I’m scared of letting go
Peter woke up feeling like he was ready to take on the day.
He was happy which felt like a really rare thing for him now, to wake up happy without having any of his past traumas weighing him down.
Harley was playing video games in the living room and Peter wondered why he was up so early. He didn’t normally wake up until noon so that confused Peter. He was an early riser just like his dad. Peter was always the first or second one awake, usually waking up before both his parents at times so he went to wake them up.
Even the last two days, he woke up before his parents had to take Morgan to school and now on Saturday he was up early.
Peter sat on the couch next to Harley, holding a pillow against his chest. “Hey. Why’re you up so early?”
Harley was too into the game to look at Peter. “Why are you up so late? It’s 12:30.”
Peter gasped and looked at the clock on the tv screen. It was 12:34pm. He hadn’t slept so long in a very long time. He doesn’t even remember sleeping that late. Ever.
Tony came around and leaned over him, pressing a kiss to his head. “Morning, sleepy head.”
“I didn’t mean to sleep so late.” Peter sat up on his knees, turning to face his dad.
“You were really tired. It’s fine. Wanna eat breakfast here or in the kitchen?” Tony asked, walking back into the kitchen to grab Peter’s plate anyways. His breakfast was eggs, toast and beans with a side bowl of some cut up fruit. Tony knew he wouldn’t eat the beans or some of the fruit but Tony still always tried.
“Uh… here.” Peter leaned over the back of the couch and waited for his dad to bring over his food. He wasn’t that hungry so he’d try to eat as much as he could.
Tony grabbed his coffee mug and sat next to Peter swinging an arm around his shoulders. He watched Harley climb up some hill in the video game and start stacking blocks then he turned to look at Peter who was more focused on the video game than actually eating.
He tapped his arm. “Focus on your food.”
“Oh yeah.” Peter took a bite of his eggs but got distracted again so Tony shook his arm.
“Peter, eat. You can watch Harley play later.” Tony grabbed Peter’s fork, stabbing a sliced banana and holding it up for Peter to grab but instead he leaned down with his mouth open, thinking Tony was trying to feed him. “Uh, no. I’m not feeding you.”
Peter smiled shyly. “Oh.”
“Yeah, hold the fork.” Tony handed it to him, shaking his head fondly.
It took Peter almost twice as long to eat his breakfast, Tony even got him to take two bites of the brown beans by physically feeding it to him, he spit out the third bite but it was enough for Tony.
As he was bringing the plate to the kitchen to wash it, Peter followed him. “Can I have some milk?”
Tony didn’t know why Peter was asking now. He just woke up, it wasn’t even close to bed time yet although he figured it was because Pepper wasn’t here. “I can give you a glass of milk.”
Peter shook his head and went to open the cabinet he knew his bottle was in. Tony shut it before he could. “Can I please?”
“No, you can’t.”
“I know it’s not night time… but like…” Peter looked at his dad, knowing he wasn’t going to give in so he stopped. “Fine. Whatever. Where’s mom and Morgan?”
“They went grocery shopping.” Tony looked down at Peter for his reaction. He knew Peter still struggled with people leaving the house without him and not being included in the fun but they couldn’t include Peter in everything or hide him from it when they did leave.
Peter had to accept it.
“Well… when will they be back?” He asked, grabbing a applesauce pouch from the fridge.
“Soon. Maybe within the hour.”
Peter stood there, drinking his applesauce pouch for a bit then he got an idea and tugged on his dad’s shirt. “Can we go take Asier for a walk? Me and you and Harley? I don’t want mom or Morgan to come.”
Tony had to do some work to do in his office but that could wait. “Yeah, go ask Harley if he wants to come.”
As Tony watched Peter run into the living room, he smiled. The past two days have been pretty good. He expected Peter to be crying all day and refusing to get out of bed and do anything but it hadn’t been like that.
Tony knew it wouldn’t last, he was waiting for everything to come crumbling down around them.
On their walk, Peter held onto Aisers leash and Tony noticed a while ago that Aiser always tugged hard on the leash if it was him or Harley holding it but when it was Peter, Aiser didn’t tug Peter at all, even if he saw a squirrel.
“Stop at the lights up ahead, Peter.” Tony warned.
“No. I’m just gonna walk out in front of the cars.” Peter shot back.
Harley gasped, playfully hitting his dad. “Oh! Little Petey’s got some balls on him!”
