Always Be My Baby

“Are you guys sure you don’t want to stay another week?” Alice was upset her family was leaving and that it would be at least another month or two before she got to see them. And children grew up a lot in such a short amount of time. “FaceTime just doesn’t do justice.” 

Tony hummed. He couldn’t imagine only seeing Peter through a screen. “You’re more than welcome to come visit us in New York. It’s been awhile.” He moved aside to let Peter run past, followed by Aiser and Morgan. 

Taking a step towards him, Alice spoke in a low voice. “Now that he’s feeling better, will you guys take the pacifiers from him?” 

Tony knew the answer should be yes but not only was he stressed to take it away but he was also scared that Peter would hate him. Like Peter made very clear, he didn’t know how to calm down without it. 

“That’s the plan. But I’m not sure how or when we’ll go about that.” He lifted the last suitcase into the trunk. Why did it always fit better going somewhere than having to re pack it. “If you haven’t noticed, he’s got a temper.” 

“Ohh. Really? Haven’t noticed at all.” 

Tony laughed. That was pretty funny. “Okay. I gotta go collect my kiddos.” He made his way back inside and followed the laughter, thankfully not crying, outside in the backyard where he found Peter standing on the glass table. He quickly grabbed him off. “Peter. No. I don’t ever want to see you standing on a glass table again. That could’ve ended so badly.” 

Peter was kicking his legs to run off again so Tony set him on his feet, running a hand through his hair. And they had a six hour flight back home? Was that right? God help them all. “Peter. We need to leave. Let’s go say bye to everything.” 

“Bye!” He yelled behind him, running through the house and out the front door. 

“Morgan?! Let’s go!” 

“I’m pooping!” 

Tony sighed. She took twenty minutes to poop. “Okay, we’ll meet you outside.” He walked back out to Peter pretending to drive in the driver's seat and Pepper hugging her mom. “Where’s your brother?” He asked Peter, stopping his little hand from beeping the horn. 

“He’s in the back.” 

Tony looked over him, finding the back seat empty. “No. He’s not. Do you know where he is?” 

Peter gasped. He was so unserious. “Oh no. He’s missing. We need a fire dog to find him. Aiser! Where are you?” Pushing past Tony, Aiser jumped onto the seat next to Peter. “Good. Now take us to the moon. Step on it.” 

Okay. Tony let them have their fun. He was glad Peter was feeling better but was it bad he was going to give Peter his medicine as soon as they got on the road? He didn’t do well sitting in one place for very long. 

He was still on one dose of medication a day, so he would just give him that dosage to start their trip off. Problem solved. Ears saved. Both literally and figuratively. 

“I can’t find my phone. Has anyone seen it?” Harley came out of the house, patting his pockets and not looking as rushed as he should be. They were supposed to be on the road fifteen minutes ago. Not that it mattered too much but their pilots were still waiting for them. 

“Have you checked your backpack?” Tony asked, lifting Peter out of the driver's seat before he accidentally figured out how to start it or something. “Pete. Where are you going now?” 

Peter didn’t have time to stick around, he had things he needed to do. “To check on my pies!” 

“He’s talking about his mud pies, Tony.” 

“I’m on it.” He had to run after him before he got to the mud pit and grabbed his arm just in time. Peter was a fast runner, they should probably put him in soccer or something but this boy could run. He was still recovering so he wasn’t as quick as he normally was. Which was why Tony could catch up to him. “Got you. Let’s go.” 

“Nooo. First-first-first-wait.” 

Tony let go of him, waiting patiently for him to get his words out. When he had a lot on his mind, was upset or excited, he stuttered. “First what?” 

“First-first-um, first I’m gonna say bye to the garden. Then upstairs.” 

“No. You already said bye to upstairs. We’ll be back again soon and you can say hello again.” 

“Noooo. No no cause-” He threw himself onto the grass, a few tears falling down his cheeks. Oh my. Maybe Tony should just give in to what he wants to avoid the crying. But Peter was crying on purpose. Peter knew how to get away with things or get what he wanted and they just kept giving in, teaching him that if he cried long and hard enough, he’d get what he wanted. 

He picked up on a few things from having Steve, master manipulator, as his father. 

But he was also still recovering from his ear infections and ruptured eardrums. 

They were both looking at each other, trying to figure one another out. 

“I’ll say bye bye to upstairs.” He tried again, looking up at Tony pitifully. 

“Fine. But in under two minutes.” 

“Yeah. In under two minutes. I’ll only be only two minutes, dad. I’ll be quick.” He stood up, walking in front of Tony to head back inside the house but once he walked in, he spotted one of his trucks and ran towards it. “What’s this doing here? I forgot to pack it.” 

“These toys stay here. You need something to play with here when you come.” He took it from him, tossing it on the couch but it bounced off and landed on the glass table with a loud thud. 

Oops. “Let’s go. We have a minute left.” 

With a gasp, he ran upstairs, walking into their bedroom and climbing up on the bed. It was so comfortable. But nothing like their bed back home. He fell back, lifting his legs over his head while Tony watched from the doorway. 

Peter said something Tony couldn’t understand. “What?” 

“This-I but still like our bed back home better. It’s comfy. This one’s comfy too but not as comfortable. Ours back home… it has… like 500 million pillows I can jump on!” Tony loved to listen to him talk but they really had to go now. Peter was also making a mess of the bed. 

“Do you want me to carry you downstairs?” He offered, holding his arms out. 

“Yes! Carry me like I’m your baby.”

“You are my baby.” He grabbed him underneath his armpits when Peter jumped off the bed and ran towards him, happily accepting the contact. 

“But… I’m not a real baby. I’m just… Peter.” 

Okay. Tony’s died and gone to heaven because what the hell that was adorable. How was this boy so perfect in every way? Tony sometimes worried he was actually dead or in a coma because his life was too perfect to be true. How was Peter in his arms right now, as perfect as can be and all his. 

“You’re my Peter. And my baby. And nothing’s going to change that.” He kissed him once they made it onto the main floor but noticed the bathroom door was still closed. “Morgan? How’re you getting on in there?” 

“Good.” 

She sounded suspicious. Tony knocked on the door. “Can I come in? We need to get going soon.” 

“I’m almost done!” 

Tony heard a loud bang that had Peter jumping in his arms. He knocked again. “Morgan. What was that? I’m coming in. Okay?” If it was Peter, he would’ve walked in without knocking, the door wouldn’t even have been closed in the first place. But Morgan was more difficult. She demanded privacy at times then did a naked streak through the house from the outside shower to her room. It was tricky and Tony didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. 

But he gave her a warning. He opened the bathroom door, causing Morgan to jump. “Dad!” 

“What are you doing in here? This bathroom is a mess.” She had somehow gotten Pepper's makeup bag and was applying makeup to herself. There was lipstick on the floor, smudged, and the bag had fallen, which was what that loud bang was. 

