A/N: The past two chapters were a trip, weren't they? Well, here we've got some comfort going on, and, one of the most sappiest scenes in this story. Diabetes inducing, tooth rotting, sweetness. I am not paying for the medical bills that you'll all incur because it was so sweet.
On a side note, I've finished a rough outline for the rest of this story. Good news, Bad news. This story is probably at least half way done now, but there's going to be a part three. I fully intend on following Peter into his adventures as Spider-Man, because how is Tony Stark going to handle a teenager, a teenage superhero no less?!
You're all amazing, and I love you! Enjoy the chapter!
Unbeta'd, and Marvel owns more of this than I do. Also, all music/movies/tv shows belongs to those that wrote/performed/produced/etc them. I use them for humor and good times.
Also, if you go to my Tubmlr page (megaranoelle. tumblr. com) you can catch some behinds the scene stuff about the fic. No spoilers, promise. Maybe you can influence the story.
It wasn't until the back of the quinjet was up, and they were in the air, did the little girl tucked in Tony's arms started making noise. She had started to wiggled, unhappy sounds coming from her mouth, arms pushing up. Tony tried to sooth her, but he was kind of out of his league on how to deal with an unhappy baby. Tony was still arc reactor free, and a relative asshole, when Peter was this age, and he only saw him a few times a month.
Steve was sitting next to him, leaning over a bit, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. He was still in shock at the fact that Tony had emerged with a baby from that place. Once Bruce had found Tony's signal they had been moving. Bucky was somehow already on the jet waiting for them, and told Steve that he was going to destroy everything inside of the facility. When Steve offered to wait for him he declined. He'd make his own back to the States.
Clint and Natasha were up front, and Bruce was secluded to the side, his headphones on, trying to unwind from a Code Green. Steve and Tony were on their own with the unhappy baby. Tony glanced at his sight-for-sore-eyes boyfriend and made a decision. "Let me try something."
Steve looked at him, cowl off and by the shield, and raised an eyebrow. Tony shifted on his seat, moving closer to Steve. His elbow bumped up Steve's then suddenly he was sliding the baby into his arms, hovering below, and watching as Steve practically curled around the baby to make she he didn't drop her. His eyes were wide as he looked at Tony. Tony vaguely thought that this was how Mary felt when she did the same to Tony so many years ago. It had been fun.
As Tony adjusted Steve's arms to properly hold the girl, she almost immediately stopped. Tony hummed under his breath, watching them. He was struck by how good Steve looked with a baby in his arms. He was looking back down at her, a sense of awe in his expression, like he couldn't believe that something as precious as this life existed in the world. It was soft and open, and Tony couldn't help but think a little vulnerable.
"She was being held by Hydra?" Steve had whispered his question.
Tony rubbed the back of his head, wincing a little. "Well, kind of." He took a breath. "There's really going to be no easy way to say or explain this." Steve glanced up at him. More than anything he just wanted to grab Steve and start kissing him, wrap him up, get back to the Tower, and never let him out of his sight again. He wanted to forget about Hydra, about the visions that he saw, and what he was forced to make.
"Remember when Bruce and I said that AIM had been working on cloning?" Steve nodded at Tony's question. "Good, that makes this a hell of a lot easier. Steve, that's your little baby clone." Steve stared at him in silence, barely blinking.
"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I'm following you?"
"I'm sorry, that was awful. I'm so tired that it's making me more a dick than usual." Tony waved his hands a bit. "They had some of your DNA, from the blood from that one fight, with the animals. And, I can't be sure, but they tried a lot of tests with that... And she's the one that came out on the other side." Tony rubbed his hands together. "They tried to clone you, I guess? And,..." He trailed off as Steve looked back down at the baby.
"They-" Steve stopped. They what? They tried to remake him? They created life? How did any of that sound good? When the truth was that they had tried to make another Super Soldier, and they were going to use an innocent life for experiments. As he looked down at her though, the bright blue eyes, blonde hair, strong jaw line, he couldn't deny that she looked like him. In that moment, Steve knew what he was going to do. "She's mine."
Tony watched him carefully. He saw the moment that Steve fell in love with the baby, saw it in his eyes, saw in his stance, even seated. "Yeah, Cap," he said quietly. "If you want to do this," he added, and Steve looked back up at him, a small wrinkle between his brows. "I'm just, giving you all the options, even the unpopular ones. You know what it's like to help with six year old, how to handle that. But, a six month old, that's all different."
Steve shook his head, holding her a little closer. "I don't think it'd be right, giving her up." Tony tilted his head a little, and something just clicked. The look that Steve had, that was the look that he had captured from Tony in some of his drawings with Peter. He let out a breath and slumped back into his seat a bit more. No wonder Steve liked to draw him when he was with Peter all the time, that look was enough to knock Tony off his feet.
