On our way home
Neither of them could sleep.
Tony laid awake at night, wondering what the next day had in store for them. He wanted it to work out but he felt like he couldn’t truly get his hopes up until they were on the submarine and it was actually happening.
Peter let out a loud sigh. “Will Pepper still remember us, daddy? We’ve been gone for sooo long.”
“I know she’ll remember us. As soon as we get home, she’ll be waiting to hug us so tightly.” Tony played with Peter’s hair as he spoke.
“What-what if they don’t let you leave tomorrow? I wanna stay if you can’t go.” Peter pushed himself up to look at Tony, wanting so badly to not be separated from his father again.
Tony caressed Peter’s cheek. “I promise you we’ll stay together.” He just hoped Ben kept his end of the deal up.
Peter sighed again and laid his head on Tony’s sturdy chest. “What if we want to come back here?”
“Why would we want to ever come back?” Asked Tony, a bit alarmed by the question. He knew why Peter was asking it though, when they got back… if they got back home, it was going to take both of them quite a while to get back into a routine and adjust to reality.
Peter shrugged against him. “Don’t know. Just thinking out loud, I guess.”
Tony pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Try to get some sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.”
.
.
.
As it seemed, Ben was true to his word.
Tony couldn’t sleep, he barely got three hours of sleep and so he was up before the sun even came up. He got dressed and woke Peter up, laying out an outfit on the bed for him to change into.
“Wake up, Peter. It’s time to go home.”
Peter whined and rolled onto his back. “Mm. Tired.”
“I know. But we have to go. It’s time.”
Peter kicked the blankets off of him and lazily got dressed while not moving to get off the bed. He rubbed at his eyes and went to go pee but there was a knock at the door.
Tony felt his heart speed up a bit, thinking that maybe it was Ben telling them that the plans had changed. He walked towards the door, finding Steve standing there. “Steve, come in.”
“Hi Tony. So, today’s the day, huh?” He said, a sad tone to his voice.
Tony still couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, today’s the day. Thank you for everything you did for us. Are you gonna go back to your camp after we leave?”
Steve waved his hand over to brush Tony off. “No. I think we’re gonna stay here for a bit. I’ve got some business to take care of.”
Tony held his hand out for the man. “Thank you.”
Peter came running down the hallway and threw himself into Steve’s arms so Steve lifted him up. “I’ll miss you, Peter. You’re such a smart, brave and fearless boy. Take care of your father.”
Peter grinned and wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck. “I’ll miss you too. I will.”
“We gotta get going to the submarine, bud.” Tony rubbed Peter’s back, extremely anxious to leave. He looked around the house where they spent the last two months, feeling nothing but relief and accomplishment at leaving it.
Steve placed Peter on the floor so Peter grabbed his dad's hand, waving bye to Steve one last time. Tony and him walked out of the house and towards the submarine, the last time they would ever be doing that. It was a funny feeling.
Almost sad in a sense.
They spent close to half a year on the island and after everything, they were finally going home. Finally.
They had no belongings, only leaving with the clothes on their back.
Once they arrived at the dock, Tony looked at the end of it and spotted the submarine. “Have a safe trip home.” Said Ben. Tony turned to look at him.
“Thank you.” He never wanted to see that man again.
Ben looked down at Peter. “It was a pleasure having you here with us, Peter. Even if our time was so short.”
Peter smiled. “Okay. Bye, Ben.” He then spotted May and walked over to hug her goodbye. “I’ll miss you. Why aren’t you coming?”
“Well, because the island is my home now.” She explained. “I’ll miss you too but it’s your time to go.”
Peter smiled and raced back to his dad’s side so they could walk down the dock towards the submarine. Tony felt like they won, they did win. He was finally, finally getting Peter off this island and now they could go home.
“Watch your step,” Said one of the men, holding his hand out for Peter to climb down the ladder of the sub. Peter held onto Tony.
“No. I don’t wanna leave you.” He whimpered.
“Peter, you’re not leaving me. I’m coming in right after you.” He reassured him, knowing what Peter must be thinking of last time. He pressed a kiss to his head then lifted him off the dock and onto the sub. “Climb down. I’m right behind you.”
