"I had fun, today…"

Tony smiled at the little boy that he'd just put to bed, tucking the blankets around him, and making sure he was warm.

"Yeah? Good. I had fun, too."

They'd woken from their naps and had pie and other desserts while watching a recap of the parade – although everyone but Peter rolled their eyes at the smirk on the billionaire's face when the Ironman balloon was showcased and the list of Tony Stark's achievements were touted by the announcers who was emceeing the parade.

Then the others had started packing up to get going, since they had a long drive back to the compound, and while they were told to take the leftovers, there were still plenty left in the fridge for Peter and Tony to have turkey sandwiches for dinner. They ate and then cleaned up what little mess they made, before heading into Peter's room and continuing the ongoing adventures of the little Lego Avengers, which were clearly a successful gift.

That particular thought was proven when Peter put all the other Legos back into their big box, but tucked the little case of individuals into his backpack. Tony watched, silently, wanting to reassure the little boy that it wasn't necessary, but since he'd just been moved into Tony's place – which made it the third time he'd been moved from foster home to foster home in five months – he didn't think simply telling Peter would be enough.

"What are we going to do, tomorrow?" Peter asked, his eyes sleepy, but excited.

"You're going to get a bath," Stark told him, tousling his hair. "You can do that yourself, right?"

Peter nodded.

"Yes."

"Your bathtub has jets on it if you want bubbles."

The boy had noticed the jets, but hadn't thought of a bubble bath. He smiled at that.

"Okay."

"Then, I thought we might go for a drive. Sam told me there's a place that lets you go pick out and cut down your own Christmas tree. Even if we don't find the perfect tree for us, we can at least get some fresh air. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

"Good." Tony hesitated, and then smiled. "Get some sleep. I don't want you grumpy, tomorrow."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Night, buddy."

OOOOOOOOO

"Peter needs your assistance."

Tony tossed the blankets aside, feet already searching for his slippers.

"Is he alright?" he asked, glancing at the time. It was 3am. "Did he have a bad dream?"

There was slight hesitation.

"No. He's in his bathroom."

Frowning, Stark headed for the boy's bedroom, wondering if they'd allowed him too much dessert the evening before and it was taking its toll. Maybe he was sick? The bed was empty but like JARVIS had said, the light was on in the bathroom. Tony hesitated, wondering just how much privacy a person was supposed to give an eight-year old. Even a scrawny one like Peter. He'd already done enough research to know that he didn't need to be bathed, and should be able to dress himself and brush his teeth as long as he was reminded.

He tapped on the door, lightly, hearing the sound of watery jets coming from the other side.

"Peter…?"

"Tony… help…"

Opening the door, the billionaire couldn't help that he stopped in mid-stride. His eyes widened, and then he snorted before he could stop himself.

"What are you doing?"

The little boy was naked, and soaked, and stuck to the wall of the shower. He looked over his shoulder, eyes a mixture of relieved and chagrined. Bubbles were sliding down his back.

"I can't get down."

Stark grabbed a towel and used it to get a grip on the slick little body, and then easily plucked him off the wall. Wrapping it around Peter, he held him for a moment, making sure that he wasn't scared, like he'd been the day before on the island.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He was shivering, now, but that was from being cold. "Sorry."

"What were you doing?"

"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Yeah…?"

"So I thought I'd take my bath…"

"I can see that."

"And then I was looking up at the shower while the water was filling, and I wondered if whatever it is that lets me stick to the wall would let me stick to a wet, slippery wall."

"So you tried it."

"Yeah." He trembled. "But then I couldn't get down."

"It probably takes a bit of practice," Stark pointed out. "We'll figure it out. Okay?"

"Okay."

"But not tonight. You're not injured?"

"No."

"Finish your bath, then. Do you want the shower on?"

"No. Can I still do bubbles?"

"Will you stay off the wall if I say yes?"

"Yes."

"Then all the bubbles that you want."

Peter smiled.

"Thanks for rescuing me."

"I wish I had a video…" He hugged the boy, and set him on his feet, towel and all. "No one would ever believe me."

"I'm glad you don't."

"JARVIS?" Tony said, heading for the door – after making sure there was another towel on the rack. "Keep an eye on him and call me if he needs me."

"Yes, sir."

Still smiling, Stark headed for the kitchen. He wasn't going to go back to bed. Just in case Peter needed anything.

OOOOOOO

Peter didn't go back to sleep after he was finished with the bath. He was too wound up after spending over an hour playing with the jets and the bubble liquid. He'd pour some into the water, and turn on the jets in the tub, watching in amazement and pure joy as the tub would fill with bubbles. Then he'd stick his face into them, closing his eyes tightly to avoid getting the soap in them.

That lesson he'd learned the first time.

When he'd finally decided to get out of the bath, he wasn't sleepy, so he dried off, dressed in the same pajamas that he'd discarded, earlier, and went out to the living room, thinking that he might get a snack and start in on the schoolwork that he hadn't even looked at, yet.

Living with Tony was way too much of a distraction, so far.

He was surprised to find the man sitting at the island, two displays in front of him and his attention so completely on what he was doing that he didn't look up as Peter walked over.

"What are you working on?" Peter asked, curiously, climbing up his special chair to get a look. "Or is it secret?"

Tony shook his head. The only reason he hadn't had a heart attack when Peter snuck up on him – and he knew he hadn't done it on purpose, but the boy was really quiet on his feet – was that JARVIS had warned him Peter was done with his bath,

"It isn't a secret – for you," he added. "But don't tell anyone else, okay? I like to keep things close to my chest until I'm ready to show the world the newest development."

"Okay."

Peter looked interested, of course.

"Do you know what nanotech is?"

"Not too much. Little robots?" he guessed. Then his eyes lit up. "You're making little robots?"

Tony smiled.

"Not exactly. They're little robots, sort of, but if I figure it out, they'll make me a new kind of suit. One that I can carry with me all the time, and activate with a touch."

"Wow."

"Yeah, wow," Stark agreed. "But it's a ways off, yet, even for me." He turned off the displays, trusting JARVIS to save what they'd been working on. "You should go back to sleep."

"You aren't."

"I'm older than you. I don't need so much sleep." He reached out and tapped the boy's nose. "You, on the other hand, should be getting ten hours a night. I looked it up."

"I can't sleep that much."

"I know." Which didn't mean that they were going to go out and do anything active. Not until much later. "Are you hungry? Breakfast is still a while off, but we have plenty of leftovers to snack on."

Proof being that he had a small plate of untouched crackers near at hand.

"I was going to work on my schoolwork."

"Can I help?"

The boy's smile was answer enough, really, but he nodded.

"I'll go get it."

Tony watched him jump from his chair and hurry to his room, and then turned to the fridge to find something to feed them both. Nothing too heavy, but maybe a light snack and a little quiet downtime would make Peter sleepy, again. The 2am bath definitely didn't do the trick, so they'd have to make a new rule to keep that from happening, again. He wanted to get Peter on a better sleeping schedule – although he knew that he wasn't the best example of that.

Well, maybe he'd work on getting himself on a better schedule, too., he thought as he carried their snack into the living room just in time to meet Peter who was coming out of his room, books in hand and looking expectant.

They could work on that together, too.