"As much as I appreciate that, and trust Peter's math – and your own – there's no way I'm going to allow you two to jump off the pool table, or anything else," he added. "If you really want to try something like that in a controlled experiment, we can set something up – tomorrow – with a dummy, or a bundle of cloth that weighs the same as one of you and see what happens."

"But it's more fun if you do the experiment, yourself," Peter said, smiling, hopefully. "Like you did when you were learning how to use your first suit."

"Yeah," Ned agreed, looking equally excited. "You wouldn't have put a bundle of cloth in your suit and shot it into the air, would you?"

Tony frowned down at the two.

"How do you know about my first suit?" he asked.

"JARVIS told me," Peter said.

"And Peter told me," Ned added. "It's so cool. You shooting way up in the sky, and then crashing into that car. And-"

"I was encased in armor," Tony pointed out. "And still managed to hurt myself."

"But you didn't die," Peter replied.

The billionaire turned to Pepper, who was smiling as she watched the exchange.

"Are you listening to this?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

She had to cover her face, though, to keep them from seeing that she was smiling. He scowled, seeing the amusement in her expressive eyes, and turned back to the boys.

"Okay. The answer is no. Got it? You can't endanger yourselves for science, especially not because JARVIS told you that I did. I was a grown up when I made my first suit, and when you guys are grown ups, then you can do whatever you want in the name of science."

"But-"

"Your dad would kill me if I let you get hurt," he interrupted, looking at Ned. "And Natasha will kill me if I let you do something dumb and hurt yourself," the billionaire said to Peter. "Not to mention, it would ruin Pepper's evening if we had to make a trip to the emergency room. Right?"

Peter hesitated, looking from Tony over to Pepper. He clearly hadn't considered that.

"Yeah. That would be bad, wouldn't it?"

"It would."

"Okay."

The boy handed the box of garbage bags over to his father, who took them and handed them to Pepper. Then he knelt down and gathered both boys into his arms and hugged them.

"You two are so freaking smart. You know that, right?"

Ned nodded, clearly surprised by the embrace, but definitely okay with the idea, and Peter was never one to decline a hug from pretty much anyone.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Stark ruffled their hair, affectionately.

"Dinner's almost ready. Go get cleaned up – and straighten up any mess in the game room, if you made one."

"Okay."

The boys left, smiling, and Tony stood up, again, shaking his head.

"Why do I get the feeling that this isn't the only time I'm going to be having that kind of conversation with him?"

"Probably with both of them," Pepper said. "Ned's intelligent, too – and he's going to be in Peter's school, next year, right?"

"Ugh."

She smiled, and hugged him.

"You loved it."

"What?" he pretended to be offended, but she was right; he loved the fact that they were so smart. And so eager to put those brains to the test. Maybe a little too fearless for his peace of mind, but so amazing. "No…"

"Uh huh." A soft kiss, because he had looked so adorable arguing with a little boy over being reckless – when he had been the worst, and she knew it better than anyone. "Are you really going to do that experiment with them, tomorrow?"

"If they want to. We could probably rig something up, in the morning."

"Would it have worked?"

"Maybe with Peter – with several bags taped together, and if he jumped from high enough up that the bags had a chance to slow his fall. He's pretty light, after all. Ned would have plummeted, though, and maybe broken something, and then Eric would have killed me, and you would have been left to raise my poor little guy all alone."

She smiled.

"He's pretty adorable."

"He wanted to jump off the pool table with a garbage bag for a parachute."

"He's eight," Pepper reminded him. "Wait until he's old enough to want a motorcycle."

Stark rolled his eyes.

"That's never happening."

"Come help me set the table," she told him, kissing him, again. "We'll feed them, and then settle in for boardgames or a movie, or something, and distract them from science."

The kiss was sweet, and he deepened it for just a moment before forcing himself to step back.

"Sounds good."

OOOOOOOO

"This is pretty fun."

Peter smiled, looking at the arrangement of sheets and blankets that were hanging from the top bunk – held in place by books, or by being tucked under the mattress, or, in one case, with a handy piece of duct tape.

"Yeah. I never built a fort before. It's pretty neat."

They were standing by the bottom bed, but they couldn't see much of it because of the 'walls' surrounding it on all side but the side closest to Peter's bedroom wall. After they'd eaten, and had been sent to get pajamas on – and had been assured that they didn't have to go to bed, yet, they just had to be ready for bed – Ned had taken a look at the new bunk bed and asked if Peter wanted to make a fort and if he thought Tony would care.

Peter hadn't thought to ask, really, but a quick query to JARVIS had given the boys the assurance that it would be fine, and they'd started dismantling the bedding, immediately, to make the walls of the fort under Ned's directions. Now that it was done, Peter couldn't help but feel excited.

A knock on his door made both of them look over, and Tony stuck his head in.

"You guys about read-" he stopped when he saw the bunkbed creation. "Wow."

"Look what we made," Peter told him, happily.

"It's a fort," Ned said – in case he couldn't figure it out.

"I see that." The billionaire smiled and walked into the room so he could look inside the large area created by the blankets and sheets. "That's impressive."

"We're going to sleep in it, tonight," Peter said.

"Sounds like fun."

"You can sleep in it, too," Ned offered.

"And Pepper, too," Peter added.

"She isn't staying the night," Tony replied, amused. "Otherwise, I'm sure she'd appreciate the offer."

The boys beamed, pleased at the way Tony admired their handiwork.

"Yeah."

"We're setting the game up," he told them, returning to his original reason for knocking on the door in the first place. "Are you guys still planning on playing with us?"

Both boys nodded and abandoned their fort in Peter's room to follow Tony out to the living room. Pepper smiled a greeting, and Ned and Peter went to the other side of the coffee table to sit on the floor, leaving the couch for the adults.

"What took you so long?" she asked.

"They made a fort," Tony told her, settling beside her and reaching for the deck of UNO cards. "Which I have been invited to sleep in, with them, tonight."

"You could, too," Ned assured her. "But Mr. Stark said that you aren't spending the night."

Pepper smiled at the offer.

"Thank you, though. That's very kind."

The boy looked pleased with himself, and Tony had to smile, too.

"Pepper is going to be staying with us, though," he told them – Peter, mostly. "Her apartment is being fumigated and she needs a place to stay, next week, so I invited her to stay here. You're okay with that, right?"

Peter's eyes widened, lighting up with excitement.

"Yeah."

"For how long?" Ned asked, also looking excited.

"It might be as long as a week," Pepper said, feeling a warmth go through her at Peter's reaction. It was nice to be welcomed, after all – and she wasn't immune to that. "It depends on how long they take to clear the air at my apartment."

"Four weeks," Peter countered.

Tony smirked.

"It's not a negotiation thing, son."

"Why not?"

"Because that isn't how this kind of thing works. She'll stay as long as she needs – and as long as she wants – but when she's tired of us, then she gets to go home."

"Oh."

Stark chuckled.

"Don't sweat it, buddy. Tomorrow when we drop Ned off at home, you and I will help Pepper bring some of her things over here, so she doesn't feel like she's a refugee."

Peter nodded, even though he didn't understand the reference. Pepper smiled at it, though, and that was good enough, he supposed.

"Okay."

"Deal the cards, Tony," Pepper ordered, still smiling.

"Yes, dear."

She raised an eyebrow at that, but Ned and Peter missed the endearment, completely, and watched Tony, waiting for their cards. Both boys were eager to play UNO – especially with adults who had plenty of time for them.