A/N: No amount of apologies can begin to express how sorry I am to have made all of you wait. I got a new job, and I was putting in 45+ hours a week. Apple Farms are Fun, but busy. Then I was house/pet sitting for some friends, and at that time my laptop decided that the internal keyboard, and usb keyboard don't want to work completely for me. I've still got some keys that don't work, so I have to use three keyboards to type.
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.
Steve jolted a little in his sleep, a loud, high pitched gurgle reaching his ears and him back to consciousness. He was up, blankets tumbling to the ground as he jumped from the bed and ran across the floor the door, grabbing onto the frame when he stumbled a little. In less than two seconds he was at Jamie's doorway, then stopped, and blinked as he stared inside the room. Peter was sitting in Tony's lap, who was on the floor, and Peter was holding onto Jamie's hands while she stood on her own two feet. She had shoes on, but didn't look all too happy about it.
Peter pushed his arms forward and backward, Jamie's arms moving with him, and she let out another high pitched sound, that was one of her giggles. Peter grinned at her and moved his arms a little faster, making Jamie lean into him. Tony was leaning back on one arm as he watched the kids, his other hand gently carding through Peter's hair as he played with his sister. Warm, but tired, brown eyes glanced up to the door to look at Steve. He gave him a soft smile.
"Hey, sleepyhead." Tony's words caught Peter's attention, who looked up towards the doorway then gave Steve a pure smile of happiness at seeing him. "We were just talking about you."
"Look Jamie! It's Papa!" Peter hold onto Jamie's hands as he pulled her into his lap, turning her around.
Jamie's eyes followed where Peter's hand was pointing once he had pulled her into his lap, and she let out a gasp as her face lit up. She reached out her arms, kicking her feet out. "Pa!" She exclaimed. "PaPa!" Steve's eyes widened a little when she repeated herself, repeating his name, his brain finally catching up. He moved further into the room, sliding down to his knees in front of his piled up family, and obligingly reached out to pick up Jamie and cuddled her to his chest. "Papa," she said contently, resting her head against his shoulder.
Steve knew he was tearing up as his vision blurred briefly, but he felt the stretch on his face from his smile. "Yeah, baby girl, that's me. That's my name." He rocked back a little, sitting on his feet, feeling content and free, even if for just a minute. Movement in front of him pulled his attention back to Tony and Peter, the older man leaning in to whisper something in Peter's ear, then patting his back as the boy jumped up. Peter pressed a kiss to Steve's cheek before running from the room and down the hall.
Tony leaned up to his knees, pressing his lips to Steve's before resting his forehead against Steve's. "I needed to hear that," Steve whispered to him.
"You slept through breakfast," Tony told him, hand resting against Jamie's back as he stayed close to Steve. "We didn't have the heart to wake you, so Peter spent the whole morning teaching Jamie how to say Papa."
"Papa." Jamie parroted dutifully.
"He even got Jarvis to help with visual cues, so she associates the word with you." Steve sniffed softly and Tony's thumb reached up to wipe at the stray tear. "You need the rest, babe."
"You're being rather affectionate today," Steve said with a soft smile.
"And it'll never leave this room," Tony replied, smile going a little wider and Steve couldn't help but give a little chuckle. "The kids are around, too." Steve could read everything that Tony wanted to add after that. The kids were around, and he didn't want them to ever think that he didn't love them, didn't want them to think that he wouldn't do everything for them. He wanted to be the parent that he never had, to make sure that they felt comfortable, and never doubted if Tony was being sincere with them or not. Especially since Peter, and Wade, were becoming old enough now that they might see Tony doing interviews, or some of his older stuff, and they would be able to tell right away that Tony's public persona was not how he acted at home.
Tony stole another kiss before leaning back a little, pushing himself up to his feet. "I love you, baby, but you're going to have to get up now. I sent Peter off on a mission, and we shouldn't keep him waiting." He extended his arm to Steve to help him up. "You don't have to let go of the little heartbreaker, but you do have to get up."
"I should probably eat breakfast," Steve admitted as he took Tony's hands, levering himself up as well. Tony leaned up to run his hands through Steve's hair, and he winced a little. "I didn't even think about what that looked like. I heard Jamie through the baby monitor and I was rolling out of bed without thinking."
"Yeah," Tony said, almost looking a little guilty. "I forgot to turn that down, but you looked so peaceful, like you were actually getting some sleep." His hand came down to cup his cheek a little after attempting to fix his hair. "You're gonna be so glad you at least wore pants to sleep, though. Because, hun, it's nearly lunch time, so we're all going to be eating."
