Summary: Steve and Tony have been living together for the past year or have a fairly stable relationship, though they are known to fight, a lot. Out on a mission one day they rescue an infant Peter Parker from and inferno. The couple chose to adopt the child because of reasons (no spoilers now). This is their story of how their family got started.
A/N: I'm back, and with another chapter. I never expected for so many people to like my story. I am unworthy of your kindness. But enough of that, back to the story; now we find out what happened to Tony and the infant. Read the A/N at the end for more of my rants ^_^
"Tony!" cried out Captain America. "Tony!" He took a step forward, but was stopped by Hawkeye's strong hold.
"Wait, it's not safe." Hawkeye warned.
"I don't care, we have someone down there!" yelled out the Captain in frustration.
"Captain keep it together. This is Tony we're talking about, he'll be fine." Black Widow counseled him.
The super soldier fell to his knees in defeat. He brought up his hands and covered his face to shield himself from the sight. The dust settled and there was no movement, all was still for minutes.
Then there was a small rustle in the debris where the building once stood. Another episode of silence. The sound of repulsors could be heard, and a metallic red glow shot out of the debris. For a moment the armor was suspended in midair, as if time stopped. It began to plummet fast.
"JARVIS, what's going on?" Iron Man yelled at his computer.
"Sir, we're going through a system reboot. It will be ready momentarily." answered the AI system.
"Make it quick, the ground is looking really close now." he remarked, panic apparent in his voice.
The projections in the armor's HUD came back to life and the rocket boots roared again, flames spewing out. With no time to waste Iron Man used a repulsor in his free had to assist in breaking the fall.
There was a loud thud, and dust filled the air again. The Avengers quickly rushed to the crater, joined now by Bruce Banner, which had been created by the impact. As they reached the edge of the indention all of them, even Black Widow, stood gaping at the site that was laid before them.
The Iron Man armor stood up slowly, adjusting its weight as to not fall over. In his arms was a small bundle of what used to be a baby blue blanket, now a dirty brown. That bundle was holding an infant fast asleep, sniffling slightly due to the excess dust in the air.
Iron Man opened up his face mask, Tony once more and said "See I told you there was a baby in there. But noooo, no one believed me."
He stepped out of the crater and handed the infant to the approaching medical personnel. Tony took his helmet off and asked jokingly "What'd I miss, you guys look like you've been through hell?"
Steve, having taken off his cowl and left his shield behind, stepped towards Tony. Tony opened his mouth to say something and was cut off by Steve's sudden embrace. Dumbfounded Tony stood there for a few seconds, then his brain registered what had happened and returned the gesture. The other Avengers walked off to give them their moment of privacy.
"Whoa there Spangles, down boy. I'm here, I'm fine. Like hell I'd let a burning building get the better of me." Tony remarked smugly.
Voice cracking, Steve said "I'd thought I'd lost you. I started panicking thinking what would happen if you never made it back. It was like when you redirected that nuke, I… I…"
Tony interrupted him, pulling back from the embrace and holding onto Steve's shoulders "Glad to see you have so much faith in me." Tony kissed him lightly on the lips "Look, I'm here and I'm fine. That's all that matters, the rest are just… details."
A reassuring smile found itself on Tony's lips and Steve returned with a childish smile, eyes shining from tears almost spilt.
Bruce Banner had been brought on scene to inspect the child for any abnormalities, he was the first to approach the couple and told them "You guys might want to come and see this. That infant, it's a miracle that he's still alive."
The two released each other and followed Dr. Banner to the makeshift medical tent that had been set up.
Once inside, a full medical staff could be seen running around reading monitors, checking vitals, taking blood to run tests, administrating medicines and treatments. It truly was a miracle that the infant was alive; he was able to escape with minor cuts, bruises and burns here and there even though where he was found was completely burnt through. Unexpectantly though, there were spider bites along his arms and torso. The baby was wailing; the noises and commotion of doctors were too much for the infant.
