Alright, so I've already written one Baby Steve fanfic, but I couldn't resist doing another one where Steve is a bit younger for a little while. Hope you all enjoy!

Five Avengers and a Baby - Chapter 1

The Avengers had been sent out on a top secret mission and weren't due back for at least another day. Pepper decided to take full advantage of the rare peace and quiet and is working at her desk at the Tower. She's about to take a break when she hears the elevator ding from the living area. After the familiar whoosh of the elevator doors opening comes a very unfamiliar sound: a baby crying. Pepper's heart sinks and she rushes into the living area.

"What happened?" Pepper gasps when she sees the Avengers congregated in the kitchen. Bruce, Thor, and Natasha are collapsed on top of the chairs in front of the breakfast bar while Clint leans on the counter with his forehead resting on his arms. They're all filthy and exhausted and there are two Avengers missing. She searches for Tony and Steve while trying to find where the crying is coming from. "Are you all alright? Where are Steve and Tony? Why is there a baby crying?"

"Tony," Clint calls half-heartedly without bothering to lift his forehead from the counter.

"What did you do?" Pepper's face shifts from concern to stress when she turns around to look at Tony with a dirty, ratty blanket in his arms.

"We had a little….incident on our mission today," Tony confesses.

"What kind of….incident?" Pepper dares to ask when more muffled cries come from the blanket. She can put two and two together, but she needs to hear it from Tony's mouth to bring herself to believe it.

"Well, you know how you're always saying you want a baby?" Tony flips up the blanket to reveal a dirty, upset, little blonde-haired, blue-eyed, adorable little boy who can't be more than 6 months old. He finally stops crying for a moment and looks around with wet, blue eyes and a pout on his lips as he sniffs and whimpers. "Well, I brought one back for you."

"Please tell me that's not who I think he is," Pepper asks as her stress level rises, but she can't help but soften at the sight of the angry, little baby. His hair is messy and his dirty cheeks have tear tracks traced across his face.

"Well, as long as you don't think it's Steve, it's not who you think it is," Bruce replies from the bar.

"How do you always get yourselves into these situations?" Pepper looks around at the Avengers and before any of them can offer up an explanation, Steve starts to whine again.

"No. Come on, Steve. Don't do it," Tony begs as he holds the tiny baby in front of him, but it's too late. Steve erupts in upset cries.

"Nay," Thor groans. "What troubles the small Captain now?"

"What doesn't trouble the small Captain?" Clint covers his head with his arms in a futile attempt to escape the crying. "He's been yelling at us ever since we picked him up."

"Pepper. Help." Tony begs.

"Do you have any supplies?" Pepper sighs and takes the crying baby from Tony. She can help but smirk a little because it's not often she gets to see Tony legitimately flustered.

"This is everything SHIELD sent home with us," Bruce offers up a small canvass bag filled with a few diapers, formula, a couple bottles, and a few other odds and ends.

"He's filthy," Pepper frowns when she unwraps Steve from the dirty blanket. He's caked in mud and dirt with a few leaves stuck to him here and there. "Who put this diaper on?" The diaper is crooked and slipping and it looks like someone tried to fix it by wrapping duct tape around it like a terrible belt.

"Taking care of a baby isn't exactly standard SHIELD training," Natasha shrugs. "No one on the helicarrier knew how to put on a diaper. It started to slip on our way home and Clint tried to fix it with whatever we had on the jet."

"Well no wonder he's crying. Look at him. What did you do - throw him in a mud puddle?

"Can we explain ourselves after you get him to stop crying?" Tony pleads.

"It had better be a good explaination," Pepper sighs and immediately takes charge of the situation. "Thor, fill the sink with water for a bath. Clint, grab a couple towels out of the linen closet. Bruce, see if you can find some shampoo or soap. Tony, find something for Steve to wear once he's clean. Natasha, hold Steve for a second while I change out of my work clothes since it's obvious I'm not getting anymore work done today."