Tony rolled his eyes. He walked up to Peter and grabbed his arm. “Watch the attitude, kid.”
He honestly didn’t mind Peter giving him attitude, it meant he was being a normal teenager and they needed more of that behaviour from Peter but he also wasn’t going to tolerate it.
Peter didn’t respond or even react to him.
Harley appeared at his side. “Is my little brother growing some balls on him finally?”
Peter looked up at Harley, disgusted. “I already have balls. What does that even mean?”
Harley chuckled. “I know you do. It just means you’ve got some courage.”
Peter shrugged. He didn’t think so. He waited for the light to turn green and for the crosswalking guy to pop up before he began walking but Aiser didn’t move and started barking, trying to pull Peter off the road.
Tony looked up and saw a car about to run the red light and his heart dropped. “Harley! Grab Peter!”
Harley saw the car and quickly grabbed Peter’s arm and yanked him back. “Shit!”
He accidentally slammed Peter’s shin against the pole in the process but it was either that or Peter getting hit by a car running a red light.
Peter screamed out in pain and fell onto the ground. “OWWWWW!” He tried to move his leg but it hurt too much to move it.
Tony ran over, having seen and heard the smack on the hard metal pole against Peter’s small leg.
Please don’t be broken. Please don’t be broken. Tony said over and over again in his head as he pulled Peter’s pant leg up to see the damage. There was already a bump forming but he didn’t think it was broken. He hoped it wasn’t.
“It’s okay, Peter.” Tony reassured him and wiped at his tears.
Harley felt incredibly bad. “Shit, dad. I didn’t mean to pull him back so hard.”
Tony shook his head. If it wasn’t for Harley and Aiser, Peter would have gotten hit by the car. “No, it’s okay. You weren’t thinking how hard to grab him in the moment.”
Peter continued on crying bloody murder but it was hard for Tony to determine if Peter was crying that hard because his bone was broken or because Peter was incredibly extra.
A car pulled up, having seen the whole thing and tried to help them. “Is the kid okay? Want me to call an ambulance?” The man from the said asked, another one standing beside him.
Aiser stood between Peter and the two men and growled. Harley stood up and walked towards them. “Hey, why don’t you go mind your own business. What’d you want from him?!”
Tony ran his fingers through his hair. “Harley. Relax, they’re just trying to help. Grab the dog.” He sighed and looked at the two men. “Thanks but we’re fine. I’m just gonna carry him home.”
They nodded, looking unsure but they left anyways.
Tony wiped Peter’s tears and looked over at Harley who was watching the car drive away. “Harley. What’s up with you? They were just trying to help.”
Harley didn’t look at Tony. “I didn’t trust them. Why do they care, huh?”
Tony knew it was the trauma talking. His younger brother was kidnapped from him not once but twice.
“I know. Let’s go back. You got the leash?” Tony asked as he stood up and easily picked Peter up, holding him against his side. Peter immediately put his head on his shoulder and wrapped his arm around his neck, shoving his thumb in his mouth then hiding his face in his dad’s neck.
Harley walked beside him with Aiser. “I’m sorry, Pete. I didn’t mean to slam you against the pole.”
Peter shrugged. He was fine. It still hurt but not as bad. It was just pulsating. He was mostly scared at the moment since everything happened so fast.
When they got home, Tony kicked his shoes off and called out for Pepper, seeing the van in the driveway. “Pepper? Can you come here for a second?”
She walked down the hallway with a smile on her face but immediately frowned when she saw Peter in Tony’s arms. “What happened? Is he okay?”
Tony began walking upstairs as he explained to her what happened. “He’s fine. A car ran a red light when he went to walk out so Harley grabbed him back a bit too hard. He slammed his shin against the pole.”
“Aw, baby.” Pepper rubbed at Peter’s back briefly before Tony was carrying him into the bathroom.
“Does it still hurt, Peter?” Tony asked, moving to sit Peter on the counter top.
Peter looked down at his leg and spoke around his thumb. “S’little bit. ‘Dare.”
Tony knew what Peter was saying but he acted like he didn’t. “What did you say? I can’t understand you.”
Peter pulled his thumb out. “A little bit. It hurts there.” He pointed to where his leg hit the pole.
Morgan walked into the bathroom with two applesauce pouches in her hands, one for her and one for Peter. “Are you in pain, Petey? I brought this for you.”
