Chapter Five: Accidentally In Love

"Steve? Tony?" Tony was the first to wake up of the pair, for once. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and glanced at the bedside clock.

"Shit! We're late! You guys can't be late for school!" Tony threw back the covers and ran over to Maria, who was standing in the bedroom doorway.

"Greg is here, Steve didn't call him. He was s'possed to call him." Tony had pulled her into the hall and closed the bedroom door.

"Okay. Shh, we're gonna let your brother sleep in today, alright? Let's go talk to our favorite doctor." He took Maria's hand and led her into the living room, where all the kids were ready to leave.

"I'll take them to school. I won't ask what is going on, but I expect answers tonight. I'll take the younger three for the day." Tony looked hesitant, but he knew Steve trusted Greg, so he trusted him.

"Thank you so much."

"I do this every so often for him, when he needs a break. He never forgets to call me when he plans to. So, I figure he needs the break."

"He does, thank you."

"Don't thank me, come on kids. Let's get to school."

Tony walked back into the bedroom after they had gone. He climbed back into bed and leaned over to wrap his arms around Steve from behind. He felt Steve stir after a while and then he turned over. He met Tony's eyes and a smile graced his face.

"Hey," Steve whispered, his voice a bit rough from sleep.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"What time is it?" Steve's sleepy voice asked.

"It's just about eight o'clock." Steve's eyes widened and he jumped out of bed.

"The kids! They are gonna be late!" Tony chuckled.

"The kids just left for school, I didn't mean to wake you."

"School? Who took them, then? And where are the girls?"

"You missed calling Dr. Greenburg this morning. He was worried so he stopped by and took them to school for us. And he took the girls for the day, said you needed a break."

"Oh." Steve frowned and looked at the floor. Tony sighed and walked over to Steve, wrapping his arms around the taller man's waist and snuggling his chest.

"You deserve a break, Steve. You have been up at the crack of dawn every morning and won't let me help with anything. You need help sometimes, Steve."

"I know. I love you." Tony smiled, looking up at Steve.

"I love you too, Steve."

Suddenly, Steve's lips were on Tony's and Tony's eyes widened in shock, before he responded to the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Steve's neck and Steve's hands slid down to Tony's hips. Steve then deepened the kiss and pushed Tony into the bedroom wall. Steve was in total control, and yet his shirt had gotten taken off and thrown onto the ground. Tony's shirt soon joined Steve's and then Tony was on the bed, underneath Steve. When he felt Steve's hand go to his pants, Tony broke off from the kiss and looked up into Steve's baby blue eyes. The eyes had a new gleam in them. Love and want was clear in those eyes.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked breathlessly. This wasn't just one of Tony's one night stands; this was the guy he loved who was a virgin. He couldn't take that unless he was sure this was what Steve wanted.

"I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life." Steve knew exactly what he was doing, what he was giving up. And Tony knew what this meant to him, this meant he was 'the right person' in Steve's mind. And Steve meant the same thing to Tony; it just wasn't under quite the same terms. Tony wasn't losing his virginity, his innocence. He'd lost that a long time ago; his innocent mind had been taken from his father when he was a child and his virginity when he was a young troubled adult.

And, with that in mind, Tony made love to Steve.

~~Stony~~

"Where are you going?" Steve asked Tony. They had just woken up from a short post-sex nap and Tony had slipped out of bed after teasing Steve with kisses.

"I'm taking a shower. Care to join me?" Tony asked, waggling his eyebrows at Steve. And Steve didn't hesitate to agree.

After their shower, Steve and Tony decided to eat lunch. They had skipped breakfast, after all. Before long, the kids were home from school. The door bust open while Tony and Steve were sitting on the couch, Steve drawing and Tony reading the newspaper. In ran all of the kids and Greg walked in behind them, holding baby Natasha. Tony stood up and took her from him and began to coo at her as he bent down to give Peggy a piggyback ride and hold Darcy's hand. They began to tell him all about their day as Tony led them out of the room to let Steve talk to Greg alone.

"You love him, don't you?" Greg asked before Steve could speak.

"What? Greg, I-"

"Just answer the question, Steve."

"I… yes, I love him."

"Does he know that? How does he feel about you? I don't want to see you hurt."

