Always Be My Baby

Tony was torn between not wanting to leave Peter but wanting, no, needing to watch the video. 

He didn’t want to watch a video that was obviously related to Peter’s kidnapping, whether Peter was in the video or it was something else, Tony didn’t want to watch it. 

After slowly taking his hand off of Peter’s stomach and placing it with his teddy bear, he got off the bed. Peter fell asleep on his back today, which was pretty rare and usually meant he would wake up early which in this case sucked. 

He left the bedroom, shutting the door and dreadfully making his way downstairs. Today was supposed to be a fun snow day. He understood why Natasha came in person, if it were a cute video she would have sent it over email. 

So it was definitely not a cute video. 

When Tony walked into the living room, he paused to look at Natasha and she turned to look at him, a mug steaming in her hands. Tony needed coffee. He made a beeline for the coffee machine. 

“Dad?” Morgan appeared beside him. “Why’s Natasha here? Mom says I need to go to my room. Where’s Petey?” 

“Peter’s napping.” He watched the hot coffee pour into his cup, feeling the heavy weight of living without Peter fall back onto his shoulders. Why did it feel like Peter was missing all over again? Tony looked at the baby monitor but it looked like a pillow was covering Peter’s face, he couldn’t exactly see him. 

Leaving his coffee, he walked back upstairs. 

“Tony. Where are you going?” 

“I’ll be back.” He rushed upstairs, making sure to not wake him up. Peter had in fact rolled onto his stomach, bringing his pillow on top of his face. Obviously, he was not an infant and could remove the pillow from his face but in this state of anxiety and slight panic, Tony couldn’t stop thinking about the what-ifs. What if he didn’t remove that pillow and Peter suffocated? 

Pretty soon, Peter had to start sleeping in his own bed and how the fuck was Tony supposed to be okay with that? Why did Peter have to grow up? Tony wished he could keep him at this age, so innocent and perfect. So easy to protect from the world. 

Morgan appeared at the bedroom door so Tony gestured for her to be quiet. 

“Why does he have to nap? I wanted to build a blanket fort with him.” 

“You can make one together when he wakes up. He’s tired.” Tony stood up. He would like Morgan to stay with Peter but she had a tendency to wake him up from his naps. “Go play in your room for a bit. I need to talk to Natasha.” 

“Why?” 

“Shhh. Because she needs to talk with me. Come.” Tony ushered her out of the bedroom, shutting the door again. “Go play for an hour. Peter will be awake soon and then you guys can build a fort. How about you go find all the blankets in the hallway closet.” 

“I wanted to do that with Petey…” She sniffled, looking at the closed bedroom door. “It’s not fun doing it alone.” 

“I know. So then when the clock hits 3, we can wake him up together. Until then, maybe you can clean your bedroom. Organize some toys. You have some in there you don’t use anymore.” They kept everything. Tony loved seeing children’s toys around the house, it made it feel so full of love and warmth. But Morgan’s bedroom was like a toy store explosion. Same with Peter’s. 

She hesitated but followed her dad into her room. “I don’t want to clean up.” 

“You don’t have to. But you need to keep yourself occupied for a bit because I need to go downstairs.” He kissed the top of her head and left. 

Now it was time to watch this dreaded video. Natasha and Pepper were sitting in the same spots on the couch, Harley sitting across from them with his arms crossed, a stubborn look on his face. “Leave.” Tony grabbed his coffee, instructing Harley as he walked into the living room, kicking a box of diapers out of the way to sit. 

“I’m twenty, dad. I’m old enough to sit here and watch the video too.” 

“I don’t care if you’re twenty or thirty five. I will watch it first.” 

“That’s ridiculous. I obviously know what happened to him, so whatever it is, I can handle it.” Harley felt like he needed to know to better protect his little brother. 

Tony was dealing with this. He picked up Natasha's computer, “It’s on this?” 

“Yeah.” 

“We’ll watch it in my office.” With that, he left, ignoring Harley’s comments. Once Natasha and Pepper were inside, he shut the door, locking Harley out. He pulled up a chair so he could sit as well but Pepper decided to stand. 

Probably an easy exit, Tony figured. 

“I’m sorry to come by without notice.” Natasha started, “I received the video yesterday and watched it to see what it was before showing you.” 

Tony nodded. “Peter’s in it.” It was more of a statement than a question. 

“He is.” 

“How old?” 

“Fourteen.” 

Tony nodded again. So this happened just two months ago, during those four days he was missing. He turned to look up at Pepper. “It’s okay, come sit.” 

He squeezed her hand but she pulled away to cross her arms, closing in on herself. “It’s not okay, Tony. None of this is okay. He’s not okay.” 

Looking away, Tony stared at the computer screen at the black video. Six minutes and 13 seconds long. He took a breath. “How did you get the video?” 

“The police sent it to me. They’re still going through the house in Ithaca. Since Steve’s dead and Bucky’s in prison, there’s no need for a case so they aren’t in any rush to go through it.” 

It made sense. Part of Tony wanted to go inside the house, to see where Peter was held, but there was no need to punish himself. 

“Are you ready?” 

“No but play it anyway.” 

Natasha pressed play. 

The video started pointing at the floor. Black boots were standing on wooden floors, a bottle rolling by either Steve’s or Bucky’s feet. 

Tony could hear Peter crying in the video but if he heard that cry in public, he didn’t think he would recognize it. It sounded scared and completely and utterly exhausted. Like Peter was putting all the energy he had left into crying. 

The camera shifted and the screen tilted up, focusing on Steve and Peter. So Bucky was filming it. Peter was standing there, only wearing a shirt and a soaked pull-up. Tony’s heart fell to his stomach. He wanted to reach through the screen and grab his baby out, wanting to protect him from these men. 

“Steve, I’ll clean this up. Maybe go put him to sleep, you’re scaring him now.” 

Bucky said, sounding like he was actually pleading with his friend. Tony still hated the man. He looked around on the video, trying to get a better layout of the small bungalow. It was a mess, probably the mess Bucky was referring to, it looked like a mess Peter would make and he probably did. 

In the video, Steve grabbed Peter by his skinny arms, roughly placing him on the couch, he could hear Peter whimper, followed by a loud sob. It was so fucking difficult to watch. 

Peter attempted to close in on himself but Steve stopped him, placing his hand on both his legs to keep them still. Peter was absolutely sobbing, fingers in his mouth, trying to calm down. Tony could see him gnawing down on them, he’s surprised no blood was drawn. 

Pepper left in a rush. She couldn’t watch it but Tony’s eyes were glued to the screen. If Peter had to suffer through this abuse, so did Tony. 

