Always Be My Baby

Morgan grabbed both of their bathing suits from the suitcase their dad brought them from home earlier today. 

She put it into a tote bag, made sure to grab the key card and left the hotel room with Peter, telling him to remain quiet the whole time. 

Once they were in the hallway, they both realized they had no shoes on. Oops. “It’s fine. We don’t need shoes to swim anyways. Follow me.” 

“I call pressing the elevator button.” He made sure Morgan knew that he got dibs. He pressed the floor for the lobby, remembering that’s where Tony had taken them this morning after he woke up. He was still in his pyjamas at the time and felt so content and cozy. Now, he was feeling rebellious and a bit scared but he kinda liked the feeling… 

His whole life he had Steve telling him no. Peter, you can’t do that, Peter, don’t talk to the neighbours. You can’t go to that sleepover. You can’t go to the birthday party, you’re sick, even if he was feeling fine. Then he drank a bottle of milk and had no memories after that… 

But now he could do whatever he wanted because no adults were with him. Even though, deep down, he knew it wasn’t okay what they were doing. 

Once they reached the lobby, Peter started walking in the opposite direction. “No, it’s this way.” Morgan tugged his hand. 

“Na uh. This way.” He tugged back. 

“Peter. You need to do as I say. Stop misbehaving.” She picked up way too much from her parents. 

It wasn’t like Peter was going to roll over and accept being spoken to like that. He crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed. “Stop talking to me like a baby. I’m not misbehaving. I just want to go swimming.” 

Sighing, Morgan listened. She just felt so responsible for him. “Fine. But I know it’s that way because remember we passed by the restaurant with the giant fish tank?” 

“Oh yeah.” 

Once they remembered the way, they walked down a long hallway, passing by shops and restaurants. When they finally reached the hallway that led them to the pool, Morgan unlocked the door, pulling it open for Peter. “We’re gonna change in the girls' change room because I’m not allowed in the boys.”

“But… I’m not allowed in the girls either.” They both stopped, looking at the symbols on the doors. 

“You are. Come.” It wasn’t like Peter was going to go anywhere alone. He followed his sister into the change room, grinning at how big and cool it was. There was a sauna and a waterfall with plants growing out of it to the right. And to the left was a giant mural of an ocean. 

“This is so cool. Look at the dolphins.” He raced over to touch it. 

“Wow. So cool. Okay, you go change in this change room and I’ll go in this one.” She shoved Peter inside, handing him his bathing suit but he wasn’t about to get dressed by himself. 

He first took off his wet socks and shirt then climbed onto the bench to peep over at Morgan. “I see you.” 

“I need privacy.” 

He listened, sitting back down to try and pull his pants off. Why did he have to decide on wearing adidas today? They were always so tight and tricky to take off. 

Giving up, he walked out of the change room to look at the painting on the wall. It was definitely so beautiful. He wished he could paint that in their hotel room… 

An older lady walked past him, heading straight for the sauna so Peter followed, peeking in. He could feel the steam on his face which he didn’t like. It made it hard to breathe. 

“Peter, why didn’t you even get ready yet? You’re taking too long.” Morgan was already dressed in her bathing suit, her clothes tossed in the tote bag. 

“Cause… I want dad to help me put it on.” He suddenly didn’t feel like swimming anymore. He was sweating underneath his pants and wanted to go back up to the hotel room to see his family. He wanted to pet Aiser. 

“I’ll help you. Sit on the bench.” 

“No. I want to go upstairs and see daddy.” 

“But I want to go swimming. I’ll help you put your bathing suit on.” She helped him take off his adidas pants, almost causing him to fall onto the wet floor. Next she got his feet through his bathing suit for him. “Just stand up and pull it up.” 

He was already so sweaty and sticky and he was due for a nap so everything was irritating him. “No no. I don’t want to go swimming anymore.” He tried to pull his bathing suit up but the waistband was rolling and giving him a wedgie. “I-nooo!” In his frustration, he threw himself onto the wet floor. 

“Peter. Let’s just go in the pool. You like swimming. Just pull your bathing suit up properly.” Morgan tried but the material was too tight and rolled up. 

“I don’t want to swim. I wanna go back. I want paci.” 

“Let’s just swim for ten minutes.” 

“No.” 

“Five. Come with me.” 

She pulled him out of the changeroom, deciding if she should go on the slide first or straight into the pool. A few people were already swimming and hogging the deep end so maybe they could sit near the stairs for a bit. 

Whining, Peter pulled his bathing suit down, trying to pull it up properly but his butt was wet with dirty change room floor water and he was so tired and wanted his soother. 

He tried to pull his bathing suit back up, trying to get it to cover his butt properly. “I can’t! T’duck!” 

“It’s fine. Let’s go in.” Pulling him towards the steps, Morgan pushed him in until he was sitting in the water but he didn’t look happy. He was sucking on his thumb, his eyes wet with tears and his cheeks red and blotchy. It looked like he was doing everything to hold it together so he didn’t start crying for their dad. 

She couldn’t have any fun with him anymore without him crying for their dad. 

Morgan left him on the steps and did a flip underwater then popped her head up in front of him. “Boo.” 

“I’ go.” He pointed desperately to the door. He was tired and irritated. “I wanna go.” 

“You’re no fun if you go.” Without asking him, she picked him up, holding him without a fight then dunked him under. When he came to the surface, he couldn’t hold in his tears anymore and started crying for his dad. This wasn’t fun. He was tired and now he was cold and wet and strangers were looking at him. 

He stood on the last step of the pool, looking at the entryway, whining at it as if that would magically make Tony appear. 

