I was born to be me
Peter and Morgan were bored.
They wanted to go swimming but they had to wait for their dad to arrive with their bathing suits so they tried to entertain themselves but ended up fighting.
Peter jumped on the bed and sat on top of Morgan, pinning her down. “I’m gonna spit in your face.”
Morgan squirmed under him. “Ahhh! Don’t! Don’t! If you do, I’ll punch you in the face.”
Peter was willing to take that chance. He pretended to spit on Morgan but he wasn’t actually going to do that. “Just kidding. Don’t punch me in the face now.” Peter rolled off of Morgan and accidentally landed on her hair so she screamed and smacked him in the chest. “Owwww! I didn’t even do anything!”
“Morgan and Peter, we aren’t at home. We’re in a hotel so be quieter.” Pepper warned them and went back to sending some emails on her phone.
Harley was on the balcony on the phone with his friend since his siblings were driving him crazy and he needed a break from them and there was only so much walking he could do with Aiser.
Morgan kicked Peter off the bed and he landed on his butt so he grabbed a pillow and tossed it at her but it made the lamp fall onto the floor.
“Peter and Morgan! Enough!” Pepper yelled, silently counting down the minutes until Tony arrived.
Both of them looked over at her then Peter was throwing the pillow at Morgan’s face and she screamed then ran at him. Peter screamed as well and made a dash for the hotel door, opening it and running down the hallway with Morgan chasing after him.
“Peter! Get back here!” Pepper had to go chase after them but they were already down the hallway.
“I’m gonna get you!” Morgan yelled, chasing after Peter.
Tony was walking down the hallway at that moment and almost bumped into Peter, rather, Peter almost bumped into him. At first Tony thought it was a random child running around because he knew his kids were better behaved than that but he immediately recognized the two wild kids.
“Hey. What are you two doing?” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm so he couldn’t run anymore but Peter was laughing and trying to get away from Morgan. “Hey, hey! Stop!”
Pepper ran around the corner, her heart beating a mile a minute. “Oh my god, you two. I can’t. I can’t.” Pepper placed her hand over her chest and walked away from them, nearing tears from how bad they’ve been.
Tony didn’t let go of Peter’s arm. He could tell that Pepper had lost all her patience. “Morgan, stop trying to get Peter.”
Peter tried to run away again so Tony picked him up. “Why are you only wearing your underwear and running in the halls? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
The smile fell from Peter’s face as he looked at his dad and how serious he was. “Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. What made you think it was okay to run down the hallway alone and dressed in a shirt and underwear?” Tony asked him as he carried him back to the hotel room, making sure Morgan was following behind them.
Peter stared at him.
Tony unlocked the door and held it open for Morgan and Pepper then walked in and placed Peter on his feet. “Both of you sit down on opposite beds. You’re both gonna sit there for five minutes without talking or moving.”
Peter shook his head and grabbed onto his dad’s arm. “Nooo. I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Morgan sat down, crossing her arms over her chest but Peter didn’t want to sit down quietly for five minutes. “Yes, Peter. You can’t run down the hallways like that. You were alone with no adult with you, you didn’t even ask and you were wearing underwear. I know you know how evil some people can be and if I wasn’t there and if your mom was in the bathroom or something, some man could have snatched you up and could have taken you away.”
Peter shook his head, refusing to believe that. “Steve’s gone.”
Tony sighed and sat on the bed, pulling Peter to stand next to him. Peter couldn’t be so naïve to think that Steve was the only man out there that could take him, even though Steve was dead now. “I know but there are a lot of evil people in this world. If some man grabbed you, Morgan wouldn’t be able to stop him and if he took you into a hotel room, it'd be too late before we found you.”
Peter pushed his face into his dad’s chest. He didn’t like that. “No.”
“Yeah, I know it’s scary but it could have happened. That’s why you can’t do stuff like that.” He pulled Peter away to look at him. “I just want you to be safe. We all do. Right, Morgan? Are you listening?”
Morgan nodded. “I wouldn't let Petey get taken though, daddy.”
Tony looked back at her. “You don’t know that.”
Peter wrapped an arm around Tony’s neck. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know, and I’m not saying this to scare you. I’m just saying this so you know how careful you have to be.” Tony didn’t want to make Peter paranoid but he needed him to understand right from wrong. “Should you leave the hotel unsupervised, without permission and in your underwear?”
Peter shook his head, his thumb in his mouth now.
“Should you leave the hotel with either mom, Harley or I with proper clothes on?”
Peter nodded.
“Good. I just want you to be safe.” He pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Do you think you’re up for some swimming now?”
The smile was back on Peter’s face. “Yeah, me and Morgan were waiting for you. Did you bring our bathing suits?” Peter looked towards the suitcase that Tony brought.
