"Oh my gosh, it is crying again!"
"Don't say it like that! He is not 'it', he is a baby!"
"Yes, that's what I'm saying, it as a baby-it!"
Steve took Peter out of his cradle, shooting a glare at Tony. The small bundle in his hands was whimpering loudly.
"Shh, it's okay, sweetie, it's okay," Steve cooed to Peter, rocking him gently. Tony was looking at this scene from the couch, eyeing suspiciously the small boy.
"Why is it.. he is always crying?" he asked bitterly.
"That's what babies do, Tony. How else are they suppose to get our attention?" Steve scrunched his nose. "His diaper needs to be changed. Here, hold him, while I'll get the stuff."
"No!" Tony had this panicked expression on his face as every time Steve asked him to come closer to Peter. "Can't I go get the diapers?"
"And where do we keep them, Tony?" Steve said, narrowing his eyes.
"Ee.. we keep them.. ee.." he stuttered. He had no idea.
"Just please hold Peter, okay? I'll be back in one second" Steve asked him, giving him the baby. "Hold his head!" he said as he rushed out of the room.
Tony's face grimaced with panic. He clumsily held the baby, who was whimpering softly. Peter looked at his dad with bright eyes. He started to gurgle content, lifting up his little hands to touch Tony's goatee.
"What? What do you want?" he said, looking down at him. Peter was still babbling, smiling toothlessly at Tony.
"Dammit, why can't you talk like a normal person.." he groaned. Peter lift up a little and placed his small hands at the arc reactor. He could see the light through Tony's shirt.
"Hey, that's not a toy!" the brunet snapped, sharply lifting the boy up, away from the reactor. The boy got scared by the sudden movement and let out a piercing cry. Tony panicked again, putting him down to his eye level and holding him at arms length. He turned his head to the side, as far from the baby as he could, panic clearly showing on his face. Steve ran back into the room, dropping a bag with diapers on his way. He took Peter from Tony, and hold him closely against his chest.
"Tony, what have you done?" he asked trying to calm down screaming Peter, rocking him gently up and down.
"I don't know! Don't look at me like that!" he screamed, trying to outshout the cry.
"Tony, you shouldn't.."
"I told you I'm not good with kids!"
"Tony, you.."
"I couldn't even keep alive those damned fish after my parents' death, and now you expect me to take care of a human being?!"
"Tony.."
"You know why I like machines, Steve?! I can program them in a way I want them to work, and this I can't control!"
"TONY!" Steve shouted, silencing the brunet. Peter was still crying.
"Please, don't shout, you are just making him cry more," Steve gritted through his teeth. He turned away from Tony and placed the baby on the changing table to change his diaper. He was reassuring Peter in calm voice that everything is fine and slowly his crying turned into quiet sobs. After a while it ceased completely.
Tony was looking at Steve's back. At the same time he was furious at Steve and felt sorry for his outburst. It's not like that he didn't like Peter. He didn't know how to handle with him. He would never admit to it, but he was scared. So damn scared that he could unintentionally hurt the kid. He wasn't ready to raise a kid. He hated Steve for making him do that. No, he loved Steve. He hated himself. He stormed out from the room. To his workshop. To his machines he could control.
Steve sighed heavily hearing Tony leaving the room. He lift up Peter and placed him at the crook of his neck. The baby was calmly sucking his thumb, unaware of all tension in the air.
"It's okay," Steve said softly, brushing his lips at Peter's little head. "It's okay," he repeated, closing his eyes. He wasn't comforting only the baby.
later that night
"OH MY GOD, not again!" Tony shifted in bed, placing a pillow on his head. Peter's crying could be heard from the baby monitor.
"Steve, Steve, Steve," he muffled from underneath the pillow, nudging Steve's side with his elbow. The blonde growled and rolled away. Tony placed the pillow down and lift on his arms.
"Steve, he is crying!"
"Uhmm.. too.. tired.. you.. go.." Steve mumbled, refusing to open his eyes.
"You know I can't, come on!" Tony whined.
"Please Tony, I'm too tired!" Steve pleaded him. Tony was looking at Steve with a pained expression. He knew he was exhausted. Every time Peter was crying at night, Steve had to wake up to take care of him. It happened 2-3 times per night and lasted for a while, so he didn't get enough sleep. With heavy heart Tony got up from the bed.
As he approached the room he wanted to turn the lights on, but stopped in the last second. The sudden light will only make Peter cry more. He thought that the light from his arc reactor would be enough. He entered and after few seconds, stumbled his knee on some cabinet. He bit his tongue, trying to held the yelp inside. Apparently it wasn't. He turned into the cradle direction, following the noise.
"Shh, it's okay" he said leaning over to the baby, mimicking the tone Steve always used. "Hey, I'm here, I know you would prefer Steve, but he couldn't make it". Peter looked at him, with quivering lips. He raised his hands, demanding a hug.
"What? You want..? Erm, okay.." Tony placed his hands in the cradle and gently took the baby in his arms, tugging him to his chest as Steve always did. Peter was sobbing quietly.
"Why were you crying?" he asked the baby, not expecting an answer. "Just please don't tell me that there is a load in your diaper, I don't know how to handle that.." Peter gurgled softly in response, as if he understood the joke. He was calming down.
"At least you're quiet now.." he said, sighing with relief. Peter shifted to get closer to the arc reactor. Tony saw that and was about to yank him away, but than it happened. The baby nuzzled his cheek at the device. He babbled content and was drifting to sleep. Tony could see the details of his face in the light. Chubby cheeks, little nose, dark brown hair. Just like Tony's hair. He felt something. It was a weird feeling, but it was nice. He couldn't name it. He felt proud. Responsible. But most of all, he was happy. Happy as he held the little boy in his arms. His heart was beating faster due to the new emotions. He sat in the armchair, still holding Peter, rocking him gently.
"You.. you're actually not that bad, aren't you?" he whispered, looking at the small, sleeping bundle on his chest. On his kid. On his son.
In the other room, Steve was holding the baby monitor, listening to the whole conversation with a smile.
honestly I don't know who first thought of that Spider-man will be Steve and Tony's kid, but as I can see it became a head cannon..
I read a couple of superfamily stories, where both Tony and Steve are completely and utterly in love with baby Peter. yes, those are very sweet stories, but I think that Tony was not-oh-so-happy about adopting a kid. First - he is Tony, he doesn't share Steve with anyone, second - he is Tony, doesn't even know how to take care of himself, third - he is Tony, and we all know that Tony Stark is not a father material as he, himself was a pretty messed up kid, and how he was supposed to know if he won't mess up Peter? And that's why I think that at the beginning he was trying to keep Peter away from him. For his own safety. Of course it changed with time and he started to deeply love the kid, and still is the "cooler" dad, who is willing to give you a sip of scotch if you ask, even if you are 10 year old boy, while Steve is more strict. But when Peter was a teenager, Tony was always the first to shout "GO TO YOUR ROOM, YOU LITTLE SNOT, YOU'RE GROUNDED!", while Steve had to calm down both his husband and their son~