All The Stars Align

Peter was frustrated. 

Tony could see that. 

School was going… well, school was going pretty much how Tony expected it to go this past week. 

Even though Peter was still with him, he refused to sit and do the school work unless Tony was right next to him. Tony didn’t think it was because of the separation anxiety, he knew it was because Peter simply didn’t want to do the school work and if he made Tony sit next to him, then in Peter’s mind, it would be over quicker. 

It was Friday, the last day of class for him and Peter was dying. He couldn’t do it anymore. And the thought of having to go back next week, and the week after that and the week after that, was giving him anxiety. 

Peter pushed his computer away because he didn’t want to do it anymore. “No. I’m tired.” 

Tony sighed and rubbed Peter’s back. To be honest, Tony didn’t think it would be this difficult. 

He thought the first and second day were going to be hard but then the rest of the week would be easy but it was actually getting harder. “Peter, I know online school is difficult because you aren’t in an actual school setting, in a classroom with your friends. I get that it’s hard, I understand that. But this is important. You need an education.” 

“It’s too hard.” 

“This is your level, Peter. Remember we did those online tests a few weeks ago?” He rubbed his arm. “That was to see where you are academically. You just have to apply yourself more.” 

“I am!” Peter yelled, clearly overwhelmed and frustrated. He had been doing it all morning since he woke up. There were no lectures in the class since Peter was too young to sit through a three hour lecture but there was about three hours of work to do everyday that could be broken up into sections. 

They had a good schedule going, somewhat. Peter woke up at nine then ate breakfast and watched some tv before getting out his computer and starting on the first of three lessons for the day. 

Tony planned it so that Peter could do it in his bedroom on his desk, or Tony would even create a separate room for him that resembled a mini classroom. Then, Peter could come down for breaks whenever he wanted or needed but Peter absolutely refused to do it anywhere but the kitchen and the living room. 

Tony was stuck next to him the whole time too. It was getting annoying for Tony. 

“How about we do twenty more minutes then we eat lunch?” 

“No!” Peter threw his head back and cried just as Peter’s computer started ringing for a video call. Tony looked at it, he didn’t know why it was ringing but he pressed answer and watched an older woman come up on the screen. 

“Good afternoon. I’m just, oh.” She frowned at Peter’s crying. “I’m just checking to see if everything is okay but I’m guessing we’re having some difficulties?” 

Tony grabbed Peter and lifted him onto his lap to get him to be quiet. “Yeah, we’re just having a hard time creating a routine.” 

The woman, who Tony assumed was the teacher, smiled patiently. She didn’t seem phased by the crying so Tony wondered if she was used to it. The school was freaking expensive so Tony knew it was legit and he trusted what the material was. 

“It all takes time. I suggest taking a break right now. Maybe go outside and get some fresh air or eat some lunch, then come back when you’re ready.” She explained and Tony saw her writing something down. Probably that Peter was difficult and emotional and she had to keep an extra eye on him. “I’ll be calling every Friday at noon just to check up on Peter and see how he’s doing.” 

Tony rubbed his back. Peter had his back to the camera and had yet to turn around so Tony lifted him off his lap but Peter screamed and reached for him again. Tony was embarrassed for Peter but he knew Peter for some reason didn’t have that emotion. 

“Okay. Thanks. We’ll see you next Friday.” Tony hung up the call and shut the computer then stood up and walked over to the window. “Peter. You need to calm down. You’re okay. Are you tired? You slept really well last night.” 

Peter wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and whimpered. “I don’t want to go to school anymore. I hate it.” 

“Peter. You hated in person school, so I moved you to online and now you hate that?” Tony knew it was more complicated than that with other reasons why Peter stopped going to in person first. 

“No. I hate school. I just want to stay with you all the time.” 

“You are with me, baby. Even when you’re at school. That’s why you’re online.” Tony placed Peter on his feet but Peter screamed and lifted his arms back up. “Okay. Okay. How about we order up some lunch and watch a movie of your choice. Then after, we finish up your last lesson of the week and then we have all weekend.” 

