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The constant tapping of his own foot against the floor of the Quinjet was starting to drive Steve himself insane.
He saw the looks of concern. The words "Are you okay?" Painted across the faces of his fellow Avengers. By now though, they already knew better than to ask it. Steve's automatic response would be "of course" anyways, and it wasn't really as simple as that.
Tony got it, though. He always could.
"Chillax." He said to his husband, gently bumping him with an iron clad shoulder. Tony was likely just as anxious as Steve to get home, but he was miles better at hiding it.
"I just worry, Tony." Steve said softly, resting his elbow on his knee, propping his chin on his hand in an effort to get his bouncing leg to still (his other leg began to bounce in its place.)
"I hate leaving them alone for so long. The thought of them getting hurt and me not being able to stop it-"
"Haunts us both, I know." Tony interrupted, relinquishing his hand from its iron cage so he could wrap his warm fingers around Steve's free hand. "But, you and I both know that they are perfectly capable on their own. You do remember who raised them, right? I mean, you were there... and I was there... and JARVIS too..."
Steve gave a weak chuckle, trying to appreciate Tony's attempt to lighten the mood. He scrubbed his hand up and down his face, wanting to ebb away any tiredness. They'd be back at the tower in a few minutes, and he wanted to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to spend as much time as he could with you.
Right next to him, Tony blinked hard and removed his other iron hand to rub his eyes, clearly trying to do the same.
"I know, Tony. I know. Our kid is the strongest person I've ever known besides you and my ma. But... I just..." Steve searched for the perfect word, trying to encapsulate the feeling of pure fatherly love, tenderness, and protection that swelled through him every time he thought about you. But nothing even close to good enough was coming up.
Tony helped him, though, short and sweet as ever, with filling in the blank.
"You miss them." He grinned, as if catching Steve in some rare soft guy moment, even though anyone with eyes could tell he's been whipped from the moment he and Tony took you in. The rest of the Avengers have yet to stop with the "Papa Bear" teases.
"Pfft- for lack of a better term." Steve snorted, leaning against Tony. Tony leaned back.
"I just wanna get home and see our kid." Steve murmured after a moment.
"Here here." Tony replied.
"Welp, gentleman, you're in luck." Clint announced from the cockpit, making the couple pipe up. He put the Quinjet on autopilot, walking up to the team leaders, said leaders wondering how someone with such bad hearing could listen in on their private, sappy dad conversation, before they caught sight of the purple hearing aid gleaming in Clint's ear.
"As you can see through the clear skies up ahead, there's home."
Through the window in the back of the jet, Steve, Tony, Clint, and the rest of the happily home-awaiting Avengers, saw the bright lights of the tower gleaming up ahead. You were somewhere in those many rooms, and even though you were more than old enough to stay home alone, it seemed gargantuan compared to you. Steve and Tony wouldn't be able to rest until they found you there, safe and sound.
Content sighs and grumbles filled the plane due to Clint's announcement along with Tony's "Time for an outfit change." He clunked along to somewhere in the back to completely abandon his armor, only Steve noticing the slight spring in his step. He always loved to see it.
Natasha and Thor were deep in a mostly one sided conversation, Thor talking animatedly about his hammer, clearly, if you took anything from the swinging motions, and Bruce was engrossed with his music, so, while awaiting Tony's return, Steve strolled quietly up to Clint, hands on his belt.
The two men shared a quiet moment, staring out the window together, watching as the tower grew closer and closer. Steve could tell Clint was deep in thought. He smiled gently.
"You know, you could have dropped yourself off first. You have a family at home too, y'know." Steve said. Clint shifted on the balls of his feet. He wasn't the mushy type. At least, that's what he wanted everyone to believe.
"Yeah." Clint admitted, fiddling with the broken old watch on his wrist in favor of looking at Steve. "But so do you two. And you were about to make a dent in the floor with all that tappin', so." Clint snorted softly. Steve rolled his eyes.
"Hm. Yeah, well, make sure you hold 'em extra tight, alright? I know they miss their dad." Steve said. Clint chuckled his real wheezy laugh. The one the team could always get out of him when they were talking about family.
"Don't have to tell me twice. I miss those Rugrats more than anything. Them running up at you, greetin' ya at the door like you're the best thing since rings on Saturn... best part of my day, man."