“You’re mine. I do not need you drawing pictures of imaginary people on the wall with made up names. Do you understand, little bear?” 

Steve’s voice changed so quickly at the end, talk about mental and emotional abuse… 

Tony watched Peter attempt to push him away, looking like he wanted to slide off the couch to get away, doing anything in his weak and most likely drugged state. 

Peter looked drugged. He almost looked unrecognizable. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in days, probably the last time Tony brushed it. 

After yanking him again, Peter’s head rolled. Tony hated to know how much drugs he actually had in his system. 

“Say you’re mine.” 

“Urhhhhh!” 

“I cannot lose you again… you’re making me so sad, little bear. So upset. You don’t want to make daddy sad, right?” 

“What the fuck.” Tony said out loud. How the fuck was he supposed to sit here and watch this and not vomit. To watch first hand how his son's kidnapper treated him. It was sickening. And to hear the man call himself daddy… that fucking felt like a bullet straight through the heart. 

“No.” Peter cried. 

“Then say, I’m yours.” 

Peter was sighing, his fingers left his mouth at this point but he looked visibly uncomfortable. “I’m yours.” 

Tony knew he was forced to say it but it didn’t make it hurt any less. 

“Good. You made that harder for yourself. Now, don’t lie to me, did you use the phone?” 

The phone? What was Steve talking about? “Oh fuck. Did he try to call me? Did I miss it?!” What if he was sleeping or not aware and missed Peter trying to call him for help. 

“No, Tony. He tried.” 

“Why does that make it even worse?” Steve grabbed him, showing him something on the floor. The camera turned, showing a dial phone. Yeah, Peter didn’t know how to use one of those. That killed Tony, could that have made a difference if Peter knew… 

“I-I wanna go home.” 

Ohhhhh fuck. 

This was the first time Tony was actually witnessing anything like this. To see first hand what his baby boy went through. Peter was so fucking strong to put a smile on his face everyday. He was such a genuinely happy boy despite being put through literal hell that Tony was watching right now. 

“You are home. I’ll ask again, if you don’t answer me or you lie, I’ll use this to put you to sleep.” 

Tony felt all the blood drain from his face once he saw the needle. Now he knew Peter’s fate. Steve was manipulating him into saying what he wanted but he would shove the needle in him either way. “If this man wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.” 

“Did you use the phone to call anyone?” 

“I-I tried… tried to call daddy… my-but-but it didn’t-I didn’t-it didn’t-I can’t ’member the last… ones.” 

Oh baby. 

My sweet baby boy. 

Peter knew his phone number by heart. Tony had no doubt that if he wasn’t drugged, he would’ve remembered it. Receiving that phone call would’ve been the best and scariest thing ever. And having to listen to Peter build a sentence, struggling so much to get the right words out just proved how fucked up his mind was in that moment. 

Tony will forever be grateful he wasn’t left with any long term neurological side effects. 

Tony wasn’t prepared for what happened next. 

In a second, Steve grabbed Peter’s leg, pinching it and inserting the needle, injecting whatever drug was in it, into Peter’s already fragile, tiny body. 

Peter screamed, a look of betrayal on his face. “Nooooo-urggggg! You… lied.” He was breathing heavily as Tony painfully had to watch the drugs take over. “Liar.” 

“Go to sleep, little bear. You’ll forget all about this when you wake up.” 

It appears Peter did in fact forget about everything from that incident but it was still buried in his mind somewhere and anything can trigger it. Tony would send the video to Karen to watch with a warning. It was sad but it was important for her to watch it too. 

Tony hated seeing Steve’s hands on his boy. It made Tony feel so fucking sick. And when he kissed him… Tony wanted to physically vomit. 

“Okay. Now that that’s settled, I’ll change him, then we’ll paint over the wall and clean this up.” 

“Ifhe did manage to call, they’ll be coming for him.” 

“He didn’t call. His brain is a pile of mush right now but I want to keep it that way, he won’t remember any of this in a few hours.” 

Tony didn’t know what Steve’s sick plan was there but he did a number on his child. He felt anger and rage fill his veins as he watched Steve change his pull-up, someone only a small handful of people should ever be doing. Tony knew, he hated to think it, but he knew Steve and Bucky would’ve seen Peter naked but it wasn’t fair his baby had to be subjected to that. 

He watched, not able to stop it, as Steve lifted Peter’s seemingly lifeless body into his arms. What’s done is done. 

“Why did you want me to record this?” 

“I want Stark to see. He’ll get it eventually.” 

Tony clenched his fists. Steve meant he would send the video once they took Peter far far away. Tony couldn’t even begin to imagine still missing Peter and receiving this video. 

The video ended. 

Tony was left feeling a bunch of mixed emotions. 

He needed some time. 

That was the first time he’s ever experienced anything like that, seeing an actual video of his son being treated that way… it was a different kind of form of torture. 

He stood up, leaving his office and walking upstairs. 

Pepper was lying next to Peter. He had apparently cuddled up to her in his sleep, Pepper, combing his curls to the side. 

“Did you finish it?” She asked. 

Tony didn’t say anything. They both knew he watched it. He sat on the bed, pulling down the blankets to look at Peter’s inner thigh. He knew there wouldn’t be a mark, needles don’t leave scars, and he couldn’t even see in the darkness but it was still a reminder of what happened, what his sweet boy went through. 

“What are you doing? What’re you looking at? Tony?” 

It wasn’t like Tony saw any evidence of anything anyways. “You should watch the video now.” 

“You think I want to watch our baby hurt.” Pepper went back to holding Peter. He moved in his sleep, rolling onto his side so he could stick his face into her chest, getting closer to her and further from Tony. “Just tell me what happened. I’m not ready to watch it yet.” 

Tony stared down at him. “Peter was drugged and so out of it. He apparently tried calling me but forgot my number… then Steve injected his leg with a needle and he passed out…” Obviously a lot more happened, but Pepper would watch it when she was ready. 

“Oh god. My baby.” She couldn’t help the cry that left her lips. Life was so cruel to her sweet boy. He was way too good for this world. So perfect. Too innocent. 

“Dad?” 

Tony shushed Harley as he quickly got out of bed and walked into the hallway. If Peter woke up, he wouldn’t go back to sleep and screw having a simple rest of the day. He shut the bedroom door, already knowing why Harley was there. 

“What was the video? I have a right to watch it. Morgan’s too young, I get that, but I’m twenty, dad. I’ve put up with a lot of shit in my life already so it’s not like you can hide this from me… I need to watch it.” 