"You'll have to think of a name," Tony said quietly after a few moments. "We'll, ah, get a room put together, too, at least pick up a crib on the way, she'll need somewhere to sleep."
"There's already an extra crib at the Tower," Steve said. "Two of them, but we only has to use one at the moment." Tony's brow furrowed in confusion. Steve looked up at him when he didn't say anything. "For Conor and Rowan."
Tony felt like someone had punched him in the gut again, all the air rushing out of his lungs. How could he have forgotten? His body didn't want to follow what his brain was screaming, saying that he need to get more air into his body. Voices were saying something, but it was all fuzzy, like he was underwater. He slipped from seat, but suddenly Natasha was in front of him, hands on his cheeks, and her mouth was moving, but he couldn't make out her words.
He should have done more, he should have saved her. He orphaned two newborns, and of course they would be at the Tower, Steve would want to take them in, it was his friend. Tony didn't get the right to say that he might have been her friend, not anymore. And here he was, telling Steve that there was another baby, even though it was no one's fault, but-
"Tony!" Tony's eyes widened and he blinked, a sharp pain on his cheek. "Can you hear me now?" He nodded once. Natasha gently turned his head back to look at him. "She's alive." He frowned. "They didn't kill Meg, she's alive." Tony didn't think it was possible, but his body slumped more. Lost all form was more like it, sliding down on the floor, but in relief this time.
"Tony." Steve's voice sounded vaguely distressed.
Tony started shaking his head. "Not here, we can talk about the mean and nasty stuff they did later. Not here." Natasha helped him back up into his seat before heading back to the cockpit. Steve had shifted and wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulders, pulling him in and kissing his head. Steve's arm was doing its best to tuck him against Steve's body, and Tony found his face closer to the still awake baby in Steve's other arm. They locked eyes and suddenly she was moving her hand forward and patting Tony's nose twice. "She's going to be just like you, Rogers."
"I think you predicted this, actually," Steve told him, smiling a bit.
"You were the one who said that if you were going to have a kid, it was going to be a girl," Tony retaliated, unable to look away from the baby. She still managed to have that smell that all babies had, Tony called it that 'new-human-smell.' He vaguely remembered huffing Peter like an expo marker when he was this small. He wondered if it was just a Universal law that all babies, clones or natural, needed to small that good.
"And you said that we would all be doomed," Steve recited, remembering their talk at Mary and Coulson's wedding. "She would be just like me, and that's not even worrying about when she's old enough to date."
"I was right, though." Tony tilted his head up a little, going from one set of baby blue eyes to another. "We're already doomed. Did you see the way she pat my nose? Like she was trying to comfort me? The death of me, Steven Rogers, the two of you is what you will be." Steve smiled fondly down at him and Tony felt his heart melt at the sight. That was a smile just for Tony. Well, he might have to share it with the new addition, but Tony had gotten it first.
"We're still a couple hours out from the Tower, why don't you try and get some sleep," Steve suggested. "I'm not going anywhere, and you like to use my side as a pillow"
"When you offer it up like that, how can a fella say no?" Steve snorted softly and moved his arm so that Tony could rearrange. He laid out along the seats, resting his head on Steve's thigh, then leaning it against his side. His eyes closed and he smiled softly when Steve ran his fingers through Tony's hair a few times. "I missed you," he whispered, knowing that Steve would hear him.
"Missed you more."
Tony had never been more thankful for an uncomfortable position when trying to sleep. He had nodded off a few times, but never fell deep enough to sleep that he could dream. He tried pushing every aside, just enjoying that Steve was actually there, he was warm, and alive. He'd be going home, and he see his son, his Peter. He could try and pretend that none of it happened, at least for a little bit. That's all he wanted. To keep pretending that he was going to be okay, that the only thing he needed to worry about was that he was turning thirty-five in a couple weeks.
The jet landed and Tony slowly leaned up, trying not to groan when his back and hips protested. "I'm going to redesign these chairs," he grumbled, stretching a little. "I shouldn't be more sore when I'm getting up, no new places of hurt." A much more rested Bruce approached him and he shook his head a little. "I'm alright." He grabbed the little bag he had made from a piece of fabric from the baby and handed it to his friend. "Present for you, though." Bruce looked with a question in his eyes, but Tony just waved a hand before looping his arm with Steve's, following him off the jet.
Just inside, Tony barely had time to prepare himself for an armful of Mary Parker. She didn't say anything, just hugged him, which sadly pulled him away from Steve. When she pulled back a little, looking him in the face, he gave her a little smile. "You need to stop disappearing."
"Not nearly as long last time though," he said, thumb rubbing her cheek a little, before patting her back. "We're going to need a few things for Steve's floor, I understand that it might be on your floor at the moment."
"Have to do with the baby with in his arms?" She asked, nodding her head back towards Steve who was only standing a few feet away.
"Just about everything," he nodded. "Even in the suit, he looks good as a Dad, don't you think?"