Pepper walks over and starts to hand Steve to Natasha, but the Assassin hesitates and actually looks a little afraid. "Like this," Pepper smiles and positions Natasha's arm properly and slides Steve into her hold. "Try walking around with him to see if you can get him to stop crying." Natasha manages to nod as she stares down at the loud, angry kid she's holding while Pepper leaves to change. Widow is visibly relieved when Pepper returns in her jeans and a shirt and takes the crying child back.

"How are we doing on the water, Thor?" Pepper checks on the demi-god in the kitchen.

"I have filled the vessel with water as you have requested, Pepper," Thor answers proudly.

"I found some towels and something to wash him off with," Clint returns with towels and a loofa in hand.

Bruce nearly collides with Clint when he rushes back into the room with a bottle of shampoo. "Here's shampoo!" Bruce holds up the bottle triumphantly.

"And I've got a shirt!" Tony returns from the bedroom with one of Pepper's t-shirts.

Pepper stares at all of them and holds her head in her hand. "You're all clueless about babies," Pepper sighs. "You can save the world a thousand times over, but babies are a mystery."

She struggles with the fact that she was sitting quietly at her desk only ten minutes ago and now she suddenly finds herself standing in the living room with an furious, crying baby and the Avengers. "Thor, that water is much too hot. We're not trying to cook Steve. Add some more water to cool it down. Clint, that is a loofa. You don't exfoliate babies. Grab a wash cloth off the top shelf in the closet. Tony, that's my favorite t-shirt and it's much too big for Steve and Bruce, that shampoo is too strong for a baby. Check the bag for clothes and baby shampoo."

The Avengers quickly go to work to grab what they need for Pepper and return with their offerings. After testing the water, she gently lowers the crying Captain in to the water. The Avengers can't believe their ears when the crying actually gets louder.

"Big Cap is normally so quiet. How is it possible for little Cap be this loud?" Tony frowns.

"I thought the bath would make him stop crying," Clint shouts and plugs his ears.

"Most babies don't love having a bath, but he needs it," Pepper grins at the Mighty Avengers who fight aliens and big, bad criminals, but are brought to the breaking point with a crying baby.

They all watch trepidatiously while Pepper squeezes some baby soap onto her hand and uses the wash cloth to wipe away the dirt and grime away from Steve's face. She lifts the still crying baby out of the dirty water and dries him off in the towel. Bruce hands her a clean diaper and the onsie Tony found in the bag. Once he's dressed and clean she wraps him in another clean blanket and pops a pacifier in his little mouth. The Avengers all nearly fall over with relief when the crying stops and is replaced with upset hiccups and a few pacifier-muffled whimpers.

"Much better," Pepper smiles down at Steve as she runs her hand up and down Steve's little back to help try to calm him down. A few more tears fall from his big, blue eyes and Pepper gently wipes them away.

"What is that device that has somehow calmed the Captain?" Thor asks in amazement.

"It's a plug, Thor," Pepper smiles at Thor. "Some people call it a pacifier or a nook."

"Why didn't we stick a cork in him sooner?" Clint asks and Natasha elbows him in the rib.

"Alright," her face shifts to a more severe look as she eyes each of the Avengers. "How exactly did I go from writing up business reports in a quiet office to bathing a filthy baby that used to lead the Avengers?"

"It all started yesterday when we were called to the Helicarrier to go on a mission in Malaysia…." Clint begins.

"Avengers," Fury walks into the briefing room. "A group of SHIELD scientists recently discovered a dangerous alien artifact while on an archaeological dig in a newly discovered ruin. Our researchers in the field say it is some sort of ancient stone, but they won't know more until they can get it back to a lab. The field teams are working to extract the stone today to transport it to a secure SHEILD facility for further study. Your mission is to provide security and protection for the extraction team while the stone is transported. I don't need to tell you how important it is that this artifact gets there safely."

