It was becoming a regular thing for Tony and Peter to go to Pepper's office on Monday. Mainly it was because it was easier to check in with her after the appointment with Peter's psychologist – especially now that she was living with them – because then they didn't have to go over things more than once, really. The other reason was that she enjoyed having him come into her office for his snack after school, and Monday was the only day that she could clear her schedule at the right time to allow herself to focus only on him.
She now kept a stash of cookies in her desk for him (and her as well as Tony) and she always received a head-up from security, now, when Peter and Tony parked in Stark's personal space and headed for the elevator. When they called, it was a simple matter for her to set her tablet aside, or turn off the display on her computer, and pull a small plate from the same drawer as the cookies and put several on the plate. A quick trip to the mini fridge near her desk would allow her to set a carton of chocolate milk down, as well.
She was just retaking her seat when there was a knock on the door and Tony poked his head into the office. She smiled when Peter did the same thing, with his head below his father's – well below it.
"Busy?" the older of the two asked.
"No. Come in."
Peter skipped into the room and over to her desk. He ignored the plate of cookies – for the moment, at least – to come and climb into her lap.
"Did you have a good day?" he asked, before she could ask him the same question.
Pepper smiled and hugged him, feeling warm and gooey like she always did when she had him in her arms.
"I did. How about you?"
"It was fun. I had pizza at lunch, and my class is going to the art museum next week, and I passed my math test and I went to Dr. Wayne's, and we had ice cream, there."
"At Dr. Wayne's?"
The boy smiled and nodded.
"Yeah."
"So you don't need cookies, today?"
"I do!" He proved it by turning in her lap and reaching for one – but seemed perfectly content to stay where he was while he munched on it. "I didn't have a lot of ice cream."
She smiled, too, and looked at Tony, who was settling into the chair across from her and also reached for a cookie.
"How did everything go?"
Which was her way of asking if there was anything that she needed to know about. Pepper understood that moving in with Tony was putting her in a position where she was going to be supporting his parenting, and she wanted to support him. And Peter. It meant that she needed to know of any underlying issues, though – another reason that they spent time in her office on Mondays, now.
"Nothing too serious. Peter's not sleeping through the night, most of the time, but that isn't new. No bad dreams that he remembers, so that's good – right buddy?"
The boy nodded, leaning back against Pepper, comfortably.
"Yeah."
"My new suit is done," Tony told her. "It's ready for preliminary testing."
"Which you normally do out at the compound, right?"
"Correct. If something is going to fail, I'd rather it be there. If I crash and burn, it isn't going to be into rush-hour traffic, that way."
She frowned, worried that Peter would become concerned, but the boy didn't tense in her embrace – and she heard him giggle. Clearly he wasn't worried.
"Is there much chance of that happening?"
"Slim to none," he confirmed. "But it's a good chance for the others to see the suit and what new add-ons it's capable of, as well. I'm going to take Peter so he can visit, and we'll stay overnight. You're welcomed to come…"
Pepper appreciated the offer, but she shook her head.
"Sounds exciting, but I'm going to pass." For one thing, it was a good chance for Tony to spend some time alone with Peter (as alone as they could be with the Avengers and SHIELD around) For another, she had things that she could accomplish. "I think I'm going to use the day off to bring more things from my place, and maybe get some others moved to the apartment."
"Don't do any heavy lifting," Stark told her. "That's what movers are for."
She nodded.
"Just little things," Pepper assured him. "I'll save the big stuff for Peter to carry."
The boy giggled, and stuffed the rest of his cookie into his mouth before sliding off her lap and taking the carton of milk. He settled himself in the other chair.
"I'll carry whatever you need."
"I know, honey. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
He opened his milk, and Pepper exchanged a tender look with Tony, who smiled, and then rolled his eyes, clearly amused by the fact that they were so wrapped up in the little guy.
"Are you almost ready to go to daycare?"
Peter nodded. It wasn't a large carton, after all.
"Yeah."
"Will you be here?" Tony asked, clearly telling her that he did have something that he wanted to discuss with her, but not – necessarily – something that he wanted to discuss with Peter, as well.
"Of course." She smiled at the boy. "Have fun."
"I will," he assured her. "We're going to make playdough."
"Because they were trying to think of the messiest thing that they could come up with to send home with him," Tony said, getting to his feet. He clearly wasn't too worried. "I'll be back in a minute."
"I'll be here."
She reached for a cookie, and nibbled on it while she watched them leave.
OOOOOOOO
"I told you it was going to be messy…"
Pepper smirked, looking over at the table, where Peter was sitting, playing with some brightly colored homemade playdough that he'd shown her as they left the tower. He'd then spent most of the ride home explaining the very simple process of making it – although he made it sound a lot more interesting than it probably was. He'd set his backpack in his room, hung up his coat, and had immediately gone to the kitchen table to play with it, while Tony and Pepper worked together to make dinner.
Nothing complicated there, either, but Peter liked chicken and it was easy to bake and turn into a real meal when thrown together with potatoes and a vegetable side.
Now that end of the table was smeared with blue and red dough, and Peter's fingers were dyed every color of the rainbow – as was his cheek where he'd obviously rubbed his face.
"It'll wipe clean," she said, unconcerned. "Besides, his art teacher wants him to branch out from strictly creating with Legos, right?"
