Work Text:
5:30 a.m.
Tony couldn’t sleep. Pepper was away in Beijing for a conference and he could never sleep when she was gone. He tried to go to the lab to work on Peter’s suit but the It’s Past Your Bedtime, Tony protocol blocked him from doing so. So, Tony did something he’d never tell a soul: stayed up all night watching reality TV.
He sat in the living room, slumped onto the arm of the couch. As the TV played the next episode, he heard Steve walk in before his morning run.
“Tony?” Steve whispered as he walked over to the couch. “What are you doing up?”
“Mmphh.” Tony grumbled out as his eyes were glued to the TV.
“Tony.” Steve said, standing in front of the television, causing a whine out of the forementioned, “You need to go to bed.”
“‘m fiiiiiiine.” Tony whined, moving his head up to look at Steve.
“Knowing you, you’ve probably been here all night. So, get up.” Steve says. “FRIDAY, can you please turn off the TV?”
“FRI, no!” Tony says before the TV is turned off and rises into the ceiling.
”You need sleep, Tony.” Steve says.
“I’m okay, I just woke up.” Tony whines as he sits up.
“FRIDAY, when did Tony last go to sleep?” Steve asks.
”I’ve been asked to not answer that question.” She responds.
“Really?” Steve says, cocking an eyebrow. “Well, I guess I’ll have to do this the easier way.”
”What does that mean?” Tony asks.
“Tony, what’s the capital of Oregon?”
“Salem.”
“How many cars do you own?”
“Seventy-five.”
“Did you hear Clint fall from the vents at 3 a.m.?”
“I could hear his head hit the floor, it was so l- that proves nothing.”
“It proves a lot, Tony. Bed.” Steve says.
“Okayyyyy. Such a buzzkill.” Tony says, getting up from the couch.
“I want to see you asleep when I come back.” Steve says.
“Yeah, yeah.” Tony says, waving a hand as he walks down the hall.
6:15 a.m.
Steve came back from his run and went to Tony’s room to check up on him. He finds Tony sprawled out on his bed, lightly snoring.
He walks up to Tony and looks him in the face. Then, he blows on Tony’s eyelids to see them flutter.
“Tony, get up.” Steve says.
“I thought I was really convincing.” Tony says as he turns over.
“You would’ve been, if I’d just met you.” Steve chuckles. “Want breakfast?”
“Yes, please.” Tony sighs as he gets up for the second time that morning.
8:45 a.m.
Tony was sitting in the lab, waiting for Peter to come at 8:30. He looked at the clock and frowned.
“FRI, is Peter awake?” Tony asks.
“Yes, boss, Peter has been in and out of sleep for the last 18 hours.” The automated voice responds.
“Eighteen? That doesn’t sound like him.” Tony says as he gets up.
8:49 a.m.
Tony knocks on Peter’s door.
“Hey, Pete?” Tony says. “You in there, buddy?”
“Hmmm.” Peter grumbles.
“Can I come in?” Tony asks.
“Yeah.” Peter rasps out.
Tony walks in to see Peter’s room incredibly dirty, with a sweaty, disheveled Peter lying starfish on the bed.
“What’s going on?” Tony says as he walks over.
“Can’t sleep.” Peter says, turning over for Tony to see deep purple bags on his face.
“Where have you been hiding these bad boys?” Tony says, lightly touching his face.
“I borrowed May’s makeup.” Peter says.
“You went through all of that? What’s going on?” Tony softly asks.
“Tony, I can’t sleep. My skin feels like it’s buzzing and everything is so loud and rough, and I can’t take it anymore.” Peter sniffles, almost in tears.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were having a sensory overload?” Tony whispers.
“It started at about 3, and I didn’t wanna wake you.” Peter says, looking away.
“Bubba, I was up all night watching mindless TV. You wouldn’t have bothered me.” Tony says, lightly stroking Peter’s hair.
After a few moments, Peter perks up.
“Can I ask you something?” Peter timidly asks.
“Anything.” Tony says.
“Can I get a hug?” Peter asks, looking up through his eyelashes.
“Are you sure it won’t hurt?” Tony asks.
“Your shirt looks soft.” Peter says.
“Wait, lemme get something first.” Tony says before walking to Peter’s bathroom to get a kit out from under the sink.
He pulls out a pair of noise-cancelling headphones and a thick sleep mask.
Tony walks into the room to see Peter sitting in the spot he left him in. He slips on the sleep mask and places the headphones over them.
Peter blindly pushes his comforter off of the bed and gets comfortable while Tony kicks off his shoes and sits down on his bed.
As if Tony was a magnet, Peter immediately falls into Tony’s arms and tucks his head under his chin. Tony starts to run his fingers through Peter’s disheveled hair until he hears light snores. Tony falls asleep soon after.
10:30 a.m.
Steve walks into the kitchen, looking for Tony.
“FRIDAY, is Tony in the building right now?” He asks.
