A/N: So sorry for the long waiting my darlings! I was sick with what felt like the plague/flu, (there were jokes with a friend about becoming a zombie, and whichever one of us recovered had to kill the other for the sake of humanity), there were hospital visits, and nursing home visits, and generally lots of sick people involvedl (sitting in a hospital room wearing one of those masks for hours on end gets annoying. How do people wear those out in public all the time without overheating their faces?) Also, I'm dealing with snow, because my state SUCKS with weather (seriously, my state never knows what season it is), so I'm currently dealing with sinuses, but I can work with that at least.

But! Here's a chapter, and while writing it I came out with something that I hope is going to end up being a really awesome thing that carries on through the rest of this story, and into the rest of the series, something that will bond Steve and Tony through adorableness and awkwardness. It's going to be awesome, I hope. Research was put into it, fun research. Gift fic for the first person to figure out what it is? :D

But seriously, sorry for the wait, enjoy the new chapter, and the next is already in progress! There might only be a couple more chapters in this story, we'll see how the characters react.

Chapters 14, 15, and 16 posted all at once, don't miss a chapter! :)

Unbeta'd, and Marvel owns more of this than I do. Disney owns them and the movie Tangled.

Also, if you go to my Tubmlr page (megaranoelle. tumblr. com) you can catch some behinds the scene stuff about the fic. No spoilers, promise. Maybe you can influence the story.

Tony slowly pulled one arm away from Steve, rolling gently onto his back. As Tony reached for his phone, still in his pocket, he thought that for once, the blonde wasn't up before the crack of-

5:42 AM

Nevermind. As if on cue, Steve straightened his legs, back arching as he started to wake up. The man had an internal clock that was impeccable. When Steve rolled towards his edge of the bed, Tony was able to pull his other arm back that had been under Steve's shoulders. He sat up, hoping to make it at least look like he hadn't been there all night-

"Tony?" No one had that right to sound that adorably sleepy under the age of ten. Tony turned to look at Steve. "Did you stay here all night?"

"All night is a relative thought," Tony said as he stretched his arms above his head. His hips felt a little funky, having fallen asleep with his jeans still on, and sleeping properly. "I mean, I came in a little after one in the morning, and it's almost six now. That's not even the recommended amount of sleep a normal adult should get-"

"Thank you, Tony," Steve said before Tony could continue in his rambling. "You didn't have to."

"Yeah, I know that." Tony shrugged a little. He pushed himself to his feet. "Wasn't like I could just leave you trapped in a nightmare though, that's some kind of cruel punishment." He turned to look at Steve who had gotten up as well, and Tony was treated to the sight that Captain America slept with no shirt no, and what had to be some joke pajama bottoms with pictures of what looked like genie bottles? Tony raised his eyebrow, looking at the pajamas, then back up to Steve's face. Steve glanced down to wee what Tony had been looking at them, then looked back up, his cheeks tinting red.

"Right, well, I've got to go check on our resident emo god downstairs." Steve frowned at Tony's words, and Tony realized that Steve didn't know what had happened last night. "I'll fill you in when I'm done, and you can go work out, take a run, make a crap load of breakfast food, whatever it is that super soldiers do." Tony gave a two fingered salute and headed for the door quickly.

Tony made a pit stop down in his workshop, grabbing one his prototype gauntlets, before heading towards the back of the garage, where Loki supposedly was still being held. He walked in to see Thor standing vigil against the wall, Loki sitting on the cot, legs folded underneath him.

"Anthony," Thor said, reaching forward to grasp his arm in greeting. "Your mechanical servant has filled me in on what happened, but there is no way that Loki could have left his confines down here." Tony looked over at Loki, who was watching them with blank green eyes. Except they weren't exactly blank, there was a carefully concealed spark of amusement. He wanted something.

"Has he said anything?" Tony asked. They had removed the mouth guard after the first day, (Tony admits that it was his own perverse pleasure after Loki had tricked him), but he hadn't said anything since then.

"I'm afraid not."

"Because I was simply waiting for the correct person to speak with," Loki said drolly, rolling his eyes. The two man turned to stare at him. "I am no fool, I know that we would return to Asgard soon, and things will not work out favorably for me." Tony snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "I have decided to take this time to work on my defense."

"Defense?" Tony raised his eyebrows in shock. "I don't know what you did before you came here, unleashing death and destruction, but-"

"I have told you what needs to be done," Loki cut him off. Thor looked between Loki and Tony once.

