#most of my effort in this drawing went into the colouring but hey. funny joke

[skiddlecat]

g-guys.... there's something wrong with my project sekai card 😥😥😥

[willowknee]

Crushes and Crazy Hair-Dying- Will fluff

Title: Crushes and Crazy Hair-Dying People: Will x reader, Gee Nelson Word count: 2,600 Warnings: drinking Songs to listen to: idk Prompt/request: Hey! If you’re not too busy please can I request some fluff with Will? Maybe the reader could be Gee’s new mate and Will gets a crush on her and becomes all awkward? Or whatever you feel like writing haha 😂 thank you xxx A/N: I’m so bloody sorry this took like 3 decades to be written, honestly dunno what happened there. Really bad grammar and punctuation in this I'm so so sorry.

You had met Gee in the most bizarre manner, but you were completely grateful that you did, she honestly was one of the most intelligent people you have ever known and crazily funny to match. It was a random sunny Tuesday, you were sitting in front of the mirror at your mother’s hair dressers, you decided for once to do something bold, you were dying your hair. Not any plain natural colours like you’re used to, no, you were dying your hair a bright colour. You weren’t exactly sure what colour as you told your mom to surprise you, but you were sure it wasn’t any ordinary brown, when out of nowhere one Gee Nelson bursted through the door and let out a cry of despair.

“Look what that monster did to me!” She had cried.

Everyone was looking at her, clearly bewildered but your mom just walked up to her and sat her in the chair beside yours.

“What happened?” Your mom had asked, looking at Gee’s hair which was, well, a complete home hair-dye disaster.

“Bloody Will! He convinced me to let him dye my hair for a video and this is what came of it! Last time I let that man come within five feet of my hair I’m telling you now,” She whined and you had let out a giggle before you could catch yourself. She turned to look at you.

“Is it that bad?” She asked.

You looked again and you knew you couldn’t lie to her.

“Horrendous, but don’t worry, you’re talking to a pro and her legendary daughter, your hair will be salvaged and the world will return to normal,” You proclaimed making her smile.

“I’ll hold you to that,” She said and you both had begun talking non-stop as your mom worked on saving her hair from the disastrous work of this ‘Will’ as you sat waiting for the dye to work it’s magic in your hair.

Six months later you were at her apartment which she shared with Will, but you had never actually met him before, only heard the wacky and wonderous stories about him and his childish antics that he and his friends got up to. Gee had actually sent you the link to his youtuber and you came to find him to actually be pretty funny and you and Gee would share memes over text or on twitter about the videos.

“Oi, Gee! What we feeling today, eh? Lazy and slobbish so we get a maccies, lazy yet somewhat classy so we order Dominos or shall we finally decide to get off our arse and go out for lunch?” You say, walking out the kitchen to where she was sitting on the settee.

“Oh, actually I just got a text from Will, he’s invited me to go for lunch with him and the rest of the boys,”

You smile slightly and hand her the cup that she always uses. “Ah alrighty, no problem. I’ll head out as soon as I’m finished with my drink then, yeah?”

She looks up at you and smiles widely, kind of freaking you out considering it was out of nowhere.

“Why don’t you come with me?!” She exclaims.

“Say what now?”

“No seriously, it will be fun! You get to meet my roommate and the rest of the crazy lot, you’re going to meet eventually when you come along to one of our parties, might as well meet them while you’re sober!”

You thought about it but really you didn’t see why not, it wasn’t like you had a valid reason to decline either, what was the worst that could happen? So, you accepted and after borrowing some of Gee’s clothes and makeup so you didn’t look like an absolute slob walking around in your paint-stained joggers and oversized hoodie, you ended up in front of Nandos where you were to meet everybody.

You both walk in, still mid conversation as you made a joke which had Gee in stitches, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant, including the table of four boys that you were currently walking towards.

“No way, imagine that,” Gee giggles in response to your joke.

You arrive at the table and greet everyone to which they then greet you back in return.

“Hey everyone! This here is my dear friend Y/N, I invited her along so she can meet you weirdos now and get used to you before being exposed to the pure madness you all are once drunk,” Gee explains to which they all protest before simmering down and introducing themselves.

“Hi, I’m James, it’s lovely to meet you,” the one with soft features says, his brown lock slightly messy but it makes him look adorable, despite his unkempt hair he looked well put together and you could tell he put a lot of effort into his appearance.

“I’m George,” the smaller of the lot says with a soft smile, offering his hand for you to shake which you accept and gently shake his hand.

“‘Ello, I’m Alex,” the one adorning a bright pink jumper with a slogan you couldn’t quite read says, you smile and give him a small wave before turning to the last boy when your breath catches in your throat.

