"You're really taking both boys out to the compound?"
Tony nodded, settling into the chair across from Pepper's desk and looking smug.
"I am."
"You don't think two little boys running amok at the Avenger's top secret compound isn't a recipe for disaster?"
"Nope. It's going to be great."
"Two little boys," Pepper repeated, a faint smile on her expression.
"They're the avengers," Stark reminded her. "They can keep track of two little kids. I'll be there, too, of course."
Nick had insisted on that, actually, but Tony hadn't intended on leaving his little guy and Ned at the compound and go off on a weekend vacation, or something. He was looking forward to watching Peter introduce Ned to the compound. The boy's friend had already met many of the Avengers at the housewarming party, so he'd be over the hero worship part of things and would be able to enjoy himself.
"Because you being there will keep everyone out of trouble…" Pepper said, gently sarcastic, and clearly amused.
"Exactly."
"You blew up a volcano in your workroom…"
"It was a controlled experiment."
"A controlled experiment gone somewhat wrong."
"That's what experiments do, sometimes," the billionaire said, shrugging. "The one he took to school, today, is much more stable. We spent last night making sure of it."
"You don't get to be there to watch him set it off in class?"
"Nope. It would be a distraction. None of the other kids' parents will be there. Peter stands out enough as it is."
"That's very mature of you…"
Now he was the one who smirked.
"Right?"
She rolled her eyes, but had to smile. Tony was so much more enjoyable to be around, lately. Peter's presence had mellowed him, or matured him, or calmed him. She didn't know which – or maybe it was all of the above.
"When are you leaving?"
"Peter gets out of school at 3:00. Ned gets out at 2:45. Eric is going to deliver Ned here, to the tower, and we'll go when Peter gets here."
"No daycare?"
"With the avengers waiting for him? Not a chance."
"Good point."
"Want to come out for the weekend?"
She smiled at the invitation, but shook her head.
"Another time, perhaps."
Having the little boy stay with her the last weekend had pushed many little projects she had had lined up to the back burner, and she intended to work on them that weekend, instead.
"It'll be fun."
"Are you going to experiment on Peter?"
"With Peter," Tony corrected. "He's a little boy; we're not experimenting on him. I'm not a monster."
She hid her smile.
"Sorry. Are you going to be experimenting with Peter this weekend? Climbing walls? Lifting elephants? That kind of thing."
"No. Ned doesn't know what Peter can do and we want to keep it that way. At least for now."
"I can understand that."
She'd been in the room when Tony had discussed it with Peter, after all.
"Besides, there are plenty of other things to keep the boys interested. We don't need to do experiments."
Plenty of time for that, later.
"Try not to burn the place down. I'm sure Director Fury wouldn't appreciate that."
"I'll keep that in mind."
They spent some time in her office, but the discussion moved to several important meetings and visits that were coming up the next week. Pepper preferred to remind him ahead of time about such things. He could not show up, and even still claim that he forgot, but he couldn't ever say that she hadn't told him.
OOOOOOOO
"Well?"
Even though he was only seeing him on the phone screen (Peter had a cell phone, but it didn't have the 3D tech that Tony utilized with his own) the billionaire could see how happy his son looked. He also couldn't miss that there was a smear of reddish-orange on the boy's forehead.
"It was awesome," Peter told him. "It went just right, and the lava blew all over the place, like a real volcano."
"But not like it did in the workroom?"
"No. Not like that." Peter grinned. "But pretty big. We had a bit of a mess."
"Did you help clean it up?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm late for lunch." The boy didn't look too upset about the labor. "I got an A."
Tony smiled.
"Good job."
"Thanks."
"Maria is going to bring you back to the tower, right?"
Peter looked up at the SHIELD agent, who was seated next to him in the lunchroom. She nodded, unable to hide her smile at how excited Peter looked. And how excited he'd been all day.
"Yes," Peter answered.