"He does know, and he feels the same way. I am a big boy now, Greg. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can, Steve. But if you get hurt… if he hurts you-"

"He won't."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Nobody can ever know that. Even some of the best people do bad things, doesn't make them bad. It just makes them human."

"Listen, you've been like a second father to me for so long. I really appreciate it and I love you, but it's my decision who I'm with, who I love."

"I understand. Your mother kept talking about something like this happening; I just am so surprised it's happening so soon."

"Thanks." Sarcasm dripped into Steve's voice as he smiled playfully at Greg, who held his hands up in surrender.

"Just keeping it real, bro." He joked and Steve just laughed.

~~Stony~~

"School, let's go." Steve was right back into routine the next morning. The only thing that was very different was the kissing. Steve and Tony kept it subtle, but the kids caught on right away and now knew they were together… -ish. Together-ish.

"We're coming!" Justin called as he and the twins ran to the door, where the rest of the group was waiting.

They walked to school, the kids easily slipping into conversation. Thor held Jane's hand as she talked to Pepper and Betty, who had Bruce knotting his hand in her T-shirt as he talked to Erik. Loki was talking to Maria, who was holding hands with Phil. Bucky, Clint and Justin were racing and Rhodey was busy yelling at them. Peggy and Darcy were pretending to be princesses and Tony was playing long with it. Steve just smiled as he watched Tony with the girls and held Natasha in his strong arms. Finally the kids were in school and it was just the three girls and Tony and Steve again.

That afternoon they walked around the town, steering clear of the hospital and the movie theater just in case. They heard a man call their names and they turned. It was the man that Tony recognized as the mechanic who was fixing his van. Anyways the man, Andy Tony remembered, came running up.

"Your van is almost finished, Mr. Smith. It will be ready by tomorrow morning."

Both Steve and Tony stiffened. "Uh, thanks."

It was pretty awkward the rest of the afternoon. They picked the kids up and went home. Then they ate dinner and watched a movie. Most of the kids were asleep by the end of the movie. Tony had Bruce curled up on his lap, Erik curled by his side, and Phil clutching onto his foot from his spot on the floor. Steve had Peggy and Bucky both snuggled on his lap, Thor resting on his side. Darcy was gripping Peggy's foot and Maria was using Phil as a pillow. Betty was under Bruce, and Jane was under Thor. Loki, Justin and Rhodey were sitting on the arm chair, somehow managing to fit. Clint had abandoned the movie to go watch baby Natasha sleep. Tony thought it was a little strange and Steve was surprised his little monster of a brother could be quiet around the baby.

"I guess we should get them to bed…. But, how?" Steve whispered.

"Just take who you can carry and come back for more." Tony replied in the same hushed voice.

Tony scooped Bruce into his arms and managed to pick Erik up at the same time. He exited to the garage and Steve picked up Peggy and Bucky. When he got out of Bucky's room and into Peggy's, he saw Clint sitting next to the crib, his little hand holding Natasha's through the bars. Steve smiled and managed to pick him up and bring him to his room. He passed Tony in the hall. Tony had both Maria and Phil in his arms. They shared a smile and went on, putting kids to bed. Next, Steve grabbed Thor and Darcy and put them in the rooms they slept in. Tony was there grabbing Betty and Jane to put them in their room. Steve then grabbed Pepper and Justin, putting them in the right rooms. Tony met him just outside the living room with Loki and Rhodey. Steve opened his arms and took Loki and brought him to his sleeping spot.

"I love the way you care about my siblings as much as your own." Steve whispered in Tony's ear, wrapping him in his arms from behind. Tony shivered and spun in Steve's arms. He peered up at the taller man and smiled.

"I do, don't I? Oh, crap. Can't make you think I've gone soft." Steve laughed and Tony smiled at the sound. "God, I love you." Tony sighed out.

"I love you too. Now let's go to bed."

"Steve, I think we need to talk about me and the kids. They fixed the van and-"

"No, shh. Can we please just talk about it in the morning?" Steve begged.

"Alright, but-" Steve cut him off with a kiss. "Okay, bed. Let's go to bed."

~~Stony~~

Tony was barely asleep when it happened. It happened so fast that he didn't have enough time to respond. The front door slammed open and an alarm went off. It rang through the house and woke everyone up. But Tony and Steve were the two who were in action first. Tony was faster, as he was already awake, and he ran into the front room to see a man he so didn't want to see, standing in the doorway.