Always Be My Baby

“I beat you down.” Peter jumped down the last step, looking back to make sure Morgan saw that he did in fact beat her, even though no one was actually racing. 

“I’m second! I beat you.” Now it was her turn to look back at Harley, making sure he knew he was the loser of the three. 

“No one told me we were even racing.” He followed them over to the couch, trying to find the perfect spot for him to sit. He wanted to be away from Peter, he loved his brother more than life, but he would cuddle with their dad and kick anyone who got too close. Decisions decisions. “And just so you both know, if we were racing, I’d win.” 

“Yeah cause your legs are like twice the size of mine. That’s not fair.” To make his point, Peter stood against Harley’s leg, his hip reaching Peter’s mid section. Definitely not fair in a race. “One day when I’m bigger, I’ll be bigger than you and I’ll beat you in a race.” 

Peter was already pretty fast to begin with, his little legs carried him pretty quickly. 

Tony took a seat on the couch, kicking his legs up on the footrest and holding his arm out for Peter. “Here’s your movie dinner. Come eat.” 

“I don’t want it.” 

“You haven’t eaten anything all day. The mouse living in our shed ate more than you today.” 

Both him and Morgan started laughing. 

“Then mousey can eat my dinner. I don’t want it.”

“Okay then no movie.” Knowing this would work, he started to get up to take Peter upstairs but he screamed, jumping next to Tony. 

“No! I’ll eat. I’m hungry now. I just forgot I was hungry.” He took the spoon, taking the first bite but it was actually really good and he was hungry so he ended up finishing it before the movie even started. Tony handed him his sippy cup next which he enjoyed as he cuddled against his fathers warm chest. 

The movie wasn’t too entertaining in Tony’s opinion. He watched it about 500 times since having kids but Peter and Morgan loved Monsters Inc so here goes 501 times. 

It was one of those moments Tony’s going to cherish for the rest of his life. Those small but the best memories of simply being with his family on a snow day, watching a movie in the cozy basement together. That made everything worth it. All the hardships they went through just to get to this perfect moment. 

Until he got whacked in the face by an empty sippy cup. “Ow.” 

“It’s empty. I need more milk.” 

“You just hit me in the face, be careful.” 

“Oh. I’m sorry, daddy. I’ll kiss it better.” And that’s why Peter could probably do literally anything and Tony would let him get away with it. He got a kiss on the eye and couldn’t help but kiss him back. “Can I have more?” 

“I’ll get him some. I need to grab my phone charger anyways.” Taking his empty sippy cup, Pepper got up. “I’ll be back.” 

Now that the movie was paused, Peter reached for the apple slices, popping one into his mouth. “Yummy. It-it-it-it would be better with peanut butter.” 

“Hmm it would. Next time.” Tony ran his fingers through Peter’s curls. The underside of his hair had such thick curls but the top of his hair was turning more wavy. Tony really hoped his curls weren’t a childhood thing. He could imagine how handsome he’d look when he’s older with those curls. 

“Can we watch a movie tomorrow night then? It’s a snowy day too. I know it.” He insisted, moving back and accidentally sitting on Morgan’s arm. “Sorry.” 

“It’s fine.” She rubbed her arm, crawling to sit next to their dad. While she was in reach, she grabbed the chip bowl her parents were hogging. “Yum.” 

“Tomorrow night I wanna watch a dinosaur movie! Roarrrrrrrr!” He jumped on top of Harley, kicking him in the leg. 

“It’s my turn to decide and I want to watch a zombie movie.” He sat up, grabbing him to toss on the pile of pillows on the floor. 

“Zombie is scary. I already got first dibs.” He rolled over on his side, kicking his legs out so he could grab the exercise rope and whip his brother, only Morgan grabbed the other side. “I’m stronger than you.” 

She tugged back, making Peter lose his grip a bit. “I ate four meals today so I’m stronger.” She tugged again but Peter tugged back, using his feet to grip against the floor. 

In one movement, Morgan yanked on the rope and it sent Peter flying into her, both of them smacking into each other's head with a loud thud. 

Tony saw it but even if he didn’t, the sound made him cringe. 

Peter fell on his back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to process what happened before he began sobbing. 

Already on his feet, Tony went to comfort Peter first even though Morgan was crying as well. He lifted Peter up, checking his head for any blood but he had one hell of a goose egg on his forehead. “Oh Pete. That was a pretty hard hit, huh?” 

Peter was crying in his ear, his hurt cry. That cry was pretty rare, only reserved for when he was actually truly hurt and in pain. Like now. But he was only one person and had two kids who needed comfort. 

He sat on the couch, holding an arm out for Morgan. “Come here. Let me see.” 

“Am I bleeding?!” She cried, sitting next to him. 

Moving her hand, Tony could see that she wasn’t bleeding and barely had a bump, just some redness. “No. No blood. You’re okay, that was scary, huh?” 

“Yes!” She cried, taking in the comfort from her dad but Peter was crying way too loud in her ears. “He let go!” 