"We'll be talking later," she told him quietly. "Go with him, help him out and we'll get what he'll need for the night." She pat his cheek and pulled away. "You'll have to go out tomorrow to get more stuff, preferably in the morning before Peter gets back."
"I don't actually know that much about the everyday care of small children," Tony hissed as she started to walk away. "Remember, me, not actually there, shadow passing in the night, only stepping up after the kid could walk and talk and pee."
"You kept Peter alive when he was a baby," Mary told him with a smile. "Now, shoo."
Tony watched her go then went back over to Steve, who was holding onto the baby in one arm, sitting up more so she could curiously look around. "You took to holding her pretty fast."
"Bucky's oldest sister," Steve reminded him as they headed for the elevator. Tony leaned in to press on the touch pad and the little girl was trying to lean forward when she saw the lights flash.
"She's a curious one," Tony said with a smile as Steve adjusted her position. "I'll hold her while you get dressed, maybe take a quick shower. Mary is rustling up all the stuff you'll need, at least for tonight." Steve took a deep breath and nodded before they stepped onto his floor.
It took Steve a second to actually see that they were on his floor, instead of Tony's, but when Tony stopped in the living room, he was staring at Sam napping on the couch. "Uh, you didn't get to meet him, but that's Sam."
"The one that you mentioned over the phone?" Tony asked and Steve nodded.
"He's been crashing here, helping try to find you, and keeping me sane," Steve mumbled, a faint blush crawling up his neck. "Come on," Steve said and they headed for his bedroom this time.
Tony pushed the door closed with his foot, plopped down on the bed and held his arms out. "I'll take her, check her diaper, wait for Mary with hopefully some blankets, while you get all freshened up."
Steve leaned down to pass the baby to Tony, but stayed there for a second before he was kissing Tony, hand cupping his cheek. "I'll try not to take too long," Steve told him, smiling before heading for the bathroom.
"You're making it really hard to not follow you into the shower," Tony muttered. Steve laughed as he walked in, closing the door. As the water started, Tony gently fell onto his back, bring the baby down with him, resting her on his chest. She was still as she laid on top of him, looking at him, then looking around the room, her attention span never long focused long enough to stay with one thing. Tony gently moved the soft hair around on her head, letting out a sigh.
"I'm going to have to talk to Steve about this, about you," he said quietly. "And I'm not going to like it, so that means he's not going to like it. I hate having serious conversations, specially ones that involved feelings." Her blues eyes looked back to his brown ones. "You didn't know that yet, so, I won't hold it against you. Not like you asked to be, well, here," he finished lamely. "But listen up," he levered himself up a bit with his elbows, making sure that she didn't slide or roll off of him. "That guy in there, he's taken on this big mantle, one even bigger than Captain America. He's become Dad, or you know, whatever you end up calling him as you learn to talk. I still think he's just a baby himself, but I'm old."
A little hand reached out to touch his nose again, and Tony couldn't help but kiss the tiny palm when it came back down. "This might be tough for him at first, so try not to hold that against him. He didn't have time to prepare for this, and now he's being given another full time job. He won't regret, I know him, so try to go easy on him if he starts to look tired, or something." She made a soft sound and started to smile. Tony moaned a little. "Of course you're going to have his smile, I can see it already." Tony took a breath and licked his lips. "I care a lot about him, I mean, so much that I can't even comprehend the level of what I'm feeling, so I'll be there at his side. All the time. And that means that I'll be there if you ever need anything, too. I'm going to protect you." Tony brought his hand, thumb brushing over one of her round cheeks. "He won't let you down," he whispered.
Steve shut the water off, and looked in the mirror as we wiped a spot clean of the steam. He hadn't gotten much sleep while they were searching for Tony, and he was wondering if Bucky was okay, but luckily it didn't show too much on his face. He towel dried his hair and thought about what he was going to do. Getting Tony back was top priority. He was forced to take a step back when it came to Bucky, but that still garnered a lot of his attention. Now though, now there was a child out there, an innocent life that he was stepping up to take care of. Thinking about having a family, and suddenly having one, well, it was a little frightening, but not nearly as scary as he thought. At least not if Tony was there by his side.
In DC he had a lot of time to think about Tony, to think about what they had started out as, (barely even friends), and what they were now. Steve couldn't see himself without Tony, now, but they had to talk about a few things. Spending that time in DC, the new information about Hydra and SHIELD, about who they could trust. He rolled his neck a few times and slipped on his shirt before leaving the bathroom. Tony was still on the bed, lying on his side this time. He looked up and smiled at Steve, then waved him over.
"Come here, you gotta see this." Steve walked over, and sat down behind Tony, his leg pressing against Tony's back. He looked over him and saw the baby on her stomach, looking at Tony. She was making little noises that Steve could only guess were determination, and she was moving her arms and legs. "She's starting to crawl."