Steve wrinkled his nose up a little at the prospect of having slept so late into the day.
"Are you boys coming to eat?" A voice called out down the hall, and Steve lifted his head. "I know I didn't slave over a hot stove to be ignored!"
"I'm not wearing a shirt," Steve hissed at Tony, who was now grinning. "I can Not go out there without a shirt. It's not proper."
"I'm sure Rachel won't care. Everyone can admire that sculpted chest of yours," Tony said as he started to pull Steve towards the door. "I know times that I may have properly worshipped it." Tony couldn't help but grin at the dusting of pink on Steve's cheeks. "Probably shouldn't say stuff like when we're about to eat in front of the family."
"You're a horrible person," Steve mumbled out, trying to get Tony to let him turn back towards the bedroom. "An absolute instigator, with no shame."
"Very little shame," Tony corrected. "I'm sure there's some there, it's just, I'm not sure where at the moment." Tony grinned, leaning forward to press his lips to Steve's again. "It certainly isn't going to show up in front of Rachel and William." Steve's eyes widened a little.
"Nope, putting a shirt on." He started to shake his head, but Jamie put a hand on his face, making him stop. She didn't appreciate that her warm vehicle was moving and disrupting her comfort.
"Papa." She said firmly and Steve looked down at her. "No." Tony's shoulders were bunching up as he looked like he was about to melt from the cuteness of it all, and shake apart from the laughter that he was trying to keep in. Jamie settled her head back on his shoulder, and wiggled to get comfortable again.
Steve let out a little sigh, knowing he had been defeated by a baby, not even a toddler yet. "Alright, let's go." He slipped his hand in with Tony's, threading their fingers together. He needed this right now.
Bucky stepped out of the apartment, both Coulson and Mary inside with the twins and Meg. Looking towards the elevator he didn't see the security guard Todd there, but when he looked down the other way he saw that the Wilson's apartment door was partially open. He could hear Julie raising her voice to someone, most likely over the phone by the fact that there was no answering voice, and Wade was sitting on the floor against the wall. Bucky walked over quietly and sat down next to him.
"-has no blood related Aunts!" Julie was saying inside the apartment. Talking to the school then, Bucky surmised. "No one has been added to the approved list in over a year, and I did not get a call to authorize any additions anyway!"
"Todd's in there with Mom," Wade told him after a bit. "She's real angry with the school office." Bucky snorted softly and nodded. "Todd can at least get her to calm down when she's done. They like each other." Bucky raised an eyebrow as he glanced over at the boy. "He's nice," he said with a shrug. Bucky watched the boy staring at the wall in front of them, before turning his head to look at Bucky. "Thanks for teaching me self-defense."
Bucky nodded, giving Wade's shoulder a little squeeze. "The point of the lessons are in hopes that you never have to use it, but so that you're always prepared." That's what Steve had told the kids, and Bucky liked that a hell of a lot better than what he had learned with Hydra. "I'm glad you had the training."
"You think maybe later Mr Steve can come down?" Wade asked softly, looking back down towards the floor. "I gotta thank him about yesterday…."
"You know what," Bucky said, shifting a little so he could reach into his pocket. "How about I just text him right now? I know for a fact that he planned on staying inside all day, so it's just a matter of timing." Wade nodded a little, and Bucky watched as he pulled his knees up a little. He quickly typed out a text to Steve. Bucky knew this was something that he and the kid had to work out; Steve had been the one to find Wade, to bring him home, and there had been some kind of imprinting, or something.
Steve texted back, saying he'd need about ten minutes, and something about finding a shirt. It wasn't even half the time when the elevator doors opened and Steve was walking over to them. Bucky nudged Wade's arm a little as he pushed himself up. The two shared a brief look, both nodding to each other, and Steve sat down next to Wade, arm going out to wrap around the boy's shoulders. Bucky moved back towards the elevator, set on going to the gym now, giving them some privacy.
Wade leaned against Steve's side, and Julie was back to talking at normal levels, but Steve could hear Todd inside trying to calm her down. Bucky had mentioned that she was upset with the school, and he would leave Tony to deal with that as well. Wade didn't say anything for a while, just leaning again the Super Soldier. "What's gonna happen?" Wade nearly whispered, Steve's enhanced hearing just picking it up.
