Promise of Tomorrow

Tony had fucked up. Royally fucked up. He had shut himself off in his lab most of the day realizing that he had fucked up the best thing that ever happened to him. It was a pattern, him being the one to screw up the relationship, inevitable to the fact that Steve was also completely out of his league. He did his best to have his PR guy take care of what he could, but it seemed the damage was already done.

He hadn’t heard from Steve all day, and was too busy throwing a pity party to return Pepper’s numerous and unsympathetic texts. He went back to his bedroom to take a shower, suddenly noticing that in his rush to leave, Steve forgot his medic badge.

Clearly, this was something that needed to be returned to him asap.

Just a quick stop by his apartment to return the necessary item.

He had good manners, after all. He wasn’t raised in a barn.

None of these reasons were necessarily justifiable, but Tony ignored that in favor of his plan, which first required that shower.

Half an hour later, he pulled up outside of Steve’s apartment, suddenly having second guesses about all of this. The urge to see him won him over though, reminding himself that Steve hadn’t left angry. He got out of his lambo, locking it before steeling himself to walk to the door and knock. A few seconds later Steve answered, looking surprised but not mad that Tony had showed up unannounced.

“Hey,” the blonde greeted with a smile, “what are you doing here?”

“You, um. Forgot your badge,” he said dumbly, thrusting the item to Steve’s chest. He smiled back at him, taking the badge and putting it in his pocket.

“Uh huh…and is that the only reason you stopped by?” Steve asked with a coy smile, hand still holding the door mostly closed.

“I…may have had some doubts and wanted…reassurance,” the genius explained. When Steve opened his mouth to answer, he heard movement behind him in the apartment. Then they both heard the sound of glass shattering followed by a “fuck!”

“Um,” Steve said, face scrunched up and looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here. “Why don’t you come in?” he asked, much to Tony’s surprise as the brunette followed him in to the apartment. He wasn’t necessarily sure he wanted to see what made that noise, but the fact that Steve was leading him to the kitchen made him all the more curious.

“Fuck,” he heard again before finally seeing the cause of the profanity. A very beautiful young woman stood in the kitchen, keeled over and holding onto her bloody foot. She was wearing Steve’s pajamas, brown hair thrown up in a bun and sporting thick rimmed glasses. Steve somehow had a broom appear in his hands, cleaning up the mess around the girl until he could safely get to her.

“I told you to wait and I would get you the damn cup,” Steve muttered as he hoisted her on top of the counter near the sink. He grabbed bandages and tape from one of the drawers as he also ran her foot under running water.

“Yeah well you were taking too long,” she muttered back to him in a childish way, making Tony think maybe she was younger than he thought.

“I’m sorry, is this your…mistress?” Tony asked skeptically as Steve gingerly bandaged her foot. The woman in question’s face turned green and scrunched up at the question.

“Fuck you,” she said in disgust.

“Watch it,” Steve said sharply, motioning her to stay on the counter as he cleaned up the rest of the glass.

“You watch it, he’s the one implying incest,” she said with a glare Tony’s way.

“…incest?” he asked. Steve sighed heavily as he handed the girl some aspirin and a glass of water.

“Tony, meet my niece, Joey. Joey, this is Tony.”

“Wait, you’re Joey?” the genius asked confused.

“Oh wow, I’m surprised he actually talked about me. Even to his…lover,” Joey said teasingly as Steve shot another glare her way.

“Jo you are in enough trouble as it is, you sure you want to dig yourself further?” he asked after folding his arms across his chest. She rolled her eyes and shook her head no in response.

“Why don’t you go to your room and give us some privacy?” he asked in a less demanding tone, moving to help her down off the counter. She begrudgingly obliged, shooting a look Tony’s way before hobbling out of the room.

“Huh,” Tony said, unable to think of anything else.

“I told you my life was complicated,” Steve said almost sadly with a small smile.

“So you really weren’t mad at me?” the brunette asked. Steve laughed at that, motioning him to join him at the dining room table as the genius sat across from him.

