All The Stars Align

Peter was sitting up in his MedBay bed and playing with his surprise gift that the nurse had got him.

Tony found it interesting and wanted to play with it himself. It was a weird plastic rope toy that was able to be bent into a bunch of shapes and was intended to keep fidgeting hands busy and Peter was able to use it with one hand as well.

They were waiting for the doctors to come back and bring Peter to get his body scanned to see if all his breaks were healed or were close to healing.

Peter had woken up in a good mood after sleeping for six hours. Tony hadn't expected Peter to sleep for such a short amount of time but he was convinced he was only waking up for his surprise.

Not that Tony was complaining since he got to spend some time with his happy baby boy.

“And it goes this way too.” Peter told him and tried to show Tony but it got stuck on the wires coming out of his arm.

“Careful.” Tony helped him get it off and then looked at the toy. “Wow, Pete. That’s so cool.”

“Yeah.” Peter continued to play with it for the next few minutes and then the doctor was walking into the room, ready to take Peter.

“Are you ready, Peter?” He asked, pulling the feet board and unlocking the wheels.

Peter turned towards his dad and reached his hand out. “Come.”

“I’m coming, baby. I’ll be with you the whole time.” Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead and stood up, holding Peter’s hand in his.

As Peter was wheeled down the hallway, he hoped that his bones were healing quickly. He wanted Peter out of his casts and have him running around again but he still lost half of his kidney meaning that he only had a kidney and a half. As much as the thought terrified him, he knew that some people could still live a normal life with just one kidney, and Peter had more than that.

They got to the end of the hallway but Tony knew he couldn’t go in without Peter for this. “Petey, I have to stay out here but I’ll be here the whole time-”

Peter shook his head and looked up at him. “No. Come with me.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t but I’ll be right here when you come out.” Tony felt so bad. He knew this was his first time leaving Peter while he was awake and he didn’t want to do it as much as Peter didn’t, if not, more.

“No. I’m scared.” Peter’s face scrunched up but Tony didn’t want him to cry.

“Don’t cry, baby. I’ll see you so soon. Okay? I’ll be here the whole time.” He gave Peter’s hand a reassuring squeeze and then let go and had to watch as Peter was wheeled away from him again but this time, he knew Peter was going to be okay so he sat and waited for it to be done.

It took a lot longer than he expected it to but Peter had fallen asleep which terrified him at first until the doctor was reassuring him that Peter was in fact asleep. Then, Tony found the sight adorable.

Back in the room, Tony sat down and grabbed onto Peter’s hand to listen to the doctor explain what was going on. “His head fracture is completely healed which is amazing but he still has a concussion so he has to be extra careful, no screens or any kind until it heals completely in time. His ribs are completely healed as well and almost all the bruising is gone.”

Tony was so freaking happy. This was amazing news. The most important thing was that Peter’s head was okay and he was going to make sure it stayed that way.

“As for Peter’s wrist, it is healing but there is still a break in two areas so he needs to keep the cast on for another week or so.” The doctor took his glasses off and that’s when Tony knew it wasn’t going to be good news. “Peter’s ankle was crushed. His bone shattered into a hundred pieces and it took intensive surgery to make sure all of his muscles, nerves and bones were in the right place for the cast.”

Tony didn’t even want to know the rest but he knew he had to.

“The stitches will take a lot longer to heal because they’re under a tight cast and aren’t breathing as they should but the cast needs to stay on. I’m worried that when it does heal, Peter will need to have physical therapy to be able to walk properly on it again.”

And there it was.

Peter had so much energy and needed to constantly be running around but now this was going to prevent him from doing that and it scared Tony that it would put Peter into a depression.

“How-how Uh, long would you say the process will take?” Tony needed to know. He needed to see an end date to this. For his own sake.

The doctor sighed and tried to think. “Without his healing factor, with an injury like this I would say six to eight months but his healing factor is a wonderful gift that saved his life so once the rest of his body heals fully and he gets enough sleep, eats enough and stays off it, I would say anywhere from three to eight weeks.”

That was a long time. Not nearly as long as it would be without his healing factor but long enough for Peter to go crazy with not being able to do what he wants to do and Tony going crazy because of that.

“Alright. Alright. So he needs to stay off of it. All the time?”

“In the beginning, yes. After a few weeks and if it’s healing nicely, he can walk on it around the house but no long trips.” The doctor put his glasses back on and leaned forward. “I know this is hard and it’s an adjustment. I know Peter is going to find it really difficult to get used to his new temporary lifestyle but it is temporary, everything will heal and with the right care, he will be good as new once again.”

That did help to make Tony feel better but he still wasn’t sure about any of it. He had to focus on Peter and the fact that he was alive and on the path to recovering.