"I'm not really sure," Steve told him honestly. "You and Peter might change schools, but nothing's certain." He glanced down at Wade, hand coming up to gently rub the side of his head, pushing some hair back. "You and your mom should be safer now, but Todd will still be around." Wade nodded a little.
"What about when Mom dies?" Steve's brain stuttered to a halt for a second. "I've known she was sick a lot longer than anyone else, and I know that cancer is bad." Despite his no-nonsense voice, Wade was tucking himself against Steve's side, under his arm. "I know she's really sick, and that she can't work anymore because of it." Wade pursed his a lips a little, taking a few breaths. "I know she doesn't have a lot of time left." He stumbled a little over his words and Steve turned to pull him into a hug. "What's gonna happen to me?" Wade asked in a whisper.
"You're gonna stay here," Steve answered automatically, hugging Wade a little tighter. He knew that this was probably something that Wade should be talking to his mother about, but he didn't have the heart to turn the boy away right now, not when he needed this comfort. And apparently wanted it from Steve. "Your mom and Tony talked about it. They made sure, that before, there was no way that you would have to go back to your dad. Tony would be your legal guardian, and you'll stay here with us, with Peter." He rubbed circles on Wade's back, feeling a touch of wetness soaking through his shirt as Wade let out some tears. "That's not going to happen for a long time, though, Wade. Not for a while." Steve closed his eyes briefly, thinking how he shouldn't be having a conversation like this with such a young kid; talking about the eventualities.
"Thank you, Mr Steve," Wade said, voice muffled into his shirt. "Thank you for finding me."
Steve pulled Wade back a little, a hand on his shoulder, his other hand lifting his head up gently by the chin. "We'll always come after you, Wade. I promise." He wiped some of the tears from his cheeks with his thumb. "And if you ever need to talk, or just want to sit with someone, just like this, you can always ask. You can ask your mom, or me, or Tony, or Peter, or I bet even Bucky."
"I gotta be strong for mom," Wade mumbled.
"You're already strong," Steve assured him. "But that doesn't mean that you can't ask for help, or even for a hug. I do, from Tony. I even cry in front of Tony, too." Any other time, Steve might not have admitted that to Wade, but he knew that it was something that Wade needed to hear. Judging by the surprised expression he aimed at Steve, he was right. "Yeah, I do it. And he won't say anything, just give me a hug, try and make me feel better. Sometimes we talk about stuff, cause even I get troubled by stuff. It's a human thing, but it doesn't mean we're weak. Makes us better, because we can try and make things better, to change the bad into good."
Wade nodded, and Steve brought him for another hug, and this time the little arms that wrapped around him were stronger. They stayed in the hall for a while, until Wade eventually yawned, and was more lounging against Steve as he tried to fight off sleep. The door to the apartment opened a bit wider and Todd stepped out before catching sight of them, Julie right behind him. He gave them a small smile, and shifted Wade into his arms to pick him up as he pushed himself from the floor.
"Tony's thinking about pulling Peter from school until next week," Steve whispered to Julie as they all walked back inside, Todd making sure the door was shut and secure. "Honestly, I think he's ready to Home School them until Middle School."
"I can't say I wouldn't agree with that," Julie answered back, briefly running her fingers across Wade's head. She was about to head for Wade's bedroom when Steve shook his head a little. She frowned, then nodded as understanding dawned on her face. Julie instead moved towards the door to her bedroom and Steve followed.
"Tony will get in touch with you, probably tomorrow or the next day, and you can discuss it from there." Steve leaned on one side of the bed, putting Wade down towards the middle, Julie slipping onto the bed from the other side, bringing her son into her arms. He instantly turned, tucking himself neatly against her, eyes still closed. "I know you two will do what's best for the boys."
"I'd do anything for him," she whispered as she watched him fall into a slumber. Steve nodded, then left the room, feeling like he was intruding. He shut the door a little, not fully closing it, then gave a nod to Todd who was making some coffee, taking up watching inside the apartment now. He could see a tablet on the kitchen counter that had up multiple camera views inside and around the Tower. The man took his job seriously, and Steve felt better about it.
Steve heard a movie running from the main living room when he got back up to the Penthouse, and he saw Rachel and William on the couch with Peter in between them. William had glanced over and Steve gave him a little wave as William motioned towards the stairs. Steve jogged up the stairs and took a detour down the hall to the bedrooms, peeking in to see that Jamie was down for her nap, but didn't see Tony there. He walked down the hall, then paused when he thought he heard the soft sound of a piano. It wasn't coming from the movie that they were watching downstairs, and it wasn't coming from the speakers. Steve only knew of one spot that had a piano.
