Tony did not forget his promise—for the sake of all of their sanity, they needed a day out. So the next morning, after over an hour of trying to get an 11-week-old-baby and Tony Stark ready for a day out, they finally left the Tower. Steve pushed the stroller—empty save for the diaper bag and what Tony suspected was an emergency survival pack-while Tony bore Sylvia against his chest in the baby carrier. Both Steve and Tony had made sure to dress as casually as possible, and both had donned sunglasses to avoid being recognized.
For a long while, the three of them simply walked around their part off the city, until they started to get hungry. They ducked into a nice restaurant that they had been walking past and enjoyed a lunch that went surprisingly smoothly, with very few people who recognized them. Only one waitress—not their own—ambled past their table to secretly take a picture of the three of them with her phone. Tony, in one of his more characteristic bouts of genius, had pocketed a cell phone jammer before leaving the Tower, and the look on the waitress's face was quite gratifying. Tony was sure that several people in the restaurant recognized them, but thankfully they were courteous enough to leave them be.
Next, they went to Central Park and found a nice area to sit in the grass and let Sylvie watch all the happenings of the park on a warm sunny day. Not that he didn't suspect it before, but Tony also received all the confirmation he needed to know that Steve was one of those parents who took tons of pictures of his kid, even when she wasn't doing anything particularly interesting.
When he wasn't documenting her every moment for posterity, Steve laid on his back and lifted Sylvie up and down. As he did, she tried to put grab at his face whenever she came down close enough, only to be lifted up in the air again, making her giggle like a lunatic. And if Tony filmed the scene on his phone, and wasted no time in sending it to all their friends, and Pepper and Rhodey too, well, Steve didn't necessarily have to know about that right now.
Unfortunately he wasn't the only one capturing the moment and the vultures had apparently landed, Tony saw the glimpse of a camera flash going off in the corner of his eye.
"We gotta go," Tony declared, standing up abruptly.
Steve knew by the tone of Tony's voice what he meant and followed suit. While Steve gathered their belongings, Tony secured Sylvia back into her carrier, and then they started back the way they came. Of course, when they moved, so did the photographer and it turned out there was more than one. When they hit the street again, several others were there waiting with tape recorders for comments and cameras taking pictures and video.
Tony had long ago grown accustomed to life in the limelight, and could dive straight into a literal sea of media leeches, but Steve, on the other hand, had a long way to go before he could take the media attention in stride. Tony could tell that Steve was both very intimidated and very annoyed—a volatile combination. The pair of them shouldered their way through at a painfully slow pace, ignoring the questions being thrown at them.
"Mr. Stark! Is it true that you're currently seeing both Tiberius Stone and Captain America?"
"Cap! Cap! Let's see your beautiful baby girl!"
"Would Bucky approve of you dating so soon, Captain?"
"Do the other Avengers know how long you've been sleeping together?"
"Hey, Iron Homewrecker! Give us a smile!"
"Captain America, why didn't you make your husband wear a helmet that day?"
"Over here! Cap! Iron Man! What's the baby's name? Give us a look at her!"
Steve kept his eyes trained ahead and held his face as strong and blank as his years of military service would allow. Tony looked forward, too, and felt Steve's reassuring hand placed on the small of Tony's back, keeping them moving. As they attempted to ignore the reporters, Tony tipped off SHIELD on his phone, and sure enough there was a car waiting at the other side of the mob. Steve opened the door to let Tony and Sylvia get in first, using his body to block anyone's view of them.
Once inside the soothing quiet of the vehicle, the two men looked at each other, dismayed by the chaotic turn their day out had taken.
Tony spoke first, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did. "We have to do an interview or it'll only get worse."
"I know. It also wouldn't hurt my pride to let Ty know that I'm not hiding from him," Steve agreed quickly. "Bastard's been a bully long enough."
"Don't go picking fights, you insane psychopath." Tony smirked.
"I have no problem beating up a guy in a wheelchair. Ask Professor X sometime."
Tony burst out laughing. "Hey, Cap made a funny!"
Steve grinned at him, a little bit proud, but with his tactician's brain, he steered the conversation back on track. "So how do we go about this?"
"I'll call Good Morning America…we should get on the same show that Tiberius did for
leverage."
"Leverage?"