"So we're basically flying all the way to Asia to play security guard for a rock?" Tony frowns. "Can't you just send a SHIELD team down to take care of it?"

"We have no idea what this thing is and we don't want it falling into the wrong hands, trust me," Fury leans onto the table to stare Tony down. "So if you're not too busy, it would be great if you could help protect the world from a potentially devastating threat."

"We'll get the job done," Steve steps in when Tony starts to roll his eyes at the Director.

"Good. You and your team move out immediately."

"We geared up and boarded the Quinjet," Bruce picks up the story. "Once we arrived on scene we started to assist in the extraction and setting up a perimeter. The jungle was humid and the trees and undergrowth were thick. Just walking was an ordeal, but Cap was ready to get the job done, as usual."

"Alright people! Lets get these vehicles loaded up and move out! Tony, you and Thor are on on arial cover. Clint, Natasha, cover our flank. Hulk and I will take the rear and the lead. Keep your eyes open and stay alert," Steve orders.

"Relax, Cap," Clint yawns. "This mission is going to be a piece of cake."

"Don't let your guard down, Barton," Steve frowns. "Something about this doesn't feel right and we need to be ready for anything."

"Who would be crazy enough to try to take this thing with all of us guarding it?" Tony sides with Clint.

"Let's just get it to the secured site so we can leave," Natasha moves out and the rest of the team follows.

"The first part of the journey was quiet," Natasha adds. "It was looking like we were going to catch a break and have a mission go down without a hitch. The only people we had encountered were friendly natives when we passed through a small village. At the end of the village is where everything went wrong."

"Hey! There's a bunch of trees down ahead!" Tony shouts from above. "It's blocking the road."

"Hulk," Clint turns to the big, green Avenger. "Can you help us out, Big Guy?" Hulk nods and starts to clear the road of the trees.

"This is weird," Steve frowns and studies the trees.

"It's just a few fallen trees, Cap," Tony lands next to him with a thud. "Trees fall over. No biggie."

"These trees were cut," Steve quickly pulls his shield up and scans the area. "It's a trap!"

"We didn't have any time to react," Clint shakes his head. "An explosion came from our flank and caught us off guard. The blast flipped a couple of our trucks, blocking a retreat. Their plan was well thought out and we walked right into it. We were sitting ducks."

"Protect the Stone and the villagers!" Steve orders and the Avengers immediately go to work to find the source of the attack when another blast flies in their direction.

"Dr. Doom," Clint glares and nocks an arrow when he spots the villain emerge from the trees.

"Stand aside, Avengers," Doom shouts. "I am here to collect what is mine." Doom sends another blast from his armor, sending the Avengers flying back. The team pulls themselves up to their feet and go on the attack. Repulser blasts from Tony's armor and lightning bolts from Thor cause Doom to retreat to cover while Hulk works on clearing the trees so they can get out of there. Steve, Clint and Natasha help get the villagers to cover.

"You don't have a chance, Doom!" Tony shouts. "You might as well give up now!" Doom jumps out from his cover and fires, but the attack misses Tony.

"Are you getting rusty, Doom?" Tony mocks.

"Not at all, Stark," Doom smirks. "Just improvising." Tony looks behind him and sees that Doom's attack was not meant for him, but for the small village they just passed through. Some of the houses and trees are on fire and the villagers are panicked. Thor and Iron Man quickly rush to the village and divert the burning trees from falling on the village while Hulk slams his giant hands together, sending a mighty gust of wind through the village to put out some of the flames.

Doom takes full advantage of the chaos and fires a blast at the lead truck and sends it rolling down the small hill. He rips the door off of the truck and throws the driver out of the cab. He finds the black box the Stone is protected in and starts to escape into the jungle.

