"Let him go Ross." Tony ordered.

He held his arm out, repulsor charged and aimed at the man in front of him, but he didn't fire. He couldn't be sure he wouldn't hit Peter. Ross had his kid in a chokehold and he was using him as a human shield, cowering behind him with a gun held to his head.

"I don't think I will." Ross said with a sneer, tightening his hold.

Peter's face was starting to turn red, but he still struggled weakly, trying to pry Ross's arm away from his neck. But he couldn't get away. For Peter not to be able to free himself, Ross must've done something to block his strength or he was more hurt than Tony realized.

Peter's terror filled eyes stared at Tony, silently pleading to be saved.

"You should've listened to me Stark." Ross grit out. "Now it's too late."

Ross readjusted the gun so it was flush against Peter's temple.

"No!" Tony screamed. But it was too late.

Ross pulled the trigger.

Tony awoke with a scream dying on his lips. He jerked upward, instantly recognizing the interior of his bedroom. A dream. It'd only been a dream. It hadn't happened. Peter was safe. Safe and asleep in his bed across the hall.

Tony took a few deliberate breaths to try to quell the lingering panic and his racing heart. He ran a hand down his face to wipe away the cold sweat.

"Shit." He shook his head. Even though his clock read 2:45AM there was no way he was getting back to sleep tonight. Peter was back home but his brain couldn't seem to get with the program and believe that he was actually safe. The nightmares were starting to wear him down.

He got out of bed and changed into appropriate workshop attire, jeans and a t-shirt, since that was where he was headed. The past couple days he'd been toying with an idea for how to keep Peter safe, and after that dream he felt motivated to complete it tonight so Peter could get it as soon as possible. Just in case.

He stepped out of his bedroom and paused outside Peter's door. He should walk past it. Logically he knew Peter was asleep and perfectly fine, but he still couldn't stop himself from quietly turning the doorknob and poking his head inside his son's room. Peter slept soundly on his back, completely oblivious to Tony's nighttime rounds. A pile of pillows cushioned his bad leg and he appeared to be resting peacefully, although the way he was tangled in the covers didn't look all that comfortable.

Tony opened the door the rest of the way and crept silently across the room to his kid. As he got closer he could hear soft snuffling snores. Usually Peter didn't snore, but he also usually didn't sleep on his back or take painkillers that completely knocked him out either.

Tony gently maneuvered his son's sleep limp limbs so he could pull the sheets off and rearrange them so they softly fell back into place and completely covered Peter. He did the same with the down comforter that was half on the floor. Once the covers were nestled up against his kid's chin, Tony took a second to appreciate the serene sight in front of him. It helped to erase the remnants of fear left from his nightmare.

Ross hadn't won, and he never would. The man was dead. Tony had made sure of it. He brushed his son's hair back and dropped a kiss on his forehead. Peter didn't so much as stir. A smile tugged on Tony's lips. Sometimes he was blown away by the amount of love he could feel for one small human. It felt like his heart existed outside of his body, away from his protection, vulnerable to all the dangers and hurts of the outside world. He'd wrap Peter in bubble wrap and have him within sight at all times if he could, but he knew that wasn't possible, or even particularly sane. So instead, he had to satisfy himself with these small moments in time when he knew Peter was safe.

He reluctantly pried himself away from Peter's side, backing out silently and shutting the door behind him, the sight of Peter peacefully resting ingrained in his mind. With his worries now settled, he might've been able to go back to sleep, and he briefly considered it, but instead of going back to his bedroom, he wandered down to the communal floor, only slightly surprised to find the lights on. The Avengers as a whole kept odd hours. It wasn't rare for someone to be up all night or to get up in the middle of the night to grab a snack. He was, however, surprised to find several people up.

"Why wasn't I invited to this party?" He griped as he headed to the coffee pot in the kitchen, walking past Bruce, Steve, Clint, and Nat sitting on the couches watching something on the TV at low volume.

"We thought you were asleep." Steve answered.

"I was." He said simply and went to work making a pot of coffee. While he waited for it to brew, he walked over and stood to the side of the couch where Steve sat.

"Bad dream?" Steve asked without any judgement.

"What gave it away?"

"Lucky guess."

"The circles under your eyes have circles." Nat added.

"That's a gross overstatement." Tony argued and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't feel like talking about it. They could all probably guess why he was having trouble sleeping anyway.

