Sometimes, Peter forgets to eat. Not on purpose. But he has to deal with spiderman and school, and sometimes it’s just too much. He gets distracted.
So often, he gets a midnight snack.
Peter was at the compound, and he and Tony had just finished watching Narnia for what must have been the 80th time. They had munched on popcorn and licorice sticks, which were not very filling, to say the least. The boy was half asleep, head in Tony’s lap as his fingers carded through his curls.
“Mister Stark?” he mumbled quietly.
“Yeah, tesoro?”
“D’you think that fish feel wet all the time?”
~~~~~
Tony had carried the weary boy to bed hours ago, tucking him in and planting a gentle kiss to his temple. But Peter could feel the hunger tearing at his stomach. He was so tired- honestly, he just wanted to sleep. But sleep wouldn’t happen until he got some food.
Grumbling quietly, he dragged himself out of bed and walked slowly to the kitchen, stumbling every so often against a piece of furniture he didn’t see.
Peter did reach the fridge (with bruises to prove it) and pulled it open, browsing the shelves. Vegetables. Leftover pie. Spaghetti. Strawberries. Energy drinks (eww- the last thing he needed).
Realizing there was nothing he wanted there, he moved to the cupboards. Cap’n Crunch (that was for him). Cheerios. Golden Grahams- eww again. Why did they have those? Finally, he spotted a package of Oreo’s. Perfect.
But they were at the top of the shelf. No way could he reach those. So, with his halfway asleep brain, he climbed sideways up the wall and along the ceiling until he was upside down next to his food. The package had been opened but only one was taken. (Who only ate one Oreo?)
The kid began chomping his treat, but he stayed there, upside down, the spider part of him telling himself that there was no reason to get down.
And what a scene it was for Tony to walk in on at 1:00 in the morning, searching for a snack himself.
In fact, he screamed. (Quite high, though he’ll deny it.)
Peter screamed as well, almost choking on an Oreo.
Tony nearly had a heart attack as he tried to get Peter down, thinking he needed the Heimlich maneuver.
Eventually, the small boy jumped down himself and offered his father an Oreo.
And that was how Pepper found them the next morning, curled up on the couch, Peter in Tony’s protective arms, an almost empty package of Oreo’s beside them.