It was a smaller room, with a couple of loveseats, some lamps, and a baby grand piano in front of the expansive glass windows. It was a sparse room, but Tony seemed to like it that way. Steve had never seen Tony utilize the room, until now. Tony sat in front of the piano, one hand out, fingers dancing across the keys, and Steve leaned against the wall to watch him. He wasn't playing a full song, just plucking at the keys, but there was some kind of intention behind the movements.
Steve walked over to Tony eventually, kissing the back of his neck. "I didn't know you actually played."
Tony paused a little in his playing, leaning back against Steve. "My mom used to play a lot, she wanted me to learn as a kid. I wanted to play the violin, but she said that a pianist's fingers would be valued more." He reached up one hand, rubbing Steve's cheek to bring his head closer. "She would be appalled at all the calluses that I have now. My fingers didn't turn out as longer and slender as she would have liked. I never did have the perfect poise to play like the masters."
"I don't need a master pianist," Steve murmured as he rested his cheek against Tony's. "I like the engineer hands that I've got just fine. They seem to be able to play the piano just fine."
"Among other things," Tony said with a slight smile. Steve dropped a kiss along his jaw. "Is everything okay downstairs?"
"As well as it's going to be for now," Steve told him. He moved to sit next to Tony on the piano bench, watching as the brunette put both hands on the piano now, playing something softly. It wasn't anything that Steve recognized, but the way that Tony played it, it seemed to soothe him a bit more. "Wade's starting to work through what actually happened yesterday, and he's been thinking."
"Overthinking," Tony corrected and Steve nodded.
"Thinking about things that we probably wouldn't like," Steve continued, watching Tony's fingers. "He asked about what's going to happen after Julie dies." Tony almost faltered in his playing, the song losing the tempo for a second.
"Did you tell him?" Tony asked as he picked the song back up, and Steve nodded. "I wish he wasn't so perceptive sometimes. At least he knows, and maybe he won't worry so much about it." Steve glanced over at him. "I don't need to look up to know what kind of look that you're giving me."
Neither of them talked for a bit, letting Tony play a little louder, his shoulders, then his body starting to move with the song. Steve could see years of lessons, probably decades of playing, deeply ingrained his technique. "What are you playing?"
"Something from a game that Peter and Wade were playing last year," Tony told him. Steve was a little envious, but impressed, with the way that Tony was able to play and talk to him at the same time, to follow the entire conversation. And on a song that he had only learned not too long ago, with no sheet music. Sometimes Steve thought about learning how to play some kind of instrument. Before the war of course. "They weren't too incredibly thrilled with it, apparently calling it one of the weaker of the series. But, the music was catchy, and I tend to dabble at the keys when I can't sleep, but don't want to be in the workshop."
"You taught this to yourself?" Steve asked, a bit of surprised leaking into his tone. Tony just smirked a little, and nodded.
"Years of training," Tony explained. "I'm pretty good at picking out melodies, then working from there. I know a lot of the classics, the real classics, but I can also play a lot of modern songs." Tony lifted his eyes up to look at Steve as he transitioned into another song. Steve raised an eyebrow at him, then smirked a little. "I had a little bit of incentive to learn this song."
Steve hummed along with the piano, inwardly pleased at how well Tony was playing. "We have a song now, you know," he commented, and Tony snorted out a chuckle.
"Yes, and so far, only Sam Wilson knows," Tony said as he continued to play through I Won't Give Up. "If we aren't careful, he'll tell the others, and then at an anniversary party, we'll see Jason Mraz show up to sing to us. I don't want to publicly hurt your friend, Steve." Steve laughed and his smile widened.
"Speaking of anniversaries," Steve mumbled happily.
"If I let you plan the date for our anniversary, I'm sure that we'll end up back on the couch, watching Supernatural," Tony commented. "Unless you're hoping to create a successful first date?"
"You're cruel to me, you know that?" Steve pushed their shoulders together as Tony finished at the piano.
"But I'm not wrong." Tony smiled, turning on the bench to face Steve. "If you want to take over the festivities for our one year, I have no issue letting you do that. If you have no plans, then I'm sure I can come up with something." He leaned in to kiss Steve softly. "We still have a few weeks yet, and I've got to search for a new school for the boys."
"I told Julie to expect you to talk to her later about changing schools," Steve threw in as he kissed the end of Tony's nose. "She was on the phone earlier with the school. Bucky told me there was a lot of angry talking."