Peter reached for it and opened it up. It immediately soothed his raw throat and he didn’t care about anything else after that. Tony tried to roll up his pants again but he had a hard time without putting pressure on his shin so he picked Peter back up.
“Slide his pants off, Pep.” Tony ordered her so she quickly did then Tony put Peter back on the counter, cringing at his leg. “Ow. Does it hurt, Pete?”
Peter nodded. Morgan took a good look and gasped. “Ow! Petey’s leg is broken!”
“Morgan, it’s not broken. Don’t say that.” Pepper warned her daughter, not wanting to give Peter any wrong ideas and scare him.
Peter immediately sat up to have a closer look at his leg. “It’s broken?!”
“No. It’s not. It’s just a big bruise.” Tony told Peter and grabbed under his arms to help him stand up. “Put your feet down.” Peter lifted his legs up, making it impossible for Tony to put him in his feet. “Peter.”
Peter wasn’t going to walk on his hurt leg. He refused. “No! It’s broken!”
Tony walked into the bedroom and laid Peter on the bed, bending down to grab some loose pyjama pants. “It’s not broken, Peter. I promise you. Put those on and if you still don’t believe me, try walking on it.”
Morgan climbed onto the bed with Peter and looked at him, worry written all over her face. “Does it hurt badly?”
“Yes.” Peter gritted out, narrowing his eyes at his dad who wasn’t given him the attention he wanted. He threw himself back onto the bed and groaned. “I’m gonna die.”
Tony hated those words. Anything to do with Peter and dying was a trigger for him. Possibly the whole family too judging by the girls’ faces. He pulled Peter’s legs towards him and grabbed onto his wrist, forcing him to sit up. “Sit up, Peter. I’m gonna give you two options… you can walk downstairs by yourself and we can have some fun as a family together or you can stay up here by yourself. Either way, I’m not carrying you.”
Peter ripped his hands away from his dad after hearing that last sentence. He threw himself down onto the bed again and grabbed the pillow, whipping it towards Tony’s head. “I hate you!”
Tony didn’t take it personally. He knew Peter was going through a hard time right now, when wasn’t he?
He held his hand out for Morgan to take. “Let’s go, Morg. Let your brother finish his temper tantrum then he can join us when he decides to.”
Peter watched his family leave and screamed as loud as he could. He caught his breath and screamed some more and then some more. After no one came to tell him to stop, he stopped himself and sat up.
He knew he was being a jerk to his family, mostly his dad but he didn’t feel bad about it. It wasn’t like he could help himself. He laid on his parents bed and threw all their pillows off then grabbed the blankets and kicked it all off the bed.
Next was the sheets. When he was done and the room was a mess, he slid off the bed and walked downstairs to join everyone.
He spotted his dad playing with Morgan and her barbies on the living room carpet and his mom was watching them on the couch. He looked in the kitchen and saw Harley drinking a glass of water and looking at him. Peter looked away and walked into the living room.
He stood there, deciding if he should grab Morgan’s barbies and throw them but then his dad was looking at him.
“Hey, buddy. I’m glad you decided to join us.”
Peter didn’t acknowledge his dad. He turned and sat down on the couch next to his mom. He wrapped an arm around her stomach and lifted his leg over her knee so he could put his head directly on her chest. “Hm.”
Pepper rubbed at his back. Part of her knew Peter was only doing it to make Tony jealous that Peter was choosing someone else over him but she took advantage of it either way. “Want to do something just you and me?”
“Mmhm.” Peter nodded, pushing his feet off the ground to get more comfortable on her. It wasn’t very often he took comfort in his mom since he felt safer in his dad's arms but he remembered how much he missed being in his mom's arms.
“Want to go to your room or stay down here?” Pepper asked, continuing to rub his back.
Peter shrugged. He covered his face with his hands and dared a peek out at his dad who was watching him so he quickly looked away. “Upstairs in my room.” He slid off his moms knee, sliding onto the floor and looking over at his dad to see if he was watching.
Tony knew he needed to spend more time with Morgan and he was trying to make an effort but he didn’t like not being able to see Peter. It made him uneasy.
Peter walked upstairs with his mom and took a seat on his carpet in his bedroom. He dumped out his legos and pushed some of the pile towards her as he began building.
“I wanna go back to school.” Peter said. He had no idea where that came from. Just the other day the thought of going back to school drove him to tears and maybe he would change his mind tomorrow but right now, he wanted to go back to school.
