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"Daddy," Peter said eagerly, tugging on Tony's pant-leg, "daddy, I want that one."
Tony looked over to where Peter, his tiny face lit up like he'd seen the future and it was full of cookies, was pointing.
"Are you sure, son?" Tony asked as they walked over to the dress Peter had pointed at. Tony and Peter were inside one of the several thousand souvenir shops at Disneyland while Steve was stuck outside taking photos with tourists who thought he was a Captain America impersonator. Tony may or may not have started that when he exclaimed loudly while taking Steve and Peter's picture that, "Oh my, you are the best Captain America look-alike I've ever seen." Right before grabbing Peter and running into the store.
"Yes," Peter nodded vigorously, "It has to be that one, daddy."
Tony shook his head, chuckling as he pulled down the blue sparkling Cinderella dress. Last week it was Belle, the week before that Mulan. The kid couldn't seem to stick with just one. One of the benefits of that being that at least Tony got some variety in movies he had to watch on repeat.
He held the dress up to Peter to check the size. If the kid would stop growing so quickly he might actually be able to remember it, but seeing as how he had left the parent who actually knew that sort of thing stranded outside he would just have to guess. It seemed like it was close but not quite small enough. But Peter was growing so quickly it might be good to buy it a little bit big, right? Tony grabbed a couple and started to look around for a fitting room for Peter.
"Can I help you, sir?" a salesgirl asked as Tony wandered around the store.
"Yeah, I'm trying to find a fitting room for my son." Steve had been going on about how they needed to teach Peter to ask for help when he needed it and they were supposed to lead by example, Tony; blah, blah, blah. Whatever, he'd give it a shot if it was good for Peter.
"Sure thing," she said. She lead Tony through the maze of a store and brought him to a small changing room.
"Here you are. Is there anything else?" she asked politely.
"No, we're good. Thanks," Tony told her. He ushered Peter into the room and hung both dresses on conveniently low-set hooks on the wall. Peter eagerly pushed Tony out of the room so he could change on his own. Tony chuckled and waited patiently outside, proud of the independence Peter was showing. Waited patiently, scanned the internet for the pictures of Steve from outside the store that were already circulating on the internet, same thing. He bookmarked a couple of the cuter ones for later.
"How's it coming in there, Peter?"
"Almost done, daddy," Peter told him happily. Tony heard the sound of swishing fabric and knew Peter was twirling in front of the mirror.
"Have you tried them both, son?"
"Yeah, I like this one." Peter pushed the plush curtain aside and came out to show Tony the one he was wearing.
"It's bigger so it's easier to play in," Peter explained. Seemed like sound logic to Tony. Good to hear Peter had his priorities.
"Then that is the one we will get," Tony told him. "Just go change out of it so we can pay."
Peter looked reluctant to take the dress off.
"I promise you can wear it around the park," Tony told him, "We just have to pay for it first."
"But soon I can put it on again?"
"As soon as we've paid you can wear it again," Tony assured him. Satisfied, Peter nodded and went back to change into his original clothes.
Once he'd finished, Tony brought Peter and the dress to the salesgirl to pay.
"Oh, is that a gift for your sister?" the woman standing behind them in line asked Peter while Tony ran his card through the machine. Peter was clutching the dress close to his chest, watchful, as all wise children were, for dress-snatching bandits. He regarded the woman suspiciously, she had the air of someone who would grab his dress to inspect it simply to demonstrate the sincere interest behind her question.
"No, it's for me," Peter said his voice torn between unabashed pride and deep suspicion. She hadn't made a move yet, but he felt her dress-snatching potential was high.
"Boys don't wear dresses, dear. You must have misunderstood," she told him with a little laugh.
"No, it's mine," Peter told her. He loosed his hold on the garment slightly. Anyone this stupid probably wouldn't be able to steal his dress anyway.
"Yes it is," Tony agreed, joining the conversation smoothly. He was annoyed this woman felt the need to stick her nose where it so obviously didn't belong. Was it really too much to ask for one nice day with his family without having to deal with someone trying to ruin the moment. At least she wasn't a supervillian.
"No, he can't-"
"Excuse me, ma'am, are you ready to checkout?" the salesgirl asked, trying to distract the woman long enough for Tony and Peter to leave. Seeing the chance for what it was Tony picked Peter up and tried to walk off. He wasn't one to run away from a fight when he was the one attacked but when it came to Peter getting out of the situation before it became a situation was always his first instinct.
