Dealing with a de-aged Tony Stark is every bit as trying as Steve would have imagined. Dealing with a full-grown Tony Stark is hard enough at times, never mind a baby. For the past five days they've been frantically trying to find a solution—be it through magic or science—but none has been forthcoming. Tony's a bit of a fussy baby and once he starts crying, it can take them anywhere from twenty minutes to a full two hours to calm him enough so that he ceases his caterwauling.
Tony calms more easily for some of them than others, but the quickest Steve's ever seen him quiet down is late into the fifth night. It's Steve's night as Tony's primary minder, not that the others aren't close by, so when he hears hiccupping on the baby monitor followed by a few warning whimpers, he sets his sketchpad aside and makes his way to the infant's room.
To his great surprise, as he's walking, he hears a voice coupled with the baby's cries from the monitor in his hand. Phil's voice. He can hear the agent shushing the crying child before he begins speaking.
"Shh, shh, come on now, you're alright. Let's get you up here… There. That's better, isn't it? Now, how can we get you back to sleep, hmm?"
To his further surprise, Steve hears Phil quietly begin to sing. The tune is familiar to him, the yodeled bits being gently hummed instead and followed by soft lyrics. He's heard Phil sing once or twice in the shower, but never like this. Steve pauses when he reaches the room, long enough to shut the monitor off and cautiously crack the door open.
He can hear Phil for himself now and watches, captivated, as the agent rocks Tony as he sings. The infant's head is tucked closely to Phil's neck and he steadily pats the baby's back... and there's no more crying. Tony's not even making so much as a peep. Steve drinks in the sight of his partner, devoid of his suit coat, his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow, swaying smoothly on his feet. It's almost funny, considering that Phil and Tony have been known to butt heads, that the agent is holding their de-aged teammate as though he is the most precious thing imaginable. In the dim light of the room, handling the child so naturally, Phil looks every bit the loving father.
Phil catches sight of him and holds a finger to his lips, signaling Steve to be quiet. As Steve tiptoes closer, he can see that Tony is out like a light, sucking on his pacifier and curled against Phil's chest. Phil slowly lowers Tony back into the crib and covers him with his baby blanket. The two of them linger, leaning over the side of the crib. Steve watches Phil watch Tony, makes note of the way his partner reaches down to sweep downy hair away from the slumbering infant's forehead. When they're sure that the baby is truly asleep, they exit the room as silently as possible.
"That's the fastest I've ever seen him quiet down," Steve says in amazement as they sit on the sofa in the living room. He places the baby monitor on the coffee table and wraps an arm around Phil's shoulders. "How did you do it?"
"I can't say one way or another, but I've been told I'm good with children," Phil answers, loosening his tie and leaning into Steve's side with a sigh. "I just did what I know how to do."
"If someone had told me you were his father, I wouldn't have even questioned it," Steve says with a chuckle. He rubs the agent's shoulder. "Based off of what Tony's told me, maybe he would've been better off if that were the case."
It still stings to think of, that Howard could have treated his son so poorly. That he could have neglected Tony like that. That's not the Howard Steve knew, and part of him wonders, if he hadn't gone down in that plane, would Howard still have turned into that person? It does little good to dwell on, he knows, but it doesn't stop him from continuing to do so.
"Not everyone is fit to be a parent," Phil says slowly. "But that doesn't mean their children should suffer for it. There are any number of studies that show how important touch and physical presence are to infants and small children. No child deserves to go without being held as though they are the most important thing in the world to the person holding them."
"I wonder if he'll remember it when we fix all this," Steve wonders.
Phil hums in agreement, his eyes closed as he leans into Steve. The soldier continues to rub his shoulder, knowing he's not gotten much sleep this past week. He has no problem at all with letting Phil fall asleep pressed to his side, but a thought occurs to him and try as he might, he can't keep it to himself.
"Did your father ever hold you like that?" Steve asks softly.
"Before he left, yes," Phil answers. "He used to sing me that song."
"What about you? Did you ever want kids?" Steve asks.
Phil doesn't answer straight away, and Steve considers that perhaps the agent's fallen asleep.
"I've always wanted children, but I never found the right person and it was never the right time," Phil murmurs. "And with my job, trying to adopt on my own would have been impossible, not to mention selfish. It just… wasn't in the cards."
"You say that like it's too late," Steve notices.
Phil chuckles quietly. "Steve, I'm nearly fifty. That ship has sailed."
"That's not too late in my book," Steve corrects him. When Phil doesn't answer, Steve leans over and presses his lips to the top of the agent's head. "Regardless, I think you'd make a great father, Phil. Watching you with Tony… you look like you were made for it."
But Phil's already fast asleep. Steve smiles and tucks him closer and allows himself, just for a moment, to picture what he's seen tonight, with some slight alterations. He wonders what it would be like, watching Phil hold a baby that's theirs with the same tender care with which he'd held Tony. It's nothing more than a daydream, and very likely to remain that way, so he contents himself with the knowledge that Phil's unfounded desire to be a father won't go to waste; a few days can't undo an entire childhood, but being treated the way he should have been treated may do Tony a little good. And maybe, just maybe, it might help to put some of the genius's own doubts about fatherhood to rest.