Mondays worked on different schedules than the other days did, now.

Rather than Maria or Phil dropping Peter off at the tower, Tony was waiting for them outside the school. One of the agents would deliver Peter to the billionaire's car so that Tony could take Peter to the appointment with Doctor Wayne, and then Stark would take him to daycare – provided Peter was up for it, and if they didn't have something else planned. Pepper had helped Tony clear his Monday afternoon schedule, now, just in case something happened and Peter needed Tony more than the shareholders, or the VPs did.

Peter had been excited when Tony had brought the idea up on Monday morning, and he was clearly still excited when he'd rushed out of the front door after class, with Maria walking beside him and holding his hand to keep him from running ahead.

Stark noted with approval that while there were a number of students milling around the front of the building as well, none of them were close to Peter. As if by prearranged agreement, they were giving the boy and the agent a wide berth. Tony didn't know if SHIELD had briefed the students or not, but it didn't matter, he supposed. His little boy was so much smaller compared to the others that he definitely didn't want him to be jostled.

Even accidentally.

"Hi," Peter said, happily, when Maria released his hand once he was in reach of the billionaire.

"Hey, buddy." Tony decided that Peter wouldn't mind being picked up and hugged – even in front of his classmates – and he swept the boy into his arms, backpack and all and hugged him. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah." Peter hugged him for a moment and then leaned back. "We discussed the Hot Wheel track you and I made, last night."

"In art class?" Stark asked, making Peter smile.

"It was for physics. I mentioned it, and then one of the kids mentioned that she'd done stuff like that with her brothers when they were little, and it started a discussion on kinetic energy and variables and slopes."

"Wow."

"We missed out on a quiz, because of it," Peter said.

"Which is probably one of the reasons the kids were so into the conversation," Hill told Tony. She winked. "You got him?"

"I do. Thanks."

Tony set the boy down as Maria told Peter that she'd see him in the morning, and she walked off without another word, vanishing into the crowd, but almost certainly not finished for the day. Stark had no doubt that there were more than one SHIELD agents assigned to shadow him and Peter as they drove to the boy's appointment – probably even in the parking garage. Just to make sure nothing happened.

Tony didn't mind. In fact, he appreciated it. As long as the agents didn't get underfoot, he was fine with having an entire platoon of them. He took Peter's backpack and opened the car door.

"Buckle up, buddy," he said.

"Yeah."

They continued to talk about Peter's day as they drove to the appointment. Since they arrived at the psychologist's office a little early, the subject switched over to Tony's day while they waited in the deserted waiting room. It wasn't a long conversation since Peter had spoken to Tony at lunch time and knew what he'd been doing – and he hadn't really had anything important afterward, having cleared his schedule for Peter's appointments on Mondays.

Dr. Wayne greeted Tony, cheerfully, and invited Peter into his office to chat. While he waited, Tony pulled out his phone and took a selfie with the office in the background and sent it to Pepper – for no other reason than because he was bored. She sent back a smiley face, but then a meeting emoji that explained to him why she wasn't going to call and chat, and Tony grumbled half-heartedly, and put his phone away and picked up one of the magazines from the end table.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Anything we need to change up?" Tony asked half an hour later when he was invited into the office to join them at Dr. Wayne's desk.

He smiled at Peter as he sat down, noting that the boy looked cheerful and relaxed.

Obviously, Peter liked Dr. Wayne and was comfortable with him, already. That was a good sign, he decided.

"Peter tells me that he only had one weird dream, last week," Wayne reported, equally as relaxed with the boy – and Ironman. "And he woke up three times, but was able to go back to sleep all three times with minimal interruption in his sleep."

"That's what I have, too."

JARVIS kept a log for them, after all.

"That's good. A weekend spent with the Avengers out in their secret compound – and I heard all about Valentine's day with Natasha."

Tony smiled at that, reaching over and tousling Peter's hair.

"So have I."

Peter smiled at him; a look that was so sweet and happy Tony felt his eyes sting.

"He doesn't have anything that he feels anxious about, either, and he tells me that school is going well."

"So what's our homework for this week?" Tony asked.

"Same as last week. Keep track of any dreams, watch out for anything out of the ordinary and have a fun time, together."

"We can do that," Stark said. "Right, Peter?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll see you, next Monday."

"Thanks." He got to his feet. "Let's go home, son."

OOOOOOOOOO

As they drove home, Peter told Tony what he and Dr. Wayne had discussed.

Not because Tony asked, but Peter was excited by the appointments that he had with the man and was eager to share what they talked about – and what they did, because apparently it wasn't all talking. Tony was curious, at any rate, because he wanted to know what was said and done at a psychologist appointment. He'd allowed Pepper to talk him into making his own appointment, after all, and was going to be seeing one, himself, later that week.

