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Being a Stark [Superfamily]

Epilogue

“Tony?”

Tony shifts, groaning as he pulls the covers closer to him.

“Hmmmmnoooo, ten more minutes,” he grumbles. He hears somebody chuckle behind him. Then there’s a hand on his side and a pair of lips against his neck. “Steeeeeeeve.”

“Toooooony,” Steve returns the complaint with a smirk. “I want to see your face.”

“If I turn around, can I stay in bed for a little longer?”

“You can stay in bed as long as you like, as long as I’m allowed to stay, too,” Steve jokes. Tony breathes out before turning around, finding Steve’s blue eyes almost immediately. He smiles when the man pulls him closer and kisses his lips.

“Hmmm, you have no idea how much I love that,” Tony whispers against his mouth. Steve grins through the kiss.

“I can imagine something,” he says. Then he pulls away slightly and lowers his face until he’s close to Tony’s chest. With gentle touches he slowly kisses over Tony’s scars. A loud sigh escapes Tony’s mouth, not used to having anybody treat his scars with this much respect.

Steve’s scars are barely visible. His were smaller than Tony’s anyway, but while Tony’s is still red, Steve’s are now faint. If you wouldn’t know about it, you wouldn’t see them. Lucky bastard.

“How’s my liver?” Steve asks against his skin. Tony snorts, passing a hand through Steve’s hair and massaging his scalp.

“It’s doing fine, sir,” Tony assures him. “Keeping me alive and strong.”

“So strong,” Steve agrees before going back up and returning to Tony’s lips.

“Too strong.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“I guess I’ll have to,” Tony agrees. Then he turns his head to the side when Steve nibs back underneath his ear. Looking at the new addition to his nightstand, he smiles. Without moving, he reaches out for the present, taking it in hand and pulling it closer. A warm feeling goes through him when he takes in the glowing blue Arc Reactor, very much made in some sort of trophy.

‘Proof that Tony Stark has an awesome son’ it says. It’s a gift from Peter, something he got for Christmas (probably inspired by a certain Pepper Potts). To be honest, he thought they had both forgotten about the Arc Reactor. After Peter finished it, they stashed it somewhere safely, so nobody would get their hands on it. He should have known that Peter wouldn’t want it locked up like that.

“You have an awesome son, indeed,” Steve says, pulling himself back up until his head is resting on Tony’s shoulder. With a hand staying on Tony’s chest, the two lie together, staring at the Arc Reactor.

“We have an awesome son,” Tony corrects him before putting the present down again and turning back to Steve. Before Steve can say anything else, they both can hear the first few footsteps in the hallway. Somebody’s up.

It’s followed by a knock on their door. Both Steve and Tony jump out of bed to put on at least a little bit of clothing.

“Hold on!” Tony shouts, stumbling as he pulls up his shorts. He grunts when he falls down on the ground. Steve laughs, but helps him back on his feet.

“Ew, you two are gross, come on!” Peter complains behind the door.

“No! We’re not-! Not that!” Steve quickly counters, finally opening the door the moment Tony’s back on his feet.

“Not right now, at least,” Tony mutters. Peter, who is fully dressed and seemingly extremely awake, makes a disgusted face, looking like he already regrets knocking on the door.

“What’s wrong, Petey?” Steve asks, leaning a bit against the door. Tony shuffles up behind him and wraps his arm around his middle. After all this time apart, all he wants is to just be close for a moment.

“I, uh, I got a text from Johnny. He wants to patrol for a bit. I just wanted to let you know.” Peter shrugs while he holds up his phone. Tony presses his face against Steve’s back and pulls him closer to him.

“Of course, Peter, thanks for telling us,” Steve says, chuckling a bit when Tony squeezes his middle tighter. “Tell him we said ‘hi’, okay? And be careful!”

“Will do. Don’t forget that you have to be somewhere in an hour!”

“Ah, our Peter, trying to remind us of our agenda,” Tony sighs. Peter snorts.

“Yeah, that’s true. So I hope you’re not forgetting about your meeting with the board today?”

Tony groans, pressing his face against Steve’s shoulder while the Super Soldier starts laughing. Peter, too, lets out a chuckle. Then he leans against the door opening and crosses his arms.

“Seriously, Dad, Pepper’s gonna kill you if you’re not there. It’s only a few hours, then we can watch this guy here on the TV, okay?”

