The corridors of the compound were silent as Tony carried Peter through them. He had a little trouble getting his door open while keeping Peter from dropping, but he managed it, and used his foot to close it, behind him.

"Welcome back, sir."

"Thanks, JARVIS. Anything I need to know?"

"SHIELD is conducting broad searches into the whereabouts of all known HYDRA agents, and have already begun searches through the residences of Rumlow and Sitwell. They have also begun searching through data obtained in those searches."

"You've already hacked all their systems?" Tony asked as he set Peter on the bed, kissing the boy's temple when he opened his eyes at the change of position.

"Correct. Both men have extensive files that are security encrypted. Beyond the normal protocols that SHIELD uses."

"You can get into them?"

"I'm already working on it."

"Where are we?" Peter asked, sleepily, looking up at Tony.

"Shh, buddy. We're at the compound. I'm putting you to bed."

"It's night-time?"

"Yeah." Tony pulled Peter's shirt off, easing it over the sore arm. "How do you feel?"

"Tired. Sore. Am I okay?"

"You're amazing," Tony assured him, taking the boy's shoes and socks off. "Let's get you under the covers."

"Okay." Peter didn't argue when Tony pulled the blankets back and then situated him. "You're staying?"

"Definitely." He leaned over his son and pressed a kiss against the cheek that wasn't bruised. "I need to go change, but JARVIS is right here, with us, and will keep you company until I get back."

"Alright."

Tony tucked the blankets around him, and smiled down at the boy.

"I love you."

That made Peter smile, of course.

"I love you, too."

By the time he changed into something more comfortable than the suit that he'd been wearing and returned to the bed, Peter was asleep, again. Tony settled beside him, not at all surprised, and pulled out his phone.

Pepper answer, immediately, as if she'd been waiting for the call – which she had been, of course.

"How is he?"

"Asleep."

"Is he hurt?"

"Minor injuries."

"Thank God."

"And Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton," Tony added.

"So what happened?"

"I can't tell you over the phone, Pep."

His line was always secured, but she didn't let him integrate JARVIS into her communications, so he didn't know for certain that her side was free of listeners.

"Are you at the compound?"

"We are."

"For the weekend?"

"I think so. It'll depend on how Peter feels – and how I feel about letting out from under the watchful eye of the security system, here."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Are we sure he's safe out there?"

"He's safe anywhere JARVIS is."

And where he was, of course – but the AI was already working on files of all of the personnel at the compound, looking for any tie (no matter how remote) to the people who had perpetuated the attempt on Peter.

"Let me know when you know," Pepper told him. "I want to check on him."

Her tone made it clear that she was checking on him, too, and he appreciated it.

"I will."

"Need anything?"

"Not tonight," he replied. "Thank you. I'll call you in the morning."

"Good night."

The call ended and Tony set the phone aside, glancing at the time as he did. It was still relatively early, and he was restless with nervous energy, but he forced himself to hold still, in deference to the little boy sleeping beside him. As if in response to that, Peter mumbled something in his sleep and rolled toward Stark, pressing his face into Tony's side, his arm coming over his stomach to cuddle even closer. Tony felt a wave of love wash over him at the action, and he brushed his fingers through Peter's fine curls, tears burning his eyes at the thought of someone attempting to take the boy from him.

The worry that he'd been feeling turned into relief, and then anger, but all of it was shelved – for the moment – as he spent time with his son.

"JARVIS? Make sure you route anything that will help Romanoff and Nick discover the people behind this over to SHIELD's database."

"Already doing it, sir."

"Thanks."

OOOOOOOOOO

When Peter woke, he was immediately aware of the ache in his arm, and that he wasn't alone in his bed. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he wasn't in his own bed, either. He was in Tony's – and Tony was lounging beside him, looking at his tablet.

At least he was, until Peter moved beside him. Then he put the tablet aside and ran his hand along his son's forehead, pushing his hair back.

"Good morning."

Peter smiled; an automatic reaction to the love in Tony's expression.

"Good morning."

"How do you feel?"

"My arm hurts."

"And your face?"

The boy's smile widened.

"If I say no are you going to say it's killing you?"

"What?" Tony frowned, but then he smiled, too, when he figured out what he meant. It was an old joke, so he was surprised Peter knew it. "Well… maybe. Did your aunt used to do that?"

"Sometimes," he confirmed. "But she never meant it."

Tony could tell just by the happy expression that had made Peter's eyes light up that it was the case.

"I'll keep that in mind." Tony brushed his fingertips against Peter's cheek, feeling the swelling and seeing the bruise, but noticing that the touch didn't seem to hurt. "You slept through dinner, last night. Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

Which made the billionaire nod, pleased. It was one less thing to worry about, then, since the surgeon had mentioned loss of appetite as an indication he wasn't feeling well. He pushed those curls from Peter's forehead, again, with a tender motion that he knew would shock many people who didn't know him.

"Then why don't you go take a bath, and then we'll go have breakfast."

"A bath?" Peter's brow furrowed – which Tony had long since decided was adorable. "I'm not dirty."

Stark snorted.

"You're a little boy; I guarantee you're dirty."

The actual idea was that a bath would be soothing. He had been told to have him take one if he had trouble falling asleep the night, before, but that hadn't proven to be an issue.

Peter didn't look convinced, but he didn't argue, either.

"Okay. What are we going to do today?"

"We'll wait and see," came the reply. "I know that the others want to talk to you about what happened, yesterday – and I think Pepper may show up on our doorstep."

His eyes lit up.

"She is?"

"Yep. Wants to check on you, too. Another reason to have a bath, right? Women don't like their men stinky."

"You wear perfume."

"I wear cologne," Tony corrected with another amused snort. "And that's a different kind of stink. You'll see." He pulled the blankets back. "Go take a bath, buddy. And don't hurry through it, alright? We have all weekend."

"Alright…"

Still looking just a little uncertain – or maybe rebellious and Tony just didn't know it well enough to recognize it – Peter rolled out of the bed, wincing when he put his weight onto the injured arm, but not making any indication that it was hurting so badly that it needed to be looked at, immediately. The surgeon had already promised Tony that he'd check Peter that morning, so that would be one of their first stops after breakfast.

He smiled, softly, as he watched the boy leave his quarters and go to his own room. Tony's bathtub was bigger, but the avengers had set Peter's up with bubble and toys to play with while in the tub, and that was much better than size considerations. When the door closed, Tony got up, too. He needed a shower.

"You got him?"

JARVIS answered, immediately.

"He's fine."