” Peter tugged on the front of it.
There wasn’t anyone in the pool area so Tony leaned down and tugged it off him then wrapped the towel back around him. “Want me to carry you?”
“Yeah.” Tony already knew what he wanted.
The three of them walked up to their room and found a ton of bags on the floor. It looked like they were planning on staying there for weeks, never mind a day or two.
“Wow. This is a lot of bags.” Tony placed Peter on his feet and picked a bag up, inside were shirts so he pulled one out and judging by the small size, it was Peter’s. “This is cute. Look, Pete.”
“My bottle.” Peter squatted down to look in one of the bags. “Daddy?”
“It’s probably in here somewhere.” Tony picked up his train towel and hung it over the chair. “Morgan. Go shower then put pyjamas on.”
“I’m hungry.” Peter held his arms up for Tony. “I want my milk.”
“It’s in one of these bags.” Pepper looked around. “I bought two jugs all for you, milk man.”
Peter didn’t laugh. He made grabby hands towards Tony. “Find it.”
“I will after.”
“I’m just organizing all of our clothes.” Pepper grabbed a package of diapers. “I couldn’t find the diapers he uses. So I got these. Look how cute the design is.”
Tony took the package from her and ripped it open, looking at one of them. “Oh, that’s cute. There’s literally dinosaurs on them.”
“I wanna see.” Peter grabbed onto Tony’s arm to pull it down so he could see. “Is that mine?”
“Well, you’re the only one who wears them.”
Peter pulled out a bunch from the package and threw them across the room just for fun. Tony wasn’t phased by it so he didn’t say anything. “Where’s his bottle?”
“I’m putting all of our clothes into piles so I’ll get it when I come across it. Also, do you wanna order a late meal? It’s been awhile since we’ve eaten.”
“Something with no sugar. Maybe some fruits.” Morgan came out of the bathroom so Tony pulled Peter to his feet. “Our turn. Let’s go.”
Peter walked into the shower. “This one is smaller than the shower at home.”
“That’s because our shower at home is the best.” Tony turned it on to the right temperature and grabbed the shampoo from the floor. “Come stand in front of me.”
“I want to stand behind you.”
The fact that it was just after ten o’clock and Peter wasn’t even tired was a bit concerning for Tony.
After the shower, he wrapped a towel around Peter and watched him run out to the room and lay on the bed like he always did after his shower. Usually he watched a cartoon on the tv but Tony couldn’t find the remote.
Pepper silently showed Tony the bottle and placed it on the counter for him to get later.
“Dad? Put the tv on.”
“I ordered up some fruit and sugar free pastries to eat before bed.” Pepper said, then grabbed the rash cream and a diaper. “You need to get this on.”
“Not yet. I’m still wet.”
Tony watched her. He wanted to do that. He wanted to do everything with Peter but he still needed to shower and get pyjamas on. “I’ll be ten minutes. Let me just shower quickly.”
Peter watched his dad go into the bathroom and stuck his thumb in his mouth, waiting for him to come back.
Tony walked out just in time. The room service food arrived so Pepper placed it on the table and pointed at Peter. “Tony, can you do that? I’m gonna put the food out.”
“Yeah.” Tony was relieved he didn’t have to fight Pepper on it. “Lay down.”
“Is it chocolate?” Peter pointed to the food that arrived and looked at Tony.
“I don’t know. Let’s get this on you and we can go see.” He opened the rash cream and stuck his finger in it then pushed Peter’s knees apart. “But it’s too late to eat chocolate anyways. Maybe tomorrow.” Peter flinched at the cold sensation and pushed Tony’s hand away. “No, I’m almost done.”
Peter was used to it so he waited patiently and half watched his dad and the food on the table. He pointed at it again.
“Are you tired?” Tony asked but Peter shook his head. “Oh. I just thought you were since you’re sucking on your thumb.”
Peter didn’t remove it. He lifted his hip and let Tony secure the diaper on him but once it was on, he froze. It was uncomfortable. “I don’t like it.”
Tony looked at him. “What?”
“It’s uncomfortable.”
“You’ll get used to it. You have to because you can’t wet the bed here.” Peter frowned but Tony ignored it and tossed a pyjama shirt at him. “Put that on.”
He quickly got it on and slid off the bed to walk over to the table and look at all the yummy options. He grabbed a mini fluffy croissant and pointed to the chair for Tony to sit so he could sit on him.
Tony placed his hands on Peter’s stomach, holding him close. “Want strawberries?” Peter nodded and reached for one so Tony placed it in his mouth. “Yummy?”
“Uh huh.”
“Are you tired, Peter?” Asked Pepper, getting a look at his face. Peter shook his head. “I thought so. Do you want to settle down with some milk after?”
