I'm more proud of finding that picture than I am of this chapter tbh

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The ride back to the tower was nearly silent. Possibly because both Howard and Maria was passed out. Normally Wade would talk it up, but he didn't want to wake up the couple and stir up more trouble. He, was, however having a conversation with the boxes

Peter and Wade was not fooled for even a second when Rhodey asked the little boy to sit on his lap as he drives just to conserve space.

("Peter you can ride shotgun, and Wade could handle the two better when they wake up. "

"What about him?"  Wade asks waving at the three year old. Tony was standing a bit away from them, but not really near his parents. He knew Peter wanted to talk to the kid, but didn't. He didn't want to scare the kid.

"He could sit on my lap." Rhody says.

"Wouldn't it be better to have him sit with me?" Peter asks amused, but he wouldn't actually slight his uncle this chance....... Besides, he has...... Plans.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable "

Rhodey could feel the unimpressed look on their face even with their mask on.

"Uh huh, and it has nothing to do with you being able to cuddle him?"

Rhodey didn't bother with pretenses this time,

"Oh come on! You guys can see how squishy he looks, how could I not want to cuddle him!" he whisper shouted they didn't protest, they knew what Rhodey was doing.

Ladies and gentlemen,   Lieutenant Colonel, James Rhodes, Iron patriot, former military liaison to  Stark industries and secret Cuddle slut.

Well.... Secret to everyone except his family. )

When they reached the tower, Peter immediately grabbed Tony's hand and was planning on leaving his boyfriend and uncle to deal with Howard and Maria.

"Where are you going?" Rhody asks radiating indignation.

"Remember how I mentioned , he's a fan of Captain America? " Peter asks as Tony takes the tower in wide eyed,

"Yes?"

Peter stared at him meaningfully until he understood.

"Oh! Yeah ok, do that, he'll like that." Rhodey says with a smile and a nod. Somehow Peter, Wade and Rhodey had a mutual unspoken agreement to make the time in the future, however brief, as fun for little Tony as they can.

When Peter leant down to pick Tony up, the boy in question recoiled from him.

"What are you doing?" he asks brows furrowed and pouting.

"I'm.... Picking you up?" Peter asks confused.

"It's fine, I can walk." The boy says curtly.

"Yeah, but it'll be easier if I carry you" Peter goes to pick the boy up again, and the boy surprises him by moving out of the way.

"It's.  Fine." Tony grits out. Then looks back at the car to see Rhodey and Wade were taking his parents to a different direction.

"Dad doesn't like it if I'm getting coddled,  and there was enough of that when I was in the other guy's lap." he says quietly, sadly,  as though he was afraid of the man hearing.

Spider-man.

Doesn't

Kill

People

Get it together Rogers-Stark.  You already decked the guy.

"Hey, hey, Tony,  Its not coddling if we're doing it to move faster right?" he ends up saying. Tony gives him a vaguely disbelieving look. 

"To move faster?"

"Yeah! Look, I have like way longer legs, and I totally have superspeed, so we could go faster " Peter says this more for Tony' s benefit rather for It to be true, he won't be doing anything with superspeed while carrying a child.

Tony didn't completely look like he believed him, but relented nonetheless. 

They  reached one of the elevator to the avengers tower without any fuss.

"Hey Friday. " Peter greeted.

"Hello, young sir, would you be going straight to your room?" Tony started at the voice looking around trying to find the invisible speaker.

"Who's there?" he asks.

"Oh, that's Friday,  she's an AI,  she practically runs the whole building.  And nah Fri, take me wherever pops is." Peter replies to both.

"An AI? "

"Yup"

"Wow, whoever made it must be really smart." Tony says in awe

"Oh, he's smart alright,  he's one of the smartest people on the planet!" Peter, no matter how old he gets, occasionally  can't help gush over how damn smart his dad is.

"Well......  That guy said it is 2019 so It's a possibility,  did dad make her?" Tony said wondrously.

"No, actually Friday was made by you" Peter confided.

Tony's eyes widened in surprise,  then he smiled,  then he frowned,

"Are you making fun of me?" he asks. Peter's heart breaks. 

They reach a gym room and Peter steps out with Tony.

"No, Tony,  you made Friday, you are one of if not the best engineer in this century." Peter takes off his mask for emphasis.  "I promise "

Tony stares at him for a while and then nods, looking dazed.

They reach the door and Peter grins,

"Hey, Tony,  what would you say if I told you, you could meet Captain America right now?"

The boys eyes widen once more. But he doesn't say anything.  It breaks Peter's heart all over again to see that he didn't even show his excitement like a normal kid, but Tony lights up.