The woman ignored her completely and moved to block Tony's path. She was still focused on the dress Peter was holding. So she completely missed the face Tony was making. Too bad really since it was a pretty good early warning sign of impending doom.
"Dresses are for little girls, dear. Are you a little girl?" the woman asked sweetly as though she thought she were doing Peter a favor. Tony snorted and rolled his eyes. How were people still this close-minded.
"Of course not. I'm a boy," Peter told her, wondering why she wasn't able to figure that out for herself.
"Well in that case-"
"And my Daddy said that I can wear whatever I want. He and Papa don't care if it's dresses or pants or shirts or skirts or, or, anything. They said they love me very much always and no matter what and nothing can change that, not even me cutting my own hair when they weren't looking," Peter steamrolled right over her and then looked up at Tony as though for confirmation that he had gotten the answer right. Tony beamed at him and Peter snuggled against his chest happily.
The woman was too gobsmacked to respond.
Thankfully, at that moment Steve walked up.
"All set?" he asked.
"Just about," Tony told him. He transferred Peter into Steve's arms and asked him to wait outside for him. As they walked out he could hear Peter explaining all the best features of his dress.
"I would appreciate if from now on, you kept you nose out of other people's business. Now, if you'll excuse me," Tony tried to walk away. This woman wasn't worth losing his cool over. Peter clearly knew his parents loved him and nothing this woman had to say would even make a dent in that knowledge.
"No. Do you know what you're doing to that kid?" The woman had grabbed his arm as he tried to walk away. Okay, that was stepping over a line and Tony turned to answer her.
"Letting him be himself," the salesgirl answered instead.
"I wasn't talking to you," she snapped at the girl.
"This stops now," Tony said firmly. "You have no right to butt into our family business and there was no call for you to be rude to," he looked at the girl's nametag, "Sue."
"What you're doing is wrong. Trying to force your kid to wear girl's clothes just because you aren't right." The woman was now standing close enough that Tony was tempted to stick a breath mint right into her yawning maw.
"Yep, he seemed really 'forced' when he picked the dress out himself, just like he's picked all his other ones out himself. And it's definitely my fault he insists on wearing the same dress day in and day out. It clearly has nothing to do with him or the fact that our son decided for himself that it makes him happy."
"There's just no getting through to screwed up people like you is there?" she asked like that was supposed to make Tony see the error of his ways and grovel at the feet of her rightness.
"Clearly," Sue said, pointedly looking at the woman.
"You, butt out," her angry glare swung from Sue to Tony. Before she could open her mouth again Tony spoke up.
"I understand that you are entitled to your opinion. I understand that we are all entitled to free speech. But that person you're "protecting" is my son and I will not allow you to try and stomp all over his self-expression. I don't care if he wants to dress like Cinderella, GI Joe, or both. If he likes it, I'm fine with it. He only gets to be a child for so long and I'm not going to let someone like you, someone so clearly terrified of anything that is even remotely different from them, try to take his innocence away."
"But-"
"I'm not done yet. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with a boy dressing up as a princess or a girl dressing up as a knight in shining armor. People are free to be whoever they are and that includes deciding what they want to wear."
With that Tony put his sunglasses on and turned to walk out.
"Oh, one last thing. If you come near or speak to me or my family again I will have you removed from this park." Tony strode out of the store without looking back.
~
"Daddy, look at me," Peter squealed excitedly. Steve had taken him to change into his new dress while Tony had been in the store.
"Son, you look marvelous," Tony exclaimed, clapping his hands together and looking at Peter over the top of his sunglasses. Peter giggled happily.
Steve raised a questioning eyebrow and nodded toward the store, asking if everything was alright in there. Tony nodded to let him know everything had been taken care of.
"Papa, Daddy, let's take a picture," Peter said.
They ended up getting a great photo of Peter being held up by Tony and Steve each of them kissing one of his cheeks. It filled Tony's heart with pride that he and Steve were raising Peter to know he was loved for just who he was. To know that when the day came and they had to send Peter out into the world on his own it would be okay because he would be equipped with the knowledge that no matter what he did his parents loved him, supported him, and would always come to his aid. To know that his son was able to defend himself, without doubt, from the bullies of the world. Watch out, he thought, this child knows who his fathers are and is brave in their love.