Honesty is the Best Policy

Tony’s life changed the moment he found Steve in the ice. He would remember that day for the rest of his life. Over the years Steve had become his teammate, partner and best friend, and something else that there was no word for, but for the longest time he didn’t want to admit it even to himself. Ultimately he couldn’t lie to himself about it any longer, when he looked at Steve and felt that ache in his chest. It was the one thing he couldn’t tell anyone, not even his best friend.

They saved the world countless times, and each time Steve was by his side. Sometimes he thought just being around Steve was enough, teasing him, making him laugh, even flirting a little when he could get away with it, and that he could still keep his secret. But that was all before Miles.

Steve staggered backwards as if he’d been hit in the stomach and put his hand to his earpiece. “Guys, we’re not done yet—there’s still someone here. I need you to regroup.”

“A hostile?” Tony landed next to him, raising his repulsors. “Are you okay? It’s not like Galactus to have sidekicks.”

“No,” Steve replied, signaling Tony to stand down. “I’m fine, Tony. Whatever hit me was small. I’m betting it was just a kid.”

“Well this is no place for children, invisible or not,” Natasha murmured, lowering her gun. “Tony? Infrared scan would be helpful right about now.”

“On it,” Tony replied, putting energy back into the repulsors, Rhodey right behind him. Sam soared over from the other side of the battlefield, turning on the infrared settings on his goggles. They had evacuated as many civilians from the area as they could, but only the ones they could see, Tony realized. Somewhere in the rubble below was a scared kid, and Tony wanted to find him or her as fast as possible.

Jan appeared over his shoulder. “Anything?”

“No, dammit.” Steve was looking up at him, but Tony couldn’t see any signs of the kid.

“Over here!” Sam called. Steve leapt over the side of the block of stone in front of him and Hulk followed, smashing a path for himself. Clint hopped after him.

Tony and Rhodey landed next to Sam and looked up where he was pointing. Under the side of an overturned building, there was a small shape of a boy, clinging to the concrete. Tony flipped off the infrared and the shape was invisible again.

“Still hiding,” Tony murmured.

“He’s probably so scared,” Jan murmured next to him. “I’d turn invisible too if I could.”

“Tony, what’s the status?” Steve asked, coming up behind him.

“It looks like he’s just hanging onto the surface. I don’t think invisibility is his only deal.” Tony opened his faceplate, rubbing his chin as he looked over at Sam. “Hey Sam, I got an idea. Gimme your goggles.”

“As long as I get ‘em back. Why?”

“Just a sec. Here, put these on, Jan.”

Janet flew over and landed, becoming her normal size again as she put on Sam’s googles. “What’s the plan?”

“To a kid we’re just a bunch of scary guys in armor and masks. We need somebody small for this job if we don’t want to scare him away again,” Steve said, putting his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “It’s a good idea, Tony.”

“Thanks, Cap.” Tony flashed him a small grin.

Steve turned to Jan. “If he saw half of what just happened with Galactus, he’s going to be terrified. He doesn’t know we’re the good guys. Hulk, maybe it would be a good idea if you took a few steps back. No offense.”

“S’okay,” Hulk grunted. He lumbered back to the edge of the rubble and sat down, causing a slight tremor. “But Hulk good babysitter.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Clint muttered and Natasha elbowed him hard in the stomach.

“I’m sure you are, big guy,” Jan said in Hulk’s direction as she shrank back to Wasp-size. “Okay, I’m on it.”

She flew up to the concrete hanging overhead as Tony flipped down his faceplate again. They saw her land on the underside of the building, holding on to the edge of a window next to the invisible boy.

“Hey, are you stuck? Are you okay?” they heard her ask. The boy moved backwards slightly.

“Who are you?” came the muffled response.

“My name’s Jan. What’s your name?”

“Miles.” From his voice, he sounded like he couldn’t be more than five or six years old.

“He’s so young,” Steve muttered to Tony. “Poor kid should never have to see any of this.”

Tony cursed under his breath.

“Okay, Miles, do you want to come down? It’s not safe for you up here.”

Miles shook his head uncertainly.

“I know this has been really scary, but it’s safe now,” Jan said, reaching out to touch Miles’ shoulder.

Miles moved back slightly. “Are…are those your friends?”

“Yeah, those are my friends. One of them can fly up here to help you down—”

“No,” Miles replied, shaking his head. “I don’t want to. I-I want my parents.”

“Where are your parents?” Jan asked quietly.

“Not coming back,” Miles whispered, curling away from Jan.

Jan put her hands to her mouth. Miles covered eyes as he started crying, and Steve looked at Tony before taking a step forward. He took off his helmet.

“Miles?” Steve said, looking up in the kid’s direction even though he couldn’t see him. Tony saw the boy’s face turn to look at Steve.

Steve set his shield down on the ground and sat down below the overhang. “I know you don’t know me, but I lost my parents when I was young, just like you.” He glanced back at Tony and held up his hand, gesturing for them to stay back. “I know what you’re going through. I want to help.”

Jan fluttered closer to Miles, reaching out to touch his shoulder slowly. “We can help you.”

Tony saw Steve move backwards slightly as the invisible boy ran into his arms. Wasp flew after him, hovering by Steve’s shoulder. Steve wrapped his arms around Miles and closed his eyes. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”

Tony came forward and knelt down beside Steve, his heart aching in his chest. “Hey Miles,” he said quietly. “I’m Tony. And this is Steve—he’s one of the best we’ve got. You’re safe with us. We promise nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

Suddenly the shape in Steve’s arms became visible, his face still buried in Steve’s chest as he cried. Jan landed on Tony’s shoulder, her face drawn with worry. “Let’s get him to the Avenger’s tower and then figure out what to do,” she murmured to Tony.

“—African-American, about five years old,” Steve was saying. “Yeah, he said it was Morales. Anyone under that name?”

He was pacing back and forth in front of the window. Finally he hung up the phone after saying a brief thank you. He looked pale and exhausted. “Police confirmed that his mother Rio Morales died in the attack. Miles’ father Jefferson Davis is listed as missing.”

Tony looked away, slumping down on the couch. “That’s it. Next time Galactus decides to vacation on earth, I’m making sure he doesn’t leave in one piece.”

Natasha rested her hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Tony,” she murmured.

“Actually, it kind of is,” Tony replied, standing up. “I became a hero to stop kids from losing their parents like this. What did we do wrong?”

“We didn’t account for civilians with superpowers,” Steve replied quietly.

The door opened and Carol strode in, taking off her mask and running a hand through her short hair. “That’s it for Galactus this time around. Nice job on your end, guys.” She stopped at the edge of the living room. Clint, Sam, Nat and Hulk were sprawled on the couches and Tony and Steve stood tensely nearby as Jan hovered. “Why all the long faces?”

Rhodey pulled her into a tired hug. She looked at him worriedly. “We found a kid after the battle…he lost his parents,” he explained. “He’s sleeping in one of Tony’s extra rooms.”

Carol passed a hand over her forehead and reached for Rhodey’s hand. “What are we going to do?”

“Well, we can’t keep him,” Clint replied. “He needs a new family. He needs a new life.”

Tony rubbed his face. “Yeah, he does, and we need to make sure whoever takes care of him can actually help him. For whatever reason, he has these powers and—”

“We can’t just put him up for adoption,” Natasha said firmly. “There’s no guarantee he would even be adopted. Do you know what those agencies are like?”

“Even if he was adopted,” Steve interrupted, “how is anyone going to be prepared to help a kid who turns invisible and climbs walls?”

“He might be able to do other stuff too,” Sam added.

“Nobody’s going to be prepared for that,” Steve repeated.

“I’m prepared,” Tony said suddenly. Steve turned to look at him. “I want to adopt him,” Tony continued, his voice firmer.

“Since when did you want a family?” Steve asked sharply.

“Since right now,” Tony replied defensively.

“Really?” Steve asked. “I’ve known you a long time, you’re not the type to—”

“Not the type to what? Be a good father?”

Steve closed his eyes. “You know that’s not what I was going to say, Tony.”

“Whatever, Steve, why does it matter to you, I—

“Because I want to adopt him too,” Steve said replied, his jaw set.

“Uh, guys, there’s a lot of paperwork involved here,” Rhodey interjected. “It’s not guaranteed that either one of you could adopt him, even if you wanted to.”

“I didn’t know you wanted a family,” Steve murmured, folding his arms.

Tony groaned. “What, am I supposed to have planned this since I was ten? Make lists of names if I have a boy or a girl? Because guess what, Steve, this one already has a name.”

Natasha looked up, studying them for a moment. “You know, there’s nothing that says you can’t both adopt him.”

Steve glanced sideways at Tony. “I…guess you’re right.”

“That’s kinda gay,” Clint muttered.

Tony rolled his eyes.

Miles walked slowly into the living room and Tony nearly spilled his coffee on Sam.

“Hey, buddy, did you sleep okay?” Tony asked, getting up and walking towards him.

Miles nodded shyly.

“Let’s make breakfast,” Tony continued, opening the refrigerator. “You want some toast? Eggs?”

He looked over at Miles and saw that his lips were starting to tremble. “My…my mama always made me a…a…” He didn’t finish the sentence as large tears started to roll down his face. Tony knelt down and pulled him into his arms, rubbing his back. He lifted Miles into his arms and sat down on the couch.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he whispered, resting his chin over the top of Miles’ head. Tony gritted his teeth as he felt tears sting his own eyes. He remembered exactly what it felt like after he lost his own mother. If there was one thing he could do, it was show Miles that he didn’t have to do this alone.

Steve appeared on the other side of the room and rushed over immediately when he saw Tony.

“Food,” Tony mouthed at Steve, pointing at the kid in his arms. Steve gave him two thumbs up and went into the kitchen.

“Man, that poor kid,” Sam murmured.

Steve sighed, pouring some cereal into a bowl.

“Hey, how is the whole adoption thing coming along?”

“I don’t know,” Steve replied. “It could take a while, but it just seems unfair to the kid to make him wait for something permanent, and then just to be uprooted from one place to another.”

“That’s only if you get turned down by the agency,” Sam offered. “You’re Captain America, man. I think that should go a long way.”

Steve shrugged, looking away. “Hope so.”

“This isn’t the kind my mama gets,” Miles said matter-of-factly when Steve sat down next to him on the couch with the bowl of cereal and a spoon.

Steve glanced at Tony briefly. “What kind does she get?”

“The rainbow ones.”

Steve nodded. “Okay. We’ll get those.”

“Okay,” Miles replied as he started eating.

“Hey, buddy,” Tony said suddenly. “How would you like to come down to the lab with me? When you’re finished?”

Miles looked up, mouth still full of cereal. “Wha?”

“Do you like robots?” Tony asked, flashing a smile.

Miles paused and then nodded vigorously, his eyes lighting up. “Are you--are you gonna teach me how to build one? Can we make a big one? My mom always said that I was really good when I would make all sorts of stuff, and I want to make one that can run up and down walls and do all these crazy things and—”

“Next time we adopt a child together let’s just give them your paperwork first. Worked like a charm,” Tony muttered, elbowing Steve in the ribs as they walked to Miles’ room. “We need to ask him first if it’s okay though. I…” He stopped, looking down at his hands.

“Tony?”

“God, this is a mistake.”

Steve lowered his head. “You’re not your father. You know that.”

Tony let out a humorless laugh. “Yeah. But maybe it would be simpler if you just adopted him without me—”

“Tony, hey—” Steve stopped him, a hand on his shoulder. “When you came back from the lab earlier, that was the first time I saw him smile since we met him. I think I need you to do this with me.”

Tony looked away, biting his lip. “It’s super weird that we’re adopting a kid together.”

Steve dropped his hand, laughing. “A bit, yeah.”

Tony smiled slightly. “I mean I guess our lives are pretty weird as it is.”

“Adopting a kid might be the most normal thing we’ve ever done,” Steve muttered and Tony massaged his forehead. “And you’re my best friend,” Steve continued. “I trust you. I don’t want to do this without you.”

Tony smiled ruefully.

