Steve rubbed at his aching shoulders, rolling them to try and stretch the muscles and get rid of the knots. He'd had to work through the night at SHIELD and he knew from his experience that he was definitely not meant for desk work, or at least that's what his stiff muscles were telling him. Lucky for him, the serum would fix most of his troubles; though it wouldn't change the fact that he was just plain exhausted and wanted to go home. All he wanted to do was open the door and see Tony's face with his mischievous smirk. He wanted to be held in those arms and fall asleep surrounded by them.

And when he finally arrived at home and opened the front door, he found no one waiting for him. That's strange, he thought to himself worriedly, Tony always waits up for me. He set his bag down by the door before heading to the Living Room to investigate Tony's absence.

He was nearly knocked off his feet as a young girl came stomping out of the room in front of him and ran down the hall. "You are such a jerk! I fucking hate you, leave me alone!"

Steve stopped and looked around with confusion. Who was that?

"Hel, darling, you know he didn't mean it. He's just a prick sometimes, you know that. Come on…" Tony's voice spawned from nearby. He spotted him shuffling out of the Living Room looking both amused and annoyed, his clothes as askew as his hair. One thing was for sure, he looked as tired as Steve felt.

When his path was blocked, Tony noticed Steve and jumped back a little "Oh, hey there, big guy! 'Didn't know you were home. I would've been waiting but Fenrir and Hel have been fighting nonstop since they got here, and Sleipnir, oh don't even get me started on that boy—"

"Hel? Fenrir? Sleipnir? Why do those names sound so familiar…" And then it clicked. Steve narrowed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest, taking on an 'I demand answers, no if's and's or but's' posture. "Tony…Why are Loki's demigod children in our house?"

For a second, Tony looked nervous, casting his gaze to the wall and nibbling on his bottom lip. "Um, I may or may not have told Loki that I'd babysit for him? I mean, I didn't see the issue, except Fenrir and Hel refuse to get along and sooner or later Sleipnir is going to tear our house up. At least Jörmungandr has been an angel. He's been sleeping on the couch through all of this. Though, Loki said that when Thor comes to pick them up later, he'll apparently throw a huge fit because he hates his Uncle Thor, and—"

"Tony, enough," Steve cut him off abruptly. He was too worn out to keep a stern façade and without his consent, his shoulders began to slump and his arms fell to his sides. "Look, it's great that you offered to help him out, I guess, but this is our home. You didn't even ask me or run the idea by me. And being frank, I'm tired, I'm cranky, and I came home with the intention of curling up with my husband and getting a goodnight's sleep."

Tony's expression softened immediately and he took a tentative step forward, gently cupping Steve's cheek with his hand and running his thumb down the line of his jaw. "I…didn't think of that. I'm sorry. You really do look exhausted, and that's not a look I see on you very often. If it helps, I've been watching these kids for almost a day and Thor should be here any time now to pick them up."

The blond leaned into his touch, closing his eyes and focusing on the sound of his voice. It was soothing on his ears, better than the sharp silence in a SHIELD office. "Alright, well we'll make sure these kids get home, then we go to bed. And you're coming with me, no excuses."

That got a chuckle out of Tony. "I wish I had the energy left to stay up and work after this, but Fenrir stole the rest of my energy within the first hour of him being here."

They were both silent for a moment, and just as Steve opened his mouth to speak, there came a knock at the door.

"Well, I guess he's here already. Kids, your Uncle Thor is here!" Tony called loudly, and Steve smirked at the lack of effort he made to rally the children to the front door.

"NO! NO WAY! I'M NOT GOING WITH HIM! AHHH!" Screaming came from the room behind Tony, and the man flinched as it was accompanied by a loud crash.

Tony peaked into the room in time to see Jörmungandr red-faced and pulling at his hair, stomping on pieces of what looked to be a broken lamp.

"Ah, shit. That was my favorite lamp…"