Talking to the moon
Tony knew this was going to be a good idea.
They needed it.
They needed to get their minds off of the drama of their life and relax for a bit.
Well, maybe a trip to Disney World wasn’t relaxing but at least it would be a nice trip for their family to get away from home for a few days and just enjoy being with one another.
Peter had fully healed from his injury two weeks ago so this was almost the best timing.
Almost.
Well, it wasn’t the best timing but it was as good as it was going to get. Plus Tony wanted to take this trip while his kids were still young
Sure, Harley was 20 but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still have fun. Plus Tony was going to take him to test drive some old cars. Just the two of them.
He was excited for that but not excited to leave Peter for that day.
But first they had to get there. It was going to be a 17 hour car ride and sure they could fly but Tony wanted to have everyone in the car for memories. Maybe he would regret it once they got to hour five. But it was all for the experience.
It was nine in the morning and they planned to leave by seven and were already behind since Peter decided to have an episode of diarrhea and Tony couldn’t get the van packed the way he wanted it without squishing Harley into the middle.
“No one opens that trunk until we get to the hotel in ten hours.” Tony warned everyone, wiping his sweaty forehead. Packing was a workout. “Where’s Peter?”
“He’s in the living room with Morgan. I told them they could each bring two toys. So they’re deciding.” Pepper kissed Tony’s cheek. “This will be fun. How long until everyone starts fighting do you think?” She laughed but wouldn’t be laughing pretty soon.
“Ten minutes. Twenty if we’re lucky.” Tony pecked Pepper on the lips then grabbed Peter from behind when he walked into the living room. “Have you picked two toys?”
“Daddy. You scared me.”
“Dad? Can I bring three? Since Peter has more stuff anyway.”
Tony sat down on the couch, standing Peter in front of him to do one last diaper change before hitting the road. “Your brothers only bringing two toys too, princess.” He pulled down Peter’s track pants, sliding the full diaper from between his legs.
“Peter’s butts all red.” She commented, glancing over at him.
“I know. He has a rash.” Tony turned him around, looking at it but it was getting a lot better.
“So?” Morgan asked, trying to give her best puppy dog eyes but only Peter had that ability to turn him to mush.
“Two toys, Morg. We’re going to Disney World. You aren’t going to need toys.” He grabbed the diaper rash cream, scooping some out and applying it everywhere.
Morgan groaned. “Peter gets to bring a whole bag. That’s not fair.”
“Morgan, that bag just has diapers and changes of clothes. No toys.”
“Still.”
Tony pulled up Peter’s track pants once he was done and held his arms out for Morgan, pulling her on his lap once she was close enough. “I’ll buy you whatever toys you want when we get there. That’s why you can only bring two toys now. Otherwise we’re going to have to put Harley on the roof when we drive back.”
Morgan giggled so Tony kissed her cheek and patted her butt when she stood up to go grab two toys.
“Daddy, me too?”
“You too what?”
“I get toys at Disney too?”
Tony cooed at his adorable face. He grabbed him closer and pressed a bunch of kisses all over his cheeks. “I love you so much.” He stood up, lifting Peter into his arms. “Yes. Of course you too. We’ll find a toy store there. I know there’s lots.”
Placing him on his feet so he could pick his two toys, Tony placed the diaper rash cream and wipes onto the diaper bag and double checked that everything was in there. He made sure they had pacifiers for the car ride, just in case, and two bottles of milk. That would hopefully get them to the hotel but if they needed to stop for more milk, they would. He zipped up the diaper bag after and swung it onto his shoulder.
“Let’s go guys, get your toys and go get buckled into the car.”
Pepper was at the front door, changing into a more comfortable sweater.
“Mommy. Look at the toys I picked out. And-and dad even said I can get a toy at Disney too.” Peter shoved his chosen toys into his moms face, smiling proudly.
“Oh. Did he now?”
“Yeah!”
“Well, you better take him into that toy store then and take your time choosing.” Pepper always complained that the kids had way too many toys but Tony didn’t think they had enough. He loved buying his kids toys because he knew one day he couldn’t do that anymore and then he’ll blink and be buying toys for his grandchildren. Such a weird thing to think. Pepper kissed his cheek on the way out the door. “And just for that, you can do the first diaper change.”
Tony was already going to anyways.
“Alright you two, climb into your car seats.” He put the alarm on, shutting the front door and following them to the van but Peter was sitting in Morgan’s car seat and she was sitting in his. “Switch.”
“I wanna sit in Morgan’s. It’s funner.” Peter leaned back, getting comfortable.
“I’m sure it is but I think yours is cooler. It has two cup holders. Your sisters only has one.”
Peter gasped.
“So how about you two switch now.” Morgan got out of Peter’s car seat to switch but Peter didn’t move. “Peter.” Tony warned.
“No. I want to sit in this car seat. Mines too tight.”
Tony sighed and walked around the van, opening the other side and holding his arms out for him but Peter didn’t budge. “If I see that it’s too tight, I’ll loosen it. Okay? Do you want me to carry you around or do you want to sit in it yourself?”
“I can do it by myself.” Sliding out, Peter got into his car seat, already putting his arms through the straps by the time Tony walked back around the car. “Look, dad.”
“Good job, bubs.” Tony knew it wasn’t too tight but Peter was dramatic. “Is it too tight?”
Arching his back, Peter whined. “Yeah. It’s pushing my pee pee.”
Harley chuckled in the back.
“Okay.” Pretending to fix it, Tony clicked it back up. “Still tight?”
“No. That’s better.”
Tony smiled because he didn’t even do anything. He kissed him then told Aiser to jump in and shut the van door, getting into the driver's seat and setting up the gps. “Seventeen hours to go.”
Peter arched his back. “Can I have paci?”
Looking over at Pepper, Tony sighed. He thought Peter would ask in an hour or two. Not before they even left the driveway.
Pepper pulled one out of the cup holder and handed it back to him.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“Last call if you need to pee.” Tony announced before putting the car in reverse.
“Not me.”
“Nope.”
“I already went.”
He looked in the rearview mirror at Peter. “You Mr, if you need to go poo, don’t just go, tell me so I can stop. I don’t want you sitting in that.”
“‘Kay.”
Peter pet Aisers head, not even realizing he was doing it but finding comfort in the motions and the texture of the soft fur. By the time hour one passed by, Peter was getting incredibly restless and kicked his legs in his seat.
“Mmmm!”
“What’s wrong?” Tony paused his conversation with Pepper to check on Peter. He was silent for most of the car ride thanks to the pacifier in his mouth.
“I’m not wanting to sit no more. My bum is wanting to walk.”
Tony looked at the gps. 17 hours was going to turn into two days if they had to stop every hour like this. “Alright. I’ll pull over somewhere to stretch our legs.”
Peter nodded, wiping at his cheeks even though there were no tears. “My bum hurts.”
“Okay. Let’s stop somewhere.” Tony didn’t even know where they were but he decided on a random park with an open field. Quite the perfect place to have a break. He shut the van off and got out to unbuckle Peter, seeing that he looked absolutely miserable.
“Baby. What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t like my car seat.” He wrapped his arms around his dad like a koala bear, starting to cry against him.