“I still don’t understand why I can’t join. I’ve been a founding member of the Avengers!” Tony complains, not really entirely happy about being excluded from the interview. And it’s not really that, either. An actual talkshow with the current members of the Avengers now that they’re back. It’s big news!

“I gave you the offer to come back, Tony,” Steve admits. “You didn’t want to.”

“At least a year after the surgery! Not permanently!” Tony counters. Steve and Peter roll their eyes. “C’mon, I love being an Avenger!”

“And I love you,” Steve says, turning towards Tony to capture his lips again. Peter clears his throat and turns around.

“Aaaaaand, I’m out!”

The moment Peter leaves the penthouse, the two find themselves back in their bed despite the urgent need to prepare themselves. Steve on his back, with his hands on Tony’s cheeks while pressing their foreheads together, Tony leaning on his elbows as he moves and breathes out heavily. It goes on, and on, and on. And when they thumble over the edge, Tony rolls over and drops down on his back. They’re both completely out of breath and sticky in all the wrong places.

“We need a shower,” Steve chuckles. Tony groans and rolls back over, pressing his face in the pillow.

“Noooooooooooh!” he complains. Quickly, Steve crawls towards him, leaning on his back and travelling his finger over his skin.

“Honey?”

“Baby?”

“Since when do you call me that?” Steve asks questioningly, though sounding amused.

“I don’t know, it just came out. You know how my brain works.”

With tired smiles on their faces, the two stay there for a little while. Seconds tick by, the moment where they have to leave coming closer and closer.

“Do you remember, back in prison?” Steve suddenly asks. Tony doesn’t move.

“Hmmmm?”

“When, uh, when Peter came with you, and we talked things out.”

“Hmmmm,” Tony agrees, indeed knowing what he was talking about.

“You thought I was about to propose.”

Tony startles, feeling his body freeze up. Wait, is Steve seriously going to talk about this again? Steve seems to have notices his sudden reaction. He pulls away a little bit allowing Tony to sit up again. The moment he faces him, his eyes can’t leave him.

“Don’t tell me you have a ring hidden somewhere?” Tony asks, hating the panic in his voice. Steve chuckles nervously, but shakes his head.

“No, no, of course not,” he says. Tony lets out a relieved breath, feeling his heart calm down a little bit. He would probably have had a heart attack if Steve would hate just popped the question right here, right now. “Just, I wanted to ask…”

“Oh no, you’re going to ask anyway, aren’t you?”

He can’t place the look on Steve’s face. It’s not really hurt, but it’s clearly also not happiness in its true form.

“I’m not, Tony. Honey, stop talking for a moment,” Steve calls out, grabbing his hands while crawling forward for a bit.

“Okay, I’ll stop talking,” Tony mutters out. “I’ll be super quiet.”

“Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re still talking,” Steve points out. Tony presses his lips together.

“I’m sorry,” he continues.

“Shhhh.” Then there’s another kiss on the lips. Tony shuts his mouth at last, waiting for Steve to continue. “Honey, I’m not proposing, it’s way too early for that. But you had me thinking if… if there’s ever any chance for-“

“Getting married? Steve, are you serious? Why would you even want to-?”

Steve puts his finger on Tony’s lips to shut him up.

“You’ve never been one to stay quiet, have you?” Steve asks jokingly. Tony sighs, nodding in agreement.

“I’m sorry, it’s just,” he takes a deep breath, “I have thought about it in the past. Getting married, have kids, a house whatever else. But… sweetie, I’m almost fifty. You’re… you’re basically thirty-two if you ignore the ice-time.”

Tony squeezes into Steve’s hands, lowering his eyes as he tries to figure out how exactly to explain this. He wants nothing more than for Steve to understand, but with how badly he can put it into words… The possibility is rather low.

“What I’m trying to say, uh… I’m not… ready? I mean, I’m definitely old enough, and any normal person would say yes instantly, but I… I need more… stability? Assurance?”

“Tony, you’re not making any sense,” Steve returns, sounding confused. Tony sighs and gets himself out of bed. He ignores the fact that he’s naked, just walking around in the room as he tries to get his words straight. How can he explain this well?

“Look at it this way; You love me. I get that. But at the same time, I don’t always believe it. And that’s not your fault, it’s mine entirely. And I could say yes when you propose in, say, a year? But if we would go for it, I would constantly be waiting for you to decide you have enough of me. And it’s not fair on you.”