“I told you I wasn’t mad at you and I meant it. I knew that kind of thing was inevitable.”

“You just left in such a hurry…”

“Yeah,” Steve admitted with a sigh. “She got back three weeks earlier than she was supposed to…”

“Back?” Tony asked in clarification.

“Yeah, um…I’m Joey’s guardian. She’s been with her mother’s cousin the last few weeks and abruptly ended her vacation early yesterday.”

“Was it cause of us?” the brunette asked.

“I don’t actually know, she keeps changing her story and I can’t get a hold of Susan to get any straight answers.”

“So she’s…Bucky’s kid?” Steve nodded in response, taking a breath to explain.

“Yes. I got custody of her after he died almost five years ago. It really…threw my whole world for a loop. I lost my big brother and gained custody of his daughter. Dropped out of art school, changed careers to become an EMT cause I knew it was more financially stable.” Tony let the words soak in, frowning at the sacrifices he had to make.

“How old is she?”

“16.”

“Jesus she looks like she’s in her 20s.”

“Oh yeah, it’s been super fun raising a hormonal and angry teen these last few years…” they both shared a small laugh at that.

 “What about her mom? What happened to her?” Tony asked as Steve cast his eyes downward at the question.

“She…had a brain aneurism shortly after giving birth to Jo,” Steve explained.

Tony sat there another moment before admitting, “that does sound complicated.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t completely honest with you and I totally understand if this is like, a deal-breaker for you…” Steve rambled on, stopping when he saw Tony shaking his head.

“No, no of course that’s not a deal-breaker,” the genius said in reassurance, counting this as the perfect time to admit his own secret.

“Steve I um…I actually…have a son.”

Steve’s expression was comical, the way his eyes bulged and his jaw dropped.

“You do?” he finally asked with a small smile.

“Yeah, not something a lot of people know, but yeah. He’s three and lives full time with his mom.”

“What’s his name?” Steve asked with a slightly bigger smile.

“Peter,” Tony answered with a matching grin. “Do you wanna see a picture?”

“Yeah of course,” Steve said, switching chairs to sit next to him and look. Tony quickly pulled his phone out and clicked on his boy’s photo album, hundreds of pictures of the chunky little mini-Tony and handing it over to Steve.

“He’s handsome like his Daddy,” Steve commented, finger swiping through the pictures and smiling at every one of them. “I’d ask why you didn’t tell me but then I’d be a hypocrite,” he said with a smile as he handed Tony his phone back. “Do you get to see him often?”

“Not as often as I’d like,” he admitted sadly, taking another moment to look at his more recent photos before putting his phone away. The device immediately vibrated in his pocket, Tony pulling it out to see May calling him.

“Speak of the devil,” he muttered as he looked up at Steve. “Do you mind if I take this?” he asked as the blonde smiled and nodded at him.

“I’m going to go check on Joey,” he said, excusing himself to give Tony some privacy.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he said with a smile into his phone.

“Hey handsome,” he heard May reply.

“How’s our boy doing?”

“Well, he tried reading One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish to me, most of it from memory, but he did a pretty good job!”

“Yup, smart like his Daddy,” Tony said with a smile.

“Yeah, stubborn like you too. It is impossible to get him to eat peas.”

“That’s just because he has refined taste, peas are gross,” he countered, laughing along with her. “So did you call to find out about my newest beau?”

“Oh honey, if I called you every time that happened, I’d need more child support for the phone bills,” Tony laughed loudly again, knowing she was only somewhat kidding. “I didn’t even know you had someone knew, what’s their name and what do they do? Give me the deets.”

“His name is Steve, paramedic, drop-dead gorgeous, kind and quite possibly the biggest cock I’ve ever had.”

“Aaaand there you go ruining our perfectly nice conversation.”

Tony smiled fondly, always loved teasing her.

“Well if you don’t want gory details then why did you even call me?”

“Ha! You’re the worst. And I’m calling to tell you I got a job promotion!”

