4 Years Old

Ok, so we know Natasha knows Tony before Avengers, so this is BEFORE Avengers.


Pepper peered into Peter's bedroom, making sure he was still fast asleep. At the sight of him curled up in his Iron Man blanket, Pepper smiled and softly shut the door. He would probably sleep for another hour, hopefully longer, but Pepper couldn't be sure. Peter had a hard time taking naps sometimes and she could never be sure if he would wake up early, late, or right when expected. If she was lucky, he would nap longer as Natasha was coming to visit. While She wasn't sure how Natasha felt about kids, she knew that Tony was trying to keep Peter a secret.


"Pep? I'm headed out," Tony said, walking up from his lab. "You sure you don't want me to take Peter?"


"No, he's asleep and Natasha isn't staying long," Pepper assured him. Tony still looked sceptical. "We'll be fine. JARVIS will alert you immediately if Peter has so much as a nightmare."


"Okay," Tony said, nodding. He kissed her cheek as the doorbell alerted them to Natasha's arrival. "I love you."


"I love you too," Pepper said, pushing him towards the door. He nodded at Natasha, but she barely even glanced at him as she walked in and greeted Pepper.


"Haven't been here in a while," Natasha said, looking around the house.


They were in Malibu again. Peter liked the Malibu house because of the ocean and Pepper liked it because she wasn't in the middle of the city. Luckily for them, Tony didn't have a preference so they often got to choose.


"It's been a while," Pepper agreed, joining Natasha in the living room.


Peter woke up half an hour after Pepper had checked on him to laughter in the living room. Frowning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. He nearly tumbled out of his bed with his blanket wrapped around his legs, but he caught himself. Pulling his blanket up around his shoulders, he shuffled out of his bedroom and in the direction of Pepper's voice.


He found her in the living room with a strange woman, but that didn't stop him from going down the stairs and crawling into her lap.


"Hey, Peter," Pepper said quietly as he got comfortable.


Peter made a small sound and curled up against her, still struggling to wake up. With a smile, Pepper rubbed his back and looked up to see Natasha watching them curiously.


"Peter, this is Auntie Tasha," Pepper said, "Natasha, this is Tony's son Peter."


"Tony has a kid? How come I didn't know that earlier?" she asked, sounding more confused than upset.


"We didn't know until three months ago," Pepper said, moving a curl out of Peter's face. "His mom died and they found out Tony was his father. We adopted him, of course, and he's absolutely perfect."


She kissed Peter's forehead and he blushed, hiding his face from Natasha when she smiled.


As Natasha smiled, they continued their conversation until Peter was awake. Once he was no longer sleepy, he wanted to show his new Auntie Tasha absolutely everything which meant their conversation was promptly interrupted. He took Natasha around the house, showing her where his favourite hiding spot was and where he liked to sit and watch the ocean. He showed her his toys and even let her play with some of them. When Natasha finally had to leave, Peter grew sad.


"When will you be back, Auntie Tasha?" Peter asked, hugging her tightly.


"Soon," Natasha promised. She kissed Peter's forehead then set him on the ground before saying goodbye to Pepper.


"I like Auntie Tasha," Peter told Pepper as she walked out the door. Pepper smiled and lifted him up onto a stool so he could watch her make dinner.


"Do you?" she asked. Peter nodded.


"She's nice."


"She is," Pepper agreed, "What all did you show her?"


Launching into story after story, Peter told her all about their adventures. Pepper wasn't surprised by any of the things Peter had shown Natasha or what he said. They rarely had visitors but whenever they did, he did the same thing: show them around the house and then show them his toys. However, he had never let Rhodey or Happy play with his toys. Later, when Pepper called and told Natasha this, she denied crying in happiness to anyone that asked. 

Comment