The week leading up to Christmas – which was on Sunday – was exactly what Tony had planned it to be. Which was nice, really, because he liked it when things went the way that he planned for them to go.

He and Peter spent a lot of time together, both at home and out and about on a few minor expeditions.

Swapping his sportscar for a mini SUV with all-wheel drive, he and Peter went out one night to look at all of the Christmas displays in various neighborhoods. The lights were amazing in some places, he had to admit, and Peter had been entranced, looking at them all with his face pressed against the glass of the car window.

They'd also gone to the tower a couple of times, for meetings that Tony and Pepper absolutely couldn't get out of. Peter had assured Tony that he didn't mind. The run up to Christmas had left very few people working, and that meant that the daycare was almost empty, but the boy spent time with Ella and a few of the kids that had parents who were either too vital to have a week off despite the holiday, or had things that they just couldn't get out of – like Tony did.

He'd had fun, and when Tony came to collect him the billionaire had helped him get his coat on, and had then scooped him up into his arms and admired the drawing that Peter had made.

"That's incredible," he'd gushed, looking at it and wondering how someone with an off the chart IQ like Peter still managed to have the sloppy artistic skills of an eight-year-old. Clearly his talents lay in the sciences and not the arts. Tony didn't mind, of course. It was simply a reminder that Peter was a little guy, still, despite his accelerated learning in other ways. "What is it?"

"It's us," Peter had told him, proudly. "We're sledding." He pointed to each blob with smiley faces. "That's me, and that's you, and there's Sam, and Steve, and Pepper."

"What's this?"

"The woman you ran over with the sled."

"We went down that hill a thousand times, and that's what you decided to immortalize?"

Peter giggled.

"It was funny."

Tony had simply rolled his eyes and pressed his cheek against the boy's.

"You're a funny guy, kid."

And then he'd scooped up the boy's backpack and had carried both to the elevator to take him home.

Another trip had been to the store.

This had been accomplished in the middle of the night. Peter had woken after a particularly intense dream, and Tony had been up working on the new nanotech idea that he had for the latest incarnation of his suit. When JARVIS informed Stark the boy was awake, Tony had gone to check on him and had found him sitting up in his bed, shivering just a little despite the warmth of the room and the fuzzy pajamas that he'd worn to bed.

It hadn't been a nightmare, Peter had assured him when Tony settled himself on the bed and had gathered the child into his embrace, tucking his head under his chin. He'd just had a dream. He couldn't explain it, because he didn't really understand what he'd dreamed. He didn't seem upset, so Tony didn't press, but when Peter was still wide-awake an hour later, he asked if he minded if they went and did their shopping for Christmas eve dinner, then, instead of waiting for the next day as they'd planned.

Peter had been willing, of course, and they'd gotten dressed and bundled up and went to the store. It was a 24-hour establishment, and even in the middle of the night, they weren't the only shoppers, but there were nowhere near the crowds that there would have been the next day. They leisurely wandered up and down the aisles, consulting a list that they'd made the evening before and occasionally adding an item if it looked good.

Tony had hesitated when Peter held up one bag, however, looking excited.

"Look, Tony!"

"Ugh. You'd eat that?"

They were marshmallows with chocolate inside them, so he knew the answer well before Peter nodded his head, enthusiastically.

"It's like a s'mores."

Which was exactly what the bag said. Simply add a graham cracker and you had a sugary treat that was guaranteed to have the kid (or adult) bouncing off the walls in no time. Well, that was the way Stark read it when he'd looked.

"Are you sure?"

"Please?"

And it had gone into the cart.

Of course.

Tony was beginning to think that he had the whole being a dad thing down, fairly well, by the time the day before Christmas finally came. All the nightmarish stories that he'd heard about, or read about – or even saw on some magazine covers – never materialized. Peter was – for the most part – a good-natured little boy who had his quirks, but was someone that the billionaire thoroughly enjoyed being around.

