"What are you doing?"

Tony looked away from the display on his desk long enough to make sure it was only Pepper who had entered his office.

"Shhh. I'm watching Peter and his classmates work on their rover project," he said, quietly.

She frowned.

"Why are you whispering?"

That made him frown, too.

"I'm not supposed to be helping."

"You're spying on them," she pointed out. "That isn't really helping, is it?"

"It is not," he agreed. "Unless I am taking notes on what they are doing wrong and then happen to accidentally drop them in conversation with Peter over dinner, tonight – or at bedtime."

"Oh…"

"Don't say it like that," he said. "It's not – technically – helping. Just offering some observations on what they might do differently."

She looked at the display, watching as the four students standing at the worktable in the robotics lab discussed the various components in front of them. Well, three students were standing at the table; Peter was kneeling on a chair so he could see everything, as well. It really gave a person the perspective of just how much younger he was than the young people he went to school with.

"He's so little…"

Tony looked at the display, too. And he smiled, proudly.

"Yes, he is. But I've been watching him interacting with them – and the way that they are treating him. He's smart and they know it, and they're willing to listen to his ideas despite his age. It's impressive, really."

"Because you wouldn't have when you were that age, would you?"

"I didn't listen to anyone when I was that age," he confirmed. "I knew more than everyone, and I was comfortable with that knowledge."

"How did you get through group projects like this?"

"I avoided them."

Pepper frowned.

"Didn't that make you fail the assignment?"

"Usually." His expression was smug, despite himself. "But I was so much smarter than everyone around me that it didn't matter. Still got an A."

"Tony…"

"I'm not saying that will work for Peter," he was quick to add. "That's why I'm all for this group project. He should be getting good at working with others."

"It'll make him a better Avenger?"

Stark smiled, looking back at the screen.

"Probably. But it'll make him a better person, too, and that's my goal, really. If he saves the world that's gravy."

Her expression softened.

"That's so sweet."

Which, of course, made him scowl and immediately try to change the subject.

"Did you need something? Or did you just come in here to spread estrogen all over my office?"

She smirked.

"I was wondering what you guys had planned next weekend."

"Because…?"

"Because Ellen Anderson – who is your VPO, in case I have to remind you – inherited some property from her father out in the woods – on a lake. A hunting cabin. She's spent the last several months fixing it up."

"You want to go hunting?"

"She's selling it," Pepper told him, more amused than annoyed by the interruption. "I was thinking I'd go spend the weekend there and see if it would make a good weekend retreat. But then I thought that I might like some company and that it might be something Peter enjoyed. What do you think?"

"A weekend in the boonies?"

"Yes."

"This place has electricity? An indoor bathroom?"

"That's my understanding."

"Yeah, he'd probably love it. You do realize we're a boxed set, right? He goes, that means I come, too?"

"That's my understanding," she agreed. "Don't be an ass and I'll be happy to have you along, too."

Stark's expression turned shocked.

"Miss Potts… such language."

"Are you interested? I need to make arrangements."

"Of course. How many bedrooms are we looking at? One for us? One for Peter?"

She smiled, understanding that he was flirting, but only partially serious.

"One for me – the master bedroom," she added. "And one for Peter and one for you. Unless you want the doghouse, instead. Or the couch."

"Is there really a doghouse?"

"No."

"I'll ask him," Tony told her. "But I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that he'll be excited by the idea. How far away is it?"

"An hour or so drive. We'll figure out the details, later. I need to get back to work and you need to get back to spying on your son."

"Not spying," Tony corrected. "Discreetly helping…"

"Uh huh."

"Thank you for the invitation."

She smiled and left, and Stark turned his attention back to the display.

OOOOOOOO

It was almost time for them to finish for the day when there was a knock on the door to the robotics workroom. The three teens were clearly thrilled when Tony poked his head into the room, looking at them, expectantly.

"How's it going?"

"Great," one of the boys – the oldest of the group – told him. "This place is amazing, Mr. Stark. Thanks for letting us use it."

"You're welcome." Tony walked over to stand by the table, next to Peter's chair, but close enough to the others to make them that much more excited. "This looks pretty good…"

'It's a great design," Allison (the only girl in the group) told him. "We're so going to get an A."

