"Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without."

-James C. Dobson

Tony looked around the room, his dark gaze taking in the people around him. He smiled at Pepper, nodded his head at Rhodey's questioning head tilt, and waved at Aveline and Bruce. He was looking for Steve. He hadn't seen him since after dinner had been served and that was longer than Tony was comfortable with. Sighing, he took a sip from the glass in his hand, his ring clinking softly against the crystal. Looking down at the sound, he wondered if something had happened to Steve. Wouldn't be the first time one of them had been kidnapped during a party or argument. He started in surprise when an arm wrapped around his waist, his heart beating wildly in his chest.

"I was wondering if I could have the next dance." Steve whispered softly, aware that he'd probably surprised Tony. "Been wanting to ask you all night but wasn't sure of what you would say."

Tony let out a shaky breath, turning to look at his husband. He grinned up at the smiling man, sable eyes dancing with his pleasure. "Enjoying yourself, handsome?" He leaned up and gave Steve a quick nip on the nose. "And yes I'll dance with you." He said softly, smiling as Steve's face lit up with pleasure.

"Really? I wasn't...I-I didn't think..." Steve shook his head as he grinned at Tony. "Well, ok, ummm, let me, uh, I-I'm gonna go put in a request." Steve finished breathlessly. They hadn't danced together in a while and tonight seemed like as good a night as any. It would also be a good time to give Tony his surprise as well. He turned towards the band then stopped, reached back for Tony and pulled him close. "Find a seat up front I have something I want to give you." He could feel his face heating at the slow grin that curved Tony's lips. "I am not getting naked in front of everyone, Tony."

Tony laughed out loud, leaning up to give Steve a kiss. "Ok, ok, so that one won't be happening in public but in private..." He gave Steve a wicked grin, enjoying the way Steve's blush darkened.

"Stop being a menace and go find a seat up front. I'll be right back." Steve gave Tony a slow, sweet kiss, taking a shaky breath once he'd pulled back. "Behave." Steve said softly.

"As long as that's one of the benefits of my doing so then of course I will." Tony rushed out, chasing after Steve as he pulled back. "Wait, honey, one more." Tony whispered.

"No, I'll forget what I'm suppos..." Steve broke off with a groan as Tony pulled him down, kissing him breathless.

"Well, now you have something else to remember." Tony breathed against Steve's lips.

Steve smiled, slowly opening his eyes. "Yeah, I'll never forget those." He gave Tony's waist a tight squeeze then pushed him towards Pepper, who was standing behind him. "Go with Pepper, I'll be back."

Tony nodded as he turned and walked towards the red head behind him. "What's up Pepper Pot?"

Pepper smiled as she made her way through the tables and their occupants. "I was asked to assist your husband in his surprise for you." She gave Tony a secretive smile at the look that lit up his face.

"You know what he has planned." Tony looked at Pepper when she simply nodded and continued walking. "Pep, Pepper, Pepper my love, my sweet, my right hand in life. Would you please be so kind as to tell me what my surprise is?" He looked at Pepper with wide, innocent eyes, knowing that she didn't buy the act at all. He chuckled as she shook her head and motioned him to his seat.

"Sit down and wait, Tony. From what I understand he's been working on this for a while." Pepper smiled as she sat down next to Happy.

Tony looked thoughtful, wondering what it was Steve had planned. "Well, if you wont tell me I'll just ask..."

"I'm not telling you either so don't even think about asking me."

Tony looked up to see Rhodey standing behind him. He gave him a wounded expression, clutching his chest in mock pain. "You wound me honey bear!" He said with a grin. "Come on have a seat, I know you're here to make sure that I don't misbehave."

"Actually, I was supposed to make sure you don't get up and leave." Rhodey sat down next to Tony, setting his glass down on the table. "How ya' doin' Tones?"

Tony grinned at his best friend. "Have you seen my son and husband? If not, go look at them then come ask me that question again." Tony chuckled. He could feel a ball of warmth spreading throughout his chest as he thought about Steve and Peter. "I haven't felt this good in a long time." Tony said softly, his gaze moving around the room. "I'm here with my family and friends, what more could I ask for or want?"

