Always Be My Baby

Peter squirmed his way between his grandpa and his grandma, looking over at his dad and making eye contact then putting his head down and kicking his legs out. 

“Grandpa, do you think I made a big sand castle today? On the beach.” Peter asked, raising his eyebrows curiously. 

Mike took a sip of his tea. “Sure. It was very big.” 

Peter grinned, happy with himself. He did a kick with his back legs like a horse and turned to look at Morgan but she was cuddling between his mom and dad so Peter stood up and walked over to Tony, kneeling in front of him. 

“Hey. I’m sitting there.” He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. 

“You weren’t though, honey. Morgan was.” Pepper could see that Peter was upset but he couldn’t have his way all the time. He fell onto his butt with a whine. 

“Daddy. I went poop.” 

Everyone looked at him. Peter liked the attention being all on him. 

“Oh, are you serious, Pete.” Tony grabbed his arm, pulling him closer to him and pulling back his pants and diaper to see. “You didn’t. Do you need to go?” 

Peter pretended to think about it. 

“Do you need to go, Peter?” Tony asked again because he really didn’t want to have to rush Peter to the bathroom last minute. 

Peter shrugged and straddled his dad’s lap. He reached a hand out for his bottle after getting comfortable. “Mm. Milk.” 

“Not until you tell me if you need to go poo.” Tony picked up the bottle, holding it just out of reach from Peter. Peter whined again. 

“No! I don’t. I’m just peeing lots.” 

Tony wasn’t surprised. He handed him his bottle and leaned back on the pillows, getting comfortable with Peter on top of him, drinking his milk. 

His hand automatically went up to Peter’s back to pat it, so used to trying to put him to sleep by doing this. He was content to sit there though, not having to worry about anything in that moment until he looked over and saw Alice staring at them so Tony raised his eyebrows at her. 

“Peter? Hey.” She whispered, tossing a small pillow at them. Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She was trying to take Peter for herself. 

Peter lifted his head up from his dad’s chest to see what she wanted. 

“Come sit with me. Your dad gets you enough.” 

Reluctantly, Peter pulled away from Tony and crawled across Morgan’s legs, Peppers and Harley’s. He made himself comfortable between his grandma and older brother then laid his head on the pillow to continue drinking his bottle. “Mm.” 

“What happened?” 

Now Tony was the one looking over at them. “He wants you to pat his belly.” He explained, already knowing what Peter wanted without Peter even having to use words. 

He laid back down, trying to focus on the ridiculously boring movie but he couldn’t stop looking over at Peter. It was incredibly annoying how Alice always thought she had a right to have his son with her at all times when they went to visit. 

Okay, Tony knew they missed Peter. 

But he hated how she was always making him feel like he wasn’t allowed to have his own kid if she was there. 

Tony also knew she had a right to, she did basically raise his two other children after all. 

While Tony was searching for Peter and feeling like he was dying, Alice stepped in and became a parent to his other kids. 

Tony felt bad for feeling the way he did now. 

He let out a sigh that was louder than he expected so Pepper must have known what he was feeling and placed her hand on his thigh. 

Peter was sinking further and further down so he flipped onto his stomach and sat up, making eye contact with Tony then lying back down, trying to get comfortable again. His chest was hurting him a bit and his stomach felt weird so he let out a whimper, moving closer to his grandma. 

“Shh, drink your milk.” She encouraged, pushing it past his lips so Peter continued drinking it. 

Only after a few more sips, he felt it coming back up and tried to vomit but he was lying down so he made a choking sound and tried to roll onto his side. 

“Ew. What the hell.” Harley pushed himself away from Peter, seeing white stuff coming out of his mouth. 

Tony’s heart sped up. He looked over and could tell that Peter was choking on his own vomit. “Roll him on his side!” 

Alice pushed him into a sitting position instead and not even a second later, Peter was throwing up milk. Tony stood up and looked at him, waiting for Peter to make a decision if he wanted to start crying or not. Tony could see he was thinking about it. 

“Are you-” Peter burst out crying so Tony picked him up, not caring about the vomit all over him, it was only milk anyways. He must have drank too much too quickly. “Okay. Come here.” 

“Tony-” 

Tony started walking back to the house. “He’s okay. Just keep the movie running. We’ll be back.” He walked into the house, turning on a light and going into the kitchen. “Shh shh. You’re okay. Hey. You’re okay, Peter. Why are you crying?” 

Peter pointed off to nowhere in particular. 

“I know. You just drank too much milk. How about we lose the bottles for tonight-” 

“No!” Peter wiped the tears off his face but Tony grabbed a cloth and wiped it all over his face and chin then sat him on the kitchen counter and pulled off his shirt. “I want blankie.” 

“It’s upstairs, baby. Do you wanna go get it?” Peter nodded so Tony lifted him off the counter and placed him on his feet but Peter protested that. He tugged Tony’s hands. “Alright. I’d ask if you needed to try and go pee but it feels like you already went.” 

Peter shyly hid his face in Tony’s neck, watching the stairs pass them by as they made their way up. 

“I need to put you down for a second, daddy needs to change his shirt and I’m gonna put a clean diaper on you since I know you’re gonna fall asleep outside tonight.” Tony placed Peter back into his feet and took his shirt off, putting on another random one and grabbing wipes along with cream and a diaper. 

Peter looked at him. “I won’t fall asleep outside.” 

“Are you sure about that one?” Tony patted the bed. “We can always finish the movie tomorrow if we don’t finish it.” 

“Not finish it. Who said anything about me falling asleep.” Peter sassed, daring Tony to tell him he’s going to be falling asleep again. 

“I did. Can you come lie down.” He pulled Peter towards him but Peter resisted so Tony sat down on the bed. “Fine. You stand. I sit.” He pulled Peter to stand in front of him and tugged his dirty pants down. “These are dirty now.” 

Peter stomped his feet, whining for no reason at all. “Peter. You’re tired, baby. Stop fighting it. Do you wanna go to sleep here? Everyone will understand-” 

“Nooo. No. No. Nooo.” He stomped his foot loudly for good measure then stood there, arms crossed over his chest and a pout on his face until Tony was done. 

Tony simply ignored him and got him changed, followed by a matching pair of clean pyjama shorts with surfboards on them with a shirt. “Is that comfy?” 

“My bum hurts.” 

Tony lifted him onto his hip, kissing his temple. “Because you’ve got a rash. Tomorrow morning grandma will give you an oat bath. Yeah?” He walked downstairs, careful not to trip down the stairs in the dark. 

Peter began whimpering against him. “Mm. I want paci.” 

Tony really shouldn’t have given that to him all those nights ago. Peter was still asking for one. And Tony was always tempted to give him one every time he asked. 

“Baby boy. You don’t need one. Let’s just go outside and watch the movie.” He hoisted him up higher when Peter began moving around, seeming to look for something. “It’s okay. You’ll feel better when we go outside.” 

.

.

.

Peter woke up from his nap feeling very refreshed and a lot better. 

