Night Accident
The clock hits four o´clock when Tony wakes up, and it only takes him a second to know why has he. Since Peter was born, he has developed some type of paternal-sense that allows him to be awake and ready whenever his kids needs him. And judging by the soft light that comes from the hallway and the small, padded feet that moves through the penthouse, tonight it’s one of those times.
It's not unusual for Peter to wake up in the middle of the night. First, it was the separation anxiety because the baby didn’t want to sleep in another room. Then, Tony flew to Afghanistan and didn’t come back, which led to the nightmares. Obadiah followed those – Peter waking up in the middle of the night by his uncle Obie, who took him as leverage as he left Tony dying.
All of those times the light in the hallway has been accompanied either by a knock on the door or a soft touch in the shoulder, if it took Tony longer to wake up. Tonight, though, neither of those things happen, as Tony waits lying in bed for his son to come through the doors. Peter doesn’t come, so he gets up and opens them himself.
He finds Peter by his bed, desperately trying to take his sheets off the bed, which ends up being quite the sight. Not tall or big enough for his age, the five-year-old is just pulling from the edge of the blue sheet while it’s stuck on the corner of the bed. When Peter sees Tony, he bursts out crying, and the man knows just fine what the problem is.
“Pete” he says as gently as possible, kneeling in front of the kid. He has done a great job so far, getting rid of his pajamas and underwear and getting clean clothes. “Hey, don’t cry. It’s alright. Everything is fine. Come here”
“No!” Peter jerks away from his dad. “ ‘m gross! ‘m gross and – and a baby!”
“No, no. You’re not gross. Peter, don’t cry. It’s fine” Tony coaxes him into a hug, and Peter relaxes into his father’s arms. “Everybody has accidents, alright? You can’t control them, so it’s not your fault”
“But it was Cap pajamas, daddy” Peter keeps crying, hugging Tony’s neck tight. “I don’ – I went to the bathroom and peed! And – and I didn’ even wanna pee!”
“See? You did everything you could and that’s enough.”
“No, it’s not. I wet the bed again! I peed!”
“Shh, baby. Please don’t cry. It’s okay”
Peter doesn’t say anything else, just hugs his father close and lets him handle the rest. While the kid calms down, Tony finishes taking off the dirty sheets and changes them, all while letting Peter stay in his arms.
It’s not the first time it happens, and thankfully, it’s less frequent than before. His doctor says it’s normal for a kid like Peter, whose trauma in the past years has left a print that will last for a while. And the kid knows it’s something he should stop doing already, so Tony is not about to tell him that. Instead, he lets his son hug him while he cleans everything and fixes the room so that it’s ready for sleep once more.
But, instead of lying Peter back in the bed, he walks with him towards his room, and instantly notices Peter relaxing in his arms. He feels the small puff of air against his neck, the wetness around his t-shirt, and he doesn’t care. They lay down on the king-size bed, in the right side, with peter becoming an extension of Peter’s body.
“I’m sorry, daddy. I didn’ mean to” Peter whispers softly, once the lights are out. “I was tryin’ to clean everything ‘fore you came”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed about an accident, okay? And you can always come to me when you need me. No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you always” Tony explains, although Peter is no longer listening.
He smiles and lets the soft breathing of his son lull him to sleep, right when the clock hits four-thirty.