A/N: Okay, here is some promised good times, inside the chapter, somewhere. :) Don't worry, I'll make up for all the pain I put the boys through! I can't make the same promises for the pain that I put you wonderful readers through... Sorry? 3
Unbeta'd, and Marvel owns more of this than I do.
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.
Tony sat on the floor on the side of Mary's bed, tablet balanced against his knees. He let Mary's parents have the two chairs in the room, and Peter had insisted on getting in the bed next to Mary. Tony had helped him find the best spot so that they didn't really jostle Mary's injuries. He reached up, rubbing Peter's leg absently as the boy talked to his Mama. Peter had been really quiet when they first walked in, waiting until he was able to get settled on the bed, then started talking, little tears at first.
That had been over an hour ago, and Peter was now telling Mary everything he could think of, what he wanted to do when she woke up, and how Bruce was almost as good a cook as she was. Almost.
Tony had powered on his tablet about twenty minutes into Peter's story time, hearing him start to talk about what happened on the Hellicarrier, and how he had met the real Captain America. Tony wasn't exactly waiting for a reminder of the past day's events, and he knew he could get some work done as well. He knew the Press had to be chomping at the bits for information, or blood.
There was still no word from Fury about seeing Coulson, so Tony decided to access the little bug still hidden in SHIELD's system. If Fury wouldn't tell him where the man was, then Tony would find out. He owed the man much.
'Sir, Captain Rogers would like a moment of your time when you are able.' Jarvis's text appeared across the top of the tablet. He didn't want to interrupt the family time unless it was important. 'He says that it is at your earliest convenience, and to not rush.' Tony rolled his eyes a little.
Tony moved the tablet when little arms started to slide down from the bed, and down Tony's chest. He looked up, raising an eyebrow. Peter smiled at him, half off the bed, upside down. "What are you doing? You're like a spider."
"I don't have enough legs to be a spider." Peter giggled a little. Tony wrapped an arm around Peter's waist, tickling his sides as he pulled him down into his lap. Peter giggled, kicking his feet a little as he left the bed. He snuggled into Tony's chest, laying on his side in Tony's lap. Tony's arms wrapped around his son and kissed the top of his head. He wasn't paying attention to how Mary's parents were watching him, or the soft smile on William's face.
Tony rearranged his arms, bring his tablet up to rest on one knee, one hand doing all the work of two, as his other arm was firmly around Peter, playing with the ends of his hair. Peter's hands were tracing circles over the new arc reactor, then tracing the new triangle pattern.
"Daddy?" Peter asked softly, and Tony hummed in answer. "Can you draw?"
Tony thought for a second before answering. "Not like you can," he decided on. "I draw designs, like for the arc reactor, or for the Tower that I built. But those are more blueprints." Tony knew that Peter was smart, but he also knew that his school wasn't going to be teaching the kids anything about technical design. He tried to keep things simple enough, but didn't want to insult Peter's intelligence. These were things that he would teach his son, if he had an interest in them. "My drawings consist more of rulers and straight lines, more exact measurements. Not much imagination needed on my end I'm afraid."
"Nuh uhn," Peter said, shaking his head, and Tony glanced down at him. "You have to have imagination to think of what you want that to look like. You made up the Tower on your own." Tony gave Peter a small smile and kissed his cheek.
"You're right, but you have a better imagination than me, that's for sure." Tony tapped his fingers along Peter's nose. "I've seen your drawings, you're pretty talented, kiddo."
"You hang them up around the house," Peter said with a proud smile.
"Of course I do," Tony said smiling back at him. "I want everyone who comes here to see your stuff. Cause then when they ask who made it I get to say, 'Why, that was made by my amazing son, Peter!'" Tony put on an exaggerated posh accent, stretching out his arm in show. "'Yes, I know, 'tis amazing and much better than anything that your six-year old could make. Sell it? Why I could never part with something that is considered priceless to me!'" Peter had started giggling, and it soon turned into a full bellied laugh as Tony continued with his silly voice. Tony couldn't help but grin down at his son, pressing his face to Peter's neck and blowing a raspberry, making him squeal with laughter this time
"Daddy!" He laughed and wiggled around, but didn't push Tony away. Tony cackled and lifted his shirt, blowing a raspberry on Peter's stomach this time, causing him to squeal again. "Daddy, no! That tickles!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that." Tony looked around, feigning deafness. "I was distracted by the high pitched squeals of a little boy." Tony repeated the action, making Peter squirm again with another laugh. "I think you said you wanted me to keep doing that? I mean, if you're sure!" Tony laughed and blew one more raspberry.
Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's head, trying to stop him, and kissed his face. Tony smiled at Peter, rubbing his scalp with his fingers. Peter tapped the arc reactor again lightly. "This is different." Tony let him pulled down the collar of his shirt, looking for the black lines again. "This one makes you better?"
"Yeah," Tony nodded. "This is made from a brand new element. What do you think about it?"
Peter pushed his lips a little, then moved to push Tony's shirt up, exposing the arc reactor. Tony took a slow breath, letting his son examine it, and touch it. It might always sound weird, but he's trusted Peter with the arc reactor since he was two.
"It feels different," Peter said after a few minutes, pulling Tony's shirt back down. "But, in a good way. It doesn't feel as, ummm," Peter's face crinkled as he tried to find the words to describe was he was feeling. "It doesn't feel as icky. I like this one." Tony nodded, smiling at him.
"I feel the same way, it makes me feel a lot better," Tony told him. Peter was eerily perceptive about the arc reactors. One day soon, he was going to ask him how he could know so much about it. When Peter was better able to articulate his thoughts into more scientific terms. Peter smiled, humming a little, before settling back against Tony's chest.
"Do you want me to bring you your sketchbook?" Tony asked his son a little bit later. "Maybe a book? We can read to Mama later, as well, and you know she'll love to see all your new drawings."
Peter thought about it for a little bit, then nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
"I know it is," Tony smirked a little at Peter. "That's why I'm the Dad." He pushed Peter's nose a little, making him scrunch up his face adorably. Tony leaned against the bed to push himself to his feet without having to let go of Peter, and arranged him back on the bed next to Mary. "I'll be right back, kiddo."
Tony stepped out of the room, closing the bedroom door lightly and headed a couple doors down to Peter's room. "Hey, Jarvis, have you located Wade and his Mother?"
"I have secured their location, and can relay that neither Wilson has been injured," his AI dutifully relayed. "I am working on contacting them, as cell towers communications have not been restored yet."
"Let me know if you still can't get a hold of them by dinner time, I'll go out and get them myself." Tony found Peter's backpack that had been on the Hellicarrier and made sure that his sketchbook and art supplies were still inside. "I'll get them a satellite phone as well if I have too."
Tony picked up the backpack and headed back out and saw Rogers waiting for him outside. "Traitor, AI," he muttered under his breath. "What can I do for you, Cap? J said you wanted to talk to me?"
Steve looked up at Tony, lost in his thoughts, surprised at the billionaire's appearance, even though he had been waiting for him. "Uh, yeah." Very intelligent, Rogers. He stood up straight from the wall to look at him.
Steve had been thinking about Bruce's words from breakfast, and it was something that Mary had said months ago as well. He needed to talk to Tony, and it would have been better if he had done it before the battle, before the Hellicarrier even, but he hadn't. Now, Steve had to try and talk to him before the aftermath of the battle happened, before debriefs and the press, and hope that it wouldn't be extremely awkward.
"Don't exhaust your vocabulary," Tony said, eyebrow raised. Steve blinked and realized that he must have been lost in thought, making Tony wait.
"Sorry," Steve said, slipping his hands in his pockets. He needed to grab some clothes from his apartment. "I didn't want to interrupt anything." He motioned towards the door.
"I'm sure I'll welcome the distraction later when Mary's Mom decides that I'm in open season again," Tony muttered.
"So, she hasn't calmed down then." Steve felt bad for Tony. He shouldn't judge, but the only interactions he's had with the woman were her putting down Tony. Steve had already done that, and he felt bad about it, Tony didn't need that from the Grandmother of his son.
"That's pretty much her normal setting." Tony shrugged a little, adjusting the small backpack. "Well, when it comes to me. She puts board meetings to shame, that's for sure. But she's good with Peter, and she never talks bad about me in front of him, so that's about all I can ask for."
"Doesn't mean you deserve any of those words," Steve insisted.
And yeah, Tony had caught the end of what he could only assume was Steve's default 'Captain-America-speech' mode when he was coming back up from the workshop. He wasn't sure why the man would say any of those words about him, maybe because he owed them since Tony had thrown himself into a space wormhole.
"I'm sure you didn't want to talk to me about bad family values," Tony told him, moving fully into the hallway now. He told Peter he'd be right back.
"No, sorry, got a little off topic." Steve rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, other hand still in his pocket. "I just wanted to say, that if you need to talk-"
"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is something that I believe would be in your best interest to see." Jarvis's voice rang in the hallway and Tony almost thanked him for distraction. Tony reached in his pocket for his phone when it buzzed with whatever Jarvis had found. There was a news clip and Tony brought it up full screen, turning the sound on.
