Always Be My Baby

Tony knew the paint wasn’t going to come out of the carpet. 

They managed to get it off the floors and walls but it was stained on the carpet, the couch and the baskets. 

Tony already wanted to give up and drive to the ice cream shop to check up on his kids (Peter) but he knew he couldn’t be that crazy. 

So instead, he finished cleaning up the paint trail leading to the bathroom and he couldn’t help but look at Pepper attempting to rub the paint off the table and laugh. “Did you ever think we’d be doing this when we decided to have kids?” 

Pepper laughed with him. They had to laugh at the situation or they would simply go crazy. “Absolutely not. I pictured applesauce over the face and floor, the biggest mess we’d ever clean up. Never mind red paint in hair and clothes and now blue paint.” 

Tony sat down, leaning against the now blue couch. “Yeah. We were so young and naïve.” 

“We did have Harley really young.” Pepper agreed. 

“Yeah, I love that though.” Tony thought back to when they found out they were pregnant for the first time. He was so freaking scared and so happy and excited at the same time. He was always so terrified to become a father but now it was his favourite thing in the world. 

He loved being a father so freaking much. He loved his kids more than anything and it actually hurt how much love he had for them. 

He thought of Peter and smiled. He loved his baby boy more than life itself. 

Tony plopped the blue sponge into the blue water. “I think this is as good it’s gonna get.” He gestured to the blue stained couch and carpet. “I’d get your mom a new one but it actually looks pretty good. I think our boy has a future in interior design.” 

“Oh.” Pepper laughed. “I hope not. Imagine someone hiring him to design their home.” 

Tony laughed at the thought. “Um yeah I think there should be a fridge in every room so milk is accessible at every spot in the house.” Tony imitated the boy, making his voice go super high pitched. 

“Yeah yeah. That would definitely be him.” 

They both started laughing and when their laughter died down, Pepper held up a finger to Tony’s lips. “Shh. Do you hear that?” 

Tony tried to listen, silently getting excited that Peter was finally home but he didn’t hear anything. “No. What is it?” 

“Exactly. Silence. You know how long it’s been since we had silence.” 

Tony couldn’t even remember the last time. 

Before he had a chance to say anything, Pepper was undoing his shorts and trying to tug them down. “Maybe we should go upstairs. Just in case the kids come home-” 

Pepper freed him from his jeans and suddenly he didn’t care about anything other than the pleasure he was feeling. 

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“I want chocolate! With-with extra chocolate!” Peter stood on the rock beside the cashier so he could see the menu. “And-and-and-and one gummy worm. Please and thank you.” 

He jumped down and joined his grandpa at the picnic table looking out onto the city below them and just after that was the ocean. Peter sat down on his grandpa's lap and pointed out towards the water. “Look! That’s your house, grandpa!” 

“Yeah, it’s somewhere there. Here, how about you sit beside me instead of on me.” 

Peter shook his head and got more comfortable on his grandpa's lap. “Did-did you take mommy here when she was a baby?” 

“Oh no, definitely not here. We lived in a poor part of Malibu when your mother was a young girl.” 

“Oh.” He grew up in a poor part of Queens with his kidnapper, well, it wasn’t a poor part, but it definitely wasn’t like the house he lived in now. Although Peter didn’t think of money and stuff like that though. 

“I like your house. It smells good.” 

Mike ruffled his grandson's curly hair. Harley came out with straight hair, taking after his mom’s texture and his dad’s colour, so he was surprised when Peter came out and eventually grew curly hair, taking after his dad’s curly hair with his colour as well. Mike saw baby pictures of Tony, he knew he had curly hair, although now it was more wavy than curly. 

“I’m glad you like the smell of my house, Peter. Usually people compliment our backyard or front yard. Or your grandmother’s white room.” He teased, nudging the boy. 

Peter giggled. “Don’t worry, you’ll get even more compliments now that it’s blue.” 

“Wow. I can only hope so.” Mike placed Peter on the bench beside him so he wasn’t sitting directly on top of him once the ice cream came. 

Peter took a lick of his ice cream and within a minute or so, he was covered in the messy food. Alice cooed at him then snapped a picture of Peter and Mike, sending it to Tony. Just to ease the separation anxiety she knew he was feeling and to show off how much fun they were having. 

“Aiser, here.” Peter let his dog have a lick of his ice cream. 

“Peter. Don’t do that, you know how many germs dogs have.” Mike stopped the boy from doing it again. 

“Actually their mouths are cleaner than ours because they swallow a lot more.” Peter learned that fact somewhere, he couldn’t remember where though. 

“And they also lick their butts. Don’t let Aiser lick your ice cream again.” 

Peter grinned at his grandpa, wanting to do the opposite of what he said. “Aiser, come here.” He stood up to get off the bench then squatted down, holding his bowl out to the dog. 

“Peter. You need to behave.” Alice stood up to see what he was doing, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew what Tony and Pepper put up with at home now, although Peter listened to them. He was taking advantage of testing his grandparents. 

“I am. Aiser just wants ice cream.” He pulled his dog by the leash, trying to get Aiser to eat it. “Lick it.” 

“Peter, listen to your grandma.” Mike told him but it wasn’t much of a threat considering Peter didn’t seem to care one bit. 

“Okay. Then I’m gonna call your dad.” Alice pulled out her phone and that got Peter listening. 

“No! Don’t! I’m listening!” He quickly sat back on the bench, taking a big bite of his ice cream. “Don’t call him.” 