"Your clever words will not-"

"Your fellow warrior had the unique experience of becoming acquainted with the entity that fueled the invasion on this realm." Loki's voice was calm, and it was getting on Tony's nerves.

"Anthony?" Thor asked and Tony turned his head to look at him. "Is this true?"

"Hey, I don't know anything about what your crazy brother went through before getting here," Tony said, putting his hands up, and he swore he saw Loki smirk a little. "I'm still technically trying to get used to the fact that other worlds can be accessed and-"

"I would offer up my memories to compare with what he had experienced during the invasion," Loki said suddenly, looking at Thor. They both had stoic, very seriously, expressions, and Tony had to wonder what they hell went on up in Asgard. Fucking Magic.

"If you are true in your convictions, then we must call down one of the Arbiters." Tony raised both eyebrows again, directed at Thor as he spoke. Looking back over at Loki he was looking very pleased with himself and Tony bristled.

"Okay, but we're ignoring the fact that he was Loose in the Mansion last night," Tony brought up. "You'll forgive me if I don't trust a Single syllable that comes from his mouth. He kidnapped my son, tried to mind control me, and shoved a torture device on my mouth because he can't take a joke! And then I found him playing with the temperature in Rogers' room last night, because he got the wrong room looking for Me! How do we know he isn't trying to kill us off, one by one, or just me?"

"If you were to die, then I would be as good as dead," Loki explained, like it should have been obvious. "You hold the proof of any innocence that I have in my actions."

"I do not believe for a second that you've learned all your lessons, and you're suddenly a good little boy," Tony said with a glare directed at the dark haired man. "And what exactly is an Arbiter?"

"It is a Judge of sorts," Thor started to explain. "One that can come and see the truth from anyone. I do believe that there are a couple that are still here on Midgard."

"Then my wait will not be long," Loki said, seeming to actually relax a little and Tony frowned.

"I don't know if I quite agree to bringing someone here," Tony said, looking between the two Asgardians. "I know nothing about this, and it's feeling a little invasive if it has to do with my memories."

"There is another way that I know of," Loki spoke up. "Tis a way that you know to work even on me for the truth," he said looking at Thor.

"I do not trust you with idle hands as of yet, brother," Thor rumbled out.

"Then it is a good thing that it is even something that you can do," Loki shot back.

Tony put his hands up, taking a couple steps back. "You know what, I'm out. This is something I no longer want a part of. Today is a long awaited day off, and I plan on spending lots of time with my son" He turned, heading for the exit. "I'm no longer involved in whatever you two will talk about, but Loki," he turned his head to look at the man in question, "you try any shit again, and you won't have to worry being innocent or not."

Upstairs Tony could smell the amazing scent of cooking food, and not pancakes. Peter wasn't up yet if Steve hadn't been conned into cooking pancakes. He detoured back to his room, opting to change his clothes and take a quick shower, before braving the kitchen and Steve Rogers.

Tony had managed to avoid actually having a conversation with Steve until dinner time. He wasn't looking forward to telling him that Loki was the reason that he had had a nightmare, and yet that Loki hadn't broken free and Thor had offered little to no explanation about how it had happened. Seems he couldn't put it off any longer as Steve cornered him in the hallway past the kitchen.

"Hey there, Cap," Tony said, the picture of cool, calm, and collected. "Giving up your kitchen duty for tonight?"

"Rachel and William are cooking," Steve told him, taking one step to the side when Tony tried to sidle past him. "Tony. Why did you have to go see Loki this morning?" And now Steve was giving him the eyes, the eyes that said he really hoped that he didn't have another mind-controlled teammate.

Tony wrinkled his nose a little. "Because I thought he was stirring up shit last night, so I went to talk to Thor and make sure." Steve raised an expectant eyebrow at him. "Well, it's hard to get an actual answer out of him, but Loki tried to con me into doing something that might get him a lesser sentence when he has to go back with Thor."

"What do you mean?" Steve took a step forward, brows crinkling together a little. Tony could have worded that better.

"Something about proving his innocence in something or other," Tony shrugged, trying to step away again. "Says apparently that I can help set some stuff straight, but I know this is not his first infraction as an offender." Tony looked at Steve and saw something, like determination, in his look. "Rogers? What's that look in your eye? You're not getting curious are you? You're not letting the words of a crazy man actually try to make sense, are you?"