"What are you guys doing to him? You're scaring him." Steve called out in protest.
"I know, I hate it too, but he was found on the lower levels. There were dangerously high levels of radiation that could have easily killed something as small as him." Banner responded to Steve's question, traces of anger in his voice.
One of the nurses wrapped the infant in a white blanket and carried him away to an incubation chamber in another tent.
"Where are you taking him now? Hasn't he been through enough already?" Steve protested again.
The head doctor came forward and informed the three men standing together "The infant is in stable condition, though we are uncertain of the aftereffects of the radiation exposure. For now he is in an incubation chamber to help him breathe more easily. He took in a lot of smoke and it damaged his lungs. There is a high possibility that he might develop asthma later in his life, but this is just speculation. Here are his files Dr. Banner, look over them when you have the time." He handed the files over and walked away.
Clint and Natasha now joined the rest of the group. There was silence as they all stood together. Natasha was the first to break this silence.
"We have no clues as to who did this, we're running a search for any and all possible enemies that this company had, though I highly doubt we'll find anything." Natasha informed the group.
"Since there is nothing more that can be done here, Fury has called us in for debriefing. After we can all go home." She added.
"Alright, let's go then." Steve ordered in his "I'm the captain, do as I say voice".
Finally Steve and Tony were back at Stark Tower in New York. Both were exhausted, though they were determined to remove the smoke and grime from themselves, so they hoped into their own showers and cleaned off as much as they could. Steve was the first out and greeted Tony with a compassionate kiss and embrace.
"Whoa, what'd I do? Tell me I'll do it again if this is my punishment." Tony responded to Steve's action.
"I was so worried, no words could describe it. I'm just glad that we all made it out in one piece, and that I get to hold you like this." Steve said as he released Tony and walked to his side of the bed.
"You're still going on about that Spangles? Geez, drop it already, like I've said I'm fine. Like hell a falling building could keep me down." a little annoyance was evident in Tony's voice as he repeated himself from earlier that day.
"Come on you're tired, I'm tired; why don't we call it quits and sleep?" Tony yawned "Tomorrow you can go back to worrying if you want, but it's pointless."
Tony found a comfortable spot on the bed and rested his head on the pillow, and he closed his eyes. Steve followed suit after seeing that his lover began to breathe in slow even breaths.
Steve was the first to wake this morning at the early hour of 6:32a.m.
This is the way it should be, I wake up first Steve thought as the quietly rose out of bed, not disturbing his bedmate. He dressed himself in a form fitting white T-shirt with the Stark company logo on the front. He also traded in his pajama pants for a pair of black sweats.
He made his way down to the gym Tony had built for him in the tower. It's a bit much to say that is wasn't there, it was, but it had undergone serious upgrades once Steve moved in. Tony would not stand to have an outdated gym.
This state of the art gym is comprised of computer panels along the wall where the entrance is, and it's divided up into four parts. The first part consists of a boxing ring with an electronic scoreboard suspended over it, a row of seven punching bags, and a small medic office. The second part is an aquatic section closed off with a glass wall with a door, a small pool to swim laps, a Jacuzzi, and a sauna. In the third quadrant it was enclosedo by a small fence like wall that was only 5 feet tall, it had been modeled to be a weight lifting area, filled with bench press stations, dumbbells everywhere, pull-up structures, and other such machines. Tredmills, elipticals, and other cardio machines were in the last area, this was set up to be open and easily accessible. There were holographic clocks on each wall, and 4 t.v. screens along with the clocks. A PA system had been set up to be accessible from the medic office, where the t.v.'s broadcast could be enhanced, or music could be played in its place. JARVIS had the control to change it when ordered too, but Steve preferred to do it by hand. That explains why it had been set up with the most basic controls, and had a drawn out diagram on the side.
Once in the gym he began his routine work out of running a few miles, lifting weights, lower body exercises, destroying the punching bag, and then and abb workout. After drinking a liter of water he glanced at the holographic clock displayed and it read 10:39 a.m.
