Always Be My Baby

Tony held Peter’s hand through the airport. It sucked that they had to travel on a basic airline and not take their private plane, but in order to leave the island they were on, they needed to fly on a commercial plane before getting to their private jet, just like it was when they arrived. As frustrating as that made things. 

And to make matters worse, they had an awful night with Peter last night. For some reason, Peter refused to sleep no matter how hard Tony tried, then finally managed to fall asleep an hour before they had to leave for the airport. 

The flight was six hours to the next airport and Tony was dreading it more than he’s dreaded anything in a long time. Coming here wasn’t that bad, besides for the crying on take off and landing, Peter did pretty well. 

Peter was trailing behind him, half forcing Tony to have to drag him by the arm to get him walking. Tony felt bad for him and knew he was over tired, struggling to even stay awake but there was only so much they could do. 

“I think the baggage check is this way.” Pepper read their boarding pass but there were no signs pointing them in the direction they needed to go. 

Peter was rubbing his eye’s nonstop. “Daddy.” He whined. “M’tired.” 

“I know. We’ll be on the plane soon enough.” 

That was definitely the wrong thing to say because Peter threw himself to the ground and cried against Tony’s shoe. “Peter. We’ll be there soon. Stand up.” 

“It’s this way, mom. That’s an international flight.” 

“They’re all international flights here.” Tony pointed out and reached for the boarding pass. He tried to search for where they checked in their bags while also squatting down and rubbing a hand along Peter’s stomach, trying to be there for him and find their way through this confusing airport. “We need to go to check in six. It literally says right here.” 

“Daddy.” 

“There is no check in six. That’s what I’m saying.” Pepper grabbed the boarding pass from Tony. “It goes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7. Not 6.” 

Tony stood up but Peter screamed, causing a few eyes to look in their direction. He knew what that must look like so he bent down and lifted Peter up, placing him on his hip. “You need to be quiet. Don’t be screaming in the airport.” 

That made Peter cry against his shoulder but at least it was more of a whine than a cry. 

It took them another twenty minutes to find their check in and get their bags sent off which was a relief since it was one less thing to think about. Peter was sobbing in his arms over nothing in particular, even soothing him wasn’t helping. Tony’s arm was also starting to hurt him from holding Peter for so long so he kissed his cheek. “I’m gonna put you down for a bit.” 

“No.” Peter clung harder but he was being placed on his feet so he began crying once again. “Nooo. Up up.” 

“It’s okay, Petey. You can walk with me.” Morgan tried to grab his hand but Peter pushed her away and went for Tony again. “I’m just trying to help.” 

“Morgan, can you grab the sippy cup from my purse and give it to him.” 

“Airport security is right there. Found it. And the line isn’t long thankfully.” Harley shoved his phone into his pocket, wanting to get this done and over with. Peter went through airport security one other time with them and that was complete hell for them all so he was a bit stressed out. Peter was on another level right now. 

It was also incredibly embarrassing. Having Peter cause such a scene like this, people were looking. Some gave Tony and Pepper pitiful looks and others rolled their eyes. Harley wanted to curl up in a ball. 

Peter took the sippy cup from Morgan and began drinking from it, silencing him. To everyone’s relief. Even strangers. Tony grabbed his other hand and pulled him towards the gates, making sure to get ahead of the crowd since people seemed to be appearing out of nowhere now. 

“Dad, how many hours is the flight?” Morgan came up on his other side to ask. 

“Um… six hours I think. Like five and a half.” Tony dug in his pocket for the passports and dropped three of them. “Fuck. Can you get those, Morg?” 

“You swore.” 

“I know I know. I didn’t mean to. Just… pass them to me.” 

“Are you stressed, dad?” She picked them up for him, like the perfect, helpful child she was, then asked him. 

Tony was so stressed it took him a few moments to think about the question. “Umm… yes. Yes, it’s stressful. But once we get through security and find our gates, it should be fine. Thank you for helping out and being so well behaved.” 

“You’re welcome, daddy. Am I better than Petey because he’s being difficult?” 

Tony looked down at Peter. His hair was a complete mess of curls, his eyes were damp with tears and were all red from the rubbing and crying and his cheeks were all red and rosy. Despite everything, Tony was so proud of him. He knew how much Peter was struggling right now and how exhausted he was. 

He squeezed his hand, smiling down at him but when Peter looked up, he gave him a dirty look then looked away. Tony still smiled at him, Peter’s dirty looks looked like a puppy dog. It was adorable and Tony would let him know it every time. 

“He’s trying his best, Morg. Your brother is very tired. He didn’t sleep at all last night.” 

“Oh. Why?” 

“Tony? Hand me the passports.” Pepper held her hand out for them as they lined up in front of these closed booths they were supposed to do an identity security check in. 

“Here.” They stood in the short line that was going pretty fast, thankfully. “I’m taking him.” 

“I know.” Pepper handed Tony Peter’s passport and his own then handed Harley his. “Morgan. You’re with me.” 

“I wanna go with daddy.” 

Pepper grabbed her arm. “Daddy’s taking Peter. You need to go in with me because everyone under 18 needs an adult present with them.” 

Morgan stuck her tongue at her oldest brother. “Ha ha you’re going alone.” 

“It’ll be a nice break from you two loud mouths.” He teased back. 

“Next.” 

“Not me. Just Peter is.” 

“Harley. They’re calling you.” 

“Oh. See you on the other side.” 

After Harley went, Tony took Peter into the next open doors once they were called. He held open the passports and handed them through the window. 

“Okay. Look into the camera.” 

Tony faced the screen, waiting for it to light up. 

“Now the child.” 

“Peter, look into this camera here.” Tony pointed at it, removing the sippy cup from his mouth but Peter whined. “No, just for a second. Stop whining.” 

The picture that was taken of Peter would’ve been hilarious if it were any other situation. He looked dead on his feet and looked seconds away from a meltdown. Because he was, that was the scary part. His curls were sticking up in every direction and his eyes were watery and puffy from crying so hard. His cheeks were rosy and he looked downright miserable. 

“Were you traveling for business or pleasure?” 

“Pleasure.” 

“Who are you traveling with?” 

“My wife, my two sons, and daughter.” 

“What are your children’s ages?” 

“My son is twenty, my daughter is eleven, and this one is fourteen.” 

“Alright. That liquid will have to be dumped for the security check. Please exit through those doors and head to your left.” 

Tony took Peter’s hand and walked through the door, feeling like that man had just told him he was carrying a bomb. Glancing down at Peter, technically he was, Peter was destined to go off at any second. And now they had to dumb the milk in front of him. And Peter cried over spilt milk. He once cried for twenty minutes because his bottle leaked a few drops. 

This was going to be hell. 

And here Tony was thinking it couldn’t get any worse. 

Boy, was he going to be wrong. At least they had the pacifiers. 

Tony found Harley and walked over to him. Now they were just waiting on Pepper and Morgan. Tony shoved the passports back into his pocket and combed Peter’s hair off his face with his fingers. “Finish your milk, buddy, because we have to put your bottle- I mean sippy cup through security.” 

Peter leaned against him, and shook his head once. 

Tony continued to comb his hair back since it was soothing for the both of them. Once the two girls came out, Pepper was already leading them into the security line up. She took the passports and placed them in her purse then began digging in it. 

“We have to dump his milk.” Tony said to Pepper, quiet enough so Peter couldn’t hear. But Tony was sure that Peter wasn’t even listening to anything anyways. He was in his own world, doing everything in his power to try and soothe himself with his milk. 

She was still digging in her purse. “I know. That’s why I’m trying to find his pacifier so at least he doesn’t cry but it’s not in here.” 

Tony moved and Peter stumbled back a bit since Peter was leaning his full weight on him. “I put the soothers in the carry on.” 

