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"What are your plans for the weekend?" Natasha asks as they're packing up after the monthly Avengers meeting. They're only half staffed, which means the meeting went quick. Thor is off-world. Clint is at the farm, spending the holidays with his family. Bruce couldn't be pulled out of the lab, and Rhodey is off on a classified mission that Tony absolutely hasn't hacked the DOJ to find the details of.
Really. He hadn't.
He had JARVIS do it instead.
Tony grins. "I'm taking the kids into the city to see the tree and go ice skating. We're going to do a little shopping as well. Morgan wants to get something for Pepper and Happy, and Peter's still looking for a present for May."
Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Isn't Parker seventeen? And not your child?"
"Doesn't matter."
Steve smiles, though there's a touch of sadness to it. "That sounds nice. I used to love going with my mom to look at the big tree at Rockefeller Center. We'd wander around looking at all the dolled up windows and Christmas displays."
"Why don't you come with us?" The words are out before Tony even realizes he's speaking. Natasha ducks her head to hide a grin and Tony barely avoids glaring at her. She's well aware of his massive, hopeless crush on Steve. He's pretty sure everyone but Steve knows about his crush.
"That sounds like a great idea," Sam says as he claps a hand on Steve's shoulder. The two share a quick argument made of stern looks, raised eyebrows, and slight frowns.
"You don't have to," Tony adds. "Not if you don't want to."
"No!" Steve blurts. "I want to. I really do." He smiles, sheepish. "It'd be nice to see what it's like these days."
"Cool."
Natasha snorts a barely concealed laugh. Tony glares at her. She raises her hands in surrender and walks out of the conference room.
"Do you want to meet in the city?" Steve asks.
"Sounds great." Tony's voice is calm, but on the inside, he's screaming. "Ten on Saturday at Stark Tower?"
"See you then."
They smile at each other for a moment. Tony coughs and looks away first. This is not a date. This is an outing as friends with Tony's kids. It probably could be a date, given how Tony and Steve had been dancing around each other for years, but it would be weird taking Peter Parker and Morgan with him on a date.
Maybe Tony could ask Steve out after the holidays, assuming a day spent in the New York City Christmas crowds doesn't scare Steve off. He's curious to see how Steve handles being around Tony's kids. Steve's worked with Peter as Spider-Man but he hasn't interacted with Morgan much since the Starks moved to the cabin upstate.
This weekend could be a test run to see how Steve got along with the kids, to evaluate how much of a chance they had at a real relationship. Tony really hopes it goes well.
Peter follows Tony and Morgan out of the elevator and freezes when he spots the tall, blond man waiting in the Tower lobby.
"What's he doing here?" He knows he should be more respectful toward Captain America, but all he can think of when he sees Steve Rogers is that iconic shield smashing against Tony's chestplate. Tony and Steve have since reconciled but Peter doesn't trust Steve around Tony. He can't, not when he knows how close he came to losing the closest thing to a father Peter's had in years.
"I invited him," Tony says, his smile never faltering. "Behave."
Peter hasn't been subtle about his dislike of Steve. JARVIS agrees with him and while JARVIS has been banned from trolling Steve, Peter hasn't. Yet. Still, he's not going to start something when they're supposed to be taking Morgan to see the Christmas decorations so he smiles and nods and politely greets Steve. He's not going to do anything to make Tony regret bringing Peter along.
Instead, Peter watches Steve like a hawk. He doesn't have his webslingers but he's strong and fast enough to stop Steve if he tries to hurt Tony.
Not that he expects Steve to hurt Tony while they're out in the city, but Peter's prepared. Just in case.
The more he watches, the more he starts to realize that he's looking out for the wrong thing.
It starts with Steve's hand on Tony's lower back as he opens the lobby door for Tony, ushering them all through the door ahead of him. Then there's Tony's smile when Steve insists on buying candied nuts for Tony and Morgan at Rockefeller Center. Peter declined.
Peter's suspicion grows when they go ice skating and Steve grabs Tony's hand to steady him on the ice, then doesn't let go. If the crowd notices Captain America and Iron Man skating slow circles around the rink, hand-in-hand, they're quiet about it. Peter is busy escorting Morgan and helping her keep her balance on the pink skates they'd brought.
They're walking through Macy's when Peter spots the mistletoe the same time Steve seems to. Peter grabs Tony's arm and veers down a different aisle, asking what Tony thinks of the various coats on display for Aunt May.
Morgan spots a hot chocolate vendor while they're walking through the Bryant Park Christmas Market, admiring the wares at all the small shops lining the park. She drags Steve with her, leaving Tony and Peter to catch up. Tony clasps Peter's shoulder before he can follow.
"Okay, what's going on? Spill."
Peter offers his best guileless smile. "Nothing's going on."
"Uh-huh." Tony lowers his tinted glasses and stares at Peter over the rims. "Pull my other leg, kid."
Peter stares at Steve and Morgan ahead of them. Steve's leaning down to better hear Morgan, which means he's almost bent in half.
"I don't want to see you get hurt again," Peter admits.
Tony sighs and shakes his head. He bumps their shoulders together. "I'm not in a hurry to get hurt either, you know."
"How can you trust him? After all that he did?"
Tony tugs Peter out of the flow of pedestrians. "Peter, I get it. I really do. But I've been there, on both sides of the equation. I've been the one getting hurt but I've also been the guy doing the hurting. Maybe not quite like that, but I did some really shitty things when I was not much older than you are now. The people who cared about me eventually forgave me and we're closer than ever. I guess I see it as paying it forward. Steve hurt me, but I'm choosing to forgive him and move on."
"Into a relationship?"
Tony grins. "I knew you were a sharp one." He shrugs. "Maybe. It's a thought but so far that's all it is." Tony's grin falls and he regards Peter with all his attention. "But if it really bothers you, I can leave things where they are. There are other fish in the sea."
Peter sighs. "But you like that fish. If it means that much to you, I'll give him a chance."
"That's all I'm asking." He wraps an arm around Peter's shoulders and leads them toward Steve and Morgan. "Now, about that hot chocolate..."