Full Summary:
When Natasha told Steve that Tony was compromised and needed to be hidden from Ross, he agreed, thinking he would know what to expect.
But he could have never expected Natasha to show up with Tony Stark in the form of a doe-eyed little four year old.
This could only escalate from here
Enjoy~!
– – – – – –
Steve remembered when he first got the call from Natasha.
It had been about six months since he and Tony had fought in Serbia, and he had sent the flip phone to him. They hadn't spoken since then. T'Challa had given them asylum, the rest of the world had no clue where the 'Ex-Avengers' were hiding. That was all okay with Steve, safety for his teammates and Bucky was number one priority now. In fact, he almost forgot about giving the phone to Stark.
That was, until it rang.
It had been a casual day, Steve had just finished visiting Bucky, whom was going to be out of the cyro chamber for about a month or two while the doctors tested new discoveries to see if they would help remove the Winter Soldier. He had gone back to his room, and heard a ringing.
Instantly, fear shot through his heart. He hadn't seen anything dangerous happen lately, despite the fact most of the villains that had been attacking saw the Accords as the perfect way to get through the Avengers. Tony hadn't called him, ever, not even when things got really dangerous. Something really had to be wrong for him to call now.
He quickly flipped the phone open, bringing it to his ears. "Stark?" He asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "I-Is everything okay?"
For a moment, there was silence. It made Steve a little frustrated, and for a moment he wondered if this with a prank. If it was, he wasn't amused.
"Steve," Said a voice, a familiar voice that wasn't Stark.
"Natasha?" He asked, apprehension creeping into his tone. "Why do you have this phone? Where is Stark?"
"Tony is why I'm calling you," Natasha continued,"I knew about the phone for a while, Steve, even though Tony didn't want me to. That's not what's important though. Tony has been.. Compromised.. He's in a very fragile state, and if Ross finds Tony while he's like this.."
It only took a few seconds for Steve to catch on. "You want us to hide Tony until he recovers?" He asked,"Why would we need to hide him from Ross?" He would have expected Tony and Ross to be the best of friends by now.
"Tony has been trying to get Ross arrested for what he did to you guys, Bruce, and countless others, and trying to make the Accords more fair to heroes, Ross isn't very happy with him right now, but that's not the point Rogers" Steve winced at the tone her voice had taken. "Tony may never recover from this.. We can't figure out how to fix what happened.."
"What did happen-"
Natasha snapped firmly,"Rogers, if you want to know let me bring Tony there for safety. I don't have much time, okay? What is your answer, yes or no?"
Part of Steve wanted to deny letting Stark hide in Wakanda, mainly because of Bucky. Would Tony attack them again? Was this all some elaborate scheme with Ross to get Bucky in their hands? No no, Steve, slow down. He reminded himself that Tony had known that Steve was in Wakanda, but never told the UN. If he really wanted to, he could have sold them out long ago. Plus, if Tony was really as indisposed as Natasha was saying, he wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Okay, we'll hide him for now," Steve agreed,"But if he does anything the others don't like, or tries to get at Bucky in any way-"
"Believe me, Rogers, he won't,"Natasha said,"I'll bring him soon, and.. Well you all will see what I mean by compromised" The phone clicked, and Steve sighed, how was he going to explain this to the others?
Walking out, he found Clint playing Mario Kart with Sam, Wanda was sitting nearby with hot chocolate, and Scott had settled next to Sam, totally not dropping hints that he wanted a turn. It reminded Steve painfully of the old team nights they used to have when they were still.. Well, a team.
Steve didn't want to ruin the serene mood. While Scott and Sam weren't really.. Infuriated at Tony, Clint and Wanda sure were. Maybe he could find a way to hide Stark.. Or at least smooth everything out when the time came.
T'Challa wasn't at the palace right now, he was busy with lots of things, they didn't see him often. When they did, however, they made sure to show him upmost respect, so he hoped that Tony would do the same.
Of course, he really knew what to expect. Tony Stark was an asshole, he didn't think before he spoke, he was a narcissistic. Even if he really was trying to help with the Accords, he'd probably come here and be nothing but a huge, rude nuisance to everyone.
Yep, Steve knew what to expect. He was ready for Stark to show himself, he'd be sure to keep him in his place.
– – – – – – –
This is not what he was prepared for..
This is not what he was expecting.
Jaw dropped, blue eyes wide as saucers, he stared at Natasha. Her hair had changed again, it was now in a pixie cut, still red, her skin was tanned, blue contacts in her eyes. But her appearance wasn't what was confusing him, it was what she was carrying in those tan arms.
There was a tiny little boy curled up in her arms. He had curly, disheveled brown hair, pale skin, and was asleep in her arms. He was wearing a red hoodie with black pajama pants, his scrawny arm hugging a Captain America plushy to his chest.
"I-Is that.. Stark?" He stuttered out, hoping Natasha would suddenly smirk and tell him that this was some elaborate joke. But he wasn't a fool, he knew Natasha, he also knew she was holding a tiny Tony Stark.
Natasha nodded. "Yes, he got changed, it happened on one of the latest missions. I need you to hide him, please, at least until we can find a way to change him back, if there is one," She told him firmly.
Steve, feeling uncomfortable, he replied,"I.. I didn't sign up for this.. Natasha do you know how how hard it will be to hide him here?"
"He's four years old, Steve. Tony was forty six, nobody will recognize him. You agreed to help him, and you owe me," She snapped back firmly,"I let you and Barnes go, you owe me at least this. You owe him this"
Steve knew she was right, he owed her, he owed Tony, especially after leaving him in Serbia. Besides, he was a kid. Looking at the peaceful face, asleep with no sign of stress, he asked,"Does he remember us?"