“Which carry on?” 

Tony looked around. Morgan had her carry on. Peppers had most of Peter’s things and Harley only had his backpack. “It must be yours. The blue bag?” 

Pepper's eyes went wide. “No. The blue travel bag? You put everything in there? The diapers, wipes and pacifiers?” 

“Yeah, why?” 

“I packed that in the suitcase.” 

Tony’s heart sank with dread. “No. I said to pack it in the carry on. That’s the one thing we actually need.” 

“How am I supposed to know, Tony? I don’t even remember you telling me. I had to repack Morgan’s suitcase to make everything fit and you were outside with Peter all morning.” 

“I was only outside with him because he was screaming bloody murder and I was trying to help you by giving you space.” Tony lowered his voice once he realized he raised it. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at Harley and Morgan who were looking at them. “Let’s just… forget it.” 

“We have no diapers, no pacifiers and no milk for a six hour plane ride with Peter. Arguably the worst travel child of all time.” That was rude to say but in this moment, Pepper wasn’t thinking straight. 

That stressed Tony out so much. “I know. You think I put it there on purpose to deal with the crying?! We’ll find a store or something and buy some. It’ll be fine.” He was trying to think positive but was freaking out on the inside. 

Tony moved to the front of the line since they were next, his heart was racing and his hands were so sweaty. He wiped it on his pants and took Peter’s hand, leading him over to the bins. “Take off your shoes, bud.” 

“No.” 

“Peter. You have to.” Tony got his shoes and watch off then pulled his phone out of his pocket and put them all in the bin then leaned down to take off Peter’s shoes as well. 

Now for the hard part. Tony took a breath and held his hand out for the sippy cup. “We can’t bring any liquids through the security so you need to put your cup here.” 

“Noo.” 

“Peter. We’ll find more milk for you somewhere else.” 

“It’s mine.” 

“Keep on moving, sir.” 

Tony was rushed now. He saw that Harley and Morgan had already walked through so now he needed to get Peter through. 

And he was holding up the line and everyone was no doubt watching them like an interesting family tv reality show. He took the sippy cup from him and placed it in one of their bins then sent it off. 

Peter reached out for it but it was already gone so he covered his hands over his face and cried into them. Tony felt so awful but he was also running on zero sleep and still had to get his family onto the airplane. He lifted Peter up and brought him over to the security check. “Go walk through it, remember like when we came here?”

“Noooo!” Peter turned around, stomping his feet into the ground. “My milk!” 

“Please, Peter. I’ll get you more milk. Just walk through the check.” 

“No no.” He sobbed, grabbing onto Tony. Tony had to step aside to let Pepper and a few others go through so he wasn’t holding up the line anymore. He kneeled down in front of Peter, trying to get him to calm down enough to listen to him but there was no way Peter was going to stop crying, let alone, go through the security. 

He just took away his only form of comfort and it was already too much for Peter. 

“Sir, you can bring your son this way and we’ll do a hands-on security check.” 

Tony couldn’t be more relieved. He stood up and led Peter over to where they told him to go where there was a woman putting gloves on. Tony wished he had a card or something that explained why Peter was acting like a three year old at fourteen. But that wasn’t a thing, oh yeah and so my kid got kidnapped at age three and we all thought he was dead but then we got him back but then he was kidnapped again and drugged then almost killed so we’re all pretty fucked up. Yeah, definitely not a thing. 

“Pete, this lady is going to make sure you’re safe to go on the plane. Okay?” 

Tony held Peter’s hand as she used the wand over Peter’s body, stopping when it beeped at his neck. “It’s just his necklace.” Tony pulled it out of his sweater, showing her the gold chain he had matching with Peter of their initials. Next she pulled up his sleeve, eyeing the medical bracelet. 

Peter was trying so hard to stop crying, Tony could tell. He wished he could make everything better but Peter only wanted a bottle or pacifier right now. 

She moved the wand down but stopped by Peter’s crotch and Tony no doubt wondered why. He was in need of a diaper change and it was obvious. He pulled down the top of his pants to show her. “He’s wearing a diaper. That’s all.” 

She nodded and scanned the area but of course it didn’t beep. 

“Alright. He’s good. Now you, sir.” 

She scanned him, stopping at his neck when he beeped as well. Tony pulled out the same necklace with his and Peter’s initials engraved in it. 

“You guys are matching, how sweet.” She looked back at Peter, a kind smile on her face when she saw him with two fingers in his mouth to chew on, trying to do everything he possibly could to calm down in this awful situation. 

Once they were both clear to go, Tony picked Peter up and he cried into his shoulder. “I’m sad, dada.” 

“Aww my baby. I’m sorry. I’ll get you whatever you want, baby. What do you need?” That hurt so much to hear. Tony was having a roller coaster of emotions. He slipped his shoes on but didn’t even bother putting Peter’s on since he was going to carry him until they got him a comfort item. 

“Mmm…” Peter didn’t even know what he wanted. He needed a bottle or a pacifier to comfort him but he didn’t know which one. Then he remembered his sippy cup with his milk that had to go through the security check. “My sippy.” 

Tony looked at Pepper as she put Peter’s shoes into her purse. “They had to dump it.” She told Peter and held up the empty cup but Peter whipped his head around, looking at it and began crying harder. “Let’s go find a new one. Okay, we need to get diapers, wipes, everything. Don’t cry, honey. Let’s go find a shop now.” 

Tony wished so badly he could make Peter feel better. He really did. 

He supposed what he was doing now was good enough. As long as he was getting Peter the comfort he needed and providing it along the way. Plus holding Peter was helping to calm his racing nerves right now. 

And also a reminder that every problem they faced was small compared to not having Peter and Peter was currently in his arms so he could conquer anything that came their way. 

Despite the busy airport security check, the rest of the airport was quiet. Literally empty in the one part they were walking in. There was a long carpeted hallway in the direction of their gate that was completely empty with no one else walking there. 

It was nice not to have eyes on them. 

And also the quiet was nice too. Besides for Peter whimpering and sadly hiccuping. 

In the middle of the hallway was a shop with a few shelves from travel essentials like suitcases and chargers to food so they went inside to check it out. 

“Can we get candy?” Morgan asked, holding up a chocolate bar. 

“We might need to go to another shop because I don’t see what we need here.” Pepper double checked. “Yeah. We need to find another shop.” 

“Okay. I need to change his diaper because it feels really full. I forgot to change it before we left the house so it’s been a few hours.” Tony hoisted Peter up higher in his arms and combed the hair off his face. “Suck your thumb. Stop biting your fingers.” 

Peter replaced his fingers for his thumb but it still wasn’t enough to calm him down like what he needed. 

The five of them walked the rest of the way down the hallway which opened up leading to another hallway to the gates and the other area where some shops were. They needed to find some sort of convenient store if they wanted to get the things they needed and they desperately needed diapers and a pacifier right now so Tony scanned the shops, spotting a BeeLine shop which would definitely hopefully sell them. 

He never had to buy diapers from an airport before. Mainly because they always take their private plane and therefore cut out the airport hassle. 

“Let’s try this one. If it sells diapers, we won’t need to go anywhere else so you guys buy a ton of snacks for the plane.” 

“Sweet.” Harley grinned. “Morg, let’s get those spicy chips.” 

“Ew no. Let’s get ketchup chips. They sell them here. I can see it.” 

They walked into the shop, Harley and Morgan going towards the snacks and Pepper, Tony and Peter going to the baby aisle. Tony immediately spotted a wide selection of diapers and smiled with relief. Perfect. 

“Okay. Huggies Huggies Huggies. Where are you?” Tony spoke to himself as he scanned the selections, only finding Huggies size one and two. Shit. “Now we’re stuck with Pampers.” 

“Maybe not. There’s only size 5 Pampers.” 

