Ready to explore
Tony and Pepper were rushing around the penthouse, trying to pack their suitcases so they could leave.
Tony has been holding Peter all night and all morning since Peter has been incredibly clingy after May kidnapped him yesterday afternoon.
Tony didn’t mind one bit.
It wasn’t like he wanted to put Peter down at all so there was no harm in him holding his kid for as long as they both wanted. Although it was hard for Tony to hold Peter with one arm and pack his clothes with the other hand, he was pretty used to it by now after having a toddler that constantly wanted to be held for the past month or so.
“Did you pack Peter’s onesies?” Pepper asked, stressed out.
Tony switched Peter to his other arm because he was getting a cramp. “Uh… what? No. Peter needs like three suitcases to fit everything.”
Pepper tossed a bodysuit for Peter onto the bed since he was only wearing a diaper at the moment. “I’ll get the other bags for his stuff.”
Tony nodded and finished packing most of his clothes into his own suitcase. Peter was tugging on his ear and smacking his face so Tony moved his head away. “No more, Pete. You’re gonna give daddy a headache if you keep smacking me.”
Peter giggled and continued to smack Tony so Tony placed him on the bed which immediately caused Peter to start crying and reach his arms up for Tony.
Tony knew that what happened yesterday caused a lot of trauma for Peter and even though he was happy and giggling only seconds ago, Tony knew Peter had some separation anxiety from him; if it wasn’t already there before.
He picked Peter back up and handed him RoRo so Peter grabbed that and cuddled it close to his chest.
Tony carried him into the closet where Pepper was packing some of her summer clothes. “We can always go shopping for more when we get to our new house, Pep.”
Pepper nodded. “I know. I just really like these outfits. Did you pack Peter’s stuff yet?”
“Not yet. I’m waiting for you.” Tony told her and looked over at Peter then pressed a kiss to his chubby cheek.
Tony’s phone rang and he had been desperately waiting for that call since he woke up so he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was who he was expecting.
“It’s her.” Tony started to feel nervous. He reluctantly handed Peter over to Pepper who held her arms out for the toddler.
Peter immediately started crying and reaching his arms out for Tony but Tony had to answer his phone so he left the closet and shut the door then walked out of the bedroom and onto the hallway.
“Hello?” Tony put his phone to his ear, his heart beating in anticipation.
“Hello, Mr. Stark. This is joannah Willis calling from the legal department to tell you about May Parker’s case.” The woman, Joannah said. Tony just wanted to know what the verdict was. “May Parker is sentenced to five years in jail for child kidnapping and endangerment as well as an additional three years for being under the influence of illegal drugs. She has no chance of parole during that time and is required to complete two years of rehabilitation.”
Tony felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A weight that he had been carrying around since Peter wasn’t able to return to his teenage self and May didn’t like that.
He ran a hand through his hair and felt his eyes burn. Finally.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Tony said genuinely. He was so freaking happy and relieved.
“Of course. You can relax now that you know your son is safe. Have a wonderful day and feel free to call me anytime if you need anything.” Joannah said and Tony thanked her one last time and then hung up the phone.
He sighed again. He couldn’t stop the smile from forming on his face. It was also another time where someone had referred to Peter as his son and he loved it.
He just had to make it official.
Tony put his phone in his pocket and walked back into the closet. Pepper looked up at him and by the looks on her face, she already knew it was good news.
Tony went to sit down next to Peter who thankfully wasn’t crying since he was getting more used to Pepper. Peter was placing the clothes into the suitcase and grinned when he looked up at Tony.
“Dada.” Peter said. Tony brushed the curls off his face and looked over at Pepper.
“Well… what did she say?” Pepper asked, impatiently.
“She’s going to jail for eight years.” Tony smiled. May was finally out of their lives.
“Oh my god. Tony! That’s amazing. I’m so happy.” Pepper reached over and hugged Tony tightly but Peter saw the action and stood up so he could get some cuddles as well.
“Yes. You too, Petey.” Tony pulled Peter into their hug, making it a group hug. Tony was holding both of the people he cares most about in the world and he couldn’t be happier.
Pepper pulled away and pressed a kiss to Tony’s lips and then one on Peter’s cheek since he always wanted in on the action.