First of all, Will was far more attractive in person compared to in his videos or the pictures Gee has shown you, his hair mainly hidden underneath his beanie but his fringe was poking out, exposing the silky brown locks that looked soft to touch. His brown eyes looking at you, slightly widened and his mouth slightly left ajar. Was he okay? Was there something on your face? George nudges him and he looks like he broke out a trance before smiling widely.

“Hey, I’m Will,” He says, the big voice you’re used to hearing in his videos weren’t present, instead a gentle and soothing voice replaced it.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you all, I watch all of your videos and think they’re brilliant,” You compliment, sliding into the booth so you’re sat next to Gee and across from Will.

A chorus of ‘thank you’ made its rounds and you smiled at them all and began to engage in animated conversations, your arms flailing wildly as you retell the story about the time you met Gee, Will’s face becoming flushed which you found utterly adorable.

Few hours later your food was long finished but you were still sitting in the restaurant with your drinks talking to everyone as if you had been friends with these people for years.

“I need to pop to the loo, come with me?” Gee asks you.

You nod in confirmation and tell everyone you’ll be right back before walking with Gee into the toilets, lifting yourself up to sit on the counter.

“So, how’s meeting everyone?” She asks through a stall door.

“They’re absolutely lovely,” you exclaim, turning to look at your reflection in the mirror.

“Have a liking to anyone in particular?” She asks in a suggestive tone, which makes you look at the stall door through the mirror in confusion.

“I don’t know… a certain Northern lad with brown hair, brown eyes and has been looking at you like a lost puppy for the past three hours.”

Your heart leaped at the thought of Will looking at you while you were busy talking to others, not realising.

“I-“

“Was staring at him too, you’re not subtle either of you,”

You stumble for words while Gee laughs softly, walking out the stall and over to the sinks to wash her hands. You look down at her and curse her for being so observant.

“He’s cute… and funny, doesn’t necessarily mean I have a liking to him, if we’re going by those two adjectives then I must have a liking to everyone sitting at that table. Including you.”

“Oh come off it, you know you like Will, stop being a big baby and admit it,”

“I literally met him three hours ago, this isn’t a Disney film I can’t fall in love with him and accept his hand in marriage just because we’ve got a mutual attraction,”

Gee nods and smiles.

“You wanna marry him, huh?”

You nudge her and shake your head. Both of you head out and back to the table before noticing everyone’s getting up and leaving, you notice you still have almost a full glass of beer so you decide to neck it in one, eliciting whoops and hollers from

everyone and you laugh and shyly wipe away the froth from your face.

Everyone begins to head out but you hang back,

not wanting to have to walk fast so as to not get trampled on.

“Are you coming to the party this weekend?”

You turn your head and see Will standing next to you, looking sheepish which makes you smile.

“I believe I am, yes, Gee would have my head else,” you joke which makes him laugh.

“She is a fiesty one I’ll give you that,”

“Too right she is, damn woman frightens me,”

You both laugh and continue the journey back to Will’s and Gee’s apartment, joking with each other the entire way there. Gee joins in at some point but soon dips to talk to everyone else since you were walking too slowly for her liking.

Once back at theirs you all play a few rounds of fifa which you were absolutely shit at which Will spares no effort to remind you of that, but soon it’s time for you to go home since you still have to clean your apartment and get some studying done.

“See you on Saturday yeah?” Will shouts which you smile and nod at in agreement.

“It’s a date.” You say before walking out the door with a wave.

Will sits there, mouth agape. He turns his head to Gee and points to the door.

“She said it’s a date,”

“It’s not like you had the balls to do it,” she comments before standing up and walking towards the stairs, discreetly watching Will

dance around happily with a smile.

Saturday came around faster than you thought it would, although it seems like it took forever because you are looking forward to seeing Will again. You’ve been texting non-stop since you all went out for that meal but you haven’t had the time to go and meet them, so you are excited for tonight. You want to make sure you looked amazing.

Grabbing your clothes and makeup you shove them into your bag alongside some alcohol for pre-drinks that you had promised. You drive to Gee’s and Will’s to get ready with her while listening to a playlist you had created sometime ago, you had suddenly remembered the password to your Spotify and decided to reminisce with some old tunes.

The drive seems quicker with the music accompanying you and you find yourself walking towards the apartment building and soon enough, you’re knocking on their door.

“Come in~!” You hear from inside.

“Gee!” You greet as you walk up to her and give her a hug.

“Let’s go get ready! We’re late enough as it is!”

Getting ready goes without a hitch, no mental breakdowns, no wardrobe malfunctions and even your makeup goes on well. It’s almost as if things were perfect. Maybe too perfect.

“It’s time to partyyy~” Gee squeals down your ear excitedly.

It turns out the party has moved from Will’s and Gee’s apartment to George and Alex’s because of their next-door neighbours, which explains when Gee walks past she sticks two fingers up in payback and squeals with laughter all the way to the elevator.