“He’s fit in size 5 before. It’s just a bit tight.” Tony knew Peter wouldn’t care what size he was wearing, as long as he was wearing one during their six hour flight. 

“Size 5 Huggies. Huggies are made slightly bigger.” Pepper kneeled down to check for different brands. “Here. Rascal Friends.” 

“What size?” 

“No size. 40 to 60 pounds.” 

“He’s like… not even ninety pounds. It’s good enough.” 

“Tony. It’ll leak or it’ll be way too tight on his hips.” 

“Well then… get a bigger size.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You think I’m purposely grabbing the smaller sizes?” 

Tony rolled his eyes too and looked at Peter. He kneeled down as well, forcing Peter onto his feet but Peter still continued to sit on him as he looked around. Tony picked up a package of Luvs and searched for the size. “Size 5. Good enough.” 

Tony stood up with the package then Pepper grabbed it from him, reading the size. “This is thirty to fifty pounds, Tony.” 

“It’s fine, Pep. If it’s too tight, I’ll come back and get another size.” 

“I’m getting pampers size 7. I know you don’t like pampers but it’s the best option here.” Pepper grabbed two packages off the shelf and stood up. 

“Carry me.” 

“Yes, Pete. Let’s pay for this then find a bathroom.” 

Tony almost forgot about the pacifiers and milk. Pepper handed him Peter’s go to one then turned to walk the other way. “I’m going to go get some milk.” 

“Do you see the pacifiers, Tony?” 

Tony wasn’t freaking out because of course they would have pacifiers. They had diaper rash cream. Of course they’d have the most popular soothing baby item. “No. Maybe down a different aisle.” He took Peter, looking down the other aisles but nothing. “None here.” Okay. No need to panic. “Um, let’s just get this and after I change him we’ll go look in another shop.” 

Peter looked at the diaper packages, taking one from Tony. “Open it.” 

“I need to pay for it first.” He explained as he grabbed a package of wipes and Sudocrem off the shelf, looking to see if he needed anything else. “Want anything else while we’re here? Last chance.” 

Peter’s eyes were only on the diapers, no doubt wanting a change, so he didn’t respond to Tony but it was answer enough. Tony took everything to the cashier and looked back at Morgan and Harley with handfuls of snacks. “Did you get anything for Peter?” 

“We got him crackers and milk.” Morgan showed Tony as she put it on the counter. 

“Thanks, pretty girl. Help mom pack it in the bag as well, can you?” 

“Yeah. I can. Don’t worry, dad.” 

Tony placed the rest on the counter. “Do you guys sell pacifiers?” 

“We’re all sold out.” 

Oh. “Do you know what shop sells them?” 

“Maybe… the shop by gate C22. But we’re waiting for a re-stock.” 

They left the store with two big bags, one with Peter’s things and the other with snacks for the plane ride. Tony was hungry so he couldn’t wait to get on the plane and dig into a bag of chips. But first, they needed to go to the bathroom then to find pacifiers. 

They walked to their gate and right next to it was a bathroom so he hoisted Peter up higher and made sure he had everything. “We’ll be back. I’ll meet you guys at the gate. Keep an eye out for another shop for soothers. We need those. Okay?”

“Alright, I’ll find a spot near the window. We board in forty minutes so no rush.” 

“Dad, can I help you with Petey?” 

Tony couldn’t handle two kids right now. Plus Morgan would make it take even longer. He wouldn’t tell her that though. “I’m going to be really quick with him, princess. Go find us a seat with mom.” 

“I’ll come. I need to pee as well.” Harley joined them in the bathroom, going into one of the stalls. Tony took the family stall and pulled open the changing table, cringing at how sticky it looked. 

“Ugh.” 

Peter looked down as well. “Yucky.” 

“Yeah, yuckys right. We’re doing this standing up.” 

“Noooo. Not standing.” 

“Pete, look at this thing.” Tony also didn’t want to use half a pack of wipes to clean it up. They did have a changing pad in the bag that was packed into the suitcase by accident but it was no help to them there. He also realized Peter had no shoes on. Great. It really was one thing after another. 

There was another changing table that was stone and built into the wall but outside the stalls so whoever walked in would see. Tony cringed. It was cleaner than this one. 

He opened the stall and walked towards the stone changing table, making sure it looked clean enough. Right now, there was no one else in the bathroom besides for Harley so if Tony was quick enough, they could get it done. 

“Okay, we’re doing it here.” Tony laid him down, careful not to smack his head on the stone. He tugged his track pants down and took off his diaper, tossing it in the garbage right next to the table. He grabbed the bag off the floor and dug in it for the wipes but noticed Peter’s thumb going into his mouth after he just touched the stone. “Hey. Fingers out of your mouth for one second.” 

“I want paci.” 

“Do you need help, dad?” Harley asked, standing next to Tony’s side and looking down at his brother. 

“Yes. Can you just… keep him from putting his thumb in his mouth for a second. I need a pacifier.” 

Harley, the perfect oldest child he was, could see Tony was freaking out. “It’s okay, dad. We’ll find another store.” 

Peter grabbed his ankles to do something with his hands so they didn’t go in his mouth. He blinked tiredly as he watched his dad open up the package of diapers then looked past Tony at some random man walking into the bathroom with a heavy looking luggage. 

Tony turned around to look as well. He found it ridiculous that the changing table was against the wall. How unsafe was it to have his back to any potential threats. Ridiculous. 

Peter closed his eyes and did a big stretch, causing Tony to chuckle before waiting for Peter to relax his legs so he could push his knees to his chest and finish up. 

Tony applied extra cream onto him since he had no idea when he would be able to change him next and at least now he wouldn’t get a rash. Tony got his pants back on and leaned down to kiss him. 

“Harley, come stand here with him so I can go pee then we’ll go.” Tony switched places and took a step back but Peter clearly wasn’t in the mood to leave his dads sight so he sat up and reached for him. “I’ll be quick. I need to pee too, kid. Stay with your brother.” 

Tony expected it. But Peter started crying. That made him pee even faster, wash his hands and pick Peter back up, getting his tiny hands washed and leaving the bathroom. Probably their longest bathroom trip. 

He carried him out of the bathroom and looked for Pepper and Morgan sitting by the windows in the far corner. Peter spotted them and wiggled out of his arms, running over to them in socks. He rushed into his moms arms, wrapping his skinny arms around her neck. “Want a paci.”

“Yes. I know. Harley, can you stay here with Morgan, your dad and I are going to go look.” 

He slid off his moms lap and sat on the bench next to her. “S’daddy g’ed in ‘dare.” 

“Okay, honey.” Pepper had no idea what he was saying and was too tired to ask him again. She pulled out her phone that was close to dying and double checked the time. She just wanted to be settled on the plane so then they could get Peter to sleep and have a little break. 

Although for now, he seemed to be in a good mood. 

Tony and Harley walked over to join them and Pepper saw Tony smile at Peter, probably so relieved that he currently wasn’t crying. “How’s the new diapers? Not too tight?” 

“They’re fine. A bit loose” Tony took a seat next to Peter but he immediately climbed onto his lap so Tony sat up with him, sitting in Peter’s previous seat. “I guess but good enough.” 

“Let me see it, Peter.” Peter lifted his shirt up, watching his mom lift up his pants to check it out. 

“The back has adorable elephants on it.” Tony chuckled. It was cute.  

“Oh, that’s cute.” 

“Petey,” Morgan stood in front of them, turning her iPad around so Peter could see. “I beat level sixty. You’re so behind.” 

“I don’ have my iPad.” Peter shrugged, sliding to the edge of Tony’s lap. “I want paci.” He said again, more desperately this time, letting his parents know he could only hold off for so much longer without one. 