“I just wanted to do my makeup! Ever heard of privacy.” She snapped, crossing her arms at her father. 

Hmm. Sassy. “And have you ever heard of stealing. You thief.” Setting Peter on his feet, he went to help clean it up but immediately regretted putting Peter down because he was after the lipstick and drew a line on the floor. “No. Help clean up. Don’t make a bigger mess.” 

“I didn’t make this mess.” He whined. 

“Clean it up anyways.” 

“Fine.” He started helping Morgan put the makeup back into the bag while Tony wiped the floor up. It barely took them two minutes but he wanted them straight outside and in the truck. “I need to pee now.” 

Great. Another thing. Peter took as long to pee on the toilet as Morgan did to poop. At least she pooped on the toilet, Peter just… wouldn’t. He wanted to tell Peter to just go in his diaper but that would send him mixed messages. 

“Seriously?” 

“Ya.” 

“Fine.” He pulled down his pants, taking his diaper off, wishing they had pull-ups right about now. He put the potty seat on top and lifted him onto it. “Try to be quick. We need to go.” 

“…okay.” It was hard to concentrate with two sets of eyes on him. He was able to go after about a minute and was extremely proud of himself. “Can you tell mommy I went?” 

“Yeah. Sure.” Tony got him ready to go again and was rushing them out. “Let’s go, guys.” 

Peter really didn’t like the way his father wasn’t proud of him. He did a pee on the toilet! That used to be celebrated and now his dad didn’t even seem to care one bit. He stuck his bottom lip out. Peeing in his diaper gave him more attention than this… and he was trying his best to please his father. Humm. That was upsetting. 

He stomped his way outside, making sure everyone was looking at him or was able to see him before throwing himself to the ground. 

“What? Why are you on the ground?” Tony had no idea what was up with him. There was always something with Peter. He stepped over him, handing Pepper her makeup bag. “I found Morgan putting it on in the bathroom. Sorry but Peter ruined your lipstick.” 

“Great.” She wasn’t happy about that but wasn’t surprised. “I’ll just… add it to the collection I guess.” The collection of destroyed makeup by her children. They had unlimited art supplies but only wanted to create art with her makeup. 

“Ahhh!” 

Everyone looked at Peter. 

“What, baby? Why are you lying on the ground?” Walking towards him, Tony leaned down, lifting him up. “Hmmm? Are you tired?” 

“No.” 

“Do your ears hurt?” 

“No.” 

Tony had no idea then. “Then what’s wrong?” 

“You… you weren’t… you didn’t… I-I did a pee pee on the toilet.” He explained the best he could. 

“You did.” 

“But urg! But like… you didn’t tell mommy. And you weren’t… saying anything happy to me.” 

Tony was a Peter whisperer. You had to be with raising a child with bad communication skills. “You mean you think I wasn’t proud of you?” Peter nodded, his bottom lip sticking out. “Oh baby. I’m so sorry I made you feel that way. Thank you for saying something. I am so proud of you for peeing on the toilet. You’re such a big boy.” 

Truth was, Peter sitting on the toilet was more of a hassle than anything else. He seemed to always need to go just as they were about to walk out the door. Then sat there for twenty minutes just to do one pee. It was annoying. That’s why they stopped giving him iPads on the toilet because he would sit there for an hour if he could. 

But Tony was proud of him. He was trying his absolute best. 

He felt bad he didn’t show that but Peter communicating that with him was huge. 

“I’m always so proud of you. All I ask is that you try your best, and when you communicate these things with me using your words, it helps me better understand so I can help you.” He kissed him again, making sure he understood then set him back on his feet. Let’s try this again. 

“Now we’re ready to go. Thank you for having us, Alice, Mike, it’s always so nice to come here and spend some time with you.” He hugged his mother in law, knowing she only had eyes for Peter right now. 

“Of course. Yes, anytime. I love having you guys here. I’ll have to fly down to New York and stay for a bit next time.” She kissed Tony’s cheeks then turned towards Peter. She’d keep him here if she could, Tony knew it. Although she’d age 50 years in about two days. He was difficult to handle. “Come give grandma a hug. I’m going to miss you so much. You better FaceTime me more. I want to see your cute little face.” 

“Yeah, and Aiser can FaceTime with me cause when we get home I’m going to walk him.” 

“Okay. That sounds lovely.” She squeezed him even harder. “I’m going to miss you, sweet, sweet boy.” 

“I’ll stay here with you then.” He grinned, looking at Tony to make sure he heard. 

“Oh yeah? Okay. We’ll see you in a month then. Everyone else, let’s get into the car.” He teased, knowing it was probably inappropriate but Peter started it. “Give daddy a hug bye then.” 

“No. Not a hug bye. Cause I’m coming with you.” He demanded to be lifted up. “Don’t joke about leaving me cause it makes my heart beat faster and makes my stomach hurt.” 

Oh. Yeah. Tony’s an idiot. He fucking knew better but of course he’s an idiot and had to continue to joke with Peter. “I’m sorry. You’re coming with me. Always, baby. I’m not going to leave you here. Who else would keep me company at home, hmm?” 

“Well I suppose Morgan could. But she can be so bad sometimes.” 

“Oh yeah?” That was ironic coming from their most misbehaved child. Interesting. “Let’s get you buckled in.” He sat him in his car seat, grabbing a pacifier from his pocket and offering it to him then got him buckled in tight and secured. Just how Tony liked it. 

Of course Alice needed one last picture with him before they left, smiling next to the truck, Peter grinning behind his soother. 

Tony would miss Malibu. But it was time to get back home to real life. 

“What was everyone’s favourite part of the trip?” 

“I want to say mine first.” Peter swung his legs to rest on the side of the car seat, trying to find a comfortable position. 

“Okay. We’re listening.” 

“My favourite part was when- Morgan’s laughing at me!” 

“I’m not! I know what you’re going to say so I’m laughing.” 

“Oh. Okay well my favourite part was when Harley accidentally did a belly flop into the pool and his stomach was all red. That was funny.” Him and Morgan broke off into a fit of giggles at the memory. Tony and Peter had been resting together on a pool floaty and Harley tried to jump over them but realized he wasn’t going to make it and ended up slapping the water with his stomach. 

“Oh yeah sure laugh at me. That was painful. And I could’ve made it over.” 

“Sure. You could’ve. If you were 12 feet tall.” Peter laughed, turning around to look in the back seat at him. “Admit it, I’m a better swimmer than you because all you do is belly flop.” 

“Yeah. You think so? You wore a life jacket half the time.” 

Peter was caught. “Yeah. Only cause I was being cautious. Right, daddy?” 

“Right, bud. Nothing wrong with that.” 

“See? Told you so.” 

