AN: I'm fine with some constructive criticism but I can do without the trolling. I did mention there would be a lot of domesticity in this story. Thanks for reading, guys, and coming along with this story. It's not what you're used to from me, but I'm enjoying writing it.

OOOOOOOO

They hadn't gone back to sleep; instead simply enjoying the quiet time together while the little boy dozed beside her. When Peter had finally woken, they'd spent a bit more time in bed to allow him the chance to wallow in the experience of having that same quiet, together, time, and then Tony had sent him off to get dressed, while he'd told Pepper that he'd go start them some breakfast – something a bit more substantial than toast and cereal.

By the time breakfast was finished, Peter was ready to go outside and play, and Pepper had bundled up and gone with him into the backyard, leaving Tony to do the dishes before coming out to join them. The snow wasn't wet enough to hold together to create a single large snowman, so Pepper and Peter had decided that they'd make a small army of Avenger snowmen. One was bigger than the others – this one was hulk – and one held a little snow hammer, but aside from that, it was pretty difficult to see who was whom, when Tony walked out, bundled in heavy coat, boots and gloves.

He sent Pepper in to warm up while he and Peter created more snowmen – this time an army of generic bad guys for the Avenger snowmen to do epic battle with, eventually. Pepper returned after half an hour and tag-teamed with Tony, who went inside long enough to start dinner (a ham that he was going to cook in the crockpot, so he wanted to get it going).

Tony came back out, and Pepper said that she'd start lunch, if they were getting hungry, but Peter had simply continued his building, not yet ready to go inside. A little gentle cajoling, and the boy had gone in, shedding his coat and mittens long enough to wolf down a bowl of chili and crackers before he'd begged to go back outside and play. They didn't need to go out, too, he'd assured them. Peter was good at playing alone; he'd done a lot of it when living with May.

Tony had relented, immediately, but made him switch to a dry pair of mittens to keep his little fingers from getting too cold and had reminded him to keep his hood up and his stocking cap on to keep is ears warm. The two adults took turns being outside with him, unwilling to let him play alone. It was well into the afternoon when Tony finally decided that there was probably such a thing as too much fresh air, and he'd gone to send Pepper inside to warm up, again, and collect his boy.

"You should probably call it a day," Stark said, amazed by the number of little snowmen that had been created. The entire pool deck was filled with them. "I don't want you to catch cold."

Peter didn't argue. He was ready to go in and warm up.

"Okay."

They walked back into the back door, and Pepper was waiting to collect his coat, hat, and mittens. The boy's sweatshirt was damp with melted snow, and his jeans were wet.

"Go take a bath, buddy," Tony suggested. "That'll warm you up. Dinner will be in about an hour."

Peter nodded and headed for his room, and Pepper and Tony went to sit on the sofa.

"You're so sexy when you're doing the dad thing," Pepper told him, tucking her leg under her so she could turn toward him on the couch. "You know that, right?"

"I'm sexy when I'm doing anything," he assured her with a smile.

That made her smile, too, where a year ago – or even six months ago – she'd have rolled her eyes, more annoyed than amused. Of course, back then he would have been completely serious. She looked at him, her expression serious enough that he braced himself, wondering if he'd pressed his luck and been too much of a smartass in his response.

"What would you say if I mentioned that I like living here…?" she asked him.

He forced down the urge to jump to his feet and do a little jig of pure happiness.

"Do you?"

Pepper nodded.

"I do."

"Because of Peter?" he asked, seriously. "It's not just him, Pep. We're a set. He loves you, but he can love you no matter where you live. You know that, right?"

Her expression told him that she understood what he was asking, and she smiled, reaching for his hand.

"I do love him, of course. But I love you, too, Tony. I know it hasn't been that long, but if living together is a step that you're interested in trying-"

"You know it is," he interrupted. They'd known each other for years. He didn't need any more get to know you time before making the next step. "I just need you to know what you're agreeing to…"

"I know."

"Then we should make a go of it," he told her. "What do you think?"

"I think that's a good idea."

"In my bedroom, though," he added. "Not as a guest."

Her expression changed, subtly, and they both leaned in toward each other.

"No. Not as a guest. I want more than that."

His lips brushed against hers, and Pepper closed her eyes, moving that final distance so she could claim his in a kiss, claiming what was hers, now, and would be as long as she wanted. It was a heady feeling, really, and despite how certain she was about it all, it was an enormous step. Tony made a soft noise as he deepened the kiss, and they both heard a soft gasp coming from the direction of Peter's bedroom.

They separated, leaning apart and looking over the back of the sofa. The boy was standing just outside of his doorway, naked except for a pair of Batman underoos. He was watching them with eyes wide and surprise on his little face.

"Sorry…" he said, realizing that he'd interrupted them. "I was just going to get a glass of water…"

Tony rolled his eyes, feeling giddy with happiness.

"Why does that suddenly sound familiar?" he asked, winking at Pepper and then getting to his feet. "I'll get it for you."

"I can," Peter assured him.

"I don't want you walking around the house if your feet are wet." Tony went to the kitchen, while Peter walked over to the back of the couch and heaved himself up so he was on level with Pepper. "Besides, Pepper doesn't have any one-dollar bills, right now."

Pepper snorted, amused. Both because of the reference to Peter's state of undress, and the confusion in the boy's expressive eyes. Peter shrugged, looking at her.

"I have some," he said. "If you want one."

She laughed, feeling a little giddy, too, and pulled him over the back of the couch and into an embrace. His little body was still damp, and his skin was cold, proving that he hadn't started the process of taking a bath to warm up.

"Thank you, honey," she said. "I'm good, though."

"Okay."

Tony returned to the living room, and now he was holding a plastic glass of water, which he handed to his son.

"Are you trying to seduce my girl?" he asked the boy, resuming the place he'd vacated – only making space for Peter between them.

Peter grinned.

"Yeah."

"Do you know what seduce means?" Pepper asked, surprised.

He was smart, but his vocabulary was geared toward tech and science and math, and she knew it.

"No."

"It means that you need to drink your water and then go take a bath before you catch a chill and a cold," Tony told him. "Then get changed into something warm to make sure you stay that way."

Peter drank the water, thirstily, and handed the glass back to Tony.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." The billionaire tousled his son's hair. "Go get warmed up."

"Okay."

The boy got up and tumbled himself over the back of the sofa and went into his room, and Tony turned back to Pepper, who raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't tell him?"

"We will, later," he assured her. "But if I did it, now, he'd be distracted. Plenty of time for that, later."

"That makes sense." She smiled, leaning forward to kiss him, but pulling back before they could allow anything to get too hot and heavy. "We have a lot to discuss, though," Pepper told him.

"True."