All The Stars Align

Peter was a wreck. 

He woke up five times throughout the night and each time took almost twenty minutes for Pepper to put him back to sleep. 

It was hard on the both of them. 

So when the sun was finally rising, Pepper got out of bed to get ready for her morning meeting that would take two hours and then they could get on the plane. 

She continued to check on Peter, making sure he was still sleeping as she ever so quietly got ready. 

Pepper left for her meeting before Peter woke up so she hoped she made it back in time before he was awake. He barely slept at all so hopefully he managed to sleep a few more hours. 

Peter did manage to sleep an hour and a half after Pepper left but when he woke up, he was alone. 

He rubbed at his eyes and looked on either side of him, looking for Pepper or anyone. He felt so alone. He didn’t see his dad in over a day now and it was making him go crazy. 

He was past crazy, he was going mental. 

The last conversation he had with his dad was running through his mind. He couldn’t remember much of what he said, just what he was feeling but he did remember telling his father he hated him before he threw the phone. 

He had no idea where it was and he didn’t care much. All he cared about was getting to see his dad. 

Peter laid in Pepper’s bed, staring at the ceiling and aching for his dad. He assumed Pepper was at a meeting but he didn’t exactly know. 

It wasn’t until twenty minutes later she was walking into her bedroom. Peter sat up in bed, looking at her. “Dad now?” 

“Good morning, Peter. Yeah, get dressed and we’re gonna leave right now.” She took off her shoes and began taking off her jewellery while Peter watched. “I’m just going to have a quick shower and change into something more comfortable before we go. Your dad already packed your suitcase before he left and I packed mine last night.” 

Peter flopped back down on the bed. He wanted a hug first so he kicked the blankets off and crawled towards the end of the bed. “Can I have a hug? I need one.” 

“Aww. Of course, Peter.” She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled Peter against her chest, hugging him tightly. 

Peter soaked in the comfort. He smiled. “You’re a good hugger.” 

He usually got unlimited hugs a day from his dad but now he wasn’t getting enough. He could count on one hand how many hugs he’s received in the past two days. 

“Why thank you.” Pepper laughed and pulled away from him way too soon so Peter sat on his knees, awkwardly not knowing where to put his hands. He still wanted a hug. “I’m gonna be right back. Go get dressed and we’ll go.” 

Peter watched her walk into her bathroom and shut the door. He debated leaving but he couldn’t find it in him to get off the bed even though he wanted so badly to leave. 

By the time Pepper walked back out, Peter jumped off the bed, walking over to her. “Why didn’t you get dressed yet? We’re gonna go see your dad.” 

Peter shrugged and pushed his way into her bathroom. “I don’t know. I was waiting for you.” 

She followed him in and grabbed her makeup off the counter. Peter jumped on it, putting his feet on the counter so he could squat down and not have his bare thighs touch the cold marble. “What’s that?” 

“Lip gloss.” She began putting it on and Peter watched her. 

“Can I try?” He took it from her and smelt it. “Hmm. Cherry.” 

“Yeah. You can put some on if you want, I don’t know what your dad will think of you wearing makeup.” Pepper grabbed her mascara and began putting that on herself as well. 

Peter didn’t know and he honestly didn’t care. He didn’t necessarily want to wear makeup, he was just curious and wanted to paint his face. “He’d say I look handsome.” 

“You always do.” Pepper then put on some blush and smiled at Peter. “How do I look?” 

“Pretty.” Peter commented then hopped off the counter. “Can we go now? I miss my dad.” 

“I’m just waiting for you to get dressed.” 

Peter frowned. He didn’t know what to wear and he didn’t feel like getting dressed. “I’ll just put pyjama pants on.” 

“You need underwear as well. Let’s go to your bedroom.” 

Peter chased her down the hallway but he ran past his bedroom, thinking she meant his and his dad’s room, not his other bedroom. “Oh, you meant this one. I don’t have any clothes in here.” 

Pepper opened up his dresser and pulled out an outfit. “You have so many clothes. Time to get dressed. I’m going to meet you downstairs.” 

Peter groaned. He knew she heard him so he threw himself onto the floor and groaned louder but no one came. So he changed out of what he was wearing and put his clothes on then ran into Pepper’s room to grab his water bottle and ran downstairs. He was so ready to see his dad. 

.

.

.

No one told him the plane ride was going to be nine hours long. 

On hour two he was crying because he wanted Tony and by hour three he fell asleep but was only asleep for a little bit before he was back to being awake and missing Tony. 

Peter looked out the window, feeling like he wanted to start crying again. 

Just a few more hours until he was in his dads arms. 

.

.

.

Tony had no idea how he went so long without Peter. 

The only reason why he could go so long without him was because he was busy with meetings and watching Peter through the cameras the whole time. It still didn’t help that he could see Peter crying but he couldn’t do anything about it from so far away. 

He felt like a child on Christmas Eve, the excitement preventing him from sleeping the night before Christmas Day. 

After a lot of text updates from Pepper, telling him they were getting on the plane, all the way to the last text, telling him they were landing soon. 

Tony stood outside his car leaning against it, arms crossed over his chest and sunglasses on. 

He could see his plane with his boy on it flying in from the distance and he itched to see Peter run down the steps and into his arms. 

It was the first time Peter had ever been out of the country also, besides the time he went to Germany, so it was his second time. 

The plane was coming in for a landing and Tony started fidgeting with anticipation. 

When the plane was on the ground and the doors were opening, Tony slowly began walking towards it, waiting to see Peter and he didn’t have to wait long because he saw a familiar set of brown curls that were running down the steps and towards him. 