"Tony, he did something to you back at the battle," Steve started and Tony narrowed his eyes a little. Traitor! "You didn't act like the others, though."

"Whoa! You're not considering this insanity, right? Were you secretly talking to Thor today?" Tony took a step backwards this time. "You can't agree with letting someone go through memories, or whatever they hell they were suggesting."

"You make it sound like someone would be rifling through your mind." Both men turned, jumping back, at the voice that sounded behind Tony. There was Loki, leaning against the wall, looking at his nails. "We both know that someone else has already done that."

"Loki!" Steve's expression turned to a glare.

"I told you!" Tony exclaimed, throwing his arms up. "Jarvis!"

"Sir?" Jarvis asked through the internal mics.

"Where the hell is Thor? He needs to wrangle his crazy little brother." Loki sneered a little, but smirked a little at Jarvis's response.

"Mr Odinson is still downstairs with Mr Loki. They have not moved all day."

Steve and Tony looked at each other, then back to Loki, and the tricky bastard was gone. They both turned on their heels and ran for the garage. Sure enough, Thor was still downstairs with Loki, the latter looking like he hadn't moved since this morning.

"Seems your friends have arrived," Loki said to Thor when they both noticed Tony and Steve running in, looking a little frantic. "Perhaps Stark has changed his mind willingly."

"Thor," Steve said as he walked over to the blonde Asgardian. "We just saw Loki upstairs."

"Aye, it seems that my brother is still able to control a minor part of his illusions," Thor admitted with a nod. "I can report that they are unable to do anything other than possibly annoy."

"Still a no, there, Rudolph," Tony said, pointing at Loki. Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "And you know you did more last night."

"I simply wanted to deliver a message last night," Loki said simply. He glanced past Tony, at Steve and Thor talking, then back to Tony. "But, I may have an offer to make you reconsider."

"I don't think so," Tony shook his head, taking a step back, turning on his heel.

"I can wake your woman up." Tony froze. He vaguely noticed Steve turned his head to look at him. "I know she sleeps, and I can tell you when she would wake."

Tony turned, stalking over to the boundaries he made. It wouldn't hurt him if he crossed over, only Loki, but they had all agreed to stay out of arms reach of the madman. "No, you said you could wake her. Which is it?"

"I can do both," Loki replied. "The reward depends on the price that is paid."

"You dig through my head, you bet your ass you're waking her up!" Tony felt his nails dig into his palms a little. Could he trust him to actually wake up Mary though? It could just be another of Loki's tricks, Tony wouldn't take the small chance of putting Peter at risk by letting Loki perform magic in the mansion.

"We have an accord then." Loki smirked as a breeze shifted through the garage. Tony felt a shiver run down his back and he closed his eyes. "Thor, you have already called for the Arbiter, yes?"

"Loki." Tony heard Thor's tone with just a pinch of disapproval. Tony took a breath, his head feeling a little light, and there was a hand on his upper arm.

"He set the terms, and I merely agreed," Loki told him. "You know as well as I, until the Arbiter comes, he is bound to truth."

"What are you talking about? What did you do?" Oh, it was Steve that was holding onto him, if the closeness of his voice was anything to go by. Tony swallowed and opened his eyes, and immediately stumbled back. Steve put his other hand on his back to try and steady him. "Tony? Are you alright?"

"No," Tony warbled out. Things were drifting in his vision, like he was on a boat in the middle of the storm. "I feel too light."

"Someone keeps back a lot of secrets, sounds like," Loki said with a little smirk. Of course he could smirk, he was able to sit down.

"If I don't start getting some answers-" Steve started to growl out before Loki started talking.

"Since Stark and I have entered an agreement, we both must only speak the truth until an Arbiter comes." Loki spoke like this was the simplest concept on the planet. "An Arbiter will gather copies of memories to review, some from myself and some from Stark, and they will then send word of my innocence, or not, back with Thor for the Allfather to review. If one has a good many number of secrets, or things that they keep close to their chest for one reason or another, they will feel very light," Loki explained. "They could feel weightless to a point. I am accustomed to the feeling by now, so I know how to center the feeling."

"This, this is inhumane!" Tony shouted, closing his eyes after a second, everything spinning. "It's against my rights, or some kind of bullshit! I've been violated!"