Tony shook his head although Harley did have a point. “You know what your brother went through. Why do you want to witness that first hand?” 

“I just feel like if Peter had to suffer it then the least we can do is watch it and hopefully then it’ll help me understand what he’s going through a little bit more.” 

Harley did have a point but Tony wanted to shield him from everything. His children didn’t need any more trauma than they already experienced. “Your mom will watch it, then you can. Alright? Don’t ask me to watch it until I say you can.” 

“Okay. I understand. Thank you.” 

Tony needed a coffee or ten. He was so exhausted now after everything. He walked downstairs, hearing Morgan talking to Natasha in the living room. 

“… should talk to him. Maybe he can answer your questions. I’m afraid I’m not the right person.” 

Great. 

Another conversation Tony wasn’t ready for. 

Both heads turned to look at him as he passed by. “What’s up, Morgan?” 

“I’m just wondering what the video was…” 

Tony couldn’t lie. But he also wasn’t going to tell the truth to an 11 year old regarding the torment her brother went through. He dumped out his now cold coffee and waited for the new one to brew. 

“The video is something that you don’t need to know about.” He took his coffee mug, joining them on the couch. He kept the baby monitor close by, even though Pepper was in there with him, he still found peace knowing Peter was sleeping soundly. “It’s just Peter with Steve when he was taken two months ago.” 

“… oh. Are you going to show Petey?” 

“No, Morg. And I don’t want you bringing it up to him. Understand?” There would be zero reason for Peter to ever have to watch that video. Tony would burn the evidence so Peter didn’t have to live through that again. And it wasn’t something Tony wanted to ever watch again. 

Once Pepper came downstairs, she went with Natasha to watch the video. Tony stayed in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher, loading it back up and washing the countertops. He needed to stay busy and productive so that’s exactly what he did. 

He knew Harley wanted to watch the video. He couldn’t fully understand why, if Tony could get away with not watching actual footage of his son being hurt, he’d take the out. 

Hearing about what was done to his son was one thing. Watching it being done to him was another. 

It made him feel powerless. 

He knew the video was done because he heard the door creek open, he’s been meaning to fix that, then Pepper was running up the stairs. He didn’t have to look at the baby monitor to know she went to be with Peter. 

Peter brought them both pain and comfort. 

Looking away from the screen, he went back to cleaning up, trying his best to avoid Harley’s eyes burning a hole through the back of his head. 

“Dad?” 

“Just… give me a minute.” Harley knew not to push him, he just wanted to get a better idea of what happened to Peter, probably to help him understand his little brother and his strange behaviours a bit more. 

As much as Tony wanted to drop everything and go upstairs to lay with his boy, he couldn’t let Harley watch the video alone. So, he told him to follow him and they both met Natasha in the office. 

“You can walk away if you need to.” He reminded Harley. 

“I know. I know you probably don’t want me watching the video but I feel like I need to, you know?” 

“Yeah. I understand, bud.” 

After double checking with Tony, Natasha hit play. 

Tony didn’t know if he could sit there and watch it again but as soon as his eyes landed on Peter, they were glued to the screen. He couldn’t help but feel responsible, like this was all his fault. No one else’s kid had to suffer the way Peter did. 

You think these things only happen in movies, those films where the child is taken and the parent goes wild trying to do everything they can to find them. Tony could think of a handful of those movies he couldn’t bear to watch. It would for sure trigger his ptsd. 

Harley sat still through the whole video. It looked as if he was holding his breath the entire time and Tony was slightly regretting allowing him to watch it. 

Once it ended, he remained silent, staring at the blank screen for a few moments. 

“That was hard to watch.” He looked down, trying to process it all. “Why did they record it? To taunt you or something? It seems… it’s like he wanted to hurt you even more.” 

“They are sick men, Harley.” 

“Yeah… and they raised Peter. Basically.” He got up and left, running upstairs as well. 

“They didn’t raise him.” Tony called after his oldest. Technically they did, for seven years, but… it was hard to accept that. “Fuck. Now I think I shouldn’t have let him see it.” 

“He’s old enough. And he was there from the beginning, I think Harley just wanted a better understanding of everything and that’s totally normal.” 

“Yeah but I probably just scarred him.” Leaving the office too, Tony walked upstairs but bumped into Morgan bringing a bunch of sheets down. “What are you doing with that?” 

“I want to make a fort and Peter is taking ages to wake up from his nap.” 

“He’s only been asleep for 45 minutes. Give him until 3, Morgan. Can you go do a quiet activity in the meantime.” 

“I am.” 

Tony couldn’t argue with her right now. He walked down the hallway, into his bedroom. When Pepper turned to him, her eyes squinted in annoyance, Tony knew he probably fucked up. 

“You let Harley watch the video?” 

“I did. He wanted to and he’s mature enough-” 

Getting off the bed, she brought Tony out of the bedroom so they didn’t wake Peter up. For once, Tony selfishly wanted Peter to wake up early so he could get out of this. 

“You should’ve discussed this with me. I mean, you walk around like you’re a single dad sometimes. Like I don’t even exist.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“No. It is. You make all these decisions regarding Peter without me. And now you make this huge decision yourself to let Harley watch the video. Why would you do that?” 

“I’m sorry, I’m not thinking clearly right now. He wanted to watch it. And Harley had to experience having a brother then one day, he’s just gone. Everyone prepares you from going from one to two kids, but no one prepares you from going from two to one. And Harley had to experience that first hand. So he-I feel he was ready to watch it.” 

“You should have discussed that with me first.” Pepper was clearly hurt by Tony’s decision to keep her out of the loop. 

“Yeah.” Tony admitted. “I know. You’re right. I should have.” He grabbed her arms, squeezing them, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry this happened to Peter.” Tony knew Pepper was upset about his decision, but mainly she was hurt at what was done to their youngest son, and she couldn’t get mad at anyone for it, so she was picking a fight with Tony about something else. “I would say go for a drive to cool your mind but the roads are closed.” 

“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m going to take a shower… freshen up.” 

“Okay.” 

Not long after Pepper went into the shower, Tony was preparing some snacks in the kitchen for Morgan when he heard Peter waking up on the monitor so he rinsed his hands and headed upstairs. It was only 2:15 so he was waking up a whole 45 minutes earlier than expected. 

He opened the bedroom door, smiling at his bed headed boy sitting up. “Hey, baby. Did you have a nice nap?” 

Peter nodded. He arched his back, stretching. 

“Did you have nice dreams?” 

He nodded again. “Whew- we goin’ outsi’?” 