Peter nodded and shoved another mini pastry in his mouth and leaned against his dad. “Tickle my arm. And I want my bottle.” He cranked his neck to look at Tony.
“I’ll get it for him.” Pepper got up to do that so Peter had his eyes glued onto her until she was handing it to him.
“Come watch cartoons with me, Petey.” Morgan stood in front of him. “Come.”
Tony ushered him up. “Go go. I’ll be there in a second.”
Reluctantly, Peter left his dad and sat on the edge of the bed. “Turn on something funny. Not princesses.”
“Harls, can you turn the tv on for them?”
Tony placed the left over food in the mini fridge for tomorrow. “I’m gonna call and see how the gas leak is. I hope we can go back tomorrow. We have our appointment with Karen soon and I want Peter to come back from that in our own house. Not here. In a strange hotel. And he definitely doesn’t need this. Why does everything bad seem to happen to us? We just can’t catch a break, can we?”
“It’ll be okay, Tony. One bad, awful thing happened to us.” Pepper was referring to Peter being taken from them. “We can handle everything after that. But we have Peter back now, let’s look at the positives out of every bad situation.”
Tony agreed with that.
He just hated how they couldn’t catch a break.
He just wanted Peter to be able to heal and recover from this.
Pepper filled up Aisers food and water bowl, changing the subject. “Peter’s fish is still in the house. If we aren’t back by tomorrow night, that’ll be a full day since it’s been fed…”
Tony didn’t want that fish to die. Peter would be heartbroken. Although Peter only fed it twice a day and didn’t clean the tank, Tony did, Peter still loved that fish.
“I’ll drive there to feed it if I have to.”
“Not if it isn’t safe.”
“Then I’ll pay a fireman to feed it.” Or Tony would buy a replacement fish. He considered it. But it wasn’t healthy to do that to Peter.
He got on the phone and went into the bathroom for some privacy.
“Peter, how about you lay down? You’ll be more comfortable that way.” Pepper walked over and sat down, patting Peter’s thigh. “Do you want to?”
He pointed towards the bathroom door. “Dad’s on the phone. He’ll be out soon.” Peter moved closer to Pepper and tried to pull down the front of her top. “Peter, stop. Why are you doing that?”
He stopped to stare at the tv then laid down and lifted his legs up on the head behind him, silently drinking his milk. Pepper looked at Harley.
“He acts like a three year old, I swear.” Said Harley.
“Stop it, Harley.” Pepper wasn’t mad at him, she just didn’t want Peter hearing that. Peter was fighting his own demons and he’s been through a lot of trauma for his age, he could act whatever way he wanted.
Tony walked out and sat on the bed. “So apparently the house is clear to go back to tonight. The fire department fixed the leak and people are already back home. I called the Barton’s and they aren’t going back until tomorrow morning. Obviously we’re not going back tonight but we can after breakfast tomorrow.”
“Maybe we can go back at noon so Peter can sleep in the car.”
Tony liked that idea. “Yeah.” He tapped Peter’s and Morgan’s legs. “Time for bed, you two.”
“Noooo. I’m not tired.” Peter chewed on the nipple of the bottle and stood up on the bed, losing his balance and falling down.
“Settle down. After this episode then it’s bedtime.”
It was past 11pm already and Tony was exhausted but he needed Peter to be tired too.
For the next hour, Morgan was falling asleep in her bed, Harley went to his room and Tony was trying to get Peter to fall asleep and failing at it. “Just close your eyes.”
Peter whimpered. “I want to play. I’m not tired.”
Tony wanted to whimper with him. “You have to be tired. It’s midnight.”
Peter shook his head.
“Do you want another bottle?”
“I want mommy’s milk.” He crawled over on the bed and pulled her shirt down.
“Peter. No. I don’t have any anymore.” Pepper moved Peter’s hands and shook her head at Tony at their son’s behaviour. “Tony, just pick him up and hold him until he falls asleep in your arms.”
Tony groaned. He was tired. He didn’t want to rock an eighty almost ninety pound child to sleep. “No. Lie down, Peter. I’ll pat your butt.”
Peter sat up and tried to crawl off the bed so Tony grabbed his ankle, pulling him back. “No. Stop it, Peter.”
“I want to play.” He broke free from Tony and jumped on top of Morgan, waking her up. “Hi.”
Morgan moaned. “Mmmm! No.”
“Peter. Enough.” Tony stood him on his feet, pointing a warning finger in his face. “Enough. Time to sleep.” He then tossed him onto the bed and forced his legs out straight then pushed his head down. “Sleep. Just sleep.”