Coughing on his sobs, Tony had to take control of the situation and give Peter his full attention. He was working himself up and once he started coughing on his cries, it usually led to him throwing up. So, he stood up, bouncing him a bit, “Hey hey. You’re okay, you’re not bleeding. You don’t need a bandage. Just a really cool ice pack, want to go get one?” 

“Is he going to vomit?” Harley asked, concerned. He's seen it happen before. 

Sticking his fingers in his mouth, Peter tried to calm down. He coughed again but this time it caused him to gag. “Peter. Just breathe. You just have a tiny bump. I know that hurt you but you are okay, baby. Take a breath. In. And out. In. And out… good. Just breathe. You’re okay and I’m here.” 

He managed to calm down a bit, but only from his cry to change from hurt to upset. Tony lifted him back up, completely forgetting about Morgan for a second. “Morgan, let’s go get an ice pack.” Holding his hand out, he let her take it, bringing both of them upstairs. 

“Oh no, what happened?” Pepper hadn’t heard the crying until they were half way up the stairs. She pulled Morgan into her chest, hugging her. “What’s wrong, honey?” 

“We banged heads.” She cried, making sure her mom could see the bump she could feel growing. 

“Aww, let’s get you an ice pack. Are you okay, baby?” She went to check on Peter, seeing that he was having a harder time trying to calm down from the incident. “Ohh.” She frowned. He had quite a big bump, nothing too concerning though. Grabbing two ice packs and a teether for Peter, she hoped it helped him calm down so they didn’t have to get the pacifier. 

If he was still crying in five minutes, she would let him have it. And she knew Tony would be more than happy to give it to him. 

“It’s okay, baby, look, you have your teether, and the ice pack will help you feel better, okay? Oh, look. Your bump is already looking better.” It wasn’t. But Peter couldn’t see it so what he didn’t know, couldn’t hurt him. 

“Harley, Aiser is scratching at the door. Let him in, please.” Tony sat Peter on the counter but he screamed, still wanting to be close. “Do you want your milk?” He offered him the sippy cup but he turned his head, crying harder. “Pep, should give him the pacifier. He’s going to bed soon anyways. He’s going to make himself sick by crying so hard.” 

“I think… Aiser has something… what is that…?” Harley leaned down to look through the glass. “Dad?” 

Once Pepper agreed, Tony pulled a pacifier out of his pocket. He kept one close just in case. And it came in handy. As soon as Tony pushed it past Peter’s lips, he immediately stopped crying, leaning his head on Tony’s shoulder, exhausted. “You’re okay. I’m here.” 

Whereas Tony was grateful Peter got to have his pacifier, Pepper had a look of regret. It’s just that Peter was crying so hard and he was physically hurt. That felt different from his tantrums. 

“Dad. Aiser brought something home.” 

“What?” 

“I think it’s a dead… animal or something.” 

“What?” Tony put Peter down and approached the door. Aiser looked so cold and desperate to come in. He looked at the brown blob of fur lying on the deck but it moved and that’s when he realized it was a puppy. What the fuck. He opened the door, lifting the cold puppy into his arms. “It’s a puppy. Guys. Aiser just brought home a puppy.” 

Slowly, Peter walked over, squatting down to look at it in Tony’s arms. He pointed at its head, “‘seed ‘uppy.” This wasn’t a time to worry about him going back to that pacifier talk. Tony did prefer hearing his beautiful voice over this. But he couldn’t take it away now. 

It was just the beginning of the weaning process, nothing was going to go to plan that easily. It was hard but he was screaming and getting too worked up. If it was earlier in the day, they probably would have re-considered giving it to him, but because he would be sleeping in the next hour, it was fine. Probably. 

“A puppy?” Thankfully Morgan had stopped crying, she made her way over to Tony and Peter, looking at it. “Can we keep him?” 

“It’s probably someone’s pet that got lost in the storm.” Tony stood up, lifting the puppy up to look at it in his hands. The dog was about three months old, definitely not a newborn, and if he was right, the dog was either a Doberman or a Rottweiler puppy. He was wet and freezing cold. 

“Let’s get him warmed up. Harley, can you go grab some towels from upstairs.” Pepper put a plug in the sink, filling it with warm water. Despite being freezing, probably terrified after being out in the cold for so long, the puppy was wagging its tail, trying to lick Peter’s face every time he got near it. 

“Peter, don’t let him lick your face.” Tony pulled the dog away, lifting it a bit higher so Peter couldn’t put his face near it. This was still a dog they didn’t know. 

“But it ‘ickles.” He giggled, leftover tears still on his face. 

“We don’t know this dog. We don’t know if he’s sick.” Tony placed him in the sink, letting Pepper wipe him down, trying to get him cleaned up. 

Aiser pushed past Tony, trying to get a better look. It seemed everyone wanted a better look at this new little member in their house. But Tony knew it couldn’t stay. It was definitely someone’s dog, and probably one of their neighbours because how else did this tiny thing get all the way here in this storm. 