"Yeah, just because he owns the outlets doesn't mean he can own the public's opinion too. He had his turn, so now it's time for ours."
Three days later it was all set up and ready to go, Steve and Tony were about to go together onto Tony did not forget his promise—for the sake of all of their sanity, they needed a day out. So the next morning, after over an hour of trying to get an 11-week-old-baby and Tony Stark ready for a day out, they finally left the Tower. Steve pushed the stroller—empty save for the diaper bag and what Tony suspected was an emergency survival pack-while Tony bore Sylvia against his chest in the baby carrier. Both Steve and Tony had made sure to dress as casually as possible, and both had donned sunglasses to avoid being recognized.
For a long while, the three of them simply walked around their part off the city, until they started to get hungry. They ducked into a nice restaurant that they had been walking past and enjoyed a lunch that went surprisingly smoothly, with very few people who recognized them. Only one waitress—not their own—ambled past their table to secretly take a picture of the three of them with her phone. Tony, in one of his more characteristic bouts of genius, had pocketed a cell phone jammer before leaving the Tower, and the look on the waitress's face was quite gratifying. Tony was sure that several people in the restaurant recognized them, but thankfully they were courteous enough to leave them be.
Next, they went to Central Park and found a nice area to sit in the grass and let Sylvie watch all the happenings of the park on a warm sunny day. Not that he didn't suspect it before, but Tony also received all the confirmation he needed to know that Steve was one of those parents who took tons of pictures of his kid, even when she wasn't doing anything particularly interesting.
When he wasn't documenting her every moment for posterity, Steve laid on his back and lifted Sylvie up and down. As he did, she tried to put grab at his face whenever she came down close enough, only to be lifted up in the air again, making her giggle like a lunatic. And if Tony filmed the scene on his phone, and wasted no time in sending it to all their friends, and Pepper and Rhodey too, well, Steve didn't necessarily have to know about that right now.
Unfortunately he wasn't the only one capturing the moment and the vultures had apparently landed, Tony saw the glimpse of a camera flash going off in the corner of his eye.
"We gotta go," Tony declared, standing up abruptly.
Steve knew by the tone of Tony's voice what he meant and followed suit. While Steve gathered their belongings, Tony secured Sylvia back into her carrier, and then they started back the way they came. Of course, when they moved, so did the photographer and it turned out there was more than one. When they hit the street again, several others were there waiting with tape recorders for comments and cameras taking pictures and video.
Tony had long ago grown accustomed to life in the limelight, and could dive straight into a literal sea of media leeches, but Steve, on the other hand, had a long way to go before he could take the media attention in stride. Tony could tell that Steve was both very intimidated and very annoyed—a volatile combination. The pair of them shouldered their way through at a painfully slow pace, ignoring the questions being thrown at them.
"Mr. Stark! Is it true that you're currently seeing both Tiberius Stone and Captain America?"
"Cap! Cap! Let's see your beautiful baby girl!"
"Would Bucky approve of you dating so soon, Captain?"
"Do the other Avengers know how long you've been sleeping together?"
"Hey, Iron Homewrecker! Give us a smile!"
"Captain America, why didn't you make your husband wear a helmet that day?"
"Over here! Cap! Iron Man! What's the baby's name? Give us a look at her!"
Steve kept his eyes trained ahead and held his face as strong and blank as his years of military service would allow. Tony looked forward, too, and felt Steve's reassuring hand placed on the small of Tony's back, keeping them moving. As they attempted to ignore the reporters, Tony tipped off SHIELD on his phone, and sure enough there was a car waiting at the other side of the mob. Steve opened the door to let Tony and Sylvia get in first, using his body to block anyone's view of them.
Once inside the soothing quiet of the vehicle, the two men looked at each other, dismayed by the chaotic turn their day out had taken.
Tony spoke first, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did. "We have to do an interview or it'll only get worse."
"I know. It also wouldn't hurt my pride to let Ty know that I'm not hiding from him," Steve agreed quickly. "Bastard's been a bully long enough."
"Don't go picking fights, you insane psychopath." Tony smirked.
"I have no problem beating up a guy in a wheelchair. Ask Professor X sometime."
Tony burst out laughing. "Hey, Cap made a funny!"
Steve grinned at him, a little bit proud, but with his tactician's brain, he steered the conversation back on track. "So how do we go about this?"