“Daddy!” Peter yelled, running across the runway so he could be in his dad’s arms. 

Tony leaned down, ready to catch Peter. 

When he finally had his baby in his arms, he stood up straight, lifting Peter up and smelling his hair. “I missed you so much, Peter. Oh, buddy, how I missed you.” 

Peter buried his face in his dad’s neck, trying to get as close as possible to him. “I m-missed you too, daddy.” 

“Oh, baby. Are you crying?” Tony pulled away to see Peter’s face but Peter only pulled away briefly, hugging him even tighter. 

“I-I don’t know why. I missed you.” Peter wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and his legs around his waist. “Carry me.” 

“I am, baby.” Tony used one hand to hold onto Peter’s butt while walking towards Pepper. “Hey. Thanks for everything.” He used his free arm to hug Pepper, squishing Peter in between them. 

“Anytime, Tony. You don’t need to thank me.” 

Tony pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I do. I know it wasn’t easy.” 

She didn’t comment on it which told Tony it was hard. He already knew it was. 

Peter turned his head so it was lying on his shoulder. “I missed you.” 

“Oh, baby. I missed you too but don’t cry, I’m here now.” Tony knew Peter was crying out of relief that they were finally together, he kinda wanted to cry himself too. 

Peter nodded. “O-okay. Can we go see your house?” 

“It’s our house, Pete. I’m just renting it though. We don’t come to Switzerland enough to buy a whole house.” Tony could if he wanted to but he didn’t want to. His house was at the top of a cliff, looking out to the farmlands below. It was a beautiful house with so much history to it and Tony couldn’t wait to show Peter. 

“Okay. Does it have a pool?” Peter lifted his head up to look back at Pepper, just to see if she was following them. He laid his head back down on Tony’s shoulder after he saw that she was. 

“Yeah. An indoor one. It’s so cool.” Tony checked it out when he first arrived and he couldn’t wait to go swimming with Peter and Pepper. 

Peter squealed in excitement. 

When they got to the car, Tony went to put Peter on his feet but Peter clung onto him. “No! I wanna stay with you. Please, daddy.” 

“Okay.” He turned to Pepper, reaching in his pocket for his keys to hand to her. “Pep, can you drive?” 

He got into the backseat with Peter while Pepper got into the front seat. “It’s about twenty minutes from here into the country. Here.” He handed her his phone with the location and then they were on their way. 

Peter laid his head on his lap. “I missed you last night and the night before and all the day times I didn’t see you.” 

“I missed you too.” Tony’s hand found its way into Peter’s curls, working on gently untangling a knot as he spoke. “Did you sleep at all last night?” 

Peter shrugged. “Maybe-maybe just half of the time.” 

“Mm, did you go pee in your pull-up or try to go in the toilet?” Tony couldn’t be mad at Peter if he made no effort to get out of bed but he still needed to know. 

“I didn’t go in the toilet.” Peter was ashamed but he didn’t want his dad to be mad at him. 

“That’s okay. I know it was hard for you but you’re so brave, buddy.” The way Peter smiled at him, melted Tony’s heart. He was beyond proud of Peter. The last time he spoke to him, Peter was screaming at him, telling him he hated him and even though Tony knew it wasn’t true, that Peter didn’t in fact hate him, it was still hard to hear. 

Peter sat up. “I’m glad we’re together now.” He grabbed onto his dad’s hand and played with his fingers. 

“I love you so much.” They stayed cuddled together until they were arriving at the house. Peter let go of his dad to lean against the seat. 

“Woah. It’s so pretty. It’s like… pink! A pink house.” Peter exclaimed and took off his seatbelt to get a better look. It was dark out, the sun was quickly setting but it was still early for Peter because of the time zone differences. 

“Yeah, isn’t it so pretty. Inside is even better.” Tony got out of the car, going to the trunk to grab the luggage. When picking out the house, he made sure it was child proof, or he should say Peter proof because Peter could get into next level trouble that a normal child couldn’t get into. 

Mostly everything was besides for a few rooms that Tony would keep Peter out of. 

He unlocked the door and let Peter run past him.

Pepper appeared at his side, leaning against him. “This is a beautiful house, Tony.” 

He didn't have the chance to answer because Peter was running towards them. “Dad, weren’t you scared here all alone at night? I’d be scared. It’s so big.” 

Both adults chuckled. 

Tony pulled away from Pepper to grab Peter, picking him up and holding him up. “Good thing I’m not alone anymore. I have my baby here with me.” He attacked Peter’s face with kisses as he carried him down the hallway and up half the stairs before Peter was kicking to get out of his arms, giggling like crazy. 

“I wanna go see our bedroom.” Peter announced, sitting on top of the stairs and waiting for his dad to reach the top. “Hurry!” 

“I’m coming, kid. It’s all the way down the hallway, at the very end.” Tony got to the top but Peter was waiting for him so he walked with him. 

Once they were close enough, Peter ran into the bedroom and gasped. “It’s so big! And it has like the king type beds in the castles!” 

Peter ran towards the bed and used the blankets to pull himself up on it, jumping once he got on top. 

Tony stretched his back out and yawned. He was so tired. He didn’t sleep very well without Peter so he was looking forward to crawling into bed with his kid tonight. 

“Yeah, it’s comfy too.” He walked towards the end of the bed and held his arms out for Peter. “Come. Let’s go swimming, baby, and then we can get our pyjamas on and go to bed.” 

Peter jumped into his dad’s arms but quickly started kicking to be put down. “I wanna see the bathroom. Is it cool?” 

