"He's on his way up with Phil…"

Tony nodded, unable to suppress the cheerful smile that creased his handsome face. He was really looking forward to surprising Peter – but even more than that, he missed him and was really looking forward to spending time with the little guy, in person.

And sleeping in his own bed.

"He's coming here, right?"

They were in Pepper's office. Stark had been there long enough to greet her with a small cactus plant and a dozen roses to thank her for being willing to step up and take care of his son. She'd made a lot of concessions to do it – time, and a definite change in her routine – and he wanted to make sure she understood how much it had meant to him to know that the boy was safe and being nurtured even when he couldn't be the one doing it.

"It would look suspicious if he was taken to your office," she pointed out, smiling.

She was looking forward to the surprise, as well.

"Yeah." Tony debating hiding and jumping out from behind the desk, or maybe the door, to surprise Peter, but decided that he'd have more fun if he was just casually sitting at Pepper's desk – maybe even eating a cookie – when the boy walked into the room. "How do I look?"

"Excited."

"Pfft. I'm not."

He was, though, and she knew it.

"Sit down," she suggested. "Have a cookie."

He reached for one of the Oreos that she'd plated for Peter's after school snack, and she'd brought a container of chocolate milk from her mini bar, but she and Tony didn't know if the boy would be able to sit still long enough to actually eat anything, or not.

They were both sitting at her desk, with Tony facing away from the door and Pepper facing it, when it opened with a polite knock. Peter walked in, holding his backpack and he smiled up at Coulson to thank him for walking with him before he looked over at Pepper.

"Hi, Pepper. How-" That was as far as he got, since Tony turned in his chair, just then, and Peter's jaw dropped. "Tony!"

Not dad, but Stark wasn't disappointed. Tony was what was most familiar to the boy, and dad as a default would come, eventually.

"Hey, buddy. I'm home."

Peter's backpack hit the floor and the boy raced across the room, even as Tony stood up to greet him, properly. Pepper watched from her desk as the boy launched himself into Tony's arms, and Tony caught him, sweeping him up into his embrace.

"I missed you," Peter murmured, hugging Tony, fiercely.

"I missed you, too," Tony assured him. "So much."

They were silent for a long moment, simply holding onto each other and reassuring themselves that the other was safe and still loved him, but Peter finally pulled back just enough to smile up at the man.

"Did you bring me a present?"

Stark allowed his eyes to widen in surprise.

"A present?" he asked, dramatically. "Was I supposed to?"

Peter nodded, excitedly.

"It's in all the stories… dad comes home from a work trip with a present for the kid."

"Huh." Tony smiled, pressed a kiss against Peter's cheek and then set him on his feet. "There might be a present for you, at that. Pepper? Do you see any souvenir bags around here?"

She smiled, too, pleased at how happy they both looked.

"Something like this one?" she asked, reaching down to the large bag that was sitting behind her desk, out of sight. "It's pretty heavy."

The boy gasped with happiness and hurried over to take it from her, only barely able to remember his manners and thank her as he did. Then he carried it over to the sofa in her office and opened it while Tony and Pepper followed and watched.

"Wow!"

There was more than one present. Tony and the others hadn't been fighting bad guys 24/7, after all, and the billionaire wasn't the only one who had worked his way through the local marketplaces, looking for items that the little boy might like.

"Natasha and the others have bags for you, too," Tony told him, smiling as the boy pulled out a t-shirt with the cityscape of the South American town that had been closest to their operation area. "We're going to go to the compound, this weekend so they can give them to you." He smirked, looking at Pepper. "I had no intention of waiting that long, of course."

"Of course."

"This is awesome," Peter said, happily. There was a box of Legos, some new Hot Wheels, the shirt, a couple of clever little toys that were puzzles made of wood and one other item that clearly hadn't been purchased for Peter. "Is this for Ned?" he asked, holding up the keychain.

Tony smiled.

"It is. Can't forget your best friend, can I?"

"Wow. That's really neat."

"I'll give it to him, myself," Tony told him. "To make it special."

"It's going to be."

"I was thinking we might invite him out to the compound with us – if Eric says it's okay. Think he'd like that?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've cleared it with Nick." He wanted to spend time with his son, of course, but he wanted Peter to spend time with kids his own age and Ned, especially. "He might as well get used to hanging out with superheroes, right? Especially if you're going to be one, someday."

Peter's eyes were wide with surprise.

"I didn't think about that. Are we going to tell him what I can do?"

"No." Tony wasn't ready for that, yet. "We'll wait a few years, maybe. Give you a chance to learn what you can do, first. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Peter hugged Tony, again, digging a metal car into the man's side, almost painfully. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Ready for your snack?"

"Do I have to go to daycare, today?" Peter asked.

"No. Not if you don't want to." He smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "I was talking to Pepper and was thinking that you and I might take her out to a fancy dinner to thank her for taking such good care of you while I was gone. What do you think?"

"Great." He looked at Pepper. "McDonald's?"

Tony snorted.

"Think fancier, son."

"Pepper likes McDonald's."

He knew; they'd been there twice in the time that he'd been in her care.

"She likes Italian, too, though," Stark said. "And I'm in the mood for something savory. We'll let her finish up what she needs to get done, today – which she assures me won't take too long – and then we'll go to dinner before taking her home. We need to get your things from her place, anyway, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll meet you in your office in thirty minutes," Pepper told Tony.

"We'll be ready." He'd already changed into a suit, rather than the clothes that he'd been traveling in, and Peter's school uniform was good enough for the restaurant. "Grab your cookies, buddy," Tony told him as they prepared to leave. "But leave Pepper a couple."

The boy did as he was told, but he hugged Pepper, tightly, too, before they left.