All The Stars Align

Peter was bored and Tony wasn’t doing anything to help with his boredom. 

“Dad? Can you play lego with me?” 

Tony was trying to clean the kitchen before Pepper arrived. “No, bud, Pepper is coming over later so I need to clean the kitchen?” 

Peter frowned and stood up to see what his dad was doing and why. “But-but Pepper comes and it’s always messy.” 

Tony playfully rolled his eyes at Peter. “Don’t be a brat. Go clean up your lego in the living room please.” 

Peter ran off and cleaned it up in no time, excited for Pepper to arrive and give him attention. 

The elevator doors opened and Pepper walked out with a baby in her arms so Peter immediately ran over to her to see what the thing was in her arms. He stood on his tippy toes to get a better look. “Why is that a baby?” 

Pepper hoisted the toddler up higher on her hip. “This is Charlie. He’s my friend's son and I’m babysitting him for the afternoon. Say hi Charlie.” 

“Hi Charlie.” Peter grabbed onto the baby’s bag that Pepper carried up. “What’s this? Is it toys?” 

Tony walked over to join them, pausing when he saw a baby in Pepper’s arms. “Whose he?” 

Pepper poked the baby in the tummy, causing him to giggle. “This is Charlie. He’s Beth’s son. She’s with her husband now… so I said I’ll watch him while they’re together.” Tony nodded, getting the idea. He didn’t like kids, or babies, besides Peter who was both in one. 

“I’m not helping with that, just so you know.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes and walked into the living room. “Peter will help me, right, Peter?” She asked the boy, sitting down on the carpet and placing the toddler on his bum. 

Peter squatted down to look at the new contender. “Yeah, he can play with my legos with me.” Peter went to go get them but Tony stopped him. 

“No, Pete, that kid can’t play with legos, he’ll just put them in his mouth. He’s too… baby. He’s a baby, Pete.” Tony sat on the couch and pulled Peter against his side. “How about you just sit and play with his toys?” 

“Yeah,” Peter sat down and looked in the back, pulling out a blanket, some extra clothes, diapers and bottles. “Where are his toys?” 

“They should be in there.” Said Pepper who laid out the blanket and sat Charlie on it. Peter continued to look and pulled out a pacifier. 

“It’s his soother!” He shoved it in the toddler's mouth and watched him carefully. Peter grabbed his chubby leg and pinched it. “Why’s he so fat?” 

Both adults laughed. “He’s a baby, Peter, babies are fat, you were when you were his age.” Pepper told him, trying to contain her laugh better than Tony was. 

Peter frowned. “No. I wasn’t fat.” He insisted and picked the baby up, trying to get him to stand up. “Stand, baby.” 

Tony chuckled. “You still have some baby chub on your legs, kid, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He moved to sit next to Peter but Peter was too interested in the baby. 

“He’s so cute. Can I feed him?” Peter grabbed the baby and tried to get him to lie down but the toddler was moving too much. “Lie down. He’s too moving.” 

“That’s what you’re like, kid.” Tony laughed. This was way too funny to watch. 

“Be gentle with him. Do you want to give him some milk?” Asked Pepper, already pulling out a bottle. “I’ll go pour him some and if you want, you can give him some.” 

Peter watched her walk away and then looked back at the baby who was still sucking on his pacifier so Peter reached forward and pulled it out of his mouth, earning a loud whine. “No, give it back to him or he’ll cry.” 

“I don’t want him to have it.” Peter said, turning around to run away but before he could stand up, Tony grabbed the pacifier and placed it back in the baby’s mouth, sighing in relief once it stopped crying. “He needs some milk.” 

“Yeah, Pepper’s bringing some.” Tony grabbed Peter holding him against his side but Peter was too concentrated on the baby so he let him go. 

“Do you want to try and feed him, Peter? I think he’ll most likely feed himself but you can try.” Pepper handed Peter the bottle so Peter looked at it and before Peter even made his next move, Tony already knew what he was going to do so he stopped Peter from putting it into his mouth. 

“No, that’s not for you.” 

Peter gave his dad a dirty look. “I’ll feed him. Charlie. Here’s your baba.” Peter grabbed his arm and dragged the toddler over to him. 

“Hey, Peter, be gentle.” Tony picked up the baby and gave Peter a warning look. “I’ve never dragged you like that so what made you drag him?” 

Peter thought about it. He chewed on his finger then offered the bottle. “And I’ll feed him now.” 