He crawled his way out of bed with his bottle tucked under one arm and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His dad was there when he fell asleep but now he was gone so Peter went on a hunt to find him. 

He made his way downstairs and spotted his mom sitting on the kitchen stool talking with his grandma. She stopped their conversation to check the time when she saw him. “Hi baby. Did you have a nice nap?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Dad’s in the shower. He’ll be out soon.” Pepper responded, already knowing what he wanted. 

Peter couldn’t do anything but wait so he decided to walk over to the living room and at least play with Morgan while he waited. “What you playin’?” He asked, squatting down to see. He picked up one of the Barbie dolls and took the shoes off of it. “These are so tiny.” 

“They’re on vacation.” Morgan placed them in the Barbie car. “Like us. Although they’re going out partying to a club. Wanna escort them with me?” She grabbed the remote control for the Barbie car and stood up. 

“Yeah. I come too.” Peter joined her but Morgan handed him a fluffy coat. “What’s this for?” 

“You have to put it on. See. I’m wearing one too.” She spun around to show off her matching fluffy coat. 

Peter put it on and spun around with her, giggling. “I look like a Barbie doll now too. But a boy one.” 

“A ken doll?” Peter nodded. “I guess. Okay, so the club we have to bring them to is the pool shed. All you have to do is clear the way and make sure nothing gets in the way.” 

Peter was up for the task. He opened the back door and walked out, carrying the Barbie car over the doorway and placing it on the grass. “Can it drive on the grass do you think?” 

“It can. I did this before.” Morgan began driving it towards the pool with Peter chasing after it, laughing at the fact that he couldn’t clear the way that quickly. 

Once they got down to the pool, Morgan paused and looked back towards the house. “Oh. We didn’t ask mom if we could come outside.” 

Peter didn’t care. “So what.” 

“That’s a rule. Go tell her. I don’t want to get in trouble.” 

Peter sighed. He didn’t want to walk all the way back over there. “It’s fine. We’re not doing anything bad.” He walked along the edge of the pool and skipped over to the shed, opening it up and deciding what to grab. 

“Fine. You stay here. I’ll go tell mom.” Morgan tossed the remote onto the pool chair but the Barbie car drove into the pool. “Nooo!” 

“Oh no!” Peter gasped and ran to the edge. It was still floating but not for long it seemed like. “It’s okay! I’ll reach it and rescue them.” He squatted down and tried to reach in, not realizing how dangerous what he was doing was. 

Morgan had a bad feeling about this. “I don’t know… maybe we should wait for dad…” She watched her brother attempt to reach the Barbie car for her but he lost his balance and fell face first into the pool. “Peter!” 

The coat Peter was wearing flipped over his head so he was tangled in it, unable to reach the surface. His diaper filled up with water and was sinking him further and further down as he struggled to fight to get air. 

Morgan ran around the other end of the pool and tried to reach him but it was no use. 

After all, he had about ten pounds of extra weight on him now and drowning was the most common death for ages 5-14. 

Inside the house, totally unaware that Peter was currently drowning in the pool, Pepper still sat by the kitchen island and chatted with Alice when Tony walked down. 

It was quiet in the house so he wondered where his kids were. “Where is everyone?” 

“You mean where’s Peter?” Alice chuckled. 

“That too.” He didn’t see Peter sleeping on the bed when he got out of the shower which was weird since Peter always waited for him. He grabbed a glass of water and took a sip, turning to look at Alice. 

“Harley and Mike went to the front to fix a bike chain and the kids are playing in the living room.” Alice told Tony then went back to her tea. 

Tony looked in that direction. It was still too quiet and now he knew they were up to something. Before he could even walk over there, he saw Morgan running towards the house, screaming something. 

“Help! Help! Peter fell into the pool! Help me!” She screamed, flailing her arms wildly. 

Tony dropped the glass of water and didn’t even have time to process anything as he was flying out the back door and running as fast as he ever did before to go down to the pool. 

He saw Peter lying face down, barely moving. “NO!” Tony couldn’t lose him this way. He couldn’t lose him after he just got him back. He wouldn’t. 

Tony jumped into the pool, no other thought in mind but saving Peter and making sure he was breathing. 

He grabbed him and tossed him out in one motion then climbed out after him, ripping the puffy coat off of him and rolling him onto his back. “Peter? Peter. Please open your eyes.” Tony was not prepared to start giving cpr on his son right now. He didn’t want to have to do that. 

By this point, Alice and Pepper were there and were both crying as they watched Peter lay there. Alice was already on the phone with 911. 

Tony shook Peter a bit and placed his hands on his chest, about to start cpr when Peter’s eyes opened and he coughed up water then started crying. 

It was the most beautiful sound Tony’s ever heard. 

“Good boy. Cough it up. Get it out.” He encouraged and brought Peter into a sitting position to help him cough it up. 

Peter sobbed. “Daddy!” He didn’t even know what just happened, it all happened so fast. The last thing he remembered was falling into the pool and sinking to the bottom. He was so exhausted from trying to swim to the surface that he didn’t have any more left in him then he was lifted out. 

Pepper fell to her knees next to Peter and Tony. “Oh my baby. Oh my god.” 

Tony was shaking so badly. It was going to take him a long time to calm down from this. 

He stood up, lifting Peter up with him and taking him inside. He wanted to hear Peter crying because crying meant alive and not a lifeless corpse face down in the pool. 

Tony pulled the soaking wet diaper off of him and tossed it on the ground then wrapped Peter in a blanket and sat down on the couch, holding him close but still making sure he had space to breathe. 

Morgan ran straight upstairs to cry while Pepper and Alice and had to stay to make sure Peter was okay. 

“Tony.” Pepper cried, rubbing Peter’s back. 

Tony didn’t even want to look at her. She was supposed to be watching the kids. The back door was supposed to be locked. If anything happened to Peter, Tony didn’t think he could look at Pepper the same ever again. 

He stood up, taking Peter with him. “Just give us space to breathe.” 

Peter was still sobbing at this point and Tony didn’t know if it was water dripping out of his mouth or drool. Everything felt really fuzzy. 

Harley burst through the front door at that moment with four paramedics behind him. “Peter drowned?! Where is he?!” He asked in a panic, looking around wildly for him before finding him in his dad's arms, alive. He raced over to him. “Is he okay?” 

Tony didn’t respond. He didn’t want to take Peter to the hospital… again. He just wanted a fucking break. 

“Was he the one who drowned?” One of the paramedics asked, approaching Tony with a large duffle bag. 

Peter cried harder into his shoulder. 

“Yeah. I-I just pulled him out of the pool. He-he was coughing up water about ten seconds later and crying.” Tony really didn’t want to take him to the hospital if he didn’t have to. 

“Alright. Let’s have a look at him.” The paramedics placed their bags on the floor and one kneeled down in front of the couch so Tony sat down on it, facing Peter towards the man. “Can you tell me your name?” 

Peter tried to bury his face back in his dad’s chest. “Daddy!” 

“Daddy? I don’t think that’s your name. What’s your name, little man?” He poked Peter’s arm so Peter coughed some more and stuck his thumb in his mouth. 

