"Well, I'd say that was a success."
Stark nodded, smiling down at the boy who had finally fallen asleep, even though he'd lasted a lot longer than any of them had really expected.
Once the cake and ice cream had been demolished, Peter and Ned had immediately pulled out the 3-D chess set, quickly running through the rules and then testing it out. MJ had joined them, taking a little more care reading the rules of the game, but the adults had all decided that they'd wait until a different time to learn. They'd taken coffee into the living room and simply enjoyed a quiet night of no responsibilities.
By the time Steve decided to take his puppy outside for a final romp and then go to bed, the games were taking a little longer as Ned and Peter grew more proficient at the moves the pieces could make. Natasha and Stephen bundled up in their warm coats and hats and went outside to watch the snow fall while leaning on the railing of the porch.
MJ had played one game against Ned, but had then decided that she was tired, too. She would have plenty more chances to learn how to play, after all. She said happy birthday to Peter once more, told everyone goodnight and then vanished up the staircase.
Ned had taken a little longer, but he was no more used to all the physical activities of the day than the others, and eventually the sleepiness won out of the excitement of the new game. By the time Strange and Natasha returned to the interior of the cabin, chilled and ready for the warmth of the fire, he finished the match he and Peter were playing, and had then gone to bed, as well.
Peter carefully gathered up the pieces to his new chess set and put them away, and had then gone into the living room to sit on the sectional beside Tony, who had coffee in one hand and the other arm around Pepper. She was reading the Avengers book that MJ had given Peter, and would smile every now and then, but refused to tell him what was so funny, saying that she didn't want to spoil the book for when he read it.
Stark put his coffee down and put that arm around Peter, drawing the boy up beside him in a hug that left no doubt how he felt about him. They'd chatted with Natasha and Stephen about inconsequential matters – mainly what they wanted to do the next day – and the quiet conversation had eventually put Peter to sleep. His head started on Tony's shoulder, but he shifted himself in his sleep and ended up on his side, his knees drawn up a little and his head using Stark's leg as a pillow.
"Yeah. And I thought he was crazy when he said Montana."
Natasha smiled at that. She was sure the word was a lot stronger than crazy.
"Do you want me to take him to bed with me?" she offered.
Stark shook his head.
"No, it's okay. We'll watch him tonight. You guys go ahead and go to bed."
"You're sure?" Strange asked.
"Yeah. Thanks."
The others said goodnight, and Tony shifted just a little between Pepper and Peter, and turned his head to kiss her, even while resting his hand lightly on Peter's shoulder.
"Do we take him to bed with us and then do what they did and put him into his own before he wakes up in the morning?"
"Yes, but not yet," she said, stretching and then setting the book aside before cuddling up against him. "I'm comfortable."
They had both had a nap that afternoon and neither was necessarily ready for bed. Besides, it was comfortable on the sofa, and the company was good. They sat beside each other, her head on his shoulder, her hand against his chest and his arm keeping her close while they watched the fire crackle in front of them and the snow fall outside the picture window in the dining room.
OOOOOOO
He roused a bit when Tony picked him up to take him to bed much later, gathering him up into his arms, while Pepper put the gate in front of the almost dead fire.
"Hmmm? What…?"
"Shhh… go back to sleep…"
"I'm too old to be carried to bed," Peter mumbled, sleepily.
He didn't open his eyes, though, and his head went to Stark's shoulder, his body limp in Tony's arms.
"I know. If I fall asleep on the couch tomorrow you can carry me to bed, too."
Pepper led the way into the bedroom and pulled the blankets back. Peter wasn't asleep, though. Not completely. As Stark put him into the bed and pulled his shoes off, he reached up and brushed a hand unerringly against his chin without opening his eyes.
"Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"I had fun, today."
Stark smiled over at Pepper, who was on the other side of the bed by then, pulling the blankets back.
"Good. Go to sleep, okay?" Stark murmured, softly. "We'll have more fun tomorrow."
"Yeah."
OOOOOOO
He roused them several hours later. Tony rolled in his sleep, reaching out to rest his hand against Peter and only found the much softer, and more feminine flesh that composed Pepper's hip. He opened his eyes, immediately aware that that wasn't right, and sitting up when he realized that Peter had managed to get out of the bed without waking either of them.
Rather than worry Pepper, he slipped out of the bed as well, wishing that Friday was sourced into the cabin the same way she was in the compound. Then he would be able to tell if the boy was sleepwalking, or just making a late-night trip to the bathroom.
He stopped there, first, just to check, but he wasn't in there. Walking out of the bedroom, trying to keep himself from panicking, he went into the living room, shivering just a little at the difference in the warmth of the bedroom – and bed – and the living room without a fire. The living room was empty but there was a light on in the dining room and another on in the kitchen. Tony frown when he saw a plastic arrow come sailing from somewhere in the kitchen to hit a small cardboard target that was with half a dozen others propped up on the table.
