Summary: It's the 4th of July and when Tony Stark invites the team for a post-parade celebration in the Tower's penthouse, things go about as well as they could. Tony's not really sure what he expected, Pepper deserves a year-long vacation, Natasha should definitely lay off the vodka, and the kids are (unsurprisingly) the least problematic (especially since Thor doesn't know what a firecracker is).

A/N: Gonna be honest, I had an absolute blast writing this! I hope you all enjoy it. Even if you don't celebrate the Fourth of July, there's some wholesome IronFam in this, so I think you'll enjoy it.

Tony had long since discovered the most peaceful place for him to be at the moment was on the deck, standing over the barbeque and listening to Steve tell gruesome war stories to his children.

Well out of earshot, May and Natasha were seated in lawn chairs that were just close enough they could step in if Peter decided to jump off the side of the building (again) to test his new web-shooters. After the first failure, Steve had stepped in and immediately captured both Peter and Morgan's attention with gruesome war stories from the 40s. As long as Pepper never found it, Tony thought it was a fantastic distraction to keep Peter and Morgan from their quest to build the best web-shooters New York could imagine.

If Tony stopped listening to the stories and turned his attention to inside, he was met with the sounds of Sam and Bucky arguing over who got Steve a better present followed by Pepper shrieking at someone (who knew at this point, honestly) to stop and put that thing down, goddammit.

"Daddy?" Morgan asked, tugging on his t-shirt.

Tony looked down at her, smiling at the red, white, and blue ribbons tied in her pigtails.

"Are the burgers almost done?"

"Just about," Tony answered, leaning down to scoop her up in one arm. He flipped the few burgers that were still cooking then kissed her cheek. "Are you already bored with Uncle Steve's stories?"

Morgan nodded and Tony laughed.

"Well, be nice to him. He's old and it's his birthday."

"Peter's not being nice to him," Morgan pointed out, drawing Tony's attention to where Peter was teasing Steve about something. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Peter, haven't you heard the phrase to be kind to grandpas?" he teased.

Peter turned away from Steve and frowned.

"I don't think that's how the saying goes," he said. Tony shrugged and set Morgan down on her feet so she could race over to Peter. "Are you almost done?"

"You're both so pushy," Tony grumbled.

Morgan giggled, wrapping her arms around Peter's neck and she collapsed in his lap.

"Go bother Pep or someone else," Tony told them, "I'm just trying to make sure you don't die from raw meat."

Peter grinned and stood up, carrying Morgan inside with him and leaving Tony alone with Steve, Natasha, and May.

As soon as Peter stepped inside the penthouse, he stopped short. Between Sam and Bucky arguing in the living room and Thor playing with what looked suspiciously like dynamite, Peter wasn't sure where the safest route into the kitchen was. He could see Pepper working calmly to finish the salad and set all the serving spoons out on the counter—ignoring whatever was going on around her—but it was obvious there was no safe way to get to her.

"Hey, Morgan?" Peter asked, turning to face the girl he was holding. "Want to play Spider-Man?"

"Yeah!" she cheered.

Once she had wrapped her arms and legs around Peter's torso tightly, he jumped onto the ceiling. He kept one arm around Morgan as he crawled across the room then dropped down behind Pepper. Behind her, Morgan squealed happily and Pepper jumped in surprise, spinning around to face them with wide eyes.

"Oh, it's just you two," she sighed in relief.

A second later, she shoved something into Peter's hands and told him to set it on the table. He shrugged and took the bowl over to an empty spot while Morgan pestered her mom with questions.

"Morgan, I don't think you're helping," Peter told her as he returned to Pepper's side.

Morgan stuck out her tongue but stopped her questions.

"Can someone call everyone into the kitchen?" Pepper asked, looking at Peter. "We're ready in here, but someone needs to get everyone to shut up."

Peter nodded. He guided Morgan into the center of the penthouse chaos and nodded at her, plugging her ears when she grinned. Without further prompting, she opened her mouth and screamed.

All conversation immediately halted and the patio doors flew open as Tony, Steve, May, and Natasha came racing inside to see what had happened. With everyone's attention now solely on them, Peter smiled sheepishly.

"Uh, the food's ready.".

He picked Morgan up just in time to join the mad rush to the kitchen. Once both he and Morgan had their salad, burgers, and chips, they took two stools at the counter and sat down to eat. Tony joined them a few minutes later while the others gathered in the living room to talk and eat.

Even from the dining room, Thor could be heard over everyone else, telling some story about how Asgard didn't have an independence day celebration and Peter had to refrain from shouting across the room that the reason for that was because Asgard was the England of the universe. Instead, he muttered it to Tony who promptly choked on his burger and needed Morgan's assistance in getting a drink.

"I just think someone should tell him," Peter said solemnly.

Tony finished coughing and shook his head, nodding at Morgan when she asked him if he was okay now.

"I don't think he'd get it," Tony argued. Peter shrugged, reminding him there was only one way to find out.

"Find out what?" Morgan asked, taking a bite of salad then making a face and spitting it back onto her plate.

"Morgan, that's gross," Tony scolded.

Peter laughed but stopped immediately when Tony gave him a sharp look. Tony had just finished cleaning up Morgan's half-chewed salad mess and returned to his own plate when May and Pepper yelled from the living room.

"No, Thor!" they exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention to where Thor was proudly holding a lit firecracker.

Steve and Tony both jumped up from their seats and raced over to Thor. Steve got to him first, ripping the firecracker out of his hands and racing outside. Frowning, Thor ran after him onto the deck. Before Steve could throw the firecracker off the side of the building, it exploded in his hands.

Pepper screamed, jumping as a plume of smoke covered the outside deck, hiding Tony, Thor, and Steve from sight. They could hear shouting and the sound of firecrackers hitting the bulletproof windows, but no one else ran outside. When the explosions finally stopped and the smoke began to clear, the patio doors opened.

Everyone watched as Tony walked inside frowning followed by Steve who was covered in soot and Thor who was grinning happily. The penthouse was silent as Tony shut the door loudly, looking around the room solemnly.

"That was much more delightful than the tiny picture on the side," Thor exclaimed, wiping his hands on his pants then returning to his plate.