.
.
.

Tony could not believe what he was hearing. He was so happy and relieved.

After Peter wakes up, the doctor was going to check everything once again and clear Peter to go back up to their floor.

The thought excited Tony but also terrified him.

He was happy at the thought of them getting to go back onto their floor and try to go back to normal but then he was going to be alone with Peter and anything could go wrong. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to take Peter out of the MedBay yet but he was starting to go crazy and so was Peter.

So when Peter woke up next, after having slept for ten hours, Tony was explaining to him what was going to happen.

“So… then we get to go home?” Peter asked, hopefully.

Tony nodded and smiled at him. “Yeah. The doctor is going to check over everything first and then we’re going to go up and we can play together. But no tv or any screens.”

Peter stuck out his bottom lip at that, Tony knew that was going to be hard. “Okay. Then no more wires and needles and stuff.”

Tony couldn’t wait to see Peter out of this bed and not hooked up to a bunch of wires. He thought of the heart monitor that beeped steadily with Peter’s heart beat and how it calmed Tony down when Peter was sleeping. He needed to make his own somehow.

Although his lab was currently destroyed and he didn’t even want to go down there.

“How are we this evening?”

Tony looked up at the doctor who pulled him from his thoughts. Evening? He had no idea what time it was or day.

Peter didn’t answer him, instead, he asked his own question. “Am I gonna go upstairs now?”

“Well,” The doctor pulled up a chair and rolled over to check Peter’s stab wound. “Let’s see, shall we?” He carefully peeled back the bandage and nodded. “It looks good. The stitches aren’t infected and are healing nicely.”

He looked over at Tony and gestured for him to look at the wound. “This should be fully healed in two to four days. If you see that it starts getting inflamed or any puss or something just doesn’t look right, bring him down here and we’ll have a look but otherwise, clean regularly by carefully wiping it then applying cream and covering up with a new bandage.”

“Alright. That’s good news.” He squeezed Peter’s hand. Two to four days, that was amazing time. “You gotta still be careful, Pete. Until it’s fully healed. Until everything is fully healed.”

He knew he was going to have to have a serious talk with Peter about staying still and not running around like he always does. That was going to be the hardest part.

“Before you go up, it’s time for a shower, Peter.” The doctor stood up and pushed the chair back. Tony wasn’t looking forward to that. Peter either hated or loved showers. There was no in between and now Tony had no idea how this was going to work out.

“Yay.” Peter smiled at his dad which had Tony smiling. Thank goodness Peter was excited for it but that could easily change.

“Alright. So obviously he can’t stand up in the shower so he will sit on a shower chair which is only temporary, until he can stand again.” He explained and grabbed two rubber bands. “These will go around each cast to prevent any water from getting in. If it does, come down and we have to change it so no infection starts, especially in his ankle.”

“For now, until his wound heals, put a waterproof bandage over it then take it off after he showers, clean it and put a normal bandage on.”

Tony was going to have to have FRIDAY help him remember all of this. He didn’t want to mess up and accidentally make things worse.

“Okay… you got all that, Pete?” He teased but Peter was looking up at him, confused.

“No.”

Both adults laughed just as Pepper walked into the room which was perfect timing because Tony needed her. “Guess who gets to go back to our floor.”

A huge smile broke across Pepper’s face as she stepped towards Peter to give him a gentle hug. “That’s so amazing, Peter. I’m so proud of you. So brave.”

Peter smiled shyly.

“He’s gonna have a shower first so can you do me a favour and bring down a long sleeved shirt and…” He tried to think of what pants could get over Peter’s cast. “His pyjama pants but make sure they’re stretchy at the bottom. And one sock.”

“And my underwear.” Peter added but Tony shook his head, knowing Peter wasn’t going to be wearing any underwear for a little while until his internal wounds healed properly and he was able to hold in his pee on his own.

“You don’t need underwear, Pete. Not yet.” He told him sadly. He didn’t think Peter actually knew.

Pepper looked at Tony sadly, knowing that he was going to have to tell Peter so she left to give them some privacy and go get those things.

“My underwear.” Peter said again, sadly, but Tony just shook his head and sat on the edge of the MedBay bed.

“Pete, when you got hurt, your insides were really hurt and it took a lot on your body and it still is so until you heal completely, you need to have some protection so no underwear yet.” He explained the best he could, having absolutely no idea how Peter would react.

Peter just stared at him so Tony stood up and looked over for someone there to help explain it but everyone had left the room. “It’s just temporary, Pete. Let’s get everything off so you can get in the shower.”

Peter carefully sat up more and let Tony swing his legs off the bed, making sure to be extra gentle with his cast. He helped Peter pull off his gown and then Peter was immediately looking down at himself. “No. I want it off. It’s uncomfortable.”