“Sorry…about the other day,” Steve murmured, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked away. “I just didn’t know you wanted something like this, that’s all.”

Tony shrugged, shaking his head. “Well I guess I didn’t know it until I saw it.”

“—but only if you want that. It’s up to you. There are a lot of people who would love to be your family, not just us,” Tony finished.

Miles was sitting on the side of his bed, his pajama’d legs sticking off the side. “Does this mean I get a big superhero family?”

Tony glanced at Steve. “If you want, yeah.”

Miles opened his eyes wide. “Are you guys a family?”

“Yeah,” Tony replied with a nod.

“Okay,” Miles replied, hopping down onto the floor and hugging Tony. Tony motioned quickly for Steve to join and Steve smiled and knelt down to wrap his arms around both of them.

“Of course your kid has an Uncle Sam, mister happened-to-be-born-on-the-4th-of-July.” Sam raised his eyebrows at Steve and picked Miles up and spun him around, beaming at him. “By the way I’m the cool uncle,” he added, putting Miles up on his shoulders.

“Is there a not-cool uncle?” Miles asked in confusion.

Sam grinned and Steve put his head in his hands. “Glad you asked. His name is Bucky. We play a fun game where we annoy Uncle Bucky whenever we can.”

Miles looked at Steve, his eyes wide. “Can I annoy Uncle Bucky too?”

Steve shook his head, smiling. “I don’t think he’ll mind.”

Sam looked up at Miles. “Don’t worry kid, we’ll figure it out.”

“I’m sure you will,” Tony said, coming into the room with Carol and Rhodey.

Rhodey elbowed Tony. “So is this final?” he asked. Miles clamored down from Sam’s shoulders and looked up at Rhodey in awe.

“Yep, I was just finishing up everything with the adoption agency.” Tony gave Steve a thumbs-up and Steve smiled warmly at him, making Tony blush a little.

“You’ve got a lot of uncles now, kiddo. I’m Rhodey,” Rhodey explained. He got down on one knee and held out his hand. Over his initial shyness, the boy bypassed the handshake and went in for a hug instead, then frowned up at him. “Where’s the cool armor?”

Rhodey grinned and looked up at Tony. “Hey buddy, I can’t wear it all the time,” he explained to Miles.

Miles wilted. “Can I see it?” He pulled on Carol’s knee. “Can you teach me to fly, scary lady?”

Carol let out a laugh. “One thing at a time. I’ll have to ask your dads.”

Tony glanced at Steve, who was pursing his lips. “No flying until you can drive, young man,” he decided.

Sam lifted Miles back onto his shoulders with a conspiratorial grin. “Adults are no fun.”

Tony scoffed in mock irritation as Sam flew Miles out of the room. “I’m the fun dad,” he called. “Steve is the…Steve.” He waved at Steve, who raised his eyebrows and tried not to laugh.

Rhodey pulled Tony into a hug and then squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “Congratulations, you guys. I’m proud of you.”

Tony looked down, smiling despite himself. “I always thought you’d have kids before I did. If I even had kids.”

Rhodey shrugged, smiling to himself. Steve said in a low voice, “Are you and Carol…?”

“No, no. We’re just thinking of names right now.” They followed Carol and Sam into the living room. “If we have a girl, we both like the name Riri.”

“Ugh, I’m exhausted,” Tony sighed, leaning against the wall. “Who knew it would take that long to put the little monster to bed?”

“You need to sleep too,” Steve murmured, pulling on Tony’s shoulder.

“Ugh.”

“Don’t argue with me. Remember that time I had to literally carry you to bed?”

“And they say romance is dead,” Tony grumbled, pushing himself off the wall.

“Come on.” Steve put Tony’s arm around his shoulders and held him up by the waist. Tony’s room was close to Miles’ so it wasn’t long before Tony finally slumped down onto his bed.

He let out a long sigh. “We’re going to need to find him a kindergarten or some shit.”

“Language,” Steve murmured, and Tony could hear rather than see the smile on his face.

“Oh my god. You swear like a fucking sailor, Steve, you fucking hypocrite.”

Steve sat down on the side of the bed. “Not in front of children I don’t.”

Tony groaned. “Okay, okay, I’ll be more careful.”

“You better,” Steve said tiredly, resting his head back on the pillows.

“Get your own bed, Rogers,” Tony mumbled. But Steve’s head had already nodded down. Tony could barely see the outline of his face in the darkness. Just a little bit of light shone in from the window. Tony let out a quiet laugh and pulled the blankets up over Steve.

There had been a lot of nights, especially after they took him out of the ice, when Steve hadn’t slept. Tony would find him in the early morning drinking coffee. He knew a lot about sleepless nights, but it had been a while before Steve trusted him enough to talk about it. But if Steve was bad at talking, he made up for it in other ways. There were countless times when Tony would have been looking for a drink if it wasn’t for Steve. All the times that he had broken down and felt Steve’s arms around him, and Tony knew Steve didn’t really understand how good it felt for him.

But sometimes Tony wanted to hold Steve just to feel how good it felt, not because he was a mess. Tony cursed inwardly and turned over, his back brushing against Steve’s shoulder. He was suddenly extremely grateful that he had never told Rhodey or Pepper any of this because he was sure they would think this was a huge mistake. He was sure this was a huge mistake. They were raising a child together for heaven’s sake.

Fuck.

Tony felt a small body squeeze itself in between him and Steve and cracked one eye open. “Huh? Miles?”

“Can we build more robots?” said the small voice.

Tony started giggling. “A boy after my own heart.”

“Can I call you Dad?”

“What else would you call me, buddy?” Tony asked, turning over. Steve opened his eyes and sat up, looking perfectly awake and well-rested as always. And gorgeous. Tony rubbed his eyes grumpily.

“What am I then?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows at Tony and then Miles.

“What’s an old-fashioned way to say dad?” Miles asked.

“I’m not old-fashioned,” Steve teased and Miles looked at Tony.

“Yesterday when we were building robots Dad said—”

“Do you prefer just old, Cap?” Tony asked and Steve shook his head.

“Hey, I called my old man Pops. You can call me that if you want.”

“Okay, Pops,” Miles replied.

Tony grinned. “That’s cute.”

Steve glared at him.

They had to childproof the tower.

“I don’t want any Pym particles near my son, is that clear?”

“Of course, Tony,” Jan said with a sigh, pursing her lips. “But you know I don’t think it’s me you have to worry about—”

Tony turned around to see Miles grabbing onto Hulk’s foot.

“Miles!” he called, panicking, but Hulk picked up Miles with extreme gentleness and lifted him up onto his shoulder.

“Hulk like tiny Avenger.”

Tony did a double take and then turned to Jan. “Make sure that my child doesn’t die. Okay?”

He had to childproof his lab too, especially if Miles was going to be playing in there with him. He spent all day working and fell into bed late that night, regretting that Steve wasn’t lying there next to him this time.

During breakfast the next morning, Miles kicked Steve abruptly under the table. “Pops, how come you slept in a different room from Dad last night?”

Steve’s brow furrowed and he glanced at Tony. “Um…”

“My friend told me once that his mom and dad sleep in different rooms because they’re getting a divorce. Are you getting a divorce?” Miles eyes were bright with worry.

Tony’s eyes widened and Steve blushed. “Hey, uh, Miles, just let me talk to your dad for a second, okay?”

Steve grabbed Tony by the arm and dragged him to the door.

Tony covered his mouth his hand to keep from giggling. “He thinks we’re married,” he whispered.

Steve glared at him. “Yeah, and getting a divorce.”

“I wonder what gave him that idea.”

“This is my fault?”

Tony smirked. “Shoulda slept in my room last night,” he replied.

Steve, barely listening, shook his head. “Poor kid, he just got adopted and now he thinks we’re splitting up.”

“We’re not splitting up—we’re not together. Steve. STEVE.”

Steve had a distant look in his eye. “Don’t worry, Tony, I know how to fix this.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Okay, Cap.”

Steve motioned for Tony to follow him. They sat back down at the table in front of Miles.

“We don’t want you to worry,” Steve started. “Your dad and I are just fine.” He took Tony’s hand and Tony stiffened slightly. Steve gripped him more firmly and gave him a look. “We just wanted you to know that everything’s fine. We’re not getting a divorce. It’s just that your Pops sleeps in a different bed sometimes…when he has to get up really early in the morning for a run.”

Miles took a bite of his cereal dejectedly. “I don’t believe you.”

Steve’s brows furrowed slightly and he turned to Tony. He cupped the side of Tony’s head and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. Tony’s heart raced. “What the FUCK, Steve,” he whispered into Steve’s ear, and Steve kicked him under the table.

“See?” Steve said to Miles, still holding Tony’s hand. “Don’t worry. Your Dad and I are just fine.”

“How did you meet Dad?” Miles asked through a mouthful of cereal.

“Well,” Tony started, clearing his throat as he glared at Steve, “Pops was frozen in a big block of ice and when we defrosted him—”

“Miles!” Nat called, “if you’re finished eating do you want to come play with Aunty Nat?”

Miles got up and bolted from the room.

Tony turned pointedly to Steve. “—and then I gave him true love’s kiss and we lived happily ever fucking after. Steve, what the fuck?” he whispered.

“I panicked,” Steve replied, holding his head in his hands.

“Can you consult me before you fake marry me next time?”

Steve was blushing harder now. “What else was I supposed to do?”

Tony squinted at him. “I don’t know…not lie? You’re Captain fucking America for god’s sake.”

Steve frowned. He got up and walked into the kitchen with Tony following on his heels. “Look, it’s fine. He never has to find out. We’ll just—”

“He will find out, Steve,” Tony hissed. “How long before he notices we don’t have wedding rings?”

Clint looked up from his morning coffee and blinked a number of times. “Wha-huh?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Tony said, turning to Clint. “Steve wasn’t even man enough to buy me a wedding ring for our fake marriage.”

Clint squinted at him. “You’re not making any sense. It’s too early in the morning for this.”

Tony looked back at Steve, who was trying not to laugh.

“This is not funny, Steve. What if you get a hot date and then I have to explain to our son that his father is cheating on me, huh?”

Clint trudged over to the couch with a confused expression on his face.

“I don’t date, Tony,” Steve sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right, you’re a prude,” Tony shot back. “Every woman in New York wants to sleep with you, and probably half the men, but you—what, you want to be fake married to ME of all people?”

Sam shuffled awkwardly into the kitchen.

“Tony—” Steve started.

“No. Nonono. Seriously. What happens when you want to date someone?”

Steve clenched his jaw. “You know just as well as I do that people in our line of work can’t make it work with civilians.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “So you find a hot superhero girlfriend. Problem solved.”

Sam sipped his coffee. “What are we debating here?”

Steve opened his mouth but Tony beat him to it. “Steve here just got us fake married in front of our child, is what happened.”

“What?”

“Miles thought—”

Sam burst out laughing. “Oh my god.”

Tony turned back to Steve, trying not to laugh, but it was difficult with Sam cackling behind him. “And you know what else you didn’t do? You never took me on a honeymoon.”

Steve tried to give Tony a serious look. “I don’t have enough to take you on a honeymoon, Tony. If anyone should be paying for the honeymoon it’s you.”

“Ugh,” Tony grumbled. “Can you believe this guy? First he marries me without asking, now I have to pay for the honeymoon?”

Sam smiled broadly and shook his head. “You guys make a cute couple though.” He raised his mug at them, smirking.

Tony glowered.

“My marriage is a sham,” Tony said as he plopped down on the couch next to Rhodey, who was playing a video game with Carol.

“You’re not married, Tony,” Rhodey said absentmindedly.

“Yes. Hence, my marriage is a sham.”

“Ooohhhhhh, beat you again,” Carol crowed, putting down the controller. Rhodey groaned.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Ugh, just that Steve told Miles that we’re married.”

Rhodey snorted.

“Why is this funny?” Tony asked. “I could get stuck with this lie for the rest of my life. I mean, yeah, he’s easy on the eyes, I could get used to being fake married to him. Hey babe.” Tony moved over as Steve joined him on the couch.