"-a hero, and I'm so proud of him." There was a man talking to a news reporter who was back in her office. It was a satellite interview in New York, but set away from most of the destruction. There were still cleanup crews in the background, volunteers walking around, checking on people who were outside of apartment buildings. Tony glanced at the name of the man, knowing he was very familiar, and his jaw dropped.
Steve watched Tony, then moved closer when he saw the reaction to whatever Jarvis had shown him. The headline at the bottom changed from the name of the man, George Hayes, to the segment name.
'Tony Stark's Lover Speaks Out On Heroic Act'
"Lover?" Both men said, different emotions in the words.
"What the hell is he doing?" Tony exclaimed. They had broken up, they had spoken to each other in over a year, he had wanted to be with Tony for money, fame, and sex, and Tony was not looking for that for the first time in his life. Well, the sex part at least.
"Who is he?" Steve asked, looking at Tony.
"He was a three date mistake." Tony frowned as they watched the interview. He should warn Pepper, this was going to cause even more problems. Anyone that cared about Tony in anyway knew that he was bisexual, and Tony didn't care, but as far as the press knew, he was as straight as the American Hero standing next to him. There had always been rumors, but why wouldn't there be when the press loved reporting on his drinking and partying, and general debauchery. "Dammit."
"He's so not the same man that he was a few years ago, he's a surprisingly good date." The man and the reporter chuckled and Tony's hand gripped the phone so hard his knuckles were turning white. Did he think that this would be a play to try and get back together with Tony? Or was he just looking for the fifteen minutes of fame?
"Did you tell him about Peter?" Steve asked. Tony turned his head a little to look at the man.
"No, I'm not an idiot," Tony threw at him.
"That's not what I meant, Tony." Steve put his hands up in front of his chest a little. "I know you've kept Peter out of the press, and I'm just hoping that this man isn't stupid enough to say anything just because he wants a little attention."
"I didn't tell him anything," Tony grumbled, looking back down at his phone. "Like I said, I went on three dates with the guy, and it was a mistake. He wanted the prestige of saying that he slept with Tony Stark, and when I didn't give that to him, he got mad." Tony sighed, swiped the video away. As he did his phone rang, Pepper's picture popping up on screen.
Tony shoved the phone in Steve's hands, making the blonde's eyes widen. "Delay her for me."
"I'm sorry?" Steve looked at the phone that was still ringing, then back at Tony.
"I have to give this to Peter," Tony said holding up the backpack. "Delay her for a couple of minutes. I told Peter I'd be right back, and I have to let him know that I'll be a little longer. Dull transparency with the kid for a bit." Steve could understand that.
"Sure, I guess." Steve hadn't even finished the words and Tony was heading back into the bedroom. He swallowed a little and answered the phone, putting the phone to his ear. "Hel-"
"What is going on Tony?" Pepper's voice assaulted Steve's ears almost immediately. "I can't control the press as it is, but who is this clown? Did he not sign an NDA?"
"I honestly can't answers any of those questions, ma'am," Steve said, and Pepper went silent.
"Who is this?" She asked after a couple of seconds, and Steve could imagine that she thought that he was going to be the next guy to show up on the news, right next to this George character.
"Steve Rogers, Miss Potts," he answered.
"Oh. Oh!" She had put together that he was Captain America. "Where's Tony? I need to try and stay on top of, a situation."
"The man claiming to be Mr Stark's, lover?" Steve asked and he swore he heard a tiny chuckle from the woman.
"Yeah, that."
"He's with Peter right now, but he said he should only be a couple of minutes." Steve glanced over at the bedroom door.
"How is he? Peter, I mean," Pepper asked in a softer voice. "I heard about his Mom, and then Tony having to fight," she trailed off a little.
"Tony's doing his best to keep him calm, and telling him everything he knows," Steve answered truthfully. "His grandparents are here as well, so that may help. I can tell that Tony doesn't like being away from Peter, though, even if it is just in the hallway."
"Yeah, I bet." Steve could picture the red head nodding her head. "That's going to be harder to do, soon. I'm trying my best though."
Tony came out of the bedroom, eyes hooded, concealing anger, and the reason why followed him out of the bedroom. "It's always work with you, isn't it?" Rachel whispered to him as they closed the door. "You can't take the time to stay with your son, and my daughter that's hurt because of this mess? It's all about your image, isn't it?"
