A: Daddy Issues
Fandom: Avengers (2012)
Main characters: Tony, Steve
Referenced characters: Howard
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Contains: AU, genderswitch, sap
Rating: G
Summary: Antonia Stark wonders how she gets herself into these things.
Notes: Inspired by a kid on the bus. He was so cute and so serious. He had Tony's hair and eyes, though. And thus this was born. As is not-unusual for me, this features Tony-was-always-a-girl.
Antonia is looking down at the black mop of her baby's hair. That, he gets from her; no question. But the earnest look on his face, even as an hour old baby, that has to come from Steve. She's seen baby photos of herself, howling and inelegant and battering at the air with her tiny fists. But this baby just looks up at her solemnly.
"How on earth did I get here?" she asks, holding him close all the same, like someone might take him away.
All too easily, is the answer. All her life she'd been hearing about Captain Steve Rogers -- her father too familiar with him to call him what everyone else did, showing off his personal intimacy with the man, though Tony has no idea how well he might've known Steve -- and she'd been primed for this, primed to think of him as the archetype of male beauty, the best example of manhood. She cringes just thinking those words in the relative silence of her own head, but it's true all the same. Steve's not just the best man in the world, he's the best human, as Tony would tell her father now, if she could.
No wonder she was never quite good enough.
"Tony," Steve says, quietly, like he can see where her memories are taking her. His hand is on her arm, heavy and warm, grounding. He looks at her -- he looks at her like --
Tony looks down at the baby in her arms; black hair and huge eyes and tiny little hands that reach out for her, for Steve. She presses a fingertip to the baby's palm, feels his fingers curl around hers. And Steve is still looking at her -- at her and at their baby -- like they're the centre of the world.
She's seen good parenting at work, but only from afar. Still, she thinks that that look is part of it, and she looks down at her baby and resolves that he will never for a second believe that he's not good enough.
(And catching Steve's glance again, his smile, a part of her knows that she will never feel that way again either.)
This was originally posted here, on Dreamwidth. I would prefer people to comment and subscribe to me there, if you already have an account; I'll happily share Dreamwidth invites, if you want to make an account. Comments aren't disabled here on LJ, though.
Main characters: Tony, Steve
Referenced characters: Howard
Pairing: Steve/Tony
Contains: AU, genderswitch, sap
Rating: G
Summary: Antonia Stark wonders how she gets herself into these things.
Notes: Inspired by a kid on the bus. He was so cute and so serious. He had Tony's hair and eyes, though. And thus this was born. As is not-unusual for me, this features Tony-was-always-a-girl.
Antonia is looking down at the black mop of her baby's hair. That, he gets from her; no question. But the earnest look on his face, even as an hour old baby, that has to come from Steve. She's seen baby photos of herself, howling and inelegant and battering at the air with her tiny fists. But this baby just looks up at her solemnly.
"How on earth did I get here?" she asks, holding him close all the same, like someone might take him away.
All too easily, is the answer. All her life she'd been hearing about Captain Steve Rogers -- her father too familiar with him to call him what everyone else did, showing off his personal intimacy with the man, though Tony has no idea how well he might've known Steve -- and she'd been primed for this, primed to think of him as the archetype of male beauty, the best example of manhood. She cringes just thinking those words in the relative silence of her own head, but it's true all the same. Steve's not just the best man in the world, he's the best human, as Tony would tell her father now, if she could.
No wonder she was never quite good enough.
"Tony," Steve says, quietly, like he can see where her memories are taking her. His hand is on her arm, heavy and warm, grounding. He looks at her -- he looks at her like --
Tony looks down at the baby in her arms; black hair and huge eyes and tiny little hands that reach out for her, for Steve. She presses a fingertip to the baby's palm, feels his fingers curl around hers. And Steve is still looking at her -- at her and at their baby -- like they're the centre of the world.
She's seen good parenting at work, but only from afar. Still, she thinks that that look is part of it, and she looks down at her baby and resolves that he will never for a second believe that he's not good enough.
(And catching Steve's glance again, his smile, a part of her knows that she will never feel that way again either.)
This was originally posted here, on Dreamwidth. I would prefer people to comment and subscribe to me there, if you already have an account; I'll happily share Dreamwidth invites, if you want to make an account. Comments aren't disabled here on LJ, though.