"You there, Fri?"

"I am here, Boss. The pairing was successful."

"Great," Tony said as he put a panel back on the wall. "Where's Bear?"

"Major Summers is in his office with his first hire."

"I'm sure he'd like to celebrate," Tony said with a small smile. He grabbed his tools and put them away in his bag before making his way to Chris' office. He knocked and waited for Chris to allow entry.

"Mr. Stark," Chris said. "Can I do something for you?"

"Oh my God," the young woman who was sitting in front of Chris' desk said. "You're Iron Man." Tony saw the look cross Chris' face.

"So I've been told," he said, winking. "You ready to get the rugrats?"

"I just need another minute," Chris said. "Meredith, this is Tony Stark. Tony, this is Meredith Fioloa, the first official pilot of our East Coast branch."

"A pleasure," Tony said with a nod.

"You have no idea. I'm such a huge fan. It's an honor to work for you-"

"You're working for Major Summers," Tony said. "This is Summers Shipping, not Stark."

"But you're here?" Tony looked at Chris.

"Mr. Stark is helping out as a favor to the family," Chris said, standing. "Would you like to see the planes?"

"Absolutely, Major Summers." Chris went to the door and allowed Meredith to walk out before he turned to Tony and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling Tony towards him for a possessive kiss.

"A preemptive shut up kiss?" Tony asked.

"If that's how you want to see it," Chris said. "I'll be done once I show her the planes."

"You want me to wait in your office for you?"

"I think you'd be too distracting otherwise," Chris said regretfully.

"To you or to her?"

"Yes." Tony chuckled and took Chris' seat behind the desk.

"Hurry up, then, Big Bad. We've got some kids to talk to." Chris rolled his eyes and closed his door. Meredith was near the end of the hall of offices, waiting. He caught up to her and led her to the hangar.

"We have three Cessna Caravans," he told her as he opened the door to the facility. "The Harbin Y-12 is scheduled to arrive next week, as is the Boeing 747 for big hauls. The four smaller planes will be fine for a solo pilot, but the Boeing will require a copilot. I have five other pilots who have made the cut that I need to reach out to, and I'll see how all of you work together before I pair you up for the Boeing. The plan is to fly from Maine to Florida, but it might be just New York until we get more notoriety. With me so far?"

"I am, Major Summers. When can I start?"

"I'll start payroll in the morning, but you don't need to report until we have all of the planes-"

"Really?"

"It's not your fault our shipments were delayed. But next week, I'll expect you here and getting used to the planes and reading the schematics. You'll be sent your personal code to enter the hangar in two days, three at the most."

"I'll be here. Thank you for this opportunity, Major Summers."

"I look forward to working with you," Chris said, shaking Meredith's hand. He led her out and to the main doors of the offices. He watched her go and then returned to his office.

"All set?" Tony asked as he stood up.

"Yeah. And Tony?"

"Yes?"

"That's my chair."

"Hm. I guess I'll just have to kneel beside you when I visit then, won't I?" Chris groaned and closed his eyes.

"You can't do that to me. Don't put that in my head, alright?"

"You're the one who implied it, Bear. Now let's go and see the munchkins." Chris snorted and locked up his office as Tony walked out. The two went to Tony's car and got in.

"To the Compound, Boss?" Friday asked through the speakers.

"Yeah, Fri." Friday took over the driving of the car and Tony leaned back. Chris shook his head as he pulled out the files of the other pilots he'd hired.

"I need some time tonight to call these pilots," Chris told Tony.

"Mmhm."

"Are you seriously going to sleep?"

"A wolf in bear's clothing kept me up late."

"Don't put that on me, Stark. You're the one who wanted to talk until five in the morning."

"I didn't see you complaining-"

"Then what was I actually saying when I said 'it's late and we need sleep?'"

"You were saying, 'Tony, do that move again. Tony-'"

"Ass," Chris said. "You know damn well nothing happened. I said it was too soon-"

"It's not like we don't know each other-" Chris put the files down and looked at Tony.

"It's been eighteen years since I was with someone other than my wife. I'm not ready. Last night, you said you respected that and you wouldn't push me. Is that not the case anymore?"

"Chris-"

"Tony. I like you, ok? But it's a big step to take for that level, and I-"

"You're fine," Tony said, sliding his sunglasses on. "Just be patient with me. I'm not used to being turned down."

"Man whore," Chris muttered.

"The preferred term is playboy, thank you very much. And from what I've heard, you weren't that different before Katherine." Chris blushed and picked the files back up.

"Shut up, Stark."

Scott sniffed the Thai food in front of him in slight disgust. He was told it was good, but it smelled weird. Peter was throwing it back like it was water, but Scott just couldn't force it into his mouth.

