Finding our Happy Ending

"I'm going to put the kids to bed. You want to join Tony?" Steve asked. It was pointless to ask, because Steve knew Tony wanted too, but he wouldn't do it without Steve making the first move. After dinner they had all moved to the living room to watch some tv for a bit. It was nearing nine and way past the twins bedtime but all the sugar they had consumed had kept them awake. Finally they had passed out on the floor cuddled up to one another.

"Sure, I'd like that" Tony stood from where he was sitting with Rhodey and waited for instructions. 

"Grab James" Steve scooped up Maria and balanced her on his hip. "I'm probably going to call it a night as well, so good night everyone" he smiled at the people in the room, who offered him a 'good night' back, but did not glance up from the tv where The Godfather was playing. It was one of the first movies Tony had made Steve watch, apparently it was a cinematic masterpiece.

Leading the way he led Tony down the hall and into the twins bedroom. 

"Sweet room" he commented as he got to see it for the first time. 

"You can make jokes about it. I know, it looks like a cotton candy monster threw up in here" Steve laughed, putting their daughter into her crib, Tony copying with their son. It felt nice, doing it like this. 

"That's what makes it so sweet" Tony joked, wincing as James woke up and gripped his finger before he could move his hand away. "Holy shit" he whispered, starring in awe at the scene. Steve looked over startled, before realizing what was happening. It seemed that all of his wishes and prayers that they would not have any of the serum in them had gone ignored. 

"I'd hoped this wouldn't happen" Steve sighed, walking over to 'save' Tony. He gently peeled James fingers away, and laid his hand down, the boy already passed out again. 

"So they have the serum?" Tony asked, the scientist in him coming out. Steve could tell he was itching to take down notes, maybe perform a few tests to see what all they were capable of. 

"I'm not sure, we've never performed any tests. This is the first I'm seeing of unusual strength. They have always had a bigger appetite than other children, but I had hoped it just had to do with a fast metabolism" what happens when the world finds out? What happens when his enemies find out that not only does Captain America and Iron Man have children, but they possess parts of the serum? And James is clearly going to be a genius just like his father, so he'll have the brains and the brawn. They could never capture him, but his kids had just turned a year old. They were easy targets, who had no fighting chance. If Steve messed up then...

"You alright?" Tony asked, sensing his concern. 

"No, I'm not. Since I got the serum people have been trying to capture me to either drain me of my blood or recreate the serum. I can defend myself. They can't" Steve wasn't sure what he would do if anything happened to his kids. Avengers never killed, they beat the enemy down until they couldn't move, and threw them in a cell where they would never be released. However, if anything happened to put his children in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to break the unsaid code. 

"Hey" Tony grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him. His eyes were filled with determination, so brave and strong. "Nothing, and I mean nothing is going to happen to them. Only a fool would try and steal our babies. Not only would the two strongest superheroes, don't tell the others I said that they might hurt me, be out for their blood, but they'd have every other hero following right behind them. We may have all broken up and we don't agree on things, but if there is one thing I'm certain we could all agree on it's them" Steve had never felt more in love with the man then he did in this moment, when he was talking about protecting their kids. 

"I just, I don't know what to do, you know? Obviously I don't want to stay in Wakanda forever, or keep them hidden from the world, but I don't see any other choice. I want them to have a normal childhood, but I don't think that they can" Steve turned his attention back to his son, and stroked his cheek. Why did he ever think the kids would have a normal and happy life? 

"Why did I ever think I could do this?" he whispered defeated. Tony was quick to put a hand on his shoulder, bringing the attention back to him. 

"Hey, none of that. That's not the Cap I know. I get it, this isn't an ideal situation, but we are going to figure something out. I'm not going to turn my back and make you deal with this on your own. I may have just entered their life today, but I feel so protective over them. I can't and I won't abandon them. Or you" as much as Steve wanted to revel in this progress, the tingly sensation flowing through his veins at Tony's words, he couldn't let it continue without knowing.

"Do you feel sorry about anything that happened regarding the accords and other events that took place?" Tony looked at him confused for a second, before slowly taking his hand off Steve's shoulder. 

"You want me to apologize?" he said the words like they tasted funny in his mouth, like he couldn't wrap his head around what Steve was asking. 

"I don't want you to take full responsibility, or try and apologize and make me feel like I'm innocent in everything. I get it, I'm not. I've said my apologies and I mean them. However, I'm not the bad guy in this situation, because there isn't a bad guy. We fought for what we believed in, but I am asking you, do you feel sorry about anything?" as painful as this was, he understood this was necessary. He couldn't continue shouldering all the blame, he could never truly heal and move forward in life if he didn't get some form of Tony showing he regretted his actions. 

"Barnes killed my mother, you hid that from me. You took your shield and brought it down on my chest, you could have killed me. What am I supposed to feel sorry for?" Tony growled, his anger flaring, but he kept his voice low so not to disturb the twins or the company downstairs. 