"How about a dance from your husband?"

Tony turned to see Bucky standing beside him. "Hey, Barnes, uh, w-what do you mean a dance from Steve?" Steve didn't dance or he didn't the last time he checked.

"Well, see the thing is, he asked Av to teach him this dance. Something about it being special to you?" Bucky grinned at the look on Tony's face. "He said you'd be surprised."

"I, ummm, h-how..." Tony was cut off as the lights dimmed and the soft strains of a slow melody echoed around the room. "He wouldn't..." Tony watched as a spotlight light up the center of the floor, highlighting his cousin. "Where's Steve?" He searched the group slowly filling the floor and frowned when he didn't see him.

"He's in the next one." Bucky said with a chuckle. "Clint helped him get this done and when I mean Stevie was determined..." Bucky drifted off as Bruce walked up.

"Clint missed a couple of nights sleep." Bruce said with a small smile.

Tony looked up at Bruce and Bucky in surprise. "It's not that big of a deal if he knows the dance." Despite having said the words, Tony knew deep down it was. He'd told Steve about the dance he and Aveline had learned for their parents. About having never got the chance to show them and it had been something that had hurt more than Tony had let on.

"There he is." Bucky whispered, his gaze on the floor as the song changed.

Tony looked up and froze, listening as the music started and his husband showed just how well he'd learned the dance. "How long did they practice?"

"Three weeks." Bruce said softly.

Tony nodded, his eyes glued to Steve's tall form. "He's absolutely gorgeous." Tony whispered, aware that everyone knew but couldn't resist saying it out loud.

"Yes he is." Pepper agreed with a fond smile. "Happy Anniversary, Tony."

"Thank you, Pepper." Tony grinned, his eyes watching as Steve moved with the other dancers. He took in the flushed face, wide smile, and bright eyes. "He's enjoying himself."

"Well, you both deserve to, I mean after everything, it's good to finally get a chance to breath."

Tony looked up at Clint, smiling as he gave Bruce a hug and quick kiss. "Aveline showed you the steps." It wasn't said with malice or anger, just a hint of curiosity and certainty.

"Yep, made me sit for hours with my eye lids pulled back until I could do the dance in my sleep." Clint said with a grin. He chuckled as Bruce gave him a light shove, murmuring about his bruised shins.

Tony grinned as he turned his gaze back to the center floor. "That was..."

"Good?"

Tony looked up at the sound of Steve's voice. "Well hello Captain Happy Feet." He stood up and walked over to the flushed blond. "You know, I've seen a lot of things in my life but that was the best thing by far." He reached up, framing Steve's face between his hands and pulled him down for a kiss. "That was the best thing ever, sweet cheeks."

Steve grinned as he slid an arm around Tony's waist. "Glad you liked it." He glanced around at the group behind Tony and gave them all a smile. "You guys don't mind if we leave a little early, do you? I kind of want to see Peter before he's put to bed." He flushed at the chorus of ooo's and aww's, smiling when Tony squeezed him tight around his waist.

"We'll see you all later, for now enjoy your time and don't do anything we wouldn't do!" Tony laughed as Steve picked him up and carried him out of the room. "Put me down you caveman, I protest the handling of such fine goods!"

Steve laughed as he walked through the crowd of cheering people. "Protest all you want, right now I plan to make sure that I spend the night with two gorgeous brunette's."

Tony stopped moving at Steve's statement. "Really, you won't mind if..."

Steve set Tony down on his feet once they reached the elevators. "It's been great spending so much time alone with you, really, I've loved every minute of it but I-I kind of miss Peter too." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, nervous about how Tony would take his words.

"God, I thought I was the only one. I was feeling so bad about him not being with us the past couple of nights." Tony let out a soft sigh.

"I was thinking that maybe he could spend the night with us and tomorrow we go shopping?" Steve watched as the elevator doors opened. Turning to Tony, he led him into the cab with a gentle hand on his back. "You know look for a bunk bed set or, uh, maybe a-a crib?"

Tony looked at Steve, a slow grin curving his lips. "Feel like making a baby do we?"