“Baby, you love your car seat. You don’t like it anymore?” He asked, walking a bit away from the van and almost getting knocked over by Aiser as he ran past them. “Is it hurting your bum?”
Peter nodded against him. “It hurts my pee pee.”
Tony kissed his cheek. “Because you have a diaper rash there.”
Peter whimpered. “Yeah. No car seat.”
“No. I’m sorry. You have to sit in one.”
Peter sighed. “Harls doesn’t.”
“Because he’s older and bigger. Buddy, when you are older and bigger like him, you won’t have to either.” Tony didn’t want to tell him he could move to a booster seat soon like Morgan because he knew then Peter would beg him to sit in one instead.
“I’m big now. I’m taller than Morgan.”
Barely. “I know you are. But you’re lighter. Despite being older. And so that means you’ll continue to sit in your car seat.”
Peter clung onto him. “No. It’s pain.”
“You’re not wet. I’m going to put on some baby oil so it doesn’t hurt as much.”
“In my car seat?” Peter asked, unwrapping one of his arms from around Tony’s neck so he could look at his fathers face.
Tony chuckled. “No, Petey, in your diaper. I promise you’ll feel better.”
“Okay.”
Tony took the diaper bag and brought it into the front seat, sitting Peter on the seat as well so Peter took that opportunity to pretend to drive, looking over at his mom in the passenger seat. “Look, mom. I’m driving like daddy.”
“Are you going to drive your kids everywhere like daddy too one day?”
Peter nodded. “Uh huh.”
“How many kids do you want?” Pepper asked despite Tony not enjoying the fact that Peter was in fact going to grow old and have kids one day because that required him to have sex and Tony just didn’t want to think of his innocent little boy doing that.
Peter hummed. “Just one.”
“Oh?” Tony was actually surprised. “A boy or a girl?”
“A boy! I’m gonna name him daddy.”
“You’re going to name your son daddy?” Tony laughed, pulling the baby oil out.
Peter nodded with a grin. “Uh huh. After you!”
“Wow. Aren’t I special. Okay, stand on your knees and face me.” Tony told him. “No, other way. Yeah.”
“Why can’t I lie down?”
“You can. But it’s easier this way.” He tugged his track pants down and untapped one of the sides of the diaper, squirting some of the oil inside but stopped when Peter flinched. “What?”
“It’s cold.”
Tony started again, causing Peter to flinch once more.
“What are you doing, Tony?”
“He said his car seat is hurting him so I’m just using the oil… so it doesn’t.” He knew it wouldn’t necessarily help but at least Peter wouldn’t be in pain from the rash anymore.
He did the strap back up once he poured a significant amount on. “Okay. Bum now. Face mom.”
Peter turned to face his mom, leaning into the centre console. “It’s cold.” He giggled, already finding relief.
Tony let go of the back of his diaper and used it to massage the oil into his skin through the padding. “Better?”
Peter nodded.
“Ready to go back in your car seat?”
Peter nodded once more so Tony pulled his track pants up and carried him two feet, placing him back in his car seat.
“Make it not more tight.”
“Loosen it?”
Peter nodded.
Tony pretended to do just that but not actually doing anything. Then he did up the strap and patted his belly. “Better?”
Peter looked so unsure. “Noo. It’s rubbing.”
“Buddy, I put baby oil. I can’t loosen it anymore or you’ll slide through.”
Peter whined, nearing tears.
“Okay. How about I put some more so it doesn’t hurt when it rubs? Okay?”
Peter still looked unsure but he nodded anyways and watched as his dad unbuckled him and grabbed the baby oil again. “Stand up.” He tugged off the track pants, tossing them on the floor. “Sit back down.”
“Will it make the hurt go away?”
Tony was starting to regret driving now. “Yes. It will.”
He untapped one side of his diaper and poured some of it over his skin, letting it run down.
“When can we start driving again?” Morgan complained, stopping to stand next to her dad outside.
“Now. Go get in your car seat, princess.”
Pepper watched Tony, waiting for him to stop but he didn’t. “Tony. How much are you pouring in? You’re going to fill the diaper with that.”
Tony would rather that than have to stop again. “It’s fine. See? All done.” He said to Peter. “Better?”
“Yeah… it feels funny.”
“But it doesn’t hurt?”
“No.”
“Good. Now we can go.”
.
.
.
“I see London Bridge!” Peter gasped, pointing out the window of the car.
“Buddy, that’s only in London. What are you looking at?” Tony couldn’t turn his head to look since he was on the highway driving. They were on hour five and were making pretty good time so far, only stopping every hour or two to stretch their legs.
Peter was doing really well too. He hadn’t asked to stop once and was content to watch a movie on his iPad or draw on it with Morgan.
Tony was happy. Having his family all in one place together on their way to what was known as the happiest place on earth but Tony knew that where his family was, was the happiest place on earth.
Which right now, was this van. Even Aiser was just happy to be there. Lying on the floor in between Peter and Morgan, snoring every so often.
“Dad, when are you going to take all of us to England? I wanna see London Bridge too so I can sing the song on the actual London Bridge.”
Tony shook his head amusingly. “In two years I’ll take you all.”
“Why two years?”
He looked at Pepper. She knew why. They couldn’t travel Europe with a child that wasn’t potty trained and still depended on bottles and pacifiers. Hence the fact that Peter had a pacifier in his mouth for the whole journey so far despite not needing it.
“Because you’ll enjoy it a whole lot more when you’re older.”
“But in two years I’ll basically be Peter’s age.” Morgan pointed out. “So does that mean I can’t go still?”
“Honey, your dad and I will take all of you to travel Europe one day. It’ll be so much fun. But right now, it just won’t be possible.” Pepper turned around to explain to Morgan, not wanting to admit the real reason they couldn’t go right now.
Tony reached a hand over to squeeze her thigh, silently thanking her.
.
.
.
“I know, baby. We’ll stop soon. I just have to find somewhere to pull over.”
Peter was sobbing. Full on sobbing.
It started out ten minutes ago when he complained about not wanting to be in the car anymore and when no one let him out of his car seat, he began crying and has been for the past ten minutes.
In that time it took for Tony to find somewhere safe to park the car, Peter’s crying only got worse but no one bothered to help him since they all knew nothing would work until he was out of the car and in his fathers arms.
Tony opened up the back door after shutting the van off and taking Peter out of his car seat, lifting the sobbing boy into his arms. “Shh. Better now?”
Peter only responded by crying harder so Tony picked up the fallen pacifier on the floor, wiped it on his pants and pushed it past Peter’s lips, grateful that it stopped him from crying. “Just breathe. You’re okay.” He walked them over to a patch of green grass in the sun and sat down on the bench there, shifting Peter more comfortably on his lap. “Was it difficult for you to sit still for so long?”
Peter nodded then sighed. “Yeah.”
“You did so well though. I’m so proud of you for that.” He wiped the stray tears off his cheeks. “We have about three more hours until we get to our hotel. Then guess what.”
“What?”
“There’s a pool there. With a slide. So we can immediately get our bathing suits on and go swimming.”
“When?”
“We have to drive on the highway for a bit longer. Do you want some milk?”
