Growing Up

10 Years Old

Tony was gone in Malibu for a business meeting Pepper insisted he go to which meant that Peter would be without his dad for three whole days. Not that he minded terribly. After all, Uncle Steve had volunteered to stay with him in the Tower and although Peter insisted he didn't need a babysitter, he was more than willing to have Steve stay with him. Even though Peter spent most of the day at school, Steve didn't mind staying either.

"Peter has returned to the Tower."

At JARVIS's sudden (and slightly jarring) announcement, Steve folded up his newspaper and walked into the kitchen. Despite the many times Peter had complained about having apples for a snack ("Dad always gives me pop tarts!"), Steve still set about cutting one up.

"I'm back, Uncle Steve!" Peter yelled, dropping his backpack right outside the lift and running into the kitchen.

Jumping onto one of the stools, Peter grinned as Steve handed him a plate with apples and dipping caramel. At the sight of dipping caramel, Peter's smile widened and he eagerly grabbed an apple slice.

"How was school, kiddo?" Steve asked, leaning against the counter.

"It was good!" Peter said, "We're going on a field trip to the American Museum of Natural History tomorrow so I need you to sign a permission slip."

He jumped off his stool and ran to his backpack, pulling out and smoothing a crumpled piece of paper. Hurrying back into the kitchen, he handed Steve the permission slip and climbed back onto his stool to finish his apple slices.

Steve pulled a pen out of a nearby drawer and glanced at the paper slip, reading through it quickly before signing it and putting down the date. He handed the slip back to Peter who promptly shoved an apple slice in his mouth before returning the slip to his backpack. Once he finished his apples, he continued telling Steve all about school and how he had been given loads of homework but he had finished it all in the car ride back to the Tower ("It was too easy.").

"Can we watch Stars Wars since I'm done?" Peter asked excitedly.

Steve nodded, taking the empty plate from Peter and washing it while Peter went to get the movie all set up and ready to watch.

* * * * *

Steve had sent Peter to bed at exactly 8:30PM. He had tucked him in then returned to the living room to clean up the popcorn mess and put away their blanket fort. The couch cushions were back on the couches and the blankets were all folded up. After everything was cleaned, he had grabbed a book and settled onto the couch to read for an hour or two before bed.

It was 11:30 when JARVIS alerted Steve to Peter being in distress. Bookmarking his page, Steve got up from the couch and hurried into Peter's room. When he flicked on the bedside lamp, he saw Peter thrashing around in his bed.

"Peter, hey," Steve said, kneeling down beside Peter's bed. He gently shook him awake. and as soon as Peter's eyes opened, he began to cry.

Moving to sit on the bed beside Peter, Steve pulled him into his arms.

"You're okay, Peter," Steve whispered, rubbing his back and holding him tightly.

He waited until Peter's cries subsided before asking what he had dreamed about. Sniffling, Peter pulled back and rubbed his face.

"Daddy died," Peter said softly.

Steve sighed and hugged Peter again. Spotting Peter's Stark tablet on his nightstand, Steve had an idea.

"How about we call him to make sure he's alright?" Steve suggested, reaching for the tablet.

Peter instantly agreed. It would only be 8:30 PM in Malibu, so Steve unlocked the tablet and searched for the FaceTime app. When he found it, he tapped on a the contact that said 'Dad!' and pulled Peter into his lap. It took multiple rings before Tony answered and Steve could feel Peter begin to worry something was wrong, but then Tony's face lit up the screen and Peter relaxed.

"Hey, kiddo."

He was clearly in the middle of something, but Peter seemed just as happy as if his dad had been giving him his full attention. The screen jostled around and soon Tony righted it so Peter could see his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Tony asked with a small frown. "Do I have to talk to Steve about keeping you—Peter?" Tony's frown deepened as he finally looked at the screen. "What happened, Pete?"

"I had a bad dream," Peter told him. Tony frowned and asked what it was about. "You died."

"Oh, kiddo," Tony said, stepping into a lift with Pepper. "I'm okay. Nothing bad is gonna happen to me, okay?"

Peter nodded and Tony directed his next sentence at Steve.

"You'll probably have to stay with him for the night if that's okay," he said, "He usually stays with me after nightmares."

Steve nodded and glanced down at Peter who was staring at his dad.

"That's fine," Steve said, looking back at the screen.

Over Tony's shoulder, Pepper murmured something they couldn't quite hear and Tony nodded.

"I've got to go, buddy," he told Peter. Peter snapped out of his trance and nodded. "You'll be okay with Uncle Steve. Call me again if you need to."

"Okay," Peter said, "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, kid," Tony replied with a smile. He let Peter hit the disconnect button, not wanting to cut off the connection until Peter was ready despite needing to get to a meeting.

When the call finished, Steve put the tablet back on the nightstand and Peter crawled off his lap. Steve tucked him back into bed, promising to return once he changed into his own pyjamas. When he returned, Peter was fighting to stay awake but eagerly wriggled in his bed to give Steve enough room to lie down. Flicking off the lamp on Peter's nightstand, Steve didn't have to wait long for the kid to fall asleep. As soon as he was sleeping peacefully, Steve fell asleep as well.