“Yes, he is currently in Peter’s room. Would you like me to get him?” She responds.
“No, thank you. I’ll just walk over there.” Steve says.
10:32 a.m.
He walks up to Peter’s room to see his door slightly open.
As Steve peeked his head through the gap, he saw Tony gently placing Peter down before walking towards the bathroom.
“Boo!” Steve whispers, causing Tony to jump.
After Tony catches his breath, he says, “I’m donating you to the museum.”
“Wouldn’t they love that?” Steve jokes.
“What are you doing here, Cap? Thought you had a meeting with Fury.” Tony says.
“We have a meeting with Fury.” Steve says, gesturing to Tony and him.
“That’s today?!” Tony asks. “Do you think he’ll notice it I just send the suit?”
“Tony, it’s a casual meeting.” Steve says.
“Iron-Man can be casual.” Tony says back.
“Tony.” Steve says.
“I don’t wanna leave him here.” Tony says, referring to the sleeping teen.
“I mean, you can bring him.” Steve suggests.
“I think Fury is definitely gonna question me cradling Spider-Man in a meeting.” Tony says.
“You’ve done worse.” Steve laughs.
"Like what?" Tony asks.
"Uh. what about the time you were doing an interview in the middle of a debriefing?" Steve asks.
"Oh, that was solely to piss you off." Tony laughs.
11:15 a.m.
Tony walks into the conference room with Peter wrapped around him like a koala.
“So, before we get started, I’d like to— Stark, what the hell is this?” Fury says as he looks up.
Tony spins around to show Peter’s head in the crook of his neck. “It’s Peter.”
"This is a confidential meeting." Fury says.
“He’s asleep, it’ll be fineeee.” Tony continues with a wave of his hand. "And Steve was the one who suggested it in the first place!"
“You knew about this?” Fury says, turning to Steve, who was chuckling in his seat. "You encouraged this?"
“Absolutely not!” Steve says as he tries to maintain his composure before laughing again.
11:45 a.m.
Peter slowly wakes up, feeling like he’s in a different room. He can feel the temperature change and large hands slowly stroking down his back. He slowly removes his headphones to hear Fury talking about how to act in the public eye.
“Tony, I’m not gonna say it again. If I find out that you tried to show up to some damn high school in Forest Hills with a thousand-dollar sui-“ Fury says.
“It’s a million.” Tony corrects.
“What?” Fury asks.
”It’s a million-dollar suit.” Tony says.
“Are you trying to correct me while I’m lecturing you? I have half a mind to kick you out of this meeting! First , you interrupt a confidential meeting with your kid, and now you're talking back!” Fury yells.
“He’s not my kid, how many times do I have to say this?” Tony sighs.
“I mean, you are holding him in your lap while he takes a nap.” Steve points out.
“It’s not a nap if he didn’t sleep for nearly 24 hours.” Tony points out.
“You guys know I’m awake, right?” Peter groans as he leans back to pull off the sleep mask.
“Hey, Queens. How do you feel?” Steve asks.
Peter looks around the room before gasping.
“Tony, I can’t believe you let people see me like this!” Peter whines as he tries to hide behind Tony.
“Itsy Bitsy, it was either this or I skipped the meeting.” Tony says.
“Itsy Bitsy?” Steve laughs.
“You call your kid ‘Itsy Bitsy’?” Fury asks.
“Aw, man! Now Fury and Steve know you call me that!” Peter complains.
“It’s a cute nickname!” Tony defends. “Would you rather I call you spidermonkey, Petie Pie, little nuisance, gremlin, bumbling baby boy, or maybe my little-“ Tony rambles.
“Okay, okay! I get it!” Peter says.
“You want anything? Water? Aspirin?” Tony asks as he brushes the hair out of Peter’s eyes.
“I’m kinda hungry.” Peter says as he rubs his eyes.
“Want me to make Tony Stark's famous grilled cheese?” Tony says as he stands up with Peter.
Peter nods.
“And where do you think you’re going?” Fury asks.
“Did you not hear me, I said I'm gonna go make him a grilled cheese.” Tony says as he walks over to the door.
“The meeting isn’t finished!” Fury says.
“You think that's gonna stop him?” Steve laughs.
“I’ll be back in an hour, tops.” Tony says as he opens the door.
“The meeting is almost done!” Fury says.
“That makes it even better!” Tony says as he walks away.
“I mean, I could make my own gri-“ Peter starts before Tony shushes him.
“Do you really wanna sit there for ten minutes and hear me getting scolded because I brought the suit to your school?” Tony whispers.
“Sorry.” Peter whispers back.
“It’s not your fault.” Tony says. “I mean, I could’ve asked Happy to drive me to your school.”
“I told you not to come, it wasn’t even that much of an emergency.” Peter says.
“You broke your ankle!” Tony says.
“And it healed in two days.” Peter defends.
Tony sighs. “What am I gonna do with you?”
“Make me a grilled cheese?” Peter asks.