We Will Find Our Way Through The Dark

Taking Peter anywhere was scary. 

It kinda always had been in a way but now, after everything that happened, it was so much worse but Peter was fourteen and there was no way they could keep him locked away for days on end and not let him leave. 

They were petrified of being like Steve. 

Morgan’s friend was having a birthday party at an indoor jungle gym so it was going to be twenty ten years olds running around but the birthday girl had an older brother who was Peter’s age and just so happened to be friends with Peter. 

So Peter was invited too. 

Tony would have just stayed at home with Peter, that was the plan while Pepper dropped Morgan off but then they found out that Peter’s friend would be going too so of course they brought Peter. 

They walked into the building and neon lights, loud screams and the smell of dirty feet and cake mixed together filled their noses. Tony grabbed onto Peter’s arm, not wanting him to get lost. “Where’s this party at?” 

Morgan excitedly pointed to her group of friends and ran over to them. “I see them!”

Peter stayed at his parents side and looked around with wide eyes. He wasn’t even looking where he was going since his attention was on the giant colourful jungle gym that was screaming his name to go play in. He was depending on his dad to guide him. 

“Happy birthday, Luna.” Pepper said to the birthday girl and gave her a hug. Morgan was already talking with everyone like the little social butterfly she was. 

Pepper began talking with the moms who were dropping off their kids while Tony stayed with Peter. He hated kid’s birthday parties because unlike Pepper, he wasn’t that good at making friends. He couldn’t relate to anyone. 

He was amazing at talking to people and getting their attention but that was all an act he put on. He sucked at making friends. Peter definitely got that trait from him. 

“Where’s your friend?” Tony asked him, looking around but all he saw were ten year olds. 

Peter shrugged as he stood on his dad’s shoes and swung from his arm. “I dunno.” 

Just then, the boy ran towards them, holding two cupcakes in his hand. “Peter! You came.” The boy walked up to them and handed a cupcake to Peter. “Here, I stole it from my sister’s birthday but but she has like one hundred others.” 

Peter let go of his dad to eat the cupcake. “Thanks.” 

Jake took a bite of his cupcake and kicked his shoes off. “Let’s go in before our sisters do. That way we can steak out all the secret spots.” 

Peter wiped his hands on his pants, making Tony roll his eyes. “Okay!” He quickly hugged Tony as Tony tried to wipe the chocolate off his face. “See you later, dad!” 

“Wait, be careful. I’ll be here and so will your mom if you need us- oh, okay. Have fun!” Peter pulled away from him before he could finish but Tony couldn’t be mad. Peter was fighting for any sort of independence that he could get. 

“I will!” He yelled back before he jumped onto the foam stairs and began climbing them. 

Tony lost sight of him but that was okay. He had to get used to that. There was no way he could have his eyes on Peter at all times. He had to let Peter run free sometimes. Even if it hurt. 

Pepper grabbed onto his hand. “The party’s starting in two hours.” 

“What? I thought this was the party.” 

“No, the party room. With the cake and presents.” Pepper explained, amused that Tony didn’t know. 

“Pete isn’t gonna wanna sit through that.” Tony didn’t know what kid would want to watch another kid open up presents when there’s a whole jungle gym to play in. 

Pepper walked away, taking his hand with her. “He will if we tell him there’s cake.” 

“Oh, why didn’t I think about that.” He chuckled but then spotted Peter on the other side of the net, hanging upside down and laughing like crazy. Tony didn’t want Peter to see them because he wanted Peter’s happiness to exist outside their home, away from him, Pepper, Harley, Morgan and Aiser. 

Although they were still there, Tony knew that Peter was unaware of them watching him and he wanted it to stay that way. 

It made the father so proud that Peter was having fun without him. It was important for Peter to be independent and this was good for him, as simple as it was and as childish. 

Tony walked over to a bench and sat on it with Pepper, losing sight of Peter in the jungle gym but being at peace with it. He thought out loud to Pepper, “Does it scare you that Peter’s here?” 

Pepper seriously thought about it. “It does and it doesn’t I suppose. I think I’ll always worry extra hard about Peter, even when he goes off to college or when he gets married one day, I’ll always worry about him differently than Harley and Morgan.” 

Tony understood that. He was a parent, he was always going to worry about his children but it’ll always be different with Peter, that much was obvious. “I get that. I don’t want to keep him on a leash, I want to be able to let him experience life and be a kid but it’s hard to let him go.” 

Tony always memorized Peter’s outfit whenever they left the house. He had no idea what Morgan or Harley wore or even Pepper but he knew every last detail of what Peter was wearing down to his underwear and socks. He hated living like that but it wasn’t like he could help it, it was embedded in his brain now. 