“Wan’ to be at the hotel now.” He whined, using a closed fist to rub his eyes. “Can we?”
“Soon, baby. I promise.” Tony stood up, placing Peter on his hip to walk back to the car. The faster they got on the road again, the faster they could be there. He checked between Peter’s legs, feeling that he was still dry from his last diaper change. “Do you need to pee?”
Peter shook his head.
“Okay. Are you going on purpose or by accident in your diaper?” He asked just because he was curious. He didn’t need to tell Peter whether to hold it or not since either way they would either be stopping every ten minutes or he would go in the car.
Peter took his pacifier out of his mouth to talk. “I go on purpose. You mad?”
“No, baby. Let’s get to our hotel.” He went to place Peter back in his car seat but Peter arched his back. “Peter. Stop.”
“No. Noooooo! I not sitting back in! Noooaaaaaanooo! Daddy, NO!” Peter all but screamed, arching his back and trying to wrap his arms around Tony’s neck like he was about to be thrown off a cliff.
Tony had to take a few seconds to recover from the direct scream straight into his ear.
“Hey. Hey. Peter, why are you screaming like that? Stop it.”
Peter wasn’t going to stop though.
“Oh man.” Morgan shook her head at her brother’s behaviour. “We’re never going to get to Disney. I vote we leave Peter here.”
Peter heard that and fully collapsed, sobbing half against his dad and half against his car seat.
“Morgan. That is very rude to say.” Tony warned, still trying to get Peter into his car seat so Pepper walked around the car to try and help.
“Sorry. But he’s crying too loud. See! Even Aiser doesn’t want to come.”
Even with his music at full blast, Harley could still hear the crying and screaming so he didn’t even bother.
“Daddy! No! No! No! No car! No car!”
“Peter, we need to drive to our hotel. Do you want to nap?” They had one bottle left but Tony’s sure he could get Peter to sleep with just one bottle.
Groaning, Peter arched his back, crying until Tony lifted him out of the car and back into his arms where Peter clung tightly onto him. “Yeah… but not in car.”
“Baby. We have to get to our hotel.” Tony sighed then thought of something. “Do you want me to sit back there with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Okay.” Tony looked in the back seats. It would be a tight fit with Peter’s car seat but he could rotate it down so that Peter could be more comfortable and sleep easier. “Go with mom for a few minutes so I can put your car seat in the back. Then I can sit with you.”
He placed Peter on the ground, watching him immediately go into his moms arms, tugging her top down. “Let’s go sit in the front seat while we wait for dad. Come.”
Peter followed her, climbing onto her lap and placing a gentle hand on her chest. “Milk?”
“No, honey.”
He sighed, sticking his thumb in his mouth for comfort. His pacifier got lost in that screaming fit.
Tony unhooked Peter’s car seat, carrying it to the back. He loved and hated the car seat stage of having kids, which he lived in for the past twenty years. When one child gets out of one, another child gets into one. Now he had two out of three still in car seats.
At least Morgan’s wasn’t built like a tank.
He placed it on the seat and snapped it into place then grabbed the straps, attempting to find the hooks blindly. It was like rocket science, no scratch that, he could actually do rocket science. This was always a pain in the ass to do.
Once the final hooks were in, Tony sat back and sighed. “Alright. Done. Come here, Pete.”
“Dad, can I drive?” Harley asked, refusing to sit back there with Peter.
“Umm… do you feel confident?”
“Yeah. I’ll just follow the gps anyways. It’s simple.”
“If your moms okay with it, then sure.”
Pepper lifted Peter out of the driver's seat and walked around the door to help him get into the car. “You can drive now but I’m going to drive the last hour.”
“Come, Petey. Daddy’s gonna sit back here with you.” Tony had a perfect plan in his head. If he could get Peter to nap, then he would wake up happy, hopefully just before they got to the hotel and then they could change, go swimming, eat dinner, sleep and be back on the road again. Perfect. And it all depended on Peter.
“You’re sitting with me?”
“Yeah. Right here.” Tony pulled Peter closer and lifted him into his car seat. “Where’s paci?”
“I dunno. It fell away.”
“Okay. I’ll get you buckled in then get you another one.” He was grateful that Peter didn’t put up a fight. At least for now. If they made one more stop, they would arrive at a perfect time at the hotel.
He handed Peter the bottle, watching his little hands take it and hold it up to his mouth, drinking it.
“Alright. We’re ready back here.” Tony announced before getting his seatbelt on and holding Peter’s hand when he reached for him. Despite the full on temper tantrum that Peter just had, Tony’s heart was so full of love. When Peter did simple things like this, it completely melted Tony.
Peter drank his bottle with one hand, holding onto Tony’s hand with the other and looking out the window, his eyes watching everything pass by.
After about thirty minutes, Peter’s eyes started shutting but he kept forcing them open again so Tony took the bottle and switched it out for the pacifier, begging to run a hand over Peter’s eyes, gently forcing them closed.
He did that until Peter’s eyes stopped opening and remained closed but Tony knew he still wasn’t asleep. Couldn’t make that mistake again.
So he continued on gently running his hand over Peter’s eyes, silently cooing when Peter reached out to him to hold his hand, sighing contently.
.
.
.
Tony almost fell asleep during the last hour of the car ride.
What was it about sitting in the back seat that made you fall asleep? He’d never know.
About five minutes before they got there, Tony decided to wake Peter up. “Hey, buddy. Time to wake up.” Tony gently shook him, moving a gentle hand over his chest.
Whining, Peter arched his back, trying to stretch the best he could. “Hmmmm.”
“Hey, baby. We’re at our hotel. You ready to go swimming?” Please be in a good mood. Please be in a good mood.
Peter opened his eyes, squinting them at the light then looked over at his dad, grinning.
Yay.
“Did you have a nice nap? You were really tired, huh?”
Peter nodded, sitting up but then going back down once he realized he couldn’t move.
He needed to poop so he tried to shift forward in his car seat a bit but it didn’t really help so he tugged on it.
“What’s wrong? We’re going to stop soon. Can you wait five more minutes?”
Peter nodded, putting his feet to touch the seat in front of him and then he was going. “I’m… pooping…”
“Right now?”
Peter grunted. “Uh huh.” He forced out.
“Okay. Pepper, what does the gps say? Peter’s pooing.”
“Ewwwww.” Morgan cringed.
“Oh. Okay. Um… four minutes.”
When they pulled up to the hotel, Pepper parked out front in the closet parking space she could find, shutting the van off and getting out.
“Tony, do you want to check in while I take him to the bathroom or you take him?”
“You go check in and we’ll get the suitcases so we can go straight to our hotel room.”
“Okay. I’ll be quick.”
Tony unbuckled Peter and got out of the van, opening up the trunk and taking one suitcase out which was specifically packed for this hotel so they didn’t have to take everything out and re pack later.
“Can you take this suitcase, Harley, Peter, come with me.” He grabbed the diaper bag from the trunk and took Peter’s hand in his.
“Dad, can we go see the pool?”
Peter agreed with his sister. “Yeah! I wanna go swimming.”
“I hope there’s a hot tub.” Harley took the suitcase from his dad, leading the way inside.