“Maybe later. It’s pretty cold and I think Morgan wants to build a fort with you.” He brushed the curls off his forehead so he could kiss him. “Are you hungry?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay.” Tony held his breath. “Can I have paci?” 

“Noo.” He whined, turning his head away so Tony couldn’t take it. 

“You will get it back when you go to bed.” 

Without any more fight, Peter handed his pacifier to Tony. Tony was left in shock. Oh. Oh. Why was that so easy? Did they actually cross that point where they were past the screaming and crying? Did they actually successfully wean Peter off the soothers? 

Tony thought it was too early to celebrate so he tossed the pacifier on the bed, smiling to himself. “Let’s go get a snack.” 

“Carry me down. My legs are still sleeping.” 

Tony was never one to turn down that request. He knew everyday that passed was one day less that Peter would ask that. And Tony definitely wasn’t ready for it. 

He scooped him up, setting him on his hip. “You stayed dry too, bud.” That just meant he needed to drink more. Food and water, next steps. 

On their way out, the bathroom door opened and Pepper walked out, seemingly surprised to see Peter awake. “Oh. Hi, baby. You’re done with your nap?” 

He wiggled out of Tony’s arms, walking over to greet his mom. “I missed you.” 

“Oh, honey. I was just in the shower.” She ruffled his messy curls, probably thinking he needed a shower like Tony had just thought. He had food guck in it from who knows when. Probably yesterday’s breakfast. “Did you just wake up?” 

“Yeah. I’m not tired anymore.” He also heard something about Morgan making a fort… “Come downstairs with me, mom. Come.” 

“I need to get dressed first. I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit, honey.” Pepper wanted to ask Tony how taking his pacifier went because it wasn't in his mouth and she hadn’t heard him cry. Maybe she just missed it… 

Taking Peter downstairs, Tony listened to him talk about his dream that made no sense to him but when did it ever. “Do you want lunch now? You didn’t eat much today. Or drink much. Do you want me to make you a smoothie?” 

Upon seeing the Fort being made, Peter forgot all about food and ran over, peeking inside the half built fort. “Are you making a Fort?” 

“Yes. And I’ve been waiting forever for you to wake up and help me. Grab the blankets from the couch.” 

“Okay.” 

“Peter, you need to eat. What do you want?” He just woke up saying he’s hungry and suddenly he’s no longer hungry. Typical. Tony would have to make him something later. “Peter?” 

“I’m not hungry.” 

He shook his head, grabbing milk out of the fridge. At least he’d take a sippy cup of milk. 

“How are things going with him? And everything?” Natasha had her jacket on and was ready to leave but stayed to say hi to Peter one more time. Even though it looked like he wasn’t going to give her the time of day. 

“How you’d expect.” He added two scoops of protein powder, screwed the lid on and shook. “Let’s just say he’s lucky he’s cute. He’s turning my hair grey, I have never met or heard of a more difficult child.” 

“Sounds about right after everything he’s gone through. We watched one video. He lived through seven years of that emotional abuse and manipulation.” 

“I’m always waiting for the next screaming tantrum. Taking that pacifier away from him was… hell, to say the least.” 

They both looked at him when he screamed after Morgan tried to take the blanket from him. “Noooo! I want to do it. Let me!” 

“It doesn’t go there. I did that whole side and it’s still standing-” 

“Noo! No no-” 

“Morgan, how about you show him how.” 

“Nooooo! I wanna do it!” 

“Because he’s not doing it right.” She snatched the blanket from him but Tony saw it coming from a mile away. Peter grabbed her arm, biting it. “Ahhh! Owww!” 

“Peter!” Tony got there after the damage was already done. It wasn’t a bad bite but it would probably still bruise. “No biting, Peter. Can I see, Morgan?” 

She bent her arm so she could get a better look at it but Tony tilted it towards himself. “He’s always biting me. Stop it!” 

“Cause you’re misbehaving.” Peter reasoned, grabbing the blanket off the floor to do it his way. 

“Peter, stop for a second,” Once Tony was sure he had Peter’s attention, he tried to get him to understand, “I know you feel frustrated but biting your sister doesn’t solve anything. You need to communicate with your words what’s frustrating you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“So what do you want to tell Morgan?” He prompted him. He put his finger in his mouth to chew on, thinking about what to say but Tony knew he had no idea. Communication definitely wasn’t Peter’s strong suit. “Maybe you can try your idea and ask Morgan for her ideas.” 

“I already told him I know what I’m doing. He doesn’t.” 

“Okay, so be patient with him, Morgan.” It was frustrating for everyone involved. It was frustrating for Peter because he had a hard time hearing no and not getting his way and the only thing he knew what to do was to react without thinking. Morgan was younger than Peter but Tony looked to her to help keep the situation calm and Tony was at a loss with what to do half the time. 

Deciding that they were no longer going to fight, Tony got up to get Morgan an ice pack and Peter his milk. Snowdays were fun until someone started crying and a fight started. 

“You should let them solve their problems on their own. Let them learn how to work through it.” 

“He’s a biter. If I don’t step in, he’ll bite harder, draw blood, Morgan will cry and hit him then he’ll bite again. At least right now, I don’t need anymore crying.” He handed Peter the sippy cup, sitting on the edge of the couch. “You’re welcome to babysit whenever.” He joked. He didn’t need a babysitter and although Natasha was one of the few he trusted with his kids, she wasn’t a babysitter. 

“Hopefully now that you and Pepper got rid of the pacifier, things will be easier with him communicating things.” 

Tony hummed. 

They’d have to see about that. 

“I need to get going. We’re supposed to get another two feet of snow in the next few hours. I hope you guys are stocked up on food and water.” 

Tony nodded but now he wasn’t so sure. He would have to check. He also didn’t know they were supposed to get more snow. He really needed to turn the news on one of these days. 

The video he watched was still fresh in his mind and would probably give him nightmares for a week but he did appreciate Natasha showing him and coming in person to let him see it, especially on a day like this. “Yeah, thanks for stopping by. Pete, come say bye to Natasha. Peter.” 

“I’m stuck.” He managed to crawl out of the half built fort, crawling over to his dad to sit on his foot. “Bye Natasha.” 

“Bye, Peter. It was so nice to see you again. Be good for your dad.” 

“I’m always good. Morgan isn’t.” 

Tony chuckled. “Yeah, sure.” He leaned down to lift him up, standing up as he lifted the wiggly boy onto his hip to walk Natasha out. 

“Bye, Morgan. It was lovely to see you again.” 

“You too. Bye, Natasha.” 

