Tony landed on the ground next to Natasha and Clint. Taking his helmet off, he blinked through the sweat dripping into his eyes despite the cooling system in his suit. It was a record-breaking hot day in New York City and everyone was melting in the heat. The threat had been neutralized and bad guys dealt with. He was ready to go home.
"Where's Cap?"
"Talking with some local law enforcement, I think" Nat said, gesturing to a group of people down the street a ways.
"Ok, I'll go see what's keeping him. I think you guys are probably good to go."
The pair nodded at him, glad to be able to head back and wash off the sweat and grime they were caked in.
"Hey" Tony called, approaching Steve and the group of officers around him. "Can we – whoa." He cut short, seeing a little girl with her arms wrapped around Steve's neck, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Uh, Cap, you've got a little…something on you" he said, gesturing to the kid.
"Yeah, I know Tony" Steve said, rolling his eyes. "I found her by herself and we can't locate a guardian. They must have gotten separated and if her adult was someone injured and sent to the hospital, we've got to figure out what do with her in the meantime."
"Aren't there people who do that sort of thing?" Tony asked, watching the kid with disinterest. "I mean, babysitting isn't really in our job description."
"Well, the police here said that they would have to call social services, who would then find a foster family to watch over her until her guardian could be located."
"Perfect, let's go then" Tony said with a nod. "Hand her over."
"Or –" Steve continued, giving Tony a look, "I said that we could keep an eye on her." Tony opened his mouth to speak, but Steve cut him off before he could even start. "Look, she's already attached. And she has to be scared and doesn't need to be passed off to another stranger."
Tony opened and closed his mouth, finding himself unusually speechless. It was such a terrible idea, he didn't couldn't even begin listing all the ways.
Steve turned back to the officers who discussed it among themselves.
"Well, someone from social services would still have to stop by, check on her and make sure that everything is going smoothly. Of course if you change your mind or have any questions, you can contact them at this number first" one of the officers said, handing Steve a card.
"Great" he said with a smile, "we better get her home than. Thank you for your help" he said, shaking everyone's hand before turning back to Tony. "Now we can go."
"B-but –"
"We'll meet you at home."
Tony made it back first and was coming out of the shower, thankfully wrapped in a towel, when Steve and their new houseguest arrived. Steve had the girl in one arm and a couple bags of what Tony assumed were supplies.
"Oh great, you're already showered. After you get dressed, could you watch her while I hop in real quick?" Steve asked, unpacking kid stuff all over the kitchen island.
"Steve" Tony said, a hint of desperation in his voice, "I don't know anything about babies…or kids. How old is it anyway?"
"She is probably around two" Steve guessed. "She hasn't said anything, but I don't know if she doesn't talk or if it's just because of everything that's been going on."
Tony just stared wide-eyed at the two of them, wishing he were anywhere else. Kids freaked him out.
"You'll be ok" Steve said, seeing the look on his face. "It's not hard. We just feed her, play with her, make sure she doesn't get hurt. Simple enough."
"Uh huh." He wasn't buying it.
"Ok go, get dressed and I'll get some food ready for her. Then you can feed her while I shower."
Tony headed off to their room to get dressed, dragging his feet a bit, hoping Steve would get some food in her before he got back. Alas, when he reappeared in the kitchen, the food was still packaged and lying on the counter. He stood back watching Steve spin the little girl around, earning himself a small smile. As much as he disliked kids, it did warm his heart to see Steve so good with them.
"Oh good, you're back. I've got some applesauce and Cheerios here for her, there are hot dogs in the fridge, but if you make her one, you have to make sure you cut the pieces up small enough so she doesn't choke."
"How do you know all this?" Tony asked, still standing back warily.
Steve just sighed, walking over and plopping the girl in Tony's arms. He stood stiffly, unsure of what to do. Pushing them gently towards the table, Steve made sure Tony sat her safely on a chair and placed the food and a spoon on the table in front of them.
"I used to watch some kids in the neighborhood growing up. And who doesn't love kids?" he said, patting the girl on the head with a bright smile. "They're so cute."
"Yeah, so cute" Tony mumbled, tearing open the cup of applesauce. "Ok kid, uh, open up?"
Steve left the room leaving them alone. Dropping some Cheerios onto the table in front of her, Tony sat back, giving her a closer look. She was cute, he supposed. Her hair was pretty long, for a kid, just touching her shoulder. It was dark brown with a slight curl to it and emphasized her big blue eyes. She looked as unsure about the situation as he felt, which did make him feel a certain kinship with her. It wasn't like she had asked to be there either.