You giggle at her childish antics and balance yourself in the lift, cursing yourself for not eating before you both began pre-drinks. You eventually end up at the party, after multiple trips and snapchat videos of each other acting a complete fool. “We are here!” Gee shouted as she threw open the front door. There was a massive roar of ‘welcome’ as you both stumble your way deeper into the apartment. You found the usual friendship group aka the Nandos Lot, and you smiled brightly and you wave enthusiastically at everyone, genuinely happy to see each and every one of them.

“Y/N! Glad you came!” Alex chimes, coming for a hug, which everyone else shortly repeats, not wanting to feel left out.

Everyone but Will, that was, who was sheepishly stood to the side, when he noticed you were looking at him expectantly, arms open, his eyes widen as he began stuttering something about needing a drink before running off towards the kitchen. You shrug his odd behaviour off and began looking for a drink, you quickly whip up a concoction and then after you down the entirety of your red solo cup, you walk back to your friends, grab the closest pair of hands and walk into the middle where the make-shift dance floor was.

Dancing freely to the music blasting through the speakers and barely being concealed through the wide walls of the boy’s apartment, you smile up to your dancing partner and to your pleasant surprise you see Will looking at you in bewilderment.

“Come on! I didn’t drag you here to stand there! Dance with me!” After a lot of convincing and a couple dozen shots, Will finally calmed down and began dancing with you, you both started to have a really enjoyable time. You began to notice how he seemed to have a childish glint to his eyes while drunk, he looked really happy and carefree this way. You loved the way he was constantly smiling and let out a rupture of laughs at your choice of dance moves and even his silliness when he took you up on your offer of a dance battle.

“You should be like this sober! You’re so much fun to be around!” You exclaim, grabbing his hands as you try to twirl around to which he aids you with, not bothering to stop twirling you which makes your head spin.

“I would but I always end up makin’ myself look like a right tit in front of the lass i have a crush on,” he explains, nonchalantly, seemingly not realising what he was saying.

You stop twirling and look at him as much as you could, the alcohol and the twirling wasn’t the greatest mix when you were looking for stability,

“You have a crush on me?” You ask in surprise.

Who would have thought. Will fucking Lenney had a crush on you. Of all people. You were ready to scream with excitement when his eyes bugged out, he looked scared and began to curse himself under the sun for his slip.

“Naw- fuck, I just meant that- no, I-” He began tripping over his words and you giggle over how cute he was.

You raise yourself onto your tip-toe and give him a shy peck on the lips, it only lasted a short few seconds, but it left your lips tingling and you smile wide at him.

“Will, I like you too, dummy,”

He smiles one of the most gorgeous smiles you have seen like ever, and shyly pulls you closer to him.

“How’d ya feel about ditching and coming back to mine? We can watch a movie and get to know each other more,”

You giggle at that.

“Sure, let’s play two truths, one lie, for each wrong answer we take a shot, for every right answer, you get a kiss,” you proclaim with a smile.

“You’re fuckin on, Love.”

[hymn2000]

Chiquitita - MCU AU fanfic - C7

Story summary: Something strange is happening. Someone from space has made their way to Earth, armed with a strange weapon. Targeting teenagers, their ray gun, when fired, turns the victim into a toddler. The Avengers set out to stop this, and find a way to reverse the effects. However, they don’t all come out of the battle unscathed.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: de-aging, family stuff, corporal punishment (early chapters only), mental health stuff, hurt/comfort

Chapter 7 -  Only A Week Since We Started

-

By Saturday, Loki was feeling completely burned out. He’d been looking after Peter pretty much on his own for almost a week, and he was exhausted. In some ways, it was getting easier: he knew Peter’s quirks and he’d figured out a routine for him. But he and Tony barely talked, and Tony was still essentially pretending all this wasn’t happening. It was easy to feel isolated, even with a talkative toddler around.

-

Loki’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey Loki. It’s Clint”

“Oh!”

“I said I’d call in about a week. How’s it going?”

“Ah” Loki said, glancing over at Peter, who was busy scribbling on an old newspaper with wax crayons. “Well. Peter’s doing ok. He seems healthy and happy enough”

“And Tony?”

Loki went quiet. He wasn’t sure how to put it.

“That bad, eh?” Clint said. 

“He’s been awful” Loki said. “I’ve never seen him like this”

“What, is he panicking?”

“A bit”

“What’s he been like? Giving the kid coffee? Refusing to stick to bedtime?”

“I’d prefer that, honestly” Loki sighed heavily. “He’s been useless. He’s basically ignored Peter all week. He won’t do anything for him. He won’t help put him to bed or bath him, he won’t play with him, he won’t hug him. Heck, he won’t even talk to him most of the time. It’s upsetting Peter, and it’s upsetting me. I want to kill him”

“You’re joking, right?”

