Tony assumed this Peter situation would be a group problem and everyone would contribute to solving it.
Boy, was he wrong.
The second the Avengers hit the Tower, each dispersed into their respected room with the promises of taking a short nap. Fortunately, Clint (the only person on the team with experience in this... field) had told Tony if anything went wrong to wake him up, but other than that, Tony was alone.
Well, not quite alone.
The man glanced at the baby he'd placed on the floor not too long ago, the child occupying himself with the rug's tassels and screaming in delight when he dropped them back onto the ground. The table next to the infant was tall enough that the baby could get underneath it if need be, but also should be high enough that the boy wouldn't cause mischief and knock any valuables over; such as the remotes, glass figure, fruit bowl Stark doesn't actually use, etc. His tears that had stained his chubby cheeks were long dried and Peter's shirt, that was now huge on the small baby, poured off the child's shoulders and moved with every jerked tug at the carpet.
Tony pinched his nose.
This wasn't what he signed up for. Now he'd have to go out and get baby supplies- diapers? Bottles? Baby clothes? Peter was still Tony's responsibility for another three weeks, baby or not- and hand-feed the kid, burp him too, and then put him to sleep. He wasn't sure how old Peter was, but he was guessing around six to eight months. The boy could sit up straight and was having a hell of a time pulling on the thick piece of cotton underneath him, so that meant he couldn't be that young.
Turning around, Stark dialed Pepper's phone number and frustratedly tapped his foot as the phone rang. His wife had been away to Washington, D.C. for a business obligation- called in by Rhodes- and seeing as Tony had just gotten back from a conference in San Diego, Pepper offered to go in his place. God, did he really wish she was here now.
"Hey, Tony, is something wrong?"
"You know, funny story-"
"If nothing's urgent, I'm gonna have to call you back, okay? I'm a little busy."
"No, I know, it's just that-"
"I'm sorry, Tony, but an important call just came in. I'll call you right back. I love you!"
"Wai-"
The phone line disconnected before he could even realize what was going on and he let out a defeated breath before he turned back to the baby who laughed lazily on the ground.
Squatting down, Tony looked at the child as Peter reached his arms out and blabbered noises. "I told you not to come."
"Ah baan gada."
"No, no, don't pull that crap with me, kid." He sat down and crossed his arms as the baby giggled, "Look what you've done. None of this would've happened if you just stayed at the Tower."
"Kaad gool ba." He grumbled in response and just as Tony was going to continue, Peter slapped his arms against the rug and furrowed his eyebrows determinedly, "Aag bo ganma!"
"Hey!" Tony scolded, "Watch your tone, little man." The child let out a snort of disagreement which caused Tony to raise his eyebrows in disbelief, "Don't you pull an attitude with me, Mister, I've stuck my neck out on the line for you to-" The man motioned towards the small body in front of him, "to pull stunts like this!"
The baby didn't respond but only turned his attention back to the rug, one hand stuck in his mouth as he slobbered over his fingers. It wasn't like Tony cared (because the billionaire playboy most definitely didn't care for why the child was so intrigued with a rug), but he couldn't understand the baby's obsession with the fabric underneath him and scooted closer to see what Peter was so intently working on.
The boy glanced up, grinned slightly, looked back down at the carpet which he pulled the shag out of before he laughed and tumbled into Stark's outer leg. He sat up and reached his arms up to Tony's neck, rocking his body upwards as if pushing himself closer to his desired location.
"What do you want, me to hold you? Oh, oh no. No way." He scooted backward which caused the baby to crack open another smile and slowly maneuver his baby-deer like limbs so his knees were against the ground along with his palms, "Now you crawl? What, are you upgrading?"
Stark stood as the baby slowly made his way towards the man's shoes, the child then lifting himself on his knees and leaning against Tony's legs for support as he reached for him once more. The infant ended up ultimately losing its balance though and fell backward from his kneeling position onto his ass. The billionaire cringed, waiting for a high-pitched cry or howl of pain, but instead, the kid tumbled into his crawling stance again and headed off back towards the carpet and table.
He was about to throw himself into another argument with an eight-month baby before his phone buzzed in his pants and he picked it up.
"Stark."
