:D
Thank you so much for all the love! You are seriously all so amazing!
*PROMPTs ARE CLOSED!* So i have to cut prompts off at the moment as I have over 30 to get through and need some time to catch up so prompts are temporarily closed!
This prompt is from ncbexie25 on Ao3 - My prompt is that Tony forgot to actually explicitly say that he has a four year old son (peter) when he agreed for or when he invited the avengers to live at the tower after 2012/battle of New York. I love the idea of him having this whole other side to him no one knows about and how seeing that forces the avengers to confront what they think they know and their assumptions about him - particularly steve! Maybe Tony said a few things that seemed odd - hints - because he thought he'd already told them but they put it down to him being eccentric! Lol
I hope you enjoy and apologies for any mistakes!
The Haunted Tower
Steve didn't want to admit it but he was beginning to think that the Tower was haunted.
At first it was little things; the pattering sound of footsteps in the hallway running past his door, childish giggling that echoed through the halls that made the hair on Steve's arms raise and the freshly baked cookies he had placed on bench for the team to enjoy would suddenly disappear when his back was turned.
He was relieved to learn that he wasn't the only one who had noticed these odd happenings.
Bruce had noticed little things disappearing from the labs; a pair of safety googles he had sworn he had gotten out suddenly missing, items being moved when he swore he was the only one inside the lab, and curiously he found little Lego pieces scattered around the Tower with no idea how they got there.
When Thor came to visit, his found his hammer decorated with a little red cape made of felt and googly eyes stuck on the handle (though Thor found this delightful rather than suspicious and wondered who had done such a funny prank).
Clint and Natasha didn't believe the Tower was haunted. That was until one day they walked into the communal living space to find small blood-red footsteps leading from the elevator towards the living room when they just suddenly stopped before the couch. There were no markings on the couch, simply as they the person who had made them had just vanished.
"Ghosts aren't real," Clint said one night over dinner. It didn't stop him from glancing at the now cleaned up footprints had been.
"I didn't think aliens were real either," Steve pointed out.
"After everything we have seen, ghosts are not out of the realm of possibility," Bruce added. "I wonder if Tony is aware odd happenings."
"This is Tony," Natasha said dryly.
"No wonder he avoids coming down here," Clint grunted before shoveling food into his mouth.
Since moving into the Tower, the group had rarely seen Tony. While they knew he was busy working on SI projects, they were surprised at how often the man seemed to avoid them.
Steve had begun to wonder if his original assumption of Tony was correct. He had thought that the team moving into the tower would bring them closer but Tony was often too busy to join them. He made sure to come to any meetings (usually late) and hung out occasionally but not as much as Steve would have liked. He thought Tony was better than his original assessment but he was starting to think the man had not changed at all.
"We should ask him," Steve decided. "Tomorrow."
The opportunity to talk to Tony came early in the morning.
Natasha, Bruce and Clint followed Steve up to the pent house where he resided with Pepper. JARVIS had allowed them entry once Tony had confirmed it was okay and they rode the elevator up in silence.
When the elevator stopped and the door slid open, the five of them froze.
A small figure stood completely still a few feet away from the elevator. A white sheet covered the small figure, the tips dragging along the floor and hiding anything underneath (if there was anything underneath). Large, oval-like eyes had been coloured in black marker but that was the only defining feature.
"Is everyone else seeing this?" Clint asked quietly.
"Yes," Steve swallowed.
"Hey guys. You planning on leaving the elevator at all?" Tony asked, appearing suddenly and giving them an amused smirk.
"Uh, Tony?" Bruce frowned, gesturing the ghost.
Tony looked down and then back to Bruce. "What? You've never seen a ghost before?"
"So, the Tower is haunted," Steve stated, unsure at how he felt at this new development.
Tony smirked grew more pronounced. He gently cupped the head of the ghost and titled it towards him. "Hey, have you been haunting my tower?"
The ghost shook his head.
"Hmmm, you sure about that?" Tony asked.
The ghost nodded.
"Well, these guys think your haunting them so how about you take your costume off," Tony chuckled softly.