Tony smiled, reaching a hand out to squeeze Pepper's thigh. A car drive with no crying and his children getting along? Unheard of. 

.

.

.

The flight went by without any problems. It almost made up for the awful plane rides here. Almost. But not quite. 

Tony managed to get Peter to sleep for an hour which made up for his nap and also didn’t mess up their sleep schedule too badly. Well, worse than it already was. 

The rest of the plane ride was spent reading to Peter, sitting back and watching his kids stick their faces in their iPads and computer screens but Peter only cried a total of one time so Tony counted that as a win. 

Tony pulled into their street, being overwhelmed with so much gratitude. Going on vacation was fun but it was nothing like coming home. 

The house where his children would come and visit when they’re older and at every corner, be reminded of all the memories made here and ones that have yet to be made. 

He was so grateful for that. And for the gorgeous woman sitting next to him, without her, he wouldn’t have his three best friends in the back seat. And he couldn’t forget about Aiser. 

“I see our home!” Peter gasped, dropping his notepad on the floor in his excitement. He didn’t even care. “Look! Dad!” 

“I know, I see it.” 

They’ve been gone for about three weeks and besides for their security cameras watching the house, Tony had one of his trusted workers come by once in a while to check on things so their house didn’t somehow have a gas leak and blow up or squatters didn’t move in. 

He reversed into the driveway so it would be easier to unload everything, putting the van in park then turning it off and stretching. “Who’s hungry?” 

“I am!” Morgan’s iPad was already off and she was jumping out of her car seat. 

“I say we order pizza.” 

“Yeah! Cheese pizza!” 

“And pepperoni.” Harley added. 

Tony hadn’t heard Peter say anything so he turned around to look at him. “What do you think, Petey? Pizza?” 

“Sure. Pizzas yummy.” 

“Great. Iets bring all the bags inside then I’ll call.” He got out, opening up the back door and unbuckling Peter, allowing him to stretch first. “Big stretch. Is your butt numb?” From sitting for so long it ought to be. 

“Not numb. Just… icy.” As soon as he got out of the car, Tony pulled back his pants to see if he went poop and thankfully he hadn’t, he hoped Peter would’ve told them if he needed to go. Although he did need a change. 

“After we go inside, I’ll help you get some underwear on.” He handed Peter a small suitcase to roll in. “Bring this in for me.” 

A family of five, one who will not be named, requiring some extra clothes and supplies, traveled with a bunch of heavy bags. Basically Tony and Harley carried them in, Tony getting Harley to help him clean out the garbage and junk in the van real quick while they were at it. 

Peter followed his mom into the kitchen. “Can I have milk?” 

“Sure, honey.” She grabbed a new jug of milk out of the fridge and grabbed a sippy cup. 

“How’s the milk, not nothing in the fridge went bad?” He couldn’t help but wonder, the fridge was full. 

“Madison came by to fill it up for us. You remember Madison, she’s my personal assistant at the tower. She’s been checking up on the house for us.” Pepper trusted her enough to give her the security code to enter their house after going grocery shopping for them so they could come home to a stocked fridge and a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the table, welcoming them home. How thoughtful. 

Peter happily took his milk, drinking it. It felt really nice to be home, like he could relax just a little bit more. He loved being with his family in the Maldives and at his grandparents house but it was nothing like being at home. 

He missed the couch and ran over to it, throwing himself down on it. “I missed you, couch.” 

“Honey. Let’s go into the bathroom quickly so you can pee and put underwear on.” Pepper waved him over, wanting to get this done before Tony tried to insist he wear another diaper. She wanted to get him back into the habit of wearing underwear. 

“Dad already said I can wear underwear.” He explained, slowly making his way over to his mom. He wanted his dad to help him put underwear on. Not his mom! And he didn’t want to sit on the toilet either. 

Pepper grabbed wipes from the basket of Peter’s supplies. “Then he can. Let me take your diaper off. I don’t want you getting a rash. And you don’t need to wear one anymore.” 

She took his pants off, tossing them in the hallway which would soon join all the other clothes from vacation that needed washing. She was looking at at least three days of laundry. “In ten minutes, I’m going to take your soother.” She warned him, taking off his soiled diaper and grabbing the wipes out. 

“No. I don’t want you to.” He stomped his foot for good measure. 

“We’re home now, you’re not sleeping, so you don’t need it.” 

His mom was done wiping him so he ran away. “I always need it!” He ran to the front door to watch them bring in more suitcases. “Is the pizza here?” 

“Not yet.” Tony turned to look at him. “Hey. Get away from the door, naked boy. Go back inside.” 

“I was just checking if the pizza was here.” He stepped aside to make room for Tony to walk in with the heavy looking suitcase. “Is that one mine?” 

“Maybe. I’m not sure. Can you go put pants on if you’re going to stand by the door? Pepper! Why’s Peter naked?!” He still had one more suitcase to bring in too and didn’t want anyone to drive by and see him. They had quite a few trees and brushes in front of their house but still. 

“Noo!” 

“Peter, come in here.” His mom called him from the kitchen but he already made the decision to go see what Morgan was looking at from the garage door. “Peter?” 

“Not now.” He snapped. His parents were so demanding of him. Peter put on pants, Peter stop putting sand in your mouth, Peter stop playing with your food. They never told his siblings any of that, they expected too much from him. “What are you looking at?” He appeared next to Morgan, looking into the dusty garage. 

“I’m watching Harley throw the garbage out.” 

“Well shows over because I’m done now. I’m going to shower.” After a long car ride, plane ride, another car ride and then cleaning out said car, he was sticky and hungry. “Dad. I’m going inside.” 

“Yeah… I’m coming in too.” Tony found a bunch of old bottles underneath the seats of the van but left it in there so Peter didn’t see him bring it in and ask for one. He’s been doing pretty well, he hadn’t asked for a bottle since they left Malibu and Tony didn’t expect him to ask for one, besides for the random request that was most likely just a force of habit. “Pete, go get my phone so I can call the pizza place.” 

“I already called, Tony. It’ll be here in twenty minutes.” 

Perfect. Tony could shower and feel more like a human being. “Pete, how about you go with mommy. I’m going to shower so I’ll be right back.” 

“I want to come with you.” 

“I’ll be so quick. You stay here.” 

Stomping his feet, Peter grabbed onto Tony’s hand. “No no. I wanna come too. Let’s go together.” 

Tony wanted to do this one thing by himself, he took his hand, leading him into the kitchen to hang out with Pepper. “Pep, I need to shower. Here. Take him.” 

“Did you carry all the suitcases upstairs? I need to start with laundry.” She already put the plates out and had some chopped up fruit ready for when the pizza came. She didn’t mind watching Peter but she needed to do laundry and wasn’t going to carry those heavy suitcases upstairs by herself. 

