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Life with Maria was eventful.
Parenting was a bumpy journey to embark on, but Tony and Peter wouldn't trade it for anything. Each day unveiled a new piece of Maria's personality, a hint of the person she would grow into.
She was adored by all. Her family was ready to drop anything for her at a moment's notice, and the world was eating from the palm of her hand. The Starks were private but not secretive, being honest about her existence but keeping her life away from the cameras. The only pictures of her that circulated the internet were those taken by Peter or Tony, with her face always kept out of frame.
Tony knew a thing or two about being exploited, having grown up with expectations he could barely understand. He didn’t want that for his kids. He said so to Peter, when they first found out about the pregnancy, and Peter had readily agreed to keep their child out of the public eye.
Maria whimpered in her room, and Tony reached for the baby monitor to see what was going on in there. She had recently stopped sleeping in the master bedroom, and they were all still adjusting to the change. That being said, Tony was a little more on edge with her out of his sight, and hearing her make any kind of distressed noise raised his metaphorical hackles.
She wasn't outright crying, Tony observed, just making small noises. He slid out of bed with a parting kiss on Peter's bare shoulder, creeping quietly to the room next door. He opened it with no reservations, knowing that he wasn't risking waking his daughter.
He brushed his fingers over the small tuft of hair on her head. Maria reached for them with a small whine, aching for contact. Tony disregarded her request and picked her up instead.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Tony wondered.
Maria blinked at him silently.
"You know Papa spent a lot of time putting you to bed," Tony pretended to scold her. "What a naughty baby. Just like your daddy, huh? You can't follow a normal sleeping pattern?"
Maria snuffled into his shoulder, and Tony sighed. "It's hard, kiddo. I get it. For the record, if you did inherit this from me, I accept full responsibility."
"Don't blame yourself for this," Peter said sternly, his sudden appearance making Tony jump. "Babies are just like this. It's normal."
Tony sent him a small smile. "I know. You can put down the pitchforks, baby."
"I have to make sure," Peter explained, flushing. "The size of your guilt complex is astronomical."
"And that's coming from you?" Tony scoffed.
Peter wrapped his arms around Tony's waist from behind, peering down at Maria over his shoulder. She caught sight of him and wiggled in Tony's hold, the hand not glued to his shirt straining for him. Peter released his husband and went around him, happily taking their baby into his arms when Tony offered her up.
"You should be sleeping," Peter told her, tapping her nose teasingly.
Tony's mouth twisted. "I already told her that. She said that sleeping's for losers."
"Oh, did she?" Peter giggled, perching on the chestnut rocking chair in the corner of the room. He brought Maria closer, and she snuggled into him with a relieved breath.
Within moments, she was asleep.
"How do you do that?" Tony gaped. "You're officially not allowed to go on any trips without her. She'll never sleep if you're away."
"I have the magic touch," Peter said smugly. "Or maybe she loves her papa more."
Tony paused, commiserating. "I wouldn't blame her. I love her papa very much."
Peter's ears reddened, which Tony spotted even through the dark. "I love you, too."
They settled Maria back in her crib and returned to their bed, where they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. They faced no more disturbances until eight in the morning, when Maria's wailing jostled them out of their rest.
They decided to go to the park today. Tony put together the stroller while Peter dressed Maria in warm layers. When they were done getting ready, they placed Maria in the stroller, double-checked their baby bag, and exited Stark Tower. Tony stayed close to Peter and Maria, his protectiveness flaring with every person who got within a foot of his family. It made him uneasy to have his vulnerable daughter and not-so-vulnerable husband out and about without security. Peter assured him that his spidey-sense would alert them to anything suspicious, but Tony couldn’t help keeping his guard up.
Peter gave Tony the stroller once they got to the park, letting him push it around and giving his own arms a break
"Pete," Tony gestured to the left excitedly. "They've got baby swings!"
They approached the swings with quick feet, wanting to get to the remaining one before anyone else could.