Alice put the phone away and took a seat beside Peter. “I expect you to behave yourself.” 

He nodded. He didn’t want to be getting in trouble once he got home since he wanted to go on a bike ride with his family. Well, he wanted to chill in the wagon with a bottle. 

Once all their ice creams were done, Alice wet a paper towel and wiped Peter’s and Morgan’s face clean then went for a short walk down the strip. There wasn’t much there, they lived more in the countryside of Malibu where there weren’t many stores or buildings, only houses with lots of land between each other. 

So they walked along the roadside, next to the forest. “Can we go walk through the forest?” Asked Peter, tugging on his brother’s hand. 

“We can when we get home with your parents.” Mike honestly didn’t want to be responsible for Peter running off. Tony could take care of him. 

“Please? Grandpa. Please please.” He begged his grandpa but tugged on Harley's hand. “I really want to.” 

“Petey, when we go in the forest, guess who will be in there.” The eleven year old grinned, wanting to get a reaction out of her emotional brother. 

Harley knew what she was trying to do. “Morgan. You better not.” 

“Grandma. I really want to. Please.” He let go of his older brother’s hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now!” He stomped his foot. 

“Peter. I am not liking this behaviour and I don’t think your parents will either.” Alice went to grab Peter’s arm but he took off running into the forest. “Peter!” 

Aiser and Harley chased after him. Aiser tried to slow Peter down then Harley yanked his arm back, causing Peter to yelp then start crying. “You hurt me!” 

“Then you shouldn’t have run away!” Harley had to carry Peter back to the sidewalk, half dragging him since Peter was kicking and screaming and refusing to walk. 

“That’s it. I’m calling your dad. He is not going to be happy with you.” Alice called Tony and he answered on the forth ring, sounding out of breath. “Tony. Peter is not listening and is trying to run away.” 

Peter screamed. “No, I'm not!” 

“Okay. I’ll talk to him. Hand him the phone.” 

Alice tried to hand the phone to Peter but he turned around on the ground, sitting there with his arms crossed. “I’m putting you on speaker, Tony. He can hear you.” 

“Peter, it’s daddy. Are you behaving for grandma and grandpa?” 

Peter gave his grandparents a dirty look then pressed the end call button on the phone. “Don’t do that!” He yelled at them. He hated them for making his dad hate him and he needed milk now. He rubbed his tired eyes and threw himself down once he realized how far milk was. 

Alice went to discipline him but Mike stopped her. “Don’t. Let his parents deal with this. We’ve done our fair share of temper tantrums.” He grabbed Peter by the arm, lifting him to his feet but Peter refused to walk. “Peter, let’s go.” 

Tony called back so Alice picked up immediately. “He refuses to walk, Tony.” 

“Peter, how about you come home to me and we can talk about this. But you need to walk to the car. No one’s carrying you.” 

Peter just wanted his dad. “No. Jus’ come get me, daddy.” 

“No, Peter. You come home.” 

Peter cried harder and sank to the floor but Mike was holding his arm up. So Peter didn’t hit his head on the concrete, Mike hoisted him into his arms, he wasn’t as strong as he used to be but he was grateful Peter barely weighed ninety pounds. 

“Mike is going to carry him. We’ll be home in fifteen minutes.” Alice hung up the phone call, feeling bad for Peter. She didn’t really see this side of him and couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. 

Once they got to the truck, effectively ending their mini outing too soon, Mike opened up the back door and laid Peter down. “Alice, you can change him because I’m not.” 

Alice grabbed a diaper and wipes from the bag and walked around. “It’s a fifteen minute ride home, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” 

“It’s literally going to explode. Just do it.” Mike got into the truck, starting it while Alice got to work. 

“No. I want daddy.” Peter cried but lifted his hips to let his grandma take off his shorts and then untape his diaper and take it off of him. He rubbed his eyes and stuck his thumb in his mouth until it was over. 

He watched his grandma grab a new diaper so Peter tried to sit up, pointing to the bag. “Mm.” 

“What is it?” 

“Cream.” 

“I don’t have any cream, honey, your dad will get you some when we get home in just ten minutes.” 

Peter started crying again. He was sore down there on top of already missing his dad and being told no multiple times. He hated everything. 

He cried the whole way home. 

Once they got there, he saw his dad walking to the truck so he cried harder for him, reaching for the man through the shut door. “Daddy! Daddy!” He sobbed. 

After a quick talk with Alice, Tony opened up the back door, his heart breaking at the sight. “Oh baby boy. Why are you so sad?” Tony got him unbuckled quickly and pulled him into his arms, his heart beating so painfully when Peter sobbed against him, clearly upset about something. 

Tony left everyone and carried Peter inside, hating listening to his baby cry. 

He walked upstairs and shut the door behind him then laid Peter on the bed, grabbing rash cream. Alice told him already and he hated himself for not thinking to pack it. “Baby, what’s wrong? Is it because you’re hurting? Or did something happen?” 

He asked, opening the diaper and beginning to apply the cream. 

Peter felt a lot better at the cooling sensation on him. “I-I-I wanna-wanted to-to walk in the forest. Grandpa said no!” He sobbed out, not having stopped rubbing his eyes since Tony laid him on the bed. 

Tony knew that wasn’t a big deal but it was a big deal for Peter. “Aw. Did it upset you when he told you no?” Peter nodded and choked on his cries before continuing crying. “I’m sorry you felt that way, baby. Perhaps he said no because it wasn’t safe in the forest.” 

Tony finished applying the cream and cleaned his fingers off with a wipe then secured the diaper back onto him. 