His distraught behaviour gained the attention of the older couple doing laps in the pool. The man swam over, stopping a few feet away from Peter. “Where’s your mom, kid? Where are your parents?” 

Peter only became more distraught at the strangers presence. 

“Our parents know we’re here.” Morgan lied to the man, doing a flip under the water. When she resurfaced, the man pointed at a sign. 

“Anyone under 16 needs an adult present with them. I suggest you two leave and come back with your parents.” He grumbled, shaking his head at Peter disrupting the peace. 

Morgan shrugged, doing another flip. Peter wasn’t annoying her, she was pretty used to his crying at this point. But he wasn’t even crying loudly, he was whimpering and whining, he wasn’t making too much noise. 

So she didn’t understand what the big deal was. 

Peter on the other hand wanted out of the pool and to take a much needed nap. 

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Tony was finishing up with his work. It wasn’t fun to be in a hotel with his kids and have to lock himself into a room to get some work done but sometimes he had to put his work before his kids. 

Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to live such a fortunate life. 

He read over the last document, knowing he would need to go to the tower for a few hours at some point this week, but he could worry about that later. 

Standing up, he stretched his sore back, then went to go check on his kids. He hadn’t heard much from them so he was grateful that they listened to him and respected the fact that they had neighbours here. 

He walked down the hallway, peeking into the office Pepper had taken over. She was on the phone, only giving him a tiny wave then going back to her call so he continued walking, trying to search for his monkeys. 

It was a pretty big hotel room, downstairs had a kitchen, living room, bathroom, family room and two offices. Then there was a grand staircase leading to a long hallway with a marble covered bathroom and the main bedroom. It honestly looked like an apartment, it was gorgeous. Tony didn’t hear them downstairs so he started making his way upstairs, still not hearing them. 

“Peter? Morgan?” He approached the landing, but he was met with silence. Maybe they fell asleep? 

“Guys? Where are you?” Looking inside the bedroom, Tony found it empty with no sign of them ever being in there. “Peter?” 

Now he was slightly starting to panic. He ran down the stairs and grabbed the key card for Harley’s room, sped walking down the hallway and opened his door in no time. It was empty. “Harley? Peter? Morgan? Where are you guys? Peter?” 

Nothing. 

Time to panic. 

He raced back down the hallway to his hotel room, opening the door and grabbing his phone on the couch to call Harley. He picked up on the third ring. “Where are you?” 

“Wha-I’m in the lobby buying candy. I was craving something sour.” 

“Are Peter and Morgan with you?” 

“No. Why?” 

Tony ran his hand through his hair. Now it was time to freak out. “I can’t find them. Come upstairs now.” He hung up the phone, marching into Pepper's office. “I can’t find Peter and Morgan anywhere.” 

“Aren’t they upstairs?” She got up from her desk to have a look around. “Peter! Morgan! If you can hear me, you come out right now! I’m not playing.” 

Silence. 

Tony knew they weren’t here. And they weren’t in Harley’s room, which means they left the hotel room and Tony was going to have an anxiety attack at the thought of them gone. 

Pepper could sense his anxiety building. “It’s okay. When did you see them last?” 

“No.” He felt his heart rate speed up. Peter’s gone. Again. It takes two seconds for someone to grab him and there were about 1000 hotel rooms in this hotel, maybe more. Tony’s mind was going back to that day at the park seven years ago when Peter was gone, he had looked away for five seconds to watch Harley do a flip on the monkey bars. Then that day two months ago when Harley came home without Peter and his baby was taken from him again. 

Oh fuck. 

His chest was hurting him. 

What was happening to him? 

Maybe because it happened once, it wasn’t supposed to happen again but it did, so who’s to say it wouldn’t happen a third time but Steve was dead but that didn’t mean there weren't any other evil people in this world. Peter was such a cute kid, he gained the attention of many strangers on the street, Tony couldn’t count the number of times someone complimented Peter’s looks to him, even with Harley and Morgan standing right there. 

God. He just needed to keep Peter close and safe and now he was gone. Again. 

The door opened and Tony raced over but it was just Harley. “Did you see Peter?” 

“No, dad. They aren’t in here?” 

“No.” Tony grabbed both key cards. “I’m going to go search the lobby. Pepper, you call down to the front desk, ask if they’ve seen them.” He left right after that, leaving no room for discussion. 

He did feel slightly better that they were together, hopefully. Morgan had a straighter head on her shoulders whereas Peter ran wild and didn’t know right from wrong. That terrified him and he tried so much to teach him but it didn’t work. He needed to learn with age and experience. 

Inside the elevator, Tony tried to think about where they would’ve gone. There was a toy store in the lobby, a rainforest themed restaurant and many candy shops. They could be in any of those. But then he remembered taking them down to see the pool this morning and suddenly that was the first place he felt like he needed to look. 

So he rushed out of the elevator, quickly skimming around the area on his way down the corridor. 

Once he reached the entry door, he looked through the glass and saw the back of a curly haired boy but he knew that was Peter. 

Unlocking the door, Tony rushed in. “Peter.” 

Turning around, Peter whimpered, knowing his dad was here and he didn’t have to worry about anything else. His dad would take care of him now. 

Tony grabbed a towel off the shelf and wrapped him up, lifting him into his arms, holding him and letting his heart rate go back down to normal. Peter was safe. Peter was in his arms and he could finally breathe again. 

The thought that he truly wouldn’t be able to live without Peter was terrifying. 

He would rather be dead than have to live without his little boy again. His heart truly beat for Peter alone. 

“What are you doing here?” 

Peter didn’t reply. 