Peter told him how he and Dr. Wayne colored pictures in coloring books while they talked, and sometimes played with Legos.

Tony doubted he and his therapist would be doing that.

When they got home, he parked in the garage, next to the bicycle that Steve had bought Peter for Christmas, and the boy led the way into the house, tossing his backpack on the table, since he had some homework to do, and would work on it before dinner so they would have time to play before bed.

"Hey," Tony said, catching him before he could get involved in anything too distracting. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah?"

Tony picked the boy up and sat him on the island so he was more on level with him.

"What would you think if I told you that Pepper was going to be my girlfriend?"

Peter's eyes widened.

"Is she?"

"We were thinking about it, yes. As long as you're good with it."

"Wow. How come?"

"What?"

"Why is she going to be your girlfriend?"

"Because I like her and she likes me. We discussed it, and we want to try to make a go at it."

The boy's expression grew awed.

"Did you do it?"

Now Tony's expression grew pained. That hadn't really been a question he'd expected – although, in retrospect, he probably should have, he realized. And he should have asked Dr. Wayne how he could answer it – or if he should. He was on his own, and he wasn't a big fan of lying – especially to Peter.

"Yes. But don't you even think about saying that to Pepper."

"She doesn't know?"

Tony smiled, amused, despite the discussion.

"Of course she knows, buddy. But it isn't polite to bring it up."

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

Ugh.

"Well… sex is a personal thing. It's intimate. Some people – a lot of people, maybe – don't like talking about it. See?"

"No."

He genuinely looked confused, and Tony brushed his bangs back from his forehead, affectionately. Peter was so mature, sometimes, and so child-like the rest. Which made sense, he reminded himself.

"Just trust me on this, and don't mention doing it with her. Or anyone else."

"Not even you?"

"You can always talk to me about it," Tony reminded him. "We're father and son. You can talk to me about anything. Understand?"

"What was it like?"

"Let's bring this conversation back to the topic sentence," Stark said, really wanting to avoid that discussion, entirely. "You like Pepper, right?"

"Yes."

The reply was immediate.

"Love her?"

Peter nodded.

"I think so, yes. Do you?"

Tony hesitated, looking into those intelligent brown eyes that he loved so much, and then he nodded.

"Yeah, buddy, I do love her."

"Is she going to live with us?" Peter asked, suddenly excited. "May's boyfriends lived with us. Not all at once, but when one got mad and left, another would come. Is Pepper coming to live here?"

"That's a conversation that we'll need to have," Tony told his son. He smiled. "And by we, I mean me and Pepper. You can't ask her."

"Why not?"

"Because we want her to move in with us because she wants to move in with us, right?"

"Yes."

"If you ask her, then she might say yes only because she loves you and doesn't want to hurt your feelings by saying no. But then, if she didn't really want to move in, she might not be happy living here, with us. And we don't want her unhappy, do we?"

Peter shook his head.

"No." He smiled. "I do want her to move in with us."

"I can tell." Tony leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I do, too. But I can't really ask her, either – for the same reason you can't."

Peter frowned.

"Then how will she know we want her to live here?"

"We'll have to tell her without words."

"What?"

The billionaire chuckled.

"It's tricky, I know. Just be yourself, alright? If she wants to live with us, it'll happen."

"Wow." Peter hugged himself, making Tony smile. And then – again – his expression grew excited. "Are you going to marry her?"

There was just a moment of panic at that particular thought, and then Tony realized that there wasn't even close to as much panic as there was enthusiasm for the idea. He shrugged, though.

"That's another one of those things that will have to be figured out – without asking her, right now."

"But-"

"I'll ask her, eventually," Tony interrupted. "But we only just started with the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Let's not overwhelm her – or scare her away. Alright?"

"Okay." He paused. "Girlfriend/boyfriend stuff is complicated. Isn't it?"

Tony hugged him, picking him up and tucking his head under his chin.

"That, it is. I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." He felt Peter hugging him, too. "I love you."

"And I'll still love you, even if Pepper is in our lives."

"I know."

She already was, right? He didn't feel shorted by her hanging out with Tony, too.

"She's coming for dinner, if you're alright with that?"

Peter nodded, and pulled back enough that he could look up at Tony.

"Tonight?"

"Yes. She'll bring dinner with her, she said."

"Okay."

"Do your homework, son," Tony told him, setting him on his feet, now. "We'll figure out what she might want to do, after we eat."

"We could show her the hot wheels track."

"Definitely."