"You look nervous…"
Tony snorted, looking over his coffee cup at Pepper, who was sitting across from him at the kitchen table.
"Do I?"
She smiled.
"Yes. A bit."
"I am," he admitted. "Not because I'm getting cold feet," he added, quickly. "It's amazing. I was nervous Christmas morning, too, and that was just as incredible, right?"
"He isn't going to say no, is he?" she asked.
"No. He'll be happy. Maybe even as happy as I am."
"You say the nicest things."
Before the billionaire could answer, the door to Peter's room opened and he came out, dressed in jeans and an Avengers sweatshirt with only socks on his feet. The little boy came over to the table, eyes happy as he greeted both of them. His hair was still messy from sleeping, and his eyes were a little tired. He wasn't all the way awake, yet, obviously.
"Hey, buddy," Tony said, reaching out and brushing his hair out of his eyes. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good." Peter looked at Pepper. "Did Tony show you my new Ironman/Batman suit? It's just like his new one – only it's little, for me."
"I heard all about it," she confirmed. "And I saw it when it was finished."
"It's pretty neat."
"Yes. He showed me some pictures of you two in them, side by side."
Peter's eyes widened.
"He did?"
"JARVIS took them while we were out at the compound," Tony told him. "Make sure you have him show them to you, later."
"I could look, now," Peter pointed out, excited to see them.
"You could," his father agreed. "But we have something else we want to talk to you about, first."
Peter climbed into his chair, putting himself on a closer level to the two of them.
"What?"
Tony hesitated, looking at Pepper to see if she wanted to tell him. She shook her head, smiling, and gestured for him to go ahead.
"Well… I asked Pepper to marry me."
The boy's eyes widened.
"You did? When?"
"Last night. When we came home."
"Wow." Peter looked back and forth between them, and they could both see the moment the realization hit. "You're getting married?"
Tony smiled.
"Yeah, buddy. What do you think about that?"
Peter's expression changed, again. From stunned and excited to uncertain. His lower lip disappeared between his teeth and he looked over at Pepper, a look of utter longing on his face that he couldn't have hidden if he'd tried. He climbed off his chair and went over to Tony's, climbing up into his lap. Pepper frowned when he put his arms around his father's neck and whispered in his ear.
Tony hugged the boy, and kissed his temple.
"I think that's part of the deal," he murmured, softly – although Pepper could hear it, even if she hadn't heard what Peter had said. "Want me to ask her?"
The little boy nodded, turning on Tony's lap so he could look at her, but one arm around the billionaire, as if for comfort.
"Ask me what?" she asked, wondering at the uncertain – and yet, so hopeful, look on the boy's face.
"Well… Peter was asking me if this means that you're going to be his mom, now, when we get married."
She nodded.
"If you're alright with that? I was thinking it would be a pretty great idea."
Peter nodded, unable to speak, suddenly, and his eyes filled with tears.
Pepper made a soft noise and pulled him from Tony's lap to bring him into her own, putting her arms around him, and holding him, close while he cried.
"He did that with me, too," Tony assured her, once more thinking back to the Christmas morning when he'd asked Peter to be his son. "He's okay." He reached out and rested his hand on the back of Peter's head. "Aren't you, son?"
The boy nodded, but he didn't let go of Pepper, and he wasn't able to control his tears, just yet. His little face burrowed into her neck, and Pepper looked over at Tony.
"Have I mentioned how much I love you guys?"
He smiled.
"We love you, too." Tony stood up, and took her coffee cup. "Let me refill that for you."
Lord knew she wasn't going to be getting up any time soon. Not with the way Peter was clinging to her.
"Thank you."
He brought her coffee back, brushing his hand along Peter's back as he reclaimed his chair.
"You okay, buddy?"
It was enough to make Peter turn his head to look at him, eyes red and wet, but not sad.
"Yeah." He sniffed, mightily, and wiped his nose on Pepper's shirt. She rolled her eyes at that, although Peter didn't see it, and Tony smiled. "I'm happy."
Stark's expression softened.
"I know you are."
"When are you getting married?"
"We haven't discussed it."
"Today?"
Tony smiled.
"It doesn't work like that."
"Why not?"
"Weddings take planning. Some of the big ones take years."
"That's too long."
"We won't wait that long," Pepper assured him.
"You could antelope," Peter pointed out.
Both adults frowned.
"What?"
"Antelope…" he said it slowly, as if trying to help them understand what he was saying. "I saw it in a movie. These two kids ran off to get married without waiting for their moms and dads to let them."
Pepper smiled.
"Elope?"
"Antelope."
"An antelope is a kind of a deer," Tony told his son. "Eloping is sneaking away to get married."
"You could do that."
"Weddings should be special," Stark said, amused, but not wanting Pepper to be rushed into anything. Besides, he was pretty sure they needed a wedding license, and blood tests, or whatever people did when they were getting married. Tony didn't know, because he'd never needed to know. "Big ceremony, lots of people. Big cake."
Peter looked up at Pepper, eyes big and mournful at the idea of having to wait to have a mom now that he was so close to it. She brushed her thumb along his cheek, wiping away the tears that had smeared there.
"How long will that take?" Peter asked.
"It depends on your father," she told him. Wiping the other cheek, too, now, and reaching for a napkin to wipe his nose. "I, personally, don't need a fancy wedding, but Tony's Ironman, right? Something like this…? He might want a huge ceremony so everyone can watch."
"I'd marry you here at the kitchen table," Tony assured her. "But we'd need a license, right? And whatever else – and someone to perform the ceremony."
Pepper smiled.
"A license, yes. The rest is all for show." She put her arms around Peter, still cuddling him. "To get married, all a couple needs is a judge to sign off on the paperwork – and a ring would be nice."
"I have a ring," Tony told her. "I've had it for a couple of years, now."
"Will it fit me?"
"It was made for you," he replied.
Her expression softened, and she started to say something, but Peter spoke up, first.
"Pepper knows lots of judges," he said, still holding onto her.
Tony looked at Pepper, who was looking at him, now, eyes slightly wild, but also holding no trace of uncertainty.
"What do you think, Pep?"
"I think it's crazy…"
"Probably. But I've done crazy things before."
He'd even taken her along with him a few times – although she hadn't been happy about any of them.
"I could call James.," she said, finally. "And see if he's doing anything this afternoon."