Warning: Yaoi/boy-on-boy
Pairings: Tony StarkXSteve Rogers, ClintonXNatasha
Story: Love is one thing, it involves pain and happiness, fear and loathing, trust and knowledge. Tony and Steve think they have faced it all and won. But they have yet to face their final obsticle. And they might not beat it.
Disclaimer: All Characters (c) Marvel
Nicholas (c) Me

"He's so... tiny."

The blond man, known for so much destruction, known for his brute strength, held the little bundle so delicately, it was like the newborn boy would break at any moment. The baby's striking blue eyes stared up at his father with calm intelligence, his brunette hair still slightly wet from his birth. Nicholas hadn't been born crying, it couldn't be called that. He had been born protesting, struggling against the doctor's grip until a nurse gently brought the boy outside the room and settled him in Steve's arms.

"Well, he is a month early. He seems perfectly normal, though, according to the doctor," the red-headed woman beside Steve stated, reaching down to gently swipe a finger against the tiny boy's cheek. He wiggled in his father's arms in protest.

"How is he?" Steve asked as he looked up at Pepper Potts, securing his son in his arms before he even began to worry about his husband. "They just brought Nicholas out here to me, they won't let me see him."

"Don't worry, Steve, this is Stark we're talking about, he's fine," Clinton muttered, attempting to stop the small smile that was threatening to break his cool calm. "He's probably just trying to stitch himself up and not letting the doctor's near them. You know he hates doctors."

"I know..." But he was still worried. So he focused on the small bundle in his arms, still just staring up at his father. "He looks like his dad... My eyes, though." And he already loved him. He had loved him the moment Tony had told him the experiment had been a success. They were going to have a baby, the one thing the couple had been denied for so many years.

"I'm sure Susie will love having a playmate," Tasha murmured, smiling softly as he placed a gentle hand on Clinton's shoulder. Their daughter had been born three years ago, and was already adept at playing with her less than sharp arrows and knives. And she always seemed to be hidden somewhere it was impossible for a three-year-old to get.

"Don't you dare!" Pepper muttered protectively, placing a hand on Steve's shoulder.

The group continued to argue, Bruce the only one staying out of it, instead going to the room Tony was still in and stepping inside. Steve waited for the scientist to come out with good news. He waited, waited. Nicholas had fallen asleep against his chest and a nurse had taken him away with a smile to the nursery, where all newborns were looked after for a few hours. Steve still waited, until finally.

Bruce emerged, a troubled frown on his face. He stood for a moment before he quickly strode over to Steve. "He wants to see you," the man murmured, nodding towards the door. "It's not... looking good."

Steve was immediately on his feet, almost running to the room and bursting only to see Tony connected to too many tubes, wires, so much blood around him... Oh god, this wasn't happening. And then he met Tony's eyes. The eyes that he had learned all the subtleties to, the eyes that had softened in the years he had known him, the eyes that always seemed to be alight... They were dull.

"Tony," Steve whispered, taking his husbands had and holding tight to the pale skin. "Tony, Tony, Tony."

"How is he?" The man's voice is rough, spent. It's low and weak and everything Tony is not. "Nicholas?"

"Perfect. He's perfect, Tony. He didn't even cry, he just... he looks like you. He's got my eyes, but he looks so much like you. And he's going to love you, I know he already loves you, you'll be a perfect dad and Nicholas is already so handsome and-"

"Steve," Tony murmured, smiling as he watched his frantic husband ramble on. "It's going to be alright. So I didn't calculate this chance. We'll be fine. It's not like I haven't come out of worse."

"I know... I know," Steve took a calming breath and placed a gentle kiss to Tony's hand. "I know. I love you, Tony Stark."

"And I love you, Steve Rogers."

And that's when he happened. Tony tensed up, his body lifting off the bed, his arms shaking and his eyes wide and what seemed like terror to poor Steve. The doctor's rushed in, and all sound seemed to stop for the soldier as he watched the man he loved seizure. He didn't recognize his voice screaming for Tony as it took Thor, Bruce and Clinton combined to drag him out of the room. The doctor's had work to do, they tried to tell him, Tony will be fine, he's just having a moment. You know Tony, he has to be dramatic.

But it was two hours later and the group of Avengers were taking turns sitting by Steve as Captain America went into an almost comatose state. Tony had been taken to ICU. The doctors had said if he made it through the night, he had every chance of making a full recovery. But there was an if. And it was a very big if.

In the two hours since Steve had been forced from the room, Tony had seized two more times, but he had managed to be brought back from every one. But every time he heard that alarm go off, Steve felt a little part of him break. Nicholas was supposed to be born next month, when all the medical preparations were to be completed. It was supposed to go off with no hitches, Tony had stayed out of all the fights, he had been kept from public eye... And still. This.

Steve didn't realize he was crying until he felt Pepper bring him to her chest, the young woman trying to hold in her tears and failing. Even Tasha seemed to have tears in her eyes, and Thor was openly sobbing as he watched one of his best friends come so close to death.

Nicholas was still in the nursery, being taken care of by the nurses. Steve was in no shape to see his son, in no shape to take care of him. Steve was only focused on his husband, and the fact he might not make it through the night.

A/N: Have yet to decide on an ending... if you have one you would like, just review and tell me! Happy or sad, the one with the most votes is the one I shall write!

I'm sure most of you did not know this, but I am a secret comic book geek. I'm actually a DC fangirl, but I was so in love with the new Avengers movie, I just had to write this! Plus, I'm also a Robert Downey Jr. fangirl. I fucking love that hunk of a man. If only he was my age, I would fucking pounce him. No, scratch that, I'll still pounce him if I ever meet him. He's my old man crush!

You guys must tell me what you think, I haven't written a fanfic in so f'ing long, I must know if I've improved or gotten worse.