“Peter.” He quietly said. 

“And how old are you, Peter?” 

Peter shook his head. “Mmhm. Fourteen.” 

“Do you remember what happened?” The paramedic asked while another one checked his heart rate. 

Peter reached for his dad’s hand around his tummy. “Mm. The-the Barbie car fell in-in the pool.” 

Tony didn’t even know what happened. He should have been watching him. 

“Alright. I’m gonna ask you to sit up for me and take a few breaths in and out.” 

The whole checkup process took less than twenty minutes. Peter was given an all clear and the adults were given a firm lecture of the importance of water safety with children. Tony felt so guilty for not being there to watch Peter. He should have been there. 

Once they left, Tony needed some alone time with Peter to calm down. So they both could calm down. 

He walked into the bedroom and shut the door, hoping everyone got the hint and didn’t bother them. Tony laid Peter on the bed and laid down next to him, holding him close. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” He whispered into his ear, hoping Peter believed it. 

“I drowned.” 

“Baby. You could have. Why were you by the pool to begin with?” 

Peter shrugged and sucked harder on his thumb. “I-I fell in.” 

“You did. That’s why we have rules.” Tony caressed his sweet face. “Daddy can’t live this life without you so you can’t do things like that again.” 

Peter stared into his eyes. 

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Now Tony was going to torture himself with the what if’s. What if he was too late? What if Morgan didn’t get help in time? What if Morgan wasn’t there? What if Morgan fell in trying to save him? 

Tony watched Peter fall asleep all while he thought of the what if’s, torturing himself like he always did with these types of situations. It wasn’t healthy but it was the only way he knew how to deal with it. 

Since Peter already had a nap, Tony didn’t know how long he would be sleeping for. He didn’t expect him to fall asleep but now that he was, Tony wanted to let him sleep. 

He left the bedroom and walked down the hallway to talk to Morgan and find out what happened and to make sure she was okay. He saw her lying on the bed, reading a book so he sat down by her feet. 

“Hi Morgan.” 

“Hi.” 

“Peter’s sleeping. He’s okay.” Morgan only nodded. This poor girl has been through so much stuff. Witnessing the ones you love suffer was harder than being the one suffering sometimes. “Can you tell me what happened? Why were you guys by the pool?” 

Morgan shut her book and started crying. “I’m sorry, daddy. I shouldn’t have gone out to the backyard without an adult.” 

Tony just listened. 

“Me and Petey just wanted to play. I-I told him we should go back and tell mom… but he didn’t want to so-so I said I’d go.” She explained. “But then my Barbie car fell into the pool and-and Peter tried to get it but he fell in! I tried to get him out but I couldn’t! I’m so sorry.” 

Tony pulled her closer. “Shh. It’s okay. Peter’s okay. But you see how quickly something like that can happen?” Morgan nodded. “That’s why we have these rules. You did the right thing running to get help. But in the future I don’t want you to break the pool rules.” 

At their house, they had a gate around the pool and an alarm system so if anyone falls in, the alarm will go off. But they didn’t live here so there was never any reason to have a pool safety added. Maybe they should now… 

He held Morgan for a few minutes while she calmed down then he went and checked on Peter, finding him still asleep and breathing so Tony went to go find Pepper. 

She was sitting on the couch with Alice comforting her. “What happened, Pepper?” Tony immediately asked, sitting down in front of her. “You said you were going to watch him while I shower. You were supposed to watch him if he woke up.” 

“He was sleeping.” 

“Did you not see him come down?” 

“No. I did. Then he asked where you were and then walked into the living room to play with Morgan. I-I didn’t know they left the house.” 

Tony looked towards the back door. It had one lock on it that Peter could open easily. At home, it had multiple locks, two that Peter had yet to figure out how to open for this exact reason. 

“He doesn’t know any better. You were supposed to be watching him, Pepper.” Tony stated simply. It was known knowledge that Peter didn’t know how to out weigh the dangers of a situation since Steve never gave him that freedom as a child so now Peter was having to learn the hard way for a lot of that stuff. Unfortunately this was the outcome.  

“He was sleeping, Tony. I should be able to have a conversation with my mom without him drowning in a pool!” 

“And I should be able to have fifteen minutes to myself and take a goddamn shower without having to worry about my son drowning in a pool!” Tony snapped back. He was so upset. “I’m literally with hjm 24/7. I need my space sometimes and I needed a shower because I was covered in pee and snot. And I can’t even do that!” 

“Are you saying you don’t trust me with our son anymore?” Pepper asked him in a hushed tone. 

Tony had to stop and think. “No. I do. I’m just saying that if something had happened, if-if I lost him, then what’s the point.” 

“What’s the point? What’s the point on living do you mean?!” Pepper stood over him, both emotional and angry. 

Tony hated to admit it. He honestly didn’t mean to but it just came out in all the emotion. “I can’t live without him.” He whispered. 

Everyone knew that. It was obvious from the way Tony looked at Peter. 

“So you’re saying that I wouldn’t be enough for you? That Harley and Morgan wouldn’t be enough for you?” 

Tony couldn’t answer that. He looked at her with watery eyes. “I can’t lose him. Not after- not after everything I went through. I already lost him before.” Twice before. Not again. 

“Do you blame me?” Pepper needed to know. 

Tony honestly didn’t know how he felt. Maybe. But it wasn’t anyone’s fault. If it had ended any differently today, Tony would probably blame her but not more than himself. “No. I don’t. It’s no ones fault, alright? He’s okay.” Thank god. 

Pepper sat back down and nodded, still trying to calm down herself. “Is he sleeping?” Tony nodded. “I need to see him.” Pepper went upstairs but Tony just needed some space to himself for a few moments. 

Pepper made her way upstairs and found Morgan standing by the edge of the bed, watching Peter sleep. “Hi honey. How are you feeling?” 

Morgan shrugged, taking a seat on the bed by Peter’s feet. “Fine.” 

Pepper wasn’t fine and she could assume her daughter wasn’t fine but the sad part was that Morgan was used to things like this and bounced back quickly. 

“He’s okay. He just had a scare.” She sat down beside Morgan. “We all did.” 

“Do you think he’s gonna be mad at me when he wakes up?” Morgan was worried about that since her Barbie car was still at the bottom of the pool. 

“Absolutely not. Why would he be mad?” 

Morgan shrugged. “Just cause… he fell in trying to save my Barbie car. And-and he would have been able to swim back to the top if I didn’t make him wear that coat!” 

At Morgan’s loud voice, Peter began waking up. He only needed a little rest but since he wasn’t wearing any protection and was only wrapped in a towel, the blankets beneath him were a bit wet. 

He groaned, hating that feeling. “Where’s daddy?” 

Alice walked into the bedroom and Peter thought it was his dad at first but when he saw it wasn’t, he sighed. 

“He’s changing into dry clothes.” Alice supplied. Tony was actually taking a walk on the beach by himself but Peter didn’t need to know that. “How are you feeling?” 