"It is not my fault that you have a great many things that you wish not to share with others," Loki lazily threw back at him. "Sit down before you fall and break something." Tony offered a half-hearted glared and Steve gently pulled him over to one of the cars, opening the door for him to sit down in. Tony leaned back, spreading out in the backseat of the car.

"Tony?" Steve asked quietly, and Tony grunted in response. "Is it true?"

"Yes," Tony answered automatically. "Please, just, please be careful with what you ask." Tony wanted to control this as best he could.

"Please don't get angry." Tony pushed himself up, leaning back on his elbows, looking at Steve. He never would have thought that Steve Rogers would take advantage of the situation, but he had been surprised before. "Have you been avoiding talking about what happened in the gym last week?"

"Yes," Tony told him, really, unable to help himself. "I've been sticking with the saying 'What happens in the gym, stays in the gym', much like what I said that very same night as well." Tony dropped back down, groaning a little. "You would be the one to be all respectful about this. There are a hundred and one things that you could be asking me about."

"Didn't think you'd want to talk about them," Steve replied. "If what Loki says is true, and you're feeling pretty lightweight, then you have a lot you don't say."

"And that doesn't make you angry?" Tony asked, his arm dropping over his eyes. He was pretty sure that Captain America's eyes would make him starting spilling his guts on their own.

"Not angry, no." Tony felt the 'but' brush up against him, become a good friend. "Just trying to tell myself that there must be a reason for you to keep it all locked up so tight."

"I do," Tony said. "Almost everyone that I let in betrays me, they hurt me, and I had to learn early on how to protect myself."

"Was Howard part of that reason?" Steve asked softly, sounding like he already knew the answer.

"Steve," Tony all but pleaded quietly.

"Sorry," the younger man said. They sat there silently for several minutes, Tony trying to push all his emotions back down where they belonged, and Steve standing vigilant by the car. There was another breeze through the garage, and Steve tapped Tony's knee. "I think their Arbiter is here."

Steve helped Tony up, waited until he got his balance, then walked over to where Thor talking to someone. The blond turned and they saw a woman in long robes, dark skin and hair, but with light grey eyes. "Anthony, Steven, I introduce Arbiter Taleigh."

Tony wasn't sure what he was expecting, but suddenly he was thrown into buried memories. The blue power from the scepter was wrapping around him again and he gasped for air, words and whispers sounding loud to his ears. He was reliving nightmares, the feeling of a hand with too many fingers grabbing him, holding him down. The missile headed for the Chitauri ship, the iciness of space wrapping around him again.

'He will find you.'

Tony pulled away, gasping for breath, and fell back to the floor, stumbling. His hands were shaking and he shot a glare at the woman, then too Loki when he saw her walking over to him. Tony wrapped his arms around his knees, shaking his head minutely at Steve. Being touched was the last thing he wanted right now. His skin tingled and crawled, and he needed to try and shake it off again.

The woman stepped up to Loki, pressing two fingers to his forehead, and his own memories started to play around them like a hologram. Tony felt dread snake through him when he realized that they others must have seen everything, just like they were seeing Loki's memories. Tony dug his nails into his leg a little when he saw the familiar hand of an alien approach Loki, then he forced himself to look away.

There was a silence, after a couple of moments, and Thor was speaking softly with the Arbiter. When Tony was sure she was gone, he pushed himself up, confident his legs would hold him up, and walked over to Loki's little prison.

"Wake up Mary," Tony demanded. He was done messing around. "You got what you wanted, now give me what I want. Now." Loki simply held up his cuffed hands, and Tony put his hand out behind him, palm up. "Key."

"Anthony, I do not think-"

"Key!" Tony shouted, and Loki smirked a tiny bit. Tony never looked away from Loki. "You'll wake her up-"

"Tony." He was suddenly turned around by a hand on his arm. Steve had stepped into the cordoned off area. "Come on, let's go back upstairs."

"Not until he wakes up Mary," Tony hissed.

"She won't wake until after I leave," Loki interrupted, and Steve found himself wrapping an arm around Tony's waist to keep him from launching at Loki. "It's the nature of the spell, and I cannot change it."

"You said that you would wake her up! We agreed-"

"And it will happen," Loki hissed, stepping closer to Steve and Tony suddenly. He narrowed his eyes at Tony. "I cannot control how this magic will work, and the only thing that you must do is wait for it to work. That is the only thing you can do."