“That’s not going to help.” Pepper sighed.
“I wish your boobs could.” Tony groaned. It was so easy when Peter was a toddler.
Pepper chuckled. “Don’t we all.”
Tony let go of Peter and let him roll onto his back. “Dadadadada!” He sat up and looked around the bed then at Tony. “I’m not tired.”
“Do you want another bottle?”
Peter shook his head. “I need to pee.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” He stood up and walked into the bathroom and pulled off the diaper. “Sit.”
Peter lifted up his pyjama shirt and waited to go. “I’m done. Put it back on.”
Tony fondly rolled his eyes at Peter’s bossy behaviour but did it anyways. “Flush the toilet and wash your hands.”
“But I didn’t touch myself.” Peter argued.
“But you still have to.”
“Fine. I’m not using soap.” He dried his hands and walked into the bedroom. “I don’t want to sleep. I’m not tired.”
Tony got that. He laid down on the bed and tried to ignore the fact that Peter was jumping on the bed and clearly not exhausted. Usually Morgan was pretty good at sleeping through the crying and the noise but not now.
She rolled over on the bed. “He’s too loud. I can’t sleep.”
Pepper stared at the ceiling. She was exhausted too and couldn’t sleep. “Tony. I think you have to go into Harleys room. Tell him to come in here. Morgan, come sleep with me.”
Peter was way too hyper and Tony didn’t know why. Maybe it was all that pool water he drank. “Okay…” Tony stood up to grab the bottle, the jug of milk and a diaper, wipes and cream then held his arms out for Peter. “Come. We’re gonna go sleep in another room.”
Peter jumped into Tony’s arms. “Why?”
“Because you’re too crazy. Let’s go.” He carried Peter down the hallway and kicked on the door to knock. Harley opened it up a few seconds later. “We’re trading rooms. Peter is way too hyper.”
He walked into the room and looked around. It had one bed and was about half the size of the room they were just in.
Harley grabbed his phone. “Fine. Can I have twenty dollars to go buy a phone charger?”
“There’s one in our room. Goodnight.” Tony shut the door and placed Peter on the bed. “Sleep, Peter. Daddy’s tired.”
“Peter isn’t.”
Tony pulled back the blankets on the bed and grabbed Peter’s bottle. “Do you want this?”
“No.”
“Okay. So I’m gonna throw it in the garbage-”
“No! I want it. I want you to carry me.”
Tony sighed. “Baby. I’m too tired. Just lay down and try to sleep.”
Peter grinned and stood up on the bed, spinning around. “No. I’m not tired.”
Tony wanted to cry. He was so exhausted and Peter wasn’t sleeping.
After about two hours of Peter being hyper and Tony lying on the bed, watching him be hyper, Peter was on his third bottle of the night and finally fell asleep. Tony sighed in relief and fell asleep himself.
.
.
.
Two hours later, Peter was waking up and shaking Tony awake.
Tony hoped he was just dreaming but he wasn’t so lucky. “Yeah?”
Peter kicked the blankets off of him. “Is it morning yet?”
Tony groaned. “No. Go to sleep.”
Peter was silent for a few moments and Tony almost drifted back to sleep then Peter spoke again. “I peed.”
Tony expected that after three bottles of milk. “Okay. I’ll change you in one minute.”
He almost fell asleep again then a diaper was being slapped on his face so Tony reached over and turned the lamp on. “Lie down. No more milk for you. I’m not changing you in another two hours again.”
Peter waited until he was done. “But I still want more milk. I won’t sleep without it.”
Tony lazily rubbed cream all over Peter then wiped it on a clean wipe, maybe a dirty one, he was too tired to care. He got up and poured yet another bottle and laid back down but Peter was kicking him as he drank. “Keep your feet to yourself.”
“Huh?”
Tony ignored him and turned the light off.
Peter was quiet as he drank, besides for the odd grunting and the kick to the back, Peter was quiet. Until Peter was speaking again. “I need to pee.”
“Peter.” Tony sighed. “Then go.”
“Come with me.”
Tony was beyond exhausted. He could barely lift a hand. “No. Just go here. I’m not getting up.”
Peter went without a second thought and continued drinking. “Can you pat my butt?”
Tony rolled Peter over and started patting his butt.
Peter didn’t fall asleep until 5:30 in the morning.
.
.
.
Tony was well aware of the time.
Although he couldn’t bring himself to care.
He was exhausted.
Pure and utterly exhausted.
There wasn’t even a word to describe how exhausted he was.
Having a newborn baby was tiring. Having your child kidnapped from you and it causing you to lose sleep over it was tiring. Peter refusing to sleep and keeping Tony awake night after night after night on top of everything he was dealing with was exhausting.