“Of course. How about you guys go change while I talk to mom.” Tony let them do their thing so he had a chance to talk to Pepper who looked like she was nearing tears. “What’s wrong?”
Pepper shook her head. “I’m just overwhelmed. With the house and everything last night and work and they were really pushing my last bit of patience while you were gone.”
Tony grabbed her hands. “Work can wait. The house is fine, we just have to spend another night here which will be fun. How about you go take a walk or something. There’s a cafe in the lobby. Take your time, Harley can help me with them while you have some time to yourself.”
Pepper pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I feel bad leaving you with them-”
“Mom? Mom? Can you put my hair up?”
“Morgan’s being annoying to me, mom! Mom? Can you come help us, mom?”
Tony nodded. “Run while you can. I’ve got them. Take your time, we’ll be at the pool.” Tony kissed Pepper and went into the bathroom to see what was going on.
Peter was dressed in Morgan’s bikini bottoms and Morgan was sticking her hair up with gel. He wondered if he was going to regret sending Pepper away. He looked at them then grabbed Peter’s bathing suit off the floor and Peter’s arm. “Come with me.” He pulled Peter out of the bathroom. “Morgan, you change in here. Stop- put the hair gel down. You can get ready by yourself.”
“I need the rest of my bathing suit, dad.”
Tony shut the door on her. “One second.”
He walked through the hotel to find Harley on the balcony. “Hey, do you wanna come swimming with us?”
Harley took his headphones out. “Sweet, you’re back,” He walked into the hotel and looked at Peter. “Uh… nice bathing suit.”
“Don’t ask.” Tony said. “Take them off, Pete.” Peter pulled off Morgan’s bathing suit so Tony handed it to Harley. “Can you go give this to her in the bathroom?”
Peter waited for his bathing suit to be handed to him. “Can I wear Morgan’s and she wears mine?”
“Not here. How about next time we go swimming at home you guys can wear whatever you want?” Tony handed Peter his bathing suit.
“Is it outside swimming or inside?”
“Indoor.”
Peter nodded and got himself situated then went to go see if Morgan was done. “Morgan? Did you finish? I want to go already.”
“Harley and I still have to change.” Tony ran his fingers through Peter’s curls.
“I like your bathing suit, Pete.” Harley picked Peter up and held him bridal style. “I’m gonna throw you into the pool once we get there.”
Peter wiggled in his arms. “Then I’ll throw you in.”
Morgan walked out, dressed like a mini Pepper in a cover up. “I’m all ready.”
Peter was placed back on his feet so he grabbed Morgan’s cover up. “I wanna wear one too, dad. Where’s mine?”
Tony didn’t pack a cover up for Peter because he didn’t think he had one. “You can put a shirt on over since you don’t have a cover up.”
“Nooo but I want one. Please, dad. Please.”
“I don’t have one to give you.” Tony dug in the suitcase for his bathing suit and for a top for Peter. “Here, put this one.”
Peter threw it on the ground. “No no. Not this one. I want one like Morgan’s.”
Tony ran his hand through his hair. “I know but I don’t have it for you.” He sat on the bed and tried to see what he packed but there wasn’t any. “I'm sorry, Pete. I don’t have one.”
Morgan took off her cover up to give it to Peter. “Here you go. He can have mine, daddy.”
Tony was so relieved. He pulled Morgan in for a hug. “Thank you, Morg, you’re such an amazing sister. What do you say, Peter?”
Peter happily put the cover up on. “I like it. Thanks. Let’s go now.”
“You guys wait here. I’m gonna quickly change.” Tony waited for Harley to walk out so he could go in. “Make sure you watch them so they don’t run out of the hotel again.”
“Yeah. Wait… what do you mean again?”
Peter jumped off the bed. “Catch me!”
Harley caught Peter and decided to be helpful by getting them ready to leave. “Let’s go get our shoes on.”
Tony was quick. He put a shirt on and grabbed his phone. “Let’s go. Morgan, put a shirt on too.”
Once they were ready to leave, Peter ran ahead but Tony let him since he still had his eye on him and was close enough. “Stop and wait for me before going around the corner.”
Peter jumped on his toes, desperately wanting to go into the elevators to get down to the pool. “Is mom coming too, dad? Where did she go?”
“She went for a walk since you too are making her hair stick up.” He teased but it was the truth.
Once they made it down to the lobby, Tony looked towards the direction of the cafe and spotted Pepper sitting there with a magazine and caught her eye but he brought no attention to her so Peter wouldn’t run towards her. “Hey, this way. This way, Pete.”
“Oh.” Peter turned but tripped on his towel and landed on his face so Tony picked him up before he started crying.
“You’re okay.” Tony rubbed Peter’s face to get rid of the pain and distract him from that. “Your towel was dragging.”