Tony held the baby without even really thinking about it. He let Peter place the bottle in Charlie’s mouth and tilted it up a bit for him, it came so naturally to him and he wasn’t even really realizing what he was doing. He learned everything from Peter. 

“Good job, buddy.” Tony titled the bottle up a bit higher then Peter tried to squirm his way onto his lap and moved the baby. “Careful.” 

“He’s in the way.” Peter whined. He put the bottle down and pinched the baby’s cheek. “You’re not his daddy, you’re my daddy.” Peter wiped the tears off his face that started to fall, he definitely forced some of them out. 

Tony reached forward to grab Peter but he was crawling towards the couch and hid behind it so he looked over at Pepper, rolling his eyes then handed the toddler over to Pepper so he could check on Peter. He was glad that the baby wasn’t his, since he had a strong feeling Peter wouldn’t take well to that. 

“Are you jealous?” Tony asked, amused by the situation. He looked over at Peter and saw that he was crying. “What, Pete? Why are you crying?” 

Peter pointed at the toddler who took his dad from him. “Because him!” He had always had a fear at the back of his mind that Tony would replace him with a baby of his own once Peter got older and no longer fulfilled the role of a kid to his dad. Maybe it was partly why he refused to grow up and act his age. 

Tony stood up and walked over to Peter, kneeling down in front of him. “Peter. You’re my baby, not him. He’s just some random kid. I don’t want to wipe his nose or have him pee on me. That would be disgusting.” 

Peter wiped his eyes. “Just me?” 

“Always.” He opened his arms and pulled Peter into them. “Charlie’s just a baby, Pete. His parents will come pick him up soon then he’ll leave so be nice to him.” 

Peter looked over at the baby. He pulled away from his dad and walked over to Charlie. “Wanna come in my room?” The toddler giggled and tried to reach for Peter’s face but Peter moved his hands. “No. Don’t. Just talk.” 

“He can’t, Pete, you know that.” Tony sat on the couch, not trusting Peter alone with Charlie even though Pepper was there. 

Peter stood up and leaned against his legs. “Babies are stupid. I hate them so much. Stupid baby only does poopy.” 

Tony and Pepper laughed at that and Tony couldn’t help but pull Peter onto his lap and kiss his cheek. “You’re too cute. How did you get so cute?” 

Peter walked over to the toddler and pulled the back of his pacts back. “Ew. I see poop. And I smelt it. He’s so gross.” 

Tony didn’t want to deal with that, been there, done that. “Go get a diaper and wipes for Pepper to change him.” 

“This one?” Peter grabbed two diapers and handed it to Pepper then held the other one. “He’s so smelly.” 

Tony pulled Peter to sit next to him. “Told you. Babies are gross.” 

Peter frowned and turned to him. “Hey. So you wouldn’t love me if I was a baby? You’d just leave me?” 

Tony would love to experience what baby Peter was like. He had a feeling they would be best friends even then. “No, baby. You’re my baby now and I love you. And I’d love so much to meet baby you.” 

“Good. And you’d change my poopy diapers?” 

“Yes, Pete. I’d change your diapers too.” He kissed Peter’s cheek and then cringed at the toddler. “How are you doing that to another person's kid? Honestly, that is disgusting.” 

Pepper grabbed another wipe but it was the last one. “Oh… can I have Peter’s wipes? I don’t have any more.” Tony grabbed a pack that was always in the living room and slid it over to her. “Thanks. And I don’t mind, plus if I didn’t do it, I know you wouldn’t.” 

Tony shrugged. Fair enough. “Hey, I’ve only got one other bum to wipe.” He raised his eyebrows at Peter. “Right, Pete?” 

Peter crawled over to Pepper. “Never.” 

“Uh last night?” 

Peter gave Tony a pouty face and watched Pepper. “I would do it if dad didn’t.” 

“That’s so sweet of you, Peter.” Pepper smiled at the boy but Tony barked out a laugh. 

“No, you wouldn’t. You’d take one look at that thing and run.” Tony knew his kid, while Peter had a good heart, he wouldn’t change a diaper. 

Peter sighed. “No. Only once.” 

“Okay, buddy.” Tony grabbed Peter again. 

Peter slid out of his arms. “I want to push Charlie in his stroller.” 

“He doesn’t have one, well, I’m sure he does but I didn’t bring it.” Pepper pointed towards the elevator. “He only has his car seat but you can’t push him in that.” 