Pepper tried not to make a big deal about it. The first time they got Peter back, he was at home for almost three months before starting school again. Although this time was different for a lot of reasons. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” Peter finished his lego base and spoke. “I miss Ned. He’s probably worried. Does he even know what happened?”
Pepper wasn’t on her phone during the time Peter was missing. She only had it near her just in case Tony or Natasha or an unknown number that would possibly be Peter called. She was aware of everyone trying to get in contact with her. Her friends, Peter’s friends parents and even Morgan’s friends parents. Their neighbours left flowers and gift baskets on their doorstep but it reminded Pepper all too much of that time Peter went missing the first time so she paid someone to take it all away and get rid of it all.
After they got Peter back, she contacted as many friends as she could to get back to them. The first being Ned’s mom as Ned’s Peter’s best friend.
“They heard on the news. I texted Ned’s mom so he knows you’re okay and home now.”
Peter nodded. He hadn’t asked about getting a new phone yet because he hadn’t really thought of it but he doesn’t care about having one anyways. “Do you think I’m ready to go back to school?”
Pepper thought about it. She didn’t think Peter was going to be ready to go back to school at all. At least if you asked her an hour ago while Peter was having a temper tantrum on the bed but now, would be a different answer.
“Whether you’re ready today or five months from now, your father and I will support whatever you want. It’s important that you do things for you, baby. No one else.”
Peter knew that. That’s why he had a hard time being told no or when the teacher separated him from his class at times for no reason. He embarrassed himself with the fits he threw quite a lot.
“I know. But… I wanna go back. I just wanna like, you know.” Peter looked to his mom to see if she understood what he was trying to say.
“What do you mean, Peter?”
Peter groaned. “Just like, what’s the word?” He kicked his leg out, trying to stop himself from losing it every time he couldn’t find the proper words to describe how he feels.
“What word? Just breathe and think about it.” Pepper remained calm, knowing Peter copied their moods a lot of the time. She carefully watched his thumb, waiting for it to go in his mouth.
“Um… like… routine. Yeah, routine. Like… I wanna get back into my old routine of things with Ned and school and stuff.” Peter smiled when he found the word he was looking for. He continued with his legos, listening to his mom speak.
Pepper didn’t feel like it was time yet. “You’ve only been back a week. Are you sure you want to go back so soon? Your school will understand so don’t worry about falling behind.”
Peter didn’t even think about that. “I wasn’t. Until now. I just want everything to go back to normal.”
“It will with time but rushing things won’t help.”
Peter stopped building. He didn’t like that answer.
“I’m just saying, if you rush going back to school, it might add more stress and make everything harder. Just something to consider but we’ll talk to dad about it.” Pepper reached over to playfully squeeze Peter’s foot which got a small smile out of him. “We’re here for you no matter what you wanna do, baby.”
Peter knew that. He crawled over the legos, careful not to crawl onto any, then wrapped his arms around his mom. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Peter. Forever and always.”
“I’m sorry for getting taken. I-I know you were really sad. Morgan told me and I’m sorry.” Peter suddenly felt the need to apologize.
Pepper pulled away to hold his face in her hands. “Don’t apologize for that. It wasn’t your fault, sweet boy. That was not your fault.”
Peter knew it wasn’t but he was still sorry for putting his whole family through that. “I know… I’m still sorry. He glanced towards his bed. “And I’m sorry for sleeping with you and dad every night. I’m… I’m not ready to sleep in my own bed yet. So please don’t make me.”
Pepper didn’t want to tell Peter he could go back to his bed whenever he was ready because they might have to move him into his own bed before he is ready. Instead, she kissed his cheek. “Let’s not worry about that. Let’s finish building our legos together.”
.
.
.
After dinner, Harley took Peter and Morgan in the backyard to throw a ball for Aiser.
The only reason why Tony was okay with it was because he could see Peter and keep his eyes on him from the kitchen window.
It was the only way to get Peter away from them so Pepper could talk to Tony about some research she did. She put away the dish she was drying as Tony washed them. “So, I want to try weaning Peter off the bottle tonight. I know we can’t go cold turkey and stop him from having it so I hope this way can work.”
Tony was up for anything as long as they could throw the bottle into the garbage for good. Who would have thought their youngest kid wouldn’t be the last one to have a bottle in the house.
“What’s your idea?”
