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The mission Fury had sent them on that day had been a particularly nasty one. It wasn't a walk in the park for any of them, but Natasha had had the hardest time of it. Tony couldn't help but wonder if it had been somehow connected to her mysterious past. He could only speculate, as Natasha's life before Natalie Rushman remained largely unknown to him, but whatever it was had resulted in her getting violently sick as soon as the team stepped back into the offices of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony had barely been able to hold himself back from instinctively running to Natasha's side and holding her while she vomited. This was the Black Widow, he told himself sternly, not his little girl. When they had first entered into their extracurricular relationship, one of the first things Natasha had made him promise was that nothing from the bedroom would bleed into their professional lives as members of the Avengers. He didn't think the new developments in their relationship had negated the original contract, and he sure as hell wasn't about to find out what kind of consequences would befall him if he suddenly started doting on Natasha Romanoff in front of the entire team.
As Tony struggled to maintain a demeanor of concerned detachment, he settled on texting Pepper instead.
Natasha's had a bad day. Prepare to play when we get home.
~~~
After the vomiting incident, Natasha had remained understandably quiet during the debriefing with Fury, and didn't say a word to Tony while Happy drove them back to Stark Tower. But she didn't protest when Tony reached over to hold her hand in the back of the car, either, which he took as a good sign. Natasha was always the one to dictate when she needed to play, but as time had gone on and Tony grew more comfortable with his paternal side, he found that he, too, had the specific desire to express that part of himself on occasion. On occasions like this one, for instance. It was a little alarming, actually... paternal Tony Stark? Yeah, best to keep that one behind closed doors for the time being.
After a warm welcome home from Pepper, the three of them ate dinner practically in silence. Tony kept his eye on Natasha, thankful that her stomach had apparently calmed down. While he was trying to get a read on where she was at, his darling Pepper took the direct route.
"I heard you had a tough day, Tash... how about some quiet time after dinner?"
Natasha gave Tony a look that he couldn't decode. Either she was furious or relieved that he had let Pepper in on the aftereffects of the mission, but it didn't matter because she looked back down at her plate and just said, "Yes."
As much as he enjoyed their more... energetic sessions together, Tony felt as exhausted as Natasha looked and thought cuddling on the couch sounded like the perfect kind of post-Avenging playtime. He smiled at Pepper, once again marveling at the way she seemed to read his thoughts sometimes.
"I'll clean up here," Tony volunteered. "You two go get ready and meet me in the living room." Pepper kissed him on the cheek, and Natasha followed her out of the kitchen. Tony liked to take a few minutes to get into the right headspace before playing with Tasha, although it certainly wouldn't take much this evening.
~~~
After he had loaded the dishwasher and put the extra food away, Tony sat down on the comfiest couch in the living room with the biggest TV and started channel surfing. His mind was practically mush already; he barely registered Pepper and Natasha coming to join him until he noticed the pajamas Natasha had picked out for herself. Or lack thereof, more appropriately. She had on one of his old t-shirts that reached to just below her hips, and nothing on the bottom except one of the diapers they had recently purchased for her.
Well, he was definitely right about her needing to be little tonight. It had been so hard for Natasha to admit this desire to them (and indeed, it had taken months of them getting comfortable with ageplay and each other before she dared bring it up) that Tony knew it was best to remain nonchalant about her diapered state even if he felt anything but. He raised an eyebrow at Pepper.
"There's my girls," Tony said, and as Natasha made herself comfortable between them on the couch, Pepper gave him a small smile. I know, he answered her in his thoughts, she needs this and she trusts us. When he thought about it too much he started to get an unpleasant tightness in his chest, so Tony decided to turn his attention back to the TV.
"What do you feel like watching tonight, sweet girl?" he asked as Tasha stretched her bare legs over his lap, her head resting against Pepper's thigh.
She shrugged. "I don't know." Tony knew that it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that they were together, and safe. And if wearing diapers helped Natasha feel safe after a day like today, hell if he was gonna be the one to deny her.
"Pep?"
"Uhhhmmmm, I think there might be a nature documentary on PBS tonight," she offered, and that was good enough for him. After changing the channel, Tony put down the remote and rested his hands on Natasha's smooth legs.
They watched in silence, Pepper's hand alternating between lightly rubbing Natasha's back and reaching over to rub Tony's arm reassuringly. Natasha's breathing began to slow, but before she had the chance to nod off completely, Tony got up the nerve to question her. "Tasha, do you want to talk about what happened today? On the mission, when you were big?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light.
She shifted, clearly uncomfortable at his question, her diaper making a crinkling sound as she moved. He expected Pepper to give him a look, that look, the one that meant he should know better, but she kept her eyes on Natasha. He guessed that Pepper was as curious as he was, only she had the decency not to bring it up.