Dragging up a stool, Peter stood on it, reaching in the sink to pet the puppy. “He’s soft.” 

“He is, isn’t he? How old do you think he is?” 

“I think 11.” 

“I’m 11.” Morgan mentioned, tilting her head at her brother. “It’s not 11. He’s like a baby. Probably one month old, I’d say.” 

“No. He’s 11 and his name is chocolate ice cream.” 

“He’s not 11. Tell him, dad.” 

Tony took the towels Harley handed him, lifting the puppy back out when he barked. “He’s probably about three months old, I’d say. Maybe four.” After getting him dried up, Tony put him on the floor to see what he would do and immediately, he ran over to Peter, jumping up on him. It wasn’t really a surprise, Peter always seemed to attract all kinds of animals to him. 

“He likes me. He’s giving me kisses.” The puppy accidentally pulled his pacifier out of his mouth and when it bounced off the floor, the puppy grabbed it, running out of the kitchen. “Heyyy no! He took paci.” 

“Even the puppy knows you shouldn’t have it.” Harley chuckled, ignoring the head shake of disapproval he got from Tony. “What? It’s funny.” 

“It’s not.” It was actually sad because Peter was clearly upset over the puppy taking his pacifier. “Pete,” 

It wasn’t hard to grab the pacifier back from the dog, Morgan picked it up, putting it back in Peter’s mouth to Tony’s horror. “Disgusting. Give me that to wash it.” Yanking it back out, Peter was not happy but Tony couldn’t let him suck on a dog slobbered soother. 

Once everyone had settled down a bit, Peter with his pacifier, Morgan sitting next to him, and Tony and Pepper trying to figure out what to do with this puppy for the night until they could take it to the shelter tomorrow, it was ready for bedtime. 

In the end, they decided on putting him in a crate, making sure he had access to water and food for the night. 

However, as soon as they were all upstairs and getting ready to settle down for the night, the rest of the movie forgotten, the puppy had started barking and crying downstairs. 

Tony sighed. 

If it wasn’t one child crying, it was apparently another. 

Peter gasped, sitting up in bed. “He can ‘eep right here.” 

“No, he’s not sleeping with us.” 

“I can ,eep with ‘em.” 

“No. We don’t know him, Pete. He could bite you or pee in the bed. We don’t know.” 

“He can wear my diaper.” He pointed to the box on the floor, willing to hand one over if it meant the dog wasn’t crying downstairs. 

Tony remembered bringing Aiser home for the first night and it was pretty much like this. Although they had a three year old at the time and were living with heavy grieving hearts. Now they were just tired, it felt like living with a newborn with the amount of times Peter wakes up in the night. 

“That’s kind of you to offer but no, I’ll go check on him.” Leaving his comfortable, warm bed once more, Tony turned the hallway light on and couldn’t resist the tiny whimpering and begging coming from inside the cage. He wished this dog could tell him where he came from. “Hey, buddy, you have food and water, you need to sleep.” Even Aiser was hanging out with him. 

He grabbed another blanket and a teddy bear, putting it inside the cage to hopefully help. With Aiser, if Tony remembered correctly, he slept on the couch and set up a bed on the floor since they didn’t have a cage at the time. 

But life was totally different now. There was no way he was sleeping on the couch and there was no way he could with Peter needing him upstairs. 

Once he was sure the puppy would be quiet, or at least not bark all night, Tony went back upstairs, exhausted and ready to sleep. Although it looked like Peter and Morgan had other plans. 

“This isn’t a slumber party, Morg, in your room please. It’s bedtime.” 

“Do you think school will be cancelled tomorrow?” 

“It’ll definitely be cancelled. Go to sleep.” He ignored her puppy dog eyes. It never really worked on him anyways. 

“I was thinking that I could sleep in here… and have a sleepover. Please? Please?” She came to the edge of the bed, kneeling on the bed rest. 

Peter was intrigued by that idea. “Yeah! I love sleepovers. We can have one tonight and bring new puppy up.” 

Tony was so tired. He could see that Peter was in fact not tired and that irritated him just a tad. “If,” Morgan’s eyes grew eager. “you sleep here, it’s not a playdate. We need to actually sleep. Do you understand?” 

“Yes yes I’ll sleep. Let me go get my blankets!” She ran off and Tony wondered if he’d regret making that decision. 

He tried to think about the fact that there would in fact come a day where Morgan simply wouldn’t ask to have sleepovers in their bed anymore, and he guessed it was going to be a pretty good childhood memory. 

Peter had made space for her between him and his mom, he even gave her his pillow, despite there being about seven pillows on the bed already. Their bed was custom made to fit four of them but Peter was an… eccentric sleeper. 

“You can ‘eep here. I even made you a ‘dompy ‘dot. Just for you.” 

Tony was at the point he wanted to rip the pacifier from his mouth. Why did they decide to drop bottles over pacifiers? Bottles are a one time thing, Peter could never get tired of having his pacis. 