Tony sighed. “You’re just realizing you have it on now, Pete. You didn’t even notice before.”

Peter shook his head and tugged at the pull-up. “No. I notice it now so no.”

“It’s okay. It’s just for a little bit, Pete, and then you don’t need it anymore.” He held his arms out for Peter who immediately reached out for him so Tony picked him up, having to put a little extra strength into it since with both casts, Peter weighed about ten pounds heavier and the fact that he hadn’t carried Peter in almost two weeks.

God, how he missed this.

He held him against his hip, making sure not to put much pressure on anything and then walked into the bathroom but paused. If they were upstairs, this would be a lot easier.

“How are we going to do this?” Tony asked Peter, feeling him lay his head on his shoulder. Tony melted at the action. He loved his kid so much and missed him.

He couldn’t set Peter on his feet but had to get the pull-up off so he untaped the sides and pulled it off then tossed it in the garbage and stepped into the shower himself so he could sit him in the chair.

Peter whimpered which had Tony scared that he hurt him. “What’s wrong?”

“S’cold.” Peter complained but Tony sighed in relief and grabbed the shower handle and turned it on, turning it on and setting it to the right temperature before aiming it at Peter. The doctor already put the rubber bands and bandage on for him this time so he didn’t have to worry about that.

He handed Peter the shower handle so he could wash his own self down while Tony grabbed the shampoo bottle. “Wet your hair, Pete.”

Peter lifted the handle up and over his head to soak it down so Tony started to massage his fingers into Peter’s scalp to get it nice and clean while also making sure to be extra gentle because of his concussion.

Tony felt himself getting sprayed in the face and Peter start giggling. “Oops.”

He paused what he was doing and looked down at Peter. “You’re crazy. Are you soaking me on purpose?”

Peter smiled up at him and it melted Tony’s heart. Right there, that smile was his reason for everything and made everything worth it.

Peter shook his head and looked down at the shower handle again. “No. Not on purpose. Just by accident.”

“Alright.” He shook his head fondly at Peter but continued to clean his hair. Once he was finished, he rinsed his hands and took the shower handle from Peter to rinse all the soap out of his hair. “Shut your eyes.”

Peter did as he was told so Tony finished up and handed the handle back to him so he could grab a face cloth so he could get Peter’s body cleaned.

By the end of the shower, he was practically soaked from head to toe and he didn’t even go in the shower. He was pretty sure Peter did it on purpose, judging from the grin on his face but he didn’t care.

Tony dried off everything that he could with Peter sitting down which was frustrating and almost impossible so he wrapped the towel around Peter’s shoulders and lifted him up into his arms, trying to decide how he was going to get the pull-up on.

“Do you know how to put this on?” Tony asked him, picking up the clean pull-up from the counter and showing it to Peter.

“No. But I can put my underwear on.” Peter answered as Tony walked out into the MedBay room, seeing no Pepper and no clothes for Peter on the bed. He knows that they were at least forty minutes in that shower so there was no way it was taking her so long.

“Sorry, Pete, but your underwear’s won’t even fit over your cast.” Tony told him and gently sat Peter on the bed, wrapping his towel around him tighter.

He grabbed the pull-up and stuck Peter’s good foot through it but had to untape the other side since it wouldn’t fit over the cast. “Lay down for a sec so I can pull it up. But watch your head.”

Peter slowly laid down so Tony could finish putting it on and tapped up the other side. “Okay. All done.”

Peter shifted and stuck out his bottom lip. “You said I couldn’t feel it before but now I can and I want it off. I want underwear.”

Tony was helping Peter sit back up and pulling his towel off of him. “You can’t wear underwear yet. Your body is still hearing for now. Does anything hurt?” He carefully pulled off the bandage and grabbed a clean cloth to wipe it down with the cream.

“No. Can we go up now? Please.” Peter pulled at the waistband of the pull-up, hearing it crinkle.

“We will in two minutes. Where’s Pepper?” Tony had no idea where she was or what was taking her so long.

“Maybe she got lost.” Peter said as he watched Tony take off the rubber hands from his casts. He hated them on.

Tony chuckled. It sure seemed that way.

He was about to just pick Peter up and carry him as is but then the door was opening, only it wasn’t Pepper but Steve who looked like death.

“Steve?” Tony didn’t expect to see the man come down. He hadn’t allowed anyone but Pepper and Rhodey to come down more than once and although he didn’t feel bad about it at the time, he did now.

Steve was staring at Peter as if he would disappear if Steve took his eyes off of him. “Hi Peter. How are you feeling?”

Peter smiled at him while Steve eyed his entire body and looked like he was about to start crying.