Steve blushed a little at the compliment. “Nat’s been playing with Miles. She thinks she figured out more about his powers.”

“Really?” Tony asked. “Wait what--what are they?”

Natasha came in carrying Miles on her shoulders.

“Hi Dad, hi Pops,” Miles called.

“I’m going to put you down now, but you need to promise Aunty Nat that you won’t turn invisible, okay?” Natasha asked.

Miles nodded.

Natasha lifted him off her shoulders and put him down. “Because I’ll be able to find you anyway.” She tickled him until he squirmed and shrieked and hopped into Steve’s lap.

“Did you have fun with Nat?” Steve asked, and Miles nodded.

“We played hide and seek,” Miles explained.

Natasha sat down in a chair and leaned forward. “You guys are never going to believe this. Miles actually has a spider sense a lot like Peter Parker’s. He always knew when I was sneaking up on him. Didn’t you Miles?”

“What? No way.” Tony turned to Nat. “Are you telling me we adopted a little Spiderman?”

“Looks like it,” Natasha replied with a smile. “Hey Miles, bet you can’t find me if I hide! But you have to count to ten first.”

Miles put his hands over his eyes and started to count.

Bucky walked into the living room, throwing his jacket down on a chair. “Uh, guys? There’s a kid playing in Hulk’s room. Do you know about this?”

Steve looked up and smiled. “Hey, Buck. How was your trip?”

Bucky shrugged. “Fine. But seriously, why is there a kid—”

“Relax, Bucky,” Steve laughed. “He’s my kid.”

Tony had just slipped into the kitchen for more coffee. “Um, excuse me, our kid.”

Bucky looked back and forth between them. “O…kay? Well the kid is climbing up the walls, just so you know.”

Tony sighed. “And that used to be so cute. Steve, will you get our child down from the ceiling. I’m not tall enough for this shit.”

“Sure, honey,” Steve said sarcastically with a wink before he disappeared down the hallway.

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

Tony groaned. “This is getting so old. How many times do I have to have this conversation? We adopted a kid—”

“I swear to god, I’m gone for five minutes…”

“You were gone for a few weeks.”

“Like I said, I was gone for FIVE minutes…” Bucky leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Are...you and Steve…”

“No, no, Jesus Christ,” Tony replied, almost choking on his coffee. “It’s just, Miles, our, uh, kid, thinks we’re married but…I don’t think Steve swings that way.” Bucky shrugged. Tony looked at him askance. “I’ve known the guy for years, I think I would know.”

Bucky let out a laugh. “I’ve known the fucker for decades and he’s still figuring out new ways to piss me off so I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Look, I don’t care when you were born. It’s the twenty-first century,” Tony said quickly. “Are you telling me that it would bother you if Steve dated a guy?”

Bucky glared at Tony. “No. I’m saying it would bother me if he started dating a guy and didn’t tell me about it, because I'm his best friend. We tell each other everything. We look out for each other no matter what.” He let out a sigh. “Plus I’d want to make sure the guy was good enough for him.”

“Well, I’m not,” Tony said, turning away. “But we’re also not actually married so it doesn’t matter.”

Bucky put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Wait a sec. You know how much Steve cares about you.” His voice was quiet but firm. “He adopted a kid with you without a second thought. He wouldn’t make that decision if he didn’t think you were the right person. He’s told me…what it was like waking up after the war, and how you were the first person who was there for him. I know he’s grateful for that, but you know I am too.”

Tony nodded, but didn’t look up.

“You’re the perfect person for him to raise a kid with. I think you’ll be great dads together.”

“Thanks, Bucky,” Tony murmured, and Bucky squeezed his shoulder. Tony cleared his throat. “Sorry I assumed…”

“It’s okay. A lot of people from my generation are homophobes, but none of Steve’s friends.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah.” After a minute he said, “My dad…”

But they were interrupted as Steve entered the room carrying Miles. “You fucking punk,” Bucky said with a huge smile. “Congratulations.”

“Don’t swear in front of the kid, Buck,” Steve whispered.

“Who’s the scary metal arm guy?” Miles mumbled, wrapping his arms around Steve’s neck.

“That’s your Uncle Bucky,” Steve explained, and Bucky went down on one knee as Steve put Miles on the floor. Miles took a step forward slowly and tapped the metal arm experimentally and then started giggling.

“That makes a funny noise!”

Bucky opened and closed his hand so Miles could hear the noise again. “Isn’t that cool?”

Miles nodded and jumped impatiently.

“He wants you to pick him up,” Steve explained.

Bucky’s eyes widened. He lifted Miles up in his arms and spun him around. “Me and you are going to have a lot of fun. I can tell you all sorts of embarrassing stuff about your dad. So this one time, when we were kids, Steve and I were getting pizza, right, and—”

Steve groaned and Tony glanced at him, thinking about what Bucky had said. Steve looked up, noticing Tony’s gaze.

“More coffee?”

“What? Yeah. Sure.”

They drank coffee at the kitchen table together, watching Clint show Miles how to make arrows. Bucky walked over and stood directly in front of him, arms folded.

“Now that I’m done telling the little fucker all about your embarrassing childhood, you’ve got some explaining to do, Rogers.”

Steve wilted. “Look, I panicked and—”

“How long before the kid finds out? That’ll break his little heart all over again. He acts upbeat, but he's grieving. He needs stability, not finding out his parents are splitting up.”

Steve looked down. “I won’t let that happen, okay Buck?”

“Better make it convincing then,” Bucky said tersely.

“As long as I don’t have to kiss the bastard,” Tony said with a smirk, and then wrinkled his nose in mock disgust. “I mean, have you seen him?”

Steve punched him none too gently in the arm.

Bucky, Sam and Nat played with Miles all afternoon. Eventually Miles wound up in Tony’s lab again and they spent hours lying on the floor together building things and taking them apart. Miles demanded explanations for everything he didn’t understand, and he wanted to know everything. Before Tony realized, Miles had made his own little spider-bot that scampered away under the table and refused to respond to voice commands, even though they had programmed them in.

By the time Miles’ bedtime came around, Tony figured he’d go to bed too. He promised Miles that they’d find the spider-bot and fix its programming tomorrow, and couldn’t help but grin at the excited look in Miles’ eyes. He knew Miles was going through the hardest thing he'd ever faced in his young life. That's why Tony wanted Miles to feel the support of a big family around him. On top of that, he wanted Miles to be able to laugh and play and still be a kid. He was so young.

Tony fell into bed, exhausted, briefly wondering where Steve was. He turned over, smushing his face into the pillow. He’d have to start going to bed earlier now that Miles would be waking him up every morning at the crack of dawn. But for maybe the first time in his life, he was actually looking forward to getting up early.

He closed his eyes, but sat up abruptly as he felt someone else get into bed next to him.

He rubbed his eyes. “What the—”

“Hey, Tony. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Tony blinked. “Steve, what the fuck—”

“There’s plenty of room. Move over,” Steve whispered.

Tony grumbled and moved over slightly. Steve’s shoulder was warm against his. “If I steal the covers, don’t let it end our fake marriage, okay honey?”

Steve groaned. “You don’t mind? Will you sleep okay with me sharing the bed?”

Tony massaged his face with this hand. “No, I’ll be fine.” Without thinking, he turned over and accidentally bumped his head into Steve’s nose in the darkness before settling down on his shoulder. Steve made an excellent pillow.

“Sorry,” he murmured against Steve’s chest, already half-asleep.

“It’s okay,” Steve whispered with a bit of a laugh, closing his arm around Tony’s shoulders. “Sorry I was gone so long today. Fury needed me.”

“Mmmf.”

Steve shifted slightly, pulling Tony closer. “You sure you’re not too warm?”

Tony let out a laugh. “No, perfect.”

He fell asleep instantly, with Steve’s arms around him.

---

It was difficult to pull himself out of bed the next morning, not because he was tired, but because getting up meant getting out of a bed that had Steve in it. Tony grumbled as he made his way to the bathroom. Steve was up only a few minutes later looking refreshed and well-rested as usual, brushing his teeth next to Tony as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and Tony figured he should get used to it.

That’s why Tony was surprised one morning when he woke up late and found that Steve was still lying next to him, looking exhausted.

“Cap? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in bed this late. Did hell freeze over?”

Steve groaned and rolled over onto his side, wincing in pain.

“Steve?” Tony got up on his elbow. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Steve sighed. “Me and Nat figured out another of Miles’ powers yesterday.”

Tony lifted Steve’s hand from the side of his waist where it was pressed. Steve winced as Tony lifted up the hem of his shirt.

Tony pressed his hand gently to Steve’s ribs. “Does that hurt?”

Steve breathed out a laugh. “Not yet.”

“I’m going to go get you an ice pack.”

When he returned Steve was lying in the same spot.

“I figured out why our little Spiderman alarm clock didn’t come in to wake us up today,” Tony said as he jumped back into bed. “He’s still asleep.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, whatever he did must’ve taken a lot out of him.” Tony gently pressed the icepack to Steve’s side and held it there. “Relax, Cap. Just lie back.”

Steve exhaled and turned over on his side so Tony could hold the icepack in place. Tony rested his head on Steve’s shoulder. “So what happened?”

“I don’t think he knew he could do it before yesterday. It’s like what Jan does, when she stings you. Has she ever accidentally stung you?”

Tony winced. “Yes? Ouch.”

Steve grinned. “Poor Miles, he felt really bad about it. I told him about the time that Nat broke one of my fingers and he felt better after that.”

Tony laughed and Steve pulled him closer. “Feel better?”

Steve groaned. “Yeah, just getting cold.”

“You don’t have to keep icing if you don’t want to, Capsicle,” Tony pointed out. He put the icepack down but Steve took his hand and placed it back on the side of his waist.

“You’re hand’s cold,” Steve explained with a bit of a blush. “That feels better.”

Once the cold had faded, Tony wrapped his arm around the back of Steve’s waist and drifted off to sleep again.

He woke up to see a sleepy Miles climbing into bed next to Steve.

“Sleep okay?” he asked.

Miles snuggled in between them and shook his head forlornly.

Tony yawned and sat up. “You know what’ll make you both feel better? Ice cream.”

Steve let out a laugh and put a hand over his eyes.

“Hey Miles, what’s your favorite kind?” Tony asked, lifting him up into his arms.

Miles pointed to the rainbow sherbet. “I want the rainbow one.”

“Cap? You want the pistachio, don’t you.” Steve nodded and Tony grinned. “Miles, just so you know, pistachio is an old person flavor.” Miles put a hand over his mouth as he giggled. “And I’ll have coffee, please.”

The cashier gave them a smile of recognition but pretended they were any other family getting ice cream on a summer afternoon. Once they got their ice cream, they went outside and sat on a bench looking over the water. Tony lifted Miles up onto his lap.

“We can come here as often as you like, kiddo.”

“He means it,” Steve added. “If there’s one thing that gets Tony out of the lab it’s ice cream.”

The wind was blowing over the water, bringing the fresh scent of the ocean. Couples were out enjoying the sunshine, and children were playing down on the beach below.

Miles snuggled into Tony’s chest once he had finished his ice cream.

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Tony murmured.

“My…my mom always got raspberry ice cream,” Miles said quietly. Tony followed his gaze to a little boy and his mother standing on the beach hand in hand.

Tony wrapped his arms around Miles. “I’m so sorry, buddy,” he whispered, feeling tears threatening behind his eyelids. Steve put his hand on Miles’ shoulder.

“She’d be so proud of you, Miles.”

“Mom always liked superheroes. She said I was her little superhero,” Miles whispered.

“You are a little superhero,” Steve replied, smiling a little. “You’re our little Spiderman.”

“It’s okay to miss her,” Tony whispered. “And you should come talk to us about this whenever you want. Captains orders.” Steve nodded and wrapped his arms around both of them, resting his chin on the top of Miles’ head.

Miles sighed. “I miss dad too.”

Tony looked up at Steve briefly and then screwed his eyes shut.

After a moment, Miles asked quietly, “Why would he leave?”