Tony wanted to roll his eyes at the clinginess but he was used to it and he knew it wasn’t really going to go anywhere anytime soon. Tony was sure it would disappear slowly as Peter got older. 

The two of them ate grilled cheese and Mac and cheese for lunch, as per Peter’s request and Tony knew he was having a difficult time with school so it wasn’t like Tony was going to say no to him. 

Peter wiped his mouth on the couch and Tony rolled his eyes at his behaviour but didn’t mention it. He stood up and brought the plates into the sink while he went over some thoughts in his head. 

Rose was coming over today. 

Tony didn’t want her to come but she had to, just to talk with Peter about a few things. It was needed. Especially after the fiasco last night. 

When he walked back over to Peter, he saw him half lying on the couch and half sitting on the floor and he had no idea how that position was comfortable for him; kids and their weird bending bodies. 

“Hey. So you know Rose is coming here soon.” He reached over to rub his exposed flat belly. “To talk to vous.” 

Peter tilted his head at him. “Huh?” 

“It’s French for you.” 

Peter nodded. “You know French?” 

Tony smirked. “Qui. Pour te parler et travailler sur ta folie anxiété de séparation.” 

Peter shook his head slowly. “Okay. I know you said something about separation anxiety but I didn’t know what all those other words are.” 

Tony didn’t necessarily want him to know. “Those are the only words you need to know.” 

“Why does it matter if I have separation anxiety? That’s a stupid word anyways.” He sighed then jumped onto the couch on his bum. 

Tony moved next to him. “Because you’re gonna be twenty years old and sleeping with your daddy still. Yeah?” 

Peter pushed him away. “Don’t say it in that weird voice. And I can if I want to.” He added. 

“One day, you’re gonna get a pretty little girlfriend and bring her home and she’s definitely not sleeping with us. You’ll thank me for this later.” 

“Ewww. Dad. Stop.” 

“Or a boyfriend. I don’t know.” 

Peter looked at him. 

“Not yet. You’re still young.” Tony pulled Peter against his side. “But I’m being serious. You need to learn how to sleep by yourself, baby. You need to learn how to fall asleep by yourself and not depend on me to get you to sleep. Okay?” 

Peter leaned against him and shook his head. “Not okay. Stop talking. And I don’t want to sleep by myself. If Rose is coming here today to talk about me sleeping alone in my own bed then I’m gonna scream.” 

Tony didn’t put it past him. 

“No. She’s just coming to chat with you.” 

Peter placed his hand on his cheek to force Tony to look at him. “Why won’t you be there too?” 

“Because I’m gonna go down to the lab for a bit and let you guys talk in private.” 

“Private?” Peter pulled away, his scrunching up in adorable confusion. 

“Oh. I forgot the word private and privacy isn’t in your vocabulary, nudist.” He playfully pinched Peter’s leg just as FRIDAY announced Rose was there. Tony looked down at Peter. “Don’t be nervous. I’ll be downstairs and she’ll only be here for an hour.” 

Peter whimpered. 

“Baby. Don’t be sad.” 

Rose walked in and had a quick greeting with Tony then approached Peter on the couch. 

“Can you say hi to Rose, Peter?” 

Peter was sitting on the couch, well more of lying on the couch with his feet pulled up. He didn’t want her here but he offered her a tiny wave. 

Rose reached out to rub his ankle then sat down. 

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?” 

“A tea please. Thank you.” 

“Okay. Peter?” Tony asked, seeing the pout on his boy's face. “Water? Juice? Milk?” 

“Milk. In my blue water bottle.” 

“Okay.” 

Rose looked around the living area. It was a mess. Toys were scattered everywhere and she could see school work sitting on the counter. “How are you doing, Peter?” 

Peter shrugged. “Bad.” 