"Do I have to, Daddy?" Tasha asked in a small voice.
Pepper answered for him. "Of course not, sweetheart, Daddy was just worried about you. It's okay if you don't want to talk." Tony could sense a tiny amount of disappointment in Pepper's voice. They weren't there yet.
"Okay," Tasha answered, nuzzling back into Pepper's leg. Tony knew they had to give it time. He was reassured by the way their play had progressed, but knew that Natasha had every right to keep her past to herself. He would focus on the Natasha that he DID get to see, the Natasha that was so tender and soft that it practically broke his heart. He had been a little freaked out at the idea of diapering her at first (and how come Pepper wasn't? Or maybe she had been, but was just better at concealing it. Not fair, he thought), but they took it slow and he would admit that when all was said and done he found her to be adorable.
Pepper had called him out during his initial reaction, claiming that his way of bringing up the subject numerous times during their first ageplay discussions clearly meant he was at least curious about the topic. He didn't know what to say to that, so he told Natasha they'd be willing to try it. It wasn't all the time, and he was finally starting to get more comfortable with it. Pepper, as always, was deceptively easygoing. If she had any discomfort with the diapers, she didn't let it show in front of Natasha. Then again, Tony wasn't surprised that Pepper enjoyed being called "Mommy". He smiled to himself as he ran his hands up and down Natasha's legs.
~~~
By the time the documentary was over, Natasha was fast asleep, clinging to Pepper's leg. A special on "The War on Terror" started up and Tony quickly changed the channel. He glanced over at Pepper, who had one hand lazily running through Natasha's red hair while her other arm was resting on the arm of the couch, propping up her head. "Bedtime?"
"Mmmhmm," Pepper yawned, "though I don't wanna wake her..."
Tony looked at Tasha, so little and peaceful and curled up between them; it was hard to reconcile the picture with the assassin he knew as the Black Widow. He ran his hand down the length of her back, gently patting her bottom. The diaper felt slightly warm and heavy, he ran his hand further down between her legs to be sure. They hadn't been doing this all that long, but Tony was sure. What he still couldn't believe was that he hadn't noticed when she had wet the diaper, but maybe that was something that came in time, too.
"I think this one needs a change," he told Pepper, which seemed to wake her up a bit.
"Okay," Pepper replied softly, "well I'll handle it, just help me get her up."
"I don't know, you're looking pretty sleepy there, Mommy," Tony heard himself say. "Why don't you let me take this?" Pepper couldn't argue with that.
Tony gently lifted Natasha's legs and scooched out from under them. Pepper started stroking Natasha's hair and leaned over to whisper, "Natasha, wake up," in her ear. Natasha stirred, yawning, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Hey babygirl," Pepper continued, "Daddy's gonna change you and then it's time for bed."
Natasha flushed visibly, but nodded. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked in a voice so quiet that Tony had to strain to hear her.
"Sounds good, sleepyhead, but let's get you dry first," he answered, too loudly. Pepper's eyes narrowed, but Tony just leaned down to kiss her. When he stepped back, Pepper was up and off to the bathroom without another word. Tony reached down to pick up Tasha, and she put her arms around his neck as he carried her into the master bedroom.
"I'm sorry," she breathed into his chest, the light from the arc reactor glowing on her face. "I didn't mean to..."
"Don't be," Tony replied as he laid Natasha on top of a soft blanket. "YOU, my dear, are too cute, too sweet for your own good." He kissed her cheek before moving to strip her of the wet diaper.
"I doubt that," Natasha retorted as Tony reached for a wipe. The sadness in her voice was thinly veiled by a layer of sarcasm.
"Shush, you. I'm trying to work here." That earned him a smile, and Natasha was quiet while he put the clean diaper on her, lifting her hips for him when she was prompted. He taped up the dirty one and threw it into the diaper pail Pepper had insisted they buy (that Pepper, always on top of it). His other lady friend walked back into the bedroom at that moment, reaching down to help Natasha up and pulling her into a hug.
"Better?" Pepper questioned, holding her tight. Natasha nodded against her chest. "Okay, into bed with you then." Tony went into the bathroom to complete his own bedtime routine, and when he returned he found his girls curled up together under the sheets of his impressively large bed. He kissed both of them on the forehead and slid in behind Natasha.
"How are you doing, Tasha?" Tony whispered as he curled his body against her back.
"Good, Daddy," she smiled, and that was the answer he was looking for.
He glanced over Tasha to his other favorite redhead. "Pepper?"
Her eyes were closed and she answered with a laugh. "I'm fine, Tony, now please go to sleep."
Gladly, Tony thought, and that was that.