Summary: Sleeping Beauty AU

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is fiction

Warnings: Mentions of mpreg

Rating: PG-13

A carrier is a male capable of having children. They are accepted fully in society

Sleeping Tony

Once upon a time, King Howard and Queen Maria ruled over the land of SHIELD. Yet, after years of marriage, they remained childless. This was a problem. The couple were getting ahead in years and with no heirs, the throne would go to Howard's advisor, cousin, Justin Hammer. Hammer was an incompetent fool, who couldn't rule a country. Not usually a good thing for a king. Maria sighed as she stood at a window, watching her husband return from diplomatic talks with the nearest kingdoms, STRIKE and Asgard. She wanted a child, not only for her people and herself, but for Howard. She saw the sadness in his eyes with each negative test and knew he was close to giving up. She stood straight and gasped as a splinter embedded itself into her thumb. She removed it with her teeth and swiped her bloody thumb on her ivory colour dress. As she looked at the stain, she imagined a child with ivory skin, blood red lips, dark hair and eyes as brown as the coffee her husband subsisted on. Her dream child. She only hoped that it wouldn't remain a dream.

"I'm pregnant!"

Howard flinched and dropped the screwdriver in his hand.

"What?"

"I said I'm pregnant."

The king stared at his wife. Pregnant? Was she serious?

"You're positive?"

"We did three tests. All came out positive. Howard, we're having a baby!"

He swept his wife into his arms and twirled them around the room. A baby. They were going to have a prince or princess. A child who would look like his beautiful wife with his brains and who would be perfect, no matter what. Maria laughed breathlessly, arms wrapped around Howard's neck.

"So, I'm guessing you're happy?"

"Delirious! This is amazing. Thanks you Maria."

She giggled, pressing a kiss to Howard's lips.

"Oh Howard, thank you my love."

Nine months later, Maria was in labour and had been for thirteen hours. Howard was pacing outside the delivery room, Nick a calming presence beside him.

"Howard, sit down. Pacing will do neither you nor your wife any good."

"I know Nick. But, there is nothing else I can do. I have to stand out here and wait and it's killing me!"

"Howard, Maria wouldn't want you freaking out like this. Sit down and calm yourself."

"Before you punch me?"

"Exactly."

There was no need to worry Once Howard fell into a chair, the midwife beckoned Howard into the room. He walked in after her and paused at the sight of his exhausted wife sitting in bed, holding a blue bundle.

"Howard, come here and meet your son."

He slowly approached the bed, still not believing this was really happening. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his son. Tiny, red and with his face scrunched up, he was the most beautiful thing Howard had ever seen.

"We still need a name."

"Anthony."

"Really. Flower? You don't want something more masculine?"

"Yes. Anthony Edward Stark."

"Our happy flower. It's perfect."

The next two weeks were spent preparing a ball to introduce the young prince to the other royal families. Eventually, the day came. All the royal families were in the ballroom. The Odinsons with their son, Thor. The Laufeysons, with their son, and Thor's intended, Loki. The Rogers, with their son, Steve. The Roger's closest friends, the Barnes and their son, James. It was a packed ballroom and Howard could see Fury making the rounds, checking that everything was in order. That man would never relax, would he? He was intercepted by the Rogers. He shook the hand of Joseph and pressed a kiss to Sarah's knuckles.

"My dear friends, how are you this fine day?"

"We are fine Howard. Not as good as you, I would expect."

"Very true Joseph. Would you like to meet Tony?

"We would love that. Steve, come with us."

"Yes Mama."

Steve Rogers was five years old, tall for his age with blue eyes and brown-blond hair that flopped into his eyes. Howard could see that he would grown into a handsome man. It was also known that he would marry the Stark heir.

"Here he is."

Tony lay in a bassinet by the thrones, with Maria standing over him. Sarah leaned over and cooed at the baby. Joseph lifted Steve and leaned over the bassinet.