He waited until Peter was in and then stepped onto the sub, looking back at the island one last time. He nodded at Ben and then climbed down. “Good riddance.” He quietly said to himself.
Peter was waiting at the bottom for his dad to climb down. He immediately grabbed onto his hand and stayed close, a bit scared at being inside the submarine.
“We’re going to submerge in five minutes. Please take a seat and put the seatbelts on, right this way.” One of the men led them over to a row of seats in the back and gestured for them to sit. “It’ll be a bit bumpy as we submerge but after that, it’ll be smooth sailing. Get comfortable, we’ve got a long ride ahead of us.”
Tony got Peter buckled in and then himself. To say he was a little scared was an understatement. He always tried not to show when he was scared for Peter but he had no idea if this was even safe or if it was somehow some kind of trap.
He grabbed onto Peter’s hand. “We’re going home, Petey.”
Peter nodded against him. “Yeah.”
The trip was long and bumpy.
Tony had no idea where the island was, apparently neither did the rest of the world but they seemed to be in the submarine for a lot longer than Tony would have originally assumed. He also didn’t know why they were going to Tahiti since they took off from New York and were headed to Malibu.
Every time he tried to ask the captain, he shut him down almost instantly so Tony stopped asking.
Peter had fallen asleep on him a few hours ago so Tony was trying not to move even though his arm was numb. One of the men walked into the back room they were in, “Mr. Stark, we’re going to make our descent now. It’ll get a little bumpy again. Make sure you’re both strapped in.”
Tony sat up straighter. He tried not to overreact but they were actually going home and even though they still had to get on a plane, he couldn’t believe it was happening. He waited so long.
As mentioned before, the ride got even more bumpy than when they first went into the water. Peter woke up, confused so Tony explained to him what was happening.
Twenty minutes later, they were arriving and all the motion stopped. Tony took off his and Peter’s seatbelts and stood up, finding it hard to walk for a few moments. He took a hold of Peter’s hand and walked towards the ladder.
The top was being opened and the sunlight came in, causing Tony to squint at it. He looked up and saw a bright light then the sky, immediately wanting to see where they were. “Go up, Pete.” Said Tony, picking Peter up and placing him on the ladder so he climbed up.
Tony climbed up after him, feeling a bit disoriented as he found his balance and looked around the new but discovered island they were on. He helped Peter onto the dock, still trying to process everything. “Are we… is this Tahiti?”
A group of men in uniform walked over to them. “Mr. Stark, we are here to bring you and your son home. As soon as we get you on a plane, we will get in contact with your family and they will be at the airport waiting for you in New York.”
Peter bounced on his toes, staying close to his dad. “Are we gonna see Pepper, daddy?”
Tony pulled Peter closer to himself. “Yeah, yeah. We are, baby.” He grabbed onto Peter’s hand, still finding it hard to believe that they were going home. Just a few hours ago, they were still on the island and now, they were going home.
He followed the men to a car that took them to an airport where they boarded a Hercules airplane. It was all so surreal for them. Tony spent the last close to six months trying to get off the island and now they were off and on their way home to Pepper.
Peter leaned his head on his dad’s shoulder. “Is this real? Are we actually going home? Maybe-maybe we're dreaming. Maybe we’re gonna wake up tomorrow and it’ll all be just a dream.”
Tony pinched Peter’s arm. “Ow. Hey.”
“See? You felt that. We aren’t dreaming, buddy. We’re going home and then we’ll drive everywhere for now on. No more planes after this.”
Peter shrugged. “I kinda like planes. They get us to where we need to be.”
Tony didn’t see it that way but he supposed that’s what made Peter so innocent, he always saw the bright sides to things. Tony was glad that even after months on the island, Peter never lost his innocence.
It was a long but somewhat peaceful plane ride. Tony kept waiting until someone told them they were landing. He eagerly waited to be put on the ground, hoping Pepper was there so they could all be reunited again.
He looked down at Peter and pulled him closer. “I’m so proud of you. You were so brave on that island, Peter. You’re such a brave little boy.”