Tony growled and Steve picked up Tony enough so that his feet left the ground and he was able to drag him away from Loki. "I think it's time to leave," Steve mumbled and turned Tony so he was facing away from the dark haired alien before setting him back down on his feet. "You told Peter that you would sit next to him at dinner," Steve reminded the inventor. "You both had a great day today, and you can at least make sure that he has a great night as well."

"I'm upset that you know my weakness," Tony muttered under his breath. He took a deep breath, and then another, closing his eyes for a second, then opened them again. "Fine, but only because I know that Rachel makes a fantastic apple cake, and if I'm not on top of it, Wade will try to find the peanut butter, and Peter can't say no to Wade."

"But, Peter knows he's allergic to nuts," Steve said with a little frown, managing to push tony into a walk, out of the garage and back upstairs. "I thought Wade knew that, too."

"He does, but when those two get worked up, Wade forgets, and Peter trusts Wade blindly, and really they're just having fun, and I can't really blame them-" Tony stopped and looked at Steve when Steve's bigger hand was place over his mouth, stopping his rambling.

"I don't even think you have peanut butter in this house," Steve told him. "Or any kind of nut, actually."

"Don't want a repeat performance of when we found out about the allergy," Tony said. He stopped when he found himself up in the main hall with Steve. When had they made it all the way upstairs? "I don't know if I could get my doctor here that fast again."

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." Peter's voice came down the hall, the little boy hopping on both feet towards the two men. "Granpa says that dinner is ready."

Tony took a couple steps forward, grabbing Peter around the waist, lifting him up and into his arms "Were you hopping around like a bunny? Are you a bunny?"

"No," Peter giggled. "I'm not a bunny, I'm a boy."

Tony hummed and he and Steve started walking again, towards the dining room. "I don't know, I saw this really big bunny just now, hopping down the hall, not a boy."

"I saw a bunny, too," Steve said, a little smirk on his face.

"Mr Steve! It's me!" Peter leaned over in Tony's arms, Tony having to adjust to hold onto the wiggly boy. "I'm not a bunny!"

"Whoa!" Steve looked at him. "Tony! There's a Peter in your arms!"

"Steve, don't be silly, I found a big bunny," Tony said, shaking his head. "I do have to show this to Peter though."

"Daddy!" Peter laughed, twisting and turning in Tony's arms, until he wrapped his arms around Tony's neck. "Bunny's can't hug like I do!"

Tony hugged him back, smiling. "That's a Peter hug! This is one of the best hugs in the universe." Peter reached over Tony's arms, his own arms out, looking at Steve expectantly. "You are being offered something here, Cap, something that no amount of my considerable fortune will ever be able to buy." Steve chuckled and leaned in close to let Peter wrap his arms around his neck in a hug, hugging him back even though Tony didn't want to let the boy go. Steve tugged gently on Peter, and Tony stumbled a little. He turned his head to look at Steve, putting on an exaggerated look of shock.

"Are you trying to take my Peter from me?" Tony tugged back, making Peter giggle.

"What if I want to hold the Peter?" Steve said, trying to walk away with Peter still in the hug hold.

"Then you need to get your own Peter," Tony said keeping up with Steve. "This one is mine, and I happen to like this Peter very much."

"There is no other Peter like your Peter, though," Steve counter argued. Peter wiggled his whole body between the two men, making them move closer together so he didn't fall. He was too busy having fun. "I want this Peter."

"Nope, my Peter." Tony shook his head. They all walked into the dining room and suddenly Peter was plucked from both of their grips.

"I think I'll take this." Clint had stolen the little boy, holding him up over his arms, and took off running to the other side of the large dining table. Peter squealed in delight, putting his arms out like a bird. Clint put him down in a chair and turned a grin over to Tony and Steve. "He's like a little bird."

"I always thought he was like a little spider," Natasha said, making both men jump as she walked behind them and over to Clint and Peter. Wade ran in after her taking his seat next to Peter. The table was already set with food, Bruce at his seat, next to Thor. Peter was sitting next to Wade and they were both sitting across from Coulson, who had been cleared for light walking, and the trip from his bed to the dining room was perfect. Clint and Natasha walked over to sit on either side of Coulson, and Steve and Tony went over to their seats; Tony next to Peter and Steve next to Wade. William came out with one last dish of food, and Rachel right behind him with a fresh apple cake that had Tony staring at it.

"You touch this cake before it's time for desert, and I'm giving Peter your slice," Rachel told the billionaire as she set it down on the table.