“We’re going to go to the hotel room and I’m going to change your brother then we’re going to go swimming.” Tony saw Pepper talking to the front desk so he waited a few feet from the elevator doors, holding Peter against him.
Peter leaned his full body weight on his dad, squirming a bit when his privates itched. “Are you going to change me?” He asked, turning around and laying his chin on Tony’s ribs, looking up at him.
“I am. As soon as we get to the hotel room.”
“Got our keys. We’re on the very top floor.” Pepper handed one key to Peter and one to Morgan, knowing they liked to open it.
Tony ushered everyone into the elevator, pausing before a fight happened. “Which one of you is going to press the elevator button and which one will unlock the room?”
Morgan paused. “Petey can do both. To make him be happy.”
Peter grinned and pressed the button for floor fifteen. “Yay!”
Tony gave Morgan a high five. “That is very sweet of you, Morgan. You’re such an amazing sister. What do you say, Pete?”
Peter looked at his sister. “Yeah. Thank you. Cause-cause I like to do both.” He stepped outside the elevator and walked to the hallway, knowing he had to stop before he could walk any further. “What’s the room number?”
“515. So if we look at the sign, which way will it be? Left or right?” Pepper asked Peter, stopping to stand behind him by the board with the directions.
“Ummm… right!” Peter said, pointing left.
“You’re right. But this is your right, not left. But good job. Go find our room.”
Him and Morgan ran ahead, running down the hallway while Harley walked quickly behind them. It was Tony’s favourite sight to see, all three of his children together and enjoying life. He wrapped an arm around Pepper. “Let’s put the kids to sleep early tonight so we can sneak away to go have sex somewhere.” He kissed her neck.
Pepper giggled. “Tony. We’re sharing a hotel room with three kids. One who is your shadow…”
“Once I get Peter to sleep, we’ll have at least two hours to ourselves. We can do it in the bathroom. Or sneak down to the pool… I’m sure the hot tub doesn’t have any cameras…”
“Tony. You’re bad.” She kissed his cheek and walked in front of him, turning around to wink at him. “Get Peter to sleep and I’m all yours.”
She opened the hotel room door, finding it locked so she knocked. “I gave them both our keys.”
“Rookie mistake.”
Harley opened the door for them and Aiser ran out briefly, excited by everyone else’s excitement.
“Hey, poopy bum, let me change you so we can go swimming.”
Peter was too busy jumping on the bed. “No!”
“Morgan, if you can get your bathing suit on in under five minutes I’ll buy you a cool swim toy from the gift shop.”
“Really?”
“Time starts right now.”
Okay. One down. One to go.
“Peter. If you let me change you, I’ll buy you a toy too.” He bribed him, patting the edge of the bed.
Peter didn’t stop jumping. “I want to play!”
“You can. But can I change your dirty bum?”
Peter fell onto all fours and slid off the bed, looking like he was going to lie down in front of Tony but he didn’t and instead he ran into the other room of the hotel, running into the room where his mom was.
Tony followed, taking his swimming shorts from Pepper. “I’m going to go down to the gift shop and buy swim diapers.” She said, putting a hand on her hip to face Tony.
“Okay. You think he needs them?”
“Well I don’t know. That’s the problem. I’d rather he wear one and not use it than not be wearing one and poo in the public pool.”
“Alright. You’re right. I’ll change him while you get them.” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm. “Come with me.”
“Mom? Can you help me put my bathing suit top on? It’s all twisted up.” Morgan complained, following her mom.
“Can you ask your dad? I’ll be right back.”
“Dad?” Morgan chased him. “Can you help me put my bathing suit top on?”
“Yeah. Come here.”
In the second he let go of Peter, Peter ran away again but Tony let him go, knowing he couldn’t do two things at once. He helped Morgan get it on and tied up the back. “Go put your hair up. Unless you don’t mind it getting wet.”
He walked into the main room of the hotel which had a mini kitchen with a living room and tv. Then it broke off with one bedroom on the left and another on the right. At least Morgan and Harley would get their own beds.
“Peter, if you’re not lying on that bed by the time I count to ten, you’re not getting a swim toy. I mean it.”
Peter stared at him.
“One, two, three,”
Standing up, Peter took two steps towards him, putting a finger in his mouth.
“Four, five, six,”
“But-but-”
“Seven, eight, nine, ten.”
Walking unsurely, Peter made his way into the bedroom, standing at the edge of the bed. “Am I good?”
“Yes. Thank you for listening. The quicker I change you, the quicker we can go swimming. Lie down on the bed.” Tony grabbed the package of wipes and opened up Peter’s diaper.
Of course it had to smear all over his front, making it so much more difficult for Tony.
“Hold your legs open.”
“Dad, do these look too tight?” Tony looked over at Harley’s new bathing suit.
“A bit. But they don’t look bad. Just make sure they don’t rip.” He went back to wiping. “Why did you buy them so small?”
“I ordered them online.”
“I asked you if you wanted to go shopping last week. You packed an extra pair, right?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
Laughing and shaking his head, Tony spoke, “Petey, your brothers a little bit crazy, don’t you think? After we’re done swimming, we’ll go to the gift shop quickly so you can get an extra pair.”
“Sweet.”
“Okay you. You’ve got a clean bum but moms not back yet so go enjoy being in the nude until she comes back.”
“Yay!” Sliding off the bed, Peter ran back to his spot in the living room to look outside at the view.
“It would be hilarious if the window cleaner came right now.” Harley pointed out, watching his younger brother live his best life.
“That would definitely not be funny.”
Tony heard the door open and since Aiser didn’t bark, it had to be Pepper. He turned to see her walk in, seeing the package in her hands. “Peter, moms here. Let’s finish getting you ready. Come into the bedroom.”
Peter ran after his dad, leaning against the bed. “What’s that?”
Pepper appeared next to them a few moments later, ripping open the package. “Swim diapers for you.”
“Do they make me float?”
Tony pulled his shirt off and lifted him onto the bed. “No. It’s just to make sure that if you poop, none of it goes into the public pool.” Tony took one out of the package, seeing which way was the back.
“I hope they fit.” Said Pepper. “They only had one size there.”
“They’ll fit. His hips are small.”
Peter pulled his knees to his chest but Tony stopped him. “No, they’re like pull-ups. Put your feet through.”
“You said a diaper.”
Tony put his feet through the holes. “Lift your hips up.” He slid them onto his thin frame and got Peter better rearranged. “They fit perfectly. Are they comfortable?”
Peter sat up. “They feel weird.”
“You’ll get used to it. Go grab your bathing suit from mom.”
“It’s finding Nemo, dad!” Peter exclaimed after looking down at himself excitedly. “Look!”
“Wow, baby. You look so cool.”
Peter ran to go show his siblings. “Harls, Morgan! Look! It’s finding Nemo!”
“That looks really cool, bro. You’ve definitely out beat me.”
Peter grinned. He was so happy. “Yeah. It’s so cool. The coolest.”
“Peter, come get your bathing suit on.”
Peter walked back into the bedroom and into the bathroom where his mom was in her bikini bottoms. Peter looked at the shorts on the counter that his dad picked up and kneeled down in front of him. “Peter, these aren’t actual diapers. Meaning if you go pee, it’s going to be like peeing in underwear. Okay?”
