When It’s Meant To Be

Tony wiped Peter’s face after he finished eating his lunch, making sure to wipe all the sauce off his face and hands but it was everywhere so he decided to just change Peter’s outfit while he changed his diaper.

“Nap time, baby. Let’s go upstairs.” Tony held his hand out for his toddler but Peter was trying to reach on the counter for his bottle of milk.

“Baba, daddy.” Peter grunted as he tried to stand on his tippy toes for the bottle, whining when he couldn’t reach it and the fact that Tony wasn’t making any move to help him. “Daddy, pwease.”

Tony walked towards the kitchen and grabbed the bottle, holding it in one hand and grasping Peter’s tiny hand with his other one. “You’re gonna go for your nap now, baby, then after you wake up, you can play in your baby pool outside.”

“Yeah, and-and my stuffy will come too, dada.” Peter let go of Tony’s hand to crawl up the stairs himself, making sure to turn back to see if Tony was still behind.

“I’m still here, Pete. Keep going. Good job.” Tony patted his butt and shut the gate, locking it once they got to the top. Peter made a dash for his parents bedroom but Tony wanted to put him in his crib for his nap time. “Go into your room, Pete. You’re gonna sleep in your crib.”

Peter stopped walking and shook his head, looking up at Tony, confused. “No. I go in ‘dare.” He pointed back at Tony’s bedroom but Tony pushed open the door for Peter’s room.

Peter rarely slept in his crib.

He always slept with Tony or between both of his parents but when Peter turned four, they planned on getting Peter a big boy bed and taking him out of his crib, as much as Tony was going to miss the nursery look, he knew it was necessary.

It was still almost a full year away but it was important for Peter to get used to sleeping in his crib by himself.

And for Tony to get used to Peter sleeping in a separate room than him and not rolling over in the middle of the night to pull Peter against his chest and kiss his soft hair. It was going to be a difficult adjustment for everyone.

Tony didn’t know if it was going to be harder on Peter or himself.

“You’re gonna sleep in your crib for nap time and for bedtime tonight too. Come lie down so I can change your diaper.” Tony grabbed the supplies and kneeled down, patting the spot in front of him for Peter but the three year old didn’t budge. “Come, baby.”

Peter shook his head. “No. I don’ wan’ to, daddy. I wan’ sleep in your room.”

Tony sat up and reached over to grab Peter’s arm so he could pull him towards himself and lay him down on the carpet. “You’re a big boy and big boys sleep in their cribs.”

The toddler crossed his arms over his chest. “Not big boy. I baby.”

Tony wasn’t going to argue with that. He would always see Peter as his baby. Even when Peter is a teen, he will always remain Tony’s baby.

He changed Peter’s diaper and dressed him in some pyjamas so he would be comfortable for his nap then Peter was crawling over to his bottle that he spotted on the carpet. Tony watched him pick it up and start drinking from it but he was reaching one arm up desperately for Tony to pick him up, which he did.

Something that Tony hoped Peter never grew out of was wanting to get cradled in his arms and drink his bottle while Tony held him.

It happened about three times a day and it was always Tony’s favourite times. Although he loved every single time with Peter, from morning bottles to play time all the way to bedtime bottles.

He tried to savour every second of these moments with Peter since he knew they were limited. One day Peter was going to put his bottle down and never pick it back up. Although Tony found it hard to picture that ever happening since Peter’s bottle was mostly always in his hands and if he saw it, he ran towards it no matter what time of day it was.

Once the bottle was done, Tony placed it in the change table and carefully stood up to put Peter in his crib. He went to remove Peter from his chest but Peter immediately woke up and started crying for him to stay in his arms.

Tony usually laid Peter in hus and Pepper’s bed for nap time with a bottle and stayed with him until he fell asleep. This was going to be hard.

He grabbed a pacifier from the dresser and placed it in Peter’s mouth.

When he tried again, Peter started crying so Tony picked him back up and rocked him in his arms. He had no idea how to transfer Peter into his crib.

He decided to hold Peter until he fully fell asleep but it must have taken longer than he thought because Pepper was walking into the nursery and looking at her two boys. “I thought you fell asleep with him.”

“No, I can’t put him in his crib without him waking up.” He explained to her. Part of him wanted to bring Peter into his bed but they were trying to break that habit now.

She gave Tony a smile that told him that she found the whole situation rather funny. “Just… lay him down.”

