We’re never quite prepared
Tony walked into the bedroom, leaving a trail of glitter behind him. “Oops. Pete, can you grab a towel and clean that up for me?”
Peter walked in and looked at all the glitter on the floor. “I’ll clean it up.” He grabbed a towel and wet it then tried his best to clean it up but was only spreading it everywhere. “It’s on me now, dad. It’s sticky.”
Tony looked down and cringed. “Okay… I’ll clean it up… can you go shower? We have to leave in twenty minutes.” He opened the makeup kit and mentally prepared himself to do this.
Morgan had a school play and she was the star of it and somehow it landed on the same night as Pepper’s meetings so Tony was in charge of getting the kids ready. It also just so happened that Harley was out with his friends and left his phone on silent so Tony was doing everything himself.
He turned around once he heard the shower turn on and saw Peter taking off his clothes. “No, Peter, go shower in yours and Morgan’s bathroom because she’s in here right now.”
Peter frowned. “So?”
Tony sighed. He grabbed the brush and started brushing Morgan’s hair but she screamed. “Sorry. Where’s the spray mom uses for this?”
“I don’t know.”
Peter helped him look under the sink. “Pete, go shower. You have jelly all over your face.”
Peter stood back up and looked at Morgan. “You look funny. You should have been a knight and not a princess.”
“I’m a fairy. Tell him, daddy.”
Tony ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know where it is.” His phone started ringing in the bedroom and Peter was racing to answer it before he could get it. “Who is it?”
“Hi mom. Are you coming home? Dad’s making a mess and-and he’s hurting Morgan’s hair.” Peter held up the FaceTime call. “And he says I can’t shower in your room and I have to go to my bathroom but I’ll be bored.”
“If Morgan’s in the bathroom then you should use your own shower.” Pepper tried but she knew Peter was going to do what he wanted to do at the end of the day. “Where’s your dad?”
Tony grabbed the phone from Peter. “I’m here, Pep. Are you coming home? I’ve got one fairy to get ready and one monkey child who apparently can't do anything for himself. And Harley is off with his friends so I’m all alone here.”
“Harley said he’s meeting us there. He took your car.” Pepper reminded him. “How’s Morgan’s makeup look? Can I see?”
Tony ran a nervous hand through his hair. “I didn’t do it yet-” Tony looked over and saw Peter trying to clean the floor with the toilet brush. “Peter, go shower. I’m not gonna ask you again.” He snatched the toilet brush from him and accidentally dropped the phone on the floor. “Go. Shower. Now.”
Peter screamed when he was being kicked out of the bathroom then ran back in.
“I’m gonna have to call you later, Pepper.” Tony picked up the phone and said.
“Don’t be late. It starts at seven and she has to be there thirty minutes early.”
Tony checked the time. “Yes. I will.” He hung up the phone. “I’ll try.” He put his phone on the counter and clapped his hands together. “Okay, Peter shower now or I’m throwing you in the pool to shower.”
Morgan pointed her finger at him. “Throw him in the pool!”
“I’m about to.” Tony looked at Peter and gave him his best dad look so Peter ran into their shower and stuck his face on the glass.
“I’m gonna shower in my underwear then.” Peter stood under the water, laughing at the feeling. “It’s like swimming with my clothes on.”
Tony reached into the shower and turned on the one way glass tint that they never ever used but it came in handy for this situation so they couldn’t see in. “Take those off first. And be quick. We have to leave in like fifteen minutes.”
Tony looked for the spray but it was in the other bathroom so he left the two alone.
Peter pressed his butt on the glass. “Look, Morgan!”
She turned to see but it was blurry. “I can’t see you. Dad put the one way glass on.”
Peter frowned and looked. “What’s that? But I can see you.”
Morgan huffed. “It’s a one way glass. Only you can see me.”
Peter had to see for himself so he got out of the shower and looked. “Woah. You go in so I can see.”
“No, I already showered. I don’t want to do it again.”
Tony walked into the bathroom and pointed his finger at Peter. “Get in there.” Peter quickly ran in. “Take off your wet underwear and shower properly. We aren’t living in a zoo.” Although Tony sometimes felt like they were. Their household was crazy at all times. Day or night. He wouldn’t want to have it any other way though.
Peter stripped from his wet underwear and slapped it against the wall so Tony stopped what he was doing to open the shower door and held his hand out. “Enough. Pick those up.”
Peter looked at him.
“Pick them up and give them to me.” He instructed then rinsed the water out and tossed them in the other sink to deal with later. “Hold your head straight, Morg.”
“I’m trying! Don’t yell at me!”
“I’m not- I’m not even yelling.” Tony tried to brush the knots out of Morgan’s hair but gave up. Pepper always did that, Peter used to get massive knots and Pepper always took care of those. He didn’t have the patience or experience doing that.
