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: My God, I love all of you sooooooo much, you are too nice. Ok, so I've come to realize that summer school may get in the way of my writing this story. But I promise that I'll upload at least one chapter a week. Anyone watch Doctor Who here? It's my new favorite show so it distracts me from writing too ^^;
Sorry I get so distracted, but enough of me ranting, here's the chapter. It takes place 2 days after the events in the last chapter.
It was a small dingy office, not a place where you'd expect to find Tony Stark billionaire extraordinaire. But there he was sitting in an old waiting area chair, elbows on his knees, his head resting on his interlocked fingers.
Steve was pacing back and forth, side to side. It seemed like he would burn right through the carpet under his feet by the window. He would stop every once in a while and lean against the window pane and stare out at the city. Short lived he would return to pacing. Impossibly long minutes passed and the two remained as they were, one sitting the other pacing.
"Stop that." Tony said to Steve without moving his glance from some undetermined spot on the floor.
"Stop what?" Steve asked.
"Stop moving, you're making me anxious."
"Sorry, I can't help it, I'm nervous."
"What you think I'm not?"
"I never said that…"
"Oh no…. you implied it. You still think I don't want this, don't you?"
"Tony you're taking this too far."
"Oh here we go again… I always take it too far." Tony stood as he said this and faced Steve that was standing by the window pane.
"I either never taking things serious enough or I take it too serious! Ya know what, I bet you're still mad about that coffee thing. I said it was my bad, what more do you want?"
Steve took a step forward from his pacing area "I wasn't even thinking about the coffee thing!"
Both were now shouting at each other, another famous Tony/Steve argument.
"Look I know you're nervous like me Tony." Steve started. "That doesn't give you an excuse to lose it and bite my head off. I didn't do anything."
"Didn't do anything? This is-" Tony was cut off by the sound of clicking heels and an old door squeaking open. Both were silent and turned to face the approaching social worker.
The social worker was dressed in a nice, light purple button up shirt with dark jeans; she looked to be about 30 years in age. Her shoulder length hair fell nicely on both her shoulders and bounced a little as she walked forward with a bundle of blue blankets in her arms.
"I'm assuming you're the couple here to adopt Peter Parker?" She said with a soft voice. With those words spoken any animosity that had developed between the two was now gone and forever forgotten.
"Yes we're here for Peter." Tony spoke as he walked toward the woman, followed by Steve.
"Terrific! Which one of you is going to be signing the paperwork?" She asked
"I will." Tony sighed out. "Steve why don't you take Peter while I do this?"
The social worker handed the infant over to Steve and walked over to Tony to begin what would be a very tedious process.
Once handed Peter, Steve stood mesmerized by the small bundle in his arms. The infant was sound asleep; he had a blue hat, and his hands were clenched into loose fists that were held beneath his chin and on his chest. Peter was extremely tiny in comparison to Steve who could easily hold the infant in one arm.
Without moving, he stood there watching over the sleeping form. Minutes passed and there was no change. It was as if Steve forgot where he was, and who he was with. All he knew was that he had Peter and he never had to let him go.
"Steve…. Steve…." Tony called out to the new parent, failing to catch his attention. Tony walked over to his and shook his shoulder. This brought Steve out of his spell.
"Tony!" Steve said a little surprised, only then remembering where he was. "Is there anything that I have to do?"
"Yeah, could you walk over to Patty and sign where she tells you to. I'll take Peter." Steve handed Peter to Tony reluctantly and walked away from his new family.
With Peter in his arms Tony began to walk about the room, never looking up from the infant. Tony had seen many small children and infants in his life, but Peter confused him. He didn't know what to feel or think about the baby. Tony felt a mixture of "oh my god, I'm a dad" and "oh shit, I'm a dad".
Soon, he too was in the same daze that Steve had been in earlier. At some point Tony had walked over to the window that Steve had been pacing in front of no more than 10 minutes ago.
"Tony?" Steve asked him as he placed a hand his shoulder.
Snapping his head up Tony replies "Yeah, what'd I miss?"
"We can take Peter home now." Steve almost sighed out in relief. He had his "everything is alright" smile on his face; Steve's eyes were soft and comforting, hell they were twinkling slightly, and the corners of his mouth were turned up slightly forming dimples on both cheeks.