"How long until you make it go?"

"We'll have it done next time we meet to work on it," was the reply.

"It's due Friday?"

Peter nodded.

"We were thinking we could meet again on Thursday to finish it."

The three older kids had volunteered Peter to ask the billionaire to let them return to finish the project on Thursday, and Peter didn't mind. It made sense, since he was most comfortable with him, of course.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll talk to your folks when they come to get you."

"They are arriving in the lobby, now," JARVIS pointed out, making the kids murmur, excitedly, at the casual way such incredible tech was showcased. "Allison's father is here to get Alan, as well."

"How did it know that?" the girl asked, curiously.

"They check in with the receptionist desk," Stark reminded her with a slight smile. "JARVIS is hardwired into the security system, so he can overhear what's being said."

"That's amazing."

Tony nodded his agreement, but he didn't respond to the compliment. He knew it was incredible tech and didn't need validation from a seventeen year old. The look Peter was giving him was plenty. He tousled his son's hair, smiling down at him before looking at the others.

"Get everything squared away and I'll meet you at the elevator. Peter can show you."

The boy nodded, and the other kids echoed the motion. Tony left, but as the door was closing behind him, the billionaire heard one of the boys telling Peter that he was a lucky kid. And Peter voicing his agreement. Which made Tony smile.

"JARVIS? Advise the lobby that we'll have the kids down there in ten minutes. Make sure the parents get offered some coffee or something while they wait."

"Will do."

He headed for his office to get Peter's things together, so they could leave, too.

OOOOOOOO

The drive home was filled with conversation about the rover project. Mainly it was Peter telling Tony about the progress that his group were making, and Tony listening as intently as if it was all new information – and as if he hadn't been lurking in the background and watching security feeds all afternoon. He didn't make any suggestions, just then; he simply enjoyed the fact that the boy he'd adopted was brilliant enough that the suggestions that he might toss out, later, were simple ones. Peter and the intelligent kids that were in on his project were doing fine without his feedback. It was only the perfectionist in Stark that was thinking of ways that the thing could be better – and he was honest enough with himself to admit that he wanted Peter's project to outshine all the others in the class.

When they pulled into the garage and stopped the car, Tony changed the subject to one that he was certain was going to be just as interesting to Peter.

"Pepper asked me what we had planned for this weekend," he said as they walked through the garage door and into the kitchen, stopping long enough to allow Peter to greet JARVIS like he did every time they arrived home.

"What did you tell her?" the boy asked, setting his backpack on the table and sloughing out of his coat. His eyes were excited, as if he knew Tony wouldn't be bringing it up if it wasn't something fun. "Are we going to the compound?"

"We could…" Stark replied. "But they're still working on their secret SHIELD project, so Natasha and Clint aren't there – and Steve and the others could be called away to help out, any time. We might be better off not making plans with them until they finish their assignment."

Peter hadn't considered that, but after a moment, he nodded.

"What, then?"

"I told her that we were a couple of bachelors, and had a big, new house, and maybe we'd…"

He trailed off, which made Peter smile.

"Yeah…?"

"Vacuum all weekend."

The boy groaned, theatrically.

"No…"

"Not interested?"

Peter shook his head, smiling.

"No."

He picked his son up and settled him on the island.

"She's going to check out a cabin in the woods that she's thinking about buying, and invited us along for the weekend."

Not surprisingly, his eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Yup. I know it sounds like the start of half the horror movies ever filmed, but we'd probably be alright. What do you think? Should I tell her that we're interested?"

"Yeah." Peter hugged himself, excitedly. "Can we go sledding?"

"I've never been there, buddy," Tony admitted, smiling. "We'll have to wait and see if there are any hills."

"Can we take a sled? Just in case?"

"It's Pepper's trip," he replied. "We'll ask her what she thinks."

"Okay." Peter smiled. "Wow."

"I'll tell her that you are on board."

"Are you going to call her, tonight?"

"Nope. It isn't fair for me to call her after she works hard all day and sees me half the time she's there. If she calls us, that's one thing. This can wait until tomorrow."

"Okay."

He was disappointed, but he understood. Kind of. Besides, he was hungry, and Tony was already turning toward the fridge, opening it.

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup?"

"Yeah."