“Yeah, and he’s not showing any sign of wanting that so it’s hard for us to push it on him.” 

Tony nodded. 

“Maybe… maybe having him see his therapist again will help. She was able to last time.” 

“I hope. It just feels… different this time.” Tony admitted. It was way different than the first time. The first time not only were they struggling and working on Peter’s behaviour but they were also getting to know their son who, for Peter, it was the first time meeting. 

Now, they were struggling with regression from the trauma and it was hard. 

Tony looked through the net and he could see Peter crawling through one of the tunnels. He nudged Pepper and pointed. “Look, there he is.” 

“Aww. He’s smiling. I wonder if he saw us yet.” 

“Definitely not. He’d be coming over here to say hello and drag me in there with him.” Tony chuckled. They watched Peter crawl along the tunnel but then he got to the end and wasn’t looking so he accidentally fell out and flipped over, landing on his face. 

Tony immediately stood up and went to race over to comfort him and make sure he was okay but Pepper stopped him. “Wait, no. See what he does.” 

Tony stopped to watch, every inch of his body burning to race over and comfort him. 

Peter pushed himself onto his hands and knees and sat there with his back to his parents for a few seconds before standing back up, laughing again and crawling back into the jungle gym to go look for his friend. 

Tony stood there, not really knowing what to do now that he didn’t have to comfort Peter. Although mostly he was feeling pride and happiness because Peter did it. 

Every single time Peter got hurt, he always seeked out for Tony and it was the only way he could calm down but now, he seemed to not need his dad after all. Tony sat back down. “He didn’t need me.” 

Pepper was so proud of her baby. “Isn’t that wonderful? I’m so proud of him, Tony. Wow.” 

Tony was too. 

Pepper suddenly remembered something Peter told her the other day but she had yet to tell Tony. “The other day when Peter and I went up to his bedroom, he told me that he wanted to go back to school.” 

Tony didn’t expect that. “Oh. Seriously? What did he say exactly?” 

“He said he wants to get back into his old routine of things and have everything be normal again.” Pepper told him. 

Tony ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want him going back to school yet and that’s not…” He sighed. “That has nothing to do with me being like Steve. He’s still recovering from everything and we barely started talking to the therapist and he needs more time before he forces himself into school just for a routine.” 

“Aren’t you worried that if we wait too long then he won’t want to go back?” 

Tony was worried about every single outcome that could happen. He thinks that Peter is doing pretty good considering what he went through and that it all comes down to the support he’s receiving from his family. At least Tony and Pepper were doing something right. 

“Of course I am. But… he’s not ready for school. What did you tell him?” 

“I told him I didn’t think he was ready and that we should wait a little bit longer until we make that decision.” Pepper admitted and placed her hand on Tony’s arm. “It’s his choice, Tony. At the end of the day, it’s going to be Peter’s choice as to when he’s ready to go back to school. We just have to make sure he’s making the right choice and that’s the best we can do.” 

Tony knew that. They could tell Peter what to do and make decisions for himself but of course, that wouldn’t help anyone or anything. “I know.” 

He still didn’t think Peter was ready to go back to school yet. 

Inside the jungle gym, Peter crawled along the mats, he was an expert at crawling since he’s been doing it since he was a baby. He got to the end with the rollers he had to roll through and bumped into Morgan, landing on top of her. 

“Petey!” Morgan yelled, excited to see her brother. 

Peter was on a roll. He scrambled off of Morgan and kept on crawling but Morgan grabbed his ankle. “Hey, no!” 

“I wanna play with you. What’re you doing?” Morgan asked, not letting go of his ankle. 

Peter screamed, annoyed that she was preventing him from crawling away so he leaned down and bit her arm, causing her to let go and immediately start crying. Peter didn’t want to get in trouble and immediately regretted that. “Stop crying. I’m sorry. Stop crying.” Peter covered his hand over her mouth but she was already turning around to find their parents. 

“Don’t tell on me. I’m sorry, Morgan. Don’t tell on me.” Peter crawled after her, not wanting to get in trouble. 

Back on the bench, Pepper left Tony to go chat with some of the moms, leaving him alone for not even three minutes before he spotted Morgan slowly climbing down the triangle steps and crying. 

He stood up and walked over, curious as to what got her so upset since she usually just brushed it off and kept going. “Hey, Morg. What’s wrong?” 

Morgan slid off the jungle gym and cried harder. “He-he bit me!” 

“What? Someone bit you?” Tony looked at the bite mark on her arm that was turning red and it looked oddly familiar. “Who?” 