He rolled her eyes at her. It didn’t work like that. “It isn’t that easy, Pep. Believe it or not, I’ve done kinda the same thing with teenage Pete before.”

It was true. Peter had been extremely clingy at every age Tony knew him so far. He wasn’t complaining since he enjoyed getting to cuddle with his kid.

“Then you don’t have to worry about this,” Pepper gestured to Peter asleep in his fathers arms. “ending anytime soon.”

“Unless he goes through a weird phase of independence.” Tony quickly added. He didn’t want that. He knew that was selfish thinking but it was true. Peter was his baby and he didn’t want him growing up.

“Oh please. I highly doubt that. Lay him down, Tony, or you will be stuck holding him for the next hour and a half.” Pepper grabbed Peter’s baby blanket and carefully helped Tony lay their child down in his crib.

The fact that it took two of them proved that Peter had them both wrapped around his baby finger. Tony didn’t mind.

He also wouldn’t have minded holding Peter for that hour and a half.

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Tony and Pepper were pure and utterly exhausted.

Peter definitely had a set of lungs on him and Tony had said countless times that they should put Peter in singing lessons so he could become an opera singer.

It had been two weeks of the sleep separation process and it wasn’t getting any easier. In fact, Tony would argue that it was getting even harder.

Peter absolutely refused to be put down in his crib.

Every single time either of them tried, Peter would wrap his tiny but strong arms around their necks and hold on for dear life.

Tony and Pepper still tried. Every single nap time and every single bedtime they went about the routines to get Peter to fall asleep in his crib and every single one of those times, Tony ended up picking Peter up and rocking him to sleep with his bottle in his arms.

They let Peter cry for five minutes and if he didn’t stop after that, which he never did, Tony would go in and pick him up.

That’s all Peter wanted, was to be held so Tony didn’t see why Pepper had such a different opinion than him whdd ex n it came to picking Peter up rather than letting him cry.

It was ten past seven, Tony had just put Peter in his crib for the night but as soon as he laid the three year old down, Peter was sitting up, peeking his head over the crib bars and crying for somebody to hold him.

Tony checked the time on his phone as he took a temporary seat on the couch, across from Pepper. “I’m giving it five minutes and if he doesn’t stop, I’m picking him up.”

Pepper shook her head in disapproval but didn’t say anything.

“What?” Tony asked, wanting to know what she had to say about it tonight. “Something you wanna say? You got four minutes now.”

She sighed loudly and looked at Tony. “You keep giving into all his wants, Tony. He has to learn how to self soothe. He had his bottle, he has his pacifier, his blanket and RoRo. Let him learn to calm down by himself and go to sleep.”

“What’s so wrong with me picking up my crying child?”

“Our child, Tony. Stop doing that. Peter is mine as much as he is yours.” Pepper picked up her magazine again, not in the mood to read it anymore.

Tony rolled his eyes and checked the baby monitor. He watched Peter make grabby hands towards his bedroom door, waiting for somebody to walk in and pick him up. Three minutes now.

“It’s supposed to take two weeks. It’s been two weeks and Peter still cries, refusing to go to sleep on his own.” Pepper added, still annoyed that Tony was going to pick Peter up as if it was all Tony’s fault it wasn’t working.

“So? It’s different for all kids. Peter’s different. He’s smart. He’s a smart toddler.” Tony shrugged. Peter knew what he wanted and he wanted his dad. Tony was okay with that. “He didn’t like going to sleep on his own as a teen either. He didn’t admit it but he liked when I stayed until he fell asleep.”

“He was fifteen then. And he was raised differently than we’re raising him now, Tony.” Pepper argued with him.

Tony groaned. “He’s still the same Peter. He’ll always be the same Peter, Pep.”

Pepper raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him. “Will he though? Think of how he was raised before compared to how he’s being raised now. It’s a completely different life, Tony.”

Tony checked the time. There was one minute left. “Okay so maybe he’ll be different because he might know how to handle his emotions more with more parental support from us, or he’ll no longer have nightmares every single freaking night. That’s not a bad thing but he’ll always be Peter.”

He stood up because the five minutes were up and Peter was still crying. That’s all he was going to give it. “I’m going to pick him up now.”

As pissed as Tony was, walking into Peter’s nursery made him feel so much better. Peter’s crying became more desperate once he saw his dad so Tony didn’t waste anymore time picking Peter up and wrapping his strong arms around him.