Peter looked down. “Oops.” He tugged on Tony’s hand. “Dad, and look at my shoes. I didn’t even mean to put them on the wrong feet.”
Tony wasn’t surprised. “That’s okay. You can change them once we get there.”
Peter laughed. “No, I’ll just take them off then.”
Morgan grabbed Peter’s hand. “Let’s go now. Can we run, daddy?”
“Yeah, go.”
Peter booked it towards the entrance then jumped up and down. “It has a slide!”
Tony put the key card in the door to let them in. “We have to go to the showers first guys.” He didn’t see a family room and just saw a boys and girls change room and since there were no other people in the pool besides for a mom and her two young kids, Tony decided it would be okay for them to all go into the boys room. “Come, Morg. You’re coming in here with us.”
Peter placed his towel and shoes on the bench. “I’m gonna shower first.”
“Keep your bathing suit on. It’s just to rinse down.” Tony placed their stuff onto the bench and waited for Peter and Morgan to finish. “Morgan, rinse all that gel out of your hair.”
Peter was the first one done and ran towards the door to leave but waited for Tony to say he could go. Tony grabbed all their stuff and held the door open for everyone. “Hurry, Morgan.”
“Coming.” Morgan ran out and went towards Peter. “I dare you to jump into the deep end.”
Although Peter knew how to swim now, there was no way Tony would leave him unattended near water, same with Morgan. He didn’t trust their swimming skills enough to do that. He placed all their stuff down on a pool chair and sat down to watch them.
Peter squatted down to feel for the water temperature and gasped. “It’s warm. Not cold. I’ll go first!” He plugged his nose and jumped in, swimming back to the surface to grab onto the edge of the pool. “Your turn.”
Morgan jumped in next so Tony watched the two of them swim for a bit, having to occasionally tell them to stop doing something. He was content to just watch them but Peter was getting out of the pool and grabbing his hand. “Swim with us. I want you to catch me when I jump in.”
Tony got up and walked into the pool, surprised at how warm it was. “Okay… in the deep end or here?”
Peter walked to the middle of the pool. “Go here and I’ll jump but you have to catch me.”
“I will. Okay,” Tony held his arms out for him, used to catching Peter in the pool by now. They once spent an hour straight doing that. “you ready?”
Peter squatted down but he hesitated. “Come closer.”
“Okay. Jump.”
Peter leaned forward and fell face first in so Tony picked him up and wiped the water off his face. “Woah. Was that fun?”
“Yeah! Carry me like a baby now.” Peter wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and pulled himself up. “Look, Morgan! I’m a baby!”
Tony walked along the pool towards Morgan. “Look what I found. Do you think we should take him home?” Tony joked, holding Peter to himself.
Morgan held her arms out for Peter. “Hand him to me. I wanna hold him.”
Peter was handed to Morgan so he clung onto her. “But don’t drop me. I’m baby.”
Morgan walked into the shallow end and sat Peter on the step but accidentally caused him to go under so Tony grabbed his arm to lift him back up. “Hey! I got water up my nose!” Peter spit the water out and splashed Morgan. “You did it on purpose!”
“I didn’t!”
“Yes you did.”
“She didn’t, Peter. It was an accident.” Tony said so Peter stuck his tongue out at Morgan and lifted his arms up for his dad. “Are you still a baby or are you fourteen?”
Peter laid his head on Tony’s shoulder. “Fourteen. Carry me around the pool.”
Tony started walking around the pool but then Pepper walked into the pool room and surprised everyone with a inflatable pool floaty. It was a blue monster with purple dots on it and had a place to sit inside as well as a cover that went over the top.
Peter gasped. “Woah! That looks sick!”
Tony walked towards the edge of the pool and lifted Peter up to sit on the ledge. “That looks cool. Where did you get that?”
Pepper placed it in the water. “There’s a pool store. They even blew it up for me.”
Peter held his arms out for his dad. “Lift me in it.”
Tony grabbed Peter and lifted him into the floaty, trying to get his legs through the holes. “Is that comfy? It doesn’t look comfy.”
“It is.” Peter rocked back and forth on it a bit then started trying to swim away so Tony pulled himself out of the pool to greet Pepper.
“Hey. I missed you.” He kissed her and sat down, looking over at Harley who was on his phone in the corner.
“How were they?”
Tony shrugged. “Typical. I got it easy, just tossed them in the pool and they fend for themselves.”
Peter screamed when Morgan tried to tip him so Tony looked away from Pepper. “Hey. Morgan, stop.”
“I’m trying to take him out, daddy.” Morgan insisted and still tried to help Peter out.
Tony looked at Peter. “Do you want out, Pete?”
“Yeah… I’m stuck and Morgan’s helping me but she almost tipped me.” Peter kicked his legs under the water, still trying to get out.
