Tony's brain felt like mush as he sat at the conference table. The last four hours had felt like pulling teeth. Hours of talking. Hours of discussing what to do with the people they had found at the base. The one collective conclusion they had come to was that the two children they had found in addition to Peter were going back to Charles Xavier's school. The founder, who was sitting directly in front of Tony, was adamant that his school find suitable homes for the children, with the possibility of looking after them if needed. The conflict came soon after.

The parents of the girls they had found had other ideas from what Charles and his associate had in mind. While Bailey was the easiest of the two to deal with, Samantha's parents were harder to deal with.

In the end, and after two hours of negotiating, it was decided that both girls would be transferred to the school, where they would have their babies in a safe environment. From there, it would be in Xavier's hands.

The families of both girls had exited the room, leaving Tony and Pepper to talk with the two men. There was an extended pause between the two parties before Tony spoke.

"I have to ask," the inventor said as he adjusted himself in his chair. "Peter...my son. Is he a mutant?" Tony asked. It had been so easy for Charles to sense and asses the others, but Peter was never brought up. The bald man cocked his head slightly to one side and gave Tony a soft smile.

"By definition, yes. But we don't have to consider him that," the said carefully. "From what you have told me, his genetic code was altered by scientists. I don't sense any natural mutation in him," Charles explained. "That is not to say that he will not form a mutation later on in life. Either way, if Peter ever needs support from out school, he is always welcome. I'm confident we could help him," Charles said with a kind smile.

"Yeah. Okay. That's great," Tony said, letting out a heavy sigh as he stood up from his seat. Everyone followed his lead and soon they were all standing by the door that lead out of the conference room. "Thanks again for coming out Dr. Xavier," Tony said as he shook his guest's hand. His eyes then suddenly flickered up to Xavier's companion where he gave a small smile. "Dr. McCoy," he said, nodding slightly.

"Our pleasure," Charles replied as he returned the handshake.

"I can help overseen the transfer of the children," Pepper suddenly spoke up. "Make sure everything goes smoothly," She offered, smiling at the two men.

"That would be great. Thank you Mrs. Potts," the man covered in blue fur said as he gripped Xavier's wheelchair.

"Let's keep in contact Tony," the bald man said before the three were walking down the hall, leaving Tony standing alone.

"Yeah, let's do that," the inventor huffed out before running his fingers through his hair and scrubbing at his face with his hands. He was so tired. And even though he wanted to go take a nap, he knew he had responsibilities. Rogers couldn't take care of the kid forever.

Tony first tried the kitchen, but no one was there. The dishes and extra food had all been put away and any evidence that there had been breakfast was gone.

"Peter? Cap?" Tony called out as he moved into the living room, but there was no one in there as well. A frown began to pull at Tony's lips as he checked the bathroom and bedrooms, but neither the boy or the soldier were there.

"Friday?" Tony called out as he walked back into the living room. "Where is Peter and the renegade soldier?" he asked, scrubbing his face.

"Captain Rogers and Peter are in the atrium," Friday responded.

Tony nodded slowly as he made his way out of the private suite and down the hall to the main lobby. The closer he got, though, the more concerned he became. He figured he would hear noise, or something, but it was quiet.

As Tony rounded the corner his eyes landed on the two, sitting at the far end of the room on the windowsill. Their backs were to Tony as they looked out at the lake and forest behind the compound. Steve had something in his hands, and Tony could only assume it was a sketchbook. The blonde suddenly lifted his gaze and looked at Tony for a moment before smiling sheepishly.

"Hey Pete," Steve said as he set down his pencil, only to lean over at tap the boy on his shoulder. The boy turned slightly to look at Steve and a smile spread across the man's face. "Guess who's here to see you?" The once still boy suddenly whirled around and instantly set his eyes on Tony.

Tony's eyebrows suddenly shot up as Peter bounded off the sill and in his direction. He wasn't surprised by Peter's sudden energy, but the fact that the hot-rod red glasses they had picked out the day before were sitting on his face. And honestly, Tony was a little disappointed, because dammit, he was suppose to be there for those moments in Peter's life. Not Steve.

