Dinner was good.

It was ham, scalloped potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Pepper was past being amazed at the fact that Tony could (and did) produce healthy meals made from scratch – something that would have been unheard of a year ago. The discussion at the dinner table was the snowman army that had been created, and the fact that it had stopped snowing while Peter was in the bathtub. The snowman army wasn't something that Peter would actually play with. The battles between the snow avengers and the unnamed bad guys would only take place in his mind, but his mind was capable of amazing detail, and there was no doubt in either adult's mind that the battle would be exciting and that the good guys would prevail.

Peter was cheerful – he usually was, of course – but Tony was in a particularly good mood, too. There were a lot of smiles, and Pepper wasn't immune to any of it. Dinner was interrupted when Ned called Peter, apologized for calling while they were eating, but was excited to show off the new puppy that Eric and Nancy had presented him with that very evening. A yellow puppy with huge feet that spoke of a lot of size yet to come.

"What are you naming him?" Peter asked, excited for his friend.

"Her," Ned corrected. "It's a girl puppy."

"What are you going to name her?" Peter asked.

"Natasha."

Tony snorted, but he smiled when both boys looked his direction.

"That is an excellent name," he told Ned. "We'll have to come meet her in person. Maybe next weekend, or something."

"Yeah."

"We'll set something up," Eric said from behind Ned. "Say goodnight, son," he told Ned. "Let them get back to their dinner."

"Night, Peter. Night, Tony. Night, Pepper."

"Goodnight, Ned. Night, Eric."

The display went blank, and Tony looked at his son when the boy picked up his fork.

"She's cute."

Peter smiled.

"Yeah."

"Sure you don't want a puppy?"

The boy shook his head.

"Yeah. I don't want one."

Puppies were cute, but Peter didn't want one.

They needed a lot of attention, and he was in no hurry to give up being the center of Tony's attention, just then. He was willing to share with Pepper, but no one else. Not even a puppy. The little boy didn't exactly think about it that way, but it was important to him. There were the avengers, yes, but that was only part time. He knew that Pepper was Tony's girlfriend and needed a lot of Tony's time, but he was willing to share with her. Not only did he love Pepper, but she was also a source of attention for him. And love. Pepper wasn't a challenger for Tony's attentions, and Peter instinctively understood that.

The rest of the meal, though, was spent talking about Ned's puppy, and what Natasha was going to say when she found out that Peter's friend had named the little girl after the spy. And what they would name a puppy, if they were to get one. And what kind.

"Batman," Peter said, with certainty, as they started clearing plates and Tony brought out some cookies from the night before to have for dessert. "And he should be big, like Natasha will be – but black. Because it's batman…"

"Of course…"

Pepper smiled at Tony's lack of enthusiasm at the idea, and the skill that he used to manage to hide it from his son. Moving the conversation from the puppy idea, she pointed out that if the weather were cleared the next day, she'd be interested in walking in the park – if they were. Not surprisingly, Peter was all for the idea. Tony smiled, though, and glanced at Pepper before looking at Peter.

"Let's go into the living room, son. I want to discuss something with you. Something important."

"Okay."

Peter shoved the rest of his cookie into his mouth – it wasn't enough that it made either adult look worried – and then picked another one off the plate before he got down from his chair and went into the living room, following Tony who sat down on the couch, and Pepper, who sat down next to him. It was a measure of just how comfortable Peter was that he didn't ask if he'd done something wrong, since both adults looked a little nervous, suddenly.

Stark gestured for Peter to sit on the coffee table so he could see him, and waited until he complied before speaking.

"Pepper and I have been talking."

"About what?"

"Well… She was thinking that she might want to move in with us. Permanently."

The little boy's jaw dropped.

"You're getting married?"

Pepper smiled.

"No, honey. Maybe someday, but that's a bigger step than either of us are ready for, yet. But I have enjoyed being here, with you guys, this week – and I love your dad, and I love you, and we were talking about how it might be a good thing if I lived here. What do you think?"

"Forever?"

"Maybe?" Tony said, making it into a question. "It would depend on how things go, of course. If we're all compatible as a family, then, yes. For a long time, anyway."

"Wow."

"We wanted to know what you think of the idea, though," Pepper said. "You get a say in this. It's a big step for you, too, you know?"

"Why?"

"Because it's going to be different than just living with me," Tony told him.

"Pepper's been here a week, though," Peter pointed out. "Nothing bad happened. We just keep following the same rules."

"There'll be a slightly different dynamic, though, with her staying with us, permanently," his father said. "So some of the rules will be a little different."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one thing, Pepper won't be in the guestroom."

"Why not?"

There was just the slightest of hesitations. Not because he didn't want to answer, but because he almost instinctively knew that as curious as Peter was, the upcoming discussion was going to be far more involved than he wanted it to be. But it definitely needed to be addressed.

