His Very Own Angel

Tony once thought that happiness had left him for good.

He believed, without a doubt, that there was no joy for him.

And then Peter came.

Peter, his precious, giggly, chubby baby.

His very own angel.

~~~~~

Tony pulled himself from the arms of sleep, throwing off his covers and stretching. He yawned and put on his slippers, walking over to the small crib by his bed.

The man poked his head over the bed, smiling.

Peter was still asleep, his tiny hand in his mouth, clutching his Iron Man teddy bear. Somehow, he had tangled the soft, fuzzy yellow sheets all around him. He had always been a restless sleeper, though he had slept through the relatively peaceful night.

Tony bent over and stroked his soft cheek with a finger. “Petey,” he cooed. “Are you up, sweetheart?”

Peter’s eyes fluttered and he made an adorable snuffling sound. He gave a tiny yawn, then rolled over and opened his eyes blearily.

As soon as he focused on his father, he beamed, fingers still in his mouth. “Daddy!!”

“Right here, bambino,” he said softly.

The little toddler reached out his arms, and Tony was happy to pick the boy up.

“Daddy!” he mumbled. “Hi!!”

“Hi, Petey!” his father replied, with matched enthusiasm. He tickled his belly, making him shriek with laughter.

“No!! Daddy, no!!” he giggled.

“Okay, munchkin,” Tony said. “Let’s get some food in you, hmm?”

“Pancakes!! Pancakes, Daddy! Pwease!!”

Peter loved pancakes.

“Of course, sweetheart!”

Both father and son stayed in their pajamas for the morning, as it was a Sunday. Tony knew, though, the soon Peter would be jumping up and down, asking to go to the park, or visit his Uncle Rhodey.

He sat Peter down in his high chair, running a hand through his soft curls.

The little boy grinned toothily. “ ‘Nanas!! I have ‘nanas, Daddy! Pwease!!” Peter gestured wildly to the bunch of bananas on the table. Tony smiled at his difficulty to pronounce the word correctly.

“Of course, baby. Let me cut them up for you.” He quickly sliced up the cream-colored fruit, putting them in a bowl. “Here you are, young sir!” he teased.

“T’anks!!”

As Peter started on his bananas, Tony began mixing up pancake batter. Peter loved small, fluffy pancakes, and luckily, he had just the special recipe.

Before she became ill, his mother would make them for him every Sunday.

~~~~~

Once they finished their breakfast, Tony carried his little boy upstairs. He sat down in the comfy leather arm chair, hugging Peter close. Kissing his son’s temple, he asked, “So Pete, what do you want today? The Very Hungry Caterpillar?”

Peter nodded cheerily and snuggled closer. “Otay, Daddy!!

Tony read colorful, cheerful books to Peter for about half an hour, till Peter started squirming. After finishing Cat in the Hat, he wiggled around and sat up fully.

“Daddy? Can we go ousside?”

Tony smiled. “Of course, Petey. Do you want to have a picnic?”

“Yes! Yes yes yes!! Pwease!” he cried. “Picnic!!”

“Okay, then! Let’s go get dressed, huh?”

He pulled on a sweatshirt and jeans, then dressed Peter in a soft light-blue shirt and shorts.

Then the father pulled out a tube of baby-safe sunscreen and began rubbing it into Peter’s soft, sensitive skin.

“No!! Is icky!! Daddy!!” he whined. “No!!”

“Oh, Pete. I know you don’t like it, but we have to protect your skin!” Tony explained.

Peter grumbled, but let him rub it all over him.

~~~~~

Peter’s arm stretched all the way up to clutch Tony’s hand, and in his other arm he held Iron Bear, the name of his teddy. He never went anywhere without it.

The boy was chatting all about the dream he had had last night, which involved a big green horse, a rocket, and Tony turning into a strawberry bush.

Tony laughed at the creativity of of his son’s mind, though slightly concerned all the same. A bush? Really?

~~~~~

They followed a little creek, ignoring the trails, because Tony knew the best place to avoid paparazzi. He picked up Peter to climb the hill, because it would be hard to scale with his little legs.

There he laid the soft red picnic blanket out, setting Peter down and handing him a sippy cup full of juice. “I need you to drink all of that, Petey. Do you think you can?”

“Yes!! ‘Course I can, Daddy!”

Tony laughed and kissed his soft curls. “Of course you can.”

Tony dug into the bag and pulled out crackers and a container of mac and cheese.

Peter laughed and spilled a bit of juice down his chin. “Mac an’ cheese! T’ank you!!”

Tony gently wiped his chin with a napkin. What did he do to deserve this amazing little boy?

~~~~~

After their lunch, Peter wore himself out by racing around, staying close by Tony and pointing out little things he never would have seen.

“Daddy!! It’s a birdy!!”

“A caderpillar!!”

“Look at the flower, Daddy!! Look look!!”

“Wow, Pete, that’s pretty cool!”

He loved his baby boy with his heart and soul and everything he had.

~~~~~

Eventually, though, it was Peter’s nap time, and the boy was already sleepy from his long day.

“Petey, are you tired? Do you wanna go home?” Tony asked.

The tiny boy nodded, yawning and held out his arms to be picked up. Tony settled him on his hip, kissing his temple.

“I love you, Peter,” he murmured. “I love you so much, baby.”

Peter looked up blearily, smiling, and mumbled, “I love you too, Daddy.”