Tony rolled his eyes. Peter was so curious. He followed Peter in and leaned against the counter as he watched Peter marvel at everything. “No running or acting silly in here because there’s a lot of sharp edges. It isn’t like our bathroom at home.” 

Peter quickly nodded then grabbed onto his dad’s hands and stood on his feet. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you too. Wanna go see the pool?” 

Peter gasped. “Yeah!” 

“Okay! Take off your clothes and get your bathing suit on.” Tony followed Peter back into the bedroom and went to grab Peter’s bathing suit as he began undressing but he forgot to bring it up. “Wait, I have-” 

Pepper walked in, rolling Peter’s suitcase in. “I have this for you.” 

Peter looked up, head sticking out of his shirt that was half on from where he was sitting on the floor. “Thanks.” 

Tony took it from Pepper to give to Peter who looked like he was stuck in his shirt. “You good, kid?” 

“Help. I’m stuck.” Peter whined, trying to lift his arms up but he was being silly and ended up getting stuck in his shirt. 

Tony found it amusing as he untangled Peter from his shirt and kneeled down to pick up all his clothes off the ground. Peter wasn’t even in the room for ten minutes and he already made a mess. 

“I’m gonna quickly change into my bathing suit then we’ll go down.” He grabbed a bag off the dresser and pulled out a green full piece bathing suit that had built-in floating devices to make sure Peter didn’t drown. He ordered it last night when he couldn’t sleep and was waiting eagerly for the next day to arrive. 

Peter grabbed the bathing suit, looking at it confused. “Is this for me?” 

“Well it’s not gonna fit me or Pep. Put it on.” 

Peter hesitated at first, trying to decide if it would be comfortable but then he stuck his legs through, standing up fully and pulled it up over his arms, getting himself situated. “It’s comfy. I wanna go swimming now.” 

“Give me one minute.” Tony went into the bathroom, shutting the door to change then finished and walked out, finding Peter standing by the bedroom door as if he were ready to win a race. “Now we can go.” 

Pepper was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for them, having no idea where the pool was either. “I like your bathing suit, Peter. Very stylish.” 

Peter stopped to pose on the stairs, causing both adults to cheer him on. Tony loved Peter’s big personality so much. He patted the top of his head, gently nudging him to keep on going. “Go, bud. We’re not even at the pool yet.” 

“Wee!” Peter jumped down the last two steps, making Tony’s heart temporarily jump out of his chest. 

When they finally got to the pool, Peter pushed open the doors and ran out. “Woah. It’s so big! And there’s a crocodile statue.” He pointed out. 

Tony thought the statues were weirdly placed. There were quite a few… odd statutes around the house that Peter had yet to see. “Aren’t they funny looking?” 

Peter thought about it. “Yeah. I wanna go in now. Where’s my life jacket?” 

“No, Pete, you don’t need it because it’s built into your bathing suit. See all these?” Tony gestured to all the padding attached to his bathing suit. He didn’t know what Peter thought it was before because it was quite obvious. 

“Oh. Yeah. Come in with me.” Peter grabbed onto his dad’s hand and ran towards the pool but stopped. “You go in first and I want to jump into your arms.” 

“Okay, come to the other side. In the deep end.” Tony started walking until it got deeper but when it reached his chest, Peter ran over to him. 

“Stop! Don’t go in all the way.” Peter prepared to jump in but he was suddenly scared. He had to warm up to the water first. 

“Jump. I’ll catch you.” Tony held his arms out for Peter but Peter still didn’t make any move. 

“Wait. Come closer.” 

“Pete, if I go any closer you’ll jump on my head. Just jump.” 

Peter squatted down until he could touch the water with his hands. Tony grabbed a hold of his hands and gently tugged him in. “Nooo! I’m scared!” 

“I’ll catch you, Peter. Just fall in. You don’t even have to jump in.” 

Peter made sure his dad grabbed him before he was falling into the water. Tony made him go under, soaking his head so Peter wouldn’t have any more excuses not to dunk his head under. 

When he pulled Peter back up, he wiped the water out of his eyes and pushed his curls back. “Wasn’t that fun?” 

“Yeah.” Peter moved his hair back some more and clung onto his dad. “I want my life jacket.” 

“But you don’t need it. You can float.” He went to let Peter go, just to show him that he wouldn’t in fact go under but Peter screamed in his ear, clinging onto him tighter. “Okay. Don’t scream. It echoes.” 

Pepper walked into the pool and it was the first time Tony was noticing her bathing suit. “Wow. You look… good.” 

She chuckled at his complement. “Peter’s better at complimenting me than you are. That was weak.” 

“What?” Tony gasped. His kid was complimenting his… girlfriend? Sex buddy? Love of his life? “What did Peter say?” 

“While I was putting on my makeup, he said I looked pretty.” She told him and Tony gasped. 

“Really?” 

“Really.” 

Peter grinned. “What? I just did.” 

Tony was surprised but it was cute. “Nothing. You’re just so cute. Can you try swimming by yourself? You won’t drown. I promise.” 

Peter looked like he wanted to say no but he didn’t. He let Tony take him out of his arms and quickly began doggy paddling but he didn’t feel himself go under so he stopped and didn’t go under. “Look! I’m floating.” 

“I told you, baby.” Tony ran his fingers through Peter’s curls that were falling in his face again as Peter swam next to him. 

“I like this bathing suit over my other ones.” Peter liked the feeling of it and the fact that he could free float without anything else. He swam towards the stairs and climbed out, running over to the edge of the deep end but he got distracted. 

“No running.” Tony warned, watching Peter closely. 