He covered the blankets over his head, not wanting to have the sunlight come into the room.
Tony was awake only because he could feel Peter moving around behind him and he knew if Peter sensed he was awake too, he would be begging for his attention.
So Tony shut his eyes and listened to the sound of Peter drinking his bottle.
After a few minutes though, Peter began getting restless. He tugged on the diaper then whimpered at the uncomfortable feeling he couldn’t get away from. “Daddy.”
“Yeah?” Tony yawned and rolled over to face Peter. His hair was so messy and it was obvious they had a bad night just from that alone. He looked down and saw that his diaper was so full that it had leaked. “Oh baby. Okay. I’ll change you in a second.” He still needed a few seconds to fully wake up.
Peter groaned and kicked his legs out impatiently so Tony forced himself to sit up. “Okay. Okay.” He grabbed the wipes and tried to look for a diaper but he remembered that he only brought one and already changed Peter once. “Alright. I don’t have a diaper. We have to go back to the other room to get one.”
“But I want this one off. And I want milk.”
“Then we have to go back to the other room.”
He didn’t have anything with him but the stuff he did bring last night, he grabbed and left with Peter. They walked to the end of the hallway and Tony unlocked the hotel room door, singling to Peter to be quiet.
Peter tiptoed in. Everyone was still asleep.
He turned to look up at his dad. “They’re all sleeping.” He whispered.
“I know.” Tony whispered back and pulled a diaper from the bag. “Are you going to go back to sleep?”
Peter shook his head. “But-but I still want to wear one. I don’t wanna wear underwear.”
Tony thought so. Nothing much changed in the last few days, yet another reason Tony wanted to speak to Karen already. Just one more day now.
Him and Peter didn’t do much while they waited for everyone to wake up.
Peter drank his bottle and laid on the bed, looking around the room while Tony laid next to him, half watching him and half letting his mind wander.
He was stressed out about the meeting with Karen.
What if she says something was seriously wrong with Peter?
What if Peter needed help that she just couldn’t give him anymore?
What if they were doing something to mess Peter’s mind up so bad?
All these what if’s were running through his mind and he didn’t like it.
He didn’t need any extra stress on him.
Once everyone woke up though, they had a late breakfast and packed up all their stuff, not that they had much to begin with, then they left.
Tony couldn’t be more relieved to be at home and relax before school the next day.
At least they got one day to relax with nothing going on.
.
.
.
Tony was only staying for a few minutes. He just wanted to make sure that Peter was settled.
Tony sat at the back of the class, watching Peter closely and wanting to see how he acted with his classmates. Although Peter kept glancing back at him.
As soon as a woman walked into class, who Tony didn’t recognize, the principal left. Tony wondered who she was, she was obviously a teacher but Tony just assumed she was a supply teacher.
“Mrs. Pomma. You’re back!” Yelled one of the students, excitedly.
Peter’s head turned to look at her. “Where did you go to?”
“Hi everyone. I missed you, I had a baby, Peter. Remember when I was pregnant?” She smiled at the class and walked over to the computer.
Peter gasped. “Oh. When did you have a baby?”
“But, Mrs. Pomma, when were you pregnant?” Another student asked.
“Before I left for maternity leave.” She clicked on the smart board and stood in front of the class, showing a picture of her belly. Tony couldn’t imagine just having a baby and already having to be back at work. “This was me. Do you guys remember?”
Peter shook his head. “But where’s your baby now?”
“Are they are home with their dad? When I was a baby, my mom sent me to my grandmas house.”
“Well, I had a boy. His name is… Peter.” The teacher smiled at Peter and everyone gasped and turned to face him.
“Did you name your son after Peter in our class?”
Tony chuckled. He hoped not. That would be very weird.
“No. I didn’t. I named him after my favorite childhood character, Peter Pan.” She explained and flipped the screen, causing all the students to coo.
“But my dad named me after him too.” Peter explained and Tony shook his head, smiling to himself.
“Oh. Did you?” Mrs. Pomma turned to look at Tony at the back of the room.
“No. Growing up, I always said if I had a son, I’d name him Peter.” Tony explained. They then gad Harley first and he just didn’t seem right to name him that, now Tony knew why.
Peter turned to face him. “And Morgan was named after mom’s eccentric uncle!”
Both Tony and his teacher stifled their laughter and got back on track. Tony couldn’t remember even telling Peter that, he must have overheard them talking about it but it just goes to show that Peter listens to everything they talk about.
“Alright.” His teacher clapped her hands together to show the next slide of her son. “So this was where I was for the past three months.”
A student raised their hand up. “Are you gonna teach him how to walk yet?”