"Great, let's go then." Tony said and began to walk towards the door with the word "EXIT" above it. "Bye, bye Patty. You were terrific." Were Tony's parting words as he left the office, door held open by Steve.
"Goodbye Miss Morson, thank you for all your help." Steve said with a small wave goodbye and left, the door closing itself behind him.
Home once more, and with a new member to the family, Steve walks into his home holding Peter in his arms. He's quickly followed by Tony who is reading papers from a file he acquired.
"He's asleep." Steve notices as he enters the living room.
"Great that makes things simpler. Let's go put him in the nursery, we have stuff we need to do." Tony says as he puts the files on the coffee table and starts heading up stairs to the rooms floor.
They walked to their room, but they chose to instead enter the room across the hall from theirs. In that room the walls were painted a baby blue, lighter than the sky, and there was assorted furniture to accompany the nursery: a crib, changing station, rug on the floor, a rocking chair, several other chairs, a round center table, and two chests full of stuffed animals and other baby friendly toys.
Steve set Peter in the crib and stood there for minutes watching the sleeping figure with Tony next to him.
"Tony, I still can't believe that this is real. We have a son." There was an edge of excitement in Steve's voice as he said this, though his voice didn't rise above a whisper.
"I still don't believe it. But come on, we still have more baby proofing to do, and Peter's tired, let him sleep. JARVIS if anything happens let us know immediately, and have the cameras constantly running; I wanna be able to bring up live footage anytime." Tony said all in a soft voice and while walking out, pulling Steve along with him.
"Yes sir, right away." Responded the AI system as Steve left the room.
Back down stairs the couple sits down on the living room couch, for a long while they just sit, not saying or doing anything.
"You remember that we have to get this place baby proof in two weeks. Ya know before Social Services pays a visit. Shouldn't be too hard, I mean, Peter isn't going to be in the lab, so that area doesn't need any fixing. Hell he'll only be here and in the nursery, ok our room too. We already have those stair blocker things on those levels, which reminds me, JARVIS make note to modify those things so they sense weight."
"Duly noted sir." JARVIS replied.
"Where was I?" Tony questioned.
"You were on the topic of baby proofing sir." JARVIS informed him.
"Oh, right. So we need to put those foamy things on the sharp corners, and lock the drawers and fridge, and other stuff. JARVIS make another note to make the locks only active when Peter is on the floor."
"Noted and put in the archive sir."
"JARVIS, you're perfect. I'm such a genius to have made you."
"Why thank you sir."
"Back to baby pro-"
"Tony" Steve said with a small twinge of frustration in his voice.
"Yes my love." He said, dragging out the first vowel of the word.
"Shut up."
"Someone's a little aggressive today." Tony teased.
Steve took a small breath and breathed out heavily. "I know that modifying things is right up your ally, and you probably want to get to that right now, but take it easy. Take a moment and enjoy this; we have Peter now, he's ours."
Tony stares at him blankly, then he leans back into the sofa and rests his head on Steve's left shoulder. "Sorry, shutting up now, and enjoying the moment."
"Thank you." Steve says as he takes his left arm and runs his hand through Tony's hair, being careful not to move much and shift Tony's position.
They stayed like that, in sweet bliss, for God knows how long. Then there was a sharp cry from up stairs.
"Sir, I believe young master Peter is awake." JARVIS informed them.
"Gee, I couldn't tell. I thought it was the t.v." Tony retorted sarcastically.
The two ran back up stairs to find out what the source of the problem was. When they reached Peter's room, the lights were on and he was squirming around wailing in the crib. Tony reached down and picked up Peter. He began to walk around the room with a slight bounce, resting Peter's head on his shoulder, patting his back. Peter kept crying.
"I don't get it that always works in the movies and t.v shows." Tony sounded defeated.
"Maybe he's hungry." Steve pointed out.
"No, Patty told me that they had just fed him."
"Sirs, I do believe that young master Peter requires a change of diapers." JARVIS informed the confused couple.
"Oh great, the part I wasn't looking forward to." Tony mumbled out, walking towards the changing station.