Since Peter was wiggling too much, Tony set him down, letting him run back to help with the fort. After locking the front door, Tony marched into the kitchen to check on everything. They had enough food to last them but they could get a little more just in case. Tonys heard of power outages that lasted up to 2 weeks. In that case they would fly somewhat else but they could be a bit more prepared. 

“Hey, Pep, did you know we’re supposed to get two more feet of snow?” 

“Yes, I was just checking the weather forecast. I’m thinking we should go shopping to stock up. Food, supplies, blankets, matches, we need more diapers and wipes. And milk. Definitely milk.” 

Shutting the fridge, Tony walked into the pantry. It needed to be cleaned out. There was a stack of boxes on the floor that Peter and Morgan stood on to reach the chocolate on the top shelf. Tony kept kicking it aside but they kept dragging it back over. It was definitely a two person job. 

“I can go with Harley. You stay here with them. I made Peter a protein bottle. He refused lunch again. And his diaper was dry when he woke up so make sure he drinks more.” As if Pepper didn’t know that, she was his mother after all. 

While Tony went to get changed and let Harley know they were going shopping, Pepper made herself a tea and went to join her kids in the living room on this cozy afternoon. 

The snow made time feel frozen. The air was thick and quiet and maybe later they could all get their snowsuits on and go outside in the backyard. She was already planning a movie night in the basement with a bunch of snacks. 

“Mommy, when-where did daddy go?” Peter hadn’t noticed him leaving. He stood up, climbing onto the couch, grabbing a piece of his moms hair. 

“He’s going to go to Costco with Harley.” 

“Why?” 

“To get some food for us.” 

“Oh. Why? We don’t have food?” 

“Well we do, but another storm is coming and we won’t know how bad the roads are tomorrow.” 

He kept playing with a piece of her hair. “Oh. But… I wanna come too.” 

“Your car seat isn’t in the car, so you can’t.” She lied. It wouldn’t be possible to bring Peter and get everything they needed. He would slow them down. “We’ll build a fort so it’ll be ready for when they come home.” 

“But… but I wanted to go with them.” 

Pepper had to catch Peter before he started crying and chased Tony out the door. They decided to skip the goodbyes and have Tony just take Harley and leave. They would be less than two hours, most likely, anyways. 

“Look, I think we should add a tunnel through the couches this way. Don’t you?” 

“Umm… yeah.” He grabbed his sippy cup. “But we should make it a haunted house.” 

“No, not a haunted house. Definitely not. I want it to be like a cozy, warm snow day fort.” Morgan tossed a blanket on top to cover up the hole in the roof. Pepper remembers when Morgan was younger and Peter was still missing, she would always beg Harley to play with her and hang out and he would for a bit, but he was so much older than her and didn’t share the same interests, so it was always so nice to see Morgan and Peter getting along. 

It was so nice they had each other to play with. 

Pepper couldn’t imagine how cold and empty the house would feel without Peter here. 

.

.

.

Tony shut the back door after letting Aiser out to pee. They took him for a walk once a day, they tried to do twice but that just wasn’t possible most of the time, especially now that the snow had started. 

It’s been snowing for three hours, just in time for Tony and Harley to get back home. Pepper cooked an early dinner, homemade Mac and cheese with cooked carrots on the side. 

Everyone ate except Peter. He was still playing in the fort, refusing to come out and eat. So, Tony crawled inside with the bowl. He was grateful Pepper made sure the front entrance was big enough for him to squeeze in. Although he couldn’t fit in the back tunnels. Oh well. 

“This is a pretty cool fort.” 

“Yeah. I made this part. It’s like a throne.” Peter gestured to the stack of pillows he was sitting on along with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. 

“Very cool. How about you eat your food on your throne?” 

“What is it?” 

“Mac and cheese. Extra creamy. Homemade.” Even though Tony knew Pepper hated when he did this, he spoonfed Peter a bite, hoping he liked it enough to keep eating it. “Yummy?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t want it.” He was hungry but he didn’t feel like crawling out of his fort to stop playing. He was in the middle of an intense battle with his lego men. 

“How about you eat it in here? It seems so good. Mmm.” 

“Then you eat it.” 

Fair enough. Tony held in a chuckle. Peter was so straightforward sometimes. And trying to convince him to eat wasn’t a battle Tony wanted to participate in. “Alright. I’m going to leave it on the coffee table. Just remember, we’re having a movie night in the basement but if you don’t eat dinner, no movie snacks.” 

“I can eat dinner for a movie snack.” He liked that idea, that way he can continue playing right now and eat later. “I want paci.” 

There’s that question again. Peter’s asked him at least once every hour since nap time. “At bedtime, you can have paci.” 

“Okay.” 

He didn’t complain after so Tony really assumed it was the need for reassurance. He ruffled his hair, taking the bowl with him and crawling out. He set the bowl down, shaking his head at Pepper. “He still didn’t eat.” 

“Still? He hasn’t eaten anything today.” 

“He ate breakfast and nibbled a bit after his nap. He said he’ll eat for movie night.” The only way he could get Peter to eat was to physically hold him down and force feed him, but Tony would never do that. Peter was a picky eater, meaning he didn’t even eat the foods he liked. 

Oh well. He’d eat eventually. 

.

.

.

“Shhh. Stop banging the dishes so loud, Morg.” Tony grabbed the bowl out of her hand, quietly setting it on the table. 

They were setting up for movie night in the basement, Harley was getting the screen setup while Pepper and Morgan prepared some snacks. Peter had fallen asleep on the couch fifteen minutes ago, most likely due to the fact that he didn’t have a full nap. 

Since it was so close to bedtime, Tony made the decision to let him sleep for thirty minutes, wake him up, give him a bath and then go watch the movie. 

It was a wonder how he fell asleep without his pacifier but he didn’t look all that comfortable or peaceful. 

“Should we give him a soother for movie night?” He asked Pepper, feeling like it was the right decision. At least he would give it to him if he was making this decision alone. 

“Karen said to only give it to him in the bedroom. So probably not. If he wants to sleep, he can sleep or we can take him to bed.” 

Tony just felt like he had no energy to fight anything these days. 

He wanted to let Peter have a pacifier for the movie, knowing it would help him sit through it but Pepper was right, he didn’t need it and they should stick to their routine. 

Once all the food was prepared, Cheetos, potato chips, carrot sticks, apple slices and Peter’s warmed up Mac and cheese, Tony helped carry it all downstairs, leaving Peter alone for a bit. 

As soon as everyone left him, Peter rolled onto his back, waking up. 

He felt someone kneeling down next to him, feeling their thick presence as they breathed their warm air onto the side of his face. 

