"Let's talk ground rules." Tony crossed his arms and looked down at the duo who had a considerable knack for trouble when together.
"Both of you will lay off the chemicals. No touching any of them. I don't need any fires or explosions in here. Speaking of fires, DUM-E, you stay far away from the fire extinguishers. Peter, please don't drink any of the smoothies made by this little guy. Lost track of the number of times he's nearly killed me with his signature motor oil shakes. FRIDAY will keep an eye on you boys. No funny business, capiche?"
DUM-E beeped softly and Peter flashed him an innocent grin. "Yes, Mr. Stark."
The next couple of hours passed smoothly, much to Tony's surprise. Turns out, all Peter wanted to do was play LEGO and DUM-E just so happened to be an excellent assistant, even if he had tried to make a beeline for the fire extinguisher twice.
Every time Peter wanted a particular piece, he'd ask the bot who was more than enthusiastic to fetch what was required. It was adorable really, to watch them play with each other, completely at ease and oblivious to their surroundings.
Down here, it was easy for Tony to forget about all the crap that was happening in the world above.
Eventually, when he saw that the kids weren't gonna cause any trouble, he left them under FRIDAY's watchful gaze before proceeding to bury himself in his projects.
The antidote for Peter was coming along smoothly and Tony was pretty sure he'd get it done within the next two to three days.
He was pulled out of his musings by FRIDAY's voice. "Boss, Miss Potts has just returned."
A grin made its way to his face. It had been nearly two weeks since he'd last seen her. She'd gone to Shanghai for a meeting and they'd only been able to talk through video call.
"Pete, come on up. I've got an important introduction to make. Pepper hasn't met you yet, at least not pint sized you. No DUM-E, don't look at me like that. I'll bring the kid back later. He's all yours provided you don't try to make him any smoothies or attack him with the extinguisher."
The bot beeped happily and handed Peter a Lego piece.
"Thanks, DUM-E," Peter replied and dutifully pocketed the piece. Tony crouched down to pick up a piece that had scattered away when he felt a weight land on his back and promptly wrap itself around him like a koala bear.
"Seriously, kid? Should've believed, May when she told me you'd been a real octopus back when you were tiny." His words were in contrast to his hands that hooked themselves under Peter's knees and settled him more securely on his back.
Peter's giggle was contagious as he let out an adorable Mr. Stark and pressed his nose into Tony's back.
When they got out of the elevator and on to Tony's private floor, the duo found Pepper Potts in the kitchen.
"Hey, Pep."
Pepper's expression melted into a soft smile when she saw her fiancé, eyes widening slightly when she spotted the child clinging to his back.
"And who's our gue— Peter?"
Tony manoeuvred the child rather deftly to his front and settled him on his hip. "This, sweetheart, is our very own Peter Parker. Pete, say hi."
"Hi, Miss Potts," the boy said obediently and Pepper fell in love with him just a little. The kid was beyond cute.
"Hi, sweetie." Her eyes shifted from Peter to Tony, subtly asking for an explanation.
"Underoos here thought it would be a great idea to recklessly pursue a bunch of dangerous criminals carrying even more dangerous stolen tech. Turns out that wasn't actually a great idea after all. Mr. Parker here got knocked down a couple of sizes in the process. He's also in big trouble once I get him back to normal. Am I missing something else, Pete?"
The last part was aimed at Peter who flushed and buried his face in Tony's shoulder. "Stop embarrassing me, Mr. Stark," the kid pleaded.
Tony snorted and set his precious cargo down on the island. "Kiddo, I think you manage to do that all by yourself," although his words were sarcastic, his eyes sparkled with a genuine fondness and his crow feet deepened as he smiled softly at Peter and ruffled his hair.
Although her expression was the picture of calm, Pepper Potts was squealing on the inside.
Pepper knew that her fiancé was attractive.
She'd seen all modes of his and yet, something about the casual, almost domestic interaction between Tony and Peter stirred an emotion in Pepper's heart.
Tony had of course mentioned Peter to her several times, both in person and over the phone. Even without meeting him properly, she'd realised that this kid was special. He told her about the kid's escapades, the many near heart attacks he'd given Tony and how the boy was responsible for all the grey hair. But the conversation always strayed towards how damn endearingly adorable the kid was, how Peter was just a really good kid who was looking out for the little guy.
In that moment, leaning against the island and grinned at the kid like he hung the moon, looking so happy and oh so— dare she say— paternal, Tony Stark had never looked more handsome before.
She couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again in that moment.
