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Tony immediately regretted wanting Peter to walk. He'd thought the kid curious before, but now that he was toddling around it was terrifying. Everything seemed to be Peter's plaything now. From cupboard doors that he somehow knew how to get the child locks off of. He'd even caught Peter trying to get plug covers off outlets. Tony knew his heart hadn't been in such good shape since before the arc reactor, but he'd never felt closer to a heart attack before.
"Peter, no!" Tony scooped the baby away from the side table. The damn thing was wobbling as Peter tried to climb up it. "How did you get out of your playpen?"
Peter started to cry, reaching for the table again. Seemingly amused by the remote on it.
"Peter, you can't do that. The lamp could have fallen and hurt you." Tony snapped.
Then Peter began to cry harder.
Tony felt horrible. Sure time was super dilated in this weird dream state, but he'd never raised his voice at Peter. The toddler obviously didn't like it. "I'm sorry, Bambino. But you have to be safe. You could have been hurt. I was scared more than angry. Come here, underoos." Tony hugged him close. "There are rules and it's not to be mean. I never want to be mean. I just want you safe. Okay?" He kissed Peter's forehead as the boy cried against his shoulder and gripped his shirt. Tony rubbed his back gently as he wheezed through his cries. "It's okay. I'm not mad." Tony walked back to the playpen and frowned. Peter'd somehow opened the latch on it to get out. "You little Houdini. You've seen too much Rugrats." He chuckled. "Good thing I'm an inventor. I'll make a new one. JARVIS, if the little one tries to get out again, let me know."
"Yes, sir." JARVIS responded.
Tony gently put Peter down in the playpen. "I'm gonna make a deal with you, Peter. If you stay here until lunch is made, we'll run around all you want after lunch. But right now, you got to stay here. Play with your toys or snuggle with Pooh. And look! Lilo and Stitch is on. You love it."
Peter sniffled, still pouting at him. "Da. Me bad?"
"No." Tony shook his head. "You just gotta stay put. You can't climb out of here, it isn't safe. Especially if I can't see you."
"Sowee."
Tony ruffled Peter's soft curls. "I know." Tony also knew that Peter'd immediately forget and try to climb out and go exploring as soon as possible. This was the third time. He lifted Pooh and waved him in front of Peter. "Pooh wants his friend to stay with him."
Peter reached out and pulled the animal close, pulling on his ears.
Tony walked away, anxiety still heavy in his chest. He knew it. He knew Peter'd try to make the great escape again. It seems that the kid just liked to explore and learn, which was great, but unsupervised the exploration was not good. The kid was smart as a whip. Childproofing didn't exist, not when Peter was around.
Tony had lunch nearly made when it happened.
"Sir, the little one is trying to climb out again." JARVIS warned.
Tony shook his head and quickly went to the living room. He scooped Peter up, who was half-way over the gate, and stood him up on his feet. "You are a little trouble maker."
Peter giggled like it was a game and looked up at Tony with a grin on his face. Peter held onto Tony's hands and bounced up and down where he stood.
"Are we dancing now?" Tony snorted.
Peter kept on dancing.
"Aw, okay. I guess we can dance, little guy." Tony grinned following Peter's little bounces as best he could.
Peter kept giggling.
Tony'd never heard a better sound.
-
Titania leaned away from Tony.
"They okay?" May asked.
"Yeah. Peter's a trouble maker. Did he really break through childproofing all the time?" Titania wondered.
May rubbed her head. "Oh my God, yes. It was the worst. We had to put him in his car seat a few times. He just wouldn't stay put. Nearly gave me and Ben a heart attack the first time we babysat."
"Well, watching Stark deal with that is kind of entertaining." Titania smiled. "I'll see you all tomorrow."