Peter wasn't the only one to drift off during the movie. Not only was it intentionally a movie that was fun but didn't require a lot of thought – meaning that it would put Peter to sleep – but it had been a long weekend, and a long day. They were all tired, really. Tony woke when the movie ended, his gaze automatically going to check on Peter.
The little boy was asleep beside him, nestled into his side. Pepper was on the other side of Peter, and she, too, had fallen asleep. She was leaning against Tony, one arm around Peter and her cheek on Tony's shoulder. She opened her eyes when he moved.
"Hmmm?"
"It's okay," he whispered.
"Movie's over?"
"Yeah."
She looked at Peter, too, and smiled, tenderly.
"He didn't make it, either?"
"No." Stark leaned over enough so he could kiss her. "I'm going to put him to bed. Why don't you go ahead and go to bed, too?"
She looked at the remains of their popcorn and hot chocolate on the coffee table. Snacks that they'd consumed during the beginning part of the movie.
"You don't mind?"
"Of course not."
Pepper eased herself out from Peter's side, brushing her palm against Tony's cheek.
"Don't stay up too late."
He smiled. An order that might have been annoying coming from his CEO, but was wonderful coming from his wife.
"I won't."
He watched as she stopped in Peter's room and Tony knew that she was pulling the blankets back on the bottom bunk to make it easier for him to put their son into his bed. Then she vanished into their bedroom and closed the door, softly, behind her. Tony turned his attention to the sleeping child next to him, and gathered him into his arms, carefully.
Not too surprisingly, Peter roused – although Tony knew it didn't, necessarily, mean that he was awake. He tensed, but that was about all.
"It's morning?"
"Not even close," the billionaire crooned. "Close your eyes."
Peter rested his head on Tony's shoulder, going limp, once more.
"I'm not sleepy…"
"I know, buddy."
Tony carried him into his room, appreciating when JARVIS turned the lights on, but muted them to keep from startling Peter into wakefulness. He put Peter to bed, leaning over and holding his cheek against the boy's for a long moment, giving him a chance to decide if he was going to fall back to sleep or wake up enough to negotiate a story.
Peter fell asleep, and Tony smiled, watching him for a moment. Then he adjusted the blankets and left the room, closing the door to keep from waking him.
"Are we taking bets if he wakes up, tonight?" he asked his AI as he walked back to the living room to start picking up dishes.
"If he does, and it is simply the normal restlessness, I'll tell him as story and get him back to sleep. If it's his finger hurting, or something, he may well end up in your bed."
"Good point." Tony carried the dishes to the kitchen sink. "He sure is a fun guy, isn't he?"
"Not at all the menace that you once thought."
Stark rolled his eyes.
"He probably is," he corrected. "We just haven't come to that point, yet. Luckily, I'll have Pepper to back me up, now."
"And me."
Tony nodded, setting the dishes in the sink, but turning his full attention to his AI.
"Always you, JARVIS."
"Are you happy, sir?" the AI asked.
The billionaire looked around the house, seeing the artwork stuck to the fridge, and the Batman toaster, as well as the two coffee cups and the 'World's best dad' mug that Peter had made him.
"I am," he admitted. "More than I ever thought I could be. It's crazy, isn't it? Me with a wife, and a son…"
"A little overdue, perhaps," JARVIS said. "But the timing wasn't there, yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, sir. You should go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be another long day – and Peter might, yet, change his mind about wanting a puppy once he meets Ned's."
"Ugh." Tony wasn't worried, though, and he nodded, double-checking to make sure the coffee pot was set for the morning. "I'm not too worried."
Besides, if Peter wanted a puppy – or a cat, or a fish, or even a freaking dolphin to put in the swimming pool – then Tony would make sure that he got one.
"Good night, sir," the AI said, turning the lights down low as Tony walked to his and Pepper's room.
"Good night, JARVIS."
OOOOOOOOOOOO
"Everything good?" Pepper asked, already in bed by the time he joined her.
"He told me that he wasn't tired," Stark said, smiling. "And then he fell asleep."
She smiled, too.
"Did he mention his finger?"
"No." Tony sat down on the edge of the bed to lose his slippers. "He wasn't favoring it, either. We already know that he heals quickly," he reminded her. "It should look better in the morning."
He intended to take a look, though, just to make sure.
"We'll still follow through with his pediatrician, though?"
"Definitely." Tony slid into the bed next to her, cuddling close. "That's what good parents do, right?"
Pepper shook her head, still amazed that she was able to carry that label, now – and more amazed that he was. And that he did it so willingly.
"Right."
OOOOOOOOOOO
Peter woke with a start, as usual.
He sat up, quickly, in the bed, looking around.
"JARVIS?"
"It's fine," the AI soothed, immediately. "You're in your bed, and it's the middle of the night."
"Oh." The boy slid out from under the warm covers, and climbed up to the top bunk so he could look out the window as he slid under those blankets instead. "It's snowing, again."
"Yes. How does your finger feel?"
Peter looked down at the bandaged digit, and wiggled it like he might a loose tooth.
"It's okay."
"You should go back to sleep, now," JARVIS told him. "So you're refreshed, tomorrow. Tony will want to check your finger, too."
"Is he sleeping?"
"He is."
"And Pepper?"
"Yes. They're fine."
Peter rested his head against the pillow, feeling a surge of happiness.
"I'm pretty lucky, JARVIS."
"How so? Because you have Tony?"
"And Pepper," Peter said, smiling. "Yeah. I'm probably the luckiest guy in the world."
"I think that your father might disagree."
"Why?"
"Because he would say that he is the lucky one – to have you."
That made Peter feel good.
"And Pepper."
"Of course." There was a moment of silence. "Go to sleep, Peter."
"I'm not sleepy."
"Then go sleep with your father and mother."
The AI knew that being snuggled between them would calm the boy enough to put him right back to sleep.
"They won't care…?"
"No."
It was still a new thing to them, too, after all.
"Okay."
Excited, Peter rolled out of the blankets and dropped, easily, to the bottom bunk, and then to the floor. As the boy searched for his bear, JARVIS sent Tony and Pepper a gentle wake up to allow them to make a place for the boy. Peter headed out of his bedroom, and JARVIS turned on a gentle nightlight – more for Tony and Pepper when their bedroom door opened – and then the AI settled back into passive mode, watching the little family as they gathered in the large bed and the little boy was settled between the two adults.
Then the house went still.