AN: Sorry for the long wait! I don't know when I'll update again, but I will be continuing this story. Enjoy! :)

Peter was sitting at the kitchen table watching Tony shuffle around, making something for lunch. He was talking quietly to himself, but Peter has long since gotten used to ignoring his nonsense mumbles.

"It just won't work." Tony said quietly. "It's not enough."

"What?" Peter asked, startling Tony out of his thoughts. "What won't work?"

"Oh, uh," Tony scratched the back of his head and moved away from where he was cutting green peppers. "Your suit. I upgraded it to protect against knives and guns and bombs."

"Okay." Peter frowned. "Why won't that work? Did you mess it up?"

"I'm sorry, do I look like Justin Hammer?" Tony playfully glared then sighed heavily, moving to sit next to Peter. "The suit is designed to protect you from outside harm, it is not designed to protect the twins. Even with the extra padding, they can be hurt or worse."

"I don't understand. The padding is supposed to protect them. You designed it to absorb damage."

"I did," Tony sighed again. "But it's not enough. I didn't design it with children in mind, the twins are a lot more fragile than your organs, Peter."

"I know that."

"I don't think you do. You can recover from getting stabbed or hit or shot at or blown up, your organs can recover from most damage inflicted on them and in the worst case scenarios Bruce or Cho can regrow them, but the twins can't take that kind of damage. One wrong hit and you lose one or both of them. All it takes is one hit, Pete. Just one. One wrong move and they're dead."

Peter glared at him, he knew the risks. That's why he needs the protection padding, so the twins will be safe when he goes out on patrol.

"Don't give me that look." Tony exclaimed. "I need you to really think about this, because if you're serious about being a good father then you need to start acting like it. You can't go out on patrol, the padding will not protect the twins. Everytime you go out as Spiderman, you will be putting their lives in danger. You need to think about what you want and what you need, and especially about what they need."

Peter clenched his fist under the table, he didn't want to sit out for who knows how long. He knew he'd have to eventually, but he thought he'd have more time. "I can't just abandon the people here, dad. They need spiderman."

"And your children need their father."

Peter closed his eyes, shaken. His heart hurt. It hurt for the people who needed him, who he couldn't help. But Tony was right. He would be a horrible father if he put the twins' lives in danger every night, he had to think about them first. He just had to. They were his children, and while he loved everyone in Queens, his family came first.

Peter opened his eyes and looked at Tony. "Will you come down and do patrol for me a few times a week? I know I can't go out, but I also can't leave this city unprotected for so long."

"I can't promise I'll be able to come every week, but someone will. Clint's been bored since he broke his fingers, patrol would be good for him."

"Thanks, dad." Peter smiled.

"It's what I'm here for, kid." Tony said as he went back to preparing lunch. "Now, is there anything else you need?"

Peter thought about that for a minute. He needed a lot, but some were more important than others. For example, he needed a trustworthy doctor who could help him with the rest of his pregnancy and the birth of the twins. He needed so much baby stuff it made his head spin. He needed Wade to get his ass home.

"Um," Peter sighed, one thing at a time. "I need a doctor, one that I can trust not to tell the world who I am and preferably one who has experience with both male pregnancies and mutant pregnancies."

"Well," Tony said as he put two plates with sandwiches and pepper slices on the table and sat down again. "I can ask Bruce to help me with that, he helped out some with deliveries when he was off the grid. I can get him back here this week, have him help until we get someone more permanent. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that works." Peter relaxes at that, Tony and Bruce will find a good doctor and everything will be fine. "When should I start buying baby stuff?"

"I have no idea." Tony shrugged. "I don't want you to worry about that though, I can get you everything you need."

"I can afford to buy some of it, Tony." Peter glared. "I don't need you going overboard."

"These are my grandkids, I'm allowed to go overboard!" Tony said laughing. He looked down at his plate with a small, shakey smile. "Damn, grandkids. I never thought I'd have those."

"You never thought you'd have a kid either." Peter said softly, smiling at his father.

"Definitely not, you were completely unexpected and it took both Pepper and May months to get me to even acknowledge that I was treating you like my kid."

"I remember, you avoided me for weeks. I thought you knew you were treating me like a son and was scared you didn't want me anymore."

"Then I got my genius head out of my ass and adopted you." Tony reached over and grabbed his hand. "With May's permission, of course."

They smiled at each other and ate their food in silence and before he knew it Tony was giving him another hug at the door.

"Thanks for being so supportive, dad. It means a lot."

"You don't have to thank me for loving you, Pete." Tony said with a smile. "And, hey, don't worry too much about Wade or anything. He'll come back, we all know how much he loves you. There's no way he'll stay gone."

Peter smiled silently and watched Tony leave with his suit, waving as he closed the door. He went back into the kitchen to wash the dishes, there wasn't much of a mess since Tony cleaned up as he made the food but if there was one thing his dad hated it was doing the dishes. Peter didn't mind them so much, it was easy to get lost in thought as he let his body work on autopilot.

He thought about the twins. His small children whose lives have only just begun. He's only just over 9 weeks pregnant and he's already attached to them. How could he not be? With the sound of their small heartbeat constantly in his ear and him constantly throwing up to remind him they're there.

He thought about losing them. About being on patrol, about helping the elderly cross the street, about stopping bicycle thefts and talking to children. He thought about saving a woman from being raped or kidnapped or mugged. He thought about the Vulture. He thought about the few times he's been on missions with the Avengers. He thought about being thrown into walls (sometimes through them), lampposts and cars, about having buildings dropped on him. He thought about every time he's been hit or shot or stabbed.

If he had been pregnant during any of that, he would have lost the child. His child would have died. Would they have been in any pain? Does miscarrying hurt them? Would the twins feel it, if Peter was thrown into a wall? If he was beat up? Stabbed? Shot?

Peter put the plate he was washing down and fell to his knees. If he lost his children, if he caused their death, he would never forgive himself. Tony was right. He can't go on patrol. He has to be careful. So, so, very careful.

Peter leaned his head against the cold cabinet and closed his eyes. This would be so much easier if Wade was here. Peter was going to send himself into a panic attack from his paranoia. Wade always knew how to calm him down, he knew just was to say or do to lessen Peter's fears.

It's been over a week and Wade still hasn't reached out. No texts, no calls, nothing. Peter was a patient individual, especially when it came to Wade. Mostly because Wade was also very patient with him (usually), but even during their worst fights Wade always made some form of contact. Hell, he even sent a fucking letter once because his cell got destroyed on some mission and he didn't want Peter to worry. But this time, this time something was different. Something besides the obvious, this was more than Wade just not wanting a child.