“It’s not my idea. I did a lot of research but basically what we do tonight when Peter asks for his bottle, we give him his bottle but we fill it with water instead and if he asks for milk, we give him milk but in a cup.”
Tony thought about it. It was a good idea. “But what if he actually likes the water in the bottle and it’s not the milk that's the problem?”
“It’s both together that’s the problem. He only wants the bottle for the milk and he only wants milk for the bottle so we change it up a bit. Soon, hopefully, he’ll get bored of the water and stop asking for his bottle then we throw it out.” Pepper really hoped it worked. She needed it to work.
Tony wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know. He keeps the bottle in his mouth even when there’s no milk. He just likes the sucking. Or what if it makes him more addicted to his thumb?”
Pepper rolled her eyes. “He can’t get anymore addicted to his thumb, Tony. Let’s just see if it works.”
Tony wanted to try. He was already drained just thinking about it but they had to try. “Alright. We’ll try. I’m gonna grab the laundry from upstairs. Can you keep an eye on them?”
“Of course.”
Tony went upstairs to grab the dirty laundry but what he found when he walked into his and Pepper’s room wasn’t what he was expecting to see.
All their pillows, blankets and sheets on their bed were thrown all over the floor. Tony knew it was part of Peter’s earlier temper tantrum, he was about to start cleaning it up but then he immediately stopped. Peter had to learn there were consequences for his actions.
He went back downstairs to grab Peter from outside. “Peter threw all the blankets on the floor in our room from his temper tantrum.” He told Pepper before opening up the back door. “Hey, Peter. Come with me for a second.”
Peter stopped kicking the ball to look at him. “Why?”
“Just come. I wanna show you something.” Tony said, gesturing for Peter to follow him.
Peter frowned but kicked the ball and walked inside the house. “What is it?”
“I wanna come too, dad.” Morgan said, walking towards the house.
“No, stay here, Morgan.” Tony shut the door and started walking down the hall to go upstairs. Peter followed his dad, curiously.
When they got to their bedroom, Peter was confused. “But I’m not tired for nap time.”
Tony stopped to look at Peter before they walked into the room. “Nap time? Who said anything about nap time?”
“Well…” Peter bounced on his feet, impatient. “He always did. But if I go for nap I get my bottle too.”
Tony felt disgusted. He didn’t know everything that those monsters put Peter through while he was gone and when he found out things like this, he felt so disgusted. “No, Peter. I’m not putting you down for a nap. You’re fourteen and should never go down for daily naps.”
Peter shrugged. He didn’t care anymore although if he wasn’t going down for a nap, he didn’t know why they were there. “Well… then what?”
Tony walked into his bedroom and stepped aside to let Peter in. “You made this mess, you’re gonna clean it up.”
Peter looked at the mess. He didn’t remember making that much of a mess. He crossed his arms. “No.”
“You’re not going anywhere until you clean it up and understand that this,” Tony gestured to the messy room. “is no way to act.”
Peter regretted it but he couldn’t control his anger at the time. “Fine. I’ll clean the stupid room.” He picked up the sheets and climbed onto the bed to try and put it in but it wasn’t working. He tried again and just as Tony went to help him, Peter threw himself onto the bed but accidentally smacked his forehead on the foot board and bursted out crying.
“Okay.” Tony picked Peter up, checking for any signs of blood or injury and when he found none, he pulled him in for a hug. Maybe Peter did need a nap. He was incredibly miserable and was so easily irritated. “You’re okay. Why did you throw your head into the bed?”
Peter immediately stuck his thumb in his mouth for comfort. “Don’t know!”
“Okay. Take a few breaths then do you need help to clean up?” Peter nodded. “Okay. That’s all you have to do. Ask. Hey, dad, can I have some help please. Then I’d say sure Pete and no tears or bumps on the head.”
Peter pointed to his shin. “There too.”
“Yeah.” Tony felt bad. Peter wasn’t having a very good day and tonight was going to be even worse. Poor kid. “Let’s clean up together then.”
Tony let go of Peter and started to help him clean up but Peter wasn’t taking his thumb out of his mouth. Tony didn’t wanna say anything at first, afraid he might upset Peter but when Peter tried and failed to put the bed sheet on, Tony had to say something. “It’s easier with two hands but you might need to take your thumb out of your mouth for that.”
Peter simply shook his head and kept on trying.
Pepper walked in a few minutes later to take a look at the room. “How’s it going in here? I heard some crying.”