“Tony, you know that won’t happen,” Steve assures him. Tony shakes his head and makes a wave with his hands to shut him up.

“I know, but I also don’t know. We can’t predict the future. We already broke up once, it’s still a possibility.” It’s a complete mess. Tony’s thoughts are going in overdrive. He wouldn’t be surprised if there’s smoke coming out of his ears.

Steve gets out of bed as well. He walks towards Tony, takes his arms into his hands, and gently shakes him.

“Tony,” he says, trying to get his attention. Tony looks up at him, trying to figure out if Steve is disappointed in him. “If I understand correctly, you say it’ll happen, but not in the coming few years. Am I right?”

Tony nods, but he doesn’t speak. Steve then smiles and leans forward to press their lips together.

“I suggest a deal, okay?”

Tony nods again. Steve smiles.

“When you’re ready, you’ll be the one to ask, alright?”

Tony returns the smile. Then he nods.

“I think I can go with that agreement,” Tony agrees. The two lean forward again one more time, but before they can meet each other in between, the door flies open.

“YOOO CAP WE’RE HEADIN’ OU- OOOH CHRIST MY EYES ARE BURNING AAAAAH!”

Steve and Tony jump apart, the latter dropping down on the ground until he’s hidden behind the bed. Steve grabs the sheets, putting it around him in an attempt to hide himself away.

“YOU CAN’T KNOCK?! WHAT THE FUCK, CLINT!” Steve shouts. Tony snorts when he hears Steve curse for what must be the first time ever. When he gets a glare from Steve, he quickly pretends like he’s coughing, instead.

“Smooth, Barton,” Natasha suddenly says, taking Clint’s place at the door and leaning up against it. With an unimpressed glare she looks at Steve. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? The all-responsible Steve Rogers couldn’t even get showered in time? You smell like sex.”

Tony can see Steve turn red almost over all his body. It’s kind of adorable.

“He was too busy talking about marriage,” Tony jokes.

“You’re getting married? Isn’t that a bit soon?” Sam asks, suddenly appearing as well. He doesn’t seem as put off as Clint when it comes to a half-naked Steve Rogers.

“I wanna be the mate of honor!” Clint shouts in the background.

“There’s no such thing, you idiot!” Sam counters. Tony can hear Scott, Bruce, Wanda and Vision laugh further away.

“If anybody’s gonna be the maid of honor, it’s me,” Natasha counters unimpressed.

“NOBODY’S GETTING MARRIED! LET ME GET READY DAMN IT!” Steve shouts, hurrying towards bathroom with their bedsheet wrapped all around him. Tony just smirks, finding an angry Steve all too adorable.

“Isn’t he cute?” Tony asks without thinking about it. Natasha groans, and Sam rolls his eyes before turning away.

“Tell Steve he has ten minutes before we leave,” Natasha warns him. Tony holds up his thumb. Then he jumps up the moment the two aren’t looking again, and he gets to the same door Steve went through.

That evening, Tony, Peter, Rhodey and May are seated on the couch with a large bowl of pop-corn. Peter with his feet thrown over Tony’s legs and his back leaning against the side of the couch. May and Rhodey are cuddled up against each other, sharing their drink as they watch the screen. The two hit it off during the Christmas party, getting to talk and afterwards keeping up contact. Nobody was really surprised when they went on their first date only a week after the party.

And when Steve comes up on the screen along with all the other Avengers, shaking the host’s hand, he smiles. He can’t not; Steve is just too perfect.

The show is interesting; they ask about what the Avengers have been up to lately, what exactly has been new in their lives, details as to why Iron Man is temporary out of commission (Tony and Pepper put together a statement that they were allowed to share tonight if the subject would come up).

But in between asking for a few of the personal questions – nobody reveals too much, of course – it’s Steve who steals the spotlight when he announces right then on the spot that he’s in a relationship with Tony.

They might have spit out their drinks on the screen, and the bowl of pop-corn might have been dropped on the ground. Nobody would have thought Steve to actually do it.

But at the same time, Tony is glad. There’s no more hiding now, after all. And as he looks at his smiling son next to him, all he feels is pride, happiness. The exact opposite of what he felt precisely one year ago. He’s a father, he’s in a stable relationship, he’s sober and even healthier than before, if possible. If he can get used to the serum inside of him with Peter and Steve’s help, he’s got nothing to complain about.

He’s happy. What more can he even dare ask for?

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