“Peter!” Morgan cried out and pointed to where Peter was hiding behind a padded pole. 

Tony sighed and sat down on the platform of the play structure. He pulled Morgan onto his lap and pressed a kiss to her hair and she wiped at her tears and stopped crying. “You’re okay.” 

She sniffled. “Y-yeah. I’m used to i-it.” 

Tony sighed again. Peter had to stop with this biting. He looked at Peter and pointed for him to come over. He slowly crawled over. “I didn’t do it.” 

“Oh? Who did?” 

Peter looked around and shrugged. 

Tony grabbed Morgan’s arm to look at the bite mark. “Hmm, I see Peter’s big teeth here, his baby tooth and oh, another one here. Don’t lie to me.” 

Pepper walked over, concerned. “What’s going on?” 

“Nothing.” Said Peter. 

Morgan showed Pepper her arm. “Petey bit me and it hurt.” 

“Aww, honey.” 

Peter’s bottom lip trembled. His thumb poked at his lips and he looked at Tony with sad eyes. “Daddy.” He whimpered. 

Tony’s heart swelled. He knew he couldn’t give in though but Peter made it so damn hard. Peter crawled over to him and hiccupped sadly, grabbing onto Tony’s arm that was wrapped around Morgan to unwrap from her. 

“Peter, you have to apologize to your sister and you need to stop biting.” Tony told him, knowing Peter wasn’t going to apologize. Or stop biting. 

He stared at Tony then crawled over to Pepper, holding his arms out for her until she sat down across from Tony. Peter sat on her knee and whispered in her ear. “Can I have milk?” 

Pepper patted his back. “No, Peter. If you want, I can get you a carton of milk from the vending machines. Would you like that?” 

Peter shook his head, whispering in her ear again. “In my bottle?” 

Tony couldn’t hear what Peter was saying but he had an idea. Morgan slid off his lap and started crawling away. “I feel better. I’m gonna go play now.” 

“Have fun.” Tony called out to her then leaned forward and snatched Peter off of Pepper, wanting to distract him. He cradled him in his arms so he could poke his stomach. 

Peter giggled and tried to kick away but Tony didn’t stop, wanting to take Peter’s mind off the bottle enough to talk to him about the biting Morgan thing. 

He stopped, giving Peter a few seconds to catch his breath before sitting him up between him and Pepper. Tony sat, facing Pepper with one leg swung over the side, mirroring Pepper’s position. 

Peter laid down, chewing on his thumb. 

“That’s dirty, take it out.” Tony said so Peter immediately took it out and lifted his butt to sit on his hands. Tony pulled his ankles closer and sat him up. “You are going to apologize to Morgan for biting her next time you see her because what you did was wrong.” 

Peter looked at Pepper. “If I say sorry, can I have my milk?” 

“No, you don’t get an award for apologizing, Peter.” Peter kicked his legs out in frustration, giving his mom a dirty look. “Do you want to go to get milk out of the vending machine?” 

“Yeah… but-but I want it like how I have it before bed.” Peter grabbed onto Peppers hair and ran his fingers through it, touching her top as well. 

Pepper moved his hand off her top. “You don’t need it. Let’s go get some milk then you can go play again.” 

“What if he vomits?” Tony said, standing up and grabbing Peter’s other hand to lift him up. He didn’t think milk was good when Peter would be crawling and running around. 

Pepper ignored him, walking ahead with Peter and to the vending machine. Peter rubbed at his eyes. “Did you bring it?” 

“Bring what, baby?” Pepper asked, getting the milk and grabbing it out. 

Peter groaned. “My bottle.” 

“No. You don’t need it. Let’s go sit and drink.” Pepper walked back towards where they came from and took a seat on the bench. Tony took a seat next to her, leaving space in the middle for Peter. 

Peter stood in front of them and looked around. “Well… if you forgot it, we can buy a new one.”

“We didn’t forget it. We chose not to bring it.” Tony said. He grabbed the milk from Pepper. “You can sit here and drink it from the carton or you can go play. No bottle.” 

Peter frowned at his options. He sat down and took the carton that his dad opened and took a sip, immediately putting his hand into his hair to twirl. He coughed on it, handing it back to Tony. “I’m all done.” 

“Okay.” Tony simply said, knowing it wasn’t the milk that Peter wanted but the bottle with the milk. “Have fun.” 

Peter ran off to go play again, a smile back on his face. 

.

.

.

Tony didn’t want to leave Pepper in charge of two wild kids, pumped up with sugar from the party but they were back at home now where Harley had been all day by himself and Tony wanted to spend some time with him. 