“I know, baby. Let’s go get you one. Pep, I can take him, um,” 

Pepper had a better idea. “How about I stay here with them. You go quickly. I’ve got it.” She gave Tony a nod, it would be easier this way. 

“Can we go to the play area over there?” 

“Over where?” Tony asked her because he definitely couldn’t see that from where he was sitting. 

Morgan pointed to an area next to the bathrooms. “There. There’s a sign that says kids play place. Can we go?” 

“Peter here needs to get his shoes on first.” 

“Nooooo.” 

Tony looked at Pepper who shrugged. It was probably fine. It was better than another temper tantrum. 

“I can take them, dad. I’m bored anyways.” Harley got up, holding his hand out for Peter who took it immediately. Tony debated on going or staying. He was really tired but also if something happened to his kids, being really tired was no excuse. And he already had enough regrets in his life. But he really needed to get the soothers. 

Tony stood up. “Pep, are you good? I’ll try to be quick.” He turned to Pepper but she was already grabbing her purse and standing up with a confident smile on her face. 

“I’m good, Tony. We need a pacifier. But buy a few if you can.” 

He watched Peter and Morgan run ahead, trying not to care too much that Peter was wearing only socks on his feet. They seemed to know exactly where they were going because they turned the corner, leaving Tony’s sight for a few frightening seconds. Damn, I really gotta get back into my therapy sessions, Tony thought. He was well overdue. 

He made the difficult decision to leave his kids and go look for another shop. It was kind of like a mini vacation without kids as he walked down the hallway, looking for a shop that might have pacifiers while also making sure to watch the time. They were boarding in 15 minutes. Fuck. He picked up his pace, also not too worried because the first shop he walked into was sure to sell soothers, right? 

Boy was he fucking wrong. They were already calling his gate and this was the last shop he was trying. He quickly scanned the baby aisle. Nothing. Tony wanted to cry. “Excuse me,” He approached the cashier. “do you guys sell pacifiers?” 

“You’re the fourth parent coming in here. I’m sorry. We’re all sold out. We’re waiting for a new stock to come in.” 

“The three other stores I went to said the same thing. My son cannot fly without one. Are you sure you don’t have any in the back?” Tony was so desperate. 

“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have any. I wish I could help you.” 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

Tony ran an over stressed hand through his hair and walked back down the baby aisle, looking everywhere. “Fuck.” They had to board right now and he still had no pacifiers. He couldn’t walk back with nothing. 

Tony picked up a bottle and looked at it. 

Does he do this? Did he have any other options here? Peter could suck his thumb, but he wasn’t taking to that. Oh fuck. Tony grabbed a three pack of Philip Avent bottles, hating everything this was going to cause. 

He brought it to the cashier, paid, and left. He was honestly terrified. 

Tony walked over to join his family, holding the paper bag in his hand. 

It wasn’t a big playground. Just a few climbing structures and some tunnels. Tony looked for Peter first, he was sitting on the ground, chewing on his fingers. He was surprised to see Harley joining his siblings instead of sitting on the bench to watch like he usually did. 

He watched as Pepper pulled out her phone and snapped a few pictures of them, adding to the millions of pictures he already took on this trip. 

As soon as they got home, Tony wanted to get the best ones printed and put them up around the house, adding to the collection. But that wasn’t the main thing on his mind right now. 

Tony made eye contact with Harley and then Harley scooped Peter up, flipping him over in his arms. “We gotta go board. They already called us.” 

“Slide down one more time, Peter.” Pepper told him, smiling at Tony. “Hey. You got some?” She looked at the bag in his hand. 

“Pepper,” 

“Two more times.” 

“Once or not at all.” 

“Then I don’t want to.” Peter spotted his dad so he grabbed Tony’s hand instead. It was a surprise but Tony didn’t comment on it, an interesting choice from Peter who valued his playtime above almost everything. He probably had something else on this mind right now. Pacifiers. “Paci, daddy?” 

Tony handed Pepper the bag for her to look inside. “They didn’t have any pacifiers. I don’t know what else to do.” 

She saw the bottles inside and gasped silently. “No. No. We can’t. We can’t, Tony. Not after everything.” 

“Daddy.” Peter tugged harder on Tony’s hand. “Soother. I need it.” 

“One second, baby.” He looked at Pepper. “Do we give it to him?” 

“Yess.” Peter cried, his breathing picking up. 

“We… we can tell him it’s only for the plane ride and literally throw it in the garbage in front of him after the flights.” Pepper suggested. But it led them to a whole other problem; Peter wanting bottles from now on. 

He was going to get another taste of it and realize just how badly he loved the comfort they provided him. 

“I don’t know… um…” 

“Do we have any other choices here?” Tony lifted Peter up because he was openly crying at this point. 

“No… no, I guess not. Um, okay. Did you wash it?” 

“I rinsed it in the water fountain the best I could.” He kissed Peter’s cheek. “I need to tell you something important, baby.” Drool dripped out of his mouth from the fingers in there. “Daddy couldn’t find you a pacifier. So I got you babas for your milk. But it’s only for the plane ride. The bottles will not come home with us. Okay?” 

“Yeah. My baba. Gimmie.” 

Maybe the biggest mistake of Tony’s life right here. He set Peter on his feet and pulled out a bottle, not missing the way Peter’s eyes lit up. He filled one up with milk from the shop, hoping the plane had an endless supply. 

He then handed it to him and stood up, seeing both Morgan and Harley stop in their tracks. Morgan quickly snatched it from Peter. 

“Noo! Dad, he has a bottle. He’s not allowed.” 

Peter didn’t bite her, probably because he had no energy in him but to cry. 

“No, honey, we don’t have any pacifiers so it has to be this or six hours of crying.” And Tony knew it would be six hours of non stop crying. 

“We need to board. They called our gate ten minutes ago.” No one was happy about this. Peter wasn’t wearing any shoes and was drinking from a bottle again. Tony felt like a complete failure as a parent, and maybe he was. 

But despite that, Peter wasn’t crying and that was relieving. 

Peter walked silently next to Tony, still only wearing his socks. Tony felt pretty confident that they would get settled in their seats and Peter would fall fast asleep after having some milk. Maybe the worst of it was over. 

They were just about to walk onto the plane and were greeted by the flight attendants when Peter pulled away and pointed in the direction they came in. “I wan’ go back.” 

“Come here.” Tony picked him up. “We’re going home. Well, to grandmas and grandpas first.” Close enough to a home. It was Peppers, Morgan’s and Harley’s home for close to seven years while Tony lived alone in New York to search for Peter. Alice and Mike flew back home a little over a week ago, leaving Tony and Pepper to spend some well needed time with their children alone. But they had to fly directly over Malibu on the way home and have a quick layover so they decided to stay there for a bit. 

The extra help would be so nice again. 

“I don’ wanna go on plane!” Peter cried, back to rubbing his eyes until they were red. As Tony stepped onto the plane, a flight attendant rubbed Peter’s back, cooing. Tony hated people touching his kids in public. It usually only happened when they were younger but people often still reached out to physically coo at Peter. 

“He’s just tired.” Tony told her and shifted Peter’s body to his front, holding him awkwardly through the aisle. 

He caught eyes with Pepper, shaking his head. 

“Alright. Harley and Morgan are in this aisle and we’re in this one.” Tony walked into their private seats. It was fairly spacious. There were four seats, two and two facing each other, and both turned into somewhat of a bed by the recliner. 

He sat down and cradled Peter on his lap. “Pepper, we’re going to need more milk for this flight. At least until we’re in the air.” 

Peter fought his way out of his arms and stood by the sliding privacy door, crying as he watched all the random people coming onto the plane. He was so tired and didn’t know how he was supposed to sleep here. He wanted his teddy bear and his bed. 