“There’s no good reason,” Tony replied. “You just have to understand that’s it not your fault. I know a thing or two about absent fathers. You can’t blame yourself, okay Miles? Maybe one day your father will realize that he made a huge mistake. But…right now you have me and Pops who love you, and Uncle Rhodey and Sam and Bucky and Aunty Nat and I don’t think you’ve met Thor yet but you’re going to love Thor, and…you’ve got a whole family now to take care of you. We’re going to keep you safe.”

Steve took Tony’s hand gently in his and Tony opened his eyes. He hastily withdrew his hand to wipe his eyes and then awkwardly placed it back in Steve’s.

“Can I be a superhero one day too?” Miles asked quietly.

Tony laughed in surprise. “You already are.” He looked up at Steve, who was smiling slightly. “But yeah… of course you can.” He shared another glance with Steve and Steve nodded. “We’ll train you,” Tony finished. “But no vigilante-ing until you’re at least sixteen, okay?”

“Okay.” Miles looked up and dried his eyes, smiling. “I want to be a hero like Dad and Pops.”

Tony smiled. “What are we getting ourselves into, Cap?”

“Excuse me—”

Tony yanked his hand back from Steve’s and looked up at the reporter who had appeared in front of them and just finished snapping a photo. They all stood up.

“Sorry, ma’am, we don’t really have time—” Steve began.

“Oh, no, that’s alright, sorry to bother you,” the woman replied, biting her lip. She smiled and waved at Miles, who was now hiding behind Tony’s leg.

“What’s your name?” Miles asked suddenly.

“Karen,” the reporter responded, getting down on one knee. “What’s your name?”

Miles was still hiding behind Tony. “This is our son Miles,” Tony explained, and he couldn’t help but smile, looking down at the little boy clinging to him. Steve squeezed Tony’ shoulder, a little gesture of support.

Karen glanced up at Tony in surprise. “Nice to meet you Miles.”

Miles reached out to shake her hand and they all tried to cover their smiles.

Karen stood up again. “So…you’re…”

“Recently married,” Tony explained. “Private ceremony. You know, that kind of thing. I’m sorry, we don’t have time to answer a lot of questions—”

“I really am sorry to bother you. Do you mind if I just ask one question?”

“Sure,” Tony said with a shrug, glancing at Steve, who was biting his lip.

“Well, you’re both so busy, being on the Avengers and saving New York from threats, and you Mr. Stark, everything you do at Stark Industries…but your friendship—“ Karen blushed a bit. “I mean your relationship, is what most people believe is the core of what makes the Avengers work. What I’m trying to say is, how do you juggle all of that? What is the key to making your relationship, your marriage, work?”

Tony cleared his throat and glanced at Steve. “That’s a good question. Uh…well, I think it’s honesty really.” He saw the small blush begin to form on Steve’s cheeks. “It’s definitely honesty. If there’s one thing I love about Steve it’s that he’s always honest.” He flashed a grin at the reporter and then glanced at Steve with a flick of his eyebrows. “Honesty is the best policy, right sweetheart? You know Steve, he’s the most trustworthy guy anyone could wish for,” Tony finished, turning back to the reporter. “Captain America and all that.”

“Well, congratulations,” she replied, smiling at Tony and Steve. “It was nice to meet you and your son. Sorry to interrupt.”

“Miss Karen, why did you become a reporter?” Miles asked.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh. Well, it’s…it’s just something I started doing recently.” She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. “I guess it’s important to me to tell the stories no one else can.”

“New York has all sorts of heroes,” Steve pointed out, scooping Miles up and putting him on his shoulders.

“If you don’t want me to run the story, I don’t have to,” Karen added. “If you wanted to keep out of the press a little longer—”

Tony glanced at Steve and winked. “No, somebody’s gotta tell it. May as well be you,” he said, turning back to Karen.

She smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Call me Tony.” He waved a goodbye as they walked back to Stark Tower.

Tony dropped the newspaper in front of Steve gleefully. “This is a hole you dug for yourself, Cap.”

It was the photo from yesterday. Tony was looking into Steve’s eyes and smiling as Miles sat between them. Steve’s hand was still resting on Tony’s, on top of his knee. The headline read, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark – Rumors of Secret Wedding Ceremony and Adoption.

Steve groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. Clint cackled as he walked past with his cereal and Sam grabbed the newspaper from Steve.

“Aww, you guys make a cute couple,” he said, making Steve sink his head lower.

“That’s not going to improve your prospects with the ladies,” Clint added.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Tony exclaimed.

“Clint, what do you know about ladies,” Natasha murmured, smiling as she kissed him on the cheek. Clint shrugged and started blushing as he grinned at her.

“Keep it down,” Steve insisted. “I have a fake marriage to uphold.”

Natasha turned to Steve. “Relax, Cap. Miles is playing with Peter and there’s no way he can hear you from two floors down.”

“Aww, that’s terrifying,” Clint said half-heartedly as he stared into his cup of coffee. “Now there are three spider-people.”

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the landing strip outside the window and Thor appeared, wearing full armor. He strode towards the door and flung it open, then grabbed Tony and Steve and pulled them into a big hug.

“My friends! I hear that you have been wed, and have adopted a son? Where is the little rascal? I want to meet him!”

Tony blinked as Thor shook his shoulders. “Well, um, actually about that, it’s—”

“Congratulations, Captain,” Thor continued. “I truly am happy for you both.” He slapped Tony’s shoulder again.

Natasha grinned from ear to ear. Sam raised his eyebrows at Steve.

Before Tony could open his mouth again, Clint piped up. “Do they have gay marriage on Asgard? You seem…really unfazed by this.” Steve massaged his forehead.

“We just call it marriage,” Thor replied. “Can you imagine how much hell my sister would raise if she wasn’t allowed to marry her girlfriend one day?”

“When do we get to meet your sister?” Natasha asked, getting up and hugging Thor.

“As soon as she finishes dealing with the frost giants, I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to it. Let’s go meet Miles.” Natasha pulled the giant Asgardian after her.

“Wait, uh, I…” Tony began but then deflated as Thor strode away, cape billowing.

“Let’s face it, you guys are maaaaaaarriiiiieed,” Clint sang as he followed after Natasha, Sam and Thor.

Thor opened the door cautiously. Miles was sitting on the floor with Peter, who was reading him a book. He was wearing a spidersuit just like Peter’s but with darker colors. He looked up to see Tony, Steve, Sam, Natasha, Clint and Thor and jumped to his feet.

“Dad, Pops, who is the big warrior? Is he friendly? Is he an enemy?” Miles pulled on his mask and got into a fighting stance.

Steve shared a smile with Tony. “He’s friendly, Miles. This is Thor.”

Thor knelt and put down his hammer, lifting his hands over his head. “I can tell I would not stand a chance against you, little Spiderman.”

Suddenly shy, Miles walked cautiously over to Thor and solemnly shook the Asgardian’s giant hand. He pulled off his mask as Steve picked him up.

“Did Uncle Peter make this for you?” Steve asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I’m going to be Spiderman just like him!”

“This is fantastic!” Thor exclaimed. He hugged Peter, nearly popping the eyes right out of his head.

“And then all I had to do was change the pattern to fit him and voila, mini Spiderman!” Peter explained as he walked in between Tony and Steve. “He picked out the color scheme and everything.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “What can I say, kid. You got some talent. I think we’re going to need at least five more.”

“Can I just say, it is so great that you adopted Miles, I feel like he’s going to be the little brother I never had!” Peter gushed, the eyes on his mask widening. “And you guys have always been the mom and dad of the Avengers. And now you’re married—”

Steve suppressed a smile. “Not really married, Peter.”

“I mean, I know,” Peter replied, throwing his arms around both of their shoulders. “You guys still act married though.” Tony brushed a hand over his forehead. “I’m just so excited to be an older brother. I never thought of myself as a role model before--”

“Don’t be a bad influence on my son, alright kiddo?” Tony asked, yanking the mask of Peter’s head and tousling his hair. Peter glared at him.

“I’ll be the best influence ever! Just like Uncle Sam.”

Sam was carrying Miles on his back, pretending to be a plane and zooming around the living room as Miles giggled. They finally crashed on the floor, laughing, and Jan flew over and landed on Sam’s shoulder.

“Was that fun?” Sam asked.

Miles nodded, looking up at both of them. “Will you guys teach me how to fly?”

“Maybe when you’re older, little guy,” Sam replied, smiling.

“Or maybe you’ll learn how to swing between buildings like Peter,” Jan added. “That’s a lot like flying too!”

“That would be so cool!” Miles’ eyes were wide. “Like a spider! Then I’ll really be Spiderman!”

Tony’s phone buzzed. Hulk, Jan and Sam were beginning to help Miles build something out of blocks. Steve and Peter had just sat down with them. Carol and Rhodey had just come back and were catching up with Thor and Natasha in the kitchen. Tony grinned to himself as he turned away and picked up the call.

“Tony?”

“Hey Pep.”

He walked out of the living room.

“Tony, what’s going on?” Pepper asked.

“Oh shit, I can explain,” Tony began. “I mean, it’s Steve’s fault, actually—”

“I know it’s just a rumor, and I don’t know how this is happening, but you’re actually getting good publicity right now.”

“Really?” Tony asked, dumbfounded.

“But the last thing you told me was that you were adopting a kid, and that Steve wanted to adopt him with you but I didn’t think—”

“It’s not like that, really, it’s not. I swear to god. It’s just that Miles thought that we were, you know, married and Steve panicked and you know how impulsive he is and…now we’re stuck with it. He’d be so heartbroken if he thought we were splitting up, Pep—”

Pepper laughed on the other end of the line. “Oh, Tony.”

“I know,” Tony groaned.

“I mean, Steve’s kind of your type.”

“What? No? Is he?” Tony asked, starting to panic.

“He’s tall, he’s blonde,” Pepper began, suppressing laughter. “He’s got a great rack.”

“Pepperrrr,” Tony groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hand. “I mean, everyone’s a little bit gay for Captain America—”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get this sorted out. I’m just really excited to meet Miles when I’m back on the east coast.”

“When are you getting back?”

“Tuesday.”

“Unless New York is attacked by aliens between now and then, we’re free. You should come over as soon as you get back.”

Another laugh. “Okay. I just wanted to say I think it’s great that you adopted Miles with your best friend, Tony, I really do. I bet Steve will be a great dad. And I know you will be too.”

“Thanks, Pep,” Tony murmured.

“Love you. See you soon.”

“Love you.”

Tony sighed as he hung up. He glanced down to see another copy of the newspaper on the table. The front story with the headline he’s seen that morning was written by someone he didn’t know, but on the third page he found Karen’s story.

“On a beautiful summer day, you’ll find a lot of families enjoying ice cream and the view of the New York skyline down by the water, but Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and their son Miles are one family you might not expect. Stark and Rogers met as Avengers; their partnership developed from friendship into love over the years, and they were recently married in a private ceremony. After the devastation caused by Galactus, Stark and Rogers adopted the orphaned Miles Morales. Meeting them for the first time, I was struck by the fact that two of New York’s most famous superheroes do what everyone else does on a Sunday afternoon—spend time with their family. Their son Miles is shy but extremely sweet, and even at five years old it’s easy for Rogers to lift him up onto his shoulders. It is a relief to know that for the people risking their lives to keep New York safe, to whom we owe so much, there is such a thing as a happy ending. According to Stark, their marriage…”

Tony tossed the paper away. When he turned around, Rhodey was standing in the doorway. Tony sighed and dropped his head into his hands as Rhodey sat down next to him.

“You okay?”

“Mmf. Fine.”

Rhodey raised his eyebrows. “Really? Then why do you look so miserable?”

Rhodey picked up the paper and looked at it. Tony figured that he and Steve really did look like a married couple in the picture, with Steve’s hand resting over his. He winced.

Rhodey glanced at Tony thoughtfully. “It’s okay, man.” Tony raised his eyebrows and Rhodey shook his head. “You don’t have to do this with me.”