“Then he can sit in it and go away.” Peter stood up and walked to the elevator, grabbed the car seat and carried it over. Tony thought the scene looked funny since the car seat was almost the size of Peter yet he was carrying it with no problem thanks to his spidey powers. “Look, Charlie, I brought it to you.” 

“No, Pete, he’s staying here until his parents are done.” 

Peter picked Charlie up awkwardly so both Tony and Pepper held their arms out automatically in case he was dropped. “Careful, Peter.” Warned Pepper so Peter put the toddler on his feet and then Charlie was running towards the stairs. 

“He’s running! He can run and he’s been faking this whole time!” He chased after him and pulled his pants to get him to stop climbing the stairs. 

“Peter, stop.” Tony stood up again, having to follow them. 

“He’s going to run up the stairs.” Peter pointed out and tried to pick the toddler up but he stopped once Charlie cried at the movement. “He needs soother. I’ll get it for him.” He ran into the living room and grabbed both pacifiers then ran back and shoved one in the toddlers mouth. “You have to hold this one.” Peter handed the other one to his dad and followed Charlie up the stairs. “I’m gonna take him to my room.” 

Tony slowly followed them up. “Okay… just make sure he doesn’t fall down.” 

“If he falls down then I’ll catch him.” 

“How about you just make sure he doesn’t fall down at all?” Tony suggested then moved closer to them just in case. 

Once they got up the stairs, Charlie began crawling down the hallway so Peter crawled after him and tried to lead him into his and his dad’s bedroom. “Come with me.” He ended up picking the toddler up and carrying him into the bedroom then tossed him in the bed. 

“Be gentle, Peter. He’s a baby.” 

“But you do that to me. It’s fun!” 

Tony sat on the bed so the toddler didn’t fall off. “I know but you’re my baby, I’m allowed.” 

Peter climbed onto the bed after him and dragged Charlie to sit in his lap. “Dad, he’s so cute. Can he sleep over?” 

“Uh no.” Tony cringed at the thought. “Babies are a lot of work. They cry and poop and need all of your attention.” Now that Tony thought about that, that was basically Peter. “Huh. That sounds like someone I know.” 

Peter wasn’t paying attention to Tony. He slid off the bed and dragged the toddler off then tried to make him stand up and follow him. “Come with me, toddler, come on.” 

Pepper laughed at Peter’s wording. “I don’t think he wants to go with you, Peter. How about you keep him in here?” 

Peter shook his head and picked Charlie up to walk away but Tony had to stop him, not trusting Peter to babysit Charlie one bit. “Peter. Bring him back in here. You have to make sure we can see you guys.” 

“But I wanna show him my room. Maybe he wants to play with my toys.” Peter whined out and tossed Charlie back on the bed, causing the baby to giggle. 

“I know but Pepper needs to keep her eyes on him, okay?” Tony lifted Peter onto the bed and attacked him with tickles. “Okay? Okay?” 

Peter kicked and rolled away from his dad. “Okay. You’re funny.” 

Pepper stayed with them for a few hours but then Charlie had to have a nap so she decided to take him somewhere quiet to do that, knowing Peter wasn’t going to stay quiet for him. 

Peter didn’t want to see the toddler gone but he was a bit happy now that he had all of his dad’s attention on him. 

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Tony got off the phone with Rhodey and walked into the living room to tell Peter what the plan was. Him and Rhodey talked about Peter hanging out with him for a few hours to spend some time together but it got super busy with Peter being sick and everything else. 

This afternoon, they had nothing planned and Peter was in a good mood so Tony wanted Peter to spend some time with his best friend. He sat on the couch and ruffled Peter’s hair. “What do you say about hanging out with Rhodey today? You guys can go get ice cream or something.” 

Peter turned to look up at him, a bit hesitant. “Are you gonna come?” 

“No, Rhodey really wants to spend time with you.” Peter fully turned to look up at him and so that he was sitting on his foot. “He’s gonna come up here and then you guys will go have fun, yeah?” 

Peter nodded. “Okay. Are you coming?” 

“No, buddy. I’m gonna stay home.” 

“Then I’m just gonna go with Rhodey? Will he take me home after?” 

“No, he’s just gonna drop you off somewhere and leave you.” Tony said sarcastically but he immediately reassured Peter he was joking since sometimes Peter didn’t understand his sarcasm. “I’m just joking. He’s gonna drive you back home and you’re gonna tell me all about it, right?” 

