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The TV was on but the sound was off, there were sheets of paper, half-crumpled half-colored, littering the carpet, and Happy's arms were resting on the back of the couch, relaxed. Tony's shoulders moved with every line he drew on the last drawing he'd chosen to color. It was peaceful.
Until it wasn't.
Loud voices rushed to their ears as soon as the doors of the floor's elevator opened and they did not stop as they passed them in the hallway and finally got to their destination - the kitchen. Happy frowned, immediately annoyed, but he would've stayed put, he really would've, had better things to do on this fine Saturday afternoon than intervene in whatever argument Captain America and the Hawkeye were having, but then he looked at Tony again. Tony, whose shoulders had slumped and who was watching him with his big brown eyes wide and his lashes batting furiously.
"It's okay, baby," Happy kneeled down next to him at the coffee table, "it's nothing, you don't have to worry."
Tony shook his head like he didn't believe him, or couldn't express what he was feeling, and Happy had to forcibly prevent his anger from showing on his face.
"Come here," Happy opened his arms, breathing in the apple scent of Tony's shampoo when his little boy dove into his chest. "It's okay. I'll go check on our friends, and then come back and it will be all quiet again, baby, that sound good?"
Tony whimpered against his shoulder but he nodded anyway. Happy squeezed his arms around him one more time before letting go, kissing Tony's forehead as he got up.
"Wanna try some of that origami thing you were doing the other day while I go talk to Steve?"
"Ok, Daddy," Tony whispered, but his shoulders were still drawn tight.
Happy gave him the softest smile he could muster, got Tony's blanket from the couch - a soft blue thing he always kept near him when he felt himself slipping into his headspace - and draped it over his shoulders. He brushed his hand down his back and waited for Tony to actually find the special flashy paper he'd bought especially for that purpose before he left the room.
Happy walked the few steps he needed to get to the kitchen and could feel his face tightening around his anger. They were still yelling when he stepped through the door, Steve leaning on the kitchen counter while Clint pretended not to hear him by making the TV blast as much as he could.
"J, mute please." Happy hissed.
The sound turned off immediately, and both men turned on their heels to stare at him.
"Are you done?" Happy spit, glaring at both of them in turn.
"What? No, we're--"
"Yes! The answer is yes, Rogers." Happy could feel his hands twitching, why he still had to go around reminding people that this floor was supposed to be a safe space, and not just for Tony, was baffling.
"Ok, hang on, I know why he is angry, but what's up with you, man?" Clint asked and for a moment, Happy was struck dumb. They'd already had that conversation. They had .
"I don't… for fuck's sakes," Happy rubbed his face roughly, looking from one man to the other, "JARVIS can you?"
"Certainly Mr. Hogan," the A.I. responded, and if Happy thought he could hear an exasperation that rivaled his own in the way JARVIS said the words, well, he wasn't unhappy about it. "Captain, Agent Barton, young Mister Stark is currently trying his best to concentrate on folding sheets of paper into animal shapes but your quarrel has given him an amount of distress that renders it difficult."
Happy nodded minutely, still glaring at Rogers and Barton. He was ready to just leave it at that when it seemed the two men had grown mute - fine by him - but then he turned around and understood why they hadn't answered.
"Hey there, love,"
Tony was all bundled up in his blanket, red pacifier dangling from his lips as he leaned on the doorway. He looked adorable, but his eyes were sad - Little Tony hated conflict even more than his big self did - and Happy wanted nothing more than to sweep him into a hug and tickle him till the tears on his face morphed into tears of joy. So he did just that.
"Baby, baby, baby, be ready," Happy drawled out, folding on himself with his arms reaching for Tony through the distance as he winked at his boy. "I'm coming to get you, better run!"
Tony's eyes widened, his pacifier almost falling from his lips as he caught on with Happy's plan and forgot all about the two men behind them. Time to get back into their bubble like he deserved. Happy started walking faster, and finally jogged behind a running - clumsily, in that headspace but still - Tony, his blanket flying on his back like a cape.
The boy's laughter filled Happy's ears and his heart expanded with joy as Happy tackled him to the couch, leaning over him as he launched his tickle-attack. Like always, Tony tried his best to push at his hands to make it stop, but his protests got lost in his hysterical laughter, his "Daddy stop's" mixing with pleas and more giggles. His pacifier rolled off the couch, his hair was astray and his Hulk tee-shirt had ridden up his belly when Happy finally stopped, let him catch his breath, caressed his cheek and dropped kisses all over his face.
"My beautiful boy,"
"My Daddy,"
"Always, love, always."
And they finished their day in the same gentle quiet they'd been bathing in all morning, without anymore interruptions, together as Tony rested in little space, and Happy took care of him. The sun went down on their embrace as they fell asleep on the L-shape of the couch in the communal room, and just like it should be, nobody came to bother them.
It the morning, Tony may or may not wake up little, or big, but either way, Happy remains his Daddy, or his husband, and they're ready for everything, always just one tickle-attack away from euphoria.