Tony groaned. “Maybe if I pretend it doesn’t exist it’ll just go away.”

Rhodey furrowed his eyebrows at Tony. “You know it doesn’t work like that.”

“How did I fuck myself over this badly?” Tony asked, turning abruptly to Rhodey. He could always count on Rhodey to see through 100% of his bullshit, and in a way it was a relief to talk about it with him. “He’s one of my best friends, who I’ve known for years, and is a minimum of 150% straight, and now I’m being forced to live a life of fake marital bliss—”

“Whoa,” Rhodey said with a laugh. “You don’t know he’s straight. He could be just as much of an idiot as you are and never got the courage to do anything about it.”

“Hey,” Tony complained, but couldn’t help but smile.

Rhodey raised his eyebrows. “You gonna debate me on this?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Come on,” Rhodey replied, rolling his eyes. “Even before you came out to me in college, I could tell...do you remember after you got your heart broken by Rumiko and we were out at a bar and we ran into my friend from the Air Force?”

“Andrew with the beautiful eyes!”

“Yeah and you couldn't stop talking about his eyes then either.”

“Point taken.”

“I’ve known you the longest. When you got to be friends with Steve, and after you broke up with Pepper…I mean, you flirt with everyone but you really like flirting with him. Like…a lot.”

Tony let out a laugh and looked down.

“It would be cute if it wasn’t for the fact that I know you, and I know you’d rather pine over him for the rest of your life than tell him how you really feel.”

“Yep! I would,” Tony said with a grin, standing up. “Good talk.”

“This conversation is not over,” Rhodey pointed out, pulling Tony into a hug.

“Okay, if you’re some sort of relationship expert, how did you figure out that Carol was interested in you?”

Rhodey pursed his lips. “I never said I’m an expert at this, I’m just not at your level of pining for years without doing anything about it.”

“That’s cruel.”

“Look, the first time me and Carol kissed, it just kind of happened. It was the right moment. You never know. It was…one of those moments when you think you might not see someone again. I think that made us both a little braver.”

Tony sighed. “I could definitely be a little braver about this, I just wouldn’t be able to stand the look on Steve’s face if…” He shook his head and squared his shoulders, putting on his best Captain America voice. “I’m sorry, Tony, but I don’t feel the same way about you. I just think of us as friends.” And then we wouldn’t be friends, and I would’ve ruined it and it would all be my fault.” Tony held his forehead in his hand.

Rhodey smiled. “Come on, man. Don’t you think Steve flirts with you? A little bit?”

Tony spread his arms defensively. “No, I have no idea. All I see are his gorgeous blue eyes and handsome face and his broad shoulders and I’m just—”

Rhodey laughed and shook his head. “All logic goes out the window.”

“Pretty much.”

“Look, if nothing else, you could never hurt your friendship by telling him. He cares about you enough to raise a child with you.”

Tony breathed out a long sigh.

“And I love you, but I’m not raising a child with you. That’s kinda gay.”

Tony burst out laughing.

Tony really couldn’t imagine life without Miles. After a long, brutal training session, the Avengers were never too tired to play with him, run around with him and chase him, or in Tony’s case, fight a valiant but losing battle against his tiny opponent while Steve or Rhodey called out advice on how to beat “Iron Man.” It was as if Miles had been there all along, and Tony sometimes wished that he had been so that the he never would have seen the violence that Galactus unleashed on New York.

“One day will I be a superhero like you?” Miles asked.

Tony lay back in exhaustion on the mat. “You already are,” he said with a smile. It wasn’t the first time Miles had asked that question.

Miles frowned. “But I want to be a real superhero. I want to fight villains and make the world a safer place.”

Tony sat up and pulled him into a hug, resting his chin on the top of Miles’ head. He knew it was the same drive that had pushed him, after his parents died, to try to make sure no one else lost their loved ones and went through what he had gone through. To do what needed to be done to make the world a safer place, to become a hero because the world needed heroes. “I love you, Miles. Your mom would be so proud of you, buddy. We’re all so proud of you.”

Miles breathed out a sigh. “It’s just…if someone has my abilities and chooses not to use them, they’re responsible for bad things happening, you know? I want to do something, and—”

Tony shook his head. “I swear to god, it’s like you’re related to Steve. Don’t worry kid, you’re in the right place.” He held Miles at arms’ length. “But when I think about you, when you’re sixteen or seventeen or eighteen, going out into the field and being in danger—we’re going to put you through some tough training before that happens. No son of mine is going out there unprepared. And there’s really no rush. You’re so young, buddy.”

“Dad,” Miles complained. “I want to fight bad guys now. I know, I know, I’ll wait until I’m older, but—”

“You know, Pops would rather jump out of a plane with no parachute than stay out of a fight. It nearly gives me a heart attack every time. Are you sure you’re not related to him?”

“You’re one to talk,” Steve said, striding into the training room with Sam and Natasha. “Whenever you’re in a combat situation without your suit, do you know how that makes me feel?”

Tony pursed his lips. “Hey, I know how to fight without my armor.”

Steve put his hands on his hips with a smirk, and Tony tried not to stare at the way his tight shirt clung to his chest. “Okay, you’re on.”

Tony wilted. “But—” Steve raised his eyebrow. “Fine.”

“What, are you tired?” Steve asked.

Tony groaned. “No,” he lied. “Come on.” He got to his feet and squared up with Steve while Miles ran over to sit next to Sam.

“Who do I root for, Dad or Pops?” Miles asked him.

“Tony, because he needs all the luck he can get,” Sam replied with a smirk.

“Hey, I heard that.”

“Go for his legs!” Natasha called.

Tony went in for a takedown but Steve easily sidestepped him and threw him on the mat.

“Nice one, Steve!” Sam called.

Tony glared at him from where he was pinned underneath Steve. “Hate…you…”

Steve easily got an armbar and then helped Tony to his feet. Tony used that moment to take him off guard and trip him but in a moment he had already lost his position and Steve had pinned him again.

“Aww come on,” Tony breathed. “I thought I had you for a moment there.”

Steve smiled and let him go again. “Not quite. Maybe next time.”

“Next time you’re going to kick my ass again. And the time after that. And a time after that.”

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out,” Natasha teased. “Come on, Stark, use the jiu jitsu I’ve been teaching you.”

Tony sighed. “I’m trying, but have you seen this guy?” He turned back to Steve, who had pulled his shirt over his head. Tony felt himself blushing and forgot all the jabs he was going to make at Steve and did his best not to stare.

“It’s not about strength or size, Tony,” Steve pointed out. He stretched his shoulders, breathing out a deep sigh. “Jiu jitsu is actually perfect for someone like you or Nat.”

“Y-yeah,” Tony replied.

Steve stood up and helped Tony to his feet. “I miss training with you. Spend less time in your lab and more time on the mats and you’ll get an edge on me in no time.”

Tony blushed and smiled. “Yeah, okay, Cap. Yeah, that sounds good.”

“I mean, I’d rest easier at night if I knew you were being protected by more than a tin can,” Steve teased, and Tony just shook his head.

He didn’t have anything particularly witty to say after staring at Steve’s bare chest, so he just said, “I hate you.”

Miles hopped down from where he was sitting next to Sam and ran over to Tony and Steve. “Dad, if Pops thinks you can’t protect yourself but you’re an Avenger then can I be an Avenger? Can I be an Avenger now?”

Tony elbowed Steve in his beautiful but very distracting abs. “See what you’ve done now, Rogers?”

Steve knelt own to scoop up Miles in his arms. “I was only allowed to enlist when I was eighteen, you know.”

Miles frowned. “But I won’t be eighteen in foreeeeverrrrr!”

Tony let out a laugh. “Then you have lots of time to play in the lab with me. Come on. You too, Cap. Let’s see how good you are on my turf.”

After a long day, Tony fell asleep on the couch in between Nat and Rhodey watching Miles’ favorite cartoon. The rest of the Avengers were somewhere else in the tower, except Hulk, who Miles had chosen as his large green pillow of choice.

When Tony woke up and detangled himself from his friends, Miles was still asleep in the Hulk’s lap. Tony watched as the Hulk gently scooped him up and deposited him, still wearing his spidersuit, into bed.

“Favorite tiny Avenger.”

“We’re going to need that in a pajama version,” Tony mused to himself.

“Cute pajamas,” the Hulk agreed.

“Anyone seen Steve?” Tony asked as he walked back into the kitchen, where Sam had just appeared. Natasha was rubbing her eyes. Rhodey was sound asleep.

“Oh, you mean your husband, right?” Sam asked with a grin. “He’s in the gym. But you might want to give him some space.”

“Hulk angry too,” the Hulk grumbled, smashing his fist against his other hand.

Tony glanced up at him. “But you’re always angry.” He looked back at Sam. “Why’s Steve angry?”

Sam handed him the paper.

Playing in the lab all day with Miles and teaching him and Steve to build things, Tony had forgotten about life going on outside the tower.

Sure enough, Steve was punching the heavy bag so hard it was a wonder it was still hanging. He stopped as Tony entered the room and stood breathing heavily.

“Hey,” Tony said quietly. “I saw the article.”

Steve jabbed the heavy bag once and then turned around. “Yeah?”

“You know it doesn’t matter what anyone says about you, right Cap?”

Steve sighed. “But it does matter this time. I can’t let this slide, not when they’re bringing Peggy into it. They—they think that if I’m married to you, that it means I’m gay and that I never loved her, and how could Captain America be gay, right?” He started punching the heavy bag again. “Wouldn’t that be terrible? Wouldn’t that just be the end of American values?” Steve’s last punch sent the heavy bag flying across the room. “Captain America can’t be gay,” Steve went on, shoulders stiff with anger as he caught his breath. “Don’t they know I fought a war against people who believed the same homophobic bullshit they do?”

Tony bit his lip and looked down.

Steve turned around, pulling off his hand wraps. “Besides, why couldn’t I be bi? Would that be so hard to believe?”

Tony looked up abruptly as Steve looked directly at him. “No, I mean, I uh…we all experimented a bit in college, right?”

Steve gave him a confused look and turned away, sighing as he slumped over the edge of the boxing ring.

“Look, I’m sorry, Cap. I know they said a lot of awful stuff about you.”

Steve shook his head. “It’s not just about me. It’s about all the people who are going to read that and feel hated too.”

Tony nodded and looked down. “Then we’re gonna fix it, together. But for now, give me your hand.”

Steve reluctantly gave Tony his hand and Tony took out a bandage from the first aid kit and wrapped up a cut that had opened on his knuckles.

“Just because you’re a supersoldier doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of yourself. There. Save the world in the morning. Sleep now.” Tony looked up into Steve’s eyes. “Deal?”

Steve smiled tiredly. “Okay.”

“C’mere.” Tony motioned for Steve to follow him. He led Steve to Miles’ room and pushed the door open. “Just look at him.”

Miles was curled up, still in his spider PJs. Tony smiled and turned to Steve. “You know, Miles wants to be a superhero because of you. No matter what people say about you, people are always going to be inspired by you too, because that’s what you do. You make people want to be the best version of themselves.”

Steve looked down. “He looks up to you too, Tony.”

Tony smiled. “Okay, but I see so much of you in him.”

“I just wish we could bring him up in a world where there wasn’t so much hatred,” Steve whispered.

When Tony woke up, Steve was gone. He was making himself a cup of coffee when Sam and Steve came into the kitchen, wearing running clothes, faces flushed. Sam’s arm was around Steve’s shoulder and he was saying “You can be whoever you want to be, man.”

Steve collapsed on the couch and Tony leaned down and squeezed his pecs. “Morning, gorgeous.” Steve shook his head, smiling and doing a bad job of covering up his blush.

“What about me?” Sam asked in consternation. “We all know I’m the handsome one.”

Tony grinned and handed him a cup of coffee. “Hey, I’ve got a husband to be faithful to here.”

“I feel you.”

“How you doing?” Tony asked, sitting down across from Steve.

Steve smiled. “Better after getting some fresh air and a run. Sometimes you can’t punch everything out.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Told you.”