Peter looked at his dad’s leg hair while he spoke. “Yeah, and I’ll bring you home something too.” 

The elevator doors opened up so Peter snapped his head to see Rhodey walking out and his heart started beating a bit faster. He didn’t want to leave Tony but he wasn’t that worried. He knew everything would be okay since Tony would be staying at home the whole time. 

“Hey, man, I was just talking to Pete about your guys’ little outing.” Tony ran his fingers through Peter’s curls. “He just needs to get dressed and then he’ll be ready to go.” 

Rhodey looked down at Peter, a bit surprised that he wasn’t crying or refusing to go. “So are you excited to spend the day with me?” 

“No, not a full day, just…” Peter thought about how long he could be away from his dad for. “One hour and a half.” 

“An hour and a half?” Peter nodded. “That’s how long I get with my nephew?” Peter nodded again. 

Tony stood up and pulled his foot from under Peter’s bum. “Let’s go upstairs so you can get dressed then you can go.” 

Rhodey stepped forward to take Peter. “I’ll take him, Tones. Your hour and a half child free vacation starts now.” 

Tony chuckled but he didn’t think that was such a good idea. Peter wouldn’t listen to him, he knew that. “It’ll be easier if I come up. My vacation can start later.” 

“No, no. Let me. Gotta attend to some Uncle things.” Rhodey still insisted. 

Tony shrugged and patted his best friend on the back then went to go sit down. He knew what Peter would get up to without him there. 

Peter crawled up the stairs and turned to wait for Rhodey to walk up. “I’ll take you into mine and dad’s bedroom since my room I don’t use it anymore.” 

Rhodey looked into Peter’s bedroom as they passed by it. It looked perfectly clean as if no kid had ever used it. “You don’t even play in it?” 

“That’s what the living room is for.” Peter ran into his dad’s room and crawled onto the bed, pulling the blankets back to wiggle his way under there. “Did you wanna lie down with me?” 

“Not really.” Rhodey looked around and saw a pile of what he assumed were dirty clothes on the floor and a basket of some more clothes. “What Uh, what clothes do you wanna wear?” Peter looked at him. “Does Tony pick your outfits for you or do you?” 

Peter threw the blankets over his head and crawled around until he hit his head on the bed rail. “Ow.” 

Rhodey looked towards the door, hoping Tony came up. He didn’t want kids, it wasn’t something he ever wanted and this was why. They were too much work and weren’t mature enough to do simple things on their own or without supervision, he just couldn’t do it. 

“Peter, maybe you should… come out… and put some clothes on.” 

Peter kicked the blankets off of him to show Rhodey his dad’s shirt he had on and lifted up his legs to show him his underwear. “I am dressed. Dad says everything a bathing suit covers is getting dressed. That’s why I’m even over dressed because I’m wearing a shirt and I don’t wear a shirt when I’m swimming cause I have no boobies. Pepper does though.” 

Rhodey couldn’t help but chuckle. “That's true. You still gotta wear a shirt out in public though, Peter.” He looked desperately towards the door again and still no Tony. He bet the man was watching the cameras and laughing at him. “So do you want me to pick your outfit or…” 

“I told you, I’m dressed.” Peter sat at the edge of the bed and looked towards the bathroom. “I just need to shave.” 

Rhodey followed him. “You? Shave? Shave what exactly? Your eyebrows?” 

Peter looked for the razor that he knew his dad hid from him. “No. My beard. My face is so hairy.” 

Rhodey followed him into the bathroom and blinked at Peter, not sure what hair he was referring to. “You know, you really shouldn’t.” 

Peter was already climbing onto the counter and reaching into the cabinet that was locked. He turned to look at Rhodey. “Open it please. I wanna see what’s inside.” 

Tony walked into the bathroom and swiftly lifted Peter off the counter then carried him by his arm and leg into the bedroom. He tossed Peter onto the bed and grabbed his ankles so he couldn’t crawl away. He turned to Rhodey. “Told you I should’ve come up. He’s taking advantage of you, you know.” 

“I’m not.” Peter kicked his legs and tried to roll onto his stomach but Tony stopped him from doing that. “Let me go.” 

“No, you’re going out with Rhodey. Where are your pants?” Tony grabbed jeans off the floor, not knowing if they were clean or not. “Wanna wear jeans? Or track pants?” 

Peter kicked Tony’s hands again. “None.” 