"So, any ideas on how to change a diaper?" Steve asked.
"I thought you knew." Tony said back.
"Um… this isn't good." Steve stated.
"Can't be too hard, just like the movies I think." With that said Tony began to unbutton Peter's onesie and pull it up. He took out a new diaper from the stack underneath in the shelf. Then he stopped.
"What's wrong?" Steve asked.
"I… uh… it's just that… um…" Tony started, but then the JARVIS interrupted him "Sirs, Miss Romanov is in the living room."
"Perfect!" Tony said a little too excitedly. "I'll just go see what she wants, you take care of Peter."
And without another word he left the nursery, and Steve with Peter. There was a mixture of fury and disappointment on his face, but when he turned to Peter it melted away to confusion.
"What am I supposed to do?" Steve said out loud to himself.
Tony came down and saw Natasha looking out the window wearing black jeans, a soft yellow v-neck t-shirt, and black high-heel boots.
"Natasha!" Tony greeted bombastically "What brings you here?"
"I was ordered to come here and make sure Peter was doing fine." Natasha responded matter-of-factly.
"Liar, you just wanna see your new newphew don't you? " Tony teased her.
Tony's face lit up as he realized something. "You would love to see him right now wouldn't you?"
"Just to confirm that is alright." Natasha answered his question.
"Perfect then, let's go." Tony said as he turned to go back up the stairs.
Back in the nursery Steve had tried many, many times at changing Peter's diaper. There was a pile of ruined diapers to prove it. Many had the adhesive strips torn off, others were torn and ripped in various other places.
"Tony, how could you leave me?" Steve exclaimed out as Tony and Natasha entered the nursery.
"I'm sorry and I'll make it up to you later, but I went and found the solution to our problems." Tony answered with a smirk on his face.
"What do you mean? All you did was bring... oh I see." Steve stopped himself once he realized Tony's plan.
"What happened here? Stark explain yourself." Natasha demanded.
"I read somewhere once that you went undercover as a nanny to a crime lord's kid." Tony told Natasha.
"Yeah, so? That doesn't answer my... wait... no, Tony no. I won't he's your brat not mine." Natasha said with a very pissed look on her face.
"Come on Tasha, he's your nephew. Aunts do this kind of stuff for their nephews." Tony pleaded.
"How is it that you're a genius yet you can't change a simple diaper? Look I'm only going to show you two once, so take note." There was an "I'm going to kill you" vibe in her voice as Natasha approached Peter's changing area.
"Oh my God Steve, what were you doing here?" Natasha had a look of genuine surprise on her face.
Peter was laid down in the middle of the table top, completely naked, Steve had taken off his onsie. To the right there was the pile of massacred diapers. A bottle of talc powder was knocked over and the contents spilled everywhere, coating Peter in a light layer. The baby wipes package had been ripped open and the wipes were all over the place. In short Steve had created chaos using baby hygiene products with Peter in the middle of it.
Natasha was swift to fix this chaos, all without a single word being said. The ruined diapers had all been dropped off in the trash and a new one was to the right of Peter. She used some of the still good baby wipes to clean off Peter. Natash finished off by lifting both of Peter's legs in one hand, then placing and opening the diaper with another. She let go of Peter's legs and wrapped the diaper around him, applying the adhesive straps.
"This is the only time I'm doing this for you." Natasha said as she picked up Peter and handed him to Tony staring him dead in the eyes.
"JARVIS, you got all of that right?' Tony asked his AI.
"Yes sir." it responded.
Natasha then continued to walk past Tony and out of the building without stopping, and without saying anything more.
"Well I don't think we can ask her to babysit." Tony remarked as he headed to the chaging station. He put Peter's onsie back on, and set him down in the crib.
"Steve mind helping me clean up?"
This question brought Steve out of his daze.
"What? Oh, right sorry." He walked over to Tony and helped him pick up the mess he had made.
"This is gonna be fun, doncha think Steve?"
The holographic clock on the night stand read 3:55. Everything was quiet until a sharp cry pierced the silence. Peter was awake… again.
"Sir, young master Peter is awake. His vitals show him to be hungry." JARVIS informed the now awake Steve and Tony.