"As far as I could tell, someone hacked into the school's system, and names were added to Wade's file." Tony turned so he could lean back against Steve's chest now, relaxing and dropping his head back against Steve's shoulder. "They had looked into Peter's file, but hadn't altered it. There's no way the school would have known, but I'm also not trusting their safety to such a weak security system. I won't take a chance on this happening again." Steve nodded and kissed him again. "It's almost time to start making dinner, so we should go wake up Jamie so she'll sleep through the night."
Steve got up first, then pulled Tony up by one hand and walked with him. "We should spend more time in here."
"Did you like my playing that much?" Tony asked as they left the room and headed down the hall.
"Well, yes, but I wasn't able to hear a lot of live music in my day. It's certainly something special." Tony hummed happily and nodded as they walked into Jamie's room. They could see her already awake, standing in the crib, holding onto the rail. "Look who's awake and waiting." Jamie cooed at the attention, reaching her arms up, and Steve obediently reached down to pull her into his arms.
"She's surely does love the attention from her Papa," Tony said with a small smile.
Jamie's face lit up, and she looked up at Steve. "Papa!" Steve leaned down, rubbing his nose against hers, making her giggle and push at his face. "Papa." Tony snorted, rolling his eyes a little as he watched them.
"She's takes after you so much."
"You love it," Steve said with a smirk, turning back to face his boyfriend.
"More than is probably healthy," Tony said with a smile. "Now come on, Granma and Granpa have already said that they're making dinner, and I want to go and claim cuddle rights with Peter."
October 2012
Tony walked into the dining room, smiling a little when he saw Peter and Wade huddled next to each other, books and notebooks open with their class work. Between Jarvis and Julie, the boys seemed to be very happy in their home schooling lessons. Perhaps it was that they kind of felt that they were skipping school that the rest of their friends had to go too, and that they got to go on 'educational' field trips with Mary, and Steve, and the Fitzpatrick's. He and Julie had decided that they would try again with school for the high School years, letting the boys graduate together, and be able to walk with the rest of their class, getting their diplomas.
He moved past the boys, not wanting to disturb them, and saw Jamie asleep in her bassinet just inside the living room, where Steve currently was, a sketchbook open on the coffee table. Tony walked over, leaning over the back of the couch to kiss the back of Steve's neck, but frowned a little when his lips met cold skin. That's when he noticed that Steve's body was shaking ever so slightly. "Steve?" He moved to the front of the couch.
Steve lifted his head slowly, and Tony swallowed a little. His movements were sluggish, his eyes seemed glazed and unable to focus, and his lips looked to be turning blue. He had wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to curl up, a violent shiver running through his body. "C-cold," Steve forced out before his body slumped forward, knees hitting the ground. Tony dropped down next to him to catch him, hands wrapping around his upper arms. Even his shirt felt cold. "Too cold."
"Shit," Tony whispered. "Okay, Steve, it's okay. Jarvis, get the bath going, give us some hot water." His eyes widened when he saw frost start to appear in his hair. "Steve?" Steve's head drooped down, his body slumping even further towards the floor, dragging Tony with him. "Steve! Come on baby, say something." He watched as Steve's eyelids closed, his breathing getting slower as his body started to freeze. "No, no, no, Steve." Tony moved his hands up to cup Steve's cheeks.
An intense chill swept through his body and Tony's eyes widened, pulling a sharp breath. Dark colors burst in his vision and he felt himself falling backwards. Deep, dark blues, and violets swam in front of him, and the living room disappeared. Softs red and yellows circled together before leaving his sight, and he saw spots of white, and realized they were stars. He was back in space. Tony sucked in a breath, then felt his arms being pulled down, and his back was pushed down against something hard. Hands pressed down on his shoulders, and there was chittering sounds around him.
"You were given an option." Tony tried to squirm, needing to pull away, to get away from the familiar voice. He could feel The Other behind him, then felt the grip of its hand closing around the side of his neck. "Now, we will take what we want." His arms were pushed down on whatever he was lying on, palms facing up. He frowned when he felt something sharp just pressing against his skin, at the base of his palms. "You should be so lucky," the voice hissed down by his ear. "He's going to enhance you, again."
Tony gasped when those same sharp things were pushing into his skin, then started to drag down, like scalpels cutting down towards his fingers. His mouth opened in a silent scream when he felt the cuts sliding down his middle fingers. They lifted, but then were poised at the base of his index fingers, the process repeating. Each finger was sliced, and tears had started to collect at the corners of his eyes.