Tony turned on the woman, and Steve blinked. He'd seen this level of anger back on the Hellicarrier. Tony needed a break, desperately. Steve could see the cracks in Tony's armor. "First, I am trying to take all the time I can, and if I could I would never let go of my son. If you hadn't noticed, though, this city was invaded by Aliens yesterday, and I was unlucky enough to be a part of that, and that meant Peter had to be with me. So if I could shield him from everything, I would." Tony's jaw was clenched, and Steve could see him trying to keep himself from advancing on the woman.
"Second, as much as it hurts to see Mary like this, this is not my fault. This is no one's fault but the man that did that to her, and we caught that bastard. I won't stop making sure that she keeps getting the care that she needs until she's back And third, it's not all about my image, but I need to keep some kind of legacy for Peter, something Good for him to inherit so that he is haunted by my failures, and by my shadow. I need to make sure that he is able to be his own man, and do what he wants when he grows up, not make up for my mistakes."
"Who is he talking, too?" Pepper asked quietly, hearing Tony's angry voice, but not all of the words.
"It's chaos out there," Tony said, gesturing towards the outside. "And if I can stop something from adding to that chaos, then things will go much better as we try to head back towards normalcy." Steve moved forward then, wrapping an arm around Tony's waist, lifting him up and moving backwards away from Rachel. Tony growled and tried to break free of Steve's hold, but the blonde pressed the phone to Tony's ear.
"Let me go Rogers- Pepper?" He blinked, hand reaching up to grab the phone before it fell from his ear. Steve turned him around, setting him back on his feet and Tony started walking down the hall, talking to Pepper. Steve let out a little breath, before turning to look back at the woman by the bedroom door.
"Captain Rogers, I would like to inform you that Director Fury is trying to contact Sir," Jarvis announced and Steve looked up briefly. "He does not appear to be happy with the recent news."
"Tell him we're dealing with it," Steve said. Dealing with Fury was not what Tony needed as well. They were still going to be dealing with the aftermath of the invasion as well. "Under no circumstances is Fury allowed to talk with Tony right now."
"I am apt to agree, Captain."
Turning his attention back to Rachel, Steve put his hands on the front of his belt. "Ma'am, I understand that you are upset about Mary, I am as well. I worked very close with her, and I helped watch Peter. But, I would ask that you not turn that anger towards Tony."
"With all due-" Rachel started, but Steve leveled her with a look that only Captain America can use, and she stopped suddenly.
"Can I ask a question? Were you with your husband when he served in the military?" Steve asked her and she blinked. "Were you together when he came home from serving?"
"Of course," she said right away. "Mary was in college when Bill served his last tour."
"And was it easy for Mr Fitzpatrick when he came back home? Did he fall back into a normal civilian routine?" Rachel looked at Steve, looking like she was going to refute his words, then her expression changed with understanding. "I don't know what Tony saw when he got rid of the missile, but he did not come back unscathed. All people deal with their stress and fears in different ways, and I'm not sure how it works with Tony, but he needs support as well. He's used to having Mary around to help him with parenting, and going to her for help. Tony was right, it wasn't his fault what happened to Mary, but we did catch the one that was responsible, and now we just have to wait for her to wake up. Take care of her, and Peter, that's all that we can ask you and your husband to do. We'll do the rest."
Mary's mother let out a breath, looking at Steve, then nodded. "I hadn't realized that so much had happened." She didn't offer any more words and went back inside the room where the rest of her family was. Steve wasn't expecting a full turn around, but he supposed that this would be enough. Maybe it would be enough for her to back off Tony at least.
Turning around, Steve went down the hall to try and find Tony. He just had to follow his voice. "-slap him with a gag order, a restraining order for sure, I don't care." Tony would definitely need a break after this. "Anything to get him off TV." There was a pause, as Pepper was probably speaking. "I don't care what they know about my sexuality, that's never been a secret to any of the press. But this is not the time to be reporting on this kind of bullshit." Steve found Tony pacing back and forth in the main entrance.
Steve's own phone buzzed and he pulled it up seeing a text message from Natasha. Fury was apparently on the war path, thanks to the World Security Council, and she and Clint were looking to get out. Steve wiggled his nose a little, kind of wanting the rest of the team to come here, but this was Tony's house, and he didn't know if he would like, or want, that. He wanted to check in with Thor as well, they needed to make some decisions about what was going to happen with Loki, and the tesseract.