Peter grinned up at him. He liked the praise. “Thanks. But actually I’m not little. I’m big, remember? I’m nine now.”
“How could I forget.” He pressed a kiss to Peter’s head then looked at the woman peeking her head in.
“Mr.Stark, we're landing now. Your family has been notified and is waiting for you guys on the ground.” She told them. “There are reporters but you don’t have to talk to them.”
Tony looked up. This was actually happening.
The plane landed on the runway, making it so much more real. It didn’t take long before the doors were opening and Tony was taking off his and Peter’s seatbelts to stand up.
Peter grabbed onto his hand but as soon as he spotted Pepper waiting for them with red blotchy eyes and tears streaming down her face, Peter made a dash out of the plane for her. “Pepper! Pepper!”
Pepper kneeled down to pull Peter into her arms. “Oh, Peter. Baby. I missed you. Oh my god.” She picked him up, squeezing him tightly.
Tony walked out of the plane, still trying to believe that this was actually happening. Once his eyes made contact with Pepper’s, he pulled her into his arms, squeezing Peter between them. “Pepper, oh my god. I can’t believe… I can’t believe it’s you.”
He pulled away to hold her face in his hands.
She nodded, trying to speak but no words were coming out. “It’s me. It’s me. And it’s you.”
Peter popped his head up between them. “And it’s me!”
Pepper kissed Peter then set him on his feet so she and Tony could have a proper hug. He held her as if his life depended on it. “I thought… I thought we weren’t gonna see you again.”
“And I thought you were dead. Then-then you called me but then I never heard from you again so I thought you were dead again and-”
“Shh. I’m here. We’re here. We’re okay.”
Peter tugged on Tony’s shirt. “Pick me up too, daddy.” Tony didn’t hesitate to lift Peter up and set him on his hip so he could be a part of the hug as well.
He pulled away to press a kiss to Pepper’s lips, missing her taste and just missing her.
“Eww. Yuckie.” Peter cringed.
“Welcome home, Boss.” Said Happy, appearing at their side and patting Tony on his back.
“Happy!” Peter leaned over to hug the man which Happy immediately accepted. It was rare for Happy to take hugs from Peter since he didn’t particularly like kids but he hugged Peter back this time.
“Hey, kid. You look bigger.”
Peter grinned and shyly hid his head on his dad’s shoulder. “I’m nine now, Happy.”
“I know. Looks like we got a birthday to celebrate.”
Tony patted Happy back. “Nice to see you, Hap. Miss me?”
“Not really.” Happy teased but gave Tony a look that told Tony exactly the opposite.
He meant to put Peter back onto his feet but he found he couldn’t. Peter stayed in his arms even after they got into the car. He didn’t worry about putting him in his car seat since it didn’t even cross his mind, everything felt so surreal to them.
They were back home, Tony was aware of that but it didn’t truly feel like they were home… It felt like a crazy overheat induced dream that he was going to wake up from and be back on that island.
Of course he didn’t expect to come home and immediately feel like they were back, he knew it would take some time.
Peter looked out the window and shifted on his dad’s lap to look at Pepper who was staring at him. “Why are you looking at me?”
She smiled. “You’ve got a tan. And I really missed you.” She held her arms out for him so Peter wiggled out of his dad’s arms to climb onto her lap and bury his face into her chest. He missed her a lot.
“You smell really good.” He admitted, taking another whiff of her.
Pepper laughed. “So do you. You smell like… ocean water.”
Peter pulled away. “I always smell like that now since I live on the island.”
“You lived.” Tony corrected. He didn’t like that, he wanted to get back to normal and forget that place. He was going to need some kind of therapy now, he went through so much stress, worrying about Peter all the time.
Peter nodded. “Yeah. That’s past tense, daddy. I know that. And now we’re home and I can see all my toys and sleep in my own bed too.”
Tony waited anxiously until they pulled up to the tower then he was getting out of the car and holding his hand out for Peter to hold. He went to walk into the elevator but it was weird to him, nothing felt real.
Peter ran inside the elevator and excitedly jumped up and down. “Come, daddy! I wanna go up!”