"So what are we supposed to call you?" he mused, watching her reach out hesitantly for a few pieces of the cereal, grabbing them with her chubby fingers. "You aren't going to tell us your name, huh?"
She just stared at him, munching away. Grabbing a few Cheerios for himself, Tony popped them in his mouth. Chewing them he made a face, surprised by the quiet giggle it elicited. Trying it again, he made another face, earning himself another laugh. Just then Steve walked out, beaming at the scene in front of him.
"See? You're a natural."
"I don't know about that. But she's still alive and eating, so that's something."
Tony was going to say something else, but was stopped by a whiff of something unpleasant. "Uh, please tell me she wears diapers. Otherwise you're cleaning off the chair."
Tony was pleased that at least this got a uneasy look from Steve. Coming up behind her, he pulled the back of her pants away just enough to peek inside, a look of relief crossing his face.
"I'll take that as a yes?"
"Yeah. Still means we have to change it though."
"I think you mean you have to change it."
Steve just sighed, picking her up and grabbing one of the bags off the counter. "C'mon sweetie, we'll get you cleaned up. Maybe you should get a bath while we're at it. You're not quite as dirty as we were, but you're pretty close." He turned back to Tony, "You want to help?"
"Want is a strong word" he grumbled, "but alright, fine."
They walked into the bathroom where Tony busied himself filling the tub up to an acceptable level while Steve dealt with the much more unpleasant task of cleaning off the little girl before she could get in the tub.
"Do we have any toys or something for her to play with in there?" Steve asked.
"Why would we?"
"I don't know, you have all kinds of stuff."
"Not that kind of stuff. What do kids play with?"
"You were a kid at one point, weren't you?"
"I'll go find something" Tony huffed, going back to the kitchen. The best he could come up with were some small plastic bowls that had been sitting in a cupboard forever.
"How about these?" he asked, holding them out to Steve who was kneeling next to the tub, watching the kid splash around in some bubbles.
"Yeah, those'll work" he said happily, taking them and showing her how to fill them up and dump them out. She played in the tub for 10 minutes before Steve decided to wash her up, carefully soaping up her hair and rinsing it with the plastic bowls. Tony watched, marveling at how gentle he was and how natural it seemed to come to him.
As he picked her up out of the tub, Tony held open a towel, wrapping her in a securely. She yawned, rubbing her eyes with her tiny little fists and Tony realized that it was getting pretty late. It was probably close to her bedtime and he had no idea where she was going to sleep.
"Steve?"
"Yeah?" he answered, taking some tiny pink pajamas out of the same bag as the diapers and wipes. He held out his arms to take her back, carrying her into the bedroom to lie her down on the bed and get her dressed.
"Where's she going to sleep? Doesn't she need a crib or something?"
"Probably, yeah" he said, zipping up her footed pj's. "But we'll just have to make do."
"With what, the bed?"
"I don't think so" Steve said, thinking it over. "We don't want her to roll off. Maybe on the floor with one of us? So if she gets up and tries to wander off, we'd wake up?"
"I guess that sounds reasonable. I can get some blankets and set up a little bed for her."
"Great, thanks." Steve found a brush and startled untangling her curls, squeezing out the little bit of water that was left in her hair. Together they watched Tony come back in with an armful of blankets and unfold them carefully, creating a cozy little spot for her on the floor. Dragging the comforter off the bed, he folded it up to make a bed for Steve, tossing his pillow down on top of it.
"Guess I'm on the floor then?" Steve asked innocently, trying to look surprised.
"Like there was ever any doubt" Tony shot back, rolling his eyes. "So you're going to bed now? It's like, 8 o'clock."
"I don't think we can just lay her down and expect her to know this is her bed now. So maybe if I lay with her, she'll get the idea. You can go do whatever, you don't have to stay."
"I'll stay if you want me too" Tony offered, trying not to notice how sweet the two looked, curling up on their little beds together, the kid nestled up against Steve's chest. Her eyelids were beginning to droop; she had to be tired after such a stressful day.
"It's up to you. I'd never pass up having you with me though" Steve said quietly, glancing down to see if she was still awake. She was, but just barely, and as Tony squeezed in behind Steve, they scooted over to give him some more room. Tony threw his arm around Steve, giving him a squeeze.
"You make a great dad" he whispered.
"You would too" Steve whispered back. He heard Tony snort quietly behind him. "You would, you just have to get over your fear of kids."
"Yeah well, we'll see" Tony said, the idea not seeming as awful as it had at the beginning of the day. "Maybe someday."