Jarvis prepared his speech almost a week in advance. He had statistics, real-life examples and threats under his belt.

Tony was going to listen to him.

Taking a deep breath and making his way into the lab, Jarvis warmly smiled at the sight of Edwin lying on the floor, entertaining himself with a beads on a wire toy in his playpen as Tony focused on some holograms of his newest missile design, occasionally glancing over to make sure that Edwin was okay.

As soon as Edwin saw his Daddy standing in the doorway, he squealed in delight and started to bang another one of his toys against the floor, immediately catching Tony's attention.

"Jarvis!" he beamed, swiping the holograms away, "Love of my life! Please tell me you have good news?"

"I hope so." Jarvis headed over to the playpen, lifting Edwin into his arms. The one-year-olds cheeks were pink with excitement, big blue eyes glancing between his parents as he clutched at Jarvis' suit.

"God I made you too cute…" Tony muttered, "… I had to baby proof almost everything because you're a nosy pest, but you are too cute."

Edwin just beamed.

Tony then turned his attention to Jarvis, "Is everything alright? We're not having problems with the press again right?"

When the press had found out that Tony was legally married to a mysterious man, they went nuts, with many of the more conservative news channels saying some rather horrible things about the pair of them. It calmed down for a bit, until they learnt about Edwin's existence.

"No." Jarvis shook his head, and Tony sighed in relief, "CNN are still talking about traditional values, but no-one's really listening to them anymore. Many of the news channels are still asking for us all to come on for an interview."

"No way… my old man paraded me around and my entire life revolved around cameras and reporters." Tony shook his head, "I won't make Eddie go through that."

"We can't protect him forever." Jarvis pursed his lips in thought, "… maybe we should speak to Murdock and Nelson. They might be able to place an injunction against the gossip magazines."

"Yeah, maybe." Tony then frowned, "So, if it wasn't about the media, then what did you come up here for?"

There was a brief moment of silence, before Jarvis took a dee breath, "I would like to go on holiday… just the three of us."

"A holiday, but I have about fifteen new weapons to design and build prototypes and- "

"And you missed Edwin's first word- "

Dum-E had been thrilled at the tiny master calling out for him, rushing over with an excited squeal.

"- You missed his first steps- "

Edwin had seen Pepper entering the room, pushing himself to his feet shakily and quickly making his way over, wrapping jam-stained hands around her legs.

Pepper was too happy to complain… much.

(Jarvis had bought several new outfits for her to make up for it).

"- And I think over the last month, Rhodey and Happy have seen more of him, than you." The words may have seemed harsh, but Jarvis kept his voice calm, not wanting to sound accusatory, "And I know you do send time with him. He loves that toy car that you built for him and you always take time away to eat ice cream with him."

Tony still seemed a bit hurt by Jarvis's earlier statement, so Jarvis continued.

"Every time he wants to build a tower, you are right there beside him. You always read him a bedtime story, even if you're really busy or in another country."

"But I've missed all the important things…" Tony sighed.

"It's just… this month has been so hectic and- "

He stopped as Tony pulled him into a toe-curling kiss. When they pulled apart, Tony was giving his husband an affectionate smile.

"Let me have a word with Obie…" the genius whispered, "…. I've worked my butt off for the last year, he can't say no."

…..

Tony wasn't wrong often.

On this day, he was wrong.

Stane did mind.

"A month? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

Tony resisted the urge to flinch as he stared at the older man, who was pacing back and forth in the conference room. The man had never been especially fond of the idea of Tony making his AI a human body and then marrying him… if it had been a female body, he probably wouldn't have minded, but as it was, Tony was just a disappointment in another way.

He'd missed a lot over the past month, and now Obie was trying to make him miss more.

"It's one month Obie…" he eventually sighed, finally managing to get a word in edgeways, "… one month is not going to kill the company. I've put everything into this company, for six years now, I've not slept for days at a time, I sometimes barely leave the office or labs, and I've missed so much of Edwin growing up." His confidence grew and he slowly pushed himself to his feet, meeting his Godfather's eyes, "You can't control me like this, you can't say when I work and when I don't work. I took over several years ago, remember?"

Obadiah just glared at him.

"I'm the owner of Stark Industries, Dad left it to me, not you! You can't stop me from taking a month's holiday! Be glad I'm not leaving until the new year!"

Silence.

"Sorry…" Tony sighed, "… it's just- Jarvis really wants this to happen and- "

"- when did the robot control the creator?"

The words were clearly spoke in anger, or so Tony hoped.

"I love Jarvis…" He whispered, "… what I do with my personal life is no-one's business. If I choose to make my AI a body and then a child, then that's my business, it has no effect on the company." He took a deep breath, "And you really have that much of a problem with it, then you're free to leave. I'll buy you out and you live out the rest of your life in retirement."

"You. Need. Me."

Tony shook his head, "No, I need someone to support me, someone who will stand by my side… If you don't think you can do that, then leave."

Before Stane could reply, there was a cautious knock on the door, as Pepper poked her head through the gap. "My apologies for the interruption…" she stated, "… but Mister Jarvis is here to see Mister Stark."

"Tell him to wait and- "

"- let him in Miss Potts." Tony quickly interrupted Stane, flashing him a quick glare, before changing it into a smile as his husband walked through the door.

As usual, the man was impeccably dressed, wearing a dark suit jacket, pants and shoes, combined with a dark green shirt and black tie. Edwin, who was carefully balanced in one arm, was wearing a dark grey, black-striped jumper with a love heart on the front (clearly something recent from the baby fashion show), and grey jeans.

"Hey!" Tony forced a smile onto his face, a desperate attempt to make it seem as though everything was normal, "We'll be done in a moment."

Jarvis clearly didn't believe him, simply nodded and leaned back against the wall, setting Edwin down, watching carefully as his son headed over to Tony eagerly, babbling in glee. Tony couldn't help but beam at this, lifting Edwin into his own arms and placing the toddler on his lap, before his attention back to Stane.

"This is happening Obadiah…" he sighed, "… It's one month. Miss Potts will let me know if there's an emergency, and don't forget that I have Murdock and Nelson on the payroll. Those two can handle anything."

He pushed himself to his feet and moved to leave the room, Jarvis and Pepper following on behind. Once he was sure that they were out of earshot, Tony stopped and turned to Jarvis, a weak smile on his face.

"He's probably just having a bad day." He instantly said, already thinking up excuses for Stane's behaviour, "Give him a few days, he'll be back to his usual self."

Personally, Jarvis didn't think much of Stane's 'usual' self, but Tony always got defensive when it was brought up. It was understandable really… Stane had been like a second father to Tony, helping him with everything.

Instead, he took Edwin back and pressed a kiss against Tony's cheek, "Don't forget about dinner later."

It wasn't worth the argument.