“Morgan. Get out of the pool. We’re leaving.” Tony was furious now. He wanted to know why they were at the pool alone and no one knew. He was mad at Morgan for letting it happen and he was mad at himself for not knowing. He pulled out his phone to send a quick text to Pepper, letting her know he had them. 

“Oh. I didn’t see you there, dad.” 

“Out. Now.” 

She bowed her head. Tony only used that voice when he was angry. And he was furious. He would put Peter down for a nap and talk to Morgan. Then talk to Peter once he woke up. 

“Where are your clothes?” 

“Changeroom.” She whispered, her head still down. 

“Get them quickly.” 

He waited for her by the door, wrapping a towel around her once she came out with a tote bag. Oh. So they planned this. He wondered whose idea this was. 

Without saying another word, he walked down the hallway, making sure Morgan was following him. He scanned the key card at the elevator, pressing the button for their floor. The ride was silent. When Peter’s arm fell against his side, he looked in the mirror to see that he had actually fallen asleep. 

It made his heart hurt. He was so exhausted and needed to be napping, not swimming in a pool. 

Still not saying anything, Tony walked out, looking back to make sure Morgan was still following behind him. 

Once they were inside the hotel room, Tony told Morgan to wait for him on the couch while he went upstairs to lay Peter down. He was so relieved they were safe, nothing could compare to that feeling. But that didn’t mean he was happy with their decision. He was furious. Who’s idea was it and why did they think this was okay? 

And judging by the looks of Peter’s bathing suit barely covering anything, he put it on himself and it boiled Tony’s blood that he was out in public with half his butt hanging out. 

Once he got him settled for a nap, he walked downstairs and sat across from Morgan. She looked guilty and angry. 

“Why isn’t Peter getting in trouble?” 

“I’ll talk to him when he wakes up. I’m talking to you right now.” 

“But… I’m tired too.” 

Tony wasn’t going to let her get out of this. “No. You don’t nap. Tell me why you guys were at the pool.” 

Morgan shrugged. “Morgan. Your father asked you a question. You know you’re not allowed leaving the hotel room without letting us know.” 

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Harley. “I don’t want him listening to me!” 

“Shhhh. Your brothers sleeping. Harley, can you just… go in the other room.” Tony didn’t have the patience for this. Once he was gone, he put his attention back onto his daughter. “Who’s idea was it to leave?” 

“I don’t remember.” She lied. 

“Okay. So you can go give me your iPad, it’s gone for a week-” 

“Noooo. It was my idea.” 

“Don’t lie to me again. You know better. So why did you take Peter and leave?” 

“Cause…”She bursted out crying, covering her face with the pillow. 

Tony did feel bad. He was just worried and upset. Standing up, he moved to kneel down in front of her. “Morgan. Look at me. I know you know better so I want to know why you decided to take Peter and leave to go swimming. Anything could have happened to you.” 

“Cause-cause I thought we’d only be thirty minutes. And-and y-you wouldn’t know.” 

Tony glanced over at Pepper. That upset him even more. “Anything could have happened. What if Peter drowned? What if he wandered off? What if someone tried to bring you into their hotel room?” 

“Well none of that happened anyways.” She cried. 

“Doesn’t mean it can’t happen. You put both your brother and yourself in danger today.” 

That only made her cry harder. “I’m sorry! Don’t hate me.” 

Was that what she thought? Tony brushed the hair off her face. “I’d never hate you. You’re my daughter and I love you. You just need to consider the consequences for your actions and help your brother. He doesn’t think like you do, he doesn’t know if it’s a bad idea or a good idea, he just does whatever he thinks first. So you need to help him.” 

“But… I did. I helped him put his bathing suit on.” She said like that was all that mattered. 

“No, Morgan. I appreciate you helping him, I do. You’re such an amazing sister. But you should not have left with him. It was very dangerous and irresponsible.” 

“I know.” She quietly admitted. “I didn’t think it through.” 

Tony was grateful that she could at least understand that. Maybe she could help Peter understand it once he woke up. 

Although she was still young, she was old enough to know the rules and follow them. Tony wasn’t asking much, he just didn’t want them leaving the hotel room and going out in public in an unfamiliar environment. Especially to go swimming. Peter wasn’t a very strong swimmer, Tony was still disappointed in them, mainly Morgan. 

He turned to Harley when he walked back in the room, squinting his eyes towards him. “And why did you leave without letting me know?” 

“Are you serious?” Harley deadpanned. 

“Yeah. I am actually.” 

Chucking, the older boy shook his head at his father’s ridiculous behaviour. “I’m not a child, dad. And I’m not Peter. I can leave my hotel room without having to let you know my every move.” 

Tony stood up, crossing the distance between them. He wanted control. He wanted to know where his kids were at all times so that way he could keep them safe. “It takes two seconds to send me a quick text, letting me know you’re going to the lobby.” 

“Why does it matter?!” 

“Shh, your-” 

“Peter’s sleeping. I know.” 

Tony sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s all I’m asking. Just keep me updated on where you are.” 

“What? You think I’m going to get kidnapped too?” 

“Harley.” Pepper warned, looking between the two men, Tony went from pissed off to terrified in a split second. 

“That’s not funny. We don’t joke about that in this house.” 

Shrugging, Harley turned to walk into the small kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. “Well, I’m not really joking. Peter was kidnapped twice and what are the chances of that. Literally. What’s the statistics of that even happening?” 

Probably 1 in a million. 

Tony asked himself that question everyday. 

Why Peter? 

Why couldn’t it have been some other boy at the park that day. Tony wouldn’t wish this pain on any other parent and child but was he selfish to say, if he could, he would. 