I've made good time. But now I'm really hungry, guess it's time to come up for breakfast. Steve thought as he began to walk out of the gym and board the elevator.
The room was pitch black, though there were two sources of light, a holographic clock on a bedside table, and a soft blue light coming from the center of a king size bed. There was a man in his thirties wrapped in navy blue sheets, his head resting on a black pillow.
A familiar smell was in the air of the room due to the door being slightly open. The man known as Tony began to stir around as he slowly awoke. He groaned slightly as he realized that he was waking up and had to work.
What time is it? wondered the drowsy billionaire as he slowly turned to his right and rubbed his eyes. After a bit of a struggle he was able to slowly bring his eyes to open and read the clock on the bedside table. It was 11:27 a.m.
Looks like I'm back to my normal sleeping patterns Tony thought as he chuckled lightly and sat up.
"Jarvis open the curtains. Slowly this time, I don't want to go blind like before." Tony scrunched his eyes shut at the memory of a certain morning where his AI had failed him. He had been drinking heavily the night before when he recalled that memory, and the bright sun had not been welcomed.
This time his eyes were given ample time to adjust to the incoming rays. Once the room was well lit, he stood and walked into his closet, returning momentarily with a tank top covering his once bare chest, carrying a T-shirt and jeans. He walked into his bathroom and glanced at himself in the mirror.
"JARVIS, I don't know how, but I'm looking extremely handsome today." Tony remarked as he began to inspect his face, turning it to the left, the right, angling it down, and then up. He commenced his morning routine of brushing his hair, splashing water on his face to erase the last traces of sleep, and dressing.
Once he deemed himself presentable, he left his room and strode into the kitchen to where his lover was seated in the breakfast nook. The roles of yesterday were now reversed it seems.
Tony served himself a cup of coffee and the rest of whatever breakfast there was left. He took a seat on the opposite side of the table where Steve sat reading the newspaper. Steve read, while Tony ate; there was silence for 10 minutes, but it was a comfortable silence, it was a pleasant calm.
Steve broke this silence. "I'm worried about that child you rescued."
"Oh God, I was hoping you wouldn't bring it up. I'm sure he's fine, S.H.I.E.L.D has access to some of the best medics in the world." Tony sighed and responded with a slight annoyance in his voice.
"That's not what I mean. It seems like that infant lost it's only family members in the inferno. I don't know how it is now, but back in the 30s and 40s social services was a new concept. There were so many things that could go wrong." Steve told Tony, traces of anxiety apparent in his voice.
Tony sighed "Times have changed. Social services has a few kinks, but overall it's stable and safe. There's nothing to worry about, I'm sure the kid's fine."
"But the infant had been in an area filled with heavy radiation, he might be normal now, but what about when he gets older? What if it's a delayed change because he's so young? What would happen then if he goes with another family?" Steve questioned.
"Steve it doesn't work that way. Radiation is tricky at best. Look, Banner is watching over the kid, he'll be able to pick up on anything that doesn't seem right." reassured Tony.
"But still-" Steve started.
JARVIS came on and said "Sir Nick Fury is on the line. Shall I take a mes-" it too was cut off.
"Stark! Rogers! Get to the meeting hall ASAP! We have matters to discuss about yesterday's events." Nick Fury barked over the video call.
"Kinda busy here Nicky boy. Can I get a rain check on that meeting?" Tony retorted back.
"I don't have time for your humor Stark; in the meeting hall in no more than half an hour. Any complaints?" Fury ordered.
Tony opened his mouth, but Fury interrupted "Good didn't think so. I mean it Stark, half an hour. Rogers I trust you to get there at least."
With that the call ended and the couple was left in silence.
"Man he really knows how to ruin a day off." Tony complained.
"Tony we're not done talking about this. I really meant it when-" Steve said before Tony jumped in.