"There he is Steve. Isn't he handsome?"

"He's small."

The adults laughed.

"He's a baby Steve. Of course he's small."

"Do you know if he's a carrier?"

"He is."

"Excellent. I think we should start discussing a marriage between Steve and Tony."

"Before that, maybe we could give the prince our gifts?"

The crowd turned to the man who had said that. Standing in front of them was Phil Coulson, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff, otherwise known as the three fairies.

"My friends, you have made it."

"Like we would miss this. It is time for our gifts."

Maria lifted Tony into her arms and Natasha stepped forward.

"I bless you with brains. You will be the smartest person in all the kingdoms."

She stepped back and Clint stepped forward, raising his wand.

"I bless you with looks. You shall be the most beautiful person in all the kingdoms."

He stepped back and Coulson stepped forward. As he opened his mouth to speak, a plume of black smoke appeared in front of him.

"STARK!"

Howard jumped in front of his wife and son as Obadiah Stane, the evil fairy, stepped out from the smoke.

"I am insulted that you did not invite me Howard. Are we not friends?"

"We were. Then you tried to take my throne and start wars with all the kings in this room. You are banned from the kingdom Stane!"

"I know. But I have waited nearly ten years for my revenge King Stark, and come hell or high water, I will have it."

He waved his wand and Tony poofed into his arms. Another wave and the guests were frozen where they stood. Maria strained to get to her son. She could see and hear everything Stane did, but couldn't move. Stane smirked down at the smiling baby and raised his wand.

"Anthony Edward Stark, I give you this curse. On your eighteenth birthday you will cut yourself with a screwdriver and you and all people in the kingdom will die. This is my gift to you, my Prince."

He handed the child back to Maria and vanished. Maria screamed and held her son to her chest. No! Her son could not die, he just couldn't! Howard wrapped his arms around his wife and son, tears in his eyes. The king was aware of the stunned silence in the ballroom, the only sound being Maria's tears. Coulson stepped forward.

"Howard, I think I can help. May I hold Tony?"

Maria hesitantly handed her son over.

"Anthony Stark, I gift you with sleep. You will cut yourself on a screwdriver at eighteen, but instead of dying, you will fall into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by true love's first kiss."

Clint snorted behind him.

"Seriously dude? True love's first kiss?"

Barton, stop talking."

"Yes sir, sorry."

Howard sighed in relief and took his son back into his arms. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than death. He called Nick to his side.

"Nick, from this day on, screwdrivers are illegal in this country. Collect all the screwdrivers and destroy them. We will find way to beat this curse."

"There's one problem."

"What's that Natasha?"

"Stane had no invite to this ball and should have had no knowledge of it. He has a spy, which means he may know what Coulson did."

"So what do we do?"

"There is only one thing to do. We must take Tony away. We will raise him my lord. When he reaches eighteen, we will tell him of his origins and return him to you."

Maria looks Natasha in the eye, looking for deception.

"He will be safe?"

"We swear on our lives."

The Starks turned away, discussing it among themselves. They wanted Tony to be safe, but they wanted to be there for his life. Was there any other way? Finally, they turned back around, tears in their eyes.

"Very well. Keep our son safe and return him to us. If he is harmed in any way, I will remove your wings myself."

Coulson took Tony in his arms and the three prepared to leave.

"We understand Howard. Tony will be safe, do not fear."

With that the three disappeared, leaving behind grieving parents and a shocked population.

Eighteen years later and Coulson regretted his deal. Tony was a handful. He was a genius and had no problems using that to trick his guardians. Even with magic, the fairies always lost to Tony. But this was a special week. Today was Tony's eighteenth birthday. The fairies to prepare him for royal court. But first, they had to prepare his birthday gifts. Coulson called Tony downstairs.

"Tony, I need you to go and collect some berries for dinner tonight."

"What? Why can't Clint do it?"

"Because, I need his help with something in the cottage."

"But Coulson."

