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Chapter Text

Peter had always been more of an easygoing baby. He didn’t cry very much, he wasn’t easily startled or upset by things, and he was generally pretty good at being held or watched by other people on the rare days where Steve and Tony both got called into work.

Tony should have known his luck would run out eventually.

“I’m really sorry,” Tony said to Happy, who stood looking confused and a little hurt at the screaming toddler in Tony’s arms. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him today.”

Steve had to go into SHIELD today to help train some new recruits with Clint and Bucky, and Tony was supposed to stay home with Peter. Unfortunately, a problem had come up with some of the specs for the new Stark Phone that Tony had completed, and he had been called into an emergency meeting to soothe the nerves of the board. It hadn’t seemed like that big of a deal at first as Tony called up Happy to come to his office to sit with Peter for a little bit while Tony went to the meeting.

Peter usually adored his Uncle Happy and loved when he got to stay with him because Happy was always down to play with Peters’s trucks or robots his him. But today Peter just wasn’t having it, and as soon as Tony had handed him over and was about to leave, Peter had burst into tears and started sobbing, reaching for Tony.

Thinking his son was scared or hurt, Tony had rushed over and plucked him out of Happy’s arms and held him close to his chest, where he immediately began to calm down. Peter was clinging tightly to Tony, tiny arms nearly strangling him with how hard they were squeezing.

He walked around the office for a few minutes, rocking Peter back and forth slightly as he calmed down. Once the tears had stopped and Peter seemed alright, Tony motioned Happy over to come and grab him.

As soon as Happy put his hands on Peter and tried to pull Peter away he had begun sobbing again, clinging impossibly tighter to Tony.

“Maybe he’s just having a bad day,” Happy said, looking at Peter sympathetically. His face was red from crying and he kept hiccuping every few seconds. “He seems a little stressed out over something.”

“He’s two years old, what does he have to be stressed about?” Tony brushed the tears from off Peter’s face. Peter laid his head down on his shoulder, burying his face in Tony’s neck.

“I don’t know, boss, maybe he’s just cranky.”

“I don’t have time to deal with cranky right now,” Tony murmured, glancing at the clock on the wall. He had to be at this board meeting in 3 minutes or else Pepper was going to murder him.

“You know what, screw it,” Tony said, reaching over and grabbing Peters’s diaper bag from the couch and flinging it around his shoulder. He hitched Peter up in his arms some more (and he could feel the snot and tears making a wet spot on his shirt collar) and turned to leave the office.

“Sorry Happy looks like you’re not needed today after all.”

Happy looked confused. “But, boss, what about Peter?”

“I’ll handle it!” Tony shouted behind him, turning down the hall towards the elevator.

Pepper glanced down at her watch wondering where the hell Tony was.

“I’m sorry about this,” Pepper said again, turning to the other board members.

“Ms. Potts, I’ve been at this company for a long time,” an old man next to her said with a chuckle. “I’m used to dealing with Starks who are never on time.”

Pepper was about to retort when she heard the doors to the conference room burst open.

“Sorry! I know, I’m late, sorry. I had to deal with something, it’s fine. I’m here.”

Pepper looked up as she watched Tony walk in wearing his customary three piece suit and sunglasses, but did a double take as she noticed him carrying Peter in one arm and diaper bag in the other.

“What is Peter doing here?” She whispered once Tony sat down next to her.

“I’ll explain later,” Tony said, his voice leaving no room for argument. He pulled a couple of toy cars from the diaper bag and held them out to Peter.  Peter simply shook his head, turning to bury his face in Tony’s neck once more.

“Okay,” Tony said, tossing the toy into the table with a clang. He picked Peter up and turned him around on his lap so he was facing forward towards the rest of the board. Peter didn’t seem to care that he had a couple dozen men and women staring incredulously at him. He simply accepted the pacifier Tony pressed to his lips and leaned back against his father’s chest, playing with the wedding ring on Tony’s hand.

“Alright,” Tony said, voice tight and strained. Pepper could tell that whatever the reason Peter was here for was causing Tony some stress.

Tony fiddled one handed with the papers in front of him before he finally looked up at the board.

“Where do we start?”

He was met with silence as the board members (and Pepper) continued to stare at Tony in bewilderment.

“What, have you never seen a two-year-old before?” Tony snapped, letting some of his frustration shine through. “Come on, I thought this was important!”

Pepper raised her eyebrows as the board jumped to start the meeting, all pushed into action by Tony’s no-nonsense parenting voice. Peter looked over in her direction and waved at her, and she could help but smile and wave back.

Tony sat back in his chair, the hand Peter was playing with coming to rest on top of Peters little tummy. He leaned down and kissed Peter’s head before pressing his cheek against Peters’s curls, still listening to what the current board member was saying.

