Peter didn't linger over his treat.

He ate a few cookies, and drank his chocolate milk as he told them about the rest of his day. At least, he told them what the teachers had taught, and what he'd done for his classes. He didn't tell them how miserable he'd been, all day, at the thought of Pepper leaving to go back to her apartment in the next couple of days – or however long it was going to be. The worst part was that he couldn't say anything because Tony had told him that they couldn't make Pepper want to stay only because they wanted her to be there.

But he really wanted her to be there.

He liked having her at the house. Loved having her to cuddle with, and enjoyed the looks that she'd give him, sometimes. Looks that were just for him and so filled with love that even he could recognize it – and he didn't know a lot about motherly affections. It wasn't something that May had done very well, after all, and not something he remembered too much from his mother. But now she was going back to her apartment, and Peter didn't know how to get her to stay without asking her.

He'd been simmering in that frustration and sadness all day, and then the question had been posed, and stupid William I'm too dumb to even figure out how to breathe Anderson had spouted off that money could buy happiness, but Peter knew that it couldn't.

And he'd said so and had then been shocked at himself when he'd told him off.

Not as shocked as his classmates had been, of course – although many of them had laughed and cheered Peter, even though he wasn't sure why. His teacher definitely hadn't been amused, had he?

When the last cookie was gone, Peter left Pepper's office and headed for Tony's, stopping only long enough to pick up his backpack. Tony didn't follow him, but he didn't need to. His office wasn't too far from Pepper's, and the tower was safe for Peter to be in the hallways alone. Not only was SHIELD a constant presence in the place, but JARVIS was, as well, and he saw everything that was going on. If anyone even got close to Peter, JARVIS would know who they were, instantly, and calculate the threat posed by the proximity.

The boy settled himself at his desk, pulling out his notebook. Not the electronic one; he pulled out a simple paper one, and a pen. Then he put his cheek down on the desk and started writing.

Twenty minutes later his father walked into the office and moved to Peter's desk rather than his own.

"How's it going?"

"Okay."

"You need any help?"

Peter raised his head so he could shake it.

"I'm okay."

Tony nodded.

"Can I read what you have, so far?"

"Yeah."

The boy handed the notebook over, and watched as the man tried to read his handwriting. There wasn't much to read, yet, he knew, but Tony sighed, and seated himself on Peter's desk.

"Money can't make people do what you want them to do," he read. "And that means that if you want someone to live with you, and they don't want to, money won't make it happen – even if you have a million dollars…" He looked up from the paper and back to Peter. "Is that what this is about?"

"What?"

"Pepper leaving."

"I don't want her to go back to her apartment," Peter said, and felt his eyes sting. "I want her to stay with us."

Tony set the notebook down and reached for his son, picking him up and then carrying him over to the couch before sitting down and cuddling Peter in his lap.

"I do, too, buddy."

Peter rested his cheek on Tony's shoulder.

"You could just ask her if she wants to stay."

"You know I would if I could do that." He brushed his fingers through the boy's hair, smiling, tenderly. "It was fun having her, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

They were silent for a long moment, simply loving each other, but then Tony tousled his hair.

"We're not done, yet, though. She isn't leaving until early next week, most likely, so we have all weekend. Right?"

"That's true."

"We'll think of something fun to do – or maybe we'll just stay home and have a relaxing weekend. Alright?"

"Okay."

He squeezed him, hard, for a moment, and then tumbled him off of his lap onto the sofa beside him, smiling when the action made Peter giggle.

"Finish your paper, son," he said, getting to his feet. "I have a few things to work on before we go home."

The boy nodded and went back to his desk.

"Alright."

The mood was more light-hearted when they returned to their respective projects, and Peter felt better than he had all day.

OOOOOOO

The expected snow began to fall as they drove home.

"So much for going to the beach," Tony said from the driver's seat, looking at the snow in the gathering darkness.

"I didn't bring my bathing suit, anyway," Pepper assured him with a smile.

"Do you know how to swim?" Peter asked from the back seat.

"Of course. I learned when I was younger than you are."

"Oh."

"Can you?" she asked.

Tony already knew the answer.