Peter tried to roll over, feeling like he was using all his strength to open his eyes and turn on his side. He felt like he managed to do that but he woke up in the cabin. 

“Hey!” The door was closed, like it always was so he got out of bed, tripping over the blankets in his haste to get out. “Dad? Dad?! Daddy! Where are you? I’m in here! Let me out!” 

His heart started beating faster, he could hear it pounding in his ears like a drum. He was back in the cabin again and he was cold and alone. “Open the door! Let me out! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” 

When no one came to his rescue, he went to try the window. It was always locked as well but he was desperate to get out and run home. His dad was probably worried sick about him and he wanted to get the hell out of here. 

“Peter.” 

That voice sent shivers down his spine. 

He turned around, seeing Steve walking through his bedroom door. 

“I missed you, little bear.” 

“No. You’re not real.” He refused to believe it. This wasn’t real. He was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming but he couldn’t wake himself up. “You’re not real!” 

“Bear, I’m as real as you make me. You let me in that head of yours, where I’ll stay for as long as you let me. Come give me a hug, Peter.” Slowly, Steve started walking towards him, like a hunter swarming its injured prey before finishing the job. 

Peter backed himself into the corner, sinking down and covering his hands over his ears. “You’re not real! Get out of my head. Get out of my head!” 

“… we can always change the movie if they don’t like it. I know they haven’t seen it but there’s no way I’m watching Arlo the Dinosaur again.” Tony told Pepper as they walked up the basement stairs, he set a tray on the kitchen counter but heard Peter whimpering and rushed over to see what was going on. “Peter. Buddy,” 

He was sweating, sleeping on his back and shaking his head back and forth. His nose was scrunched up in discomfort so Tony ripped the blanket off his lower half, seeing his hand digging into that same spot on his inner thigh. It was pretty obvious he was having a nightmare. 

First, he removed Peter’s hand from scratching that one spot, then started caressing his face, not wanting to startle him awake. “Peter, hey, wake up, buddy, you’re having a nightmare.” 

Usually Peter woke himself up from his nightmares and Tony was completely oblivious to them until Peter started crying and woke him up. It was awful that he had them so often. “Peter. It’s just a dream, wake up.” 

“Ohh, another one? That’s his second one this week.” Pepper came over for support. Too many people waking him up might overwhelm him so she stayed by his side, letting Tony be the first one Peter sees when he wakes up. 

When Tony finally got Peter awake, he accidentally punched Tony in the eye, without even realizing what he did. “Oof.” Tony recovered quickly though and lifted Peter onto his lap, rocking him back and forth. “Hey, it’s just me. It was just a bad dream.” 

Tilting his head to get a better look, Peter confirmed it was in fact Tony before he could cling onto him. His nightmare was all too realistic. Maybe that meant it was a memory or something. Either way, he wanted nothing to do with Steve and the memories stuck in his head. Sometimes he wished he could snap his fingers and forget the last seven years of his life with Steve. 

He nuzzled further into Tony’s neck. “I had a bad dream.” 

“I know. What was it about?” 

Peter shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about it. “I don’t remember. I want paci.” 

“When are we watching the movie?” Morgan ran upstairs, not knowing her brother was currently waking up from having one of his nightmares. “I think I decided on which one we should watch.” She walked around the couch, spotting her brother's upset face. “What’s wrong now?” 

“Morgan.” Tony really didn’t appreciate that wording, like Peter was a bother. Peter was pretty high maintenance and was always needing reassurance from his family and Tony wanted his siblings to be more understanding of his needs. “Your brother had a nightmare. How about you ask if he’s okay.” 

He kneeled down, encouraging Peter to stand up so Morgan could talk face to face with him. Despite being four years older, Peter was only about an inch or two taller than his sister. She was quickly gaining up on him. 

“Oh. Well maybe we can just like go downstairs and you can help me set up the movie night snacks.” 

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, buddy. You guys go together. We’ll watch the movie in thirty minutes. Okay?” 

“Sure. That’s enough time for us to set up. Come on, Petey. I’ll let you decide what bowl the chips should go in.” She grabbed his hand, pulling him away from Tony but Peter wasn’t ready to leave his dad just yet. 

“Ahhhhh noooo!” He tugged back, stumbling against Tony’s sturdy chest. 

“I need to get some more snacks ready. You go downstairs with Morgan.” To Tony’s delight, Harley walked downstairs with the projector light bulb. “Oh, Harls, bring your brother downstairs with you guys. Finish getting ready for movie night. I’ll be down soon.” Since Peter seemed more clingy than upset over the nightmare, Tony wasn’t too concerned. Maybe he should be. But it was a common reoccurrence and Peter either never remembered it or never wanted to talk about it. 

“Sure, come on.” He wrapped an arm over his little brother’s shoulders, leading him downstairs and away from their parents. Harley always felt like he was being put in charge of babysitting duties when he’s caught alone with his siblings but his parents were just upstairs so it took the stress off. “I need to change the lightbulb, did you wanna help me?” 

Still waking up from his nightmare, Peter stood there, deciding what he wanted to do. Morgan was getting started on the snacks so he went over there to join her, sticking his thumb in his mouth. “What bowl did you want to use?” 

“This one.” He pointed to a blue bowl. 

“No. You can only decide between the white one or the black one. The blue bowl is too small.” She grabbed it from his hands to place it behind her. “Which one?” 

“Blue.” 

“Urg I said not blue. Decide or I’ll decide for you.” She learned that from listening to Tony try to get Peter dressed every morning for school. 

Since he didn’t get much of a choice, he ripped the white bowl from her hand and threw it across the room. 

“Peter! No. I’m trying to set up. Help me or go sit in the corner.” 

“I can help too. It’s not nice if you say I can’t help. It’s rude.” He crawled across the carpet to go pick up the bowl, deciding he wanted the chips in it after all. “Can I pour it?” 

“Yes. But then wait for my instructions after.” 

“Wow. So bossy, Morgan. You know he’s not actually your kid.” Harley teased. It wasn’t like it was a surprise, Tony was pretty bossy so it’s probably where she got it from. Maybe he should pick up a pointer or two, it’s what it took to run a multi billion company after all, bossing people around so they respect you. Something like that. 

Morgan wasn’t phased. “Dad said he’s my responsibility so I’ll watch him.” Morgan always wished she was older than Peter, so he could be the youngest, but he basically was. She was allowed to boss him around and was always looked to when her parents needed her to set a good example for him. They never asked Peter to do that. 

So, she got to live out her big sister dreams most of the time. Like now, she was in charge of Peter, even though Harley was here, her parents basically said she was in charge. 

