"Well, that's convenient, isn't it?"

Steve looked down at the puppy who had purposely flopped himself under Peter's chair. One would think – at least everyone at the table had initially thought – that it was because Jack liked Peter. And he did. They could all tell. But apparently Jack was a pretty smart dog, because placing himself under Peter had been a good way to get himself a lunchtime treat when usually there was no such thing.

The child was in a high chair, now, since Strange had seen the need when they'd entered the lounge and one had magically appeared. He was situated between Stark and Stephen, and Tony had brought over lunch, which for Peter was a chopped up hotdog, some mac and cheese – not too warm, of course – and a dish of ice cream Strange had produced, even though Tony told him not to bother since Peter probably would only have a bite or two and then not want any more.

Everyone else was having burgers or chicken sandwiches.

Peter hadn't wanted mac and cheese, and he proved it by pushing it off his plate, and then off the high chair platform. Tony had reached for it to clean the mess, but Jack had beaten him to it and simply cleared the glob and looked up, waiting for Peter to drop something else.

"Dogs are handy that way," Clint said, approvingly. "My kids use Nick Furry the same way. There is no five second rule in my house, at all."

With a fair amount of cajoling and some trickery, they managed to get most of the hotdog into Peter, and a couple of bites of the mac and cheese. It would always be a mystery if he would have eaten the ice cream, because he started falling asleep somewhere toward the end of the meal and the adults watched in varying stages of amusement as the toddler would shove a piece of hotdog in his mouth, chew it for a moment and then start to doze off, only to jerk awake and start chewing for another moment. Before starting the cycle over.

Eventually, he gave up the fight to stay awake and laid his head down on his plate – right in his mac and cheese. Tony smiled and pulled him out of the highchair, gently, ignoring the cheese sauce dripping from his cheek that Jack was eagerly licking off the floor.

"I think he's ready for a nap," he said, softly.

Strange made a gesture and the boy's face and clothing – which had been splattered with cheese sauce – was clean again, and Tony gave him a smile, cuddling Peter against his chest. Peter sighed, and his little fists grabbed Stark's shirt, but only for a moment.

"Thank you, Stephen."

"Certainly."

"Need help with him?" Natasha asked.

"No. Thanks, though. I'm going to go put him in my bed. Thanks for watching him this morning, guys."

"I'll bet you a dollar that he ends up in his bed with him," Clint said, still amused, as they watched Stark leave, carrying the sleeping Toddler, easily.

"No bet."

Natasha looked over at Strange.

"Did you notice that Peter would look at you every time you did magic?"

The sorcerer shook his head, but Clint nodded.

"Yeah. Never failed. Think he's sensitive, still?"

"I'd bet on it," Romanoff said.

"I wonder if it's more sensitivity because he's smaller?" Steve mused.

"Or less, because it isn't developed, yet, maybe?"

They all wondered, but of course, there was no way to ask the child.

"If Wong isn't back by tonight, maybe I'll come to dinner and try it, again," Strange said. "Just so I can see it for myself."

OOOOOOO

Pepper was in between meetings and eating a hurried lunch when her phone chimed at her. She smiled when she saw who it was, and hurriedly answered. And then her smile broadened. Tony was on the other end of the call, and sleeping soundly in his arms was Peter, who was drooling, just a little.

"Hey, Mommy," Tony said, softly, not wanting to wake Peter, but wanting to give her a chance to see him. "How's your day going?"

"It's about done," she said. "One more meeting and I'm going to sneak out of here and start my weekend, early."

"I think that's a great idea."

"How long did he cry this morning?"

Stark's smile was gentle when he looked down at the baby in his arms.

"It was a while," he admitted. "But then he had oatmeal with the Avengers, and life was okay, again."

"So I can be replaced by oatmeal?"

He stopped himself from shrugging, just at the last minute.

"You're lucky. I was replaced by Jack and a chewed up piece of rope."

Pepper smiled.

"I'll be home in a while."

"Drive safe."

"I love you."

"We love you, too."

She smiled and the call dropped, the screen going black. Pepper looked down at her right hand, at the ring that she wore. The mother's ring that Peter had given her. It made her smile to think of how nervous he'd looked when he'd given it to her – of course, he'd known it was going to be followed by an engagement ring and she hadn't. She sighed, and reached for her phone again, and called Happy.

She was ready to call it a day. The last meeting wasn't that important, really, and her vice presidents could handle it with ease.

OOOOOOO

Pepper slipped silently into the bedroom, and stopped at the doorway, smiling. Looking at her watch, it had been about an hour and a half since she'd spoken to Tony and his sleepy burden, and now, instead of sitting at the desk, Tony and Peter were both in their bed, with Peter sprawled on Tony. One foot was tucked up under Tony's chin, the other resting beside his nose, and there was a pool of drool soaking his t-shirt where the toddler's cheek was resting on his stomach. One arm hanging down on either side, loosely holding onto his living pillow as he dozed on top of Tony. She watched, amused, as the child rose and fell with each breath Tony took, and decided that he must be really tired to sleep with that kind of blanket covering him.

Or so she thought.

She changed into a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt and then slid carefully into the bed, sidling up beside them, but trying not to wake either. When his hand moved to touch hers, though, she knew that he'd probably been on the verge of waking, anyway, and Pepper knew that Tony wasn't a heavy sleeper at the best of times.

"Meeting over?"

"I didn't go," she admitted in a whisper. "I wanted to come home, instead."

"You're the boss," he reminded her. "Nothing wrong with that. I can't see him, through the foot in my eye. Is he asleep?"

She turned her head and tilted it a little.

"Yeah. I think so. Did he eat?"

"Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs."

"No ice cream?"

He smiled.

"No."

"Did we learn anything today?"

"He knows our names. And he misses mommy when she leaves him."

"Awww."

"Don't be so surprised," Tony told her, squeezing her fingers. "I miss mommy when she leaves, too."

Pepper chuckled, and would have kiss him, but he was pretty well covered with toddler at the moment, and she didn't want to wake him, as well.

"What are the plans for today?"

"I'm going to go shopping once I make sure you are settled with him – if you don't mind?"

"No. I don't mind. Anything in particular you're shopping for?"

"Just some things Strange and Wong must have glossed over on the list."

"Oh? What could they possibly have missed?"

"Just the important stuff. You'll see."

He closed his eyes, then, after squeezing her hand. He'd had little Peter for a full 24 hours, now, and was already learning that when a toddler sleeps, it was a good idea to sleep, then, too.