Tony nodded. “Okay… jeans it is. Put these on.” He tossed the jeans at Peter and grabbed a sweater and a long sleeved shirt from the laundry basket. “It’s cold out still- get dressed, Peter. Happy doesn’t wanna wait for you. Hurry.” 

Rhodey sat on the sofa in the corner of the room to watch them, not wanting any part of it. “Hurry. Faster.” Tony sighed then grabbed Peter’s arms and stood him on his feet so he wasn’t rolling around on the bed anymore. “Now you can get dressed standing up.” 

Peter stared at him and tried to make a run for it and if it were anyone else in the room watching, maybe anyone other than Pepper or Steve, Tony would have been embarrassed with how Peter was acting and wasn’t listening to him. 

He pulled off his shirt and put the other shirt over Peter’s head. “Put your arms through.” 

Peter looked down at what shirt he was wearing then tried to take it off. “I don’t want to wear this one.” 

“Too bad. I’m picking now.” He grabbed Peter’s arm and forced it through the hole then did the same with his other arm before handing him his sweater. “Put your pants on yourself.” 

Peter thankfully did as he was told and looked over at Rhodey while Tony tightened the elastic on the inside. “Please watch him. He’s a runner.” Tony teased and playfully pinched Peter’s cheeks. “No but seriously, he’s a runner.” 

Tony was already going to have four bodyguards follow them around, with Happy in charge. He trusted his bodyguards but he still wasn’t going to be there which was really scary. Not only was he worried about the fans that might come up to them and take pictures, he was also having to worry about the paparazzi and the crazy people who might try and snatch Peter. 

He was worried, of course he was. People saw that Iron Man wasn’t around and would take advantage of that. 

He made it pretty clear in the beginning that he wasn’t going to allow people to come up to him and Peter while they were out but now that he wasn’t there, people might take advantage of that. 

After Peter was dressed and ready to go, he ran to hug his dad. “I love you. I’ll see you soon?” 

Tony briefly hugged Peter, not wanting to prolong it. “Very soon. Give me a kiss.” 

Peter smiled and kissed his dad. “I’ll see you soon. Bye!” 

Him and Rhodey left the tower after that. Peter ran to sit in the passenger seat of the car while Rhodey got in the driver's seat. “You know I drove a car?” 

Rhodey nodded. “I know. Tony told me. Did you like it? And put your seatbelt on.” 

Peter gasped. “Oh yeah! And no, it’s scary but I liked it when I was with dad and driving with him and even Pepper was there when we went to Switzerland but it’s funner to go there but not as much as Malibu because I like Pepper’s house.” 

Rhodey nodded along, barely able to keep up with Peter’s change of topic in one sentence. “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you wanna go?” 

Peter thought about it. It was a hard one. “Um… I’d go to Italy and I’d eat pasta and bread.” 

“Looks like you’re gonna have to tell your dad that one. He’d take you anywhere if you asked.” 

Peter shook his head. “No. I ask dad to go to the toy store and dad says no. He doesn’t want me to go.” 

“Maybe because you already have too many toys.” Rhodey then turned into a parking lot and parked the car. “That’s most likely why.” 

“I don’t think so. You can never have too many toys.” Peter got out of the car and looked at the restaurant they were at. “Why are we even here?” 

Rhodey remembered what Tony had told him about Peter running in parking lots so he kept his eye out. “Because I’ve got two nieces and I want to spend some time with my nephew.” 

Peter knew Rhodey referred to himself as his uncle before, it didn’t bug him but he knew he would never be as close to Rhodey as he was with Uncle Ben. He loved and missed his Uncle Ben. “Oh. Okay. Are they babies or kids?” 

Rhodey held the door open for Peter. “One is twelve and the other is five.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Peter spotted a fish tank and went to go check it out but he missed his dad. “Why couldn’t dad come?” 

“Because I wanted to spend some time with you alone.” Rhodey started following the waitress to a table at the back and made sure Peter was following him. 

Peter missed his dad a lot but he didn’t mind being away from him as much as he used to. 

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At home, Tony was enjoying a child free afternoon. 

He grabbed all the dirty clothes from his room and the bedding to throw it into the washer and he even cleaned the entire living room and kitchen and mopped the floors as well as cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed. 

He hadn’t realized how much work it all was. He thought he would have time to spare but then Peter was arriving at home just as he had finished cleaning and arrived in his lab. 

Peter found him working in his lab and ran over to him with a sheet of paper in his hands. “Dad! Look, I drew this for you.” 