The inventor pushed down his resentment, though, and crouched down to receive the boy who was currently hurtling towards him.

"Daddy, Daddy!" Peter called out as the boy collided with Tony, sending him back on his butt as Tony wrapped his arms around him.

"Hey, who are you? And what did you do with Peter?" Tony asked in mock horror as he reached out and took hold of the glasses, taking them off. "Wait. Don't tell me that you're Peter!" Tony said, letting out a gasp as he ruffled Peter's hair. "I didn't recognize your new glasses. You look like a completely different kid," Tony said, to witch Peter could only laugh.

"You're being silly!" Peter giggled as he took his glasses back, placing them squarely on his face. "Mr. America says I look just like you with them on!" As Peter said this, Tony's heart seemed to skip a beat and his eyes flickered up at Steve before looking back down at his son. Steve caught his gaze and quickly looked away as Tony stood up with Peter in tow.

"Well, he's not wrong. You're like a smaller version of me with those on," Tony chuckled as he led Peter back over to the window where Steve was sitting. "Now, what were you guys doing out here?" Tony asked as he sat down on the sill, leaving a few feet in between him and Steve.

"Well I-" Steve began but was interrupted as Peter crawled up on the sill in between them.

"We got a box while you were gone and it had my glasses in them. Mr. America told me to wait but I couldn't," Peter said as he looked in between the two men. "And then Mr. America said that we should try them out...and maybe go outside. But I-I-I've never been outside before and-" Peter muttered, his speech decreasing in speed as his eyes dropped to his lap. "I was too scared and-"

"I told Peter we could just sit inside and watch everything from here. It's okay to take it slow," Steve said, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"That's right," Tony said as he pulled Peter closer to him, and away from Steve. "Now what exciting things have you found out here?" Tony asked as Peter leaned into him.

"There's a family of ducks," Peter said after a moment as he looked back outside. "On the side of the lake,"He said as a smile began to grown. "And there are a lot of birds outside. I didn't know there were that many," Peter said as he turned to Tony. "And did you know that it was that green outside?" The little boy asked. "There are so many plants and grass and-" Peter began, going off on a tangent. As he did so Tony looked up at Steve who was watching Peter, and a weird sensation began to form in his chest. He had been having this feeling lately whenever he saw Steve, or Steve and Peter together, and he didn't like it.

"Oh, Daddy! Can we have a plant?" Peter suddenly asked.

"A plant?" Tony asked. "Most kids want a dog or a cat...but you want a plant?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Peter squealed. "Can we do that? I know they stay outside most of the time, but I've seen pictures of some in pots and-"

"If you want a plant, we'll get you a plant, kid. No big deal," Tony said as he patted Peter's back. "Any kind you want?" he asked.

"A christmas cactus!" Peter said almost instantly as he pushed his drooping glasses back up on his face.

"A christmas cactus? How do you even know what that is?" Tony asked.

"I dunno'," Peter said with a shrug. "I saw it in a book. I don't know what it is, but I want it," Peter said as he leaned against Tony.

"Right," Tony sighed. "You read it in a book." With that Tony stood up, picking Peter up with him. "Well, we can look into that plant of yours. But we should probably give Mr. America a break here," Tony said with a smirk. "Thanks for watching him Cap, I appreciate it. We made a lot of headway."

"Yeah, no problem Tony," Steve said as he set down his pad and stood up to watch them leave.

"Bye Mr. America! Come over and play sometime," Peter called over Tony's shoulder as they began to move towards Tony's private suite.

"You hungry Peter Pan?" Tony asked as they made it into the kitchen. "Because this mechanic is starving," He hummed as he set Peter down on the kitchen island before he turned to rifle through the fridge. "How does...cheese quesadillas sound?" he asked, pulling out a giant bag of cheese.

Peter just blinked back at him before nodding. "I've never had a quesadilla...but i'll try it," Peter said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, don't worry Pete. Theses are a staple in this household. You're gonna love them!" Tony said as he pulled out plates. As Tony was spreading cheese on a tortilla, though, he stopped to look at Peter he was watching him.