Peter knew it was safe. “It was safe. I know it! He-he… he said no!” He sobbed, choking on his powerful cries. 

Tony knew it wasn’t because Mike said no to him but because he was having flashbacks from what Steve did to him and it reminded him of that. He sat on the bed and pulled Peter to sit on his lap. “Shh, just breathe and talk to me. Why are you upset?” He asked softly, brushing the curls from Peter’s face. “Did you think grandpa was telling you no so you couldn’t have fun?” Peter nodded. “Yeah?” He wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and then let go, rubbing his eyes. 

“Can I have soother?” 

Tony stared at him, trying to think of how to say no but before he could open his mouth to say anything, he'd already known he’d give in. He felt so bad for Peter. “Yeah.” He opened up the side table and pulled it out, placing it in Peter’s mouth, not missing the sigh of contentment when he did so. 

Now that Peter had a comfort item, he laid his head on Tony’s shoulder and shut his eyes. “I wanna nap.” 

Pepper rubbed their son’s boney back. “We’re going to relax outside but you can rest. No nap time, Peter.” 

Peter kicked his legs in Tony’s arms but didn’t protest that. 

He simply got more comfortable on Tony’s lap once he sat down on one of the pool chairs. “Mmm.” 

“Comfy?” 

Peter nodded, taking the pacifier out to talk. “Can I have this tonight too?” 

“Let’s see.” 

“Don’t say that. That’s just things grown ups say when they don’t actually want to say no. Just say yes.” 

Tony brushed the curls off his face. His hair was getting so long and Tony just couldn’t bring himself to get it cut. He loved how young he looked with his long curls, especially when it hung in his eyes. “Hmm. I guess we’ll see then.” Peter went to get off of him so Tony gripped his hips. “Where are you going?” 

“To go sit on the chair, not with you.” 

“Why?” 

“Because you say I can’t have a soother tonight.” Peter took Tony’s hands off of him and sat down on the other pool chair, stretching his legs out and placing the pacifier back in his mouth. 

Tony rolled his eyes at Peter’s behaviour but didn’t say anything. Although he did miss the comfortable weight on him. 

Peter expected his dad to give in but he didn’t so he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself into a sitting position. He made eye contact with Tony and got off the chair, going to the garden to join his mom on the chair she was sitting on, talking with her mom. 

“Hi baby. Where’s daddy?” 

Peter pointed behind him and looked at his mom’s bikini she was wearing, it was blue and had a charm on the string so he pulled it. 

“Peter. Why do you do that every time. Stop it.” She pushed her sons hands away and went to tie it again but Tony was doing it before she had the chance. “Oh. Thanks.” 

“I can’t complain. I like the view.” He winked at her then sat down, next to her mom. 

“Did you tell Peter to do this?” She joked, moving Peter’s hands again. “Stop it.” 

“I don’t need Peter to get your shirt off, thank you very much.” 

“Alright.” Alice budded in. “I’ll watch Peter. You guys got one hour.” 

Tony raised his eyebrows at Pepper but she rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around her son. “I’m good. Pete, how about you tell daddy he’s not getting any tonight.” 

Peter, as innocent as ever, had no idea what he was really saying. He turned to his dad. “You’re not getting any tonight, daddy.” He turned to his mom, grinning. “I am.” 

“Okay.” Tony stood up and pulled Peter off of Pepper and stood him on his feet, patting his butt. “You go play.” 

“No. I wanna stay here. With my mom.” He climbed back on his mom’s lap, getting comfortable again. “When’s it bedtime?” 

“Why? Are you tired?” 

Peter nodded. 

“Since I didn’t get the chance yet, I’m going to give him the oatmeal bath.” Alice clapped her hands at the idea and stood up, holding her hand out for her youngest grandson. “Come with, grandma.” 

With some hesitation, Peter stood up, taking hold of his grandma's hand. “Will daddy come?” 

“Nope. It’s just us.” 

Peter pulled away from her to climb onto Tony’s lap. “Then I don’t wanna go.” 

“Alright. How about I carry you up and get you settled?” Peter nodded against him. “Okay.” He stood up with Peter, hoisting him onto his hip. “Let’s go.” 

On the walk up, Alice tickled his thigh. “Aren’t you a little prince, having your daddy carry you everywhere. Are you going to ask him to carry you when you’re Harley’s age still?” 

Peter nodded, sucking harder at the thought of getting older. 

Tony chuckled, pressing a kiss to his son's temple. “You’re so cute. Don’t grow up on me.” 

“I’ll be like Peter Pan.” Peter smiled but his pacifier fell out so he screamed. “Nooo! I need it!” 

“Hey. Relax. Geez, kid. You’d think someone just died.” He had to set Peter on his feet and pick it up, wiping it on his pants like he’s done so many times before. Wow, did that ever bring back so many memories for him. 

Peter took it immediately and wiped the non existent tears off his face, lifting his arms up for Tony again. 

“Baby, we’re literally at the bathroom-” 

“Hold me.” 

“Okay. Okay. Up you get.” He lifted his baby up again, literally only for ten seconds then he entered the bathroom and set him back on his feet. “See. We’re here. Do you want to go pee before you go in the bath?” 

“I’ll go in there.” 

Tony couldn’t stop him. “Try to go now at least.” He took a seat on the closed toilet seat and decided to stay and watch instead of activity participating with the bath time, also known as Tony’s favourite time of the day. 

Alice set the bath to the right temperature and began pouring oats and milk into the bath, mixing it around with her hand. 