Peter kicked the wet blankets off of him. “I’m not sick. I feel fine. I want my dad.” 

That’s when Pepper noticed the wet blankets so she stood up to deal with that. “Dad is changing. He’ll be here soon.” Peter slid off the bed but not before grabbing his Blankie and walking out of the bedroom. “Where are you going?” 

“I wanna watch tv.” Peter walked down the hallway and started walking down the stairs as Tony was walking up the stairs. “Daddy! I was looking for you!” 

Tony didn’t expect him to be awake so soon but he was glad he was. And he was in a good mood. “Hi baby. You didn’t sleep for very long.” He lifted him up, swinging him onto his hip and walking him back into the bedroom, pausing to look at everyone in there. “Family meeting?” He teased, forcing himself out of the anxiety he felt and the tension of the situation. 

Aiser was here too, of course he was. 

“We were just watching over him. He peed the bed a bit, I’m gonna take him and you’ll clean that up.” Pepper demanded, leaving no room for Tony to argue but of course he was going to try anyways. 

“I’ve got him. I’ll clean it up after.” He hoisted Peter up higher and grabbed pyjama shorts, deciding to get Peter dressed in just that for now. It was hot out and he was positive Peter was going to protest putting on anything else. 

Pepper placed her hand on Peter’s knee, stopping Tony from going anywhere with him. “Can I just be with him, Tony?” 

Tony hated people taking his kid from him. That’s why he hated being in Malibu because there were more people to try and take Peter from him. He was surprised Alice wasn’t fighting him right now for Peter. 

He turned to look at him. “Do you want mommy or daddy to get you dressed?” 

“You.” Peter said, wrapping his arms around Tony’s neck. 

Tony knew it. He carried Peter into the bathroom and Pepper was right behind them. He shut the door but didn’t say anything to her as he placed Peter on the floor and grabbed a pack of wipes. “What do you wanna do after this?” 

Peter stared at him, only offering a shrug. 

“Daddy’s gonna change the sheets and you and I are gonna do a painting craft outside with Morgan and grandma.” Pepper said, mainly to Tony. He just looked at her then went back to wiping Peter clean. 

“Cleaning the bed will only take five minutes.” He said. Then he held the pyjama shorts out for Peter but Peter shook his head, refusing to step into them. “Step in. You can’t go outside naked right now.” 

“I wanna wear a diaper.” Peter mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Tony would have given in if Pepper wasn’t there. “When you go to bed I’ll put one on you. Why do you even need one now?” 

“I need to pee.” Peter said, grabbing himself and stepping towards Tony. 

“Then you need to go in the toilet.” Tony stood up fully, placing the seat cover on it then pulling Peter towards it. “Sit and go.” 

“Not in there. I don’t like that toilet.” 

“Peter,” Pepper tried. “it’s the same as any other toilet. You need to go.” 

Peter stomped his foot. “No. Not in this one.” 

Both parents looked at each other. Even though they were currently fighting like children over a toy they both wanted, they were still dealing with the same battles together each day and they had to learn to work together for that. 

“Look, Peter, daddy goes in this toilet too. So do I. And Harley and Morgan.” 

“Not Aiser.” Peter insisted, squeezing his legs together. 

“He’s a dog. You’re not a dog.” Tony put simply. 

Peter stomped his foot again. “I wish I was a dog! I hate being human!” He stormed out of the bathroom. “And I’m not going pee in that toilet! It’s too big!” He stormed out of the bedroom and walked down the hallway, making his way down the stairs. 

“Peter. Come back here.” Tony walked after him and spotted Peter standing on the stairs, a puddle forming at his feet. “Are you serious? Peter, c’mon. We were just in the bathroom. What’s going on with you?” 

Peter only shrugged, watching his feet. “Uh oh.” 

“Yeah. Uh oh is right. Go back upstairs. I do not like this at all, Peter.” 

Peter turned and raced back upstairs, back into the bedroom and bumping into his mom standing at the edge of the bed. “Oof! Hey.” 

“Peter Stark. Go into that bathroom right now and sit on the toilet.” His mom pointed off towards the bathroom, using his full name which told Peter he better listen but he didn’t want to. 

He turned his back to her. “No.” 

So Tony grabbed his arm. “You do not say no to your mother. Go sit on the toilet until you pee.” 

“I don’t need to go anymore.” He turned to look up at his mom. “I peed on the stairs. On accident.” 

Pepper heard. She was not impressed. All she had to do was point towards the bathroom again for Peter to run inside and sit on the toilet. She let out a loud sigh and watched Tony pull the bedding off the bed, speaking quietly. “Should we be concerned? Why is he doing this?” 

Tony didn’t know. “If I had to guess, attention.” 

“You think so? But this?” 

Tony shrugged. “It’s better than the attitude and not listening. You saw the attention he got before. He’s trying to get it again.” Tony shoved the blankets into the laundry hamper. “Stay with him, I gotta go clean pee off the floor now. Great.” 

While Tony was gone, Pepper walked into the bathroom and stood in front of Peter. “I’m not happy with you.” 

Peter curiously looked up at her. “Why?” 

“Because you peed on the stairs on purpose.” 

“No. On accident.” 

“Peter.” Pepper warned. “Are you lying to me?” 

Peter stared at her then looked between his legs. 

“Peter, I asked you a question.” 

“I forget it.” He arched his back. “I wanna get off. I don’t need to go no more. I promise I’ll say if I need to go. I wanna get off though. It’s boring here.” 

With a firm look, Pepper gave in. “You can come off if you promise no more pee pees in your pants or on the floor.” 

“Yes. I promise.” Peter forced out then climbed off and ran into the bedroom. After getting on pyjama shorts, he walked downstairs, passing by his dad cleaning up the stairs so Peter walked by him, going to find his grandma. “Grandma? Grandma?” He tugged on her shirt. “Grandma?” 

“Yes honey?” 

“Um…” Peter chewed on his finger. “Can I paint?” 

“Yeah, Morgan is already getting it set up outside. I don’t want you guys painting in my living room. Save that mess for outside.” Alice handed Peter his water bottle filled with watered down apple juice. “Harley, are you coming outside with us?” 

“Uh…” 

“Yes. You are. No questions asked. Come and join us.” 

Peter grabbed onto Harley’s hand and pulled him outside over to the shaded area where Morgan was setting up. He let go once he was close enough and went to start running but he tripped, landing on his face. 

“Are you okay?” Alice asked, really not wanting another problem with Peter today. 

“I’m okay!” He crawled the rest of the way over to Morgan and picked up the paintbrush to chew on the end. “Where’s the red? That’s my favourite colour so that’s what I’m gonna start out with.” 

He grabbed the paint and squeezed it into the bowl then grabbed the blue and did the same. 

Alice stepped away to leave the siblings alone, hoping they didn’t start fighting with each other while she was gone inside but instead, she walked in on Tony and Pepper fighting. 

“…always the one doing it.” 

“Because he won’t sleep with you. I’m the only one who can get him to sleep and there’s no point in the two of us being awake with him.” Tony argued back. 