Clint still wasn't looking at him, but the smile painted across his face was huge and unmistakable, and ultimately, a rare affair. Steve couldn't help but mimic it.
"We best savor it while we still can." Clint continued. "Soon enough, they'll grow up on us and move onto other things. The hugs won't mean as much. Gotta make the most of it now." Clint's smile quivered a little. "Right?"
Steve's eyebrows made a deep furrow as he thought about it. Anything to do with being your dad was the best part of his day, and he knew Tony would agree. But were you really growing up that fast? Would you stop running up to him and Tony after a long mission and tackling them both in the doorway? Had you already outgrown it? Outgrown them?
Steve tried to rack his mind for any inkling that was the case, searching his memory, but conveniently, when he needed it the most, it failed him.
A weight settled on Steve's chest along with anxiety. He was so ready to see you. But what if you didn't care to see him? But he felt a grounding hand on his back before he could dwell on that thought and allow it to ruin his whole night.
"Just in time!" Tony said from behind, now dressed in a black shirt and sweats. Steve had his arms crossed, tapping his foot in a gesture normally seen as impatience, but it was barely veiled worry. The thought of you not caring about him or needing him anymore.
Clint was rocking on his heels in front of him, and Steve had to wonder if he was thinking the same.
The jet landed in the glorified garage on the side of the tower. The jet's large door opened much like a medieval castle gate, allowing the Avengers to descend down into the tower in what should have been something awesome and cinematic.
Though, it was just Clint making a beeline for his car in the other garage, also known as Tony's racecar that happened to be painted purple so Clint said it was his car. Natasha followed close behind, as they both already decided she was to crash at his place until all the Avengers were needed to Avenge again.
Bruce and Thor emerged after, each heading to bed and shower, respectively. Leaving their leaders to head out last, hand in hand.
Tony gave Steve a "chillax" squeeze with his hand and his most comforting smile, causing Steve to give one back as they stepped off with one another.
They immediately made way to the elevator, Tony having a hard time hiding his impatience when the piece of machinery he definitely helped in designing wasn't the fastest moving thing in all of time and space. He would be rectifying that ASAP, and Steve couldn't help but agree.
After what felt like the world's longest elevator ride, the first things out of Steve and Tony's mouths as they reached their living quarters was "Kiddo! We're home!"
Though, I suppose the call was hardly needed.
A whole lot of you came barreling into both of your parental units before either of them were even properly in the living room. It startled a high laugh out of Tony as you tried to smash both of them into a hug (your arms couldn't possibly wrap around the two of them) and you tried to nuzzle into both of their chests.
Steve immediately fell into his regularly scheduled dad programming, any and all worry he felt earlier vanished into thin air because he's with his kiddo and amazing husband and you're safe in his arms, and that's all he'll ever need to be okay.
While you were still in the stages of gushing, your heart swelling with the love and excitement of your dads being home, so much so the only words you could get out were "Dad and Pa," Steve decided to start on rapid fire questions.
Tony chuckled at him, telling him to calm it down as he shuffled this group hug situation slowly away from the elevator.
"Were you good while we were gone? Did you get lonely? I hope not. How was school? Did your math test go well? Was there enough to eat? Did you eat enough? And not too much training without me to spot you I hope! I don't want you getting hurt, sweetheart..."
Steve brought you close to his chest, which was a bit difficult as you were still stead-fast holding onto the front of Tony, but he managed.
"I'm fine, Pa." You said calmly, not answering Steve's questions off the bat, which was hardly your fault seeing as Steve didn't give you much room to.
"He knows, he just has to be a loser about it first." Tony joked, and if we were to ignore all the water welling up in his eyes, he was being positively hilarious.
He held out his arms for his own individual hug, and you returned it once Steve had confirmed he worried over you enough.
"Welcome home, Dad." You muttered into Tony's chest, feeling a gentle sway beneath you both as he rocked you back and forth.
"Thanks, kid." Tony smiled into your hair, giving you one last gentle sway before letting you go.
"Okay, now really kiddo-" Steve started, walking into the large kitchen and rummaging around in the fridge, looking for something to snack on.
"Was everything really okay while we were gone?" He found a pear in the crisper drawer, briefly pressing his fingers into it to check for its texture, as parents do, before taking a large bite.