“Oh. Why are you feeling bad?” 

Peter rolled onto his stomach. “Cause I am. And I want milk.” 

Tony handed Rose the tea and then patted Peter’s butt and placed the water bottle on the couch. “How about you sit up and tell Rose the good news.” 

Peter grabbed onto his hand. “What good news?” 

“Well,” Tony kneeled down in front of him. “Something about sleeping and pull-ups…” 

“Oh!” Peter sat up, still holding onto his dad's hand. “I went to bed with no pull-ups and I didn’t wet the bed for like, a bunch of nights in a row!” 

“Wow! That’s amazing, Peter. That’s a huge accomplishment to be proud of.” 

Peter grinned. He was very proud of himself because he liked the way his dad was proud of him. He pulled Tony closer to him. “Yeah. And I haven’t wet the bed since… last week.” 

“Yeah, the last time you wore a pull-up.” He leaned over to kiss Peter’s head and then he stood up. “You guys talk. And I’ll be down in my lab if you need me.” 

Peter kept his eyes on him until he disappeared behind the elevator doors then he sighed and looked over at Rose. It was definitely an improvement. Just a few weeks ago, Peter would have wanted a ton of goodbye hugs and kisses and then cried for Tony not to leave, now, he wasn’t even batting an eye. 

“You’ve started online school this week, Peter. Can you tell me how that’s going?” 

Peter was playing with the string of his pants as he spoke. “It’s boring. And too hard. I just wish I didn’t have to do it.” 

“That’s a valid emotion you’re feeling. Do you know why you’re feeling that way?” 

“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re a brain doctor.” 

Rose laughed. “I’ve studied brain development in children. Child psychology. A brain doctor is a neurosurgeon. I couldn’t perform brain surgery on you but I can help you in a different way.” 

Peter shrugged. “Then tell my brain to stop being stupid.” 

“Why do you think your brain is being stupid?” 

“Uh… cause it is.” He laid down on the couch and lifted his feet up to the back of it. “Do you wanna draw pictures together?” 

Rose smiled and nodded and so the two of them began drawing pictures together and chatting about Tony and school. Rose was seeing an improvement in Peter. She knew school was a bit difficult for him but it was only the first week and it was going to get easier but she could already see a huge improvement in Peter. 

Also the fact that he willingly let Tony go downstairs. Just a few weeks ago, Peter never would have let Tony go downstairs and leave him so suddenly. She remembered a time not so long ago where Peter screamed and held onto Tony’s legs, begging him not to leave. 

After an hour of that, Tony walked upstairs, just in time for their session to be over. 

Peter smiled at him as he walked up. 

“Hey. How did it go?” 

“Good.” Peter stood up to go hang the picture he drew on the fridge. “I’m gonna put this on the fridge!” 

Tony watched him run off and looked at Rose. “It went well?” 

“Yes, it did.” She stood up. “I’m very proud of him. I can see a huge improvement in him. I just want to work on sleeping arrangements. He should be sleeping in his own bed.” 

Tony knew this was coming. He sat down. “He’s not ready.” 

“He is. You aren’t.” 

Tony looked at her. He didn’t want to admit that but it was somewhat the truth. “He’s… it’s his choice. If he decides not to sleep with me anymore, I’m not going to force him to. That’s the choice Peter makes every night. Not me.” 

Rose sat down next to him, knowing not to sit too close because she knew he didn’t like being touched… unless it was Peter. “Tony, you’re the adult. It’s your job to decide for him to start sleeping in his own bed.” 

Tony didn’t want to do that. He tried it before and it didn’t end well. “No. He just started school. He doesn’t need this stress too.” 

“Talk to him about it and just try. If he really doesn’t want to, don’t. But you need to try and see if he’s ready. I think he is. I think he’s making himself not ready for you.” 

That made no sense to Tony. “What? What does that even mean?” 

“It means, Peter continues to sleep with you because he thinks he needs to.” 

