Tony was the best man at Steve's wedding, watching his best friend marry a girl who would never be good enough. Charlotte made Steve happy, though, and that was what mattered. She was a petite little thing with fine strawberry blonde hair and an attitude, but God, did Steve love that girl.
Tony also held Steve the night that she died giving birth to his son and daughter. The child birth was too much for her. Steve silently dried his tears, but the next day when it was announced that his daughter hadn't survived the night he could no longer hold his strength. He hell into Tony's arms and cried his heart out, his fingers digging into Tony's back and snot and tears drenching his shirt. Tony's heart broke a little that night.
Now, Steve was struggling as a single parent, watching his child move from one sickness
to the next. The boy, Rory, was never healthy, not for a second, and that was a constant heart break for Steve. He was constantly terrified that cruel fate would take his boy away from him just as it had his wife and daughter.
Rory had quickly won over Tony's heart, carrying Steve's eyes and nose, though his hair was a bit more like his mothers. Tony soon became a toy inventor of sorts as he improved on old ideas and made Rory every toy a boy could want. By the time Rory was 5 his favorite things to play with were his Iron Man mask and his Captain America shield. He would spend hours imitating his two favorite men, dreaming of being big and strong like them.
Tony would never forget the night that Rory had curled up on his father's lap and looked up at him with his big, innocent blue eyes and said "When I grow up I'm going to be just like you. I'm gonna have a shield and everything!" Steve gave a sad smile and sent him to bed.
"He's a great kid." Tony whispered from the doorway.
"The best." Steve agreed, hunching over and staring at his hands. The hands that had helped save the world half a dozen times and saved so many lives. He was strong now but if it weren't from the super soldier serum that would never had been the case. If it weren't for the serum he wouldn't even be alive right then.
"You're pretty great too, you know. I mean, other than the whole dating people who are almost a century younger than you. That's just creepy." Tony walked up behind Steve's chair and started giving his neck and shoulders a massage. "He's smart to want to be like you though."
"He can never be like me."
"Sure he can. He's already on his way to being just like Daddy."
"The only reason I'm the way I am is because of some lab experiment. He doesn't understand that yet. He's never going to be the strong one or the fast one.." Steve swallowed hard, picturing how hard gym class and life and general would be for Rory.
"There's more to you then those rock hard abs, Steve. He can grow to be the bravest, the most loyal, the kindest, the one who would stand up for the little guy.. even if he's a littler guy. Every day I see him growing into you more and more. And I couldn't be more proud."
Steve grabbed Tony's hands to stop the massage and pulled him around to face him. Tony's brown eyes were filled with sincerity and love. Steve smiled a little and gave Tony's hand a little squeeze.
"Thank you."