“Not yet. I can though. Here.” He offered her Peter’s hand, prying away from the kid's strong grasp. Geez. It must be all that milk. Strong bones and all. 

“How long are you going to be?” Peter really didn’t want to be away from his dad. Usually they showered together and it was always so much fun even though his dad insisted on wearing his bathing suit. 

The separation anxiety was kicking in. Tony knew it would. Vacations always did that to them. 

“Ten minutes. I’ll be so quick.” He carried all five suitcases upstairs, taking a few trips up and down which Peter joined him for, attempting to help carry some. He encouraged him to go help Pepper in the laundry room to sort the clothes then made a run for it to his bathroom. Finally. Ten minutes of child free time. The most peace he’s had in weeks. 

“Can you help me dump all the clothes out? Then start sorting whites from darks.” 

“Why?” 

“Because whites and darks don’t wash together.” 

“Why?” 

“Because the colours can mix. So, start a pile with all the whites.” She instructed him, knowing this would be so easier to do once Peter’s asleep. He was sitting on top of the large pile of clothes, probably having zero intentions to actually help out. 

He kicked some down to see what would happen. “Morgan. Come sit with me.” He invited her, spotting her in the doorway. 

“Mom. I’m so hungry my stomach is hurting. I haven’t eaten since grandma fed us those brownie bites.” 

“You refused all the food on the plane.” 

“Cause it was just baby food. Like avocado and mashed bananas.” She groaned, just like she did on the airplane. There were other options. Like chicken and mashed potatoes, but Morgan still didn’t want it. 

Peter was currently on a ‘I’ll only eat avocado strike’ so it would be interesting to see if he would even eat the pizza. 

“The pizza will be here in the next five minutes, honey. Did you wash up?” Pepper put the first two loads into the washers. She would do the rest of the unpacking after the kids were in bed. 

“Did Peter?” 

“No. Both of you go wash your hands in the bathroom. And Peter, you need to put on some pants. You’re not eating at the table naked.” If he refused, she would leave that for Tony to do. 

It wasn’t fair. He was allowed to wear and do whatever he wanted in the Maldives but not here? So dumb. “I don’t wanna wear underwear.” 

“Then put on pants.” 

“No.” 

“Okay. Then you can wait for your father.” In order to get back into their routine, they needed to get back on a proper sleep schedule. And Peppers never did well with a lack of sleep. It’s why Tony was usually the one who would wake up during the newborn stages. 

With a gasp, Morgan’s face brightened up and she ran to the top of the stairs. “I think I heard a car door shut! The pizza delivery man must be here!” 

“Yay! Can I give him the money?” Peter held his hands out for Pepper, cupping them like he was about to scoop water. 

“It’s prepaid online. And you need to put underwear on. Let’s get some on really quick.” Grabbing one of his cupped hands, she raced into the bedroom with him, pulling out a pair and helping him get it on without a fight. That felt like such a win to her. 

Morgan was standing by the door, pulling back one of the privacy curtains to look out. “It’s him! It’s really him!” 

“You’re acting like Brad Pitt is here.” 

“Who’s Brad Pit?” Peter wondered, still holding onto his mother’s hand all the way down. He let go to let her open up the front door then immediately felt shy at the stranger standing at his door and let go to hide behind her. 

“Hey.” Tony accidentally caused Peter to jump when he ruffled his hair from behind him. “Didn’t mean to scare you. Are you helping mom and Morgan get the pizza?” 

“Up.” He needed to be in someone’s arms. Plus being at his dads height was such an advantage because he could see everything and he didn’t feel so small. Even Morgan seemed to look down at him despite being about an inch taller than her. 

Not fair she was getting taller and bigger faster than him. 

But all of that was forgotten once the door shut and Pepper walked past him with the pizza boxes, trailing the delicious scent behind her. “Mmmm. It smells yummy.” 

“Yeah… is your tummy hungry?” Tony lifted his shirt to poke his tummy, earning himself his favourite sound in the world of Peter’s giggles. Of course Harley was already ready, sitting at the table eagerly. He set Peter on one of the chairs, Peter’s designated one that had a plastic chair protector over it. Although it’s not like it really mattered since Peter often switched seats multiple times throughout dinner until Tony pulled him onto his lap to sit still. 

He yawned, mouth watering at the sight of the pizza. Delicious. He tapped on Tony’s shoulder. “Can I have ‘cado?” 

“You want avocado with your pizza?” Peter nodded, yawning again. That request wasn’t strange recently. Peter’s obsession with avocado was a bit crazy but at least it was healthy. “I’ll be back. Stay here.” 

“I will.” He stayed but he did turn around on his seat to watch his dad grab his desired ‘cado from the kitchen. 

“Peter, honey, do you want your pizza on your plate now?” Putting one on there without asking him could end in a tantrum. Morgan and Harley were already eating, but Peter needed his avocado first. 

He snapped his head over, covering his hands over his plate. “No! Don’t! I’m waiting for my ‘cado!” 

“Okay. You don’t need to yell. You can put your pizza on there when you’re ready.” The last thing she wanted was for a Peter tantrum. They went all day with one which was rare so he could blow at any second. And judging by his constant yawns and wet eyes, he was ready for bed. 

Meaning he wouldn’t eat any dinner tonight. Pepper sighed. 

“One avocado mashed up for Peter.” Tony set the bowl down in front of him, handing him the silicone spoon. “Take paci out.” 

“I want to dip it in.” 

“No. Give it.” 

“Nooo. No no I already had my idea.” He pushed Tony’s hands away, hiding his pacifier in his hands. “Don’t.” 

“Don't cry. My ears still hurt from the plane.” Morgan warned, unintentionally hurting Peter’s feelings. She didn’t mean to, it wasn’t her intention, but her ears did hurt and she just wanted to eat pizza in peace. 

Peter really didn’t appreciate that. He was doing his absolute best but it wasn’t his fault he was being told no. He waited until his dad let go of him then dipped his pacifier into his avocado, sucking it off. Yum. 

Tony watched on, unimpressed. He shook his head at Pepper. “Let him. I’m not going to fight him.” He was hungry, tired and way too overstimulated for the day after everything. It went well, but it was still a day of traveling with three kids and a dog. 

“Do you want a pizza now?” Tony asked about five minutes later when half the avocado was gone. Peter’s face and hands were covered in it. He even had it in his hair. Tony didn’t care if it made him a bad parent but he wasn’t going to bathe him tonight. He will do it tomorrow morning. 

“Uh huh.” 

“Here.” He slapped it on his plate, seeing another yawn. Tony would give it ten more minutes then he’d be out. 

Peter wasn’t even that hungry. He took one bite of his pizza and was full. He yawned, sticking his avocado smeared pacifier back into his mouth and rubbing his eyes, successfully smearing avocado on them. Good thing he kept them closed so he could eat. 