"You know for all the differences we have, I am a sucker for your apple cake," Tony told her seriously.

"I'm filing that information away," the older woman smirked, and Tony blinked, realizing he had given her useful ammunition for the future.

"Did you have fun today, Peter?" William asked when he sat down, and everyone descended on the food. Tony took over putting food on Peter's plate as the dishes were passed around.

"Yeah," Peter nodded, taking a biscuit from the plate that Tony put in front of him. "Daddy took Wade and me to the park, then he let us get ice cream."

"Tell them why you two got ice cream," Tony prompted.

"We saw a dog running through the park," Wade piped up. "And we caught the dog, and we found his owner, and she let us play with her dog!"

"It was lots of fun," Peter grinned at his grandparents as they told the story. Tony smiled to himself as he ate, listening to the boys. Today had been one of the most normal days, which made it a very not normal day for Tony Stark. He had worn his hat and sunglasses, and he was pretty sure that he hadn't had his picture taken at the park, so there was another plus. Tony thought that he would give up all the fame, the traveling, the big fancy mansions and towers, if he could spend every day with his son like today. He'd want to keep some of the money though, so he could support Peter, indulge all his curiosities in learning new subjects and hobbies.

Tomorrow Tony had plans to get back to the Tower, make sure that everyone would have a room there, starting with Peter's room, Mary's room, and a room for Coulson. He had finished those designs first, then started on guest floors. And between just him and Jarvis, he had floors for each Avenger. The inspectors had gone through the Tower a couple days ago, and it was structurally sound, and all his permits were still active. Tony hoped that when Thor finally took Loki back to wherever, he'd be able to at least have guest rooms prepared.

Tony hadn't been expecting everyone to leave as soon as Thor and Loki did though. Clint and Natasha had to get back to SHIELD, already spending way too long away. Bruce said he would stay, but Tony had been expecting that. What had really caught Tony by surprise was when Clint and Natasha had shown up with Steve's old motorcycle, he knew that Steve wasn't going to stay. The old bike offered him a chance to get out and experience more, that wasn't part of a mission.

Peter and Wade had stayed back at the mansion with Coulson, so less of a chance of Peter appearing in the papers when people finally realized who was walking into the park, and what was happening.

Bruce pushed Tony towards Steve, who was examining the restored motorcycle. Tony shot Bruce a little glare, but then felt Steve's gaze on him.

"Tony-" Steve started, but Tony cut him off.

"You gotta do what you gotta do, Cap," Tony shrugged a little, hands in his pockets. "You can't ignore a beauty like that, she's gotta see the country, you know." Steve glanced back at the bike. "Seriously, who knows when the next time you'll be able to do this will be. You're still practically unknown to the outside world, better take advantage of that while you still can."

"It's not like I'll be gone for long," Steve said, lacking his usual confidence. "Still got my apartment here, and everything."

"If you don't go, I'm going to kick you," Tony told him. "But you better take lots of pictures." Tony pulled one of the prototype Starkphones out of his pocket. He had planned on giving it to Steve on the way back to the Tower, but this worked, too. "Peter will never let you live it down if you don't have something to show when you get back." Steve blinked as he took the phone. "It's got all the important numbers in there, and I got that number. I'll let you know the second something happens here." He was purposely trying to avoid things that might make Steve feel guilty for leaving, but they both knew that they were talking when Mary woke up.

"Thank you, Tony." Steve moved a couple steps closer, then stopped, not knowing what to do. Tony put his hand out, grasping Steve's hand in a firm shake.

"We'll see you soon." Steve nodded at him, and Tony made himself walk away first, heading back over to Bruce and the car.

"What the hell was that," Bruce looked at Tony as he walked back over. Tony heard Steve start the motorcycle, heard the engine roar, before it took off down the road.

"I think that was a motorcycle," Tony said, heading for the driver's seat. "Didn't get a good look at it, so I can't tell you specifics-"

"You are impossible," Bruce muttered as he slipped into the sports car.

"I'm a lot of things, Brucie-bear," Tony told him, starting the car. "Let's switch out cars and grab the kiddo. Coulson will follow us over when they move Mary."

"You've got Jarvis already set-up at the Tower?" Bruce asked as they headed back for the mansion.

"I just had to reconnect the Tower to the servers," Tony told him. "He never technically left the building, the power was just turned off. I got lucky actually, the Tower didn't take too much damage compared to the rest of the city. Cap helped me get the windows replaced, and we're working on the damage to the lower floors, but all living areas have been cleared to live in. Makes it easier to work there if I'm already living there." Bruce just hummed, nodding.

