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Peter had never been fussy when it came to Tony introducing him to people or having to be babysat by Happy. He never threw tantrums when Tony had to leave for meetings, and Tony knew that made him a very lucky parent. He should’ve known his luck would run out eventually.
When Tony introduced Peter to the Avengers things went exactly as Tony knew they would. Peter loved all the new people around, talking a mile a minute about all his toys and his favourite stuffed dog which he named Pepperoni after his favorite aunt. He was absolutely ecstatic to have new playmates and all was well, at least until Peter saw Steve put his arm around Tony. It was like a switch had been flipped, he went from playing with Natasha and Bruce to crying and screaming and everyone just stared at Tony as he quickly stood up to sooth Peter.
“He’s never done that before, he might just be sleepy.” He explained as he scooped the toddler into his arms. He quieted down almost immediately and cuddled into Tony’s chest. He reclaimed his seat next to Steve as Peter held onto him tightly
Peter seemed calmer, he still hadn’t let Tony out of his death grip but he wasn’t crying so Tony saw it as a win. At some point when Steve left to grab water Peter had taken his seat next to Tony and began happily playing with Bruce who was sat on the floor in front of him. When Steve returned he shot Tony a look but he simply shrugged it off and jokingly patted his lap.
Steve sat on the arm of the chair next to Tony, and leaned down to kiss his cheek when something soft hit his face.“No!” Peter shouted, facing Steve and glaring at him the best way a five year old could. Steve stood shocked for a moment before turning to Tony who was doubled over laughing, he couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his lips.
He looked down to see Peter’s stuffed penguin laying in front of him, he picked it up and stretched his arm out so the toddler could take it. “That wasn’t very nice of you Pete, you can't throw things at people.” He said using his very best stern voice.
Apparently this wasn’t what Peter wanted to hear because he snatched the penguin away from Steve and threw it at his face again. “My daddy.” He said with such an adorable pout on his face Steve just wanted to pinch his cheeks. Peter crawled into Tony’s lap again and Steve decided to test the waters, he leaned down slightly towards Tony when a very sticky small hand pushed him back. “My daddy!” The toddler yelled, throwing his arms around Tony’s neck on the verge of tears.
“Well Steve, you’re gonna have to work harder to win the kiddo over.” Tony said through his laughter.
Steve laughed it off along with everyone else but he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt at the fact that Peter didn’t seem to be very fond of him. For a week he did everything he could to get Peter to like him and nothing seemed to work on the toddler.
Steve swore the kid had a sixth sense for when Steve was going to hug or kiss Tony. On more than one occasion Peter would come barreling into a room as soon as Steve even put his arm around Tony and start throwing a fit.
Tony found it amusing to watch his son try and push Captain America over and he never failed to laugh when Peter threw toys at Steve. The laughter probably encouraged Peter to do it more but Steve didn’t have the heart to even try and be upset with the toddler.
But for the last month and a half Steve had been away on a mission and Peter had been fussier than ever. He refused to eat all his meals, he threw toys at Tony and Happy. The worst of it all was when anyone tried to pick him he would throw a fit. He was starting to make everyone, especially Tony, worry. It was so out of character for Peter to be like this, a complete 360 from his usually happy, bright and excited son.
The day Steve came back from his mission was one of Peter’s worst days, Tony had been up all night comforting a wailing Peter who wouldn’t say why he was so upset. Peter had fallen asleep at 6am after tiring himself out, unfortunately for Tony the peace didn’t last long. Peter woke up at 10am, ate his breakfast and spent exactly 12 minutes playing with his toys before inexplicably bursting into tears. Tony was immediately picking him up and attempting to calm him down.
That was how Steve found them, he’d heard Peters loud crying before he even entered the room and was immediately concerned, if Peter was crying it had to be bad. Upon entering the living room he saw Tony holding a wailing toddler, his front was faced towards the window but Steve could tell he was exhausted by the way his shoulders slumped forward. Before Steve could even move to set his bag down, Peter saw him and his crying slowed until he stopped. “Daddy!” He yelled as he started wiggling to get out of Tony’s hold.
Steve froze at the word, surely Peter hadn’t directed that at Steve. “Daddy’s right here Pete it’s alright.” Tony said, rubbing the toddlers back as he set him down. His voice was strained, like he’d spent hours on end talking and based on Peter’s red eyes, he probably had.
“No! Daddy!” The toddler yelled again, running towards Steve as fast as he could. Steve watched as Tony turned around to see what Peter was yelling about and he immediately relaxed upon seeing Steve standing in the doorway as Peter wrapped his arms around his legs, a tired smile forming on his face.
“Hey kiddo, what’s up.” Steve picked Peter up, who immediately the toddler wrapped his arms tightly around Steve’s neck. He rubbed his back as Tony made his way over to the pair.
“Congratulations Cap, you’re officially a dad.” Tony mumbled as he hugged Steve’s side and for the first time Peter didn’t fuss about it, he just let them hug and kept his death grip on Steve.
“You look like you haven’t slept in weeks Tony, I got Peter, go rest.” Steve said as he kissed the top of Tony’s head. He heard Tony mumble something about Steve being bossy before he disappeared around the corner towards the room. “Something tells me you kept your dad up for a long time kid.” He joked, ruffling Peter’s hair.
The toddler made a noise of protest, holding onto Steve impossibly tighter. He laughed before sitting down with Peter on the couch, the toddler almost instantly falling asleep before Steve could even fully process that Peter had called him daddy. He made a mental note to be emotional about it later, but also to talk to Tony about how they’d be able to tell who Peter was referring to if he continued to call Steve his dad.