With Peter on summer break from school, he went to the tower with Tony and Pepper every morning, and spent his days (days that he wasn't hanging out at the compound with the Avengers) in daycare with the other kids. It was a good way to allow him to spend time with kids his own age, and still be someplace that he could be closely guarded. Tony hadn't forgotten the attempt on his son, and was determined that it wouldn't happen again.

Ever.

Even though he wasn't in school, though, they still kept him on the routine of having a regular bedtime. He didn't sleep through the night all that often, but he was getting better, and Tony and Pepper wanted to keep things as regular as possible for a kid that lived with Ironman and hung out with Avengers and could hang from the wooden arm of a jungle gym without actually holding on to anything.

"I'm too excited to sleep," Peter told his parents when Pepper suggested he go get into pajamas after dinner that evening. "I don't think I'll ever sleep, again."

Stark rolled his eyes, amused, and swept him up into his arms, and then dangled him upside down, making Peter giggle.

"Tryouts aren't until Saturday," he reminded the boy. They knew the schedule by heart, now, because they'd gone over the pamphlet and all of the information Eric had emailed them plenty of times, now. Tryouts on Saturday, beginning in the morning and going through to the early evening, depending on the position being tried – and also a special session for kids who had never played and didn't know the various positions that were available. Peter was familiar with the game – he'd been doing odds for May on all sporting events and knew stats and scoring and the like – but he'd never played, and had little familiarity with the positions. "You're going to be a zombie if you don't sleep between now and then."

"Besides," Pepper added, always loving the way Tony interacted with the boy. Who would have ever thought he had such potential to be such a good father? "Any athlete will tell you that getting enough rest is essential to being healthy."

Peter looked over at her, his face getting red from being upside down.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

"The Avengers will tell you that, too," Tony added, turning him upside right and setting him on his feet. He'd just eaten, after all, and there was always the chance – albeit a very slight one – that Peter could throw up being swung around like that on a full stomach. "You can ask any of them."

He knew Peter was going to call Natasha that evening, anyway, and knew that she'd catch on if he actually did ask, and would help them settle the little boy a bit, as well. He hadn't mentioned going out to the compound to learn the game a little more in preparation for tryouts. He figured that Natasha or Steve might want to tender the invitation, and then they could be the good guy, too.

He had enough number one dad points for allowing Peter to tryout, after all.

"I don't have to go to bed, though, right?" Peter verified. "It's not bedtime."

"Nope. Not yet."

"Okay."

He headed to his room, and Pepper shook her head, settling on the sofa with a sigh. A sound that was a mixture of amusement, exasperation, and a lot of contentment, despite the concern about him playing football that still lingered in her mind.

"That was smooth, Pep," Tony congratulated her, settling next to her. Dinner was over, dishes were done, and this was one of his favorite parts of the day. The evenings were a chance for them to help Peter wind down from whatever he'd been doing that day, and spend time before his bedtime playing board games, watching movies, or simply hanging out working on jigsaw puzzles as a family. "You're pretty good at the mom thing."

She smiled at that. It was ironic that she mused about Tony somehow turning out to be an amazing father when she was now finding herself in the role of mother – and had found that she, too, might be good at the parent thing. It was still a learning process, though, as he'd mentioned. They were very new at it all. Luckily, Peter wasn't a rebellious child, and the grounding that his parents had given him when he was much younger definitely showed in his personality.

"Thank you." She leaned into his side. "Do you think he'll settle enough to watch a movie?"

"I think we'll wait and see how his conversation with Natasha goes. If he's still antsy after that, maybe we'll try something more physical, first."

Giant Jenga was always a favorite with Peter, after all.

OOOOOOOOO

"Hey, sweetheart."

Peter's smile was almost as broad as Natasha's – and neither of them saw Tony hiding his own smile at seeing the most dangerous woman in the world loving up to an eight-year-old boy.

"Hi, Natasha." Peter shifted, eagerly, from his spot on the sofa. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm going to play football!"

Stark almost choked on the guffaw that he swallowed when Romanoff's eyes grew wide with surprise. She was incredible at keeping her expression emotionless to hide what she was thinking from everyone around her, but she was a master at knowing when to overkill them, as well. Peter didn't notice, but Tony admired her more and more every time he observed her do something like that.

"You are?"

Peter nodded.

"Yeah. Ned's playing, too."

"Wow." She frowned, and this time even Pepper had to smile. "Are you old enough to play football?"

"It's for kids," he assured her. "Nine and ten year olds."

"But you're only eight."

Peter smiled.

"But I'll be nine, next month."

Her expression was artfully awed.

"That's right, you will be. Have you ever played, before?"

"No. But I know a lot about it. I used to do odds for May, remember? She bet on football games, too."

"You know… Clint and Sam both played football when they were younger. Why don't you ask your dad if you can come out on Tuesday? We'll have them give you some pointers."

Peter's eyes lit up, and he turned to Tony.

"Can I?"

The billionaire shrugged, looking at Pepper as if asking permission.

"Do I have anything going on at the tower I can miss, Tuesday?"

She'd already cleared his schedule.

"I think we can spare you."

"Wow." Peter turned back to Natasha, hugging himself, tightly. "I can come."

She smiled.

"Good. We'll expect you after breakfast." The superspy artfully changed the subject, well aware that Peter would have talked to her all night about football, and not wanting to have to hear everything twice when he and Tony came to the compound. "What did you and Ned do, last night?"

Tony glanced at Pepper, amused, as Peter launched into another telling of his adventures with his friend and the kids at the foster home.

"You want a cup of coffee?" he asked, softly, not wanting to distract Peter from his narrative.

She smiled.

"Please."

OOOOOOOOOOO

The conversation with Romanoff calmed Peter enough that he managed to watch a movie with his parents before bed. They cheated, outrageously, though, choosing one that was animated and funny, but didn't have a lot of action scenes to keep him wired. They also put him between them on the couch, with a warm blanket over him. His head rested against Tony's chest as they watched the movie, and the man threaded his fingers through his son's hair, lightly, as they watched.

Peter's long day finally caught up to him twenty minutes into the show, and he fell asleep. They finished the movie, and Tony carried the boy into his room, while Pepper went ahead to pull the blankets back. It was pretty much a ritual, by then. Peter roused when they tucked him in, but Tony didn't even give him a chance to wake up long enough to say that he wasn't sleepy. Instead, he brushed a kiss against his temple.

"I love you, Peter Stark," he whispered, gently.

The boy smiled, and didn't even open his eyes. Instead, he cuddled up to the bear that Tony tucked into his arm, and went back to sleep. Pepper leaned over to kiss him, too, but didn't say anything as the two left the room, closing the door behind them.

"You've got him, Jarvis?

"Of course. Goodnight."

"Night."