“Go in, baby.” Pepper gently pushed him in but Peter didn’t take well to that, he turned around and cried so hard, he screamed. And it wasn’t like they were alone on this plane, there were about 400 other people having to listen to this. “Tony. You need to settle him down. People are looking.” 

“Want me to duck tape his mouth, I’m trying everything I can.” Tony snapped at her. He was exhausted and his patience was gone. 

The flight attendant appeared by their sliding door, looking in. “Excuse me, is there anything you guys need for him? Anything I can do to help?” 

Great. Tony grabbed Peter and forced him onto his lap. “Thank you, but we’re fine for now. I’ll get him to sleep soon.” 

“Just press the call button if you need anything.” 

Tony shut the sliding door to give them some privacy now. He took the bottle from Pepper and got himself and Peter comfortable on the seat, trying to get Peter to lie down against him but he kept forcing himself to sit up. 

“You’re going to tire yourself out. You know you are. Just relax against me.” 

Peter let out a frustrated scream that Tony cringed at. It was loud and his cries were even louder. He placed a hand on Peter’s back, forcing him down then flipped him onto his back, pushing the bottle past his lips. 

Tony didn’t know what he was expecting but he was beyond relieved when Peter took the bottle, sucking back the milk. 

Both parents sighed. Finally. 

Tony held the bottle for him, watching Peter’s eyes roll back but then he forced them open again, trying to fight sleep. Typical of him. 

It took another twenty minutes until the plane was fully boarded and the announcements played on the tv screens which Tony promptly ignored, praying to god that Peter didn’t start crying again. The plane began taking off and Peter’s eyes snapped open at the movements but fell back into a drifting off phase once again. 

Tony kept the bottle in his mouth until he noticed he wasn’t drinking anymore but kept it in his mouth. He’d switch it out for a pacifier at this point but they didn’t have one, he just hoped Peter stayed quiet, so he crossed his fingers and toes. Stay asleep. Please please please stay asleep. 

“I was texting my mom before we boarded. She’s excited to see us.” 

Tony smiled. “Of course she is. You’d be crazy not to be excited to see this monster.” They both knew he was talking about Peter. 

“I told her to bring a full bottle of milk for the car ride and she promised she’d take over Peter duty once we land.” 

Tony shut his eyes. “That’ll be nice.” He leaned his head against Peter’s, beginning to drift off to sleep. It was maybe twenty minutes later when Peter woke up out of literally nowhere and started crying again. “What’s wrong? Shh shh, go back to bed.” 

Tony sat up, bringing Peter onto his lap. What the fuck just happened. He looked on the bed and saw Peter’s bottle lying there. Fucking hell. So it must have fallen out of his mouth and woke him up. Tony grabbed it, shoving it back into his mouth but that didn’t stop his crying this time, Peter spit it out, the crying only intensifying. 

“Fuck. He was just falling asleep.” Tony shook his head. “It’s because we don’t have a pacifier. We need one.” He looked around like he was debating on calling the flight attendant. 

“We need to get him off the pacifiers, Tony. He’s way too dependent on them.” 

“He’ll grow out of it.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes as she got another bottle ready. “Tony. No. He won’t grow out of it. He has an unhealthy obsession.” 

“I’m not talking about this right now.” Tony snapped and Peter cried harder, refusing to quiet down. 

“Tony. He’s going to be twenty and needing a pacifier still-” 

“Stop. He’s my son. I know what’s best for him so I call the shots when it comes to him.” His words were like venom towards Pepper. He was exhausted and didn’t really mean to say it the way he did but that didn’t mean he didn’t actually mean it. Because he did, to some extent. 

Peter was his everything. Peter was the sole purpose of his life having any meaning and the reason his heart beat. Peter ripped half his heart out when he was gone, and Tony was still trying to repair that, but the only person who could was Peter. 

Everything was Peter. 

Tony didn’t go a second without thinking about him, worrying about his well being, loving him so much he felt like it gave him superpowers. 

So yeah, he felt like he did call the shots when it came to Peter. 

If Tony could, he’d invent a Time Machine and keep him exactly the way he is now, maybe minus the excessive crying like this, but he loved his childish innocence. 

He held him tighter and looked at Pepper, she was simply watching them, not truly hurt by his words or surprised. Tony didn’t know what was worse. 

She handed him the second bottle and Tony took it silently, lying back down and pushing the nipple past his lips again but Peter shook his head and fought Tony to stand up. 

“Let me try.” 

Without saying anything, Tony sat up and picked the screaming kid up, placing him with Pepper which only made Peter cry harder and look back at Tony. Tony handed Pepper the bottle and sat back down to watch. 

Peter usually picked favourites depending on his mood but 97% of the time it was Tony. 

“Peter, come lie down with me, drink your milk.” Pepper tried, moving Peter around the best she could with him fighting her. 

Eventually, Peter turned around and grabbed her top, pulling it down to reveal her bra. He cried in defeat and turned around to reach for Tony. “Dada!” 

“C’mere, baby boy. Have some milk and let’s go back to sleep.” He scooped him up, lying back down with him. Peter eventually gratefully accepted the bottle of milk this time, closing his eyes in contentment. 

The silence was welcoming and felt so nice. 

Tony just prayed it would last. 

.

.

.

Tony woke up some time later, feeling so refreshed. His eyes were no longer burning so he wondered exactly how long he had been asleep for. 

He looked over at Peter who was awake and drinking another bottle of milk. He ran his hand through Peter’s hair then looked at Pepper but she was on Peter’s other side with Morgan and Harley lying on the seat recliner in front of them. 

“Hey. Tight fit.” Tony commented and shoved a pillow underneath his back to sit up more. 

Peter shifted and reached down to tug on his diaper so Tony reached a hand down, squeezing the front and feeling he needed a diaper change.  

“Morgan insisted we both come in here. Like a sleepover she said.” 

“That’s fine. Did you guys sleep at all?” 

“No, we watched a movie together.” 

“That’s nice.” Tony stood up and stretched then opened the sliding privacy door to grab the luggage from the overhead so he could pull out the diaper supplies. He found the bag and shut the door behind him again, trying to decide how he was going to change him but he was small so he could just lay Peter sideways on the bed. Tony tugged his track pants down and untapped the sides of the diaper but when he pulled the front down, he immediately closed it and looked at Peter. “You had diarrhea.” 

Peter nodded. 

“Pete, you didn’t tell me.” Tony removed his track pants fully. “Does your stomach hurt?” Peter shook his head. That was good at least. 

“Baba.” 

“No more milk until I change you.” Tony grabbed the wipes and used a vomit bag to toss the dirty diaper in. “This is no doubt because he’s back to drinking bottle after bottle again.” Tony sighed, letting Pepper know. “Hold your legs up.” 

“Eww. That’s gross.” Morgan commented, watching Tony run a wipe across his skin. 

“And you still want to help me with this?” Tony chuckled, teasing her, laughing when she intentionally fell back on the bed. “Any takers?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

Tony was glad that it was mostly milk in his system. He tossed all the dirty wipes into the bag, using extra to get everything and none on his hand. He grabbed a fresh diaper after making sure he was fully clean then applied some cream and got him secured back into one, patting his tummy. “All done. Can you tell me next time you have a diarrhea so you aren’t sitting in it.” 

Peter nodded but Tony didn’t really believe him. A sign of being ready for potty training was to be uncomfortable sitting in a soiled diaper but Peter honestly could care less for the most part, Tony really hoped this trip didn’t set him back. 

Although he was potty trained. Just not to the extent that Tony and Pepper felt comfortable enough traveling with him in underwear. Besides for the plane rides and car trips, Peter spent the whole vacation in underwear, well his bathing suit, but he stayed dry from pee accidents, Tony was pretty sure. So that was good enough. 