He closed the dishwasher so Pepper didn’t have to load that up tonight and walked into the playroom to say bye, knowing Peter wasn’t going to let him go so easily. 

“What’re you guys playing?” He asked, sitting down for a bit. 

Peter dumped out his lego set and crawled over to show his dad the box. “I’m gonna build a horse ranch for Morgan’s dolls. Wanna help?” 

“I’m gonna go out with Harley for a bit.” Tony said, waiting for Peter to freak out. 

Peter put his lego box down and stood up. “Okay. Where’re we goin’?” 

Tony looked over at Pepper, shaking his head. “You’re gonna stay here because you have to build the ranch for Morgan. We’ll be back.” 

“Nooo. I can do that later. I’ll come.” Peter ran out of the playroom and opened up the closet door to grab his rain boots and put them on. “Where’s my raincoat?” 

“It’s not raining. But you’re not coming, Pete. I’ll see you when we get back.” Tony held his hand out for Peter but Peter tried to run away so Tony grabbed him, holding him against his side and carrying him back to the play room. “I have a toy I found trying to escape.” He plopped Peter down on the bean bag chair and took his rain boots off his feet. 

“Nooo. Don’t go.” Peter arched his back, sliding off the chair. 

Tony felt bad. He looked over at Pepper and she was silently telling him to go. “Okay. Give me a kiss bye.” Tony leaned down and pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek then quickly left. 

Pepper picked up a toy and gasped. “Look, Peter, Wanna help me build it?” 

Peter looked towards the door one last time before giving in and kneeling down to take the toy from his mom so they could play with it. 

Tony went upstairs and knocked on Harley's bedroom door, waiting to be let in. 

“Come in.” 

He opened the door and looked around the room. He found Harley sitting at his desk with his headphones in. “Hey. What’re you doing?” 

Harley took out one earbud. “Is Peter taking a nap?” 

“What? No, he’s in the playroom with your mom and sister.” Tony sat on his bed, not understanding why Harley was asking him that. Peter didn’t take naps. “Why?” 

“Oh, so did they kick you out? No boys allowed?” 

“What are you trying to say, Harley? That I don’t spend enough time with you?” Tony felt bad but it wasn’t easy. “It’s hard, Harley. Your mother and I are trying to give one hundred percent to all three of you but it’s hard. Especially after… everything that just happened with Peter.” 

Harley nodded and spun around on his chair. “I know. It’s hard for me too, dad.” 

“I know that and that’s why I want to spend some time together. Just you and me.” 

“Why?” 

Tony sighed. He thought it was obvious why. “Okay, I’ll admit. You’ve been away at college for a few months and I’ve gotten used to just having to feed two kids and give two kids baths and put them to bed, now you’re back for a few months and the whole thing happened with Peter so… I’m really trying, Harley.” 

Harley took his other headphone out and placed it with his phone on his desk. “I know. It’s just hard cause I don’t like legos or… dolls and dress up. They like babish things and they don’t like any of the things I like.” 

Tony chuckled. “You think I like it when Morgan puts makeup on my face and forces me to dress up or when Peter forces me to build legos with him but tells me I’m doing it all wrong, I don’t do it because I like those things, I do it because I love to spend time with them and play with them and if they love doing those things, then I love it too. I do it for them, Harley.” 

Harley didn’t say anything and Tony knew he got in his head so he stood up. “Let’s go for a drive. We can get food and talk. Like old times. No kids.” 

A smile spread across Harley's face and Tony knew he did a good job at the whole parenting thing. 

The two had to quietly sneak downstairs to get out of the house without Peter hearing them. Tony felt bad but it had to be done. Harley had suggested Harvey’s so Tony drove to the fast food restaurant. 

It was nice to talk with Harley one on one. It was the first time getting the chance to do that in almost six months. He missed his oldest kid. “Tell me about school. How are you liking it?” 

“It’s good. It’s still hard being away from home though.” Harley admitted. When he had to leave for college, because of Peter, he delayed it a whole semester but he eventually had to go and it was not easy. 

It still wasn’t. 

“It’s still hard with you gone. The kids miss you, especially Pete. He used to try to sneak into your room just to touch everything so your mom and I kept having to get him out before he broke anything. You know how touchy he is.” Tony laughed. He missed Peter and they were barely gone ten minutes. 

“Yeah, when he was eleven, and he went through that phase where he slept with me every night, he was touching me all over the whole night. It was funny at first but it got annoying after. But I kinda miss it.” 