He put his coffee down suddenly as an invisible shape jumped on his shoulders and clamored around. Natasha ran into the room and put her hands on her hips, eyeing Sam, who was still clearly balancing an invisible stowaway.

“Anyone seen Miles?” she asked, smiling. “We’re playing hide and seek.”

Sam frowned, shaking his head and then stifled a laugh as Miles kicked him accidentally with his foot. “Nope. Haven’t seen him, technically speaking.”

Natasha grabbed the invisible boy off Sam’s shoulders. “Gotcha.”

Miles became visible again and started laughing. Peter ran into the room, out of breath.

“Aww man, you win every time.”

“You gotta work on your spider sense,” Natasha pointed out, tapping the side of Peter’s head before she joined Steve on the couch.

“You want to come train with me and Bucky?” Steve asked her.

“I’ll join you guys later.”

Steve nodded at her and then looked up at Tony.

“This early in the morning? After you just went on a run?” Tony asked in disbelief. “Ugh, you’re horrible. Maybe in a bit. Keyword being maybe.”

“Sam?”

“Me and Rhodey have our own super-secret flyers-only training session in a bit. Sorry Cap.”

Steve grinned and waved to them before giving Miles a little kiss on the forehead and going downstairs. Tony slumped down and stared into his coffee cup.

“I think he’s just taking this really personal,” Sam murmured to Natasha. “I got the feeling that maybe he wanted to say…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Never mind.”

“Must be hard to come all the way from the 40s and see that so much hasn’t changed,” Natasha said, sighing.

“Yup, people still generally suck,” Tony agreed.

Miles climbed up onto the couch between Tony and Natasha. “What are people saying about Pops?”

Tony put his arm around Miles’ shoulders. “Some people are angry at Pops for, uh, marrying me.”

“But why?” Miles asked, astonished. “He loves you.”

Tony’s eyes widened slightly and he glanced up at Sam and Natasha. “Well…” He looked back down at Miles. “They don’t like people who are different.”

“It’s not fair,” Miles grumbled, crossing his arms, and Natasha and Sam couldn’t help but smile at how much like Tony he looked.

“I know, buddy,” Tony sighed.

“Some people won’t like you for being different,” Sam said to Miles, sitting down in front of him. “Because of the color of your skin or because of your abilities. But always remember the things that make you different are what make you who you are. And you should be proud to be who you are. People who can’t see that aren’t worth your time. There are even people who don’t want to see a black man be a superhero.”

Miles looked down. “But you’re the best. You can even fly!”

Sam grinned. “I know. C’mere.” He pulled Miles into a hug. “I wish you didn’t have to grow up in a time like this. It’s not always safe for black kids.”

Miles rested his head against Sam’s shoulder. “When I’m really Spiderman, I could make things safer for kids like me.”

Sam smiled. “Yes. Yes you could.”

Their training session eventually devolved into playing with Miles, who insisted on fighting all of them. He went after Thor, who collapsed on his back and made a show of trying to fend off his tiny opponent but to no avail.

“You will be a great warrior one day, little one,” Thor said, laughing as he lifted Miles up.

“My turn.” Natasha swooped in. “He’s not too young to start learning jiu jitsu, is he?”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “She’s going to make him a tiny killing machine.”

Sam and Rhodey had just landed outside when they received a call from Fury.

“One week. One week without another alien invasion. That’s all I ask!” Clint grumbled to the Hulk, who he was perched on top of.

Jan landed on Carol’s shoulder, wings drooping. “Don’t jinx it.”

Tony glanced around the room. “Well, we’re all assembled.”

Peter jumped up and down. “I’m assembled! Does that mean I can come?”

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “You’re not really a member of the Avengers yet, son.”

Peter hung his head. “Aww man.”

“Hey, we need a babysitter,” Tony realized. “Why don’t you watch Miles while we’re gone?”

Peter looked up again, the eyes on his mask widening. “Really? Does this mean I’m the official Avengers babysitter?”

Steve shrugged. “I…guess?”

“Yes!” Peter leapt over to Miles. “Come on, little Spider-bro. We’re going to have a blast while the grown-ups are gone.”

“Bedtime no later than 8,” Steve warned.

Tony tried not to smile. Rhodey caught his eye and raised his eyebrows in that same “looks like someone has a crush” face that he would make back when they were in college together. Tony groaned.

It was just your run of the mill alien invasion. Fury wanted them split up into two teams, one for each arm of the attack. Steve, the Hulk, Clint, Nat and Bucky would be on the ground while Tony, Rhodey, Sam, Carol, Jan and Thor took the sky.

Before they split up, Steve pulled Tony aside.

“Hey, be careful,” he said in a low voice, hand still on Tony’s arm.

“Always am. What’s up, Cap?”

Steve clenched his jaw and looked down, letting go of Tony.

“Hey. We’ve gone on hundreds of missions just like this before. It’s going to be fine. It’s the same—”

“No, it’s not.” Steve hands tightened, hanging by his belt. “Everything’s different now…if something happened to you…”

“I’m going to be fine.”

“It’s not just Miles I’m worried about.” Steve paused and took a deep breath. “It’s everything we’ve done…together, everything we’ve….”

“Hey,” Tony whispered, putting his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “We’ve dealt with guys just like this before. Nothing Iron Man and Captain America can’t handle.”

“As long as Iron Man brings me Tony Stark back in one piece.”

“He will,” Tony urged, squeezing Steve’s shoulder gently. “You won’t get out of your fake marriage that easily,” he added. Steve raised an eyebrow. “Kiss for good luck?”

Usually jokes like that earned him a smile or laugh from Steve, but this time he was silent, staring at the floor. Tony dropped his hand from Steve’s shoulder. “I promise I’ll be careful, okay?”

He was about to turn and go when Steve said, “Wait.”

Steve took a step forward, squared his jaw, and leaned down slightly to press his mouth against Tony’s. His lips were soft, and his eyelashes brushed against Tony’s cheek for just an instant before he turned and walked away, leaving Tony alone in the hallway, dumbfounded.

It was a miracle that Tony made it through the battle in one piece, not because it was actually difficult fighting the aliens, but because his brain had short-circuited and he couldn’t focus on anything. They fought all night into the early morning and Tony’s head was swimming with sleep deprivation and confusion and giddiness.

“You alright, man?” Rhodey asked as they flew back to the Helicarrier. “Did someone hit you hard in the head or something?”

“Probably,” Tony groaned. “I definitely need to talk to you later.”

Rhodey smiled at him conspiratorially. “Okay.”

The wave of frenzied energy he usually got after an all-nighter hit halfway through the debriefing with Fury. Steve and the rest of the Avengers returned, tired, dirty and a little bloody, but all in one piece. Tony’s heart raced as Steve turned towards him in the doorway, but Steve averted his eyes and began answering Fury’s questions.

“These things take forever,” Tony complained.

“I know,” Jan said with a frown. “What’s taking Cap so long?”

When the meeting was finally over everyone stood up and shuffled towards the door. Tony tried to find Steve, but he had disappeared. Before he knew it, he was the last one in the room with Fury.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” Fury said, his eye twinkling. “Give Cap my regards as well. It’s an unconventional arrangement you two have to be sure, adopting a kid together.”

Tony rubbed his eyes. “Unconventional, yeah.”

“A little bit.”

“You should come meet Miles sometime.”

Fury smiled. “I plan on it.”

“Oh, shit.” Tony had just spotted Steve halfway to the Avenger’s jet, which was preparing for takeoff. “Gotta go. Assuming I’m free to go?”

Fury blinked. “Yep, you’re—” Tony had already dashed from the room. “Dismissed.”

Tony put all the remaining energy into his repulsors and soared into the sky, dropping down in front of Steve and blocking his path.

He opened the faceplate. “Hey, Steve, wait, can we—”

“I know we need to talk.” Steve looked exhausted and miserable and like he did not want to talk. He looked down, squaring his jaw. “I’m sorry, Tony, I don’t want to make things weird. It’s just—”

“It wasn’t weird, it was—”

“It didn’t mean anything, okay? Just forget it ever happened.”

“It didn’t mean anything?” Tony asked in disbelief, taken aback, feeling like he had been punched in the face.

Steve looked at him for a moment as if he was considering something, and then looked away.

“You guys coming?” Carol asked through Tony’s earpiece.

Before Steve could answer, Tony said, “No, you guys go ahead without us.”

Steve opened his mouth to say something but stopped as the jet took off.

The noise faded and Tony looked up uncertainly at Steve. “Look, I just don’t understand why you would—”

“It was a mistake. I said I was sorry,” Steve replied. There was an angry edge to his voice.

“Really, was it that bad?”

Steve clenched his jaw. “That’s not what I meant.”

Panic was rising in Tony’s chest. “So it was a mistake, and it didn’t mean anything.”

Steve was silent, his brow furrowed angrily.

Tony took a step forward cautiously, his heart racing, and glanced down at Steve’s mouth before he could stop himself, then up to meet his eyes. “If it didn’t mean anything…” he started, hoping his voice wasn’t trembling. “Can we…”

Steve breathed out and looked down, but then reluctantly met Tony’s eyes. Slowly, his eyes flickered down to Tony’s lips and then back up. Tony’s head was buzzing, and he wasn’t sure he wasn’t hallucinating 100% of this. Before he lost all his resolve, he leaned up and kissed Steve on the mouth.

Steve stiffened in surprise, and then in an instant his hands were on Tony’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Tony cupped the back of Steve’s head and kissed him harder, then pulled his helmet off and kissed him again, running his hand through Steve’s hair. Steve’s lips were soft, and there was a streak of dirt on his cheek that Tony brushed off gently.

“I thought you—I didn’t—I didn’t know—”

Steve raised his eyebrows, looking down at Tony’s mouth and grinning. He kissed Tony briefly and rested his forehead against Tony’s.

“What,” Tony breathed in disbelief. “How—”

He ran his hand up Steve’s chest and kissed him again, gripping his shoulders and then sliding his arms around the back of Steve’s waist. Even with his own suit and Steve’s body armor between them, he could feel Steve’s body molding to his own. Steve tilted his head to the side, pressing himself close to Tony and breathing out a sigh when they pulled away, faces still close.

“Okay, is this marriage fake or not?” Fury asked over the loud speaker. “And can you sort it out somewhere that is not my Helicarrier?”

“Fuck,” Tony breathed, and Steve cringed, eyes widening. Tony snapped his faceplate shut, waved a hurried apology to Fury, grabbed Steve with one arm and blasted off into the sky.

Fury shook his head as he walked back inside and muttered under his breath, “Took you motherfuckers long enough.”

As soon as they landed at Stark Tower, Steve knocked impatiently on Tony’s faceplate. Tony opened it immediately and pulled him into another kiss, hard at first but then slow as they pulled away, grinning at each other. They were both exhausted, sweaty, covered in dirt and scrapes and bruises, but neither of them cared.

When they turned they saw all their friends in the living room. Discarded armor was strewn on the furniture. Miles was on Sam’s shoulder waving. Thor, completely unsurprised, raised his cup of coffee in a toast and beamed at them.

When they came inside, arms still around each other, Sam was smiling and shaking his head. “Well done man.” He came over to hug Steve, Natasha following right behind him with a small smirk on her lips, wrapping her arms around Tony. Miles climbed onto Tony’s shoulders as Bucky raised his eyebrow at Steve and elbowed a very satisfied looking Rhodey in the ribs before they squeezed into the group hug, Carol and Thor right behind them.

“Awwww guys,” Clint exclaimed, attacking them with a hug as the Hulk put his arms around the whole pile and squeezed. Jan shrank as the air was knocked out of all of them and landed on Steve’s shoulder as they all broke apart, laughing.

“When did this happen?” she asked breathlessly.

“When did…what happen?” Tony replied, motioning with his eyebrows at the little Spiderman peering down over his head. “Uh…nothing new has been happening. At all. Nothing has ever happened, ever.”

Rhodey pursed his lips. “Yup. Just the usual.”

“What’s going on, Dad?” Miles asked, pulling on Tony’s hair. “Is something special happening?”

