The morning was amazing.

The flight was exiting, even though he couldn't see outside since the only windows on the jet were in the front. He sat on the bench seat along the side of the fuselage beside Steve and Sam and when they took off it was like they were going straight up in the air forever before Natasha leveled off and then peeked back to make sure Peter hadn't broken his promise not to throw up on them.

He'd simply smiled, happily, and hugged himself.

Then they'd landed at Clint's farm, where Cooper (and Lila) were waiting with Laura, and Peter changed out of his flight suit and into snow clothes. Then he and Cooper (and, again, Lila) spent the morning climbing the rolling hills of the property and sliding down them on sleds, laughing and enjoying themselves under the watchful eye of the adults.

About the same time that they were starting to get a little cold, despite the activities, Laura called them all in to eat lunch, and Peter was stuffed with chili, crackers, and homemade bread rolls. Then he thanked her and Clint for having him, changed back into his flight suit and was hustled back into the jet for the flight back to the compound.

"Tony just checked in with us," Steve told Peter as they buckled into their seats. "He's waiting."

"The suit's ready?" Peter asked, excited.

"It is. Nick and Bruce will be waiting for us when we land. Tony said to take you to the roof, like we did when he and Rhodes gave their demo."

"Wow. That'll be fun."

And cold, Steve added – mentally.

There wasn't a lot of heat in the back of the jet – the whole reason for having a flight suit in the first place – but Sam sat right up beside the boy on the way back, to keep him company, and to help keep him warm. When the jet landed with a flourish back at the compound just before two o'clock, Peter was warm, comfortable, and excitedly looking forward to seeing the new suit in action.

Sure enough, though, when the rear hatch went down, it was Nick Fury and Bruce who were standing at the bottom, waiting.

The imposing director of SHIELD smiled when he saw the boy standing next to Sam.

"Peter, my boy, that suit looks good on you."

Peter grinned, practically wriggling with happiness as he bounded down the ramp.

"Isn't it neat?"

"Yes. It definitely is. Are you warm enough?"

Fury knew how cold it could be on the jet, too.

"Yeah. I'm good. Thanks."

Nick offered the boy his hand, and they waited for those who were interested in Tony's newest suit to join them before he walked Peter into the building, but then up the several flights of stairs that led them back up to the roof.

"Stay close to me," Nick told him – just before Natasha could say the same thing.

Peter nodded, letting go of Fury's hand but close enough that he could have reached out and touched his leg – or Natasha's, when she went to stand on the other side of the boy.

"This isn't going to be as exciting as the dogfight between Rhodes and Tony," Natasha warned Peter. "Most of what's going to be happening will be internal between him and JARVIS."

"I know." JARVIS had told him that one night the last week, and Tony had reminded him of it the evening before. "It'll still be neat."

He could still watch Tony flying around and pretending to blow things up.

OOOOOOOO

"How does it look, JARVIS?"

"Power levels are steady. Stabilizers are up. Systems are all green across the board."

Tony smiled, even though no one could see it behind the mask. He loved this part. Spending months – and sometimes even longer – to get a new suit developed, built and then ready for testing. All of it was amazing, and the best thing about being who he was. At least it used to be the best thing.

"Peter's here?"

He'd seen the jet arrive, but had been in the middle of locking the final system checks into play and hadn't done more than make sure it landed, safely.

"They are on the roof."

"Let's give them a show, then."

And by them, he really meant Peter.

Making much less noise than he would with the suit's predecessor, Tony walked out the entrance to the compound, shifted just a little in the metal encasing him, and then shot into the sky when the thrusters engaged. The HUD in his suit was alive with information – including showing him the small group up on the roof where they'd have the best view. Tony knew that this test wasn't designed to show much aeronautic capabilities, but that didn't mean he wasn't planning on doing what he could to make it exciting.

As he shot by them, he rolled, twisted, and then stopped in mid-air to point a hand toward an imaginary enemy. The billionaire grinned when JARVIS' external speakers picked up Peter's cheer, and he double his efforts (and JARVIS') for the next thirty minutes, checking the range of the thrusters, the weapons (only virtually, of course) and the rest of the systems. Then, with typical showmanship, he landed on the roof only a few meters away from the group – and the little boy that he loved so much.

Peter ran over as soon as he was still, and grinned up at him when Tony retracted the front of the mask.

"That was great!"

Tony picked him up, a little awkwardly, since the metal wasn't that flexible.

"Yeah? You were impressed?"

The boy nodded.

"Yeah. How did it go?"

"Exactly like it was supposed to," he assured him. "It looked good from the outside, too?"

"Like a superhero should," Fury said, walking over with the others. "Anything new that we should be aware of?"

"The system will integrate more smoothly with SHIELD systems," Tony said. "Twenty five percent more range, and enhanced everything."

"Good to hear."

Fury and the others were always glad to have a new Ironman suit, of course. It made missions safer for everyone, that way.

"And it's more compact," Peter said, looking over at Nick and then up to Tony. "Show him."

Stark smiled at the boy's excitement – or maybe just because Peter looked so proud. Or maybe because Peter was telling him what to do. Who knew? It didn't matter, though. He tapped a nearly invisible panel on the left armpit of the suit and the metal pieces started to retract, a playing card-sized plate at a time, into themselves until it was only a little bigger than Peter's backpack.

"Much smaller than my initial suit," he said, as Peter picked it up, holding it carefully. "And far more portable once I'm out of it."

"He could keep it in his car, or something," Peter pointed out.

"I see that," Nick agreed. "That's pretty impressive tech, Tony."

"Thanks."

He was trying to be an example for Peter, so he didn't brag quite as much as he wanted to, instead simply accepting the accolades due him with as much humility as he could manage.

"I'm freezing," Sam said, impressed, of course, but now ready to go inside and warm up. "I need coffee."

"So do I," Steve agreed.

"The demonstration isn't quite over, though," Tony said, smiling. "We need to get off the roof, though."

"We're not done?" Peter asked, as Tony and Nick led them to the door to the inside.

"Not, yet."

"What's left?"

As far as Peter knew, that was all the modifications of the new suit, compared to the old.

"It's a surprise."