“C’mere.” Tony saw this coming a mile away. He lifted him onto his lap so he could finish eating, accepting the fact that not only was he getting covered in avocado but he would also likely get peed on. Tony was too hungry to care. He’d wipe Peter’s face and change later. 

.

.

.

“I don’t want to go back to school if Peter isn’t.” Morgan sat on her bed, dressed in only her shirt and underwear, her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. 

Tony was trying to get everyone back into the routine but it was hard. Their whole schedule was off and everyone was still jet lagged which was why Peter could not start back up at school today. He will go back on Wednesday. Morgan didn’t have the ability to skip so much school like Peter did. 

They spent the weekend chilling at home, doing endless amounts of laundry, napping, cleaning and more cleaning. Pepper was going to work today until noon and Harley would join her. So, that left Tony to stay at home with Peter who would probably go down for a nap after morning drop off. 

“Honey. You missed so much school already, and I’m sure your friends all miss you. Maddy will be there, and Lily. And I bet all your classmates can’t wait to hear about your trip.” Just like he did with Peter, he distracted her while he held out her pants for her to get on. “And I’ll pick you up after school like always.” 

“I don’t care about my friends. I hate them. I want to stay here. With you. And Peter.” She sniffled and Tony knew she was close to tears. He would love to say screw everything and keep his children at home with him or live carefree in the Maldives, however, he couldn’t. That would surely give all his kids separation anxiety and not just Peter. 

Although he had a feeling Morgan would struggle today with saying goodbye. 

“Why do you hate your friends, Morgan?” Tony didn’t like to hear that. It probably wasn’t true, but she still said it. 

“Cause… I do. I just… I want to stay home today.” 

“I want you to go to school and try. By time lunch comes around, if you’re still missing us, call me and I’ll come pick you up.” 

Peter wandered into his sister’s bedroom, looking for his dad. Pleased to find him, he joined Morgan on the bed, dragging his blanket with him. “You’re sad?” He asked, leaning closer to get a better look of her face. He hated seeing his family upset. 

“Dads making me go to school and I don’t want to go.” 

“Morgan. I want you to try. That’s all I’m asking.” 

“Yeah.” Peter rubbed her back. “You’ll have fun.” 

“No I won’t.” 

“Pete, give your sister a hug. She wants a hug.” 

Peter hugs cured all. Tony knew that’s what made him feel better after a long, stressful day or anytime he was upset, really. 

Peter sat up on his knees to hug her, wrapping his skinny arms around her neck and leaning his full body weight onto her, they both fell over. Tony may have heard wrong, but he could’ve sworn he heard a giggle out of Morgan. 

Although Peter was getting too aggressive now and wanting to play, so Tony rubbed his back. “Okay. Come off. Go put pants on and then we’re going to drop Morgan off.” 

“He can join me, dad.” 

Tony stood up to help Peter. Otherwise the moon would come up and he would still be telling him to put pants on. “Go straight to your room.” 

“No. To your room.” 

“Peter. Go to your room. I’m not chasing you.” 

It looked like Peter was going to walk past his room but he turned at the last second and ran into it, running to his unused bed and climbing onto it. “I’m gonna sleep in my own room tonight. I miss my bed.” 

Tony chuckled. Peter says that now but he won’t be saying that if he tried to get him to sleep in here tonight. The truth was, he and Pepper were going to talk to him about giving up the pacifiers. They planned on starting slowly tomorrow. 

They decided to talk with him about it tonight, then tomorrow, shortly after waking up, they would take the pacifier from him and the new rule was that he could only have it if he was sleeping. Seems simple enough. But Peter lived with a pacifier in his mouth at all times of the day. Even if he was eating, the pacifier waited close by. 

So yeah, Tony was scared. 

But it had to be done. 

Tony could even see it. Peter had an unhealthy obsession. 

He could also hear the way it was affecting his speech and the last thing they wanted was to have to get him a jaw expander for his mouth. He also didn’t know the long term effects of the pacifier use. 

He used to assume he would grow out of it. Stupid. Peter wasn’t going to grow out of it. If they didn’t take it from him now, Peter would have the pacifier until he was twenty and probably beyond that too. 

So as hard as this would be, it needed to be gone. 

Tony grabbed track pants out of the drawer and stood at the edge of the bed. “Let’s get these on you.” 

“Am I going to school with Morgan?” 

“No. You’re fourteen.” Although there were some grade eights at Peter’s age, he wasn’t going to join Morgan at school. “You’re just coming to drop off with me.” 

“Okay.” 

“I still don’t want to go to school and I still wanna stay home.” Morgan complained, walking into her brothers room to join him on the bed. “Why don’t you sleep in here anymore? You should. It’s such a comfortable bed.” 

“I like my bed in dads room.” He explained, shifting closer to her to cuddle up against his sister. He didn’t know it yet, but he was going to miss her once she left for school. He cried for a few minutes after his mom and brother left, mostly because he was feeling emotional and wanted attention, but he was still sad. 

Three weeks with his family with no interruptions was nice. 

But now back to reality. 

It wasn’t too difficult to get them into the van, and pretty soon they were five minutes away from Morgan’s school. Peter was pretty quiet but Morgan was rambling, asking Tony if he remembered certain parts of their trip as if he had dementia and didn’t. Of course he remembered. He lived it with them. 

She was in the middle of telling a story about Peter and her jumping on the couch in the Maldives and Tony didn’t know about this so that was news to him. “And where was I?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe swimming.” 

“Maybe drinking coffee.” Peter added. He enjoyed listening to the conversation but he had to admit he was starting to get tired. He had no idea what time it was but he was ready to sleep now. They pulled into the parking lot and into the drop off lane where Peter spotted his old teacher, which was now Morgan’s teacher. “Look. It’s Mrs. R.” 

Morgan sighed. She wasn’t as excited to see her as Peter was. That was unfortunate. “Oh yeah.” 

Usually Tony had her get out of the car by herself but he stepped out to help the transition a bit better. He hoped she didn’t cry. “Good morning.” Tony smiled at Mrs. R. She was so kind and supportive of their family. 

“Good morning, Tony, and good morning to you too Morgan. I’m so happy to see you.” She didn’t want to overwhelm her with questions first thing in the morning. Upon peeking inside the van, she could see Peter, the boy she held a soft spot for. Who didn’t. He was precious and sassy. 

“What do you say, Morgan?” 

“I don’t want to go to school.” Okay. Now the tears started. Morgan got back into the van and went in the back seat. She did not want to leave her family. “Take me home.” She cried. 

“Uh oh.” Peter gasped. He tried to lean forward but his car seat buckles prevented him from doing so. “Don’t cry, Morgan. Just go to school.” 

“No!” 