Peter shrugged. “But it’s a diaper.”
“I know. But a swimming one. So try not to go pee.”
Pepper unclipped her bra and hung it on the doorknob. “If you need to use the bathroom while you’re swimming, try to tell us too. Instead of just going.”
Peter stepped into his swimming trunks, cringing when they were first pulled up on him. “It’s uncomfy.”
“You’ll get used to it. Alright. Leave the bathroom so I can change. Go find your sister.”
Tony kicked him out and shut the door behind him, locking it and turning around then immediately stripping his pants and underwear off. “Wanna do it really quick right now? Because I’m down.”
Pepper looked amused but not turned off. “Our kids are waiting for us to take them swimming. I told you, put Peter to bed and I’m all yours. Wait until then.”
Outside the bathroom, Peter started getting his shoes on, making sure they were on the proper foot. Then he crawled over to the living room and pulled Aisers tail. “Oops. Sorry. I did it on accident.”
Aiser whimpered at his tail being pulled but didn’t do anything else so Peter crawled over him and sat on Harley’s foot. “Take me swimming.”
“We’re waiting for mom and dad. They’re taking forever.” Groaned Harley as he bounced his foot to make Peter fall off of him just as his parents walked through the door.
“Let’s go guys, now we’re the ones waiting on you.” Tony clapped his hands together, looking at Harley who looked surprised he heard him. Tony heard everything. He put a shirt over Peter’s head but Peter took it off, giving Tony a dirty look.
“No.”
“Wear it.”
“No!” He stomped his foot for good measure.
Tony kneeled down to be closer to his height level. “It’s just until we get down to the pool. You aren’t allowed walking in the lobby naked.”
“I not naked.”
“You’re half naked. Put it on and we can go.”
Peter shook his head. “I don’t want to.”
“Okay.” Tony stood up. “You guys go without us, I’ll wait here with Peter until he decides to put his shirt on-”
“Nooo! I’ll wear it!” Getting it on quickly, he grabbed onto his moms hand after, looking up at her. “Can I have paci?”
“No, honey, we’re going swimming.”
Peter went to his dad next. “Paci, daddy. Please.”
“Let’s go swimming. You can’t swim with a pacifier.” He took his hand, leading him outside the room and shutting the door behind them but he could see that Peter was going to start crying. “Don’t cry, you don’t need your pacifier. Would you like a hug instead?”
Taking a big breath, Peter nodded and wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck when he kneeled down, Tony needing the hug more than him.
When Peter pulled away, he was smiling and turned to look at Morgan. “Let’s race to the elevator.”
“Stop before you turn the corner!” Tony yelled out to them but they were already running ahead with Harley running slower behind them, letting them win.
Tony knew Peter was fast and could probably outrun Harley if he really tried.
He wrapped an arm around Peppers shoulders, pulling her against him. “Can you believe we made that.”
“I know. A beautiful nine months for me and an easy thirty seconds for you.” Pepper teased, causing Tony to let go out her and laugh.
“Oh okay then. I see how it is.” He knew it wasn’t true so he wasn’t hurt, well, it wasn’t all true.
“No no. Just joking. But we do make some beautiful kids.” She put Tony’s arm back around herself. “Did you ever think that we would be here today?”
“Taking a seventeen hour road trip with three kids and a dog with one kid who isn’t potty trained. No. Never. We’re a bit crazy.”
Pepper laughed but patted Tony’s chest, getting serious. “No. You know what I mean. Being here with three children. Being happy and not missing anyone.”
He knew she meant Peter.
He pulled her closer, seeing him stopped at the end of the hallway and talking to Morgan about something. “We wouldn’t be going to Disney on a road trip, I’ll tell you that.” And I don’t think I’d be here at all…
“I wish… I wish I could go back in time and tell ourselves that everything would be okay. That our family would be complete once again.” She admitted.
Tony didn’t answer right away. He was thinking about it. “If I could go back in time, I would have never gone to the park that day.”
“I know. But… he wouldn’t be our Peter if what happened, didn’t happen.” She thought about it. “Maybe he would still suck his thumb, but he would be fully potty trained, he probably wouldn’t be a bed wetter, he wouldn’t be even half as close with us. Face it, Tony, we raise independent children. I mean look at Harley and Morgan. And I love that so much. Who's to say Peter wouldn’t be independent like them.”
Tony had already thought about what their family would be like if Peter was never kidnapped. Peter was the glue that held them together. “The word independent and Peter in the same sentence sounds wrong.”
Agreeing, Pepper laughed then leaned up to kiss him just as they walked into the elevator with their kids.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to swim with me?”
“I am.”
Peter grinned. “And-and I can go down the water slide?”
“If you want to, then yes.”
“Will you?”
Tony pulled him closer to squeeze his cheeks. “Yeah, baby. Want to go down together?”
“Yeah!”
The elevator dinged and they all stepped out, somehow Peter already knew where the pool was since he was turning to walk in that direction but when Morgan ran over to the gift shop, Peter immediately followed and ran too fast that he tripped over his feet and landed on his face, his legs almost going over his head.
“Oh no.” Tony walked towards him, waiting for the tears to follow. “Are you okay?”
Sitting up on his bum, Peter looked at his dad, his face mutual. It was the phase where Peter decided if he wanted to start crying or not. And as always, he did. The tears started pouring down and he lifted his arms up for his dad.
Tony was picking him up in seconds, holding him in his arms and quickly scanning him over to make sure he wasn’t actually hurt. “Did that surprise you?”
“Yeah!”
Tony nodded. “It surprised me too. But I’m glad you aren’t hurt.”
“Yeah!”
“Do you want to take a few moments to calm down and then go pick out a toy?”
“Yeah.” He wiped the tears off his face and wiggled out of his dad’s arms. “I’m okay now.”
“Okay. I’m glad.”
He loved how easy it was for Peter to bounce back from these things, going from crying to happy in the span of a few seconds. Tony wished his emotions could bounce back that fast.
He followed Peter into the gift shop and over to the pool section and watched him point to one of the life jackets. “I need one.”
“I’ll be swimming with you. Do you really want one?”
“Yeah. I want that one.” He tugged it off the shelf and looked at the designs on the vest, smiling up at his dad. “I love it. I want to wear it right now. It has a baby whale on the front.”
Morgan gave Peter a strange look. “It’s whale. Not whawle.”
“That’s what I said!”
“No! You said it with a w.”
“Nooooo. I didn’t.”
“Morgan, can you go pick out something and stop bugging your brother.”
“I’m just saying.”
Tony knew she was right. The constant sucking on the pacifier was changing Peter’s speech but Tony was more scared of taking it away from him.
He took off Peter’s shirt and helped him into the life jacket, doing up the straps. “Go show mom.”
“Mom. Look.”
“Oh my goodness. You look so good.”
Morgan picked hers out and once it was blown up, Tony carried it out of the shop so she didn’t knock anything down with it.
Peter was interested in it. “Is that a ring?”
“Yeah! Like it? I can sit in this hole, and you can sit on the ring part. Cool, huh?”
Peter was so excited to sit with his sister on it. “Yeah.”