The target and the arrow both went flying, and an instant later another arrow was hitting the target that had been beside the first. Tony leaned against the back of the sofa and watched as six shots from the unseen archer in the kitchen took out the six targets in near silent efficiency. A couple of moments after that, Peter walked out of the kitchen, munching on a banana. He looked over at Stark, but Tony didn't see any surprise in his expression and knew that he had probably felt him there with his spider senses.
"Did I sleepwalk?" Peter asked, picking up arrows and targets.
"Are you sleepwalking, now?" Stark asked.
"No." He shrugged and stuffed the rest of the banana into his mouth. "Maybe? Ask me a question."
"Pi?"
"3.14."
"You're not sleepwalking, then." Tony walked over and sat at the dining room table, picking up one of the arrows from the Robin Hood set that Clint had given Peter for his birthday as he did. "You didn't sleepwalk this evening, either. You fell asleep on the couch and I didn't feel like carrying you up the stairs, so we put you in our bed with us – just in case."
Peter looked relieved, but somewhat chagrined.
"A bed for three."
Tony shrugged.
"We don't mind, Peter. You know that. It's better than the alternative possibilities if you did sleepwalk. Bad enough to do it in the city where you might fall off a building or something. Out here you could freeze to death and not even realize it."
"Or get eaten by Dr. Strange's moose…"
"There is that."
He sat down at the table across from Tony, idly playing with the foam tip of one of the arrows.
"Thank you."
"For…?"
Peter shrugged, making a gesture that encompassed the entire room and cabin, and so much more.
"All of this. For taking me in. Caring about me. Making me feel so wanted…"
"You are wanted. You know that, right?"
"Yeah. I just can't believe it, sometimes." He smiled. "I don't mean that I doubt you. I mean it's just hard to believe where I am right now, as opposed to where I was a year ago – and even before."
"I know what you mean. It's the same for me, you know?"
"Yeah?"
Stark smiled.
"Oh, yeah. For a long time – the longest time – it was just about me, you know. We talked about that."
"Yeah."
"Then it was Pepper – even though I didn't know that we were really a we at the time. I was too much of an ass to see beyond me for there to be anyone else. Suddenly, though, there she was, and she was so amazing, Peter. Strong enough and patient enough to want me when no one should have, believe me."
"You were really that bad?"
"Oh, almost certainly worse, I assure you."
"Oh."
"Then suddenly, here you are." Stark reached out and picked up one of the targets for the Robin Hood game. "Scrawny kid. Annoying teenager with abilities that I never would have imagined could come in so unassuming a package. I liked you right off the bat, you know?"
"Yeah?"
"Yes. We're a lot alike in some ways. Maybe even in a lot of ways."
Which made the boy smile. He thought so, too – although he was thought that it might have been wishful thinking.
"Yeah."
"I've never been needed, before," he told Peter. "Then you got so sick. God, I was afraid of losing you. It was a near thing, too, and you know it. But I realized that in a way, you needed me. You needed Stephen more, at the time, of course, but he's a doctor and is probably used to that. I'm not."
"Pepper needs you."
Tony snorted.
"She doesn't need me, Peter. Not like I need her. She loves me, I know, but she is very much the dominant person in our relationship, believe me. I love her, though – more than she'll ever know, because I'm God-awful at expressing myself to her. But I'm learning. She's teaching me."
"Oh."
"So then Pepper and I are suddenly – or maybe not so suddenly – a we. A family, even, if you will –although she isn't in any hurry to marry me and make it official. Then the thing with May happened, and that was sudden, I know. For her. For you. For me. And she asked me for the one thing I never would have dared to even admit that I wanted. Not even to myself, really. She could have asked anyone responsible to take you. I know Stephen would have in a heartbeat. Or Ned's mom. But she chose me – and then you chose me, and you wanted me. Maybe even as much as I wanted you. It's pretty heady stuff."
Peter nodded.
"It is for me, too. Sometimes overwhelming."
"I understand. But you're a part of the we, now, you know? A very welcomed part. To both of us. It's not always going to be fun and games, I'm sure – which is why when we get a reason to have fun, we're going to take it and make the most of it – but never forget you're wanted. And if I start to annoy you, tell Pepper if you don't want to tell me, and she'll rein me in. Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay."
They sat at the table, quietly, just thinking about the conversation they'd had. A middle of the night, cabin in the woods snowy night conversation that probably wouldn't happen in the bustle of the city or even the confines of the Avenger facility.
"I'm going back to bed," Tony finally told him, handing him the arrow. "You should get some sleep, too. You can play Legolas tomorrow, okay?"
Peter smiled.
"Yeah. Good night."
Tony got up and headed back to the bedroom. He wasn't too concerned about Peter sleepwalking that night, now. They had his schedule down pretty well, by now, and he tended to do his nocturnal wandering around the wee hours of the morning – and usually when he'd been asleep for a while. By the time the boy went back to bed, he would be fine.