“This is great news. I’m so happy.” Pepper said again and picked Peter up, hugging him.
Tony smiled at them. “Yeah. Now we just have to get to our new house in Malibu and go to the beach.”
Pepper looked over at him. “Let’s finish packing so we can leave.”
Tony stood up, holding his arms out for Peter so they could go pack his stuff. Peter lifted his arms up without giving it a second thought and then he was placed on Tony’s hip.
Tony left his closet, leaving Pepper to do the rest of the packing for her and him while he went to go pack all of Peter’s stuff. He had a lot, two suitcases worth of clothes alone but they would have to get him more clothes once they arrived at their new house.
Tony was beyond happy when Pepper and him discussed moving to Malibu that morning.
It was a decision that had to happen whether May was arrested or not. They had no life in New York anymore. Their new life was in Malibu where they could raise Peter together and focus on being there for Peter.
Tony was excited, he definitely was, since it had been awhile since he’s lived there and now he got to create a life with his son there.
It was a decision that was made very quickly, besides the discussions that they had about moving there before since there was no final say on those.
Peter started to wiggle in Tony’s arms so Tony placed him on the floor and watched him run over to his corner where his teddy bears were. Tony wondered if he would have to make a new corner for Peter once they get to Malibu since Peter loves this one so much.
Tony sat on the floor and grabbed one of the suitcases to start packing it up but Peter thought Tony was going to change his diaper so he walked over to Tony and laid down in front of him.
Tony laughed at his kid. “No, Petey. I just changed your diaper. Before we leave I’ll change it again.”
Peter looked up at Tony and tugged on the front of his diaper, not understanding what Tony was saying.
Tony lifted him up and sat Peter on his lap. “Not yet. Later. Want to help me pack?”
Peter clapped his hands together. “Yeah! I help dada.”
Tony knew that this would take twice as long but he didn’t mind.
He wanted to put all of Peter’s clothes into the suitcases so he could take it with them to go to Malibu but he knew everything wouldn’t fit so they would have to get new clothes for Peter once they get to the new house.
As well as a new crib and changing table and a bunch of other stuff. That was going to make them super busy but Tony was excited. He went from getting excited from buying new cars and equipment for his lab to getting excited from buying baby stuff like clothes and high chairs in under a month.
He wouldn’t change that for the world though.
Pepper walked into Peter’s bedroom after Tony was just putting the last of Peter’s things in the second suitcase and she sat down next to Peter but immediately moved away from him and covered her nose. “Oh, Tony. Did you change him? He smells really bad.”
Tony looked up as he was zipping up the suitcase and saw Peter grinning at Pepper. “Did he go poo?”
Pepper stood up and went to walk out of the room. “Yeah. How can you not smell it?”
Tony shrugged. “He must have just done it. Can you change him? I gotta get his shoes.”
“Yeah. Come here, Pete. Time to change your bum.” Pepper held her hand out for Peter but he shook his head and went to play with his trains.
“You’re gonna have to grab him.” Tony told her. He was starting to feel anxious and just wanted to get on the plane so they could arrive in Malibu where they would be spending a few nights in a hotel before they find a house where they were mostly going to spend a huge chunk of Peter’s life.
Pepper walked towards Peter but he tried to crawl away. “I’m trying to help you. Why would you want to stay in that diaper, let’s go.”
She picked Peter up and carried him out of the bedroom and back to hers and Tony’s bedroom where she could dress Peter in his bodysuit after.
Peter was babbling on about something that she couldn’t understand. Tony was always good at making out what his kid was trying to say but she didn’t possess such talent.
Pepper placed Peter onto their bed while she grabbed a fresh diaper and some wipes then went to get Peter to lie down but he was impossible to change when he was in this playful mood.
“Stay still, Peter. I have to change you.” Pepper picked Peter up and laid him on his back on the bed while she kept one hand on his chest to stop him from moving so much. She had to use two hands so she grabbed one of his toy ducks from the floor and handed it to him.
She pulled the diaper tabs off and pulled the diaper down so she could start wiping Peter clean, then she lifted up his legs to clean his backside, having to use more wipes than she was used to since Tony usually changed the poopy diapers.