Tony knew it was his fault though. 

No one was to blame but himself. 

And he took full credit for that. 

But it didn’t make this any easier. 

“Okay, lie down, guys. Peter, you can take your pillow back,” Pepper sat up to move it over, pointing at it until he laid down. “Settle in, I’m turning the lamp off in two minutes.” 

“Morgan, did you bring any toys?” He whispered in her ear, loud enough for both adults to hear. 

“That answer better be no.” Tony pushed Peter’s head back down. “Good night, guys.” 

“Wait! I forgot I need to pee first.” Kicking the blankets off, Morgan scooted off the bed and ran into the bathroom. 

Peter was quick behind her. “I forgot too. I need to pee too.” 

“No. You’re not going anywhere.” 

“But… I need to pee.” He just wanted to go into the bathroom with Morgan. He didn’t necessarily have to go. 

Tony knew he was lying and even if he wasn’t, he wasn’t taking off his diaper just for him to use the toilet. “You don’t need to pee, your sister will be out soon.” 

“I do need to pee.” He lied, sitting up to slowly move to the edge of the bed. 

“Nope. Not gonna happen.” Tony was so exhausted, he wanted to send Morgan back to her bed and pass out. Hopefully the two of them wouldn’t cause too much ruckus tonight. Tony should probably warn Morgan about Peter’s wake up calls but she had a good idea of what she was getting herself into. 

“But-oh. You’re back.” He was relieved. Lying back down, Peter got under the blankets, reaching over to make sure Morgan was covered too. It was the most older brother act Tony’s ever seen come from Peter. He definitely acted, and was treated, like the youngest Stark. 

There was no chance in hell Tony wanted it any other way though. 

He leaned over to kiss both his kids and one for Pepper. Then it was lights out… 

“Morgan. Are you sleeping?” 

“Shh. Time to sleep.” 

“I am.” 

“No. You’re not.” 

Less than a minute later, Peter was talking again so Tony reached over and took his pacifier from him, immediately starting the flood of tears. “You’re showing me you aren’t ready to sleep and paci is only for sleep time.” 

“Give it.” 

“Lie down. And close your eyes. It’s bedtime.” He instructed, waiting for Peter to listen before letting him have his soother back. God damn, Tony couldn’t believe the control this thing held over Peter. 

It was almost scary. 

Worrisome, obviously. 

But he was too tired to worry about that. 

Tony shut his eyes and started to drift off, only for Peter to sit up and start whining a few minutes later. “What?” 

“I… I don’ like my socks on. Urgggggggg!” 

“Okay. Take them off then.” 

“But… s’ stuck!” 

Tony could sense his growing frustration, understanding that he was struggling to regulate his emotions enough as it was, he reached under the covers, pulling off both of his socks. When did he even put them on, Tony had no idea. “Okay. It’s off. Now go back to sleep.” 

“Not back. I was never sleeping.” 

“Okay. Goodnight.” 

“… goodnight… daddy?” 

Resisting the urge to groan, Tony hummed, waiting for Peter to speak. 

“I’m hungry.” 

“Because you didn’t eat lunch or dinner. I told you.” Tony was already getting up. No matter how tired he was, he wasn’t about to let his child go to bed with a hungry belly. So, he told Peter to wait and went downstairs, filling up a sippy cup with milk and his protein powder, bringing it back up for him which essentially put him straight to bed. 

.

.

.

Peter rolled onto his back, his stomach hurting a bit. The pain woke him up but it was still dark out. Why did sleeping have to be so boring? 

He wanted to wake up and play with Morgan, not lie in this bed while he definitely needed to use the bathroom. 

“Mmm. Daddy. Daddy. Wake up.” He tapped his back since his father had the audacity to face the other way. He checked on his sister, seeing her sleeping facing him and curled into a ball. He tapped on her face. “Morgan? Wake up. Wake up.” 

“Huh? What?” Delirious, she woke up, looking at her brother. “What is it? Did you… have a bad dream?” 

“No…” Not that he remembered. He hadn’t even dreamed yet. 

The whispering and movement woke him up. Tony sat up, seeing Peter sitting up and having a chat with Morgan like it wasn’t… 3:37am! “Guys. What do you think you’re doing?” 

“I need to poop.” Peter immediately said, moving to crawl off the bed. He felt like using the toilet, just like Morgan had before bed. 

“Oh. Right now?” 

“Well not an hour from now.” He woke up right now for a reason. 

“Okay, let’s go then.” Tony planned on taking him into the hallway bathroom in the hopes that Morgan wouldn’t stay up waiting for them. “Morg, you go back to sleep. We’ll be back, you sleep.” 

“Then why did he wake me up?” 

Tony had no idea. That was what Peter did. “I’m taking him. You sleep.” He held his hand out for him, pulling him off the bed and leading him into the hallway, grabbing a diaper and pyjama pants along the way out. 

“But I want to go in your bathroom-” 

“Shhh. Whisper. It’s the middle of the night.” He turned on the bathroom light, both of them squinting at the bright light. Tony dimmed it but it was still so bright. 