Morgan grabbed his upper body and pulled him down, getting Peter’s legs out but his knees got stuck and Morgan couldn’t hold him up in the deep end so they both went under and Peter was stuck upside down with his head under the water. Morgan kicked off the bottom of the pool to lift Peter back up but he was freaking out too much and flailing around, trying to get some air.
It all happened in the span of a few seconds. Tony saw what was going on and stood up to run to the pool and jumped in. He grabbed Peter’s arms and lifted him up first.
Peter gasped and started crying from the fear of almost drowning. Tony pulled the floaty off his legs and held him against his chest, patting his back to try and help him cough the water up. “You’re okay, Peter.”
Morgan swam next to her dad, making their way towards the shallow end. “I’m sorry! Is Petey okay, daddy?”
Pepper was anxiously waiting for them by the stairs, her hands shaking and her heart beating.
Tony patted Peter’s back some more and turned him to see his face. “Did you swallow water?” Even though Peter was crying and it hurt Tony to hear, he was glad that Peter was crying because it meant he was okay and just scared.
Peter cried harder but didn’t respond so Tony sat down on a pool chair and continued to rub Peter’s back to calm him down. Pepper kneeled down in front of him and rubbed at his leg, trying to help calm him down as well.
Morgan stuck her face in Peter’s. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“He’s okay, just give him some space to breathe, Morg.” Tony continued to rub Peter’s back to get him to calm down and he could tell Peter was starting to feel a lot better since his breathing was better and the crying was slowing down.
Harley looked at him. “Is he fine? I’m not surprised that happened.”
Tony wasn’t either. It just went to show that Peter and Morgan could not be trusted alone, especially around water. They never let them swim unattended but it was scary to know that something like this could happen with all of them there.
It was why when they were at home, they never left the two of them unattended for even a minute when they were swimming.
Tony moved Peter a bit so he was sitting up straight. “Do you feel better?” Peter shook his head. “That was scary, huh?”
Peter shoved his face in his dad’s neck. “Uh huh. I was scared. I thought I was gonna sink to the bottom.”
“I know, that’s why you guys have to be careful around water. See how fast something bad can happen?”
Morgan climbed up to sit next to Tony so she could hold Peter’s hand. “Yeah and I couldn’t even touch the bottom but I was trying to so Peter wouldn’t go under.”
Tony half hugged Morgan. “You did good. Everyone is okay.” He looked at Peter who by now, had stopped crying but was in an incredibly clingy mood. “I say we shower, change into comfy clothes and order up room service for some lunch.”
Peter nuzzled against Tony. “I wanna take a nap. I’m tired.”
With a kiss to his head, Tony stood up, pulling Peter to his feet as well. “We can have an early night but if you nap, you won’t go to bed tonight.”
Peter didn’t like that answer. He pushed his face into Tony’s stomach. “I wanna take a nap. Daddy. Please.”
“Baby, I know you’re tired but it’s probably because you’re hungry.” He looked back at Pepper who was grabbing their stuff and following them towards the change rooms. He took the towels from her and pushed open the door for Peter to go in then turned to Pepper. “I didn’t bring any clothes down so we’ll just shower.” He handed her Morgan’s cover up that got stuck in a towel and walked in, almost tripping over Peter.
Peter was back to crying, still wound up from almost drowning a few minutes ago. He grabbed onto Tony. “I wanna take a nap. I wanna take a nap.”
“I know but let’s eat something first then see how you feel.” He turned on the shower and pulled Peter closer. “Come, let’s be quick.”
“No. I’m not-not gonna- I’m still gonna be tired after lunch. I wanna nap.” Peter cried and tried to reach up for his dad.
Harley put his shirt over and looked at them. “Peter, stop acting like a five year old. Jeez.”
Tony gave his oldest son a dirty look. “Stop.”
Harley rolled his eyes at Peter’s behaviour then walked outside the change room where his mom and sister were waiting. “Can I walk up now? They’re gonna be awhile and I wanna shower.”
Pepper could hear the crying. “What’s wrong with Peter?”
Harley shrugged, annoyed at his little brother's childish behaviour. “I don’t know. He’s crying because he wants to nap. Morgan doesn’t even do this and she’s younger than him.”
“Harley,” Pepper warned him but she knew it was difficult for him at times. She pulled the key card out. “Don’t mention anything to him. We’ll be up soon.” Harley left so Pepper opened the change room door and walked in with Morgan, not caring that she wasn’t supposed to be in there. “What’s going on, Peter? Why are you misbehaving?”
Peter briefly stopped crying to look at his mom. “I wanna nap.”
“If you’re still tired after lunch, you can nap for an hour.”
Peter wiped his tears, content with that answer.
Tony huffed. “I had literally been telling him that.” He shut the shower off and grabbed the towel, quickly drying Peter off then handing him his shirt. “Let’s go up now. I’m exhausted from you two. Where’s Harley?”
