The pony was loaded without protest into a trailer that was the hitched to the back of the truck – which explained to Peter why they hadn't taken the sedan. Then Tony had shaken hands with the man and had gathered his little family, and their temporary pet, and Pepper had driven them back to the compound.
The Avengers weren't set up to handle a horse, no matter how small, so instead of an actual stall, a temporary chain link fence had been put around a large section of the field right outside one of the doors, practically under Peter's window. This was both to keep the pony in and allow it to graze on the lush grass of the field while waiting to be taken to his new home and also to keep any potential predator looking for an easy meal that night away from him.
Pepper had unloaded the pony with an ease that impressed Peter and Tony both, and had taken its lead off, turning him loose in the fenced area of the field. There was a large bucket of water in one corner and a bale of hay had been brought with them just to make sure the pony didn't starve before Clint could get it home to Lila. This had been spread – again by Pepper, with some clumsy assistance from Tony – and the little horse seemed perfectly content to check out his new enclosure. Pepper left to move the truck around to the side of the facility, since they'd need to return the trailer the next few days.
"We'll have dinner in an hour or so, okay?" Tony said, standing beside Peter, who was leaning on the chain link fence watching as the pony acclimate himself to the new surroundings.
"Yeah."
Tony put his hand on the boy's shoulder, uncertain of the expression on the boy's face.
"Do you want to keep him? We could get Lila a different one."
"What? No. No. I was just trying to figure out if he could jump the fence."
"You sure?" Tony teased. "He's kind of cute, now that I see him out in the sunshine."
"Did you pick him out?"
"Pepper and Laura did. What I know about horses would fit in the first page of one of those miniature books that you can only see through microscopes."
"All the more reason for us not to keep him," Peter pointed out.
"True. Be in the lounge in an hour, okay? I don't want to have to come looking for you."
"Okay."
"And don't try riding him."
"No worry about that."
Even if he was in full health there was very little chance that Peter would try to get on the little animal's back. As it stood now, with his hip aching, the last thing he wanted was to run the risk of falling off or being bounced around. Despite planning to head to the lounge, Tony stood with him for a while longer, both of them watching the pony – mainly because Peter was too sore to really want to move away from the fence just yet, and Tony was just content to stand with him for a while.
It was only a few minutes later, though, when Peter felt arms coming around him from behind, a chin resting on his shoulder and a sultry voice whisper in his ear.
"Take me for a ride on him?"
Peter smiled.
"Not a chance. I'd probably fall on my head. Or worse, on you."
Natasha laughed, hugged him close for a moment and then let him go. Peter saw that Clint was with her, and the two stood by the fence, also leaning on it and also watching the pony.
"Lila's going to flip, Clint," she said.
Barton grinned, obviously anticipating just that reaction.
"Yes, she is. I'll be world's greatest dad for sure."
"No," Tony corrected. "You're giving her a used pony. I gave him to Peter, first, so I get the greatest dad award. You get whatever award a second hand pony earns a dad."
"Peter didn't even want a pony," Barton pointed out, winking at the boy. "It's hardly worthy of the award to get him a pony he doesn't want. Lila has been begging for three years, now. What are you going to get him next? A rattlesnake?"
"Maybe. Or maybe a chia pet. Who knows?"
Natasha laughed.
"Come on, Peter. Let's go find something to do and leave these two to their discussion – before you end up the proud owner of a stink bug or something."
She put her arm around him and steered him back toward the main building, slowing her pace to match his limp, and Barton grinned at Tony.
"You realize the world's greatest dad is going to have to make sure field is free of surprises once Peter and I take the pony home tomorrow…?"
Stark rolled his eyes, but he obviously hadn't thought of that. Then he shrugged.
"I'll have someone else take care of that. I'll be too busy polishing my trophy."
OOOOOOOO
"Is your hip bothering you?"
"Just a little. The ride in the truck bounced me around a bit."
"We'll keep you off your feet tonight, then."
"Yeah."
"Tomorrow morning sometime we'll catch your pony, put him in a safety crate and load him into the jet for his ride to Clint's farm."
She was obviously looking forward to seeing the little girl's face when they showed her her birthday present.
"Think she'll like him?"
"Absolutely. He'll be loved and made much of and probably a little spoiled."
She almost mentioned that it would be similar to the way Tony treated him, but decided that he might take it negatively, and she wouldn't have meant it to be. Romanoff truly enjoyed watching the interaction between Stark and Peter. She knew the boy was good for the billionaire – and vice versa – and it was adorable the way Tony seemed to always be aware of where Peter was and what he was doing. She was surprised that he was allowing Peter to be on his feet if his injury was bothering so much that his limp was visible.
"You're going to come?"
"Of course." She smiled. "I saw the pictures when you were introduced to him. You're afraid of him, so someone has to take him off the jet and out of the crate."
"I'm not afraid of him."
She raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"Well, no. Not afraid. Wary might be a better word."
Romanoff smiled.
"Wary, it is. Tell me what you guys did at the cabin after we left you."
As they walked back to the building, and then to the lounge, Peter told her about the day on the sledding hill and how Tony and Strange had sat at the bottom of the hill drinking coffee and had allowed him to sled as much as he wanted, staying out until they were all cold and ready to call it a day. The portal had made the difference, of course, making it incredibly easy for him to sled until he'd been forced to stop.
"Is that why your hip is so sore, now?" she asked as they walked into the lounge.
"It's my fault," he said. "I was having a good time and didn't want to stop."
Pepper wasn't in the lounge, yet, so they went over to the corner table. Natasha didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave his company, so they sat down and he allowed her to talk him into playing WAR with her while they waited for the others.
He lost, of course, but he didn't mind. The outcome was pretty much a given, and they both knew it. It was fine, though. She was good company and in no hurry, and even when Tony and Pepper showed up, she stuck around and ate dinner with them before finally excusing herself to take care of other things.
"What do you want to do tonight?" Tony asked Peter when they were sitting around the table, relaxing after a very good meal of pasta and bread rolls.
"I should work on homework."
"No." It was Pepper who shook her head. "Relax tonight. You just got home. Tomorrow is soon enough for homework, okay?"
He shrugged.
"Okay."
"How about a movie?" Tony suggested. "Just what the doctor ordered to keep you off your feet and relaxed."
Peter looked over at Pepper, wondering if she had something else that she wanted to do instead of that, but she nodded her agreement.
"That sounds like a good idea – if it's not a horror movie."
"That can be arranged."
They spent a very relaxing evening on the sofa in Pepper and Tony's quarters. With one of them on either side of him and a soft pillow keeping his hip from actually pressing against Tony, who sitting on that side of him, they almost made it through two movies before Peter and Tony both fell asleep, leaving Pepper the only one still awake to see how the last movie ended.
She turned off the TV, and decided to leave both of them where they were, knowing that they'd sort themselves out during the night when they woke up – either they'd just curl up on the couch for the rest of the night, or Peter would go find his own bed if he felt up to making the trek. She simply covered them both warmly, pressed a tender kiss against Tony's lips and went to bed.