Next was the makeup so Morgan sat on the bathroom counter while Tony tried his best to apply the glitter onto her eyelids and cheeks.
Peter took advantage of no one being able to see him so he grabbed the shaving cream and sprayed it out, rubbing it all over his body. Only Tony heard the sound of it so he put down the makeup brush and opened the shower door, not even surprised to see that Peter rubbed the stuff all over his body.
He grabbed the shower handle off the hook. “Okay. All done. Stand in front of me.” Peter picked up the shaving cream. “No, leave it there. You’re all done.” He rinsed his body off and shut off the water then handed him a towel. “Go dry off and get dressed somewhere else.”
“Are you gonna come?” Peter wrapped the towel around his shoulders and asked.
“I’ll be done soon. Mom laid out your clothes on your bed.” Tony watched Peter walk out of the bathroom and hoped he actually got dressed instead of wandering around like he usually did after a shower.
Somehow, Tony managed to get Morgan’s makeup and hair done and helped her into her fairy costume but Peter hadn’t walked back into the bathroom yet and that concerned Tony, he already had a feeling that Peter was going to be up to no good by the time he got out.
“Go grab the rest of your stuff, Morg.” Tony instructed her and went to go find Peter. He walked into his room and didn’t immediately see him but he heard him in his closet so he walked over and spotted Peter pulling all the clothes off his hangers. “What are you doing?”
Peter turned to him, he at least got dressed but he didn't button up his dress shirt, making him look about three years older and Tony didn’t like that.
“I can’t find anything to wear.”
Tony blinked at him. “You’re wearing clothes.”
Peter frowned. “Not anything comfortable.”
“We’ll be gone for like two hours, don’t worry about being comfortable.” Tony turned the light off in Peter’s closet. “Let’s go now. I don’t wanna be late, actually we can’t be late so run.”
They got downstairs and while Peter was putting his shoes on, Tony did up his dress shirt for him and admired how handsome he looked with his curly messy hair and his black skinny jeans with his white, spotted button up shirt. He was definitely gonna be the most handsome boy in the room.
Peter found hidden candy in the car seat and ate it, cringing at the taste so he had to spit it out. “Ew.” He picked it up and tried to hand it to Morgan but it fell in her dress before she could notice. He tried to grab it out but it was stuck so he buried the candy amongst the layers and went back to looking out his window, acting like nothing happened.
They arrived and Peter immediately spotted his mom's car so he jumped out of the van and ran over to the driver's side, wanting a hug from her. He hasn’t seen her since early this morning and he missed her. “Mommy.” Peter melted into her arms, never wanting to let go. “I missed you so much. Dad was being mean to me.”
Tony walked behind him. “I was not. You weren’t listening, young man.” He ran a hand through his hair to pat it down then leaned into the car to kiss Pepper.
“Ewww. That’s gross.” Peter covered his eyes then covered a hand over his mom's mouth. “Nooo.”
Tony pulled away. “Okay… I won’t. I’ll just have to kiss you then.” He went to kiss Peter but he screamed so Tony stopped. “Doesn’t Peter look so handsome, Pep?”
Peter blushed.
“Yeah, look at you.” Pepper looked at his outfit the best she could from her position. “How many girlfriends do you have now, huh?”
Tony immediately bud in. “No. Nope, no girlfriends until after college. Right, Pete?”
Peter gave a sharp nod. “Right.”
“Dad! Let’s go!” Morgan grabbed onto his hand and tugged it.
“Okay. Okay.” Tony looked back at Peter and Pepper. “Are you guys coming?”
Peter got off his mom's lap so she could get out of the car then he grabbed onto her hand. “I wanna sit next to you.” He leaned his head on her arm. “Did you miss me?”
“Yes, of course I missed my baby.” She leaned down to press a kiss to his head. “Morgan, you look so beautiful.”
Morgan wasn’t interested, she was looking wide eyed for her friends. “I know. Oh, I see them. Bye guys, I’m gonna go.”
“Wait, wait.” Tony grabbed her hand. “Good luck. We’ll see you on stage.”
Peter spotted the candy in her dress but didn’t say anything. He pretended not to see it and looked around but they were in his old elementary school again and there were a ton of people around and it made him feel super uncomfortable so he let go of his mom's hand and stood in front of his dad, standing in his tippy toes and grabbing his arms to be lifted up but Tony didn’t.
“You can hold my hand instead. I don’t want you to fall asleep.”
Peter continued to try and be picked up. “I won’t fall asleep.”
Tony waved bye to Morgan after Pepper gave her a hug and kiss. “No, bud. You’re gonna walk.”
“Please. Please.” Peter tried again but it was no use so he grabbed his dad’s hand with a frown. He spotted a vending machine. “Then I want candy.”
