Dinner was spent thinking up names for the puppy. Of all of them Pepper was the only one who had ever actually named anything – having lived on a farm – but she had to admit that all of the creatures she'd named had ended up with boring ones, like Brownie or Patches. A compound dog would probably be better off with something a little better – or less descriptive. They decided to have everyone sleep on it and see what they had for ideas in the morning.
Then Peter had brought out the book he was supposed to be reading for homework and lounged on one of the sofas nearby while the others played cards, even though they invited him to play with them – and would have played a board game or something instead. He didn't really mind; he wanted to get the book read, and didn't feel like playing a game at any rate.
When he started to read himself to sleep, however, he got up and told them all that he was going to head to his rooms. He didn't really intend to go to sleep, but other work that he needed to do would be more interesting that the Catcher in the Rye, he decided.
"Don't make any plans for tomorrow," Steve warned him, trying to keep the puppy from chewing the cards in his other hand.
"Why not?"
"It's a secret," Steve told him, mysteriously. "If I tell you, then I'd have to kill you."
Peter grinned at that, and walked over to stand behind Romanoff's chair, putting her between him and Captain America.
"Natasha wouldn't let you."
"He's got you there, Steve," Pepper said, smiling.
"Not to mention, he's not really a pushover, himself," Natasha reminded him.
Rogers shrugged, cheerfully, accepting that. He'd seen Peter sparring with the others, and had been his sparring partner more than once, as well.
"Still not telling…"
Peter rolled his eyes, leaned down and put his arms around Natasha from behind her.
"Do you know?"
"Maybe…"
She wasn't going to tell him, though, and he knew it. Which didn't annoy him at all. He knew that whatever it was, it was going to be something he'd be okay with. He could wait.
"Going to bed?" Stark asked.
"Going to my rooms."
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"We'll see you in the morning," Pepper told him.
Peter nodded, hesitated for just a moment and then gave her a hug from behind, too. He didn't know if she wanted to get into a habit of good night hugs and kisses – he was probably too old for it and would just get older – but he wanted her to know how he felt about her, and didn't know any other way to show it.
He wasn't that articulate.
They watched him leave the lounge.
"Clint will be back tomorrow?"
"Early," Steve confirmed.
"Good enough. You're not planning on being gone overnight, though, right?"
"No. Especially since we can't be sure he'd stay in his bed. I don't want to lose him in the Arizona desert."
"I can keep him in his bed," Natasha said, smiling. "But you don't want to leave your new baby for that long, and we all know it."
"Uncle Tony will take care of him while we're gone," Steve assured her.
Stark rolled his eyes.
OOOOOOOOOO
It was much later when Natasha stopped by Peter's quarters to check on him.
As usual, she simply cracked the door open to see if he was in his living room, not wanting to invade his privacy, but unwilling to wake him up by knocking on the door if he was asleep. He wasn't asleep. He was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa, using it as a backrest and working on homework on the coffee table. She knocked, but he'd already turned toward her – most likely warned she was there by those spider senses of his.
"Am I interrupting?" she asked, walking into his living room.
"No. Just doing homework."
"It's late. You should go to bed."
Peter shrugged, watching as she moved around the sofa and sat down on it.
"I'm not sleepy."
"You look sleepy."
He did, too.
Romanoff patted the spot on the sofa beside her, inviting him to get up and sit with her and he complied, picking himself up off the floor with the natural ease of youth and sitting next to her. She put her arm around him automatically and he leaned into her side with a tired sigh. Yeah, maybe he was a little sleepy.
"You're not going to finish all that homework in one night, you know…"
"I know. But it's quiet and I can concentrate better."
"And you won't sleepwalk if you're not sleeping…?" she guessed.
"That too," he admitted.
"You know I'm here for you."
"Yeah, I know."
She could hear the hesitation in his voice.
"But…?"
He wavered, and then shrugged.
"But I don't want to get in the way."
"I don't understand, sweetheart. You know you're not in the way."
Peter was blushing hotly, now, and Natasha couldn't figure out why.
"It doesn't matter," he told her. "Forget I mentioned it."
She snorted, and pulled away enough that she could look at him. The best way, of course, to read his expression. And she was a past master at reading people – him especially.
"Tell me."