"Were the changes made to the Expo?" Steve glanced back up at Tony when he heard his voice again. Tony hummed, nodding a little. "Good, make sure there are buses there to make sure people are safe. Let the hospitals know that the jets are available for fast travel if they need medication or anything." Tony turned, and Steve could see his profile, saw the little frown that marred Tony's face. "I have no intention of leaving this house for the rest of today, or tomorrow. And I'll tell you the same thing I told Bruce and Cap this morning; I don't want a party or any kind of celebration. I'll be having pancakes with my son, and then that's that."
Pepper must have been making some kind of case as Tony's expression softened a little. "Just pancakes, Pep," Tony said quietly. He made a noise. "Yeah, you too, Pep." Another pause. "That will be all Miss Potts." Steve thought he saw the ghost of a smile. He cleared his throat softly as Tony hung up, and the older man turned his head to look over.
"Hey, uh, thanks for that, back there," Tony said, motioning back down the hall. "In-laws, that aren't technically in-laws, but they kind of are, you know." He nodded down towards Steve's hand that was still holding his phone. "Is Fury trying to court-martial me, yet?"
"Huh?" Steve glanced at his phone. "Oh! No, not yet, but he's not happy. I think that might actually be an understatement." Tony snorted and Steve smirked a little. "No, Natasha sent me a message."
"Her and Legolas stuck at SHIELD still?" Steve nodded to Tony. "Well, might as well invite them over. It's not that I want all these people in my house, but it would be better for them to just be here instead of trying to sneak inside when Fury gets too far up their asses. I've got more bedrooms upstairs anyway. I'm not sure what to do about Thor's brother, though."
Steve tilted his head a little. "You'd let Loki in your house?"
"Honestly? No. But, maybe I could show Rachel his way and let her take it all out on him." Tony's fingers of his good hand were flying over the screen of his phone. "Also, I wouldn't trust Thor and Loki alone at SHIELD, at least not with Fury. We gotta figure out something to do with the Cube, and Reindeer Games, and it'd be better if we were all in the same place. Jarvis will be able to keep people out of where they aren't supposed to go. Just have to figure out a way to contain him though," Tony murmured.
Steve watched him for a second. He was starting to piece together the enigma that was Tony Stark, starting to put together the same person that was Peter's father, and the billionaire.
Tony was sitting on the floor, next to Bruce's bedroom door, across from Mary's door, phone in his hand. His tablet was still in Mary's room, but he still had a couple things that needed his attention, and he didn't actually want to put up with Mary's mother.
Jarvis brought up the outside camera, showing Romanoff and Barton coming to the house. The door was unlocked and they walked in, each with one duffle bag over their shoulders. Steve was waiting in the foyer for them, and he put a hand on Barton's shoulder. As Tony watched them it was now obvious that Steve had worked with them before.
The door to Mary's room opened and Tony's head popped up. He saw William walking out, a sleeping Peter in his arms. Tony hopped up, slipping his phone into his pocket and walked forward, easily taking Peter from the older man. Peter's head was on Tony's shoulder and he snuggled into Tony's chest, hand pressing against the arc reactor. Tony smiled a little.
"We're gonna get some air," William said to Tony as Rachel walked out of the room as well. "Your, AI?" Tony nodded, "he said that he was alert us if anything changed, or when dinner was ready."
"Yeah, he's monitoring all of Mary's vitals, sending constant updates to her Doctors," Tony said, hand rubbing Peter's back in circles. "He pretty much knows everything." William nodded. "Oh, there are two other people here, but they'll be staying upstairs. I thought I would let you know. They helped, with the attack yesterday, so they can be trusted." Trusted enough, he didn't say. "I'm sure Jarvis has told you that there's a garden in the back, benches chairs, gazebo, pretty much everything."
"Take a minute for yourself, son," William said, patted his arm. He gave Tony a little smile, then took Rachel's hand, and they were heading down the hall.
Tony took a breath, pressing his cheek to Peter's head, closing his eyes. He took a second to just take in the moment, of his son in his arms. This was real, he was there, Peter was okay. He was breathing, asleep in his arms, and he was going to be okay. Tony would give anything to make sure that nothing else would happen to Peter, that nothing else would make him scared. A wave of terror swept over him and he opened his eyes. He couldn't help but feel that he was in over his head again, that he was going to mess everything up. Mary needed to wake up so that Tony didn't have to go through this alone, he couldn't raise Peter alone, he wasn't equipped to handle it.
Footsteps coming down the hall brought Tony's from his thoughts and he saw the three SHIELD Agents coming towards him. Barton was looking better than he had seen him during the battle, but he looked more troubled. Vaguely Tony remembered that Barton had been the one to shoot Mary in her leg. Steve directed Romanoff and Barton to Mary's door. Romanoff gave the archer a look, both having a conversation in seconds, before he went in the room alone.