His screams were no longer silent though when he felt fingers start to peel back the skin around his fingers. "Stop!" His voice cracked with pain, his body unable to move and thrash. "No! Stop!" Fingers stopped, and he struggled to take even breaths. Tony's eyes stared up, into space, watching stars and nebulas, sharp and burning pain streaking through his hands. A strangled scream forced itself up his throat when white hot pain suddenly blossomed at the tips of each finger, pins being jabbed in. Brown eyes widened, pupils blowing wide as the view above him started to twist and move, and then he was suddenly moving past stars, other galaxies moving past him, and his own Milky Way Galaxy came closer, before stopping.
Tony flinched when fingers gently dragged across his cheeks. "Get us closer," the voice whispered, hot and uncomfortable on the skin of his ear. "Lead us."
Steve's eyes shot open as his hands gripped the sheets beneath him. He tried to drag in a deep breath, the nightmare still lingering around his mind. His body jerked when fingers dug into his chest. Tony was laying on top of him, his hands on Steve's chest. "Tony." He tried to clear his throat when his voice came out weak and raspy, as if he had been screaming. "Tony," he tried again. When he reached up, his hands touching Tony's, Tony's body spasmed then curled up, screaming in pain and he pulled his hands into his own chest.
Tony curled his body up and twisted, trying to roll away. His body thumped when he fell off of something and he whimpered as he jostled his hands. He forced his eyes open and saw the inside of his bedroom, the couch in the open space beyond the bed, the soft glow of a small fire from the fireplace, and then blue of their current sheets. Feet were slowly slipping down onto the floor of the bed, and he curled his body up a little before knees were sliding to the ground and Steve's face came into view. This time, his eyes looked as troubled, and wild, as Tony felt. Steve's hand hovered out towards Tony, but didn't touch, and there was a fine tremor running through them.
"Tony?" Steve said softly, shuffling on his knees a little closer. Tony surged forward, wrapping his arms around Steve's neck, not letting his hands touch. His face pushed into Steve's neck and he bit his lip as Steve wrapped his own arms around him. "I think I saw your dream." Tony squeezed his eyes shut at Steve's words. "Was that-"
"That's the voice," Tony whispered to him. "It's what I heard..." He sighed as he tried to relax against Steve, but the pain was still feeling too real. "I actually kind of wish that Loki was still around, or alive, so I could try and grill him about this."
"Is there anyone else that might know? Maybe something about magic?" Steve asked, shifting his legs so he could pull Tony into his lap. "Maybe the Fantastic Four might know something about the portions of space that you saw?"
"I'll seek someone out about magic before I find myself willingly making a visit to Reed Richards," Tony grumbled against Steve's skin. "I hear Doctor Strange has recently made his way into the strange world of not normal, or some such nonsense that I didn't want to pay attention too until just now." Steve placed a soft kiss on the top of Tony's head. "Maybe I'll make a visit, at a semi-decent hour for humans."
"Not that we're getting back to sleep anytime soon," Steve murmured, and Tony just hummed in agreement. Steve carefully threaded his fingers through Tony's hair as he held onto his, careful of his fingers as a faint ache pulsed through them from the dream. If those were the dreams that Tony was constantly experiencing, it was a wonder that Tony hadn't avoided sleeping more often.
"Why don't you tell me about what you have planned for next week?" Tony asked, drawing Steve's attention back to the present. They both shifted until Steve was leaning back against the bed, Tony leaning against him.
"And ruin the surprise?" Steve teased lightly.
"You don't have anything planned yet, do you?"
"I have too many ideas," Steve corrected. "All those visits to museums and libraries with the boys gives me time to see all the opportunities for date ideas." Tony's hands were rubbing gently against his arms, as if trying to warm him up. Steve didn't stop him, afraid that it might make him think about how cold he had been in the nightmare. "I have to make it special though, so I have to parse the ideas down."
"Babe," Tony murmured, a small smile on his face. "I know that this feels wrong coming from my mouth, and that really, you should be saying this too me-"
The end of the world must be coming if you're acting like me," Steve quipped.
"-but, we seriously don't have to go all out," Tony continued, ignoring Steve's words. "I would be fine with staying home with you. Specially after we just had that long weekend in Malibu. You're going to spoil me, even though I will never stop you from doing that."
"That sounds more like the Tony Stark I know," Steve said with a little snort. Tony leaned his head up to press a kiss to his jaw. The Super Soldier smiled and leaned his head back a little against the bed, letting his eyes slip shut, arms still around Tony.