Once she was done, Pepper grabbed a clean diaper and put it on the toddler then grabbed his bodysuit. It was a grey tank top bodysuit that had a dinosaur on it with the words, ready to explore written on it.
It would be perfect for the adventure that they would go on.
“Look at you. You look so handsome, Peter. Just like your daddy.” Pepper cooed at Peter and stood him up on the bed to look at his full outfit.
His chubby leg rolls were peeking through so she couldn’t stop herself from pinching them which caused Peter to giggle.
“Let’s get your shoes on and then we can go show daddy.” Pepper grabbed Peter’s new shoes, hopefully these ones wouldn’t be thrown out of a window.
“My feet.” Peter pointed to his feet and sat down on the bed so Pepper could put his shoes on. The shoes were light blue and looked like tiny sandals. She couldn’t wait to show Tony. “Daddy see.”
“Yeah, let’s go show him now.” Pepper picked Peter off the bed and placed him on the floor so he could go show Tony.
Peter ran down the hallway, tripping over and catching himself with his hands but he got right back up and continued to run down the hallway until he turned the corner into his bedroom.
“Daddy. Feet.” Peter walked over to Tony and pointed at his feet.
Tony looked up at Peter and felt himself melt. “Oh my goodness. Look at you. You’re so cute. Come here.”
Peter ran into Tony’s arms and stood on his leg. “Daddy go poo poo.”
Tony laughed. “I didn’t go poo. You did. Did you give Pepper a hard time cleaning that up?” Tony asked Peter but looked up at Pepper for the answer.
“No, he was good.” Pepper answered him. “Do you like his outfit?”
Tony looked at it again and smiled. “Yeah, I love it. lol at these chubby little legs, Pete.”
Peter jumped on Tony’s leg so Tony lifted Peter off of him and onto the floor after he did what Pepper did and pinched his leg which caused Peter to start giggling again.
He stood up and patted both of the suitcases. “I think we’re ready to go now. Everything is packed and everything that isn’t packed, we’ll just buy it once we get a house.”
Pepper smiled at him. “Okay then, let’s go.”
Tony picked Peter up and set him on his hip while he took one suitcase and Pepper took the other before he went back upstairs to grab his and Pepper’s plus the diaper bag.
Tony buckled Peter into his car seat once they went down in the elevator but left the car door open as he put the suitcases into the trunk and the backseat with Peter. He knew better than to close the door on Peter without immediately getting into the car since he knew Peter would think that he’s getting left behind.
Once everything was in the car, Tony shut Peter’s door and got into the driver's seat. He looked back at Peter and saw that he was drooling all over his shirt again so Tony reached back and handed Peter a pacifier.
“Here, baby. Take this.” Peter grabbed his pacifier from Tony and placed it in his mouth then went back to looking out the window.
The car ride to the airport was spent with Peter babbling on about something and Tony responding to him, acting like he knew what Peter was saying.
He knew that that helped build Peter’s vocabulary as well but Tony just didn't do it because he didn’t want Peter to be talking to himself or feel like his voice isn’t heard.
Once they got to the airport, Tony parked the car off to the side. It was probably his last time in that car since he wouldn’t need it anymore. They would be getting an SUV once they arrive in Malibu and get everything settled.
Tony shut the car off and got out of it. When he opened the back door, Peter screamed excitedly, causing his pacifier to fall from his mouth but Tony caught it before it fell on the dirty ground.
“Are you a happy baby? We’re gonna go to a new house now.” Tony said to Peter who was using his whole body to nod his head.
Tony undid Peter’s buckles and lifted him onto his hip, making extra sure to grab RoRo in the process of lifting Peter out of the car.
He shut the door and walked over to the trunk where Pepper was getting all the bags out but the staff walked over to help them bring everything onto the plane.
Tony saw them taking secret glances at Peter but it was expected since no one knew about Tony Stark having a kid just yet. He had to take care of that later.
“Thank you.” Tony said to them once they got to the plane and all their stuff was put on it.
Peter was waving bye to them but no one waved bye back so Tony waved to him instead. “Bye bye, dada.”
Tony fake gasped. “Oh no. I’m not going anywhere. I’m coming on the plane with you.”