"You heard Fury, half an hour. Let's go." Tony stood and walked off.
The Avengers were all together yet again, sitting at a certain round table. Fury was at the head. The group had been together for about an hour and a half discussing events transpired.
Talk transitioned to about the casualties, and what caught Steve's attention, the current state of the infant. Banner took the head when these topics were discussed; it had been near 100% fatality in the basement level. Many had died that day; many more had been severely injured with burns and lacerations. The few that had escaped from the basement levels had all died from radiation poisoning. The only one that hadn't died was the infant.
After Banner finished giving the statistics he informed the group that when the twenty-four hour observation period was over, the infant rescued would hand over to child services. Banner then passed out a small file to each of the member sitting at the table.
Those files had information about the infant, his name Peter Parker. The papers read that his parents were two high ranking scientists working in the laboratory. That day they had failed to find a baby sitter so they brought their son with them. Peter had been kept in the security room so he would be out of the way and not disturb the scientists. Peter's father Richard had a brother named Benjamin, who had been busy that day and could not watch his nephew. Benjamin had left work early that day and went with his wife May to pick up Peter and take him home, since his parents would be working all night. Before the couple left with Peter they decided to go see Richard and Mary in the lower levels. Benjamin and May had been lead to a room where they would await to see Richard and Mary before they left. That was when the raid had started, and the rest was witnessed by S.H.I.E.L.D agents and the Avengers.
"So that's it, nothing more can be done for Peter? He's just going to be handed over to some strangers who most likely will not be able to take proper care of him?" Steve started questioning.
"Steve we can't do any more than what we've done; the system isn't bad, just trust that Banner knows what he's doing." Tony repeated himself once more from earlier that day.
"We never finished discussing that. And I don't see why not, we have plenty of space. Give me one good reason why we can't." Steve said his words like daggers as he was watching Tony from his side of the table.
"There is nothing to discuss about, and I can give you a whole book of reasons why we shouldn't. This is not the time and place to bring this up wonder boy." Tony argued back, annoyance teaming in his voice, returning Steve's strong gaze.
"Can someone tell me what this fuck is going on?" Fury blurted out, fuming at the couple that chose to bring their personal life into work.
"Look, obviously those two seem to have something they need to share with us. I'm not too ecstatic with the idea of putting this kid into the system, but I have my own reasons. If you have any suggestions why don't you share?" Natasha calmly addressed the room.
Once again, Natasha was the one to think clearly when Steve and Tony fought, and her words seemed to have the desired effect, Steve relaxed and began to tell of his idea.
"What if Tony and I took Peter? Wouldn't that be for the best? Stark Towers has a lot of living space, plus there's always the Malibu mansion. Since Banner stays with us too, he can keep an eye on Peter for any signs of changes."
Tony stood up and said "No we can't keep the kid. And don't look at me like that, you know why. We're Avengers; our lives are in constant danger. Remember the Loki incident? I do, my home was totaled and I needed to rebuild to top floors."
Steve looked at everyone in the room "Would all of you mind giving Tony and I a few minutes to talk about this?"
"I think that's for the best, come on guys lets go look at the view outside." Banner was the first to register what Steve had asked. He ushered everyone out of the room.
"Ok now we're alone. Now tell me why we can't keep Peter." Steve said as he came around to where Tony was standing.
"I meant what I said when I said our lives are in constant danger. And come on I'm not exactly the picture of perfect health. I have shrapnel in my chest. If I wasn't hooked up to a battery I would be dead."
"Tony, that's not exactly news. I know all of that. And I know you're not being honest. You want this kid, I know that look in your eye. Why won't you let yourself have him?" Steve looked at Tony with a fierce determination; he would not stop until he got his way.
"There aren't any other reasons. Come on Steve it's crazy, you and me as parents, it won't end well." Tony argued back.
That earned him a hardened gaze from Steve. There was silence for minutes. Steve sighed and began to walk away from his lover. His shoulders were slouched in disappointment.