Tony laughed at the forgotten memory. Peter was obsessed with sleeping with Harley for a good couple of weeks. Then he had a few sleepovers with Morgan after that. “How do you think I feel? He does the same thing to me every night when he drinks his bottle.” 

The laughter died down after Tony said that. He didn’t mean for it to sound so… normal. Like it was okay that Peter had a bottle every night. Tony cleared his throat. 

“When’s that gonna stop?” 

“Uh, we’re working on it. Steve… he really did a number on your brother in those four days.” Tony was glad the man was dead because he would have killed him. 

“Yeah. You and mom shouldn’t have gotten it for him at the hotel though.” Harley said. “Because now like, I feel like he knows you guys will give in no matter what. I mean, you will though.” 

Tony did not appreciate Harley’s comments. “You have no idea how hard it is to be a parent. What it’s like. It’s hard enough but add in a kid who’s been kidnapped and raised by their kidnappers but then gets kidnapped again. There’s no parenting books for that so your mom and I are trying our very best while also not completely destroying Peter so he’s not addicted to drugs and sex when he’s older just to numb the pain.” 

Tony felt bad for pouring that all out onto Harley. He only talked to Pepper about that but Harley had to understand that he had no right to criticize his and Pepper’s parenting skills. 

“I’m sorry, dad. I know it’s hard. It’s just… I hate myself for not getting to his school earlier that day. I was five minutes late. If I had been there before, I could have stopped Peter from being taken by that guy. Then he would be fine now.” Harley hated himself so much for that. Five minutes destroyed everything. 

“Woah, hey. It’s not your fault. If there’s anyone to blame besides Steve, it’s the woman who let Peter go outside when some man just claimed to be his father without seeing proof. I blame her but… I’m not holding it against her or-or focusing on it everyday because Peter is back and he’s safe, he’s healthy, he’s happy, of course with a few setbacks but it’ll be okay. If I focus on hating that woman or anyone else then I’ll drive myself crazy and then what kind of father would I be?” 

Harley nodded. It was just so hard. He still blamed himself. “Do you blame me? I mean, if I got there earlier, if I just drove a little faster or-or I left five minutes earlier, I could have stopped it.” 

Tony reached over to squeeze Harley’s hand. He only ever did that with Peter, Morgan and Pepper but he felt the need to do that now. “I do not blame you one bit. What happened was not your fault. And don’t think like that, Harls. They were watching Peter and who’s to say they weren’t watching all of us. If they saw you there, they would have taken Peter a different day so it doesn’t make any difference.” 

Harley assumed so. He did feel a lot better after talking to his dad, something he’d been trying to do for days now. He understood that his parents were busy with Peter but it was still hard for him. 

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.” 

“For what, bud?” Tony didn’t know what he was thanking him for. 

Harley shrugged. “Just… everything. Thanks for being a good dad. I know,” He chuckled. “I know Peter and Morgan are too like, young to notice or thank you so I will for them. Thank you.” 

Tony grabbed Harley to give him a half hug even while he was driving. He didn’t know what he did to deserve such perfect and beautiful children. “I love you. I’m so glad you’re my son. I’d go crazy without having these conversations with at least one of my kids.” 

A smile spread across Harley’s face. “I hope one day Peter realizes everything you and mom do for him. Then I hope he gets embarrassed about how he acts.” 

“No.” Tony didn’t want Peter to feel embarrassed about his age regression going on at the moment. “Don’t say that, it’s not his fault. He went through a lot. It’ll get better soon but don’t make him feel embarrassed about it.” 

Harley couldn’t help himself sometimes. “You’re right. I’ll try then.” 

.

.

.

Back at home, Pepper was trying to encourage Peter and Morgan to take a shower but Peter refused and Morgan copied him. A typical night but it was harder with just her there. 

“How about we all shower to see who can shower the fastest?” Pepper suggested. 

Peter thought about it while Morgan stared at him, waiting for the answer. He then grinned. “No! No showers because no going to bed.” 

“Yay!” Morgan cheered and stood up to run away so Peter jumped onto his feet and ran after her. They both ran upstairs and into Morgan’s bedroom. Peter and Morgan immediately climbed into her bed and covered themselves with the blankets while Pepper sighed, exhausted and wanting Tony to help. 

She walked upstairs and down the hallway to the sound of giggles. “Where oh where could my babies be hiding?” She knew they were under the blankets but she checked in the closet and Morgan’s drawers and then approached the bed. “Hmmm? I hear… I hear some silly children under the blankets…” Pepper leaned down and started tickling them through the blankets. “I got you! I got you! I got you!” 

Both Peter and Morgan screamed then Pepper pulled the blankets down and was greeted with their happy faces. “I found you guys! Now it’s time for showers.” 