Peter watched the milk go in. “I want a bottle.” 

“Paci or bottle?” Tony asked, giving him the choice. 

“Paci. Bottle later.” He sat on the edge of the bath and eyed the milk again. “Now I get in?” 

“Now you take your clothes off.” 

Peter pulled his shirt off, tossing it carelessly on the ground then stood in front of his dad, letting him take his diaper off so he could get into the bath. “It’s like little tiny fishes eating my toes.” He giggled then squatted down, slapping the water. 

“Do you like it?” 

“Uh huh.” He leaned down to drink it but Alice stopped him. 

“No. Yucky water. Keep it out of your mouth.” 

Peter placed the pacifier back in and sat down completely, looking between his legs. “Still red and diaper rash.” 

“It’ll take some time. But it’ll help heal.” Alice grabbed a few bath toys from under the sink to toss them in. “Maybe you can try wearing underwear tomorrow.” 

Tony didn’t like her talking about that with Peter. He stood up and sat down on the floor to look into the bath. “He will wear a diaper tomorrow, Alice. I’ll decide when he wears underwear. When he’s ready.” 

Peter grabbed his hand. “Yeah. I’m not ready yet.” He grabbed his dad’s hand and moved it so he could sit on it, laughing. “That’s funny.” 

Tony wasn’t even surprised by Peter’s weird behaviour. “Is my hand comfortable?” 

Peter bounced on it, splashing in the water so Tony pulled his hand away and gently pushed Peter’s chest. “You’re silly.” 

“No. You are. You’re most silly.” 

Tony leaned over the bath tub to kiss him. “I love you. I’m gonna leave you here so you and grandma can spend some time together. Okay?” 

Peter preferred his dad to stay but he didn’t say anything about that. “Okay.” He watched him leave, looking back at his grandma when his dad was out of view. “Now what?” 

“Now we spend some time together.” Alice was relieved that her son in law left, letting her spend some one on one time with her grandson. Although she knew Tony didn’t want to leave, he still did and for that, she was grateful for. 

“Will you come back to New York with us when we go?” 

Alice hummed in thought. “I’d like to. But maybe next time. You aren’t leaving me yet though. Don’t leave me.” 

Peter giggled at the hand that tickled his belly. “I know. I’m just asking.” 

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Tony made himself busy downstairs while Peter was in the bath. He walked into the room that his kids turned into a playroom and found Morgan sitting on the floor, about ten Barbies lined up along the couch. “Hi. What’re you doing in here?” 

Morgan turned to him then grabbed the bowl of water to continue washing her hair. “Giving them a bath. Can I have oats and milk for my Barbie dolls? I saw grandma bring those up for Petey’s bath.” 

Tony sat down on the floor, uncomfortably crossing his legs. “It’s because Petey has a rash.” 

“Why?” 

Tony picked up one of the dolls and wrapped the mini towel around it more, needing something to fiddle with while he waited for Peter to be done. “Because he wears diapers.” 

Morgan nodded and stood up with the bowl of water. “Okay. I need to go change my water bowl. Be right back!” She ran off, spilling some on the floor and Tony rolled his eyes at that. 

The longer he sat there, the more he realized that Morgan wasn’t actually going to come back. He finally stood up and acknowledged the fact that his own daughter ditched him. So now he went to go find his oldest son, finding him playing video games in the family room. “Hey. How long have you been at this?” 

Harley was so concentrated that he barely acknowledged his dad. “Like… three hours.” 

Tony sat back and watched. He was bored. He was never really into video games or playing with dolls but of course it was something he did for his kids. He also missed Peter. Peter was the only one of his kids who actually cuddled with him and didn’t run away every time he tried to spend time with them. 

He eventually got bored and left, ruffling Harley’s hair who didn’t even seem to realize he had left. 

He went to go make himself a coffee but he saw Morgan grabbing a handful of diapers from the box. “What are you doing?” 

She froze. “Ummm… my dolls need diapers.” 

“Morg, those are Peter’s.” 

“But… I just need some.” 

“How many do you need then?” 

“Ummm…” She looked at the handful. “Ten.” 

“Ten? No, your brother needs them, Morgan.” Tony took them from her and gave her three instead. “Here. Take three. Next time we go to the store, you can have three more of these.” 

Morgan pouted for a split second but she left, running back into the playroom again but this time Tony didn’t follow her because Peter was walking down the stairs and Tony’s eyes lit up. He stood at the bottom to wait for him. “Hey, baby. How was your bath?” He eyed Peter up and down. He was wearing a shirt but no pants and was holding a diaper and cream in his hands. 

“Fun. Grandma says to give this to you.” He handed the items to Tony and continued walking down the hallway. “Where’s Morgan? She told me she was waiting for me.” 

Tony ran his fingers through Peter’s curls. “She’s in the playroom. You can come join me in the living room so I can put this on you.” 

“I wanna play first.” 

“No, because I don’t want you peeing on the floor.” 

“But I won’t. I promise.” 

Tony sighed and looked at Pepper and her dad walking into the house from outside. “Until you can keep your diaper dry for two hours straight, you will continue to wear one. I’ll be quick. Come with me.” Tony went to walk into the living room but Peter had other plans and ran towards the kitchen to see his mom. 

Only the water that Morgan had spilt on the floor was still there and Peter slipped on it, falling and landing on his butt with a smack. 

Tony waited to see if he was going to start crying or recover quickly. “Are you okay-” Peter sat up and began crying, reaching for Tony. “Alright then.” 

