They ended up working on a puzzle at the dining room table. An Avenger's puzzle, with a picture of all of them – including Thor and Hulk. The picture was a good one, with the small group standing heroically in front of the New York cityscape looking confident and intimidating. Peter was good at jigsaw puzzles, Tony already knew. The little boy had done a lot of them in his short life. Mainly because it was something that kept him occupied when May hadn't wanted him underfoot. Peter hadn't put it that way, but Tony had no problem figuring it out when the boy had mentioned that he liked them – and why.

He was less and less impressed with Peter's aunt the more he learned about her, but he hid that from Peter, because she was someone that he had loved, despite the lack of maternal care that she'd given him while he was in her custody. There had been some moments of affection, of course, they just had been fewer and farther between than the boy (or any child) deserved – as far as Tony was concerned.

While they worked on putting the picture together, Peter asked Tony about Thor, an Avenger that he hadn't really met – and Hulk, who was also someone that the boy knew existed, but hadn't heard much about. Tony explained to Peter – and to Pepper – that Thor was a helpful fellow to have around, but unlike the actual avengers, they didn't have a way to call him if they needed him for anything. He came as he wanted, and it wasn't very often.

"Will you introduce me to him, sometime?"

"Of course."

Peter wriggled in excitement at the thought.

"Wow."

"But probably not the Hulk," Tony admitted.

The green monster was simply too volatile to trust near his son, despite Peter's abilities. Banner was off the grid at the moment, anyway, back in India. He kept in touch with Steve, but Tony realized that he hadn't seen him since before he'd even met Peter – and that had been a while, now. Banner almost certainly knew about Peter, but the man didn't always trust his alter ego, or the nebulous control that he had over him. Tony made a mental note to send him a message, and maybe a picture of his son, and an invitation to come meet him.

Interspersed between discussion of the other avengers and doing the puzzle, Pepper and Tony talked about their schedule for the next day, which was going to include several meetings that Tony had to attend. He didn't like meetings, and his newfound domesticity didn't include a sudden desire to attend them. Pepper rolled her eyes at the way he low-keyed bitched and moaned every time she brought up each individual topic that they were going to be discussing – and Peter giggled every time.

When the puzzle was put together Tony sent Peter to put his pajamas on and brush his teeth.

"I don't have to go to bed, though, right?"

The billionaire smiled.

"You do. It's bedtime for one little boy. Isn't it, Pep?"

Pepper nodded.

"It is. Go get your jammies on, honey, and your dad and I will come read you a story."

Peter looked at the two of them, and he smiled, too.

"Eight stories."

Tony snorted.

"Two."

"Seven."

"Two," Pepper said, firmly – although her voice was amused, too. "One from each of us. Deal?"

The boy nodded.

"Okay."

He took off, running to his bedroom, and Tony looked at Pepper.

"That was smooth."

"I negotiate billion dollar deals," she reminded him.

"But little boys are a lot trickier. You're a natural."

He kissed her, then, and it was tender and loving. Pepper made a soft noise, but she was the one who pulled away, first. She smiled, and kissed him, again.

"I'm going to go get changed, too."

Tony nodded.

"I'll meet you in his bedroom in ten minutes."

"Five."

He rolled his eyes.

"Nine."

"Six."

He reached out and touched her cheek, ignoring the gaze of all the Avengers in the puzzle watching him.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened, slightly, surprised at the sudden declaration, and then she smiled.

"I love you, too."

OOOOOOOO

It was a great week.

Pepper's presence in their house was wonderful, as far as Peter was concerned. Rather than take away time from Tony that should be Peter's, adding her to the household simply made things better. Peter had stayed with Pepper when Tony had left for the Avenger mission, so he already knew that they got along well, and the week was just a reminder of that. She was smart, and fun, and Peter loved her. It was that simple.

They developed an easy routine.

Tony or Pepper would wake Peter in the morning – usually with a hug, or a simple touch that always left the boy smiling to start his day. He would get himself dressed and his hair combed and would come out to the kitchen where he'd find Tony and Pepper sitting at the table, drinking coffee while they talked, or looked at their tablets at the news, or other information.

