Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

2 months before gala, Peter is 9 months old

“Tony get him before he hurts himself!!” Pepper shouted as she dropped her briefcase and ran over towards the crawling babbling infant.

Tony looked up from his starkpad and smiled up at his wife:

“Pep-hun he’s fine”

Tony said as he held his arm out to stop the infant from hitting his head on the coffee end table:

“I thought we agreed to remove the coffee table from this area? He spends too much time crawling on the floor to have this table with its edges here. Hunny please remove it.”

Pep gave Tony a stern look as she picked up the child. Tony knew that it was not up for debate, he was going to remove the table and please his wife. After the two were married, Tony truly learned the meaning of happy wife happy life. He quickly learned that the cunning Pepper used in the boardroom as she ran his company, could be easily applied to their home as well. Not ending up on his wife’s bad side meant peace in his home. After the two agreed to let May go on her vacation instead of caring for Peter, Pepper had began to change. She became more motherly, spending a great deal of time in ensuring that every need of Peters were met. She designed his bedroom, fed him in the morning, put him down for his naps and bedtimes, and even took the infant to mommy and me classes(well private classes). He watched as her whole aura shifted, and her priorities changed. She no longer stayed at the office until ungodly hours. She no longer took longer then average business trip, and if she did Tony was to Skype with her every night as he held a sleeping Peter in his arms. The atmosphere in the Stark home changed for the better, and neither Stark wanted to go back to what it used to be.

What was life like before Peter? Tony cringed when he thought about it. Even when the child was a teenager things were changing. But life with Peter as a toddler was so pleasant that he hardly thought about the past. He, like his wife, no longer put stock in things that were hardly important. He tried to avoid staying in the lab until ungodly hours. He created protocols to ensure that he did not overwork himself. He set a timer for his work to automatically stop when his wife came home from her work day. Peter protocols were put in place so that Tony could feel better about the infants safety when he was not directly near the child. Pepper insisted that Peter not be brought into the lab when Tony was there, so Tony and Pepper vetted a nanny that would care for the child when both parents were at work. However, although the nanny was heavily vetted(the background check that was performed could low key be classified as illegal), Tonys paranoia took center stage. Cameras were set up everywhere. Tony and Pepper had access to these cameras and heavily monitored them throughout the day. While working in the lab, Tony had Friday display the live feed of Peter and the nanny. He wanted to know what his son was doing at all times. Pepper, although she would never admit, was no better. During meetings she would sneak a peek at the live feed herself. Smiling as she watched Peter laughing, crawling, or sleeping. The Starks were content. The Starks were so in love with this child that it seemed life had always been filled with the presence of a child that graced their lives at 15.

Peter seemed to be adjusting to the changes as well. As Tony researched the effects of the weapon used on Peter, the child acted and displayed every bit of the infant he was deaged to be. At times it seemed that Peter understood his predicament, he knew that he was once older with more ability then what he currently had, but then those moments were quickly superseded by the advancements that only come at the age of which he currently was. He crawled, babbled endlessly, and ate baby food. He needed a diaper, and slept in a crib next to his parents bed. He mastered a few words like dada (To peppers chagrin, she was sure it would have been momma first), and bear (his stuffed toy). When sitting in Tony or Peppers lap, he would intently look up at them as if he understood what they were saying to him, but yet only responded with babbles and barely there toothless grins. He was an infant, and at the moment neither one of them could change that fact.

So a routine was put into place. Pepper would leave for work right after Peter was laid down for his mid-morning nap (it only took one meltdown for the Starks to learn that Peter did not like watching Pepper leave). Tony would have another cup of coffee then head down to the lab to work on his suits or conduct Avenger related business. He would work on paperwork that Pepper insisted he finish or attend meetings with the other scientist in the R and D department. By the time Peter awoke from his mid-morning nap, Pepper would be back at the penthouse to help prepare him for his day. She dressed and fed him, then watched as the nanny prepared him for his day. Due to safety, Peter never left the tower. Rooms within the tower were converted to help him adjust. Tony had a jungle gym, crawl room, and learning/playroom designed just for him. The nanny was scheduled to bring Peter to various areas of the tower throughout the day to ensure that Peter learned, had free space to crawl around, and did other things on a daily basis. The Starks would watch Peters day unfold from the comfort of their respective rooms, with a slight pang go FOMO. They desired to spend the time with Peter. Friday had a running protocol to monitor and save anything that Peter did adorably in a file to always be watched later. As Peter slept at night, the Starks would run some of the footage back and admire their growing child. It was kinda obsessive, but at that point they did not care. Isn’t every parent obsessed with their child at some point?

Tony would proudly admit that he was. And that would never change. So as Thor travelled the galaxy trying to find a cure to turn his child back into the normal teenager that he was, Tony resolved to enjoy ever bit of his infant. So on this particular day, he had took the day off and paid the nanny to spend the day enjoying herself at a spa. He wanted to take care of Peter. He had long learned how to change a diaper and care for a growing infant. The day was spent watching Peter toddle around as he designed new protective measures for the growing boy. As the time approached for Pepper to return home, Tony had placed the boy on the floor right before his wife walked through the door.

“You know Pep, I have been researching clothing options for Peter and I learned so much about the clothing industry for children.” Tony slowly changed the subject as he watched his wife walk off to change Peters diaper.

“Oh really Tony, what have you learned?” Pepper absentmindedly asked as she kissed Peters curly head.

“Garanimals do exist.”

Pepper threw Tony an annoyed look:

“Tony please I have had a long day, and I still need to prepare dinner and get him ready for bed.”

“No babe, remember a couple of months ago Peter was talking about wearing Garanimals as a child and we both looked at him like he was crazy?” Tony laughed at the memory, “I mean we thought who would dress their child in such clothing but-“ Tony turned his starkpad to reveal the Garanimals website, “It does exist.”

Pepper took the pad and swiped through the website:

“I say we buy some of these clothes and send photos to May.”

“Why do I have a feeling that you have already did just that.” Pepper raised her eyes from the pad and looked at Tony:

“Well I may have already had some items delivered.”

“Of course you did.” Pepper chuckled as she looked down at Peter who was playing with a button on her shirt:

“Petey-pie, your dad is intent on embarrassing you.”

Tony laughed as Peter looked up at Pepper and smiled:

“And I guess I shall be roped into the joke, do you still want to say dada or shall you learn how to say mum?”

Peter looked at Pepper:

“Dada?..”