"That went pretty well," Pepper said, looking pleased as Happy followed the reporters out of the room a little over an hour and a half later.
Proof that it had gone well, really, since the initial plan had been for them to only have an hour. The three were so careful, though, that Peter had been really enjoying himself; playing Legos with them, and the discussing coloring, and what he liked to do most. Rather than interrupt to tell them that their time was up, Tony and Pepper had allowed the extra questions and play time.
It probably didn't hurt that the boy had spent several minutes of that time opening the three gift baskets and had been genuinely excited to find more Legos, coloring books, action figures of all kinds (including Batman, Tony noted, sourly) treats, and Hot Wheels. The three news people weren't above bribery to get an exclusive and Tony wasn't above extorting them to allow it. Peter was oblivious to it all, but was the happy recipient of the machinations of both parties.
"It went great," Tony agreed. He looked at Peter. "You did great."
The boy smiled.
"They didn't ask me about what I can do, though."
"Because we're going to keep it a secret," Natasha said. She was sitting at the table, now, gnawing on a carrot stick. "The less people who know about that, the better. At least until we learn what all you can do."
"What are they talking about?" Pepper asked, curiously.
Romanoff frowned.
"She doesn't know?"
Stark shrugged.
"It never really came up."
"Are you planning on keeping it from her?"
"Not really. Like I said, we haven't really had a conversation that allowed me to introduce the-"
"What are you two talking about?" Pepper interrupted.
"Me," Peter said.
"Peter," Tony agreed.
"What about him?"
"Well, he's pretty extraordinary."
"I know."
"No. You only know some of it."
She looked at the little boy, and then back at Stark, expectantly.
"What do you mean?"
"He's smart," Tony said. "And he's cute, of course, and pretty level-headed, most of the time. But there's much more to Peter Stark than meets the eye." He smiled at Peter. "Isn't there?"
The boy nodded, smiling, shyly.
"A little. Yes."
"I still don't know what you're talking about."
"It's hard to explain," Tony replied.
"Just show her, then," Natasha said, getting to her feet and picking Peter up. "Watch this, Pepper. You're going to love it."
While Pepper and Tony watched, the assassin carried Peter to the wall, turned him around so he was facing it, and pressed the boy right up against the blank area. Then to Pepper's shock, she took a step back – and Peter stayed where he was.
"What did you do?" she asked, her expression blank with shock. "How is he staying there and not falling?"
"Well, that's still somewhat of a mystery," Tony said, walking over and plucking his son from the wall. Peter smiled as he was turned around, and rested his cheek on Tony's shoulder, looking pleased with himself. "We only know some of it – and that isn't much, because Peter doesn't know much of it, either."
Tony told her the story, but it didn't take long, of course.
"So he can literally stick to walls?" she asked, amazed.
"You saw it," Tony pointed out.
"He isn't very good at getting down, though," Natasha added. "Once he's there, he needs someone to come help him."
"I moved a little, once," Peter said. "But I went higher, and couldn't get loose."
"Does it hurt?" Pepper asked him, reaching out and taking his hand, turning it palm up so she could look at it. "When you come off, I mean?"
"No. Not when I stick, either."
"That's amazing. Like a spider, huh?"
"Or a beetle?" Natasha asked, winking at Peter.
The boy smiled, but he was watching Pepper examine his hand.
"It doesn't always stick," he told her. "Only when I might fall, or something. Then I can catch myself – or when I do it on purpose. Like in the bathtub."
Now it was Tony who smiled, his eyes amused.
"I had to get him off the wall of the tub, because he wanted to see if he would stick to a soapy wall."
"And he did?"
"Yup."
"Is that one of the reasons that you decided to adopt him?" Pepper asked. "To make sure he's close to the Avengers?"
"Nope." Tony didn't seem concerned that Peter would worry about that – and from the relaxed way Peter was acting, he wasn't concerned, either. "I adopted him because I love him and wanted to keep him for myself. I'm stingy and don't like to share. You know that. The Avengers will be able to help him use these abilities – when he's older – but right now, they're just aunts and uncles that are good company. Right, buddy?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I'm glad I know about it," Pepper said. "It's definitely not something I'd want to see him do without knowing he can do it in advance. And absolutely not something we want the general public to know about."
"Nick agrees," Natasha confirmed. "No one else really needs to know." She looked at the boy. "Don't tell anyone at school, or at daycare, right?"
"I won't."
He'd kept it a secret that long. He'd continue doing so.
"Good." She looked at Tony. "Need me for anything else?"
"No. I appreciate you coming."
"A chance to intimidate the press?" she asked, smirking. "Any time."
"We found a house, Natasha," Peter said. "You should come see it."
Romanoff looked over at the billionaire.
"You're moving?"
"To a house," Stark confirmed. "He wants a swimming pool and the people who live below me might complain if I tried setting that up in the apartment."
"True." She turned to Peter. "It has a pool?"
"Yeah."
"And Tony has already given you ground rules about not going close to it by yourself?"
Peter nodded.
"Yeah."
It had been the first thing they'd discussed, once they decided – together – that they both liked the new place.
"Good. We'll want to check it out," she told Tony.
SHIELD would make sure the neighbors weren't crazies, or anyone who might pose a threat to Tony, or to Peter, of course.
"I'll send you the address."
The spy kissed Peter, soundly, and left.
"I have work to do," Pepper said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "What are you two going to do?"
"I'm going to work on my suit," Tony told her. "I'll be in my workroom if you need me."
"With Peter?"
"No." he shook his head. "Peter will be in daycare."
The little boy smiled.
"They're camping," he said, clearly excited. "We're going to build a tent, and make s'mores."
Stark rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he was pleased to see Peter so excited.
"They're going to pump him full of sugar, and then turn him back over to me to deal with the consequences."
Pepper smiled, amazed at the difference in the man.
"Have fun with that."
"I will."
Probably.
OOOOOOOO
"Where's Peter?"
"Taking a bath."
"Again?"
Tony shrugged.
"What can I say, Agent Romanoff? He's a little boy, and they tend to get dirty, quickly. What did you learn?"
"The school is ready for him to come back – the security resource officer and the Vice Principal should be calling you to set up a meeting to discuss their preferences for helping keep him – and their other students – on as normal a schedule as possible when Peter returns to classes."
"Yes. The call came in right before I went to pick him up from daycare. I'll meet with them, tomorrow morning at the school."
"I'll have Maria and Phil meet you there."
"Ten o'clock."
"Good."
"And the house?"
She smiled.
"It's nice. A little big for a single guy and an undersized eight year old, don't you think?"
"Probably."
"The neighbors aren't raising any red flags, and the security system is in place. I assume you'll be taking care of the upgrades?"
"Of course. JARVIS will be wired into the entire place and will handle that. No dead bodies, or haunted stories or anything?"
"Not that I've found. The tree in the backyard might need a tree fort, or a tire swing."
"We'll see. If Peter wants one, we'll build him one."
"You're such a softie."
He scowled – mainly because he couldn't deny it, and he really wanted to.
"Did you have anything else productive to add to this conversation Agent Romanoff?"
Natasha smirked.
"Nope. When are you going to move?"
"The house needs some remodeling to accommodate my systems and JARVIS. I want it all in place before we move in. That way it's a smooth transition for Peter – and for me."
"Smart."
"I'm a genius," he reminded her.
"What are you doing tonight?"
"We're going for pizza with some old friends."
She smiled.
"Sounds fun."
"I'll be there," Stark told her. "It'll be unforgettable."
Another amused eyeroll.
"I'll talk to you, later."
"Thanks for the call."