So, this is my second update in, like, twelve hours and I feel like I need to reassure y'all-I NORMALLY HAVE A LIFE. I swear. But I'm on summer break, and since I'm a swim coach and a lifeguard, my jobs don't start until the end of May. So, for now, I don't have all that much to do during the day. Hence, the insane amount of updating.

But y'all are fabulous and so are your reviews. Here's chapter three!

Getting to okay wasn't going to be easy, though. The universe was doing an excellent job making certain of that.

There was, of course, the obvious: the circumstances under which Harley had come to live with Tony and Pepper were the literal opposite of ideal. But, they were making the best of the situation at hand, and so was Harley. Some days were good, and some days were…well…not so good. Tony and Pepper were still searching for a child therapist; Harley had seen a few, but he hadn't connected with any of them. Pepper and Tony were doing their best to make sure that this new normal became just...normal.

Of course, there was also all the legal red tape to worry about, too. Tony had gone to court just before they left Tennessee, and he'd been awarded temporary guardianship of Harley—temporary being the key word. It wasn't a permanent fix. The judge had assured Tony that he would almost definitely be awarded permanent guardianship if he applied for it. That usually went to family members, but as Harley didn't have any family members, Tony and Pepper were the next best thing.

It was going to be a lot of time and paperwork, but that wasn't what worried Tony. No, he was mostly worried about how Harley felt about everything. He did seem to be adjusting as well as could be expected, but Tony wasn't entirely certain that Harley understood all the logistics of the situation, either. He was only ten, after all.

It had been a popular conversation topic between Tony and Pepper over the last few weeks: how were they supposed to go about explaining all this? They didn't want Harley to feel pressured into anything, and they wanted to make sure he knew that his opinions were the most important. And, there was the very real issue neither of them were brave enough to address-what if, it turned out, Harley didn't want to live with them, after all? Tony liked to think he would find a way to move on, but he did worry about Pepper. She was acting cool and put together as always, but it was obvious that she'd already grown so attached to Harley, and it would break her heart if he left.

They'd yet to come up with any satisfactory solutions. Each answered questioned only revealed a new problem. So, for now, Tony and Pepper had decided to put the legal concerns aside, and instead focus on helping Harley get readjusted.

Of course, Tony and Pepper knew they couldn't deny the existence of those problems forever. There was a hearing in Tennessee in three weeks. If everything went according to plan, Tony would be awarded permanent guardianship of Harley. And if everything didn't...well.

In order for things to go (or not go) according to plan, though, Tony and Pepper needed to actually formulate one.

"Pepper, are there any toaster waffles left?"

"There should be a few in the freezer, buddy."

Harley and Pepper were eating breakfast in one of Stark Tower's many kitchens. Pepper hadn't always sat down for breakfast. In fact, she used to just take her coffee and oatmeal into her office and eat there, so she could get a jumpstart on the work day.

But ever since Harley had come to live with them, Pepper had found that she really, truly enjoyed spending the first hour of her morning just relaxing. Sometimes she'd talk with Harley, and sometimes they wouldn't talk at all. Either way, it was nice. Cozy.

Pepper was surprised at how quickly she'd warmed to Harley, and vice versa. It wasn't that she had been expecting the worst exactly, but she'd never really thought of herself as the nurturing type, either. She and Tony had never talked about starting a family. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them that bringing a child into the busy, self-absorbed life they shared wasn't something they could do.

But then, Harley had come along. And he'd come bearing Pepper's maternal side.

"Hey, Pepper?"

"Yeah, Harley?"

"How long have you known Tony?"

"Oh, wow," Pepper said, "I'm not sure. I started working for him…ten years ago, I guess? Maybe twelve?"

"Oh," Harley said.

"Why?"

"Just wondering," Harley shrugged.

Pepper nodded and went back to pouring her coffee.

"Pepper?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like working with Tony?"

Pepper smiled, "Sure I do. Most of the time, anyway."

"Not all of the time?"

"Well," Pepper said, "No one enjoys working with another person all the time, sweetheart. Tony and I have been known to…butt heads, from time to time."

"Like, argue?" Harley asked.

"Exactly that," Pepper answered before she took a bite of oatmeal.

Harley grinned slyly at his toaster waffles, "You probably win a lot, don't you, Pepper?"

Pepper laughed out loud, "Absolutely. Far more often than Tony would like to admit."

"What am I admitting?"

Tony wandered into the kitchen and deposited a kiss on top of Pepper's head, "What am I admitting?" he repeated.

Harley and Pepper shared a look and giggled, "Oh, nothing," Pepper said airily.

"Yeah, nothing," Harley parroted.

"We were just talking, weren't we Harley? Nothing important," Pepper said.

Harley nodded earnestly before going back to his waffles. Tony looked skeptically at Harley, then Pepper, "Keeping secrets from me in my own kitchen," he said, "I see how it is. No, don't apologize. I'll just go back to the lab and lick my wounds in private."

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Oh, eat some breakfast and quit being such a drama queen."

"Wow, bossy," Tony commented.

"You like it when I'm bossy," Pepper murmured, one eyebrow quirked.

Tony discretely cleared his throat and nodded in Harley's direction. Pepper blushed. Oh, yeah. Remembering that there was a kid in the house and that there were certain things they couldn't do in front of him—that was turning out to have the biggest learning curve of all.

"Are guys going to kiss or something?" Harley sounded disgusted.

Pepper smiled, "Well, now that you mention it…."

She gave Tony a brief kiss on the lips, while Harley pretended to gag behind them.

"Who's the drama queen now?" Tony teased.

The three of them finished their breakfast in a happy silence that was occasionally interrupted by moments of chatter—mostly from Tony.

Oatmeal, Pepper decided, somehow tastes better when you don't eat it alone.