"Wait…" Tony started "don't go. It's just… this… I don't even know what to call it."
Steve turned back around and walked towards Tony. He reached the table and pulled out one of the chairs and gestured to Tony to do the same. They were both seated and another episode of silence befell the room.
Steve was calm and relaxed; there was no anger or anxiety in his eyes. All that could be seen were two soft, baby blue eyes filled with patience and understanding.
"You would be a great dad. What did you call a dad back in the day again? Pops right?" Tony broke the silence and began what would turn out to be a long explanation.
"Yeah that's fathers were called that 'back in the day'." Steve answered Tony's question.
"Ok, but you agree with me that you would be a great dad right?" Tony asked.
"I'm not sure; all I know is that I'll try as best I can to be there for him." Steve answered with a pensive look on his face. He had brought up his right hand and rested his elbow on the table, while resting his cheek in his hand. Steve also knitted his eyebrows together while he was thinking, creating a crease on his forehead.
"Give yourself more credit; you'll be an awesome dad." Tony reassured him. "It's me that I'm worried about. You never knew my dad when he was raising me. He was horrible. My dad was a good man in a sense, but he was a failure as a father. You constantly complain about me being closed off and unemotional. You can thank him for that. I never knew what a good father was. I'll know one when I see one, but I don't know how to be one."
When Tony finished he was seated with his elbows propped up on the table, his fingers interlaced with each other, pressed against his mouth, supporting his head.
"Don't tell me that was the only reason why?" Steve asked.
Tony was silent, and he didn't shift his gaze from some distant object; he had grown stiff, not wanting to face what was coming.
Steve turned Tony's chair to face him and took hold of his hands. He enclosed Tony's still interlaced fingers in his own hands. He gazed into Tony's eyes softly, brimming with understanding and a want to fix anything not deemed right.
"You know you're being stupid right? How can you know if you'll be a good father if you don't even try? No, scratch that, I know you'll be a good father. How can a man that I love, who treats me as kindly as he does, not share the same feelings to a child that we would call our son?" Steve said calming, stating each word clearly.
"You don't know that! What if I turn out to be exactly like my dad? He was a total douche and failure of a father. I don't want to be like that." Tony started off yelling in response, but it slowly came down to a mere whisper. He ducked his head down so it hung between his arms.
Releasing his hold on Tony's hands, Steve brought the rolling chair where the billionaire was seated closer to him. One hand he placed on Tony's upper back, the other was cradling the back of Tony's head, resting that head in his chest.
"Tony if there is one thing I'm sure about you and your father, it's that you two are polar opposites." said Steve in a soft, soothing voice. "Don't worry that you won't be a good father. The fact that you're worried about it means you care. Tony, I know for a fact that you really do want this kid. I can see it in your eyes, why don't you let yourself have this?"
Tony sat there, not moving, and not responding to Steve's question. Steve then said "How about this, nob your head for yes you want the kid, shake your head for no."
Still no response for minutes. Steve held Tony as he was, and wait with the patience that he was known for. Then there was a slight movement in his chest; it was Tony nodding his head. There was going to be a new member to the Steve-Tony family of two.
A/N: Ok rant time!
It's all just wow… I never expected a response like this. It's amazing, just wow.
I am truly unworthy of all the praise and followers I now have. I plan on making this a really long story, like more than 20 chapters. I originally had thought about posting every week, but with summer break coming up I might have time to upload more often.
I'm still in shock every time I check my emails and find a stack of new alerts and favorites added. Thank you guys ^_^
So I hoped you guys like my chapter, now that I know people do like my story the chapters will be 4,000 words on average. Kinda long, but hey, my story. If you guys notice anything that doesn't make sense, or my grammar is off anywhere tell me. I know how this story is supposed to be so I might not catch everything.
Again, you guys are sooooo awesome thanks ^_^
P.S. I can beta read for anyone that needs one