"Hey, Tony. I wasn't expecting your call; it came at a pretty inconvenient time. Is everything alright?" Pepper asked in a hushed tone when she finally answered.
"Yeah, why are you quiet? Are you okay? Who were you talking to?"
"Oh, yeah, don't worry, a potential business partner. There's a lot-" A huge crash behind her followed by echoing voices, "A lot's happening right now."
Worry straightened Stark's back as his muscles tensed ever so slightly, "Are you sure everything's okay? Is Rhodey with you? And you know I don't want a business partner, you saw how that ended last time."
"Mhm, I know. I think he'll benefit us, temporarily at least, and then we can work from there. It's good to keep options open." Another crash went off from behind her before her voice muffled the ruckus, "So, you called, what's up? I'm a little busy at the moment, you know talking with high officials and all." Her voice flirted along the line of impatience.
"Right, sorry, um," He fought urges to ask if she was positive she was safe and continued, "we do have a bit of an issue at the Towe-"
A loud shattering noise stopped Tony in his sentence, not from her end but his instead.
The startling noise caught his attention and a soon following high wail caused Tony to spin around in alarm. Now laying on his back next to a broken glass figure the billionaire had picked up from Italy, Peter screamed in horror as a small incision on his aimlessly waving arm began to drip of red. Those tears that had dried a few hours ago were now back, wetting his small cheeks as his eyebrows furrowed together in pain and his small fingers curled into fists.
"Shit," Was all he could mutter into the phone before he was at Peter's side trying to figure out where to put his hands to grab the flailing child.
Pepper excused herself from whatever she was in and stepped away before confusion laced into her voice, "What is tha- is that a baby? Tony? Tony, are you there? What's happening?"
"What do I do?" He asked anxiously, dismissing all other questions.
"What are you doing? Tony, what's going on. Why is there a baby?"
"It's a long story, but-"
"Long story?" Pepper growled, and before Tony could stop what he realized she must've assumed acknowledging his long past as a playboy, she began, "Is that baby yours? Is there a woman in our house? Anthony Stark, you'd better start talking before I fly myself up to New York and be-"
"It's Peter!" He cut off quickly, "It's Peter, he was turned into an infant and cut himself and now is crying hysterically and I don't know what to do." Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "I'll call you back." And hung up, much to Pepper's dismay.
"Hey, Pete. Shh, shh, don't do that. I, um, don't-" He maneuvered his hands around the screaming baby as the boy wiggled on the ground furiously drool glistening against his doubled chin as his locks of hair grew even more tousled against the floor.
Eventually assuming nothing more could go wrong, Tony reached for the child quickly and in a matter of what he could only define as luck, his large- or at least compared to the baby's- hands cupped the sides of Peter's body and hoisted the child up. The boy, unlike he had with Natasha, continued to bawl his eyes out as his fingers pushed against the arms that held him a good foot away from their owner.
Tony tried awkwardly bouncing Peter in the air a little which only seemed to irritate the child more as he grew louder and his vocal cords began to strain. Finding no other option, the man brought the light baby into his chest and bobbed up and down slightly as he whispered soft words over and over until the infant had grown quiet.
The baby seemed too small for Tony's too broad shoulders and too big hands. One hand scooped under Peter to keep him against Stark as the other rested on his back, the baby's face sitting on the billionaire's shoulder. He still whimpered and Tony could feel the baby tilt his head into the crook of his neck, his wet face dampening the side he hid in as a few wayward tears dripped onto Tony's collarbone and trickled downwards until they met the cloth of his shirt.
"There you go," Tony whispered as Peter grew silent, his tiny arm reaching to the other side of the man's neck to hoist his head a bit closer to his mentor. The fuzz of his head brushed against Tony's ear and the billionaire would be lying if he'd said he wasn't nervous holding something so... so tiny. Fragile.
Feeling slightly dizzy with the sudden responsibility, he sought comfort against one of the large sofas in one of the many living rooms as he sat down, the child still taking in ragged breaths from his recent meltdown. "There you go," Tony repeated quietly as Peter let out a strangled noise from his throat and it hushed the child right back up again.
oOoOoOoOo
He wasn't sure when he woke up, but when he did, he realized he had fallen asleep with Peter resting on his chest, the baby's faint breaths against his ear soft and quiet. His small chest expanded with every inhale which Tony could feel on his shoulder, and his small frame deflated with every exhale. A tiny snore kept the fingers Stark had kept on the infant's back vibrating as the man's hazy attention drifted from the breaths to his really warm, shaking hand.