“I’m here, baby. I’ll always be here.” He whispered into his toddlers ear, rocking him side to side.

Peter’s cries immediately quieted down once Tony picked him up so he grabbed RoRo and his pacifier to put in Peter’s mouth with Pepper’s words running through his head.

He ignored that for now and forced on calming the three year old down to get him to fall asleep. It didn’t take very long with Peter wrapped up in his dad’s arms.

Once he was close enough to sleep, Tony put Peter into his crib and leaned over it so he could pat Peter’s back, putting him straight to sleep.

It worked.

Tony couldn’t believe it. He was definitely winning at this whole parenting thing.

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Tony and Pepper were walking on eggshells around each other ever since that day almost a week ago now.

Tony was too stubborn to say sorry to Pepper but only because he knew he was right and she was wrong. He had his own way of how he wanted to raise Peter and Pepper had her own way. Both ways were totally opposite to each other.

He wasn’t going to agree with her on whether or not Peter needed his pacifier still because he did. He also needed his bottles and wasn’t ready to be potty trained yet. Until then, things were not going to change.

Tony wasn’t going to change his mind about that which was why he and Pepper weren’t talking anymore. They were both playing with Peter in the garden outside, watching him build a castle out of dirt.

He glanced over at Pepper who was looking at him so he quickly looked away.

She stood up and walked over to him but he still refused to acknowledge her. Ste took a seat beside him and sighed. “Tony. We’re raising a son together. I know we don’t agree on everything right now but we can’t keep doing this.”

Tony still stayed silent.

“Peter has a mom and a dad now so let’s give him that.” She tried and it was slowly breaking Tony into talking to her. He wanted Peter to have everything. “I know…” She sighed again. “Let’s just… compromise.”

“On what exactly?” He asked, turning his body to fully face her now but still keeping a close eye on Peter.

“On Peter.” She said. “Let’s start over. We just kinda got thrown into this so let’s talk since we didn’t get the chance to discuss anything before.”

Tony was okay with that. “Alright. Let’s talk about potty training first.”

Pepper smiled. “Okay. When do you think we should start?”

Tony thought about it. He wasn’t ready and neither was Peter but he knew Pepper was. “We tried before and he wasn’t ready. I say we start talking to him about it and read him some potty training books and then go from there.”

“I think that sounds good. It helps too if we tell him to tell us when he went poop, so he’s aware of it.” Pepper added. She had read tons of parenting books but it still didn’t prepare her for parenting itself.

Tony looked over at Peter, knowing he already went poo because he made the poop face just a few minutes ago behind the flowers. “Pete, did you go poopy?”

Peter didn’t look at him. “No!”

“Come here so I can check.” He told the boy but he knew Peter wasn’t going to come.

“No! I playin’.” Peter said, a challenge to his tone so Tony left it. A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt.

“Next thing.” He said, waiting to hear what Pepper had to say.

“Bedtime. I think we should get him a toddler bed now.” He’s going to be four and he can’t sleep in a crib at four.” Pepper looked over at her husband, waiting for his reaction.

Tony thought carefully about that. He still didn’t think Peter was ready to leave his crib just yet. “I feel like if he wakes up throughout the night then he will just climb out of his bed and start playing in his room. At least now when he wakes up in his crib, he can’t go anywhere.”

“We’ll just have to explain to him that bedtime isn’t for playing and if he wakes up he can’t leave his bed.” Pepper read a lot about that too. Maybe it was why she was so ready to take on the next challenge with Peter.

“Well… I don’t know. I think we should wait a bit longer. Maybe… six more months?” He suggested but he really wanted to wait until Peter was four. He just wasn’t ready for Peter to grow up yet.

Pepper sighed but didn’t say anything else about that. “Pacifiers. He doesn’t need it, Tony. A newborn needs it. Not Peter. He just wants it so I say we only give it to him at bedtimes and nap times. Not during the day.”

Tony thought hard about that one and as much as he wanted to say no, they had to compromise. “Fine but I’m not budging on the bottles. He gets one every morning, every nap time and every bedtime for as long as he still wants it.”

“Even if he’s fifteen?” Pepper asked as a joke but Tony wasn’t joking.

“If he wants it then yeah.” Tomy rolled his eyes at her. “Obviously he won’t want it at fifteen. He’ll probably stop wanting it at like five, but until then, he gets it.”