“Well, not yet since he’s only three months old.”
“I have a question.” A girl with blonde hair that was braided off to the side asked, Tony looked at Peter since he always seemed to have a thing for blondes, apparently he couldn’t care less about her because he was staring at Tony. Tony smiled at him but Peter looked away.
“Uh,” The blonde girl continued. “Where does the baby sleep? When I was a baby, I slept with my mom until I was one.”
“Oh well he sleeps in his crib all by himself. All night long. I definitely got lucky with that.”
“I slept with my parents until I was eight and a half. Only cause I had nightmares.” One student said, Tony looked at Peter for his reaction, trying to see what he was thinking.
“I had to sleep with my dad cause we lived in a small house and there was only one other bedroom for my older sisters.”
Peter sat on his knees on the chair. “I sleep with my dad cause my room is scary.”
Two boys turned around to face Peter. “Does your bedroom window open?” Peter nodded. “Oh. My older brother’s said that it’s possible to people to break in that way.”
Peter started chewing on his index finger, snapping his head to look at Tony with fearful eyes. Tony shook his head, silently telling him that wasn’t going to happen. Tony already thought of it. That’s why Peter’s bedroom window had security around it. Just in case…
“Mrs. Pomma,” Thankfully another child was taking the attention off that topic. “but how does he eat then?”
“Good question. Can you guys tell me what babies eat?”
“Milk!”
“Milk!”
“Applesauce!”
Tony couldn’t stop the laugh that left his mouth at that answer. God, he loved this age.
“Yeah, babies drink milk. They can only drink milk, they can’t eat foods yet.”
Peter gasped. “I did too when I was a baby!”
“No, I did.”
Peter turned to Jasper. “When I was littler I did.”
“Me too.”
Peter smiled proudly. “When I was little I drank my moms boobie milk. When I was… uh five.”
Tony felt so bad. That wasn’t true. He didn’t know why Peter was saying that or if he actually thought he was still with them at age five.
“I did at 6!”
Peter sat back down on his butt. “Oh. Me too. Cause my mom had milk for me when I was five.”
Jasper tilted his head. “But my dad told me that you were kidnapped when you were a baby.”
Tony felt his heart stop at the same time it looked like Peter’s did. He tried to pretend like what that kid said didn’t bug him but being honest, it did. Tony couldn’t deal with the reminder of his son being taken from him, even if it was from an innocent fourteen year old.
Peter stared at Jasper, his index finger returning to his mouth.
“Okay, Jasper, let’s focus back on topic.” Their teacher tried to redirect but Jasper was persistent.
He shrugged and turned back to Peter. “What? I’m just asking him, my parents said some crazy man took him-”
Peter didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Jasper and pushed him off his chair, falling on top of him in the process and grabbing his arm, biting it enough to break the skin.
“Oh. No!” Tony didn’t expect that. He raced to Peter and grabbed him, lifting him off of his classmate. “Peter.” He looked down at the boy and grabbed his arm, pulling him onto his feet. Tony saw the bite mark on his forearm and mentally cursed. This was probably going to result in a suspension for Peter. Great.
He couldn’t say the kid didn’t have it coming for him.
He also didn’t know why Peter reacted that way. Was it because the kid called Steve crazy? Or because he was simply mentioning being kidnapped? Tony didn’t know but he wanted to talk to Peter about it once he calmed down since he was currently breathing heavily against Tony’s side.
They didn’t even get to talk to Karen about the other two things and now this.
Their teacher was frozen. What a way to come back. Tony hoped she knew about Peter’s behavioural issues.
“Let’s go, Peter. I am not happy with you.” He swung Peter’s bag over his shoulder and grabbed Peter’s arm as the class ‘oooo’ in synch. Tony shared a look with his teacher. “I’m sorry. I’m going to be taking him home.”
“Okay. It’s okay, I understand.” She seemed uncomfortable but pointed at the other child. “You need to go down to the office. Talk to the nurse and the principal.”
Tony pulled Peter out of the class and Peter immediately started crying. It was his whiny cry that he did when he knew he was in trouble. Tony sighed and turned around, seeing the other child start to cry too. Great.
He pulled Peter into the office and let the other boy walk straight in, holding his arm out. “He bit me! I’m bleeding! Call my mom.”
The receptionist looked at Tony in shock. “Look, I’ve already spoken with his principal about him,” He gestured to Peter behind his back. “I understand there’ll most likely be a meeting to discuss this matter but I’m taking my kid home now. I’ll be keeping him tomorrow as well.”
With that, Tony pulled Peter out of the office and left. They had his number, they could call him when needed.
He pulled Peter across the parking lot, he was angry although his anger wasn’t directed at Peter.