Steve grinned, leaning down and then she was looking at him. "You're fast, aren't you?"
"I think she's going to be an athlete of some kind," Tony said as Steve leaned over his hip to get closer to the baby girl. "Peter was a quick learner, but he wasn't this active of a crawler. Hey, J? You recording this?"
"Of course, Sir," the AI chimed in, lowering the volume to not frighten their new resident. "Shall I create a new folder?"
"Yeah," Tony nodded a little. "Set it up on Cap's private server."
"Give Tony special permissions," Steve added, throwing Tony a smile. "I think I have a first name for her."
"Hey, don't tell me." Tony turned, twisting his body underneath Steve. "Tell her." He used his knee to nudge Steve off of him. "But, I'm gonna stay here cause I still wanna know, so you kind of are telling me in a way."
Steve snorted and rolled off Tony and brought his legs underneath him, seated right in front of the, his, girl. He reached down, paused for half a second, then picked her up. Tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb and he sucked in a breath. Tony was suddenly leaning in towards Steve's ear. "Peter did the same thing to me," he said softly.
"Jamie," Steve said with a smile on his face. "I'm going to name you Jamie. I don't have a middle name for you yet, but, to be fair, you did surprise me." There was a soft knock at Steve's bedroom door and he felt Tony getting up to go answer it. "Named you after my best friend, a guy I know always has my back. I'm gonna try and do right by you, okay?" Her mouth opened and she gave what Steve considered to be an impressive yawn. "So now you're finally tired, huh? You have all that excitement and barely react, but I tell you your name, and you're ready to sack out on me?"
"Take it while you can," Tony said as he came back over, dropping a diaper and a onesie in his lap. "She'll wake you up in the middle of the night, and then forget about it when she figures out how to crawl out of a crib."
"She'll be doing that pretty quick, won't she?" He moved her carefully onto her back, taking the stuff that Tony gave him to help with the diaper change.
"Wouldn't be surprised if she's figured out the jail break routine before Thanksgiving," Tony smirked.
"Don't say stuff like that." He made a face as he looked at the diaper. "I'm getting cloth diapers tomorrow."
"Brave man."
"That's what Ma used," Steve said as he double checked that he had put on the diaper right. Jamie was starting to kick her legs about as he fumbled a little. Tony smirked a little when he heard the Brooklyn accent pop a little. "It's what Buck's sister used, too."
"We're gonna have to make a list of everything you need." Tony sat down on the edge of the bed, watching Steve try to get restless legs into the outfit. "This is fun to watch."
"No tips?" Steve shot at him. As soon as he got one foot in, Jamie was taking it out as he moved to the next foot.
"Oh, no no no," Tony shook his head. "I was lucky enough to work with two piece outfits. And in California, most of them were shorts, so I didn't have to go through this trouble."
"You should be learning with me, then." Steve managed to get both little feet in, then quickly slid the outfit up her legs before she could wiggle out.
"You get first dibs," Tony offered with a hand wave. "I'll go out with you tomorrow to pick up what you need though. We'll take the SUV, less of a hassle then trying to get things delivered right away."
It was much easier getting the top part of the onesie on, and he snapped up the front, then picked her up again. "That has to be so much warmer, yeah? Doesn't that feel better?"
"J, raise the temperature by six degrees in the bedroom," Tony called out. Steve raised an eyebrow at him as he stood up. "Yeah, you're not supposed to put a blanket over top a baby, or under, or even any pillows or stuff like that, avoiding suffocation and the like.. So since she can't sleep with something warm over top, I want to make sure the room is plenty warm, cozy, even."
"When can you put a blanket or pillow in?" Steve asked as he walked over to the crib that must have been brought in while he was taking a shower.
"We'll have to watch her tomorrow, see if she can roll over yet." Tony stayed on the bed, watching Steve rock back and forth gently to lull the baby girl to sleep in his arms first. "If she can roll pretty well, and if she can push away at stuff, like stuffed animals or blankets, then you should be okay. I think I read something about needing to know that they could roll over if they accidentally smush their face into the fabric."
Steve gently laid Jamie down into the crib, watching her for a moment to make sure she was going to stay asleep. "Jarvis can send video feed to your phone or tablet," Tony whispered.
"Don't have a new phone yet," Steve told him, eventually able to tear his eyes away from the crib. "Tablet should be in here, though." He walked over to the stand by the bed and pulled open a drawer before pulling out tablet.
"High tech baby monitor." Steve nodded at Tony's words. "Come on, I need some coffee, and I'm sure you could use something to drink, too." Tony got up and gently slipped his arm around Steve's to try and lull him out of the room. "She'll still be here in fifteen minutes, and you can watch and listen to it all with the tablet. Less of a chance that we'll wake her up with any talking as well."
Steve followed him out and to the kitchen, walking quietly past the still sleeping Sam. "Must be familiar for you?" Steve asked Tony as he instantly moved to the coffee maker. The older man glanced back at him, eyebrow raised. "Taking care of a baby?"