“Peter, go get the chocolate pudding from the cellar. Chocolate. Not vanilla.” 

“Well… last time I went in there, I saw a big spider.” He refused to go in alone and unarmed. Looking around, he found a baseball bat so he crawled over to it, lifting up the heavy metal. “Come with me.” 

“I need to finish up here. The spider is gone. After we need to dump it into these bowls. Wait! I need to go ask if mom and dad want pudding too! I’ll be right back.” 

There was no way Peter was going to do this alone and without Morgan here, he could finish setting up the snacks. So he started opening the bags of chips and poured them in, eating some while he was at it. 

“Hey! It’s not time to eat it.” She slapped the chips out of his hands. 

“Ahhhhh don’t!” 

“Morgan. I swear to god, don’t make him cry.” Even Harley had enough of the crying for today. He might start keeping a record of how many times his little brother cries during the day and make him re pay him back later in life. Although that would be rude. He saw the video of what he went through… and that was a small snippet. 

“Relax. I’m not. Go sit over there, Petey, so I can finish this.” She grabbed the chocolate pudding, opening up three lids. “Mom and dad don’t want any. Can you pass me-nooo stop! I told you the blue bowl is for something else.” 

“But I wanted to.” 

This was so frustrating for Morgan. She couldn’t get anything done. And their parents would be downstairs soon and nothing was set up. She wanted them to be proud of her. Peter got enough attention around here just by being cute. 

“You can’t do anything you want. Just… go upstairs for five minutes so I can finish this.” 

“No. You’re not the boss of me.” 

“Yes I am. I need to finish and-and you’re ruining all of my ideas.” 

“But I have good ideas too. I think we should-” 

“Nooo I said don’t touch the blue bowl!” 

“Morgan. Chill out. Just let him share his ideas with you.” Harley finally finished screwing in the lightbulb but had to intervene before someone started crying or got bit. 

Groaning, Morgan snatched the blue bowl back. “There’s no time. Just wait upstairs. Please. Go for like five minutes. Dad is calling you, Peter. Go. I hear him.” 

“I don’t hear anyone but your annoying voice. I’m gonna go tell on you.” 

“Okay. Go upstairs and tell on me.” She wanted him out of her way anyways. 

“No. I don’t want to tell on you anymore.” Crawling past her, he grabbed the bowl again, only to get yanked back by his diaper. “Let me go!” 

Morgan grabbed one of the chocolate puddings, squeezing it inside his diaper, making sure it passed as poop so he could get in trouble for that and get taken upstairs for a change. She hid the chocolate pudding cup underneath the couch, smiling proudly. 

“Heyyyyyy! Why’d you do that?!” He felt taken advantage of, he was just trying to hang out with his sister and now he had chocolate pudding on his butt. “That was so mean.” 

“Because you need to go upstairs now.” 

“Morgan, that’s actually gross. You just shoved yourself into a corner because you’re the only one who’s getting in trouble here.” Harley would vouch for his brother, what Morgan did was uncool. 

“No… I didn’t do anything.” 

“Yes you did!” 

“No I didn’t. You pooped your pants and I’m telling on you!” 

“I didn’t!” Now everyone was going to think he did. He crawled underneath the table, dragging a box to hide behind it. 

Running upstairs to get the first word in, Morgan barged into the kitchen, crossing her arms over her chest. “Peter pooped his pants and is lying about it.” 

“What?” Tony couldn’t say he was surprised but he was a bit disappointed. Especially since there was a bathroom a few feet away from him down there. 

“Peter pooped his pants and he’s lying about it.” She repeated. “Go see.” 

“Okay. Thanks for telling me.” He sighed, following Morgan downstairs and looking around for Peter. Of course he was hiding. 

“You need to take him upstairs so I can finish here.” 

Tony walked over to the table, squatting down and pulling the box away from Peter. “Hey. Did you have an accident?” 

“Noo I didn’t.” He tried to grab the box back but Tony was stronger. “Urggg!” 

“I’m not mad, it happens. Let me check your diaper.” Tony grabbed his ankles, trying to drag him out. “Peter.” 

“He didn’t poo.” Harley walked over, knowing no one ever trusted Peter’s word. 

“What?” 

“Morgan squeezed chocolate pudding down his diaper. I don’t know.” He didn’t want to pick sides but he wasn’t going to let Peter suffer for that. Not that their dad would get mad at him, but it’s the fact that Morgan was so uncool to do that to him, with everything he’s working on. 

“Morgan.” What the fuck. Tony couldn’t believe that. But he would take Harley’s word over these two. “Is that true?” 

She looked down, guilty. “Well… no.” 

“Are you lying to me?” Tony would not tolerate lying. He would give her one more chance and if she lied, she was banned from movie night. Tony would absolutely not tolerate his kids lying straight to his face. “I’m going to ask you one more time, did you put chocolate pudding in Peter’s diaper?” 

“…I…” She peered at Tony through her eyelashes, face still aimed at the floor. “Yes.” 

Tony grabbed Peter out, standing him up to check. He got it on his finger and thank god it was only chocolate pudding. “This is disappointing, Morgan. Go wait in your bedroom. I’ll come talk to you once I get him changed.” He looked at her when she didn’t move. “Right now!” 

Crying, Morgan ran upstairs. There were cameras in the basement Tony could rewind the footage on but he had three eye witnesses to get the story out of. “Come, Pete.” 

“We’re still watching the movie, right?” Harley wanted to make sure, he was actually looking forward to it. Maybe not so much anymore. 

“Yeah, after I talk to Morgan. Up we go, pudding bum.” 

“It’s yuckie.” 

“I bet.” 

“Tony. Why is Morgan crying?” Pepper didn’t even have time to ask her what happened. 

Without saying anything, Tony peeled back Peter’s diaper to show Pepper. “It’s pudding courtesy of Morgan.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“Yes. Disgusting, right?” He brought Peter over to the living room, grabbing out a towel for this one. “Lie down.” 

“But… I didn’t poop.” 

“I know but you have pudding everywhere. I need to clean it. Lie down.” He grabbed wipes, having a feeling it was going to take a whole pack. “Why did Morgan do this?” 

“Ummmm… cause-” 

“Because Morgan wanted to finish setting up.” Harley cut him off, responding. 

“Wait, Harley. I want to hear Peter’s point of view first.” Tony knew this was not Peter’s strong suit. He struggled with describing events that happened and getting stories straight. “What happened, Peter?” 

“Ummmmm… do I still get chocolate pudding?” He saw his dad roll up the pudding diaper but it was such a waste. 