"There's pizza on the counter, Shades," Tony said. "Or should I say, 'Cyclops?'"

"I don't think that name works," Scott said as he got up to grab a few slices of pizza. "I mean, everyone else's name fits. Black Widow was an assassin before becoming an Avenger. Hawkeye has amazing aim, and Spider-Man is a freaking human spider. There's nothing about me that screams one eye."

"Too bad," Tony said, shrugging. "That's your name."

"No fair! Everyone else got to pick their names-"

"Excuse me, but the media picked mine and I just went with it. You think I like Iron Man?"

"Shellhead would have been my pick. Or Tin Man." Tony threw a wadded up napkin at Chris, who batted it away. "Impressionable kids, Tony."

"Annie was the one who taught me that," Tony muttered. Chris rolled his eyes and looked at his younger two children as they tiredly ate their pizzas.

"You kids ok?"

"Scotty made us run," Gabe said, rubbing his eyes. Chris gave Scott a disapproving look.

"They were being impossible," he said in his defense. "I had them run to Hawkeye's garden, around it, and then back here. It wasn't much, but I had to wear out their energy somehow."

"Scott-"

"Dad, I'm their brother, not their parent. You can't expect me to treat them like you do. And honestly, I'm tired of constantly being your babysitter. You-" Scott stopped and took a bite of pizza.

"We will be discussing this later, young man."

"Great," Scott mumbled.

"Can I go to bed, Daddy?" Annie asked tiredly.

"In a minute, Annie girl. Mr. Stark and I wanted to talk to you five first." Peter put down his carton of food and eyed the two warily. Chris looked at Tony and motioned for him to talk.

"Seriously Papa Bear?"

"This was your idea, Tin Man."

"Yeah, but you have more experience talking to kids than me."

"We get it," Alex said, picking up a container of noodles. "You guys are together. Anything else?"

"Alex," Chris scolded. Alex looked at him.

"You're… Not together? Sorry, Dad. Mr. Stark was walking around in your shirt earlier, so-"

"We're tentatively together," Chris said. "We wanted to talk to you guys before anything official came out of it."

"Didn't look tentative on Friday," Peter said.

"Or this morning," Scott added. Chris looked at his children.

"Are you all ok with this?"

"Is he like your prince, Daddy?"

"Something like that. Is that alright?" Annie nodded. "Gabe?"

"I guess, Daddy."

"Lex?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does," Tony said. "I want your dad to be happy, and that means I want you guys to be happy."

"What about Mom? Does this mean you don't love her anymore?"

"I'll always love your mom, Lex. Outside of Annie, she was the most important woman in my life." Alex eyed Tony.

"You like guys though? Mom was a girl." Chris let out a breath.

"I dated guys and girls before I met your mom."

"Oh."

"Do we still have to call you Mr. Stark?" Scott asked.

"I was fine with Tony already. I don't have an issue with it if your dad doesn't."

"Considering the circumstances, I'll allow it. Peter, are you good with this?"

"It's fine," he said indifferently.

"Pete," Tony said. "Your opinion is important to me-"

"Major Summers already said something to me about it." Scott and Alex shot Chris a look.

"He did, hm?"

"He was worried about being replaced," Chris quietly told Tony. "I told him if something came of this, then he still had a place in your life."

"Does this mean Mr. Tony can spank us?" Gabe asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'll leave that to your dad until we're ready to discuss it," Tony said quickly. "Are there any other-"

"Boss, there's been an attack in the city. SHIELD is requesting the assistance of the Avengers."

"Let Cap and the gang know," Tony said as he stood. He flicked his wrists and the Summers family and Peter watched him become Iron Man in seconds. His helmet opened and he looked at Chris. "Duty calls. You got the kids, dear?"

"Shut up, Stark," Chris said. "And get back safely." The window in the room slid open and Tony flew out, knowing his team would meet him there momentarily.

"I could have helped him," Peter said, stabbing his chopsticks into his food.

"Your time's coming, Peter," Chris said. "And you do a lot to help out as Spider-Man."

"Not enough, apparently."

"Tony's just trying to keep you safe, both as Spider-Man and as Peter."

"Yeah," Peter said, rolling his shoulders. "Do I still have to call you 'Major Summers?'"

"You can call me Chris," Chris said. Peter curled his nose.

"No, that's weird."

"Dad's call sign was 'Corsair,'" Scott said. "You could call him that."

"What's a call sign?" Peter asked.

"I'll explain after I get these two to bed," Chris promised. He skillfully picked up Annie and Gabe and left.

"Were they really together this morning?" Peter asked Scott. Scott nodded.