“I wish I was” Loki said grimly. “I’ve barely seen him. I honestly don’t know what I can do about it. I’m going to burn out, and if that happens, where does that leave Peter?”

“You’ve got people who will help, but Tony needs to step up”

“I know, but it doesn’t matter what I say, he won’t put in the effort. For the first few days he wouldn’t even cook for him. He’s got better there; he’s been cooking in the evenings, making stuff Peter can eat, but that’s about it. He won’t do anything for him directly”

“Can I offer some advice?” 

Loki sighed. “Sure. I suppose it couldn’t hurt”

“You need to give him a good kick. Metaphorically speaking” Clint said. “You’ve gotta force him into it”

“And how exactly do you suggest I do that?”

“Don’t give him any choice in the matter” Clint said. “Find him, tell him that tonight, you’re having some time for yourself, and so he’ll need to look after Peter”

“I don’t think that will go down too well”

“Doesn’t matter. Let him whine and bitch about it, but keep to your word. Don’t step in at all after you’ve gone off for your me time. Don’t give him any option but to step up and be a dad” 

Loki thought for a moment. “Would that work?”

“Only one way to find out” Clint said. “There’s no reason for you to act single parent. So, Tony being a twat aside, how’s parenting a toddler going?”

“Being a parent is hard, I always knew that, but parenting a toddler is hard in a different way. It’s a whole different ball game. He’s not a bad kid. He’s a wiggly little thing, but he’s not so mischievous as I expected. He’s quite good, really. He’s really funny” Loki laughed slightly. “He’s a strange little thing, but he’s so cute. Unbelievably cute. He’s always laughing”

“Aww, I’m glad he’s well-behaved. No major incidents then? Any spider powers?”

“Thankfully not!” Loki said. “I don’t know how I’d cope with a toddler who could literally climb walls. I don’t know why he doesn’t have the powers, but, well, he doesn’t. As for incidents... Well. He ruined a box of bath salts, and he made an almighty mess of his room after that first night, but thankfully those are the main ones so far. He’s quite easy to distract with his rocket and a DVD, fortunately. All the other things that have gone wrong are just general kids stuff, I think, or errors on my part”

“Bless! He did look mighty cute cuddled up to that rocket when I saw him. So, what does he fuss about? All mine hated something at that age. How is he with baths?”

“Well, we nearly had a disaster the first time, but I invested in a non-slip mat, so we’ve had no repeats. But no, he’s fine with baths. He likes playing with his little boats and ducks. He’s not a huge fan of bedtime, though” Loki stopped a moment. “Ah. Maybe I shouldn’t give Tony that kick”

“Don’t turn into a pushover now, Loki. Tony’s more than capable of putting your kid to bed. He’ll have to learn somehow. He’ll probably be fine and know exactly what to when he’s in the situation, even if he insists beforehand that he doesn’t know what he’s doing. What if Peter’s a toddler for six months? Do you really want to struggle through everything on your own?”

“Mm, good point” Loki sighed. “I’ll do it. I’m just exhausted after this week”

“Where’s the kid now?”

“He’s in here with me”

“What’s he doing?”

“Drawing on a newspaper. I ought to get him some notebooks or colouring books... He doesn’t have much to do, Clint, and that worries me. Tony didn’t want to listen when I mentioned about getting him more toys. He’s got his cuddlies, and his bath toys, but that’s about it. He’s going to get bored soon”

“Yeah, and a bored toddler is a nightmare toddler, believe me. Can’t you go and get him stuff yourself? Or order stuff online?”

“I’d like to let him choose. Plus, it’d annoy Tony. And more importantly, I can’t really get there”

“What, the big toy shops?”

“Well, I can get there, but you really need a car if you’re buying lots of things, and I’ve not got a license for Tony’s motors: only my motorbike. I can’t exactly stick Peter on that. I need Tony helping”

“When Tony’s settled and started pulling his weight, get onto him about it”

“It might be ages. I don’t know if he’ll step up”

Clint cleared his throat. “Hey, can I visit? I’ll bring him something to play with if Tony’s still being a dick in a couple of days”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I’m not too sure about having visitors while things are so tense here: it might just make Tony kick off more” 

“Ok, well, keep me updated. I care about the kid; we all do” Clint said. “I mean what I said: I’ll help. Give Peter a little hug from me, ok?”

“I will. Listen, thanks for checking in. I do appreciate it. It’s been very isolating, this week”

“Yeah, I get it” Clint said. “It must be weird, losing all those conversations and jokes you had with Peter. Before the whole ray gun thing. And being on bad terms with Tony? You two are always so close; it’s weird thinking about you two being annoyed at each other. Kick him into gear tonight, and it’ll be fine”

“I’ll give it a good go. I’d enjoy an evening reading and an early night or something like that. Tony’s going to have to sort himself out sooner or later. I’ve already had to blow off the hospital”

“What, really?!”