"Do you like your glasses Peter? They helpin' you?" He asked. The little boy just looked up at him with a big smile before nodding.

"Yeah! It helps a lot. I can see!" the small boy giggled.

"You know, you really should have waited for me to come before you tried them out. I wanted to be here for it buddy." Tony said as he put the quesadillas into the microwave.

"I'm sorry," Peter said cautiously. "I just...I wanted to try them out. I wanted to surprise you."

"I know," Tony said with a sad smile. "And you did. I was very surprised!"

"It's just that you don't like Mr. America being there instead of you," Peter said, his brow knitting together. Honestly, Tony was so taken back by Peter's perceptiveness that he just stared.

"I-I uh-" Tony floundered. "Mr. America and I just have some issues to work out. That's all. I know he found you and has helped out a lot , and I'm really happy about that. Really happy. But I wanna be there for you too. Okay? Don't forget about your old man," Tony said as he pushed a smile as he ran his hands through Peter's curly locks.

"I won't. I'm sorry," Peter said as the microwave went off.

"No need to be sorry Peter Pan. It's just issues I have to work out," Tony said as he put the two plates next to Peter on the island.

"Why don't you just talk to Mr. America, He's really nice," Peter said, his eyes trained on Tony as the man handed him a plate. "I'm sure he would talk to you," Peter said before looking down at the food, ignoring how Tony stiffened at his suggestion.

"Yeah, I'm sure he would," Tony huffed as he took a bite of his quesadilla. "But that's not for you to worry about, okay? Now eat up!" Tony said, his mouth full of cheese and tortilla.

"But how do I eat it?" Peter asked. The idea of just taking a bite out of it seemed wrong to him.

"Just take a bite out of it," Tony suggested. Peter just shook his head before setting the plate down. From there he proceeded to rip the quesadilla apart into smaller sections, laughing as he tried to keep the melted cheese from falling out of the tortilla. "See, you just made it harder," Tony said, but a smile was now on his face.

"No, I like it," Peter said before pushing a bite size piece into his mouth. The boy's eyes instantly lit up and he looked at Tony with a big toothy smile as some stray cheese stings hung out from the corner of his mouth. "I like this a lot."


Steve had been conflicted all day. It started with one thing, and then it began to snowball from there. He felt guilty when Peter had tried on the glasses. He insisted that Peter wait, but when Peter said he wanted to surprise Tony, well, he couldn't say no. The boy seemed so eager, he didn't want to dampen his spirits.

When Tony saw Peter with them on, though, he knew that it bothered the man. He wasn't an idiot. He picked up on the way the man was looking at him, almost glairing. He could pick up the annoyance that was radiating off of him. And Steve tried to give him a sympathetic look, to say he was sorry, but Tony was quick to look away everytime. So maybe he was standing outside of Tony's suite to apologize for that. But no, that wasn't it. The thing that brought him here had to do with Peter. Or well...there were two things about Peter he wanted to discuss.

The thing that kept bothering him all day was the secret Peter had told Steve. The fact that he knew classified information about the Avengers. He knew he was betraying Peter's trust by going to Tony. But if Tony found out that he knew, and didn't tell him, it would be just another betrayal. Another thing Steve had kept from Tony.

But, the other thing that was bothering Steve was Peter. The soldier didn't know how to place it, but some things about Peter didn't sit right with him. He wasn't here to necessarily tell Tony that the kid was a threat, but to tell his father that things weren't adding up. And maybe Peter needed help.

All morning Peter had been fretting about telling Tony his secret. Even after getting the glasses, Peter had been quiet and filled with worry. But as soon as he saw Tony it was like a switch had gone off inside the kid. He was happy and smiling, nothing like he was a few minutes before Tony had arrived. Steve tried to ignore it, thinking it was just how kids were, but then he remembered how the kid went from happy to serious in a blink of an eye during breakfast. And not that it was a big deal to Steve, but the kid called him Mr. America, after clearly stating he knew exactly who he was. Was the kid compartmentalizing feelings and behaviors for appropriate times? That couldn't be good for a kid his age.