"You don't have to apologize for what side you chose to fight on. I said that already. It's what makes us humans, and not mindless drones. We get to make decisions and fight for what we believe in. Am I sorry we ended up on different sides? Absolutely, I wished I could have been by your side. But I can't change who I am. And I'm sorry for not telling you about your mom. Even though I wasn't completely sure it was Bucky, I should have still told you about it. I thought I was protecting you. You thought she died from a car accident, I thought that would be better for you to believe then she had been murdered. It's what I would have wanted, but I should never have assumed it is what you wanted. It wasn't my decision to make. But I am asking you, do you feel sorry for anything?" he held his breath, waiting for Tony to answer, hoping his ex wasn't about to storm out the door and drag Rhodey out of here. He wouldn't stop him if that's what he did, but he wouldn't let him back in. 

"You left me in Siberia, freezing and in pain" Tony countered, but Steve could see some of the fight leaving him. Perhaps Tony was as tired as he was. 

"Which I apologized for. But you attacked me too, you would have killed Bucky if we hadn't fought back. Probably would have killed me in your rage to get to Bucky" Tony looked at him shocked. It was like the plug in a pool floaty. Once he pulled it, you could see the anger slowly leaving Tony. 

"You think I would have killed you?" Steve shrugged, not really knowing his answer. 

"You thought I'd kill you. You're a human being and you were angry. We've all felt that black out anger, when you can't focus. You can do a lot you don't mean in those situations. I know you wouldn't have meant it if you had killed me, just like I wouldn't have meant it if I had killed you, but with how angry you were, ya it wouldn't surprise me if you had" they sat in silence, neither knowing just what to say. He could see the wheels turning in Tony's head, like he was trying to work out if what Steve said made sense. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime Tony sighed. 

"I was angry. At the fact that Barnes had killed my mother, but also at the fact that my husband wasn't by my side. We fought wars together side by side, but when I really needed you by my side, you weren't there. Seeing you leave with Barnes, was the most heartbreaking thing I've ever watched. There I was laying on the floor, and there you went walking away" Tony stopped, like he was trying to find the words to say, and Steve wondered if he would apologize or not.

"I don't even want to think about if I would have killed you trying to get to Barnes. I do know how angry I was, and I wanted Barnes dead" it seemed like Tony had a point to his thoughts, but it was taking a while to get there. It was kind of like watching someone solve a math problem. Right now Tony was working out the equation, trying to find the answer. 

"Like you said, I'm not going to apologize for the accords. I stood on the side I felt was right. But I can say I am sorry for how everything turned out. I never wanted you to become criminals. I never wanted you to have to go to the raft, which I can tell you I am strongly against that part I saw how awful it was, and I am sorry you can't come home" it took Tony another moment, like he was arguing in his head over something, before he continued. 

"And I'm sorry for Siberia. Am I sorry for trying to kill Barnes? No, not in that moment. You have to understand just what I was feeling Steve. You know you'd react the same way if someone told you that they killed your mother. But now that the situation is over, that I can look at things clearly, I know I would have done what you did if it was Rhodey in Barnes position. If someone told you Rhodey had killed your mother while he was brainwashed, ya I'd take Rhodey's side. I've been tortured myself, I can understand a little bit about what happened with Barnes. So I am sorry for trying to kill Barnes. It wasn't him. However, you can't expect me to become all buddy buddy with him, because I won't. I get that it wasn't him, but when I look at him all I can picture is him standing over my mom. Same with Wanda. I get that she's a kid, but when I look at her all I can picture is her getting into my head and showing me my biggest fears. All I can picture is her showing me you dead" tears filled Steve's eyes at the honesty he was hearing. Tony wasn't saying things to appeal to Steve, he was being genuine. They still had a lot to work out, but this was good. 

"Let's just agree that we both could have handled things a lot different. Let's agree that no one was in the complete wrong or right" he smiled at Tony, and his ex didn't hesitate to return it. It looked like Tony wanted to say more, maybe lean in and hug Steve, but he refrained. And Steve was ok with that. Their problems couldn't be fixed in one day, but at least Steve could go to bed tonight knowing that when he woke up in the morning Tony would still be here, that he hadn't left in the middle of the night after realizing he couldn't deal with this. 

"Now, it's been a rollercoaster of a day for both of us. I say we get some sleep, I have a feeling these brats are up at the crack of dawn, like someone I know" Tony glared at him teasingly, Steve rolling his eyes in response.

"Seven am is not that early" Tony looked appalled at him.

"Not that early? Sometimes I don't even go to bed until then" Steve led him out of the room and to the room he could sleep in. 

"My room is just down the hall, last door on the left if you need anything. Rhodey will probably be in the room right across from yours" Steve opened the door, and moved aside so Tony could pass through. "You don't have to wake up with the kids, you should get your beauty sleep"

"Are you saying I need my beauty sleep?" Tony narrowed his eyes, and Steve shrugged.

"Well, you could definitely do with some improvement" they both chuckled, and Steve backed out of the room so Tony could shut the door. 

"Goodnight Tony" he gave Tony one last smiled for the night.

"Goodnight Steve" Tony shut the door, and the last thing he saw was Tony's own smile. 

They still had a lot to deal with; figuring out a way for Tony to be active in the kids lives, figuring out how much of the serums capabilities they would posses, and H.Y.D.R.A being on the lookout for Steve. But for the first time in a long time Steve would go to bed feeling completely happy.