"Steve pursued Doom into the jungle and I followed as fast as I could for back up," Tony jumps in since he's the only one who was there other than Steve. "Cap had run Doom down and tackled him to the ground. The box flew out of Doom's hands and broke open when it hit a tree. The Stone popped out and landed in a bog - hence why Steve was so dirty, Pepper." Tony shoots a look toward Pepper to see if she is satisfied with his reason, but she simply stares at him and waits for him to continue.

"I'm not going to let you take the Stone, Doom," Steve glares as he dashes after the Stone. Doom follows after him, but Tony is there to intercept him. The Iron Avenger plows Doom into the ground, but Doom fires at Tony, sending him flying off of him.

Steve reaches the bog first and dives into the mud and dirt in the area the Stone had landed. He frantically searches the muck when Doom jumps on him and pushes him out of the way. Steve counters and throws a powerful punch that sends Doom reeling back. It buys Steve a few seconds and he pushes layers of mud and dirt away until he sees a glimmer of the Stone.

"Don't touch it Steve!" Tony warns as he lands next to Doom and holds his repulsers on him and Steve pauses to look back to Tony. "We don't know what that thing might do to you." Steve carefully gathers the stone in his hands and surrounds it with mud so he's not directly touching it as he makes his way out of the bog.

"Fools! The Stone will be mine!" Doom shouts and kicks Tony's legs out from under him before he sprints toward Steve. He drives his shoulder into Steve and they both go down to the ground hard, but Steve keeps his hold on the stone as the two of them side down the muddy slope. Doom grabs onto a tree to stop his momentum, but Steve continues to tumble down the hill toward a cliff.

"I was able to grab onto Steve before he fell over the edge," Tony explains. "But the sudden stop caused Steve to lose his grip on the Stone. Out of instinct he tried to catch it.

"Steve! No! Just let it go!" Tony warns, but it's too late. Steve grabs the Stone before it falls. A pulse of energy flies out from the Stone and sends the two Avengers flying back into the muddy ground.

"I woke up a little while later to a baby crying in the mud," Tony finishes the story. "Doom escaped, the Stone disappeared, and Steve was turned into that." Tony tips his head to the baby in Pepper's arms.

"Things like this only happen to you. You do know that, right?" Pepper deadpans to each of the Avengers.

"We are aware," Clint nods. "Very aware."

"How do we fix this?" Pepper asks and points her gaze to Bruce.

"Honestly? I'm not sure," Bruce frowns. "I didn't get to study the Stone before it disappeared. We're basically starting with nothing, but we're going to figure out something."

"Well," Pepper looks down at Steve who has started to fall asleep and is contently chewing on his pacifier. "Looks like you guys are officially part-time Avengers and full-time parents until we can figure this out."

"What?"

"I have a tendency to smash small things…."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no."

"He'll be scarred for life if I….."

"I can't…hold on, I don't…."

"I don't think that's such a good idea….."

All the Avengers erupt in excuses and reasons why that's a bad idea and this, that and the other, but they all instantly shut up when Steve starts to fuss.

"Rule number one with babies," Pepper frowns. "When you get them to go to sleep, don't ever wake them up. Ever," She walks over to Tony and hands him Steve.

"What am I doing with this?" Tony holds Steve in front of him as he sniffs and looks like he is on the verge of tears again.

"Hold him while I make him a bottle," Pepper answers and walks over to the kitchen. She waves all the Avengers over and they all leerily head to the kitchen. "Until you guys can figure out how to fix this, you are going to have to help take care of Steve. I'm not going to be here much with work, so pay attention."

Pepper shows them how to measure out formula and how to test if it's warm enough and how to mix it. The Avengers watch closely and Bruce is even going as far as to write notes - it's the scientist in him. Pepper finishes making the bottle and hands it to Tony.

"What do I do?" He asks blankly.

"Feed it to him," Pepper raises a brow and shoves the bottle in his armored hand.

"Pepper, for once in my life, I have no idea what I'm doing and I need more direction than that."

"Hold him up like this," Pepper instructs and shifts Tony's arm up. "Then just pop the bottle in his mouth and he'll take care of the rest."

