Author's Note: As stated before, this was inspired by A Tool (To Save Yourself) by josywbu on ao3 because I loved the concept of Tony making a stuffed toy with all these features to help Peter out when he has nightmares. So this chapter is my take on that. Still just Steve & Tony in this chapter but Peter is the catalyst for all this. Tony & Peter interaction will return in the last chapter!

A few days later, Tony was in his workshop, Black Sabbath blaring from the speakers, fully engrossed in his latest project. Peter was back home for the week, giving Tony the opportunity to work on said project, as he intended it to be a surprise for the kid. He didn't notice that someone else had entered until his music was automatically turned down to a much quieter level. Tony had only programmed that to happen for two people who had especially sensitive hearing. Considering Peter wasn't at the compound, that left only one other option.

"Good morning, beloved," Tony called out before he looked up and caught Steve grinning.

"Afternoon, actually." Steve came bearing sandwiches. "I was bringing you something to eat since you've been here all day and I know you've probably lived off nothing but coffee and that bagel you scarfed down 6 hours ago. What are you working on? Suit upgrades?" Steve found a relatively clear space on the opposite of the table to set the plate of food down.

"Upgrades, yes. But not to the suit."

Steve came around to stand beside him. "Uh, what are you doing to Little Tony?" Steve said, spouting out the bear's name without thinking. Tony had what used to be an Iron Man teddy bear, face down on the table. It had been split open down the back, with most of the stuffing removed. It was surrounded by wires, LED lights, and computer chips.

Tony sat back and blinked. "Okay, a couple things. First of all, this isn't yours. Yours is back in our closet. Secondly, 'Little Tony'?"

"Yes, why, what's the matter with that?" Steve asked defensively.

"I gotta say that's a little insensitive. If mean if he's anything like me, he probably doesn't want to be reminded of his height."

"I'll keep that in mind." Steve said jokingly. "What do you call yours, anyway?"

"I didn't give it a name." Tony replied, a little too quickly.

Steve looked at him incredulously. "You don't expect me to believe that do you? You give names to everything, as well as several nicknames."

Knowing Steve wouldn't let this go until he got an answer, Tony gave in. "Its name is Captain Spangles, all right? And if you breathe a word of that to anyone, you'll be sleeping on the couch for at least the next 6 months."

Steve didn't even bother to hide his amusement. Tony didn't know whether he wanted to slap the smug grin off his face or kiss it. In the end he did neither.

"I won't say a word, Tony, I promise." Steve said, wisely choosing to drop the subject. "So, if it's not mine, whose is it? I thought you said those were limited edition."

"It is a limited edition. I didn't say it was unattainable. You'd be surprised how much these things are going for online." He did pay quite a bit for just a stuffed animal, but it wasn't he like he couldn't afford it. "After you told me what happened with Peter last week, I thought I would take your idea and add to it."

"So this is for Peter?"

"Well, it sure isn't for Barton. I'm adding some custom features that are going to make this even better. Like, for instance, not only will the arc reactor light up, but the eyes will light up too." Tony picked up the right paw "Squeeze this, and it'll play one of 25 encouraging phrases that I've pre-recorded. And none of that clichéd "follow your dreams" stuff, but suited specifically for him."

"25 phrases?"

"Well I was gonna go with 50, but I thought that might be overdoing it." Tony grabbed the other paw. "Squeeze this one, and it'll connect right to FRIDAY who will then contact me, which will come in handy when he's not at the Compound."

"Couldn't he just call you?"

"Yeah, but why not give him another option to contact me? Depending on where his phone is and if it's charged, this could be even faster. And there's also a few other features that I'm toying with."

"Y'know, I didn't really picture you as a toy maker." Steve said with a smirk.

Tony dismissed him with a wave. "Please, I'm a genius. I spend my time designing suits and weapons for superheroes, not to mention all the tech improvements I come up with for SI. You think I can't handle a stuffed bear?"

"I have every confidence in you," Steve said earnestly as he leaned over and kissed Tony on the temple. "This is a good thing you're doing."

Tony decided to forgo any flippant remarks and responded to that with every bit of seriousness. "He's my kid. As much as it pains me to say it, I know I'm not always gonna be able to protect him. But I'll do whatever's necessary to make sure he feels safe."