"Do you have everything?"

Peter nodded, practically wriggling in excitement as he looked up at Eric. They were alone in the house, since Eric's wife had taken the older boys and Ned to a movie. Peter knew it was a special treat designed to keep them all from being jealous that he was going to the amusement park. Not even adding in the fact that it was Tony Stark who was doing the taking.

"Yes."

"You be good," his foster father said. "And stay right beside Mr. Stark at all times. I don't want to get a call from him saying that he turned around and you were gone – and I don't want to get a call from some park security guard because you saw something interesting and wandered off."

"I won't wander off."

What would be more interesting than hanging out with Tony Stark? He'd spoken to JARVIS the night before, too excited to sleep, and had asked the AI if he should tell the man what he could do and ask him for his help, yet. JARVIS had suggested waiting a little longer. Peter was impatient; the crazy things he could do seemed to just be piling up inside him, but he trusted JARVIS, and liked him, so he listened.

Besides, it was a relief to Peter to have someone helping him. The little boy was a genius, yes, but he was still only a little kid, and had so many things thrown at him in his short life that he felt overwhelmed, at times. Which was why he had nightmares, and another reason that he didn't sleep – to avoid waking the others when he did. Of course, now that he was enhanced (he didn't know a better word to use for it) he didn't need as much sleep, so it gave him more time to spend with his projects. And now, with JARVIS.

"Good." They were out sitting on the front porch of the house, and both of them saw the black sedan pull up, with Happy behind the wheel. "Come on."

He caught up the backpack Peter almost habitually carried, and they went to meet the car. The back windows were tinted, but Tony himself opened the back door, getting out and walking over to shake Eric's hand, and look down at Peter.

"Are we ready?"

Peter nodded, looking up at him, and Eric gave the boy another look.

"You behave."

"I will."

The boy reached for Tony's hand, automatically, and Tony caught it without any indication that he was uncomfortable with the notion.

"We'll have him home sometime before dark," the billionaire told Tatro. His free hand went into a pocket of the jeans he was wearing, and brought out a business card. "If anything comes up, I wrote my cell on the back."

"Thank you."

Stark nodded.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't share that number with anyone."

"Right." He grinned at Peter. "Have fun."

"He will," Tony assured him, putting his sunglasses on, and walking Peter back to the car, waiting for the boy to get in, and then following him. "Buckle up."

"Hey, Happy."

The driver smiled at his reflection.

"Hey, Peter! Ready for a fun day?"

"Yeah." He turned to Tony. "Thank you."

The man took off his sunglasses.

"You're welcome. But we do have some ground rules to go over before we get there."

Happy pulled the car into traffic.

"What rules?" Peter asked, curiously.

"You stay close to me. I don't want to have to face your foster dad and tell him I lost track of you."

"Okay."

He didn't mention that Eric had just told him the same thing.

"No telling people who I am."

"They're going to see you," Peter pointed out.

"No. We're going with the hope that all they're going to see is an extremely good looking guy in jeans and a sweatshirt, hanging out with a cute little kid. Tony Stark is flamboyant and a showman. No one should even realize I'm at the park if things go like I plan for them to. Understand?"

"Not really."

Tony smiled, amused, and his expression softened. It was hard to remember that he was so little – until he'd reached up to take his hand, of course. That had been unexpected, and a new experience for the billionaire.

"Because you're eight. When you're nine, you'll understand."

"Okay."

"This is the important one," Tony told him. "So listen up." He shifted, turning in the seat as well as he could with his seatbelt on. "If anything happens and you lose me, you stay where you are. Don't go looking for me, because I'll come looking where I last saw you, and I want you to be there."

"Okay."

"And don't go anywhere with anyone," Stark added. "Not even a cop. If someone comes up to you and asks if you need help – and they're in uniform, fine, but you tell them you need to stay where you are. If they want, they can wait with you there. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"I'll be careful," Peter promised, not wanting him to worry.

Or to regret taking him.

Tony gave him a smile, but he scowled when he caught Happy watching in the rearview mirror.

"Good. See that you are."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Considering that he spent the day with an eight-year-old (unheard of) he had a good time. In the two weeks since he'd been watching him do his homework in his office, the billionaire had concluded that despite his youth, Peter was a very serious little fellow. Some of that probably came from being as intelligent as he was, but he'd also had a lot of upheaval in that little life of his, losing his parents, and then his aunt, and now living in perpetual foster care. All of that almost certainly weighed down on those slim shoulders of his.

It was all to the good, for Tony, that Peter was quiet, of course. He hadn't wanted to hang out with him in the first place, after all, and a noisy, rambunctious, little kid would have been rejected, immediately. Peter was quiet company, and Tony liked that about him. JARVIS had been right on the money about Peter being a better choice than any of the other students that had wandered through the tower that week.