Tony wanted to end this conversation so he could go check on Peter. “All I’m asking is for you to tell me where you’re going. I’m not asking much.” 

“You’re being controlling and too overprotective. I’m an adult, dad. It’s suffocating.” 

Tony didn’t see it that way. Harley may be 20 years old but he still had a lot of growing up to do. Sure, he was mature and Tony trusted him to take care of himself but that didn’t mean Tony was okay with him running wild. 

Not that he would consider Harley running wild, he was just going down to the lobby, probably bored out of his mind sitting in that hotel room. 

Truth was, Tony felt bad for him at times. He didn’t have a friend in Peter and Morgan like they did with each other. Peter and Morgan played and got along together. Harley couldn’t play with them and truly have fun. He was past that playing stage. 

Tony always wondered what life would have been like if Peter hadn’t gotten kidnapped. It was impossible to know, of course. But he wondered if Peter would’ve been closer to Harley or Morgan. There was a six year age gap between the boys and a four year age gap between him and Morgan. 

Impossible to know. 

Tony was just grateful he didn’t have to wonder what it would be like to have three children. He had his little boy back which made life perfect. 

He couldn’t say it was hard going from 0 or 1 child, or from 1 to 2, or even 2 to 3 children. What was hard was going from 2 to 1. What was hard was packing an empty stroller into the car that day, and driving home with an empty car seat. Walking into a house with a nursery room and no baby to fill it. What was hard was packing away all the toddler items, knowing deep down they wouldn’t be pulled back out again. 

Tony was robbed from experiencing that with Peter. 

Maybe that’s why he was so scared to let go… 

“I’m not arguing with you, Harley. Just keep me updated on your whereabouts. That’s all I ask.” He thought he was being pretty reasonable. 

“Alright… fine.” Everyone knew he wouldn’t win in an argument against Tony anyways. 

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.

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It was almost time to wake Peter up. Tony loved this time of day. He was counting down the last fifteen minutes, watching him sleep peacefully, his hair still damp from swimming. 

Pepper walked into the master bedroom, wrapped her arms around him from behind and sighed. 

“Hey.” He murmured. 

She smiled but he couldn’t see. 

“Do you think I was being unreasonable with Harley?” 

“A bit.” She let him go so she could hug him properly, seeking warmth from her husband before Peter woke up and took it all. “But for good reason. You just need to give Harley some more space.” 

Tony hummed. “I can’t help it if I’m an overprotective parent. Maybe if I was a bit more protective, Peter wouldn’t…” 

“No. Don’t say that. You know Steve would have gotten his hands on him one way or another.” The man stalked them for two weeks before taking Peter, so it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately. 

Tony remained silent, memories from that day too vivid in his mind. 

“Just give Harley some more freedom, you can be so… controlling at times. Peter and Morgan may not notice it but Harley does… and so do I.” She admitted, referencing all those times Tony’s walked in on meetings when it was Pepper and a man alone, why was he like that, Pepper had no idea. 

“So I still have a few years before they notice and argue with me.” That made him feel better but Pepper let go, giving him an unimpressed look. 

“Wake him up. I’ll send Morgan up to talk to him soon.” 

The plan was for Tony to take all three kid’s swimming with supervision while Pepper went to Costco to stalk up on a few essentials. Tony was going to go with Peter but decided it would be more efficient for him to keep the kids in the hotel. 

Sitting on the bed, Tony combed the damp curls off his face. “Hey. Time to wake up. Open your eyes for me.” He shook him a bit, smiling when Peter stirred, stretching and sitting up. 

He blinked, looking around then his eyes landing on Tony and he grinned behind his pacifier. “What’s time?” 

“It’s just past two. Did you have good dreams?” 

Shrugging, Peter looked around, probably looking for Morgan. 

“Morgan’s downstairs. Hey, I wanted to talk to you about what happened today. You and Morgan left the hotel without telling me. That was very dangerous and I was scared.” He had to approach this differently with Peter. It was hard to talk to him to make him understand. 

“Oh.” 

“Why did you go swimming without telling mom or I?” 

“Umm… cause.” 

Tony held his hand out for his pacifier. He wasn’t going to get a response from him with it in. Peter handed it over without a fight. “So why did you and Morgan leave the hotel to go swimming?” 

“Cause… we… we just went.” 

“But you know you’re not allowed to leave the hotel without your mom or I. Especially to go swimming.” 

“I know.” 

Tony wanted to facepalm. What was this attitude? “If you know then why did you still go?” 

“Uhhhh cause we just wanted to go for 30 minutes but my bathing suit didn’t fit me.” He kicked his legs forward to stretch his feet, obviously not even caring in the slightest what he did. 

“Peter. I’m not happy with you,” His little face turned to him, his bottom lip shaking. Fuck. Stay strong. Stay strong. 

“Why?” 

“Because what you and Morgan did was incredibly dangerous. You broke my one rule.” 

“You have too many rules.” He stated, matter of fact. Not that he listened to many rules anyways. Listening wasn’t his strong suit. 

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Every household has rules that the parents make for the kids to follow. That’s just how it is. Anything could have happened to you when you left unsupervised.” 

“But… but I didn’t talk to any strangers.” 

And there it was. 

The sole reason Peter didn’t ever see what he did was wrong. Steve’s rule was still deeply embedded in his mind so according to Peter, as long as he doesn’t talk to any strangers, he can do anything he wants. 

Tony and Pepper tried so hard with Karen to get him to get out of that mindset but nothing seemed to work. 

“It doesn’t matter. You still left and that scared me. You guys cannot leave this hotel room without either mom or me knowing. Do you know why?” 

Peter blinked at Tony, either genuinely not knowing or not caring, Tony didn’t know. 