Peter stopped to look at his dad but almost slipped in the process. “Oops.” 

“See? Do not run, Peter.” Tony spoke slowly and then Peter was dropping to all fours and dramatically crawling across the floor, towards the crocodile statue. 

He looked at it then climbed on his back to sit on top of it. Tony swam to him and playfully pinched Peter’s leg. “Did you know that’s a real crocodile?” 

Peter gasped and looked at him, eyes wide. “No.” 

“Yeah. It is. They just painted his skin with a hardening base so that’s why it’s so hard.” Tony lied, trying to see if he could convince Peter but Peter would believe anything he said. He could tell Peter the moon was made up of cheese and Peter would believe him. 

“No. Then-then why are his eyes hard too?” Peter leaned forward to look at the eyes, sticking his fingers in to touch them. 

“Because it’s the same base they use to make it hard.” Tony looked over at Pepper who appeared at this side and tried not to laugh. Peter was way too easy. 

“I don’t like that.” Peter slid off the animal and squatted down by its side, just at the edge of the pool. 

“I’m just joking, Petey. It’s fake. It’s not real, I was only messing with you.” Tony didn’t want Peter to think the poor animal had to suffer. “See?” He knocked on it, it sounding hollow. 

“Oh.” Peter knocked on it as well and then stretched his leg out while holding his arms out, silently asking to be lifted into the pool. Tony did so, holding him at his side but Peter wanted Pepper to hold him so he held his arms out for her. “Peppers turn.” 

“Pepper doesn’t wanna hold you. It’s daddy’s turn. I hadn’t seen my baby in two whole days.” Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s check but Peter was wiggling out of his arms even more. 

“Hey, I want to hold him. Come here, Peter.” Pepper took the boy into her arms and held him easily in the water. 

Peter grinned, looking back at his dad for his reaction but Pepper wasn’t holding onto him like his dad did so his legs were slipping off her. 

“Okay. My turn.” Pepper had Peter for longer than him so he snatched his kid back, feeling a bit like an impatient child. It was almost bedtime soon and Tony was more than happy to crawl into bed with Peter and relax, so to get Peter to relax, he wanted to go in the hot tub built into the pool. “Let’s go in the hot tub. It’s warm.” 

Tony brought Peter to the wall that was shared between the hot tub and the pool with the hot water pouring over like a waterfall into the pool. 

He lifted Peter up and sat him on it. “Isn’t it warm? Wanna go in?” 

Peter sat up on his knees and leaned in to touch the water. “Yeah. Are you coming?” He asked Pepper but Tony answered. 

“Yeah-” 

“No. I’m asking Pepper.” Peter pointed to Pepper but Tony felt a huge amount of jealousy wash over him. He didn’t know why he felt that way since it was Pepper. He just didn’t like the idea of Peter choosing someone else over him. 

So, he did an extremely childish thing just to get a reaction out of Peter. “Okay. Then you guys have fun because I’m gonna go up to bed-” 

“No! Stay. Please stay.” Peter slid back into the pool, knowing he would float this time so he could hold onto his dad. “Don’t leave. I want you to stay here with me.” 

Tony pressed a kiss to Peter’s cheek. “I’m staying. We’re gonna go up to bed soon so let’s go in the hot tub.” Tony held one hand under Peter’s arm and the other one between his legs to lift him onto the pool deck before lifting himself up. 

Peter started running to the hot tub steps but he slipt and fell back. Tony was just in time to catch Peter’s arm. If he was a second late, Peter would have smacked the back of his head on the hard floor. 

“Careful, Peter.” He warned but Peter was oblivious as to how close he just was to smacking his skull off the ground. 

“I’m gonna head up to bed. You two have fun. Good night.” Pepper wrapped a towel around herself, waving bye to them. 

“Bye.” Peter waved and stopped at the steps, waiting for his dad to go in first. Once he saw Pepper was gone, he tugged on his bathing suit and whined. 

“Keep it on.” Tony knew what Peter wanted but he didn’t want Peter to do that. He did want him to join him in the hot tub. “Come, I’ll hold you.” 

Peter threw himself into Tony’s arms before he was expecting it so Peter’s head went under the water before Tony grabbed a hold of him. “Woah! You okay? Did you swallow water?” 

“Uh huh. Just a little.” Peter wiped at his eyes and bounced in his dad’s arms to be sat on his lap in the water. He laid his head on him once they were in position but he kept floating up from his bathing suit. “I want it off. I keep going up.” 

Tony pulled Peter back down, preventing him from floating up. “I got you.” 

Peter sighed. He closed his eyes and listened for his dad’s steady heartbeat, concentrating on it. “Are you gonna go away again?” 

“Hmm no. Not anytime soon. Or that I know of.” Tony answered while he played with the back of Peter’s curls where most of his baby hair was. 

“Hmm! I don’t want ever. I don’t want you to ever leave.” Peter rested his head against his dad’s shoulder, sitting up a bit. 

“Sometimes, like now, I have to but we’ll always be together again, baby. We’re together right now and I went away.” Tony didn’t want to promise Peter he wasn’t going to leave him again because even though he didn’t want to, it was almost certain that he would. 

They could get through it the next time like they did this time. 

Peter shook his head. “Don’t go again. Not again.” 

“Hmm, let’s not worry about it. We’re together now and it won’t be anytime soon.” Tony pressed a kiss to the top of Peter’s wet curls. “Wanna go up now?” 

“Uh huh.” Peter said but made no move to get off his dad. 