“Good. We’re going upstairs together. Me and dad. And look…” Peter tugged on his pull-up again so Steve looked at it.

“Oh. Is that…” He looked over at Tony for the first time since he got down there.

“He lost half a kidney. So… until everything heals internally and it isn’t putting much strain in his organs, he doesn’t have much control over his bladder.” Tony explained then saw the clothes in Steve’s hands and took it from him to get Peter dressed. “Where’s Pepper?”

Steve was staring at Peter, seeming to be in a daze. “Oh um… Rose is here so she’s with her.”

Tony forgot about Rose. Peter was supposed to meet with her… that day. He hoped she wasn’t here to try and fix the whole separation anxiety thing because that was being put on hold for a little while. Or a long while.

“Why’s she here?” He asked as he got Peter’s shirt on.

“I think Pepper called her. Pepper told her everything and was keeping all of us updated.” Steve told Tony as he stepped closer to the bed and stared sadly at Peter.

Tony saw his eyes lingering over the bandage on his abdomen and his ankle. He felt a bit bad now for keeping everyone in the dark but everything had been so chaotic.

He looked back at Peter and tried to hold the pant leg over the cast but it wasn’t fitting. “I guess we’ll see her soon then but Peter’s going to sleep so we’re not talking for long.”

Steve was nodding his head and stepping forwards to help out. “Do you need any help?”

Tony groaned and tossed the pyjamas onto the bed. The elastic around the ankles were too tight to fit over the cast unless he cut it but they were one of Peter’s favourite pyjamas. Well, all of his pyjamas were his favourite.

“No. It’s fine. We’re just gonna go up like this because these don’t fit.” Tony rubbed at his eyes and stood up fully. Peter was lying down on the bed and looking up at him with tired eyes so he wouldn’t be surprised if Peter fell asleep in his arms on the way up. “Come, Pete. Let’s go up now.”

Peter lifted his arms up for his dad so Tony carefully lifted him and made sure everything was okay and that no pressure was on any of Peter’s injuries. “Are you comfy?”

He got a nod in return so he placed his other hand under Peter’s butt and went to double check they had everything just as the doctor was walking in.

“I’m just coming to say goodbye. Get better soon, Peter.” He rubbed at Peter’s back as Tony passed by him on his way out. “And Mr. Stark, if you have any questions or need anything, you know where to find us.”

Tony stuck out his hand to shake with the doctors. “Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you.”

He left the room after that with Steve following behind him. Peter rested his head on Tony’s shoulder and shut his eyes but then was opening them again and whimpering. “Water bottle.”

Tony patted his butt to reassure him that he would get it soon. “I’ll get it for you once we get up.”

Steve got in the elevator with them and reached out to run a gentle hand over Peter’s back. “Hey, Peter, I was taking care of your kitten while you were… away.”

Peter lifted his head up to look at Steve. “My kitten. Mimzy. Is-is he sad?”

“He misses you but he told me to tell you to take your time getting better before you can play with him.” Steve had said in a gentle voice and Tony was grateful that he didn’t have to be the one to tell Peter that he couldn’t play with his kitten right now.

“Is- where is he?” Peter asked, trying to turn his head to look more at Steve but Tony didn’t want him moving his head too much so he shifted his own body so Peter could look at Steve better.

“He’s on my floor but he’s sleeping.” Steve replied.

Tony patted his butt again which had Peter laying his head back on his shoulder. “Just like you’re going to be doing soon.”

The elevator doors opened so the three of them walked out and towards the living room. Tony immediately spotted Pepper talking on the couch with Rose who was looking at Peter the same way everyone else had.

Tony didn’t know what Pepper told her. Probably everything.

“Hi Peter. I just came over to see how you were doing.” Rose had said and stood up to make her way towards them.

Peter just stared at her so Tony answered. “I’m gonna put him to sleep soon. I just need to get his water bottle.” He stopped in front of the couch and looked around the room. Everything was cleaned, including the legos that used to be on the floor.

If Tony was coming up here without Peter alive and well, he would have been incredibly pissed off at seeing all of Peter’s legos gone but now, he was grateful that he didn’t have to clean up the mess.

“I brought a little get well gift, Peter.” Rose stepped aside to grab a bag off the ground and held it up in front of Peter who was lifting his head up and reaching out for it with his bad hand but then pausing once he realized he couldn’t grab it.

“Woah, say thank you, Peter.” Tony looked over at Peter and saw the faint smile on his face and it made him smile because Peter was a lucky boy with all the get well soon gifts he’s receiving.

“Thank you.” Peter quietly said and reached out to grab onto the bag. He looked inside and pulled out a stuffed bear that had pyjamas on and said get well soon on the top.

Tony knew that if he was more alert, he would be so much more excited but he just tucked the bear against his chest and laid his head back down.

