Stephen slowly woke from his deep, dreamless slumber.  His eyes fluttered before they snapped open, darting around the room before landing on the small form of Tony, who was still a baby.

Stephen's sighed shakily, cradling his small, broken body.  His heart had cracked with each injury they found on the toddler, cause each time he wasn't there to stop it.  To protect Tony.

Tony.  My sweet, little Tony.  Stephen curled his body around him, hugging him to his chest.  Tony cooed in his sleep, stirring until coming to rest again.

Stephen closed his eyes, and just soaked him in.  His presence, his warmth, his solid, reassuring weight, and most of all, his small sounds.  Stephen loved listening to Tony's little noises, and after being deprived of them for six days, they were heavenly music to his ears.

Stephen had begged just to hear him, to have some sort of sign of life from the small child.  Each minute that passed without a word on Tony's condition, was a step closer to him completely losing it.  He needed Tony so badly, and he knew Tony needed him too, which didn't help.  He could only think about how much fear, how much pain, how much loneliness, and how much abuse Tony might be enduring.  It broke him.

Stephen hadn't realized he started crying until soft sounds pulled him out of his dark thoughts.  Soft little cooing noises.  Stephen sniffed as his eyes focused on the little being that was the cause of his suffering, and the ultimate remedy for it.

Tony hummed worriedly as he pawed at Stephen's face, trying to wipe away his tears. Stephen outright sobbed at Tony's need to care for him. Even as a baby, Tony needs to make sure he was okay first. He always put others first.

Stephen planted his face in Tony's tiny chest, needing to feel his heart, him breathing, in general needing to know he was alive.  His body shook with silent sobs, his grip on the boy tightened.  Tony let him, burying his face in Stephen's hair.  He cooed softly, nuzzling the dark locks.  Stephen very gently nuzzled his small chest, drawing back a bit to look at him.

Tony babbled then paused, looking down, contemplating something.  He looked back up.

"Sephen,"  Tony whispered.

Stephen's breath shuddered, "T...Tony..."

He was graced with Tony's small smile, the boy leaning into him and nuzzling his throat.

"Sephen," Tony said quietly, content, peaceful.

Stephen hugged him, running his shaking hands up and down his back.

"Tony.  My Tony..." Stephen took a deep breath, and they just stayed there.  Absorbing the other's presence, and breathing each other in.

A slow knock sounded at the door, scaring the shit out of them.  Tony shrunk against Stephen's chest.  If Stephen had hackles, they'd look like they were electrocuted.

"Hey, Stephen, is Tony alright?"  Bruce called out through the door.  Stephen relaxed.

"Yes, he's alright."

"Nightmares?"

"Surprisingly, none."

"I meant both of you."

Stephen froze, unsure of what to say. "None... Both of us..."

Bruce was silent for a split second, "I'm pretty sure you guys could use some food."

Tony perked up a bit at the word food, looking at Stephen with big brown eyes.  Stephen chuckled and got Tony changed into an Iron Man onesie.  "Alright, we're comin'."

Tony burrowed into Stephen's chest when he heard voices, then slowly started to come out when he recognized them. As they entered the dining area, Tony observed who was there. The only faces he didn't recognize out the gate were T'challa's, Loki's, and Bucky's. All three men caught his curious stares. Loki returned it with one of his own. Bucky gave him a sad smile. T'challa gave Tony the Wakanda Forever salute (A/N Which I just did).

Tony liked T'challa out the gate, he smiled at Bucky, which relaxed the super-soldier on many levels. He was a bit uneasy around Loki, but to the God's surprise, he gave him a shy smile. All three of them smiled warmly at the little boy, already developing a soft spot for him.

Stephen was internally cheering, Tony was still willing to open up even after everything. And that was something to celebrate about. Tony was seated in his highchair between Peter and Stephen. On Stephen's, left sat T'challa, and on Peter's right, was Bruce. Tony ate his pieces of fruit happily. Everyone glancing at him with fond looks, Stephen especially. The sorcerer reached over and tickled Tony's face, making the toddler erupt into a giggle fit, also effectively melting the hearts of everyone in the room.

"Who knew Stark could be so damn cute?"  Clint wondered.

"Odin knows, Birdman," Loki replied with a smirk, chuckling when Clint shot him a glare. "You are correct though, Stark is adorable." He added with a fond smile to Tony.

"Indeed, he is precious,"  T'challa replied, gently ruffling Tony's hair, earning a content hum in response from the boy.

Stephen rested his chin in one hand, just watching Tony with a love-filled expression. Tony caught his gaze and returned the look with a small smile. Stephen felt his heart was ready to burst, he picked Tony up and cuddled him. To hell with what the others thought of him.

They just awed over the sight. "That's too cute," Natasha gushed. Stephen ignored them, nuzzling the boy's hair. "Tony." He whispered.

The boy looked up at him, his bright eyes alight with love and happiness.  "Sephen," Tony replied just a tad bit louder.  Clint slapped a hand over his heart, "My heart's gonna explode.  It's too cute!"  He got many replies of agreement.  "I know, right?"  Bucky replied, "I can feel the love from here!"

Stephen had closed his eyes, and so had Tony. Tony cooed quietly, nuzzling Stephen's chest. Stephen knew then and there that his heart had definitely exploded. It had to have, yet he could feel his heart banging against his rib cage.

"I love you, Tony."

"Wuv oo, Sephen."

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A/N: I wanted cute, so hopefully I got it right.  I wanted fluff, hopefully I accomplished that.  So, do you like?

I hope so, I will post more.  Just bare with me, and by the end, we'll have a proper Ironstrange relationship.