"I'll call Pepper and have her arrange a TV interview for this afternoon, the sooner we do it the better leverage we'll have."
"Leverage?"
"Yeah, just because he owns the outlets doesn't mean he can own the public's opinion too. He had his turn, so now it's time for ours."
Later that afternoon it was all set up and ready to go, Steve and Tony were about to go together onto some celebrity news show and give the people a little bit of what they wanted. Hopefully, it would turn the tide of public opinion, but more importantly, it would get the reporters to back off a little.
Steve took a deep breath that hefted his broad shoulders. Tony took his hand and confidently led them both on set and in front of the nation. As soon as they came into view the people in the studio lost their shit. Tony flashed his completely trademark, vacant smile, gladly waved and bowed, and did all sorts of other exaggerated Tony-like things before taking his seat on the couch and pulling Steve down beside him.. The interviewer, Lara Dover, sat across from them in her own comfortable chair, looking as professionally relaxed as an interviewer could.
"Welcome back! I'm Lara Dover and with us today we have world renowned super-heroes, Avengers, and icons- Iron Man: Tony Stark and Captain America: Steve Rogers. So tell me, gentleman, there have been a lot of rumors flying around about you two this past week…are you in fact together? An item?"
"Yes." Steve's answer was immediate and steadfast. He was aware of Tony's gaze snapping into his direction, his dark eyes burning brightly.
Lara didn't miss this. "Is this news to you, Mr. Stark?"
"I…" For once, Tony was at a loss for words. "It wasn't something that we had discussed, really. Steve's been a very good friend to me..." he faltered as he felt Steve looking at him steadily, his face open and sincere, his blue eyes glowing with hope. "Steve saved me," Tony said finally. "He got me out of a very bad place, and he's here with me now, trying to help me come to a good place. So yes, we are together."
Steve spoke up. "And no, this isn't a self-destructive rebound relationship or gold-digging or a quick fling or a booty call or a hit and quit or anything else of the sort." He finished his statement adamantly, leaving Lara rather flustered. Where did Cap acquire a working knowledge of 21st century sex slang? An unholy combination of Tony, Bucky and Clint, that's where. "And if making a declaration of my intentions on national television is what it takes to open Tony's eyes, so be it."
"Judging by the slightly shell-shocked look on Tony's face, I'd say his eyes are wide open now," Lara chuckled, but then turned serious again. "Uh-ahem, many people are talking about the relatively brief amount of time between the start of this relationship and the tragic death of your husband James 'Bucky' Barnes."
Now that the focus had turned back to Steve, Tony found his voice and spoke up with more emphasis. "If any of these people knew even the first thing about Steve and Bucky or their love for each other, they'd know that the happiness and well-being of Steve and their daughter was the single most important to Bucky Barnes. Neither Steve nor I believe that Bucky would object to this relationship in the slightest. If anything, he's up there wanting in on the action."
He felt Steve squeeze his hand and he could feel the gratitude traveling through his fingertips as the audience chuckled appreciatively.
Lara continued, keeping her voice gentle. "I have no doubts that his passing has been extremely hard on you, Captain Rogers. You have our deepest condolences and I won't spend another moment making you relive the feelings."
Okay, she was good.
"Now. Apart from the fledgling reunion of you two, the thing that seems to be on everyone's mind is the new addition to Avengers Tower."
Steve dropped his eyes to his lap and smiled coyly.
"That's our daughter—Bucky's and mine. She my little girl."
The audience and the people outside literally "awwww'd".
"Congratulations, Captain Rogers!" Lara actually clapped with delight, and the audience followed suit. "Is there anything either of you might like to tell us about her?" She added.
"She's pretty much just like her daddy." Tony said nonchalantly, motioning to Steve.
Steve rolled his eyes as if he was embarrassed...he was such a ham.
"She's a fussy sleeper, she never eats as much as I want her to, I'm starting to think she likes Tony more than me, she's completely impatient...my entire world revolves around her and she's prefect," he rattled off. If there was one thing Steve loved, it was having a venue to gush about Sylvia.
"How about the super-hero work? Any plans on telling her about your day job?"
"I'm still trying to successfully put her down to sleep in one try. I'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Steve laughed.
"What a proud papa! And you Mr. Stark, how are you adjusting to family life?"