Tony follows Pepper's instructions and she smiles as she watches Tony feed baby Steve.

"This isn't so hard," Tony huffs and starts to sway a little.

"All of you had better wash up because tonight is your first night of parenting," Pepper shoos all the Avengers out except for Tony and they gladly oblige.

"This baby-stuff isn't so hard," Tony smirks.

"You've only had him for a few hours, Tony. We'll see how you do tonight and tomorrow while I'm at work."

"Wait, you're going to work tomorrow?" Tony deadpans

"Yeah, Tony," Pepper tips the bottle up in Tony's hand so Steve can finish the last little bit. "If I took a day off every time one of you had a crisis I would never go to work. You guys are going to have to figure it out."

"You realize we have absolutely no idea what we're doing, right?" Tony stares at Steve as he downs his bottle of formula.

"You guys will be fine. I will leave you instructions."

"We might kill him."

"I will leave you detailed instructions…with my phone number…and poison control's number...and the hospital."

"Pepper, I'm not father material. I can't do this. I don't do kids," Tony tries to hand off Steve to Pepper, but she gently pushes the baby back into Tony's chest.

"You will make a wonderful father someday, Tony," Pepper kisses Tony on the cheek. "Think of this as practice."

"I don't want to practice," Tony complains.

"Burp him and then come get cleaned up," Pepper pats his face in mock-sympathy and heads off to get ready for bed.

"Ugh," Tony groans and holds Steve up on his shoulder to burp him like Pepper showed him. "Why did Doom have to turn you into a kid? Why couldn't he have turned you into a rampaging monster or something I know how to deal with?" Tony frowns, but huffs out a laugh when he hears a little burp come from Steve. He brings him down from his shoulder and holds him in his arms again. Steve looks up to Tony with his big, blue eyes and smiles a crooked little grin at him.

"What are you smiling at, Rugrat?" Tony smirks back. "I don't like kids and you're a kid," Tony points an armored finger at Steve and the baby reaches out and grabs his finger with his tiny hand. Tony's expression softens and he smiles as Steve grabs at his finger with his other little hand and giggles when Tony pokes him in the cheek.

"Damn it, Steve," Tony rolls his eyes as Steve laughs again. "Alright, Rugrat. Time for bed." Tony stands and heads to the bedroom with Steve tucked under his arm and swings him around as he laughs and giggles.

"Hold this for a second," Tony swings Steve from under his arm to Pepper.

"Tony, he's a baby, not a bag of laundry," Pepper frowns and grabs up Steve.

"He was having fun. Didn't you hear him laughing?" Tony points out as he walks over to a wall with a panel on it and it opens up to dismantle the suit.

"Tony," Pepper scolds.

"Alright, alright." Tony holds his hands up in surrender. "You hear that, Rugrat? She's trying to ruin our fun." Steve grins at Tony when he makes a funny face at him, but Pepper only rolls her eyes at him. After a quick change and shower he returns to find Pepper laying on her side with Steve next to her.

"How's the boy?" Tony hops on the bed and gently pats Steve's baby belly.

"Tired," Pepper points out and Steve yawns as if to agree with her.

"Me too," Tony rolls onto his back and pulls the blanket over himself.

"What are you doing?"

"Going to bed?"

"What about Steve?"

"What about Steve?"

"I told everyone to wait in the living room so you can all put him down for bed."

"I did put him down. He's down," Tony holds his hand in front of Steve. "He's laying down on the bed."

"Tony, he's going to start crying or rolling around. You have to get him to go to sleep and then put him down."

"You're joking…"

"I most certainly am not."

"Ugh, babies are so illogical," Tony runs his hands down his face. "Alright, Baby Whisperer. What do we do?"

"Wrap him up in a blanket, walk around and bounce him until he falls asleep."