He was exhausted, had been for several days. He never usually complained about it, being used to it for most of his life. At first it had been constant exhaustion from being sick all the time, from taking all the meds that his Ma had been able to get for him from the hospital, then from his time in the war and hunting down Hydra. Now, it seemed that it still didn't stop. Tony was there to help, and he would never be able to thank the man enough for that. He had allowed Steve to be a part of his son's life, and then there was Jamie. Steve loved the kids, and would do anything for them, of that he was certain, but he was tired. Jamie was nearly a year old, but still needed constant attention, and then there were the art lessons and Peter, and the self defense classes with both Peter and Wade. He wasn't complaining, really he wasn't, but sometimes he just needed a little break.
It didn't seem that long, but Steve must have drifted off a little because next thing he knew there was a pressure on his chest, and he was waking up. Tony must have been moving, and he wondered if he was going to wake him up so that they could move back up to the bed. Then the pressure turned sharp, then painful, then cold.
Steve gasped and his eyes shot open. "Steve," Tony's broken voice called out, brown eyes locking with blue. He was being pulled away, body lax and sliding across the floor. An arm was wrapped around Tony's front, and soon lifted him up. Hilda smirked at Steve as she held onto Tony, his head flopped back in a boneless motion.
"You should have stayed in the ice, Captain," she whispered to him, German accent thick, like so many other Hydra agents he had fought again. Steve couldn't move his limbs, could barely think, as she heft Tony's body over her shoulder. His body felt heavy, and cold. Another sharp tug in his chest had him looking down and he saw that a small dagger had been pushed in to the hilt. The weapon seemed to be radiating a cold aura, frost building in layers around it, and onto, into, his body. "Allow me to help." Steve sluggishly lifted his head back up to look at the woman. "Hail Hydra."
"Steve!" Steve sucked in a breath at the shout by his ear. He started sucking in breaths until he started coughing, lungs unable to hold a proper breath. A hand was rubbing against his chest, which he could feel again, and he felt something breathing just against the shell of his ear. Someone was trying to help him regulate his own breathing, that's what it was. "Can you hear me now?" Steve nodded once, jerky, but he nodded. "You're in New York, and it's Twenty-Twelve, October. You're up in the Penthouse, and Peter and Jamie are still asleep. You're safe, babe, you're safe. I'm safe, everything is alright."
Tony. It was Tony that was with him, talking to him, helping him. It felt like a chore to open his eye lids, but when he did he was greeted to the bright eyes of Tony, worried. He wasn't being dragged off back to Hydra, wasn't drugged or hurting, he was there in front of him. "Come on now, it's not cool to have a nightmare right after I do," Tony said tightly, trying to make a joke. "You know I don't like it when people try to steal my thunder. Only one mental episode at a time, you know this." He let out a huff a breath when Steve suddenly wrapped his arms around him, squeezing a little. "Yeah, it's okay, babe," Tony whispered to him in his ear, arms wrapping around his neck. "I'm right here, and so are you." He kissed Steve lightly. "Everything is gonna be okay."
Steve's hand reached up, fingers gently ruffling through the short hairs on Tony's neck. Tony hummed a little, resting more against Steve, taking in his warmth. "I think that there are two pints of ice cream in the kitchen that are calling our names."
"I think I'll take some butter pecan today," Steve said, his lips turning up a little at Tony's outraged look.
"You'll not touch my sacred stash."
"I thought we had moved you on to something better?" Steve's fingers started to gently rub Tony's neck. "What about the mint chocolate chip?" Tony scrunched up his face a little. "Peter loves it!"
"That's because Peter follows what Wade does, and Wade is on a mint chocolate chip kick right now," Tony grumped a little. "All I have to do is get Wade to start eating the superior Butter Pecan, and all of my troubles will be solved."
Steve snorted softly. "I think I'm going to go with Moose Tracks, tonight." He could feel Tony raise an eyebrow. "I like the mini peanut butter cups."
"When Captain America craves his chocolate-"
"Nothing in the Tower is safe," Steve finished with a nod.
Tony eased the knot of his tie up, paused to take a look in the mirror before pulling it off. "Are you going to go out shopping for me?" The engineer turned his head slightly to see Peter kicking his legs, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Why would I be going out shopping for you tonight?" Tony asked, turning back to the mirror, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.
"Because my birthday is coming up," Peter told him. "I'm gonna be Eight this year." Tony couldn't help but smirk a little at the very matter-of-fact tone coming from his young son.