“He still sleeps with me because he has separation anxiety when he’s away from me and he feels safe with me.” And because I can’t sleep unless he’s in arms reach of me. 

“You’re amplifying his separation anxiety, Tony. Let him try to sleep by himself. Talk to him about it.” 

Tony sighed loudly. “He’s not going to like that idea.” 

“Do you want to ask him now?” 

Tony thought about it. 

“How about you leave the room, let me ask him and see what he says, then after I leave, you ask him and we’ll see.” 

Tony didn’t want to do this but he was a bit curious. So he stood up and left to go back down to his lab, sitting at his desk. “FRIDAY, pull up audio and video in the living room.” 

“Yes, boss.” 

Tony watched Peter run into the living room. 

“Where’s dad?” 

“Oh. He forgot his phone in his lab. He’ll be right back up.” 

Peter looked at the table and picked up his phone. “But it’s here.” 

Tony smirked. Smart boy. His boy. 

“Oh. Then it must have been his charger. He’ll be right back up.” She patted the spot next to her so Peter sat down next to Rose. “So, I wanted to ask you something?” 

Peter looked at her. 

“You still sleep with your dad every night, right?” 

Peter nodded. 

“Do you miss your bedroom?” 

“No. I see it everyday.” 

Tony chuckled at Peter’s answer. Sassy boy. He wondered where Peter got that from… 

“I mean, do you miss sleeping in your own bed in your own room without your dad there?” 

Peter seriously thought about it. He loved sleeping with his dad but he did miss that independence and sleeping in his own bed. Although he got nightmares sleeping alone. He shrugged. “I guess.” 

Tony was so surprised. He couldn’t stop the gasp. 

Rose continued. “So would you want to start sleeping in your own bed then?” 

Peter thought about that too. “Um… I don’t know. Maybe. Yeah.” 

Tony felt like he was holding Peter back. He felt like this was all his fault. Was he really amplifying Peter’s separation anxiety? 

That wasn’t his intentions. 

He stood up and went upstairs, sitting down next to Peter. 

“Did you find your charger?” 

Tony looked around. “Oh. No. I think it’s in my room.” 

Peter nodded. 

Tony looked at him. He felt awful. 

Rose stood up and grabbed her purse then, squeezing Tony’s arm. “I’m going to go now. I’ll see you in a week Peter, bye.” 

“Bye.” Once she was gone, Peter slid onto the floor and dumped out a basket of his legos. “Can you play with me?” 

Tony wanted to ask him now but he was too filled with guilt. Was this all his fault? Maybe he wasn’t the best option for Peter… but if he didn’t adopt Peter, who knows where Peter would be. The thought of his fourteen year old living in a foster home with awful foster parents who don’t understand him or worse, him being homeless and having to turn to drugs and alcohol or selling himself for sex to old men just to get money for food… 

Tony felt sick. 

He pulled on the back of Peter’s pants to drag him closer. “Hey.” Peter turned to look at him. “What’re you doing?” 

“I just want to hold you. Come here.” 

Peter was never one to turn away from daddy’s cuddles so he crawled onto Tony’s lap. “There.” 

“Hey.” 

“Hi.” Peter giggled. 

“Pete?” 

“Uh huh?” 

“Do you want to start sleeping in your own bed?” 

Peter whined and wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck. “No. I want to sleep with you.” 

Tony didn’t expect that. Then why was his answer totally different for Rose? 

“Yeah?” 

Peter held his arms tighter. “I don’t want to sleep alone.” He pulled away. “Are you planning on making me sleep alone?” 

Tony didn’t know what to say. He brushed the chocolate brown curls out of his face. “It’s up to you. I want to do what’s best for you. If you don’t want to sleep with me anymore-” 

“No! I do!” 

“- or if you are ready to start sleeping on your own, I’ll be okay with that.” He finished. 