"Only in the broadest of senses," Tony told him. "I can never remember if I've mentioned this, but I was just that guy who shows up for the first two years of Peter's life. I maybe saw him a grand total of thirty-five times a year. A Year, Steve." He poured in some fresh coffee ground, and grabbed the pot to get water. "I missed out on a lot, and I didn't really learn the basics that well. The most I did was a change a diaper, but I can literally count the number of times I've done that on both hands." He sighed a little and started to coffee maker. "Mary keeps telling me that I'm not allowed to say this to myself anymore, but I really wasn't a great father. But, I stepped up. Took a really shitty reason, but I did it, and I wish I could have kicked my younger self in the ass for wasting those first two years. I'm never getting those back."
"At least you were there," Steve told him. "You could have given up altogether." Tony hummed and nodded a little. "Then, I guess we learn together, on a lot of things."
Tony looked back at Steve. "You said that already... You keep saying together." Steve could see something in Tony's eyes, something crumbling, shaking his foundation.
"Well, I mean, yeah," Steve nodded. "Sure, there are some things that we have to discuss. A lot has happened in the past week alone, but-"
"Don't make any promises," Tony interrupted him with a soft voice. "Not until we talk." He rubbed his face with one hand, then opened a cupboard above the sink and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. "Like, the first thing on my mind is apparently we're friendly with our assassin? Well, my would-be assassin." He dry swallowed a couple of pills, then turned to look at Steve.
Blue eyes closed, and he took a deep breath. "Not exactly you're assassin anymore." He opened his eyes to see Tony just watching him, expression blank. "It's, really complicated, and I don't know many details, not yet anyway."
"You acted like you knew him, Steve," Tony threw in. "Which, I really don't want to think about any possible implications that you hired a hit on me. I haven't updated the Will to include you yet."
"Tony," Steve frowned but Tony was waving it off. "I kind of do know him," Steve confessed, and it was now or never. "It's Bucky, the Winter Soldier is Bucky Barnes." Tony stared at him. He made very deliberate movements then, getting a mug, and pouring his coffee into it. "Tony?"
"You're positive?" Tony asked in almost a whisper, and Steve nodded. "He knows you, then?"
"I'm not actually sure," Steve said uneasily. "I haven't had a chance to ask him that. Like I said, I don't know much, but I know that he wasn't under any orders to attack you." Tony's expression screamed 'Is that supposed to make me feel better?' "He was trying to make sure that AIM, and Hydra, didn't finish their Serum or other experiments."
"So, killing me was his solution?"
"I didn't say that it was a good solution." Tony rolled his eyes and took a drink of his coffee. "He and Meg have been talking." Steve jumped back when Tony spit out his coffee, wide eyed. "Would have been my reaction, too."
"She's been talking to him?! Is she crazy?" Tony hissed, remembering that there were a couple people sleeping past the kitchen.
"Has she told you anything about her ex?" Steve asked, and Tony furrowed his brows, shaking his head.
"The most I know is that his parents are still alive, and that's where she was headed."
"They dated for a bit, and she told me that he was in the military on active duty." Steve was still trying to put together all the pieces of this as well, but he figured he won't get that until Bucky decided to talk to him. "Still iffy on the exacts, but he actually worked for Hydra, and was one of the Winter Soldier's Handler's. Bucky sought her out last week."
Tony started rubbing his nose. "Why is this our lives?" He muttered under his breath. "Okay, so, how do we get more information?"
"Wait for him to come to us," Steve said, and his tone couldn't have sounded more defeated. "Or wait for Meg to make him do it?" Tony set down his mug and walked over to Steve, rubbing his arm a little. "Feels like everything is changing."
"I think world shaping situations have a tendency to make someone feel that way," Tony commented. "I didn't find out much where I was, a few comments in passing, but what exactly happened to SHIELD?" He knew what he read from Howard's journal, but he was hoping that maybe Steve would tell him something different.
"Officially? There is no more SHIELD," Steve told him gravely. "It had been infected by Hydra, by Zola. Alexander Pierce, he was leading the charade." Tony grabbed his mug so he didn't give away his thoughts. He wasn't sure how to tell Steve about Howard being part of Hydra, not while he was still trying to process it. "We put all of SHIELD and Hydra on the internet." Tony's eyes widened. "Jarvis and Bruce grabbed a lot of stuff about you and your work, and other dangerous information. But, it's all out there."
"Including your face, and name." Steve nodded. "Shit, Steve."
"It had to be done. Those Helicarriers you helped with, they were going to use them to kill so many people." Steve ran his hands through his hair, remembering seeing some of the names that were on the list, part of Zola's algorithm. "They were going to take out those that could have stopped them, that could have stopped Hydra. Bruce and Mary were on that list, even Wade's name, and you and Peter." He shook his head a little as he tried to calm his nerves and anger. "We had to stop that from happening, had to stop that from ever happening again."