"How is he?" Steve whispered, stepping closer to Tony and Peter, looking at Peter.
"He's napping," Tony replied, running his hand through Peter's shaggy hair. "William brought him out, so I'm not sure how long he's been asleep."
"Less than an hour, Sir," Jarvis supplied helpfully.
"He'll probably sleep for another forty-five minutes," Tony continued. Natasha walked over and Tony caught her eyes. "Does this mean you're officially out of my actual business?" Steve glanced between Tony and Natasha.
"I no longer have cover working for Stark Industries," she confirmed, nodding.
"I already have Jarvis scanning for any bugs or tracers that you left behind." Tony's eyes narrowed a little, but not angrily.
"I'd expect nothing less," she nodded. Her eyes went to Peter, then back to Tony. "He looks like you."
"He looks more Mary," Tony countered. "And he needs a haircut, it's starting to get shaggy, and no son of mine will start to look like a hippie."
"He likes having shorter hair," Steve agreed. "Mary put something in his hair to get it spiked up, like yours usually is," he said nodding to Tony, "and he kept asking for that the rest of the week."
"I remember that," Tony hummed, turning a smile towards the sleeping boy. "He kept putting his hand on his head, feeling the spikes, then started putting pieces of paper on top. He wanted to see how much weight his hair could hold before the product gave in." Tony rubbed his fingers through Peter's hair. "He gets the experimenting thing from Bruce, the trial and error thing. I just jump headfirst into everything."
Natasha watched him for a few seconds. "Fatherhood suits you, Stark." Tony looked up at her, frowning a little. "I've seen you before Afghanistan, and you're completely different, you're tamer, not so drunk."
"I would kill for a drink or three, don't think that's changed that much," Tony told her.
"What's stopping you?" Natasha asked him. She knew, but she wanted to hear him say it.
"I promised Mary that I would never drink in front of him," Tony told her. "And I wouldn't be around him if I've had more than two drinks."
"She put a limit on the drinks?" Steve asked.
Tony shook his head. "No, I made the limit rule. It's a personal thing." Natasha looked like she was about to say something, but Tony cut her off. "No more personal questions, we are so not a level of friends where you can ask about all that stuff."
"Was it the spying on you?" Natasha asked, a faint smirk on her lips.
"It was definitely the spying, and the lying," Tony nodded. The door to Mary's room opened a little bit and Natasha turned, walking into the room to join Barton. Tony let out a huff through his nose and leaned against the wall.
"Do you wanna keep holding him like that?" Tony had almost forgotten that Steve was there until he spoke. "Peter, I mean. Did you want to put him down in his bed? You're looking kind of tired yourself."
"I'm exhausted," Tony told him. "But, honestly? I'm probably not going to sleep for a while. I probably should have checked on how much coffee I had left here, I know I had already moved some to the Tower. Not the point, I'm sure I still have enough here to stay up, I can get a lot done."
"I didn't get a decent night sleep for the first three months," Steve said. Tony frowned a little and looked over at him, turning his body a little. "After I first woke up. I don't think I slept at all for three days, and then when my body was just too tired, that's when I slept without dreams, or memories." Tony watched the blonde slip his hands in his pockets, looking very much less Captain America, and more Steve Rogers. "I know, right now, it's not your ideal action, but if you need me too, I can watch Peter for you."
Tony nodded a little to him, biting the inside of his lip discreetly. "Thanks, Cap," he murmured. He wouldn't admit out loud that he was thankful for the offer. Tony was afraid that if he fell asleep with Peter nearby, he might not know that he was there right away, like he had when Rachel had tried to wake him up. He didn't want to hurt Peter, he would never want that to happen.
"So, the stairs over there," Tony motioned with his head to the end of the hallway, "lead up to the second floor. They can have any bedroom they want, the ones that are unlocked." Tony felt the need to leave, to take Peter and be somewhere else in the mansion. "If the door is locked, please, for the love of gods, no one go into that room. It's locked for a reason. If you need me, ask Jarvis, he can relay any messages." Tony was already moving down the hallway before Steve could say anything. Tony belatedly realized that his tablet was still in Mary's room.
Tony hurried down to the door that would lead to his workshop, Jarvis letting the door swing open for him. The workshop was safe, it was familiar. As he stepped inside, his robots rolled over to him, being careful when they saw that he was holding Peter still. He motioned to the couch that sat in the back, and the robots rolled over, pulling the blankets off with claws, trying to rearrange pillows for him. This was safe, this was familiar.