Tony grabbed the vomit bag full of dirty diapers and stood up. “I’m going to go toss this in the garbage so I’ll be back.” He looked at Peter. “I’ll be right back, Pete.” 

He left their little area and glanced around. Mostly everyone was either sleeping or watching a movie on the screens in front of them. He was so grateful that Peter wasn’t crying but judging from some of the looks he was getting, everyone knew he was the father of the screaming kid. 

Not that he cared. They didn’t know their struggles. 

He walked into the tiny bathroom, never taking his private plane for granted again, where he tossed the dirty diaper and pulled himself out to quickly use the tiny bathroom before returning back to his family. 

He spotted Peter in between his siblings, looking so comfortable and cuddly. “Awww. Look at you guys.” He grabbed his phone off the table and snapped a few pictures then sat on the edge of his seat, holding back with everything in him to not attack Peter with kisses. 

Life didn’t get much better than this. 

All his kids cuddling together, the most perfect things in the world. 

Peter was currently happy. 

Peter stretched his legs out, shifting closer to Harley and trying to stretch his legs out to be as long as Harley’s. Tony couldn’t help it, he stood up and leaned down on the bed over Peter, pressing a bunch of kisses against his cheek. “You’re just too cute. I can’t help it.” 

He was also so happy that Peter wasn’t crying. 

“Daddy,” Peter giggled. “your beard is scratching me.” 

Tony pulled away and smiled down at him then kissed him once more. “Then stop being so cute.” 

“I can’t help it.” Peter giggled some more, acting like a complete angel as if he hadn’t just been screaming bloody murder two hours ago. 

Peter looked over at Morgan and poked her ear to try and wake her up. “She’s still sleeping.” 

“Not anymore.” Morgan groaned, rubbing her eyes and looking at the person who just woke her up. “Are you happy now?” 

“Yeah. I was so sad before.” Peter spoke around the bottle hanging out in his mouth. Tony held a hand out for it. 

“Can I have your baba for a bit? You don’t need it now.” 

Surprisingly, Peter handed it to Tony but shoved his thumb into his mouth instead. But it wasn’t like Tony could take Peter’s thumb away from him. Although they decided they wouldn’t tell him to stop sucking his thumb, that was going to be his choice one day. 

Tony checked the flight map. 4 more hours to go. They were doing pretty well so far but everything was counting on Peter. 

“How many more hours until we’re at LAX?” 

Tony chuckled. Days. “Four more hours of this flight. Then we’ll land in Dubai and go to our private plane. Then 16 hours on there.” It didn’t matter how long it was on their plane, if Peter cried, it was easier to deal with that and they could walk around. 

On this plane, they had to keep Peter entertained in such a small space for such an overactive boy. Like now, Peter rolled over, laying on Harley then sliding off him and onto the floor. He looked around briefly before pointing towards the privacy door. 

Tony knew exactly what he wanted but he wanted Peter to use words to tell him. “I don’t understand. Use your words.” 

“I need to go out there.” 

“No.” Tony was too tired to explain but it didn’t matter anyways because Peter threw himself onto his butt and started crying. It was exhausting. When the fuck was this flight over. 

Harley stood up, stepping over his crying brother. “And that’s my cue to leave. I’m going to work on my assignment a bit while I can.” He opened the door, walking out but of course Peter followed him, looking at all the people staring at him, most not looking happy with him. His eyes landed on one man in particular who looked him up and down, shaking his head at him. Peter felt like he did something wrong when he didn’t. He's been listening to his parents this whole time. 

“Peter. Come back here.” 

He ran down the airplane aisle, running into the private seats with his brother and climbing onto the seat, covering a blanket over his head. “Don’t tell him I’m here.” 

“Sure.” It was obvious. Only his head was covered but Harley couldn’t really bother. When their dad walked in, looking both exhausted and out of patience, Harley shrugged. “He’s not in here.” 

“Let’s go.” Tony wasn’t playing around. He lifted the blanket from Peter’s head and lifted him up, of course making him cry. “You’re okay. You need to stay with mom and me.” 

“No I don’t!” He sobbed, tugging on his right ear. It was hurting a bit. 

Tony felt like all eyes were on him. And they were. At least in first class, the snobs were judging him. Although Peter was crying quite loudly, it wasn’t hard to miss. 

“My god. That’s whos been crying? I thought it was an actual baby. His cries sound pitiful.” 

“Mm. His parents have no control over him.” 

Tony ignored the voices of the older couple across from them. They probably never had children or it’s been so long they had tiny humans depend on them so they forgot how hard it was. 

Tony tried not to let it get to him. He shut the doors behind them and sat down, grabbing the bottle off the floor and offering it to Peter but he pushed it away, turning his head. 

“Owie!” He cried, covering a hand over his ear but Tony didn’t really think too much of it. He tried the bottle again, sighing in visible relief when Peter began drinking and the crying stopped. 

Everyone else was definitely grateful for that too. Tony laid him on the reclined seat next to him. “He’s quiet for now.” 

“When the door was open, I saw a few people look in, a few gave me dirty looks.” 

Tony hummed. “Same.” He was too tired to care. He yawned as he laid down, shifting his body to fully face Peter to cover a hand over his eyes, trying to get him to fall back asleep. Even if it was for thirty minutes. That’s thirty minutes of peace and quiet. 

It seemed like he was going to fall asleep but he kept fighting it, whimpering. “Shh shh.” If Peter fell asleep, Tony could get some rest as well. “Please sleep. Shh shh shh. Close your eyes and rest.” He whispered. It was harder for him to fall asleep because he was a stomach sleeper but he couldn’t drink his bottle on his tummy. 

To all that is holy, Peter managed to fall asleep. Tony tilted the bottle so it was still in his mouth but he couldn’t accidentally choke on milk in his sleep, next, Tony closed his eyes and was out in seconds from the exhaustion. 

Tony woke up next to screaming. 

He wasn’t sure how long he was even asleep for but a quick look at the flight map told him he was asleep for roughly 40 minutes. He came to quickly, looking at Peter completely sobbing in Peppers arms. It was cries of pain. Tony recognized that cry. 

“What happened?” 

“He woke up in pain, saying his ears hurt. I tried to comfort him but he just started screaming. Can you make him another bottle?” 

Tony quickly made another bottle, trying to offer it to Peter but he refused. He was chewing so hard on his fingers that Tony was afraid he was going to break skin. “Give him to me.” 

The crying hurt his ears. He sat back down, bouncing him on his leg to try and get him to quiet down but it didn’t work, that never did. “What’s wrong, Peter? Tell me so I can help you.” 

“My ears hurt!” He sobbed followed by a scream into Tony’s shoulder blade. “I-I need paci!” 

“I know. Okay.” Tony couldn’t do anything about that. He tried to guide Peter’s thumb to his mouth but he was pulling away, straining in frustration. “Do you want another bottle?” 

He didn’t verbally respond but his nod and grabby hands were enough response for Tony. He took the bottle from Pepper and pushed it past Peter’s lips, cutting off his cries for a total of ten peaceful seconds before he was back to screaming again. “Peter, you need to stop. There’s other people on this plane. Common. Take a breath.” 

“My-y-y-y ear… hurts!” 

“Which one?” 

“Bof’.” He tugged on his right ear though and it’s the ear he’s been favoriting so Tony looked inside but of course didn’t see anything. He was more looking for blood but it was just the ear popping, Peter was either overreacting or it was hurting him more than usual. 

“Just drink your milk. The swallowing helps relieve the pressure.” 

“It hurts! Daddy.” He cried, coughing on his sobs. Thankfully the screaming stopped enough for Tony to have an actual conversation with him. 

Tony laid him on the seat next to him, rubbing his belly. “Do you want to take some medicine then-” 

“Noooooooo! Not sleeping!” He sat up, back to scream crying again. Definitely the wrong thing to say. Fuck you, Steve. 