They'd have breakfast, and Peter was always included in whatever conversation they'd have. Usually it was just going over the schedule for the day so there weren't any miscommunications. It wasn't that complicated for Peter; he had school and then would go to the tower, but they made it seem like it was important – which he knew it was to both of them, and not just to Tony.

Phil or Maria would come and pick Peter up and he'd go to school. As always, he checked in with Tony at lunch to see how his dad's day was going. Sometimes Pepper would be with him, and Peter would have a chance to talk to her, too, but usually she was in a meeting, or something.

Peter would be dropped off at Tony's office after school and the boy would enjoy his snack while he told his father about his day, and anything interesting that might have happened in the course of it. Or about any homework that he had that he might need help with. If Pepper didn't have a meeting, she would sometimes join them for the snack, and then Peter would have both of them to talk to before Tony took him to daycare.

After daycare was the drive home, and then Peter would work on his homework while Tony or Pepper – or both – made dinner. It was homey and nice, and it made Peter wriggle in happiness to be a part of it. When they were done eating, they'd clean the kitchen. Sometimes Peter was sent to take a bath, always he was sent to get ready for bed. When he came out, dressed in pajamas, they'd either play games, the piano, or would watch movies.

Peter loved watching movies; he'd be settled between Tony and Pepper on the sofa, with a blanket draped over them and one or the other (and sometimes, both) having an arm around him. He'd cuddle against them and would invariably wake up sometime in the night in his own bed, and knowing that he'd fallen asleep and someone had carried him to bed. He'd sit up, would usually transfer to the top bunk so he could look out the window, and then would spend some time talking to JARVIS before the AI told him to go back to sleep. Which he eventually would do.

Friday morning, however, Pepper announced that her building manager had just sent out an email to the people in her apartment building informing them that the fumigation was complete and once they had the place cleared out and ventilated, the residents could move back in.

She'd smiled at the guys over her coffee mug.

"I'll be out of your hair in a couple of days, it looks like."

Tony had shrugged, nonchalantly.

"We like having you."

Which had made her smile widen. But Peter felt his stomach clench at the news, and he'd looked down at his oatmeal, suddenly not as hungry as he'd been a moment before. He liked having Pepper there, too, and he didn't want her to leave. He glanced at Tony, wanting him to say so, but knew from the conversation that he'd had with his father that they couldn't say anything to Pepper.

They were supposed to be showing her without words.

Tony met his gaze, and his eyes softened at the sadness in Peter's eyes. He gave him a smile and put his hand on the boy's head, loving him more and more every day. He was such a good-hearted guy.

"Eat, buddy," he told his son. "We'll think of something extra special to do this weekend, to show Pepper how much we enjoyed her company. Okay?"

"Yeah."

Peter turned his attention to his meal, but he didn't eat much, and he hadn't finished when JARVIS announced that Maria was on her way up the driveway. Tony smiled at Pepper, who had also been watching the boy, as if aware that he was upset, and bent to kiss the top of his head.

"Go get your bag and your coat, big man."

Peter nodded, and stopped to hug Pepper before he did, as he'd done every day that she'd been staying there. She hugged him, hard, and kissed his cheek.

"When you're done with school, come by my office," she told him. "We'll have treats there, today."

"Alright."

He was still holding onto her when the knock sounded on the door, and then it was a scramble to get his bag and his coat and usher him out the door and into Maria Hill's protection.

"I probably could have done a better job of springing that on him," Pepper said when Tony returned to the table after the boy was gone. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he said, sitting down. "There really isn't a good way to tell him, I'm sure."

"I'll still be here a couple of days. The email said each apartment still needs to be aired out – and they're taking care of all of that before I'm able to go back."

"Like I said, we'll find something extra fun to do this weekend, to remind him you're not vanishing, entirely. And to remind you how much we love your company," he added.

She smiled.

"I'd like that."