"So, what's everyone doing out here?" He asked, deflecting, his favorite tactic to avoid conversations he didn't want to have.

"What does it look like? Same thing as you. Not sleeping. We know he's your kid, but you're not the only one who's feeling a little fucked up from everything." Clint said with uncharacteristic honestly as he stared at the TV.

Ok, so his usual deflection tactic had definitely failed. He blinked, not quite sure what to say in response to Clint's blunt statement. It was true. They couldn't understand what it'd felt like as Peter's father, but he did recognize that they all still loved his kid and what had happened had been hard on them too.

"So you turn to," he glanced at the show on the television and recognized it instantly, "Downton Abbey? Oh dear god. Did Happy turn you all to the dark side?"

"Nice Star Wars reference. You learn that from the kid?" Nat asked.

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes a mind numbing period drama is the best kind of medicine." Bruce said.

"Is that your official doctor opinion?"

"Uh-huh." Bruce nodded distractedly as he grabbed handful of popcorn from the bowl in his lap.

"So you're saying watching garbage television will help me get over the nightmares in vivid technicolor of my kid dying? Really? That's how to fix this?" He'd meant it to come out jokingly, but instead, the words that escaped him had a desperate edge to them.

They all looked over at him and he could see the concern etched on all their faces. Great. Exactly what he'd been trying to avoid. The coffee maker beeped. Perfect timing.

"Why don't you sit down and join us?" Steve asked, patting the empty cushion next to him.

"Think I'll pass." He sniffed, going for obnoxious so they'd know to leave him alone. If he stayed he wasn't confident he wouldn't end up spilling his guts, or possibly crying, and he didn't have any desire to do either of those things at the moment.

"Tony." Steve sighed in frustration.

"Sorry." He shrugged, making it obvious he wasn't sorry at all as he turned and walked to the coffeemaker. "I've got a project calling my name."

"There's nothing you need to do down there that can't wait until morning." Steve argued.

"Wrong Cap." Tony said as he poured the coffee into his largest insulated mug. "This can't. Got something I have to make for the kid. You cope through boring period dramas. I prefer work. To each their own." He raised his mug in a brief mock salute.

He frowned and then took a sip of his still too hot coffee to cover it. He hadn't meant to let that truthful little tidbit slip out.

"Tony—" Steve started, probably to try to convince him to stay, but Bruce interrupted him.

"Steve." Bruce said softly and when Steve glanced over, Bruce shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Tony pretended he hadn't seen and kept walking toward the elevator.

"See you in the morning tin can." Clint called out from behind him.

He raised a hand in a halfhearted good bye but didn't turn around. The elevator doors closed behind him and as he descended he started mentally going over the specs for the device he planned to build for Peter. Something that would help keep him safe and hopefully help Tony's peace of mind, more so than any Downton Abbey episodes ever could.

"FRIDAY can you ask Peter to come down here?" Tony asked as he put the finishing touches on the watch in his hand.

"He's on his way boss." FRIDAY told him after a few seconds.

"Tell him there's no rush." Tony added. He didn't want Peter to try to hurry and end up falling. For someone with super abilities, he wasn't the most agile on crutches. Tony had watched him almost face plant yesterday. Luckily, Steve had been close enough to grab him before he hit the ground.

"I will relay the message." FRIDAY said.

Tony nodded as he turned the watch dial to the correct time. Once it was set, he turned it over in his hand, examining it for any imperfections. He didn't find any. Not that he'd expected to. He'd made it after all. The watch had turned out perfect.

Instead of a digital display, he'd chosen a classic watch face and stifled the desire to use a nicer casing. He didn't want to risk it getting stolen, so he'd gone simple instead. Silver links made up the watch band and the hands were a matching silver with a navy blue watch face and red numbers. He hoped Peter appreciated the subtle red and blue theme.

"Hey dad, what's up?" Peter greeted as he entered the workshop, "FRIDAY said you were looking for me."

"Come here." Tony said, beckoning him over with his arm.

He watched as Peter crutched his way over and stopped in front of him.

Tony stood and moved his desk chair so it was right behind Peter. "Take a seat."

Peter eyed him apprehensively but did as he was told. As soon as he was sitting, Tony grabbed the crutches and set them against the desk beside him.