Tony lifted him onto his lap and took the drawing from his hands. “Woah. That’s beautiful, Peter. I love it. You’re so talented, my baby.” He pressed a kiss to his temple and put the drawing onto his desk so he could look at it all the time. 

“I missed you.” Peter admitted. He didn’t feel like crying but he had an itch to get back into his dad’s arms again, right where he belonged.

“I missed you too.” 

Peter shifted on his dad’s lap to turn around and kiss him. “Muah! Kiss me.” 

Tony kissed Peter again. “I just did.” 

“I kissed you first.” Peter grinned. 

“I know, and I’m gonna kiss you again.” Tony gave Peter another kiss. “Wanna stay with me or do you wanna go upstairs?” 

“Where are you going?” Peter wanted to stay with his dad. 

“I’m gonna work down here for a bit. You can stay but I need my lap back.” He waited for Peter to give his answer. 

Peter reluctantly slid off his dad’s lap. “Then what will I do?” 

Tony looked around. “You can go play with my phone on the couch over there if you want.” He just wanted about an hour to do what he wanted and work on some things in the lab without Peter touching him. 

“Fine. For ten minutes?” 

“One hour. Then I’m all yours. Deal?” 

Peter stuck out his hand. “Deal.” 

He grabbed his dad’s phone and went over to the couches and laid down. He started out on Hay Day but then went down a YouTube tunnel and Tony didn’t have certain channels or websites blocked on his phone like he had blocked on Peter’s phone and iPad so he heard that Peter was watching some news channel so he stood up to go see what he was watching. 

“Can I see my phone for a sec? What are you watching?” 

Peter handed his dad his phone. “I don’t know. It came up in your recommendation.” 

Tony saw the title and did not want Peter watching that. It was about some ridiculous rumours about Tony Stark. “I’m gonna pick what you watch. You like… what’s that show called again?” 

Peter groaned. “Noooo. I’m watching what I want.” 

Tony pressed play on a different YouTube video and handed it back to Peter. “Watch this instead.” 

Once Peter saw what it was, he was drawn to it so Tony was able to go back to work for the rest of the hour, not paying any attention to Peter but after the hour was up, he looked over at Peter and saw that he was passed out on the couch. 

He walked over and cooed at the sight. He loved watching Peter sleep, he was so adorable and quiet which Tony appreciated after a long day. 

Although he didn’t want him to sleep so he gently shook Peter awake. “Hey, buddy. Don’t sleep just yet, c’mon. Wake up.” 

Peter moaned and arched his back. “Mm. Bedtime?” 

Tony chuckled at that. “No, baby. Not yet. I’m all done so we can go do whatever you want.” 

Peter sat up and wobbled a bit. He rubbed at his eyes to lose the last little bit of sleep and grinned at his dad. “I wanna build legos with you.” 

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Tony patted Peter’s butt as he laid on top of him. Tony was so tired and he knew Peter was as well. Both of them didn’t do anything all day besides for Peter going out with Rhodey and Pepper visiting for a few hours, he supposed that was why Peter was so tired. 

Also the fact that it was past ten at night and Peter’s bedtime was at nine. 

“Did you have fun with Rhodey today?” He asked, twirling a piece of Peter’s soft baby hair in his fingers. He loved doing it as much as Peter. 

“Uh huh. It was fun.” Peter could barely keep his eyes open as he laid on his fathers chest, watching the tv in front of him but more concentrated with the rise and fall of his fathers chest and the steady sound of his heart beating. “He’s funny.” 

“I’m glad you had fun.” He paused and looked down to try and see Peter’s face. “Are you tired?” 

Peter shook his head. “Mm. Wanna stay on you.” 

Tony smiled. “I know… we have to go up to bed though, buddy.” 

Peter cuddled up to him more. “Not now… after we fall asleep.” 

“Then how will we get upstairs if we’re sleeping?” Asked Tony, just stalling for time now. He knew Peter was going to make a big fuss out of the situation. 

“You carry me up.” He insisted and lifted his head off of Tony’s chest and looked at him. “Okay?” 

Tony put his head back down. “Did your legs fall off? Is that why you can’t walk up the stairs by yourself?” 

Peter laughed weakly followed by a sigh. “Mm. M’tired Peter.” 