Steve could feel his face heating as he looked at Tony. "Well, it doesn't hurt to get an idea of what we want her to have."

Tony nodded, a smile on his face. "Forever the tactician."

"No, just want an idea of what I want you to make." Steve said smugly. "Both our children deserve custom made things."

"Does that mean I an make them..." Tony started excitedly.

"No, Tony, they can not have their own suits." Steve laughed. "Pete can barely walk and Sarah isn't even born yet."

Tony sighed in mock frustration. "Ok, well, at least I get to make them everything else, like their first toy cars." Tony said, warming up to the idea of all the things he could make. "Maybe we'll make sure they have their own child proof Stark pad, I mean kids are pretty rough on electronics, right?"

Steve smiled at Tony in affection. "You can make them anything you want sweetheart." He looked up as the cab stopped on their floor and the door's opened. "First, let's go pick up Peter and see what he would like."

Tony nodded, already thinking of the different things he could create for Steve and the kids. "Do you think they'll like something that will let them get messy but keep everything else clean?"

Steve paused as he thought about what Tony said. "As long as it can keep them entertained." Steve knocked on the door to the nanny's room. She traveled with Aveline and Bucky and usually enjoyed having Peter with her as well. When she opened the door she motioned for them to be quite. "They got tired early." Marta said softly, she smiled at both Tony and Steve, leading them towards the small second bedroom. "Master Peter was rather difficult to get to sleep but he eventually drifted off after a story."

Tony looked into the room, letting out a soft breath at the sight of his son's curly head. "Thank you Marta, hope he wasn't to much trouble."

"None at all, I believe he just missed his fathers." She gave Steve and Tony a soft smile.

Steve nodded as Tony walked over to the bed, smiling down at the twin faces of Marisol and Grant, he reached over and gently picked up Peter. "Hi Petey-pie." Tony whispered at his son's sleepy mumble. "Your father and I wanted to see if you wanted to join us for a slumber party." He grinned at the sleepy mumble, sighing as Peter pressed closer to Tony.

"He is much like you when you were his age."

Tony looked up at Marta, smiling at her statement. "Well, hopefully he'll get a better chance at things than I got."

"He has the best start so far." Steve said softly. He watched as Tony blushed, a soft smile curving his lips. Turning to Marta, he gave her a small hug. "Thank you for watching him tonight, hope you're able to get some rest with those two hellions."

Marta smiled up at Steve. "They are not as bad as when their parents are around. The privilege of being spoiled."

Ton chuckled, "I guess the same can be said about Peter then. Night Marta and sleep well, we will see you tomorrow." Tony gave her a quick buss on the cheek, smiling at her fondly as she pressed a soft, wrinkled hand against his face.

"E'bello vedere finalmente così felice, Antonio. Tua madre e la zia sarebbero stati così orgogliosi di voi." (It is good to finally see you so happy, Antonio. Your mother and aunt would have been so very proud of you.) Marta smiled up at the man before her. "Dormire bene, piccola e che tu possa sognare sogni d'oro." (Sleep well, little one and may you dream sweet dreams.) She whispered, running a hand over Peter's head. She smiled as he moved in his sleep. "So very much like you."

Tony grinned as they left the room, adjusting Peter to a more comfortable position. "You know, every time we see her she seems to get younger."

Steve couldn't hold in his startled laugh or the snort that accompanied it. "Jesus Tony, it's not like she's really that old." He said with a grin.

"She's eighty nine, Steve, and still taking care of children." Tony said in a flat tone, which was countered by the gleam in his eyes.

"Well, I'm grateful that she is. We wouldn't know half of what we do if it wasn't for her." Steve opened the door to their suite, scanning the room before Tony walked in with Peter. "Come on, let's get in the bed, I can't wait to cuddle with you two." Steve whispered. He could feel his face heating at the look Tony gave him. "What? There is absolutely nothing wrong with cuddling."

"You do not hear me complaining big guy." Tony walked to the bedroom, opening the door, he headed over to the bed. "Hey, did you leave a request at the front desk?"

Steve walked up behind Tony, a frown curving his lips down. "No, why?"