Tony stood up, sitting Peter on his hip as he got out of the hot tub and walked over to the pool chairs to grab towels. He stood Peter on one and dried him off the best he could, trying to get all the excess water off his bathing suit. 

“Ow.” Peter whined, moving his legs and pushing Tony’s hands away from him. 

“What?” 

“You’re rubbing my skin too hard.” Peter rubbed at his eyes, a sign that he was tired. He then tugged on his bathing suit strap but Tony pulled it back up. 

“Wait till we get upstairs.” Peter stomped his feet in annoyance but Tony ignored that as he picked Peter back up and set him on his feet. 

It was a long walk from the pool to Tony’s and Peter’s bedroom since the house was quite big. About half way there, Peter threw himself onto the floor with a whine. “I can’t walk anymore. My feet are tired and want to sleep.” 

Tony didn’t bother trying to argue with Peter since it would just be easier to pick him up. He threw the towels around his shoulder and lifted Peter up onto his hip. “You’re so lazy.” 

Peter laid his head on his shoulder. “I like you carrying me.” 

“Yeah well… you’re lucky you’re light, kid.” Tony got to his bedroom and put Peter on his feet. “Go into the bathroom, I’m gonna find your pyjamas.” While Peter went into the bathroom, Tony pulled out Peter’s pyjamas and one of the pull-ups he packed, debating if Peter should wear one or not. 

He wasn’t with him last night and he asked Peter but he wanted to hear it from Pepper. “Pete, I’m gonna go to Pepper’s bedroom for a second-” 

“I’m coming!” Peter ran over to him and grabbed onto his hand. 

Pepper’s room was on the other side of the upstairs hallway and her door was closed, as expected so Tony knocked on it. 

“Come in.” 

He opened it, Peter immediately running in and climbing on her bed so Tony pulled him by the back of his bathing suit while he spoke to Pepper. “Peter wore a pull-up last night, right?” 

She looked at the pull-up in his hand and put her book down. “Yeah. He did.” 

“Did he use it?” 

“Yeah. He refused to go pee all night and morning because he was wearing one.” 

Tony heard her underlying words. He chose to ignore them. “What about the night I left? Did he wear one after I left?” 

“No, he only slept a few minutes after you left anyways. Maybe a total of two hours.” Pepper looked at Peter who was still hanging with his butt up in the air since Tony was holding onto his bathing suit, not allowing him to go anywhere. “You don’t need to wear one. Tell your dad that, Peter.” 

Peter giggled. “I do. It’s mine.” He tried to turn around and reach for it but Tony held it away from his grabby hands. 

“That’s all I needed to know. Come, Pete.” Tony grabbed Peter’s arm and pulled him off the bed, feeling bad as soon as he did it because it looked like it hurt. He didn’t mean to grab him like that but he did. “Oops, I’m sorry, baby. Did that hurt?” 

As soon as he said that, Peter stopped smiling and stuck out his bottom lip. “Ow. Yeah.” 

“Oh, please. Stop being an actor. I swear in your past life you were an actor.” Tony ruffled his hair as they left Pepper’s bedroom, saying one last good night to her. 

Tony shut his bedroom door, locking it behind him. He placed the pull-up on top of Peter’s pyjamas and followed him into the bathroom. “No bath. Quick shower so we can go to bed.” 

Peter pulled off his bathing suit but there were red marks around his arms and legs from the tightness. “Oh, Pete. Why didn’t you tell me it was too tight?” 

“It’s not. I love my new bathing suit.” Peter waited for his dad to turn the shower on while he dug in the cabinets. “Where are the toys?” 

“They don’t have any here. I know, I was so upset when I checked last night. Instead I had to take a shower without any toys like a loser.” Tony chuckled at his own joke but Peter didn’t find it funny. “Just get in.” 

After Peter showered and was in his pyjamas, Tony went in quickly, shutting the bathroom door behind him while Peter watched some random cartoon on the tv. 

He picked up his water bottle and remembered that it was empty. He was too scared to go to the kitchen alone, plus he didn’t even know where it was. 

So he waited for his dad to walk out of the bathroom. When he did, Peter didn’t even give him the chance to do anything as he held his empty water bottle up. “Do you have any milk here?” 

“Yeah… you want some?” Tony asked just as he looked over at Peter holding the empty bottle up to him. He chuckled as he reached for it. “Alright, I’ll go get some. I’ll be ba-” 

“No. I’m coming with you.” Peter slid off the bed and grabbed onto his dad’s hand. Tony didn’t blame him. He would much rather Peter come with him anyways. 

Last night, Tony had walked down to the kitchen to grab his phone that he left down there and all he could think about was having his little companionship following him. Oh how he missed Peter. 

Peter ran into the kitchen once they got there. He went straight for the fridge and opened it up. There were two white jugs but they weren’t in English although they had a cow on the front so he assumed it was milk. He grabbed it, “This one?” 

“Yep. Open it up.” Tony grabbed the dish soap to quickly clean out Peter’s water bottle before pouring the milk in and closing the lid. Peter was immediately reaching for it so Tony held it away from him. “Wait until we get in bed. Then you can have it, kid.” 

Peter tugged on his dad’s arm, wanting so badly to get upstairs for that reason. “You’re walking so slow, hurry up.” 

Tony started walking even slower to get a reaction out of Peter. It was funny to annoy him sometimes but Tony didn’t do it for long since he knew Peter wanted to go to sleep. 

Peter crawled onto the bed and held his hands out for his cup, immediately latching onto it and lying down, not even bothering to get under the blankets. Tony shuffled Peter under, pulling him against his side. “I love you.” 

