Isolated Incidents

The New Normal

Rhodey's parents were more than happy to watch Peter, and they weren't too far from MIT. Even when Tony and Rhodey went back to school 2 weeks after their adventure at the arcade, every weekend they drove back to Philly and had the Rhodes watch little Peter so they could go goof off somewhere.

And in the 5 days that passed between those visits, Peter did a lot of growing. He was getting to the exciting part of infancy where he was learning a new word each day. Hell, he was learning a new acrobatics trick every day. Tony had though it was cute at first, when Peter pulled himself up on the couch in the living room, but then he was pulling himself up on the bed and on chairs and nearly toppling off them when Rhodey or Tony so much as breathed. The first time Peter had fallen off the couch and onto the rug, both teens had almost come unglued - Tony cried as hard as Peter cried, and Rhodey called his mother in a panic.

But things were good. Really good. The new term meant Tony and Rhodey could better align their schedules, and they soon fell into a new normal with only one of them out of the house at once, and Peter never ever being left alone.

Rhodey didn't even like leaving Tony alone at this point, too afraid that the minute he left, Howard would sneak in and beat him again.

It was Saturday, and the two teens were driving out to see Rhodey's family, Peter tucked into his car seat. They normally would have left Friday night, but when Tony had gotten back from class, the whole apartment was layered in what appeared to be carrot soup, and Peter was right in the thick of it.

"We're going to get dinner tonight?" Rhdoey asked.

Tony shrugged. "Sure, if your parents won't mind Peter."

Rhodey smiled. "Can we finally go to that one pub I've been trying to get you to? They have burgers the size of your head."

Peter perked up at the sound of Tony laughing, his own bubbly giggle echoing up to the front of the car. Tony twisted around in the passenger seat to look back at the baby.

"You like when daddy laughs? What about when Uncle Rhodey laughs?"

"Daddy! Daddy! Row-hee!"

Peter was still learning to say 'Rhodey', but 'row-hee' was close enough. Rhodey let out a little bark of laughter, sending Peter into another round of giggles.

"So we go to this famous pub," Tony said, turning back to the front of the car. "Is there going to be any arcade fun after that?"

"There could be," Rhodey said. "If your kid doesn't throw soup all over my parents."

Rhodey turned down a long drive, the suburban sprawl of his childhood neighborhood a familiar labyrinth. The Rhodes' house came into view just at the end of the drive, and there was a familiar face waiting at the door for them.

"Jim!"

Roberta came out to the car, pulling her son close to her as soon as he was out of the driver seat. Tony stealthily went to the back of the car to get Peter, but as soon as he was out of the car, he was accosted in a crushing hug as well.

"Tony, love, it's good to see you!"

"Hey, mama Rhodes," Tony said, wrapping a free arm around the woman.

"Mama!" Peter said proudly, bouncing in his car seat. Roberta looked down at the baby in surprise, then grinned.

"Not your mama, Peter. Just your Nanna."

"Nanna?" Peter repeated, testing out the new word. He bobbed his head and began a steady chant of "nanna, nanna, nanna."

"That'll be the word of the week," Rhodey said. "Get used to hearing it."

Roberta just swatted at her son's hand and took Peter from his carrier, bouncing the baby on her hip as she headed back to the house. Tony and Rhodey got their overnight bags from the car and followed behind her, watching as she tickled Peter's tummy and blow raspberries on his cheeks. Peter pushed at her face with chubby hands.

It was a well-rehearsed production by now. Rhodey took the bags upstairs to his room, Tony offered any assistance he could around the house, and the Rhodes family crowded around Peter in the living room to play with him. Today, there was an addition on puppets.

"I found Jim's old puppet show set," Rhodey's father explained. "We had it squirreled away in the attic. I thought we could put on a fun little show for Peter and let him try on some of the puppets."

Tony smiled that smile he only ever let out when he was in private. It was warmer than the one he used with the press, and brighter than the one Rhodey had seen in the one family photo Tony kept in the dorm.

"His favorite story lately has been the plight of Persephone and Hades." Tony started tidying up the living room, feeling the need to do something when the Rhodes were already so generous with their time and toys.

"So he's a Greek fan," Roberta said happily. "I remember reading those to Jim, though he was a bit older than Peter now. I think I still have a book of Greek myths somewhere around here. I'll go find it in a bit."

Rhodey returned from his room and he and Tony watched at Peter soaked up all the attention. Rhodey leaned in closer to Tony and whispered "he looks happy when they are all fawning over him."

Tony laughed. "Yeah, he does. He's never had that. It's always been me and Jarvis and sometimes my mom, when she could get away from everything else."

Rhodey put a heavy hand on Tony's shoulder. "Well, this is the new normal for that kid. Family galore."