Peter crossed his arms and briefly frowned before he rolled onto his stomach and pretended to sleep. Pepper leaned over to pat his bum. “It’s still early. We can watch a movie when the boys get back if we’re showered before then.” 

“Can I pick the movie, mommy?” Morgan asked, batting her eyes at the woman. 

Peter turned back onto his back. “No, I wanna pick the movie, mommy.” 

Pepper almost gasped but she stopped herself. Peter hadn’t called her mommy in a long time. He had to admit that she missed it, Tony got called daddy often but she didn’t by Peter very often. She patted his stomach. “How about whoever showers first can pick the movie?” 

Peter didn’t like that idea. “Nooo. I don’t want to shower.” 

“Do you wanna take a bath instead?” Pepper suggested, hoping for any type of wash up. 

“Mmmm no.” Peter yawned and lifted his arm up to play with his curls. 

Pepper didn’t know what else to do but thankfully backup was here since she heard the front door opening. She pulled out her phone to check the camera by the front door, always a bit scared that it wasn’t actually Tony and Harley walking into the house. 

She saw that it was them and decided to wait until Tony came up to get them. 

“Pep? Where are you guys?” Tony called from downstairs. 

“We’re in Morgan’s room.” 

Tony made his way upstairs and found his kids in the bed with Pepper. “Hi guys. Are you having a slumber party in here?” 

Peter grinned and nodded. “Sit with us.” 

“I told them it’s shower time but they refuse to go.” Pepper explained then pointed at Peter. “Especially this little money.” 

Tony fake gasped. “Is that so?” 

“Mommy said we can watch a movie after.” Morgan told her dad, still copying Peter and not moving. 

Tony thought that was a good idea but first they needed to shower and wash up. He leaned down to pick Peter up off the bed. “Off to the bathroom we go. Are your lego men gonna take a shower with you?” 

Peter laughed and squirmed in his dad’s arms. He spotted Harley along the way and reached his arms out for him. “I want Harley.” 

Harley patted his little brother's head. “Sure, I can help him with his shower, dad.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m not helping him. He’s old enough, right, Peter? I’m just gonna drop you off in the bathroom.” 

Peter squirmed to get out of his dad's arms so Harley held him instead, struggling to find a good position. “Hey.” 

Peter slyly hid his head in Harley’s neck then grabbed his face. “Carry me to your bedroom, Harls.” 

“No. Into the bathroom. Let’s go, smelly butt.” Tony gently pushed Harley in the direction of his bedroom since he knew Peter was going to take advantage of someone else sending him for a shower and try to get out of it. 

“My butt isn’t smelly.” Peter pointed his arm at his sad, trying to hit him but he was too far away. “Come closer.” 

“No way.” Tony plugged his nose to tease Peter and followed them into the bathroom, shutting the door behind them. He knew how this went and he didn’t know why Peter was so against showers and baths all the sudden. He knew Steve didn’t do anything inappropriate to Peter but something went on during bath times because Peter hated it. 

When Harley put him on his feet, Peter crawled over to the cabinet and began taking everything out. “No no, one toy. Put the rest back.” 

“No, I need three.” 

“Just one.” 

“Two.” 

“Okay you get none. Take off your clothes and go in the shower.” Tony turned the shower on but Peter turned his back to him and stuck his feet in the cabinet so Harley took that as his que to leave. 

“I’m going. Have fun, dad. When you decide to shower, Peter, we’re all gonna be having so much fun downstairs without you.” Harley said and left after that. 

Peter kicked his feet out and whined. “No. No no no no. I wanna go too!” 

“You can. No one is stopping you. Just get in the shower. I’ll be waiting in my bedroom, okay? I won’t go downstairs until you’re done.” 

Peter crawled over to the shower but hesitated. “Why can’t you stay?” 

“Because you don’t need my help. You’re old enough to shower by yourself. You never needed my help before, remember?” Tony hoped they got back to that soon. He wanted Peter to not depend on him for every little thing because he didn’t want to give Steve that satisfaction from beyond the grave. 

Peter sighed then sighed again when his dad didn’t acknowledge him. “But… but you can stay for a little bit.” 

“How about I go get your pyjamas and wait in the bedroom and if you need me, just call me and I’ll come? Then we’ll go watch a movie.” 

Peter thought about it then nodded so Tony left Peter to wash up. 

Tony waited for Peter to call him and he didn’t, to his surprise. The shower turned off and Peter walked out, wrapped in a towel and walked over to stand between his dad’s legs. “I didn’t wash my hair cause mom did the other night.” 