“That’s amazing May! Congrats!”

“Yeah, well…there’s a catch. It involves a lot of traveling so…I called to see if you wanted Peter for the next three months?” Tony’s eyes bulged as his face lit up in excitement.

“Abso-fucking-lutely I do! I can take the time off work, Pepper would probably prefer me away from work right now anyway – been doing nothing but piss her off lately. But yes! Absolutely, when do I get the little monkey?”

“Is tomorrow too soon? The traveling thing was up in the air and I have my mom as a backup if you can’t –”

“No! No disrespect to Ruthy-poo, but he’s mine. I’ve got genetic dibs.”

“That’s great, Tony. Peter will be so excited! He went to bed early – tired him out at the park – so I’ll tell him first thing tomorrow he gets to go to Daddy’s instead of grammy’s! We’ll be over around…3? After his nap? Does that sound good?”

“Fuck yes it does! See you tomorrow Baby Mama,” he smiled as she scoffed, never a fan of that name.

“Don’t make me regret this…”

“Love you May.”

“Love you too, jerkface. Bye.”

“Bye,” he said, smile growing on his face when Steve made his way back into the kitchen. The teen was behind him, walking around the pair to grab something out of the fridge.

“Do you two have any plans for tomorrow?” Tony asked, taking a moment to look at the teen behind him. Steve raised his eyebrows at Joey in question.

The teen looked like she was genuinely thinking it over, before turning to the man and responding with a head shake.

“Would you like to hang out in a mansion, order in for food and meet a 3 year old?” he asked and looked over at Steve, whose face seemed to light up at the realization.

“Why would you end it on the most boring of the three?” Joey asked with annoyance.

“How long do you get him?” Steve asked, ignoring Joey’s rudeness in favor of the excitement.

“Um…well. May called cause she got a promotion which will require a lot of traveling so…the next three months?” he answered apprehensively. Steve’s face morphed into a surprised-excited combo, Tony still unsure how he actually felt about the news.

“That’s great,” Steve said with a smile.

“A snotty toddler for three months sounds great to you?” Joey asked skeptically, getting an eye roll and groan from Steve.

“More fun than a moody teenager I can tell you that.”

“It’s a mansion slash smart house, kiddo. I’ve got a game room, a media room, a gym, indoor pool…I promise you won’t be bored,” Tony said turning to the unimpressed teen. Who immediately looked impressed, shrugging and nodding in response. He turned back to Steve, who had his arms crossed but a small smile on his face.

“Does it suit her majesty?” the blonde asked her sarcastically with a smile.

“I suppose,” she groaned, equally sarcastic.

“What time do you want us there, babe?” Steve asked, suddenly aware of the slip of the nickname, neither having said such an endearment to each other. Tony’s eyes widened like Steve’s as they looked at each other, a smile spreading across the brunette’s face in glee.

“Does 5 work, babe?” The two grinned at each other like idiots as Steve nodded.

“Sonny, would you say bye to Cher already?” Joey groaned, though it didn’t sound nearly as sharp as it could’ve been.

“Honestly, I’m not even mad at that. I’m definitely the Cher of the two of us,” Tony said fondly.

“Shouldn’t I be Cher?” Steve asked. “I’m taller.”

Tony fully turned to the blonde and pointed his finger out at him.

“I. Am. Cher,” he managed with a straight face, quickly breaking when he heard the teenager erupt in laughter behind him. Steve smiled fondly between the two, putting his hands up in surrender.

“Fine, I’m Sonny. I’ll just never go skiing,” he teased. Tony laughed at that, taking a glance at the teen behind him – who had a small frown on her face. When she realized Tony was looking, she instantly switched to a polite smile. Tony turned back to Steve to see if he’d noticed, only to find he hadn’t and was staring at a picture on the wall.

He suddenly realized they were thinking the same thing, as the picture was of a young man with shaggy brown hair holding a baby. Bucky.

Tony was an only child himself, but he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to lose Rhodey – whom he’s known now for the majority of his life. Over twenty years they’ve been friends, and the thought of losing him? His heart ached at the very idea.