Peter gave him a dirty look. It was cute. Tony tried not to coo but he couldn’t take Peter seriously. “Don’t say that. I want to sleep with you.” 

Tony didn’t understand since Peter was just telling Rose that he was okay with sleeping by himself in his own room. Tony sighed. “Okay. Let’s just see how this week goes. Maybe we can try it. Yeah?” Peter clung onto him harder. “You’re not wetting the bed anymore or using pull-ups, you don’t need me at nights.” 

“Don’t say that.” Peter clung onto him tighter. “I just want to be with you all the time. Okay?” 

Tony understood that. He felt the same way. “Okay. What if we try it for tonight? I’ll stay with you in your bed until you fall asleep. Do you want to try that?” 

Peter thought about it. He preferred to sleep with his dad and since he was so used to it now, he always slept with him and never had to even think about sleeping by himself in his own bed. He kinda wanted to see if he was able to sleep by himself. 

So with a reluctant nod that surprised Tony, Peter agreed. “Okay. But if I want you, then I can go sleep with you in your room?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Will you be there the whole time?” 

Tony caressed his cheeks. “Yeah, baby. If you need me, just come get me. Or tell FRIDAY and I’ll come get you.” 

Peter nodded. He was a bit nervous about sleeping by himself again after months of sleeping with his dad but he was ready. He thought he was at least. 

So when bedtime rolled around, Peter felt like he was suddenly everything but ready. 

He was getting bad separation anxiety over the fact he had to sleep by himself. 

Tony was changing the sheets on Peter’s bed while he waited for him to come out of the shower. He heard it turn off and not even a minute later, Peter was rushing out with a towel around his shoulders. “Dad.” 

Tony sighed. “Oh baby. What’s wrong?” 

Peter wrapped his arms around him. “I-I don’t know if I want to sleep by myself… I can just go sleep in your bed. With you. Okay?” 

Tony pulled Peter over to the bed so he could sit down then he stood Peter between his legs. “Peter. I’m not forcing you to do anything. If you really don’t want to sleep by yourself, then just say so. But you’re ready. You don’t need me to fall asleep anymore, baby. Wanna see?” 

Peter leaned against him and wrapped his skinny arms around Tony’s neck. “I guess… I’m just… I don’t wanna grow up. Because if I grow up, then I’ll leave you and I don’t wanna leave you.” 

“Oh baby. You’ll never leave me. And one day, in the far far future, when you do go to college or when you move out, I’ll always be here for you to come home to.” It was such a weird thought, the fact that one day Peter was going to leave him and go out in this evil world all on his own, it terrified Tony. If it was up to him, he’d put Peter in a bubble and never let him leave his sight, of course that wasn’t any way to live life. 

Peter nodded. He was tired. His dad’s promise of forever did make him feel a lot better. 

The two of them sat there for a few moments then Tony rubbed Peter’s back. “Let’s go to bed.” He reached for the pyjamas on the bed and tossed them over Peter’s head, causing him to move away and giggle. 

Tony pulled the blankets back and got comfortable while he waited for Peter to get dressed and as soon as Peter was close enough, Tony grabbed him and got him comfortable on the bed with him. “Mm you smell so good.” 

Peter sniffed Tony. “You smell good too. You smell like… dad.” 

Tony laughed but he didn’t want to get Peter too wired up. “Okay. Time to sleep. Lie down.” 

With a sigh, Peter laid down and faced Tony, waiting for him to start patting his butt so he could sleep. Tony didn’t mind doing it, he knew it was the only way to get Peter to sleep and he also knew that even if Peter slept in his bed every night from now on but needed Tony to pat his butt to sleep, Tony would be more than okay with that. 

Maybe because Tony needed Peter to need him. 

Tony looked over at him and saw Peter staring at him. “Go to sleep.” 

Peter shut his eyes immediately but a minute later, Peter was looking at him again so Tony flipped him onto his other side without a word. He did this every night. He knew what he was doing. 