“No.” Tony blushed as he glanced at Steve as he stepped out of his suit. “Oh. Uh. Yeah, you know actually it’s our anniversary, buddy. That’s why…” He motioned between himself and Steve. “All the smiling and blushing.”

Sam frowned, raising his eyebrows. “Well you’re not wrong.” He slapped Steve on the back and winked.

“Anniversary? Really?” Miles asked, and Tony lifted him down so Steve could give him a hug.

“Did you have fun with Peter while we were gone? Was everything okay?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, we had a lot of fun!” Miles replied. “Peter taught me all these cool new moves.”

“I did,” Peter yawned in the doorway. “I’m exhausted. What I miss?”

Tony shrugged and glanced at Steve, then looked away, grinning. Bucky wrapped his arm around Steve’s shoulders and ruffled his hair. “Finally. I thought you were going to pine over him forever.”

Steve looked indignant. “You’ve only known about this for, what, a few days?”

“Doesn’t matter. And just so you know, I’m going to tease you to death, you little punk,” Bucky muttered. “So is he a good kisser?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Steve groaned. “Buckyyyyy. He’s right there. We’ll talk about this later.”

“I am a good kisser though, right?” Tony asked, raising his eyebrows at Steve and smiling winningly.

“OH MY GOD!” Peter yelled, jumping up and down. “But you were saying—”

Tony shook his head vigorously. “No, no, I never said anything.”

Peter clutches his hands to his chest. “Now that this is—now that—if you ever need a babysitter if you guys like, you know, need any alone time, I’m the guy to call! Me and Miles had a lot of fun, and I got him to bed on time and everything and—”

Steve raised a hand, laughing. “Easy, kid. You got it.”

“We will be needing some alone time,” Tony added, wrapping his arm around Steve’s waist and pulling him closer for a kiss on the cheek. Sam grinned and Bucky raised his eyebrows at Steve.

“Awwww man, you know that’s kind of like watching your mom and dad kissing,” Peter complained.

“Yeah, you two, get a room,” Natasha murmured, jabbing Steve in the ribs.

“Rooms…so far away,” Clint muttered. He had collapsed on the couch. The Hulk was passed out on the living room floor. Thor was snoring next to him. Natasha hopped over the back of the couch and squeezed in next to Clint.

“A bed does sound pretty good right about now,” Steve said, glancing at Tony. “I’m gonna go shower. I’ll be quick.”

“Okay,” Tony replied, and then leaned in to give him a small kiss on the mouth. He still couldn't believe this was real as they pulled apart and he squeezed Steve’s shoulder.

Turning around, he saw Pepper clap a hand over her mouth as she appeared in the doorway. Her plane apparently hadn’t been cancelled despite the alien invasion.

“Oh Tony!!!” she exclaimed, coming over to hug him, and pulling Rhodey in as well.

“Go and tell her about your boyfriend, man,” Rhodey said with a grin.

“And give me back mine,” Carol added, motioned Rhodey to come over and join her on one of the couches. She flashed Tony a thumbs up and a mischievous smile.

Tony and Pepper walked out into the hallway as the rest of the Avengers found their own nesting places in the living room and dozed off. Peter and Miles had run off to play downstairs.

Pepper turned to him, eyes wide. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, taking Tony’s hand.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…about any of this,” Tony started.

Pepper pursed her lips. “You didn’t have to tell me. I’m just…he’s perfect for you, Tony. I know you know that.”

Tony grinned. “Yeah…he’s perfect.”

Pepper pulled him into another hug. “I love you. I love him—I just can’t believe—”

“That I’m gay for my best friend? Well, bi, technically,” Tony clarified.

Pepper put her hand on the side of his face. “You should go get some rest. Not just because there’s a hot supersoldier waiting in bed for you. Although that’s a good reason.”

Tony let out a laugh and looked down. He was starting to feel the exhaustion from last night’s battle, and all the little scrapes and bruises were starting to hurt. “Okay, Pep.”

“I know he’ll take really good care of you,” Pepper murmured. Tony knew she was thinking about everything that had come between them that had eventually led to them breaking up, including Tony’s recklessness and his tendency to get beaten up by supervillains.

“You know, I can’t wait until you meet the future Mr. Potts.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because until then you and Rhodey and Carol are going to tease me—”

Pepper raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah. Yeah. We are.”

“It’s not fair.”

“It’s very fair. It’s extremely fair.”

Tony tried not to smile, pursing his lips.

Pepper crossed her arms. “It’s more than fair.”

“You should go find Miles. He’s with Peter. I’m just gonna…”

“Go lie down, Tony. Now.”

When Tony got back to his room, Steve was lying in bed wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, fresh from the shower. Tony fell into bed with a groan.

“You okay?” Steve asked, propping himself up on one elbow.

Tony grinned. “I think I’ll be just fine.”

Steve smiled slyly. “Really? Why’s that?”

“Because you’re going to kiss me and I’m going to feel much better.”

“I am?”

“Don’t tease me, Rogers.”

Tony leaned up and pressed his mouth to Steve’s, wrapping his hand around the back of Steve’s head.

They all woke up around noon. After a long night of fighting, no one was prepared to do anything that day. Especially not Tony, who was feeling the bumps and bruises much more acutely now.

He groaned as Steve shifted against him, blinking his eyes open.

“Morning,” he grumbled, and Steve blushed slightly, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m starving,” he whispered. “Let’s get breakfast.”

Tony shook himself awake and rolled over on top of Steve. “Not so fast.” He leaned down and kissed Steve on the mouth, pushing his shirt up over his chest. Steve moaned in surprise, arching his head back so Tony could kiss his neck.

“Tony,” he sighed.

“Mmmf.” Tony sat up to pull Steve’s shirt all the way up.

“Breakfast,” Steve repeated with very little conviction.

Tony kissed him again, and Steve’s lips parted under his, warm and soft. He rolled Tony over onto his back, pulling away slowly, his mouth still open as he looked down at Tony’s lips.

“I hate your stupid supersoldier metabolism,” Tony grumbled.

“Come on,” Steve urged him, grabbing his hand and trying to pull him out of bed.

“No,” Tony groaned, trying to fend him off.

“I’ll make you coffee,” Steve offered.

Tony flopped onto his back. “Deal. I’ll get up soon, I promise.”

Steve let go of him and slowly stripped his shirt off over his head, looking Tony in the eye. “Come and get it.”

Tony let out a laugh and threw a pillow belligerently at Steve, who threw it back at him. “You’re the worst, Rogers.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” Steve asked, pulling a fresh shirt over his head.

Tony groaned and lay back down.

When Tony stumbled into the kitchen, most of the other Avengers were just waking up from their various positions on the couches and floor. Bucky and Steve were the main exception, both busy cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Bucky was just taking a tray of hot, delicious-looking muffins out of the oven with his metal arm, then putting in the next batch of whatever he was currently baking.

“Show off,” Tony grumbled.

“Ignore him, he’s always this grumpy in the morning,” Steve explained, leaning over and giving Tony a kiss on the cheek with a smile. “Hey Tony.”

Bucky smirked. “Get it, Steve.”

Tony grumbled but couldn’t help smiling, especially when a tiny spidersuited Avenger ran into his arms.

“Dad!”

“Hey buddy,” Tony said. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

Miles reached up and grabbed one of the muffins from the counter and took a huge bite. “Mmmff, can I have another one?”

“Of course,” Bucky said with a smile.

“How about me!” Natasha called from across the room. Bucky threw her a muffin and Clint rubbed his eyes blearily, peeling his face off the side of her shoulder.

“This is already my second batch,” Bucky explained, pointing to Thor, who was probably on his fifth cup of coffee and was finishing up a large number of baked goods.

“I want pancakes,” Natasha called, sitting behind Thor on the couch and beginning to braid his hair. “With syrup!”

Bucky saluted.

“Hey, are you going to get in on the hair braiding, man?” Sam asked Bucky.

“I have to make Nat pancakes first.”

“I’ll make the pancakes,” Tony offered. He lifted Miles up on to the counter while Bucky began braiding Natasha’s hair, and Janet joined in and started French braiding his.

“Part of being a superhero is eating a good breakfast,” Tony explained to Miles. “Have some eggs too.”

They all sat down in the living room with the others. Bruce (not the Hulk for a change) was drinking his coffee and Rhodey and Carol were still snuggled up on the couch.

“Anything horrible in the papers today?” Steve asked.

Sam flipped the paper over and handed it to him. “Nah, I think you’ll be pretty happy with this one.” He grinned.

Steve read the headline aloud. “Why Captain America and Iron Man made America safer by coming out.”

“Who wrote that?” Tony asked curiously, leaning over Steve shoulder.

“Karen Page,” Steve replied. “Despite the backlash following news of the Tony Stark and Steve Rogers’ marriage, many people across the United States are celebrating the relationship between the two Avengers.” Jan elbowed him, smiling, from where she was balanced on the back of the couch, braiding Bucky’s hair. Steve smiled at her and then continued reading. “In a world where homophobia is still a very real and present threat, the visibility of two beloved superheroes brings comfort to those struggling to find acceptance for their identities. Hate crimes are still a danger for LGBTQ Americans, but many are saying that the recent marriage of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers makes them they feel safer and more confident. I interviewed one young woman from Brooklyn who explained that, although she wants to remain nameless in this article, she feels protected by the knowledge that people who hate her and her identity now know that they have the Avengers to contend with if they choose to act on their hatred.”

Steve stopped and was silent for a moment. “Hey,” Tony murmured, wrapping his arms around Steve’s shoulders. Steve smiled, wiping away his tears angrily.

“I wish I’d come out sooner,” Steve admitted.

Sam shook his head. “That’s not on you, Steve. You do it when you’re ready, you know?”

Thor nodded. “I’ve never seen this kind of hatred on Asgard. I wouldn’t expect any of my friends to put themselves in the way of it.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled, an angry light in his eyes. “We’ll I’m ready now. If I can help people by talking about this, just by telling the truth, and making everyone else uncomfortable then hell if I’m not going to do it.”

Tony took Steve’s hand suddenly. “Hey, come with me for a sec.”

He kissed Miles on the forehead and pulled Steve after him out onto the balcony. He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous.

“So, Steve, I…” He bit his lip. “Look, I was thinking about what you said, about telling the truth, about being able to be who you really are, and it made me realize, I want to do everything at the right pace, I want to be able to tell everybody about how I felt when I first met you, and how-how we had our first kiss, and…how maybe one day how we’ll get married, if…if that’s something that you want.” He paused. “I want to tell people the truth about how I feel about you. I don’t want them to just know we’re together, I want them to know how much I love you.”

Steve rested his hand around the back of Tony’s shoulder, pulling him closer. “Well this wasn’t such a bad breakup.”

“We could probably be common-law married at this point anyway, since you’ve lived with me ever since you came out of the ice—”

“I know, but I want to do everything at the right pace, like you said, and one day, when it’s the right time…”

Tony’s heart turned over in his chest. “Yeah.”

“We already have a kid together.”

“We do.”

Steve grinned and Tony pulled him into a kiss, wrapping his arms around Steve's waist.

“You realize in the span of 30 seconds you just divorced me and then asked me to marry you again,” Steve asked, and Tony kissed him on the cheek.

“I didn’t think this through, okay?”

Steve leaned in and pressed his mouth to Tony’s again, running his hand through Tony’s hair. “That’s alright,” he said with a smirk. “I didn’t really think through getting us fake-married in the first place.”

“Well I guess it wasn’t a huge mistake after all,” Tony grumbled, smiling back at him. "Maybe you should make more mistakes, like maybe you should forget to wear a shirt, or--"

"I can’t believe this whole time you were flirting with me," Steve interrupted, glancing down at Tony's lips and biting his own.

Tony blinked. "Well yeah, have you seen yourself?" He squeezed the sides of Steve's waist.

Steve shook his head. "You flirt with everyone, Tony. And I'm just..."

And you're what, just a skinny kid from Brooklyn? Although Tony had seen pictures, and he was pretty sure Steve could make him swoon at any height.

