So… not much is happening here except some cuteness overload and the press being assholes who don't understand that all bodies are different. I promise that when I graduate with my journalism degree I will only report on actual news and not gossip. I'd actually really like to work for NatGeo as a photojournalist. That was I can still be involved in science. But enough about me, let's boogie! I'll see you at the end.


Tony and Nicola stayed in medical for a whole week before they got to go back home. The doctors wanted to make sure that both were doing alright. Tony and Nicola were lucky, other then the normal post-birth bleeding and being in pain, Tony was alright. Nicola so far had no complications. His breathing was great and every test they'd done came back clean. It looked like Nicola hasn't inherited any of Steve's past illnesses and everyone was thankful.

The whole time they were in medical Steve was nothing but supportive. Tony was mostly on bed rest so Steve was the one to change diapers and make sure that Tony and Nicola were comfortable. Steve didn't complain one bit. He was more than happy to be doing all those things that dads should be doing but more often than not fell to the moms. Steve wanted to be there and present, nothing would change that.

The first time that Tony breastfed Nicola it was certainly an experience. It took Nicola a little while to figure out how to latch on and Tony was freaking out that he was failing as a parent. It was stressful. And, once Nicola finally figured it out Tony learned that breastfeeding wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. Sure, it allowed him to bond with his baby in a way that nobody else could, but fuck were his nipples sore.

One thing Tony did a lot of while in medical was just talk to the baby. But not in English. That was boring and also Steve's job. No, Tony talked to Nicola in Italian. He wanted his baby to grow up speaking Italian first as he did. Tony wanted Nicola to learn his heritage and that started with Tony's and his Mama's first language. In retaliation, Steve spoke English and a bit of Gaelic to Nicola. Nicola was certainly going to know more than one language before he even hit kindergarten that was for sure.

The day they finally got to bring Nicola home was both stressful and a relief. Tony was more than happy to be getting out of medical and back home. He wanted more than anything to just cuddle up in his own bed with Steve and Nicola and just relax. Medical was never relaxing. There were doctors and tests and visitors all day. It was exhausting.

Going back home was amazing. Tony got to put on some normal clothes, and by normal clothes, Tony was talking about a zip-up hoodie and a pair of Steve's sweat pants, and Steve got him in a wheelchair so he wouldn't have to walk back to their room. Tony just got to relax and hold Nicola. They weren't immediately heading back to their room though. Their friends were holding a little welcome home party in the living room. Plus they all wanted to see the baby more.

"Welcome back you guys?" smiled Bruce as the new parents entered the living room with their precious bundle. The room was set up with all sorts of soft things and some things for the baby. There was also food and Tony looked ecstatic to see food that wasn't the shitty stuff he had to eat down in medical.

Steve helped Tony curl up on the couch with the baby and smiled as all their friends milled around. What nobody expected was for Acorn the cat to walk over, sniff the baby, and curl up right next to him. It was absolutely adorable and Tony shed a few tears. Damn hormones.

What made everyone else happy was that after some rigorous hand washing, they could all take turns holding the baby. Rhodey was the first and he went off how he was going to be an amazing uncle and how he's going to keep Nicola out of all the trouble he was sure to get into seeing as he had Tony Stark and Steve Rogers as parents.

Happy and Pepper couldn't get over how small Nicola as. Pepper was smitten right away and Happy cried when Nicola grabbed his finger. He was a big softy for babies. Thor was hesitant and first to hold the baby just because of his strength, but together with Bruce they figured it out and were also smitten with the baby. Clint already and two kids so neither Tony nor Steve were worried when it was Clint's turn. Clint would definitely be their go-to baby sitter if they needed a date night to themselves. Sam also had experience with babies. He had a few nieces and nephews and was comfortable enough when he was handed the baby.

"He's like a perfect mix between the two of you guys. That's insane!" commented Sam while he was holding Nicola.

"I can't wait for when he's a little older and we get to know his eye colour. I really hope he gets Tony's eyes." Smiled Steve.

"I'm just happy he didn't get my hair." Yawned Tony as he let Steve bundle him in a few more blankets.

When it came time for Natasha to hold the baby Tony and Steve were scared that they'd never get Nicola back. They had to promise the prime babysitting spot just so she'd give Nicola back to Tony so he could feed him. Some of the others thought that it was a little weird that Tony could breastfeed but didn't say anything. In their line of work they'd all seen some strange stuff, you know, besides Tony getting pregnant.

The rest of the afternoon was great. Tony was happy to eat all sorts of non-medical food and didn't hesitate to eat plenty of food. Nobody said anything at that. Despite the still there post-birth belly, Tony was pretty small and scrawny and he needed the fuel for himself to keep going and to help produce milk for Nicola. In fact, they all wanted Tony to eat more and Steve made sure to give Tony the biggest slice of pie at dessert. Happy had made his mom's famous peach pie and everyone loved it.

Tony and Steve's first night alone with the baby was an experience. Sure, Nicola had a nursery of his own, but Tony had put a rocking chair and a little bassinet next to his side of the bed so he could keep an eye on Nicola while he was still so little. This, of course, lead to a very sleepless night. Tony was up every few hours to feed Nicola and Steve always woke up with him to help. Steve didn't need as much sleep as Tony did so they were using that to their advantage.

When Nicola was two weeks old Steve had to go back to Avengers' work. Not fieldwork mind you, Steve thankfully still got that time off. No, he had the displeasure of having to do paperwork. Fury was nice enough to bring the work to him while Nicola was still so young, but still. Steve really didn't want to do paperwork.