The ghost hurried to peel the sheet of their body and the group came face to face with a young boy. He had big brown eyes, curly hair that was sticking up from the sheet and a worried look on his face.
"M'not a ghost! Promise!"
"See, not a ghost," Tony winked at the group, hand automatically smoothing down the child's hair. "I can promise you the Tower is not haunted."
Steve stepped out of the lift, the others following him as he stared at the young kid.
"Besides," Tony continued. "Ghosts don't get any lunch, do they Peter?"
"Lunch!" Peter squealed, jumping up and down. "I want lunch."
"Come on then," Tony said, scooping up the child in a motion that was obviously familiar. "You guys can join if you are hungry."
Steve followed automatically. His mind tried to make sense of what he was seeing but he couldn't. Tony Stark was holding a child in his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. It was not an image that Steve would have eve associated with the man and it was one that was hard to wrap his head around.
"Alright Underoos, what do you want?" Tony asked, stopping in the kitchen.
"Juice pops!" Peter cheered, his little legs kicking out as he bounced in Tony's arms.
"You eat anymore juice pops and you're going to look like one," Tony teased. "and your mum will be mad if I turn you into a juice pop."
Peter giggled and Steve balked as he realised that this was the same giggling he had heard echoing down the halls.
"Mac and cheese," Peter decided instead.
"Good choice," Tony grinned and he planted Peter on the bench. "You stay here, alright. You can be head chef. Now crawling around."
Peter nodded seriously. "k' daddy."
"You have a kid," Steve finally managed to speak as Tony opened the fridge and pulled out a dish.
"Uh, yeah," Tony frowned, taking the cling wrap off the dish and started spooning out a portion of mac and cheese that had obviously been made the day before into a new pot.
"More please daddy," Peter said, staring into the new pot.
Tony added some more into the pot.
"Tony, you have a child," Steve stressed, glancing between the two.
Tony stared at Steve, eyes flickering over him in a way that Steve knew he was assessing the man. "Yeah, Steve. Peter is my child. I know."
"You didn't tell us you had a kid," Steve said as Clint approached Peter and offered his hand for a high-five which Peter eagerly gave.
"Yes, I did," Tony retorted.
"No, you didn't," Natasha said as she slid into a stool behind the kitchen bench. "I'm impressed you managed to keep him hidden so well."
"Yeah," Clint added, giving Tony a look. "It's hard to keep a family secret."
"Huh," Tony frowned, putting the pot on the stove and lighting up a burner. "I must have forgotten to tell you guys. Well, guys, this is my son, Peter."
"Hi!" Peter chimed in, giving a wave and a cute smile.
"Nice to meet you, Peter," Steve smiled back. He felt as if he had missed a step, stomach swooping as he tried to regain balance. The resemblance between Peter and Tony was uncanny and there was no doubt that this was Tony's son.
"Daddy! I have to wash my hands now," Peter said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Yes, you do," Tony agreed. He scooped Peter off the bench and carried him over to the sink. "Steve, you mind stirring that mac and cheese?"
Steve nodded, moving to the pot and doing as Tony asked. While he did, he watched Tony interacting with Peter out the corner of his eye. Tony let Peter turn the tap on and squeeze out his own soap, giving him encouraging words as he did. The whole routine brought a smile to Steve's face.
Guilt churned in his stomach. Once again, he had miss judged Tony. He had made fast assumptions about the man that weren't true. Tony was the man to lay down on the wire and everything he did was for his son.
"Don't wipe your hands on me," Tony spluttered, drawing Steve from his musing. "Do I look like a dish towel?"
"Yes!" Peter giggled and brought his wet hands up to Tony's cheeks and cackled as he rubbed them over leaving a wet trail behind.
"Oh, that is lovely," Tony mock glared. "Let's see how you like it." And then he cupped the back of Peter's head and brought his face close to Tony's where he proceeded to rub his wet cheek against Peter's.
"NooooOoooOoo," Peter squealed, trying to get away but was laughing to hard.
Steve smiled. He had definitely misjudged Tony and made a vow to get to know the real Tony Stark and his family.
Happy reading and a reminder that PROMPTS ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED!