"And you flirt with no one, you 90-year-old virgin. I should have known something was going on."

Steve huffed out a sigh. "I flirt," he argued.

Tony looked at him in consternation. "News to me, Rogers."

Steve shrugged. "I thought, maybe, if you were...you know, if there was a chance you were into guys, I thought taking my shirt off when we train would be a good…strategy."

"Son of a bitch! You've been doing that to me for years?"

Steve began to smile. "Yeah, I guess I have."

"I thought you were just...hot," Tony stammered. "I mean, you are hot, God you're hot, what I mean is--"

Steve raised his eyebrows, looking a little bit too smug. "So it worked?"

"That's not flirting, that's practically seducing, and you know damn well it worked."

Tony grabbed Steve and pulled him down into another kiss to wipe the satisfied grin off his face.

“And Tony was like, there’s no way he’s bi, he’s got to be 150% straight minimum,” Rhodey was saying, and Natasha was pursing her lips, a smile on her face. Her hair was still in braids.

Steve raised his eyebrows. “You really didn’t think I could be bi?”

Tony bumped his shoulder against Steve’s. “Anything would’ve been wishful thinking, you know? You didn’t know I was bi either, you hypocrite.”

Steve elbowed him.

“Well, I called this, byyyyy the way,” Sam said, drawing a circle around Steve and Tony in the air with his finger. “Called it.”

Bucky high-fived him.

Bruce had just finished his coffee. “I know the other guy congratulated you guys, but I want to, you know, as myself.”

Tony blushed. “Thanks Bruce.”

“And I mean, I may not be green anymore, but I still feel really angry about how people are taking the news.”

Tony sat down next to Miles and put his arm around him, Steve on his other side. “Don’t worry, Steve and I have some ideas about that.”

Thor made his hands into fists. “I like it! Where can we start?”

Tony grinned and took out his phone. “Easy, Thor. No punching—not yet anyway. I’ve got to make a call.”

“There are no monsters in the closet or under the bed,” Tony concluded, bending down to plant a kiss on Miles’ forehead. “Night, buddy. I love you.”

"I'm not afraid of monsters," Miles insisted, snuggling down farther under the blankets. "I'm a superhero."

"Maybe the monsters are the ones who should be afraid," Steve suggested, smiling. He kissed Miles on the forehead and tucked him in. "I love you, Miles. Get some sleep. I know you're excited about tomorrow, but don't stay up too late fighting those monsters, alright? Captain's orders."

"Miles thinks getting good grades is part of his superhero training," Tony said as after Steve closed the door behind him. "Which would be great, if he was starting college and not kindergarten. We need to make sure he doesn't take school too seriously and miss all the fun."

"Wouldn't want him becoming a workaholic like his dad, now would we?" Steve said dryly, smiling at Tony.

"Which one?" Tony grumbled.

They had stopped in front of Tony's door. Steve looked down. "Look, Tony..." He looked suddenly nervous and tense in just the same way he had on the day of their last mission—and first kiss.

"What's wrong, Cap?" Tony asked softly, trying not to panic. Sleeping in the same bed had become habit for them, but now that things had changed--now that Steve had kissed him and they'd casually talked about spending the rest of their lives together--what if it was moving too fast? It wasn't for Tony--he was willing to put all his chips down on this one and not look back.

Steve glanced up. "It's what we talked about earlier. I never said I loved you. I do. I love you." He looked into Tony's eyes. "I need you to know. I've kept it to myself for so long, I thought, I thought I might never have the chance to--"

"Easy, Cap," Tony interrupted, taking him by the shoulders. "It has nothing to do with chance. You made all this happen."

Steve let out a laugh. "Not that kind of chance. I mean, after I put the plane in the water, after I lost my chance with Peggy." He looked away. "I thought I'd never have it again...a normal life, maybe even a family." Tony pulled Steve closer, unsure of what to say, but Steve continued, resting his hands over Tony's. "When I woke up in this era, I had no one, I had nothing. You gave me a home." He looked up into Tony's eyes again. "I'm not very good at this, but that's what I wanted to say."

Tony squeezed his hand. "Well I couldn't just leave you there in the ice, all dressed up with no place to go," he joked, but his eyes were serious. After a moment he said, "Finding you was the best day of my life. Or at least...it used to be." That was before he had a son--before he even considered what it would be like to have his own family--and before Captain America decided Steve Rogers still had one more chance at a normal life.

Steve smiled slightly, shrugging his shoulders, his voice light again. "Hacking an old man out of a block of ice doesn't sound that fun. I think we can top it. What do you say?"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Is that a challenge?"

Steve looked down, his cheeks beginning to turn pink. "Unless you're too tired. I know you were pretty wiped out last night."

Tony shook his head vigorously, partly to reassure himself that he was awake and not imagining what Steve was suggesting. "What?! No." He squeezed Steve's shoulders and let his hands slide down the front of Steve's chest. "You sure you don't think this is moving too fast?"

"Not unless you do." Steve glanced down at Tony's mouth, his lips parted.

"Oh." Tony paused. "No. God no." He grabbed the back of Steve's head and pulled him into a kiss, fumbling with the door behind him and pulling Steve after him into his--their?--room. Steve pulled off his jacket and then went back to kissing Tony in earnest. Tony pushed him back on the bed, as much as you could push a supersoldier anywhere.

Steve pulled away, breathing a little harder, and glanced down at Tony's mouth. "You'd tell me if I was terrible at this, wouldn't you? It's...been a while."

It took Tony a moment to regroup his thoughts. "What?"

"Kissing. I haven't had a lot of practice with it, or..." Steve looked like he would rather be out in the field getting shot at than admit it. "Sharon and I never even really dated, and between that and, and now--"

Tony squeezed the sides of Steve's waist, rubbing his thumb up over the skin that showed below the hem of his shirt. "You really think you're bad at this? I really shouldn't go into my list of exes right now, but trust me, you're not."

Steve raised his eyebrows, smiling, but then he continued. "It's...not just that. You tease me all the time about being 90 and being--"

"Old? Not up to date on slang? Stuck in your ways? Did I mention old?”

Steve flushed. "No...about being a virgin."

Tony paused. "Oh. But, you're not, are you?"

Steve looked down, decidedly uncomfortable.

“What?! I thought you were just too mature to take the bait," Tony managed, staring at Steve in shock. Steve, in his bed, his lips pink from kissing, his shirt riding up over his hips--a virgin. The idea was criminal. Not that Tony could have ever actually known--that was one aspect of Steve's life that he had always kept private, no matter how close they got. But Tony had assumed. Because, well. Because.

"I just can't believe it. Not even when you were in the army, on a cold night--"

Steve flipped him over on his back, his face just an inch from Tony's. "No more jokes. Just because you've had a little bit more practice in this area--"

Tony grinned and shrugged, sliding his hands appreciatively up Steve's arms and then down his chest. "Fair enough, Rogers."

He pulled Steve down into a kiss, and Steve moaned quietly as Tony pushed his shirt up to his chest. "It's not a big deal anyway, baby," Tony murmured. "Not unless you think it is."

“I wasn’t saying I thought it was a big deal,” Steve said, pulling back slightly. “Just that I’m a bit unsure of myself.”

“Don’t worry about it. Sorry I teased you.”

“I know. I know a lot of guys with a body like mine would probably have slept around a lot. It’s just…I knew how women looked at me before the serum, and I knew how they looked at me after. It was different. As for men…it was a while before I realized that was something I wanted.”

Tony squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “What about Peggy? She liked you from the moment she saw you. At least someone has good taste.”

Steve smiled warmly as he looked into Tony's eyes. “Enough about the past.” He leaned down and kissed Tony again.

“Mmmf, yep, present is better.”

Steve pulled his shirt over his head and Tony quickly disposed of his as well. He pulled Steve back into his arms, and ran his hands up Steve’s back and through his hair as they kissed. He kissed the side of Steve’s neck, and Steve sighed, his hands on Tony’s shoulders. Kisses down Steve’s chest earned more favorable noises.

Tony pulled back, squeezing the side of Steve’s waist. “I just realized something,” he said a little breathlessly. Another kiss.

“Mmm?”

“You don't have any frame of reference. You're not going to know how good I am in bed," Tony teased, glancing down at Steve’s mouth.

Steve raised his eyebrows. He couldn't help a smug smile as he looked at Tony. "Oh, I think you can find a way to convince me."

Tony only wasted a moment looking scandalized.

“Okay Miles, remember that when you’re at school you’re on a secret undercover mission. That means no turning invisible and climbing up the walls or stinging anybody.”

Miles nodded solemnly. “But can I wear my Spiderman backpack or will that give me away?”

Tony folded his arms and Steve narrowed his eyes. “Come on, Tony, have you seen a child? Half of them have Spiderman backpacks and lunchboxes. No one thinks they’re Spiderman.”

“Alright, fine. But no invisibility. No wall-climbing. No stinging.”

“I don’t think those things are allowed at school anyway,” Miles pointed out, shouldering his backpack, which was full of supplies, presents and snacks from the Avengers.

“So are you nervous for your first day?” Tony asked.

Miles shook his head and jumped up and down. “No! I’m excited! I’m going to make new friends, and play with them, and Dad, Pops, can I invite them over to the tower? Please? We wouldn’t be loud, or make a mess, or—”

“Of course you can, honey,” Tony said with a grin, kneeling down and hugging Miles. Steve knelt down too and put his arms around both of them. “And you can be as loud as you want. Just so long as you go to bed on time.”

“You’re our hero,” Steve said, kissing Miles on the forehead. “We’ll be back to get you at 3, okay? Go get ‘em.”

Miles hugged them one last time and then ran away across the grass.

Steve took Tony’s hand as they watched him join the group of other kids pouring into the school.

“So much as changed since Galactus,” Tony murmured, squeezing Steve’s hand in his. He squinted against the sun. “I never thought that any of this could happen.”

Steve turned to him and smiled. “Neither did I.”

“What scares me more is the idea that maybe none of this would’ve happened. If we had never found him after the battle, or if we had but we hadn’t been able to adopt him…”

Steve shook his head. “What matters is that it did. We have Miles. We have each other.”

“He’s going to grow up so fast,” Tony mused. “Our kid’s gonna be an Avenger someday.”

Steve nodded, grinning. “Yes he is. But I wouldn’t want to raise him with anyone else.”

Tony glanced at Steve. “You know I had a crush on you from the minute I saw you in the ice.”

Steve was smirking at him now. “No you didn’t. You had a crush on me since you were a kid.”

Tony blushed hard. “I hate you.”

Steve leaned in and Tony kissed him, narrowing his eyes as they pulled apart.

“Have we ever been on a real date?”

Steve’s cheeks turned pink and he smiled. “Not technically. I mean, you’ve taken me to dinner plenty of times.”

“Married, but never dated. This is embarrassing. Let’s fix this right now.”

A surprised smile lit up Steve's face. “Where to?”

“You pick, Rogers.”

“I know a great place in Brooklyn.”

“Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, grinning at each other, they started off.

“Although rumors of a marriage between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are now being confirmed as false, the two Avengers did adopt a young boy together as partners. Stark and Rogers started dating after adopting Miles Morales, who was orphaned in the recent attack on New York. In an interview with Karen Page, the couple explained that for years they had what they thought were unrequited feelings for each other, until Rogers initiated the relationship in recent weeks. In the interview, Stark lived up to his reputation by flirting with his new boyfriend, something he seems to only enjoy more now that they are in a relationship. Iron Man and Captain America have always had chemistry—now we know why! Rogers talked passionately about protecting and advocating for LGBTQ rights and opened up for the first time about his own bisexuality, stating that the support of his friends and the outpouring of both criticism and support from the public cemented his decision to come out. Stark came out as bisexual as well, and made an announcement that Stark Industries will be sponsoring programs to help LGBTQ youth in New York City, raise awareness for LGBTQ issues and prevent hate crimes. Page also spoke with Morales, the newest addition to the Avengers family, who started kindergarten this fall. His interests include wrestling, robotics, and saving the world. Read the full article below.”

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