Chapter 17
TONY
He hadn’t slept the night before, despite his husband guilting him to come to bed.
The genius laid awake for a few hours, waiting for his love to fall back into a deep sleep before sneaking back down to his lab. The events of the day played over like a loop in his mind and he knew of only one of two ways to distract him - since the first was currently sleeping.
Throughout the day, his husband came down once to make sure he’d eat. Other than that, he was alone with his thoughts and some occasional music - until his youngest interrupted him.
As they sat on the couch, he sat quietly waiting for his son to continue. Doing his best to listen and not also plan the ‘safety suit’ he already made blueprints for in his mind.
“He took me around to show me some stuff. Like how you guys donated to BLM but only accepted a rose bush in thanks. Or how you’ve served on the advisory board for the NAACP? Or the...Annette Morales wing?” Miles choked out the last part, snapping the father back to attention.
Tony smiled at his teen, unaware that he hadn’t known about those things. He quickly pulled the boy into his embrace, hugging the crap out the kid he could’ve lost yesterday.
“He didn’t try to guilt you did he? Cause I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and I know it’s totally our fault…”
“Oh don’t worry,” Miles said as he pulled back with a smile, “Uncle Sam said he was going to lecture you two later.” Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at that, knowing Chicken Little long enough to know he’d keep his word.
“Great, I’m sure your Uncle Rhodey will want to provide one as well,” the genius said as he wiped his eyes in exhaustion.
“Huh...surprised you didn’t talk to him today,” the teen said curiously as Tony felt a frown form on his old face.
“I’ll call him tomorrow, didn’t really feel like getting yelled at today,” he said with a smirk, glad to see one appear on his son’s face as well. “We should probably head upstairs, Em said she was making a ‘surprise dessert’ and I want to shove whatever that is in my mouth.” He smiled as his youngest laughed fondly at him before standing up and offering the older man a hand.
“Let’s go shove food in our faces,” the teen said, sounding a lot more like Tony than his usual Steve. Which put an even bigger smile on the genius’ face.
After dinner and practically being drunk off of several ‘smores pies’, the three men gathered in the living room to talk while Em went to ‘power nap’.
“Oh god, my stomach. It might actually explode this time,” the genius moaned as he stretched out on the couch. Miles walked over and collapsed next to him, groaning as he clutched his own stomach.
“If I throw this up, I will straight up cry. Because that was the best damn pie I’ve ever had.”
“This is what you two get for eating so much,” his heartless bastard of a husband quipped as he joined them on the couch. The two moaned back at him in response, neither particularly liking his tone.
“You’re a bully,” Tony pouted at him, using his foot to poke his husband.
“Emerson made four pies and you each ate one and a half of them. After dinner!” the blonde said with zero sympathy.
“Well that’s your fault for making broccoli salad for dinner. We had to wash it down with pie,” Tony sassed back, immediately yelping when the taller man grabbed one of his ankles and started tickling his foot.
“If you two start groping each other I’m leaving,” their teen grumbled, causing Steve to reluctantly keep his hands to himself.
“Alright, baby. How was it with your Uncle Sam today?” the blonde asked. Their teen hung his head before responding.
“Good, he helped me see that you guys weren’t some ignorant white saviors. We went to tour different agencies you guys have helped with over the years. He even showed me the Annette Morales wing,” Miles added with a blush on his face. Steve shot Tony a confused look, also unaware that Miles hadn’t known about that, when the genius shot him back a shrug and a smile.
“Well we still owe you an apology, we should’ve been better prepared for something like this,” Steve admitted with a frown. “Sam already let me know he’s coming over tomorrow to ‘properly yell slash lecture’ your Dad and I. And he should, we deserve it. What that officer did was wrong and we’re lucky a black eye was the worst of it. But we weren't prepared. We’re going to try and press charges, but even with a billionaire father...well, we don’t control the messed up judicial system.” Tony sat there in silence, noting the frown on his son’s face.
“Anything you want to add, Flower?” the genius asked.
“Yeah, actually…” the teen trailed off, causing the fathers to share another look of uncertainty. “Did. Did you guys...I don’t mean how this sounds...but like...I don’t know...before you adopted me, did my skin color get taken into account?” the teen cringing in on himself from the question. The genius felt himself smile at the question.
“Well, yes. I had doubts,” Tony admitted, surprised by the actual smile that got from the teen. “Right Steve?” he asked his husband for confirmation.
“Yeah, I was an instant gonner, but your Dad was hesitant...which I see now is for this exact reason,” the blonde said sadly. “Your Uncle Rhodey had to convince him otherwise.”
“Do you remember that, Miles? You actually walked in on that conversation,” Tony asked out of curiosity. When Miles shook his head no, a warm smile spread across the genius’ face. “You asked if you could call me Dad, which you did way before you called him Papa,” the older brunette added, getting a pinch in his side from his husband. It was worth it, especially with the shy smile coming from his youngest.
“Did I really?” Miles asked with an adorable grin on his face. Tony held out as long as he could, but gave up and leaned over to pull his boy into a hug, smiling when he heard his husband chuckle next to them.
The teen grumbled but accepted it, staying in the older man’s embrace until he spoke up again.
“There’s uh...something else I wanted to talk to you guys about,” Miles said quietly, still staying in Tony’s embrace until he brought his big doe eyes out to look at the genius.
“What’s up, sweetheart?” Steve asked, but the teen’s eyes stayed on the other brunette.
“Do you think...I could start driving again?” the teen gave Tony his best puppy eyes, which had the genius instantly cave and even open his mouth to answer. Until his husband coughed. The blonde was giving him a pointed look, one brow raised in challenge.
Then Tony looked back down at his son, his baby boy who added a pouty bottom lip to his request.
“Have you finished all of your driving classes?” his husband asked, interrupting Tony’s caving. The genius was always impressed with the man’s willpower. That was, until their son spoke again.
“Please Papa?” the teen asked as he threw himself back onto the super soldier’s lap - still partially on Tony’s lap - looking up at Steve with those crafty doe eyes. Tony sat quietly, enjoying the way Steve’s lips pursed as the man tried to stand his ground.
One of Steve’s (few) fatal flaws - he could never resist his boys’ big brown puppy eyes.
“Fine,” the blonde said through gritted teeth. Miles scrambled off Tony to throw his arms around Steve, which understandably upset the genius.
“Hey!” Tony exclaimed in disbelief. “He gets a ‘Papa’ AND a hug?!” His husband stuck his tongue out at him, but before Tony could retaliate, his lap was suddenly full of his teen. His arms wrapped around the genius’ neck.
“Thanks Daddy,” Miles said quietly, the teen then squeaking when Tony tightened his grip around his son and hugged the crap out of him.
“There are conditions, son. Don’t think you can manipulate us that easily,” Steve added, trying to save face as Tony chuckled and released his boy.
“Sure, Pop,” Miles said with a knowing smile, getting up to head to his room. “Night dads!”
“Night Miles, love you!” Tony called to him.
“Love you guys!” the teen called back from the hallway. The genius turned back to his man and smiled when he saw the man pouting.
“We’re not bad parents, Steve.”
“Tony, he completely walked all over us! And I meant it about the conditions…” the blonde trailed off as he continued pouting.
“Yeah yeah papa bear, whatever you say,” Tony said with wiggly brows as he leaned over to kiss his husband.
Still pouting, Steve accepted the kiss.
Even added a growl, as Tony only smiled against the man’s lips.