A/N: I just thought of this cute little thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. It is not for profit.

It's the first day of school and everywhere one looked, there were children crying.

Toddlers clung to their parents' legs or waists, refusing to let go. They were bawling and shrieking at the prospect of being left alone in a strange place with no one familiar to be with them. The red, wailing faces and the runny noses in his immediate vicinity made Tony Stark cringe.

Tony's gentle hold on his own daughter grew tighter as if he feared he would lose her amidst the chaos. He leaned close to his wife and said, "Maybe this is a bad idea."

They were at a pre-school because their only child was going to go attend classes for the first time but the shrieks surrounding the couple was making Tony have second thoughts. He never liked it when Maria cried or became sad. He lived to please his little girl and if going to school would make her unhappy, then he'll gladly delay her for a year.

Pepper Stark studied the little humans around her too and nodded her head. "Yeah. This might be too much." Like her husband, she was more than willing to turn around and head back home. As a first-time mom, she was rather clingy and overprotective towards her daughter and had trouble letting the latter out of her sight. What if she grazes a knee running around in the playground? What if the other mean kids bully her? What if she needs butterfly kisses and Pepper isn't there to give them?

A young boy directly in front of them suddenly flopped to the ground, his cries a grating, ugly sound as his parent tried to get him up to stand. When it seemed as if his guardian was finally going to successfully pry him off the floor, the boy slackened his body and slithered down again.

A teacher cooed at him, crouching by his side, "There's nothing to be afraid of, Kevin. Your dad will be right here when class ends."

"Yeah. I'll tell you what. We'll go with Miss Lena inside and I'll sit right outside the classroom. You can always look out and see for yourself that I'm there. How's that, bud?" asked the dad hopefully.

The boy named Kevin calmed a bit and popped open an eye. "You promise?"

His father nodded and then helped him up. They disappeared inside one of the classrooms.

Pepper and Tony exchanged a wary look.

"We could always reschedule," Tony bobbed his head. "I mean, 3 is too young to go to school anyway. And she's so smart, she'll probably skip a few grades."

Beside them a teacher handed a green card to a parent and said, "Just to remind you again. You must always have the Departure Card with you when you pick up your child. We will only relinquish the child to the names and faces of the guardians listed there. And also, tomorrow we'll have an Active Shooter Drill." She waved a hand. "Don't worry. There won't be any pretend shooters to scare the students. But we just want to practice going on lockdown and all that."

Pepper and Tony had heard this all before when they inquired in the school. But hearing it again caused an unbidden image of Hydra agents to come to Pepper's mind. She can see them knocking the school gates open and taking the toddlers hostage to create a flock of children spies.

"Maybe we should take a look at home-schooling again," thought Pepper out loud. "Jarvis could be her teacher. That way he gets to keep an eye on her and nobody will be stupid enough to kidnap her in the confines of the mansion."

Unbeknownst to the two parents, their young daughter had been observing the other children and shaking her head. Maria rose on her toes, craned her neck, and tried to see around the tall adults in order to get a glimpse of the classroom.

Tony felt a tug on his arm and he looked down. Maria's green eyes looked up at him expectantly. She was the spitting image of her mother, with freckles on her cheeks and her hair a brownish red. "Are you and mommy leaving?" she asked.

Pepper looked crestfallen at the question and she and Tony squatted down to the girl's level.

"Oh, baby. Of course, not!" said Pepper softly, soothingly rubbing her daughter's arm.

Maria gave an exasperated sigh and ran a hand over her face, a perfect mirror of her father's mannerisms. "Nooo!" She shook her head. "You have to go!"

Tony wore a startled frowned. "What?" Did he hear that right?

Maria raised two small palms and pushed at her dad. "I want to go inside! So, you and mommy have to go now!"

Pepper's jaw dropped and she tried to form words but only managed to let out guttural sounds.

Tony eyed his daughter. "Wait a minute. You actually want to go to school."

Maria nodded.

"Here."

She nodded again.

"Without mommy or daddy."

"Yeees!" She sighed tiredly, "Now, I know I have to take care of you and mommy at home, but I told Jarvis to do it when I'm not there. So, you guys will be okay."

Tony chuckled at that. He was amazed his daughter was actually worried about leaving them alone and wasn't scared like every kid he saw.

Well, if this is what she wants, thought Tony. "Okay," he said, patting Maria's head and rising to his feet. Pepper followed, confused.

"What are you doing? We can't leave her!" she hissed.

"Look at her," said Tony, jerking his head down at Maria. The three-year-old was clutching at her green backpack, bouncing on the balls of her feet, and glancing in the direction of the classrooms. "She can hardy contain her excitement!"

"That's not excitement! She's so scared she's gonna wet herself!"

Tony put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I know. It does look like that, doesn't it? But I talked to her when you were spacing out and she's really fine. She even told Jarvis to keep an eye out for us while she's away. Isn't that adorable?"

Pepper's mouth quivered and her nose scrunched up. She started blinking vigorously and Tony knew she was trying not to cry in public. Tony wondered if Pepper was close to tears because she's reluctant to let Maria go or if these were tears of joy because their daughter was starting to become independent.

"Hey, hey, hey! She's going to be fine! She's a big girl."

Maria placed a hand on her mom's thigh. "Mommy, don't cry."

Pepper sniffed and drew herself to her full height before crouching down again. She fixed Maria's hair and smoothed down the girl's skirt. "I'm so proud of you!" Pepper said, giving Maria a hug that was more for the former's sake than the latter's. "You're going to be the best one in there, I can tell." She pinched Maria's nose and Maria giggled.

Maria opened her mouth to speak but Pepper beat her to it. "I know, I know. You want us to go before we embarrass you in front of your potential new friends. Fine. We'll go. Mommy and daddy will be back to pick you up later."

Maria beamed at finally being left to her own devices.

"Can we get a goodbye kiss, at least?" asked Pepper.

Maria looked hesitant. She glanced around at the other kids. "Kisses are for babies. I don't think big kids like me kiss their mommies and daddies anymore."

Tony laughed loudly while Pepper bit back a disappointed pout.

"But I guess I caaaan let you kiss me instead," said Maria, reaching a compromise.

Pepper sighed in relief and proceeded to give her daughter a big, sloppy, wet kiss. Tony came next and Maria squealed at the ticklish sensation of her dad's goatee. When they pulled away, Maria waved goodbye to her parents and ran inside. Not even a minute later, and she ran back out again.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" asked Tony.

Pepper melted at the sight of Maria sheepishly looking down at the floor. She must be scared now, she thought.

"I don't know where my room is," admitted the little girl, a becoming blush on her cheeks.

Or not.

Pepper took her hand. "Come on. We'll ask around." Together, all three of them walked up to a teacher.

…

The drive away from the school was painfully quiet. It's going to take a while to get used to it being just the two of them again. Maria was a joy to their lives and having her gone for half a day was difficult.

Tony's glad that Hogan was at the wheel because otherwise, he wouldn't be able to give Pepper his full attention and try to turn her spirits around. He nudged his wife. "I know what's gonna cheer you up."

"What?" mumbled Pepper somberly.

"A new baby," Tony whispered huskily against Pepper's ear. He felt her shiver against him.

"Yes, please!" Pepper growled before attacking Tony's lips.

In front of them, Hogan slid up the partition window of the Rolls-Royce to give the couple some privacy.

A/N: I'm thinking of turning this into a series of fluffy family interaction. What do you guys think?