Peter didn’t know that though. “Daddy. You’re mad at me?!”
“No, baby. I’m a bit disappointed that you bit your classmate though. But I know he was saying some… difficult things to you.”
Peter cried harder. “Yeah.”
Tony got the van door open and lifted Peter into it, tossing his backpack in with him. “It’s okay. Let’s just go home and we can watch a movie before we talk about it. Calm down, yeah?” He asked as he got him buckled.
Peter whimpered but nodded anyways so with a kiss to his nose, Tony shut the back door and got in, starting the van and driving away.
He wasn’t even one minute away from the school when Peter started crying harder. “Daddy?!”
“What, baby?”
“I’m peeing!” Peter sobbed out. Tony let out a sigh.
“Oh baby. Okay. Um…” He was going to pull over to change him but the car seat was covered in pee now. Great. Tony looked in the rearview mirror and thought this needed a bit more than just calming down at home. “How would you like to go see Karen? Huh? We can both talk to her together if you want.”
Peter rubbed his eyes and nodded so Tony made the last minute decision call to Karen.
Less than twenty minutes later, they were pulling up to her building for the appointment in her office. Tony was more than grateful that he was able to get an appointment within the hour as opposed to tomorrow.
He shut the van off and opened up the back door, giving Peter a sad look. “Baby.” Peter whimpered so Tony grabbed a bag in the car, containing on the go stuff for Peter, well, it was for all their kids, besides Harley. Even Aiser had stuff in there, just in case.
“But I peed.”
“I know. We’re gonna change upstairs in Karen’s bathroom.”
Peter cringed at the cold and uncomfortable feeling in his pants as Tony got him unbuckled and placed him on his feet. Peter whimpered after he felt his thankfully black track pants stick to his legs.
“Karen’s gonna help me?”
“No, baby. I am.”
Tony took his hand, leading him upstairs through the elevator and knocked on Karen’s office door. She opened it with a smile that was returned on Tony’s end. “Hi Karen. Thank you so much for seeing him so last minute. Today definitely wasn’t off to a great start.”
“It’s okay, Tony. I was just doing documentation. How are you, Peter?” She asked as she stepped aside to let them in, shutting the door behind them.
Peter lifted his arms up for Tony. “Pick me up. Daddy.”
“No, let’s go change first.” Tony opened up the bathroom door and pulled him in. Tony shut the door behind him and kneeled down in front of Peter, tugging his pants and underwear down, not even phased anymore that he was touching pee. “Take your shoes off.”
“I’m gonna fall over.”
“No, you won’t. I’m holding you up.” Peter ever so slowly took his shoes off and then Tony picked him up and sat him on the toilet seat, causing Peter to scream and immediately stand up. “Peter. ‘C’mon. You need to try. You already had an accident and I don’t even know why.”
Peter lifted his arms up for his dad. “I didn’t know.”
“Peter. You need to tell me when you go pee.”
“I didn’t know!”
Tony backed away and grabbed the wipes. “You don’t need to yell. What do you mean you didn’t know?”
Peter slapped Tony’s knee. “I don’t know! Stop asking me these questions. I want milk.” He grabbed onto Tony’s legs, sliding down on them and sinking down to the floor, almost bringing Tony’s pants down with him.
“Okay. Peter. Stop it. Let’s get clothes on you so you can go talk to Karen.” Tony pulled two wipes out and grabbed Peter’s arms, holding him still and wiping him clean from front to back then holding out clean underwear and pants for him to step into.
Once that was done, Tony opened the bathroom door so Peter could walk out while he washed his hands although of course, Peter stayed right by his side.
“Hi, Peter. Do you want to come sit with me?” Karen asked, holding a hand out for Peter.
“No.”
“Peter,” Tony sighed. “Go.”
Peter turned to him. “No!”
“Do not talk to me that way.” Tony grabbed his arm roughly, bending down to be at his height level. “You haven’t seen Karen in over a week so let’s go talk to her. Come on.”
Tony shook his head at Karen, silently telling her that he’s been having a rough time with him.
The three of them walked over to the couch area so Tony sat down, pulling Peter to sit next to him but Peter decided to sit right on him.
Karen took a seat on a chair across from them, pulling out her famous notebook. “Did you just come from school, Peter?”
Peter nodded against Tony’s chest. “Hey. Can you look at her? Pete.”
“Did something happen at school today?”
Peter reluctantly pulled his face away from Tony and put his thumb in his mouth. “Mmhm.”
“What happened?” They waited for Peter to answer but he only shrugged. “Did you bite someone?” A nod. “Can you tell me why?”
“I mmmhm.”
“What?”