"No."

"He's going to learn before we fill up the swimming pool," Stark said. "It was one of the ground rules that we set when we decided on the house with the pool. Right, son?"

Peter nodded.

"I'm going to have swimming lessons. Maybe even at the Y. That's where Ned said that he learned how – and Kyle is a lifeguard there, part time."

Pepper smiled at that.

"Then that sounds like a good place to learn."

"Yeah." Peter turned his head to look out the window and watch the snow fall. "It's pretty."

"Pretty cold," Tony said.

"Can we go for a walk when we get home?" Peter asked, suddenly.

"It'll be dark," his father replied. "We'll have dinner and find something to do inside – preferably something warm and dry. If you want to walk tomorrow, maybe we'll see if Pepper wants to go to the park."

The boy looked interested.

"Do you, Pepper?" he asked, excitedly.

Of course, she already knew that a trip to the park didn't just mean walking on the pathways or trails. It also meant a hotdog at one of the vendors, and maybe a pretzel, or even a slice of pizza. Maybe all of them. And there were a lot of small shops along the edge of the park that had all sorts of interesting things for sale.

Including one that specialized in Legos.

"I think it sounds like fun," she agreed. "But not too early. I'm going to sleep in, tomorrow, if I can."

"Long week?"

"There were a lot of meetings, yes. It'll be nice to sit and relax with you guys."

"We always enjoy time with you," Tony assured her, catching Peter's eye in the rearview mirror and winking at him.

The boy smiled at that, understanding that that was one of those ways of telling her without really telling her.

"Yeah," he agreed.

Pepper smiled, resting her hand lightly on Tony's leg.

"Thank you."

The rest of the drive was made in silence, but it was comfortable, and Peter leaned back in the leather seat, watching the snow fall and already looking forward to walking in it the next day.

And maybe talking Tony and Pepper letting him look through the Lego store, of course.

OOOOOOO

Peter didn't have any homework, and he'd finished his essay in Tony's office. It wasn't long; there wasn't a lot for him to say, he'd pointed out when Tony had read it through before they'd walked to Pepper's office to get her to go home. Luckily, Tony had agreed, and since the teacher who had assigned it hadn't told him to format it, the boy kept it as it was, written on notebook paper. He set it on his desk with his other school stuff, and amused himself playing with his Legos at the corner table in his room while he gave Tony and Pepper a chance to relax by themselves before dinner.

That had been a suggestion that JARVIS had made several days before.

It was an opportunity for the two adults to unwind, and even though the AI assured Peter that they liked having him around (which he knew, already and didn't need reassurance about) JARVIS had pointed out that adults in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship liked to have some time alone, as well. The AI reminded Peter that neither of them were that accustomed to having a young child around, and might be uncomfortable showing the other physical affection if he was in the room with them, constantly.

Peter had agreed, and he didn't mind. His room was filled with things that could keep him occupied, and he could (and had when he lived with May) play hot wheels and Legos alone for hours at a time. He had the Lego avengers chasing his Lego Batman and Robin through Hogwarts until JARVIS advised the boy that Tony was preparing dinner.

The boy put his Lego avengers back into their special case, and then went out to the kitchen to offer his assistance, only to find that dinner was already in the oven and baking.

Tony scooped him up into his arms, playfully, and turned Peter upside down as he carried him back to the living room. Just as he was tossing him onto the couch, Pepper's guest room door opened, and she emerged wearing simple lounge pants and a t-shirt. Stark rolled his eyes, noticing immediately that she was wearing the Batman t-shirt that Peter had bought her at batman Land.

Pepper caught the gesture and smirked, even as she picked Peter up, purportedly to move him so she could sit down, too, but mainly because she was in the mood to cuddle with him. It never failed to make her feel warm and gooey inside when the boy settled easily into her lap and rested his cheek on her shoulder, or against her collarbone and put his arms around her. She smiled up at Tony as Peter settled in with a comfortable sigh, and the billionaire leaned over and pressed a kiss against his son's cheek.

"Don't get too comfortable, mister," he murmured. "You're setting the table."

The boy giggled.

"I won't."

He was, though, and it showed.