"Seriously?" Tony stares at Pepper. She simply smiles, nods, and throws the baby blanket at Tony's face. She laughs when he stays frozen when the blanket hits his face and stares at her with a deadpan look.

Pepper hands Steve to Tony with an amused smirk on her face. "Get started, Papa Tony."

"That's not funny," he frowns and wraps Steve up in the blanket. "Come on, Steve. We don't want to hang out with yucky girls anyway."

Pepper laughs again and throws a pillow at Tony's butt as he walks out of the room. "Hey! Baby on board, Pepper!" he shouts and continues into living room where the rest of the Avengers are waiting.

"Stark," Clint yawns. "Lets get this over with. What do we do?"

"Pepper says to wrap him up, walk around and bounce him till he falls asleep."

"Easy as that?" Bruce asks suspiciously.

"Easy as that." Tony shrugs.

"I can do that," Clint snorts and takes Steve from Tony and wraps him up in the soft blanket.

"Really, Clint?" Natasha eyes the over-confident Archer suspiciously.

"Sure. Walk and bounce. I can do that," Clint starts to walk around and bounce Steve, but any signs Steve had shown of being tired are entirely gone. In fact, he busies himself playing with the soft edging on the blanket. "Alright. I'm walking and I'm bouncing and it's not working. What's the deal?"

"Perhaps he needs this device that Pepper called a 'cork,'" Thor takes Steve from Clint and gives Steve the pacifier.

"It's a plug, Thor," Bruce corrects the Asgardian. "Clint called it a cork."

"Ah, yes. A plug," Thor nods and Steve throws the plug on the floor. "Nay, Tiny Captain. You must not throw the plug onto the ground." Thor picks up the pacifier off the ground and gives it back to Steve who promptly throws it onto the floor again and laughs when Thor sighs in frustration and picks it up again.

"Give it up, Thor," Bruce smirks when Thor picks up the plug off the ground for the fifth time. "Let me give it a try." Thor gives up the baby to Bruce and the Scientist sits with Steve on the sofa. "He doesn't look tired. Maybe if we play for a little while he'll get tired."

"Worth a shot," Natasha nods. "How do you play with a baby?"

Bruce stands and picks up Steve and tosses him up into the air. The little baby squeals and laughs when Bruce swings him up above his head. After a few throws, Bruce brings him down to his shoulder and looks at him. Steve is about as bright eyed and bushy tailed as he could get.

"You're just riling him up," Natasha steps in and takes Baby Steve from Bruce. "Let me try." Natasha wraps Steve up tightly in the soft blanket, covering his face with the blanket, and rocks him back and fourth as she softly hums a lullaby. It's not a tune any of the Avengers recognize, but it's oddly soothing and relaxing.

After a long while, Natasha lifts the blanket and looks down at the baby in her arms and is disappointed to see that Steve is still wide awake, but calmer. She's even more disappointed when she looks up and sees that all the other Avengers have drifted off on the living room sofas.

"Hey!" She shouts and the Avengers jerk awake. "You're not the ones we're trying to get to go to sleep! We've still got a baby that's wide awake here! Anyone else have any other ideas?" She lays Steve back down on the blanket in the middle of the floor and he plays with the toys scattered about the living room, chewing and throwing them across the room.

"I guess we just have to sit up with him until he gets tired," Bruce shrugs.

The Avengers all groan and prepare themselves for a long night. Tony flips on the television at a low volume and Clint sets out to make them a pot of coffee.

"I can't believe he's not tired yet," Clint runs his hands down his face. They've been trying to get Steve down for the night for hours. It's nearly 1:00am and the Avengers are feeling like Steve is never going to get tired as he continues to wiggle around on the floor and pick up any toys that happen to be within his reach.

"Steve," Tony sighs and picks the baby up off the floor. "You have to go to sleep. Let's try again."

Thor hits the lights and all the Avengers get comfortable on the sofas at try to be quiet in hopes that Steve will get sleepy. Tony sets the little baby on his stomach as he lays on the couch and Steve smiles at him.