“Because it’s important your mom and I know where you are at all times. Plus you guys are too young to be at the pool unsupervised and you’re not a good swimmer.” 

“I am a good swimmer. Don’t say I’m not.”

“Peter.” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, losing his patience. “That’s not the point.” He took a breath. “The point is, you broke a rule and I’m not happy about it. Tell me why that was dangerous.” 

Laying on his stomach, Peter started sliding off the large bed. “Cause… just because.” 

“No. Stop trying to leave. Tell me why it was dangerous.” 

“Cause we left without you.” 

“I know. But why does that make it dangerous, Peter?” 

Peter stood up, looking eager to be done with this conversation that he didn’t care about one bit. He learned nothing from getting kidnapped twice. Tony assumed Peter thought that as long as Steve and Bucky were gone, he was safe. When in reality there were other evil people in this world who prayed on young, trusting children. And that’s what Tony was afraid of. 

“Cause we didn’t tell you.” 

Tony lost all patience but he was also worried about the fact that Peter didn’t know what he was getting at. “Because there’s bad people in this world so you need to be careful who you trust. Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

“Okay. Let’s go order room service so we can go swimming together this time.” He took his hand, only for Peter to pull away so he could run down the stairs in search of his sister. 

“Morgan! I’m awake I’m awake.” 

“Finally. You shouldn’t be taking naps anymore.” She put her juice box down. “Mom says dads taking us swimming after lunch.” 

“I already ordered food, Tony. It’ll be here in ten minutes, do you need help getting them ready or can I leave now?” Pepper planned on picking up something on the way, she wanted some alone time but always felt bad leaving the wild kids with Tony and no help. 

“I’m fine. You can go, after we eat, we’ll get ready and head down to the pool.” All Tony really had to do was make sure Peter eats, pees then get him into his bathing suit. 

And as it turned out, it was a lot harder than Tony counted for. 

When the food arrived, Peter accidentally dropped the jug of milk they brought up, cracking open the bottom and spilling 2 liters of milk all over the floor which he essentially sat in and cried over, creating an even bigger mess. 

It was frustrating and overwhelming considering that Pepper had just left. Tony refused to call her and ask for help. 

He covered the milk with some towels, making a mental note to call room service while they were gone to clean it up. 

Morgan was trying to help him but she was making it worse, smearing the milk around. 

“I have milk in my diaper.” 

“Morgan, stop. I’ll do it.” 

“I have milk in my diaper.” 

“But I want to do it.” Morgan tried, causing Tony to bite his tongue so he didn’t yell. 

“Daddy!” 

“Yes, Peter, I heard you. I’ll change you after lunch.” He left the milk towels sitting there. “Screw it. Morgan, sit and eat. Please. And Peter, stop using your fingers and use a fork.” 

“And this is why I don’t want kids.” Harley admitted, trying to move his chair away from his brother who was whipping a spoon full of yogurt around. 

“Peter! Stop. It’s going everywhere.” Tony yanked the spoon from his hands. “And Harley, don’t say that. Having kids is the best thing you’ll ever do. Imagine how bored your mom and I would be without you guys.” 

“Yeah but you could be relaxing at the pool right now instead of cleaning milk off the floor and getting yogurt in your hair.” 

Tony ran his hand through his hair, in fact finding yogurt there. Great. But not surprising. He pulled up a seat next to Peter, handing him the spoon back. “Don’t swing it around this time. And Harley, don’t not want kids because your brother is insane,” He poked Peter’s belly so he knew he wasn’t entirely being serious. “being a dad is the best decision I could’ve ever made.” 

He knew Harley saw a lot, he was old enough to remember his parents crying randomly throughout the day, not knowing how to comfort them because he wasn’t enough to take their pain away. 

Peter lifted up the spoon, dropping a clump of yogurt onto the floor, both him and Morgan laughing when Aiser started licking it up. “Okay, guys, stop. Do I have to separate you two?” 

“No. I’m behaving.” 

“You’re being silly. Eat your food.” Tony cut his grilled cheese into smaller, finger sized pieces. Peter licked his spoon, throwing it across the table at Morgan. “Okay. You’re sitting by yourself.” 

Without any room for argument, Tony grabbed his arm, lifting him off the chair and dragging him to the corner with his food. As expected, the waterworks started but Tony didn’t let that work. “You are being too silly. You need to calm down and eat because we’re not going swimming with you acting this way.” 

Being separated from the fun was Peter’s biggest fear and probably a trauma trigger for him. So it was incredibly difficult to navigate. 

“I didn’t.” He sobbed, tears pouring down his face. The fact that this truly upset him, upset Tony. He was so emotional and so easy to upset. He could go from 0 to 100 in a split second. Like now. 

“Are you going to behave if I put you back at the table?” 

“Yeah.” He tried to stop crying now, rubbing his wet eyes. Once his dad dragged his chair back over to the table with his siblings, he sat down, feeling himself start to calm down. 

Tony felt bad but he couldn’t not discipline Peter just because he felt bad or fell for the puppy dog eyes. He wasn’t going to be one of those parents with a child that ran wild. Sure, his kids were pretty crazy but they were respectful at least. 

He wanted to look back on his life when he was 90 years old and know that he raised three beautiful and kind children. That was the most important thing for him when raising human beings. It was hard work but all so worth it. 

Also doing this whole parenting thing alone was hard work and Tony had no idea how single parents did it. He knew he could handle it because Pepper was coming back after grocery shopping. There was an end time to look forward to. 

After lunch, grilled cheese, pasta and chicken, plus a fruit platter, Tony told everyone to go change into their bathing suits and to wait for him at the door. 