"Anything blow up? And if so, an alarm should have been set off and JARVIS would have notified me right away, and he didn't! So, how'd ya get past it?"
Steve gave Tony a gentle elbow in the ribs for his comments once the inventor himself entered the kitchen, but you just laughed. And in all honesty, Steve wanted to as well. But it's best not to encourage Tony in matters concerning literally anything.
"Well, the tower is still standing, right?" You shrugged, motioning to the space around you.
"Doesn't answer my question. I will be checking all of my tabs to make sure THEY are still standing." Tony joked, eyeing the wine cabinet below him, not like you would ever know that there was wine there. He shook his head and rummaged in the fridge, grabbing a Coke instead.
Steve smiled, wrapping an arm around Tony and pressing him close. Tony just leisurely sipped on his Coke, grinning into the can.
"And to answer Pa's questions, yes, everything was fine. I ate food, including vegetables, I only threw two parties and I cleaned up really good after each of them-"
Steve pressed his lips into a quickly thinning line, eyebrows raising so fast they threatened to crack his brow ridge.
"They're being sarcastic Steve." Tony 'pffted' down into his Coke can before Steve could launch into another worried round of Questions Only. Steve titled his head to the side in realization.
He cleared his throat, apologized, and let you continue after that.
"I did fine on my math test and didn't need you to spot me since I'm fine on my own and you both know this." You looked at your parents pointedly, each finishing up their drink and snack respectively.
"Of course, of course." And "Yeah, absolutely!" They ad-libbed while not looking like they believed it at all.
"What? Did you two expect me to stay eleven forever?" You gently poked fun at your parents as you went to sit on the couch, with them following close behind.
"Yes." Tony said at the exact same time Steve said "No." Both lying a bit to themselves in their own right.
You just laughed, going to switch on the TV in front of you, but Steve was ruffling your hair and plucking the remote out of your grasp before you could.
"Don't be too hard on your old dads now, kiddo. It's our job to be worried saps."
"Can it be your job to give my remote back?" You complained, and ooh, that rhymed, reaching up to try and snatch the remote from your giant of a father.
"My remote." Tony quietly corrected off from the side, choosing not to intervene. He did sit next to you though, so that was nice.
"Stop trying to grow up on me so fast, and I might consider it." Steve snickered, a playful grin spreading across his face, the one where you could see all his smile lines.
He stood on his toes for extra effect, as if Captain America needed to get any taller.
"I literally can't help growing up." You bit back, going to stand on the couch and STILL not reaching your Pa.
"Can you help standing on my couch? Geez Lousie, you're gonna fall and break all your bones and I'm gonna laugh when it happens." Tony said, even though he would never do that, hands held out in front of him. Not actually stopping you from standing on the couch and messing around with Steve, but still being alert in case you did really fall. He would always be there to catch you.
"Well, you're still doing it too fast for my taste. Though, I guess it's only in mind because... well..." Steve chuckled, motioning up and down in front of you with the remote (which you immediately tried to snatch and failed at due to his mega fast reflexes) his reasoning unfair because even at average height, anyone is going to look short next to him.
"Says the guy who was a nice four feet up until his late twenties!" You huffed, giving up on remote snatching, flopping down haphazardly onto the couch, scaring the crap briefly out of Tony before he realized you were just fine.
Though, Steve apparently wasn't just fine. He put the remote down on the coffee table, resting his hands on his hips in the most overdramatic theatre kid fashion so you knew he was just messing around.
"Excuse me?"
Tony let out an audible "Oop-" sliding a good few inches away from you on the couch. This would have been a good time to shut your mouth, lest you wanted to face the wrath of Steven Grant "Puppy Dog Eyes WITH the head tilt" Rogers. Terrifying full title, I know.
You told yourself to stay chill. If you did, you could totally walk away from this Stark-Rogers family banter sesh a winner. The best course of action here was to play dumb.
"You're excused." You immediately replied. Not that dumb!
"Oh, so I'm excused, now?? Fine, I'll give you excused you little-!"
That was the exact moment you booked it off the couch, scaring the crap out of Tony for the second time that night. You ran off somewhere in the tower. Who knows where you were planning to go! As long as you were getting the heck away from Steve, you were chill.
