"Peter, can you get those boxes, please?"

The teen got up and grabbed the neatly packed boxes, carrying them over to his father. They were full of extra linens Tony had gotten for the guest floor. Sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, and more were nearly stacked, nestled together in the boxes.

Tony was already carrying the heavier stuff - kitchen wares like a new blender and toaster, a set of dishes, and a box of steak knives, as well as one of the dresser sets to build later for one of the bedrooms - which Tony had forbidden Peter to try and carry. The two made their way to the elevator and rode down a few floors to the guest rooms. Happy, Rhodey, and Pepper were already there, working on unpacking the stuff Tony had brought down earlier.

"Got the linens," Tony said, maneuvering around the empty boxes Pepper had stacked near the elevator. "And the rest of the kitchen stuff."

Happy came to help with the boxes.

"Why don't you go help Rhodey with those sheets and blankets, kiddo? He's down the hall." Happy looked over Tony's shoulder at Peter, who was still standing in the elevator doors. The teen made his way past his dad and Happy, then rounded a few corners and headed down the hall. Because of the layout of the floors, the guest apartment was a perfect mirror of the Penthouse, with the kitchen, living room, and dining room at the forefront and the bedrooms, bathrooms, and laundry room down the hall behind the kitchen.

"Uncle Rhodey?"

"In here!"

Peter followed Rhodey's voice into one of the rooms. The man was surrounded by pieces of wood and hardware, a paper booklet of instructions in front of him. "Want to help with this desk?"

Peter looked down. "You've got the drawer piece on up-side down."

"Fuck!" Rhodey looked up at Peter as soon as the word left his mouth. "Not a word of that to your dad. He doesn't want us swearing around you."

"I'm 14," Peter said, rolling his eyes. "I know about swearing."

"And do you do it at school when we aren't around?"

Peter just shuffled his feet and reddened a little. Rhodey laughed.

"I won't say anything."

Peter flashed his uncle a relieved smile, then tip-toed around the pieces and put the box in the corner of the room before taking a seat on the carpet. "How can I help?"

"Hand me that- no, that over there- yeah, thanks." The two worked quietly, only talking when they needed the other to grab something or to help with a particular step of the process. With two minds and four hands, the furniture went a lot quicker, and they had the desk up and moved against one of the walls in no time. Peter pulled out a set of soft, cotton sheets from the box and tossed one side to his uncle.

"Help me with this."

The two made the bed, complete with pillows and a heavy blanket, then took a step back to admire the room. Tony, true to his word, was making the Tower quite the inviting base. The guest floor had been decked out in all the newest tech, and the furniture was all expensive wood. Since they didn't know what everyone would like, they had opted for muted colors of grey, white, and tan for the sheets. They could change it later if they wanted.

"Are you guys done with that desk yet?" Happy yelled from down the hall.

Peter poked his head out. "Yup! And we even made the bed!"

"Great, then bring the rest of those sheets to the other rooms."

Peter ran down the hall, distributing the sheets, pillows, and blankets to everyone, then stacking towels in the bathrooms and hanging all the shower curtains.

"I think it looks pretty good," Tony said when everything was done and ready. The little family was standing in the living room, admiring their work.

Pepper snorted. "It looks like the penthouse before Mar- before we were all living here. Before it was cozy."

Everyone laughed, gliding over Pepper's slip up as if it hadn't happened. It wasn't that they didn't talk about Mary, it was just that they avoided it if they could. It was an uncomfortable thing to talk about, even now.

"Ready for lunch?" Rhodey asked, noticing Peter holding his stomach.

"Yeah, I could eat."

"Ever the nonchalant," Rhodey sighed, shaking his head a little. Peter reminded him more and more of Tony every day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony waited in the lobby patiently. It was after hours now, so the building was practically abandoned. Besides Tony, Peter, Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper, the only people with a key to the Tower after 7 was the janitor.

Steve's head of blonde hair came into view, the rest of the team trailing behind him. Tony put on his picture-perfect smile and quickly ran through his welcome speech in his head.