“Yes, I rang them, and of course they know what’s happened, but I told them anyway, and said I wouldn’t be in for the foreseeable future. I had a feeling Tony wouldn’t be up to looking after a child he’d been ignoring while I disappeared in my scrubs... Clint, if I tell you something, it stays between us, doesn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, definitely. I still value my life” 

Loki laughed slightly. “Good. Now, this is going to sound really bad, and it’s nothing I’ve ever thought before, but... Right now? I don’t trust Tony with Peter”

Clint was quiet for a moment. “I don’t blame you. You’re both scared. See how you feel tomorrow morning. Force Tony to take the reins for tonight. Say goodnight to Peter, and make yourself scarce for the evening. And report back to me: I wanna know if my idea pays off”

“Ok, ok. I’ll do it, for myself as well as the family"

“Good. Kick that stubborn bastard into shape. He’s a good dad. Make him remember that”

Loki nodded. “Yeah, yeah, he can’t slack off forever”

“Daddy, daddy!” Peter was suddenly in front of him, tugging at his trouser leg. “Daddy!”

“Hold on a second, Clint” Loki lowered the phone. “What’s the matter, chick?”

“Thirsty! I need a drink” 

“Ok sweetheart, just a second” he put the phone back to his ear. “I’ve got to go”

“I heard. You get off. Talk to you later”

“Yes, talk to you later. Goodbye”

“Bye!”

He put the phone down, and picked Peter up, giving him a cuddle.

“This is from Uncle Clint” he said. “He told me to give you a hug from him”

“Oh!” Peter giggled. “Uncle Clint!”

“He might come for a visit in a few days” Loki said, setting Peter down, standing up, and taking his hand. “Let’s go and get you a drink, little pal”

“Apple juice!”

“I don’t think we’ve got any left, darling” Loki said. “How about something else? How about... chocolate milkshake?”

“Wow! Yes please!”

Loki smiled, squeezing Peter’s hand. “Ok, chicken. Let’s get you sorted”

-

Loki put Peter down for his nap, and then went to find Tony. 

“Hello, gorgeousness” Tony said. “What’s up?”

“I’m having some time to myself tonight” Loki said. “After tea, the evenings mine”

“Ok” Tony said. 

“Which means you’ll have to look after Peter” Loki continued. “Give him his bath and put him to bed and stuff”

“Right”

Loki nodded. “Right. Ok. Good. I’ll see you in a bit”

“See you in a bit”

-

Loki was true to his word. Once he’d finished eating, he put the dirty plates and cutlery by the sink, and put the kettle on. He made himself a mug of tea, and shoved a packet of chocolate chip shortbread into his pocket. 

“Right, that’s me” he said.

“What?!” Tony said. “What do you mean?”

“Well, like I said earlier; I’m having an evening to myself” he kissed Tony on the cheek, and gave Peter a little cuddle. “Goodnight, chick. You be good for daddy”

“Wait, Loki-”

“Remember he needs his bath tonight. Goodnight, darlings. See you in the morning” Loki trilled, and he swept out of the room quickly.

Tony froze, looking at the tiny boy diagonally across from him at the breakfast bar. The little boy looked back at him. Tony stood up quickly and went over to the sink, turning the taps on. He watched the water gushing into the washing up bowl, and heard a thump. He spun round quickly, and found that Peter had fallen off his seat while trying to get down. The little boy started howling. 

“LOKI?!” Tony called, but of course received no answer. 

Tony bit his lip, unsure what to do. He knew one thing; he couldn’t deal with that squealing. He went over to the boy, standing above him.

“Are you going to stay there all night?” 

Peter just kept crying. He had a red mark on his forehead where he’d hit the tiles. Tony hoicked the boy up with an arm round the chest, and marched off to the room with the reading nook.

Loki glared at him when he came in.

“He’s hit his head” Tony said, thrusting the boy at him. 

Tony turned on his heel. Loki thrust a hand out quickly, and the door slammed shut.

“Don’t you dare walk away” Loki hissed. He looked back at Peter. “Let’s have a little look at you, sweetheart”

He checked Peter’s head, and after a little kiss and a cuddle, the boy stopped crying. Loki kissed him once more, and then stood up, putting Peter back in Tony’s arms. 

“There. Now, if you’d happily excuse me, I’d like to be left undisturbed for the rest of the night”

-

Tony put Peter down at the first opportunity. Peter found his rocket and quite happily played in the kitchen while Tony was doing the washing up. Tony took his time, wondering how dire the consequences would be if he simply put the toddler in with Loki and locked himself in the lab for the rest of the night. But Loki had been cross with him all week anyway, and he didn’t really want to risk a major fight. And he supposed there was no harm in his husband having a quiet evening. At least, he couldn’t think of any good reason to pull him out of it. He certainly couldn’t say he had to help look after the kid, not after he himself hadn’t done anything of the sort ever since the accident. That wasn’t ideal.