Using his key card to unlock the door, Tony held it open for everyone and looked around. The first thing he noticed was the warm pool air and the strong smell of chlorine hitting their noses then the fact that no one was in there.
Peter ran to a pool chair and sat on it, putting his shoes underneath it. He sat up to read a sign. “No lifeguard on duty. Swim at your own risk. Does that mean we’ll drown?”
“Not if mom and I are watching you two.” Tony took off his own shirt and shoes then held his hand out for Peter. “Let’s go in. Wanna jump or use the stairs?”
“Stairs.” Peter let go of his hand to walk over there himself, getting up to the third step by the time it was touching his bathing suit. He stepped down to the fourth step and cringed. “It feels weird.”
“What does?”
“My diaper. I want it off.”
“No. It’s staying on.”
Peter didn’t care that much. He fully stepped into the pool, already not being able to touch the bottom so he began floating with his life jacket on. “It’s warm.”
“It is, isn’t it?” There was something about holding his babies in water that Tony loved so much. He pulled Peter into his arms and kissed his face. “If you take off your life jacket, I promise you won’t drown.”
“No. I keep it on.”
“Alright then.”
They got splashed by Morgan jumping in and immediately going into her ring floaty, getting comfortable. “Look at me, Petey. Come on.”
Tony lifted him onto the ring part, sitting him so he was sitting with it between his legs. “Hold on or you’ll fall back.”
“I am.”
Letting him go, Peter started giggling at his position. “I’m higher than you!”
“Want to take it down the slide together?”
“Okay. I want to be in the front so I go faster.”
“If you guys are going to do that, Peter you have to go in the back.” Tony knew Morgan would body slam him at the bottom of the slide when they both got into the pool and Tony didn’t need any injuries tonight.
“Why?”
“Because Morgan is heavier than you.”
Morgan stuck her tongue out at her brother. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Falling off the floaty, Peter swam towards the stairs and climbed out, immediately spreading his legs and looking between them. You couldn’t tell he was peeing from all the water dripping off of him but Tony knew he was. “Peter, do you need to poop?”
“No, daddy.”
“Are you sure?”
“Uh huh.”
“You have to tell me if you do. Got it?”
“Uh huh.”
Tony wasn’t so sure but he didn’t say it. Instead, he followed them up the stairs towards the white slide. It was enclosed and went straight down then spun around a few times, going outside through the window then looping back in.
It was also quite high up.
Peter looked over the railing and hesitated. “You go first.” He pointed at Morgan.
Morgan hesitated too. “Fine… actually no. You go first.”
“How about Pete and I go together then Morgan, you and I can go together?”
Both of them agreed so Tony sat down on the platform, feeling the warm rushing water hit him. He held his arms out for Peter. “Come sit on my lap. Actually take your life jacket off so I can hold you better.”
He unclipped it off Peter, helping him step out of it and got him comfortable on his lap, wrapping his arms around his belly.
Peter looked straight ahead. “It’s dark in there, daddy.”
Tony agreed. “It is.”
Peter held on to his fathers arms tightly then they were sliding down it. As soon as the darkness engulfed them, Peter screamed.
“Don’t be scared!” Tony yelled over his screams.
He could feel Peter tense on him, grabbing onto his arms and then they went outside, Tony could tell because it was slightly colder but they were still in the dark and couldn’t see the drop that came out of nowhere.
Then Peter was crying.
“I wan’ out!” He cried, terrified of the dark and the sudden drop.
When they were headed towards the light, Tony lifted Peter up higher so he wouldn’t go under the water once they landed in the pool.
He did wipe the water off Peter’s face once Tony lifted his head above the water.
“What happened?” Pepper asked, walking in the water to see what was going on.
“The slide was dark and it just scared him.” Tony explained, walking over to the stairs and sitting on it with Peter in his lap. “Was that really scary?” He sympathized with the boy. Peter stuck his thumb in his mouth and nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah, it was a bit scary. But now you’re out and you’re safe. Do you want to take a break from swimming for a bit?”
Peter just sighed against him and didn’t reply so for the next few minutes, Tony held him, even watching Morgan come out of the slide, laughing. She swam over to the stairs, touching Peter’s thigh.
“Were you scared?”
“Yeah. It’s scary.”
Tony kissed his cheek. “We don’t have to go on the slide anymore if you don’t want to. We have this whole pool to ourselves.”
Peter nodded and slid out of his dad’s arms, standing on the step in front of him. Tony used that position to pull back his bathing suit and swim pull-up, not trusting Peter to tell him if he used it.
“I didn’t poop.”
“Just checking.” He patted him bum. “Go play but remember you don’t have your life jacket on.”
Peter leaped off his lap, face planting into the water and swimming towards the edge to grab on. Peter could keep his head above water but he wasn’t the strongest swimmer so Tony would never take his eyes off of him.
“Go under and look at my feet swim.” Peter instructed Morgan and while they were busy playing with each other, Tony pulled Pepper closer to him, kissing her temple.
“We aren’t even at Disney yet and they’re already having so much fun.” Tony made the observation, proud that his children were easy going despite having access to anything they could ever want with billionaire parents.
Pepper hummed. “I’m glad. I would be very upset with ourselves if our kids turned into those kids who weren’t happy no matter what they were given. Those kids who get handed a car at sixteen and still aren’t grateful.”
“Not our kids.” Tony agreed with her, watching Peter kick off the wall and swim to the other wall, grabbing onto it.
“Race me, Morgan!”
“You know, if we wanted, we could try to get Peter to drop the pacifiers in Disney. We can tell him that Mickey Mouse needs them for all the other kids. Then buy him a toy after.” Pepper thought out loud. She saw a few parents doing it on instagram but of course their children weren’t addicted to it like Peter was…
Tony immediately didn’t like that idea. “I don’t want to make our trip about that. Plus then he’ll probably forever think of Disney that way. I don’t want that for him.”
Pepper sighed, agreeing. “True. I don’t want to worry about it but I do. Listen to how he talks, Tony, it’s changing his pronunciation of words.”
Although it was cute, Tony knew it wasn’t healthy. None of his children took to pacifiers besides Peter so they honestly had no experience on this. Harley had one until around his first birthday then refused them. Morgan had one until around two then refused them.
Peter still had them at 3.5 when he was kidnapped and until five which was the oldest picture with him with one… Tony hated how he didn’t know much of his history there…
Mainly because it was just too hard to look at the pictures and see him smiling with his kidnapper.
“We’ll figure something out. It’s not like he’s even gone through puberty yet. We have time.”
Pepper leaned her head against his arm, there was no point in talking about it now. She looked over at Peter sitting in the shallow part, about a foot deep in the water. “He’s making a poop face, isn’t he?”
Tony knew it was going to happen again. He stood up and walked along the edge. “Peter. Let’s go sit on the toilet.”
“No. Go away.”
“Peter. Wouldn’t you rather do that on a toilet, kid?” He grabbed his arm and forced him to his feet, pulling back to check inside, seeing if they still had time to go to the toilet or if he should just go upstairs to grab another swim diaper. Thankfully they still had time.
He quickly pulled him into the bathroom and pulled down his sticky bathing suit and pull-up, lifting him onto the toilet. “Now you can go.”