Tony suddenly grabbed Steve's hands. "I'm going to send you to art school, for whatever classes you want. I'll make you a school to teach at, if you want. Make you a studio to work in, and we'll get your stuff into Galleries all over the world. Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to try. You and Meg, cause you're both artistic types. Just, whatever you want to do, so you don't have to keep doing shit like this, and-" Tony stopped as Steve cupped Tony's cheek, pressing against the warm skin.
"I think we both know that I would have gotten restless," he leaned in to rest his head against Tony's. "If I quit, that's not going to stop others from doing bad things, from killing others, or from another invasion. I have to still be there, to stop them from hurting you, from hurting Peter, from hurting Jamie now." Steve let his thumb rub against Tony's cheek, using his other arm to pull Tony a little closer. "I don't know who to trust anymore, not after what happened with SHIELD, what's happening with Bucky. I never thought I would find myself doubting Natasha, but I did, in DC, on our missions. But I know I've never had to doubt my trust in you."
"Careful," Tony whispered, a ghost of a smirk on his lips, an empty one. "One might think you were getting attached to me." He nodded his head towards the bedroom door before Steve could respond, and he was talking again. "You've got a bigger responsibility now, Steve. There's a little girl in there, one that needs someone, and you said yes to that. She, shit," Tony ran his hand through his hair. "She's an innocent in this, someone who didn't even ask to be brought into this world. I have so many complex thoughts on cloning, but..."
"You saved her," Steve told him, pulling back a bit to look in his eyes. "You could have run, left her there." Tony gave him an offended frown. "Doesn't change the fact that you saved her. You didn't do what they were forcing you to do."
"I think there were more," Tony told him. "I don't think they made it, but the way he talked..." The brunette looked down at the floor, before Steve was lifting his head back up with his fingers. "They have two Enhanced, they're just kids. The girl, she has these powers, and it makes me hate magic even more, but, she can get into minds." Steve frowned a little. "She was able to control me, like Loki's scepter did." Tony was gripping Steve's arms tightly, closing his eyes and counting to five in his head.
"We'll have to check her over," Tony continued, changing the subject, feeling a panic attack buzzing at the edge of his eyes. Steve didn't saying about it, but the concern written in his eyes was plain to see. "They only had me working on their Serum, and I've given all that Bruce. Right before you attacked the base, that was the first time I saw her, so I don't know if they've done anything else. Also, cloning is still a fairly vague scientific field, with not one accepted way of handling it, not that AIM or Hydra would follow those guidelines anyway."
"I'm sure Bruce will know exactly what to do," Steve told him, trying to reassure him. "We'll watch her tonight, and Jarvis will be monitoring her, too." Steve ducked his head then. "She, uh, she kind of really looks like me, doesn't she?" He asked with a shy smile, and Tony couldn't help the little laugh that bubbled out of him.
"We're doomed, all doomed." Tony leaned in to kiss his nose. "Okay, we should make a plan for tomorrow. I have an early morning meeting that I can't put off, and then we should-"
"You need to get some sleep, Tony," Steve interrupted. "You've been with Hydra for five days."
"I'm not getting sleep anytime soon," Tony told him, but kept going on so Steve couldn't question him. "And getting stuff that you'll need for Jamie is going to be more important. So, while I'm at my meeting, which has nothing to do with the business, you should take Jamie to Bruce. When I get back we'll go out and buy probably too much stuff, and I won't even bother to listen to you try and tell me to not spend the money. And when we get back, we'll have to prepare for Peter coming home." Tony had effortlessly moved from Steve's arms to grab his coffee again, mouth still moving a mile a minute. "And we'll have to contact the hospital in DC, because we can't leave Meg down there for long, and we have to find out when she can be discharged. Let's just convert the floor above my workshop into an artist studio for both of you. I'll need your input and direction, but I think it would be good. You can take Peter there for lessons-"
"Tony."
"-I know that he would love the space as well. I was also thinking that we're going to have to convert some rooms up in the Penthouse. I'll make the Penthouse two stories, complete with a spiral staircase, because we'll need more bedrooms, and at least another bathroom."
"Why are you going to need more room up there?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because if we're going to have two bedrooms up there for the kids, then we need to have more room. With four of us up there, we'll need at least three bathrooms, specially with me, and when Jamie grows up." Tony looked at Steve, now with both eyebrows up. "Move in with me?" Tony rushed out. Steve blinked a couple of times at him. "... Or not, just a suggestion. It's probably too fast though, and we've both just gotten back from some really big things. I'm probably really not thinking with a clear head, but I thought that you could paint a mural-"
"I love you," Steve blurted and Tony stopped, back straightening in shock.
"You what?" He asked, turned to face Steve. The blonde's face was turning pink, but he never looked so determined, shocked, but determined.