“He went up.”
Peter tossed the shirt. “I’m still wet! I can’t put that on.”
Now Tony understood why Pepper was in tears earlier.
Peter pointed at Morgan’s cover up so she was already taking it off for him. “I want hers.”
“No, Morgan, keep it on. Peter has to understand what no means.” Tony wrapped the towel around Peter’s shoulders. “Walk up like this then. Let’s go. And pick up the shirt.”
Peter chewed on the corner of the towel then picked up the previously thrown shirt and followed his family out. They walked to the elevators, Peter staying close to his dad. When they were waiting for the elevators to open, Harley walked out with Aiser.
“Oh I’m just gonna go walk him before lunch. I’ll be back in like twenty minutes.”
Tony was so exhausted. He was ready for a nap too. Maybe he would pass out with Peter, he was up for a lot of the night with him anyways.
Once they got to their room, Morgan went to go shower first and Peter collapsed onto the bed, removing the towel for his thumb. Tony sat down next to him to pat his back. “Are you in a bad mood right now, buddy?” Peter nodded. “Do you want us to leave you alone for a bit?” Peter shook his head. “How about I put some cartoons on the tv and you watch it while you wait for Morgan to finish in the shower?”
Peter moved a bit so he could see the tv screen, his eyes drifting shut.
Tony knew a nap was next on the agenda.
Morgan laid down next to him a few minutes later and rubbed his back, much like how Tony was doing earlier. “Wake up. It’s lunch time soon.”
Peter moaned and covered the towel over his head so Pepper pulled it off of him. “I know you’re tired but you need to shower and get all the germs and chlorine off.”
“Nap.” Peter moaned.
Tony walked over and picked him up. “We’ll be quick. In five minutes, you can be back in bed.” He carried Peter into the bathroom and turned the shower on, setting it to the right temperature. “Take off your bathing suit. Let’s just do quick shampoo and body wash everywhere.”
Peter lazily peeled off his bathing suit, leaning against his dad heavily for support so Tony shampooed his hair, trying to be as fast as possible without getting any soap in his eyes. He grabbed the body wash and poured some onto Peter’s hands for him to do that part.
“I’m too tired.” Peter whined out even as he lazily rubbed the body wash over his chest. Tony did the rest and rinsed him off, knowing Peter was exhausted and wanting to be done as fast as possible for him to sleep.
He got out of the shower, still soaked himself but he didn’t care. He wanted to get Peter settled first. Peter lifted his arms up for him but Tony had to stop him. “Not yet.” Tony wrapped a towel around Peter, drying off his hair then he opened the door. “Can someone grab me a pull-up?” He grabbed a pyjama shirt and put it over Peter’s head.
Morgan ran towards the door and handed it to her dad. “Is Petey still tired, dad? Will he nap?”
“Yeah, he’s gonna sleep for a bit.” Tony shut the door on Morgan and held it out for Peter to step into then lifted him up, seeing as he was seconds away from passing out. Tony opened up the door next and saw Morgan still standing there.
“Lunch is here. Petey should eat first so he isn’t hungry.”
Tony walked over to the bed and pulled the blankets back. “He’s too tired to eat, Morg. He’s gonna take a quick nap so we have to be quiet for him.” He laid Peter down and rolled him onto his stomach so he could sleep better then he placed his blankie under his nose after Peter shoved his thumb in his mouth.
He walked over to the table. “What time should I wake him?” He asked Pepper. “Maybe… two? That gives him a two hour nap.”
Pepper checked the time. “One thirty. He has to sleep tonight.”
Tony agreed. He liked the peace and quiet but he didn’t like Peter taking naps and didn’t understand why he was still so dependent on them. He knew it was most likely due to the fact that he almost drowned but he wanted to stop letting Peter have naps. When he went back to school, naps weren’t an option.
He looked over at Peter and could already tell he was passed out and would most likely sleep until the night if they let him.
Morgan sadly looked at the bed, clearly bored without Peter. “Then when will he eat?”
“When he wakes up.” Pepper began eating her lunch and patted the chair for Morgan to sit and eat. “Don’t worry about him, he’ll eat his lunch after.”
“I’m just gonna wake him up now.”
“No.” Tony grabbed her arm. “Please don’t. Let’s just enjoy the quiet for an hour.”
Lunch was quiet without Peter and it brought back a lot of memories of the seven years they spent without him. They would sit at the table, exactly how they were, in mostly silence with only one thing on all their minds, Peter.
It made Tony feel somewhat sick.
He couldn’t finish his lunch and instead had to go sit next to Peter on the bed, just because he could. Peter was in the exact same position as before which meant he was so tired, now Tony was feeling bad about not letting him have a nap before when he was so desperately asking for it.