“Well now you scared my poop back into my butt! So it’ll never come out now.” He pouted, not really upset, just annoyed. The pool was so warm.
Tony kept the door open, not worried about anyone walking in on them. “Take your time. There’s no rush.”
Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t need to go anymore, dad.”
“We can wait. That’s okay.”
Tony did in fact wait but he didn’t have to wait long because five minutes later he was wiping Peter’s butt and pulling the pull-up back up on him, taking his bathing suit off as per Peter’s request.
He ran outside the bathroom, looking in the pool but now everyone was in the hot tub so Peter ran over there, stepping onto the first step. “It’s hot.”
“Cause it’s a hot tub.” Harley laughed, getting a look from his mom. “If you sit on the stairs, it’s not that hot.”
Tony walked around Peter, holding a hand out for him. “Want to sit with me?”
“No. It’s too hot.”
“I love it!” Morgan splashed Peter, making him scream and almost fall over.
“Morgan. Don’t splash your brother.”
Peter jumped into the hot tub, splashing everyone then he swam straight over to his dad and got comfortable on his lap. “Tickle my back.”
“Then turn around.”
Turning around, Peter shifted on his fathers lap, getting more comfortable. “Tickle my back.”
“You’re too cute.”
The tickling only lasted for approximately ten seconds before Peter was getting bored and got off his dad’s lap, going to sit next to Harley. “Hi.”
“I’m not tickling your back. Don’t even try.”
“I don’t even ask you to. You have callouses.” Peter rolled his eyes, making Tony laugh. He loved it when sassy Peter came out.
“Oh. And dad doesn’t. Look at his hands.”
Peter kicked off the seat and used Tony’s hand to pull him onto his lap, interlocking their fingers together. “Not callously like yours.” He pointed out, looking over his shoulder at Harley.
Both Tony and Harley laughed but Peter didn’t think it was funny. The face he made when he turned to look up at Tony almost made the man’s heart beat right through his chest. He loved Peter so much it actually hurt.
Peter let go of his hand, the two of them staring at each other for a brief moment before Peter slid off his lap once more, going to the other side of the hot tub and standing up, leaning against the back of it.
“Ten more minutes in here, then everyone out.”
“Why? It’s so hot.”
“Exactly, Morgan, the heat isn’t good for long periods of time.” Pepper told her daughter although she could probably stay in that hot tub with Tony for at least an hour, getting out for breaks every so often. But they couldn’t do that without Peter and Morgan wanting to too.
“But the pool water is gonna be so cold after.”
“Refreshing.” Tony told Peter, checking the time behind him. It was almost seven and if they stayed for a few more minutes then started a bedtime routine, he could have the kids in bed by eight. Nine the latest. “It’s seven o’clock now, you guys have twenty more minutes to swim until we head to our room.”
“No. Thirty.”
Tony looked at Peter. “I can make it ten. Want me to make it ten?”
“No. Twenty’s fine!” He climbed out of the hot tub and walked back over to the pool, jumping in so that was Tony’s que to leave the hot tub and go swim with him. “It’s so cold!”
Tony jumped in after him, the cold water hitting him. “Isn’t it?”
Swimming away from his dad, Peter went to the bottom of the slide, opening his mouth to catch all the water coming down.
“Peter, don’t swallow that.”
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
“It’s dirty and full of chemicals.”
Peter spit it out to stare at him. “And pee?”
“Well I know you’ve peed in here so imagine everyone else who did too.”
Peter gagged, spitting into the pool. “Ewwwww. Why did you tell me to drink it?!”
“What? I didn’t. I told you not to.” Pulling Peter away from the slide, he walked towards the stairs and sat down, wiping the spit off his chin with his thumb. “You want to head up? If we go up now you can take a warm shower and we can watch some YouTube together.”
“But-but I like swimming.”
“There’s a pool at our hotel at Disney. And it’s outdoor.”
“I don’t want my balls to freeze off!” Peter gasped, grabbing himself.
Tony barked a laugh. Thank you Harley for giving Peter that terminology. He fondly shook his head. “It’s warm in Florida. Your balls will stay exactly where they are.”
“Can I see your balls?”
Tony knew Peter didn’t mean to be weird and he was simply being curious so Tony didn’t laugh, despite wanting to. Mainly because he was a bit uncomfortable. “No, because just like you, that’s my private spot.”
“Only your parents and your doctor can see?”
“Well, my parents died. But yeah, my doctor too.”
Peter saw his mom walk by. “Does mom?”
Tony didn’t know if he should lie or not. Would telling him the truth lead to more questions. He nodded, deciding not to lie. “Yeah, she does. Because we’re married.”
“That’s weird.”
“Why’s it weird?”
“Cause she’s a girl!”
Tony already had the sex talk with Peter but he knew he was going to have to tell him again. Probably soon. Just not in a public pool. “We’re married, Peter. Your mother is my wife. So it’s not weird.”
Peter looked a mixture of disgusted and confused. “I’m gonna marry my mom when I’m older.”
Tony remembered Harley saying that when he was younger. He smiled. “I don’t think so. You’ll find someone you love.”
“Not a girl.” Peter cringed. “Girls are yuckie.”
That didn’t necessarily surprise Tony. He didn’t know if Peter was saying that because he was still in the girls have cooties phase or because he would grow up attracted to boys. Either way Tony would support him but he was a bit scared of Peter dating. Boy or girl.
But he didn’t have to worry about that right now.
“I agree. How about you promise me to never date. At least not until you’re thirty five. Deal?”
Peter shook his hand, smiling. Tony would never hold him to it but it was a nice thought.
“Good. Now that that’s settled, how about we go upstairs?”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to go rinse off in the showers here.” Harley announced, walking towards the shower room.
“I want to come!” Peter got off his dad’s lap and followed his older brother into the change room, tugging his pull-up down. “Help me. It’s stuck.”
Harley went to help him but Tony stopped him. “No, keep it on until we get upstairs to our room.”
“But… it’s super uncomfortable, daddy.”
“If I take it off you, you either put your bathing suit back on so you can walk up or I’ll carry you up with a towel wrapped around you.”
Peter stomped his foot in protest but when he saw that it splashed, he did it again, laughing.
“Harley, just shower when we’re up in our room. It’s a lot cleaner than here.”
“True.” He grabbed his towel and walked out so Peter followed him out, running over to his mom who was rinsing his life jacket in the pool.
He ran up to her, tugging the front of her bathing suit down. “Peter. We’re in public, honey. Don’t do that.”
Peter looked at her. “Oops. I’ll fix it.”
Tony grabbed Peter’s arm. “Let’s go to our room. Can you wrap a towel around yourself?”
Peter looked offended. “No.”
“Okay… then can I wrap a towel around you and you keep it on?”
“Maybe I’ll keep it on, maybe I won’t.”
Where was this sass coming from? Tony wrapped a towel around him anyways and pulled the wet curls out of his eyes, combing them back with his fingers. Peter’s hair was getting so long, it was resting just under his ears and the curls were so vibrant, even while wet.
He held the pool door open for everyone, Peter tripping over his foot and stumbling forward then kept walking as if nothing happened. He was so clumsy it was hilarious.