Since having kids, Tony’s never gotten a full night's rest. 

Harley was a pretty easy baby and pretty much started sleeping through the night after he turned two and that’s when they moved him into his own bedroom, but Tony still woke up periodically to check up on him, worried sick that he would smother or have a bad dream. 

Then Peter came along and he was a very difficult baby. He cried if he wasn’t on the boob or being held. So Tony stepped away from work to help Pepper at home with him, he got easier as a toddler but he had quite the big personality for such a tiny body. He kept them all on their toes. 

Sleep only got worse when Peter came along since he was breastfed on demand, so Tony would often wake up with Pepper, trying to help her during the nights. 

Then he was kidnapped. 

And Tony started losing sleep for an entirely different reason. A reason so unimaginable, a reason no parent should ever have to go through. 

And throw a newborn in the mix, it was an awful time for sleep. 

Tony will forever be grateful for Peppers parents taking them in and basically raising Harley and Morgan. 

So, yeah he was an old member of the no sleep club. Hence now, he was leaning against the bathroom counter, waiting for Peter to finish pooping. He didn’t really expect him to actually go, usually he didn’t tell anyone until it was too late and he never took himself to the bathroom. 

But Tony would rather have these wake up calls than the sleepless nights spent crying over Peter, not knowing where he was or if he was alive. He could remember so clearly when Pepper wanted closure and wanted to have a funeral for Peter. But there was no way Tony was going to stop until he either found his child’s body and put him to rest or found Peter alive. 

The memories were painful to think about. 

“Wipe my butt.” 

Tony was pulled from his thoughts. Grateful for the distraction actually. “Don’t think we’re waking up after this, we’re both going back to bed.” 

Peter yawned even as he protested, “But I’m not tired.” 

“Sure.” Tony got a clean diaper on him, holding out his pyjama pants to step into. “Come wash your hands.” 

“You have to. Not me.” While technically that was true, Tony wasn’t raising a boy who didn’t wash his hands after using the toilet. The lights flickered before turning off, causing Peter to gasp. “Oh no-” 

A loud crunching sound echoed outside and suddenly the whole house shook with a mighty force, causing even Tony to stumble. There was a giant bang and Tony heard windows shatter and the bathroom wall shake. 

The first thought was that an earthquake was happening. He grabbed Peter, about to shield him but Harley ran into the bathroom, eyes wide. “A fucking tree fell on the house!” 

“What.” Tony had no idea what just happened. He told Peter to stay in the hallway but the boy followed him to Morgan’s bedroom where Tony could in fact see a tree inside her room. 

The top half of a tree had fallen on the house, smashing through her window and breaking through the wall, concrete and part of the wall was on her bed. Tony’s only thought was what if she was sleeping there. That sent shivers down his spine. 

“What the hell was that sound?” Pepper rushed into the hallway, looking fully awake now. 

“The storm knocked a tree down.” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm to pull him away since it looked like the boy wanted to go inside and investigate. “Let’s get away from here. It’s unstable.” 

“Oh no. The whole house is going to fall down.” Peter gasped, running into his parents bedroom to make sure his sister was okay. “Morgan. The tree felled on your bed!” 

“What? No! My bedroom. My toys!” It would be hard for any 11 year old to see her bedroom completely destroyed with all her toys and belongings. From what Tony could see, she’d need a new bed and dresser, but most of her toys could be salvaged. The same couldn’t be said for her bedroom wall. 

“It’s fine, Morgan. Don’t go over there, it’s not safe.” Tony sat on the bed, reaching for his phone to try and figure out what to do next. School was canceled tomorrow anyways, and most of the roads were closed but they couldn’t stay here now. 

And Aiser and the puppy were barking downstairs, adding to the chaos. 

“Dad? Dad? Daddy?” 

“What, Peter?” Tony snapped, not meaning to. Peter never understood personal boundaries at times and was practically sitting on his knee. 

“Um… when-when um, because- when-when the tree felled on the house, um, when-when… does that mean we’ll freeze?” 

“It’s fell. Not felled.” Morgan corrected him as if that was the biggest issue at the moment. 

“Harley. Can you go check on the dogs.” That was a sentence Tony didn’t expect to be saying ever. Dogs. Plural. Weird. 

Walking back into the bedroom, Pepper pulled out her computer to search for hotels. They couldn’t stay here tonight, not from the cold alone but it wasn’t safe. “We should go. The sun won’t rise for another 4 hours and I already feel the cold coming in.” 

“The tree probably completely shifted the framework. This is going to be a pain in the ass to fix.” 

“Great. Another thing to add to the list.” She got up to get dressed. “Morgan, wait never mind. I was going to ask you to pack and bag but I don’t want you going into your room. Can you go with Peter to pack and bag?” 

“I can help him. Let’s go, Peter. But remember, we can’t go into my room.” She led him out of the master bedroom, but curiosity got the better of her and she tried to peek into her room. She wanted to see the damage. And to make sure her dolls were okay. 