Steve was putting his hand on Tony’s arm to get his attention. “I’ll get his water bottle for him. You guys stay here.”

Tony stepped towards the couch and sat down, moving Peter’s legs over so they were on either side of his thighs and their chests were pressed up against each other. Tony missed holding Peter in this position so much, he was trying to soak up every detail of it.

He held Peter like that for a few minutes while he waited for Steve to come back with the water bottle so he could talk to Peter about some rules that had to be set. He was deciding if he should take the tv out of the room.

When Steve handed him the water bottle, Tony gave it to Peter and carefully lifted him up onto the couch so he could be face to face with him, that way, he knew Peter was listening to him.

Peter’s casted leg hung off the couch while Peter pulled his other leg up and had his foot pulled close to himself and his leg falling open. Tony squeezed his leg and began talking but Peter was trying to look behind him.

When Tony turned around, he noticed that the tv was on and his heart dropped. That wasn’t good. “FRIDAY, tv off.”

Peter pulled his water bottle from his mouth to whine. “No. I wanna watch it.”

“Peter, remember what the doctor said? No watching tv or any type of screens.” Tony knew that most of their day was spent watching tv or with the tv on in the background so this was going to be hard.

“No. In the hospital.” Peter told him and tried to roll off the couch but Tony pulled him back up.

“No, Pete. Even out of the MedBay. Until your concussion heals completely and the doctor says it’s okay to watch tv.” Tony slowly explained to him. “So no TVs on. And you have to stay off your cast. Otherwise it won’t heal and you’ll be in a cast for a really long time.”

Peter stared at him so Tony continued.

“No putting any pressure on your foot, meaning you can’t run around. Or even walk around right now. I know it’s frustrating but it’s just temporary.” He hoped this was temporary and Peter listened to him so there wasn’t any long term damage.

“Then how will I walk?” Tony needed to get Peter up to bed now because he could see he was about to start crying so he stood up fully and held his arms out for Peter.

“It’s okay. Come here. Grab your bear and water.” Peter grabbed both items and lifted one arm up for Tony to carry him up to bed. He set Peter on his hip and made sure that he wasn’t hurting him then went to turn around but he bumped into a box. “What’s this?”

“His pull-ups. I ordered some so they’d be ready. I also put the shower chair in your shower.” Pepper told him.

He was so grateful for her. “Thank you. I’ll see you guys later.”

Peter was already almost passed out by the time Tony got upstairs which had been cleaned. He thought that Pepper must have washed the bedding, clothes and cleaned the room and bathroom for him. He appreciated her so much but knew that she only did that after she found out Peter was going to be okay.

“Do you need to pee- never mind.” Tony sighed. That was going to take some getting used to. He pulled back the blankets with one hand and carefully laid Peter down, setting his leg up on a pillow. “Are you comfy?”

Peter kicked out his free leg and started whimpering. “No. I wan’-wan’...”

“What, baby? Tell me what you want.” Tony patiently asked. He had to remember what Peter was feeling and how uncomfortable he was.

Peter tried to turn over but he couldn’t. “I want it off. S’too-too big.” He pointed at his cast and looked up at Tony with desperate eyes.

Tony felt so bad for him because he couldn’t do anything about it. “How about you sleep for now, and when you wake up, we’ll see if it can come off?” It was a pacification. Tony knew he was only saying that to get Peter to sleep and hoped he forgot about it come morning.

Peter rubbed at his eyes and tugged on his pull-up and Tony knew this was going to continue all night if he didn’t stop it. “I want it off too.”

“That has to stay on for now. Shh, close your eyes and rest.” He covered Peter with the blankets so he would stop tugging at things and laid down beside him. The plan wasn’t for him to fall asleep because he had a few things he had to do which required him to leave Peter.

It took a total of two minutes for Peter to fall asleep holding his hand but Tony wasn’t ready to leave Peter just yet. He needed someone to watch Peter while he was gone but he had no idea who was available.

Tony brushed Peter’s now clean curls off of his face and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you so much, baby. Thank you.” He didn’t know exactly what Peter remembered from that day.

All he knows is that Peter had died and come back. It was possible that he saw May. Maybe Peter was delirious when he was awake but he had said that he came back for Tony and if that was true, Tony was so thankful for Peter. He had chosen him.

He stayed with Peter for the next hour, holding his hand and making sure that his chest was rising and falling which meant he was still breathing but Tony needed more proof.

The plan was to go down to his lab and design something that he could keep on Peter when he slept but he didn’t know what yet. He also knew that it was going to take hours to clean up his lab and replace the glass that he smashed.

He didn’t even want to go down there.

Although he had to at some point so he made sure that Peter was okay and slowly pulled his hand out, sending a quick text to Pepper to ask if she could watch Peter for him.