Pepper shook her head in amazement and grinned, wondering where the wild man she had been a PA for all those years ago had gone.

Chapter Text

Steve was standing at the sink rinsing the dishes from breakfast, Peter happily humming away in his high chair eating chopped up bananas and strawberries.

He was just putting the last of the plates onto the drying rack when he heard someone walk into the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy!” Peter’s cheery voice rang out.

Steve turned around in time to see Tony smile and wander over to Peter in his high chair.

“Hi, Petey-Pie!”

Steve and Peter hadn’t gotten to see Tony yet today as he had to get up earlier for a morning meeting with the board. He had apparently gotten back awhile ago and had taken the time to change out of his usual three-piece Tom Ford and into an old pair of jeans and a faded t-shirt.

Peter smiled up at Tony from his chair, waving around a handful of mashed fruit.

“Daddy, look! Nanna!”

“You got a banana with your breakfast?” Tony sat down in the chair next to Peter’s, smiling his thanks at Steve when he set a cup of coffee down next to him. “Looks like you got some strawberries too.”

Peter nodded, squeezing the fruit in his hands and mashing it even more. He moved to put it in his mouth before he stopped, glanced at Tony - who was watching him with a small smile - and offered his hand to him.

“Wanna nanna?”

“No baby, you eat your banana,” Tony said, leaning forward to brush Peter’s hair back from his forehead. Peter leaned into the touch before going back to eating the mess in his hands.

“We’re gonna need to get his hair cut soon,” Tony murmured.

“Yeah, we can take him somewhere,” Steve said, wiping down the kitchen table. “Actually, Tasha would probably do it if you asked.”

“Probably.” Tony turned to Steve. “How was your morning?”

“Good,” Steve said with a smile. “Went to the gym to train with Bucky for a bit before Peter woke up. Then we came up here and made breakfast for everybody. You just missed them; Clint and Natasha had to go to SHIELD for a mission defending, Bucky went to do something with Sam, and Bruce had to go back to his lab.”

“Thor still in Asgard?”

“Until Tuesday, at least.” Steve sighed, looking around the kitchen. “You eat yet? I can make you something.”

“No, they had some food at the meeting, I’m ok.” Tony smiled up at his husband.

“Papa, I done,” Peter said suddenly, messy hands raised towards Steve. Tony had to hold back a laugh.

It seemed Peter had gotten more banana on his face than actually in his mouth, along with some strawberry juice on top of it and on his hands.

“You are a mess,” Steve laughed, grabbing a washcloth and wiping down Peter’s hands and face. Peter made a face and tried to pull away, but Steve just grabbed his chin to keep him straight.

Steve lifted the dirty tray from the chair to go put it in the sink and wipe it down. Peter turned towards Tony with his arms raised.

“Up?”

Tony smiled, putting down his empty coffee cup to get up and pull Peter out of his chair. Once he had him in his arms, Peter put his head down on Tony’s shoulder, his hand clenching the front of his shirt. Tony kissed his forehead.

“What are you going to do today?”

“I have some work I gotta do in the shop,” Tony said, bouncing Peter a little.

“Ok,” Steve said, grabbing a towel to dry off the high chair tray. “I don’t have anything today so I guess me and Peter will keep busy until you’re done.”

After Steve had dried the chair’s tray and reattached it, he walked over to Tony and leaned forward to finally give Tony a good morning kiss. His face was just inches from Tony’s when he felt a small, slightly sticky hand push back on his face.

“No!”

Steve pulled back, grimacing as he wiped the stickiness off of his face. He looked back over at Peter, who had both arms wrapped tightly around Tony’s neck, face pressed against Tony’s cheek, glaring – as much as a two-year-old could glare – at Steve.

“Petey-Pie, what are you doing?” Tony’s face held confusion but his voice sounded amused.

“My daddy,” Peter said firmly, arms wrapping tighter around Tony’s neck.

“Am I not allowed to kiss daddy?” Steve asked, an amused smile spreading across his face.

“No,” Peter said again, his voice coming out in a bit of a whine now. He stuck his lower lip out in a pout, but his grip on Tony had loosened a bit. “My daddy. No kiss.”

“Well, if I can’t kiss Daddy,” Steve said, “can I kiss you?”

Peter seemed to think about it quite seriously for a moment before nodding, sticking his cheek out in Steve’s direction for a kiss.

“Oh, you are so spoiled,” Tony said with a chuckle.

Steve planted a loud, wet kiss on Peter’s cheek, blowing a raspberry that made the little boy squirm and giggle in Tony’s arms.

While Peter was distracted, Steve moved quickly to the left, trying one more time to sneak past Peter to kiss Tony.

“NO!”

Peter tucked his arms back around Tony’s neck, lightly hitting Steve on the nose and squeezing so tightly Tony made a slight choking noise.