“I should get going,” he said breaking the silence. “I’ve got some toddler-proofing to do before tomorrow.”

Steve offered to walk him to his car, Tony smiling at Joey in farewell and glad to see her smile and nod back.

Steve grabbed his hand as they walked down the sidewalk, gripping it when they got to his car.

“Thank you for,” the blonde said suddenly shy, “being so amazing.” Tony felt his heart melt and his goddamn knees even weaken a little.

“Not nearly as amazing as you, babe,” he said with a sly smile as he got the blonde to laugh. Large but gentle hands cradled his face, thumbs stroking his goatee as the beautiful blue eyed man brought their lips together to kiss. He snaked his arms around the unfairly narrow waist, bringing them closer and having Tony realize he would do anything for this man.

Fuck, he’s so in love it’s actually hurting.

They eventually released, Tony stealing one more kiss before finally relenting – smiling as the man grinned back and watched him drive away…with a promise of tomorrow.

He owed Pepper liked ten raises, and reminded her of that as she helped him toddler-proof the place – with about an hour to spare before May and Peter arrived. Peter already had his own room and everything, but Tony was basically a toddler himself and also wanted to catch Pepper up on his latest Steventures. She was not impressed with his joke, nor his updates.

“I’m only doing this for my love of Peter – who I expect to see frequently over the next 3 months.” He considered being offended but then changed his mind.

“I don’t blame you, he is an incredibly adorable munchkin.”

“That he is,” she said with a smile as she finished covering up the last outlet.

“Takes after his Daddy,” he said fondly.

“Actually, that last video you showed me? He’s looking more and more like May,” she said – just out of spite, as she gathered her things and walked over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Give Petey my love and tell him I’ll see you guys on Thursday,” she said after Tony easily accepted the kiss, waving at her as she made her way to the elevator.

He spent the last half an hour or so pretending to watch television, thrilled when he finally heard the familiar ding of the elevator doors. He shot up off of his couch and practically ran to the entranceway.

And there they were: two of his most favorite people on the planet. His most favorite squealing when he saw him.

“Daddy!” his baby screamed as he literally jumped his little body up and down in joy. May, bless that beautiful woman, stepped back and pulled her phone out to snap some pictures as Peter ran into Tony’s outstretched arms.

“Petey-pie! Oh I missed you so much, little monkey!” he said as he swung the toddler in the air, relishing the laughter it produced.

“I missed you too Daddy!” the boy chuckled out, squeezing his tiny arms around Tony’s neck as he smushed him into his embrace. He kissed his boy loudly on the cheek, giggling along with him as May grabbed his bags and moved behind them to set them in the living room. Tony followed her, still hugging Peter to his chest.

“My mother is on standby if you need any help, though I’m sure Pepper is more than capable of handling it,” she shot him a smile, which he maturely returned before sticking his tongue out. “I also wrote down his pediatrician’s number in case that rash comes back.”

“We’ll be fine, Mama Bear,” he said. “And I’m sure you and Petey will get to video chat whenever he’s missing you, right monkey?” he asked the boy nodding with a smile. “See May, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I have never once believed that from you,” she said unimpressed, walking over to take Peter in her arms. “You’re going to be good for your Daddy, right Peter? Remember your manners, okay baby? I love you so much Petey,” she said, kissing him all over his face. He giggled in response and tried to say ‘I love you too’ between the onslaught.

“Okay my boys, be good and don’t let him eat too much candy.”

“I won’t.”

“I was talking to Peter,” she said after handing Peter back over, laughing along with Peter at the silliness. “Bye baby,” she said one last time as she blew him a kiss goodbye.

“Bye mommy, love you!”

“Love you too sweet angel!” she called after him as she made her way to the elevators.

“Alright Pete, we’ve got a few hours before our guests arrive. What do you want to do until then?”

“Wobots!” he said excitedly as he shoved one fist in the air.