-

Once Tony had finished sorting the kitchen, he turned to the little boy. Peter had gotten hold of a wooden spoon, and was busy pushing his rocket round the kitchen with it.

“Loki- uh, daddy said you need a bath tonight” Tony said, not quite looking at the boy. 

Peter stopped what he was doing. “Why?”

Tony shrugged. “He just did. Probably better to get it over and done with. Come on”

Peter dropped the spoon and picked up his rocket. 

“Uh. Right. Let’s- let’s go to your room, to your bathroom” Tony said. 

“Why?”

“Because it’s bath time”

“Why?”

“Because it is. Stop asking silly questions and come with me”

Peter trotted after him, humming happily to himself. He stood bouncing on the balls of his feet when they got to the en suite, watching Tony. Tony didn’t feel great. He was kind of nervous. He’d bathed Peter before - big Peter. He wasn’t sure how different it would be bathing a toddler. He’d avoided him a lot, and he hadn’t talked much with Loki, so he wasn’t sure if he was a pain in the arse or not. He looked at the kiddie toiletries lined up on the edge of the bath. He looked at the duck-patterned anti-slip mat in the bath. He looked at the little basket of bath toys on the floor by the bath. He sighed, put the plug in, and turned the taps on. 

“I need a wee”

Tony turned round. “What?”

“I SAID, I need a WEE!”

“Oh. Uhh, ok, I’ll step out for a moment” Tony said, and wasted no time in doing so. 

He looked down at his feet as he stood outside the bathroom. He looked around the room. It was still Peter’s, with the big elephant and the trophies and photos and the school satchel in the corner. But along with all the normal Peter things, there were the two boxes of kids clothes. There were tiny slippers by the bed, tiny pyjamas folded at the end of it, a kids blanket, a tiny dressing gown hanging over the normal one on the back of the bedroom door, wax crayons littered on the floor, and a sippy cup on the bedside table. It was still all so strange and scary and weird. 

-

Peter started chattering to Tony when he came back into the en suite and turned the bath taps off. Tony didn’t really listen to anything he was saying, too deep in thought, still not entirely accepting what had happened to his son.

“Bath’s ready” he said.

Peter put his rocket down, and peered over the edge of the bath.

“There’s no snow” he said, plunging his arms into the water.

“Hey! You’ve still got your shirt on!” Tony snapped, pulling him back. “Yuck. You’ve absolutely soaked yourself”

Peter didn’t seem to care. He picked his rocket back up. Tony sighed irritably. 

“Whatever. Get your clothes off”

“What about my rocket?”

“What about it?��

“He needs to go on his launch pad”

Tony blinked at him. “What?”

“His launch pad! Up there!” Peter pointed at the soap dish. 

It took a moment for him to click. He took the toy rocket, and put it up on the soap dish. Peter smiled happily. 

“Right. Clothes”

“Um...”

Peter looked down at himself, shuffling on his feet. Tony sighed.

“What?”

Peter blinked at him. Tony sighed again, and tugged the boys clothes off impatiently. Peter squeaked and whined.

“Stop whimpering” Tony said. “It’s only a bath”

“It’s a rubbish bath! It doesn’t even have any snow!”

Tony ignored him. He grabbed the boy under the arms and put him into the bath. Peter squawked at him. 

“Too hot!”

“Don’t be silly”

“IT’S TOO HOT!!” Peter yelled, trying to scramble out of the bath. “TOO HOT, TOO HOT, TOO HOT!!!”

Tony growled in annoyance, grabbing the boy and plonking him down on the bathroom mat. He turned the cold tap back on.

“Stop squeaking”

“TOO HOT!”

“You’re not even in it anymore” Tony grumbled, sticking his hand into the bath.

Hmm. It was quite hot further down. Maybe it really was too hot for the little tyke. He kept the cold water running until he was sure it had cooled throughout, and then he turned the tap off.

“Right, it’s not hot now” he said, taking hold of Peter.

Peter squealed. “No! No, don’t want to! Too hot, too hot!”

“I’ve just put cold in it!” Tony said, forcing the wriggling toddler back into the water.

Peter still squealed a moment longer, but then went quiet when he realised it wasn’t too hot anymore. Tony grabbed a beaker and filled it from the bath. He put a hand on Peter’s forehead, shielding his eyes, tipped his head back, and poured the water over his head. Peter squeaked indignantly, bringing his little hands down on the surface of the water, splashing Tony.

“Hey!” Tony said, drawing back. “Don’t do that!”