“She doesn’t want to go to school.” He told his dad. They should probably just drive back home now. Peter was tired so he assumed his sister was tired too and was ready for a nap with him. He tried to arch his back out of the car seat. “She’s tired, dad.” 

“Peter.” Tony sighed. Just because someone wasn’t in a good mood, did not automatically mean that they were tired. He climbed into the van, holding his hand out for Morgan. “Remember what we talked about, I want you to try and if you’re still wanting to come home at lunch time, I’ll come pick you up.” 

Morgan wasn’t as stubborn as Peter so it wasn’t hard to get her out of the van. Tony had to be grateful for the little things sometimes. “I know your friends all miss you, I bet you’re going to have so much fun today.” 

“Doesn’t mean I want to go.” She pouted. 

“You can share some of your favourite memories from your vacation at circle time today if you’d like, Morgan.” Her teacher knew the Stark children well. She had to put up with Peter’s difficult goodbyes to his parents everyday when he was ten and although Morgan was different, she still had her moments. 

“Wait. I need to hug Peter goodbye one more time.” 

“Be quick, Morg, you have to go.” Hopefully she would actually leave the car this time. 

“Will he be going to school today?” 

Tony peeled his eyes off of his kids hugging. “No, he got a ruptured eardrum and double ear infection from the trip so he’s still on antibiotics. I’ll keep him home until he’s feeling better.” And until I can get him off that pacifier long enough to go to school. 

“Oh that does not sound fun. I hope he heals soon. How is everything otherwise?” She asked with concern but Tony honestly didn’t have hours to go over everything. 

“It’s… difficult, yeah, we’re working through a really hard stage with him and Morgan often copies his bad behaviours… but I can’t complain too much. Life is good.” And it really was. Life would be boring without a little hint of screaming, crying, temper tantrums and the rest of it. He laughed to himself. It wasn’t funny but it was better than not having Peter in his life. 

“As hard as it may be, just know it’ll pass. All the difficult stages come to an end eventually. Even the easy stages, we just have to enjoy what we can.” 

“Dad, he says you’re taking him to the park. Don’t go without me.” 

“We’re not going to the park.” Tony gave Mrs. R a brief smile, he really did appreciate her saying that. It was a nice reminder. “Thanks. I’ll try to keep that in mind.” 

“Then why did he say that?” 

“I said cause I wanna go to the park.” 

“Okay. Give me a hug, Morgan. I love you and have a good day.” 

“Don’t go to the park today. I want to go after school. Just stay at home today.” She was going to cry if Tony didn’t reassure her. Everyone was extra emotional today. 

“I promise we won’t go. Go have fun. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” With one last hug, Tony watched her walk away with her teacher now that the bell was ringing and she had to join her line. 

Tony didn’t get to watch all her friends run to hug her because he had to get Peter home for a nap. He’d likely have two short ones today so he would be a functional human being by dinner. 

“Looks like it’s just you and me today.” He poked his nose and said once they arrived back home. 

Peter waited for the buckles to come off before climbing out of his car seat and walking down the driveway. 

“Where are you going?” 

“To the park.” 

“No you’re not.” Tony watched him. They had a very strict rule, no crossing the sidewalk unless an adult gave you permission. If Peter crossed it, Tony would bring him straight to timeout. “Peter. I’m warning you.” 

Of course Peter had to test him. It was a requirement for Peter. And honestly, Tony didn’t mind. He knew it was normal for toddlers and young children to test their boundaries to see how far they could push their parents but Peter never got to experience that with them so he was in that stage full force currently, using every opportunity he could. 

They just had to remain patient with him through it all, knowing that he truly didn’t know any better. 

He watched Peter stop before the sidewalk, turning back to see if Tony was watching him. 

“I already told you no, so you know you’re getting a timeout if you disobey me, Peter.” Tony didn’t want to start their day off like this but he would if he had to. 

“I want to.” He stepped onto the sidewalk, looking back. He knew Tony wouldn’t be happy with him and it would inevitably lead to a timeout so he backed away. “I don’t actually want to anymore.” 

Tony was happy about that. Putting Peter in timeout was always harder on him than it was for Peter. Most of the time Peter didn’t understand why he was being put in one. Sure, he knew it was because he misbehaved but the action to Peter wasn’t him misbehaving, in his mind, it was okay. 

“Good choice. Let’s go inside. Are you hungry?” 

“No. My eyes are tired.” 

Peter admitting he was actually tired was crazy. But it also meant he would be more willing to lay down for an easy nap. It was only 9:30am but he’s been up since 4:30am and if Tony could get him to sleep, he could also get the house cleaned up. 

“I’m going to get your teddy from the living room. Go meet me upstairs.” 

“I’ll come with you.” Peter ran after him, grabbing his bunny teddy off the couch and hugged it to his chest. “Bunny wants a paci too.” 

“No, bunny doesn’t want a pacifier. He can sleep without one.” Tony thought that maybe they could use his comfort toy to help wean him off the soother but Peter wasn’t that attached to it. He wasn’t attached to much besides his pacifier and at one point his bottle. 

Although they weren’t going to start until tomorrow so Tony still had today to just relax and not worry about it. 

“Carry me up.” Tony's hands were full though. He was carrying up a laundry basket and didn’t have enough arms to carry Peter as well. So, he placed the laundry basket on the floor, he could deal with that later and was a bit too afraid to hurt Peter’s feelings when he was clearly feeling so tired. 

“Okay, C’mere.” He scooped him up with one arm, holding him on his hip. “Before you get comfortable, I want you to try and pee on the potty.” 

“I don’t need to pee.” Not anymore at least. 

“I need you to try.” Without giving Peter much of an option, Tony walked straight into the bathroom and shut the door so he couldn’t run anywhere. “Just sit and try to go. Then you can go nap.” 

“I wanna nap now.” He whined, refusing to sit even when Tony put his potty seat on the toilet. “I need to go to bed or-or else I’ll get a headache. I feel one coming on.” 

Funny. He definitely picked up on that from Pepper. He took Peter’s wrist, pulling him over to the toilet where he pulled his pants down and took his pull-up off, lifting him on the toilet. Now he needed to distract him so he kneeled down in front of him, hoping it worked. 

“After you wake up from your nap, we can bring out the painting supplies and do some art work.” 

“Yeah…” 

“What do you want to paint?” 

“I dunno.” 

“Maybe you can paint a picture for me.” Tony suggested, rubbing his knees. 

“Or maybe I can paint a picture for Morgan. I hope she paints one for me today.” 

“Maybe she will. You’ll have to wait and see.” Chances are, Morgan would not be calling him at lunchtime so Pepper would be picking her up at 3pm and Peter would be put down for another nap from 3-4. So they’d have to wait to see each other. 

And it’ll allow Tony to ask Morgan how her day was without any interruptions. 