It was kinda funny but Tony couldn’t laugh at him or he’d upset Peter. He lifted him up and kissed his temple. “I think you’re okay. That just scared you, right?” Peter nodded, trying to stop crying. “If you let me put a diaper on you like I said, it wouldn’t have hurt you with all that padding.” 

Peter shook his head. He probably should have listened but he decided not to. 

Instead, he cried against his dad even as he was laid onto the couch. 

Pepper walked over with a cookie in her hand and handed it to the boy while he got cream applied onto him. “My mom found this really neat corn maze close by. What do you think about going today?” 

“Today?” Tony asked, opening up the diaper and sliding it under Peter’s butt. “When?” 

“We can leave whenever everyone is ready. Also I think he should wear a pull-up to go. That way if he needs to pee, he can pull it down himself.” 

Tony went to the kitchen to wash his hands, both Peter and Pepper following him. “And sit on those nasty public bathrooms. I don’t think so. I’d rather him pee in this.” 

Pepper sighed but didn’t say anything about it. “Fine. I’ll pack extra supplies for him. How about I go tell Morgan to get ready and you go get this one ready and we can leave in fifteen minutes.” 

“Sounds good.” Tony gently pushed Peter towards the stairs. “Let’s go get pants on you.” 

Peter walked in front of his dad going up the stairs then ran off into his parents room, and technically his too. He liked having sleepovers with Morgan but he found that he had nightmares without his dad so he settled on just sleeping with the man every night. 

Tony grabbed brown chino shorts and socks then tossed them on the bed where Peter was attempting to put his feet behind his head. “Stop that before you get stuck.” He pulled the ruffles out on the diaper then put his legs down. “Can you get these on by yourself or would you like help?” 

“Help.” That was the only way Peter would get them on. He laid down but Tony picked him up to stand in front of him. “Hey. I wanna lie down.” 

“Nope. Because you need to start learning how to do this by yourself. Step in.” 

With his arms crossed over his chest, Peter stepped into the pants, giving his dad a dirty look when Tony looked at him. 

“What?” 

“I wanted to lie down.” 

“Why?” 

“Cause… cause I did! I just did.” Tony pulled the pants up fully and Peter immediately whined at how uncomfortably tight it was. “Daddy. I don’t want to wear these. It’s uncomfy.” 

Tony did up the zipper and buttons. “It’s fine. You look cute.” 

Peter hated it. He threw himself onto the floor and forced himself to cry. “I don’t want to wear this one. It’s too tight here.” He pointed between his legs and Tony sighed. There was nothing he could do about that. “Because you usually wear these with underwear which is thin. Would you like to wear under-” 

“No! Something… not so tight.” 

“Petey, this is fine. You look so handsome and we need to take pictures too. You’ll get used to it. Come on, let’s go.” He grabbed his arm to pull him off the floor, ignoring the protests from him. “I think mom has a bottle downstairs for you before we go.” 

Peter lost the pout on his face. He walked ahead of Tony downstairs and looked in the direction of the kitchen but he didn’t see his mom so he walked towards the hallway leading to the front door instead and saw her standing there with everyone else. He looked at the big black bag on the floor, trying to spot something. 

“Are you boys ready?” 

Tony came up behind him and lifted the bag up. “Yep. Get your shoes on, kid.” 

Peter slipped on his white running shoes and tugged on his mom’s shirt. “Bottle?” 

“Already?” She watched her son chew on his index finger so she pulled his hand away from his mouth and handed him a bottle. “Here.” 

Tony noticed the sad look on her face when she handed the bottle to Peter and Tony felt bad. He felt like he was failing Peter and his wife. 

He thought he was making the right decision giving the bottle back to Peter, trying to keep him dry during the day and taking the bottles away was going to be incredibly hard for him. 

They needed to get on the same page and work this out. 

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“Stay where I can see you!” 

Tony watched Peter and Morgan climb on top of the stack of hays and then Peter jumped off and disappeared behind it where Tony couldn’t see him so he walked over and pointed at his son who had a mischievous grin on his face, likely trying to test Tony. 

“I need to be able to see you. If you can’t see me, I can’t see you.” 

Peter crawled away from him so Tony grabbed him and picked him up, setting him on his feet. “Heyyyy! Noooo! Stop it, dad.” 

“If you can’t play properly then you can hold my hand. Do you want to do that?” 

“No!” Peter yelled, trying to yank his arm out of Tony’s grasp. 

“Then stay where I can see you.” 

Peter gave him a dirty look but Tony walked away from him, joining the adults in watching them once again, still a bit too far for Tony’s liking. 

“Tony, let him be adventurous and explore a bit.” Pepper wasn’t mad. Just concerned about Tony being a helicopter parent. 

“Look around, there’s so many people here.” 

“Tony. He’s fine. I promise you. You need to let him be a bit independent and explore. All kids need to. Otherwise he’s going to be doing that when he’s older and it’s not going to be in a safe way,” She placed her hand on his thigh. “Let him.” 

He hated this. 

He absolutely hated this. 

Every fiber in his body was telling him to pick up Peter and hold him until they left but he knew he couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be fair to Peter. 

Pepper was right. 

So Tony sighed. 

He stood up and walked over to them. “Hey guys.” 

“Look at me, daddy.” Peter jumped from one hay stack to the other, turning to make sure his dad saw. “Did you see me?” 

“I did. Very good jump, Peter.” Tony looked at the bigger hay stacks behind the corn maze a bit, just out of sight from him. He took a breath. “Do you guys want to go over to that one? It looks more fun.” 