Apparently he knew what he was doing too much because Tony ended up falling asleep. 

He woke up three hours later to Peter moving against him. Tony checked the time and groaned. He didn’t mean to fall asleep but now he was too exhausted to move although he had to go to see if Peter was going to wake up without him and need him. 

So Tony got up and made his way into his cold and lonely bed. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. Maybe he needed Peter more than Peter needed him. 

Tony used to hate sleeping with people. When he would have one night stands back in his playboy years, he would sneak out of his bed and go tinker in his lab until the woman woke up and went home. 

Then when Tony met Pepper, they would go to bed together and he could never fall asleep because he liked sleeping alone. He used to wait for her to fall asleep then sneak away and crawl back into bed before she woke up. 

And after some time of doing that, Tony slowly fell in love with sleeping with Pepper by his side. Both falling asleep together and actually staying in the bed all night, to waking up together. Then they broke up, and Tony had to learn to sleep alone again.

 And then Peter came along and they both needed each other. 

Now, Tony was proud of Peter for actually agreeing to sleeping alone. Just a few weeks ago, Peter would have thrown an absolute temper tantrum over it. 

But Tony couldn’t sleep. He tried. But he couldn’t. 

So he grabbed his phone off his nightstand table and pulled up Peter’s vitals and live footage from the baby monitor protocol in his room. He could see Peter in a different position from when he left him. Peter was the most restless sleeper he knew. It was crazy. 

He didn’t know if it was because of the spider bite making him extra restless at nights or because that was just the way Peter was. He wasn’t sure. Either way, Peter was a restless sleeper. 

He sighed. He was too over protective. 

Peter was fine. 

He was okay. 

So why couldn’t Tony sleep? 

He looked at the footage again. Peter knew he had a camera in his room, Tony would be worried about invading his privacy but Peter didn’t know what privacy was, that word didn’t exist in his life. He pooped with the door open and could comfortably have a conversation with Tony standing right in front of him at the same time. So no, Tony wasn’t afraid of invading any privacy. 

All the rooms in the towers had cameras, besides for the lower level bathrooms, but every other room had a camera, some needed approval from two people to access it, such as the Avengers bedrooms. 

Tony turned the camera off and tried to fall asleep. Again. 

He tried and failed for about an hour and then he heard his door knob jiggle so he turned and watched the door open and a tiny shadow make his way into his bedroom. Tony looked at him but waited for Peter to speak. 

He shuffled his way into his bedroom and climbed onto the bed. “Daddy?” Peter whispered and looked down at Tony. “Daddy? Wake up.” He shook him a bit. 

“Yeah? Are you okay?” 

Peter leaned his head on his chest now that he was awake. “I woke up and you were gone.” 

Tony rubbed his back, missing the warm tiny body in his bed. He reached down to feel between his legs to see if he was wet, smiling when it wasn’t. “I told you I was going to leave, baby.” 

“But I couldn’t fall back to sleep without you.” 

And there it was. 

That was what Tony was afraid of. 

Peter couldn’t fall asleep without him. He could stay asleep no problem but falling asleep was the problem. 

Tony couldn’t wake up and leave his bed to put Peter back to sleep every time. Peter woke up about five times a night although lately that number had been cut down to about two or three times a night, Tony had no idea why but he knew he couldn’t be waking up and going to Peter’s room every night, multiple times a night just to get him to sleep. 

He didn’t know what he was going to do. 

.

.

.

Peter sat on the couch in his class. 

Tony stayed quiet so as to not disturb him but he was bursting with happiness. 

Peter actually grabbed his laptop out without having to be asked and had been sitting in class for the past forty minutes, no complaining, no whining, no boredom. 

Tony even got to get caught up on some work while Peter was in class. He was so freaking proud. 

Just last week, Peter was struggling to start online school and now he was thriving in it. It was really good independence for him, as simple as it was. 

Tony was so proud. 

