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When tiny Steve Rogers had invited Tony Stark to a sleepover, he couldn't anticipate... well, anything.
You could say that perhaps, Tony was moving a little too quickly. He had never gone on a playdate with Steve, let alone with anybody at all, and already he was going to stay the night at his home?!
Well, Tony didn't mind, nor did he care about the opinions of others, thank you very much (or at least, that's what he repeated to himself all the way to Steve's house when Maria had told him as such)! No, no, no, Tony did not care! He didn't need to go on a playdate before a sleepover! He and Steve had played plenty of times at recess during school, so why should it matter whether he went to stay the night for a weekend!?
No, it was the least of Tony's worries. He was big enough to cut to the chase.
There was something else on his mind, unfortunately. Something he was nervous about, and when he thought about it, it sent his pulse racing and his heart skyrocketing in his small chest.
His teddy bear.
See, he needed his bear in order to sleep. He needed it, or he simply couldn't close his eyes without feeling safe. And his teddy made him feel safe!
But Tony knew how his father felt about the bear. He had called him a sissy boy plenty of times for Tony to know how ashamed he should feel of his dependence.
But what was Tony supposed to do? What could he do? There was no way he was going to get any sleep tonight without his bear, so, away from the prying eyes of his father and mother, he stuffed his teddy deep into his bag and hoped they wouldn't notice its disappearance over the weekend.
But that was just phase one. The second phase... he was far more terrified of.
What if he really was a sissy?
What if Steve thought he was a big, dumb, cry baby because he couldn't sleep without his teddy?
Tony glanced over to his bag and swallowed thickly as the car bumped along the road. He reached over and pulled the bag to his chest, desperately wanting to hold his teddy but knowing if anyone saw it, even Jarvis, he could risk having to go back home and leave it there.
What if Steve didn't want to be friends with him anymore because he was a sissy?
Tony felt the weight of his bag deepen in his lap, and he sniffled just slightly, quietly. He knew Jarvis wouldn't yell at him for crying, but Tony knew there were cameras in the car, and he couldn't risk his father seeing him cry.
Before Tony could continue to spiral, the car abruptly stopped and Jarvis looked up into the rearview mirror, smiling gently at the boy.
"Young Stark, we've arrived at the Rogers' residence." He smiled up at him, though his eyes softened at Tony's expression. He turned in his seat, tilting his head at the boy.
"Why the long face, Anthony? From what I've been told, you had been looking forward to this all week." Jarvis smiled, clearly referencing the week's prior drives home when he had initially heard about the sleepover and had gotten his ear talked off about it by Tony at nearly every pick-up and drop off.
"What if Steeb doesn' wanna be friends after this because I mess up?" Tony whispered and curled further into the bag on his lap.
Jarvis smiled at the boy and reached over, cupping his cheek.
"Do not fear, Anthony. You are the sweetest, most intelligent boy I know. Anyone would love to be friends with you." He said sincerely and then ran his fingers through Tony's hair, which calmed the boy just a little.
"Steve seems like a real kind young man from how much you have talked about him. I'm sure one small mistake you make tonight will not ruin anything between you, and that is to say, you do make a mistake. But Anthony..."
Tony looked up at the man who has shown him far more kindness and love than his father ever had, and swallowed.
"You never make mistakes." His eyes twinkled, and Tony cracked a small smile.
Maybe Jarvis was right. Maybe this night will go well and Steve won't think he's a sissy.
This night was not going well.
Well, okay, it had been going well, but now? Now Tony was terrified.
It was 11:30 PM at the Rogers' residence, and Tony had been doing fine for the most part. Mrs. Sarah was very nice and made them spaghetti and meatballs, and even let him and Steve watch T.V. a little bit past bedtime.
But now Tony was shifting anxiously in the bed, which he occupied all by himself.
He hadn't been ready to sleep alone, which, okay, Tony could do, but not in the unfamiliar darkness of Steve's home.