After pacing back and forth outside the door Steve finally built up enough courage to enter the suite, ignoring the anxiety that pooled in his stomach.

He could hear the TV softly playing from the living room and figured that was were the two were at. It had been a few good hours since he had last seen the two, and he hoped Tony wouldn't be too annoyed to see him after such a short time.

As he rounded the corner, he saw the two lounging by the couch. Peter resting on his stomach, using his Captain America plush as a pillow as he snoozed. Tony, on the other hand, sat on the floor, using the couch as a backrest. Both arms were draped across the couch cushions, his left hand holding Peter's new glasses while his right hand carded through Peter's hair. He looked straight ahead at the TV, though, watching a cartoon that had animated dogs in police and fireman uniforms.

Honestly, the only thought that went through Steve's mind was how domestic Tony looked...and how it was a good fit for him. And as Steve thought this, all he could do was silently stand in the doorway, not sure how to get Tony's attention, because he didn't want to wake Peter. Luckily for Steve, Tony picked up on the other's presence and turned his head to the left, only to see Steve.

The burnett's eyes suddenly widened and he just started at Steve before sharply looking back at the TV screen. The man suddenly removed his hand from Peter's hair and scrubbed at his face before getting up on wobbly legs.

"What did you do to my kid Rogers? We only got through a few episodes of Paw Patrol before he went out like a light," Tony said under his breath as he moved to meet Steve by the doorway.

"He's a kid, and he's had a few rough days, I'm sure it's wiped him out," Steve replied with a small shrug.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Tony said with a nod before looking over his shoulder to see if Peter was still asleep, and he was. "So what brings you by Cap? I'm sure you're not here just to say hello," Tony said, quirking an eyebrow. Steve felt the anxiety building in his chest and all he could do was let out a sigh as he nodded.

"Yeah, I was actually wondering if I could talk to you for a second," he asked.

"Sure, let's go into my office," Tony said as he moved past Steve, and down the hall. "Friday, if Peter wakes up, alert me," the inventor instruced.

"Got it boss."

Soon the two were in Tony's private office. Tony sat on top of his desk, facing Steve as he played with Peter's glasses that he was still holding. Steve on the other hand stood against the side of the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at his feet. It was so quiet in the room, and Tony hated it.

"You got something to say Cap?" Tony asked, his eyes still looking down at the glasses.

"Uh, yeah," Steve began hesitantly. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about Peter."

"What about him?" Tony asked, his head snapping up to look at the blonde man.

"I...He was a really good kid for me today. I mean...I know it's only been a few day's since we got him here but...he's doing good," Steve said, struggling to start the conversation.

"Yeah, really great kid. I haven't had a lot of issues yet, but I'm sure they will pop up. They always do. And considering his uh...upbringing, I'm sure those issues will be interesting," Tony said with a sigh as he shook his head.

"Yeah," Steve said in agreement, nodding his head. "Uh...speaking of upbringing, Peter said some things to me this morning that were a little alarming, and I just wanted you to know. I mean, he told me not to tell you, but I wanted you to hear it from me before he says anything. I don't what you to think I'm keeping this from you," Steve started.

"Jesus Christ Rogers, just spit it out! What did the kid say?" Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

"Tony," Steve warned, "Peter told me today that he knows classified information about the Avengers and SHIELD. He knows who bucky is, and everyone else on the team. And it's not just who they are, but he probably knows intimate details about their life. And on top that, he says he knows how your old suits work, inside and out," Steve said as he watched Tony.

The man seemed to stiffen at this information. He didn't speak but instead just stared down at the floor with wide eyes.

"Did you just say he knows how my suits work? My old models?" Suddenly his eyes flickered up to Steve and his brow knitted together. "Did he say up to what Mark he knew?" He then asked.