“Mmm.” Peter mumbled behind his water bottle spout, turning over to face his dad while one hand went into his hair to twirl his curls. 

Tony watched his eyes flutter shut but then he would flinch and wake himself up. It was cute at first but then Tony was taking the milk from him so he could get to sleep. 

Peter’s eyes snapped open with a whine. “Mmm! No.” 

“All done. You’re too tired to even hold it up.” 

“Then you hold it.” 

Tony grabbed it from Peter, holding it for a second then pulling away but Peter was snapping his eyes open again and was about to say something but Tony handed it back to him. 

As he watched Peter drink, Tony couldn’t help but think about who did this for Peter when he was younger. It broke his heart that he missed out on so many milestones of Peter’s life but here he was and he couldn’t help but feel so at peace. 

He watched Peter carefully, waiting until his drinking came to a stop and then he slowly pulled the spout from his mouth and set the bottle on the nightstand table. 

Tony was so tired but he stayed up just because he couldn’t take his eyes off Peter. He loved his kid so much it was actually keeping him from sleeping. 

.

.

.

“Come and sit for breakfast.” Tony told Peter, glancing at him from the kitchen. Because of the time zones, it was around lunch time but it was early morning for Peter. 

Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “You left me upstairs all alone.” 

Tony sighed. “Oh, I’m sorry baby. I should have come up to get you.” 

“Yeah.” Peter was mad but not for long. He walked over to see what was for breakfast, climbing onto the chair next to Pepper. 

Tony slid over a plate for Peter and grabbed the cutting board to cut up banana for him as well. “After breakfast we’re gonna go for a drive to the shops.” 

Peter kicked his feet in excitement. He never really dreamed of travelling the world before because he never expected it to ever happen. His Aunt never had enough money for rent, never mind to get on a plane and leaving the country, so Peter never thought about it. 

He still didn’t think much of it but now, the thought of getting to venture out of the country with his dad was really exciting. 

After breakfast, he went upstairs with his dad to change out of what he had on and into clothes for the day. 

Once they were in the car and getting ready to leave the property, Peter started getting super excited. He bounced in the seat behind his dad. “Are there toys stores?” 

“Maybe we can find some.” Tony backed out of the long driveway and onto the road. It was about a forty minute drive into the city so Tony turned the radio music onto a familiar channel and checked in the rearview mirror every so often to check in Peter who was looking out the window and his eyes were closing shut every so often, much like last night. 

Tony smiled to himself but he didn’t say anything. 

Somehow, Peter managed to stay awake for the whole car ride into the small town. Tony thought for sure he was going to have to wake Peter up but he didn’t. 

Tony got out of the car, opening the back door for Peter since he put the child safety lock on it. “I’m surprised you didn’t fall asleep.” 

Peter climbed out, going to walk out but Tony grabbed his arm. “Watch for cars, kid.” 

“I didn’t fall asleep.” He said, turning to look up at Tony. 

“I know. I didn’t say you did.” Tony guided Peter to the sidewalk and let go of his arm but Peter was putting his hand in his. “Where do you wanna go first?” 

“Ummm…” Peter looked around at the shops but a lot of it wasn’t in English, Peter already had a hard time reading and spelling words that were in English so he felt a bit out of place. 

Tony spotted a candy shop and pointed to it. “Wanna go there?” 

“Oh, I heard they have these special kinds of liquorice here.” Pepper said, swinging her purse over her shoulder and walking in with them. 

Peter’s eyes lit up once he saw all the different kinds of candy. There was chocolate to Cotten Candy and even giant lollipops. He was in candy heaven. He pulled away from his dad’s hand to go down one of the aisles but there was a worker walking up to him. 

“Quel genre de bonbon aimes-tu, petit garçon?” He said, looking down at Peter. 

Peter stared up at him and slowly hid behind his dad once he walked over. Tony gave the man a smile. “Merci, les gars avez-vous de la réglisse?” 

“Oui oui.” The worker pointed down the aisle. “C'est juste là-bas.” 

“Merci.” Tony took his sunglasses off and walked to where the man pointed to with Peter following behind in shock. “What?” 

“You speak German?” Peter asked, completely surprised. 

Both Tony and Pepper bursted out laughing. “Kid, that’s French. But yes, I do speak a bit of German too.” 

Peter’s eyes went impossibly wider. “You speak French and German? Since when? I never knew that? Why haven’t you ever spoken it before?” 

Tony ruffled Peter’s curls. “Oh, Pete. You’re too cute. I’ve been speaking it since I was like fourteen actually. Probably around your age, maybe a little older. The younger you are, the easier it is to learn a language.” 

“But why haven’t you spoken it at home?” 

“Because you don’t speak anything other than English.” 

Peter frowned. “Hey, I know some Spanish. Like… cómo estás and um, hola and also tengo una novia.” 

It was Tony’s turn to be shocked. “You have a girlfriend? Who’s your girlfriend, Peter?” 

Peter’s cheeks turned red instantly. “I don’t.” He hit his dad when Tony wouldn’t stop looking at him teasingly. “I don’t… I just know how to say it.” 

Tony liked teasing Peter. “I’m just joking.” 

“No.” Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “Why didn’t you believe me?” 

“Kid, believe me. I know you don’t have a girlfriend. Trust me.” Tony found the whole situation amusing. He looked over at Pepper who seemed to find it funny as well. 

“Have you ever had a girlfriend, Peter?” She asked him. 

“No.” Both Tony and Peter said at the same time. 

Tony pulled Peter against his side. “Pete’s not allowed to date until he’s thirty five. Right? No girlfriends until then. Or boyfriends, I don’t know. Love is love.” 