“Wait for me.” Tony instructed Peter. Harley went to his hotel room but Tony needed Peter to wait for him, he couldn’t trust him without any supervision right now. 

“I’ll help him, dad. Let’s go, Petey.” 

“Morgan. No. You go put your bathing suit on, I’m taking him.” Tony left the table a mess, he’d leave an extra big tip. “Peter, let’s go up.” 

“Yeah. I don’t need help from her.” He pulled his hand out of his dad's grip so he could crawl up the stairs in front of him, running straight into the bedroom at the top. “Dad?” 

“Hmm?” Where did he end up hanging Peter’s bathing suit anyways? They only had one, not planning to stay here for longer than a week. 

“When-when-when is the baby dog done at the vet?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“The other dog from the backyard.” 

Tony found his bathing suit hanging up in the shower, snatching it down. “The dog from the backyard is someone’s puppy, buddy. They will find his owners there.” 

“But… I love him.” 

“You don’t even know him, Pete. You don’t love him.” 

“I do too love him!” 

Oh. 

“Baby. He’s someone else’s dog. Wouldn’t you be so sad if someone took Aiser from us?” 

“Obviously. But I want that dog too. He loves me too, dad. I want him.” 

“He’s someone’s dog, Peter. Now do you want to go swimming?” 

“Yes. And I want the dog.” 

“What do you want to do when we get to the pool?” Tony asked to try and distract him as he helped him to get his cold and damp bathing suit on. Good thing Peter wasn’t too picky about this kind of stuff. 

To Tony’s relief, Peter took the bait. “I want to jump in.” Then he started going on a ramble about the last time they came to a hotel and what they did. He brought up things Tony didn’t even remember until now, he loved to reminisce like this. 

Peter’s memory wasn’t that great. It probably had something to do with the trauma. Who was he kidding, it definitely did. It was the brain's way of protecting itself by dissociating from the memories. 

Whereas Tony remembered every single second of every minute from all his trauma. He remembered the pain he physically felt and if he thought about it hard enough, he could still feel it. 

But he tried to live in the moment now. 

Because sitting right in front of him was Peter which would’ve been all he wanted four years ago. 

And he got to experience this life with him.  

Even if that meant stopping him from pressing every single elevator button. He managed to get all the kids out of the hotel and made sure they were ready for swimming, while remembering to bring a bag with some things they might need. He was pretty good at being responsible that way, always being on top of everything when it came to his kids. 

But that just meant he forgot to take a sip of water all morning, even while he was eating, he was more focused on getting Peter to eat. He reached into the bag, reaching inside for a water bottle. 

“Don’t press the second floor. The pool is in the lobby.” Morgan grabbed Peter’s hands away, causing him to scream. 

“Peter! No screaming.” Where the fuck was a water bottle? 

“You guys should remember, weren’t you just at the pool?” Harley chuckled, knowing their dad practically had a complete meltdown over the matter. He earned himself an unimpressed look from Tony. He couldn’t imagine Peter when he’s 20, the poor boy won’t be able to do anything without their dad right there. 

Oh well. 

Finally, Tony managed to find the water bottle, unscrewing the lid with one hand. The elevator opened up on the second floor, and in walked an older man dressed in a suit. 

Peter stared up at him, making Tony feel the need to apologize for the excessive starring. Why did kids always feel the need to stare? 

When the stranger looked at Peter staring, he smiled. “Going swimming?” 

Taking a step towards Tony, Peter glanced down at the shark hooded towel he was wearing like it was obvious they were going swimming. Tony chuckled. He knew Peter would’ve said something like ‘duh what do you think dressed like this’ but he wouldn’t dare talk to a stranger. 

When the elevator doors opened, the man smiled at Peter. “Have fun.” 

“Thanks.” Tony replied, knowing no one else would respond. “Let’s go, guys.” 

“I’ll lead the way!” 

“I want to hold your hand.” Peter tried taking his father’s hand, walking beside him. Tony always felt like the king of the world when Peter held his hand. He would never get over this feeling. 

Since they already changed in the hotel room, Tony didn’t have to worry about struggling with them in the changeroom. That’s why he hated public swimming. 

“Last one in the water is it!” Ripping off her towel, Morgan ran in, making a big splash but no one ran in after. “Hurry! I want to play water tag.” 

“I don’t want to play water tag.” Peter walked to the stairs once Tony took off his towel. He walked onto the first step and sat down. He missed his mom. “When’s mommy coming back?” 

“She’ll be back in about an hour.” Tony called over to him, sensing he was having some separation anxiety over missing her right now. Tony felt a tad jealous. Usually he was the one Peter wanted but sometimes a boy just needed his mom. 

“Want to play house?” Morgan popped her head above the water in front of him, tugging his foot. 

“Nooo! Don’t!” 

“Play house with me. I’ll be the mom, you be the baby.” 

“I don’t want to play house.” He grumbled. He had no idea why he was feeling so moody suddenly. He missed his mom and wanted to swim with her. Not play house or water tag. 

Walking into the water, Tony patted the top of his curly boy's head, walking past him until he was standing waist deep. “Come with me.” 

“No. I want mom.” 

“Well moms not here.” 

“Excuse me, cutie.” 

Both Tony and Peter glanced up at the two older women walking into the pool, but Peter was blocking the entire step. 

“Move, bud.” 

“Oh, that’s okay. You guys getting some daily swimming in?” The first one asked, stepping around Peter once he stood up to move out of the way. 

“Yeah, exactly.” Well they weren’t playing soccer now were they. Tony just forced a smile. He was used to people talking to him in public when Peter was with him, he gained the attention of a lot of older women. 