He heard Peter shut his computer and then he stretched on his back and groaned. “My back hurts.” 

Tony chuckled. “Wait till you reach my age.” 

Peter grabbed his glass of juice off the table and finished it off then moved to sit next to Tony. “What’re you doing?” 

Tony closed his computer so Peter couldn’t read his emails. It was private work stuff that Tony didn’t want him to be involved in. “Just boring work stuff.” 

“Why do you always close your computer when I look?” Pouted Peter. He turned to look up at his dad to see his reaction. 

“Because,” Tony pinched his cheek. “You’re too young to read my work emails. Don’t worry about it.” 

“What age isn’t too young?” 

“Uh, let me think.” Tony stood up and arched his back, stretching. “For you, every age. Let’s go eat some lunch.” 

Peter jumped up and followed him into the kitchen, opening up the cabinet and pulling out the box of pancake mix. “Breakfast for lunch?” Peter smirked and Tony wasn’t going to say no to that request so the two of them began making pancakes, working in comfortable silence together. 

Tony looked at Peter, lost in thought. 

It amazed him how far Peter had come in such a short amount of time. 

He was nervous for Peter’s sake to start school but it ended up being one of the best decisions Tony could make for Peter. It all worked out so perfectly and it was going to help big time with Peter’s independence. 

.

.

.

They were doing this. 

Over the weekend, Tony put Peter to bed and stayed with him until he fell asleep but every time, Peter woke up and crawled into Tony’s bed so those nights were not the most perfect nights, with Tony falling asleep in Peter’s bed and Peter waking up, needing him to fall asleep. 

So Tony wanted to try again tonight. 

Peter was ready. 

Tony could see that. 

He was a bit… sad that Peter was ready because Tony felt like Peter didn’t need him as much anymore which was the truth but it wasn’t a bad thing. Tony had to remember that. 

Peter would always need him but not for sleeping and that was a good thing. Now Tony had to learn to fall asleep by himself without his baby there. That was going to be hard but he would worry about Peter first and himself second. 

Peter knew the routine. He showered and brushed his teeth in his own bathroom then walked out to Tony lying on his bed, waiting for him. Peter wasted no time in climbing onto his bed and cuddling against him. “Are you gonna help me fall asleep again tonight?” 

“Do you want me to?” 

Peter didn’t hesitate to nod his head. “Yes. I… I can’t fall asleep without you with me.” He sadly said, looking down. 

“Aw, baby.” Tony caressed his soft baby skin. “You will. It’ll take time but you will. If that’s what you want. And with the help from Rose.” 

A small smile appeared on Peter’s lips. 

He felt like this was all so sudden but he also felt ready. He wanted to sleep by himself and be able to but he also felt like he needed to sleep with his dad still. He also felt like by Tony helping him to fall asleep every night was kinda like sleeping with him… but it wasn’t the same thing. He couldn’t wake up in the middle of the night and cuddle up against his dad. He missed that but he knew he was just a hallway away. 

Tony patted his butt. “Okay. Get your pyjamas on and let’s go to sleep.” 

Peter pulled away from him and quickly got dressed in his pyjamas then got comfortable under the blankets. Tony shut the lamp off but made sure Peter’s night light was on so that it wasn’t completely dark and they could still see. 

Personally, Tony hated sleeping with any sort of light on but after Peter came along, he was forced to get used to it. Now, he didn’t mind it and even if Peter wasn’t sleeping with him anymore, he still may sleep with the night light on, just in case Peter crawled into his bed in the middle of the night. 

“And… if-if I need you in the middle of the night… then I can come to your room?” 

Tony cooed. “Yeah, baby. Always.” 

Peter smiled and closed his eyes. He could sleep now. 

Tony patted his butt for about twenty minutes until Peter was asleep. 

He fell asleep pretty quickly. He kept opening his eyes as if to check if Tony was still there but overall, he fell asleep fairly quickly. Tony sighed. Now he had to go to sleep by himself. 