"Because she's going to be staying in my room. With me."

The boy looked at him, and then at Pepper, uncertainly, and Tony could practically hear the wheels turning as his mind figured out what that meant. Sure enough, his eyes widened as he looked back to Tony.

"Because you're going to be doing it?"

Not surprisingly, Tony's expression wasn't the only one that was pained, although Pepper made a soft noise that Tony couldn't discern. He glanced at her, recognizing chagrin and a mixture of amusement and mortification – he'd seen that look a lot in his time with her, before Peter had settled him – but then turned back to Peter, once more determined to be as honest as he could be while still keeping the boy's age in consideration.

"We are buddy. But you already knew that. Right?"

"Yes."

"So if the door is closed, you make sure that you knock, first. Okay? Same rules apply to that door as have been applying to the guestroom. If Pepper's in our room, she might getting changed, or putting on her makeup – or she might be hiding."

"From me?"

"From both of us. Sometimes, she might need a break from being girlfriend and part-time mom."

Peter's eyes widened, a little, at that particular turn of phrase, and Tony wondered if he'd gone a step too far naming Pepper in any maternal capacity. Both for Peter, and if Pepper wasn't ready for that kind of label – or responsibility. But he had warned her that they came as a set. She'd been taking that role in a moderate capacity, already, after all, and she was really good at it. The boy glanced at Pepper, who smiled, but he only nodded.

"Okay."

"Good."

"Are you alright with this, Peter?" Pepper asked, sincerely. "We don't want you to feel rushed into anything. We could wait a while longer…"

The boy shrugged his bony shoulders.

"The good things are better if you don't have to wait," he pointed out.

"And this is a good thing, isn't it?" Tony asked.

Peter smiled.

"Yeah. Does this mean you aren't going home, now, even though your apartment is cleaned?"

"Well, I won't be going there to sleep," she confirmed. "But most of my things are still there, so we'll have to move them – and decide what is there that I don't need, so I can decide what to do with it."

"You can sell it on ebay."

"We'll bring whatever she wants to have here, here," Tony told his son. "There's plenty of room," he added, mostly to Pepper. "Whatever you want to keep, but don't want to have, here, we'll store in the old apartment where JARVIS can keep an eye on it."

He owned the apartment, outright, even if they weren't living there. Just like he had several other houses and apartments around the world. Had to have someplace to store his car collection, after all.

Peter's eyes lit up, again. "You can take stuff to the cabin in the boonies."

"That's a very good idea," Pepper approved.

Of course, she didn't own that cabin, yet, but she would want some of her own things there, eventually. "You could take some of your things, as well."

The boy looked excited at the thought, and he hugged himself. Tony knew that it wasn't just because of the mention of the cabin, though. It was a big step for them, having Pepper moving in with them, but Peter was clearly as eager for that step as Tony was.

"Let's make plans later," he said, leaning back onto the cushions of the sofa and beckoning for Peter to join them, now. "I say we watch a movie to celebrate."

Peter climbed into Tony's lap, waiting for Pepper to settle herself next to his father, and then he switched over to hers, trembling with happiness at the thought of being able to choose either lap – or to tuck himself between them – any time that he wanted. It was incredible.

"Are you cold?" Pepper asked, feeling him shiver, and reaching for the couch comforter that hung on the back so she could drape it over them all.

"I'm okay." He grinned over at Tony when his father ran a hand along his forehead, just to make sure.

"We should let Pepper choose the movie, tonight, son. What do you think?"

"Yeah."

He truly wouldn't have cared if she picked a channel that only showed commercials. The little boy shifted in Pepper's lap, stretching himself so that his feet and legs were resting on Tony, while the rest of him was in Pepper's embrace, then he sighed, happily, and looked at the screen, waiting for Pepper's choice.

Stark put his far hand on Peter's legs under the blankets, and the other found Pepper's hand so he could hold it. She turned on the first Pixar film that came up, wriggled just enough to make sure she had a good one-handed hold on Peter, and then set the remote aside so she could hold Tony's hand.

That hadn't been so terrible, really. She hadn't expected Peter to veto the idea of her moving in, but he was eight, and despite his brilliance, he could be erratic, sometimes, so she was more relieved than she'd really expected to be that he was so eager. She'd make a note to have Tony make sure that Dr. Wayne knew about their change in living situations before Peter's appointment, so the man could make sure there wasn't anything that they needed to know – or do – to make it easier for him.

The room grew quiet as the movie started, and Peter watched it, managing to get lost in the excitement of the cartoon adventures of a rat that wanted nothing more than to be a chef. He giggled at a funny part and realized that every time that he did, he could feel Pepper tighten her hold for just a moment, as if she were enjoying his amusement more than she was enjoying the movie.

OOOOOOOO

AN: Thank, guys! I appreciate the affirmation. We still have a bit of story to tell before it's finished.