Peter wrapped an arm around Tony’s neck, whispering in his ear. “I wan’ milk.”
“Not right now. Can I leave you here while you talk to Karen?”
“Mm!”
“Yeah, I’ll be back in an hour. You stay here.” Tony stood up, letting Peter slide off of him and back onto the couch. “How about you stop sucking on your thumb and talk to her.”
Peter didn’t listen so Tony decided not to fight him about that. At least Peter wasn’t putting up a fight about him leaving.
He gave him a kiss and left.
He decided to spend his time trying to clean out Peter’s car seat and it was perfect timing since Pepper called him. “Hello?”
“Hi. What’s wrong? You told me to give you a call.”
“Yeah. So I took Peter from school. Uh, he had a bit of a fight with another student. Peter bit him.”
“What? Are you serious. Why?”
“To be fair the kid deserved it. He was asking Peter about… Steve. And him being kidnapped. Peter just… snapped. It was a pretty bad bite though. He broke skin.”
“Wonderful.” Tony could hear Pepper sighing on the other end. He waited for her to continue. “Well then I’ll be expecting a call from his principal about this. Is he napping?”
Tony opened up the van door. “No. I took him to see Karen. He’s with her now. He also peed in his car seat as soon as I put him in it.”
“Oh my gosh. Okay. Can you put him down for a nap when you guys get home. I’ll be home at 12:30. I’m leaving the office in about an hour.”
Tony took one look at that car seat and decided to forget it. Peter could sit in Morgan’s car seat on the way home. “Okay. Sure, uh, so if I put him down for 12:30…” He did quick math in his head to see what time he would have to wake him up at. “You know what, he can stay asleep for two hours. I’m not taking him to school tomorrow. I think I’m gonna keep Morgan home too.”
He stayed on the phone with Pepper for a little bit longer before going back up to wait in the waiting room.
Peter kept looking towards the door whenever he heard movement. “Who else lives here?” He randomly asked.
“No one lives here, but there are a lot of other workers here.”
Peter nodded. “Where do you live?”
“I live about fifteen minutes from here.”
“Oh. Do you drive?”
“I do. Sometimes my husband picks me up.”
“Oh.” He thought of another question to ask so he didn’t have to keep talking about today. “My sisters at school right now.”
“Yeah, I know she is. Are you going to pick her up after?”
“Yeah.”
“Or will you pick her up later?”
“Yeah.”
“Now or later?”
Peter nodded. “Yeah.” He sat up on his knees and looked at the door as if he could make Tony appear by sheer willpower. “My dad told me last night that if I don’t stop wrecking Morgan’s toys, he’s gonna throw all mine in the basement.”
“Did you listen to him?”
Peter tried to remember. He always did. “Yeah. I’m a good listener.” He was proud of himself, even if he didn’t actually listen one bit. He didn’t see it that way though.
Karen took note of that. She heard another story from Tony and Pepper. “Do you find it difficult to listen sometimes?”
“Yeah. Cause-cause and when I was little, there’s actually this ice cream place near my house, my dad used to take me there. We still go there but not recently cause I mean obviously it’s cold outside. Not snowing though.” Peter successfully changed the subject. “You know, when I was younger, like… maybe five or six, when I was that age, my dad took me there with my mom.”
“Oh? When you were five and six?”
“No. Five or six.”
Karen put her notebook down. “But Peter, can I ask you something?” Peter nodded. “Do you know who you were living with when you were five and six?”
“My mom and dad.” Peter quickly said, his face going blank.
“Peter, can you tell me what happened to you when you were three and a half?”
Peter sighed and pulled his legs up onto the couch. “My dad tried to put me on a potty. Mom gave me milk.” Peter lifted up his shirt, showing Karen what he was talking about.
She offered a small smile and got back on track, moving to sit on the floor so Peter followed.
“Peter, you weren’t living with your mom and dad when you were five or six because… why?”
Peter looked away. “Cause they lived in Malibu.”
“And because you were living with Steve.” Karen supplied for him. She saw Peter freeze then he continued tugging on the carpet threads. She spoke to Tony about Peter’s sudden denial about Steve.
“No. I wasn’t. I was living with my mom and dad.”
“Peter-”
Peter sat up on his knees. “You’re lying to me. Lying gets you in trouble.”
With a sigh, Karen scribbled things down in her notebook. “I know it’s hard for you to talk about; your life with Steve, but it’s important that you don’t bottle up those emotions and memories.”
Peter looked between his legs, watching his grey track pants turn a dark grey. He looked over at Karen. “I’m peeing.”
She watched him, looking towards the door. It was her turn to want Tony to come back. “Peter. There’s a bathroom right there, honey. Why didn’t you just go?”
