When Tony was feeling anxious or overwhelmed, he didn’t hide anymore in his lab for days, building protections for himself and for all the people he loved.
He still did that, he has so many people he wanted to keep safe - a thought still unfamiliar sometimes - and he could spend several days and nights in a row without resurfacing at all, surviving only thanks to Steve and JARVIS, or another friend if Steve was out for a mission. But it was his work and what he liked to do, not only a way to disconnect from everything else and vent his stress or insomnia.
He found another way to cope: it wasn’t alcohol, strangers in his bed, or reducing himself to a hot piping mess. He removed his shirt and pick up from the crib his adorable, little coping mechanism, also known as Peter, and hugged him skin on skin.
He did it carefully, Peter was sleeping, and as soon as he had his son pressed against his chest he felt a tight knot in his stomach starting easing up. He wasn’t aware he was holding his breath, but when he looked at his baby’s cute face, the only visible part since he was wrappedin a soft, Captain America blanket, the air started filling up Tony’s lungs again.
There he was, in his and Steve’s bedroom - Peter’s crib would’ve been there for a long time - hugging the most stunning, curious and incredible creature in the world. Hugging Peter brought him joy, and set his mind at ease, a hard work that, before he had a son, only one other person could do.
Said person was out of Country, and Tony didn’t expect him to return for at least another couple of days. He missed Steve as if he himself was the one away from their house; it was like somebody took away a piece of his soul, a terrific feeling that he dragged along every minute he was awake and not hugging their little boy.
Steve wasn’t even supposedto be far away more that ten feet from his family, he was on leave as they had a son, but the villains in Europe didn’t seem to mind enough. Rude.
He didn’t know how much longer he stood in the room, cradling Peter and whispering a lullaby. He would’ve probably spent the last few hours of the night in the same way. He needed the contact, having his baby in his arms and watching him sleeping peacefully in the dim lights JARVIS turned on.
He sat on the floor leg crossed, despite having the king-size bed in the room, and stroked Peter’s forehead with a fingertip, leaning forward to nuzzle closed the baby’s cheek. He calculated every movement slow, wanting to avoid waking him up ahead of time.
He was about to dozing off too, his head was swinging in sync with the sweet lullaby, but a notification on his sunglasses made him fully awake again. He was about to ask JARVIS if he was joking, with a more colorful language - Peter was still too little to register bad words - but the steps he heard down the aisle of their bedroom were enough for an answer.
“Hey,” he breathed, turning his head to face the door. He was too startledand tired to elaborate something more, as he should’ve, since Captain America was looking at him as if he found a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert, with the brightest smile over an exhausted expression.
His husband had the helmet of the suit in one hand, the shield still on his shoulders, and his clothes were in a terrible state - Tony would’ve scolded him later - but nothing mattered except that he was home.
Tony’s heart fluttered as Steve closed the distance, abandoning the helmet on a nightstand and sitting behind Tony, spreading his legs to wrap both him and their baby boy in his embrace. Maybe Tony’s eyes wetted a little, but no one was givento know.
“Hey yourself,” Steve said in a soothing voice, placing one hand on Tony’s that were holding Peter, and the other stroked Tony’s cheek.
The genius readjusted the baby and pressed himself against Steve’s large and warm chest, keeping his head turned on one side to hide in Steve’s neck. He inhaled deeply, and under layers of earthy smells he recognized the one he loved, and his world seemed to revolve again at the right pace.
They said nothing for a while, finding comfort in each other, gazing in each other eyes and cuddling together, bumping noses and stroking lips. They needed to make sure they were really there, and at four in the morning it was highly possible they were only hallucinating or dreaming. But the breaths, the quick beats of their hearts and the sweet, secret words they were exchanging confirmed what it’s seemed impossible only a few hours before.
“Scratchy,” was the first word Tony said that wasn’t a sigh or a declaration of love. He wrinkled his nose as Steve stroke his full beard against Tony’s neck and cheek, that time voluntarily, just to see him squirming.
“This is my I-miss-you-beard,” Steve explained, kissing him on the cheek and resting his lips there. “I grow it longer now that I have two of you”
Tony sniffed and caught Steve’s mouth with his own, pouring all his needs and feelings in the passionate kiss. His husband was a sentimental, stubborn guy, and he loved him so fucking much.
“Thought you wouldn’t come back soon,” he whispered, pouting and trying to look upset. That look didn’t last long, he melted as soon as Steve’s hand started petting his hair.
“I left as soon as the backup from Wakanda arrived. They can handle it, and the Avengers are fully prepared to fight without me and you. I’m sorry-”
“Don’t be,” Tony cut Steve off, shaking his head. He wasn’t really angry; he was sad and out of sorts, but they had enormous responsibilities towards the World, and sacrifices were the norm.
Steve sighed and put more pressure with his hand, massaging Tony’s scalp in the exact points that made the genius relaxing.
“Listen to me sweetheart, I’m sorry I left you and Peter alone after promising I wouldn’t. I made it clear with Nick on the way back, I’m not leaving your side for the next month. You’ll grow so tired of me you will come up with something to simulate an attack on the city, just to distract me”
Their soft and watery chuckles eased all the weights on their shoulder, and they returned to kissing and cuddling on the floor of their bedroom, with the fruit of their true love still asleep and safe in both his dads’ arms.