It Only Takes a Second

- LXVII -

(Quick A/N: I forgot if I specified when the bakery was opening, so I'm going to say that it opened the second week of November, and with the time jump, we are in the few days/week after Thanksgiving. We're using fanfic logic for the timeline here, because I'm genuinely too lazy to go back and read through to find any sort of date. If you do remember, and I'm wrong, I apologize for any inaccuracies. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!)

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The weeks following the grand opening of Lily's were a blur as Harry and the rest of the team settled into a routine.

For the first week or so, Harry was so busy with the bakery that he barely had any time for anything other than sleep. Unfortunately, this had meant that his personal time with Peter had dwindled down to the few minutes between Peter's arrival afterschool and when his shift began.

However, things had begun to settle down and Harry found himself with enough bakers and employees that he could trust to run things when he wasn't there, which opened up time again for him to the spend with his family and Peter.

Thanksgiving had come and gone without a big ordeal. Harry had made insisted on keeping the bakery open until noon, making a wide variety of pumpkin and apple flavored items in preparation of panicked customers who's baking had gone awry.

Despite the fact that it had been the first major holiday that they had all spent together, the Avengers had hosted just a small dinner with the team, Peter and May. Harry had insisted on cooking, but the spread hadn't been as grand as Harry had planned. Instead, only the basics were made, and everyone enjoyed an evening of laughter and time spent in one another's company.

Now, Harry found himself curled up on the sofa in the living room, sharing a knitted afghan blanket with Peter. Snow fell peacefully beyond the penthouse windows, and Harry shifted closer into Peter for warmth. Lucy laid atop his feet, making sure that even fast asleep, she was fulfilling her duties of making Harry as comfortable as possible.

"Tony, would you just tell me where to put it?" Bucky sighed, awkwardly shifting the large Christmas tree that he was carrying.

"I can't decide," Tony frowned from his seat in the armchair. "I think I liked it better where you just had it.

"Tony!" Bucky growled in a warning tone.

"What?" Tony cried innocently, turning to Harry and Peter with a wink. The two teenagers held back their laughter as Bucky squirmed uncomfortably away from the shower of pine needles that had just rained down on him.

"Tony, what are you making the poor man do?" Pepper asked with a sigh as she entered the room.

"He's setting up the Christmas tree, and I'm just telling him where it looks best!" Tony answered defensively, still maintaining the mock-innocence.

Running her fingers through Tony's peppering hair lovingly, Pepper chuckled lightly. Harry noted that this was the most relaxed he had seen her, probably since opening day of the bakery.

She was wearing leggings and one of Tony's old MIT sweatshirts, and a pair of socks that Peter had bought her for Christmas last year. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail, and she wore an eased expression on her face as she rounded the chair and took a seat upon Tony's lap.

The billionaire wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer into him, making Harry smile at the small motion. It was obvious to see the love that his parents had for one another, even when they weren't making grand gestures.

"I'm going to ask you one more time-- and I'll probably regret doing so-- but is this where you want it?" Bucky questioned, setting the tree down in the corner next to the windows overlooking the city.