"Stark," Steve greeted, pushing through the front doors. "It's good to see you. I'm excited to be working together."

Tony nodded. "As am I. Welcome to Stark Towers! I had a few of the floors redone for you all, including a room of training equipment, a floor of conference rooms, and an apartment for you all to live in. It's a little bare right now, so please feel free to decorate it as you like."

Tony led the team over to the elevators. "Before we do introductions, I want to explain a few things about the Tower. FRIDAY, my AI, runs everything within the Tower, from the elevators to the automatic doors. If you need anything at all, just ask. She's activated by just saying her name. FRIDAY?" Tony looked up at the ceiling to get his point across.

"Yes, Boss?"

"Say hello to our new teammates."

"Hello, all," FRIDAY said warmly. "I hope you enjoy your time here at the Tower."

Tony smiled at the group, his eyes drifting over each of them in turn. It was easy to read people except... the red head. Tony's eyes stumbled over her, stopping for a moment as her eyes met his. Bright, but dark. The billionaire paused, his mouth hanging over for a second before he started his speech again.

"My- uh- My son and I live up in the penthouse along with the rest of the family, Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy. Happy is the head of security, so he's your go-to if you need anything pertaining to that." Tony didn't offer any more explanation on who Rhodey and Pepper were.

"If you guys are hungry, we could do dinner in the penthouse tonight."

Steve smiled. "That'd be great, Stark."

"Please. Call me Tony."

"Tony. Could we stop at our rooms first? I have some things I'd like to drop off." Steve hitched a backpack up on his shoulder. Everyone filed into the elevator behind Tony and headed up to the guest floor, going around the elevator to introduce themselves quickly. Tony was careful to memorize each of the names. Clint was the one with short hair and quick wit, though it tended to cater to a more childish humor. Bruce was quiet, a harsh contrast to Thor, who voiced in a booming shout. Natasha was the red head with the eyes who had caught Tony's attention earlier.

When they finally got up to the resident floor, Tony gave a quick tour and turned things over to the others to decide which room was going to be whose. Tony waited by the elevator, pacing lightly as he read emails on his phone. Natasha was the first one done with her unpacking. The way she moved so smoothly was mesmerizing and Tony couldn't help but watch as she glided back towards him.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked when she was closer. Tony nodded. "Are you always so formal, Tony?"

The billionaire tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Downstairs. That whole speech was rehearsed, wasn't it?"

Tony smiled. "I should have known a SHIELD agent would see through me. I just wanted to make sure I covered everything."

Natasha nodded. "I see. Is your son going to be at dinner? I noticed you mentioned him living in the penthouse."

"Yes," Tony said, drawing out the 'sss' noise. "Is that a problem?"

"Not at all. I was just curious about when I would get to meet him. I have a feeling he's twice as cute as you and half as formal."

Tony blushed and stammered a moment. "I- uh, I- wait, does that mean I'm particularly cute?"

Natasha shrugged. "It means whatever you want it to mean. What are we having for dinner?"

"I think Rhodey and Pepper made fried chicken and mashed potatoes." Tony was taking Natasha's lead at this point. It'd been a while since he'd flirted, 14 years to be exact, and more than that, she was jumping from flirtation to small talk as quickly as someone might snap their fingers. It was giving the man whiplash.

"Sounds yummy. Are they an item?"

"Who, Pepper and Rhodey?" Tony  laughed. "No, no, no. Rhodey's been my best friend since college, and Pepper is-"

"An old flame?"

Tony held his blush back successfully this time. "My old assistant. Now she's CEO here."

Natasha hummed. "Sounds like quite the promotion. Should we head up then?"

"What about the rest of the-" Natasha pointed over Tony's shoulder, towards the living room. The man spun only to come face to face with the rest of the team. A blush threatened his cheeks as it crept up his neck.

"How long have you guys been there?"

"You had my ears at 'fried chicken'," Clint joked.

Tony nodded. "Okay. Okay, good. Yeah. Let's eat."