Pepper was walking into his bedroom with Rose following behind her a few minutes later. Tony trusted Rose with Peter so he didn’t mind her staying. “I need to go do some things so can you stay here and make sure he’s okay?”

“Of course, Tony.” Pepper placed her mug on the nightstand table and sat next to Peter where he had just been sitting.

“If he wakes up, call me.” Tony checked on Peter once more and thanked Rose before leaving.

He felt wrong for leaving his kid after everything that happened but he had no other choice since he couldn’t bring Peter down to the lab and he also couldn’t bring what he needed to do up to Peter so he was at a loss.

The only option for now was to leave Peter and get what he needed to get done, done.

He was dreading going down to the lab and having to clean up the mess but he didn’t even know where he was going to start. He knew he had to put on protective gear since there was glass everywhere.

Already mentally preparing himself for what he’s about to walk into, Tony stepped out of the elevator but what he saw was not what he was expecting at all.

The lab was spotless.

He looked around for the things he broke during his… break down, but everything was cleaned up. When he went to step forward, he realized that even the glass he smashed to pieces was replaced so he rubbed at his eyes and shook his head because that just wasn’t possible.

There was no way that was possible which meant that he was losing his mind.

He was starting to think that he didn’t even come down to the lab and destroy it. Had that all been in his head? Had he just imagined doing that?

Just as he was about to turn around and leave to go check on Peter again, he spotted Rhodey sitting in the lab on one of his swivel chairs that Peter loved so much. “Oh fuck. You scared me. Fuck.”

Rhodey looked unimpressed and looked like he was waiting there for him since he had a single screwdriver in his hand and he knew that Rhodey wasn’t tinkering around.

“What Uh, what’re you doing?” Tony asked, walking into his lab and looking towards where his alcohol cabinet was but that area was completely cleaned up and empty now.

“Just thinking.” Rhodey said, not saying anything else. Tony eyed him. The man was staring at him in the way that he does when he’s really worried about his well being.

“Well… you don’t normally come down to my lab to do your thinking.” Tony didn’t want to bring up the question that was hanging heavily in the air.

Rhodey was silent for a few moments before speaking. “And you don’t normally come down to your lab and destroy the whole thing. I guess we’re both off on our routines.”

Tony looked down at the table. There it was.

“You cleaned it up?”

Rhodey shrugged. “I started but there was way too much glass and damage so I got some of the workers to come help me clean it and get the glass replaced.”

Tony nodded. He was extremely grateful for everyone in his life. It was nice to have people on his side. “Thanks.” He looked around his lab to try and find anything out of place but everything was immaculate.

Rhodey flipped the screw driver onto the table with a loud thud. “I would ask how it got that way but I already know.”

Tony looked away from him and sat down on the stool that Peter usually sat at when he was down there with him. He picked up one of the picture frames on his desk of him and Peter from Malibu at the park.

He was holding Peter in his arms and even though you couldn’t make out their faces, he knew he was smiling at his boy.

Rhodey was staring at him so Tony sniffed and put the frame down. “What’re you looking at?”

“I’m looking at you.”

Tony scuffed and stood up because he had work to do. “Well stop. I’m fine.”

“You aren’t fine, Tony.” Rhodey accused him. “You destroyed your lab after getting drunk.”

“My son was in a coma. Okay? Peter was dying. My kid was dying and I… how would you expect me to be okay with that?” Tony wanted to kick the chair but he wasn’t going to destroy anything else.

“I’m not talking about before, I’m talking about now.” Rhodey paused for a few seconds. “I wasn’t surprised when I came down here and found your lab like this. I get it. Peter’s your child and you almost lost him, I was there. The whole time and I know you can’t live without him and he can’t live without you either but I’m worried about you.”

“Me? You’re worried about me?” He stepped towards his best friend, angry at him for being worried about him over Peter. “Peter has two casts, a healing stab, wound, a concussion, he lost half a kidney and-and you’re worried about me?!”

Rhodey didn’t seem surprised at his outburst which annoyed Tony even more.

“I’m worried about Peter too. I didn’t say I wasn’t. I’m worried about you because who do you have to talk to?” Rhodey asked but Tony could tell he meant something more.

Tony stared at him. “I have Peter. And Peter has me.”

“That’s what I’m worried about. Sometimes… you need to talk about more detailed and important matters that you can’t exactly talk to a fourteen year old about. Especially about him.”

Tony didn’t understand what Rhodey was trying to say now. “If you think I’m gonna go into extreme detail and tell Peter about what it was like for me when he was in a coma, I’m not. That would be… some kind of abuse.”