Tony noticed her eyes on him and he blushed slightly at the openly loving expression on her face.
Moving away from the island, he hooked his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his chest, resting his forehead against hers. "Miss Potts."
"Mr. Stark."
His lips met hers in a deep kiss and her arms wrapped around his neck of their own volition.
The only thing that interrupted them was a gag accompanied by an indignant voice. "Ew, that's gross!"
Tony smirked against Pepper's lips and turned around to face the kid. "Gross? You won't be saying that when it's your partner you're kissing. Speaking of, we need to talk about the birds and the bees once you're you again. Orders from May Parker. Can't wait."
The horrified look on Peter's face made Tony's day.
"What about peonies?"
"Too loud. Won't go with the cream tablecloth."
"Lilies?"
Pepper bit her lip, thinking over it. "Yeah. White lilies it is."
"Awesome. What's next on the list?"
"Let's see. We've gone over the bouquets for the bridesmaids, corsage, boutonnières for the groomsmen, table arrangements and decor and Happy's taking care of the guest list. That leaves us with the gifts and the menu."
"What about your dress?" Tony asked with a sly grin.
Pepper narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't even think about it. You're not getting one tiny peek at it until it's time."
Tony pouted. "I never made you out to be old fashioned, Miss Potts. Can't I see like, I don't know, twelve percent of the dress?"
The old joke drew a giggle from Pepper and she turned to rest her cheek against his chest, right next to where the arc reactor used to be.
"You most certainly may not, Mr. Stark."
They laughed together, stopping abruptly when the bundle curled up on Tony's other side stirred and whined at the soft noise.
Tony shushed Peter gently and lightly stroked the kid's temple with his thumb. "Sorry, sorry sweetheart." The endearment slipped out of its own accord. "Go back to sleep."
He kept up the soothing ministrations until Peter's expression relaxed again and he fell back into a contented slumber.
"Good boy," Tony whispered.
The three of them had curled up on the sofa in the living room to watch a movie after dinner. Peter had drifted off halfway and Tony hadn't had the heart to wake him.
Instead he'd wrapped the kid up in a blanket burrito and repositioned him so that Peter was comfortably lying lengthwise on the sofa with his upper half in Tony's lap. One arm was wrapped loosely around the Spiderling's middle while the other rested across Pepper's shoulders.
After the movie had ended, the couple had decided to go over the wedding preparations.
He turned to Pepper only to find her looking at him like that again, with that smile which made her eyes shine a little brighter, and melted his heart just a little more. "You're giving me that look again," Tony pointed out.
Pepper shook her head with a soft smile. "You're so happy. I don't think I've ever seen you so relaxed and...domestic," she answered, combing her fingers through his hair.
"You're so good with him. You've told me many times that the kid looks up to you and that you didn't know why. I do now."
"And why's that?" Despite the casual question, his tone had an undercurrent of insecurity.
"Because he's seen the real you. Just like me, Rhodey and Happy. He knows you. Not the image that the world's made. You're not afraid to let your guard down around him. You love him."
It was on the tip of Tony's tongue to brush her words off with dry humour or a sarcastic remark, but something stopped him. Maybe it was the fact that her words were the absolute truth, or it was the comforting weight of the small Spiderkid tucked into his chest that stopped him from denying her statement.
Instead he stroked the shell of Peter's ear with absolute fondness.
"I love him."
The next morning, Tony awoke to the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. He'd fallen asleep on the couch last night and Pepper must've covered him up with a blanket.
"FRI, honey, what time is it?"
"It's currently 8:31 am, Boss."
Wow.
A solid eight hours. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been privileged enough to receive such a wonderful gift.
With a yawn, he pulled himself off the sofa stretched his arms above his head. His mind was still pleasantly tingling from the dream he'd had last night.
He couldn't remember all of it, just tiny flashes of a world so perfect yet so real, it warmed him all over.
He found Pepper and Peter in the kitchen in the midst of an animated conversation. The former had a mug in her hand whilst the latter was eating fruit loops.
When Peter spotted Tony, he grinned foothill and waved his spoon excitedly in greeting, not noticing when a few drops of milk dribbled on to his chin.
"Goo' mr'ng, Missr S'ark!"
"Morning, Petey-pie. Hey, honey." He pecked Pepper on the lips before making his way to the kid and ruffling his hair.
With the edge of his sleeve, he wiped the milk off the Spiderling's chin before realising what he'd just done.
Geez, I'm going full on Papa bear.
But he found that he didn't mind so much anymore.