“That’s my boy,” Tony said with a grin, leading the two to his lab.

By 5 they had both washed up and ended up in the living room coloring when the two heard the elevator doors ding.

“We’re in the living room!” he shouted to the pair, staying seated as the boy crawled onto Tony’s lap. Steve walked in first with Joey following close behind, the teen looking around the mansion in awe. The blonde walked over and smiled at the pair, moving to sit near Tony but not so close he’d scare Peter. The toddler cuddled further into his father’s embrace, hiding his face from the stranger.

“Petey, you remember me saying you’d meet my special friend today?” he asked as he rubbed the boy’s back.

“I thought you said ‘boyfren,’ Daddy?” he asked with a confused expression, getting a chuckle from the blonde.

“Yes, well…this is my boyfriend, Steve. Steve, meet the love of my life, Peter.”

“Hi Peter.”

“Hi Steeb,” the boy in his lap replied with a small wave.

“And that young lady is his niece, Joey,” Tony explained pointing to the girl who looked like she had zoned out, staring at the bookshelf against the wall.

“Jo, you okay?” Steve asked with concern. That seemed to shake her out of it, turning to smile at the group and walking over.

“Sorry, your place is more overwhelming than I thought it’d be,” she explained as she made her way to sit on the other side of Tony and Peter.

“Joey this is Pete, Pete this is Joey,” the brunette explained with a smile.

“Hi Pete,” she greeted with a smile.

“Hi,” the boy said back, offering a smile and a wave.

“I like your shirt,” she said, pointing at his tiny Batman shirt.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “Do you wanna see my toys?” he asked with hope.

“Sure,” she said with a smile and a shrug of her shoulder.

“Okay!” he exclaimed as he climbed off Tony’s lap. “Come on, I’ll show you!” he shouted in excitement as he didn’t wait before taking off to his room – shyness clearly dissipated. She quickly followed, poking Steve’s ear in passing to annoy him. He half swatted at her before turning back to Tony with a smile.

The blonde shifted forward, Tony smiling as he leaned over to kiss him.

“Boyfriend, huh?” he whispered against the brunette’s lips, smiling when Tony nodded in response.

“Yeah hot stuff, you got a problem with that?” he challenged with a raised brow, excited to see Steve’s blue eyes flicker in excitement. He pushed Tony back so they were both spread across the couch, careful not to put his full weight on the smaller man.

“Nope, not a problem,” the blonde replied looking into his eyes before leaning down to kiss him some more. They stayed like that for a few moments until they both heard a crash. The two sat up together, listening for additional noise when they heard Peter scream.

“DADDY!” the boy cried in anguish as the two adults leapt off the couch; Tony following just behind Steve as they made their way to Peter’s room.

Tony caught the crying boy who had flung himself at him, quickly scanning his body for injuries as the boy pointed behind him.

It was Joey, flailing on the ground with her eyes wide open. Tony recognized the symptoms of a seizure, cuddling the boy close as he cried, frightened over his new friend. He watched Steve help move her on her side, grabbing a nearby pillow to place under her head.

“It’s okay Pete,” Tony said without confidence as he rocked his boy in his arms.

“She’ll be okay, Peter,” he heard Steve say. “This happens to her when she doesn’t take her medicine.”

“What’s wrong with her, Steeb?” Peter asked between puffs of crying breath.

“She’s having a seizure,” the blonde explained as he gently pet her side.

“Seezer?” Peter asked adorably, Tony immediately kissing his cheek in reassurance.

“Yeah, I’m sorry if she scared you buddy, she’ll be okay,” Steve said with a smile as he turned to Peter.

“Can I help? Mommy says I’m a good helper,” the toddler offered, seemingly done with the tears.

“You know what would be a big help? A wet and cold washrag to cool her off. Do you think you can get that for her?” Peter nodded furiously before squirming his way out of Tony’s arms and running to the bathroom.

“What’s wrong with her?” Tony asked gently as he moved to sit next to the teen. She had stopped shaking and closed her eyes in exhaustion, chest heaving up and down.