Pepper pulled her wallet out since they still had some time to kill. They got a pack of candy and went to wait by the front for Harley who arrived just before the play was about to start.
Peter sat in between his parents. Pepper had a pen and notepad for him to keep him distracted while they had to sit through everything but that wasn’t much help.
Peter shoved his face in between Tony’s legs. “Peter, don’t do that.” Tony sat Peter up and pointed at the notepad. “Draw me a picture.”
“No. This is so boring.” Peter whined, louder than he should have. “These kids can’t even dance.”
Tony felt his face burn red. “Shhhh. Stop.” Him and Pepper both looked at each other. “Shh, Peter. Whisper if you need to speak.”
Peter bounced up and down on his chair. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m not wearing any underwear.”
Tony looked at him. “What?”
“I’m not wearing any underwear.” Peter repeated.
“No, I heard you. Why aren’t you?”
Peter shrugged and Pepper gave Tony a dirty look. “You didn’t get him dressed?”
“He’s fourteen. He can dress himself.” Tony knew what Pepper meant but still.
Pepper rolled her eyes at him. “You could’ve at least checked or something.”
Tony didn’t respond and went back to watching the kids dance horribly but then Peter was speaking again. “Wanna see?”
“No. Stop talking and watch the dance.”
Peter did not watch the kids dance. He turned around on his chair and looked at the man sitting behind him then shoved his face in his dad’s chest. “Dad. I need to pee.”
Tony cringed. Morgan was going to be on soon.
Harley leaned over. “I can take him. This shit- stuff is boring.”
Tony was hesitant. “Fine. Keep your phone on ringer and be quick. Don’t let him wander.” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm. “Go pee and come straight back here. Listen to Harley.”
Peter jumped up. “Yay.” He followed Harley out of the gymnasium and into the quiet hallway. “Let’s sneak into a classroom.”
Harley found the washroom sign. “No, we have to go straight back.” He led Peter into the bathroom and kicked open all the stalls, surprisingly the elementary school boys weren’t as nasty as high school boys. He couldn’t really remember the state of elementary school bathrooms anyways. “Did you even need to go?”
Peter peeked in the stalls. “Yeah… I do.” He picked the last one and pulled his pants down, sitting on the toilet.
Harley went onto his phone to text his friends back while he waited for Peter but apparently they were taking longer than necessary because their dad was texting them, asking if everything was okay.
Harley took a picture and sent it back with the simple text that Peter wasn’t going.
“Did you take a picture of me?”
“Yes, because dad is asking why we’re taking so long.”
Peter shrugged and kicked his legs. “There’s no pee coming out of my pee hole.”
“Oh my god.” Harley looked around to triple check no one was in there. “You’re so embarrassing.” He chuckled.
Peter started going pee then stood up and placed his foot on the handle to flush it. He waddled out of the stall and tugged his pants back up then quickly ran into the gymnasium, just in time to watch Morgan’s performance.
Peter clapped his hands for his sister, wanting to be the loudest one there for her. After her group was done, Peter looked at Tony. “In the car I by accident put candy in her dress.” He covered his hand over his mouth with a giggle.
Both parents looked at him. “It was by an accident.”
Tony wasn’t surprised. “Hey,” He looked at Pepper. “just be grateful I got them here on time. You have no idea how hard that was for me.”
Pepper definitely owed him one after Peter stopped sleeping in their bed every night…
Peter nodded. “Yeah… after we should get ice cream.”
Tony liked that idea and so after the play was over and they met up with Morgan in the crowd, the Stark family went to go get some ice cream at the same place they often went to after getting Peter back.
.
.
.
Tony finished putting a few dishes away before going up to bed. He turned around to see Peter freshly showered and in pyjamas already, waiting for him. “Oh. I thought you were waiting for me to come up before you showered?”
Peter yawned. “Mom said I had to shower and get ready for bed before you came up.”
Tony usually did showers with the little ones, he was the one who got them to clean up what they were doing and actually get ready for bed but he guessed Pepper took care of that for tonight. “Okay. Are you ready for bed then?”
Peter hesitated but nodded, briefly looking around the kitchen. Tony wondered if he was looking for his bottle. He hoped not but Peter hadn’t asked for it in a nights now. That was a good thing but every night Tony always got anxious, just waiting for Peter to ask him for it.
He turned the lights off and started walking up the stairs with Peter following him. They walked into Tony’s and Pepper’s bedroom but Morgan was lying in Peter’s spot. “Nooo. I’m sleeping here.”
Morgan moved over a bit. “We can sleep together, Petey.”
Peter climbed up on the bed and pulled the pillow out from under her then laid down on it and shoved his thumb in his mouth to go to sleep. “Dad. Lie down.”