"That rust is older than me," Tony huffed, keeping Maria away from the swing with doubtful eyes.
Peter laughed. "The swings are always like that. It's part of the experience, Tony. Just put her in."
Tony gave in reluctantly, encouraged by the gummy smile their daughter gave him.
Maria watched them with an uncertain gaze, uncomfortable in her new surroundings. Her feet were hovering over the ground, and she had nothing to hold onto except for the rubber of her seat and the chains keeping her suspended.
"You're doing great, Mari," Tony cheered, ignoring his own discomfort.
Peter pushed her swing gently, causing her to sway back and forth. Tony took out his phone and began recording her, whooping every time she swung towards him. Peter remained at her back, never straying too far in case she fell, and nudged her along when she returned to him.
Maria seemed to be enjoying herself, relaxing in her seat and kicking her feet as she flew. Everything was going well until a boy of around ten years of age rammed into her swing, tipping her over and sending her hurtling towards the ground. Peter caught her reflexively, his spidey-sense vigilant as always.
All four remained in stunned silence, before the boy burst into tears and Maria began to sob into Peter's chest.
Peter checked over every inch of Maria's skin, and Tony turned to the boy, resisting the urge to check on Maria too. He trusted that Peter would be able to find anything pressing, and someone needed to make sure that the boy was all right. With Peter occupied, that 'someone' would have to be him.
"Are you okay?" Tony crouched by the boy's side.
The boy shook his head, his bottom lip wobbling as he pointed at his bleeding knee. "I scraped my leg."
Tony took in the scene. A blue scooter had fallen next to the boy, with an open can of soda spilling out onto the pavement by the front wheels. It didn't take him long to connect the dots. The boy had been riding one-handed, sipping from his soda at the same time that he'd been steering the scooter. With his focus divided, he'd run into Maria and tumbled to the ground.
"You'll be fine," Tony soothed, reaching for the baby bag. He'd packed some bandaids just in case anything came up, and it had served him well. "I've got a bandaid for you. Who'd you come here with?"
"My babysitter," the boy sniffled, glancing to the side, where a teenage girl was approaching with a frown.
She reached them with several long strides. "I'm so sorry. I looked away for a second, and he went this way, and now he's hurt and I'm definitely getting fired—"
"Take him home," Tony instructed, "and take care of him."
He gave the boy one last soothing look, saying, "Your knee will heal soon. Don't worry, okay?"
The boy nodded, and Tony passed the bandaid to the babysitter. The scrape would have to be cleaned before it could be put on. The babysitter hurried away with the boy's hand clasped in hers, setting him on a bench before bringing out water and a white tube of ointment.
Tony spun back to his family, his worry clear on his face as he approached them. Peter handed Maria to him, letting him see and feel for himself that she was unharmed.
"She was just scared," Peter explained. "The most damage she faced was the soda on her shirt."
Sure enough, there were brown stains sinking into the fabric of Maria's shirt. Tony hugged her tightly, pressing kisses to her head as he assuaged his fear. "Can you grab her spare shirt?"
Peter nodded, zipping open the baby bag and pulling out a folded shirt. He smiled to himself, keeping the front away from Tony as he briskly tugged off Maria's old shirt and slid on a new one. Tony held her at arm's length to inspect her outfit and snickered at what he found, instantly brought out of his sullen mood.
"I’ll have one barium and two sodium, or just a BaNaNa," Tony read aloud.
Peter admired the sky, all nonchalant, like he was unaware of what Tony had discovered.
"Peter," Tony groaned. "When did you even have time to get this?"
"Anything is possible when it's for your baby," Peter shrugged,"...and I may have preordered a bunch while I was pregnant."
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose, a smile growing on his face despite his exasperation. Peter was always able to make him feel better. It was a blessing, because Tony wasn't easily appeased, and he could admit that to himself. To have a man who loved him despite his flaws, for his flaws even—it was something special.
There was no one else he’d rather spend forever with.