“Then you need to stop hogging him throughout the day. I feel like a nanny, only babysitting my own son if you leave the room.” Pepper was tired of it. “I want to have one on one time with him too.” 

Tony threw the dirty paper towel in the garbage. “Okay. I understand that. Then just say it. Stop trying to get me to leave or run to the store.” Tony knew he still followed them but he would actually try not to, he would try. 

Pepper noticed her mom standing there and shook her head. “How much did you hear?” 

“Uh,” Tony looked around and didn’t see Peter. “Where are my kids?” 

“They’re outside with Harley painting. And I didn’t hear much, just the usual argument between you two about Peter.” 

Tony shrugged and went to wash his hands. “Yep. That’s the only thing we fight about.” He wondered how different things would be if Peter was never kidnapped, he wondered if he would be this close to Peter, probably not. 

Tony made his way outside and already saw Peter painting his bare chest blue. Great. Although they were outside so he couldn’t complain. He would hose him down before they went inside. 

He honestly didn’t even care. He was just so grateful for his son being alive. “You guys having fun? It definitely looks like Peter is.” 

Peter held up the blue paint brush to show his dad, totally unphased that not even an hour ago, he almost drowned. Tony was glad that kids bounced back so fast but it was still something really scary because they were going to be in Malibu for an unknown amount of time and there were no safety precautions around the pool. 

Now that was going to add more stress onto Tony. 

.

.

.

Peter was tired and cranky and trying to get his dad’s attention. 

Even though Tony was already giving him all of his attention, Peter still wanted more. He sat on his dad’s foot, bouncing on it again when Tony didn’t look at him. 

After the third bounce, Tony looked down at him. “What?” 

“I want you to look at me.” 

Tony got more comfortable. “Okay. You show me then. I’m watching.” 

“No. Just watch me. I want you to look at me.” Peter explained, wanting exactly that. He didn’t want his dad talking to anyone else or looking at anyone else. 

Even if he wasn’t doing anything, he wanted his dad’s attention on him. 

Tony was fine with that, he liked to stare at Peter anyways, watching his every move. 

Although Pepper walked over. “Peter. Honey, come sit on the potty.” 

Peter’s face immediately turned angry. He wrapped his arms and legs around Tony’s leg, holding on for dear life. “No. I don’t need to go.” 

With a sigh, Pepper walked over to him, holding his empty potty chart in her hands. “Look at this, Peter. It’s completely empty. You need to try.” 

Peter was a bit upset at his empty chart but his dad didn’t seem to care so neither did he. He shook his head. “I don’t need to pee.” 

Pepper reached between his legs, feeling the squishy padding there. She shook her head at him. “Because you’ve already been going in this.” Pepper looked at Tony, giving him the look that told him he better help out. 

“Pete, if you want to get a new toy eventually, you need to sit on the potty. Do you want me to come with you?” 

Peter shook his head, pouting. “No. I said I don’t need to go.” It was true, he really didn’t need to go. 

“Because you’re going in this,” Pepper tugged on the back of the diaper he was wearing. “Stand up. Let’s get this off of you and into underwear.” 

Tony felt Peter squeeze his leg even harder. “Nooo! Go away!” 

Everyone was looking at them now. Morgan was colouring in her room at least so she wasn’t seeing this. Alice stood up to stand next to her daughter. “Virginia, maybe try this another time. I don’t think it’s healthy for him to refuse and the choice be made for him.” 

Tony agreed with that. “Pepper, let him be. When we go home, we’ll try again.” 

Pepper didn’t agree with them. She was fed up with her son having these bad habits and nothing being done to stop them. So she was going to have to do it. She leaned down and grabbed Peter’s hand but he pulled away. “Peter. Let’s go get underwear on you-” 

“No! No underwear!” He was clinging onto Tony. 

“Peter, let’s go.” 

Peter started crying. “Daddy! I don’ wan’ to!” 

Tony hated being put in this situation. “Peter.” 

Pepper held her hand out for her son. “Peter Stark. Let’s go. Right now.” 

At the threat of his full name, he stood up reluctantly and took ahold of his mom’s hand as he started crying harder. She led him upstairs and into their bedroom then she placed a pair of underwear on the bed. Peter cried harder at the sight. He was so emotional. 

Pepper grabbed wipes and sat on the bed, holding her arm out for Peter. He wanted to make a run for it but he knew that wouldn’t end well so he stood in front of his mom, crying harder. 

“Baby. I’m not doing this to hurt you. Please stop crying. You don’t need to cry.” She softly spoke as she pulled the tabs off the diaper, dropping it to the floor and grabbing out wipes. 

Peter attempted to stop crying. But he couldn’t. 

He crawled onto the bed once his mom was done. “No underwear!” 

“Yes, Peter.” 

He pointed to his box on the floor, wanting to wear Lion King instead. But his mom denied him the comfort. “You need to wear underwear, my love. It’s nothing bad. It’s a good thing.” 

Peter threw himself back. “No it’s not!” He cried. “Then-then I-I-I wan’ wear just shorts.” 

“Just shorts?” Peter nodded. “You can if you put underwear on under it.” 

That was the end of the world to Peter. He kicked his legs out, crying more. 

“You can either put underwear on or you will wear nothing. That’s your choice.” Pepper waited for him to make his choice. After a few more minutes of crying, Peter picked up the underwear, throwing it on the floor and walking out of the bedroom. 

He walked slowly downstairs then sat on the last step, crying so everyone in the living room could hear him and pity him. 

Eventually his dad walked over and looked at him so Peter pulled his shirt between his legs. “I wan’ a diaper!” 

Tony wished he could but Pepper was trying. “No more diapers. You need to sit on the actual toilet now. Want to go try?” 

“No!” He stood up, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the fridge. “I wan’ shorts.” 

“Okay, I’ll go get you-” 

“No, Tony.” Pepper cut him off before he could finish. “I told him he can put underwear on or nothing at all. He needs to decide that. Until then, he can stay as is.” 

Peter stuck his thumb in his mouth then grabbed onto Tony’s hand. “Diaper.” 

“No, baby. Just go put underwear on. It’s not bad.” 

Peter shook his head because of course he did. It wasn’t about not wanting to wear them anymore, it was about Peter being stubborn and doing the opposite of what his mom says just to get a reaction out of her. 

Peter was going to go for it, Tony knew him so well. 

When they walked into the living room, Peter sat down next to his dad, eyeing his mom for a few minutes, trying to decide what he could do to tick her off. He eventually stood up and walked over to her, sitting down beside her and tugging the front of her shirt down. 

“Peter, stop it. Peter.” 

“I want to put my head there.” 

“Peter. Tonight you can. I’m not taking off my shirt right now.” 

Peter listened but he wasn’t happy about it. He sunk onto the floor and began kicking his legs out, whining. “Mom. I wan’ shorts on.” 

“I gave you two options, Peter. Until you decide to put underwear on, you’ll stay like this.” 

Peter forced some cries out. “Nooo! I hate that!” 

“That’s your decision.” 