"Tony, do it or be confined to the backyard for one month."

"Fine."

The young man took the basket from the man's hand and walked into the forest, shutting the door behind him. Coulson sighed in relief as Tony left. Now they cold get some work done.

"Clint, get the wands. Natasha get the book."

In order to make Tony normal, the fairies had given up magic and did everything the mortal way. He took his wand from Clint and pressed a kiss of thanks to the fairies cheek.

"Ok, Clint, make a cake. Natasha, you make the suit. I'll decorate."

"Um, Phil, are you sure you don't want to do something else?"

"Like what Clint?"

Clint ignored Natasha's smirk and kept talking.

"Well, I never really thought of you as a decorator."

"Well, I'm not making his clothes."

"I know. Maybe, we take care of the cake, clothes and decorations and you can figure out what information to give Tony."

Clint had a point. Coulson wasn't a decorator. Nothing close. He nodded.

"Fine. Remember, his favourite colours are red and gold, but nothing too tacky. I'm trusting you with this, am I clear?"

Natasha and Clint snapped off smart salutes and went to work. Coulson walked upstairs, planning in his head how to start this conversation.

Steve rode his horse through woods, whistling to himself. The twenty three year old prince was in a mood. His father was pressuring him to get married, while his mother was telling him to wait. Whenever Steve pressed her, she changed the topic. Steve wondered if it had something to do with that ball all those years ago. Even though he was very young at the time, Steve remembered some things about the ball. There was a baby, maybe the Stark's heir and someone called Stane? Steve never heard the name Stane again and the Stark's remained childless. If Howard dies, the throne goes to a distant cousin, Justin Hammer. No one likes Justin, but what else could be done? He saw a lake and decided to give his horse(named Captain) some rest. He slid off and led the horse to the lake. He sat down, with his back to a tree and closed his eyes. He could do with some rest too.

"Hey horse, want a berry?"

The words startled Steve from his sleep. He drew his sword from his scabbard and searched for the voice. There was a man standing by Captain, feeding the horse berries. He was smaller than Steve(then again, who wasn't?), with messy brown hair and dark, friendly eyes. He was stroking Captain's nose as he fed him berries. Steve was enjoying the view. Still, he had to get back to the castle soon and for that, he needed his horse. He approached the man.

"Excuse me?"

The man jumped and whirled around to face Steve.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Is this your horse?"

"Yes. His name is Captain."

"He's beautiful."

"Thank you. I'm Steve."

"I'm Tony. It's a pleasure."

"Yes it is. Have we ever met before?"

Tony's eyebrows rose, as Steve fumbled. Where had that come from?

"Um, no, I don't think so?"

"Must be me then. Oh, my. It seems Captain has eaten most of your berries."

"Oh no! Coulson will kill me."

"I can help you gather more. Two sets of hands are better than one."

"Thank you. That would be great."

The men walked through the forest, Steve leading Captain, collecting the berries. They talked and laughed together, enjoying the closeness. After a few hours, they reached a crossroads. One path led to the forest entrance, the other to Tony's home. Tony stopped and turned to face his path.

"This is where we part. The left road leads to the entrance of the forest."

"Where does the other one go?"

"This leads to my home. Steve, I had a good time today."

"So did I Tony. Maybe, we could do it again? Tomorrow, at midday?"

"Steve, I... I'd love that."

"Cool, midday tomorrow?"

"Sounds great."

With a blush on his cheeks, Tony waved goodbye and headed home. Steve waved back and climbed onto his horse, trotting toward his home. Tony was an amazing. He was intelligent, well spoken and extremely handsome. If only he was royalty he and Steve might have a future together.

Tony opened the door to the cottage and the basket was taken out of his hands by Natasha, who told him to go into the dining room.

"Sure. Oh Natasha, I met the most amazing guy in the forest. His name is Steve and he's tall and strong with blue eyes and blond hair. He's really sweet and funny. Tash, he's perfect."