Peter yanked his thumb from his mouth. “I just hit my head. I’m fine.”
Tony watched him. He didn’t know what that was all about. So Peter didn’t listen to him but all Pepper has to do is walk in the room and Peter removes his thumb. Tony didn’t understand.
.
.
.
Tony walked into Morgan’s bedroom to tuck her in and say goodnight. She had always been so easy, all that was needed to put her to sleep when she was younger was a bedtime story and a hug and now it was just a hug.
He did try to read to her but he just didn’t have any time anymore with Peter so tonight he planned on making the time. After he finished reading, he put the book onto her side table. “Goodnight, Morg. Sleep well.”
“Is Petey gonna sleep with you and mom tonight again?” She asked.
Tony nodded. “Yeah, he is. Why?”
She shrugged. “Just wondering. He doesn’t like to be alone. He told me so.”
“Oh yeah. When did he tell you that?”
Morgan turned on her side to face him. “Umm… when we were in the hotel room. He told me that he doesn’t like being alone. And that he was really sad when he was away from us.” Morgan whimpered. “He told me he would kill himself if-if you never rescued him. If you never saved him, then he didn’t want to live without any of us. I don’t want him to kill himself, daddy. I-I want him to still be my brother and-and I don’t wanna bury him at his funeral.”
That was extremely hard for Tony to hear. Both because of what Peter endured during those four days but also because of the vivid image Morgan put in his head. He thought of that a lot, of having to bury Peter. The first time he was taken, Tony was terrified of it every second of every day. It haunted him.
“No, don’t worry about that. Peter’s safe now. He’s back home and he’s not going to die because I will keep him safe. Your mom and I will.” Tony just wanted to see Peter now. He pressed a kiss to Morgan’s head. “I love you. Sleep good.”
Tony walked into his and Pepper’s bedroom after saying good night to Harley and Morgan. He barely saw Peter all evening since he was too busy hanging out with his mom and after what Morgan just said to him, he needed to see his baby.
He had to admit, he was really looking forward to bedtime so he could cuddle Peter and he’d have no excuses to leave him.
Peter was in the bathroom when he walked in. “Is he showering?”
Pepper nodded. “Yeah, he just went in.”
Tony sat on the bed. “Morgan just told me that at the hotel, Peter told her that he thought of killing himself if he wasn’t rescued and didn’t come back to us.”
Pepper gasped. “Oh god. I don’t even want to think about that. Why would Peter tell Morgan that? Or why would he even think that?”
“Because it was hell there. This time, he knew he had a family that loved and missed him and he was taken away from us.” Tony explained and rubbed a hand over his face and stood up. “It’s fine. He’s safe. He’s back with us. It’s okay now. I know it’s gonna be okay.”
He just wanted to talk about something else and hold Peter.
Pepper nodded then changed the subject. “I had a good day with him. Getting to have his full attention was nice and you know what I noticed today.”
Tony took a seat on the edge of the bed. “What? That he still likes me more than you?” He teased. “You may have had his attention today but he’ll always be a daddy’s boy.”
“No. Well yeah. But I noticed that he acts different when you’re around.”
Tony furrowed his eyebrows. “Different? How do you mean?”
“He acts younger with you around. He whines a lot, cries more easily.” Pepper admitted. “Even today, I was having an actual conversation with him and he was getting annoyed because he couldn’t tell me how he feels and I talked to him and he didn’t once put his thumb in his mouth or start whining. He doesn’t do that with you.”
Tony felt like that was a slap across that face. “Wow, Pep, way to make me feel like an awful dad.”
“No. No, I don’t mean it like that. I just mean that he feels safe around you and that’s a good thing. I know he feels safe around me too but it’s different with you, he knows you’ll always be there to pick up the pieces so he doesn’t have to.” Pepper tried to backtrack.
It wasn’t like Tony was trying to baby Peter but he did it anyways. He knew he treated Peter much different from Morgan or Harley and that’s just something he can’t and won’t change.
“So basically what you’re saying is I better run because he’s gonna attack me for his bottle tonight?” Tony tried to joke but it was true. Tonight was going to be hard.
Pepper laughed. “Basically.”
They waited until the bathroom door was being opened and Peter was walking out with his towel wrapped around his shoulders. Pepper purposely put the pyjamas in the bathroom so Peter would get dressed in there but apparently not.