Once Peter did a pee on the toilet, Tony congratulated him, making sure he understood and knew how big of a deal this was and how proud Tony was of him. 

“I think you need to nap too.” Only because Peter wanted his dad to stay with him on the bed. He wanted to fall asleep with him and wake up with him and Tony wished Peter felt this way all the time. His little best friend. 

“I’m not that tired, buddy. Maybe I’ll lay down with you a bit later.” 

“But… you’re going to go somewhere else while I’m sleeping?” He asked, concerned. 

Oh yeah. Separation anxiety coming through. “I’ll stay home with you the whole time. And if you need me, I’ll hear you through the camera.” He pointed to the baby monitor on the nightstand table. Peter didn’t seem to care he was being filmed while he slept, if anything, Tony thought he preferred it. Pepper didn’t 100% agree with it, wanting Peter to have his privacy but the boy ran naked in the house, he didn’t care about his dignity. 

Until he did, Tony wanted to make sure he always had eyes on him. Even Morgan and Harley had cameras in their bedrooms; however those only faced their bedroom door and window and he would never log onto the feed unless they gave permission. 

Tony grabbed a fresh diaper, gently pushing him towards the bed. “I’m going to stay right here with you. I’m not going to go anywhere.” 

“I want you to sleep with me too.” He still tried, getting underneath the blankets and laying down. “Come.” 

“Baby. I need to do laundry and do the dishes. The kitchen is a mess.” They didn’t clean up after dinner last night since Tony knew he was going to stay home with Peter today so he said he’d do it. Peter was making it really hard for him to do that though. 

“Just stay.” 

Yeah. Maybe he’d stay for a few minutes. 

.

.

.

“I love it. I can’t wait to tell Petey I love it.” Morgan admired her painting from her brother. After his nap, he and Tony painted all afternoon until Peter started dipping his lunch into the paint, then Tony called it quits. But they had a great time. 

“You can go with me to wake him up in fifteen minutes.” Tony double checked the time. They needed to wait until 4pm. “Tell me more about your day? Were your friends excited to see you?” 

“Yeah. Mrs. R let me share a story at circle time. I told everyone about when me and Petey went surfing and one story about snowboarding.” She explained as she took her stuff out of her backpack, tossing it on the floor. “Ben is a professional snowboarder.” 

“Which one is Ben again?” 

“He has yellow hair and green eyes.” Morgan described him, double checking the time. Urg. Why did fifteen minutes pass by so slowly? 

Eventually when the clock struck 4pm, she ran upstairs, opening the bedroom door. She found Peter fast asleep, looking peaceful. Now she had to wake him up. “Time to wake up. I’m home.” 

“Morgan, don’t shake him so hard. He’s not a doll.” Tony told her for the millionth time. She would be a great mother one day but she had to stop treating Peter like he was one of her dolls. 

“But he’s not waking up.” She pulled the pacifier out of his mouth which could ruin the whole point of his nap, to not create a miserable monster. 

“That’s it. You can wait downstairs.” He grabbed the pacifier back from Morgan, pushing it past Peter’s lips. They needed to take it from him but not literally snatch it from his mouth like that. 

“Nooo. I want to stay.” 

Tony pulled the blankets off him, letting Peter stretch. “Then you need to be gentle. Gentle hands, remember what we tell Peter?” 

“Yeah… okay. Can I help you? I’ll grab a diaper!” Morgan jumped off the bed with a bang and grabbed a diaper from the box. 

“He doesn’t need another diaper.” Tony sat down next to him, combing his sweaty hair off his face. “Hi sleepy bum. Did you have a good nap?” Peter nodded, deepening his stretch. 

“Hiiiiii.” Morgan couldn’t help herself, she kissed his face. “Thank you for the painting. I love it.” 

“Did you ‘dak me ‘snompn?” 

“No. We didn’t make anything today. We had to do boring work.” She sighed, laying down with him. Tony was surprised she understood what he said. It sounded like complete gibberish to anyone who wasn’t familiar with his pacifier speech. 

“That’s okay. M’hungry.” 

“He’s hungry, dad.” 

Bless Morgan. She was such a protective sister. If someone ever dared to cross Peter’s path, Morgan would stand up for him and make that person regret ever approaching her brother. 

“Thanks, Morg. You guys go downstairs. I’m going to be down in two seconds.” 

“One two.” 

Tony chuckled. Kids. “Sixty seconds.” 

“Come, Petey.” Morgan lifted him off the bed, stumbling back a bit when Peter wrapped his arms around her. “Ooff.” 

“Put him down. He can walk down the stairs.” Tony warned. 

“I’ve got him.” 

Okay. No. Tony put the blanket down and walked over to them, pulling Peter out of her grasp. “Morgan, Peter’s going to walk down the stairs. Okay?” 

“But-” 

“No. He’s not a doll, Morgan. He’s a living being. Carry one of your dolls down if you want that so bad.” 

“I obviously know he’s not a doll. Those have off buttons.” She sassed him. “I just want to help you take care of him. You carry him downstairs.” 

“Because I’m bigger and stronger. Just walk down please. Tell mom you’re coming down.” Tony shook his head at them. Morgan and her constant need for helping. Sure it was nice, but it was too much sometimes because Tony didn’t want her to have to stress so much over trying to help out. He folded the blanket, tossing a few loose clothes in the hamper and walked down the hallway to head downstairs. 

He watched as Morgan tried to pick Peter back up but was still on the stairs. “Morgan. What did I just say.” 

As she turned around, she lost her balance and fell forward, falling down the last four steps of the stairs and dropping Peter onto the floor, landing on him. Tony watched it all happen in slow motion. Peter was the first to start crying, those heartbreaking cries he made when he was actually hurt. 

“Oh fuck. I’m coming. Pepper!” Tony raced down the stairs, picking Peter up first even though Morgan was crying now too. “Pepper!” 

“What happened?!” Pepper ran around the corner, holding a wooden spoon in her hand with sauce on it. “Harley! Take the pot off the stove!” 

“Morgan dropped Peter down the stairs and landed on him.” Tony turned Peter’s face to his. He felt his head for any bumps but couldn’t find any. Yet. But that’s when he noticed his lip was bleeding. The pacifier must have cut his lip. 

“Why was she carrying him, Tony?” 

“I told her not to.” Tony said defensively. This was not his fault. Okay. Maybe it was a little bit. But he looked away for two seconds and now his kids were crying and bleeding. He couldn’t have his eyes on them 24/7. As badly as he wanted to at times. 

He walked into the kitchen to grab the first aid kit. “You’re okay. You’re okay, bud. You’re okay.” 

Peter continued crying, still keeping the broken pacifier in his mouth. Tony needed to take it out and get a look inside his mouth to see if they needed to take a trip to the emergency dentist office. “I’m going to take this for a second. Harley. Go get me another pacifier.” 