"Natasha…"
"Peter…" Her hands cupped his face, forcing him to look at her, but still he squirmed, oozing discomfort with the subject – whatever it was. She would have smiled, he was so embarrassed, but she was baffled – and never liked being out of the loop, so to speak. "Come on. Just tell me. Please?"
Which, of course, was his undoing.
He closed his eyes, though, refusing to look at her.
"If I'm in your bed then Doctor Strange can't be and I don't want to be in the way of that…"
She stared at him. Not a lot of things could surprise Natasha Romanoff, and if anyone else who knew her could see the look on her face, they would have smiled. Peter certainly had struck her dumb. For a moment, at least.
"How did you know about-?" she cut her own question off. He was a perceptive kid and she knew it. She hadn't really made any secret of the chemistry between her and Strange, but the physical part of their relationship was so new that she didn't think anyone knew about it, yet. How he knew wasn't important. That he knew wasn't even important, really, unless it caused awkwardness between them. It was the fact that he was worried about being in the way that concerned her and needed to be addressed. Immediately. He was blushing brilliantly, now, and his eyes were squeezed tight. "Peter, look at me."
"No."
She smiled at his embarrassment. This was not the boy who was so willing to put himself into her arms at any time, and would cuddle close enough to her that they could feel each other's heartbeat. But she didn't want that to change, so she was going to have to force him beyond the discomfiture so they could talk about it.
"Peter…"
He opened his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" She smiled and kissed his forehead as she had a million times before. "Let me make this easier, okay?"
"Please."
Natasha gathered him into her arms and tucked his head under her chin. Now he didn't have to look at her, but they could still talk. Peter buried his face against her collarbone.
"So, you know about me and Stephen…"
"Yeah."
His voice was muffled, but she could still understand him.
"I won't ask how – because I'm almost afraid to ask. But I'm assuming you wouldn't be worried about being in the way if you were upset."
"Upset about what?"
"Me and Stephen."
He pulled away from her, looking.
"Upset?"
She shrugged, smiling to be having this conversation with him. It was definitely one for Tony – or maybe even Stephen.
"It's hard to share someone when you care about them."
He paused, then figured out what she was getting at.
"You're worried I might be jealous?"
"Are you?"
"No. I mean, I can't sleep with you." He went brilliant red again. "I mean, I could, but I can't. Won't, I mean. It'd be weird. Wouldn't it?"
She laughed, and hugged him close again.
"If you were older, it wouldn't be. But yes, I'm perfectly happy with the relationship we have, and I don't want it to change. Which is why we definitely need to make sure things are good between us."
"Yeah. No, they're good. But I want to keep them that way, you know?"
"Which is why you're worried about being in the way when – if – Stephen and I want to… um…"
"Hook up."
"Yes."
"Right." Again he buried his face so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I don't want you resenting me wanting to be held by you if you'd rather be… um…"
"Hooking up with Stephen."
"Yeah."
"That's a fair concern," she acknowledged, brushing a kiss against the top of his head, since it was all she could see of him. "But one that you don't need to worry about. When we – Stephen and I, that is – want to be alone, it'll be at times that are convenient for us. That will almost certainly be times when you're not here, or when I'm over there. When you're here and I'm here, then I'm here for you, okay? If I'm not here at the compound, and he's not here, then maybe it's not the best time to come look for me. Fair?"
Peter nodded.
"Okay."
"Feel better?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't have let yourself worry about that, you know?" she chided him. "The last thing you need is more stress, yes?"
"I know. But still…"
"Tell me next time something is bothering you, okay?"
"I'll try…"
If it was something as awkward as this conversation had been, it probably wouldn't happen unless she forced it out of him like she just had.
"Good." She pulled back so she could make him look up at her, again. "Now. Anything else we need to discuss?"
"No."
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
"Please?"
She smiled, hearing just a little desperation in his voice. Peter knew as well as she did that she could keep him from sleepwalking simply by being with him. She was more than willing to be used in that regard – in fact, she counted on it.
"Go get ready for bed," she told him. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Thanks, Natasha," he told her, hugging her once more before getting up and heading into his bedroom.
Romanoff shook her head and left his quarters to go to her own, and wondered who else had figured out the change in her relationship with Stephen. She wasn't going to ask Peter, though.