“When did mom wash your hair?” Tony asked, a bit confused because he didn’t think that was true. 

Peter shrugged. “When she did.” 

Tony nodded, not knowing what Peter was talking about. “Look, bud, when mom or me say it’s time for a shower or a bath, that means you have to listen. No more running away and hiding because then Morgan copies you and you don’t want to both get in trouble, do you?” 

“Uh, well if I’m gonna get in trouble then I want her to too. Not just me.” Peter placed his hands on each of his dad’s knees to hold himself up. 

“But why? What if she didn’t do anything wrong?” 

Peter stopped what he was doing and shrugged. “Don’t know. She’s bad, I’m not.” 

“Sometimes you’re both bad. When I ask mom tonight if you were behaving, what will she say?” Tony was curious to see what Peter had to say for himself. He came home to no mess and no tears so he assumed it went well. 

“Ummmm… that I was good.” Peter somewhat lied. He knew he didn’t listen since his mom couldn’t pick him up anymore and carry him easily like his dad was able to so he could get away with a lot more. 

“Okay. I’m gonna go ask her and I’m not gonna be happy if I find out that you’re lying to me.” Tony stared at Peter, already knowing he was lying to him. 

Peter pushed him back down so he couldn’t stand up. “No! I don’t want you to be mad at me and then not give me milk later.” He explained as he leaned over his dad’s knee. 

“You can have a cup of milk whether you’ve been bad or good. That’s okay to have your cup of milk.” Tony made sure to say cup of milk twice so Peter got used to it. He patted his butt. “Okay, get your pyjamas on and let’s go watch a movie.” 

Peter got dressed in his pyjamas and demanded a piggy back ride downstairs but Pepper was calling Tony from Morgan’s and Peter’s bathroom that Peter never even used anymore. 

He walked around the corner with Peter on his back. “Yeah?” 

“Morgan shoved her toothbrush down the sink and then turned the tap on and I can’t get it out.” Pepper explained, somewhat laughing at the situation. 

Tony chuckled. “Okay. Let me see.” He gently bent down to place Peter on his feet. “Go pick a movie with Morgan and Harley and we’ll be down in a sec, Pete.” 

“Okay!” Peter ran downstairs and didn’t see Harley. Morgan was standing on the kitchen counter and digging in the cookie cabinet. “What’re you doing? You’re gonna get in trouble.” 

Morgan looked around but her parents weren’t there so she didn’t care. “Are you gonna tell mommy and daddy?” 

Peter thought about it. “Get me a cookie.” 

Morgan handed him one. 

“Okay. I won’t tell. How did you get up?” Peter looked around, spotting the chair Morgan pointed to so he dragged it over and climbed up as well, grabbing onto the cabinet handles to pull himself up. “Hmm? Is there any chocolate?” 

Morgan spotted a box at the top. “Up there. Grab it, Petey.” 

Peter stood on his tippy toes to grab it but behind that box, he spotted his bottle and he gasped. “My bottle. I’m gonna fill it up myself.” He slid off the counter and looked around for anyone else then he grabbed the milk from the fridge and filled his bottle to the top, smiling. 

He took a few sips while looking for someone to come but no one came so he put the milk back in the fridge and looked up at Morgan. “Give me another cookie.” He heard someone coming so he quickly went to go hide it in the couch cushions so he could have it during movie time. 

He ran back into the kitchen and acted like he was innocent. 

“Morg, you know mom and dad will freak if they saw you standing on the counter.” Harley walked over and lifted Morgan down. He turned to Peter. “You have chocolate on your face.” 

Peter quickly wiped it off and pulled Morgan’s hand to drag her into the living room, whispering in her ear. “Don’t tell anyone we ate chocolate.” 

She nodded just as Tony walked behind them. “What’re you two whispering about?” He grabbed both their heads and pretended to smash their heads together, causing them to start laughing. “Did you pick a movie?”

“Frozen two!” Morgan yelled, already standing up to grab the remote. 

The family of five got settled on the couch in their usual positions for movie night. Harley sat on the loveseat couch while the rest of them sat on the big couch. Tony always chooses to have Peter next to him with Morgan next to Peter and Pepper on her other side. 

Tony put an arm around Peter and got comfortable, preparing to watch this movie once again. 

Peter waited a bit and made sure no one was looking before he grabbed his bottle from in between the couch cushions and brought it to his lips. His hand went into his hair to twirl it automatically and he felt so relaxed. 

It took Tony a while to notice but he heard gulping sounds and looked down, completely surprised to see what Peter was doing. He looked over at Pepper but she wasn’t looking at him so he tried waving his hand to get her attention behind Peter’s head. 