"Sounds nice. Now get into the dining room."

"Aye aye ma'am."

He walked into the dining room and laughed as he saw Clint and Coulson battling with decorations. He heard Natasha's gasp behind him.

"You are supposed to have this place decorated!"

"We're sorry Tash, but Phil got into his booklet, even though it's more like a freaking novel, and I offered my help, which he accepted. By the time we got finished, we had to rush the decorations."

"Is that why there's so few of them?"

"Yes Tony. But the decorations aren't important."

"Of course they are Phil. But not as important as my presents?"

Clint handed Tony his present. Tony ripped the paper off and threw the lid across the room.

"Clint! It's gorgeous."

Clint had given him a black suit , with a red silk shirt and gold silk tie, which hugged Tony's body. Natasha had given him a dagger, small enough to be hidden anywhere on his body. Coulson had given him a book.

"Wow, Coulson. A book, thanks."

"Tony, that is not just a book. Sit down child. We have a lot to tell you."

Tony frowned as he saw the serious look on his guardian's faces. Whatever they wanted to talk about, it was important.

Tony was still in shock. He was walking around the castle(an actual castle!) of the Stark family. Apparently he was the Stark heir and future king. Coulson, Clint and Natasha were fairies(Tony had laughed for ten minutes when he saw the wings and wands) and had sworn to protect Tony from an evil fairy. They could only reveal the truth and return him home on the day of his eighteenth birthday. Why was Tony's life so weird? When they walked into the throne room, he was hugged by the sobbing royal couple, who backed up the fairies story. But the worst part was that tomorrow, the royal family were holding an official celebration for Tony's return. Which meant that he wouldn't be able to meet Steve in the woods. He looked around himself. And now he was lost. Could this day get any worse? He decided to ask the servant how to get back to his room.

"Excuse me, can you tell me how to get back to the royal apartments?"

The boy jumped, startled.

"My prince! Can I tell you how wonderful it is to have you back?"

"Thank you. So, the royal apartments?"

"Oh well, I would, but I need to finish here first."

"Can I help?"

"Please. Take this screwdriver and unscrew this."

"Sure."

Tony knelt beside the man and took the screwdriver. As he took it from the servant's hand, he cut the edge of his finger. It stung. He put his finger into his mouth and sucked, hoping to stop the pain. As he did, he started to feel tired and weak.

"What...what's happening to me?"

"Poor, trusting fool of a boy. Did no one warn you about me? Obadiah Stane, the greatest of the fairies, banished by your pathetic family! But, now I will have my revenge. By the time your one true love arrives, it will be too late. Your kingdom will be in ruins and I will have control over all other kingdoms, as the strongest kingdom sleeps for all eternity."

Tony wasn't certain, but as he vision turned to black, the young servant boy turned into an old man, with no hair and a silver beard. But that was crazy, right?

Within 24 hours, all the people of the Stark kingdom were deep in slumber. A forest of thorns grew outside the castle, preventing any mortal from entering. Inside, the three fairies searched through the castle for Tony. Clint was getting very annoyed.

"Where could he be?"

"Patience Clint. We're almost at the top of the castle, maybe he's there."

When they reached the top, they saw Tony lying unconscious on the ground. With a wave of Coulson's wand, Tony lay on his bed in his chambers, in the suit Natasha made for him. Clint dropped onto the ground and sighed wearily. Before he could speak, the three felt a tug on their navels and they were pulled outside.

"What the hell?"

"Clint calm down."

"No, Natasha. What was that? Phil?"

"My guess is that Stane put some protective spell on the castle. When we used our magic, we activated it."

"Terrific. So, now what? We need his one true love, but do we even know who his one true love is?"

With a gasp, Natasha was gone, leaving two stunned fairies behind her.

"Phil, where'd she go?"

"Clint, I stopped trying to understand Natasha a long time ago. And stop saying one true love like that."