Peter wrinkled his nose at the thought of dating anyone. “Ew. Girls are gross. But Pepper. I like Pepper.” 

“I like Pepper too.” Tony looked at her and winked, making her playfully roll her eyes and grab a bag to start filling it with candy. 

Tony and Peter both watched her then Tony grabbed a bag and helped Peter decide what he wanted. Tony may be a billionaire but there was no way he was going to allow his kid to fill up more than half a bag. 

They both didn’t need all that sugar. 

After the candy shop, they walked down the sidewalk together, trying to find any more shops to go into but with nothing in mind planned. 

Tony felt so happy in that moment. With just Peter and Pepper walking with him, listening to Peter talk about nothing in particular but it was so interesting to him which made it interesting to Tony. 

When they arrived at a corner shop, Peter tugged on his dad’s hand. “I wanna go in there.” He spotted a cool lego car and he wanted it. “Please. Let’s go.” 

“Okay okay.” Tony looked over at Pepper. “You coming?” 

“I’m gonna go check out that flower shop. I’ll meet you guys out here when we’re done.” 

They went their separate ways, Tony took Peter in the toy shop, looking at the huge selection of things but he knew exactly where Peter was going and he was right. 

Peter picked up the lego car and held it up. “Please, can I get it?” 

Tony pretended to think about it. He would honestly buy Peter whatever he asked for. Peter never asked for a lot of things, besides for his water bottle every night but that was a different kind of ask. He never asked for new things, Tony guessed that any other kid who suddenly had Tony Stark as their father would be asking for new things all the time but not Peter. 

“Of course, baby. Anything else you want?” Tony looked down to see Peter hugging his new toy to his chest and his heart swelled. 

They looked around the toy store for a bit but Peter didn’t want anything else. 

When they left the shop, Tony didn’t see Pepper there so he grabbed onto Peter’s hand and led him over to the park bench that Pepper had said she would meet them. 

It was under a tree and there was an ice cream stand right in front of them that they of course had to get ice cream from. 

Peter got chocolate and had it all over his hands and face not even a minute after they started eating it. 

Tony watched it drip down his hand and onto his pants. Peter was completely oblivious to it dripping down or he simply didn’t care. Tony guessed that Peter simply didn’t care since he also didn’t care about a lot of the other strange things he did. Like that one time Tony found him licking juice out of a bowl like a cat. That was weird. 

It was dripping down Peter’s chin and going onto his shirt now. Tony realized that he had been watching Peter the whole time and didn’t even eat his ice cream so he took a bite of his and looked over at Peter again. 

He was kicking his feet and looking around curiously at everything around him, humming in his enjoyment. 

Tony grabbed a napkin and wet it with their water to wipe Peter’s face. “Stop licking it for a sec, it’s going all over you.” 

Peter looked down at his lap. “Oh. Can you wipe it?” 

Tony wiped Peter’s arms, chuckling at what he was doing but it wasn’t like it was his first time doing this. 

Pepper walked over to them with a bag in her hand that Peter immediately wanted to look inside. “What is it? Can I see?” 

Pepper pulled out a vase with a beautiful handmade painting on the side. “Isn’t it gorgeous? I’m gonna plant some cherries in it.” 

Peter went to touch it but Tony pulled his hand away. “Clean your hands first, Pete, you’re all sticky.” He handed Peter a wet napkin and stood up to clean as much of Peter’s face as he could and then he threw out their garbage. “You ready to head back?” 

Tony wanted to make a bet with Pepper as to whether or not Peter would fall asleep but he didn’t wanna say it in front of Peter, so he didn’t. 

They got to the car and Peter climbed in the back, behind the driver's seat. “Can I have my toy to look at?” 

Tony reached on the floor to hand it to him. “Don’t open it until we get back, otherwise you’ll lose all the pieces.” 

He climbed into the driver’s seat after that and started the car. “Do you have your seatbelt on, Peter?” 

Peter gave a sharp nod. “Yep.” 

Tony turned the radio back on and turned it down so it was barely audible. He kept looking in the mirror to check on Peter but he was wide awake, looking between his new toy and the window. 

Pepper and him were having a conversation about what they wanted to eat for dinner when a car sped up behind Tony, causing him to press on the gas so they didn’t get rear ended. 

“I’m already going eighty. I don’t know how much faster they want me to go.” Tony said, mainly to himself. 

“They’re in a rush to go nowhere.” Pepper shook her head at the car. 

They passed by, going in the opposite lane. Tony beeped his horn at them. If Peter weren’t in the car, he would have said a lot of colourful words. 

“Anyways, so we can do cheeseburgers. I wanna make a cake for dessert too. Peter can help me.” Pepper turned around to smile at Peter. “Wanna help me bake a cake when we get back?” 

“Chocolate cake?” Peter asked, tilting his head. 

“Whatever you want.” 

Peter grinned. “I like chocolate cake. Actually… I like all cakes.” 

Tony wasn’t listening to them. He was more concerned about the driver up ahead who seemed to be drunk or something. It was a long straight road going to the countryside so it wasn’t very busy but still, Tony was concerned. 

“I think I’m gonna pull off at the next exit. That cars driving crazy up ahead.” Tony briefly looked over at Pepper. 

“If you think so. We can take another route back.” Pepper said then turned back around to finish her conversation with Peter. 

Tony lost sight of the car for now and hopefully for good. He continued driving, still planning on getting off at the next street. 

Peter was chatting along with Pepper, laughing about something she said but then his spider senses were going crazy. He hadn’t felt that way in a long time so he didn’t expect it when he felt it. 