“You’re tired Peter?” Tony chuckled. That was too cute. He wondered how he handled Peter’s cuteness all day. “Maybe you can turn into walking Peter.” Peter shook his head so Tony sat up, knowing they had to get upstairs. “Let’s go. The faster we get up, the faster we can go to sleep.” 

Peter tried to push Tony back down but he couldn’t so he grabbed his hand and bit it. “Noooo! I don’t want to go upstairs! I don’t want to brush my teeth! I don’t want to shower!” 

Tony nodded, letting Peter finish first. “What else don’t you want to do?” 

“Go upstairs.” 

“You already said that. Are you all done now, because we gotta go upstairs, kid. Let’s go.” 

Peter tried to push him down again, this time, using his spidey powers. “No!” 

Tony grabbed his wrist. “Don’t you dare use your spidey powers with me. Do you understand?” 

From the firm voice Tony used on him, Peter began crying and covered his hands over his face. Tony moved his hands away so he could see him but Peter yanked himself away from Tony. “You’re mean!” 

Tony wanted to tell Peter that he was being a brat but he didn’t. “You’re being bad.” 

“I’m not!” 

“You know you’re not allowed to use your Spidey powers on me or anywhere outside the Spider-Man suit. You know that.” 

Peter crossed his arms over his chest. “No. I don’t know how to tell the difference… sometimes.” He lied. 

Tony held his hand out for an arm wrestle. “Try and beat me without using spidey strength.” Peter grinned and grabbed his dad’s hand, trying his hardest without using any strength but he was no match for his dad who was extremely strong when he wanted to be. Peter could be too but just plain old Peter was weak. 

“I win.” Tony announced after easily beating Peter. “Now use your spidey strength to win.” 

Peter grabbed his dad’s hand again and this time he easily beat him, a little too hard but he still wasn’t sure how to control it. 

Tony shrugged. “My point is proven.” He grabbed Peter’s face. “Don’t you ever try and lie to me, I will always know.” 

Peter pushed his hands away. “You won’t always know.” 

“Oh yeah? Do you plan on lying to me again?” 

Peter shrugged then crossed his arms over his chest. “No… I don’t ever.” 

“Good.” Tony placed his hands on Peter’s hips. “I know what you’re capable of, I know you may even be stronger than Steve. Maybe not now, but one day when you’re older. And one day when you’re ready, we can see exactly what you’re capable of but not now and not anytime soon.” 

Peter was a bit too tired to care. “I’m not capable of anything.” 

Tony lifted Peter off of his lap and stood up but Peter wanted to stay on him so he threw himself onto the carpet and screamed. Tony bent down to lift him up. “I’ll tell you one thing, you’re the only person on this earth capable of making me this tired.” 

Peter turned around to look at him. “That’s mean!” 

“Oh, and I love you. I love you a lot.” 

Peter crossed his arms. 

“Did I ever tell you that?” Tony joked, knowing he told Peter that about a million times a day. 

“No, you never tell me that.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Yes I do. Walk upstairs and I’ll tell you again.” 

Peter looked up at him, silently asking to be carried up so Tony lifted him up, barely holding him so Peter would get uncomfortable and decided to walk but he didn’t. “I’m slipping.” 

Tony got to the stairs and hoisted Peter up properly. “If you walked, you wouldn’t have that problem.” 

“If you carried me properly, we wouldn’t have that problem.” Peter sassed back. 

Tony gasped. He would give it to Peter, his little personality was definitely turning into a mini Tony Stark day by day. “Oh. I see how it is.” 

Peter shrugged. “See what?” 

“Oh, nothing.” Tony carried Peter into his bedroom and went to place him on his feet but Peter clung onto him, refusing to touch the ground. “Let go. I have to grab more of your pyjamas. You don’t have any more in my room.” 

“I don’t wanna touch the floor.” Peter was hanging on like a Koala and turned around nervously to look at the floor. “Nooo! Hold me.” 

“Peter, I-” Tony cut himself off. He just decided to struggle to grab pyjamas out of his drawer and then he walked out of the bedroom. “These ones better be good enough because I’m tired. I’m not going back in there.” 

Peter was placed on the bed so he grabbed the pyjamas and looked at them, deciding if he wanted to wear those ones or not. “I want Iron Man pjs tonight, dad. Dad?” 

“What?” 

“Dad, I want Iron Man pjs tonight. Not these.” Peter tossed the pyjamas, waiting for his dad to go get them for him. 

Tony looked at him. “Okay. Go get them yourself. I’m going to shower.” He grabbed his own pyjamas and went to go shower, leaving Peter alone. 