Tony just sighed fondly, looking over the back of the couch. Steve caught up to you, and you guys wrestled around and giggled like your lives depended on it.
Tony would have joined in himself, really. He wanted to! But he was prioritizing the longevity of his back. He's no super soldier and what would the world be without their favorite hero, Iron Man? Though, do best believe, Tony now has about twenty more happy, goofy photos of his favorite people to add to his rapidly, always growing, collection.
Once both you and Steve had exhausted yourselves, you too tired to even complain about Steve still being dirty from his mission, which you didn't hesitate to complain about earlier, and Steve too tired to give you one last noogie for being a jerk about it, Tony stood up and decided to be, insert gagging noise, the responsible one.
"Okay, okay, up you both get. Showers coming up hot and fresh for everyone, starting with this hunk of nothing over here." Tony gave Steve a playful poke with the toe of his shoe to his side, making Steve laugh and bat it away.
While Tony helped up Steve, you dismissed yourself off to your room to shower like Tony had said. After wrestling with that "hunk of nothing" and the events of the already long day, you needed and deserved it.
You let yourself take the moment to yourself while your parents did their own thing, letting the hot water run over and off you, along with the weight you didn't even know you carried when your parents were away. You sighed in relief.
You got dressed in soft pajamas, and walked out into the living room to find it empty. Your parents must have still been showering. You made the turn to their room without thinking too much about it, your feet carrying you down the long halls to the door on the right out of habit, pushing it open.
The sounds of the shower running and ambient music that was programmed to play whenever someone wanted sounded out the bathroom door and into your parents bedroom, proving your assumptions.
You didn't quite want to be alone without them just yet, especially after they had just gotten back. It wouldn't hurt to wait up for them.
It had been forever since you've done this, but oh well.
You looked up at the ceiling, though, it was unnecessary as "he" could hear you regardless if you did it or not.
"JARVIS, locate the remote, please." You asked the family AI, as Steve was tired of Tony replacing the remote every time he lost it under the bed or in the lab and wasting money they had. Having a "locate the remote" feature programmed into JARVIS seemed like the obvious next step.
"Under the bedside cabinet, a little more to the right, Master Stark-Rogers." JARVIS prompted. You snagged up the remote, flicking on the TV, all the while getting snug under the covers, smack dab in the middle of your folks' bed.
You turned on something random, letting the familiar comfort come over you, colors flashing, barely caring to take them in.
It really was late, and sooner rather than later, you heard your parents clamber out of their bathroom, hair messy and still damp as they laughed and made those super in love eyes at each other like they always have.
At the sight of them, you fell fast asleep.
"Oh- damn." Tony stopped what he was saying as he saw you there, his ultra fond eyes now on you, Steve's following right along.
It was too freaking sweet, that's what it was.
"Been a while since they've felt the need to curl up in Dad and Pa's bed." Steve said softly, his smile a little wobbly and his eyes a little burny. Who was cutting onions?
"Awh, but you love it." Tony said, patting Steve on the back before approaching you, gently sitting on his edge of the bed, trying his best not to disturb you.
"I do." Steve shamelessly admitted, going to his side and just throwing back the covers, curling up next to you. He placed a gentle hand on your head and tried not to cry. He failed, tears slipping down his cheeks, and he was shameless about that too.
Tony allowed himself to sit there for a while, thinking. Not really bad or troublesome thoughts, though he was no stranger to them. He was thinking quite the opposite, and the gentle sound of your breathing, his family all together, warded shitty thoughts off anyways.
Steve asked him softly twice, his arms enveloping you, if he was coming to lie down, but Tony said he was fine, and to just rest, and Steve did, eventually at least. Tony felt even more at ease, hearing Steve's deep snores line up with yours.
"How lucky am I to have a kid that's happy to see me when I get home." Tony said out into the air, letting it drift off into the heavens. Not that Tony would call himself much of a religious man, even though he knows about, well, Gods.
But if the one he tends to think about when you say "God" really is out there, listening and answering prayers, he hopes he takes this one into account, that you will always, unlike himself, be happy to hear your dad(s) coming home.
Tony at last laid down with that, keeping you safe from his side, closing his eyes.
"Love you a ton." He whispered into your hair, his final thoughts being grateful ones.
He was happy you were happy to see him home.