You Can Let Go Now Daddy

Nightmares

Stepping into the room part of the tower Tony had transformed for his own personal use, the group relaxed considerably. Here there was no paparazzi or considerable dangers. Just the three adults and Peter, who's eyes excitedly scanned the place.

"Here, let me take that and Tony will show you around." Pepper leaned down to take the empty ice cream cup from Peter who nodded, handing it over without complaint and following Tony.

"I know what you want to see, kid. So I'm going to show you that first because I know children have short attention spans." He teased. Peter didn't know what that meant but he nodded in agreement anyway, following him to where Tony kept his suit. The little boy excitedly raced forward.

"Iron Man!" His eyes were wide, taking in as much of it as he could. Tony chuckled.

"I am Iron Man, kid." He explained and Peter placed his hands on the cool metal, yes shining.
"You wear suit." He told Tony, turning to clarify this fact and the older male nodded.

"Yup. Pretty cool right? Saving the world and everything." He bent over to pick Peter up, letting the boy admire his suit some more.

"Saving me too." The boy added, smiling up at him. How did Tony get himself into these situations?
"Yes, saving you too. Come on, I gotta show you the rest of the place so you don't get lost. Although I'm sure Friday wouldn't mind helping you find your way..." They left the room but Peter continued to stare over his shoulder at the suit, eyes wide and admiring.

The bed was too big. At first, Peter had been so tired he hadn't noticed the size of the bed. But he'd had a bad dream and now it was too big for his comfort. Finn or anyone else who wanted him could jump out and grab him... His eyes scanned the dark room nervously, not liking being alone. But he had another problem as well.

He didn't want to wake Tony. The man had been so nice to him already and he knew that people didn't like to be woken up once they were sleeping. What if Tony got cranky and hit him because he wanted to sleep? What if he didn't even wake up at all?
Peter whined softly, pulling the blankets over his head and closing his eyes tightly. He could survive one night in the big scary room, couldn't he?

No. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes the face of the teenager haunted him, he sat up abruptly, tears falling down his round cheeks.
He wanted Tony. He just wanted someone to tell him he'd be okay. Slowly, he slid himself from the bed and quietly padded across the room to the door. He knew where the man slept as he'd pointed out on the tour earlier. He reached up for the handle of the man's door, turning it carefully and slipping in.

Tony was asleep, laying on his side facing the door and on his other side was Pepper, her arm wrapped gently around him. Peter smiled to himself and approached quietly, little hands reaching up already. He tried to pull himself onto the bed, maybe he could curl up with them and they wouldn't even notice he was there until morning. That way he wouldn't have to wake anyone up.
But the covers were slippery and the poor boy wasn't strong enough to pull himself up. He slipped and fell right on his butt, tears once again falling from his blue orbs. This time they were tears of frustration and the sound of his cries were louder than he thought.
Tony's eyes blinked open, wondering what that sound was. Pepper sat up beside him, clearly confused as well. He called for the lights to turn on, a sinking feeling in his gut.

When the darkness disappeared, there sat Peter crying beside the bed on the floor. Tony relaxed considerably, untangling himself from the bed to pick him up. Immediately, the crying stopped and Peter gripped onto his pj shirt tightly.

"What're you doing up, Peter. It's late..." He sat on the bed, placing the boy in his lap and Peter seemed to turn slightly red.
"I had a bad dream and I was scared... I was going to climb the bed and cuddle without waking you up but I fell and hurt my butt." He whined, eyes still wet with tears. "I'm sorry for waking you. I'll go back to bed."

Tony brushed part of Peter's hair out of his face.
"No, no. You're scared, Peter. I understand. I have nightmares... Bad dreams a lot too. It's better to be around someone to make it less scary isn't it?" He asked and Peter nodded enthusiastically.
"Come here... We've got a big bed. Pepper and I don't mind sharing." He turned slightly placing Peter down. Pepper smiled softly watching Tony readjust himself under the sheets and Peter curl slightly into him, eyes drooping as the lights shut down once more.

There were a few moments of silence and then the sounds of Peter's shallow breathing.
"Tony, you know he's going to be a lot harder to take care of them you realize. He's never had any of this." She whispered softly and she got a sigh in response.
"What am I supposed to do, leave him to the care of the foster system? It's failed him so far. Who knows what all has been done to him. We're really his only hope. It wouldn't be fair for me to bring him here, give him a taste of a regular, good life and then toss him out like he's nothing. He needs us, Pepper." He responded softly.
She sighed. "I know... I just... It's a big commitment. You can't fool around with it. You have to be someone he can look up to. He loves you so much already... Don't let him down."
"I won't." He promised.