He dropped his toy onto the floor of the car and all the colour drained from his face. 

Pepper saw the moment it happened. “What’s wro-” 

“Dad.” Peter called out, panicked. Something bad was about to happen. 

Up ahead on the road, a semi truck was driving across a two way stop, driving eighty miles an hour when the same car from before, ran the stop sign and hit the back of the truck. 

The truck spun out of control and was heading towards their car. “Fuck! Oh fuck fuck fuck!” Tony yelled as he quickly slammed on the breaks, almost losing control of the car from going eighty to a sudden stop all at once. 

“Tony!” Pepper yelled as the truck came at them. 

Tony grabbed the console and slammed it into reverse then pressed the gas to the floor, trying to get away from the semi truck coming at them but the truck was going way too fast and was much bigger so it slammed into the side of their car, forcing Tony to lose control and land in a ditch, half the car up a pole. 

“Peter.” Was the first thing Tony said once the car stopped moving. He wasn’t hurt, maybe he was but he immediately took off his seatbelt and leaned over to look at Peter. 

The truck slammed into their side and he wasn’t hurt but Peter wasn’t making a noise. “Peter!” 

Peter couldn’t stop shaking. He grabbed onto his head from where it smacked the back of the seat and looked at his dad. He was in shock. 

Tony looked over at Pepper who was, asides from being shaken up, she was fine. 

“Peter?” Tony asked again. 

Peter looked up at his dad and the tears flooded out. He tried to reach for him but his seatbelt was holding him down so he cried harder. “D-d-daddy!” 

“Are…” Tony shifted in his seat. “Are you hurt? Anywhere?” 

Peter didn’t answer him and only cried harder so Tony tried to open his car door but it was jammed shut. He looked over at Pepper. “Are you okay?” 

“... yeah. Are you?” She asked undoing her seatbelt and looking over at Peter. 

“Yeah, my doors stuck. You need to get out so I can get Peter.” Tony hopped out of the car after Pepper, hearing Peter cry harder once he was out. If Tony was thinking straight, he wouldn’t have gone around to Peter’s side of the car, knowing it’d be crushed shut as well. 

But he wasn’t thinking straight so he grabbed the door handle and tried to open it but it didn’t budge. He looked over because something bright caught his eye. 

The car that caused all of this was up in flames. On the other side of them, the semi truck was flipped on its side and a huge lineup of cars was behind it. 

He heard sirens in the distance but he wasn’t waiting for help. 

Tony went around to the other side of the car and opened up the door with no problem. “Are you hurt?” 

Peter was rubbing at his eyes aggressively. “No.” 

Tony didn’t know if Peter even knew what he was talking about. He undid his seatbelt and ran a hand over Peter’s head, checking for bumps or anything. 

When he found nothing, he quickly scanned the rest of his body and then grabbed Peter and pulled him out, holding him in his arms. He walked towards the field, wanting to be as far away from the car as possible. 

Peter buried his face in his neck and stopped crying, now hiccuping every so often, taking in his dad’s comfort. 

Pepper rubbed at his back, at least he thought it was Pepper since one of his dad’s hands was on his butt and the other one was in his hair. He lifted his head up as he heard loud sirens. 

He saw two fire trucks arrive but it looked different from the ones he was used to. He kicked his legs to be put down and get a closer look at them but his dad didn’t put him down. “No. We’re gonna go now. You’re not walking if you’re gonna wander.” 

Peter put his head back down on his dad’s shoulder and pointed to the ambulance that arrived, followed by two police cars that reminded him of a video game him and Ned used to play. 

“I wanna see.” 

Tony ignored Peter, focusing on the paramedics that were walking towards them. “Sir, ma’am, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, we’re fine. I’m pretty sure that guy in the car up there is drunk.” Tony switched his left hand with his right hand that was supporting Peter’s bum to point at the car. 

“You can give your statement to the police later. We have to take a look at your son and you.” The woman said, ushering them towards one of the ambulances and Tony wasn’t going to say no to making sure Peter was okay. 

Tony walked over with Pepper and placed Peter on the gurnee in the truck they were telling him to sit Peter in. Peter immediately tried to climb off so Tony climbed in with him. “They’re just gonna check you over, baby. Let them.” 

The paramedic shined a light in Peter’s eyes and told him to follow the light before they were asking him questions. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Peter.” 

“And how old are you, Peter?” 

“Fourteen.” Peter answered, not liking the tests she was doing because it hurt his senses. 

She continued with the questions and tests within fifteen minutes. “Alright. He’s good to go.” 

“Thank you.” Tony said, lifting Peter up and pulling his phone out of his pocket to call a taxi. He looked over at their rental car and it was a wreck. There was no way they would be driving that again. 

Peter kicked his feet so Tony put him on the ground and looked at Pepper, pulling Peter’s shirt. “Can you keep your eye on him while I call a taxi?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Pepper grabbed Peter’s hand and walked off, away from the accident. “What do you wanna do when we get back?” 

“Swimming! Till it’s dark out and then we can watch a movie.” Peter wanted to learn how to swim. He thought it would be fun to know how but it was harder than he ever could have imagined. 

“How about we watch a movie in the pool?” Pepper suggested and Peter squealed. 

He saw his dad walking towards them so he ran over to him. “Dad! We’re gonna watch a movie inside the pool when we get back.” 

Tony pulled Peter against his side. “Woah, that sounds fun.” He guided the two of them off the road and onto the grass where they could wait for the taxi. 

Definitely not the way Tony wanted this day to have gone but the main thing was Peter and Pepper were safe.