When did this happen... what time is it?
Tony only let out a groan in response to his question, his head tilting back against the couch as the baby rustled a bit on his shoulder. His face was still planted against his mentor's neck, but for some odd reason, Stark didn't seem to care all that much. The child was contempt, quiet, sleeping... and God only knew how much sleep the billionaire desperately needed.
His eyes blinked open. When did they close? He grumbled, his free hand lifted to rub his eyes, him making a conscious effort to avoid disrupting the sleeping baby before it dropped back onto his lap and he let out another exhaustion moan.
"Friday," He yawned slightly, "how long have I been sleeping?"
"You're four minutes from hitting three hours, Sir. Would you like me to add my personal, medical recommendation?"
He chuckled tiredly, "Sure."
"You're severely sleep deprived, Sir. I do think it is in the most interest of you to get a few more hours of sleep."
Nodding, Tony waved the Al off. "No, no... I'm.." He yawned, "I'm... fine.."
His eyes closed, a warm, welcoming darkness encasing his being for the second time.
oOoOoOoOo
"Awe, look how cute." A voice cooed.
Tony let out an inaudible noise to the aggravating sound that was gripping his feet and dragging him out of unconsciousness. In his ear he heard a heavy breathing, short raspy inhales and squeaky giggles.
What in the hell...
He tore his eyelids open in frustration and groaned in dismay at the silhouettes standing in front of him. He squinted at the new light until his eyes adjusted; Natasha, Steve, and Thor. Stark's eyes craned down as his chin dipped to take a look at the baby still against his arm, but now awake. The child was playing with his hair, laughing hysterically as the locks bounced and jiggled. He didn't pull, which the man was thankful for, but the boy did drop his attention to the billionaire's ear and he began tapping the lobe.
"Hey, enough of that," Tony grumbled, grabbing the child and hoisting him in the air, suspended over his chest. Glancing at the Avengers, he scoffed, "What?"
"I just never struck you as someone with such maternal instincts is all," Natasha shrugged, a mischevious smirk playing at her lips.
"Ha, ha, this was just... an accident. He's- hey!" The Avengers began laughing as the baby in his grip began squirming and whining, his bottom lip pouting out as his eyebrows pushed upwards, "Don't- Don't you give me that face, you're going to make me drop you."
"Here," Thor took a step forward, "I'll take the small being from you. You need sleep."
Tony was already turning the god down before he realized what was coming out of his mouth. Startled not only by his response but by his reluctance for handing the infant over, Stark covered up quickly, "I need to begin running tests. Who knows if this spell is something that solidifies within a certain amount of time? It was... it was stupid of me to fall asleep like that; I can't risk any more time."
"Tony, are you alright? You're seeming pale," Steve piped in, the grin slowly disappearing.
"Yeah, no, yeah, I'll be fine. I just..." Anxiety built within his chest, from what exactly, he wasn't sure. The baby he forgot he was holding in the air began yelling in discomfort and frustration, his face twisted to show his disagreement to the position as his just-recent heavy breaths of curiosity turned into that of post meltdowns. "No, no, no, shh, hey, don't- don't cry." The man was soon pleading, holding the boy to his chest, trying desperately to avoid a breakdown.
Stress and anxiousness clenched in his chest and he took the baby and shoved it (not as aggressively as you may be picturing) into Steve's arms, "Just- make sure nothing h-happens to him."
And with that, Tony was out of sight; undoubtedly racing down to his workshop to breathe and compose. He wasn't sure what caused the panic attack, whether it is the sudden amount of company or the inability to explain his actions and why he felt so... so... obligated, is almost the right word, to hold onto Peter. To make sure he stayed safe.
Maybe it was because he was genuinely concerned if the spell was permanent and he had just wasted the few hours left to reverse the spell. Maybe it was because of sleep deprivation and an unstable mental state. Was it because he promised May?
Yeah, He breathed softly as he chose to settle with the last thought, yeah, that makes sense.