He tossed a chip at her and she finally looked. “What?” She mouthed. 

He pointed down at Peter and judging by the surprised expression, she didn’t give him the bottle like he thought she did. “How?” He mouthed to her. 

“Take it from him.” She mouthed back. 

Tony shook his head. He was scared. Pepper gave a sharp nod, pointing her finger at him and he knew he had to so he nodded and tried to figure out the best way to do it. 

Peter looked so content while he watched the movie and drank but they couldn’t allow that. Tony carefully manoeuvred his arm above Peter’s head and grabbed the bottle, slowly pulling it away from Peter’s lips. 

As soon as Peter felt it leave his lips, he whined and sat up to turn to Tony. “Mmm no.” Peter snatched it back so Tony looked over at Pepper for help. 

She gestured for him to take it again so Tony grabbed it and took it from Peter, holding it out of his reach this time. Peter sat up on his knees and reached for it. “Give it.” 

“Mom and I didn’t give this to you. You’re not allowed to have it.” Tony placed it on the side table. “All gone.” 

Peter hit him. “No.” Tony didn’t react so Peter grabbed his arm and bit him. 

“Peter, stop biting. That hurts.” Tony pushed Peter’s head away and rubbed the spot that Peter just bit. Now he knows how poor Morgan felt. 

“Give it.” Peter tried to reach for it again but Tony stopped him. 

“Come sit next to me, Peter. Your dad and I said no bottle. Come here.” Pepper held her arms out for Peter but he shook his head and buried it in Tony’s lap. 

Tony patted his back, feeling really bad. Should they have just let Peter finish the bottle? Tony had no idea? Maybe they should tell Peter he could have one more and then stop cold turkey after that so at least Peter knows it’s his last one. Tony didn’t know but he felt completely heart broken. He felt so bad that he actually felt really anxious and uncomfortable for taking it from Peter so he stood up and held his arms out for him. 

“Come here. Let’s go walk around the house.” Peter immediately accepted and went into his arms, laying his head on Tony’s shoulder and putting his thumb in his mouth to try and calm down. “Did you find your bottle or did Harley give it to you?” 

“I did.” Peter answered. 

Tony walked into the family room on the other side of the main floor from the rest of the family. He felt so bad. “Why?” 

Peter sighed. “I like it.” 

Tony walked over to the front window to look out. It was dark out and dark everywhere in the house but the living room but in a way, it made it more relaxing. “Can you tell me why? Does it help you relax?” 

Peter pulled his thumb from his mouth. “Yeah… I don’t know. I just like it and you took it from me.” 

Tony felt awful. In Peter’s mind, he was taking his comfort away from him and Tony couldn’t do that right now. He walked into the living room, grabbed the bottle and walked back out to give it to Peter in the opposite room. 

Peter watched the bottle in his hands with eager eyes, waiting ever so patiently. Tony held it in front of him. “You’re gonna drink the rest of it and then no more. It’ll be gone after this.” 

Peter reached out for it desperately. “Then you’ll buy me a new one?” 

“No, after the milk is gone, there will be no more. If you want milk, it goes in a cup. Do you understand me?” Peter nodded so Tony handed him the bottle and went to go sit down somewhere with him until he was done. 

Peter pointed to the wall. “Why can’t we go in there to watch Frozen?” 

Tony didn’t want Pepper to see and judge but she was going to find out either way so he stood back up with Peter and decided to explain his reasoning for this later. “Okay but remember, no more milk after this.” 

He walked into the living room, Pepper immediately spotting what was in Peter’s hands and she gave a sad look. Tony wasn’t expecting that. He sat down, getting back into their same position. 

Maybe this set them back five steps in the healing process but Tony made the right call in his opinion, he knew Peter needed it and it hurt him in a sense that Peter felt the need to hide it. 

Before the movie ended, Peter was passed out with two ounces of milk left. Tony slowly and carefully pulled it from his mouth and set it on the table. Pepper smiled. It was the first time since Peter came back where he put himself to sleep without crying or without any help from either of them. 

The credits started rolling so Pepper lowered the volume and walked over to Tony and Peter, kneeling in front of them. “What are we going to do?” 

“I’ll carry him up to our bed.” 

“No. About this,” Pepper picked up the bottle. “He can put himself to sleep with it.” 

Tony knew that. “We still gotta break the habit. I just gave it to him because I felt awful, Pep. I feel like in his mind, we’re taking away his comfort and I hate that but I just felt so bad this time.” 

“What do we do?” She asked. 

“I don’t know.” Tony admitted.