“Oh, I just love your bathing suit. Where did you get it?” 

“My closet.” 

Tony facepalmed at his serious answer while both of the ladies laughed, completely caught off guard. She reached over to pat his head, then walked into the water. 

Never knowing how to handle situations like that, Tony was left speechless. Why did people feel it was okay to always touch Peter? It wasn’t the first time. It’s like when people see someone’s baby and touch their foot, why are you even touching another persons child? Tony never understood that. 

He held his arms out, carrying Peter in his arms so they could join Morgan and Harley in the deep end. 

“Okay, so we’re going to play water tag, Peter’s it, we all have to run.” 

“I don’t want to be it.” He slapped the water. 

“Then Harley can be it.” 

“No! I don’t want to play any game.” Peter just wanted his mom, plus he was suddenly feeling tired and didn’t want to swim anymore. 

Tony sensed his son's growing irritable mood. The last thing he wanted was to set him off. Maybe swimming wasn’t a good idea right now. He was so out of his element, their house was under construction and all his toys and comfort items were still at home, Aiser wasn’t even allowed in the pool and Tony knew Peter was missing that puppy.  

He decided to take him out of the pool, wrap him in a towel and sit on the pool chair with him, watching Harley and Morgan swim together. It seemed those two had a closer relationship these days. Tony hoped Peter wasn’t feeling left out at all. 

Peter and Morgan seemed to be at that phase where they got up to mischief together. It gave Tony a run for his money. He was always torn between wanting to keep them in his sight but knowing they needed privacy to play too. 

Peter just didn’t understand there were some things that were unacceptable behaviour and Morgan always encouraged that or joined in. 

Either way, Tony always had to take a step back and appreciate his life now. It was perfect. As perfect as it could be. 

He sat on the pool chair, pulling Peter so he was lying on his chest, chewing on the corner of the towel. Tony reached up to tell him not to but decided it was fine. It wasn’t harming anyone. “Are you still tired? You already had a long nap.” 

Sighing heavily against Tony, Peter whined. “Not long enough. When’s bedtime?” 

“Bedtime? It’s only like 1pm, bud.” 

“I want mommy.” 

“Okay. She should be back soon. I’ll text her to come hang out with us.” Tony saw Morgan running along the deck. “Morgan! No running.” 

“But-” 

“No buts. I don’t need to be taking any trips to the hospital today.” 

Now Peter was sitting up to see what his sister was up to. “Don’t run.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” 

“Guys. Stop.” This was why Tony felt he couldn’t take them out in public by himself at times. They just didn’t seem to care they were in public, embarrassment wasn’t a factor here. Tony didn’t think Peter’s ever been embarrassed one day in his life. 

“Peter? Can you play family with me?” 

“No.” 

“But why? You always play with me. Why not now.” She did a flip underwater, appearing on the surface again. “You can pick who you want to be.” 

That still didn’t interest Peter. He was needing some comfort from his mom. “No. I don’t want to.” 

“Morgan, maybe another time.” Tony planned on this swimming time to be fun but Peter just wasn’t having it and Tony understood. Staying in a hotel while their house was under construction wasn’t ideal. Truth is, Tony would much rather go to an Airbnb for a week, so they could have their own space, but it’s already been two days and it was so easy to call up room service. They could make it a few more days. 

While Tony waited for Pepper to arrive, he just sat in silence with Peter for a bit, not being able to help himself and occasionally running his fingers through his wet curls. Tony couldn’t really look at pictures from ages 4 to 9 of him without feeling emotional and not really being able to handle it. He did know though that he still had the same characteristics he did when he was three, like that one part of his hair that never parted and always stayed so curly. If Tony tried really hard, he could still see that three year old that was taken from him. Fuck. He should really go see his therapist. He just couldn’t seem to let that go and his fear of Peter growing up was clearly due to the fact that he felt like he was missing out on even more of his childhood. 

Why was this so hard? 

Pepper never struggled like he did, she was strong. She stayed to raise his kids while he ran away, unable to get out of bed most days. 

God, did this tiny human sitting in front of him ever destroy him. 

He used to wonder if life would have been easier simply never knowing Peter. If he was never born, Tony wouldn’t have to experience such hurt. But the truth was, missing him for the price of knowing him for even three short years was enough. Even if that meant Tony had to grieve him for longer than he knew him, it was worth it to have the privilege to love such a beautiful boy. 

Tony will forever thank the gods that brought Peter back to him. 

“Hi honey.” 

Both Tony and Peter turned their heads to see Pepper. She wasn’t dressed in her bathing suit like Tony suggested to her so she could couch Peter back into the pool. 

“Mommy. You came back for me.” 

“Of course I did, baby. Why wouldn’t I?” She held her arms out for her son, squeezing him tightly. “Did you have fun?” 

“Yeah… but I don’t wanna swim.” 

“That’s okay. Do you want to go back up?” She sat on the pool chair, kissing his forehead and wiping the wet curls off his face. 

“With you?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Yeah. Let’s go. Bye, daddy.” 

“Oh. You’re taking him?” Tony didn’t expect this. He wouldn’t have texted Pepper otherwise. But Peter wanted his mom, he sighed, feeling the separation anxiety start now. 

“Yeah, I’m going to take him up, get him changed and just hang out. You guys have fun. See you later.” 

“Can you carry me?” Peter asked, standing on the pool chair and going into her arms. 

Although she could still pick him up, she couldn’t exactly carry him like his father did and likely would if he was taking him up. “You can walk. What happened to your legs?” 

“They broke.” 