"I'm not really a part of the family life, I'm just a fella who pays for stuff. Stevie here does all the heavy lifting."
"No need to be modest, Tony, this picture taken of the three of you is just precious, can we put it up?" Lara motioned to someone in the back of the studio. Whoever she was talking to quickly obliged and there displayed on the big screen in the center of the set was a candid snapshot of them walking down the street. Dear God, they were both in sweatpants and t-shirts, someone had caught Tony Stark in sweatpants on film! It was travesty to say the least. Tony groaned and buried his face in his hands theatrically before peeping up at the picture again. Other than that, actually, it was a pretty cute picture: Steve had Sylvie in one arm and he and Tony were holding hands- Tony using his free hand to gesture dramatically about whatever he was talking about at the time. They both looked really happy and Tony made a mental note to ask if he could get a copy before they leave.
There was more collective cooing and awww-ing. Tony couldn't help but grin proudly as if it really were him and his very own family. He pointed to the photo. "I just can't see how anyone could think that Steve isn't a fit parent. I will never understand that."
The audience cheered at that and a mix of shock, gratitude, and sheer happiness flooded Steve's face. And in Tony's opinion, that look was worth all the slander Tiberius could come up with.
"Well, thank you so much for coming on, gentleman. I for one wish you all the best!"
Clearly, the audience did, too.
That night Steve kissed Tony on the check and told him he was taking Sylvia out to meet Clint, Thor and Bruce at some sports bar to watch a baseball game. Tony got three separate text messages, inviting him on the outing, and Steve had almost begged him to come but Tony hadn't actually gotten any time to himself in a considerable while. An afternoon of vegging out in the workshop, bantering with the bots, and tinkering was just what he needed.
"Alright, but call if you want me home." Steve said with one more long kiss on Tony's lips.
"Oh, I will." Tony replied in a tone that was less than chaste.
Steve got on the elevator and held Sylvia's hand to make her wave goodbye as the doors closed. That man could really be a dork but Tony would be a liar if he said he didn't find it exasperatingly charming.
Tony was at the kitchen counter pouring coffee when the elevator pinged again, not two minutes later.
"Let me guess, you grabbed the wrong pacifier because she likes the pink one during the day and the blue one at night?" The lighthearted teasing look on Tony's face dropped away in a heartbeat when he turned around and saw that it wasn't Steve who'd entered their home.
"How the fuck did you get in here?" Tony bit out.
"Well, it's easy to slip past Captain America when his kid starts screaming for no apparent reason," Tiberius said holding up a small device. Tony recognized it right away as one of those high frequency noise generators that only dogs, babies, and the occasional alien could hear. Even Steve's enhanced hearing probably wouldn't pick it up.
"You really are a cunt of a human being, Tiberius." Tony's glare could cut steel.
Ty shrugged. "I saw that handsome face of yours on TV and just had to stop by."
"Just say whatever it is you have to say and leave."
"Oh don't be so dramatic, Tony. I just think it's cute that you've already deluded yourself so thoroughly into believing that these people are your family. I mean, you really do cling to the smallest ounce of pity that anyone tosses you. You can't honestly think that Steve is going to keep you around much longer. He's a father now, he has to put his child first. And you, Tony, are no good for a child. Well, you're just not really much good, period." Ty paused to let his words sink in for a moment before he continued. "However, if all goes according to plan, Steve will be losing her soon enough, and won't that just destroy him? The baby will end up God knows where but most certainly a place better than here. And our dear Captain...he'll put a gun to his head so he can go straight to Hell and be with that murderer he called a husband. How many lives lost between those two, I wonder..."
"Get out."
"…Because sins are never really forgiven, no one knows that better than you."
"GET OUT!"
"Trust me, I'm not looking for reasons to stay, Tony. I just had to see your face when you got
the call."
Before Tony could respond his phone rang—as if the world really did turn according to Ty's will. The caller ID indicated that it was Clint. Tony was aware of Tiberius staring at him darkly as he answered the call. "Clint?"
"Tony! Steve just got arrested! I need you to-"
Tony didn't catch whatever else Clint said as the phone slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. Ty gave him a final, poisonously sweet smile before wheeling onto the elevator. "See you in court, sweetheart." Tiberius continued to smile as the doors slid closed.