"No, he didn't tell me that, but he says-"

"Shit! God Damnit," Tony said as he began to move his hands around the glasses that were resting in his hands. The color had drained from the man's face, and honestly, Steve was afraid he might just fall over. "The designs for the suits are all heavily encrypted, protected Steve. There is no way, no way, that anyone could have gotten their hands on it. When SHIELD went down, a few files that they had on the suits were put out to the public. But we got rid of those instantly. My AI's monitor for things like that." With that Tony hopped off the desk and began to pace. "And they were crap files anyways. Files I felt comfortable giving to SHIELD without giving away all my secrets so how.." Tony suddenly trailed off, coming to a halt.

"What am I getting so worked up for?" the inventor suddenly asked himself before a light laugh escaped his mouth. "A kid just told you this. But that's just it. He's a kid! I'm sure he thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't. There is absolutely no way." Tony said, turning to look at the other man who was just staring at him.

"I don't know," the soldier warned. "You weren't there. One minute he was smiling and happy, and suddenly I turned around and he was like a completely different kid. I think he's compartmentalizing. We see it all the time Tony. And considering how he's lived his life I think it's something we should-"

"Considering how he's lived his life?" Tony scoffed. "No Shit Rogers! You think the kid isn't going to be a little fucked up? I'm counting on it. But as his guardian now, I'm suppose to deal with it and protect him!"

"Look Tony, all I'm trying to say is I think we should keep an eye on him when it comes to his behaviors. If he-"

"Are you callin' my kid a threat?" Tony suddenly asked as he stepped into Steve's personal space. "Are you saying my kid is some HYDRA sleeper agent?"

"Tony, I'm not saying that. I just think-"

"Rogers! He's a child. He's been through horrible things and you're going to tell me we need to monitor him like he's some terrorist?"

"Now hold on a minute Tony I just-" Steve began again but Tony was quick to cut him off. Steve was so flustered. He just wanted to be able to talk to Tony without him going off on him. But Tony was starting to see red, he knew that.

"-And to do that to my kid? I can't-"

"Your kid?" Steve suddenly interrupted. "He may share your DNA, and he may call you dad, but you've only known him for a few days. We don't know what this kid is capable of."

As Steve said this, he could see how hard his statement had hit Tony, and he instantly knew he was in the wrong. He had wounded Tony, and it was a cheap shot.

By this point Tony had worked himself up quite a bit, so much so that he had accidently crumpled Peter's glasses that he was holding. The man looked down at his hands, letting out a curse under his breath as he looked at the glasses. Thank God they had bought another pair.

It was almost unbearable as they stood there in silence. Anger and shame radiating off of the two as they avoided eye contact.

"Tony, I'm sorry," Steve said after a while, breaking the silence. "I shouldn't have said that. It was inappropriate of me. I know you love that kid. I know you're trying your best. I just wanted to tell you this so you knew what was going on. So we could make sure he was getting the help he needed. I love that kid too! I don't think he would ever do anything malicious to us on purpose," Steve said as he watched Tony toss the broken glasses onto his desk.

"Get out of my office Rogers," Tony huffed after Steve had finished speaking. "Get out, go back to your room or something. I'm not dealing with this," Tony said, his eyes flickering up to meet Steve's. "I'm not dealing with your holier-than-thou attitude. Not after Siberia. Not after you left me for dead," Tony said in a tone that was maybe a little too calm.

"You wanted to come back here to make sure those other kids got taken care of. Well, that's done. And I dealt with it on my own, as per usual. So there is no reason for you to stay here." As Tony spoke, he slowly started making his way towards the door to leave. "And don't forget, you're still a wanted criminal."

"Look, I just want to make sure that we can-"

"We?" Tony interjected, his voice suddenly climbing in volume. "No,no, no, Rogers. There is no we. You made that very clear when you shoved your shield through my suit. Now two years ago? Maybe. I thought we had something going for us, but that Steve Rogers is gone. I don't think I'll ever get him back" Tony said as he reached for the doorknob.

"Tony, you weren't thinking rationally, I had to help Bucky. I-"

"Liar!" Tony spat. "It wasn't me or him, it could have been both. But you made your choice," and with that Tony walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.