"My grandma called me because Dad wasn't answering, so I went into Dad's room. Mr. Stark was in bed with him. He wasn't under the same blanket as Dad, if that matters."

"He's replacing Mom too soon," Alex said, wiping at his eyes.

"Tell him how you feel," Scott said. "If you don't, it'll fester until you blow up and then Dad'll be pissed that you didn't say something sooner." Alex sniffed.

"But you saw him, Scotty. He's happy. I haven't heard him laugh so much since before Mom died. I don't want to ruin that."

"You'll resent Tony if you don't talk it out with Dad, Lex." Alex nodded and the three fell silent until Chris came back into the room.

"So. Call signs," he began, sitting back down. "It's a way to easily call out to the pilots and to possibly confuse any enemies that might have tapped communications. No one really knows when it started, but it's a squadron ritual and like… it's a bonding experience."

"Like how Scotty got his codename from the Avengers," Alex said. Scott rolled his eyes.

"How do they get their call signs?" Peter asked. Chris laughed.

"It's usually in reference to something embarrassing the pilot did, but it's not supposed to be malicious. Like one of my buddies got the call sign 'Buster' because of his obsession with the movie Ghostbusters."

"How'd you get yours?" Peter asked. Chris turned red.

"Tell him, Dad," Scott said, grinning.

"I took a fencing class and pictures got spread of me with the foil- the sword," he explained, "and then I made the mistake of trying to talk to my wife in French for privacy."

"I don't get it."

"Corsair is French for pirate."

"Does your dad have a call sign?" Peter asked. Scott blinked and then began laughing uncontrollably. "What's so funny?"

"My dad's call sign was Pony Boy," Chris said, grinning. "He piloted a P-51 Mustang, and with the way he dressed, he was like a character right out of The Outsiders. He won't let anyone call him that, though, so don't say anything if you see him again."

"I don't get why that's funny," Peter said to Scott. Alex rolled his eyes and explained the significance of a mustang to Peter.

"- and that's how Tony told Dad he was interested. He gave him a remote control Mustang."

"I never said who it was from," Chris said.

"Come on, Dad. It's obvious. Even Annie picked up on it." Chris shook his head and took a sip of his drink.

"I want you three to tell me how you really feel about this," he said after a few minutes. "Annie and Gabe don't understand much of what's going on, so they'll just go with whatever."

"I'm alright with it for now," Scott said. "I like Tony. But it's still weird, Dad. I didn't like walking in and seeing… It's not my business, but I just worry that…"

"Mom hasn't even been gone for a year," Alex blurted out. Chris reached out and grabbed Alex's hand.

"I know, son. And I'm being very upfront with Tony about how important she still is to me, and that I'll never be over her."

"How can you replace her so soon, Dad?" Alex asked, his chin quivering.

"I'm not replacing her, Alex. I couldn't- She was my best friend for almost half my life. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to make new friends and have new relationships."

"What if he tries to make you forget about her?"

"He won't. You know it's Tony who's heading up the search for evidence to take down Ross, right? Would he do that if he wanted me, or any of you, to forget about her?" Alex shook his head.

"I'm still not ready to see him as a parent-" Chris laughed.

"Lex, I'm not ready for you to see him as a parent. Right now, just see him as my friend who'll be spending more time with us than before. Be respectful and polite, and if you ever have an issue with him, talk to me, son." Alex nodded. "Any other concerns?"

"What does Uncle Sammy think?"

"Who?" Peter asked.

"Our godfather," Alex said. "He and dad have been friends for a long time."

"I haven't talked to Uncle Sammy about this yet," Chris said. "But I'm sure he'd be happy for me. Anything else?"

"You're not going to keep sharing a bed, are you?" Scott asked.

"That's not your business-"

"It is if one of us needs you in the middle of the night."

"If it's planned, I'll be upfront about it so you'll know he's there or that I'm not in my room."

"But I don't want to know that either!"

"Then I don't know how to fix that, Scott. Maybe try knocking or not busting into my room?" Peter looked at his watch and stood up.

"I guess patrolling is off the table for tonight," he said, changing the subject. "Mr. Stark would lose it if he knew I was in the City during an Avengers level crisis."

"I'd agree with that sentiment," Chris said. "Are you going to stay here or head home?"

"I'll stop at Ned's place, I think. He's got a new Lego Death Star we've been wanting to build. Thanks for dinner, Corsair. And… I'm happy for you and Mr. Stark."

"Thank you, Peter. I'll see you soon."

"Will someone let me know when Mr. Stark gets back?"

"Yeah," Scott promised. "Bye, Peter." Peter left the room and Scott winced at the look Chris gave him.

"Let's talk about that little outburst, hm?"