"I love you, Tony Stark." Steve moved forward, sliding his hand across Tony's arms. "I am in love with you."
"You- bu- wha?" Tony felt like his brain had shut down. "I just talked for like, five minutes, probably without taking a breath."
"You always do that," Steve countered. "I kind of expect you to do that, it's part of who you are. You also just asked me to move in with you, with Jamie."
"Yeah, I uh, I guess I did." Tony took a long gulp of his mug. "I mean, yes, I did that, and I'm not taking it back or anything-"
"You don't have to say it back, not right away," Steve told him, and Tony tried not to wince, guilt pooling in his chest. "It kind of just fell out of my mouth, but I've been thinking about it a lot-"
"Of course I love you, too," Tony told him. He wondered how long they could go back and forth with interrupting each other. Setting aside his now empty mug, he slide his hands up to rest on Steve's shoulders by his neck. "I think I jumped the gun when I asked you to move in." Tony knew he had to act quickly when he saw the rejection start to flood Steve's expression. "There's just, there's something that I found out, and that you should know, and it could change your mind." He reached into the inside pocket of the jacket he had on and pulled out Howard's leather journal. "You should read this."
"What-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but Mrs Fitzpatrick is calling." Jarvis had entered the interruption game.
"Right, I'll take the call in the guest room." Tony pressed the journal into Steve's hands. "Read it, I'll be back."
"Whose is it?" Steve asked as Tony stepped back to head for one of the empty rooms.
"It's Howard's," he said and left the kitchen. He couldn't help but peek in Steve's room to see if Jamie was still sleeping before moving down the hall to the guest room.
Tony made a motion with his hand for Jarvis, and he heard the call pick up on the speaker overhead. "Tony?"
"Hey, Rachel," Tony said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Is everything all right? Nothing happened with the boys, did it?"
"Oh, Tony," she let out a flustered little sigh, but it almost sounded like she was smiling. "I was going to ask you that." Tony blinked a little at the admission. "Mary told me that you were back. I wanted to see how you were handling being back."
"You're calling to check on me?" Tony asked, a little dumbfounded.
"I know that we've had our, rather extreme, differences over the years-"
"You've borderline hated me."
"-but a part of me has always cared about you." Tony raised both eyebrows in surprise. "If I actually hated you, or didn't care about you at all, I wouldn't give you the time of day. I know there have been times I could have been nicer-"
"I could have been less of a dick sometimes."
"-but I know that you take care of my family." Rachel's voice got a little a softer as she went on. "Peter adores you, and he's talked about you the whole time we've been down here. He's very excited to come back home, to tell you about everything that he's seen and done." Tony licked his lips, briefly biting the corner of his lips. He missed the soft guitar starting to play behind the call. "I also, I wanted to thank you for letting us take the boys, especially Peter, to Disney World. I know you weren't thrilled, and that you probably don't get to see a lot of moments, some of the firsts, because of your life, and, I really appreciate it, Tony. I wouldn't have any other man be the father to my grandson."
Tony thought he felt his lower lip tremble a little, but he swiped a hand across his face. "Thank you, Rachel," he said after a second. "I, I really needed to hear that."
"We're family, like it or not, and I'm realizing that I could have been liking it for a hell of a lot longer." They both shared a laugh and Tony smiled.
"I'm going to be okay, Rachel," Tony told her. He raised an eyebrow when he heard low level singing, queuing in on the song playing. "May have gotten a shit hand dealt to me this week, but, I think I just got a new deck, and it's looking more favorable."
"Good," she said, and Tony could imagine her nodding her head to punctuate the statement. "You've got more people in your corner than you know." He could hear her take a little breath. "We'll see you tomorrow, should be right before dinner."
"Can't wait," he said, and finding he really meant it. "I'll talk to Pierre and Marcello, and we'll all have a big family dinner."
"I think that's a really great idea, Tony. Goodnight."
"Safe travels," he said before they hung up. Tony listened as the music picked up in volume, and he got up, heading for the hallway. Tony was pretty sure he recognized the song, something that was released earlier in the year. Not a slow song, but it was easy listening, something that would probably be on Tony's guilty pleasures playlist. He stepped out and saw Steve standing there, waiting for him. Tony's mouth dropped a little he heard that it was Steve singing with the music.
"Cause even the stars they burn," Tony's brows went up, not really knowing that Steve had a set of pipes on him. "Some even fall to the earth. We've got a lot to learn, God knows we're worth it." Steve took a couple of steps closer to Tony, reaching out to take one of his hands. "No, I won't give up." Tony let himself be pulled closer, gently.
"I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily, I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make." Steve took Tony's other hand. "Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake." Tony swallowed, Steve's blue eyes locking onto his, feeling what Steve was putting behind the words. "And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend for us to work, we didn't break, we didn't burn. We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in. I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am." Steve rested his forehead to Tony's as he held out the note.