“Yes!” They both excitedly announced and Tony felt bad for yelling at Peter earlier. 

“Alright. You two can go but make sure you don’t talk to any adults you don’t know. Understand? And stay there.” 

Morgan jumped off but Peter hesitated. “And me too?” 

“Of course.” Tony couldn’t help kissing his forehead and holding his precious face in his hands. Tony loved him so much and couldn’t lose him. “But you need to be careful and don’t talk to anyone you don’t know. I’ll be right here.” 

Peter looked hesitant to leave Tony’s sight. 

He was never allowed to leave his parents' sights. Ever. 

And now he was. Peter hesitantly slid off the haystack and walked over to Morgan then she pulled him along and the two of them ran over to the bigger one, leaving Tony’s sight and leaving Tony with anxiety. 

Peter turned around and didn’t see his dad there so he jumped onto the small hay and grinned. He loved feeling independent like this. 

He climbed onto the other one, falling off and landing on his butt then Morgan started laughing at him, causing him to start laughing too. 

The two best friends played together for a long time, enjoying their new found freedom. 

Eventually they got tired and decided to sit on top of the highest haystack and talk. 

“Do you think we’re gonna be best friends when we’re older?” 

Peter nodded immediately. Morgan was his second best friend, after his daddy. “Definitely. Cause we’re best friends now. So nothing will ever change.” 

Morgan half hugged him. “Do you like having siblings?” 

“Yes. It’s never ever lonely.” 

“Do you wish you were the oldest or youngest? Or stay the middle?” 

Peter kicked his feet back and forth. “I wanna be the youngest!” He did like being the middle child because he was surrounded by love but he wanted to stay the baby of the family, even though he wasn’t the youngest and everyone still treated him as such. 

“All we need to do is move your crib down from the attic and then you can be the baby.” 

“My crib? I don’t have a crib.” Peter knew his old one was at their grandparents house but he slept in a big bed at home, not in a crib. 

“You did.” Morgan kicked her feet. “When you were a baby. Daddy put all your old stuff up there when we moved in.” Morgan remembered watching her dad carry up box after box of baby toys, clothes, and furniture. 

Peter didn’t know about that. He didn’t know why but he could assume why. 

“Oh. I didn’t know. But I don’t want to sleep in a crib. It’s like a mini jail cell for babies.” Peter didn’t remember sleeping in one and although he had fun playing in one when he was with Morgan that one time, he wouldn’t want that as his bed. 

Plus his dad couldn’t fit in there with him. 

Peter kicked his legs back and forth with Morgan and then he saw his dad and grandma walk around the corner so Peter turned around to crawl off the haystack and jump off once he was closer to the ground. 

“Dad! Did you see how high up we were?” Peter ran over to him, giving him a hug and placing his head just below his chest where he rested it, looking up at Tony. 

Tony combed his fingers through his hair, smiling down at him. He felt better with Peter in his arms now although it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be to not have Peter in his sight at all times. 

He was proud of himself for not giving in and going to check on Peter. 

Sure, Peter was young, gullible and naïve, probably the worst combinations but Tony knew, hoped, Peter knew better than to go with a stranger. 

Maybe he would put him to the test one day, just to see. 

“I did see you. Did you guys have fun?” 

Peter hugged him again then pulled away. “Yeah! I’m thirsty. Can I have a bottle?” 

Tony looked at Alice, not even knowing why he was looking at her. He called the shots here. “How about when we go home. Do you want a lemonade instead?” 

“Ummm… no. I want milk.” 

“Then I want milk too.” Morgan grabbed onto Tony’s other hand so they could walk him back to their stuff. “If Petey’s having it then I want it too.” 

“No one is having milk. We will get something else and then we’ll go into the corn maze. You’ve never been before, guys.” Tony pulled out his wallet and handed it to Harley who was going to go buy everything for him. “Thanks.” He told him then sat down, pulling Peter onto his lap, feeling between his legs. He pressed a kiss to his temple. “You need a change.” 

Peter shook his head. “No I don’t.” 

“No?” 

Morgan sat down next to Tony, clearly wanting his attention too so he wrapped an arm around her. “I’ve never been in a corn maze before. Is it haunted?” 

“It is!” Peter exclaimed. “I went when I was… ten.” 

Tony didn’t think so but there were still seven years of his son's life where he didn’t know him for or what he did. “You did?” 

“Uh huh.” 

“Where did you go?” 

Peter stood up off his dad’s lap and sat beside him instead. “Ummm… we went… Uh… I don’t remember.” 

Tony hated how he said we went. Meaning him and Steve. Him and his kidnapper. Tony wanted to know more but he didn’t even know if Peter knew what he was talking about so he left it. 

He thought about it while everyone ate and drank, he knew he shouldn’t focus on it but he found it hard not to. 

So when everyone was ready to go, he was grateful for the distraction. 

He took Peter’s hand and walked into the corn maze, looking to his right at the map of it. Yeah, they were getting lost in there. 

Peter eventually took Morgan’s hand and ran off ahead and Tony bit his tongue but it was Pepper who yelled out. 

“You two need to stay in our sight. We’re in a corn maze.” 

Peter let go of Morgan’s hand. “But I want to run that way.” 

“You can. But you need to stay in our sight.” 

Peter looked in the other direction. “But I want to run this way.” 

“Peter. Look at me, you can. But as long as daddy or I can see you.” 

Peter wanted to be told no so he could make it difficult for his mom. “But… but I want to run. You’re not letting me!” 

