Disclaimer: All Previous Disclaimers Apply. I also do not own any rights to "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses, "Carry Oy Wayward Son" by Kanas, or "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones. No profit is made.
A/N: A much shorter chapter this time, but it felt right to end it here. I hope you like it!
The first time Tony held Stevie was one of the scariest and best experiences of his life. Stevie was small for a two-year-old, only as big as Peter had been at maybe a year. Tony had never been scared to hold Peter. From the moment he was born there was just something in Tony that recognized Peter as his own, some remnant from ages past or something that had been in Peter as well. From day one as soon as Peter was put in his arms they both relaxed into it, breathing in sync, calming in each other's presence. There was no such immediate bond with Stevie. It had been hard to leave Clint and Bucky in the hospital room after he'd been their guard and one of the only people who'd been able to get them to relax for three days, but when Pepper had suggested that he needed to come meet Stevie so their littlest could get to know him as well he knew she was right. She was also right that she needed to spend some time with Clint and Bucky as well. Their boys needed to be comfortable with them both before they even thought about taking them home. So, Tony had left Clint and Bucky in their private room with Peter curled up on the bed with them, all three of them drowsing lightly as they watched the nameless cartoon on the screen in front of them. Peter had assured him that he would watch over the boys and when they'd all let him place a gentle kiss to their hair he'd counted it as a win.
He'd been pretty confident, happy, as he walked down the hall to Stevie's room. The first thing he noticed when he walked in was that there was a lot more medical equipment in Stevie's room than there was in Clint and Bucky's, which made sense when he thought about it more. Stevie was sick, whereas the other two were mostly just tired, stressed and in need of a good meal. When he looked past the equipment to see Stevie and Pepper sitting on the rocking chair just beyond the empty bed his heart nearly broke. Pepper had, at some point, probably when Stevie was sleeping, changed into a pair of yoga pants and a loose, flowing shirt. The make-up and neatly organized hair she wore like armor was gone, replaced by a fresh clean face and a messy bun on top of her head. She looked tired, but not exhausted, as she smiled over at him. She was holding Stevie to her, his head comfortably on her chest as they reclined together, careful for the IV that had been placed in his foot, because the little veins on his hands had just been too small. Tony, noticed, in an absent way that he hadn't before, that Stevie was small. Really small. He knew from J.A.R.V.I.S. that Stevie was two-years-old, but it didn't seem possible. He looked about as big as Peter had been when he was turning just a year old. It was when he looked, really looked, at Stevie, that he felt his heart hurt. No matter how comfortable he'd gotten with Pepper, as soon as someone else had entered the room Stevie had tensed up, Tony could see it in the stiff way he was holding himself, the death grip he had on Pepper's shirt, and the distrust, not quite fear because there was a little bit of anger in there as well, in his startlingly crystal blue eyes.
"Hi," Pepper said quietly, so as not to startle the little one in her arms.
"Hi," he said back, just as quietly. He moved slowly, always making sure that he was projecting his movements, wanting Stevie to see everything he was doing, as he crossed the room. When he finally made it to the rocking chair he set a gentle hand to Stevie's back and felt the boy go impossibly stiffer, taunt like a bowstring, and leaned over to press a gentle kiss to Pepper's waiting lips.
"Stevie, this is Tony," Pepper said gently, running a hand over Stevie's fine hair, blonde Tony could see now that it had been washed, "I've told you about Tony. He's been staying with Clint and Bucky while we're here, but we thought it was a good idea for you two to meet. Stevie just got off of oxygen this morning, Tony." She never changed the tone of her voice, gentle but not condescending as so many adults spoke to kids. Pepper had always given every person the respect they deserved, regardless of age, and Tony follow suite.
"Hi, Stevie," He crouched down so that he could look directly in those mistrusting eyes, "I'm glad to see you're feeling a bit better. The doctors tell us just a couple of days and we'll all be ready to go home. We're having a new bedroom done up for you. Bucky told me you like blue."
When Stevie didn't say anything, Tony looked up at Pepper with a question in his eyes.
"Stevie doesn't feel like talking very much quite yet." Pepper told him, smiling down at the little boy in her arms warmly.
"That's okay. I talk enough for the both of us." Tony said, "You can talk when you're ready, Stevie. Or not if you don't feel like it. Clint and Bucky have been teaching me and Peter some sign language so that we can understand Clint better and he tells me that you're a pro at it."
"I'll have to learn, too," Pepper nodded, "I'd better get started. Stevie, I'm going to have Tony sit with you for a while. I promise, he doesn't hurt when he touches. Just like me, all he wants to do is see you happy and healthy."
"That's right," Tony agreed.
He helped Pepper sit up the reclining back of the rocking chair and waited until she stood before reaching out for Stevie. The only indication of his fright, was the wideness of his eyes and the stiffness of his little body, as he loosed his hand from Pepper's shirt as soon as she began moving him into Tony's embrace. Taking Stevie in his arms was like taking hold of a board, but Tony didn't give any indication that anything was off. Drawing attention to it would only make Stevie more aware of it as well. As soon as Tony was holding the little boy he sat in the rocking chair, much the same way that Pepper had, and leaned back so that Stevie could lay against his chest.
"I'll see you both in a little bit," Pepper said, running her hand over Stevie's hair one last time, "Maybe if the doctors say it's okay I can bring Clint and Bucky to Stevie's room for dinner."
"That would be good," Tony agreed, "Until then Stevie and I are just going to get to know each other a little better. Maybe take a nap or watch a movie."
Pepper smiled the soft, romantic smile that Tony knew was reserved just for him, and leaned over to kiss him before she left the room quietly.
Tony and Stevie sat in the silent dimness of the room for about ten minutes, with the boy still stiff and uncomfortable in his arms before Tony couldn't take it anymore. Silence had never been something that he was truly comfortable with, even when he was on his own, and he felt himself growing antsy, which wasn't good when Stevie was still so utterly terrified of him. He considered just letting himself ramble, but he knew that when he did that he wasn't completely in charge of what came out of his mouth and his mind had been in some dark places the last few days, the abuse of the boys having brought back a lot of the memories that he had suppressed for so long about the abuse he'd been given by his father's hand for so many years. He wasn't quite sure how much Stevie would actually understand, but a little boy, even as young as Stevie was, would be forced to grow up and know about topics he never should have at his age because of the abuse, so he really didn't want to take the chance. So, he began to hum, starting low and broken, but growing a little in volume as Stevie began to relax against him bit by bit. He didn't know when the hum became low singing, just as he didn't really pay attention to what he was singing, going through songs like "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Carry On Wayward Son" and singing them in ways that kept them gentle and low. It wasn't until the last chorus of "Wild Horses" that he noticed that Stevie had finally relaxed against him bonelessly. He took a chance and looked down at the little boy in his arms while he sang.
"Wild horses couldn't drag me away. Wild, wild horses. We'll ride them someday."
The blue eyes the met his were tired and half-closed, glazed with near sleep. But, there wasn't fear in them any longer. The mistrust had given way to comfort and, dare Tony say it even a little bit of affection. He began the song again as those eyes closed and Stevie relaxed into sleep. He pulled a light blanket out of the basket next to the chair and laid it over Stevie's little back, rubbing it gently over the blanket as the boy slept. He kept humming, warm and comfortable himself, feeling such a sense of overwhelming love for the little one in his arms, until he, too, gave in and fell asleep.