Because he was so intelligent, it was hard to imagine the boy being like all of the dumb little kids that others had warned him about, and Tony was smug, thinking that he'd dodged that bullet, anyway. The warning that silence was a sure sign that you should check and see what was going on with your child didn't seem to apply to Peter. If he were silent, it was most likely because he was playing in his room, or working on some problem that he'd suddenly thought up – and was doing it in his head, or with JARVIS. He was a bundle of energy, yes, but he had good sense, and was too smart to be dumb.

Or so the billionaire thought.

OOOOOO

"JARVIS? Tell Peter he needs to get a move on. The others are going to be here, pretty soon."

There was a moment of silence.

"Peter might need a little help, sir…"

"What? Why?"

Another moment of silent.

"I think you should see for yourself."

Tony had sent the boy to take a bath and get ready for their company. He'd smiled at how excited Peter was. Not for Christmas presents or the huge meal that they had planned, but because the others were coming. Nick and Pepper, as well as Rhodey, Sam and Steve. Clint would have been there, as well, but he told Tony that he was going to have his evening full of putting together a doll house, two bicycles and a plethora of smaller toys that all required assembly. He'd see them, later, he said, and had brought Peter's present the Wednesday before Christmas so it could be added to the hoard under the tree.

"Is he stuck to the wall, again?" Tony asked.

Maybe he should get a video, this time. He could blur out Peter's naked butt to keep the boy from being embarrassed, but that was too funny not to share with the others.

"No."

Too bad.

Tony went into the boy's bedroom and found it empty. He heard the water running in the sink in the bathroom.

"Peter?"

"I'll be out in a minute…"

Stark didn't wait for him. Not when he'd been summoned.

"Hey, buddy. JARVIS said that you might…" he stopped short. "What the hell?"

Peter looked up at him, abashed.

"Oh… hey, Tony…" he said, uncertainly, lowering the washcloth that he'd been scrubbing his face, almost frantically, with. "I might have a problem…"

Tony shook his head, but he couldn't help the smile that creased his face.

"Yeah… you might, at that."

OOOOOOOOO

It was Pepper who arrived, first.

Not surprising, really, since she lived closest. She had barely reached the door when she heard the magnetic lock click and it opened, revealing Tony Stark. The billionaire was dressed casually in jeans and a button down shirt, but looked good, and she could tell that he was freshly shaved and showered. He smiled and moved, gesturing for her to come in.

"Hey."

"Hi. Merry Christmas."

She walked in and saw Peter by the tree. The little boy came running over, and Pepper smiled, despite herself.

"Oh, no…" she said, handing Tony the packages that she'd been carrying so she could put her finger under Peter's chin to tilt his head up to give her a better look at his face. "What happened?"

Peter's expression was chagrined, and his face turned pink. That is, all but the part on his chin, and jaw and cheeks where there was a crudely drawn goatee. One that was clearly drawn with a black marker.

"I thought it'd be neat to see what I'd look like with the same beard as Tony," the boy said.

Stark smirked, setting the presents on the piano shaped clarinet that was still wrapped, despite Peter's cajoling and hopeful expressions to open it, early.

"Needless to say, he didn't consider that he was using a permanent marker when he drew it."

She shook her head.

"And you let him?"

"Of course not. I was in here, getting the ham ready, and he was in his room."

Pepper wet her thumb and scrubbed with it at Peter's cheek.

"Poor baby."

"It's not coming off any time soon," Tony assured her. "We tried everything."

"Even peanut butter…" Peter added.

She frowned, looking at her boss.

"Peanut butter?"

"JARVIS suggested hairspray, but I don't have any. And rubbing alcohol. Yet another something I don't have. So we tried egg yolks, crackers and peanut butter, hoping that it might break any chemical bonds on his skin."

"I could have told you that wasn't going to work."

"Yes, well, we'll deal with it, later," he said, winking down at Peter. "He doesn't have school for another week, and it's too late to do Christmas cards. Plenty of time to figure it out."

Peter wiped his cheek with the back of his hand.