“Do you have to hold my hand?” 

“No!” He stomped his foot for good measure. 

“Then stop this whining. You can run ahead just stay in our sight. Okay?” 

“Fine!” 

Tony grabbed Peter’s arm before he could go anywhere. “And you need a change.” He laid his sweater on the dirty ground, kneeling down in front of it. “Lie down.” 

Peter would rather not. “Ew. No.” 

“Pete, your pants are gonna burst. Lie down.” 

“But-” 

“Peter. Now.” Tony grabbed his arm and waited for Peter to lie down, cringing at the corns around him. “I’ll be quick. And you’re not even on the ground. You’re good.” He undid the buttons on his pants then pulled them down to his ankles, taking the diaper off. “Can you pass me the bag, Pep?” 

“Here.” She grabbed a diaper, wipes and rash cream for him. 

“Daddy.” Peter whined. He felt like a bug was gonna crawl into him or something. “I don’t like it.” 

“I’m almost done.” 

Peter looked up at his mom, hoping she would help him but she just stood there so he tried to turn onto his stomach but Tony gripped his hip with one hand. “Daddy.” 

“Baby. You’re making it take longer. Please give me a second.” Peter gasped at the cold wipes. “Sorry. Almost done.” 

Peter picked up a corn from the ground and looked at it while he waited eagerly for his dad to be done. Once the diaper was secured onto him, Peter felt a bug touch his butt and he screamed. “No! There’s a spider!” 

“Where?” 

“Touching my butt!” 

Mike and Alice laughed but Tony didn’t, knowing Peter was genuinely scared of bugs even though he sat in gardens before to collect them. 

“There isn’t, I promise you.” 

“No! It’s going to crawl inside and eat my insides!” 

Tony undid the straps again, pulling down the front to check. “Lift your legs.” He ordered, wanting to double check but there was nothing. “No bugs. No spiders. Just cream.” He secured it back onto him. “Let’s go finish the maze. You’re good.”

Peter let his dad pull the pants up onto him and he suddenly just wanted to cry and go home. He was uncomfortable and didn’t like what happened. “I don’t like this maze.” 

“It’ll be fun. Look, Morgan is waiting up there with Harley for you. Go join them.” 

Peter hesitated. “Carry me.” 

“No. You can walk.” 

“My feet hurt.” 

“Because you need to walk more. Let’s go.” 

Peter grabbed between his legs. “My pee pee hurts.” 

Tony sighed and lifted him onto his hip. The excuses wouldn’t end there. “I just put rash cream on it. It doesn’t. You’re fine. I’ll carry you for five minutes. Then you need to walk.” 

“What if we get lost in here forever. I’ll never have a bottle again!” 

That’s what you’re concerned about? Tony thought. “Let’s try not to get lost in here so you get to have a bottle again.” 

Peter laid his head on his dad’s shoulder. “Yeah. So I can have my bottles until I’m fifty.” 

Tony didn’t comment on that because he knew Peter would get upset if he said no. Obviously he couldn’t let Peter have a bottle at fifty, they wouldn’t stop it now but they would stop it soon. 

Tony would want to wait a year if it was up to him. Or at least until Peter came to him asking to help stop him wanting bottles but that day wouldn’t ever come. 

Peter simply saw bottles as a form of comfort and that wasn’t ever going to change until they helped him learn how to self soothe himself which was quite the challenge. Not that they were trying hard enough. 

He turned a corner and placed Peter on his feet, getting a whine of protest from him. “You go burn some energy off. I’ll be here.” 

Peter lifted his arms up for him again. “No. Please. I want to be carried. Daddy.” 

Tony gave in again and lifted him back onto his hip, now wanting to leave. 

Peter was clearly in a clingy mood which Tony loved but he didn’t love the bossiness that came with it. “Are you ready to go home? Maybe take a nap? You look tired.” 

“I need to poop.” 

Tony sighed. They were in the middle of a corn maze. 

“Alright. Let’s get out and go find a bathroom.” 

“I want to go here.” 

“You can’t go poop in a corn maze, buddy. That just isn’t good.” Tony chuckled at the idea and got a dirty look from his kid. 

“No. In my diaper.” 

Tony had to stop laughing. He ran his fingers through Peter’s curls and realized that Peter was becoming too dependent on those too. He considered just taking them off him and telling him to sit on the toilet every twenty minutes but he didn’t know how that would play out. 

“Not in your diaper. That’s for pee accidents and I know that you’re being lazy and using it whenever you need to go. Right?” Peter turned his face away so Tony couldn’t see him. “Yeah. I know.” 

“I don’t.” 

“Uh. No lying.” 

Peter stayed silent so Tony didn’t reply to that. “Let’s go find a bathroom.” 

“I’m not going here. The toilets will smell.” 

Tony knew he was right about that. “Then we’ll be quick inside.” 

Eventually, they found their way out of the corn maze and Tony placed Peter on his feet. His arm was hurting. “We’re gonna go find a bathroom. We’ll meet you guys here?” 

Morgan went to hold his other hand. “I need to go pee too, dad. I’ll come.” 

“Can you take both?” 

Tony nodded at Pepper. He’s done it before. “Yeah. I’ve got them. We’ll meet you here after.” 

Tony took the two of them towards the only bathroom available which were porta potties just off to the side against the forest. Tony cringed. 

“No. I’m not going in there.” Peter absolutely refused. He tugged his dad in the other direction but Tony didn’t budge. “Dad. No.” 