He sat down, then slid his legs up on the couch, his back against the arm of the couch. Peter made a little noise, rearranging himself in Tony's arms as he moved, but stayed asleep. Tony pulled the blanket over Peter, kissing the top of his head. "I wish I had something to help you sleep," Tony said quietly. "Something to chase away nightmares. I'm sure your Mama has something, probably some kind of lullaby, a song. I don't, I'm sorry. My Momma didn't sing to me when I was a kid. Our butler, Jarvis, he would read stories to me sometimes, when he was able." Tony very gently carded his fingers through Peter's hair, making sure the little boy was still asleep. "I know I really don't have the right to ask, but just have a little patience with me. I'm not gonna be as good as Mama, but I'm still Daddy, and I still love you. We'll get through this, until Mama wakes up." Tony wrapped his arms around Peter and listened to his breathing, the comforting, small hand over the arc reactor.
Tony had pretended to be asleep when he felt Peter wake up in the morning. After dinner Tony had made sure to take Peter to his bedroom to sleep, once again staying next to Peter the whole night. Peter had a routine on birthdays, and Bruce had promised to help him make the blueberry pancakes for Tony in the morning. So when ten minutes previous Tony felt Peter waking up, he had closed his eyes, relaxed his body, (hiding his tablet), as Peter carefully climbed down from the bed, and wandered off to the kitchen.
He rubbed his face, still feeling utterly exhausted. Steve had been right, eventually his body would become too tired, and he would sleep without any dreams. He hoped. Putting his arm over his face, he rested his eyes for just a second. He had gone over the wording for the press releases, signed the papers for the restraining order on George, and worked on a way to contain Loki so that Thor could move him over to the Manor today, and away from SHIELD.
Tony felt a hand grip his arm suddenly. It was big, strong, cold, and there were too many fingers. He shouted and tried to pull back, away from the hand, then shoved himself forward. Another hand grabbed his other arm and tried to restrain him. Tony kicked out his feet and he heard a grunt, but the hands didn't let go.
"No!" Tony shouted, growling. "You won't touch him!" He had left the voices in the wormhole, had left it all behind, he made sure that Peter would be safe! "I won't let you!"
"Tony!" It was a different voice that shouted his name, they had sent someone else. "Tony, open your eyes." Tony growled and kicked his feet again, trying to kick up where he thought a head might be. "Tony, it's Steve! Open your eyes."
They had gotten Steve? Tony blinked, and realized that his eyes weren't open. Steve was over him, holding onto his arms, keeping him from falling off the bed, not restraining him. Tony tried to pull away quickly, almost slipping off the bed again, his head headed straight for the corner of the bedside table, and Steve pulled him back up into his chest. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony's body, and he froze.
"It's alright," Steve spoke softly to him. "Peter's alright, he's in the kitchen with Bruce."
"Shit," Tony breathed. "Shit, I'm sorry, I'm fine now, I'm fine." He wiggled and Steve let up a little, but didn't completely let go.
"You have a mean kick," Steve said, causing Tony to raise an eyebrow. Oh, that's right, he had kicked Steve. "I actually felt it." There was a little lift to the side of Steve's lips. He found it funny.
"Well, years of self-defense training," Tony shrugged a little. Steve let go of Tony, but stayed next to him on the bed, just in case.
"When did you start that training? After Iron Man?" Steve moved so that they were facing each other now.
Tony snorted a little. "No, I think I started training when I was five." Steve's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I've been kidnapped sixteen times since I was four years old. Dear old Dad didn't want to keep getting ransoms, so he hired a private trainer for me."
"Sixteen times?"
Tony chuckled a little. "Kids are the first kidnapping targets, followed by the spouse."
"That's not usually what happened in my time," Steve muttered.
"Still got a lot to catch you up on then," Tony replied. "Speaking of time, what time is it?"
"Still pretty early, just after 7," Steve told him. "Peter's still making breakfast with Bruce." Tony nodded a little, rubbing his face with his hands again. "I thought I would come in and see if you were awake, they were just putting the batter in the pan." Tony hummed and nodded. "Also, thought maybe you could use this."
Tony moved his hands and saw that Steve was holding up his hand, holding a couple items that looked like bracelets, one in red, and one in white. "I don't usually do jewelry there, Cap."
"They're kind of like stress bracelets," Steve told him. He held up his other hand, and Tony could see that he was wearing a blue one and a yellow one. "When you're starting to feel stress, from memories, or a flashback, or just too many thoughts, you just snap these against your wrist." He flipped the bracelets, which looked to be made of some kind of rubber, to show that on a few spots there was a patch of hard plastic. "The sharp snap is supposed to bring you back to the present."