"Thanks for the reminder, kiddo," Tony told him, reaching over to grab the dinner jacket by the mirror. He slipped it on and took a second to evaluate it. "Should I go with the tie or the jacket?"
"You should go with the tie," Peter told him. "If you look important, then the people will give you more stuff for me." Tony couldn't help but snort.
"We're not going shopping for you birthday presents." He glanced in the mirror to see the slight pout that was starting to develop on his young features. "We've already got your presents." Peter's face lit up with a smile so fast that Tony had a hard time not smiling himself. "Papa and I are going out because one year ago, he asked me out, and I said yes. He was really very silly, but he's stuck around for this long, so we're going to celebrate."
"And that's why Jamie and I are spending the night down on Mama and Phil's home?" Peter asked, watching Tony put the tie back on.
Tony hummed a little as he nodded. "That's right. We don't know when we're going to get back, it might be really late. They'll make sure that you get fed and watered-"
"And taken for a walk?" Peter finished and Tony narrowed his eyes at him a little. Peter just sent him a grin, teeth and everything.
"Watch out, or I'll take your presents back and get you a harness and a leash," Tony threatened before turning around to face his son. He walked over and pulled Peter up into his arms. "I'll make sure that it's bright neon green." Peter's face twisted in disgust. "Yeah, that's right. I'm your Dad, and I have all the power. Don't you forget that." He turned and left the bedroom, with Peter in his arms, and they headed for the living room.
Tony couldn't help but smirk a little when he heard the familiar whimpering pouts of young Jamie. As they entered the room, the little girl was hanging onto Steve, not wanting to let go and be separated. He set Peter down on his feet again, and the boy ran over to stand next to Mary. Phil had Jamie's diaper bag, and Peter's backpack over his shoulder.
He had to admire Steve's figure though, and the dashing look he cut with his khaki's, blue button up, and black sport jacket. "Come on, baby girl," Steve cooed. "It's just for a night, and you'll be asleep for most of the night anyway." Jamie pressed her face to Steve's neck, and blue eyes caught Tony's, asking for help. Tony chuckled silently and walked over to them. He kissed Steve lightly then rubbed Jamie's back.
She turned her head to look back at Tony. "Hey there gorgeous, why the long face?" She wiggled her nose a little. "Yeah, I know. Papa's being mean, isn't he? He wants to send you off for the night." Steve's expression deadpanned in Tony's direction. "I know you're a good girl, though, and you can do this."
"I doubt that she can understand you," Mary whispered in Tony's ear. He waved one hand, shooing her away.
"Our little girl is smart, she knows what I mean." Tony smiled at Jamie. "Listen, Papa wants to take me out, and it's kind of a special night. So, I think that our big girl can be courageous, for just one night." Steve moved her around until he was able to lift her from his arms and move her over to Mary's arms.
Jamie made a little whine, not content in Mary's arms, looking back at Steve and Tony. "It's okay Jamie." Peter spoke up and Tony moved closer to Steve to grab the sleeve of his jacket, discreetly. Peter had really turned around on Jamie in the past few months, and it still shocked Tony a little bit every time. "I'll be there too!" Jamie had turned her head to look down at Peter.
"Now would be the time to sneak away," Phil told them, Jamie's attention still on her brother. "We'll see you in the morning." Steve grabbed Tony's hand, smiling, and dragged him to the elevator, waving to the kids, Mary, and Phil.
"So far," Tony started after the elevator door closed. "This date is better than our first. We've actually made it to the elevator, and it isn't an Avengers call out."
"Don't jinx us, baby," Steve told him, giving him a kiss. "We're going to go out, we're going to get some food, we're going to have a special night to make up for the one that we didn't get one year ago."
Tony smirked at him a little, nodding. "It's amusing to me to see that you've so thoroughly set this up. You really the 'man with the plan', aren't you?"
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Steve asked dryly, but Tony could see the hints of a smile in his expression. "Here I thought that I was living in a new century, not back on stage."
"Have you ever thought about going on stage?" Tony asked, turning a little to look at the elevator door so he could avoid Steve's glare. "I could see you on Broadway, maybe. Do you think that you could sing for a musical? Maybe we should start off with just acting, a drama, before we jump into a musical. Let you build up-" Tony yelped when Steve wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back quickly into his chest. "Is that a no?"
"One day, you're going to be in trouble with me," Steve muttered into his ear.
"But it is not this day." Steve snorted and Tony smiled. "Alright, dazzle me with an amazing date."