"With paints, and markers," Tony replied.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Do you really think paints would be less messy?" she challenged. "And we already know what he does when he gets hold of a Sharpie."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"It was one goatee – one time. He's been pretty good, since."
"Saving up for something spectacular?"
"I hope not." He kissed her and then walked over to the table with a washcloth in hand. "Hey, buddy. Dinner's going to be ready in about fifteen minutes. Go wash your hands – and your face – and come help set the table, will you?"
"Yeah."
Peter put the ball of playdough into the zip-lock bag that held the rest of it, and took it with him to his room, leaving a smeared mess at the table. The billionaire shook his head, amused despite the mess that he was going to have to clean, and started wiping it down.
By the time Peter returned, his hands more or less cleaned and the smear on his cheek giving mute testimony to the less than concentrated effort the boy had made to wash his face, the table was clean enough to start setting it with plates and cutlery.
"I'm going to go change," Pepper told them, sliding her fingers along Peter's shoulder for no other reason than to remind him that she was happy to be with him.
She vanished into the bedroom and Tony turned to his son, who was fishing forks and knives out of the drawer.
"Hey, let's talk for a minute."
Peter looked up at him.
"Okay."
Stark picked the boy up and seated him on the island so he was more on the same level and he smiled when he looked into those big brown eyes. So intelligent but still so young and innocent.
"I love you."
It hadn't been exactly what he'd intended to say, but it popped out, because it was true. And it made Peter smile.
"I love you, too."
Tony tapped his nose, lovingly.
"I spoke with Dr. Wayne."
"Today?"
"Yes. While you were finishing your ice cream."
"About what?"
"You, of course." Tony put his hands on the countertop, one on either side of Peter's legs. "I was worried about you."
"How come?"
"Well… with Pepper here, now, I was worried you'd have a bad night, or a bad dream, or something, and think that you couldn't come talk to me, if you wanted to."
Peter nodded.
"Yeah. I can't, can I? May never let me sleep with her, but when she had someone living with us, or one of her boyfriends was over and they were doing it, she wouldn't let me in the same room."
"And you shouldn't be in the room when that's going on," he agreed. "But you need to remember that I'm here for you. If you need to come talk to me, then you should."
"What about Pepper?"
"I asked her if she would be okay with you coming to find me – or her – if you needed to, and she said that she hoped that you would be comfortable with that."
He'd actually asked Dr. Wayne how old was too old for a child to go sleep with their parents if he'd had a bad dream, and had been told that there were a ton of variables to factor into a question like that. He'd also reminded Tony that Peter had had a pretty rough time of it, and that as things settled, the nightmares and weird dreams almost certainly would, as well.
Which meant that Peter would sleep through the night more often.
And then he'd spoken to Pepper to explain the problem, and ask her what she wanted to do about it. She'd been willing to allow Peter into the bed with them – provided Tony used JARVIS as a way to make sure that Peter didn't walk in on them in any compromising positions, or activities. That had been what he'd intended, in the first place, so he'd agreed.
And would have, if that was what it took to make sure Peter was reassured.
"But what if you're doing it?"
"Then you can't come in," Tony told him. He smiled. "I don't know how often you think we're going to be doing that," he said. "But it isn't every night."
"No?"
The billionaire shook his head.
"No. If you wake up in the middle of the night, and you're scared, or upset, and JARVIS isn't enough to get you back to sleep, ask him if it's okay to come into our room."
"He'll know?"
"He'll know."
"I'll know," JARVIS agreed.
Tony rolled his eyes at the clear indicator that his AI was everywhere. The action made Peter smile.
"Pepper won't care?"
"She won't."
"You're sure?"
"Yep." He leaned forward and kissed the top of Peter's head. "She told me that she wants you to be comfortable. Besides, you've fallen asleep in her bed, before."
"Yeah." Peter smiled. "She's comfortable."
"I know, buddy." Tony picked him up, and hugged him. Hard. "Let's finish setting the table, so we can eat."
"Okay."
He started putting the silverware on the table just as Pepper returned, alerted by JARVIS that Tony was done with his conversation with Peter. She was now dressed in lounge pants and her Batman t-shirt, which made Tony roll his eyes every time he saw her in it. She thought it was hilarious – and the shirt was comfortable – so she wore it, fairly often. Besides, Peter's expression always lit up, happily, when he saw her in it. She'd have to remind Tony to find his and wear it, occasionally, too.
"When are you guys heading to the compound on Friday?" she asked, reaching for the plates. "After school? Or after daycare?"
"Peter has a field trip on Friday," Tony replied, before Peter could say anything. "He's going to the art museum in the morning. Because of that, he has a half day, so we'll leave when he gets done, there."
She looked over.
"Are you going to be a chaperone?"
"No. I'd only be a distraction. SHIELD will have a couple of shadows on him, and Maria will be at his side."
Peter smiled, excitedly.
"It's going to be fun."
True, it was an art museum, but there wasn't a kid alive who didn't love a field trip.
"Did you sign his permission slip?"
"Yes. And when the field trip is over, I requested to have the slip returned so I can get it framed."
"Seriously?"
"My first permission slip? Absolutely."
Peter smiled at that, feeling relieved about the conversation with Tony – and just plain excited about the upcoming field trip and weekend at the compound.
It was going to be fun.