Steve leaned against his motorcycle, looking out as the street lamps of the little town started to light up. He had just passed from Pennsylvania into Ohio, riding through Pittsburgh, and decided to stop for the night. Steve liked finding the little towns, the little places; they had so much more life with the locals that lived there, so much more history.

Pulling out his phone, he snapped a picture of the street. The glass globes over the lights reflecting off the glass windows of the little shops still open, couples walking down the sidewalk. Steve lowered his phone, catching sight of a couple with a little boy between them. The boy couldn't be older than Peter, holding the hands of his parents, letting them swing him in the air every other step. He missed Peter. And Tony.

Steve straightened up and straddled his bike, slipping the phone back in his pocket. He needed to find a hotel to stay in for the night. He had spent most of the day in this town, and in the morning he would continue on until he felt like turning south. Even though he had only been gone four days, Steve couldn't get New York out of his mind, and a lot of the people there.

He pulled out his ear buds, taking a moment to frown and untangle them, again, and opened his playlist on his phone before starting his motorcycle. Steve had filled it with a lot of his guilty pleasure songs that only Mary knew about, (and she hadn't let him live down his choices yet), but this time when he pressed play he frowned when a song he didn't remember adding started to play. The screen lit up and he smiled gently, thinking that Peter must have added the song to his computer as some point.

'I have dreams like, no really! Just much less, touchy feely. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny! On an island that I own, tanned, and rested, and alone! Surrounded by enormous piles of money!'

Peter had obsessed over the movie 'Tangled' for probably four months after it had come out, wanting to watch it all the time. Steve was pretty sure he had the whole thing memorized, along with songs, with how many times Peter had watched it. He remembered this part of the song because Peter had announced that his Daddy had an island, and Steve thought of Tony every time he heard the song now. Had the movie come out before Steve had figured out who Peter's Dad was, claiming to own an island would have raised an eyebrow, now it wasn't much of a shock.

Steve started his motorcycle and pulled into the street, passing the family, a little smile on his face.

Tony wrinkled his nose as he looked at Steve's playlist. He was laying out on the couch, Starkpad in his lap, Peter sitting under his legs, sketchbook balanced on Tony's knees. Bruce came into the living room, handing a plate with a sandwich to Peter, who accepted it with a Thank You, and dropped a water bottle on Tony's chest.

"Where is he now?" Bruce asked as he took a seat in the single seat chair next to the couch.

"In Ohio," Tony answered, eyes still on the Starkpad. To be fair, he hadn't started keeping tabs on Steve until day two, and that was because Peter had asked about him. "This is atrocious," he muttered. "What kind of travel playlist is this?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at him. "He's listening to Mandy Moore!"

"She's the voice of Rapunzel!" Peter said with a big grin. "Can we watch Tangled?"

"Tomorrow, bud," Tony said, reaching over to mess up Peter's hair. "If we start it now, it'll go past your bed time."

"Is there something wrong with what he's listening, too?" Bruce asked, picking up his own sandwich to start eating.

"Well, there wouldn't be, if he had filled up the phone with other music as well," Tony said, and looked over at his friend. "He has Nineties Boy Bands on here!"

"Why are you going through his music?"

"He's using a Starkphone, and I'm collecting data on it," Tony said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He just accessed the music player,... Hang on, if he insists on listening to this stuff..." Tony trailed off, opening his own music files and slipping a few songs into Steve's playlist, letting the song from his sons current favorite movie play first. "I will get him to listen to good music, even if I have to slowly replace every song."

"You mean songs that you listen too?" Bruce smirked a little, watching Tony.

"I can't help that I have so much better taste in music than he does," Tony defended.

"He was used to songs from the Forties, Tony."

"And he's had nearly two years to get used to songs from the future."

"I think it's going to take a little more time than that to get through seventy years of music," Bruce told the billionaire.

"That's okay, I've got time to help him with that." Tony grinned and Bruce shook his head.

"You could call him." Tony looked up and over at Bruce, expression not amused by the suggestion. "It's a valid suggestion."

"Maybe for someone other than the inventor of the hottest current smartphone," Tony shot back. "Who needs to call when I can just send message from my seat?"

"Did you know that you have an AI that can place a phone call, all from the comfort of your current seat?" Bruce was casual as he finished his meal.