"I don't know what you mean."

Phil glared at Clint, who grinned back unapologetic. Natasha reappeared, with Steve Rogers by her side.

"Natasha, did you just abduct the prince?"

"No. Look, Tony told me about a great guy he met and he described Steve. He knew him for a couple of hours and he was completely gone. Steve is his one true love!"

"Okay, but how is he going to get through the thorns?"

"Natasha made sure I bring my sword."

He pulled out his sword and hacked at the thorns. As one branch disappeared, two more appeared to take their place. Steve soon had to give up.

"It's useless. More are showing up. I'll never get through it."

The fairies turned their backs to Steve and talked among themselves. Clint turned around with a grin on his face.

"Don't worry Stevie. We got this. Stand back."

Steve moved to what he thought was a safe distance and the fairies raised their wands. The muttered some spell and waved their wands. Steve was slightly disappointed that there were no sparkles. When he turned around, the thorns were...still there.

"You did nothing. They're still there."

"We stopped them multiplying. Now when you cut one down, none will replace it. It might take you a while to get through, but you'll actually get through now."

Steve took a deep breath and started hacking at the thorns again. Thirty minutes later, he finally reached the doors to the castle. He collapsed in the entrance hall. Coulson knelt down beside him.

"Hey Steve, you alright?"

"Yeah, just need...to...catch my...breath."

With a wave of Natasha's wand a glass of water appeared in Steve's hand. He gulped it down.

"Now where to?"

"Tony's bedroom."

"Which is?"

"At the top of the tower."

Muttering under his breath, Steve pulled himself up and headed for the stairs. God, there were so many of them.

"Coulson, can we do anything about these stairs?"

"You can climb them."

Steve turned big, blue puppy eyes on the fairies. Coulson was the first to break(just like when Clint gave him his come hither glance).

"I suppose we can use our magic."

He waved his wand and they were in Tony's room. Clint hugged Coulson and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You're amazing. Isn't he Steve? Steve?"

Steve was staring at the figure on the bed. Coulson grabbed Clint and Natasha and they disappeared, giving the couple their privacy.

"True loves first kiss huh? God Tony, I hope this works."

He leaned over Tony and pressed a kiss to his lips. When there was no reaction, he tried again. This time Tony's arms came up to wrap around his shoulders. Steve pulled back and smiled as Tony's eyes opened.

"Hey, it's about time you woke up."

"Steve, what happened? All I remember is cutting myself on a screwdriver."

"It's a long story. I'm sure your parents and the fairies will explain it to you. Do you need help getting downstairs?"

"From you? Sure."

Steve lifted Tony into his arms, fittingly in a bridal style. Tony laughed and wrapped his arms around Steve's neck.

"You know Steve, this could be something beautiful."

"I think it will be."

Tony and Steve were married the next month. All the royal families were there. Tony was delighted to finally meet some new people, especially Thor's husband, Loki, who was pregnant with their second child. The two could be found on the edge of the ballroom, discussing pregnancy, child rearing and what was expected of Royal Consorts. Steve finally came to receive his husband and have their first dance. Tony relaxed into his husband's arms. His life was weird, but he loved it. He was happy with what he had.

One year later and he was even happier. Tony had given birth to their first child. A boy they called Jarvis. Steve sat at his side as they looked at their son. The Starks and Rogers were waiting outside to see their grandson. They let the princes have their family moment first. The fairies were preparing Jarvis' nursery using magic(it was a very useful thing, magic).

"He's perfect Tony."

"He is, isn't he?"

Tony was truly happy. Not even Stane could wreck this for him. He melted back into his husband's touch as Steve started to rub his back. He wondered if the fairies would be godparents? He had the perfect husband, perfect child and the perfect family. He had the life people dreamed of. And of course,

They all lived Happily Ever After.

A/N First fic for this pairing. Tell me how it was. This took three weeks, with real life taking over and livejournal being moody. R&R please.