“Yeah. If you want it.” Deciding to get him cleaned up before asking questions, Tony wiped the sticky pudding up, not even phased at this point in parenthood at what he was doing. 

“Thank you, daddy.” Peter kissed his cheek and was about to run off but Tony grabbed him before he could. 

“Wait. I want to know what happened.” Tony knew he had to re-word that. It was all about wording it right with Peter if you wanted answers. “Why did Morgan put chocolate pudding down your diaper?” Nope. Not gonna work. How would Peter know what Morgan was thinking? “What were you and Morgan doing downstairs?” 

“Ummmm… I was-I-I-I was ummm I was-I wanted to use the blue bowl.” 

“And then what?” 

“Then… I don’t remember.” 

Tony didn’t know if this was a trauma response or Peter not having the right vocabulary to describe what he’s feeling and what happened but he had the most difficult time with stuff like this. “Did you take the blue bowl?” 

“Yeah. I mean no! I-ummm… I-… I was-when I was-we were in the basement and um…” He opened the lid on the wipes. “Um, you know mommy bought ocean scent wipes. I sniffed them upstairs.” 

Okay. This was impossible. 

“Yeah. But tell me what happened, buddy?” 

“Well, I was-I wanted to put my own stuff in the blue bowl because blue is my second favourite colour after red and my other cup in the kitchen on the shelf is also blue. It’s a set.” 

Harley was trying to hide his laugh. 

Peter was so unserious. 

Tony was better off asking Harley then getting the story from Morgan. 

“What happened, Harley?” 

“Morgan wanted to set up the snacks her way, Peter was touching everything and wanted to help but basically Morgan was bossing him around. She tried to get him to go upstairs, he wanted to help so she put chocolate pudding in his pants.” 

That was simple. He nodded. “Thanks. I’m going to go talk to Morgan, Pep, I’m leaving Peter here.” 

“Okay, Peter, honey, come with me.” 

Hoping she had the chance to calm down, Tony knocked on her bedroom door, opening it up after and shutting it behind him. She was sitting in the dark, her face buried in her pillow. Tony knew she was crying but before he could comfort her, he had to have a hard talk. 

He turned her lamp on, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Sit up and talk to me.” 

“No!” 

“I want to talk to you.” 

“You’re gonna yell at me!” 

“I’m not going to yell at you. I promise.” He squeezed her leg. “C’mon. Sit up and look at me.” 

Slowly, she sat up, not even bothering to wipe the tears and snot off her face. 

“Why did you put pudding down your brother’s diaper?” That’s a sentence he never thought he would be asking. 

“Cause-cause he was bugging me and-and-and I t-thought you’d t-think he pooped a-and bring him up-upstairs so I could finish setting up without him c-cause - cause he was-wasn’t listening to me.” She managed to get out. Tony was proud of her for that. Morgan was so amazing at communicating her needs. Unlike Peter. 

“I understand why you did that. But do you really think it was the kindest thing to do? How do you think that made Peter feel?” 

“Probably gooey and-and sticky.” 

“Well, physically it’s probably not going to feel comfortable but I’m talking about his feelings. How do you think that made him feel?” 

Morgan sniffled, using her blanket to wipe her nose. “I don’t k-know. Probably upset.” 

“Yeah, maybe you should ask him and see how he felt. Because I know I’d feel pretty upset to be blamed that I pooped my pants if I didn’t. Especially because he’s trying so hard to remember to use the toilet.” 

Morgan nodded but cried harder. “I know. But-but sometimes I feel like you never pay any a-attention to me cause Peter always, he never does anything wrong or get in trouble. He was destroying my set up.” 

“Then you need to talk to him, and if he doesn’t listen, come and find me or mom. Sticking pudding down his pants isn’t the answer.” Tony reminded her once again. They needed to always come and talk to him or Pepper. They were old enough to not have supervision 24/7 but apparently not old or mature enough to solve their problems on their own. Morgan was such an instigator and Peter could get pretty violent. 

“O-okay.” 

“I’m so proud of you for everything. You’re such a great sister.” 

“I know. But he isn’t a good brother sometimes cause he never listens to me and-and he never gets in trouble.” 

“He does get in trouble. But you have to remember that you are very different people. If Peter misbehaves, I can’t send him to his room. I have to talk to him differently. Do you get that?” 

“Why? It’s not fair.” 

“Because he won’t understand why I’m sending him to his room like you do. He has trauma from being away from us, so we have to work with him through that and what works for him.” 

“Being with Steve, you mean?” 

Tony swallowed. He could see Steve putting his hands on his son and sticking that needle into his body- “Yeah. With Steve.” 

“Oh. But he doesn’t tell me anything so how am I supposed to help him?” 

“He doesn’t tell me anything either.” Peter never said a word about what happened. And if anyone asked, he’d tell you he doesn’t remember and change the subject. “He’s not ready to talk about it yet. We have to respect that and know that he has gone through a lot of hard stuff so we have to be patient with him, Morgan. Can you do that?” 

“Yeah… I’m like his big sister.” 

Basically. 

“I just need you to be patient with Peter. And I think I should go get him so you can talk to him about what happened and to make sure he’s okay.” He let her know just before leaving to bring Peter in. He was munching on a chewer, probably given by Pepper after he asked for his soother. 

“Pete, Morgan has something to say to you.” Tony started the conversation and even though Peter saw it as an invitation to play with Morgan’s toys, Tony wanted Peter to know Morgan was sorry. Although Peter really didn’t seem to care all that much from the beginning. 

“Where’s your pink car?” 

“In my closet.” 

“Peter. Stop and listen to Morgan for a second.” 

“Where? I don’t see it.” He was digging through the massive amount of clothes she had on the floor so Tony lifted him up, sitting him on his lap to keep him still for two seconds. 

“Um… how did I make you feel when I put pudding in your pants?” 

“I don’t remember.” 

“Peter, Morgan is asking you a question. How did it make you feel when she did that?” 

“Ummm… it made me feel so sad. Do you have the remote to the car?” 

Okay. This wasn’t working. Why the fuck was it so hard to talk to his kids. What was he doing wrong? 

“Just hug him and apologize, Morgan.” 

“I’m sorry, Petey. Do you forgive me?” 

“Yeah. Where’s your car?” 

“No cars, it’s movie night. Both of you go downstairs to the basement. Go go.” Tony sighed. At least no one was angry anymore. He was glad Morgan was always so open for conversation, she was still young and it was hard for her because yeah, technically she was younger than Peter, but they did put more responsibility on her than they did for Peter. 

But that’s just how things go. 

And that’s probably how things will always go.