Every creak in the house, every sound of settlement, put Tony on edge. He had his teddy pressed to his chest, but it wasn't enough, and it was getting to the point that Tony couldn't breathe without feeling like he was going to drown on nothing.
Finally, at the sound of the house clock chiming 12 AM, Tony got up from the bed Mrs. Sarah had so kindly made for him, and shuffled down the dark hallway separating his and Steve's room.
It felt like he trekked for hours to find the door that led to Steve's bed, which he surely wouldn't have remembered if he didn't have an eidetic memory of the home already (how was he supposed to know where the exit was if there were, perhaps, monsters under his bed and in his closet?!)
Finally reaching his friend's door, he gently knocked, before pushing in and swallowing as he watched Steve's sleeping form rise and fall under the blankets.
He chewed his lip, clutching his bear to his chest, before finally walking over to Steve, pushing him just a little bit to stir the smaller boy.
"St-Steeb?" He peeped quietly into the night, nervously shuffling his weight from foot to foot, staring down at Steve's slowly waking form, which had begun to stir at Tony's entrance just moments earlier.
"Mm?" The blonde mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, a small pout forming on his little pink lips.
"The other room is-is very dark, and-and I don't-is it-can I stay in here?" Tony whispered shakily, his voice wet, and slightly overcome with the idea of having to ask at all. Tony knew what would happen if he even dared shuffle into the room of his parent's in the dead of night, and the idea that Steve might react the same way had the poor boy on edge, but ready to run from any hands that may attempt to reach his face.
"Okay.." Steve said and scooted over to press himself against the wall, getting comfortable once again as he waited for the bed to dip under Tony's small weight. It never did. Curiously, Steve perked up and crawled back across the bed, peeking down at the floor and seeing Tony curling up on the carpet.
Steve giggled sleepily. "What are you doing?" He whispered.
"I-I'm... I'm sleeping?" Tony asked, his lip trembling slightly, feeling as though Steve were admonishing him, or perhaps, terrifyingly, teasing him about staying in the room, ready to make fun of Tony for being such a baby and send him back out into the darkness of Steve's home.
"All the way down there?" Steve asked. "Don' be silly. Come up here. Plen'y o' room..." He said simply, and then crawled back to the wall. Tony's eyes widened, but he didn't hesitate to get off the floor. He anxiously crawled up onto the bed, getting under the covers and laying next to Steve. He held his teddy to his chest and swallowed, sitting perfectly still next to him. He watched as Steve laid his head on his pillow, seeming perfectly content with Tony in his bed, and then something occurred to Tony that he hadn't realized before.
Tony had never shared a bed with anyone, not even his own parents, or Jarvis (though there was a time which he tried, Jarvis quickly shooed him out of his room).
Tony turned to look at Steve, the way his hair draped across his pillow, and the way his small frame lifted and fell under the covers.
Calm.
And then he also noticed the head of a stuffed animal, just right above Steve's own.
He smiled, but it quickly dropped as the air conditioning came on, and hit his side of the bed pretty hard.
"Steeb?" He asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'm cold..." He mumbled.
Steve didn't respond, just simply rolled over and pulled Tony close.
"Tha's okay," He said, situating Tony's head to rest on his chest, his own arms curling around Tony's shoulders. He kissed his head and snuggled him close, mimicking the movements his mother had practiced on him time and time again for whenever they snuggled together.
"I protect you and keep you warm." He mumbled into his hair and sighed softly.
Tony hadn't expected that.
The brunette swallowed nervously, his body tense at the hold. He wondered if they would get in trouble for this, but Tony remembered the plenty of times he saw Clint and Natasha snuggling during naptime, so maybe this was okay?
Slowly settling into Steve's grip, Tony fluttered his eyes closed and hugged him back. Even if Mrs. Rogers wouldn't be too pleased with seeing them like this in the morning, at least it wouldn't be his father finding them instead.
Nothing could be worse than that.