“Not a chance.” Tony warned them. He knew they would try to go see it. He needed to pack a bag for himself, Peter, Morgan and Aiser. And apparently this new puppy. 

After getting busted, Morgan pulled Peter into his bedroom, slammed the door shut and grabbing a duffel bag from his closet. “Hey. No playing. Dad said I’m in charge of you so I need to help you pack.” 

“No, I can do it by myself.” He insisted, even as he sat down to start stacking legos together randomly. “It’s too dark in here.” 

“No. I can do it.” Morgan pulled out three pairs of pants. “Do you like these ones?” 

“No.” 

“Don’t be difficult now. We have to be quick because I already feel it getting colder.” She pulled out another three pairs. “What about these? Don’t say no.” 

“I want to stay in my pyjamas. I like these ones.” He tried to crawl away but Morgan grabbed the back of his pants, preventing him from going anywhere so he slid out of them. “Hey! Stop bossing me. Just let me do what I want.” 

It wasn’t like Morgan wanted to boss him around but he never listened and he needed to be told what to do. “Then listen! I’m packing your bag and you need to get dressed!” 

“No I don’t!” 

The bedroom door flung open but Tony did not look happy. “Chop chop. Why does it take you guys ten minutes to pack a bag. Morgan, why didn’t you help him?” 

“I’m trying but he’s being difficult.” 

Of course she learned that from him. 

“Go with help mom, Morgan.” Tony told her so he could quickly get Peter’s bag ready with some extra clothes. On the way out, Morgan pulled Peter’s pacifier from his mouth. “Morgan!” 

“What? You said no to having it outside of the bedroom. He can’t have it. I’m just trying to help.” 

“Give it back, he’s going to keep it for now.” Tony couldn’t deal with any of the crying, they had bigger problems to worry about right now. He quickly packed some pants and sweaters into a bag and took Peter’s hand, leaving. 

Pepper was trying to book a hotel but the power already went out and there were too many distractions at the time. So, after getting dressed and carrying hers and Peter’s bag downstairs, she decided to get out of the house first. 

“Harley. Where’s the puppy?” 

“I have him. I’m feeding him some leftover chicken.” The dog was starving despite being fed just a few hours ago. 

“I need you to go upstairs and pack a bag.” 

“One sec.” 

“No. Right now, Harley. We need help loading the car.” Pepper ended up taking the puppy from Harley and walked over to the back door to see the tree. It was one of their favourite trees that was there when they bought the house, they had built their fence around it so they didn’t have to chop it down. 5 years later and now it was inside their house. Crazy. 

Tony started the car, getting it warmed up for a bit while he loaded the few bags they had. “Pep. Did you book a hotel?” 

“Not yet. I will in the car.” 

“But we have no where to go.” It wasn’t like they could drive to their cabin. That was way too far. Maybe if it were raining they could make it but it was over a three hour drive. No way they were making it in this snow. Plus the roads would be brutal that far up north. “Let’s just… the cars warming up, I put our bags in… we need to make a call to our vet to take the puppy. He can’t come to the hotel with us.” 

“But why?” Peter whined, apparently listening to this conversation this whole time. So he did know how to listen to his parents. Interesting. 

Kneeling down in front of him, Tony took his small hands in his larger, calloused hands. “Because, bud, the puppy isn’t ours. He’s probably missing from someone’s house and he might be sick. So we’ll drop him off and they’ll hopefully find his owners.” 

“But… we found him so we get to keep him.” 

“He’s someone’s pet, Pete, not a soccer ball we found. We have to get going so can you go with Harley to put your shoes on.” Tony looked up at Harley, thanking him for helping, he knew how much Harley despised helping his little brother get dressed or ready for anything. 

And Peter could sense that and took advantage of it. 

Harley didn’t look happy but grabbed Peter’s hand, practically dragging him into the mud room where he grabbed his snow boots. “Put these on.” 

“I decided I’m not wearing any shoes today.” He crossed his arms over his chest to prove a point. 

“Then your feet will freeze and your toes will fall off. You don’t want that happening, do you?” He lied, having no idea how to get through to his brother. They used to be best friends and now they seemed further apart than ever before. 

“Not true.” 

“It is. So just put them on because we have to leave. Oh. I already hear dad getting into the truck.” He tried to get him to move faster but his plan backfired since Peter sprinted out of the mud room. Great. Peter always made him feel like such a failure because he could never get him to actually do anything. He hoped that one day they got close again, that one day they could go on a boys trip together and talk about girls and their best memories. 

Maybe this would be a memory they would talk about. It might be funny one day, a puppy shows up at their house, then a tree falls through their sisters window and they have to go spend the night at a hotel. Crazy. 

He grabbed his boots and walked out, seeing that Peter was already in their dads arms, drinking an applesauce pouch. Those were pretty good. He might have to get one for himself-

“We can always come back tomorrow but do you guys have everything for tonight?” Tony wanted to make sure. Walmart and Cosco would also be open tomorrow morning so they’d probably end up going there. 