Tony looked over at Harley. He was watching him with an interested yet sad look on his face. Tony wondered what was going through Harley’s head and what he was thinking. It was obvious that Harley hated when his brother acted like this because it was a firm reminder of what Steve had done to him in those four days he had him for two months ago. 

This recovery this time was proving to be much more difficult. 

Everyone continued with their conversations while Peter laid on the floor, whining and kicking his legs out every so often. 

After about thirty minutes of that, Tony couldn’t take it anymore so he stood up and held his arms out for Peter which he immediately accepted so he lifted him onto his hip and walked into the kitchen with him to prepare a snack. “Are you hungry?” 

Rubbing at his eyes tiredly, Peter nodded. “And… I need to go pee.” 

Tony gasped at him. Peter was actually telling him. He didn’t know why he felt bitter sweet at that. He placed him on his feet. “Alright then. Let’s go sit you on the potty.” 

Peter followed his dad into the bathroom and watched him put the cushioned toilet seat cover on it. “Go pee.” 

“Mm. I don’t want to.” He hated sitting on the toilet. 

“Then do you want to stand?” Tony asked, pulling Peter to stand in front of the toilet but Peter pushed back, almost hitting his head on the sink. “Hey. Watch out.” 

“No! Not standing.” He hated standing even more. 

Tony didn’t want to clean up a mess on the floor so he lifted Peter up and sat him on the toilet. “Pee here. You need to fill up your cart, buddy. This is a good thing.” 

Peter let out a loud groan but then he looked between his legs and focused then he went, smiling. He looked up at his dad to see his reaction and was happy that his dad was smiling. “That’s good?” 

“That’s amazing, buddy. I’m so proud of you.” Tony ruffled his hair, loving the smile of pure self accomplishment on Peter’s face. “Just grab some toilet paper to wipe and then we can go get a snack.” 

Peter followed his dad’s instructions, going slowly. “Like this?” 

“Good job. Now wash your hands. With soap.” 

Standing up, Peter pushed the stool in front of the sink and began washing his hands, scrubbing away all the germs. He was so proud of himself it was unbelievable. He wanted to do this all the time now. 

Although the pride wouldn’t last very long. 

Peter skipped into the living room. “I peed in the potty!” He turned to Tony. “Right, dad?” 

“He did.” 

Everyone was clapping for him and Peter loved all of the attention on him. He was smiling ear to ear and lifted his arms up for Tony. “Up.” 

Lifting him onto his hip, Tony took the chart from Pepper and walked into the kitchen to grab the basket of stickers for Peter to choose from. “See. You get to pick whatever sticker you want and put it on this spot for going pee pee in the potty. And every time you go pee pee in the potty, you’ll get another sticker. Until you reach the end of the week and you’ll get a toy.” 

Peter smiled. “Wow.” 

“Yeah, wow indeed.” 

Tony shifted Peter so he had a better angle to look through the stickers. After three minutes, Peter picked out a sticker of a blue butterfly. “I want this one. It’s pretty.” 

Placing the boy on his feet, Tony hung up the chart and watched Peter put the sticker down on it then clap his hands. “Yay! Only… one two three four five six… seven… days?” 

“Yes, baby. Good job.” 

“Yaayy!” 

While Peter stared at his chart, Tony put out seven bowls of vanilla yogurt and chopped up strawberries, adding it into the yogurt then he put four on the tray and brought it out to everyone in the living room, going back into the kitchen and sitting down with Peter to eat their bowls. 

By the third bite, Peter already had it all over his face and it smeared all over the front of his shirt too. 

Tony just smirked at it, taking a picture then going back to eating. 

He texted Morgan’s iPad to see if she wanted to come down and join them but he knew she was enjoying some time to herself. 

“You know, if you go put underwear on, I’ll take you down to the beach and we can walk along it.” 

Peter shook his head. “No underwear.” 

“Why, bud? It’s just underwear.” 

“Cause it’s icky.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I just don’t like it.” Peter snapped, ready for the conversation to be over. He liked the comfort and safety of wearing diapers. 

Tony tried something else. “You know, when you wear underwear, you can do so much more.” 

That got Peter’s attention. “Like what?” 

“Well, big boy’s wear underwear. So you can go hiking with us later if you wear underwear. But if you wear diapers, you can’t go hiking because all the diaper changes can’t be done in a forest.” 

Peter thought about that. It did make sense. And his dad knew everything so he would know if that was true. “But… I can’t hold my pee that long.” 

“Neither can I. We just go in the forest.” 

Peter didn’t like that. “I don’t wanna go hiking. I don’t want you to go either so stay with me.” He took the last bite of his yogurt. “Do… do you want me to wear underwear?” 

Tony hesitated. Did he? He did because he wanted Peter to not develop any long term bad habits but he didn’t want to let go of his baby boy growing up. He was his youngest son after all. “I don’t mind you wearing diapers, if you want to wear them, then I want you to. But you can’t wear them forever. And during the day, when we go out, you need to hold your pee in and tell us you need to go pee. So we can take you before you go in your pants.” 

That confused Peter even more now. “Oh. So… then I wear underwear right now?” 

“Do you want to?” 

Peter didn’t but his dad looked like he wanted him to so he shrugged. “I guess so.” 

“Alright. Go tell your mom.” 

Peter stared at him for a few seconds then he slid off the bench and walked into the living room, standing in front of his mom. “I wanna put underwear on now.” 

“I’m glad. Let’s go upstairs.” Standing up, Pepper took hold of her son’s hand and led him upstairs and into the bedroom. “Put them on. Then you can put your shorts on after.” 

“No shorts.” 

Peter sat on the floor and began putting his feet through the same hole. “Oops.” He took them off and spun them around, trying again but it did the same thing. He let out a frustrated cry. “I can’t! It’s too hard.” 

Pepper kneeled down in front of him. “I’ll help you then. There’s no need to get upset over this. Now put your feet through.” 

Peter did as instructed, hating every second of it. 

He lifted his hips to get it pulled up and screamed at the uncomfortable feeling. “I don’t wanna wear it! It’s uncomfortable!” 

“Just get yourself comfortable, Peter.” She pulled down the front, trying to help Peter get a bit more comfortable and then stood up, offering him a hand. “Better?” 

He looked at her with sad eyes, shaking his head. 

“Alright. I’m going to go downstairs. Do you want to stay here or come with me?” 

“Come with you.” Instead of walking, he crawled after her, scooting down the stairs on his butt and crawling into the living room, choosing to stay with his mom rather than anyone else. 

They were watching a cartoon on the tv so Peter stuck his thumb in his mouth and swung his leg over his mom’s lap, placing his head on her breasts for comfort. “Tickle my back.” 

Tony sadly looked at them. Why did Peter look five years older in underwear? He hated it but he knew he shouldn’t hate it. He should be proud of him and he was but he also wanted Peter to stay his little boy. 

Also he wanted Peter on him, not Pepper but he knew he couldn’t take Peter without Pepper getting angry. So he leaned back on the couch and was half scrolling on his phone and half listening to the conversation going on around the room. 