Peter shook his head. “No daddy.”
“I’m not allowed on the plane?” Tony asked with fake hurt in his voice.
Peter was grinning at him. He shook his head and wiggled out of Tony’s arms so Tony placed him on his feet on the runway.
Peter looked up at Tony. “Daddy, I walk.”
“I can see that. Can you walk up the stairs by yourself?” Tony asked him and pointed to the stairs of the plane that they had to walk up.
“Daddy, I run.” Peter said before he tried to run away but Tony grabbed his hand before he could get anywhere. Probably the worst place to set a two year old on their feet.
“No. You can’t run on a runway because there are planes flying everywhere.” Tony explained to the toddler and then held Peter’s hand as they walked to the stairs.
“Tony, let’s take a picture of you guys.” Pepper said and pulled out her phone.
Tony turned around to see Pepper aiming the camera at them so he picked Peter up and set him on his hip then pointed at Pepper. “Smile at Pepper, Petey.”
Peter bounced happily on Tony’s hip so Tony hoped that Pepper got a good picture of them before they started their new life.
“Down.” Peter wiggled out of Tony’s arms after so Tony placed him on the first step of the plane and held Peter’s hands to help him walk up but he had to lift him up by his hands since Peter’s legs were too short to actually get up on the steps.
Pepper followed them up then the door was being shut and locked.
“Where do you want to sit, Pete?” Tony asked him. It was Peter’s first time on a private plane being in his baby self but basically it was his first time since Tony knew that Peter didn’t remember much about being a teen now.
Peter hugged RoRo to his chest and looked around the plane to see where he wanted to sit. Tony waited patiently since he would be sitting with Peter until they were up in the air then he would let Peter run around.
Peter pointed to one of the chairs by the window. “‘Dare.” He walked over to it and tried to climb up but he couldn’t reach so he lifted his one arm up to Tony that wasn’t holding onto RoRo. “Up, dada.”
Tony lifted Peter up onto the seat and sat down next to him then Pepper sat in front of Tony. Tony reached over and put the seatbelt on Peter but Peter stopped him. “No, daddy. Don’ wan’.”
“I know but you need it until we’re up in the air.” Tony explained to Peter and pushed his hands away but Peter started to whine loudly and push Tony’s hands away.
Tony looked over at Pepper. They had a seven hour flight ahead of them and if they got Peter in a bad mood before they were even off the ground then they were in for one hell of a flight.
“What should I do?” Tony asked Pepper.
Pepper looked at Peter for a few seconds, trying to decide what to say. “He looks happy now. I say just leave him.”
Tony nodded just head and put his own seatbelt on. Sometimes you had to let the toddler get what they wanted.
The plane started to take off so Tony shot his arm out to hold onto Peter just in case. The sound and the movement scared Peter so Tony lifted him up and held him on his lap.
“It’s okay, baby. Once the plane is in the air, it won’t be so loud anymore.” Tony tried to reassure Peter but Peter wasn’t listening and was whimpering against him.
Tony rubbed his back and placed Peter’s pacifier in his mouth but Pepper pulled Peter’s bottle out of his diaper bag and handed it to Tony. “The air pressure will hurt his ears so this will help him.”
Tony took the bottle from Pepper with a silent thank you and then he moved Peter so he was cradled in his lap and he took the pacifier out of Peter’s mouth and replaced it with the bottle.
Peter loved his bottle so Tony knew he was happy to be drinking his milk right now.
He looked up at Pepper and put one of his feet up on her seat. “So we’re gonna be here for the next seven hours, how’s that gonna go?”
Pepper pulled out her computer. “I’m gonna search for some potential houses for us. I don’t want to live in a hotel for too long.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “I meant Peter. He’s gonna throw a temper tantrum soon.”
Pepper reached over on the chair next to her and patted the diaper bag. “I got it all planned. It’s his nap time now so he’ll nap for hopefully two hours then once he wakes up, he can snack on some things and then play with all the toys I brought. Worst comes to worst we’ll give him your phone to play with.”
Tony immediately shook his head. “No. No phones. I’m not raising my kid to own a phone at age nine. Despite what some people might think of me.”