“Ok, ok, no kisses.” Peter’s voice had sounded more distressed that time and Steve figured it was better to let it go and stop teasing before Peter headed to a meltdown.

“What has gotten into you, kiddo?” Tony looked at Peter concerned, rubbing a hand up and down Peters back. Peter didn’t say anything, just buried his face in Tony’s neck instead.

Tony threw a confused look at Steve but Steve just shrugged.

“Ok baby, you’re gonna have to go with Papa now because I have to go get some work done in the lab, ok?”

“Wanna stay you,” Peter’s disappointed voiced murmured into Tony’s neck. He didn’t even pick up his head.

Steve felt his heart twinge at how sad his baby looked.

“You can stay with me,” Tony said, resigned. At this point, he knew saying no could very well lead to a crying spell from the boy. “Do you want to play with Dum-E?”

Peter nodded, arms still around Tony, head still buried in Tony’s neck.

Tony shot Steve a “what the hell just happened” look as he turned and walked out of the room, hand still rubbing soothing circles into Peter’s back.

Steve stood bemused for a moment before shrugging and turning back to finish cleaning the kitchen.

After living with the Avengers for nearly eight years he was used to strange mood swings.

Chapter Text

Whatever thing was happening with Peter just seemed to get worse as the week went on. Peter was constantly vying for Tony’s attention, and whenever Tony wasn’t around Peter would always ask for him or talk about him.

It was cute at first. Everyone agreed it was adorable when Peter would huff and pout whenever Steve would lean in to give Tony a kiss. Everyone thought it was precious when Peter would try to copy every little thing Tony did, like wanting to drink his juice from a coffee cup or claiming to be “doing paperwork for Aunt Pepper” when he was coloring. Everyone thought it was hysterical when Peter would try to follow Tony into the bathroom or would just burst in when Tony was trying to shower.

But as the week went on it seemed to get less adorable and more out of control, to the point of concern.

It started one day when Steve and Peter were having their usual coloring and watching cartoons session one morning. Tony’s birthday was coming up and Peter wanted to make something special for his daddy, so Steve suggested making him a card.

Peter seemed to take this suggestion very seriously, working through multiple drafts before deciding exactly what to put on the card. Steve watched on in amusement as Peter stared down at the paper in front of him. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and his tongue poked out between his lips a little as he worked. He already had a few tries crumpled into balls, making a noise of frustration whenever he grabbed a new one and started again. 

Peter was hunched over and working diligently on his most recent attempt. He could make out a red blob that was supposed to be Iron Man, and a smaller blob that Steve assumed was supposed to be Peter. Steve leaned forward and try and take a closer look.

“How’s it goin, Pete-”

“NO!” Peter screeched suddenly, throwing himself on top of the paper. He glared at Steve from where he was hunched over the table.

“Peter,” Steve laughed, his eyes widening in surprise, “I was just trying to-”

“NO,” Peter yelled again on a whine, pulling the paper further beneath his arms, “NO LOOK.”

“Peter,” Steve said warningly, “inside voices, kiddo. There’s no need to yell at me, I’m sitting right next to you.”

“No look,” Peter said loudly, albeit no longer screaming, “Daddy only. Papa, no.”

“Ok,” Steve said calmingly, trying to diffuse the situation, “how about this? I won’t look at your paper, if you stop yelling in the house. Okay?”

“‘Kay,” Peter said quietly, not moving from his spot over his paper until he saw Steve look away.

Steve stared at Peter from the corner of his eye for a moment, amazed and a little terrified at how quickly Peter could return to his normal, happy self before returning to his own coloring.

It all just escalated from there. And screaming seemed to become a more and more common occurrence. One particularly memorable moment was one morning at breakfast when Clint announced that he was going to “steal Tony away” that day to do something a SHIELD.

Peter did not like that at all . He started crying and yelling and screaming, begging Clint “not to steal his Daddy” before reaching out sad little arms to Tony until he picked him up. He wouldn’t even stop crying until Clint had left the room and was out of Tony’s proximity. Steve and Tony had assured Clint that it wasn’t his fault, that Peter was just going through a phase, but Clint still looked terribly guilty when he hugged Peter goodnight that night.

Everything came to a head after Tony’s birthday. 

Peter had given Tony the card he made and of course Tony had absolutely loved it. They spent most of the day in the shop playing with Dum-E and helping Peter build a little toy robot. Steve and Tony figured with all the issues Peter had been having, it was probably best to just have a small celebration on their own, just their little family. So Steve cooked, and after they ate they played games with Peter until it was time for bed. Everything seemed back to normal, so Steve and Tony figured maybe the worst was behind them.

Or so they had thought.

