"Hey, Peter."

Peter smiled at the greeting.

"Hi, Happy."

The driver was standing by the rear door of the sleek, black, sedan, and he opened it for the boy and the woman who was holding his hand.

"Miss Potts."

She smiled, too.

"Hi, Happy."

"Boss wouldn't let you go on the Avenger mission?" Happy asked Peter as he watched the boy scramble into the car and set his backpack on the floor before starting to buckle himself in.

Peter shook his head.

"Avengers only, he said."

"Well, it's better this way," Happy told him.

"Why?"

"Because I don't get to see enough of you."

That made Peter smile, again, as he recognized the sincerity in the comment.

"Thank you."

Happy winked at Pepper, and shut the back door. He got behind the wheel of the car, and made sure his passengers were ready before he started it and pulled out into traffic.

"You already know where we're going?" Peter asked him.

"Of course, I do."

Peter had been hoping for a hint, but now it seemed as if Pepper must have told him what the destination was before, when she'd called him to request his services after they'd had breakfast.

Pepper smiled, reaching out and brushing her fingers through Peter's curls.

"It'll be worth the anticipation," she assured him.

"I know."

He looked at the watch on his wrist, but resisted the urge to try and contact Tony, yet. For one thing, he didn't know which buttons to push, and for another, he was probably busy, just then. It would wait until later. Maybe JARVIS would tell him when Tony was free – or would tell Tony when Peter and Pepper were done with whatever they were doing – and he could talk to him, then. The boy sat back in his seat, but watched out the window, trying to figure out where they were going by the buildings that they were passing.

OOOOOOO

"Wow…"

Pepper smiled, reaching almost automatically for Peter's hand.

"I thought you might like it."

"Batman Land?" Happy asked, looking up at the sign as he came to stand on the other side of Peter. Proving that he wasn't just driving them, that day, but he was one of the designated bodyguards for the duo. "I didn't even know this place was here."

"One of my interns mentioned it to me a while back," Pepper explained. "I hadn't had a chance to check it out – and I didn't want to come alone – so when Tony called me, this morning, I thought it might be a fun time to see what all is inside."

"It's great," Peter said, looking up at the sign, as well.

It was a single building – almost a warehouse – and the Batman logo was above the main door. There was a life-sized figure of the caped crusader guarding the door, with his sidekick Robin guarding the other side.

"All things Batman," Happy read, shaking his head. "We need to take a lot of pictures."

Pepper smirked.

"Tony will love them."

OOOOO

"Are you kidding me…?"

"What?"

Tony held his phone up so Clint could see the picture that had just been texted to him. It was Peter standing beside a Lego Batman character that was taller than he was.

"Pepper is subverting my son."

"Batman is Cooper's favorite, too," Barton told him. "Even better than Superman."

Stark rolled his eyes, but looked at the picture, again, and had to smile at just how happy Peter looked.

"They need an Ironman Land…"

"They have one," Sam pointed out. "It's called Stark Tower."

The billionaire smirked.

"It isn't exactly the same thing."

"You don't have time to deal with Ironman Land," Natasha pointed out from the front of the jet. She'd been able to listen in on the conversation, easily, with the intercom system. And it wasn't that big of a plane, in the first place. "Let Batman have his place in the sun."

Tony grumbled about that, but before he could respond, another picture came through – and then another. And another. He had to smile, because it looked like Pepper (and Happy) were doing a great job of keeping Peter distracted. He'd owe them both, big time.

"We won't be gone too long," Clint reminded him, also looking at the photos, and understanding better than any of them how hard it was to leave someone behind while going on a mission.

"Yeah…"

It would still feel like forever, though.

OOOOOOO

It wasn't how Pepper had anticipated spending her Saturday. She'd planned on sitting in front of the gas fireplace, maybe not even getting out of her pajamas, and reading a book. Or perhaps – if she felt a little more ambitious – maybe getting dressed and going for a walk in the park and enjoying the brisk weather.

Spending the day focused on Batman with an eight-year-old had definitely not been in the script.

But it had been fun, she had to admit. She and Happy had toured the entire place from display, to display – and most of them were interactive. The boy drove the bat mobile in a 3-D video car chase against the Penguin, and solved a mystery against the Joker. And played video games, threw bat-shaped boomerangs at tin bottles and explored countless displays of all of the movies, the merchandising and especially the toys.

Always cheered to see the little boy so happy, Pepper knew Tony would want to see it, too, so she made certain to take as many pictures as she could. She sent them on to the billionaire as she took them, and would occasionally allow Happy or Peter to cajole her into being in one of the pictures, as well.

"This was great," Peter said, sincerely, when they finally left. "Thank you for bringing me."

Pepper nodded.

"I'm glad you had fun. So did I."

"Yeah?"

"Of course." She smiled, looking down at the Batman t-shirt she was wearing. A match for the ones that Peter and Happy both had on, as well. "How else would I have found out what size Batman shirt fit me best?"

Happy rolled his eyes, but the normally gruff driver hadn't been able to say no when Peter had suggested that they all get matching t-shirts (and one for everyone else, too). The boy had insisted on paying for them, and Pepper realized that she shouldn't have been surprised when he'd pulled a prepaid VISA out of his pocket and handed it shyly to the woman behind the counter. Nine t-shirts and a child-sized sweatshirt had come to more than $300 but Peter had plenty to cover it. Of course he did, she mused, shaking her head but putting the shirt on over her blouse when Peter had handed it to her. Tony wasn't going to let his little boy go around without spending money, after all, and an eight-year-old wasn't going to be carrying cash.

"It looks good on you," Peter assured her.

"Thank you."

"Ready to go?" Happy asked.

Pepper looked at Peter, but he was clearly ready to defer to her, because he looked at her, rather than reply.

"Definitely," she said. "I'm hungry."

They'd had a Bat-burger and fries, but she needed something a little greener in her system, like a salad, and was ready for a little down time.

She just hoped that Peter was, too.

"Me, too," Peter agreed, as Happy opened the car door and he piled into the backseat, his backpack a bit fuller, and the bags with the t-shirts for the others in his hand. "Can we have pizza?"

She ignored Happy's snort of amusement, as if the man had known she was hoping for something less greasy, and nodded, instead, as she reached for her seatbelt.

"You can have whatever you want. We'll stop and pick one up."

"Great. Happy?"

"I'm not staying for dinner," the driver told him with a pleased look at being invited. "But thank you, anyway."

He closed the door, and Peter turned to Pepper.

"Did you talk to Tony?"

"Not, yet, honey," she said. "But he knows what we've been doing. I sent him pictures of everything."

Peter had assumed that she was, but he smiled to have it confirmed.

"Then he knows we're not sitting at home worried about him."

"Correct."

"Did you tell him about his Batman shirt?"

"Not, yet." She smiled, and once more reached out to brush her fingers against his cheek. He was so cute, it was impossible to not want to smoosh those little cheeks – although she settled for the touch, instead. "Let's surprise him with it, alright?"

"Sounds fun."

"I agree."