“She has epilepsy; diagnosed when she was 10. She’s been great about taking her meds, I don’t think I’ve seen her have a seizure in almost 2 years…” he said in confusion as he wiped some of the sweat from her face.

“I got it Steeb!” Peter exclaimed as he ran back in with a small, wet, blue towel. He handed it to Stevw as the boy gingerly sat next to them, looking sadly at the unconscious teen. Peter watched as Steve gently wiped her face and neck. The blonde looked over to the boy, handing the towel back to him with a small smile.

“Wanna help me cool her off, Peter?”

The boy smiled in response, gently taking the towel and running it over her legs.

“She got too hot, Steeb?” he asked as he concentrated on his task.

“Something like that, now we gotta let her sleep it off though. She’ll wake up in an hour or two.”

“Ooh! Steeb! Joey can sleep in my bed!” the toddler suggested as Tony beamed at his child.

“That’s so sweet of you Pete, I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you wanted to make sure she was safe and comfy.”

“She’s my friend,” Peter explained, moving back so Steve could move her. The blonde gently lifted her up into his arms, following Peter who helped pull the covers back. The boy then scrambled off his bed and went to his toy box, throwing toys around until he found the one he was looking for. Steve gently removed her shoes and socks before pulling the blanket over her body.

Peter joined him on the bed with a stuffed lion in his arms.

“Here,” he said as he handed Steve the toy. “Simba will keep her safe while she sleeps.”

“Thank you, I know for a fact Joey loves Simba, so she’ll be happy to see him when she wakes up.” Peter beamed at his answer, gently getting off the bed and running over to hug his dad. Tony happily picked him up in his arms, settling him on his hip as they watched Steve check her pulse on her wrist. He then brushed some hair out of her face and kissed her forehead before slowly extracting himself from the bed. He smiled at the father and son before moving to follow them out quietly.

They decided to watch a movie until she woke up, the three cuddled close in the living room as Peter made his way over to sit on Steve’s lap. The blonde looked incredibly surprised and happy for the change in seating, shooting a glance at Tony who was practically melting at the sight. He leaned against Steve, unbelievably happy with his life in this moment.

About an hour later the group heard footsteps, the three turning to see Joey walk in with Simba in her arms.

“Hey kiddo, why don’t you come sit and join us?” Steve asked.

“Why? So you can yell at me?” she asked defensively, holding the toy closer to her chest.

“Steeb better not!” Peter exclaimed, glaring a little at the man whose lap he was sitting in.

“Peter,” Tony said as a warning.

“No one is yelling at anybody,” Steve assured the room. “Just humor me and come drink some water.”

She obliged, sitting near Steve and downing the glass he handed to her.

“Are you feeling better Joey?” Peter asked, shifting to sit in between her and Steve on the couch.

“Yeah, sorry I scared you little man,” she apologized sheepishly.

“S’okay,” he replied, petting the stuffed lion in her lap. “Did Simba help?”

“Yup,” she replied with a smile, handing Simba back to the boy.

“Pete you wanna put Simba back so you don’t lose him?” Tony suggested.

“Okay,” Peter offered, taking the toy with him out of the room.

“When’s the last time you took your meds?” Steve asked Joey gently, running his hand through her hair.

“Shit,” she muttered. “I must’ve left them at Susan’s.”

“That’s okay,” Steve said in reassurance, patting her knee before leaning back against the couch. “We’ll go pick them up after we leave here.”

Tony noticed her grimace at the prospect, but declined saying anything when he heard the little patting of feet, turning to smile as Peter rejoined them.

“Are you guys getting hungry?” Tony asked, pulling the boy onto his lap.

“Yeah!” Peter said excitedly.

“Joey?” Tony asked the teen. “Hungry for anything in particular?”

“I’m usually not really hungry after…but I’ll nibble on whatever you guys want.”

“Pizza?!” Peter asked the room, getting laughter from the three. He pulled his phone out to order some pepperoni pizzas.