So. Steve had to leave Tony's side for about an hour while he got stuff done. Fury stuck around and was practically breathing down his neck so the work would be finished and Steve was so glad when it was. The second he was done he thrust the finished work in Fury's face and stomped off back to his and Tony's room where he knew where the two most important people in his life were resting.

When he got to the room Steve made sure to open the door quietly just in case Tony or Nicola were sleeping. He didn't want to disturb them. So, Steve opened the door expecting to see a sleeping Tony and baby, but what he saw was so much better.

Tony was sitting int eh rocking chair next to the bed with Nicola in his arms feeding the baby. Tony was singing some old Italian lullaby while clad only in a light housecoat that was open and one of those post-birth pads that are just essentially diapers. Any passerby would thing that Tony looked disgusting looking like that, all sleep-deprived and messy hair. But Steve felt the exact opposite.

"God, you look so beautiful." Said Steve in awe as he walked further into the room to go sit on the ground in front of Tony and the baby.

"Well, I'm glad you think so. I look like a hot mess." Sighed Tony as Nicola continued to feed.

"Tony, you've just given birth. You're allowed to look however you want. I'll be right here the whole time saying how amazing you are." Smiled Steve as he got up to get a burping cloth so he could burp the baby.

"Plus neither of us has really been paying much to personal hygiene. I haven't shaved in two weeks."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I'm forbidding you from shaving that beard you're growing." Smiled Tony as he passed Nicola over to Steve. "It makes you look more distinguished and I'm growing attached."

"Then I guess I'm keeping the beard." Smiled Steve. Tony smiled along with Steve. Steve just loved seeing Tony smile.

Smiling was a bit of a problem for Tony at the moment. He just felt so shitty and empty and he cried a lot more. His therapist said it was post-partum depression but Tony felt different. He felt like he wasn't doing enough for Nicola when he was away at therapy. He felt like a failure even though all facts pointed to the opposite. Tony was doing an amazing job with Nicola. That baby was so happy and well cared for and loved. But Tony still held that fear that he would turn out like Howard and that fear was eating him up inside.

Steve made sure to check in with Tony constantly to make sure he was feeling alright. If Tony wasn't then Steve would talk to him alone before taking Tony down to therapy. He knew there were some problems that needed a professional and Steve wanted to help where he could. Tony slowly got better, but they both understood that this was an ongoing work in progress. You don't just get over years of trauma and neglect in a day. Tony was just glad that Steve understood and actually wanted to help. Fuck he loved that man.

A month after giving birth Tony had to make a public appearance to announce something for SI that the board wanted. Pepper tried to get him out of it because Tony was still on maternity leave but the board was full of assholes and all the older men there didn't seem to care that Tony had an infant that needed him. So, with great chagrin, Tony went off to do the announcement while Steve sat backstage with Baby Nicola. The announcement itself went smoothly. The new product was launched and Tony didn't really stick around for questions after. He had more important things to worry about.

But of course, things can never go that smoothly if your name is Tony Stark.

The day right after the press conference there were swarms of articles slamming Tony's appearance. That said all sorts of nasty things like how Tony can't be that good of a mother because his body hadn't returned to its pre-baby glory. Tony was still healing and hadn't been cleared to work out yet so of course, he still had some baby fat on him. That also slammed Tony for the dark circles under his eyes, the messiness of his hair, and the fact that Tony was so tired from not getting any sleep the night before that he'd put on two different shoes.

It really sucked.

The comments were hard on everyone in the tower. Everyone suffered when one of their own was attacked. And the fact that it was Tony being attacked, the most vulnerable member of the team, well, it just made things worse. Tony deserved a break.

"Anthony, sweetheart. What's got you so upset?" asked Steve one afternoon two days after the press conference even though he knew exactly why Tony was upset.

"You don't love me anymore. I look so fat and ugly and I can't be what you want!" cried Tony as he tried to cover his body with a blanket.

"Fuck, Tony. That's not true. That will never be true. You created life, Tony. You created our son. You're still healing and you deserve some rest. I will always love you, no matter what. Nothing will ever change how much I love you." Soothed Steve as he held Tony close. It broke his heart to see Tony like this. Tony should be smiling hand having fun with the baby, not crying and feeling insecure.

"I love you, Steve." Whispered Tony after a little while and all Steve could do was answer back and hope for the best.

But even with Steve's words Tony still felt like shit. So, Steve enlisted the other Avengers and Co to help out. Even Nick Fury and Maria Hill got involved. They started an online campaign about body positivity that had the goal of showcasing that every body was different and people heal from things at different rates. Plus after Steve had posted a video of himself just going off on all the reporters who decided to judge Tony so early after giving birth a lot of the judgement stopped. What was also amazing were the swarms of women and transgendered men who came forward with their own birth stories and post-birth bodies to show the media that birth and healing take time. Everyone handles it differently and deserves to be treated with kindness. After all, creating another human is a hard job.

All the nice comments brought small smiles to Tony's face. It was very rare when the public actually supported him. The fact that so many people were rallying behind him and fighting against the media was just amazing. It showed Tony that there were genuine people out there who cared and that made Tony smile. So maybe now everything would work out. Tony had his baby, his Steve, and people who supported him. It was everything he'd ever wanted. Just pure happiness and support. His younger self would be so happy to know that he'd finally catch a break. It was nice.


So what did y'all think? I couldn't not let Steve have his glorious beard. It's just so hot. I mean, like seriously. The beard in IW was amazing and Chris Evan's beard, in general, is just swoon-worthy. I just had to include it. Also, fuck the media and Fuck Howard Stark. That is all. I'll see you soon. -Shadows