Morgan quietly walked over to him. “Can I sit too? I’m being quiet.”
“Yeah,” Tony chuckled at how quiet she was trying to be, then let her crawl up beside Peter. “he’s so tired.”
Morgan peeked her eyes at him. “He’s so cute. I wish he was my little brother. Then I could take care of him like you do.”
“You still do.”
“But I wanna do everything you do.”
Tony knew Morgan couldn’t handle that. Peter would give her grey hairs at ten years old. “How about you leave that up to mom and I and you just keep being the good sister that you are.”
“Okay.” Morgan covered Peter up with the blankets more but Tony put them back where they were. “He’s cold.”
“He’s not, Morg. How about you go walk Aiser with Harley and then when you guys come back, Peter might be awake.” Tony wanted some alone time with Peter.
Morgan shook her head. “No, I’m gonna stay here. I wanna wait til Petey wakes up. I’ll be quiet.” She laid down and grabbed the tv remote, turning the volume down a bit. “When will he wake up?”
Tony wasn’t sure but he wanted Peter to sleep until the hour and a half mark.
To their surprise, Peter slowly started waking up an hour later. He rolled onto his back and kicked the blankets off himself, stretching his arms above his head and keeping them there.
Tony lifted up his shirt to rub his belly, silently telling Peter that he was right there. Morgan stopped watching her show to lay on her stomach and watch her brother wake up, Tony loved watching the love between the two of them.
Peter stretched again and looked over at Morgan first, frowning at her so close to him then he turned and saw his dad and a huge smile was breaking out across his face. “Mm. Are you sleeping too?”
Tony caressed his face. “No, I was just watching you sleep. Do you feel better? Are you happy now?”
If the smile on Peter’s face was anything to go by then he was happy. “Yeah.” He sat up and looked around the hotel, spotting Aiser sleeping on the other bed but then his stomach was growling. “I’m hungry.” He gasped. “I didn’t eat lunch.”
“It’s ready for you to eat it when you want.” Tony patted Peter’s butt and got off the bed. “Do you need to pee first?”
Peter shook his head and walked towards the table where his mom had his food for him.
“I didn’t even eat lunch.” Peter took a seat, sitting with his feet pulled up on the chair so he looked like a frog. “Did you?” He asked Morgan, looking over at her dragging up a chair to sit next to him.
“Yeah, but it’s cause you were sleeping.” Morgan took a seat and pulled Peter’s plate closer to him so he smacked her arm. “I’m helping you.”
“I’m not five. Leave me alone.” Peter turned his back to her so he could eat but she was hitting him back so Peter spun around and attacked her, causing them to fall off the chair.
Tony lifted Peter off his sister and pulled Morgan up. “Stop. Morgan, go play by yourself until Peter is done and Peter, stop with the hitting. Use your words and tell her to leave you alone instead.” He grabbed Peter and sat him back on the chair, tucking it forward so Peter couldn’t get off it, he could if he wanted to but Tony hoped it made Peter stay.
So Tony sat down with Peter, waiting for him to finish but as always, Peter pushed the food around and only nibbled on it, more interested in what Morgan was doing behind him. Tony tapped his plate. “Focus here. You can play with her later.”
Peter turned back around to take another fry so Tony pulled the plate in front of him. “Come sit with me.” Peter stared at him. “Come.” Peter walked over and sat on his dad’s lap, immediately yawning and melting into him. “Are you still tired?”
“Yeah… I want it to be bedtime.”
That was a first. He didn’t understand why Peter was so tired. He cut up his chicken fingers and fed one to him. “It’s probably because you’re hungry.” Peter chewed on the piece so Tony tried another but Peter was turning away and pushing Tony’s hand away from him. “You have to eat, you didn’t eat any lunch.”
Peter rubbed his eyes. “What did Morgan eat?”
“She ate the same thing as you and she ate it all.” Peter’s weight was a concern. He was four years older than Morgan and was lighter than her, although Morgan was on the chubbier side and Peter was on the smaller side, it was still a great concern.
“Can you eat more?”
Peter whimpered, he wanted to play with Morgan since it looked like she was having fun. “I wanna play.”
Tony didn’t know what to do. He looked over at Pepper and shook his head but he had to let Peter go. “One more bite then you can go play.” Tony handed him another piece of the chicken finger so Peter chewed it and stood up to walk over to Morgan and his mom.
He spit the chewed up food out in his hand and held it out to his mom. “I don’t want it.”
Both parents sighed sadly. They didn’t know how to get his weight up and it was why he was so tired.
It definitely didn’t help that they didn’t all eat together as a family but instead Peter ate by himself and was therefore getting distracted and focusing on everything but his food.
“Go throw it out then, Peter.” Pepper stood up to follow Peter to the garbage. “Did you eat all your lunch?” She asked, knowing the answer but wanting Peter to tell her.