"Am I in trouble?" Peter asked jokingly, but Tony heard the hint of nervousness in the question like he wasn't quite sure.

"No." Tony answered with a smile. "You're not in trouble. Actually…I have something for you."

Tony held the watch out to him.

Peter quirked his head and gave him a curious look as he took it.

"It's a…watch?"

"Very good." Tony said. "It's nice to know your powers of observation are as sharp as ever."

Peter rolled his eyes and asked, "Why are you giving me a watch?"

"It's more than a watch."

"Of course it is." Peter said wryly.

Tony watched as his kid studied the watch in his hand, trying to figure it out.

"Ok I give up." Peter said after a minute. "How is it more than a watch?"

"That's a highly advanced piece of Starktech in your hands."

"What? Are you marketing watches now? Because if you are, I hate to be the one to tell you this but your product doesn't seem very…"

"Very what?"

"It's not the type of design you typically go for?"

"Hm. Maybe I'm going for an image change."

"To what? Cheap and vintage?"

"Hey." Tony lightly cuffed the side of Peter's head and the kid smiled. "I'll have you know it's even harder to make something that advanced and have it look like that."

"So it's supposed to look like this?" Peter turned the watch around in his hands. "Is it some kind of antitheft outfitting?"

Tony grinned. Sometimes he forgot just how bright Peter was.

"That's exactly it."

"Ok. And is this one like a prototype? You want me to test it out for you?"

"I guess you could say that."

"How many of these is SI going to manufacture?"

"Just that one."

Peter's brow furrowed and he looked up from his inspection of the watch. "What? I don't understand."

"That watch you're holding is one of one. I made it just for you."

"Why? What does it do?"

"Put it on and I'll show you."

"Why can't you just tell me?" Peter asked probably just to be difficult.

"No. That's not as fun." Tony answered. "Put it on."

Peter let out a resigned sigh, but listened, and fastened the watch on his left wrist. "There. Happy?"

"Very." Tony said. "FRIDAY, how are we looking?"

"Everything is functioning optimally as projected Boss." FRIDAY answered.

Peter lifted his wrist to stare closer at the watch again. He shook his head. "I don't get it. What's it doing?"

"It's tracking your vitals and your location."

"So it's for spying on me?" Peter scoffed and moved to take it off.

Tony leaned forward and intercepted his hand before he could. "It's not for spying."

"Feels an awful lot like spying."

Tony sighed and knelt down in front of him, still holding Peter's wrist loosely as he looked up into his kid's eyes. "I promise it's not for spying. It's to keep you safe."

"You already watch me in the suit." Peter complained, lips thinning in obvious displeasure.

"I know. And you know why." Tony smiled sadly. "Same reason. To keep you safe. The contingencies in the suit protect Spiderman, but I made a big mistake by not having similar protections in place for Peter Parker."

Tony couldn't keep his eyes from flicking briefly to Peter's leg where his jeans hid the swath of bandages covering the still healing bullet wound.

"That wasn't your fault." Peter argued.

"Yes it was. I'm your father. It's my job to keep you safe, and I failed once already."

"No you—"

Tony continued, ignoring Peter's protests, "I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. That's why I need you to wear the watch."

"I don't know." Peter eyed the watch dubiously as if it might jump out and bite him. "It still feels a little too much like big brother for my taste."

"It's not." Tony shook his head. "It doesn't surveil you. It's only outfitted with a GPS and a vitals tracker. So if you ever end up in trouble without your suit or phone, I can still find you. And if anything ever happens to you, if you ever get seriously hurt when you're not in the suit, I'll know right away."

"That's it?" Peter asked, still wary. "I thought you said this thing was high tech?"

"That is high tech. Sheesh you're getting spoiled." Tony stood, holding back a wince at the creaking in his knees.

"I'm pretty sure a Garmin does the same thing." Peter joked but Tony chose to take it as a win since his kid was no longer looking at the watch like it was something repulsive.

"Well a Garmin doesn't have FRIDAY installed in it, now does it?" Tony countered.

"FRIDAY's installed in this?" Peter jerked his arm away and held it out like the watch was going to attack him. "You just said it was only a GPS and a vitals monitor!"

"It is!"

"Then why is FRIDAY installed on it?" Peter narrowed his eyes at him, clearly suspicious.

