~Iron Family~

That Horse Seems Rabid

"Tony, you can't just go buying a pet! And without telling me! This is ridiculous!"

Pepper took every opportunity to lecture Tony as they cleaned up the barn. Now that Happy had taken the kids home, the place seemed emptier and quieter. 

"Sorry, Pep, but it all happened so fast," Tony protested as he crammed a pile of paper plates into the trash can. "Plus, I happened to find a Little Tikes tiny cottage house that would fit the horse perfectly on eBay--"

"You're going to India and leaving me with a miniature horse, a thousand presents and pieces of junk, and leftover pieces of cake! This is a mess, Tony, what are you expecting from me?!"

Pepper suddenly went from angry mom to wilting damsel in distress. She stuck out her bottom lip, staring at Tony with her big blue eyes.

"Pep, I'm sorry. I--I guess I didn't think this through."

He bent over and gave her hand a majestic kiss. "I promise that I'll fix all of this when I get back. The horse can even be returned, if you want."

Pepper sighed and gave a nod. "Okay. Thanks, Tony."

"No problem, honey."

***

No one could ignore the wavering rift in their family. Sometimes it was there, tearing them apart, and others it didn't even exist. It made Tony's head spin, and he was a little grateful that he'd be getting some time away from everyone.

His flight would be around fourteen hours, which left him lots of time to himself. He didn't like to have time to himself with nothing to do--it bored him out of his mind. So much for time away from everyone.

He decided he would spend the flight either solving puzzles in a booklet he'd picked up at the gas station, or on FaceTime with his family (thank goodness his personal plane had wifi).

Happy had told Tony every detail of bringing Peanut, the mini horse, back to the compound. How she had chased Happy around for two hours, eaten half of Steve's flowers (thankfully not Cap Jr.), and somehow decapitated the dishwasher. All the while leaving little presents wherever she went.

Morgan adored her.

She had taken Peanut into her room to braid her hair, paint her hooves, and dress her up. The trainers had warned Tony that Peanut could be a serious brat, but so far she hadn't done anything to hurt anyone. Aside from Steve's flowers, and when she was chasing Happy it wasn't from anger--she'd fallen in love with him.

That night, as he was laying out his suitcase, Morgan poked her face into his room.

"Daddy?" she called. "Are you leaving?"

Tony sighed and gave her a sad grin from where he was counting his socks. "Yeah, Maguna. I'm sorry."

"But you'll miss my birthday!" she said with a sniffle. "My real one!"

"I know." Tony helped her up onto his bed, where she sat on his pillow and picked lint out of her bare toes. "But we had a party today! And what about Peanut, don't you like her?"

Morgan shrugged. "I love Peanut. I already dyed her hair pink."

"Uh--"

"I'll just miss you, but I understand that you have to work."

Tony's heart melted and a smiled. "Wow, thank you. That's very grown-up of you, Morgan."

She flashed him a baby-toothed grin. "I know!"

"Go upstairs, ya rascal."

"I can't! My room is on the same floor, silly!"

Tony threw a pillow at her head. "You know what I meant!"

After Morgan scurried out, Peter walked in. Tony groaned and threw a sock at him.

"Can't a man pack his suitcase in peace?"

"Oh, sorry." Peter tossed the sock back. "I'll--I'll just go."

"I was kidding, lighten up," Tony called. Peter hesitantly walked back into the room. "What can I help you with, kid?"

"Nothing," Peter said with a shrug. "Just thought I would let you know that Peanut ripped up the couch."

Tony groaned and closed his eyes. "Seriously? Who let it inside?"

"No one. She busted through the door."

"Maybe this was a bad idea."

"You think?"

Tony snorted and pulled a handful of random shirts out of his dresser.

"I haven't gotten much time to talk to ya, Peter. How've you been? Settled in alright now? No more nightmares?"

Peter shrugged. "I guess. It's just...weird. And fast."

"Yeah, I know this was all very sudden..."

"Can you stop saying 'you know?'" Peter asked. "Not to be rude, but it doesn't help much."

Tony dipped his head and tried to squash his clothes down so he could at least zip up the suitcase. "Okay. Well, tell me. How can I make this house feel more like a home to you?"

Peter shrugged. "I don't know... Maybe if you're planning on keeping me forever, don't treat me different than Harley or Morgan. Yeah, I'm a foster kid, but so is Harley. We're both your sons now. And I know you're closer with Harley, obviously, but I just guess that I'm feeling a little...excluded. It feels more like I'm being babysat every day while--while my aunt is on a work trip." His voice broke and so did Tony's heart.

"Aw, kid." He held out his arms for a hug and Peter hesitantly accepted it. Tony ruffled his brown hair. "I'm sorry. I don't mean for you to feel like that--I just don't want to overwhelm you or do anything that you don't like."

"Well, I don't like being treated differently," Peter said with a shrug. "Just do with me what you do with Harley and Morgan."

Tony gave a sly grin and pointed to the door. "Really? Okay. Off to bed, young man. Lights out by nine thirty."

"What? But it's a weekend!"

Tony shrugged. "So? That's bedtime."

Peter smiled and trudged back to his room.

"That was a good one, boss," FRIDAY said into his earpiece. Tony frowned.

"You spying on my private conversations, Fri?

"You have me programmed for 24/7 monitoring, sir."

"Right, right."

Tony set his alarm for four in the morning and climbed into the blankets as Pepper got out of her shower, hair still wet. She gave him a kiss as she switched off the light, and Tony fell asleep to her hand in his.