"Steve," Tony whispered. I won't give up on us. "What are you doing?" Even if the skies get rough.
"I'm singing to you," Steve whispered back. I'm giving you all my love. "Thought that was kind of obvious." I'm still looking up, I'm still looking up.
"Well, I won't give up on us," Steve picked back up in the song, a small smile on his face. "God knows I'm tough enough." He started to sway with Tony in the hallway. "We've got a lot to learn." His hand slid down to Tony's waist. We're alive, we are loved. "God knows we're worth it." And we're worth it.
Tony put his hand on Steve's chest, smiling as he teared up. "I won't give up on us," Tony sang back to him in a whisper. "Even if the skies get rough. I'm giving you all my love, I'm still looking up." Steve leaned in and Tony eagerly met his lips for a kiss. It was warm, and tender, but strong, and everything that Tony needed, and wanted. "You're such a fucking sap." Steve smiled at him, his whole face seeming to light up. Tony wrapped his arms around his neck and they kissed again, Steve's arms winding around his waist, holding them close. "But, you're my sap, cause I'm in love with you, too."
"You know," the two men jumped at the new voice in the hallway, but they didn't let go of each other completely. Sam Wilson was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "That's the song you have to pick for the first dance at your wedding." Steve chuckled, kissing the top of Tony's head, before dropping his cheek on his hair.
"Steve made a deal with Coulson that he has to dance to 'Star Spangled Man'," Tony commented, pulling a groan from the blonde.
"That is, just awful," Sam said as he tried not to grin at Steve's discomfort. "Really, Steve, that really is a horrible thing for you to do. But, if that's how it is, then I will be telling everyone about this horrifically sweet moment my eyes had the simultaneous pleasure and displeasure of witnessing. Preferably in a toast, at your wedding, in front of everyone you know and love." Sam pushed himself back up, rolled his eyes up in thought. "And probably tomorrow, too. Yeah, I'll be telling them tomorrow, too."
"Tony, this is Sam Wilson," Steve said in introduction, one arm waving towards Sam. "Sam, Tony Stark." He looked towards the man. "What are you doing spying on us, anyway?"
"Wasn't spying," Sam stated. He pointed to a door that was between them. "I came to use the bathroom. Not my fault that you thought the hallway was the best place to have a touching moment with your billionaire boyfriend."
"I don't date him for his money," Steve murmured, turning his face into Tony's hair.
"Oh yeah, not with that little nest egg that you're sitting on," Sam commented with a smile, going into the bathroom.
Tony raised an eyebrow, poking Steve's side. "What nest egg?"
"Nest egg is completely not the right word," Steve said. "The Army finally calculated my back pay, from when I was frozen in the ice." Tony raised his eyebrow, awaiting the answer, and Steve fidgeted a little. "Just a little over five," he mumbled the last word and it got lost. Tony poked him again. "Million."
Tony whistled low and long. "Yup, no more bitching about how I spend my money on you," Tony said with a nod. "And you are so picking up the ice cream and pizza tab on Supernatural nights from now on!" Steve laughed and kissed him again. He tightened his arm around Tony's waist and started to move them back towards the kitchen.
Tony saw the journal sitting on the counter, and he tried not to tense, but Steve felt it anyway. Their hands tangled together. "I heard that song a couple months ago," Steve started to say, and Tony looked away from the book. "After I was already in DC, after Valentine's Day. Maybe it was because I would have rather have been anyway but in DC at that time, closer to you, but I thought of us with that song." Tony looked up at him. Steve Rogers was incredibly sappy when he wanted to be. "I've been holding onto it for just the right time."
"Got it in one," Tony told him quietly.
"This," Steve touched the top of the leather bound book with two fingers. "The only thing that changed after reading this, was how strong I see you. What was planned for you, what they were doing, and to see where you are now? To be able to be here with you? That's what really matters."
"We'll be discussing the more important issue at hand with Mary and Coulson, right?" Tony said.
"Oh, hell yeah," Steve nodded. "Yeah, kind of can't be ignored how deep Hydra really was." He kissed the end of Tony's nose. "But, that's not here or now."
"Alright sap, listen," Tony chuckled, poking Steve's chest. "We're going to back into your bedroom-"
"I don't wanna hear anything!" Sam called out to them as he walked past the kitchen. Tony couldn't control which finger he sent in reply.
"-and you're going to lay down and get some sleep." Tony finished and grabbed Steve's tablet. "I'm going to lay next to you, and use this, and stare adoringly, and creepily, while you sleep."
"Glad to you know that you're very straight forward in your responses." Steve snorted at Tony's grin, wrapping his arm around his waist again. "Wanna be a co-parent with me to a little baby girl?" Steve whispered against his ear as they walked towards Steve's bedroom.
Tony's hand lifted to pat Steve's cheek. "Wouldn't have it any other way."