“I didn’t pack anything.” He looked down at himself, he was still dressed in his pyjamas and was wearing one sock. Not fun. Oh well. 

It was no surprise Peter had the biggest bag. Tony made sure to pack extra clothes for him. “I packed your stuff.” And unfortunately Morgan had nothing so tomorrow would be a pyjama day for her. 

Tony walked into the garage, feeling Peter shiver at the cold air. It was brisk and there wasn’t even any wind in the garage. Tony didn’t want to imagine what would have happened to the puppy if Aiser never brought him home. 

He opened the bag door, sitting Peter in his car seat. “All of you should try to sleep, we’re going to go to a hotel.” 

“I need to pee one more time!” Morgan announced. 

“What hotel? How far is it?” 

“We still have to book one. I’m not sure.” Tony moved aside to let Harley hop in with Aiser. He lifted the puppy in, laying down a blanket for him to lie in. He called the vet and although she wasn’t in, there were people there caring for the animals so they were expecting him. 

So much to do. Tony wished he could switch bodies with Peter and chill in a car seat drinking an applesauce pouch. What a life. 

But he was the dad and the man of the house so it was his responsibility to keep his family safe. Especially that applesauce eating boy. 

Once everyone was in the car, Tony reversed out of the garage, having to manually open and close it since the power was out. He shivered when he got back in, blasting the heat. “Let’s go drop the puppy off first.” 

Smart thinking, Pepper put some lullaby music on the speaker, knowing it would cause Peter and Morgan to pass right out. If Harley decided to sleep too, that was up to him, but he wouldn’t be a cranky beast if he missed out on sleep like the other two. 

While Tony drove to the vet, dropped the puppy off, feeling slightly grateful that all of his kids had fallen asleep so he didn’t have to worry about any sad goodbyes from them, especially Peter, Pepper looked up hotels to try and find two connected rooms big enough for the six of them. 

“So, The Plaza at Fairmont has the penthouse suite available but that only has one king bed. The other room I can get is down the hallway which has two beds. I think this is the best one to book. What do you think?” 

The hotel wasn’t too far, maybe thirty minutes away, it was probably the best and fastest option for them. 

“Book it. Let them know we have a dog and had to evacuate our house because of the storm.” They couldn’t say no to bringing their dog in, Aiser was the most well behaved dog there was. He saved Peter's life on one occasion and probably more they didn’t even know about. And now he saved the life of a puppy. 

45 minutes later, Tony was parking the car underground, feeling so exhausted and ready for sleep. As he lifted Peter out, hoping he stayed asleep, he was debating if he should try to go back to sleep or if he should give up on sleep for the day and have an early night. Decisions decisions. 

He gently woke his other kids up, so grateful they were such good sports about this. It wasn’t easy to have a tree through your house in the middle of the night and have to travel to a hotel, exhausted. But they were handling it well. 

In another life, Tony would be waking up Peter as well, not carrying him in. But if he woke him up, he would either be crying from over exhaustion or bouncing around everywhere. 

So Tony carried him while Harley helped to put the bags on the dolly and Pepper got them checked in. 

“So how long until we can go back home?” 

Tony hoisted Peter up a bit higher. “I’m going to call some people tomorrow to get the tree out. But after that we’re looking at a few days to a week of construction.” 

Tony didn’t want a quick slap together job, he wanted it done properly. 

Yawning, Morgan leaned against Tony, having him support her weight. Peter was completely passed out in his arms, arms hanging at his side still. “Do you think my toys will be okay?” 

“I think so. And if not, we’ll go on a toy shopping spree. I think it was just your bed and dresser that got destroyed.” 

“What about my books?” 

“Oh. I’m not too sure, Morg.” Pepper was walking towards them so Tony rubbed her back, “We’ll buy you more books too if yours got destroyed.” 

He’d likely end up buying her a whole new bedroom, he just hoped she didn’t go for a new style and tried to redecorate, taking away the child like innocence from it. 

He loved walking into a pink room filled with dolls and books with a closet so full with toys and clothes you could get lost in it. 

Maybe he could turn it into a daddy daughter date to get a bunch of stuff for her. That sounded fun and so needed. 

Without Peter awake, Morgan happily pressed the button for the penthouse suite. She never got to press it and the simple gesture probably made her whole day. Tony sometimes forgot that she was the youngest. Peter was older than her but she was still expected to act older and take on more responsibility and that just wasn’t fair. 

“Do you want to unlock the door too?” 

“Yes!” 

“Okay but shh.” 

The penthouse was beautiful. 

Stunning. 

Marvelous. 

Tony’s positive he’s stayed at this hotel, probably in this exact room before but he couldn’t remember. He’s stayed in so many. He used to not be able to stand being at home alone when Pepper had the kids in Malibu and so he would book hotel rooms but that never helped either. 

What does it matter if he’s crying in a hotel room or at home? 