“I have children’s Tylenol.” Pepper began digging in her purse for it then shook her head. “Oh sh- it’s in the carry on. With all the soothers. I’m calling the flight attendant. They have to have some on board.” 

“He won’t take it if we tell him but if we give it to him in his bottle like Steve, we’re becoming him.” Tony looked at his boy who was so so miserable. His eyes were puffy and red from all the rubbing, his cheeks were all rosy and his lips were puffy from the crying and chewing on his fingers. Tony wondered if it would be any different if they had a pacifier. 

Although the good news was that giving Peter a bottle after weaning him probably wouldn’t be too bad since he wasn’t really taking to it anyways. 

The flight attendant walked over and opened the door, her face neutral. She was probably getting a lot of complaints out there because of Peter. “Is everything okay?” 

“Would it be possible to get some children’s Tylenol? My son's ears are hurting him.” 

“Of course. A hot compress also helps, would you like me to bring that for you too?” 

“Thank you. Oh, do you by any chance have any pacifiers on board?” 

“I’m so sorry, but we don’t supply pacifiers.” 

They had to at least ask. Pepper honestly wasn’t expecting them to have any because why would they, parents should come prepared for their children but they apparently needed more practice. 

Tony flipped Peter onto his stomach, trying to get him to settle but he kept pushing himself onto his knees to cry, holding onto his ears and telling Tony it hurt. 

“I know it does, baby. Medicine will make it feel better. Would you like that?” Peter didn’t respond to him. He turned his whole body to watch the flight attendant open the doors and hand something to his mom. 

He looked out the doors, making eye contact with a few unimpressed people but he wasn’t aware enough to know he was the reason for their looks. He laid back down, sticking his thumb in his mouth to try and calm himself but it wasn’t working. 

“I’m going to give you this medicine, Peter. Do you want it in your milk or take it from the syringe?” Tony read the label, making sure he was getting the correct dosage. 

“What’s it?” 

“It’s pain medicine to help your ears feel better. It’s grape flavoured.” 

“It’s candy?” 

“No, baby. It’s medicine.” 

“I’m not sick.” Peter was chewing on the corner of the pillow, tears still falling from his eyes. 

“Baby. I know. But your ears hurt. So this will make you feel all better. Want some in the syringe?” 

“It’s a needle in my leg?” He pointed to the spot with the healing scratches. 

Tony tried not to show his frustration at Peter not understanding this. “No, baby. This syringe just goes in your mouth for you to have. It makes you feel better so you can rest. It’s safe. You won’t feel funny.” 

Before Peter could fight him on it, Tony got the correct dosage into the syringe and held it to his mouth. “It tastes like a grape.” 

“Doesn’t.” 

“It does.” 

“You eat it first.” 

Tony took some of the medicine. It wouldn’t have any affect on him anyways since he was much older and bigger than Peter. If only adult medicine tasted this good. Enjoy it while you can, buddy. “See? It’s yummy. Your turn.” 

To both adults' relief, Peter took the medicine ever so slowly, then washed it down with milk. He grabbed his ears after. “Still hurts bad.” 

“Give it one minute to kick in.” It would take longer than that but Peter wouldn’t know any difference. 

When the medicine did kick in, it was enough to take the pain away to put him to sleep for the rest of the flight. It was the most peaceful thing ever, Tony was afraid to move a muscle to even get up to go pee. 

He tried to get some sleep as well and even checked on Morgan and Harley, finding them both quietly watching their own movies. In another universe, Peter was between them watching a movie together. A universe where Steve never got a hold of him and screwed with his mind. 

Tony was too tired to think about that though. 

It was when the pilot came on the announcement to announce their descent into Dubai that Peter woke up crying. 

His crying only got worse from there. 

For the next thirty minutes, he absolutely sobbed, tugging on his ears and thrashing around every time Tony or Pepper tried to console him. 

By the time they were on the ground, Tony was going to have a panic attack if he didn’t get off the plane. All their stuff needed to be packed up but Tony couldn’t handle that right now. “Peter. Give me a second. Stop.” 

Peter was sitting on the ground, a blanket in his mouth to chew on. Tony yanked it from him, causing Peter to throw himself back and kick his legs at Tony. 

“Yeah yeah. Kick me all you want. We’re leaving.” Tony tried to help pack the bag but Peter gagged and spit up a bit of milk on himself. “Fucking great.” 

“You take him out of here. I’ll get the kids and get all our bags. Just take him off the plane.” Pepper roughly grabbed her purse, accidentally breaking the handle. Fucking great. 

So, Tony used the plane blanket to wipe the milk spit up off his chin and shirt then picked Peter up. His diaper was full, he had spit up in his hair, and he looked absolutely miserable. Tony didn’t even want to look at himself. “We’ll meet you guys by the closest bathroom.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Let’s go.” 

It was the walk of shame as he left the safety of their private nook. He could feel all eyes on him but he didn’t want to look at the dirty looks directed at him. No matter if it was an infant screaming, a toddler or a traumatized child, people did not like crying for a six hour plane ride, where Peter basically cried for four of those hours, but no matter what, no one was having a worse time than that child’s parent. 

Tony carried Peter off the plane, accidentally banging Peter’s shin on the door but he didn’t seem to care. He was already crying. He couldn’t exactly be crying any harder. 

Thankfully though he wasn’t trying to get out of his arms and stayed put. 

Tony found a bathroom and walked into it, the crying echoing. “Shh. My ears are hurting, Pete. Quiet now.” 

He tried to stop, Tony would give him credit for that. 

And he didn’t have any diapers or wipes. He forgot that too. He pulled out his phone to text Pepper but Harley walked in before he could send the text, handing Tony exactly what he needed. “I could literally hear him outside.” 

“Everyone can hear him. We’ll get our bags and get him his pacifier then he’ll quiet down. Thanks for being so patient. Stay for a moment so I can pee after I change him.” 

“Sure.” 

Tony took off his old diaper, tossing it, wiping him clean and getting on a new one. He had no pants or shoes on so that was great. Tony had Harley stand next to the changing table when he went into a stall to use the bathroom. 

“Daddy!” Peter cried and sat up, reaching for him. “Down. I wan’ down.” 

“I’m coming in two seconds.” 

“AHHHHHHHHHH-” 

“Peter Stark! Enough!” Tony didn’t even have time to wash his hands. He walked out and grabbed Peter’s hand. “Do not scream like that. You are capable enough to understand why that’s unacceptable.” That only got him crying harder. “Let’s go.” 

When they left the bathroom, Tony dug in Pepper's purse for Peter’s pants. It was white pyjama pants with blue dinosaurs on it which was better than no pants. “Can you put your shoes on?” 

“No!” 

“I don’t even know why I bothered asking. You’re being very difficult, you know that?” 

He honestly didn’t expect Peter to respond to him, but when he did, Tony wanted to take it back. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“I know. It’s okay. I know this is hard for you. Can you just hold off on crying until we get on our plane? And we’re going to get your pacis now.” Tony kissed his cheek, moving the curls off his forehead. “You’re so brave. So strong. Just a few more minutes.” 

Besides for Peter occasionally hiccuping the way to the baggage claim, they walked in silence. 

Tony wasn’t a fan of airports. 

He also wished they had a stroller. He shifted Peter onto his other hip for the tenth time then his phone rang so he shifted Peter again to pull his phone out of his pocket. “This is Stark.” 

“Hello Mr. Stark. Your plane is ready for loading. A shuttle will pick you up outside of terminal 3 when you are ready.” 

“Thanks, Wyatt. We need to get our bags. We should be out soon. See you then.” He hung up with his pilot, handing Peter his phone to watch some YouTube on it when he reached for it. 