The cold air hit him, making him shiver a bit and just want to get to their room… and in bed with Pepper… or in the bathroom, wherever they found privacy. He just wanted to be in Pepper…
He watched Peter and Morgan run ahead because of course those two still had all the energy in the world. Maybe he would make them run laps up and down the hallway before bed.
Peter stumbled forward, tripping over his towel and falling face first again, this time in front of a family of people.
Tony waited for the cries to be heard throughout the whole lobby but they never came. He reached Peter’s side and lifted him onto his feet, leaning over him from behind to make sure he was okay.
“You good?”
“Yeah. I tripped over my towel.” He said, picking it up and handing it to Tony before running to the elevator and pressing the button. “Ha! I still beat you. I’m fast! I’m really fast!”
“Is your boy okay? He fell pretty hard.” The older woman asked, pushing her walker over to Tony.
Tony appreciated her concern but it wasn’t necessary. “Yeah. He’s fine, just being a kid. Thank you.” Walking into the elevator to join his family, he immediately went to Peter’s side and pulled up the back of his swim pull-up that was showing his butt crack. “Are you two tired?”
“No! Never!”
Morgan agreed with her brother. “Yeah! We’ll never sleep.”
Half temping to ask Harley to babysit for thirty minutes so he and Pepper could go have sex but that wasn’t fair to their oldest son. He made eye contact with Pepper, shaking his head in defeat.
When the elevator doors opened and Peter started running down the hallway with his siblings behind him, Pepper grabbed his hand. “You bathe Peter and put him to bed, I’ll worry about everything else.”
It sounded like Tony got the easy part with one job and all but it was actually the most difficult job of all.
As soon as they entered the hotel room, Tony quickly scooped Peter up before he could run off. “Ah ha! Got you, mr! Guess what time it is?” He cradled Peter in his arms, kissing his face on the way to the bathroom.
“Play time!”
“Ummm… nope. One more guess.”
“Party time?”
“No. Bedtime.”
“Nooo. Noooooo!” He laughed, trying to get out of his dad’s arms.
So Tony held him with one arm, letting Peter hang down as he shut the bathroom door then set him on the bathroom floor, kneeling down in front of him. “Do you want milk?”
Peter stopped fighting him. “Mommy’s milk?”
“Peter. Mommy doesn’t have any more milk for you. It’s all gone.”
“No. She just doesn’t want to share.”
“Peter, I promise you, there’s no more milk.” He sighed. “I can give you milk in a bottle. Do you want that?”
“Fine. Can I have my paci?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah.”
Knowing it would help relax him, Tony stood up to go get one, finding three on the bed because of course they were everywhere. When he walked back into the bathroom, Peter was standing in the same spot and opened his mouth, accepting the comfort given to him.
“Let’s get you showered.”
In the main room of the hotel, Pepper stood behind Morgan as she braided her wet hair back, slicking it back with some hair gel. “After this, I want you to get your pyjamas on and head to bed.”
“I want to sleep with Petey tonight.”
“Petey’s sleeping with us, honey.” Pepper told her, doing up the last elastic.
“Oh. Can I sleep with you guys then? I don’t want to sleep with Harley. He farts loud in his sleep.”
“So do you.” Harley laughed from his spot on the couch, not even bothering to look up from his phone.
Pepper laughed too, picking up the hair supplies to put them away. “You can sleep with us if you want, but I want you to know that your brother wakes up quite a bit in the night. So you probably won’t be sleeping that well.”
Morgan shrugged, pulling the towel tighter around her shoulders. “I don’t care. I’m gonna go get dressed.”
Tony walked into the room, carrying Peter in his arms, wrapped in a towel as he laid his tired head on his father’s shoulder, sucking on his pacifier.
“Morgan wants to sleep with us tonight. I told her she could.”
Tony grabbed milk from the mini fridge and poured it into a bottle, feeling Peter turn his head to watch him pour it. His arms were wrapped tightly in the towel so he couldn’t reach out to grab it but Tony knew he would if he could.
“Did you tell her that she probably won’t get much sleep?”
“I told her.”
Tony sighed. “Alright. Tell her to join us then because it’s bedtime.” He carried Peter into the bedroom and pulled back the blankets then laid him on the bed, pulling the towel off of him. He was already in a diaper so Tony didn’t have to put one on him.
He got comfortable next to his baby on the bed, handing him the bottle when Peter spit his pacifier out for it.
When Morgan walked in, Tony held a hand out for her to join him on his side of the bed. “Morgan, if you’re sleeping with Peter and us tonight, I want you to know that this isn’t a sleepover. You have to actually sleep. Both of you need your rest tomorrow.”
“Okay, dad. I’ll sleep.”
“Alright. Can you shut the lights off then get into bed and start to settle down.”
He turned back over to face Peter, the only light coming from the cracked door but it was enough for Tony to be able to see Peter’s eyes looking around and Morgan sitting up, looking at Peter.
“Lie down, Morgan.” He whispered. “It’s time to sleep.”
The motion caused Peter to turn his head and sit up, pulling the bottle from his mouth. “Are you-are you sleeping here too?”
“Yeah. I wanted to.”
“It’s bedtime. Peter, lie back down. Morgan, face the other way. It’s time to sleep.” He took the bottle from Peter when it was handed to him and waited until Peter was lying back down before feeding it to him.
The motions were familiar and comfortable but Tony was eager to get them both to sleep, feeling a tad guilty for it. But just because he was a dad didn’t mean that that was all he was, he was also a husband. And he wasn’t eighty years old.
He could see that Peter’s eyes were still open so he covered a hand over them, gently forcing them shut. “Shhh shh shh shhh.”
That motion carried on for about ten minutes before Peter stopped drinking the milk and did sucking motions every so often so Tony carefully switched it out with the pacifier and stayed in that position for a few more minutes, just in case Peter woke up.
“Are they sleeping?” Pepper popped her head in, whispering.
“Morgan is. Peter is but I want to stay here for five more minutes just so he doesn’t wake up.”
“Okay. We don’t have condoms.”
“I’ll pull out.”
“… Okay. You want to?”
Tony felt a tad uncomfortable having this conversation with his kids right next to him. “Yeah. I’ll be out soon.”
He shifted slowly off the bed but Peter sensed him moving in his sleep and swung an arm around him. This was going to be so much harder now.
He lifted the arm off his chest and inched bit by bit off of Peter until he was off the bed then he put two pillows up against Peter’s side, carefully dropping his arm on top of it.
Wow. He actually did that without waking Peter up.
He shut the door behind him, letting out a huge sigh of relief. Record timing.
“Hey.”
“We literally have nowhere to go.” They couldn’t go in their bathroom and the only other bathroom was in the room Harley was in. And they couldn’t do it out in the living room just in case their kids walked in on them.
“Let’s go to the pool. The women's change room is perfect, we just have to be quiet.” Pepper grabbed a room key, holding her hand out for Tony. “We’ll be quick. C’mon. They’re sleeping. They’re fine.”
Tony hesitated a bit, worried about what would happen if Peter woke up and no one was there but they would be gone less than an hour and usually Peter woke up every two hours.
So they would be fine.