“Hey.” Tony smiled at him. “You didn’t wash your hair?” He asked, running his fingers through Peter’s curly dry hair.
Peter leaned against his legs. “No. I did last night, remember?”
Tony didn’t remember that but whatever. “Yeah, sure. Are you tired?”
Peter responded to him by climbing on the bed and lying down. Pepper put her tablet away for the night, knowing they were going to have their hands full with Peter. “Go get dressed and then you can come to sleep.”
“Can you go get them?” Peter asked his dad, pointing to the bathroom.
So he knows they’re in there but still didn’t put them on, Tony thought to himself but he didn’t stand up. “Are your legs broken? Did they break in the shower?” He grabbed Peter’s ankles and playfully tickled the bottom of his feet. “Huh?”
“No!” Peter laughed out, bringing his legs to his chest to get away from the tickles. “My leg broke today on the walk.”
“No, it didn’t. Don’t be silly. Go get your pyjamas.” Tony said, more seriously now. He didn’t want to get Peter wined up before bedtime.
Peter stared at him and grabbed his feet, putting them together as he waited for his dad to make his next move.
“Let’s go. Now, Peter.” Tony stood up, gesturing for Peter to follow him. Thankfully, Peter slid off the bed and walked into the bathroom, looking back at his dad with wide eyes. “Get dressed. Your mom and I will wait out here.”
Peter quickly got dressed and hopped onto the bed. His mom was already ready for bed so he waited for his dad to shower and get ready for bed and as soon as Tony walked out of the bathroom, Peter looked at him eagerly.
“Can I have my bottle?” He asked, sitting up in bed a bit.
Tony looked at Pepper. Here it goes. “Sure. I’ll go get it.”
Peter didn’t expect that. He laid back down in the bed, waiting for his dad to come back up.
Tony didn’t want to do this. He wished they didn’t have to but they did. He grabbed Peter’s bottle and filled it with water then went back upstairs, knowing he was going to be coming back down for that glass of milk soon.
All the lights were off besides Pepper’s bedside lamp in the room. Tony shut the door, hoping to keep some of the noise out for his other kids. It was the same as every night, Peter made grabby hands so Tony handed him the bottle and both parents watched on closely for Peter’s reaction.
Peter brought the nipple to his lips, took a sip and immediately pulled it out of his mouth with a face of disgust. “This is water, dad. Not milk.”
Tony nodded. He looked to Pepper because he didn’t know what to say. Peter sat up in bed, handing the bottle to Tony. “Milk please?”
“Do you want milk, Peter?” Pepper asked and Peter immediately turned to her, handing her the bottle while nodding aggressively.
“Yeah. Yes please. Can I have it?” He pushed the bottle more into her hands when she didn’t immediately grab it so Tony reached over for the bottle.
“Milk coming right up.” Tony didn’t think he would be back downstairs so soon. He would have brought the glass up and set it on the table outside their bedroom if he knew this would be the case.
He poured milk into a cup and went back upstairs. He paused for a minute outside his bedroom door just to take a few breaths of peace before the screaming and crying started. When he walked into the bedroom, Peter was more desperate than ever but he stopped reaching when he saw the cup of milk and his face morphed into anger and betrayal.
“No. Why’s my milk outside?” Peter asked, watching Tony sit on the bed with the bottle in one hand and the cup in the other.
“If you want milk, you have to drink it out of a cup. You’re more than welcome to drink the water from this.” He placed the bottle on the bed but Peter tossed it to the bottom of the bed.
“No. Pour it in there.” Peter demanded, eyes watering.
Tony tried to hand Peter the cup. “I can’t do that. No more milk in bottles.”
Peter screamed through his teeth. “Then-then how will I drink it?!”
Pepper rubbed Peter’s back. “You’re allowed to drink milk but you have to drink it from a cup.” She reached for the bottle of water at the end of the bed. “Here. Drink your water.”
Peter pushed it out of Pepper’s hands. “I don’t want it!”
Both Tony and Pepper smiled at each other behind Peter’s back. It was working.
Tony offered Peter the milk again. “Here. Do you want it?”
Peter pushed his hands away and threw his head onto the bed then repeated that as Tony put the milk onto his nightstand and grabbed Peter so he stopped.
After a few minutes, Peter sat up. They watched him carefully, hoping he went for the glass of milk but he grabbed the bottle and laid down. Tony’s heart dropped. No. No no no no please no.