“Is our plane ready?” 

“Yeah.” Tony could tell Pepper was stressed. Probably not as stressed as he was though. They followed the signs to the baggage claim, finally reaching it. Tony set Peter on his feet, watching him sit on the floor with Tony’s phone. He had his thumb in his mouth, sniffing behind it. His nose was clearly stuffed from all the crying so he was making gurgling noises. 

Tony found it adorable, like everything Peter did. 

Besides the crying, that was definitely not adorable. 

Morgan sat beside Peter, tugging the phone towards herself but that was the last straw for him. He tossed the phone, crawling a few feet away to cry. 

“I didn’t do anything!” 

“I know. He just needs some space.” Tony was going to go pick him up but he saw their carry on bag coming like it was gold to him. He grabbed it and placed it in front of Peter. “Hey. I have a paci for you.” He unzipped it, grabbing one of the pacifier cases and placing it in Peter’s mouth, he could see the gratitude in his baby’s eyes. He knew how long he had been in need of that comfort for. “Is that better?” 

Peter nodded, his eyes already drooping. 

“Okay. I think you’re going to sleep for ten hours now. Let’s go.” Perfect timing because their next plane ride was 16 hours. 

Everyone felt pretty good now. 

Tony lifted him up, hoping he would sleep now. He was feeling pretty confident about it since Peter was leaning his head on his shoulder with his arms wrapped around his neck, his body going deadweight in his arms. Yeah, he was asleep already or would be in a few minutes. 

Tony grabbed the next suitcase that came by, followed by Peter’s car seat. “Pep, I’m going to go to the car. I’m pretty sure it’s parked right out front. I don’t want to risk him waking up.” Aiser needed to be picked up in another section but Tony would leave that for them too. 

“He’s asleep?” Pepper asked even as she turned to see Peter’s face. “Oh. Sweet boy. Okay. We’ll meet you out front. Don’t worry about the bags.” Usually Pepper would’ve kissed him but she was afraid of waking him. Tony was too. 

He just had to get him into the car for a quick drive to the runway and then onto their plane. One more plane ride. Tony didn’t remember it being so stressful getting to the Maldives. 

“We made the right decision going to your parents house.” Tony said in a low voice as to not wake the sleeping child on his chest. 

Morgan and Harley were watching a seperate movie on the seats furthest away from Tony and Peter, Tony didn’t wonder why. He already told Morgan she had only fifteen more minutes before she had to get ready for bed. 

They’ve been in the air for about three hours now and Peter was still passed out on him. Tony would put him down for bed in about an hour or so. 

“Hmm.” Pepper hummed. “I agree. The help will be nice.” She looked over at Morgan. “Ten more minutes, honey.” 

“Is Petey going to sleep too?” 

“He’s already sleeping.” 

“I mean, with me. Is he?” 

Pepper looked at Tony for him to answer. “Not tonight, Morg. He’s not in the best mood.” Morgan came over to lean against Tony’s seat, looking at Peter. 

“But… he has his paci now so he’ll wake up happy I think.” 

“Let’s hope so. Now how about you go get ready for bed. Go brush your teeth and get your pjs on. Go on.” Tony squeezed her hand, sending her off. “I need to change his diaper before putting him down. But I also don’t want to risk waking him up. He passed his two hour mark.” Tony was referring to the fact that Peter woke up every two hours, for no reason at all. 

“He’s exhausted. Even if he does wake up, I’m sure he would fall back asleep pretty easily.” Pepper tried to reassure Tony as she got up to get ready for bed herself and check on Morgan. Harley was old enough to decide for himself when he should sleep. 

Tony stayed with Peter for a bit longer. Morgan fell asleep in one of the bedrooms, Pepper eventually did tell Harley he needed to get some rest, and so Tony was debating on sleeping out here with Peter in this somewhat uncomfortable position or risk getting up, changing his diaper and getting into a bed with him. Tough decisions. 

After a few minutes of debating, Tony knew he had to get up. Peter’s diaper was completely full and Tony’s back was aching. So, he stood up, trying his best to stretch out. 

He walked into the second bedroom, laying Peter onto the cold bed. He kept his hand on his face to give him the illusion he was still on his chest but it didn’t work this time. The new position brought pain to his ears and he woke up crying. 

“No no no. It’s okay. Go back to sleep.” 

Peter sat up, grabbing his ears. “Daddy.” 

“It’s okay. I’m sorry to wake you. Just rest.” He pushed him back down, feeling Peter fight against him to sit up. “Sorry. I just need to change your diaper. Two minutes.” Tony pulled the diaper off of him, grabbing wipes out but with one hand, he couldn’t get just one out, about ten attached to it. “Fuck. Come out.” 

Peter was screaming, trying to roll onto his stomach, Tony was holding one of his legs in one hand and fighting with the wipes in the other. “Fuck this.” He grabbed all ten wipes, quickly wiping his skin and dodging a kick to the face. “Peter. Stop it. Lie still for two minutes.” 

He flipped onto his stomach, sobbing into the mattress. 

Tony’s ears were hurting. Peter’s cries weren’t even cries, they were screeches. “Shh shh.” He flipped him back onto his back, smearing cream onto him then fastened a diaper on then leaving the bedroom to wash his hands in the bathroom. 

He had to splash water on his face and take a few calming breaths. 

Tony was in for a plane ride of hell. 

.

.

.

To say he was expecting the worst was an understatement. 

Peter absolutely sobbed the whole entire flight. Thirteen hours of screaming and crying. Straight. He stopped to drink milk and had two thirty minute power naps then went back to screaming. 

Tony didn’t think he’s ever cried so hard in his entire life. 

Maybe with Steve, Tony couldn’t imagine that car ride after they first kidnapped him. Peter wouldn’t really take bottles back then when he was strictly nursing so to get him to take a bottle from two strangers, yeah, he probably screamed like this. 

Tony’s ears were ringing. 

He didn’t sleep and he cried three times out of pure frustration from Peter. 

Pepper tried to help, even Morgan tried to sing to him. Nothing worked. Peter sobbed.  

He complained his ears were hurting and couldn’t seem to get comfortable. So he’d throw himself and grab his ears a lot. Tony already had a doctor's appointment booked after they landed. 

They had one more hour left and Tony was about to lose it. Peter was screaming on the floor, Tony was sitting next to him and Pepper was leaning against the doorframe, telling him they should give him medicine in a bottle. 

“I’m not doing that. He won’t trust us again.” 

“Tony. He’s been screaming. Okay, not crying, screaming. Screeching. For hours. He’s in pain.” 

“He won’t take the fucking drugs!” He yelled out of pure frustration and exhaustion. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Just… no. Please stop. I’m… I have no patience left. I need him to just… stop.” 

It didn’t sound like Peter would anytime soon. 

Tony didn’t want to be like Steve and give Peter medicine in a bottle. He didn’t want to be that… monster. But if this were happening and Steve never came into their life, Tony would sneak Peter some medicine to help him in his juice or something. Although they wouldn’t be in this situation because Peter wouldn’t be refusing medicine for one, he would be able to communicate better about what was wrong and he wouldn’t be so regressed that he’d be acting this way to begin with. 

Tony tried again. 

“Baby. Can I give you medicine?” 

“Noooooooooooooo!” He kicked Tony’s leg weakly, having no energy left in him. 

“It’ll help you feel better. I know your ears hurt. I’ll take the pain away for you. Let me?” He rubbed Peter’s tummy, wishing he’d give in. 

“No! No no no. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! No. I sa’ no!” 

“Okay. Okay. Alright.” Tony wiped the tears off his face, keeping his hand on his tummy. This was the hard part about raising a child with trauma. This is what it looked like. 

Tony wanted help. He needed it. 

Thankfully they were on the ground now and help was just a drive away.