"No, he doesn't," She replied simply,"He's not going to try anything Steve, I promise. Please, just protect him, take care of him until we can figure this out"
Steve nodded, afraid what may escape from his mouth if he spoke, before awkwardly reaching out to take the child from her.
"No, I'm waking him up first and talking to him," She told him,"He trusts me, I'm not going to leave him with you guys without telling him where I'm going"
"B-but.. I didn't tell the others.." Steve awkwardly said, gaining a glare from his old teammate. He felt his face going red with shame.
Shifting the slipping child in her arm, she firmly replied,"Well, that's your fault" She maneuvered around him, walking into their hideout with the confidence of king T'Challa himself.
The second Clint, whom was reading the news on a tablet, saw her, he frowned. "Natasha," He said firmly,"Why are you here? And who is that?" He stood up, going to examine the child, blinking in surprise when Natasha pulled him closer to her chest in a protective way.
Steve flinched at the glare Natasha sent his way, realizing she wanted him to respond. "It's.. It's Tony.. Tony Stark," He finally said.
For several moments, nobody moved. Then, Clint snorted. "Is this a joke?!" He snapped, voice raising with each word. His loud tone jerked awake the child in Natasha's arms, his blue eyes looking around in confusion.
It surprised Steve a little, as he firmly remembered Tony's eyes being brown, after all he could have stared at them all day before all this happened. He wanted to question Natasha about it, but the situation was super tense, and he didn't want to get his throat slit.
Tony seemed frightened by Clint's voice, his tiny hand clutching to Natasha's shirt and other hand squeezing his plushy. He looked at Clint, frightened, before hiding his face in the woman's shoulder. His scrawny shoulders were shaking.
"No, Clint, this isn't a joke," She said firmly,"I don't joke. On the last mission, this happened. Ross knows Tony is trying to get him arrested, if he found Tony in this state, he may try and make it so we can't find a way to change him back and put Ross where he belongs, we need to keep him safe"
Clint slammed down the tablet, snapping,"I don't give a flying fuck what Stark is trying to do! After everything he already did to us, putting us in the raft, putting Wanda in a strait jacket?! I don't have to do anything for him!"
"He's a child, Clint, he doesn't remember doing any of that!" Natasha snapped back, causing Tony to flinch in her arms, she stopped talking and looked back down at the child, placing a comforting hand on his back.
Steve decided to butt in, he firmly exclaimed,"Clint, it's already been decided, Tony is staying, okay?"
Clint released a frustrated huff of air, getting up and walking away from the group in a hurry. Natasha sent a look that could murder an entire country, and then looked back down at Tony. He stared up at her, blue eyes filled with an innocence that Steve wasn't used to seeing.
Natasha knelt down, placing the tiny child down. He seemed to be even smaller than Steve first thought, as Natasha took his small hands in her own. "малютк, I can't keep you safe anymore, so my.. Acquaintances will be taking care of you from now on, okay?"
The small child nodded, before moving forward, cupping his hands around his mouth and whispering into her ear. Natasha listened intently, before nodding and replying,"Yes, I will come back and visit, don't worry" She kissed his forehead and stood, sending a fierce glare at Steve.
"If anything happens to him, Rogers, I will deliver all of you on the steps of the raft gift wrapped, understand?" She hissed, before her features softened. "Please, Rogers, don't hurt him anymore, okay?"
Steve nodded firmly, resisting the urge to salute. "I promise, Natasha," He declared, voice strong and brave. Natasha just nodded, placing a comforting hand on Tony's messy head before turning to the door.
The small child watched her go, he seemed like he was resisting the urge to run back to Natasha, before he looked up at Steve.
It was hard to believe it was Tony. With those large, innocent blue doe-eyes, dark curly hair, and tiny stature. If it wasn't for Natasha's words, and the similarities between the older Tony and this one, he wouldn't believe her.
But he still didn't know what to do.. Natasha had left, this child, Tony Stark, was not under his protection. Steve had never had a kid, none of the people he knew ever had a kid when he was younger. Clint had kids, but Steve didn't have much time to play with them, and they were older than this Tony. What was he supposed to do?
He moved forward, ignoring the flinch, and picking Tony up. He placed the tiny boy on the stool and then said,"Um.. Stay here until I get back, don't move okay?"
Those innocent eyes stared still, before he inclined his head the tiniest bit, nodding. Steve felt a little bad, but he turned and left the room quickly. He didn't know what to do, maybe he could find something to distract him? He'd find something, the kid would be alright without him for a few minutes.
Little Tony watched the tall man go, before bringing his sock covered feet to the stool. He looked around, there was nobody around, he felt a little lonely, but he wasn't going to move.
He looked down at the Captain America stuffy he had, Ms. Natasha had given it to him. Feeling upset, he hugged it tightly, thinking of the man that had yelled at him and called him mean things. He was confused, why did the man already hate him?
He released his tight hold on the stuffy, looking down at it once more before whispering,"Don't be upset, Cap'n.. I know they hate us.. But it will work this time.."
"Daddy told me not to bother people with my stupid problems.. That I should listen more.. Maybe they'll like me if I do that.. Dad said that would work.. If I listened more I wouldn't be stupid.."
Tony sighed, deciding to start listening to his father's advice now. He would stay where the tall man told him to, until he came back and gave Tony something so he could be useful. That's all he knew how to do for grownups after all.