They got in the elevator and went up. Tony’s ears popped so he shook his head at the uncomfortableness then the doors were opening up.
It didn’t feel like five months had passed. It felt like a lot longer yet it felt like no time had passed at all. Tony walked out and looked around. Peter’s box of toys were still on the floor, his favourite blanket and teddy bears were on the couch as if they were presumed dead for the past almost six months.
Peter kneeled down to dump his toy box. “Come play with me, daddy.”
Tony snapped out of it. He looked at Pepper briefly. “No, I want you to shower first. Let’s go up.” He grabbed onto Peter’s hand and tugged him upstairs.
Peter didn’t want to go but he went anyways. “Okay, daddy. Then after can we play? I missed my toys.”
Pepper followed them up. She wanted to know everything but she wasn’t about to ask about their time away now, it wasn’t the time. “I didn’t wash your clothes. I was scared that…”
She trailed off but Tony understood. He turned the shower on while Peter got undressed. “It’s fine. I’ll wash it later.”
Peter turned to look at his dad and hesitated. “But daddy, I don’t need help no more. I can shower on my own.” He insisted. “I’m nine.” He bathed by himself before they crashed on the island, his dad or Pepper only watched to make sure he was okay and to help wash his hair but otherwise he did everything on his own.
Then they went to the island so his dad helped him take his baths in the ocean. Mostly just to rinse off.
Tony stepped back. “Oh yeah. How could I forget my baby is nine now.” He joked, playfully flicking Peter’s arm.
“Ow. You’re silly.” Peter giggled and stepped into the shower, letting the water splash over him. He wasn’t used to it though, they had showers on the island in their yellow house but the water pressure sucked so his dad did all the work for him. He sat down on the built in stone shower bench and let the water splash on his feet.
“How long has it been since you guys had a shower, huh?” Asked Pepper, leaning against the glass.
Peter shrugged. “Yesterday. In the yellow house. We have showers but it was really bad water… like nothing a lot. And sometimes it was salty actually.”
Pepper looked at Tony but he was leaving. “Actually I’m gonna start the laundry now. Can you watch him?”
Peter didn’t want his dad to leave but he didn’t say anything. He looked so at his lap. “He’s mad at me.”
“No, he’s not. Why do you think that?”
With a shrug, Peter explained. “Last time, I blew up the first submarine and I was supposed to get in it and go home with Steve. But me and Locke blew it up so we had to stay. Daddy was mad. But he didn’t say he was. But I know he was.”
None of that made any sense to Pepper. “You guys came on a submarine? Who’s Sheve and Locke?”
Peter nodded and pulled his feet up onto the bench. “Yeah, another one though. Then we got on a plane and came home. Uh, Steve lives there. And Locke. They stayed cause that’s where they live.”
Pepper tried to understand but she knew she had to ask Tony about it. “Do you know how long you were gone for?”
Peter shook his head but answered anyways. “A million days!”
“It sure felt like that.” She laughed sadly. “You were gone for five months. Almost six.”
Peter tried to think. “How many days is that?”
“It was 176 days to be exact.” 176 days of complete hell for Pepper. And Tony.
Peter gasped. “Woah! That’s like… forever!”
Pepper helped Peter with his shower and got him dressed into his cozy pyjamas then they went downstairs to find Tony who was nowhere to be found. Peter spotted his dad in the kitchen and ran over to him, seeing that he was dressed in different clothes and his hair was wet. “Did you shower too?”
Tony nodded. “Yep. And I put a load of laundry in.”
Peter climbed onto the counter. “You left me. I was waiting for you. And you just left me.” Tony hesitated. He pressed a quick kiss to Peter’s cheek then grabbed a water and left the room. “Daddy?! Where’re you going?”
“Nowhere. I’m just going to sit on the couch.”
Peter frowned but jumped off the counter and joined his dad, cuddling up against him. “Don’t leave me.”
Tony wrapped an arm around Peter. He felt like he needed a break but he felt guilty for wanting that. He just wanted a little time to himself. He held Peter closer anyways. “Never.”