But now, he got to experience it with his kids. 

He found the bed and moved the blankets back, gently laying Peter on them but making sure to put a pillow on top of his stomach and chest so he was under the impression that he was still being held. 

It only worked sometimes. 

But it mostly mattered right now because Tony wanted to walk around and not be tied to the bed at the moment. He needed to check out the other hotel room, well, he didn’t need to do that but he wanted to. He would have better peace of mind if he could check it out before sending Harley and Morgan there for the rest of the night. Well, morning now. 

It was 5:15am. Tony would probably lie down but not sleep, and wait until Peter woke up. Then he would have to figure out what they were going to do. First, get the tree out of their house and get some construction started. Second, go to Walmart or Cosco, it depended on how long they would be there. 

And the list continued. 

.

.

.

Tony sat by the window, looking out onto Central Park, admiring the view. Considering they would be living there for seven days, it wasn’t a bad view at all. 

After calling the contractors, Tony went to the house to hand over the keys, get a few estimates of how long it would take and watch the tree get removed. It was absolutely freezing inside so he counted on it taking at least a full day to heat up. He wasn’t about to bring his family back to a freezer. 

While he was there, he packed a suitcase with Morgan’s clothes and some more stuff they needed then headed back to the hotel where he walked in on Peter and Morgan trying to slide down the stairs in a bag, Harley was nowhere to be found, and Pepper was on the phone with room service. 

Nothing surprising there. 

Now, he was trying to do some work on his computer but he was getting distracted by Peter and Morgan screaming in the other room. “Guys! Enough!” 

They didn’t stop so he got up, turning the tv off and grabbing Peter’s arm before he could run away. “Hey! Both of you, stop it right now! You are being way too loud.” 

“Ow! You’re squeezing me too hard.” Peter tried getting out of his grasp. Maybe it was a bit too hard. Oops. 

“You need to settle down for a nap soon. And you too, Morgan. No nap but you need to have some quiet time. Both of you barely got any sleep last night.” 

It was true. Peter managed to sleep the most out of everyone. He ended up waking up for the day at 6:30am but Morgan never went back to bed. Neither did he or Pepper. Harley went into his hotel room but Tony didn’t know if he actually slept or not. 

“I’m not even tired. I don’t need to sleep, dad. Or rest. I’m kinda busy right now.” Morgan gestured to the art piece she was working on. Tony could see that it was a disaster waiting to happen. The couches were white and Peter was in the same room with paint and no adult present. Absolutely not. 

“Morgan, I’m going to ask you to put the paint away because it’s time to settle down. Your brother needs to nap soon.” Tony took the tray of paint away, feeling bad for stopping her fun but he had to catch up on work and he couldn’t watch them at the same time. 

“Urggggg! Not fair!” 

“Yeah! Not fair!” Peter helped protest for his sister but it was no use. 

“Wow, what a hard life.” Tony sarcastically said but it was true, Peter did have a hard life. “Find something else to do for the next thirty minutes. I need to do some more work. Can you guys behave for thirty minutes?” He didn’t trust either of them. 

He would trust Morgan home alone for an hour to two hours. But Peter, he barely trusted him alone in the bathroom for five minutes. And the two of them together were a different kind of chaos. 

Where was Harley when you needed him? 

“I’m always good.” Peter grinned, he could do no wrong. Ever. 

Debating if he should leave them or not, Tony didn’t really have much of a choice. He needed to do some work and he couldn’t have his eye on them 24/7. So, he left them, hoping they behaved. 

“Now what do we do?” Leaning over the couch, Peter looked to Morgan for her idea. She always had the brightest ideas and he looked up to her for them. 

She shrugged. “I can’t even paint…” 

“It’s okay. We can pretend to paint.” Peter leaned over the couch even further until he purposefully fell off, crawling across the fluffy carpet. He picked up his water bottle, trying to squeeze some water onto the floor but none came out. Stupid spill proof lid. 

Morgan suddenly gasped and stood up. “I got an idea! Let’s go swimming.” 

“Swimming? In the pool?” Peter wasn’t so sure. They went downstairs this morning to look at it but they didn’t go yet, he really wanted to… but they had to ask. 

“Yeah. For thirty minutes. Dad won’t notice us gone. And we’ll come back up before he’s done work.” Morgan thought it was an amazing idea as long as they only went for 30 minutes. That would be plenty of time. 

Peter wasn’t so sure. He started chewing on his finger. “Well… but I don’t know where’s it?” 

“The pool?” Peter nodded. “I’ll take us there. Let’s get our bathing suits.” They both knew how to swim, so it was all good. Plus there was a kitty pool there and even two water slides. They’ve been at the hotel for a day already and haven’t even stepped foot in the pool yet. That was about to change. 

Peter wasn’t so sure. Surely his dad would be mad. But it didn’t seem bad, plus Morgan seemed to think it was okay and she knew more than he did. He thought he should ask permission but as long as they were in the same hotel and spoke to no strangers, it’ll be fine. 

“Okay…”