"Someone left a box on the bed." Tony stepped back, tightening his hold on Peter. "Hey, J, care to tell us what's in the box?"

"It would be the suit for Master Peter's portrait, Master Steven had it delivered here instead of Stark Tower."

Tony frowned, trying to remember when they'd taken Peter for a suit fitting. Turning, he looked at Steve. "Honey?"

"I, ummm, I wanted it to be a surprise." Steve said softly. He'd forgotten about the suit in all honesty. Moving back towards the box, he lifted the lid and smiled. "Come look at it Tony."

Tony moved forward slowly, leaning over Steve's shoulder he paused at the small outfit. "It looks like mine." He said in awe. It was a light blue jacket with dark slacks and a blue and red striped tie. "And the watch and cuff links were a gift because he did so well?" He chuckled at Steve's soft laugh.

"Yeah he didn't complain at all. Helped that Aveline had a friend who could do it while he ate a box of cookies." He gave Tony a soft look. "Anyway, I wanted a portrait of my two favorite fellas." Steve said softly. He closed the lid then moved the box. "Need help laying him down?"

Tony shook his head. "Naw but I'm going to need help with a shower, if you don't mind." He gave Steve a wink and grinned at the blush on his cheeks. He laid Peter down and covered him with a blanket. "Sleep well Petey-pie.

Steve smiled as he watched Tony. "Well, let's see what I can do to help you out. Maybe we can work on our daughter?"

Tony flushed as he looked at Steve over his shoulder. "Well, if that's what we're going to do then you better hurry up because I'm ready, right now." He loosened his tie, heading to the bathroom with a soft chuckle. "Come on honey, daddy is ready to make a baby."

Steve nodded as he followed Tony. He glanced back at the bed, smiling at the small bundle there. "Watch over him for us, please Jarvis?"

"Of course, Sir, he means a great deal to me as do you and Master Stark."

Steve grinned, turning back towards the bathroom. Welcome their princess... "Yeah, I'm ready too..."

10 months later...

"Peter Gregory Stark if you do not get in here and clean up this experiment, so help me!"

Peter raced down the hallway towards his room but stopped short at the appearance of his father. Laughing with pleasure he turned and ran into the closest room.

"Pete if you wake them up, I swear..." Steve moved as silently as he could into the twins room. He looked around the dark room for his oldest son, frowning when he didn't see him, not until a small figure moved towards the closet. Moving as silently as possible, Steve cut him of, grabbing the giggling toddler and heading back out of the room. He glanced back at the twin cribs, checking on the sleeping babies before shutting the door. "You know your dad is going to be angry when he sees you."

"I made a volcano Papa!" Peter cried in pleasure.

Steve chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. "I bet it's the best one too Petey-pie."

"Peter Gregory Stark!"

"Hi daddy!" Peter grinned at Tony from over Steve's shoulder. "Papa found me!"

Tony looked from his son to his husband then back. "Good, maybe he can get you to clean your mess." He glared around the kitchen at the red and white globs everywhere. "And hello handsome, twins go down ok?"

Steve leaned down for a kiss and smiled as he nodded. "No harder than usual, almost got woken up by their big brother though." He set Peter down on his feet and watched as he tried to get around Tony. "Pete." Steve said in a stern voice, fighting back a smile as he froze and turned to look at Steve. "What did your dad ask you to do?"

Tony held in a laugh at the sigh that left his son. "Come on, just need you to put your experiment up, the cleaners will get the rest." He helped Peter put away his project and supplies, making sure everything had been put back in its original spot. "Ok you little mad scientist, let's grab a bath then a story." He smiled at Peter's cheer and followed him to his room. He glanced behind him to make sure Steve was still with them and smiled as he followed them silently.

Steve watched as Tony helped Peter get ready for his bath then for bed. He felt a warm feeling spread through out his chest as he watched them, his mind drifting back to the twins and their together time earlier. Things were getting easier now that they had some sort of routine set down. He wasn't sure how long he'd stood there daydreaming but by the time he decided to move, Tony had just tucked Peter in and was turning out the light.