He went back to his phone and ordered a pool alarm for the house. It wasn’t as good as the one they had at home. Since they had three, one at the back door, a gate around the pool and an actual alarm in the pool so if anything fell in, a loud alarm would go off. 

Here, he was just getting one alarm. 

He would get more but it would take weeks to be set up and ordered and they weren’t going to be here for weeks. As much as Tony wanted to sometimes. 

He looked up from his phone, looking at Peter who had his eyes glued on the tv, thumb still lodged in his mouth. 

He smiled to himself and took a sneaky picture of the two. God, he loved his family. 

Another twenty minutes or so passed, Tony still on his phone and Peter still cuddling with his mom while everyone else chatted. 

Morgan had joined them and took a seat beside Tony so Tony wrapped his arm around her and she laughed, moving away from the cuddles. 

So Tony was back to being by himself. 

Pepper was listening to her mom speak when she felt her lap become warm. She shifted and looked down, seeing Peter peeing on her. “Peter.” All eyes looked at them and Peter lifted his head up, thumb still in his mouth. “Wha-are you peeing on me?” 

Tony chuckled. It was about time she got peed on. He got peed on way too often. 

“Uh oh.” Peter mumbled, having not realized what he was doing. He looked at his dad. 

“Oh, Peter.” Pepper sighed, standing up and looking down at herself. “Why didn’t you tell me you needed to go?” 

Peter just looked at her. He saw his dad stand up so Peter reached an arm out for him. 

“Let’s go change, buddy. It was an accident. You’re fine.” He took Peter’s hand and combed the curls off his face with his free hand. “Did you feel that you needed to go?” 

Peter shook his head, now following both his parents upstairs. 

Tony shut the door and took Peter into the bathroom, stripping him from his wet underwear. “Can you try sitting on the toilet for me?” 

Peter didn’t want to but he’d do it to make his dad happy. So he sat down, watching his dad walk out of the bathroom and disappear from view. 

He stuck his thumb back in his mouth. 

He walked into the bedroom, watching Pepper strip from her pants and put on clean shorts then she took off her shirt that had gotten wet as well. “Should we take him to the doctor?” 

Tony sat on the bed. “Physically he’s fine. It’s all in his head. We know that.” 

“It’s concerning.” 

Tony pulled out a diaper from the box. “This is why I want him to wear this. At least until he stops wetting during the day.” 

“But I think that encourages it. If he were wearing one just now, he would have gone and I wouldn’t even have noticed it. Then he’d go some more, get a change and repeat. At least this way he recognizes it.” 

Tony didn’t agree with that. He opened his mouth to speak but Peter walked into the bedroom. “I didn’t go. My bum hurts.” 

“Grab the wipes from the bathroom sink and the cream on the dresser.” Peter did as he was told then he stood in front of his dad. “Lie down.” 

“Are you mad at me?” Peter asked, laying down on the bed and placing his feet apart. 

“Never, baby. It was an accident. But you do need to sit on the potty more so this doesn’t happen. But that’s our fault, we should have reminded you.” 

Peter nodded, letting go of the items he grabbed. He looked over at his mom. “Are you mad at me?” 

“Of course not, honey. It was an accident.” She leaned down to kiss his cheek. “But daddy’s right. You need to sit on the toilet more. We’ll make sure of that.” 

Tony grabbed wipes, pulling out a few and wiping his thighs first. 

“I’m going to go to the store to buy pull-ups, Tony. He needs to be pulling them up and down to sit on the toilet frequently.” 

“It’s fine. I’ll just take this off of him then put it back on when he’s done.” He didn’t like pull-ups. They were much more difficult to change in his opinion. 

Pepper sighed. She didn’t want to argue in front of Peter. “Peter, would you like to come with me to pick out what kind you’d want?” 

Peter looked at his dad then shook his head. 

“Pepper,” Tony opened up the diaper, waiting for Peter to lift his hips so he could slide it underneath him. “These are fine. We have two boxes to go through.” 

“One. We already went through one.” 

Tony didn’t even realize. “Okay. Then we need more diapers. I’ll go with Peter to pick them up shortly.” 

He opened up the cream and pushed Peter’s knees open then began applying it. “Pete and I can go to the store. Right, buddy? Do you wanna go with daddy to get milk too?” 

Peter wouldn’t pass up on that offer. He nodded and tried to sit up, only being pushed back down onto his back so he raised his arms above his head, waiting for it to be over. “Morgan will come?” 

“If she wants to. I think she’s playing outside right now.” Tony got shorts onto him, pulling his shirt down over the diaper sticking out. “Go ask her then go get shoes on because we’re leaving in five minutes.” 

Peter did as he was told, running downstairs and out to his sister in the garden where his grandparents had been watching her. He squatted down in front of her. “Wanna come to the store with me and daddy? We’re leaving in five minutes.” 

Morgan was having too much fun building sandcastles in the dirt. “No. I wanna stay here. You have fun.” 

Peter jumped to his feet. “Okay!” 

Alice wanted to join them though. “Let’s go, honey. Grandma will come with you.” 

Peter didn’t care who came as long as his dad was going with them. He skipped to the front door and slipped his sandals on, grabbing onto his dad’s hand. 

“I’m joining you guys, Tony. I need all the time with my baby grandson I can get.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t hide him from you.” 

“No.” She agreed. “You hog him.” 

Peter laughed, getting a playfully dirty look from his dad which made him laugh harder. 

“Alright, you, climb into your car seat.” He opened up the back door to the pick up truck and smiled in amusement as Peter struggled to climb in but he didn’t sit in his car seat. “Sit.” 

“No. I want to sit in the one Morgan sits in.” He explained, hugging himself. “The one I sit in when we go to the store.” 

Tony shook his head. “No, this one is safer for you. So you sit in this or we’re not going to the store.” 

Peter stomped his foot to show his anger but he got into the car seat either way, letting his dad buckle him in and he of course had to make his complaints known. “It’s too tight. I can’t move. I can’t breathe.” 

“You’re talking, you can breathe.” He shut the door before Peter could come up with any more excuses. “Do you want to pick a song we listen to?” 

“Bad Romance!” 

Tony should have known. 

He found the song on his playlist and they listened to it on replay until they arrived. 

Tony was so happy to be getting out of the car. He unbuckled Peter and set him on his feet. “Touch the car.”

Peter knew the parking lot rules. He touched the side of the truck, watching his dad to tell him he could let go. He only listened sometimes. Sometimes he simply didn’t feel like listening. 

“Let’s go now. We need to get a shopping cart.” 

“I wanna sit in the seat.” 

Tony grabbed one. “You’re too big. Do you want to get stuck?” 

Peter didn’t like the fact that he was too big for it and would one day be too big for his dad’s arms. He wanted to stay young and little forever. “Then pick me up. Daddy.” 

Tony sighed. They literally just got here and Peter was already being difficult. “Peter. Don’t start with this. We need to get a few things and then we will go home.”

Peter turned his back to him. 

“Do you want to hold my hand or grandma's hands? You aren’t wandering away from me.” 