Peter drank the water and began playing with his hair while both Tony and Pepper stared at him in defeat. It completely backfired on them.
Tony was about to say something when Peter kicked his legs out, getting irritated. “I don’t like it! Please! I want the milk inside!”
Tony sat up and grabbed the cup of milk. “If you want it, you drink it from this.”
Peter stared at the cup for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do but he eventually reached for the cup so Tony handed it to him, thinking Peter was going to sit up to drink it but to his surprise, Peter dumped the milk on his face.
Tony grabbed the cup from him and grabbed Peter to force him to sit up so the milk that he did get in his mouth didn’t cause him to accidentally choke on it. “Peter. Why’d you do that? You knew it was gonna spill all over you and the bed.”
Peter whimpered. “I want to lie down and drink it.”
Tony knew what Peter was trying to do. He was trying to tilt the cup just enough to be able to drink it while lying down but it was an open cup, it didn’t work like that.
“That’s not how cups work, buddy.” Tony looked at all the milk on the bed. He only filled the cup up halfway, knowing Peter wasn’t going to drink it but looking at the mess it made, it looked like a lot more than half a cup.
Peter tossed the now empty cup off the bed. They wouldn’t have this problem if it wasn’t for the stupid cup anyways. “This is your fault!” Peter yelled at his dad.
“Hey, that’s not nice, Peter.” Pepper tried to defend Tony but then Peter was sitting up and narrowing his eyes at her.
“This is your fault too!” He began crawling off the bed to wash the milk out of his hair and change his now wet pyjamas. He was so tired and he wasn’t even allowed to sleep how he wanted.
Tony followed Peter into the bathroom. “Don’t yell at us, you’re the one who dumped milk all over yourself, kid.”
Peter picked up the toothpaste and threw it against the wall. He was so angry, he couldn’t control himself.
Tony wasn’t going to tolerate that. He walked into the bathroom, sat on the edge of the bathtub and pulled Peter to stand in front of him. “Calm down. You’re getting yourself worked up and it’s not helping anyone so take a few breaths and tell me what’s wrong using words.”
Peter did as he was instructed to do. He wiped the curls off his face that were wet with milk and sighed, thumb prodding at his lips. “I just… why can’t I drink the milk in my bottle? Why did you put water in there?”
“I put water in there because if you want milk, you can drink it out of a glass like mom, Harley, and Morgan. We don’t use bottles anymore.” Tony explained slowly and calmly while rubbing Peter’s lower back.
Peter chewed on the tip of his thumb, thinking about it. “Well… you guys can if you want to. I won’t laugh.”
That made Tony smile. Peter was way too pure even after everything that happened to him. “But we don’t want to, baby.”
“I want to.” Peter said, stressing each word.
Tony nodded. “I know you do. But there are rules, you’re allowed to have your bottle but with only water.”
Peter groaned, leaning against Tony’s sturdy chest. “Then how will I get my milk?”
Tony felt like a broken record. “I’ll go pour some more milk in your cup.”
“But… but I wanna drink it lying down. How will I do that?”
“You can take a sip sitting up and then lie down.” Tony tried to find another solution but it wasn’t that easy.
“Can I pour the milk from the cup into my bottle?”
“No.” Tony knew these questions weren’t going to stop so he stood up and took Peter’s hand in his. “Put your pyjamas in the dirty laundry bin and quickly shower. I’ll go get fresh pyjamas for you.”
Peter showered and got dressed in clean pyjamas in under twenty minutes. He crawled onto the bed and over to his mom. “Can I have milk?”
Pepper sighed. It was going to be a hard night. “Dad will bring you some in a cup.”
Tony got the hint so he left, enjoying the peace and quiet, even just for a minute or two. When he got back, Peter was sitting up in bed, much to his surprise. “Here, baby. Don’t lie down to drink it.”
Peter took the cup, holding it with one hand to drink it while the other hand went into his hair to twirl his curls, even at the incredibly awkward angle.
After it was done, he laid down. Tony didn’t want to jinx anything but he had high hopes for Peter falling asleep soon. He hoped so.
He handed Peter his bottle filled with water. “Do you want it?”
Again, to both parents' surprise, Peter pushed it away from himself and stuck his thumb in his mouth, cuddling his blanket close to his face.
It worked. Tony placed the bottle on his nightstand table and looked across Peter to smile at Pepper.
It worked. He just hoped it worked tomorrow night as well.