“Fine. You win that one.”

Tony looked over at Peter about to stick his hand down his diaper so he stood up to collect him. “Alright, stinky monkey. Diaper change.”

Peter spotted Tony walking towards him so he tried to run away but he didn’t get very far before Tony caught up to him and grabbed his arm. He pulled the back of the diaper back to check, confirming he was right. “I’ll be right back, Pepper. We got to change a poop.”

The three year old started giggling as Tony placed him on his hip and poked his nose. “Tell mommy and daddy you got a poop so we can change you, okay?”

Now that Peter was inside and no longer distracted by the outside, he made grabby hands for his pacifier. “Wan’ soo’er, daddy.”

“Nope. You don’t get it during the day anymore. Just sleep times.” Tony explained to him but Peter’s favourite things in the world were trains and his pacifiers so the three year old eyes immediately welled up.

“Paci, dada? Pwease. Wan’.” Peter asked desperately. Tony couldn’t resist his sad eyes so he sighed as he laid Peter on the floor in the living room.

“Fine. You can have it until we go outside but then I’m taking it away from you.” There was always a pacifier around so Tony picked one up, taking the hair off of it and handing it to Peter.

Whatever Pepper didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her.

He was quick to change Peter’s diaper and then went back outside but before he opened the back door, he tapped on Peter’s shoulder. “Hey, soother. Give it.”

Peter shook his head, speaking around it. “I wan’ it.”

Tony didn’t want Pepper to think he was going against their compromise already so he took it from Peter’s mouth, immediately causing Peter to start crying. “You’re okay. I told you no more paci.”

Peter looked towards where Tony threw it on the couch and went to walk towards it but Tony grabbed his hand, pulling Peter outside.

“No! Wan’ soo’er.” Peter cried harder so Pepper turned to look at them

“What did you do to him, Tony?” She asked, holding her arms out for her distraught son.

Peter pulled away from Tony and ran towards Pepper, crying harder with her there. Tony rolled his eyes. Peter was such an actor, always had been.

“I didn’t do anything.” Tony took a seat on the grass and looked at Peter putting on a show for his mom.

Peter cried harder and made his grabby hands that both parents knew meant he wanted his pacifier. Pepper sighed. “You gave him his pacifier in there, didn’t you?”

“He asked for it.” Tony wasn’t going to make that mistake again. He just couldn’t resist Peter’s puppy dog eyes.

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Tony was so exhausted.

Over the past week, Peter had gotten used to his crib and didn’t cry every time he was placed in it which Tony and Pepper were so grateful for since that meant they got almost a full night's rest.

Although tonight, Peter had other plans for them.

The toddler woke up in the middle of the night at around 2am. He bounced in his crib, peeking over the bars. He clapped his hands in his excitement and picked up one of his forgotten soothers in his bed when he spotted one on his bedroom floor that he wanted more.

Peter attempted to climb onto the bars but he couldn’t get his legs over so he tried another way. He threw his blanket and RoRo over first then lifted himself up, using his upper body weight to fully get over the bars and swing his legs over the side.

Peter then slowly and carefully lowered himself down, picked up his pacifier to suck on it and grabbed RoRo and his blanket then he was leaving to go wake his parents up.

The toddler walked down the hallway and into his mommy and daddy’s bedroom, walking over to his dad's side and easily climbing up on the bed.

He crawled onto his dad’s chest with a giggle. “Dada. Wake up, daddy.”

Tony felt the heavy odd weight on his chest. He was surprised to look up and see Peter’s face looking down at him. “Uh… what? Peter?”

He thought it was the morning and Pepper took him out of his crib but it was pitch black out still. Tony rubbed at his eyes and looked over at Pepper who was still fast asleep.

“Uh, what’re you doin’, baby? How’d you get here?” Tony asked, still half asleep himself.

Peter bounced on his chest and squealed with excitement. “Shhhh. Mommy’s sleeping.”

It was too late. Pepper was waking up and looking at Peter. “Why did you bring him in here?”

Peter bounced on Tony again. “I didn’t. He came in by himself.”

“I climb out of c’ib, daddy.” Peter explained. That had both parents looking at each other.

Tony grabbed the baby monitor on the nightstand table and played back the footage then looked over at Pepper. “So, toddler bed then?”

“Yep.”

They couldn’t have Peter climbing out of his crib every night now that he knew how.