Peter did it again. And again. Tony grabbed his wrists.

“I said don’t!”

Peter shook his head vigorously, spraying Tony with water that way. Tony let go of him, grabbing a towel to dry his face and dab ineffectively at his damp shirt. 

“Thanks for that” he grumbled. “I need to wash you, so stay still”

“No! Staying still is boring!”

Tony glared at him, and then remembered the little box of bath toys. He took the big yellow rubber duck from the top, and handed it to the toddler.

“Here”

Peter took it in both hands, and promptly stuck its beak in his mouth. He went quiet, looking up at Tony with his big puppy-dog eyes.

“Aww” Tony said, before he could stop himself. “You’re actually kinda sweet when you’re quiet...”

Peter didn’t say anything. Tony hesitantly reached out, shielding the boys eyes with his hand again and tipping his head back.

“Stay still, ok?”

“Ok, daddy” Peter said, a little indistinct as he was still chewing on his toy.

Tony poured another cup of water over the boys head, and then reached for the bottle of shampoo. Peter was good while Tony washed his hair, distracted by the duck, which was still in his mouth. He whined a little when Tony rinsed the suds, but he didn’t make a big fuss. Tony breathed out in relief.

“There” Tony said, letting go of the boy and setting the beaker down. “Uhh. Right...” 

He picked up the new sponge and body wash. He could feel Peter watching him, which was a little off-putting. Maybe this was the bit of the bath the boy didn’t like. Tony prepared himself for screaming and squeaking and shouting, and began to wash the boy. 

Peter didn’t scream. He didn’t squeak, and he didn’t shout. He stayed perfectly quiet, letting himself be washed, and staring up at his dad intently. 

“There, that was ok, wasn’t it?” Tony said, once he’d finished. 

Peter took the ducks beak out of his mouth. “Yep”

“Yeah... Ok. Uh...” he looked at the bottles by the bath, thinking. “What else do we need to do?”

“Play”

Tony looked at him. “What?” 

“Play!” Peter repeated. “I wanna play!”

“Oh. Uh, well, I guess that’s ok..” he picked up a plastic boat and a rubber fish from the basket, and put them in the water. 

“I need another boat”

Tony gave him one, and then unfolded the little old folding chair and sat on it. He watched Peter playing. It was quite funny to see his little game, and hear the different voices he gave the different toys. Tony still didn’t exactly want to be there, but at least he had a relatively good kid to look after, and not a total screaming nightmare. He just had to get through the evening, and then the responsibility would be back over to Loki.

-

Tony hoicked Peter out of the bath and wrapped a towel round him. 

“Ok, right. I think it’s bedtime next”

“No it’s not!” Peter said. 

“Isn’t it?”

Peter shook his head. “It’s too early!”

Tony checked his watch. “Mm. I thought it was later, since we had that early tea. Uh. Maybe you should get into your pyjamas anyway”

“I wanna play”

“Right. Pyjamas first. So, uh, we need to get you dry”

He knelt down, taking the towel from round the boy and using it to rub him dry. Peter whined and wriggled a bit, especially while Tony was doing his hair. Tony tried to ignore him. He dragged a comb through the boys hair, which Peter made clear he hated, and then he released him, standing up.

“There, that’ll do” Tony said. “Now, uh, you stay here”

“Why??” Peter whined, still a little cross about how rough Tony had been while doing his hair. 

“I need to find you some pyjamas”

“Oh” Peter said, thinking for a moment. “I wanna wear the teddy one!” 

Tony remembered it. “Right”

“I need my rocket”

“Not until you’re decent”

“What does that mean?”

“Clothed” Tony said. “Stay right there; I’ll just be a minute”

Peter looked round the bathroom while Tony was gone. Other daddy always got out the big bottle of powder after baths, so Peter thought he’d help this daddy and find it. The trouble was, Peter couldn’t see it anywhere. It must be in the other room. The bathroom door had been left ajar, so he slipped out into the bedroom.

“Hey, I told you to stay put!” Tony snapped. 

“But it’s not in there!”

“What’s not in there?”

“The bottle”

“What bottle?!” Tony asked, starting to get agitated. 

“The big bottle of soft snow!”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about”

Peter pouted, jumping about and trying to see if it was on the top of one of his cabinets.

“For gods sake, stop thumping about like that! Come here; let’s get this on you”

“But what about the SNOW?!”

Tony took a very deep breath, and cleared his throat. “Tell me about this ‘snow’”

“Daddy uses it after bath time” Peter said. “It’s soft and white and makes you look all pale”

“Oh!” Tony said, clicking. “I think you mean baby powder”

He spotted the bottle on top of one of the cabinets, and took it down. He showed it to Peter.

“This?”

Peter nodded. “Soft snow!”