"But I can't multi-task talking on the phone and doing something else, that would be seen as rude. You want me to appear to be a rude person?" Tony put a hand on his chest, eyes wide. "Bruce, I thought you liked me! Why are you trying to turn me into a horrible person?" Tony tried not to smile when he heard the soft giggles from Peter. Even his son was used to his exaggerated dramatics. The difference between his reaction, and the look that Bruce was giving him, was that Peter still found his Daddy amusing. Bruce wasn't falling for it.

"I'm not going to justify that with an answer," Bruce told him, rolling his eyes a little.

"Because I'm right?" Tony ventured with a smile. He could practically feel Bruce's eyes rolling from his seat. Peter had exchanged the notebook and the empty plate on Tony's legs, the plate now balancing on Tony's thighs. He was too comfy to move from being blanketed by Tony's legs, and Tony wasn't about to give up his position with his son.

"Because you're so far from being right, it's almost laughable," Bruce said as he got up from his chair. He grabbed peter's plate, earning a bright smile and a 'Thank you, Uncle Bruce,' from the boy. Tony smiled at Peter for his manners, knowing that he didn't get them from Tony, and turned back to his Starkpad, contemplating the next few songs to slip into Steve's playlist. This was just some harmless fun, and a painless way to have tease Steve for leaving on a cross-country adventure. Right?

It wasn't too long after that he noticed Peter's yawns, his hand stilling with the pencil that was on his sketch paper. Tony put his Starkpad down on the coffee table, trusting Bruce to make sure it didn't fall, and reached over to take the pencil from Peter's hand before he accidentally messed up his drawing. Peter made a little noise of protest when Tony took the sketchbook too, Bruce taking it to place it with the tablet. He wrapped his arms around Peter and brought him up to his chest, tucking him into his arms as he leaned back against the arm of the couch. Peter yawned again, laying his head on Tony's chest, and tucking his body in between Tony's arm and side, closing his eyes.

Tony ran his hand through Peter's hair as he slept. Although he would never admit it, Tony thought that the Tower felt a little empty now that half of the house guests were gone. He had kind of gotten used to regular meal times, with the dining room full of people, running into people randomly throughout the day, talking with Steve.

Tony frowned a little at his thoughts. He leaned down and kissed Peter's forehead softly, and got up quietly and gently with Peter still in his arms, taking him to his bedroom. Mary's parents were still around the Tower, not wanting to leave until Mary woke up, and Coulson was there as well, traveling between Tony's floor and Mary's floor. Which to be honest would become Mary and Agent's floor soon if they decided to live together.

He managed to get Peter to wake up enough to change into his pajamas and then tucked him under the blankets, slipping a stuffed animals into his arms. Tony took a quiet pleasure in acting like what he thought a normal parent would do, one who hadn't grown up in the spotlight of cameras and privilege. It was also another reason why he was generally alright with Peter living full time with Mary, because he wanted Peter to have a somewhat normal upbringing. He wanted Peter to be able to understand how everyone lived, to be able to connect on some level with people who did weekly grocery shopping on their own, those that lived on a budget and didn't shop exclusively at designer stores, and where eating out was a luxury event, not an option that could happen if you were bored.

Making sure that the nightlight was on, Tony left the room, leaving the door open a crack with the hallway nightlight on. Tony ruffled his hair and headed back for the living room, Bruce still in his chair, but this time with his own tablet out while Tony's was waiting for him on the coffee table, Peter's sketchbook next to it. He sat down on the edge of the couch and leaned forward to glance at the sketchbook page. Peter had been very carefully working on the page for about an hour, drawing slowly, with deliberate movements. Last time he had asked his son about a sketch, he had clammed up until the drawing was done, moving his body to cover it every time Tony tried to look at it. So now he just let Peter work on his art without interruption, knowing he would ask for help or opinions when he wanted it.

On the page was clearly the beginnings of the Captain America shield, taking up one half of the page, while something else was starting to take shape on the other half. It was only a vague outline, Peter taking more time to get the star on the shield as perfect as his little six-year-old hands could make it. Tony thought that with the shape of the other object it could be the start of a head, but he wouldn't know for sure until Peter started working on it again.

"You could always send a text message," Bruce said from his seat, and Tony groaned, flopping down onto the couch.

"You're a horrible influence, Banner!"

"Pretty sure that should be the other way around, Stark."