At the amusement park that day, however, he saw another side to Peter. Maybe even one the little boy didn't know existed.

Happy dropped them at the front gate, looking down at Peter, cheerfully, as he opened the door.

"Got everything?"

The boy was practically vibrating with excitement as he looked toward the gate.

"Yes."

Happy smiled at Tony.

"Got enough money? Need some cash?"

Stark rolled his eyes, amused, though, at the question.

"I'll be fine."

"I have money," Peter told the two men. "Eric gave me $20." He pulled the bill from his pocket, holding it up to show them.

"You hang onto that," Tony replied. "We might need it."

The driver snorted.

"What time?"

"I'll call you."

He didn't want to have a set time, after all. Just in case he was having a shitty time and wanted to leave, early, he could come up with some kind of excuse to tell Peter, and call Happy to come get them.

Happy left, and Tony held out his hand, which Peter took, immediately. The little boy smiled up at him, and Stark walked over to the admission gate with his young charge in tow, hoping the day wouldn't be a disaster. The weather was nice, considering it was early fall, and the sun was shining down on them, and no one even looked twice at him as he paid for their admission and bought a roll of tickets for the rides and was pointed toward the kiddie side of the park.

OOOOOOOOO

It wasn't a disaster.

After a quick conference with Peter, both of them poring over a map of the park, they decided to ride some rides, first. Some were strictly for the boy, only, and some were rides that Tony could sit with him. If he sat with him, he double-checked fingers and feet were inside the ride at all times and the safety equipment was used. If it was a ride that only Peter could be on, Tony watched the park personnel put the boy into the ride and his eyes never strayed from the kid the entire time he was on it.

Which was just as well, since every time the ride revolved and came back by where Tony was standing with a large handful of other adults, watching, Peter would wave, excitedly to him, and continue waving until the billionaire waved back.

Tony was a little surprised by just how convoluted some of the rides for the kids were. They weren't high-scare roller coasters, of course, but some had a lot of jerky movements, and Tony witnessed several children lose what had probably been perfectly good lunches during or after the ride stopped. Luckily, he hadn't fed Peter, yet, so that wasn't a problem, and it seemed that the boy had a high tolerance for those quick motions, because he never did anything but smile and laugh the entire time.

By the time Peter had tried out every ride that he showed a remote interest in riding, Tony was hungry and he took that little hand once more and led him over to the concession area.

"Where do you put all of that…?" he asked, feigning amazement as he watched Peter wolf his way, indelicately, through two slices of pizza and then a side of French fries while washing it down with a milk shake.

Peter smiled, shyly, recognizing that he was being teased.

"I'm a growing boy, Mr. Stark."

Which had made Tony smile, too, and even reach out and brush those curls off his forehead. Obviously he'd heard the line, somewhere – or someone had used it with him and he was echoing it.

"You keep eating like that, and you'll grow right off the planet," he told him. "And why don't you just call me Tony, now? It's easier."

"Wow."

Tony rolled his eyes at the excitement that concession created in the boy's expression, and stole a few of his French fries.

"Let's go play some games," the billionaire said. "I'll win you a bear, or something."

OOOOOOOO

When Happy pulled up to the same admissions gate he'd dropped them off at, Tony was sitting on a park bench. On the seat beside him was a veritable Noah's ark of stuffed animals, and in his arms, head on his shoulder and drooling on his neck, Peter Parker was soundly sleeping. The driver grinned as he got out of the car, moving around to open the door.

"Wore him out, did you?"

Tony nodded.

"Shh. Don't wake him…" he handed the sleeping child over to the other man so he could stand up. "He might want to go back."

"Did you win him all of these?" Happy asked as Stark loaded the front passenger seat with stuffed animals and he buckled the still sleeping boy into his spot.

"I won him the bear," Tony confirmed, keeping that one to the side and settling it beside Peter on the seat. "He won all the others."

"Yeah?"

"Kid has some crazy hand/eye coordination. He throws a dart, the balloon pops. Tossed a ring? Lands on the pop bottle. It was crazy. We could have wiped the place clean if they didn't have preset limits."

And because Tony hadn't wanted to carry an armful of those huge stuffed animals. They'd already stuffed Peter's backpack full of stuffed animals for Eric, his wife, and the boys at the home.

"Sounds like you had a good time," the driver said, closing the door without slamming it any harder than necessary.

"I did. Don't tell anyone." He pointed at the pile of stuffed animals. "If he's still asleep when we get him home, he won that monkey for you."

"That was nice of him. What did you win for me?"?

Stark rolled his eyes.

"Get us home, will you?"

"You have a hot date?"

It was still early, after all, and a weekend.

"Are you kidding?" Tony closed his eyes, thinking that Peter might have the right idea, and a nap was definitely in order. "I'm exhausted."