Tony shut the lamp off, not knowing whether or not Morgan was sleeping with them. She hasn’t in awhile but it wasn’t the best place to get a full night's rest with Peter kicking and waking up a few times throughout the night. “Are you sleeping with us, Morgan?”
Morgan giggled. “No. But I want Peter to sleep in my bed again. Like a sleep over.”
“Not tonight. Pete’s gonna wake up again soon anyways and wake you up.” Tony patted Peter’s butt, already able to see that he was going to be fast asleep in just a few minutes with the way his eyes kept fluttering open only to close again.
Morgan crossed her arms. “Why will he wake up?”
Pepper put her book away and laid down. “Because Peter’s body just wakes him up throughout the night. How about you go get a full night's rest in your bed and we’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“Fine. Goodnight, Petey.” She kissed Peter’s back but he didn’t say anything to her so she leaned over and pulled his thumb from his mouth. “Say goodnight to me-”
“Noooo.” Peter pushed himself onto his knees and cried, smacking her away. “Now I can't sleep!”
“Go to bed, Morgan. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Tony quickly gave Morgan a hug and pushed Peter back down onto his chest and grabbed his wrist to force his thumb back into his mouth. “Better?”
Peter didn’t respond but he shut his eyes again and was content so Pepper shut her lamp off. Tony let his eyes adjust to the darkness but the nightlight they had in there for Peter helped him to still see Peter and make out his face.
He always slept on his stomach with his knees pulled against his chest when he was really tired and Tony still never understood how that was comfortable for him.
Although it worked. And it was another night with no bottle for Peter.
That was a win in Tony’s books.
.
.
.
Tony was beyond proud of Peter.
He couldn’t believe how far he’s come in the last few weeks since getting kidnapped for the second and last time.
There was a huge improvement with Peter even within the last few nights of him not needing and asking for his bottle and both parents decided it was time to talk to Peter about that and reward him for his accomplishment.
Tony called Peter down from Morgan’s bedroom and had him sit down on the couch so Pepper and him could talk to Peter. Peter looked a bit nervous. “Was I bad?”
Tony shook his head. “No, baby. Your mom and I wanted to talk to you about some good news.” Peter nodded curiously. “Well… it’s been three night and you haven’t asked or needed the bottle anymore so your mom and I want to go do something fun to celebrate that.”
Peter chewed on the tip of his thumb. The only reason he didn’t ask for his bottle was because he knew he would get water in it when he wanted milk… he was glad he wasn’t using it anymore though.
Pepper added on. “Yeah.” She leaned forward to squeeze his knee. “And then after we go do our surprise, we’re gonna go to the toy store and you can pick out whatever toy you want.”
Peter smiled at that. “Anything?”
“Anything.” Tony confirmed then stood up. He held his hand out for Peter to take and walked into the kitchen to grab the bottle from the cabinet where he hid it behind some flour. “Here.”
Peter took it and looked at it sadly. Part of him wanted it again and he hated that so much. He looked up at Tony, confused. “Why?”
“We’re gonna bury it in the backyard together and say goodbye.” Tony had the idea last night and spoke to Pepper about it in the morning. It would be important for Peter to have a proper goodbye to the thing that held him to Steve and Bucky. He was cutting off those strings and was finally on the path to being free again.
Peter liked that idea. “Okay. Where will we bury it?”
Tony walked outside with Peter. “You choose.”
Pepper, Harley and Morgan walked out to join them but they remained quiet, leaving the moment for Peter and Tony mainly.
Peter walked towards the corner of the backyard where he remembered him and Morgan used to plant apple seeds. Nothing ended up growing but he thought it would be the perfect place. “I wanna bury it here. Is this good?”
“It’s perfect.” Tony kneeled down and took the shovel from Pepper to hand to Peter. Aiser came and laid down next to Peter, licking his hand.
“Aiser,” Peter wiped his hand on his pants and squatted down to start digging. Once he dug deep enough, he grabbed the bottle and sadly looked at it. He was going to miss it… but he knew he had to. He looked up at Tony.
“We’re all so proud of you, baby,” Tony kissed his head. “do you wanna say anything?”
Peter looked at his mom who looked like she was crying. She gave him the biggest smile so he looked back down at it. “I’m glad I don’t need you anymore.” He said to the bottle then looked back up at his dad who nodded so Peter put it into the hole and started to pile the dirt on it.
He patted it down and stood up to go into his dad’s arms. Tony lost his balance but fell onto his back with Peter who started laughing so everyone else started laughing along with him.
“I love you and I’m so proud of my baby.” Tony held Peter’s face in his hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You’ve come so far, Petey.”
Peter shut his eyes, too overwhelmed to speak. He laid his head on his dad’s chest briefly then sat up on him. “Now to the toy store?!”
“Yes.” Tony lifted Peter off of him so he could stand up. “Let’s go.”