He reluctantly left Peter’s bed and kept his bedroom door open for him, just in case. 

Then he made his way to his bedroom and got ready for bed, remembering a time not even too long ago where Peter needed him to sleep and how far he’s come since that time. Hell, even a week ago, Peter was wearing pull-ups to bed and only wetting them out of pure laziness. 

It was Tony’s own fault for not noticing sooner and taking them away from Peter. And the fact that he’s hadn’t had one bed wetting incident since was a sign Peter was ready and had been ready for a while. 

Of course Tony expected a bed wetting every now and then due to a bad dream or stressful night but that was no cause for concern. 

Tony eventually managed to fall asleep. He didn’t know how he did it but he did. 

It was only for a few hours because he was waking up from a dream he couldn’t really remember but he felt… uneasy. And the only way to fix that was to get up and check on Peter. 

So that’s exactly where he went. 

He got out of bed and made his way down the hallway and into Peter’s bedroom. Peter was lying on his side and facing the wall so Tony carefully sat down and watched his breathing, already feeling better. 

Peter had that effect on him. 

He sighed. “I know you’re awake.” 

Peter turned to look at him. 

“Hey. Can’t sleep?” He was only a tad bit concerned that Peter was awake. It wasn’t rare that Peter would wake up in the middle of the night and just lay there, looking around or finding something to play with until he either fell back asleep or Tony had to put him back asleep. 

Peter shrugged. “I missed you.” 

“Oh, baby. You could have come and got me.” 

Peter shrugged again, followed by a yawn. “Yeah… I just… I didn’t want to bug you. You-you think I’m ready to sleep alone a-and you’re so proud of me so I didn’t want to wake you up and upset you or anything. I’m sorry.” 

Peter was pulling at his heart strings. Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead and laid down next to him. “You don’t have to ever be sorry for how you feel, baby. And I’ll always be proud of you. I don’t care if you aren’t ready yet… you can always always come into my room if you need me, okay? Even if you’re twenty five years old. I don’t care. Come and wake me up if you need me. Always.” 

“Okay.” Peter always felt better after talking to his dad. He tried to decide what he wanted to do. He didn’t think he was ready to leave his dad’s side just yet. “Can I sleep with you for the rest of the night? In your bed?” 

Tony was more than okay with that. “Of course. Let’s go.” He pulled the blankets off Peter and the two of them walked into Tony’s room, crawling into his bed that they’ve done so so many times before. 

It was second nature to the both of them. 

.

.

.

Peter finished getting dressed and ran into his dad’s bedroom and jumped onto the bed. “Hi dad!” 

Tony groaned when Peter’s knee landed on his sensitive man part. “Urg. Ow. Watch those boney knees, kid.” 

Peter laughed. “Sorry.” He moved to lay down next to him, turning to smile up at his favourite person in the world. “I just missed you and I wanted to come and see you.” 

“Aw, baby. Well, I missed you too. Is there anything you wanted to do today? Anything special? Or we can just have a lazy day and watch tv and order up junk food.” He knew he was supposed to be getting Peter to eat healthy but after this week, they both deserved a cheat day to eat whatever they wanted. 

Peter laid his head on his dad’s chest, listening to the beat of his heart. “I just want to stay with you. I don’t really care what we do.” 

Tony liked the sounds of that. 

And so that’s what they did. 

School was done for the week, Tony actually couldn’t believe they made it another week. It was hard at first, so much so that Tony was starting to think Peter wasn’t ready but Peter was more than ready. 

Tony only wished he put Peter in homeschooling sooner so that he wasn’t so behind but there was no rush to catch up. His teacher knew where he was at and was going to work with him to get to where he needed to be and Tony was incredibly grateful for that. 

He was so incredibly proud of the progress Peter made. 

That was something to celebrate. 

Although their idea of celebrating was to lay in each other’s arms together and watch movies while eating junk food.