Work Text:
“What are you doing, Peter?’ Tony shouted into the living room. Peter paused, chewing on his lip.
‘Getting ready for bed?’ Peter replied. Not really a question, but close enough.
‘What’s taking so long? Don’t you want snacks or something?’ Tony replied. Peter could hear him coming a little closer, footsteps echoing outside the door.
‘Not right now!’ he called back, burying his face into the soft sherpa blanket and pulling it around him. Burrito mode. He grabbed a pillow with a string of web, stuffing it into his little nest and finally taking the pale blue comforter, shaking it out. It softly fluttered onto the top of his little bed. The actual bed was huge. Triple the size of his one in May’s apartment. Peter delicately climbed over the blankets that were positioned there and out of the bed. On the hunt for more.
He’d set up a pile of cozy blankets. They were so soft. Knowing Tony, really, they were new. Inside the linen closet- there was a whole linen closet, just for the one room- piles of blue blankets were piled. Like, twenty pillows and some sheets he didn’t need. A couple of pillows toppled over, landing on top of him.
‘Oof!’
‘Peter? You alright?’ Tony called.
‘Fine!’ he managed to say, tossing the soft white pillows that had landed on top of him over to the bed.
It was a mountain by now. ‘You sure you’re fine, bud?’ Tony asked, knocking on the door again. Peter nodded, then realized that Tony couldn’t hear a nod, not like Peter could.
‘Yeah! Just making the bed!’ Technically true.
Uncle Ben taught him this trick. Whenever he was feeling worried about sleeping in a new place, just make a big nest and it would smooth away the anxiety. Usually, it didn’t work. Not at summer camp, where all he had was a sleeping bag and a flat, rock hard pillow, and definitely not at Flash’s birthday party. That was where the advice had originated. He’d been so scared to attend the party that he’d been- like, practically nauseous .
‘Need help? I know a king size is a new experience for you,’ Tony chuckled. Peter smiled slightly, rubbing at the side of his face.
‘Uh- yeah, sure, come in.’ The door creaked loudly as Tony opened it.
‘Quite the set up, huh?’ Tony asked slowly, inspecting the room.
Peter shrugged. ‘It’s cool,’ he said quietly, shooting another string of web over to get the last of the pillows and pull them over.
Tony was wearing sweatpants and an oversized band t-shirt that looked like it could be Rhodey’s, with one eyebrow cocked he looked familiar. Like a face Peter had known long ago. Without further commotion, he jumped into the center of the bed, right on top of a pillow. ‘Favorite movie? We have the night.’
Karen knew, and she had it onscreen before Peter could say a word. The Star Wars theme played across the speakers, and Tony patted a spot of blanket next to him. Most of the bed was blankets, to be honest. A long stretch of softness, and then Tony laying contentedly. ‘A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,’ Mr. Stark murmured as the words began. Peter hopped into bed next to him, a vast sea of wrinkled blankets in between them.
As Luke walked across the ice, as they took down the AT-AT, as Leia said I know , they drifted closer. Peter was tired from daily patrol and inside of the blanket fort, he only got sleepier. They got closer and closer, until Peter was struggling to stay awake with his head resting on Tony's shoulder.
‘You need to sleep, kid?’ Tony asked gently, laying a blanket on top of him and kissing his temple. ‘Come on, you look exhausted. Those dark circles can’t be good for you.’
‘Wake me up at eight,’ Peter told him, eyes drooping.
‘Can do. Come on. Lights out.’ Sure enough, he finally dropped off to sleep; content and swaddled in blankets like a baby.