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t know you were allowed to go?”
“No. I just didn’t know I had to pee.”
Karen stood up so Peter carefully watched her. He thought she was leaving when she opened the office door but Peter realized she was talking to his dad.
“Can you come in. Peter had an accident.”
Tony rushed into the room, thinking the worst. “What happened?”
“He peed his pants.” Karen explained, stepping aside so Tony could see him.
Peter looked away from his dad, knowing he wasn’t happy with him. “Peter. How did this happen? Twice in an hour, baby. That’s not good. You did the same thing at the cabin too.”
Peter didn’t say anything so Tony gestured for him to follow him into the bathroom. “Come. Let’s change. Again. I don’t even know if I have extra clothes for you. Come.”
He followed his dad into the bathroom, turning around to carefully watch him.
Tony didn’t even know what to say. “Peter. Like… two times, baby. Why aren’t you using the toilet?”
Peter held onto his dad’s shoulders as Tony stripped his bottom half, adding the clothes to the other bag. “I don’t know.” He stood there, chewing on his index finger and watching Tony dig through the black bag.
Pulling out a diaper, Tony then grabbed the wipes and gestured for Peter to stand in front of him again. “I want you to tell me when you need to go pee. Spread your legs.” He instructed, wiping his thighs.
Peter stayed silent, waiting until his dad was done.
“Are you tired?”
“Yeah.”
Tony put the diaper between his legs, securing it onto him tightly. “Good. How about a nap once we get home? I think you need one.”
Peter agreed with that.
“Okay. Go grab your shoes outside, I need to find pants for you.”
Peter opened the bathroom door and walked out, looking over at Karen who was sitting on her comfy chair, her iPad on her lap. She closed it when she saw Peter walk out.
“Would you like to come finish our conversation, Peter?”
Peter looked back at the bathroom and saw Tony digging in the bag still so he nodded and walked over, taking a seat on the couch and pulling his feet up.
“You look tired. Are you?”
“Dad says I’m going to have a nap.”
“Do you want to have a nap?”
Peter nodded and made grabby hands when Tony walked out, dark blue tights in hand. “These are Morgan’s but they’ll fit.” He tossed them on Peter’s lap, looking at Karen and then down at Peter. He wanted to talk to her alone but he couldn’t really.
“Pete, can you go wash your hands in the bathroom before we head out? Go on.” Once Peter was out of sight and hopefully out of earshot, Tony sat down. “What’s going on with him? Twice in an hour. Should I be worried? The whole time at the cabin, he was having accident after accident. He spent four days straight in diapers basically.”
“We were talking about Steve when he peed. And at school, he bit the child because he brought up Steve and the kidnapping?” Tony nodded. “So it’s because of him. Peter seems to be trying to completely forget about Steve. He’s trying to pretend like that part of his life didn’t happen and that can be really damaging for him. He needs to acknowledge it and accept it.”
Tony couldn’t believe this. He wanted to cry. And scream at the same time. His poor child.
“So… what do we do? I don’t even know.”
“Talk to him about Steve. I know it’s hard, just remind him about that, explain to him that Steve was the one who had him from ages four to ten.”
Tony shook his head and looked down. “What if he wants to just… forget Steve? I mean, isn’t that a good thing?”
“Tony. Peter needs to heal. If you get stabbed, you can’t just put a bandage on the wound. It goes in deep. So you need to start fixing and healing from the inside. Potentially cut the person more to see the damage to fix it.” Karen tried to explain to him. “Peter needs to acknowledge what happened to him. He’s trying to push it aside because he thinks if he pretends it didn’t happen, it’ll all go away. That’s not healthy.”
“So… we talk about… Steve… to him?” Tony fucking hoped not.
“No. Not necessarily. But don’t let it be the elephant in the room. Explain to him that that’s his past. It happened. It’s over. Acknowledge it.”
Tony opened his mouth to speak but Peter walked in and sat on his thigh. “Daddy.”
“I know. Come, put these on and let’s go home. Can you say thank you Karen.” He turned Peter to face her.
“Thank you. Is-is your carpet all ruined now?”
“No, it’s not. It’s okay, it just needs a quick cleaning. The janitors will come in later.”
Tony patted his patted butt. “I’m sorry. I’m keeping him in this for the rest of the day. Probably tomorrow too.” He held the tights out for Peter, surprised to see that they fit him almost perfectly, just a tad short.
Peter lifted his arms up but Tony didn’t immediately pick him up. He was gathering all these bags. “We’re still on for our appointment tomorrow, correct?” Tony needed to talk to her about this more.
This was just a quick, thirty minute session but he needed to get to the bottom of this. And quick.