Rhodey continued to stare at him and Tony hated that. “I know what you went through and what you… considered if he… if he didn’t make it. I just, I want you to be okay and holding everything in because you think you have no one to talk to isn’t good.”

“I’m not holding anything in. Pete and I are good. I mean, yeah I want to rip my hair out about ten times a day and sometimes my ears ring because he’s crying about one thing or the next but I’ve leant to be patient with him.” Tony was extremely patient with Peter now. He doesn’t have patience for a lot of things but Peter is one of if not the only exception.

“That’s what I’m talking about. Because this happened… I’m worried that you’re going to treat him differently.” Rhodey admitted so Tony raised his eyebrows at him. “I mean, you’re gonna give into everything and maybe that isn’t the best thing to do.”

“Of course I am. I almost lost him, Rhodey. I’m not-”

“What about Spider-Man?” He cut Tony off to ask.

Tony backed up. He hated that name now.

He didn’t know where the suit was but he can assume Steve or Natasha put it somewhere.

“He’s done with Spider-Man.” Tony admitted out loud but it was his first time really thinking about it since Peter was hurt.

“So you’re taking it away from him forever then?” Rhodey asked but Tony sighed because he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what to do but it was what he wanted to do.

“I’m not letting him be Spider-Man again. Not after what happened. I’d rather have him hate me and be alive then not have a temper by saying yes and maybe next time it ends differently and he doesn’t make it.” Tony felt sick. He didn’t even want to think about that.

“What if he asks to go out?” Rhodey asked him but Tony didn’t know.

“I don’t know, Rhodey. He’s fourteen. He’s a minor so he has to listen to me until he’s eighteen. And even after that, long after that.” Tony wasn’t going to let Peter start running wild at eighteen and long after that as well.

“What if he asks to go out then?”

Tony groaned. “He won’t. And if he does, I’ll ignore him and change the subject because that always works.” He sighed. He wasn’t going to do that. “I have work to do. So if you’re going to ask me a million questions… just don’t.” He was exhausted.

“Alright. I’m gonna go check on Peter. Is he in your room?” Rhodey stood up and got ready to leave.

“Yeah. Pepper and Rose are in there as well.” Tony watched his best friend leave and then he was getting out everything he needed to start with what he originally came down here for.

His thoughts were racing a mile a minute so it was hard to focus but after just two hours, he was done.

He needed something to be able to check Peter’s heart rate and breathing when he slept and he knew FRIDAY could do that but he needed a steady reminder so he designed a sock like shoe that has a monitor on the inside so when he placed it on Peter’s foot, it monitored him all night long.

To keep Tony sane while Peter slept so he didn’t think Peter was in a coma again. That was going to haunt his nightmares for a long time. Maybe for the rest of his life.

Tony double checked that everything was working fine by putting his fingers in it since it was way too small for his foot because he measured it to fit Peter’s. Once he was certain it worked properly, he left to go back upstairs and get it on Peter’s foot.

He grabbed the box of pull-ups on the way up and started going up to see Peter again.

When he walked into his bedroom, he immediately looked towards the bed and his eyes landed on Peter who had both arms above his head and the blankets kicked off of him with his good leg bent out. Tony couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face at seeing his kid again. He felt like he was away from him for far too long.

“He’s been asleep the whole time but I took the blankets off of him since he was struggling to get it off with one leg.” Pepper updated him as he rounded the bed to place the box down then sat next to Peter and brushed his sweaty curls off his face.

“Hey, bud.” He whispered but knew he wasn’t going to get a response because Peter was passed out. He looked over at Pepper and Rose who was still there and held out the monitor that he made. “It’s so I can monitor his breathing and heart rate while he’s sleeping.”

Tony grabbed Peter’s good leg and carefully bent it so he could place the monitor on. He then grabbed his phone from the nightstand table and set it up from there. “Now I can keep an eye on him wherever I am if he’s sleeping.”

He also planned on staring at the vitals while Peter slept, even if he was in the same room as him.

Pepper was staring at him and Tony knew what that look meant and he knew she was worried about him but she didn’t need to be. Neither did Rhodey because he was fine and he had Peter with him.

He would always be okay when he had Peter.

Both women were looking at him and he didn’t know Rose very well but he knew she was thinking the same thing as Pepper.

“Alright. I need to go talk to Natasha so I’ll be back soon.” He made sure the monitor was on Peter properly then he pressed a kiss to his face and left.

He stared at his phone on the way down because it helped to calm him down. If he couldn’t be right next to Peter then it helped to know that he could check on his vitals at any time.

When he got onto the next floor, he walked out but mostly all the lights were turned off and no one was around. He sighed in annoyance but would wake up Natasha if he had to because he had to talk to her about who was responsible for putting his kid into a coma and making him lose half a kidney.