"In case you're ever in a situation where you need her." Tony explained. "You can activate her and the watch will have the same capabilities as your phone."

"So she's not going to be listening in on every word I'm saying all day?"

"No."

Peter brought the watch in closer and twisted in his wrist around to look at it from every angle. "How do I activate her? Please tell me you didn't make it voice recognition with her name because that's going to be problematic in day to day life. You know, since Friday's also a day of the week."

"I know, and of course not. Remember you're talking to a genius here." Tony reached out to cradle Peter's wrist with the watch on it. "It's touch activated."

"How?"

"See these two side buttons?" Tony pointed to the prongs sticking out on the side that would usually be used to wind a watch but he'd reconfigured for a different purpose.

Peter nodded.

"Hold them down at the same time."

"Ok." Peter did it and the watch face flickered a faint blue, only noticeable if looking directly at it.

"Did you see that?"

"Yeah."

"That means FRIDAY's activated and online. She won't speak unless you talk to her but she'll be listening and recording. If you're in a situation where she can't speak, there's a silent mode. Just tap the top button again and instead of speakers, she'll respond on the watch face screen. To turn her off you do the same thing as you did to turn her on."

Peter repeated the action and the face flickered again.

"Ok that's kind of cool." Peter admitted.

"You ain't seen nothing yet kid. I want to show you something else. Turn FRIDAY on again."

Peter did.

"Ok now tap the face of the watch twice."

He watched as Peter complied. The watch face switched from the clock hands to a digital display similar to his Starkphone home screen.

"Whoa."

"Yep. Check this out." Tony smiled and tapped a keyboard screen icon. A hologram keyboard manifested a couple inches above the watch face. "It has text capabilities and a lot of other functions. But try to keep in on the DL all right? This is for emergency use, not for playing around at school. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Oh I almost forgot. It's outfitted with one more feature. The most important one." Tony said seriously. "It has a panic button."

Peter's nose scrunched. Tony could tell he didn't like that idea so much, but he didn't voice it.

"I'd rather you have it and not need it, then need it and not have it." Tony explained.

"I guess."

"See this button here?" Tony pointed out the single button on the opposite side of the watch face.

Peter nodded.

"You can either hold it down for three seconds or tap it three times in a row. Either will activate it. Got it?"

"Yeah."

"Only use it for emergencies."

"Ok." Peter said softly.

"But if you need it, I want you to use it. Ok?"

Peter nodded.

"I want you to wear it whenever you're not in the Tower or in the suit."

"As long as you promise you'll only use it in case of emergencies and not to spy on me."

Tony held up a hand and vowed, "I promise."

"Ok."

"Thank you." Tony smiled and ruffled Peter's hair before letting his hand drop onto his kid's shoulder. He gave it a squeeze and leaned down to kiss the top of Peter's head.

"Now come on. Let's head upstairs. I hear Cap's cooking." He handed Peter his crutches and stayed close as his kid stood and adjusted the crutches under his arms.

"He is. He's making enchiladas." Peter threw him a mischievous look. "I'll race you upstairs."

"As much as I'd love to take you up on that, because I think this might be the only time I'd ever have a chance of actually beating you, I'm going to have to pass." He fell into easy step beside Peter, settling a hand lightly against his upper back as he started crutching toward the elevator. "Let's just take it slow for now."

"Party pooper."

"Yeah that's me. Party pooper dad."

Peter smiled at his response and Tony's heart stuttered briefly in his chest. Similar moments had been happening ever since he'd gotten Peter back. He'd be in the middle of doing something mundane when he'd suddenly be struck by the awe that Peter was there. He was ok. Hurt, but healing. Alive. It could've gone much differently. He could've lost his son. It was the reason he'd been having such a hard time sleeping. The reason he'd woken in a fit of fear and spent the rest of the night making the watch on Peter's wrist.

"What?" Peter asked him once they were in the elevator. Tony realized he'd been staring.

"Nothing." He shook his head and gave his kid a tight smile. He didn't want any of his worries weighing on Peter. "Nothing at all."

A/N: Whew, sorry it took me so long to post this. After Endgame I got distracted writing a fix it to help me get over it. But now that that's done and I've sort of got my writing act back together again (after a bad case of amotivation), I can start posting for this story. I don't have a specific update schedule in mind but I'll try not to go too long inbetween chapters. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!