Pepper started laughing. “Oh sure. You say that now but when he’s actually nine he’ll be begging you for a phone and I know you’ll give into his puppy dog eyes.”
Tony thought so too but he would stand strong on that. “Nope. Not gonna happen. Maybe I’ll get him an iPad.”
Pepper looked back down at her computer. “Okay, Tony. Sure.”
Tony rolled his eyes at her again even though she wasn’t looking at him. He was so excited to watch Peter grow up and it would suddenly hit him at times like this that he is Peter’s dad and he’s gonna raise this bundle in his arms.
Two and a half hours later, Peter was waking up.
Tony's arm was numb but he didn’t want to risk waking Peter up since he wanted to let him sleep for as long as possible. His bladder was also about to burst so when Peter started to wake up, Tony placed him on the seat next to him and stood up to go pee.
When he got back, Peter had his pacifier back in his mouth but smiled at Tony through it. “Hi baby. Did you sleep good?”
Peter nodded his head and bounced on his knees. Tony sat back down and reached over to grab the diaper bag from the seat next to Pepper.
He didn’t have to check if Peter needed a diaper change since he could clearly see that his diaper was full. It was bulging through the buttons between his legs on the bodysuit so Tony wondered how long it would take for it to open. He didn’t want to find out.
“Lie down. I’m gonna change your diaper.” Tony told Peter and patted his seat so Peter knew where to lie down.
Peter did that while Tony grabbed a clean diaper and the package of wipes then turned on his seat so he could change the diaper but he was at an awkward angle.
Tony unbuttoned the bodysuit and rolled it up then pulled the diaper straps off and lifted Peter’s let’s up by his ankles so he could pull the diaper out.
He held it there awkwardly. “Uh… where do I put this?”
Pepper looked up but Tony didn’t have much time before Peter peed on him so he just dropped the diaper onto the floor and grabbed the wipes out.
He wiped Peter clean and quickly fastened a diaper on him without getting peed on. Win-win.
“All done!” Tony cheered as he did up the buttons again and squeezed the rolls on Peter’s legs. Peter clapped his hands in his excitement.
Tony grabbed the diaper off the floor and rolled it up then went to go throw it out and wash his hands.
Peter climbed off the chair to follow him so Tony picked him up to wash his hands as well before lunch.
“Daddy?” Peter said and tapped on Tony’s leg once Tony set him back down on the floor.
“Yeah, baby?” Tony asked. He had to rinse his hands again after Peter got his stickiness on him.
“Dada?” Peter tapped on Tony’s legs again which caused Tony to look down.
“Yes, Pete. Daddy’s listening to you.” Tony said again but Peter was rapping his leg again.
“Dada?”
Tony dried his hands off and picked Peter up. “Yes. What it is, baby?”
“I wan’- I wan’ the… the baba.” Peter made his milk grabby hands which consisted of him opening and closing his hands repeatedly.
Tony walked him back to their seats and sat down with Peter on his lap. “You already had milk, Petey. Pepper has your sippy cup with apple juice.”
Peter continued to make his milk grabby hands. “Milk daddy.”
“No milk until bedtime.” Tony said to Peter but if Peter started to throw a tantrum then he was prepared to give him his milk bottle since he didn’t want to deal with any temper tantrums on the flight.
“No milk?” Peter asked.
Tony nodded his head and handed Peter his sippy cup. “Here’s some apple juice.” Tony then lifted Peter up and sat him down in his own seat then placed some sandwich, goldfish and small apple slides in front of Peter for Peter to munch on.
Pepper turned her computer over so Tony could see. “What do you think of this house? It’s by the ocean, four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a pool. Plus I love the kitchen.”
Tony took the computer from Pepper and looked through the pictures. The house was beautiful but he didn’t feel anything special towards it. It didn’t scream home at him. “It’s nice but I don’t know.”
Pepper took the computer back from him to continue looking. “That’s okay. We both have to agree on a house and we still have time.”
“Yeah, I just don’t wanna buy just do we aren’t living in a hotel for a week, you know?” In hindsight, they should have found a house before packing all their stuff and moving across the country but it was fine.
Just like Peter’s shirt said, they were ready to explore.