He walked down the hallway and opened her bedroom door but the bed was still made. Just as he was about to ask FRIDAY, he heard a voice behind him.

“She’s training with Steve.” Bucky told him. Tony didn’t talk with Bucky much. The man was quiet and barely said a word to anyone but Peter and Steve.

“Thanks.” He had said then left. He didn’t know much about Bucky but he could tell that something was on his mind and he felt like he had a strong idea of what that was.

Walking out of the elevator and into the training room, he watched the two train for a few minutes. It wasn’t that he thought they didn’t notice him because he knew they did, what kind of Avengers would they be if they didn’t?

Natasha went to punch Steve but he blocked it and used that as leverage to flip her over until Natasha gained the upper hand and pinned Steve down and stood up just as gracefully.

“Stark.” She said as she stuck out a hand towards Steve. “I’m surprised you’re not with Peter.”

Tony shook his phone in his hand. “I made a monitor to put on his foot while he sleeps. I just hope he doesn’t take it off but Pepper and Rose are with him.”

Natasha nodded and grabbed a water bottle, tossing one over to Steve in the process.

“How is he?” Steve asked him.

Tony put his hands in his pocket. “He’ll be okay. He just needs to take it easy.”

Natasha scuffed. “Peter? Take it easy? Sure. That kid jumps off the walls. Literally. You might have to design something to keep him pinned down so he can actually take it easy.”

Tony wasn’t looking forward to when Peter woke up just for that reason. He couldn’t wait to have Peter awake again, but he was terrified of all the crying, especially with no screen time allowed.

“Yeah. I know.” After rubbing his eyes, he took his hands out of his pocket to cross his arms. “I want to know what you found on the people who did this to my kid.”

Natasha looked like she was waiting for him to ask so she started walking and both males followed her. “They weren’t hard to find. Two of them were hiding in a basement of an abandoned house and the other was hiding in some dumpster in an alleyway.”

Tony nodded. So it was three against one then. “Males?” Natasha nodded. Tony felt sick. It was three grown men against a child. He wanted them dead. “What are their names?”

“Charles Miller, age thirty five. James Cooper, age thirty nine and Anthony Sawyer, age thirty nine.” Natasha said off the top of her head. Tony didn’t recognize any of the names but that didn’t mean it wasn’t anyone he knew.

“Where are they now?” He asked, stepping into the elevator and pulling out his phone so he could see the faces of the men who did this. “FRI, bring them up.”

“Yes, Boss.”

He watched as three faces appeared on his phone and he wanted to vomit. These men were the ones responsible for hurting and almost killing his baby.

“We have them locked up for now. It’s up to you what you want to do with them. We got the footage from that alleyway and watched it.” Natasha paused.

Tony didn’t want that footage anywhere near him. He knew that if he watched it, he would watch it over and over again until he remembered every single detail and then he would obsess over it until he went crazy. “I don’t want to watch it.”

“I know.” Natasha pulled out her computer once they got to the couch and sat down. “We didn’t get the police involved because it might risk revealing Peter’s identity.”

Tony knew they took off his mask. They saw Peter’s face. “They know who Spider-Man is.”

“They stopped hurting him once they took his mask off because they saw how young he is.” What Natasha told him didn’t make him feel any better. “I don’t know why they chose to attack him, Tony. I think they were just bored and Peter was there but… once they saw that he was just a kid, they ran.”

Tony scuffed. “What kind of father does that make me? Even the guys trying to… kill Spider-Man stopped once they saw how young he is.”

“Then maybe it’s time you take Spider-Man away from him.” Steve had spoken for the first time since they got up to the floor. Tony put his head in his hands then clicked back onto his phone to see Peter’s monitors to calm him down.

“I don’t want them getting close to Peter ever again. Send them to the raft.” He stood up to go back to his kid who would need him soon. He would consider letting them out once his kid is no longer suffering. “I gotta go now.”

He was exhausted and craving to just see his kid and pass out right next to him.

When he walked into his bedroom, he saw that Rose left and just Pepper was sitting on the bed, running a hand through Peter’s hair. She smiled up at him and Tony could see the exhaustion in her eyes. “How is he?”

She sat up, smiling weakly. “Sleeping. He’s barely moved so he must be pretty exhausted.”

He walked around to her side and caressed Peter’s face then scanned his body just to make sure nothing was bleeding and he was okay. “Thanks for staying. I know it’s late.”

“I love Peter too, you know. You don’t have to thank me for helping out with him.” Pepper had said but Tony didn’t have enough energy to say anything back. “If you need me, I’ll be here.”

He nodded. “Then can you stay for ten more minutes so I can shower and brush my teeth?” He was already making his way into the bathroom as he spoke, grateful he had Pepper in his life.