"Hey, stop smiling. It's time for bed," Tony frowns. "Here, chew on this." He grabs the pacifier off the coffee table from earlier and pops it into Steve's mouth, but Steve, once again, simply throws it down onto Tony's chest. Tony picks it up and pops it back in, but Steve throws it onto the floor this time.

"See - he believes it to be a game," Thor points out.

"Seriously, Steve?" Tony sighs. "It's a game, huh? Well, you win."

Steve grins again and laughs at Tony when he rubs his hands over his face, but he's suddenly distracted by the glow through Tony's shirt from the Arc Reactor in the dark. Steve's little fingers poke and try to grab the glowing circle as he's thoroughly entertained by the light casting a blue glow across his face.

"You're supposed to be going to sleep, Steve," Tony whispers. Steve grins again as he looks at Tony when he talks to him. He reaches out a tiny hand and pats Tony's bristly beard. "You like the facial hair, huh?" Tony smirks and rubs his hand across his chin. He lifts Steve up and rubs his face on Steve's chubby cheeks and Steve squeals and laughs as he pulls his neck to his chest and holds his hands up to block the affectionate attack. Tony smiles and closes his eyes when Steve tries to push him away.

"You're getting him all riled up again," Natasha warns. "Besides, I thought you didn't like kids, Stark."

"I don't like kids," Tony's eyes snap open and pulls back after he freezes mid snuggle.

"Steve seems to be winning you over," Bruce comments, half-heartedly in his exhaustion.

"Whatever. You guys said you don't do kids either," Tony defends.

"I don't do kids," Natasha states firmly.

"That lullaby you were singing for Steve says different," Clint smirks and Natasha shoots him a look.

"Well you were just bouncing and rocking him around the room a few hours ago, Mr. Mom," Natasha shoots back.

"Don't look at me. Thor was the one who remembered what Pepper called the plug," Clint tires to take the heat off of himself and put it on Thor.

"Actually, I thought it was called a 'cork," Thor reminds them. "Dr. Banner is the one who remembered the correct name."

"I'm a scientist. I remember things," Bruce offers as an excuse.

"Look, I don't do kids," Tony tries to convince his team, but they all give him skeptical looks. "We don't do kids, Steve. We just don't."

"Does anyone else realize how useless it is to try to convince ourselves we don't like the Kid?" Bruce looks around the room at the Avengers and one by one they all nod.

"I have no idea how you got us to like you Steve, but stop it." Tony turns and points his finger at Steve and Steve grabs Tony's finger again with his little hand. Tony can feel his icy front melting away and he takes his finger and pokes Steve in his cute, little nose, causing the baby to go cross-eyed for a moment. Tony laughs and Steve smiles before he yawns.

"That was a yawn," Clint points out, thrilled that they may finally be getting close to getting Steve to sleep so HE can go to sleep.

"Hm, so you are tired," Tony lifts Steve up onto his chest. He smiles when Steve lays his head on his shoulder and Tony walks around the living room with the tired kid for a long while. The Avengers anxiously wait to see if Tony can achieve the impossible as he gently bounces Steve around as he makes soft baby grumbles as he finally begins to fall asleep.

When Tony is pretty sure Steve is sleeping he carefully sits down on the sofa and lowers Steve down so he's sitting on Tony's stomach with his head resting on his chest. The rest of the Avengers have long since fallen asleep in their spots on the living room furniture.

"Is he sleeping?" Natasha whispers from beside Clint and dares to hope.

"I think so," Tony whispers back. "I'm just going to sit here for a little while longer to make sure he stays asleep."

Natasha nods and pulls the blanket around her and Clint closer after she decides it's not worth getting up to go to bed at this point since it's so late - or early technically- into the night. Tony leans back into the sofa, fully intending to go to bed after a few minutes, but he ends up drifting off on the sofa with Steve resting peacefully on his chest.