The weekend after Tony’s birthday, Rhodey had managed to score some leave time and made plans to come spend the weekend at the Tower for Tony’s birthday. Rhodey would arrive Friday night, him and Tony would go out to some bar for dinner and a drink to catch up, and then Rhodey would spend the rest of the weekend at the Tower, playing with Peter and upgrading the War Machine armor with Tony. Of course, Peter absolutely adored his “Uncle Rowey,” so Tony didn’t even consider the possibility that there might be a problem.

Naturally, he was wrong.

Peter had been in the room when Tony told Steve of his plans, and when Rhodey arrived to pick Tony up for dinner, which in hindsight, was probably where they went wrong.

The minute Rhodey walked out of the elevator and into the living room, a loud, piercing screech rang out across the room. Before anyone could react, Peter had shot across the room as fast as his little legs could carry him. He came to a stop in front of Rhodey and began to bang his little fists against Rhodey’s legs. 

“Woah, Peter!” Rhodey exclaimed, dropping everything to bend down and look over the distraught little boy. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“NO!” He screamed, smacking his hands against any part of Rhodey he could reach, shoving the other man away. “No, Rowey!”

Rhodey tried to get a grip on the boy, feeling more concerned and confused the more worked up Peter got.

“Pete—“

“Peter!” Tony admonished, running into the room to pick up the crying toddler. “Peter, we do not hit! What has gotten into you?”

“No,” Peter cried, immediately going lax in Tony’s arms and wrapping himself fully around his father like a limpet. “No go, Daddy. No go.”

“I’m sorry, Jim,” Steve said, walking over to Rhodey and offering him a hand up. Rhodey took it, looking bewildered at the boy full on sobbing in Tony’s arms. “Pete’s been a little— uh. Territorial lately.”

“‘Territorial?’”

“He gets upset when anyone else gets near Tony,” Steve said, glancing tiredly at the pair in question. “Nearly bit Clint’s head off the other day just for making a joke about taking Tony away. We think he heard us talking about your night out and, well.”

He gestured to where Tony was carrying and rocking a now quietly crying toddler across the living room.

“Ah,” Rhodey said with a nod. “My nephew did the same thing with my sister when he was that age. Grew out of it eventually, but it was a struggle to get through.”

“Everywhere we’ve looked says this is normal, but Bruce is concerned it’s growing into full on separation anxiety at this point.”

Rhodey opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Tony walked back up to them.

“Hey honey-bear,” he said quickly, jostling the boy in his arms slightly. “Peter. What do you say to Uncle Rhodey.”

“I sorry,” Peter said, hand pressed against his mouth. His cheeks were red and tear stained, and his eyes were still shining with tears. He took a deep, hitching breath. “I sorry, Rowey.”

“Oh, little man,” Rhodey said, reaching out to wipe Peter’s eyes. He leaned into the touch, thumb slipping fully into his mouth. “You’re having a rough time, huh?”

Peter nodded, pressing his face into Tony’s neck.

Rhodey looked at Tony, who shrugged helplessly.

“Can I have a hug, Pete?”

He’d barely gotten the words out before Peter was practically throwing himself into Rhodey’s arms.

“Thank you for saying sorry, buddy,” Rhodey said, rubbing his hand up and down Peter’s little back. “I forgive you.”

Peter nodded, wrapping his arms tight around Rhodey’s neck.

He turned his attention back to Tony, who seemed to be engaged in some sort of meaningful, silent conversation with Steve. Steve gestured at Tony then the door, while Tony ran his hand over his eyes tiredly.

“I have an idea,” Rhodey said, bouncing Peter a bit in his arms. Steve and Tony cut off their silent argument. “How about we all sit on the couch and watch a movie together, huh? Pete’s pick.”

“Yes!” Tony clapped, looking at Steve pointedly. Steve rolled his eyes, but he was smiling slightly. “I think that is a great idea, Rhodey-bear. Thank you.”

“What do you think, Pete?” Rhodey asked the boy in his arms. “Movie night?”

Peter nodded. “Wan Daddy.”

“You can sit with Daddy,” Rhodey affirmed.

Half an hour later they were all crammed together on the couch, watching the beginnings of some kids animated movie or another that Rhodey didn’t catch the name of.

By the time they were halfway through the movie Peter was drooping, and his eyes would slip closed for a few seconds before jerking open and repeating the process.

Rhodey felt his watch buzz and glanced down at the screen.

Tones: Sneak out after Peter falls asleep? Steve said he’d run interference.

Rhodes: Oh, absolutely.

Rhodey smirked as he watched Steve and Tony try to carefully maneuver the toddler into Steve’s arms without waking him up. The way they were acting, you’d think they were handling a live explosive. Though, given how Peter reacted when Rhodey showed up, probably wasn’t an inaccurate comparison.

One thing was for certain, he thought as Peter clung to Tony even in his sleep, Steve silently laughing at the disgruntled look on Tony’s face. Things were never boring in the Stark-Rogers household.