“What happened to him? Where’s the pacifier?” 

“Everywhere!” Tony didn’t mean to snap. “Just… look around. Probably in the living room.” As much as Peter protested, Tony took the pacifier out of his mouth, not letting him see it was snapped in half. “Shh you’re okay. Let me see. Open your mouth.” He used his phone flashlight, trying to see. He couldn’t really tell but all his teeth were intact and he couldn’t see where the blood was coming from. 

“Here. Is he okay? Did they fall down the stairs? I can hear Morgan crying.” 

Tony looked down the hallway. He felt bad but it hadn’t even checked on Morgan. “Morgan dropped him down the stairs and landed on him. Go get me a wet washcloth.” 

“Where?” 

“Harley. In the cabinet where they always are.” Tony wouldn’t be so stressed but Peter was screaming for his pacifier and blood was dripping down his chin and onto his shirt. It was probably better than it looked, right? They probably didn’t need to head to the hospital for stitches tonight. 

Oh fuck. 

He took the cloth from Harley and dabbed Peter’s face, finally spotting where the blood was coming from. Just a small cut on his lip. Nothing bad. But it sure was bleeding a lot. 

Once Tony decided it wasn’t deep, he gave Peter his pacifier and the crying immediately stopped. Fuck. This didn’t make anything easier. Maybe they could only give him a pacifier at night and when he cried? Urg. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Now time for the comfort. “That was scary, huh? Are you hurting anywhere?” Peter nodded, gesturing to his mouth. “Poor baby. You’ll feel better soon.” With a kiss to his temple, Tony took Peter to go check on Morgan. 

The crying stopped when Tony found her talking to Pepper in the family room, an ice pack on her head. They both stopped talking when Tony walked in then Morgan ran over to Peter. 

“I’m so sorry! I hurt you! You’re bleeding?! He’s bleeding!” 

“It’s just a small cut. He’s okay.” Tony kneeled down so they could be at each other's height. “Morgan. What do you say to Peter? You hurt him physically.” 

“I’m sorry, Peter. Are you mad at me?” 

Peter didn’t respond. 

Okay. This was a good time as any. “Morgan. Look at me.” He waited. “What did I tell you to do upstairs?” 

“… not carry Peter.” She mumbled, suddenly finding the floor very interesting. 

“And what did you do?” 

“…carry Peter down the stairs….” 

“And do you know why I told you not to carry him?”

“… cause… I’ll drop him. He’s not a doll…” 

Tony was glad she understood that. “I’m not mad at you-” 

“But Peter is!” 

“Morgan. You can ask him later. He’s hurting. I’m not mad at you but how can I trust you now? I told you not to carry your brother and you dropped him down the stairs then landed on top of him. What if you were up higher? I’m disappointed in you.” 

Morgan didn’t want to hear this. She ran back over to her mom, burying her face in her chest. “Morgan. Honey. Listen to your father.” 

“No!” 

They needed to have this talk. Tony stood back up, carrying Peter over to the couch with him. He wanted Morgan to look at him so he knew she was listening. “Look at me. I’ll wait until I have your eyes on me.” 

Slowly, she peeled her eyes up at him, blinking away the tears. 

“I told you for a reason that I didn’t want you carrying your brother down the stairs. I’m very disappointed in you, I need you to stop treating him like a doll, Morgan. He got hurt because of it.” 

“Why are you only mad at me?! He-he told me to pick him up!” 

Tony didn’t know that but it didn’t change anything. “Why did you listen to him then, Morgan? I told you not to pick him up. You. Not him.” He looked at Pepper. How does he explain this so Morgan could understand? “Peter doesn’t think like you do yet. He doesn’t understand that his actions have consequences yet and you do, so I expected you to protect him and tell him no when he asked you to pick him up.” 

“But… he does.” She got in his face. “You do understand. You’re smart so you do understand. Say you understand.” 

“Honey,” Gently, Pepper grabbed Morgan’s arm. “Peter talks to Karen and she helps him to better understand how to behave and what his actions can mean. He went through something you didn’t. So…” Now Pepper was looking at Tony for help. It was hard to explain to an eleven year old that their brother was so fucked up because he was manipulated by an evil man for seven years so it’ll cause him to behave differently. 

“So, you need to help him and be a good sister to teach him.” Tony finished for his wife. Tony shook his leg to get Peter more alert since he was currently staring off. “Peter, do you know why Morgan can’t carry you down the stairs?” 

“S’not safe.” 

“Yeah. Why?” 

“Cause… you said not to.” 

And this was what Tony was talking about. It would never not be safe because he got dropped and it caused him to bleed, it’ll always be because someone told him no. 

“Morgan. You tell him why.” 

“Peter. Cause it’s not safe for a kid to carry you down. Only an adult can. So don’t ask me again.” She explained, rubbing his thigh throughout it. It was a good enough explanation. 

These conversations were hard. It was hard to explain the harsh realities of Peter’s mental health to Morgan and it was hard to get Peter to understand his behaviours. It truly was a challenge.

.

.

.

“And then we’ll go to the park to play. We can do whatever you want at the park. Maybe… race down the slides even.” 

Tony stopped to listen to Morgan and Peter’s conversation. He leaned against the wall, leaning closer to the doorway so they wouldn’t know he was there. 

Maybe he was being nosy and eavesdropping but their conversations were too precious not to listen to sometimes. The way Morgan cared for him and was so gentle, she did understand that her brother needed some extra love and patience and she was always willing to give it to him. 

The age gap between Peter and Harley was too large, Harley was 6 years older than Peter and with Morgan and Peter only being 4 years apart, it was a bit of a difference but they got along pretty well. 

Although Tony could see their relationship changing as Morgan got older and more mature, Peter stayed the same mentally. Tony wanted them to stay best friends. 

He peeked around the corner, watching Morgan pat Peter’s belly, just like what Tony does to Peter when he’s trying to sleep or needing some extra comfort. His heart burst with so much love at the sight. His children were so close and so affectionate, he knew him and Pepper did something right. 

Walking into Morgan’s bedroom, Tony unintentionally startled both of them. “Sorry. It’s just me.” He sat on the bed, smiling at his boy. They needed to have that talk with him about saying goodbye to the pacifiers tonight. “Are you putting your brother to sleep, Morgan?” 

“No. Just lying with him.” She didn’t stop patting his belly. “We want to go to the park tomorrow.” 

Tony hummed. “We can. I think that’ll be fun.” And a good distraction. Tomorrow would be the first day of weaning Peter off the pacifiers. They would talk to Peter tonight, preparing him for tomorrow and then let Morgan and Harley know so they remained patient with him. 

God. Tony was scared. 

But they had to. 

Here goes nothing.