"He went down easier than normal." Tony sighed. He walked over and wrapped his arms around Steve's neck. "Carry me to bed?"

Steve smiled as he picked Tony up. "Well, it was an eventful day for us all wasn't it?"

Tony sighed, "I don't know which was worse, getting Sarah and Ben their shots or having to do the parent teacher conference for Peter's teachers." He sighed as he relaxed against Steve, confident his husband wouldn't drop him.

"Yeah the shots and crying were hell but I don't like Pete's teacher, Tony. There's something about that man that doesn't sit right with me." Steve frowned as he carried Tony into their suite. "He just seemed to think that Peter wasn't capable of understanding anything he said and he wouldn't talk to him directly."

"Yeah, I'm going to have Pepper look into his credentials and see what she can find out." Tony could remember having to deal with teachers like Peters and didn't want his son subjected to their cruelty. "If anything, we will just change his school or hire a tutor, I don't want him unhappy while at school."

Steve nodded as he set Tony down beside their bed. "I agree and the twins have a slight fever but the doctor said that would be normal after their shots."

Tony grinned up at Steve, leaning up to kiss away his worried frown. "They will be fine honey. After all they are your children."

Steve flushed with pleasure as he leaned down and returned Tony's kiss. "Our children, Tony not just mine." He hugged Tony tight, heart overflowing with love and happiness. "Sarah and Ben are just so perfect and Peter has become so smart..."

"Steve, honey, right now we do not need anymore children. Bruce and Clint are going to adopt, Pepper is pregnant with her's and Happy's first child and Bucky and Aveline are expecting another one. Then we have Rhodey and Carol..."

"That's a lot of babies." Steve said softly, a smile curving his lips. "And I wasn't thinking we needed another baby. The twins are only a month. I was thinking, maybe we, ummm, maybe we can take a vacation? We could use the break and Marta has been asking to see the twins..."

"I'll have things arranged by lunch tomorrow." Tony said quickly, smiling at the look of relief that crossed Steve's face. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Just not a lot of time with you since the twins were born and I know that's to be expected but..." Steve broke off as he frowned, turning his head away from Tony. "I miss our alone time." He finished softly, feeling bad despite enjoying parenthood. "It's not enough and I know it should be because we have three kids but..."

"You'd like more than a quickie in the shower or a hand job before heading out." Ton said softly. "I would too, being able to sleep for more than two hours would be great too." He sighed at the large hands on his waist, went willingly into the strong arms pulling him close.

"Yeah, that would be nice. How about a trip to New Mexico, I mean the house was just remodeled so we'd have enough room for everyone." Steve said thoughtfully. "Our suite is far enough away from everyone..."

"That if you want to scream you can and not have to worry about anyone hearing you." Tony gave Steve a leering grin as they got ready for bed. Stifling a yawn, Tony reached up and ran a hand across Steve's chest, resting his palm over his heart. "Sarah and Ben were a surprise and I don't know if I've told you but thank you, for the gift of them and Peter. "

Steve leaned down and gave Tony a kiss, his throat closing over the words he wanted to say. Life hadn't been easy for either of them but some how, through it all, they had both managed to survive long enough to find each other. Pulling back the blankets, Steve looked up at Tony. "Remember that lake behind the house?"

Tony yawned as he crawled into bed, blinking up at Steve with a frown. "Mhmm, you and Pete like to take the boat out when we're there." He laid down on his side facing Steve, watching as he slid under the covers and moved closer.

"This entire year just..." Steve broke off, sighing as he linked his fingers with Tony's.

"Sweetheart?" Tony asked sleepily.

"It's been great, well not all of the call outs but everything else has especially with the kids and it started in the lake." Steve finished softly. He could remember the first time in New Mexico. It had been the first time for a number of things between them.

"Mmmm, it started in the lake then ended in the bedroom." Tony said softly, smiling. "Thinking about doing it again?"

"Only with you." Steve whispered, pressing a kiss to Tony's curls. He heard the soft hum of pleasure from the now sleeping brunette and smiled. This would be another number of firsts for them and if Steve were honest with himself, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Link to quote at the beginning of the chapter...
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