“Right. Uh, I don’t really think... Ok, powder and then pyjamas, I suppose”

“I wanna be a teddy bear!”

“Whatever, just hold still for a minute”

Tony still felt like he had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He never used talc himself, so he wasn’t sure how much to use. As it happened, he ended up using far too much. Peter found it hilarious. He giggled like anything, clapping his little hands and dancing on his little feet.

“Snowstorm, snowstorm, snowstorm!” he chanted.

“Yeah, we’ll not use so much next time” Tony said, closing the bottle of powder and putting it back where he’d found it. “Right, uh, pyjamas”

“TEDDY BEAR!”

“Keep your voice down! Ok, teddy bear” he quickly found the onesie. “Ok, lets get you into this”

“TEDDY B-”

“Hey, I said keep your voice down! Now zip it”

Peter blinked at him, and stayed quiet while Tony got him into his nightclothes. Tony put the toddlers hood up.

“Oh wow. You’re... You’re really cute, aren’t you?”

“Guess what time it is!”

Tony blinked at him. “What?”

“Bear hug time!” Peter giggled, stretching his arms out. 

Tony looked at him, at this funny little toddler with bright eyes and fluffy damp curls. Slowly, he held his arms out, and the toddler fell into them, giggling happily. He hesitated, and then held him close. He felt so tiny. He was small and soft and sweet - but this wasn’t the person Tony had adopted, and Tony couldn’t shake that thought. He let go of the toddler quickly.

“Go play for a bit before bed” he said, standing up.

“Ok!” Peter grinned. “Can I have my rocket now?”

Tony went into the bathroom, grabbing the rocket toy and taking it back to him. Peter took it, hugging it to his chest, giggling.

“Thank you!”

Tony swallowed. “Right. Let’s go to the living room. You can play in there for a while”

Peter held his hand out to Tony. 

“You don’t need me holding your hand” Tony said, not quite looking at him. “You can just follow me”

Peter didn’t let it phase him. He just nodded, and trotted along with his rocket, making his funny little rocket noises. Tony tried not to look at him, tried not to listen to him. He felt all mixed up and weird, and he didn’t like it, not one bit.

-

Peter played quite boisterously. Tony didn’t really pay any attention. He flicked through the camera roll on his phone distractedly, looking at pictures of Peter - teenage Peter, his Peter - and feeling very lost indeed. 

By the time Tony was brought out of his deep thoughts, it was nearly nine o’ clock. He looked at the toddler, who was still playing, but quietly now. He was looking very sleepy. 

“I think it’s bedtime” Tony said.

Peter looked up, nodding. He looked incredibly cute, and Tony found he couldn’t deny that - or the warm feeling in his chest when he looked at him. He lifted the boy into his arms, rubbing his back gently.

“I think you’ve tired yourself out”

“I’m not a bit tired” Peter yawned.

“You just keep telling yourself that”

Tony carried him to his room. He pulled the covers back, and carefully set him down in the middle of the bed, wary that he might fall out if he put him on one side of the bed instead. Peter looked up at him, his little nose wrinkling as he yawned again. He cuddled up with his rocket.

“There we go” Tony said, tucking the covers round him. 

“Daddy?”

“Shh. It’s time to sleep”

“Daddy, I love you”

Tony looked at him, really looked at him. He could really see his Peter in this little boy, and that made the whole thing all the more difficult. He was gentle, and cute, and Tony hated that. He didn’t want to accept what had happened. He wanted his son back, his fifteen year old son. But now he had this toddler. He’d secretly been quite proud of himself for managing to avoid him as long as he did. But now he was face to face with him. He’d had to look after him, watch him play, get him washed and into his pyjamas and into bed, actually interact with him and see what he was like. And as much as he hated to admit it, he knew this little kid was weaseling his way into his heart. He didn’t feel ready for that. He hadn’t adopted a toddler - how could he possible parent one? How could he act like he hadn’t lost his little boy? Ok, so he was still here, physically (although small), but he wasn’t here in any other way. He’d been right to fear Kindsprengens gun. 

He swallowed, and very gently kissed the toddler on the forehead.

“Go to sleep”

-

Loki was just coming out of his en suite, towel round his shoulders, when Tony came into his bedroom. Loki sighed, assuming he was going to try to rope him back into childcare.

“Hi”

Tony’s eyes welled with tears. Loki looked at him, and saw that his shoulders had started to shake.

“Tony?! Oh Tony, hey! Oh darling!”

He put his hands on Tony’s shoulders. Tony threw his arms round Loki, burying his face in his shoulder. Loki hesitated, surprised, and then held him tight.

“Oh darling” Loki said, resting his head against Tony’s. “What is it? It’s ok; I’ve got you”

Tony couldn’t speak. He clung to Loki desperately, and he sobbed and sobbed, and sobbed.

*