"Captain America?  I can meet him?" he asks almost reverently.

"Sure can! Let's go!" Peter opens the door and walks in.

++++++++++++++++++++++‡

Steve loves his son with all his heart. Peter is a good kid, more responsible than any kid his age. ( and the rest of the family most of the time)  But he also knows that his son, no matter how well behaved  is a part of the Avengers family....... No one in this family is completely not reckless. 

So you can't really fault him for being really worried when his son came in the gym carrying a toddler a week after he saved a kid and wished he had a little brother.

"Peter, please tell me you didn't kidnap a child." he says warily as he stops punching the bag and catches it.

Peter pouts. He knows the boy would vehemently deny to ever doing it, but if you ask anyone else, they would agree in a heartbeat that Peter looks cute when he pouts.

"Fine then, be that way, I'm just gonna take the younger version of Tony Stark and be on my merry way" He states dramatically.

Steve freezes.

"Younger version of who now?" he croaks.

Peter smirks, "Remember when Doctor Strange said stuff about people from the past.? Well, here you go his...... Parents are with uncle Rhodey and Wade. "

Steve's vision shifts to the child who Peter is carrying. The wild curls and doe eyes reminding him of Tony right  after a engineering binge ( Minus the fatigue and bags under his eyes that could carry all their sins)

The child was looking at him apprehensively, as though he couldn't make his mind up about whether he should be happy or wary.

"Tony?" Steve chokes out.

The  boy frowns, "You both call me Tony, dad always insists that people call me Anthony. " he says quietly.

Steve blinks, sure, why not? Obviously, whatever higher power was out there thought his life clearly wasn't weird enough. Now he just had to see the three year old version of his husband.

"Um..... It's easier to say Tony? " he didn't want to tell the kid what his future self was going to do, after the years he spent with Tony, he noticed he tended to do the opposite to what he's told to do more often than not.

Younger Tony slowly nodded.

"Uh....ok then, pops, I'm gonna go make sure nothing else happens to Howard....... Probably. They're in the common room love you! see ya! bye!" Peter put Tony down and practically ran out of the door.

"Uh, is it ok if I speak to you?" Tony says after Peter leaves making Steve's eyes widen.

"Yeah, sure you can speak to me, you can talk to me anytime you want, its absolutely fine to talk to me" no Steve wasn't freaking out, why are you asking?

"How.... how are you alive? I mean, father has been looking for you for so long, and aunt Peggy said you died when the plane crashed." The  boy talks fast, as though he was afraid to be told to shut up anytime and he has to get out as much as he can.

"Well, " Steve kneels, so that he doesn't look down on Tony he knows from experience that that doesn't end well, metaphorically or otherwise....... Unless they are in a situation that is in no way suitable to think about in front of a three year old. 

"When I crashed the plane, the water was really cold. It was cold enough to freeze my body, the serum in my blood reacted to that by sending me to a cryogenic sleep, seventy year later they found me in an ice block and melted that. When I got out of the ice, a few days later, I  woke up. "

He doesn't bother dumbing it down too much than what he understands , regular three year olds may not understand things to that extent, but this is Tony, and adult Tony might just chew him out if he underestimated him.

The boy nods and the falls quiet.  It.... Gets kinda awkward. 

"Uh...... Don't  you have any more questions? Or comments? " Steve tries, because he is not used to dealing with Tony unless the man is either giving his sass a run for its money, or unconscious.  This...... Yeah ok, he's kinda, maybe just a little bit freaking out.

Tony turns to him, his eyes bright and sharp. Steve knows that look, he has seen that look a hundred time. He has a thousand and one  questions swirling around in his mind, but this Tony is also hesitant. Amazing, seven years of marriage and Tony still throws him off loops.

"Well.... If you don't want to ask anything right now,  then.... Do you want to draw with me?" the boy's eyes shined and he nodded, Steve got his sketchbook from the bench and holds out a pencil towards Tony.

The boy takes it and they settle on the matt. The sketchbook open between them and both drawing on the opposing pages.

+++++++++++++++++++‡

(Meanwhile in the common room)

Peter was just outside the door of the common room when he caught the deadly cold voice of Natasha,

"What the fuck did you just say to my wife you absolute Блять?"

Peter rushed to open the door only to see Natasha knee the man in his stomach.

Pepper was off the side frowning at the man. Rhodey and Maria nowhere to be seen and Wade sipping soda looking at Howard with a smirk.

Peter sighed,  he hoped Howard at  least stayed alive by the time they had to go back.