“No. Don’t be silly. Put your shoes on.” Bending down, Pepper helped him put them on, taking his hand after. “Say bye to everyone.” 

“Bye daddy.” Hugging him, Peter kissed his cheek. “See you guys later. I’m going upstairs now. Bye everyone.” 

“Have fun. See you later, baby.” Now the anxiety kicked in. Tony had to keep something in mind; Peter was safe, he was alive and he was just upstairs in the hotel room with his mom. Everything was okay. Even if he wished he could’ve been the one to take him upstairs. 

“What did you buy at Costco?” He asked, skipping alongside his mom. 

“Well, I bought some snacks, milk and just a few extra things.” 

He liked the sounds of that. He would dig into the snacks once they got back up. “Did you buy cookies?” Once they walked into the elevator, he made sure he was the one to scan the card and press the button for their floor. “I wanted to do it before Morgan could.” 

“She’s not even here.” Chuckled Pepper. The hotel button pressing was a constant battle between the two. “What did you guys do while I was gone?” 

“Ummm… we… I forgot. Did you buy cookies?” 

This boy and his sweet treats. “I did. But you can’t eat them all. You’ll get a tummy ache.” 

Unlocking the door, Aiser ran up to them, licking the pool water off Peter’s legs. He dropped his towel, rushing over to find the Costco bags and looking inside. He dug around, finding a bag of chocolate which he held up to his mom. “Can I open these? Please and thank you?” 

“You can but only one. That’s too much sugar.” Pepper picked up his thrown towel on the floor. “Let’s go get you changed into cozy clothes and out of that wet bathing suit. You didn’t feel like swimming, honey?” 

“No cause I missed you.” He made sure to give her a hug, standing on his tippy toes to kiss her. 

Pepper needed more one-on-one time with Peter, Tony always took his attention and although Peter mainly preferred the comfort of his father, it was nice to be needed by him occasionally. “Aww I missed you too, honey. Let’s go get you changed and we can eat cookies on the couch together.” 

“I-I-I want to wear the um… the um, the other pyjamas.” 

“Pyjamas? It’s still so early.” Pepper thought they could go down for dinner tonight as a family. Peter could always wear his pyjamas or just get changed later who why not? “If you say so. Let’s go.” 

Peter tugged off his wet and now cold bathing suit, tossing it on the floor so he could go run his hands under warm water in the bathroom. “I didn’t get to go in the hot tub.” He suddenly remembered, shrugging. “It’s okay. Cause we can go a different time. Cause I’m not in the mood to swim right now.” 

“That’s okay, we can always go tomorrow morning. We don’t have much planned right now.” Since Peter was doing pretty well with the pacifier weaning, after they move back home, he would have a session with Karen and then back to school for everyone. 

Harley was thinking of going back to in person classes pretty soon which meant he wouldn’t be living at home again anymore. So that was another thing they had to help Peter through. But he usually tried not to have classes on Fridays or Mondays so he could spend an extra day at home on the weekends. 

Hopefully it would work out like that this time around too. 

Peter walked past his mom, with the intention to eat some more chocolate and find the cookies but Pepper called him back over, holding pyjamas for him. “Forgetting something.” 

“Oh yeah. Help me.” 

“No. Show me how you get dressed yourself.” She wasn’t going to give in like Tony. Peter needed to learn he wasn’t going to get help all the time. He was starting school again after taking a bit of a leave of absence and mornings were chaotic enough without having to get him dressed. 

He sat on the floor, attempting to put his feet through the pant legs. “I can’t.” 

“You’re doing it, it’s easier if you stand up, common.” 

“Okay.” Without any fuss, he got his pyjamas on by himself, feeling proud of himself. He was pretty good at that. He couldn’t deny it. Maybe he should do it more often. “Now cookies.” 

.

.

.

Pepper loved spending that time with Peter. It was so needed. Although of course the minute Tony walked through the door, Peter was off the couch and running to greet him. 

“Daddy! I missed you.” 

“Hi. I missed you too. What have you been up to?” 

Peter shoved a cookie in his mouth. “Eating cookies.” 

“Wow. Didn’t expect that.” It was good but already had a slobbery bite taken out of it. Nothing grossed Tony out at this point. Could be worse. “Thanks.” 

“You like it?” 

“Yep.” He set him back on his feet so he could go change. “What do you guys think of ordering up some food and watching a movie?” 

“Yeahhh! I want grilled cheese.” 

“Sweet. I’m craving a spicy chicken burger.” 

Tony looked at Peter for his suggestion but he was too busy stuffing his face with another cookie. “Perfect. Decide and I’ll be back.” 

While he was changing in the bathroom, there was a knock on the door then Pepper walked in, smiling unsurely. Tony grew a bit suspicious. “What’s up?” He laughed nervously. 

“The vet called.” 

“Oh.” 

“They couldn’t find an owner for the puppy. He has no home, Tony. He’s a four month old Doberman. They’ve given him vaccinations. He’s been given a clean bill of health.” 

Tony leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “What are you saying?” He had a feeling he knew where this was going. 

“Well… what do you think about adopting him? I mean… I know we’ve already got a lot on our plate but Aiser could use a new friend and Peter bonded so well with him already.” 

Tony noticed that. 

Peter was an animal lover and would essentially love any animal that walked through the door but this dog could be so good for their family. “I… I’m not against the idea… but… are you really sure we can take this on? With everything.” 

“I do. It’ll be amazing. Christmas is in a month and a half anyways, it’ll be such a beautiful new addition to our little family.” 

Oh man. 

Don’t didn’t think he’d actually be agreeing to adopting a puppy with all that they were working on with Peter and everything but he felt like there was only one right answer here.