"I can hear that JARVIS." Tony snapped back. "Steve it's your turn."
"My turn? I just went two hours ago." Steve was quick to respond.
"And I went a half hour ago."
"No you didn't. Peter wasn't even awake."
"Sirs, if I may suggest, why don't both of you go to attend to young master Peter."
"You're magnificent JARVIS. I truly outdid myself on your programming." Tony bragged as he rose out of bed. He walked out of the room followed by Steve.
Steve walked downstairs to the kitchen and began fumbling around for a bottle to feed Peter with. Once he found a clean one in the cupboard, he filled it with formula and water and put it in the microwave.
As he put it in the microwave, Tony came down with a still whimpering Peter. Once he reached where Steve was, he kept walking around, bouncing Peter as he went, trying to sooth the boy.
"From what I read, he was supposed to be a quiet kid. I didn't think he'd cry this much." Tony remarked.
"Well what do you expect; he's in a strange environment with two strangers. All he can do is cry." Steve told Tony as he walked over to the microwave and pull out the bottle.
"Make sure it's not too hot." Tony reminded Steve.
"I know, don't worry, it's just warm. Hand me Peter." He reached out for Peter as he said this. With Peter in his arms he sat down in the breakfast nook and put the bottle near Peter's mouth. Peter stopped crying long enough to see the bottle and open up his mouth; he then began to suck on it, trying to drink up all its contents.
"That's so much better. Wonder if he'll stay down this time." Tony mumbled as he sat down with a small yawn on the opposite side of where Steve sat.
"Who knows, but normally people get sleepy after eating. He might stay down." Steve responded.
"Steve the bottle, remember tilt it up, unless you want to burp Peter."
"I know, I know don't worry."
"God, I'm tired. I'm not working tomorrow that's for sure." Tony commented.
"Why would you anyway, there's still so much to be done around here. How long do you think you'll have off, you know, before the company needs you back?" Steve expanded on Tony's comment.
"I consider that work, I was planning on going to the lab and start working on some things. And Pepper can take care of everything herself, shouldn't be too much for her to do."
"Oh, really? What could you be doing that requires you to work in the lab?"
"Ya know stuff like sensors for the stair gates, amping up the security system, making a robot that changes diapers, maybe a robot teddy bear with JARVIS installed in it. I can't remember the rest; I have a list in the lab."
"A robot that changes diapers, are you kidding me?" Steve said as he took the bottle out of Peter's mouth, all the contents drained. He stood up and walked to the sink placing the bottle there. Peter began to shift around a bit getting comfortable before falling asleep.
"Hey, that's a good idea and you know it!"
"Tony, keep it down. Peter might start crying again." Steve hushed Tony heading for the stairs. Tony rose up and followed suit.
"Oops, and that's why I've never and kids before. Don't know how to take care of them."
"Come on Tony, don't start with that. You won't know until you try."
"Steve, I can barely take care of myself, how can I take care of another person? And someone as needy as a baby too."
"We've been over this, you'll be fine, and remember I'm here to help you."
They walked into Peter's nursery, and Steve placed Peter in his crib and walked out slowly. Tony waited for him by the doorway and they walked back together to their room across the hall. Both went to their preferred side of the bed and crawled in, relaxing into the soft mattress.
"I know, but I've learned that something always goes wrong. I'm not being pessimistic, that's just how it is." Tony continued their conversation.
"Look, you're tired and I'm tired. Let's worry about this in the morning when we have the energy to think about it, how does that sound?" Steve asked.
"Sounds good."
"Great, now sleep." Steve wrapped left arm around Tony and used his other hand to ruffle his hair a bit. Tony pulled in closer and tucked his head under Steve's chin.
"Goodnight Steve."
"Goodnight Tony."
A/N: So that's it, what do you think of this one? Peter is finally home! I think I'm gonna put in a bunch of funny first time parent accidents, misunderstandings, and awkward moments. This is under the humor tag and all. PM or review if you know anything I might want to put in that would fit the story. And sorry for the lag, Anime Expo is coming up and I've been trying to get ready. The story is also shorter than what I wanted, but I felt like I should end it here. Anyway, thanks for reading.