“Peter, if you need to go to the bathroom then you have to. There aren’t any other bathrooms here, buddy.” He opened the door and laid toilet paper on the toilet so Morgan could go in one. “Try not to touch anything, Morg.” 

“Okay! It’s nasty anyways but I gotta go!” 

The door slammed shut and Tony looked back at Peter. “Your turn. Let’s go. I’ll keep the door open and stand here, okay?” 

Peter stood off to the side while Tony opened up the next stall and laid toilet paper over the seat then held his hand out for Peter, pulling down his pants, taking off his diaper and lifting him onto the toilet. 

“Just go now, buddy.” Peter’s face was comical. Tony did feel bad for him though. 

“I don’t like it.” 

“I know. Be quick then.” 

“I want to hold your hand.” 

“Okay.” Tony held the door with his leg so he could hold Peter’s hand, trying to also block him from the people walking by. “Are you gonna go?” 

“I can’t. It hurts!” 

“Buddy, just relax. You can’t hold it in.” 

Morgan appeared next to him, looking in. “I’m done. Where do I wash my hands?” 

“Uh… at that sink right there. Then come sit on the grass and wait for your brother, Morgan.” 

“It’s hurting my bum!” 

Tony didn’t know what to do. He knew Peter had a fear of strange toilets. “Do you need to go?” 

“Yes!” 

“Calm down. Just breathe and go.” 

“It hurts!” 

Tony sighed and looked around. There wasn’t much he could do here. “Okay. You just need to relax.” 

“Daddy!” 

“I thought you guys got lost. What’s taking you so long?” Pepper walked up to Tony so he moved aside so she could see Peter. “Aww, baby. What’s wrong?” 

“My bum hurts.” 

“He won’t go in this toilet, Pep. You know how he is.” Tony looked around and debated taking Peter into the forest to go but that might not work either since Peter was scared of bugs crawling up him. He sighed. “Let’s just head home.” 

“It’s almost an hour car ride home.” 

Tony knew. “He won’t go here. I don’t know what to do.” 

Pepper tried to think about it. “Maybe he’s constipated. We’ll give him a laxative when we get back.” 

“He’s just too scared to go here.” 

Peter whimpered. “I want a laxative.” 

“You don’t even know what that is.” Tony pointed out but Peter looked like he was in pain and Tony felt bad. 

“Just put a diaper back on him. He can go in that.” Pepper took one out of the bag and handed it to Tony along with wipes and cream. “There’s no one over there,” She pointed to an empty corner next to the corn maze and the forest. “go there.” 

Tony thought that was the best idea. He pulled up Peter’s pants and took him to that corner, kneeling down in front of him. “You’re just gonna go in here, is that okay?” 

“Yeah.” Peter wiped a few tears off his cheeks, feeling relieved when cold cream was applied onto his burning behind. “I want to.” 

“Okay, buddy.” Tony finished and stood up, pulling Peter against his side. “Do you want to go here or wait till you’re ready?” 

Peter didn’t care. He shrugged. “It hurts.” 

“What hurts?” 

“My bum. And-and my tummy.” 

“Okay. How about we head home then. Yeah?” 

Peter shrugged but he started walking back to where everyone else was so Tony followed him, pulling him against his side once they got there. “We’re gonna head back now. Peter has a bit of a tummy ache and he’s getting tired.” 

“Aww, my poor baby.” Pepper pressed a kiss to his cheek. “How was his poop?” She asked Tony but he shook his head, taking Peter’s hand in his as they began walking. 

“He didn’t go.” Tony pulled Peter to walk next to him, holding him against his side and deciding to keep him close by until Peter felt better. 

When they got to the truck, Tony opened up the back door and lifted Peter into his car seat. “Do you want milk?” Of course Peter nodded so Tony buckled him in and grabbed a bottle from the bag, pushing it against his lips. “Do you still need to go?” A nod. “Let me know if you want to pull over, okay? We’ll be back soon.” 

Tony got in the driver's seat, wanting to be the one driving because he felt safer being behind the wheel. 

He was confident in his driving abilities and although he was with Pepper and Mike too, but not as much as he trusted himself. 

Harley needed practice. But he was only twenty. 

Tony looked at Peter in the rearview mirror and saw him drinking his bottle and looking out the window while Pepper had her hand in his hair, combing his curls back. 

“Are you sleepy?” She asked the child. Peter turned his head and leaned it against the padding of his car seat, switching his bottle out for his thumb and tried to fall asleep with a full belly of milk and his mom's hand in his hair but he felt his stomach pain come back and then he needed to go again. 

“Can you pull the car over, Tony? You’re up for a change.” Pepper announced, seeing Tony shake his head at her in the mirror. 

“Oh. So I gotta do this one?” He fondly rolled his eyes but he actually didn’t mind doing it. Five minutes later, he pulled over into a McDonald’s parking lot and unbuckled Peter in his car seat, opening up the trunk and getting him to lie down in it. 

Pepper searched up dinner recipes while they waited. Everyone seemed tired from today and it looked like it was going to start raining soon so she knew it was going to be a quiet night indoors which was what they desperately needed after such a crazy few days. 

Tony was opening up the back door once they were done and he got Peter back in his car seat, pushing the bottle to his lips. 

“That was quick.” 

Tony buckled him up. “What can I say, I’m an expert.” 

“I want more milk.” Peter looked over at his mom but he knew she had none for him so he settled on sucking his thumb until they got home. 

Tony smiled at him in the rearview mirror. 

Overall, it was a really good day.