"Good. Ned will probably make it here before you."
Since they'd spoken to Eric – and Ned – the evening before, Peter already knew that. He was excited, though.
"Right."
Peter's little luggage bag was sitting by his desk in Tony's office, where Stark had set it that morning. The boy had his backpack, but that only held schoolbooks and his tablet. And the bear. Peter hadn't wanted to leave it in his room at home, and he told Tony that he didn't mind carrying it around school that day in his pack.
"Need anything?"
"Not right now," Peter assured him. "I'll see you after school."
"Yes. Be good."
The boy nodded.
"I will."
OOOOOOOOO
Peter was a little later than they'd anticipated.
Not that anything was wrong, Maria Hill was quick to assure Tony when she'd called to let him know they were running behind. Peter's last class of the day had ended on time, but his teacher had asked him to stay just a moment longer to discuss an assignment that was coming up.
One that was going to be a team assignment, and the man had wanted to ask Peter which three of the kids in his class the little boy was most comfortable with. It was a concession to the boy's age, and while Peter didn't understand the need for it, Agent Hill had been listening in with interest, and was pleased that the three Peter chose as his potential teammates were all seniors, all exceptional students (which described most of the kids in the accelerated school) and were the ones that would be least likely to be annoying when they spent any prolonged time with the boy – or his adopted father.
Ned was sitting in one of the chairs across from Tony's desk when Peter opened the door to the billionaire's office. Tony was in his chair, talking to Eric, who had been sitting beside Ned and smiled when the boy walked into the room. He didn't get a chance to greet his son, though. Not right away.
"Peter!" Ned jumped off out of the chair, hurrying over and brandishing the keychain that he'd been handed as soon as Tony had greeted him and Eric. "Look what Mr. Stark brought me back from his avenger's mission!"
"Wow." Peter had seen it before, of course, but he grinned at how excited his friend was. "It's a good one for your collection, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Ned was pleased at how suitably impressed his friend was. "He said that he'd try to remember to get one every time he went anywhere."
"Too bad they don't sell keychains at the compound," Peter said. He turned and hugged Eric, who had moved to stand beside Ned. "Hi, Eric."
"Peter," his former foster dad said, picking him up and hugging him, close, for a long moment. "You look great, pal."
"I am great," he assured him. "Did you adopt Ned, yet?"
"We signed everything," was the reply as the big man let him down. "But we're waiting to see the judge, now. It can take a while, unfortunately."
"Pepper could get you one," Peter said. "I bet she wouldn't mind."
"That is a fine idea," Tony agreed.
"You shouldn't-"
"Make things smoother for you?" Stark asked. "It's the least I could do for you and your wife – and Ned. If you're interested, I'll see what we can do about speeding things up."
Ned looked up, hopefully, and Eric smiled down at the bigger boy.
"We accept," he told him. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Tony looked at the boys. "Are we ready?"
"Yeah." Ned was wriggling in excitement, which made Tony and Eric both smile.
"Are we going with the SHIELD agents?"
"Nope," Stark said. "I'm driving."
"But there will be SHIELD agents around, somewhere," Peter told his friend, knowingly. "They are always around."
"Wow."
"Got everything?" Eric asked Ned.
The boy nodded.
"Yeah."
"If he doesn't, we'll figure it out," Tony assured the man. "I'll deliver him home, personally, sometime around dinner time, Sunday."
"Sounds good." He gave Ned a look. "You behave."
Ned wasn't cowed. He grinned and hugged him.
"I will."
"He will," Tony agreed.
Eric left and Tony turned his attention to the two boys.
"Peter? How was school?"
"Great."
"Ned?"
"It was great," the other boy agreed.
"Good. You guys need to pee before we go? It's a bit of a drive," he added, looking at Ned, since Peter already knew.
They both shook their heads, grinning.
"Then let's get our stuff and get going," he told them. "We need to stop and talk to Pepper on the way to the garage."