Peter turned to give him a dirty look that was actually adorable but Tony didn’t let him know that. 

“Neither!” 

“Hey. Do you want to sit on a timeout when we go home?” 

“No.” 

“Then stop this. Let’s go get what we came here for.” 

Peter grabbed onto the shopping cart instead, his salty mood leaving almost as quickly as it came. “Can I get a toy?” 

“We didn’t come here for that.” 

“But I did a pee in the potty.” 

“Pete, you need to fill up your whole cart.” Tony told him and purposely went the long way around so they didn’t have to pass by the toy section. Tony turned the cart into one of the aisles and started looking for the right size. “Do you want to get a different style, Pete? Peter?” 

Peter was squatting down and looking at the baby items in the aisle. “Huh?” 

“Do you want another style? Or Lion King again?” 

Alice looked at the designs. “What about this one? It has deers on it or something.” 

Peter wanted lion king. He liked looking at it on. “Lion King, dad.” 

Tony got the right size and put two boxes into the shopping cart and Peter was throwing in three bottles. “What’s this?” 

“Bottles. My new ones.” 

“You know we have a bunch back home.” 

Peter nodded. “But… I really want these ones too. Please. I’ll sleep all night if I can get them.” 

Tony smiled. So Peter knew he was a difficult child at nights. Good to know. “I’ll tell you what, if you be good for the rest of the store, I’ll buy you one. So pick what one you want.” 

Peter was so excited. He reached into the shopping cart and pulled out the one he wanted. “This one. It’s blue. Not red, my favourite colour. But still nice.” 

Tony was glad that that was all sorted. He put the other two back on the rack and led them out of the aisle before Peter found anything else he liked and whined for it. 

He turned down the baby clothes and his heart swelled a bit. It seemed like just yesterday Peter was a tiny toddler who would fit in these clothes and now he was fourteen years old and Tony hated how fast time was flying. 

His phone buzzed so he pulled it out to see a text from Pepper. 

Pepper 4:23pm Make sure to buy pull-ups as well 

Tony didn’t want to. He put his phone back in his pocket to pretend that he didn’t see it. 

Pepper couldn’t get angry at him for not seeing the text. 

Peter was after him next. “I don’t wanna walk anymore. I want you to carry me.” 

“Your feet work perfectly fine, buddy.” 

“Nooo. Carry me, daddy.” 

Tony moved one of the diaper boxes back and placed Peter in the shopping cart. “Sit in here. Don’t stand up.” 

Peter pouted since he thought Tony was picking him up to hold him but the shopping cart was fun too. So he laid down, getting comfortable. “It’s like a stroller.” 

“Kind of.” 

They finished the rest of their shopping, it was easier with Peter in the cart so Tony didn’t have to wait for his tiny legs to keep up with him or have him wander off down an aisle every so often. 

Tony paid and pushed the cart to their truck with Peter giggling at the vibration from the cement. 

“Push it more!” 

“Nope. We’re here. We’re gonna go home now.” He lifted Peter out of the cart and opened up the back door. “Sit.” 

“What will we do when we go home?” He asked, watching his dad buckle him up, scooching a bit forward once he was buckled in. “Can we play in the ocean?” 

“That sounds like fun. We’ll ask who wants to join us.” 

Peter was excited the whole way home. He had the window zipped down and stuck his arm out the window, happily letting the wind blow his hair all messily. 

Tony pulled the truck up to the driveway and turned around to see the mess of curls that now made up his son's hair. “You need to help us bring stuff in. I’ll give you something light.” 

They didn’t buy much but it was enough to only do one trip if everyone brought in something. So Tony handed Peter one of the diaper boxes but Peter dropped it. “It’s too heavy.” 

“Try this.” He handed him the other bag from that aisle. “Go bring this to mom.” 

Peter did as he was told. He ran inside the house but he didn’t see anyone there so he ran outside and spotted his mom walking down to the beach so Peter followed after her. “Mom! Look what dad bought me.” 

“Oh.” She expected Tony to text her when they were coming home. “Did you just get back, honey?” Peter nodded and pulled out a bottle. “Wow. Daddy said you could get another bottle?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Wow. Well how about we go inside the house to wash it and tell daddy to fill it up with milk.” Pepper was pissed off and she wanted Tony to see that. She walked into the kitchen just as Tony was, carrying two boxes of diapers. He placed them on the floor. “Hey.” Pepper greeted, walking around the counter to feel his pocket for his phone. 

“What’re you doing?” 

Pepper pulled out his phone. “Did you get my text?” 

“What text?” 

“I asked you to buy pull-ups. Not diapers.” She gestured to the boxes on the floor. “And you definitely saw my text.” 

She washed Peter’s new bottle, filling it up with milk and taking him down to the beach, leaving Tony to put everything else away. “Did you have fun at the store?” 

“Yeah.” He skipped alongside her, jumping down the steps and into the sand. “Where’s Morgan?” 

“She’s in the water. Drink your milk before you go in though.” She led him over to the umbrella and sat down in the chair, taking off Peter’s shirt and shorts. “Let’s get these off. Better?” 

“Uh huh.” He took a seat beside her, leaning against her arm while he drank. “Daddy?” He asked, looking back but not seeing him. 

“Daddy will be back soon.” 

Peter sighed but continued drinking and when he finally spotted his dad coming, he made grabby hands for him. “Mmm.” 

Tony picked him up so he could sit in that chair with Peter on his lap now, an arm wrapped around him. He knew Pepper was mad at him and it was annoying. “I did see your text.” He decided not to lie. “But I was there and I chose to buy diapers instead. It’s just easier to get on and off him.” 

Pepper wasn’t going to talk about this in front of Peter. “You just don’t want him in underwear.” That was all she was going to say. She stood up and leaned over them. “Let’s take this off of you, honey. You don’t need this on at the beach.” 

“What’re you doing?” Tony watched her pull the diaper off of him. “Seriously?” 

“He’s had a full bottle already. Peter, if you want more milk, daddy will get it for you.” Pepper left after that and Tony knew what she was doing. 

Peter was inevitably going to pee on him and Pepper knew that. 

Tony shook his head as she walked away, not knowing if he should be extremely angry or laugh. 

Peter laid his head on Tony’s chest, content to stay in that position forever but it was just a matter of time before Tony’s pants and likely shirt got soaked from the angle Peter was in. 

“Do you want to put a diaper on?” 

“Mmhm.” Peter shook his head. “Never.” 

Tony just sat there with him, patting his back while Peter drank. He went to shift him but Peter whined and moved back to the same position. 

“Mm.” 

“What?” 

“Don’t.” 

“Don’t what?” 

“Move me away, dad.” 

Tony lifted his hands off of Peter so Peter lifted his head up, giving Tony a dirty look. “I didn’t say stop holding me.” 

Damn. Was he ever sassy when he was in a bad mood. 

“Sorry. Just lay back down. I’m here. Do you want to try and sleep?” 

Peter sighed, shaking his head at that request. “Just cuddles.” 

And Tony was okay with that.