Tony tilted his head a little then reached out and took the bracelets from Steve's hand. He turned them over, investigating them, what they were made of, and how the simplicity worked. "Why do you have so many of them?" Tony asked, rubbing his thumb over the plastic pieces.
"I keep snapping them in half," Steve said, a little embarrassed. "They weren't exactly meant for a super soldier, so I eventually just got my own box."
Tony blinked, then let out a snort, then suddenly he was laughing. "Sorry, that shouldn't that funny, but I'm just picturing you snapping them like taffy." Steve smiled softly and Tony couldn't help but smile back. Tony slipped both bracelets over his good hand. "I'll put the other on the other hand when I get the all clear for this wrist."
"How is your wrist?" Steve asked, sounding a little guilty now.
"It's fine, Cap, don't worry about it." Tony snapped a bracelet, testing it out, and he felt the quick, sharp sting. "And don't think that I don't see what you did," he added, getting a completely innocent looking Captain America face. "I said I didn't want anything for my birthday."
"Never said it was a birthday present," Steve said with a little smirk. The little shit. "I did want to say, I'm sorry." Tony frowned. Why was he apologizing to Tony? "All those things I said, back on the Hellicarrier, none of them were warranted, or true, and-"
"That scepter was working us," Tony interrupted him. Captain America doesn't apologize to Tony Stark. "You probably felt weird at some point, all fuzzy in the head. Wasn't your fault, it's why we all kind of exploded."
"Yeah, Dr Banner mentioned something like that," Steve said. "But it doesn't mean that I should have said what I did. I made it personal."
"Yeah, well my words weren't exactly painting your praises," Tony groused. "Seriously, don't worry about it, bridge under the water. Or water under the bridge, whatever, saying never made sense anyway." Tony pushed himself to the end of the bed, getting up. "Better get down to the kitchen before Peter hunts us down. Birthday pancakes are a serious tradition, but I'm sure you know that."
Steve nodded after a beat, then got up to follow Tony. They could tell as they got closer to the kitchen, the smell of food guiding them. It smelled like Bruce was also making some hash browns, and eggs for those who didn't want pancakes.
"Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Peter exclaimed as they walked in, big grin on his face, along with some flour on his cheeks. Tony smiled at him, going over and swinging him up into his arms, dropping kisses all over his face, making Peter giggle.
"Thanks little man. Is that plate supposed to be mine?" Tony held onto Peter, motioning to a plate that was sitting on the island counter, a few stools already set in place.
"Yeah! I made those ones, Uncle Bruce helped with the stove though." Peter let Tony sit, sitting in his lap.
Tony hummed, leaning in and smelling them. "Mmmm, they smell really good. But do you know what I really feel like eating?" Peter turned his head a little to look at Tony. "I feel like eating you!" Tony started to fake chew on Peter's ear. The little boy squealed and giggled, wiggling around, Tony's arms around him keeping him in his lap. Steve and Bruce chuckled as Tony made exaggerated eating noises, making Peter laugh louder.
"Daddy! No!" Peter tried pushing Tony's face away. "You can't eat me!"
"What was that? I couldn't hear you, I was too busy eating my birthday breakfast." Tony started 'eating' him again, a new wave of laughs coming from the boy.
"You can't eat me!" Peter tried again. "I'm not food! I'm a boy!"
Tony stopped suddenly, and looked at Peter closely, narrowing his eyes as he inspected him. He hummed, then held out Peter at arm's length, the little Stark giggling and smiling. "Hmmmm, well you I guess you don't look like food. You kind of look like a boy. Are you positive?"
"Yes!" Peter exclaimed, kicking his legs a little.
Tony turned him, making his movements a little jerky, making Peter laugh more. "Hey! I know you! You're Peter!" Peter put his arms up in victory. "Why would I want to eat you?"
"Cause I'm sweet!" Tony laughed and hugged him close to his chest. Peter had a devious little grin on his face.
"Oh, you are going to be a troublemaker!" Tony smiled, turning back towards his plate of pancakes. "Alright, my little monster, help me demolish this plate of pancakes."
Steve put two glasses of juice down in front of Father and Son, and couldn't help but smile. It was just he and Bruce in the kitchen at the moment, and Steve knew that Tony felt comfortable enough to let go in front of them, to not have to put on a mask. He was slightly amazed at the quick change though, the man that was lost in his mind in the bedroom, and the father out here that acted like nothing was more important than making Peter smile. It was now Steve's mission to make sure that Tony's birthday stayed this way.