Peter hesitated and looked down at his feet. “Uh… no. I want to play.”
Pepper ran her hands through his hair and looked at Tony. “I’m gonna go see if I can buy some meal replacements for him. With some nutritional value so he’s still getting something.” Said Tony.
“Alright. Buy a few. Maybe I’ll have to call his Paediatrician and see what she says we should do.” Pepper suggested even though Peter just went to the doctors.
“Maybe. Let’s just wait a few days.” Tony grabbed his wallet.
“Peter, come into the bathroom with me.” Pepper grabbed his underwear and waited by the bathroom door but Peter was more interested in where his dad was going.
“Where are you going? Are you leaving?” Peter grabbed onto his dad’s hand, both curious and concerned.
Tony ruffled his hair. “I’m just gonna get something and I’m gonna be right back up. Go with your mom to change.”
Peter hesitated. “What are you gonna get? How many minutes are you gonna be?”
Tony walked Peter into the bathroom where Pepper was waiting for him. “I’m just gonna go look for a few things and when I come up in about fifteen minutes, I’ll show you.”
Pepper sat on the closed toilet seat and pulled Peter to stand in front of her so he wasn’t running off again. “Dad’s gonna be back soon.”
She pulled down the front of the pull-up while Peter was still looking at his dad. So Tony waved bye to him and left.
He was glad to get a tiny break from the hotel room. It was a nice break from being at home but it was also difficult since it was so last minute and they were so under prepared. He knew they had meal replacements at home with nutrition for Peter but they of course weren’t at home so he walked through the lobby and found a drug store.
He went to the back and tried to find what he was looking for. He needed something for Peter's age and something that Peter would actually drink. He found an organic EarthShake that was flavoured vanilla milk and he snatched that up. He grabbed a water bottle that had some sort of hippo on it then paid and went back to their room.
Tony wasn’t surprised when he could hear the screaming from outside the hotel door. He walked in and saw Peter doing a frontflip on the bed while Morgan was trying to help him.
They both stopped to look at him so all three of them were staring at each other. Tony didn’t have the energy to scold them so he walked into the mini kitchen. “Come see what I got.”
Both of them ran over and Tony lifted Peter onto the counter for him to see since it was for him.
Pepper walked out of the bathroom to see as well.
Tony stopped before pulling the items out of the paper bag. “I got these things for Peter. I want you to try it and tell me what you think of it. It’s super yummy though.” He pulled out the bag of powdered milk that he would turn into the drink and handed it to Peter for him to look at.
“Earth shake?” Peter frowned and read the labels. “Candy?”
“No. It’s basically yummy vanilla milk but it’s healthy for you and it’ll help your bones, teeth, hair, skin, all your organs. Basically everything.” Tony explained to him then reached into the paper bag.
Peter grinned. “Milk?”
Pepper stood next to Peter on the counter. “It’s not real milk. It’s just… kinda like it.”
“And I got you a new water bottle to drink out of.” Tony pulled it out and handed it to Peter to let him see it. Peter smiled at it and went to test out of the spout but Tony pulled it from him. “Don’t put your mouth on it yet. Let me wash it first.”
Tony washed the bottle in the sink while Peter opened up the bag and smelt it. “Hmm. It smells yummy.”
“Let me smell.” Peter put the bag under his sister's nose. “Good. Hmm vanilla.”
Tony dried the bottle next and poured the filtered plastic bottled water into Peter’s, making sure it was the correct amount. He then scooped the powder into it and shut the lid, shaking it for thirty seconds.
Peter was already making grabby hands for it so Tony really hoped he liked it. “Here you go.”
Peter sucked on the spout, stopping to taste it and see if he liked it. He grinned and went back to drinking it, his hand immediately going into his hair to twirl it. Morgan watched him with curious eyes. “But I thought Petey doesn’t have his bottle anymore?”
“He doesn’t. This is completely different, Morg.” Tony lifted Peter off the counter and tilted his bottle down. “It has a straw so you don’t need to tilt it up.”
Peter pulled it out of his mouth. “Take the straw out.”
“No, it doesn’t come out.” Tony lied, he was sure it came out but he didn’t want Peter to take it out. “Drink it like this,” He showed Peter how, grateful that Peter was actually drinking it and enjoyed it.
Tony sat on the carpet, feeling a little dirty but they would be going home soon and Peter and Morgan had no problem with sitting on the carpet so he sat with them and watched the play with some random items they found around the room.
Harley walked back into the room after taking Aiser for his last walk of the night and looked at his siblings. “What are you guys even playing with?”
Peter held up the remote. “I’m playing with this. We’re pretending we’re at the movies.”
Tony had been sitting with them for the past ten minutes and he had no idea that’s what they were playing.