Peter frowned as the bathroom door shut. He didn’t like how Tony wasn’t doing what he wanted. At first he was going to throw all the blankets off the bed but he knew he would be forced to pick it all back up after so he slid off the bed and took off all his clothes, walking into his dad’s closet to find something to wear. 

He climbed onto a shelf so he could reach his shirts then he grabbed one off the hanger, almost falling onto his butt. “Woah.” Peter stumbled on his feet as he pulled the shirt on and jumped back into bed but he was bored since his dad was still in the bathroom. He flopped onto the bed and pulled his feet behind his head to walk them up the headboard just as Tony walked out. 

“What a sight to be greeted to.” Tony placed his phone on the nightstand table. “Why aren’t you wearing your pyjamas?” 

Peter continued walking up the headboard, ignoring his dad so Tony leaned over the bed and grabbed Peter’s legs to put them down. “Are you listening to me?” 

Peter nodded. “Yeah… you said chicken chicken chicken and chicken chicken chicken.” 

Tony was so tired. “Can you please get dressed? You’re not wearing my shirt as pyjamas. It’s cold out and you don’t need to get sick again.” 

“But we’re not sleeping outside. We’re sleeping inside but technically we’re always outside because everything is outside.” 

“… Still.” Tony thought Peter had a point there. “It's still cold so put these on.” He placed the previously thrown pyjamas on top of Peter so Peter threw them again. “Are you gonna cry?” 

Peter scrunched his nose up. “No.” 

“Just checking because I’m tired and I wanna sleep. I don’t want to deal with crying tonight.” 

Peter sat up, his face still scrunched up. “I don’t cry.” 

“Ever?” 

“Ever.” 

Tony nodded. “Interesting. So you’re saying you’re not gonna cry if I force you to put these on?” He grabbed the pyjamas again and grabbed Peter’s legs but Peter whined and kicked him away, already close to tears. 

“Noooo! Don’t!” Peter pulled the blankets back and attempted to crawl under them but Tony picked him up, holding him against his side. 

“Then let’s go find different pyjamas-” 

“Noooo! I’ll wear these ones then.” He reached down to be put back on the bed but Tony didn’t let him go. “Lemme go, fat toe!” 

Despite the situation, Tony laughed at his insult. “Nice one.” Tony held Peter tighter. “Are you gonna put it on?” Peter nodded. “Good boy.” 

Peter turned to give Tony a dirty look. He changed into his pyjamas and then stuck his bottom lip out, moving to the far end of the bed. 

“What’s wrong with you?” 

Peter whined. “You don’t want me to wear your shirt. I wanted to.” 

Tony sighed. “I’m sorry. I do. But it’s cold and you’re just starting to feel better. I want you to stay warm and just a T-shirt isn’t warm, Pete.” 

Peter sadly looked at him. “It is. It’s extra big on me so it’s like a dress. A boy dress.” 

“Not when you’re sleeping. You move around a lot.” A lot was an understatement. “It’ll ride up and I just want you to be warm.” Peter was looking at him as if Tony just told him he was sending him to sleep on the streets. “Come here.” 

Peter crawled across the bed and pushed his way onto Tony’s lap and into his arms. “Do you still love me, daddy?” 

“Wha- of course. I’ll always love you.” Tony loved Peter more than what was beyond possible. “I love you so sooo much it hurts. I love you more than anyone or anything.” 

Peter gasped and pulled away from the hug. “I love you this much!” He spread his arms wide to show just how much he loves his dad. 

“That much, huh? That’s a lot. I’m glad you love me so much.” 

Peter sat up and nodded to prove his point but Tony pulled him back down so he was tucked against his side. “Stop moving. You’re like a fish out of water, kid.” 

“Cause I wanna lie next to you.” Peter insisted and even moved so he was facing Tony. 

“But you are next to me.” 

“No, like this,” Peter tucked his head against Tony’s neck, cuddling into him. “I like to listen to your heartbeat.” 

“I know. I’m here.” Tony brushed the curls off Peter’s forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

Peter rubbed his forehead on Tony’s chest. “I don’t want to sleep in my own bed.” 

“You’re not.” 

Peter lifted his head up to look directly at Tony. “But I don’t later. Like a different night. I like sleeping with you.” 

Tony really didn’t feel like arguing with Peter so he agreed and would regret that later. “Okay. You don’t have to. Just go to sleep.”