He sat with them, just content to watch their imagination run wild before they ate dinner and then got ready for bed. Tony wasn’t surprised when Peter wasn’t tired, he knew that nap would make him wide awake by bedtime but Peter needed to have it at the time.
Pepper turned a movie on for them and Tony was just wondering why he didn’t think about it. Peter’s eyes were glued on the tv screen so that gave Morgan and Harley time to get ready for bed but next was Peter.
“Your turn, Peter.” Pepper grabbed a towel for him but Peter didn’t acknowledge her, too focused on the tv. “Peter?”
Tony tugged on Peter’s arm. “Let’s go into the bathroom-”
“Noooo. I’m watching a show.” Peter pulled against him and went back to watching the movie so Tony put it on pause. “Heyyy! No. Put it back on.”
“After you go into the bathroom to shower, brush your teeth and put pyjamas on.” Tony led Peter into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. “Let’s be quick so you can watch your movie before bed.”
Peter showered by himself and tried to be quick so he could watch the movie with Morgan. He wasn’t allowed to watch tv in bed often so this was a treat. He got out of the shower and dried himself off then brushed his teeth but he ran out of the bathroom before getting dressed.
He was about to climb onto the bed with his towel wrapped around his shoulders but Tony followed him out, holding his pyjamas in his hands. “Peter, you’re not done yet. Come back in here.”
Peter moaned. “I want to watch a movie.”
Tony walked out to grab Peter’s arm to walk him back into the bathroom but Peter pulled against him so Tony gave in. “Okay. Get dressed here then.” He sat on the bed and pulled Peter to stand in front of him. “Stand, stop leaning against me.”
Peter’s eyes were glued on the tv screen, letting Tony do all the work.
Tony slid the pull-up between his legs. “I want you to still try and pee before you go to bed. I’m just putting it on in case of an accident.” Peter didn’t respond to him so Tony held out the pyjama pants for him to step into, it having taken a longer time since Peter wasn’t even aware of what was going on.
He got his shirt on, smiling at the fact that Peter had him wrapped around his little finger. “Okay,” He patted his butt. “all done. Go watch your movie.”
Peter didn’t have to be told twice. He climbed onto the bed and laid down, watching the movie like it was the most interesting thing he’s ever seen.
Tony looked at him and Morgan, having to take a picture of them because they looked so interested in the movie. He laid down next to Peter and lifted his pillow up so he could see it better.
Harley was on his phone at the table and Pepper was lying next to Morgan on the other bed, on her phone as well but Tony wanted to be in the moment, not on his phone. Even though the movie was boring to him, he still watched it when he wasn’t watching Peter.
When the thumb went into his mouth, Tony patted his chest. “Can you go pee before you fall asleep?”
Peter moaned.
“I’ll go with you. I don’t want you to pee in your sleep again. Let’s go.” He sat up, sitting Peter up too and walking into the bathroom.
Peter pulled down his pants and sat on the toilet, swinging his feet as he went. He was exhausted and wanted to fall asleep from watching the tv. He remembered doing that a lot when he was little and Tony would carry him to bed. He missed that.
“You done?” Asked Tony, waiting for Peter to finish up. “You can sleep now, I know you’re really tired.”
Sluggishly, Peter pulled up his pyjama pants and followed his dad back into the bed, laying on his stomach and pulling his knees against his chest to sleep with his thumb in his mouth.
Morgan fell asleep shortly after Peter so Tony shut all the lights off and turned down the tv every so often so it wouldn’t just randomly go quiet and wake them up.
Pepper walked over to Peter and brushed the curls off his face. “He fell asleep so quickly tonight.” She commented.
Tony was grateful for that. “Yeah… hopefully he stays asleep.”
Pepper reached down Peter’s pants to feel if he was wearing a pull-up. “He’s wearing one tonight?”
“You didn’t see me put it on him?” Tony asked, thinking Pepper had seen.
“No… I don’t want him to wear one once we get home.” She admitted but Tony wasn’t so sure.
“I don’t even think Peter noticed either,” Tony silently chuckled. Peter was so interested in the tv that he wasn’t even paying attention or tried to fight him on it. “We’ll see. If he wakes up dry, he’ll be fine. I really don’t wanna do the whole bed wetting thing again. That was really hard.”
Tony was the one who had to stay awake with Peter every night. He didn’t know why he didn’t push nighttime protection on Peter before, that would have helped big time. At least he knew now, if it happened again in the future.
“Let’s hope not.” She pressed a kiss to Peter’s face then leaned over to kiss Tony.
Tony was the last one to fall asleep. He thought Harley was awake but he apparently fell asleep as well so Tony was the last one awake.
Tony had just drifted off into a deep sleep when Peter woke up in a dazed state and was leaving the hotel room before anyone even noticed.